[Editor's note: If anyone says 2010 was a sh!% year for movies, please refer them to this post.]
Instead of the usual "best" or "worst" films of the year lists, I thought a good way to take a look at the highs and lows of the 2010 film year would be to compile almost every single review we published in 2010 and let readers meander through the wasteland as it were.
I'm really amazed at the range of films we managed to cover from around the globe this year. Quiet Earth has certainly come a long way over the years and it's really due to the talents and passion of our team of writers who literally travel a world of fests to bring news and reviews of new films.
I hope you're all taking notes. Many of these films were from fests and will probably be hitting VOD and Blu-ray sometime in the new year, so this is a good chance to get a start on your must-watch lists.
The...
Instead of the usual "best" or "worst" films of the year lists, I thought a good way to take a look at the highs and lows of the 2010 film year would be to compile almost every single review we published in 2010 and let readers meander through the wasteland as it were.
I'm really amazed at the range of films we managed to cover from around the globe this year. Quiet Earth has certainly come a long way over the years and it's really due to the talents and passion of our team of writers who literally travel a world of fests to bring news and reviews of new films.
I hope you're all taking notes. Many of these films were from fests and will probably be hitting VOD and Blu-ray sometime in the new year, so this is a good chance to get a start on your must-watch lists.
The...
- 12/31/2010
- QuietEarth.us
There is fallout from producer Stanley M. Brooks' financial troubles ahead of settlement talks planned for Monday with AFTRA, DGA and the WGA West. All three guilds have him on their "strike" (do not work) lists over unpaid salaries or residual payments.
The fallout involves Lifetime, to which Brooks had been a frequent supplier for the past decade -- up until a week or so ago. THR has learned he has quietly sold his interest in the only two projects he still has with the A&E Television Networks division, apparently to clear any obstacle to their production and to raise money to pay his union obligations -- and salvage his reputation.
One of the two movies, which have not been announced by domestic rights holder Lifetime Movie Network, is the suspense thriller "Sandra Brown's Smoke Screen," now shooting in Vancouver and starring Jaime Pressly and Canadian Currie Graham.
The fallout involves Lifetime, to which Brooks had been a frequent supplier for the past decade -- up until a week or so ago. THR has learned he has quietly sold his interest in the only two projects he still has with the A&E Television Networks division, apparently to clear any obstacle to their production and to raise money to pay his union obligations -- and salvage his reputation.
One of the two movies, which have not been announced by domestic rights holder Lifetime Movie Network, is the suspense thriller "Sandra Brown's Smoke Screen," now shooting in Vancouver and starring Jaime Pressly and Canadian Currie Graham.
- 8/19/2010
- by By Alex Ben Block
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Year: 2009
Directors: Gary Yates
Writers: Gary Yates & Lee MacDougall
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: Marina Antunes
Rating: 8 out of 10
[Editors note: projectcyclops had a similar reaction to the film when he saw it at Eiff.]
With a title like High Life, it’s doesn’t take a genius, or even watching a trailer, to give you an idea what Canadian director Gary Yates’ new film is all about. But just in case…
It’s 1983. Bank machines are being introduced into the banking system and individuals are still carrying their pin numbers in their wallets. Dick is a reformed convict, a bad guy with a drug problem (morphine, it’s legal and the “intelligent addict’s” choice drug) who is trying to live life straight. His buddy Bug, gets out of jail, comes to see him and sends Dick’s pathetic existence into a tailspin. Dick puts together a crew (which includes his buddy Donnie and the pretty faced Billy) and a plan which seems to be perfect.
Directors: Gary Yates
Writers: Gary Yates & Lee MacDougall
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: Marina Antunes
Rating: 8 out of 10
[Editors note: projectcyclops had a similar reaction to the film when he saw it at Eiff.]
With a title like High Life, it’s doesn’t take a genius, or even watching a trailer, to give you an idea what Canadian director Gary Yates’ new film is all about. But just in case…
It’s 1983. Bank machines are being introduced into the banking system and individuals are still carrying their pin numbers in their wallets. Dick is a reformed convict, a bad guy with a drug problem (morphine, it’s legal and the “intelligent addict’s” choice drug) who is trying to live life straight. His buddy Bug, gets out of jail, comes to see him and sends Dick’s pathetic existence into a tailspin. Dick puts together a crew (which includes his buddy Donnie and the pretty faced Billy) and a plan which seems to be perfect.
- 1/12/2010
- QuietEarth.us
If you like films about bank robberies, you're probably waiting for the release of High Life. The film will come out in some Canadian cities on January 15, 2010.
The story is set in 1983 right after the birth of Automated Teller Machines (Atm). Dick (Timothy Olyphant) just got fired from his job as a janitor at a downtown hospital. With his buddies Bug (Stephen Eric McIntyre), Donnie (Joe Anderson) and Billy (Rossif Sutherland), Dick plans to rob Atm machines. Besides, he wants the job to be done without violence. However, things don't go according to plan.
