Director Sam Raimi’s film Darkman was first released in 1990, and in recent years Scream Factory has brought that movie and its direct-to-video sequels Darkman II: The Return of Durant and Darkman III: Die Darkman Die to Blu-ray. Last month, the company announced that they’ll be giving Darkman a 4K release on February 20th – and since then they’ve revealed that this release will include deleted scenes that weren’t on their previous Blu-ray release of the film, plus a fan commentary by Scare Me and Werewolves Within director (and Darkman superfan) Josh Ruben!
Scream Factory is accepting pre-orders for multiple editions of this release. You can get the 4K / Blu-ray combo on its own, get it in a limited edition steelbook, get the steelbook with a prism sticker and poster, get the steelbook with a prism sticker, poster, a pin, and lobby cards, get the regular collector’s...
Scream Factory is accepting pre-orders for multiple editions of this release. You can get the 4K / Blu-ray combo on its own, get it in a limited edition steelbook, get the steelbook with a prism sticker and poster, get the steelbook with a prism sticker, poster, a pin, and lobby cards, get the regular collector’s...
- 1/5/2024
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Before he made his Spider-Man trilogy and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but after he unsuccessfully tried to get the job directing a Batman or The Shadow movie, Sam Raimi made his debut in the superhero world with a character he created: Darkman. Raimi’s film Darkman was first released in 1990, and in recent years Scream Factory has brought that movie and its direct-to-video sequels Darkman II: The Return of Durant and Darkman III: Die Darkman Die to Blu-ray. Now the company has announced that they’ll be giving Darkman a 4K release on February 20th!
Scream Factory hasn’t announced what special features will be found on the 4K release, but they are accepting pre-orders for it. You can get the 4K / Blu-ray combo on its own, get it in a limited edition steelbook, get the steelbook with a prism sticker and poster, get the steelbook with a prism sticker,...
Scream Factory hasn’t announced what special features will be found on the 4K release, but they are accepting pre-orders for it. You can get the 4K / Blu-ray combo on its own, get it in a limited edition steelbook, get the steelbook with a prism sticker and poster, get the steelbook with a prism sticker,...
- 12/8/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
The Virus episode of Wtf Happened to This Horror Movie? was Written and Edited by Ric Solomon, Narrated by Adam Walton, Produced by Andrew Hatfield and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.
The ’90s are chock full of some great sci-fi horror films. Who can forget Event Horizon, The Lawnmower Man, Mimic or Deep Blue Sea…. ya know, the one where Samuel L. Jackson gets eaten by a shark? Anyways, let’s fast forward to the end of the decade, 1999 in particular. It was, and still is, considered to be the best year movies were released. In January, director John Bruno would bring us the film, Virus (watch it Here). A movie that makes us ask the question “Wtf Happened To This Horror Movie?”
Back in 1992, writer Chuck Pfarrer and Canadian artist Howard Cobb brought to life the comic series Virus. The story revolves around a group of...
The ’90s are chock full of some great sci-fi horror films. Who can forget Event Horizon, The Lawnmower Man, Mimic or Deep Blue Sea…. ya know, the one where Samuel L. Jackson gets eaten by a shark? Anyways, let’s fast forward to the end of the decade, 1999 in particular. It was, and still is, considered to be the best year movies were released. In January, director John Bruno would bring us the film, Virus (watch it Here). A movie that makes us ask the question “Wtf Happened To This Horror Movie?”
Back in 1992, writer Chuck Pfarrer and Canadian artist Howard Cobb brought to life the comic series Virus. The story revolves around a group of...
- 9/1/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Whether it’s superhero fatigue or something else, there’s no denying that the MCU and the DC Universe are falling on hard times. Secret Invasion set record lows for Marvel, as did the reviews for Ant-Man the Wasp: Quantumania, and The Flash stumbled to become the lowest money maker in Warner Bros. history.
But let’s get a little perspective, shall we? These movies aren’t great, but superhero movies are, on the whole, better than what came before the MCU launched in 2008. Throughout the 80s and 90s, superhero movies were almost embarrassed to be about superheroes, forcing Batman into a lame revenge plot for the 1989 film and refusing to let Frank Castle wear his death’s head logo in the Cannon Films direct-to-video release. With the embrace of the genre has come better effects, brighter costumes, and outrageous plots that better reflect the high stakes the genre demands.
But let’s get a little perspective, shall we? These movies aren’t great, but superhero movies are, on the whole, better than what came before the MCU launched in 2008. Throughout the 80s and 90s, superhero movies were almost embarrassed to be about superheroes, forcing Batman into a lame revenge plot for the 1989 film and refusing to let Frank Castle wear his death’s head logo in the Cannon Films direct-to-video release. With the embrace of the genre has come better effects, brighter costumes, and outrageous plots that better reflect the high stakes the genre demands.
