Somewhere deep inside of Channing Tatum there’s an actor waiting to come out. While most film goers know him for big studio projects, most of them designed in a way to show him without a t-shirt on in the same way Matthew McConaughey has found himself, something occasionally leaks out. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints and small roles in Public Enemies and Battle in Seattle showcased that the actor is more than just a pretty face and a good set of abs. There’s something more to him than being a pretty face of the moment; Tatum has some acting chops he occasionally displays when he’s not starring in studio drivel. The Son of No One is another role for the actor to showcase his acting chops.

Jonathan (Tatum) is a second generation cop assigned to the same Queens neighborhood he grew up in. Assigned to reopen a double homicide based off the handiwork of a reporter (Juliette Binoche) that implicates a cover up by the lead detective (Al Pacino) in the case, his father’s former partner, Jonathan is stuck in a quandary based on his past.

It’s an interesting film as it’s about a man coming to grips with the past, and his upbringing, but the shocking thing to all of this is the talent involved. You’d have thought that with Tatum, Liotta, Pacino and Tracy Morgan (amongst others) that this would’ve been a fairly substantial release in 2011. But unfortunately it wasn’t but it’s not a shame. Why?

It’s not good enough to try and find more than a niche audience.

The problem with The Son of No One is that Dito Montiel is too interested in recreating a crime version of Saints than he is in new material. Using similar techniques in layering the past to illuminate the present, Montiel seems to be establishing a style all his own. While he didn’t use the technique in Fighting that film felt less personal this film and Saints did. That was a studio film and these are indies, which can be more daring and filter a viewpoint through a narrower lens.

The film itself has interesting moments but unfortunately it feels more like a generic crime thriller going through the motions than anything else. There’s nothing to distinguish it from any number of films in the genre and it’s a shame because it feels fresher than most. Tatum is a good lead, in spite of the horrible moustache, and he gives an admirable performance. There’s hints of some talent being brought out and considering this is his third film with Montiel any brilliance in him would’ve come out by now. Montiel knows how to film Tatum and bring out more than just the pretty face lesser directors have done for him in the past; the fact that he’s a somewhat engaging lead instead of just a pretty face in big studio fare has to be an accomplishment in and of itself.

There’s a reason why The Son of No One never got a wide release: it doesn’t do anything interesting or unique in the genre.

Anchor Bay Film has send us information for their upcoming DVD and Blu-Ray release "The Son of No One". The film starring Channing Tatum, Juliette Binoche, Al Pacino, Tracy Morgan and Ray Liotta will be hitting stores on February 21st. DVD and Blu-Ray Extras include deleted scenes and audio commentary with Writer/Producer/Director Dito Montiel and Editor/Executive Producer Jake Pushinsky.

Press Release:

Anchor Bay Films is proud to announce the release of The Son of No One on Blu-ray™ and DVD, February 21, 2012.  A 2-disc Blu-ray™+DVD combo pack will also be available.  Hailed  as   “A riveting piece of filmmaking [featuring] one of the best casts of the year” by Joel Amos, MovieFanatic.com,The Son of No One is a gripping thriller about how far one police officer will go to keep his dark past hidden and protect his family.  The release also contains deleted scenes and audio commentary with Writer/Producer/Director Dito Montiel and Editor/Executive Producer Jake Pushinsky.

Jonathan (Channing Tatum 21 Jump Street, The Vow) is a second-generation cop who gets in over his head when he’s assigned to re-open a double homicide cold case in his Queens neighborhood. An anonymous source feeding new information on the long-unsolved murders to a local reporter (Juliette BinocheCosmopolis, Dan In Real Life, ) leads to evidence suggesting a possible cover-up by the former lead detective (Al Pacino The Godfather, Scarface) who was on the investigation. As Jonathan digs deeper into the assignment, a dark secret about the case emerges, which threatens to destroy his life and his family.

