The words offbeat, personal and edgy used to be a draw for movie fare — we’d check out a new relationship picture based only on an actor or two that we liked. Bobby Roth’s semi-autobiographical buddy story has a good stab at the early ’80s art + singles scene in Los Angeles, with a dash of macho clichés — pals Peter Coyote and Nick Mancuso fight in public and somehow suffer while bedding fantastic women. But the overall vibe is one of honest sensitivity, aided by fine performances from Carole Laure, Kathryn Harrold and Carol Wayne. Plus music by Tangerine Dream.
Heartbreakers
Blu-ray
Fun City Editions
1984 / Color / 1:85 / 99 min. / Street Date August 30, 2022 / Available from Amazon, Available from Vinegar Syndrome
Starring: Peter Coyote, Nick Mancuso, Carole Laure, Max Gail, James Laurenson, Carol Wayne, Jamie Rose, Kathryn Harrold, George Morfogen, Jerry Hardin, Henry Sanders, Walter Olkewicz.
Cinematography: Michael Ballhaus
Production Designer: David Nichols...
Heartbreakers
Blu-ray
Fun City Editions
1984 / Color / 1:85 / 99 min. / Street Date August 30, 2022 / Available from Amazon, Available from Vinegar Syndrome
Starring: Peter Coyote, Nick Mancuso, Carole Laure, Max Gail, James Laurenson, Carol Wayne, Jamie Rose, Kathryn Harrold, George Morfogen, Jerry Hardin, Henry Sanders, Walter Olkewicz.
Cinematography: Michael Ballhaus
Production Designer: David Nichols...
- 8/13/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Director Jim McBride puts retro magic into a rock ‘n’ roll bio about a big talent who was probably more fun on stage than in person. Dennis Quaid hits the right note of insanity for his portrayal of Jerry Lee Lewis’s rise to fame and fortune. Winona Ryder’s hilarious, almost scary bobby-sox Lolita becomes Jerry’s girl bride. Everything’s ducky until the real-life story goes sour, leaving the comic characterizations high and dry.
Great Balls of Fire!
Blu-ray
Olive Films
1989 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 108 min. / Street Date February 27, 2018 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Winona Ryder, John Doe, Stephen Tobolowsky, Trey Wilson, Alec Baldwin, Steve Allen, Jimmie Vaughan, Lisa Blount, Lisa Jane Persky, Peter Cook, Joe Bob Briggs.
Cinematography: Affonso Beato
Film Editor: Lisa Day, Pembroke Herring, Bert Lovitt
Production Design: David Nichols
Written by Jim McBride & Jack Baran, from a book by Myra Lewis...
Great Balls of Fire!
Blu-ray
Olive Films
1989 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 108 min. / Street Date February 27, 2018 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Winona Ryder, John Doe, Stephen Tobolowsky, Trey Wilson, Alec Baldwin, Steve Allen, Jimmie Vaughan, Lisa Blount, Lisa Jane Persky, Peter Cook, Joe Bob Briggs.
Cinematography: Affonso Beato
Film Editor: Lisa Day, Pembroke Herring, Bert Lovitt
Production Design: David Nichols
Written by Jim McBride & Jack Baran, from a book by Myra Lewis...
- 3/6/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
When you think of Quentin Tarantino, classic films like “Reservoir Dogs,” “Pulp Fiction,” and “Django Unchained” certainly come to mind. But what about the critically reviled “Saturday Night Live” sketch adaptation “It’s Pat”? Or the Michael Bay Alcatraz action movie “The Rock”? Tarantino’s fingerprints have been all over the movies ever since his breakout debut in 1992, and some of his projects are way more bizarre than others.
Read More:Quentin Tarantino Wants Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lawrence For New Movie, And They Shouldn’t Resist
The director is currently getting together his ninth feature, which will be his penultimate effort behind the camera if his retirement talks are to be believed. Sources say Tarantino is putting together a drama involving the Manson family murders and that he’s eyeing Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lawrence to star. As the filmmakers looks to the future for his next project, we...
