The value of onscreen chemistry can’t be dismissed. Take “Tommy Boy,” for example. There’s nothing special about Bonny and Terry Turner’s script — the writing is mediocre, many of the jokes are obvious and the plot is formulaic. But in the hands of Chris Farley and David Spade, who first teamed up on “Saturday Night Live” and later in “Coneheads,” “Tommy Boy” wound up being much funnier than it should’ve been. In fact, the film became one of the surprise hit comedies of the 1990s and, in the process, propelled Farley and Spade into fleeting superstardom. Recent college grad Tom…
Author: Jamey Codding
Any list of classic guy movies would be incomplete without an appearance from Brian De Palma’s “Scarface.” The film that supplies immortal quotes like, “I always tell the truth, even when I lie,” and “Say hello to my little friend!” also gives life to one of the most magnetic characters in movie history, Cuban refugee Tony Montana. Written by Oliver Stone, “Scarface” is an addictive story about greed, loyalty, triumph and tragedy. Oh yeah, and guns. Lots and lots of guns. Al Pacino stars as Montana, a criminal who, along with 125,000 fellow Cubans, fled his homeland in 1980 with…
We first spoke with Luke Goss when he was promoting “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.” This time around, Goss is again promoting a sequel — okay, it’s technically a prequel — as convicted cop killer Carl “Luke” Lucas in “Death Race 2.” We participated in a roundtable chat with Goss while on the set in Cape Town, South Africa last year, where the actor discussed how much fun it was driving around the cars from the movie, his own driving history, whether it’s tough to play a convict and what his movie says about the future of for-profit prisons. ALSO,…
You know who Danny Trejo is. He’s the badass in “INSERT MOVIE TITLE HERE.” Seriously, just take your pick. Most recently, Trejo has shown up in “Predators” and, in what qualifies as his first leading role (even if Trejo himself takes exception with that term), Robert Rodriguez’s “Machete.” In this particular case, however, the long-time actor was promoting his badass role in “Death Race 2” during our set visit in Cape Town, South Africa last year. Trejo spoke at length about how his time spent in prison as a young man contributed to the realism of this movie in general…
Chances are you’ve seen Tanit Phoenix’s seductive eyes staring back at you from one magazine or another. After all, she’s been featured on the cover of Cosmopolitan, Maxim and FHM, while also frequently popping up in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, GQ, Shape and Marie Claire. This model-turned-actress is beginning to heat up the big screen as well, as we learned when we chatted with her during our “Death Race 2” set visit in Cape Town, South Africa last year. In addition to her role opposite Luke Goss as convicted murderer Katrina Banks, Phoenix also spoke briefly about her work…
September Jones is not the kind of girl you bring home to Mom. From the 20 or so minutes that we spent with Lauren Cohan on the set of “Death Race 2” in Cape Town, South Africa, we’d guess Mom would be a much bigger fan of Ms. Cohan than her character in this prequel to the 2008 “Death Race.” Cohan spoke about what motivates September Jones, the power-hungry TV exec behind the fictional reality TV sensations “Death Match” and “Death Race,” and whether or not Cohan thinks she could survive in the Terminal Island penitentiary. We also spoke briefly…
To each his own, right? While some people will no doubt roll their eyes at the mere mention of the short-lived ’80s action show, “The A-Team,” others will just as quickly unleash a “Hell, YEAH!” before reminiscing about their favorite episodes. The film adaptation of “The A-Team” will no doubt be met with similarly divided opinions, even with big names like Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper and Jessica Biel tied to it. Part of that surely is adaptation overload, but for as popular as the TV series was in its day, critics dismissed it as nothing more than mindless popcorn viewing.…
Perhaps it was inevitable that NBC darlings Steve Carell and Tina Fey would team up on the big screen, considering they front two of network TV’s funniest shows (“The Office” and “30 Rock,” of course). With that kind of recognition comes oodles of box office potential, and combined with the laughs these two comedians generate in their day jobs, “Date Night” was destined to be one of the year’s best comedies, right? Well, as any sports fan will tell you, potential means nothing if you don’t execute on the field, and while the Carell/Fey pairing looks like a winner on…
It wouldn’t be fair to slap the “all style, no substance” label on James Cameron’s latest sci-fi epic, but it’s certainly tempting. After all, for as visually layered and complex as “Avatar” is, its characters are often flat, its dialogue sometimes stilted and its story hackneyed. But dismissing it as nothing more than a visual marvel would be a mistake, if only because doing so actually understates just how spectacular the movie looks (particularly in 3D) and ignores the fact that, despite its flaws, “Avatar” is a whole lot of fun. As for all the talk about it being a…
Thanksgiving weekend is usually reserved for movies that appeal to the entire family, but this year, a few studios have taken a different approach. While “The Road” may be a pretty dark and dreary piece of holiday cheer, it’s nothing when compared to director James McTeigue’s “Ninja Assassin,” which is the equivalent of releasing “Grindhouse” on Easter. If there’s one thing teenage boys will be thankful for this season, it’s CG blood, because “Ninja Assassin” has more than enough to splash around. Giving new meaning to the term “gratuitous violence,” McTeigue’s latest film may be packed with enough stylish fight…