Tom Hardy stars in this gripping tale of crime and passion "The Drop"

Tom Hardy heads up a phenomenal cast in this gripping tale of crime and passion in “The Drop” from a screenplay of world-renowned crime novelist Dennis Lehane.  At first glance nothing looks particularly unusual as the movie starts. But as the clientele of the bar put their hands on their hearts, Bob (Hardy) discreetly stashes an envelope of cash behind the bar. Indeed, there's more to Cousin Marv's bar than meets the eye. Cousin Marv (played by the late James Gandolfini) has been drawn into working with a group of nefarious Chechen gangsters, meaning his employee Bob has to go along with the scheme. Meanwhile, the bartender has found an abandoned pit bull puppy in a trash can, leading him to cross paths with the beautiful but troubled Nadia (Noomi Rapace) and her violent ex-boyfriend Eric (Matthias Schoenaerts). It's the set-up for an explosive, emotional drama with plenty of twists and turns.


Bob’s simple life becomes much more complicated when he discovers a battered pit bull puppy in a trash can. Turning to his neighbor Nadia (Noomi Rapace) for help, he nurses the puppy back to health, as their mutual concern for the dog sparks an unexpected attraction between them. But when Eric Deeds (Matthias Schoenaerts), the dog’s original owner and Nadia’s abusive ex-boyfriend, tries to reclaim both of them, and a robbery at the bar puts Bob in the crosshairs of the Chechen crime boss who owns it, Bob is forced to face the shocking truth about the people he thinks he knows best—including himself.

The story is, as Lehane points out, still quite simple. “A guy finds a dog. The dog allows him to reclaim a part of his life. But at the exact same moment, outside forces press in on him. The Chechen mobsters who own the bar where he works for his Cousin Marv are suspicious about a robbery. The guy who originally owned the dog wants it back and he’s not taking no for an answer.”
The film opens on the day Bob re-engages with the world he’s closed himself off from. It all starts with Rocco, the puppy. “Bob made a decision ten years ago to shut himself away from humanity, from feeling,” says Lehane. “Suddenly something begins to open up in him. He meets this woman. He starts to re-join the human race. The largest dramatic question of the film is, can Bob really be rescued?”

“Like most of the people in the film, he is chasing something that’s already in the rearview mirror,” the writer continues. “They’re trying to get back to a self that doesn’t exist anymore. That idea fascinated me as I was writing the script. I think the audience will feel an emotional connection with the characters that leads them to some sort of emotional truth about their own lives, about the moments when they seem to be stuck in gear. The people who successfully navigate those waters are the ones who will ultimately reach a happy ending.”

"This has been an intense shoot," says director Michael Roskam. "It is such a tense story, but there is also a huge amount of heart. That combination is really what made me fall in love with it." The cast and crew know that they are making something special. "It's a very beautiful story about daring to take a risk with your emotions," muses Rapace. "To let someone in, even though you have a smashed heart. Someone who has been beaten up really badly still finds a way to believe and to hope again. Through a dog!"

                “The Drop” opens November 12 in cinemas nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

“THE MAZE RUNNER” PICKS UP SPEED AS SEPTEMBER 17 NEARS!

Watch and Meet the Gladers Video

                “The Maze Runner” is set to turn things in a dizzying blur as the teenage captives in a virtual prison known as The Glade run for a chance to save their lives.   Headed by “Teen Wolf’s” heartthrob Dylan O’Brien along with a group of talented young actors including Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter, Aml Ameen, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki Hong Lee and Blake Cooper,  “The Maze Runner” is directed by Wes Ball based on James Dashner’s hugely successful (trilogy) tome.

                At this year's Comic Con, the cast attests that the movie will be shocked on how the book’s famous baddies known as the Grievers, were depicted. Director Ball further stressed that the audience will definitely be in for a pretty terrifying ride.