Channing Tatum delivers a gritty and memorable performance, while New York mainstay writer and director Dito Montiel (Guide to Recognizing Your Saints) is at the top of his game. Also starring Tracy Morgan (NBC’s “30 Rock”), Katie Holmes (Batman Begins), Ray Liotta (Goodfellas) and Jake Cherry (Night at the Museum), The Son of No One is a tense and powerful thriller filled with suspense, secrets and lies.

"The Son of No One": Official Trailer

Anchor Bay Films recently send us over the official trailer for the upcoming film "The Son of No One", The film is directed by Dito Montiel, who directed the very entertaining 2006 film "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints". "The Son of No One" played at this year's Sundance Film Festival and has a very good cast that include Channing Tatum, Katie Holmes and Al Pacino. "The Son of No One" will hit theaters in limited release on November 4th.

For more information on this film, you can visit the film's official website at :http://the-son-of-no-one-2011.blogspot.com/

Plot Synopsis:

A young cop is assigned to a precinct in the working class neighborhood where he grew up, and an old secret threatens to destroy his life and his family. The film stars Channing Tatum, Tracy Morgan, Katie Holmes, Ray Liotta, Juliette Binoche and Al Pacino.

"The Son Of No One": Official Trailer

Film District, the studio behind the hit horror film "Insidious", recently released this haunting poster for "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark", which is co-written and co-produced by Guillermo del Toro and stars Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce, Bailee Madison.

Plot Synopsis:

Guillermo del Toro presents DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, a horror film starring Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce and Bailee Madison, directed by Troy Nixey. Based on the 1973 telefilm that del Toro believes is the scariest TV production ever made, the story follows Sally (Madison), a young girl who moves to Rhode Island to live with her father (Pearce) and his new girlfriend (Holmes) in the 19th-century mansion they are restoring. While exploring the house, Sally starts to hear voices coming from creatures in the basement whose hidden agenda is to claim her as one of their own. Akin to del Toro’s PAN’S LABYRINTH, DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK focuses on a young girl’s struggle against menacing and terrifying forces.

FilmDistrict will release the film on August 26th.

For more information on this film, you can visit the film's official website at:http://www.dontbeafraidofthedark.com

Magnolia Pictures recently send us over information and material regarding one of their upcoming releases “The Extra Man” starring Kevin Kline, Paul Dano and Katie Homes. The film is directed by Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman (American Splendor).

A sophisticated and moving comedy, THE EXTRA MAN follows Louis Ives (Paul Dano), a lonely dreamer who fancies himself the hero of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel... When a deeply embarrassing incident forces him to leave his job at an exclusive Princeton prep school, Louis heads to New York City to make a fresh start. He quickly finds a nine-to-five job at an environmental magazine, where he encounters an entrancing, green-obsessed co-worker Mary (Katie Holmes). But it's Louis' new home life that really sparks his imagination. He rents a room in the ramshackle apartment of Henry Harrison (Kevin Kline), a penniless, wildly eccentric but brilliant playwright. When Henry's not dancing alone to obscure music or singing operettas, he's performing - with great panache - the duties of an "extra man", a social escort for the wealthy widows of Manhattan high society. These two men, separated in age by more than forty years, develop a volatile mentor/apprentice relationship. Through a series of urban adventures where they encounter everything from a leaping lion to a wildly jealous hirsute neighbor, from drunken nonagenarians to a shady Swiss hunchback, Louis and Henry form a memorable bond that bridges their differences.

“The Extra Man” is available now through your VOD provider. The film will also hit theaters in limited release on July 30th.

"The Extra Man" Official Trailer

“Mad Money”
2008
* out of ****
Director: Callie Khouri
Cast: Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes


Foreword: Instead of the usual review, I feel like doing something new – a satirical review of a film. This time it just happens to be “Mad Money,” a film starring Katie Holmes, Queen Latifah, Diane Keaton, Ted Danson, and a few rednecks here and there. I won’t state my opinion in this review, but I can (seriously) tell you about the film in four words: Stay the fuck away.


