Writer and director Alexander Payne’s Downsizing is both his most ambitious and markedly disappointing project to date.
Matt Damon
Filmmaker Jon Dunham’s Boston takes a warm and comprehensive look at the history of the most prestigious marathon race in the world. For over a whopping 120 years now, the Boston Marathon, conceived by the Boston Athletic Association, has become the most important, prestigious, and recognized distance running event in the sporting world, and Dunham gives the race its proper, respectful cinematic due. It’s a classical kind of talking heads documentary that traces the Boston Marathon’s past and present, but most importantly it should appeal well beyond a core demographic of running enthusiasts.
Oscar winning actor Matt Damon says working with famed filmmaker Zhang Yimou on his China-set, fantasy epic The Great Wall was a dream come true.
The Great Wall is the most expensive Chinese produced motion picture ever made, and at least half the time that budget shows. The other half is a less than seamless special effects extravaganza that can’t keep any plot elements straight for more than ten minutes at a time. On the whole, it’s a relatively amiable bit of entertainment that’s probably about as good as the core B-movie premise will allow, but with that low of a bar it’s hard to justify anyone spending this much money to make the thing with an A-list international cast and one of the world’s greatest and most mythologized man made landmarks as a focal point.
The GATE is pleased to announce that luxury stylemakers Hamilton Watch and their powerful timepeices will join The GATE’s Interview Lounge as a brand partner at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.
New arrivals this week on Blu-ray and DVD include: The Adjustment Bureau starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt as a pair of would-be lovers on the run from Fate’s minions; Liam Neeson’s latest action-thriller, Unknown; and The Eagle, starring Channing Tatum in a swords-and-sandals modern epic.
Debuting on DVD and Blu-ray this week: the Coen brothers’ True Grit, with Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld; the silly romantic comedy Just Go With It, starring Adam Sandler; the thriller Sanctum, by director Alister Grierson; plus a look at Blue Crush 2 and the final season of Stargate Universe.
New releases on DVD and Blu-ray this week include: Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter, starring Matt Damon and Cécile De France; The Fighter, starring Mark Wahlberg and Academy Award winners Christian Bale and Melissa Leo; and The Switch, with Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman.
New arrivals in theatres this weekend include: the sci-fi drama, The Adjustment Bureau, starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt; the animated comedy Rango, with Johnny Depp in the title role; the Canadian film Funkytown, set in the drug-addled days of disco; and the lame teen drama, Beastly.
Opening this week, just in time for the holidays: Jeff Bridges stars in the Coen brothers’ Western, True Grit; Jack Black is off to the land of the wee folk in Gulliver’s Travels; Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller are back for another round in Little Fockers; plus a look at Barney’s Version.