Published in October 2009, “The Maze Runner” became a New York Times Best Seller and captured the imaginations of readers around the world, who described it as a combination of “Lord of the Flies,” “ The Hunger Games,” and the legendary television series “Lost.”  Dashner understands those comparisons, especially to Lord of the Flies, but notes that THE MAZE RUNNER is at its heart a very different story.  “I don’t think characters would react they way they do in Lord of the Flies,” he explains.  “I think they’d be more civilized, orderly, and determined to survive and escape.  THE MAZE RUNNER is an adventure story that’s also about hope and the potential of the human spirit.”

             
The book caught the attention of producers Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Lee Stollman from the management/production company The Gotham Group.  “We see a lot of young adult novels,” Stollman explains. “And you always look for something that has a big world creation with characters that are identifiable and something we haven’t seen before,” which is what they found in Dashner’s book.

                Leading man Dylan agrees, "That’s something that might separate this, I think, being like one of those YA movies that are coming out. I so genuinely don’t think it’s like that. It totally exists in its own right and like he said, it could easily be taken as a kid’s movie just objectively, but there is a real sense- there’s this gravitas to it It’s really, really mature in that aspect of performances and just the story."

                Reflecting on the story’s appeal, Dashner notes that much of it stems from the “constant state of not being able to predict what’s going to happen next.  I wanted my readers, and now the moviegoing audience, to feel like Thomas when they enter the Glade.”



                “The Maze Runner” opens September 17 from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Meet the Gladers video here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFvok6gBAdM&list=PLcZs6n5iZPx8CHV6UBIQaEHvK4Uru0CqW

MEET SHISHIO, RUTHLESS VILLAIN IN “RUROUNI KENSHIN: KYOTO INFERNO”

A powerhouse cast of famous Japanese actors is assembled by director Keishi Otomo for the epic action thriller “Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno,” the first of two sequels to the 2013 blockbuster “Rurouni Kenshin.”

Appearing for the first time opposite the hero Kenshin Himura (Takeru Satoh) as the crazed Makoto Shishio is the popular character actor Tatsuya Fujiwara. Performing in hot, heavy, stifling bandages that even make it hard for him to hear, he becomes the personification of pure evil. And Fijiwara gives justice to the role with a powerful, terrifying performance.

Originally a Choshu clan samurai known as ‘the shadow assassin’, Shishio fought alongside Kenshin against the Shogun’s Shinsengumi police. Viewed as Kenshin’s successor, he was known to few people. He and Kenshin never met.

Fighting, as was Kenshin, at the battle of Toba-Fushimi that sealed the overthrow of the Shogunate, Shishio was then betrayed by his own side and his body set on fire, the new government wishing to conceal certain assassinations he had committed. Miraculously, however, he survived, and has assembled a private army of mercenaries from within the Kyoto underworld with a view to overthrowing the new government and ruling the land himself. The burns he suffered destroyed his ability to perspire, and his body radiates a tremendous heat. He lives by the law of the jungle, and in his vast ambition he will stop at nothing to achieve his ends.

“This was the first time I’d worked with Director Otomo, and Shishio was a special kind of character so I had some worries, but both the director and Satoh were very welcoming,” Tatsuya Fujiwara says. “Shishio is a character the filmmakers built up with visuals and everything else over a long time. The action team also worked hard with me, so I felt really under pressure to respond to that. The director and Satoh and I talked about how to embellish the last battle between Shishio and Kenshin in great detail until we all agreed on how it would happen. And even though a lot of that was hard to put into words, it came together when we filmed it, and I think everyone was happy with the results. It’s a big thing for me that I’ve been involved with a truly world-class level movie, one that only comes along every decade or so.”