Read More:Quentin Tarantino Wants Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lawrence For New Movie, And They Shouldn’t Resist
The director is currently getting together his ninth feature, which will be his penultimate effort behind the camera if his retirement talks are to be believed. Sources say Tarantino is putting together a drama involving the Manson family murders and that he’s eyeing Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lawrence to star. As the filmmakers looks to the future for his next project, we...
- 8/22/2017
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
More than most other major award shows, The Grammys have engaged with young viewers by teaming up with top personalities in the digital media space. Two years ago, for example, YouTube star Tyler Oakley served as a major presence on the event’s red carpet. The latest creator to get his own piece of music awards content is Jack Baran, who will host a companion show on Snapchat that will lead into the 59th Grammy Awards on February 12th, 2017.
Baran’s show is called Pop Before You Drop, and it will be a gameshow presented in a man-on-the-street format. Baran will approach random passersby and ask them to name as many Grammy winners as they can within specific categories before the Snap ends.
Given his own interest in music, Baran is a smart choice for Pop Before You Drop’s hosting role. On his thatsojack YouTube channel, which has more than 1.4 million subscribers,...
Baran’s show is called Pop Before You Drop, and it will be a gameshow presented in a man-on-the-street format. Baran will approach random passersby and ask them to name as many Grammy winners as they can within specific categories before the Snap ends.
Given his own interest in music, Baran is a smart choice for Pop Before You Drop’s hosting role. On his thatsojack YouTube channel, which has more than 1.4 million subscribers,...
- 1/19/2017
- by Sam Gutelle
- Tubefilter.com
Five YouTube stars are getting ready to “Drop The Mic.” That’s the name of an upcoming tour produced by Fullscreen Live, during which host Chachi Gonzales will conduct a series of lip-sync battles between Ricky Dillon, The Gabbie Show, Jack Baran, and Andrew Lowe.
The Drop The Mic tour will hit 20 locations, beginning in Las Vegas on November 28th and ending in San Antonio on December 22nd. At each stop, the featured stars will compete to see which one of them is the best lip-syncer. Those who have watched videos from the TV series Lip Sync Battle should have a good idea what to expect.
Drop The Mic will be the latest event from Fullscreen Live, which has also produced two Girls Night In circuits as well as multiple tours within its “Hello!” series. In planning its “in-real-life” content, Fullscreen has often worked closely with live-streaming apps, and Drop...
The Drop The Mic tour will hit 20 locations, beginning in Las Vegas on November 28th and ending in San Antonio on December 22nd. At each stop, the featured stars will compete to see which one of them is the best lip-syncer. Those who have watched videos from the TV series Lip Sync Battle should have a good idea what to expect.
Drop The Mic will be the latest event from Fullscreen Live, which has also produced two Girls Night In circuits as well as multiple tours within its “Hello!” series. In planning its “in-real-life” content, Fullscreen has often worked closely with live-streaming apps, and Drop...
- 10/25/2016
- by Sam Gutelle
- Tubefilter.com
Jack Baran is evolving into one of YouTube's most versatile vloggers. The 19-year-old from Fairfield, Connecticut creates videos on his thatsojack YouTube channel, where he has more than 1.6 million subscribers. His content covers a wide variety of topics: He discusses his favorite music, shares his tastes in fashion, produces skits and sketches that often discuss the differences between guys and girls, and collaborates with many of his fellow creators. Here's our chat with Baran concerning his digital work:
Tubefilter: How does it feel to have one million subscribers? What do you have to say to your fans?
Jack Baran: I've always been so excited to have an outreach and influence, even when I had 100 subscribers. I don't let the number scare me and although it can be overwhelming, I appreciate everyone who watches and follows me. My dedicated followers will be most impacted by what I have to offer.
Tubefilter: How does it feel to have one million subscribers? What do you have to say to your fans?
Jack Baran: I've always been so excited to have an outreach and influence, even when I had 100 subscribers. I don't let the number scare me and although it can be overwhelming, I appreciate everyone who watches and follows me. My dedicated followers will be most impacted by what I have to offer.