- 8/23/2023
- by Kirsten Howard
- Den of Geek
The early nineties were arguably the heyday of brawny action. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the world’s biggest star, thanks to Total Recall and Terminator 2. Sylvester Stallone was just a little behind him with Cliffhanger and Demolition Man, but the lower-tier action stars were starting to catch up. Steven Seagal had a string of hits and was briefly about to hit the big time with Under Siege. At the same time, the Muscles from Brussels was finding his way into bigger studio fare and teamed up with arguably the greatest action director of all time for one of his best movies – Hard Target, which is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its release.
Jump back to 1991, when Jean-Claude Van Damme had two movies that broke through at the North American box office. First up, in January of that year, was Lionheart, which carried a low budget but made $22 million for Universal.
Jump back to 1991, when Jean-Claude Van Damme had two movies that broke through at the North American box office. First up, in January of that year, was Lionheart, which carried a low budget but made $22 million for Universal.
- 8/13/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
This post contains spoilers for "Red Planet."
With the exception of "Total Recall" and "The Martian," films centered around our dusty neighboring planet have often fallen flat. Even among the duds, few have flopped as spectacularly as 2000's "Red Planet" starring Val Kilmer. With a production budget of 80 million, the unrealized blockbuster, co-produced by the Australian studio Village Roadshow Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros., brought in no more than 33 million from the worldwide box office, resulting in a significant loss.
A common theory behind the underperformance of "Red Planet" is that it lost out to its twin film "Mission to Mars" from director Brian De Palma that premiered eight months prior in March 2000. Neither film, however, was a financial success, and "Mission to Mars," with 106 million worldwide, barely made a profit on its own high 90 million budget. Audiences of "Mission to Mars" must have felt they'd seen enough of...
With the exception of "Total Recall" and "The Martian," films centered around our dusty neighboring planet have often fallen flat. Even among the duds, few have flopped as spectacularly as 2000's "Red Planet" starring Val Kilmer. With a production budget of 80 million, the unrealized blockbuster, co-produced by the Australian studio Village Roadshow Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros., brought in no more than 33 million from the worldwide box office, resulting in a significant loss.
A common theory behind the underperformance of "Red Planet" is that it lost out to its twin film "Mission to Mars" from director Brian De Palma that premiered eight months prior in March 2000. Neither film, however, was a financial success, and "Mission to Mars," with 106 million worldwide, barely made a profit on its own high 90 million budget. Audiences of "Mission to Mars" must have felt they'd seen enough of...
- 12/10/2022
- by Walter Roberts
- Slash Film
Based on the Dark Horse comic book series Virus written by Chuck Pfarrer, the 1999 movie version passed a lot of scifi/horror fans by when it was initially released and has been relegated to obscurity ever since.
However, with a great pedigree of talent both behind and in front of the camera, and some pretty sick and gory practical VFX work, I think it demands a revisit.
I recently picked up a limited Blu-ray edition of the film from Germany (Cinema-Strange Extreme release). I had never seen the film and had very low expectations since nobody talks about the film really. But, man, I was surprised at what a blast it was.
Here's a look at the German release. There are a couple more images...
However, with a great pedigree of talent both behind and in front of the camera, and some pretty sick and gory practical VFX work, I think it demands a revisit.
I recently picked up a limited Blu-ray edition of the film from Germany (Cinema-Strange Extreme release). I had never seen the film and had very low expectations since nobody talks about the film really. But, man, I was surprised at what a blast it was.
Here's a look at the German release. There are a couple more images...
- 3/21/2022
- QuietEarth.us
No one will hear you scream on Saturday nights this February as Horror Channel launches a Sci-Fear Season with four ultimate science-fiction shockers, including the UK TV premiere of William Eubank’s The Signal starring Laurence Fishburne.
There are also network premieres for Christian Alvart’s Lovecraftian survival thriller Pandorum, starring Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster, and John Bruno’s visually stunning chiller (and underrated classic) Virus, based on the comic book by Chuck Pfarrer, starring Jamie Lee Curtis, William Baldwin and Donald Sutherland. Plus there’s another showing of eXistenZ, David Cronenberg’s enigmatic body horror, starring Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Willem Dafoe and Ian Holm.
The Sci-Fear Season runs from Sat 4th Feb to 25th Feb at 9pm.
There are also five further network premieres this month including Tucker and Dale vs Evil, Eli Craig’s endearingly cheeky tribute to suspense and slasher classics; Saw IV, Darren Lynn Bousman...
There are also network premieres for Christian Alvart’s Lovecraftian survival thriller Pandorum, starring Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster, and John Bruno’s visually stunning chiller (and underrated classic) Virus, based on the comic book by Chuck Pfarrer, starring Jamie Lee Curtis, William Baldwin and Donald Sutherland. Plus there’s another showing of eXistenZ, David Cronenberg’s enigmatic body horror, starring Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Willem Dafoe and Ian Holm.
The Sci-Fear Season runs from Sat 4th Feb to 25th Feb at 9pm.
There are also five further network premieres this month including Tucker and Dale vs Evil, Eli Craig’s endearingly cheeky tribute to suspense and slasher classics; Saw IV, Darren Lynn Bousman...