Born May 15, 1982 in Saitama Prefecture, Tatsuya Fujiwara made his stage debut in London, England in director Yukio Ninagawa’s 1997 production of “Shintoku-Maru,” and much of his career has been spent on the stage. With Battle Royale he shared a Best Newcomer Award of the Japanese Academy and won a Best New Actor Blue Ribbon Award, and was widely praised for his portrayal of Soji Okita in the 2004 NHK Sunday night historical drama series “Shinsengumi!” A powerful performance in director Takashi Miike’s 2013 Cannes International Film Festival Entry “Shield of Straw” established him in the top ranks of Japan’s younger character actors. In October of 2014 he will appear in a stage production of “Julius Caesar.”

Other film roles include the two “Death Note” films (06), the “Kaiji: Ultimate Gambler” series (09, 11), “Parade,” “The Incite Mill” (both 10), “I’m Flash!” (12), “The Chart of Love,” “One Third,” and “Monsterz” (all 2014).

Based on the Kyoto arc of the popular manga series written & illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki, the “Rurouni Kenshin” sequels follow the story of Kenshin Himura (Takeru Satoh), a legendary swordsman in the wars accompanying the turbulent fall of Japan's Shogunate in the 19th century. Once feared as 'Battosai the Killer', he has adopted a peaceful life since the arrival of the 'new age'.
But Makoto Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara), the 'Shadow Killer' and successor to Kenshin's position as the deadly assassin, has since then been scheming in the Kyoto underworld, raising an army of disaffected former samurais with the aim of overthrowing the new regime.

Agreeing to a request by the new government to defeat Shishio, Kenshin leaves his beloved ones in Tokyo and sets out for Kyoto. He and Shishio are a match in skill and in wits, but their aims are opposite. Can Kenshin preserve the nation without breaking his vow that he will kill no more...?
The films also star Emi Takei (Kaoru Kamiya), Munetaka Aoki (Sanosuke Sagara), Kaito Oyagi (Yahiko Myojin), Yu Aoi (Megumi Takani), Yosuke Eguchi (Hajime Saito), Min Tanaka (Nenji Kashiwazaki), Tao Tsuchiya (Misao Makimachi), Ryunosuke Kamiki (Soujiro Seta), Maryjun Takahashi (Yumi Komagata) and Tatsuya Fujiwara (Makoto Shishio).

The first sequel, “Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno” will open across the Philippines on Aug. 20, 2014, to be followed by “Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends” on Sept. 24, 2014. Both films are distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

WB Remains The Only Studio In History To Surpass $1 Billion Domestically For 14 Consecutive Years

WARNER BROS. PICTURES CROSSES BILLION-DOLLAR MARK AT U.S. BOX OFFICE

 Warner Bros. Pictures became the only film studio in history to earn more than $1 billion at the domestic box office for 14 years in a row. In fact, the division has crossed the billion-dollar mark for 15 of the past 16 years. The announcement was made recently by Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. Pictures’ President of Domestic Distribution.

The studio passed the billion-dollar threshold thanks to a huge first quarter, featuring the box office success of New Line Cinema’s and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures’ “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” the second in Peter Jackson’s Trilogy, which opened in late 2013 but which enjoyed substantial returns in the first quarter of this year.

2014 continued to build with Warner Bros. Pictures’, Village Roadshow Pictures’ and LEGO System A/S’s blockbuster animated feature “The LEGO Movie”—which was the #1 movie for the first half of 2014—and “300: Rise of an Empire,” the heavy-hitting follow up to Zack Snyder’s groundbreaking “300,” from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures. Summer started with a bang thanks to the monster hit “Godzilla,” from Warner Bros. and Legendary, IMAX’s largest opening this year, followed by Doug Liman’s action thriller from Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow, “Edge of Tomorrow,” starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, and one-of-a-kind comedy from Melissa McCarthy as New Line’s “Tammy.”

In making the announcement, Fellman said, “This is a proud day for our studio. To cross such an extraordinary milestone once again is a direct reflection of the high standards and incredible efforts of the dedicated and creative individuals at work here, both on and off the screen. We still have an exciting roster of films yet to open this calendar year and, together with the talented teams bringing them to the theater, we look forward to continued success.”