- 6/23/2016
- by Sam Gutelle
- Tubefilter.com
Bobby Roth has made about 26 films, but during the past 15 years most of these have been telefilms. With "Jack the Dog", Roth makes a welcome return to indie features.
As with his best films, "Th Boss' Son" (1978) and "Heartbreakers" (1984), "Jack the Dog" is a ritual of self-examination. Because he draws directly on his own life without the veneer of fiction, rawness sometimes creeps in. Add to this a protagonist that, by design, makes no attemp to gain audience sympathy -- as he acts like a cad for significant stretches of the film -- and you have a movie that should provoke a wide range of audience reactions.
Consequently, its theatrical life will probably be limited to specialty venues, but rospects brighten in cable and video for this self-financed film.
"Jack" is essentially about a man who, after chasing women most of his adult life, discovers true love with his son. The movie picks up Jack (Nestor Carbonell), a Los Angeles free-lance phtographer, as a promiscuous bachelor grown tired of his womanizing. Abruptly, he marries Faith (Barbara Williams) in hopes that marriage will somehow settle him down.
After the birth of their son Sam Andrew J. Ferchland) and several years of domesticity the marriage founders, and Jack resumes his life as a rogue. The common denominator with Jack's women is that they are all slightly nuts and clearly lacking the stability he needs. But needs and wants are not the same thing, so Jack's frantic pursuit of ove in all the wrong places becomes a risible slapstick of misguided desire.
Following their divorce, Jack's ex-wife marries a European (Juergen Prochnow) and moves to London. Jack wins custody of the boy, largely because Sam wants to remain in Los Angels. Then, in "Kramer vs. Kramer" style, Jack must finally take his parenting seriously. To his credit, he does, and the story turns into a love affair between father and son.
Ferchland is most appealing as the son because he doesn't seem like a child acto. He is a complete natural. Roth also has helped him by writing the role with wit and keen insight.
The film's biggest problem lies with its lead. While Carbonell is good-looking and not without talent, he doesn't plumb the depths the part calls for. Thesoul-searching remains too close to the surface. Carbonell is much more at home in the comic scenes where he plays a man well aware of his imprudent sex drive but unable to control those urges.
Roth avoids the obvious and pat ending. Instead of Jack findng the woman of his dreams, Roth concludes his story, fittingly, with the father's discovery of the joys of fatherhood. By implication, Jack has achieved a wholeness that makes him ready for such an encounter.
Technical credits are solid on this low-budgt effort, though the transfer from digital video to film is a little rough at times.
JACK THE DOG
Jung N Restless Prods.
Producers: Bobby Roth, Jeffrey White, Jack Baran, Margie Glick
Screenwriter-director: Bobby Roth
Director of photography: Georg Fick
roduction designer: Dins Danielson
Music: Christopher Franke
Costume designer: Mary Malin
Editor: Margaret Guinee
Color/stereo
Cast:
Jack: Nestor Carbonell
Faith: Barbara Williams
Sam: Andrew J. Ferchland
Buddy: Travis Fine
Rose: Micole Mercurio
Hope: Elzabeth Barondes
Klaus: Juergen Prochnow
Running time -- 85 minutes
No MPAA rating...
As with his best films, "Th Boss' Son" (1978) and "Heartbreakers" (1984), "Jack the Dog" is a ritual of self-examination. Because he draws directly on his own life without the veneer of fiction, rawness sometimes creeps in. Add to this a protagonist that, by design, makes no attemp to gain audience sympathy -- as he acts like a cad for significant stretches of the film -- and you have a movie that should provoke a wide range of audience reactions.
Consequently, its theatrical life will probably be limited to specialty venues, but rospects brighten in cable and video for this self-financed film.
"Jack" is essentially about a man who, after chasing women most of his adult life, discovers true love with his son. The movie picks up Jack (Nestor Carbonell), a Los Angeles free-lance phtographer, as a promiscuous bachelor grown tired of his womanizing. Abruptly, he marries Faith (Barbara Williams) in hopes that marriage will somehow settle him down.
