Stars: Anson Mount, Jason Patric, Jaime Ray Newman, Jen Richards, Alon Aboutboul, Jared Bankens, David Jensen, Matt Nolan, Harrison Stone | Written and Directed by Joseph Sorrentino
I’ve always been interested and super curious about the whole Mk Ultra CIA Human Experiment story and have often found myself reading articles, listening to podcasts or watching the odd rare documentary diving into what is and is not known about the highly illegal but absolutely fascinating events. So a dramatisation of one man’s involvement was sure to get my juices flowing.
There was also an added interesting factor to Mk Ultra with the director being from an intelligence background. This may not make much difference in terms of a factual nature (although it couldn’t hurt) but you have to imagine it would make a difference in terms of aesthetic and the procedural nature of the story as we take an all too real,...
I’ve always been interested and super curious about the whole Mk Ultra CIA Human Experiment story and have often found myself reading articles, listening to podcasts or watching the odd rare documentary diving into what is and is not known about the highly illegal but absolutely fascinating events. So a dramatisation of one man’s involvement was sure to get my juices flowing.
There was also an added interesting factor to Mk Ultra with the director being from an intelligence background. This may not make much difference in terms of a factual nature (although it couldn’t hurt) but you have to imagine it would make a difference in terms of aesthetic and the procedural nature of the story as we take an all too real,...
- 9/28/2023
- by Kevin Haldon
- Nerdly
There is a paradox at the heart of Master Gardener. In their respective worlds—one of abstinence and iconography; the other of money and risk—priests and gamblers are kind of sexy. In their own ways, so are gigolos, drug dealers, porn stars, sex addicts, even taxi drivers. Gardeners? For all their charms, maybe less so. The latest from Paul Schrader rounds out an idiosyncratic trilogy: without breaking the mould, and for three films in a row, the director has placed his man-in-a-room archetype into the fraught, divided milieu of contemporary America. With First Reformed and Card Counter, Schrader could bank on audiences already being attuned to the quasi-culty vibes of his characters’ extreme callings. Master Gardener, the story of a diligent horticulturist, has a bit more heavy lifting to do; but there’s fun to be had in the labor.
This one stars Joel Edgerton, entering the Schraderverse as...
This one stars Joel Edgerton, entering the Schraderverse as...
- 9/4/2022
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
Click here to read the full article.
On paper, Paul Schrader’s latest, Master Gardener, has all the elements to be a continuation of the writer-director’s recent renaissance with First Reformed and The Card Counter. Another solitary man tormented by a violent past seeks regeneration, penning detailed journals about the obsession — in this case, horticulture — that keeps his darkest thoughts at bay. Joel Edgerton’s haunted central performance as former white supremacist Narvel Roth fits the essential Schrader mold of a troubled soul hiding from his demons. But little else rings true in a drama curiously lacking in texture, which misses the mark in lifeless scene after scene.
The film premieres out of competition in Venice in conjunction with Schrader receiving the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, an honor fully earned with a distinguished body of work going back almost 50 years. However, this is one of his weaker efforts,...
On paper, Paul Schrader’s latest, Master Gardener, has all the elements to be a continuation of the writer-director’s recent renaissance with First Reformed and The Card Counter. Another solitary man tormented by a violent past seeks regeneration, penning detailed journals about the obsession — in this case, horticulture — that keeps his darkest thoughts at bay. Joel Edgerton’s haunted central performance as former white supremacist Narvel Roth fits the essential Schrader mold of a troubled soul hiding from his demons. But little else rings true in a drama curiously lacking in texture, which misses the mark in lifeless scene after scene.
The film premieres out of competition in Venice in conjunction with Schrader receiving the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, an honor fully earned with a distinguished body of work going back almost 50 years. However, this is one of his weaker efforts,...
