Lionsgate has send us over the first official poster for one of the most anticipated films of the year, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire". Academy-Award winning actress, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks and Phillip Seymour Hoffman stars in the film. "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" hits theaters on November 22nd.

Plot Synopsis:

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE begins as Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a "Victor's Tour" of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) - a competition that could change Panem forever.

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE will be directed by Francis Lawrence, and produced by Nina Jacobson’s Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. The novel on which the film is based is the second in a trilogy that has over 50 million copies in print in the U.S. alone.

Lionsgate will release THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE on November 22, 2013.

"The Hunger Games: Catching Fire": Teaser Trailer

“The Master” is the latest film from director Paul Thomas Anderson, who has some directed some great films in the past like “Magnolia”, “Punch Drunk Love” and “There Will be Blood”. Still, I had doubts about this film giving the subject matter.

The film follows World War II veteran Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), who is haunted by past memories that affects his life. One day, he would cross paths with a mysterious movement group known as “The Right”. The group is led by Lancaster Dodd (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), who is known to the group as The Master and his wife Peggy (Amy Adams). Quell soon becomes involved with this group. As he continues to do deeper in the group, he begins to question the group’s purpose and his own beliefs in this gripping drama.

Going into “The Master”, I didn’t know what to expect because the subject matter didn’t appeal to me. What appealed to me was the fact it’s directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and stars very talented actors like Joaquin Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams. It was a good thing that I checked this film out, as I thought this was a very good film.
Most of it has to do with the great direction of Paul Thomas Anderson. He does a very good job with the way that he handles the scenes. The scenes had a very unique feel and tone to them, which is very much needed when your subject matter isn’t appealing. It keeps you glued to the screen and keeps you wondering where the story is going. The other thing that makes this very good was the acting. Anderson does a very good job making sure performances have a certain level of intensity to it. It makes the scenes feel important to overall context of the film.

Speaking of the performances, they were flat out great. Joaquin Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams did a great job making their characters work and the way that they developed chemistry with each other. It made the dialogue and action work so well that it enhances Anderson’s screenplay. Each of them deserved their Oscar nominations that they received with this film, as this was one of the best acted film of 2012.

Anderson’s screenplay was also good. One of the things that I liked about this was the fact that everything was developed. He spends his time not rushing everything and carefully lays out his main character. From the main character’s troubles to his relationship to Lancaster Dodd, everything is developed in a way that makes the main character interesting. That’s what keeps you interested in the film. The other thing that this screenplay does well, it doesn’t go overboard with its rational thinking or beliefs. It doesn’t try to become one of those films that preaches something, which was a fear of mine when I first heard about this film. Instead, it focuses on its main characters and the effects on how a cause can either alter a person’s mind or not change the person at all. It made the story worth sitting through.

“The Master” is truly one of the best films that came out in 2012. With great performances from Joaquin Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams added with great direction from Paul Thomas Anderson, “The Master” should have no problem finding an audience on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Review Rating: Five Stars

Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master” is a movie I will be thinking about for a long time now that I have seen it. Like the writer/director’s previous films, it is mesmerizing in its visual powers and features some of the most emotionally raw acting you will see in any film this decade. I think it is also intentionally meant to leave a lot of questions unanswered as the movie follows the relationship of two men; one who knows who he is and what he can do, and the other being very disturbed and completely lost in the post-war world.

“The Master” takes us back to the 1950s when World War II was coming to a close. Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) is a Navy veteran who has returned to civilian life as damaged goods and is bereft of any goals for his future. He ends up drifting from job to job, be it as a mall photographer or working as a farmer, and all the time he is mixing up some alcoholic drinks that are filled with seriously volatile ingredients. Has anyone used paint thinner when making a cocktail before in a movie? If anyone has, then please tell me because this is the first time I have seen it done.

One fateful night, Freddie sneaks aboard a fancy yacht where a big party is taking place in the hopes of finding some work. He ends up making the acquaintance of Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a highly charismatic individual who is also the leader of a faith-based organization called The Cause which seeks to rid its followers of past traumas that have stunted their emotional growth. Freddie quickly falls under Lancaster’s spell and becomes a follower of the movement himself as well as a brutal defender of it. But over time, Freddie begins to wonder if what Lancaster is teaching him is actually true or if he’s just making it all up as he goes along (as his son accuses him of doing).