- 1/24/2017
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Pamela Anderson headlined Barb Wire, an 18-certificate comic book movie from the 1990s. How does it hold up?
I like to write silly articles about terrible films, but I prefer to write silly articles that go on about how much I’ve enjoyed a film that most people wouldn’t bother with. Den of Geek will often send me odd films with rotten reputations and it’s always my hope that I’m going to get something like Chuck Norris’ Invasion U.S.A., which is kind of out there but also kind of brilliant. More often, though, I’ll end up with a Santa With Muscles or a Nick Fury: Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D.
When I read silly film look backs that other people have written around the internet, I’ll sometimes come away with the impression that the person has set out to trash an easy target.
I like to write silly articles about terrible films, but I prefer to write silly articles that go on about how much I’ve enjoyed a film that most people wouldn’t bother with. Den of Geek will often send me odd films with rotten reputations and it’s always my hope that I’m going to get something like Chuck Norris’ Invasion U.S.A., which is kind of out there but also kind of brilliant. More often, though, I’ll end up with a Santa With Muscles or a Nick Fury: Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D.
When I read silly film look backs that other people have written around the internet, I’ll sometimes come away with the impression that the person has set out to trash an easy target.
- 7/7/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Crime has a new enemy, and justice has a brand new face. Fans of visionary director Sam Raimi (The Spider-Man trilogy) know well the story of Dr. Peyton Westlake and his tragic transformation into the action hero known as Darkman. Based on Raimi’s short story “The Darkman,” the popular crime-fighting master of disguises comes to life in the 1990 film adaptation Darkman, starring three-time Golden Globe® nominee Liam Neeson (Taken) and Oscar® winner Frances McDormand (Fargo). Directed by Sam Raimi, this explosive, action-packed thriller also stars Colin Friels (Dark City), Larry Drake (Dr. Giggles), Dan Hicks (Evil Dead 2) and Nicholas Worth (Swamp Thing) and features soundtrack by award-wining composer Danny Elfman. On February 18, 2014, Scream Factory™ will release Darkman Collector’S Edition Blu-ray, featuring all-new interviews with Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand, Larry Drake, Danny Hicks, make-up effects artist Tony Gardner, production designer Randy Ser, art director Philip Dagort and much more!
- 1/5/2014
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
Article by Dan Clark (MovieRevolt)
Welcome to another installment of Streaming for Your Pleasure where I highlight films that are currently streaming on Netflix. In this installment I am focusing on action movies. I don’t know about you but sometimes when the proper mood strikes I fiend for some not stop action thrills. In order to make your lives easier I picked out some films that are worth your viewing pleasure. To keep things exciting I choose a variety of films. Some are recent hits while others are classics in the genre. Certain choices are rather obvious and I’m sure you’ve seen them countless times before, but there are a few hidden gems as well. Whatever your cup of tea might be there’s a film here that you will find worthy of adding to your Netflix queue.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Directed By: Brad Bird
Written By: Josh Appelbaum,...
Welcome to another installment of Streaming for Your Pleasure where I highlight films that are currently streaming on Netflix. In this installment I am focusing on action movies. I don’t know about you but sometimes when the proper mood strikes I fiend for some not stop action thrills. In order to make your lives easier I picked out some films that are worth your viewing pleasure. To keep things exciting I choose a variety of films. Some are recent hits while others are classics in the genre. Certain choices are rather obvious and I’m sure you’ve seen them countless times before, but there are a few hidden gems as well. Whatever your cup of tea might be there’s a film here that you will find worthy of adding to your Netflix queue.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Directed By: Brad Bird
Written By: Josh Appelbaum,...
- 2/19/2013
- by Guest
- Nerdly
Before director Sam Raimi swung on a web with Spider-Man, he brought his own super-hero to the big screen with Darkman. The 1990 film looks solid on Blu-ray.s 1080p format, but some of the effects are a tad dated. Written by Raimi, Chuck Pfarrer, Ivan Raimi, Daniel Goldin, and Joshua Goldin, Darkman starred Liam Neeson (who had yet to become the blockbuster star he is today), Frances McDormand (in her pre-Fargo days), Larry Drake, and Colin Friels. The movie also benefited from a super heroic music from Danny Elfman. The movie was a pretty straight-forward origin tale with Neeson taking on the role of Dr. Peyton Westlake . a scientist working on a synthetic skin for burn victims.
- 6/26/2010
- by Patrick Luce
- Monsters and Critics
Dogged by continued skepticism regarding statements made about his past, WGA West president Charles Holland admitted in a letter that he made a "mistake" when he asserted that he served in the special forces, which has sparked repeated calls for his resignation. "It was a huge mistake to say what I did about my military background in (in-house WGA magazine) Written By," Holland wrote in a fax to WGA member Chuck Pfarrer. "I regret it. I'm never going to say anything like that again, and I'm not going to discuss it any further." Pfarrer, himself a former Navy SEAL-turned-screenwriter, sent a series of blistering e-mails to Holland via the guild attacking him for impugning the reputation of Pfarrer's fallen comrades and demanding a fuller explanation.