After the birth of their son Sam Andrew J. Ferchland) and several years of domesticity the marriage founders, and Jack resumes his life as a rogue. The common denominator with Jack's women is that they are all slightly nuts and clearly lacking the stability he needs. But needs and wants are not the same thing, so Jack's frantic pursuit of ove in all the wrong places becomes a risible slapstick of misguided desire.
Following their divorce, Jack's ex-wife marries a European (Juergen Prochnow) and moves to London. Jack wins custody of the boy, largely because Sam wants to remain in Los Angels. Then, in "Kramer vs. Kramer" style, Jack must finally take his parenting seriously. To his credit, he does, and the story turns into a love affair between father and son.
Ferchland is most appealing as the son because he doesn't seem like a child acto. He is a complete natural. Roth also has helped him by writing the role with wit and keen insight.
The film's biggest problem lies with its lead. While Carbonell is good-looking and not without talent, he doesn't plumb the depths the part calls for. Thesoul-searching remains too close to the surface. Carbonell is much more at home in the comic scenes where he plays a man well aware of his imprudent sex drive but unable to control those urges.
Roth avoids the obvious and pat ending. Instead of Jack findng the woman of his dreams, Roth concludes his story, fittingly, with the father's discovery of the joys of fatherhood. By implication, Jack has achieved a wholeness that makes him ready for such an encounter.
Technical credits are solid on this low-budgt effort, though the transfer from digital video to film is a little rough at times.
JACK THE DOG
Jung N Restless Prods.
Producers: Bobby Roth, Jeffrey White, Jack Baran, Margie Glick
Screenwriter-director: Bobby Roth
Director of photography: Georg Fick
roduction designer: Dins Danielson
Music: Christopher Franke
Costume designer: Mary Malin
Editor: Margaret Guinee
Color/stereo
Cast:
Jack: Nestor Carbonell
Faith: Barbara Williams
Sam: Andrew J. Ferchland
Buddy: Travis Fine
Rose: Micole Mercurio
Hope: Elzabeth Barondes
Klaus: Juergen Prochnow
Running time -- 85 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/25/2001
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Critical and art house-audience fave Raul Ruiz (who has worked in France for decades) crafts a chilly but suitably diverting puzzler in his newest film, which premiered at this year's Venice Film Festival. Lions Gate Releasing's "Shattered Image" should draw healthy crowds of the curious in limited engagements.
Anne Parillaud ("La Femme Nikita") stars in the dualistic role of Jessie, a hitwoman in one incarnation and a demure, scared newlywed in another. Tense and dreamy, stylistically dense and thoroughly mystifying, the film jarringly shifts between realities, one or both of which may be nightmares.
But getting lost in the surrealistic landscape of the native Chilean's cinema is part of Ruiz's appeal. Unfortunately, for all the craftsmanship and an eclectic cast that includes Graham Greene, co-producer Lisanne Falk and William Baldwin, "Shattered Image" is too remindful of artistically inferior, flimsier doppelganger/secret-sharer thrillers over the years.
Along with the elevated filmmaking sensibility comes a murky plot by newcomer Duane Poole, who has extensive writing credits in network television, and the dark-side erudition of producer Barbet Schroeder hangs over the project. Shattered peace of mind and a violent journey into awareness, reflected off the shards of a double-narrative, with eye-snagging art direction and sometimes fascinating dramatic exchanges -- it's an intoxicating brew for some, but from "Vertigo" on there's a hit-or-miss quality to this kind of film experience.
Starting with a swift assassination in a restaurant washroom, Jessie the man-slayer-for-hire is disturbed by her dreams of a more conventional existence, but it's her wealthy heiress version -- on a honeymoon to Jamaica with intimidating husband Brian (Baldwin) -- who has tried suicide and appears destined to be a victim of foul play. While the nice Jessie grows more paranoid and indeed almost falls off a cliff, the bad Jessie is hired to kill someone who looks a lot like Brian.