Anderson has gone on record in saying that the character of Lancaster Dodd was inspired by L. Ron Hubbard who is of course known for creating Scientology, that movement which Tom Cruise is a die-hard fan of. It should be made clear however that “The Master” is NOT about Scientology, so those hoping for an expose of it would do better to read those articles in Vanity Fair and The New Yorker which are making headlines.

At its heart though, “The Master” is really about Freddie Quell and Joaquin Phoenix ends up giving one of his best performances ever as this emotionally unhinged war veteran. It’s been two years since Phoenix did that crazy mockumentary “I’m Still Here” which had him retiring from acting and becoming a pathetic hip-hop artist (thank goodness that was a hoax!). It’s great to see him back as he’s always been the gutsiest of actors, and this has him at his most unpredictable. He’s an unrestrained id whenever he’s onscreen, and you can never be sure where or when he’s going to strike next.

Phoenix’s performance is the kind you want to study closely as he has so many scenes which will burn into your memory. One in particular has him beating himself up his prison cell and destroying the toilet in it, and you have to wonder how he could push himself that far. He makes Adam Sandler’s character from “Punch Drunk Love” look like a peaceful man in comparison, and Sandler trashed a whole restaurant bathroom in that one!

Hoffman ends up giving one of his very best performances here as Lancaster Dodd and, considering how endlessly brilliantly he’s been as an actor all these years, that’s saying a lot. Throughout the movie’s two hour plus running time, the actor gives us a character that is an endless enigma. Part of us may quickly want to write off Dodd and his beliefs in record time, but Hoffman makes his character’s effect over people seem all the more enthralling to experience. Even as his beliefs fall off the tracks, Hoffman keeps us fascinated by Dodd’s thought process and how he plans to keep going in the face of endless criticism.

One scene between Phoenix and Hoffman stands out in particular when Hoffman decides to do some processing on Phoenix. The razor sharp focus between these two actors is just exhilarating (not to mention exhausting) to watch as breakthroughs are made and alliances are formed. Anderson ended up using two cameras to film this scene which is the same thing Michael Mann did when he filmed that famous coffee shop scene between Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in “Heat.” Seeing Phoenix and Hoffman work off of one another makes for some of the most exciting scenes I’ve seen in any movie this year. It’s even more exciting than the best car chase in any action movie released this past summer.

There’s also no forgetting Amy Adams who is phenomenal as Dodd’s wife Peggy. Adams is truly an amazing actress as her words say one thing while her eyes say something else entirely. In retrospect, Adams’ character is the strongest one in “The Master” as she has more control over her actions than any of the male characters have over their own. Just watch her as she exercises a certain part of Hoffman’s anatomy in one scene.

“The Master” features many other masterful performances from actors like Kevin J. O'Connor, Rami Malek, Jesse Plemons who plays Lancaster’s son Val, Lena Endre, and Laura Dern of all people as true believer Helen. Hoffman’s response to one of Helen’s persistent questions will have your hair standing on end.

Paul Thomas Anderson continues to prove himself a defender of all things film as “The Master” is the first movie to be shot in 65/70mm since Kenneth Branagh’s “Hamlet” which came out 16 years ago. Director of photography Mihai Malaimare Jr. comes up with a barrage of unforgettably beautiful images (especially of the ocean) throughout the movie’s running time, and they are accompanied by another daringly original film score by Jonny Greenwood. At a time when film is being rendered obsolete for thee advances in technology, this is proof of why we need to keep it around.

“The Master” does leave a lot of questions unanswered which will frustrate many filmgoers but fascinate so many others who are willing to weave through its unusual narrative. It’s never entirely clear where these characters will end up once the movie’s over or which one we should believe in more than the other. Some will have made up their minds about that perhaps even before they go into the movie theater to watch it, but the beauty of a film like this is the effect it leaves on you after you have seen it.

As much as I try to avoid saying the following, I have to say it: “The Master” is masterful filmmaking. I know I’m not the first to say it, but I also know I won’t be the last. Paul Thomas Anderson remains as brilliant a filmmaker as ever, but that’s no surprise considering he has yet to make a movie that’s just the least bit bad.