- 3/12/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Earthbound 'Red Planet' / Sci-fi thriller's eye-catching look can't
overcome clumsy script, thin characters
By Kirk Honeycutt
About all that survives in Warner Bros.' "Red Planet" is a sturdy turn by Carrie-Anne Moss as the movie's hero and arresting cinematography and production design by Peter Suschitzky and Owen Paterson, respectively, that give the planet a burnished, almost monochromatic look.
While Brian De Palma's "Mission to Mars" labored exhaustively to achieve an unstable mix of mysticism and studied realism, "Red Planet" crash-lands in a desert of one-note characters, banal dialogue and a general lack of excitement or tension. Mars apparently is not the planet on which to find a good script. Pluto anyone?
Few science-fiction movies in the past quarter-century have given off fewer sparks than "Red Planet". The film may concern the first manned expedition to Mars, but everyone appears to be going through the motions. Under the direction of tyro director Antony Hoffman, most of the performances contain a singular lack of energy. And plot turns in a script by Chuck Pfarrer and Jonathan Lemkin get telegraphed long before they arrive.
The year is 2050. Earth is dying because of massive pollution and global warming. A desperate humankind attempts to "terraform" Mars into a hospitable, oxygen-rich environment by seeding the planet with algae. But that project has gone awry, so Moss commands a scientific mission to the planet to figure out what went wrong and repair it.
Aboard are Val Kilmer, an all-purpose handyman; Tom Sizemore, a gregarious scientific analyst; Terence Stamp, the ship's spiritual guru; Benjamin Bratt, a moody and intense Air Force captain; and Simon Baker, a "last-minute replacement" who may not be cut out for space adventure.
The first 20 minutes are taken up with poorly scripted scenes of chitchat replete with flat dialogue and special "moments" between actors -- meant to establish characters and relationships -- that only emphasize their sheer superficiality. Especially annoying is an encounter between Kilmer and Moss, who has just stepped naked from a shower, that is designed to set up sexual electricity between the two.
Suddenly, everything goes haywire. A solar flare cripples the mother ship. Moss dispatches the others aboard an emergency shuttle to the surface of Mars while she stays behind to fix the ship. Then the shuttle crash-lands -- just isn't their day, is it? -- and Stamp sustains life-threatening injuries.
The crash also causes an exploration robot built something like a mechanical greyhound -- a creature we in the audience don't trust from the moment it comes onscreen -- to malfunction and turn its guerrilla-warfare tactics against the banged-up crew.
The beleaguered astronauts must now trudge around the barren landscape, meeting one obstacle or setback after another, while Moss putters in the ship, conversing occasionally with its mechanical navigator, named Lucille, a benevolent version of HAL from "2001". All these incidents and the solution to the disappearance of the seeded algae are pedestrian, to say the least. And no matter how many showers or revealing slips Moss slides into, it's hard to work up much excitement over the fate of these individuals.
The film is technically adroit. The spaceship and Martian surface have the true grit one imagines space travel a half-century from now might be like.
RED PLANET
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. presents in association with
Village Roadshow Pictures and NPV Entertainment
a Mark Canton production
Credits: Producers: Mark Canton, Bruce Berman, Jorge Saralegui; Director: Antony Hoffman; Screenwriters: Chuck Pfarrer, Jonathan Lemkin; Story by: Chuck Pfarrer; Executive producers: Charles J.D. Schlissel, Andrew Mason; Director of photography: Peter Suschitzky; Production designer: Owen Paterson; Music: Graeme Revell; Costume designer: Kym Barrett; Editors: Robert K. Lambert, Dallas S. Puett; Visual effects supervisor: Jeffrey A. Okun. Cast: Kate Bowman: Carrie-Anne Moss; Robby Gallagher: Val Kilmer; Dr. Quinn Burchenal: Tom Sizemore; Capt. Ted Santen: Benjamin Bratt; Dr. Chip Pettengil: Simon Baker; Bud Chantilas: Terence Stamp. MPAA rating: PG-13. Running time - 106 minutes. Color/stereo.
overcome clumsy script, thin characters
By Kirk Honeycutt
About all that survives in Warner Bros.' "Red Planet" is a sturdy turn by Carrie-Anne Moss as the movie's hero and arresting cinematography and production design by Peter Suschitzky and Owen Paterson, respectively, that give the planet a burnished, almost monochromatic look.
While Brian De Palma's "Mission to Mars" labored exhaustively to achieve an unstable mix of mysticism and studied realism, "Red Planet" crash-lands in a desert of one-note characters, banal dialogue and a general lack of excitement or tension. Mars apparently is not the planet on which to find a good script. Pluto anyone?
Few science-fiction movies in the past quarter-century have given off fewer sparks than "Red Planet". The film may concern the first manned expedition to Mars, but everyone appears to be going through the motions. Under the direction of tyro director Antony Hoffman, most of the performances contain a singular lack of energy. And plot turns in a script by Chuck Pfarrer and Jonathan Lemkin get telegraphed long before they arrive.