Finally, High Life is directed by Gary Yates (Seven Times Lucky) and written by Lee MacDougall, who adapts his own play which won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best New Play. Moreover, the film features the music of Three Dog Night, Creedence Clearwater Revival and April Wine.
The story is set in 1983 right after the birth of Automated Teller Machines (Atm). Dick (Timothy Olyphant) just got fired from his job as a janitor at a downtown hospital. With his buddies Bug (Stephen Eric McIntyre), Donnie (Joe Anderson) and Billy (Rossif Sutherland), Dick plans to rob Atm machines. Besides, he wants the job to be done without violence. However, things don't go according to plan.
Finally, High Life is directed by Gary Yates (Seven Times Lucky) and written by Lee MacDougall, who adapts his own play which won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best New Play. Moreover, the film features the music of Three Dog Night, Creedence Clearwater Revival and April Wine.
- 1/9/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Set in 1983, following the first implementation of 'Automated Teller Machines', "High Life" is a new Canadian feature, lensed in Winnipeg, written/directed by Gary Yates, starring Timothy Olyphant, Rossif Sutherland, Joe Anderson and Stephen McIntyre.
In "High Life", following a visit from his former cellmate 'Bug' (McIntyre), 'Dick' (Olyphant) gets fired from his job as a hospital janitor.
Unemployed and in need of fast cash, Dick gets the idea to rob a brand new Atm machine. Enter 'Donnie' (Anderson) and 'Billy' (Sutherland) to help put the pieces into place.
But things don't go quite according to plan...
"...Alternately tragic and hysterical, the 'High Life’ perfect plan ends up anything but when one of the bank’s employees double-crosses them all. Set against the nostalgic back-beat of 'Three Dog Night', 'Creedence Clearwater Revival' and a raft of 'April Wine', the 'High Life’ highwire tension unfolds with calamitous results.
In "High Life", following a visit from his former cellmate 'Bug' (McIntyre), 'Dick' (Olyphant) gets fired from his job as a hospital janitor.
Unemployed and in need of fast cash, Dick gets the idea to rob a brand new Atm machine. Enter 'Donnie' (Anderson) and 'Billy' (Sutherland) to help put the pieces into place.
But things don't go quite according to plan...
"...Alternately tragic and hysterical, the 'High Life’ perfect plan ends up anything but when one of the bank’s employees double-crosses them all. Set against the nostalgic back-beat of 'Three Dog Night', 'Creedence Clearwater Revival' and a raft of 'April Wine', the 'High Life’ highwire tension unfolds with calamitous results.
- 12/15/2009
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Set in 1983, following the first implementation of 'Automated Teller Machines', High Life is a new Canadian feature, lensed in Winnipeg, written/directed by Gary Yates, starring Timothy Olyphant, Rossif Sutherland, Joe Anderson and Stephen McIntyre. In High Life, following a visit from his former cellmate 'Bug' (McIntyre), 'Dick' (Olyphant) gets fired from his job as a hospital janitor. Unemployed and in need of fast cash, Dick gets the idea to rob a brand new Atm machine. Enter 'Donnie' (Anderson) and 'Billy' (Sutherland) to help put the pieces into place. But things don't go quite according to plan... "...Alternately tragic and hysterical, the 'High Life. perfect plan ends up anything but when one of the bank.s employees double-crosses them all. Set against the nostalgic back-beat of 'Three Dog Night', 'Creedence Clearwater Revival' and a raft of 'April Wine', the 'High Life. highwire tension unfolds with calamitous results.
- 12/15/2009
- HollywoodNorthReport.com
[Our thanks to Andrew David Long for the following review.]
Based on the play of the same name, High Life is a smart, smart caper flick featuring not-so-bright criminals. In 1983, finding a weakness in the procedures around the newly prolific Automatic Teller Machines, a group of mostly-ex-con junkies plan a "victimless" heist in which they hope to score tens of thousands of dollars. Of course, when planned and executed by guys whose grasp of reality is near-constantly waylaid by a chemical cornucopia, is any plan perfect? Dick (Timothy Olyphant, ranging far from Deadwood territory) is the mastermind, at least when he's not trying to steal his ex-wife's car or scrounge for a little more morphine. His ex-cellmate Bug (Stephen Eric McIntyre in a strangely sensitive portrayal of a hot-headed killer) is willing to go along with Dick's plan, though he doesn't exactly work well with... anyone else, really. Round out the gang with considerate pickpocket Donnie (Joe Anderson) and charmer...