* * * * out of * * * * 

Hot off the heels of Jena Melone joining the cast of "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire". Lionsgate announced today that Academy Award Winner Philip Seymour Hoffman has signed on for the film. He is set to play Plutarch Heavensbee, Head Gamemaker for The Hunger Games.

"The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" is sure to be one of the most anticipated films of 2013. The film hits theaters on November 22, 2013

Press Release:

Lionsgate® and the filmmakers of THE HUNGER GAMES:CATCHING FIRE are pleased to announce that Philip Seymour Hoffman has been cast in the role of Plutarch Heavensbee, Head Gamemaker for The Hunger Games, in the much anticipated film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ worldwide smash hit novel Catching Fire.

The actor and filmmaker just wrapped a Broadway run as Willy Loman in the revival of “Death of a Salesman” for which he was nominated for a Tony Award. He will next be seen in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master” and the indie film “A Late Quartet” alongside Catherine Keener and Christopher Walken. More recent films include “Moneyball,” “The Ides of March” and “Jack Goes Boating” which marked Hoffman’s feature directorial debut.

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE begins as Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a "Victor's Tour" of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) - a competition that could change Panem forever.

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE will be directed by Francis Lawrence, and produced by Nina Jacobson’s Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. The novel on which the film is based is the second in a trilogy that has over 36 million copies in print in the U.S. alone.

Lionsgate will release THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE on November 22, 2013.

Ongoing casting news and information for the film can be found at: www.CatchingFireCasting.com

Sony Pictures has released some stills and the official trailer for one of the most anticipated films of the fall, "Moneyball", which is directed by Bennett Miller (Capote). The film is starring Brad Pitt, as Billy Beane, who is the General manager for the Oakland A's. Also co-staring are Johan Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman. "Moneyball" hits theaters in the US on September 23rd.

For more information on this film, you can check out the film's official website at: http://www.moneyball-movie.com/

Plot Synopsis:

Based on a true story, Moneyball stars Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A’s and the guy who assembles the team, who has an epiphany: all of baseball’s conventional wisdom is wrong. Forced to reinvent his team on a tight budget, Beane will have to outsmart the richer clubs. The onetime jock teams with Ivy League grad Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) in an unlikely partnership, recruiting bargain players that the scouts call flawed, but all of whom have an ability to get on base, score runs, and win games. It’s more than baseball, it’s a revolution – one that challenges old school traditions and puts Beane in the crosshairs of those who say he’s tearing out the heart and soul of the game.

Screening Information:

Friday September 9th
Roy Thomson
6:30pm
Toronto, Canada

Saturday September 10th
Visa Screening Room (Elgin)
2:30pm
Toronto, CA

Saturday September 17th
Visa Screening Room (Elgin)
2:30pm
Toronto, CA





"Moneyball" Official Trailer

Film Arcade.net recently received the trailer for "Pirate Radio" from Focus Features. This is Richard Curtis' followup film to the 2003 hit "Love Actually".

Pirate Radio is the high-spirited story of how 8 DJs love affair with Rock n Roll changed the world forever. In the 1960s this group of rouge DJs, on a boat in the middle of the Northern Atlantic, played rock records and broke the law all for the love of music. The songs they played united and defined an entire generation and drove the British government crazy. By playing Rock n Roll they were standing up against the British government who did everything in their power to shut them down. The band of rebels is lead by The Count, played by the Academy Award Winning Philip Seymour Hoffman, Quentin the boss of Radio Rock, Gavin the greatest DJ in Britian, Midnight Mark, Doctor Dave and Young Carl who comes of age amidst the chaos of sex, drugs and rock n roll. The film features an unbelievable selection of music including The Beatles, The Stones, Beach Boys, Dusty Springfield, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Smokey Robinson, David Bowie, Otis Redding, Cat Stevens just to name a few. The film is laugh out loud funny and speaks to the rock n roll rebel in all of us.