The year is 2050. Earth is dying because of massive pollution and global warming. A desperate humankind attempts to "terraform" Mars into a hospitable, oxygen-rich environment by seeding the planet with algae. But that project has gone awry, so Moss commands a scientific mission to the planet to figure out what went wrong and repair it.
Aboard are Val Kilmer, an all-purpose handyman; Tom Sizemore, a gregarious scientific analyst; Terence Stamp, the ship's spiritual guru; Benjamin Bratt, a moody and intense Air Force captain; and Simon Baker, a "last-minute replacement" who may not be cut out for space adventure.
The first 20 minutes are taken up with poorly scripted scenes of chitchat replete with flat dialogue and special "moments" between actors -- meant to establish characters and relationships -- that only emphasize their sheer superficiality. Especially annoying is an encounter between Kilmer and Moss, who has just stepped naked from a shower, that is designed to set up sexual electricity between the two.
Suddenly, everything goes haywire. A solar flare cripples the mother ship. Moss dispatches the others aboard an emergency shuttle to the surface of Mars while she stays behind to fix the ship. Then the shuttle crash-lands -- just isn't their day, is it? -- and Stamp sustains life-threatening injuries.
The crash also causes an exploration robot built something like a mechanical greyhound -- a creature we in the audience don't trust from the moment it comes onscreen -- to malfunction and turn its guerrilla-warfare tactics against the banged-up crew.
The beleaguered astronauts must now trudge around the barren landscape, meeting one obstacle or setback after another, while Moss putters in the ship, conversing occasionally with its mechanical navigator, named Lucille, a benevolent version of HAL from "2001". All these incidents and the solution to the disappearance of the seeded algae are pedestrian, to say the least. And no matter how many showers or revealing slips Moss slides into, it's hard to work up much excitement over the fate of these individuals.
The film is technically adroit. The spaceship and Martian surface have the true grit one imagines space travel a half-century from now might be like.
RED PLANET
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. presents in association with
Village Roadshow Pictures and NPV Entertainment
a Mark Canton production
Credits: Producers: Mark Canton, Bruce Berman, Jorge Saralegui; Director: Antony Hoffman; Screenwriters: Chuck Pfarrer, Jonathan Lemkin; Story by: Chuck Pfarrer; Executive producers: Charles J.D. Schlissel, Andrew Mason; Director of photography: Peter Suschitzky; Production designer: Owen Paterson; Music: Graeme Revell; Costume designer: Kym Barrett; Editors: Robert K. Lambert, Dallas S. Puett; Visual effects supervisor: Jeffrey A. Okun. Cast: Kate Bowman: Carrie-Anne Moss; Robby Gallagher: Val Kilmer; Dr. Quinn Burchenal: Tom Sizemore; Capt. Ted Santen: Benjamin Bratt; Dr. Chip Pettengil: Simon Baker; Bud Chantilas: Terence Stamp. MPAA rating: PG-13. Running time - 106 minutes. Color/stereo.
- 11/7/2000
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jamie Lee Curtis may have thought she was having a tough time with Michael Myers, but little did she know that she'd soon be battling a whole shipload of alien life forms in this latest sci-fi/horror extravaganza courtesy of that specialty producer in the field, Gale Anne Hurd ("Aliens", "Terminator", "Armageddon", etc.). The long-delayed "Virus", which opened Friday without press screenings, does not represent a first-class addition to Hurd's resume. The film might score decent opening numbers with the teenage horror crowd whose girlfriends aren't dragging them to "At First Sight".
The thriller -- which more closely resembles "Deep Rising", last year's misbegotten entry in the burgeoning horror-at-sea genre -- takes place aboard a Soviet science vessel that has been taken over by an alien life form. The being transmitted its way onto the ship via the Mir space station (and they thought they already had problems). Coming aboard the seemingly deserted ship are the crew of the Sea Star, a small-scale salvage tug whose captain (Donald Sutherland) has dreams of a huge financial score, since maritime law dictates that abandoned ships can be redeemed for 10% of their value. (Fortunately, one can learn interesting facts even from bad movies).
Problem is, the alien has taken over the ship's computer and electrical systems in a bid to, well, conquer mankind, which it considers a virus. It only needs a few human spare parts to complete its deadly task and soon starts liberally helping itself to the hapless crew members. Curtis plays the spunky navigator who ultimately starts to kick ass, aided by, among others, a hunky engineer (William Baldwin) and the sole Russian survivor (Joanna Pacula).
As with most of these genre pics, "Virus", after an ominous beginning, eventually settles into a series of brief scenes featuring lots of loud noises, running through dark corridors and violent encounters between the humans and the various incarnations of the alien, who starts out by inhabiting various mechanical instruments and eventually harvests enough body parts to resemble the half-robot, half-human Terminator. Before it's all over, the less intrepid crew members have become alien fodder and the ship has been rocked by enough explosions to keep the Dolby, SDDS and DTS people working overtime.