- 9/3/2022
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"This is my legacy." Saban Films has unveiled the official trailer for Deadlock, another "why did you make this film, Bruce!?" action thriller starring Bruce Willis. We keep posting these trailers for bad Bruce Willis films because they're so remarkably bad and yet he keeps starring in them over and over and over. Deadlock stars Willis as Ron Whitlock, described as a wanted criminal leading a team of mercenaries on a mission of vengeance. Convinced that the government is working against them, the merciless group brutally seizes an energy plant and holds everyone inside hostage. So uh, he's a bad guy this time? Patrick Muldoon plays a retired army ranger who must take them out to save a nearby town. The cast includes Matthew Marsden, Lorenzo Antonucci, Ava Paloma, and Jared Bankens. Yeah, this looks as bad as it sounds - just watch the kick ass short film called Deadlock instead.
- 10/27/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
"You need to pull it together." Shout Studios has unveiled a trailer for the "gripping, suspenseful thriller" titled Ambition, the latest film directed by producer Bob Shaye. In Ambition, Katherine Hughes stars as a young aspiring violinist preparing for a competition. She's incredibly confidant and gets wrapped up in a frightening trap that she has to find her way out of. It raises the question: If an insane person is telling a story, is it real? That sounds like quite an intriguing introduction to this film. The full cast includes Sonoya Mizuno, Giles Matthey, Kyanna Simone, Jared Bankens, Deneen Tyler, Dylan McNamara, and Jordan Salmon, with a special appearance by Lin Shaye. Ambition is said to "create a world where desire and revenge converge into a questionable reality." Seems a bit like Black Swan, but with even more horror. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Bob Shaye's Ambition, direct...
- 8/21/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Stars: Brian Krause, Jared Bankens, Lara Grice, Thomas Francis Murphy, Scott Allen Perry, Rhonda Johnson Dents, Kate Tumanova, Manon Pages, Keegan Macy, Jeff Pearson, Kurt DeVille, Shawn Bradly Hoefer, Jared Antoline, Trey Nolde | Written and Directed by J.M. Stelly
Low budget police drama meets camp biblical nonsense – demons and the horsemen of the apocalypse. To me The Demonologist sounds like a lot of fun (albeit the title sounds like a failed course from a failing university).
I have a soft spot for under paid, over worked (fictional) professional monster hunters. Be they John Constantine (in the comics), Giles from Buffy or Harry Dresden (in the books). I love these grumpy, surly individuals that ultimately end up doing the right thing when the stakes are stacked high enough against them.
Which takes us nicely into talking about The Demonologist. This is very much an origin story. Our “Demonologist” starts out as just another cliched,...
Low budget police drama meets camp biblical nonsense – demons and the horsemen of the apocalypse. To me The Demonologist sounds like a lot of fun (albeit the title sounds like a failed course from a failing university).
I have a soft spot for under paid, over worked (fictional) professional monster hunters. Be they John Constantine (in the comics), Giles from Buffy or Harry Dresden (in the books). I love these grumpy, surly individuals that ultimately end up doing the right thing when the stakes are stacked high enough against them.
Which takes us nicely into talking about The Demonologist. This is very much an origin story. Our “Demonologist” starts out as just another cliched,...
- 1/3/2019
- by Chris Thomas
- Nerdly
After being in development for many years, one of James Cameron‘s passion projects is seemingly coming together. THR reports Christoph Waltz is in the early stages of discussion to star in the Robert Rodriguez-directed, Cameron-scripted adaptation of the manga series Alita: Battle Angel. If it goes through, Waltz would star alongside Rosa Salazar (The Maze Runner), who plays a cyborg unearthed by a scientist (Waltz) in a junk yard. She grows up to become a bounty hunter after being taken under the wing of Waltz’s scientist. Cameron is also producing with Jon Landau and co-writing with Laeta Kalogridis. Fox is currently looking at a July 2018 release.
After seeing to the Rise of the Planet of the Apes and the Mark Walhberg-led The Gambler, director Rupert Wyatt is returning to the former’s roots with a sci-fi project titled Captive State that he will helm, Variety reports. While...
After seeing to the Rise of the Planet of the Apes and the Mark Walhberg-led The Gambler, director Rupert Wyatt is returning to the former’s roots with a sci-fi project titled Captive State that he will helm, Variety reports. While...
- 8/25/2016
- by Mike Mazzanti
- The Film Stage
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.