“Mad Money” is a film that deserves to be sent to the Central Intelligence Agency – instead of waterboarding, they can use a more effective method of torturing prisoners. I can see it now – tying people to a chair, arms and legs bound, watching Katie Holmes swimming in a pool of money. I think I would be the first one to fess up about seeing Uwe Boll’s new movie and liking it.

In the opening scenes, we watch three people throw their money away. There’s Queen Latifah burning hundreds of dollars in the grill:

“There goes my paycheck from “Hairspray.” There goes my paycheck from “Stranger than Fiction.” There goes that two hundred and seventy-five dollars that those guys that made me talk about penguins paid me,” says Latifah.

She continues, saying, “I was thinking about buying an exercise machine so I can drop two hundred pounds, but they don’t call me Latifah for nothing!”

The next shot, we see Katie Holmes, setting a trap with her money.

“Tom kicked me out of the house, so I moved into a trailer with my second cousin twice removed,” says Katie Holmes. “He got me addicted to the powder, and one night, we were married. I turned into a whore after that and the drugs now make me look like a Persian hooker.”

“Yeah, I banged my second cousin twice removed,” says Adam Rothenberg. “It started when she started pounding my meat… balls that is.”

And in the next scene, we see Ted Danson grind up money in a paper-shredder. In his new shirt that says “Larry’s Girl,” he says, “I can’t remember the last time I acted since “Getting Even With Dad!”

“Keep grinding,” shouts an angry Diane Keaton. She doesn’t look angry, because her precious white teeth are shining like the clear sky.

“You’ll be telling me that later tonight,” reminds Danson. He hasn’t had any action since he rolled over one night and got his dog confused with Mary. When asked about this incident, he said, “I thought I touching Mary one night, but it turns out that it was Mary with a little bit more fur down there.” He refuses to comment any more about that statement to this day.

Go back three years earlier. Danson and Keaton are three hundred thousand dollars in debt.

“Your teeth don’t need to be THAT white,” says Danson.

“Yeah, well, if you weren’t spending money on hookers and booze, I say that we might able to be able to pay some bills around here,” Keaton shouts back to Danson. She still smiles, showing off her pearly white teeth.

Keaton later has to get a job at the Federal Reserve, where she befriends Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes.

“Don’t tell Katie, but doesn’t she smell like a Persian hooker?” laughs Keaton while talking to Latifah.

“Shoo’ dawg, tha’ honky dribbles ho’ food while’a list’n ta her ah’pod,” speaks Queen Latifah. Keaton shakes her head. “I don’t speak hip-hop,” says Keaton, still smiling from a joke she heard two days ago.

Question: What’s slimy, cold, long, and smells like pork?

Answer: Kermit the Frog’s finger.

Yeah, I don’t get it either.

Anyway, a month passes by and Keaton can no longer afford toothpaste. Her teeth are turning the color yellow and she really needs the money. She gets together with Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes and they plan out a situation.

“Okay Latifah. You’re going to distract the guards with your big bodunkadunk while me and Katie steal money,” says Keaton.

“Wai’! Why me? It becuz I’m…” shouts Latifah, but is interrupted by Keaton

“No, no that’s not it. It’s just HUGE and out there. Unlike Katie’s acting career.”

“Say whaa’? I didn’t hear you with my MP3 blasting,” says Holmes.

“Never mind. You guys have to listen and be smart.”

“Aww,” complains Holmes, “I don’t LIKE being smart.” (And while this review is completely fake, she actually says this in the film.)

“Just think what happens once you get the money though! You can move out of the trailer-park home and move into a real trailer. And Queen Latifah can finally start talking NORMAL instead of talking slang. And my teeth will be white again!”

And it actually begins to happen. They steal the money. Katie Holmes and her cousin move into a real trailer, Queen Latifah doesn’t talk jive, and Diane Keaton now looks like Michael Keaton, but like she assures, they’re not related.

“I swear to god, we’re NOT related,” says Diane.

Michael says differently. “She swore to god. STOMP ON HER ASSCRACK AND STRIKE THAT BITCH DOWN!”

Like I said at the beginning of the review, watching “Mad Money” was such torture. But it’s one of those torture methods that worked excellently.