In one of the more predictable plot developments, the scheming captain, who has apparently never been to the movies, attempts to strike a bargain with the creature -- with less than felicitous results. The formulaic screenplay, based on Chuck Pfarrer's comic book, features dialogue mainly on the order of "You're all going to die!" and "There's some really weird shit going on around here."
Director John Bruno, a special effects whiz (and Oscar winner for "The Abyss") who has plenty of experience in the field, keeps things moving briskly and handles the obviously hellish technical demands with absolute skill. With the exception of some obvious miniature shots -- for all their progress, the experts still can't render water convincingly -- "Virus" is first rate in the technical department and should satisfy the demands of the genre's fussy fans.
None of the performers is given very much in the way of character development to work with, although Sutherland manages to have some obvious fun as the crafty captain. Curtis and Baldwin go through their energetic paces with conviction, and Pacula is as lovely a presence as ever.
VIRUS
Universal Pictures
Credits: Director: John Bruno; Producer: Gale Anne Hurd; Screenplay: Chuck Pfarrer, Dennis Feldman; Executive producers: Mike Richardson, Chuck Pfarrar, Gary Levinsohn, Mark Gordon; Director of photography: David Eggby; Production designer: Mayling Cheng; Editor: Scott Smith; Co-producers: Todd Moyer, Dennis E. Jones, Bud Smith; Music: Joel McNeely. Cast: Kit Foster: Jamie Lee Curtis; Steve Baker: William Baldwin; Captain Everton: Donald Sutherland; Nadia: Joanna Pacula; J.W. Woods Jr.: Marshall Bell; Squeaky: Julio Oscar; Mechoso Richie: Sherman Augustus; Hiko: Cliff Curtis. MPAA rating: R. Color/stereo. Running time -- 95 minutes.
The thriller -- which more closely resembles "Deep Rising", last year's misbegotten entry in the burgeoning horror-at-sea genre -- takes place aboard a Soviet science vessel that has been taken over by an alien life form. The being transmitted its way onto the ship via the Mir space station (and they thought they already had problems). Coming aboard the seemingly deserted ship are the crew of the Sea Star, a small-scale salvage tug whose captain (Donald Sutherland) has dreams of a huge financial score, since maritime law dictates that abandoned ships can be redeemed for 10% of their value. (Fortunately, one can learn interesting facts even from bad movies).
Problem is, the alien has taken over the ship's computer and electrical systems in a bid to, well, conquer mankind, which it considers a virus. It only needs a few human spare parts to complete its deadly task and soon starts liberally helping itself to the hapless crew members. Curtis plays the spunky navigator who ultimately starts to kick ass, aided by, among others, a hunky engineer (William Baldwin) and the sole Russian survivor (Joanna Pacula).
As with most of these genre pics, "Virus", after an ominous beginning, eventually settles into a series of brief scenes featuring lots of loud noises, running through dark corridors and violent encounters between the humans and the various incarnations of the alien, who starts out by inhabiting various mechanical instruments and eventually harvests enough body parts to resemble the half-robot, half-human Terminator. Before it's all over, the less intrepid crew members have become alien fodder and the ship has been rocked by enough explosions to keep the Dolby, SDDS and DTS people working overtime.
In one of the more predictable plot developments, the scheming captain, who has apparently never been to the movies, attempts to strike a bargain with the creature -- with less than felicitous results. The formulaic screenplay, based on Chuck Pfarrer's comic book, features dialogue mainly on the order of "You're all going to die!" and "There's some really weird shit going on around here."
Director John Bruno, a special effects whiz (and Oscar winner for "The Abyss") who has plenty of experience in the field, keeps things moving briskly and handles the obviously hellish technical demands with absolute skill. With the exception of some obvious miniature shots -- for all their progress, the experts still can't render water convincingly -- "Virus" is first rate in the technical department and should satisfy the demands of the genre's fussy fans.
None of the performers is given very much in the way of character development to work with, although Sutherland manages to have some obvious fun as the crafty captain. Curtis and Baldwin go through their energetic paces with conviction, and Pacula is as lovely a presence as ever.
VIRUS
Universal Pictures
Credits: Director: John Bruno; Producer: Gale Anne Hurd; Screenplay: Chuck Pfarrer, Dennis Feldman; Executive producers: Mike Richardson, Chuck Pfarrar, Gary Levinsohn, Mark Gordon; Director of photography: David Eggby; Production designer: Mayling Cheng; Editor: Scott Smith; Co-producers: Todd Moyer, Dennis E. Jones, Bud Smith; Music: Joel McNeely. Cast: Kit Foster: Jamie Lee Curtis; Steve Baker: William Baldwin; Captain Everton: Donald Sutherland; Nadia: Joanna Pacula; J.W. Woods Jr.: Marshall Bell; Squeaky: Julio Oscar; Mechoso Richie: Sherman Augustus; Hiko: Cliff Curtis. MPAA rating: R. Color/stereo. Running time -- 95 minutes.