The film stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Sturridge, Talulah Riley and January Jones

The film hits theaters November 13, 2009

"Pirate Radio" Trailer:

“Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty. When you are lost, you are not alone.”
-Opening dialogue from “Doubt”

“They say in this town, you’re innocent until you’re investigated.”
-Christopher Plummer in “Syriana”

“Doubt,” based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play written by John Patrick Shanley, is a story where the answers to a tense situation are nowhere as important as the questions it brings up. Like all great plays, it is a thought provoking exercise in what we believe versus what actually happens. Many may come out of it frustrated because it is not your typical Hollywood movie where everything is tidy and neat at its conclusion, but hopefully more will be enthralled by what they make of all that has gone on before them. It’s a story which forces you to consider how you would have acted under similar circumstances in this situation. I can see why the play won the Pulitzer Prize back in 2005, and now it has been made into a superb movie by the playwright himself.

“Doubt” follows the goings on at the St. Nicholas Catholic school in the Bronx back in 1964. Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep) becomes concerned that Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) may have developed an unhealthy relationship with the school’s sole black student, Donald Muller (Joseph Foster). This is brought to her attention when Sister James (Amy Adams) notices Donald acting strangely after he has been in the private company of Father Flynn, and she also mentions that she smelled alcohol on Donald’s breath. Sister Aloysius is convinced of Father Flynn’s guilt even though she has no real proof, but he denies any wrongdoing on his part. From thereon out, it becomes a battle between Aloysius and Flynn, and the battle involves not just the accusations, but the state of the school and its students as well.

The fascinating thing about “Doubt” is that the story itself is simple, but the characters and the situations they get caught up in are very complex. As the fight goes on between the characters played by Streep and Hoffman, you start to wonder if the conflict doesn’t involve any specific student as it does the direction things are going in, and the threat of change that frightens people into defending what they believe to be their domain. Sister Aloysius represents the old guard and of the way things have always been. Father Flynn, on the other hand, represents the big shakeup of change that many resist. When he suggests to Sister Aloysius that they need to be nicer to the students, she takes it as some kind of insult. You can’t help but wonder if the fight between these two is motivated more by a power struggle then by what actually happened between the priest and the altar boy.

To watch Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman face off with each other is to watch a master class in acting, let alone film acting. God only knows how hard these parts were to play for the both of them, but being that these are some of the very best actors working today; you come into this movie knowing that they are more than up to the challenge. It’s not just the delivery of Shanley’s dialogue that they have to work at; it’s also what they show in their eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul, but we are never quite sure what to make of the state of these two people and their souls. I’m sure that these two actors have thought their roles out in this production through and through, and they do seem to have history for their characters that they do not fully reveal to the audience. This is not to say that they should, but it makes their journey all the more enthralling as we are not sure to make of who they really are.

Meryl Streep has given us an immense volume of great performances in which she has created characters so memorable that they forever themselves into your consciousness. Sister Aloysius Beauvier is another character she can rack up with the rest of her brilliant performances. Her character’s introduction in the movie is brilliant as we see her from the back of her head as she gets the young children to pay full attention to Father Flynn’s sermon. Without even seeing her face right away, she quickly makes an impact as a strong and frightening authority figure to both the students and the nuns who are under her tutelage. Meryl’s performance will quickly bring back memories of all those awful teachers you had and which you hate to this very day. She’s the kind of teacher where everything she says is right, and everything the students say is wrong. I hated teachers like that! Hated them!

Most people would never want to come across as serious or as cold as Sister Aloysius, but some do find a power in it. Sister Aloysius knows that she is feared more than she is loved, and she revels in that fact because it makes everyone heed to her when needs be. There are instances where she does not need to say a word in order to be heard or obeyed to. Just watch the scene where Sister James takes a piece of meat out of her that she can’t quite chew. Streep’s stern glare makes her rethink what she just did. As the movie goes on, it’s almost like she is furiously trying to maintain the fear mongering power she has more than anything else.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, as always, is brilliant here and every bit the match of Ms. Streep. We keep waiting to see if there will be a slip where all will be revealed, but Hoffman keeps his cards very close to his chest. His explanations for the private meeting between him and Donald are not implausible, but Sister Aloysius remains unconvinced. Hoffman is great at how just the simple feeling of doubt can easily destroy a person to where it doesn’t matter if he is innocent or guilty. His fight to prove his innocence threatens to bring the worst out of him, and it’s like he continues to sink deeper into a hole that he is desperately trying to climb out of. His character also represents a wave of change in that he feels that the priests and nuns need to be nicer to the children they teach, and to make their parents see them as part of their family.