Based on the play of the same name, High Life is a smart, smart caper flick featuring not-so-bright criminals. In 1983, finding a weakness in the procedures around the newly prolific Automatic Teller Machines, a group of mostly-ex-con junkies plan a "victimless" heist in which they hope to score tens of thousands of dollars. Of course, when planned and executed by guys whose grasp of reality is near-constantly waylaid by a chemical cornucopia, is any plan perfect? Dick (Timothy Olyphant, ranging far from Deadwood territory) is the mastermind, at least when he's not trying to steal his ex-wife's car or scrounge for a little more morphine. His ex-cellmate Bug (Stephen Eric McIntyre in a strangely sensitive portrayal of a hot-headed killer) is willing to go along with Dick's plan, though he doesn't exactly work well with... anyone else, really. Round out the gang with considerate pickpocket Donnie (Joe Anderson) and charmer...
- 12/9/2009
- Screen Anarchy
More for Vanguard, Real to Reel, Special Presentations, Galas, Short cuts, and Contemporary World Cinema which includes the World premier of Reginald Harkema's latest, Leslie, My Name is Evil. That link has the 2nd promo trailer (we used to have two) but we were asked by Reggie to remove the first. We also have Sook-Yin Lee's Year of the Carnivore which I've been keeping an eye on for some time. Also playing is The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.
Check out the full list of added films after the break!
Canada First!
Year of the Carnivore Sook-Yin Lee, BC
World Premiere
Year of the Carnivore is a romantic-comedy-drama about a girl with an unrequited crush on a boy who thinks she's bad in bed, so she goes out to get more 'experience.'
All Fall Down Philip Hoffman, On
North American Premiere
Local legend Philip Hoffman's formally adventurous...
Check out the full list of added films after the break!
Canada First!
Year of the Carnivore Sook-Yin Lee, BC
World Premiere
Year of the Carnivore is a romantic-comedy-drama about a girl with an unrequited crush on a boy who thinks she's bad in bed, so she goes out to get more 'experience.'
All Fall Down Philip Hoffman, On
North American Premiere
Local legend Philip Hoffman's formally adventurous...
- 8/4/2009
- QuietEarth.us
Year: 2009
Directors: Gary Yates
Writers: Gary Yates & Lee MacDougall
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: projectcyclops
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
I must confess that for some reason I've always quite liked Timothy Olyphant, he's made some terrible choices over the years, but I rate him as a good actor and a likable screen presence. Here, he's the reluctant leader of a group of misfits who stage a bank heist in the America of 1983, and it works really well.
Olyphant plays Dick, a hospital janitor who's done some serious time in prison, and only just managed to get his life back on track, albeit with a continuing dependency on morphine ("The drug of choice for the intelligent addict"), for which a job in a hospital can be useful. Out of the blue, his old cell-mate Bug (Stephen Eric McIntyre) turns-up and manages to get him fired. Bug's a tough guy with a...
Directors: Gary Yates
Writers: Gary Yates & Lee MacDougall
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: projectcyclops
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
I must confess that for some reason I've always quite liked Timothy Olyphant, he's made some terrible choices over the years, but I rate him as a good actor and a likable screen presence. Here, he's the reluctant leader of a group of misfits who stage a bank heist in the America of 1983, and it works really well.
Olyphant plays Dick, a hospital janitor who's done some serious time in prison, and only just managed to get his life back on track, albeit with a continuing dependency on morphine ("The drug of choice for the intelligent addict"), for which a job in a hospital can be useful. Out of the blue, his old cell-mate Bug (Stephen Eric McIntyre) turns-up and manages to get him fired. Bug's a tough guy with a...
- 6/28/2009
- QuietEarth.us
Crime comedy movie from director Gary Yates, "High Life", has shared a look into the film via its first trailer. Timed at 01:39, the trailer previews how Dick and his pals plot the perfect plan for one last heist. It also teases how they cannot stand being around each other and serves to be a hilarious portrait of male-pattern stupidity.
Teaming up Timothy Olyphant, Stephen Eric McIntyre, Rossif Sutherland and Joe Anderson as Dick, Bug, Billy and Donnie respectively, "High Life" follows a group of morphine addicts who has enough of botching jobs and racking up prison time for years. Having planned on one last perfect heist, Dick is faced with one major problem, his crew is so rife with fear and loathing.
If keeping them from killing each other is not hard enough, he has to get them to the bank with all the miracle he could get. Written...
Teaming up Timothy Olyphant, Stephen Eric McIntyre, Rossif Sutherland and Joe Anderson as Dick, Bug, Billy and Donnie respectively, "High Life" follows a group of morphine addicts who has enough of botching jobs and racking up prison time for years. Having planned on one last perfect heist, Dick is faced with one major problem, his crew is so rife with fear and loathing.
If keeping them from killing each other is not hard enough, he has to get them to the bank with all the miracle he could get. Written...