- 1/19/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Movie remakes can be a lot of fun, especially if they're based on a good movie and if they're updated with skill and vigor. Neither is the case with Universal's "The Jackal", based on the 1973 thriller "Day of the Jackal", a dull, exposition-heavy, assassin story based on Frederick Forsyth's best seller.
Starring Bruce Willis and Richard Gere, "Jackal" is a movie muddle of glutted exposition, cluttered punctuation and suspenseless storytelling. Scope a winning first weekend for this overcalculated, cold-blooded cutout, then watch it twitch and shake on the circuit when negative word-of-mouth kicks in.
In this update, Willis stars as the Jackal, a sadistic iceman who takes $70 million in cold cash from a Russian crime lord to Knock Off a top U.S. government official. Ever vigilant, the FBI gets wind of this deadly plan through its deputy director (Sidney Poitier), who is stationed in Moscow. But no one in official intelligence has much of a clue about the identity, whereabouts, M.O. or habits of the elusive killer.
What to do? Get a real pro involved on the good guys' team. That means enlisting the services of one wily chap named Declan Mulqueen (Gere). A former Irish "soldier" who is in deep lock in the United States, he has first-hand knowledge of the Jackal gained during Mulqueen's tenure sharpshooting Brits in that sorry calamity going on over there.
Essentially, it's a race against time, with the narrative dividing its time between the Jackal's preparation for his big kill and the FBI and Mulqueen's trying to track down his whereabouts. The more interesting side of the story is, by far, the Jackal's procurement of weaponry and false identities -- it has a certain James Bond-ish flair. As in many stories of this ilk, guns and weaponry are treated with noticeable reverence -- the assemblage, the mounting and the testing. Such deference is further glorified by the Jackal's insouciant, sociopathic professionalism. Scenes of sadistic savagery are double-edged: On one side, the Jackal's casual cruelty is cinematically seductive in an immature, Tarantino-esque way; on the other side, his odious actions certainly establish a deplorable villain for the grand-finale, man-on-man confrontation.
Meanwhile, back with the FBI and Mulqueen, it's meetings, discussions, observations, meetings, arguments and expositions -- all carried out in dull, gray rooms or over stale office coffee. Usually, one would have to attend a year's worth of city council meetings to experience such tedium. While the narrative's smallest details are compulsively tidied up (as one gray suit natters to another), the overall story is often at the mercy of preposterous happenstances and unbelievable coincidences. Overall, screenwriter Chuck Pfarrer's exposition is, in monetary terms, Penny Wise and pound foolish. Worse, the dialogue is just plain dull and way too thick.
Much has been ballyhooed about Bruce Willis doing an acting stretch in this enterprise. That's true in the sense that he plays a guy who shoots good people instead of a guy who shoots bad people; one could label that growth. Fortunately, for those of us who get a kick out of his screen stuff, Willis gives it the same old cheek-chic. He's aloof, cerebral and oh-so-above it all. Sartorially, however, Willis is much more venturesome, sporting a wide range of toupee disguises that were definitely not supplied by Marv Albert's stylist.
In the same splashy way, Gere gets to flash an Irish accent. This, of course, will set him up for derision by the cognoscenti, but it worked for me and will probably play for other clodhopper-type viewers. On the downside, Gere's benign countenance and placid gaze do not exactly conjure up an intractable, single-minded sniper-type; where's the ice? Stepping to the front of the gray backdrop of characters, however, is Poitier. As a career G-Man, Poitier's close-to-the-vest character is shaded with some fine personality fabrics.
Unfortunately, Michael Caton-Jones' direction is completely in sync with the writing. Visually, "The Jackal" is duller than a public works project. Its monotonously grim hues, humdrum framings, predictable cadence and mechanical-sounding music all suck the life out of this Byzantine bewilderment.
Technically, we're a bit stymied to single out excellencies. Nonetheless, with the story seemingly cutting every two minutes to another international location, it's obvious the film commissioners and location scouts have done yeoman duties. From Virginia to Moscow, we are treated to an eyeful of locales. Unfortunately, there's not great variety among airport lounges or meeting rooms, no matter where they're located. Except for a glorious sail into Chicago, this stock story could have been done with stock footage and location subtitles.
THE JACKAL
Universal Pictures
Producers: James Jacks, Sean Daniel,
Michael Caton-Jones, Kevin Jarre
Director: Michael Caton-Jones
Screenwriter: Chuck Pfarrer
Based on the motion picture screenplay "The Day of the Jackal" by: Kenneth Ross
Executive producers: Terence Clegg,
Hal Lieberman, Gary Levinsohn, Mark Gordon
Director of photography: Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Production designer: Michael White
Editor: Jim Clark
Costume designer: Albert Wolsky
Music: Carter Burwell
Casting: Ellen Chenoweth
Sound mixer: David John
Color/stereo
Cast:
The Jackal: Bruce Willis
Declan Mulqueen: Richard Gere
Preston: Sidney Poitier
Valentina Koslova: Diane Venora
Isabella: Mathilda May
Witherspoon: J.K. Simmons
McMurphy: Richard Lineback
Donald Brown: John Cunningham
Lamont: Jack Black
The First Lady: Tess Harper
Running time -- 119 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Starring Bruce Willis and Richard Gere, "Jackal" is a movie muddle of glutted exposition, cluttered punctuation and suspenseless storytelling. Scope a winning first weekend for this overcalculated, cold-blooded cutout, then watch it twitch and shake on the circuit when negative word-of-mouth kicks in.