Along for the morally complex ride is “Enchanted’s” Amy Adams who plays Sister James, and her character is essentially stuck in the middle between these two warring factions. I wonder if there is another actress today who can exude the amount of genuine kindness and sincerity than Amy Adams right now. She shows the love her character has for her job as a history teacher at the school ever so perfectly, and Adams also shows the desperation her character exudes in search of absolutely certainty. Her character is the first to suspect that Father Flynn is up to no good when she sees him put an undershirt worn by Donald in his locker, but she knows that it does not prove anything. At times, Sister James seems rather naïve when it comes to how people act around each other, but in many ways she is the most morally grounded of the three main characters. She never loses her sense of right and wrong, while Streep and Hoffman’s characters threaten to in pursuit of wrongdoing.

There is also a fantastic supporting performance from Viola Davis who plays Donald’s mother. She shares a tense scene with Meryl Streep as she walks Viola to her job and talks with her about her suspicions. Mrs. Miller likes the fact that Father Flynn has been so nice to her son because she reveals that his father beats him severely when he misbehaves. When Sister Aloysius confides her suspicions to Mrs. Miller, it doesn’t change the level of worry for her son’s welfare as it is already extremely high. She fears more about what Donald’s father will do to him if this proves to be true than she does of what Father Flynn might be doing if the allegations prove to be true. With only ten to twenty minutes of screen time, Viola does a brilliant job of making you feel her character’s heartbreaking dilemma, and of how she has been with left little choice over how to resolve this potentially unhealthy situation that she has just been made aware of even though no real proof is presented. It’s one thing for an actor to show what their character is going through, but it is quite another for them to make you feel what their character is going through.

It’s a surprise to see that this is the first movie John Patrick Shanley has directed since “Joe Versus The Volcano,” and that was made back in 1990. His direction is simplistic in that he does not get overly technical with the camera. He does throw in a few Dutch angles to show the imbalance of the situation and of where the power between the characters is shifting. Other than that, his direction is pretty basic, and that’s fine because this is a piece that needs someone who understands acting. This is a film where acting really needs to win out over everything else because with a great script like this, it won’t succeed if not given the attention it needs. Shanley, along with cinematographer Roger Deakins, does a great job of capturing the beauty of the Bronx as it approaches wintertime, and he expertly captures the time period in which the movie takes place.

I have not seen the play version of “Doubt,” but I feel pretty certain that is a very faithful adaptation of the play to the big screen. My parents have had the opportunity to see this on stage in New York, and they cannot stop raving about Cherry Jones who had Streep’s part in its Broadway run. Suffice to say, it is a compelling story in either format. Like David Mamet’s “Oleanna,” it provokes a lot of discussion and has thinking about it endlessly (granted, the discussions over “Oleanna” were a hell of a lot more heated). I like movies like this that really make you think and the fact that it makes a large portion of its audience uncomfortable. Many movies released today are like your typical fast food meal that goes in and out with little residue. They don’t stay in the mind for very long after you have watched them. How nice it is to see that “Doubt” is not one of those movies.

What makes the story of “Doubt” so compelling is the nature of doubt itself. The law that a man is innocent until proven guilty gets more and more meaningless with the passage of time. We make sport of presuming a person’s guilt or innocent as soon as we get word of what has transpired, and escaping that doubt seems to be all the more impossible. An accusation can be everlasting long after the case has long been closed, and the accused may end up living with that cloud of doubt over the heads for the rest of their existence. It can be a stigma that can change your life for the worst in an instant. But at the same time, what this all say about those who are doing the accusing? Surely they are not free of sin like anybody else.

With “Doubt,” Shanley brilliantly shows how the state of doubt affects everyone equally. No one comes out of this the same whether they stay or leave the church. There are no clear answers here, and what we are left with is an unsettling feeling of how unsure we are. Everyone is harmed deeply by doubt here, and it binds the main characters here as strongly as it tears them apart. You have to feel for those caught in its ugly wake because they end up having to live with something that they did not necessarily bring on themselves. It’s a brilliant play that has been made into a great movie filled with outstanding performances. There will be nominations for some of the performances here, and of that I have no doubt.

**** out of ****