Still to come in 2014 from Warner Bros. Pictures are: New Line’s and MGM’s “If I Stay”; Alcon Entertainment’s “Dolphin Tale 2”; the dramatic comedy ensemble of “This Is Where I Leave You,” starring Jason Bateman, Tina Fey and Jane Fonda; “Annabelle,” another chapter in New Line’s highly successful “The Conjuring”; David Dobkin’s “The Judge,” starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall in tour-de-force performances, from Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow; New Line’s sequel to the hit comedy “Horrible Bosses,” “Horrible Bosses 2,” reuniting the stars from the original, including Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day; “Inherent Vice,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s “surf noir” adaptation of author Thomas Pynchon’s cult favorite novel; and from New Line and MGM, the much-anticipated finale to Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit” Trilogy, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.”

"PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR" FULL LENGTH TRAILER REVEAL - SPIES ON THE HATCH!

Dreamworks Animation reveals the latest full length trailer of "Penguins of Madagascar" where we get to see our favorite penguins as toddlers and follow them through as they grow up to become the world's most reliable yet hilarious spy quartet.

"Penguins of Madagascar" is a spin-off from the blockbuster "Madagascar" franchise where the scene-stealing penguins started out composed of Skipper, Rico, Private and Kowalski who are now stars of their own self-titled movie.

In "Penguins of Madagascar," Skipper (Tom McGrath), Kowalski (Chris Miller), Rico (John DiMaggio) and Private (Christopher Knights) join forces with a super-secret animal organization called North Wind to fight the many-tentacled menace North Wind's leader, meanwhile, is a wolf known only as Classified (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch).

The core group of penguins will be joined by actors  including John Malkovich, Peter Stormare, Ken Jeong, Annet Mahendru and Werner Herzog as new voices.

"Penguins of Madagascar" (3D) will open in cinemas nationwide on November 26 from DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

latest trailer reveal from the movie THE PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR.

TRAILER LINK:

http://youtu.be/mweohDZd_Og

Takeru Satoh and the cast of Rurouni Kenshin held its presscon at Glorietta

 Japanese action-epic movie Ruruoni Kenshin with its lead actors Takeru Satoh, Munetaka Aoki and its director, Keishi Ohtomo held its presscon at the Glorietta Activity Center last August 7, 2014.  The show was hosted by Sam Oh and attended by the media and fans all over the Phils. Takeru Sato thanked everyone for the warm welcome he and the cast of Rurouni Kenshin got from all the fans and  media. The fans got wild everytime Takeru talks, winks and waves. While  Munetaka Aoki, his sidekick in the movie greeted the audience "Magandang Gabi and Mahal ko kayo and repeated the word "astig" three times, much to the adulation of the fans. Warner Bros. Japan releases the film and starts its regular showing in the country on August 20, 2014.

Keishi Ohtomo, Takeru Satoh and Munetaka Aoki

Two years after the release of the shocking prologue: Rurouni Kenshin, the time has come for the great climax to begin. The first half of an epic two-part finale, "Kyoto Inferno" finds the reformed assassin desperately trying to avoid the violence promised in the next film “The Legend Ends”.

Based on the Kyoto arc of the popular manga series written & illustrated by Watsuki Nobuhiro, the sequels follow the story of reformed assassin Kenshin Himura going up against pure evil Makoto Shishio who is attempting to overthrow the Meiji government. The fate of the country hangs in the balance as Kenshin Himura takes up the sword that he vowed to never draw again.


Returning as director is Keishi Otomo, highly respected around the world for such works as Ryomaden and Platinum Data. Gathering his production staff from the first Kenshin movie, he combines painstaking attention to detail with spectacle on a grand scale in his single-minded pursuit of a world-within-film like no other. The theme song is by the internationally popular band ONE OK ROCK, who has written two individual songs for both films.