In this update, Willis stars as the Jackal, a sadistic iceman who takes $70 million in cold cash from a Russian crime lord to Knock Off a top U.S. government official. Ever vigilant, the FBI gets wind of this deadly plan through its deputy director (Sidney Poitier), who is stationed in Moscow. But no one in official intelligence has much of a clue about the identity, whereabouts, M.O. or habits of the elusive killer.
What to do? Get a real pro involved on the good guys' team. That means enlisting the services of one wily chap named Declan Mulqueen (Gere). A former Irish "soldier" who is in deep lock in the United States, he has first-hand knowledge of the Jackal gained during Mulqueen's tenure sharpshooting Brits in that sorry calamity going on over there.
Essentially, it's a race against time, with the narrative dividing its time between the Jackal's preparation for his big kill and the FBI and Mulqueen's trying to track down his whereabouts. The more interesting side of the story is, by far, the Jackal's procurement of weaponry and false identities -- it has a certain James Bond-ish flair. As in many stories of this ilk, guns and weaponry are treated with noticeable reverence -- the assemblage, the mounting and the testing. Such deference is further glorified by the Jackal's insouciant, sociopathic professionalism. Scenes of sadistic savagery are double-edged: On one side, the Jackal's casual cruelty is cinematically seductive in an immature, Tarantino-esque way; on the other side, his odious actions certainly establish a deplorable villain for the grand-finale, man-on-man confrontation.
Meanwhile, back with the FBI and Mulqueen, it's meetings, discussions, observations, meetings, arguments and expositions -- all carried out in dull, gray rooms or over stale office coffee. Usually, one would have to attend a year's worth of city council meetings to experience such tedium. While the narrative's smallest details are compulsively tidied up (as one gray suit natters to another), the overall story is often at the mercy of preposterous happenstances and unbelievable coincidences. Overall, screenwriter Chuck Pfarrer's exposition is, in monetary terms, Penny Wise and pound foolish. Worse, the dialogue is just plain dull and way too thick.
Much has been ballyhooed about Bruce Willis doing an acting stretch in this enterprise. That's true in the sense that he plays a guy who shoots good people instead of a guy who shoots bad people; one could label that growth. Fortunately, for those of us who get a kick out of his screen stuff, Willis gives it the same old cheek-chic. He's aloof, cerebral and oh-so-above it all. Sartorially, however, Willis is much more venturesome, sporting a wide range of toupee disguises that were definitely not supplied by Marv Albert's stylist.
In the same splashy way, Gere gets to flash an Irish accent. This, of course, will set him up for derision by the cognoscenti, but it worked for me and will probably play for other clodhopper-type viewers. On the downside, Gere's benign countenance and placid gaze do not exactly conjure up an intractable, single-minded sniper-type; where's the ice? Stepping to the front of the gray backdrop of characters, however, is Poitier. As a career G-Man, Poitier's close-to-the-vest character is shaded with some fine personality fabrics.
Unfortunately, Michael Caton-Jones' direction is completely in sync with the writing. Visually, "The Jackal" is duller than a public works project. Its monotonously grim hues, humdrum framings, predictable cadence and mechanical-sounding music all suck the life out of this Byzantine bewilderment.
Technically, we're a bit stymied to single out excellencies. Nonetheless, with the story seemingly cutting every two minutes to another international location, it's obvious the film commissioners and location scouts have done yeoman duties. From Virginia to Moscow, we are treated to an eyeful of locales. Unfortunately, there's not great variety among airport lounges or meeting rooms, no matter where they're located. Except for a glorious sail into Chicago, this stock story could have been done with stock footage and location subtitles.
THE JACKAL
Universal Pictures
Producers: James Jacks, Sean Daniel,
Michael Caton-Jones, Kevin Jarre
Director: Michael Caton-Jones
Screenwriter: Chuck Pfarrer
Based on the motion picture screenplay "The Day of the Jackal" by: Kenneth Ross
Executive producers: Terence Clegg,
Hal Lieberman, Gary Levinsohn, Mark Gordon
Director of photography: Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Production designer: Michael White
Editor: Jim Clark
Costume designer: Albert Wolsky
Music: Carter Burwell
Casting: Ellen Chenoweth
Sound mixer: David John
Color/stereo
Cast:
The Jackal: Bruce Willis
Declan Mulqueen: Richard Gere
Preston: Sidney Poitier
Valentina Koslova: Diane Venora
Isabella: Mathilda May
Witherspoon: J.K. Simmons
McMurphy: Richard Lineback
Donald Brown: John Cunningham
Lamont: Jack Black
The First Lady: Tess Harper
Running time -- 119 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 11/7/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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