- 2/20/2009
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Another trailer, another Berlinale premierer. This comedic crime drama about a bunch of addict morons trying to pull a heist got some great reviews. Variety had this to say: "...packs in more incident and twists than many movies 10 times its budget". Ok so that's not exactly glowing, but the trailer looks fantastic.
A hilarious portrait of male-pattern stupidity. Dick and his pals have been botching jobs and racking up prison time for years, but enough is enough, and Dick's got the perfect plan for one last heist. The catch? His crew is so rife with loathing, keeping them from killing each other is hard enough; getting them to the bank will take an absolute miracle.
Trailer after the break.
A hilarious portrait of male-pattern stupidity. Dick and his pals have been botching jobs and racking up prison time for years, but enough is enough, and Dick's got the perfect plan for one last heist. The catch? His crew is so rife with loathing, keeping them from killing each other is hard enough; getting them to the bank will take an absolute miracle.
Trailer after the break.
- 2/16/2009
- QuietEarth.us
Berlin -- Richard Loncraine's "My One and Only," a '50s-era comedy starring Renee Zellweger and Kevin Bacon, was squeezed into the competition lineup for this year's Berlin International Film Festival, barely a week before the event kicks off.
Zellweger plays a glamorous single mom on the hunt for a rich man to foot the bill for her and her sons' lifestyle. Produced by Merv Griffith Entertainment and Ray Gun Prods., "My One and Only" will have its world premiere in Berlin. Essential Entertainment is handling international sales.
Berlin also added Lone Scherfig's Sundance favorite "An Education" with Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina and Emma Thompson and Davis Guggenheim's music documentary "It Might Get Loud" for its Berlinale Special Galas, ensuring the films will get the red carpet treatment without any of the pressure of competition.
All three films should give an added boost of star power to...
Zellweger plays a glamorous single mom on the hunt for a rich man to foot the bill for her and her sons' lifestyle. Produced by Merv Griffith Entertainment and Ray Gun Prods., "My One and Only" will have its world premiere in Berlin. Essential Entertainment is handling international sales.
Berlin also added Lone Scherfig's Sundance favorite "An Education" with Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina and Emma Thompson and Davis Guggenheim's music documentary "It Might Get Loud" for its Berlinale Special Galas, ensuring the films will get the red carpet treatment without any of the pressure of competition.
All three films should give an added boost of star power to...
- 1/27/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Panorama section will comprise a total of 50 titles with about a third of those being documentaries and here's the first 21 of the list. Oddly enough Dominic Murphy's White Lightnin' will be playing although it's having it's premier at Sundance. Another film we reported on, Uli Lommel's Absolute Evil starring David Carradine will also be playing, and I'm still wondering how the hell they got that in there.
You can check out the list of all 21 titles after the break.
Absolute Evil by Ulli Lommel, USA (world premiere)
With David Carradine, Carolyn Neff, Ulli Lommel, Chris Kiesa
Ander by Roberto Castón, Spain (directorial debut and world premiere)
With Josean Bengoetxea, Cristhian Esquivel, Mamen Rivera, Pilar Rodríguez, Leire Ucha
At Stake by Iwan Setiawan, Muhammad Ichsan, Lucky Kuswandi, Ucu Agustin, Ani Ema Susanti, Indonesia
Panorama Dokumente
Coyote by Chema Rodríguez, Spain (world premiere)
Panorama Dokumente
Der Knochenmann (The Bone Man) by Wolfgang Murnberger,...
You can check out the list of all 21 titles after the break.
Absolute Evil by Ulli Lommel, USA (world premiere)
With David Carradine, Carolyn Neff, Ulli Lommel, Chris Kiesa
Ander by Roberto Castón, Spain (directorial debut and world premiere)
With Josean Bengoetxea, Cristhian Esquivel, Mamen Rivera, Pilar Rodríguez, Leire Ucha
At Stake by Iwan Setiawan, Muhammad Ichsan, Lucky Kuswandi, Ucu Agustin, Ani Ema Susanti, Indonesia
Panorama Dokumente
Coyote by Chema Rodríguez, Spain (world premiere)
Panorama Dokumente
Der Knochenmann (The Bone Man) by Wolfgang Murnberger,...
- 1/7/2009
- QuietEarth.us
The Canadian film Seven Times Lucky was honored at the sixth annual Method Fest Independent Film Festival Awards, with director Gary Yates' film earning best feature and best screenplay awards. Beautiful Kid was recognized with a best actor award for Dan Brennan, and best actress honors went to Deborah Kara Unger for Emile. Wiktor Grodecki was named best feature director for Insatiability. Special awards also were presented to Chazz Palminteri, Dennis Hopper and Martha Coolidge at Friday's awards dinner at the Castaway Restaurant in Burbank.
- 4/13/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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