Rosamund Pike stars as Amy Dunne for the bestselling book "Gone Girl"

“GONE GIRL” TRAILER REVEAL

I read the the book in three days when I was out of the country, the book was a page turner.  I never cried so much in my life, it sounds crazy but the story just blown me away, I will never forget  Amy's character until today. Now that it will be shown in screen, Im just as excited as everyone else.

           Recently, bags of evidence have recently surfaced on the net on the disappearance of Amy...gone on the day of their 5th wedding anniversary.  A piece of underwear, a cutter stained with blood, a photo of their wedding day and a note that says ‘this man may kill me’ suggest that her husband might be the main suspect of her mysterious disappearance.  Despite it all, he swears he didn't kill his beautiful wife.

                Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike star in the bestselling page turner tome “Gone Girl” by author Gillian Flynne.  Affleck and Pike play Mr. Nick and Mrs. Amy Dunne whose marriage have been exposed to the public when Amy had gone missing.

                Directed by David Fincher, known for his gripping works such as “Fight Club,” “Seven,” “The Social Network,” “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” the trailer of his latest movie “Gone Girl” has just been released here:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTj2ddCg5C4&list=UU-JrjBL_iZAn5wjEsw9nRYA

              Did he or didn’t he?  Find out the truth when “Gone Girl” opens in cinemas nationwide on October 2 from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Bruno Mars As "Roberto" Lends Voice to "Rio 2"

BRUNO MARS’ JUNGLE ADVENTURE IN “RIO 2”

There’s something that Jewel (Anne Hathaway) did not talk about with Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) in the first “Rio” family adventure outing – that is her childhood friend named Roberto (Bruno Mars).  In the upcoming adventure 3D movie “Rio 2,” Blu is suddenly pitted against Jewel’s childhood friend, Roberto who is the epitome of a Blue Macaw - a perfect specimen of a wild bird who charms everyone around him and makes Blu self-conscious.

Bruno Mars joins the vividly delightful and upbeat musical world of Blu and Jewel in “Rio 2” where director Carlos Saldanha brings the adventure into the wild thick forest of the Amazon.  With the success of “Rio” the call for a sequel came quickly.  Having already teased a new life together for Blu and Jewel – and their three new arrivals – in the film’s finale, Saldanha pitched his idea for a new story.  What if Blu and his family aren’t the last Blue Macaws, he posited.  What would happen to the family dynamic?

Saldanha decided to set his new story in the mammoth Brazilian wilderness.  “I wanted a setting very different from the one we explored in ‘Rio,’ he explains.  “I thought we should move away from the city.”   So, in “Rio 2,” it’s on…in the Amazon, not only visually, but musically.  “We wanted to look at different musical ‘flavors,’ sounds and exciting new beats that make the soundtrack for “Rio 2” even bigger than the first film’s,” says the director.

If meeting a critical father-in-law, Eduardo (Andy Garcia) weren’t enough, Blu must also contend with Jewel’s childhood friend Roberto, played by Bruno Mars. “Roberto is pretty much the opposite of Blu – all charm and suaveness – and he can sing like an angel,” says Hathaway.  Eisenberg notes that, “Roberto and Jewel have a history and an almost secret language.  So Blu feels not only threatened by Roberto, but is frustrated because Roberto seems like the perfect guy.  Everything he does is heroic – and he’s a great singer!”

Roberto owes his vocal prowess to the music icon who voices him: Bruno Mars. The Grammy winner, who has sold over 115 million records worldwide and has a catalog of 22 Hot 100 hits as a singer, producer and songwriter, enjoyed his first foray into feature animation.  “I like that Roberto has a good heart,” Mars explains. “He’s a genuine dude and he really has love for Jewel – genuine love.  They grew up together, so they have a bond that’s pretty special.”

The filmmakers considered a long list of candidates for the role, but a Mars appearance on “Saturday Night Live” helped sealed the deal.  “I saw a clip of Bruno acting on SNL, and I thought he was really funny,” Saldanha remembers.  Producer John C. Donkin notes that casting Mars “transformed our thinking about the character.   He added a unique quality we initially hadn’t envisioned for Roberto, which we came to embrace, and the character really blossomed.”