Greene and Falk appear in both worlds, and a lot of blood is shed on the way to a gimmicky conclusion. Nic Roeg has successfully and unsuccessfully covered this territory, and even a master like Krzysztof Kieslowski struggled to keep one engaged in "The Double Life of Veronique". Still, Ruiz makes the moviegoer not seriously regret seeing "Shattered Image", with his vibrant cinematic skills drawing one into a glorified potboiler.
SHATTERED IMAGE
Lions Gate Releasing
Peter Hoffman presents
a Seven Arts/Schroeder Hoffman production
in association with Fireworks Entertainment
Director: Raul Ruiz
Screenwriter: Duane Poole
Producers: Barbet Schroeder, Susan Hoffman, Lloyd A. Silverman
Executive producers: Jack Baran, Jay Firestone, Victor Loewy, Bastiaan Gieben, James Michael Vernon
Director of photography: Robby Muller
Production designer: Robert de Vico
Editor: Michael Duthie
Costume designer: Francine LeCoultre
Music: Jorge Arriagada
Color/stereo
Cast:
Jessie: Anne Parillaud
Brian: William Baldwin
Paula/Laura: Lisanne Falk
Conrad/Mike: Graham Greene
Lamond: Billy Wilmott
Simon: O'Neil Peart
Isabel: Leonie Forbes
Running time -- 103 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Anne Parillaud ("La Femme Nikita") stars in the dualistic role of Jessie, a hitwoman in one incarnation and a demure, scared newlywed in another. Tense and dreamy, stylistically dense and thoroughly mystifying, the film jarringly shifts between realities, one or both of which may be nightmares.
But getting lost in the surrealistic landscape of the native Chilean's cinema is part of Ruiz's appeal. Unfortunately, for all the craftsmanship and an eclectic cast that includes Graham Greene, co-producer Lisanne Falk and William Baldwin, "Shattered Image" is too remindful of artistically inferior, flimsier doppelganger/secret-sharer thrillers over the years.
Along with the elevated filmmaking sensibility comes a murky plot by newcomer Duane Poole, who has extensive writing credits in network television, and the dark-side erudition of producer Barbet Schroeder hangs over the project. Shattered peace of mind and a violent journey into awareness, reflected off the shards of a double-narrative, with eye-snagging art direction and sometimes fascinating dramatic exchanges -- it's an intoxicating brew for some, but from "Vertigo" on there's a hit-or-miss quality to this kind of film experience.
Starting with a swift assassination in a restaurant washroom, Jessie the man-slayer-for-hire is disturbed by her dreams of a more conventional existence, but it's her wealthy heiress version -- on a honeymoon to Jamaica with intimidating husband Brian (Baldwin) -- who has tried suicide and appears destined to be a victim of foul play. While the nice Jessie grows more paranoid and indeed almost falls off a cliff, the bad Jessie is hired to kill someone who looks a lot like Brian.
Greene and Falk appear in both worlds, and a lot of blood is shed on the way to a gimmicky conclusion. Nic Roeg has successfully and unsuccessfully covered this territory, and even a master like Krzysztof Kieslowski struggled to keep one engaged in "The Double Life of Veronique". Still, Ruiz makes the moviegoer not seriously regret seeing "Shattered Image", with his vibrant cinematic skills drawing one into a glorified potboiler.
SHATTERED IMAGE
Lions Gate Releasing
Peter Hoffman presents
a Seven Arts/Schroeder Hoffman production
in association with Fireworks Entertainment
Director: Raul Ruiz
Screenwriter: Duane Poole
Producers: Barbet Schroeder, Susan Hoffman, Lloyd A. Silverman
Executive producers: Jack Baran, Jay Firestone, Victor Loewy, Bastiaan Gieben, James Michael Vernon
Director of photography: Robby Muller
Production designer: Robert de Vico
Editor: Michael Duthie
Costume designer: Francine LeCoultre
Music: Jorge Arriagada
Color/stereo
Cast:
Jessie: Anne Parillaud
Brian: William Baldwin
Paula/Laura: Lisanne Falk
Conrad/Mike: Graham Greene
Lamond: Billy Wilmott
Simon: O'Neil Peart
Isabel: Leonie Forbes
Running time -- 103 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 12/4/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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