If Roberto’s looks, talent and friendship with Jewel weren’t intimidating enough for Blu, the songbird hosts the clan in his magnificent mansion, located in one of the Amazon’s most impressive trees.  Interweaving roots create open pockets, perfect for rooms housing Blu and his family.  As the family settles into this exciting new world, Blu finds his learning curve to be a steep one.

Bruno Mars lends his signature vocal stylings to the track “Welcome Back,” in which his character Roberto expresses his joy in reuniting with Jewel.  The song was written by Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence and John Powell, and produced by Bruno Mars and John Powell.

“Rio 2” (in 2D and 3D) will open April 9 (Saturday) nationwide in cinemas from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

The Horrific Consequences of Devil's Due

After Zach and Sam’s emotional wedding ceremony, they take off for a honeymoon in the stunning coastlines of Dominican Republic. From the stunning sceneries, their honeymoon suddenly takes a bizarre turn after an encounter with a psychic who warns them that “he has been waiting.”

Much to their surprise, after a night of copious quantities of alcohol, the newlyweds wake up with nary a memory of their honeymoon’s first night.

Upon returning home, Sam (played by Allison Miller) finds out that she is pregnant. Despite the surprising news, Zach (played by Zach Gilford) announces to family and friends that they are expecting their first child…unknown to all, it will be a nightmare that they have to endure since it will be the “Devil’s Due.”

“Devil’s Due” is directed by a quartet of young filmmakers known as Radio Silence who rose to fame via their films posted on YouTube. The film takes us to a series of head-spinning moments that Zach and Sam goes through dealing with an unexpected pregnancy. Soon, however, disturbing clues emerge that their situation is anything but normal: an ultrasound exam and amniocentesis take a troubling turn; on a grocery shopping expedition, Sam, a vegetarian, crams raw, bloody meat into her mouth; in a shopping mall parking lot, she cracks the rear window of a car with a strength and ferocity that doesn’t seem possible for a woman several months pregnant; and her belly seems to stretch and contort, as if the baby is pushing from the inside with extreme force.

Then, there’s a cabal of shadowy figures who begin spying on the couple from hidden cameras – as a malevolent spirit waits to be born unto the world. A film about a woman impregnated with…something powerful and evil, and dealing with the horrific consequences, has obvious narrative and thematic similarities to the classic horror film Rosemary’s Baby, directed by Roman Polanski. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett, two of the directors of “Devil’s Due,”, note that they don’t shy away from comparisons to the 1967 film. “Rosemary’s Baby comes up a lot when people see the trailer for DEVIL’S DUE, and it’s not something were afraid of,” says the latter. “We’re all huge fans of that film. We knew when we read [Lindsay Devlin’s] script that there was an opportunity to borrow from it in a smart way, but more importantly, tell a more contemporary and accessible story.”

“Devil’s Due” was filmed on location in the Dominican Republic, at Carnivale and various other sites, including a nightclub in a ruined catacomb, where Zach and Sam spend the fateful final night of their honeymoon. The production then moved to New Orleans, where most of principal photography took place.

Radio Silence embraced the typical scheduling constrains that befall some genre fare shot with “guerilla-style” filmmaking. “We felt like we had an abundance of time and money, just based on the films we’ve made in the past,” says Gillett. “The biggest challenge was getting people on board for how we wanted to make the movie. That becomes as much a part of the creative process as actually filming DEVIL’S DUE. For example, we didn’t need four hours to shoot a given scene because we didn’t shoot coverage conventionally. We don’t need to light things in a typical way because we’re trying to create realism. We wanted to get everyone on board with the experiment of jumping in and lighting to shoot 360-degrees and really let the actors discover the scene.

“Devil’s Due” opens March 19 in theaters from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.