assassination games is a 2011 american action film directed by ernie barbarash , and starring jean-claude van damme and scott adkins .

the film was released in the united states on july 29 , 2011 .

assassination games

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this cast list of who was in assassination games includes both lead and minor roles . ( 16 items )
assassination games cast list , listed alphabetically with photos when available . this list of assassination games actors includes any assassination games actresses and all other actors from the film . you can view additional information about each assassination games actor on this list , such as when and where they were born . to find out more about a particular actor or actress , click on their name and you ' ll be taken to page with even more details about their acting career . the cast members of assassination games have been in many other movies , so use this list as a starting point to find actors or actresses that you may not be familiar with .
krevoy , whose mpca is ramping up production , produced the action title with mediapro studios and said assassination games marked a resurgence for the iconic belgian actor .
as far as glossy blockbuster craft goes , assassination is a top - notch package .
as the star of assassination games , jean - claude van damme makes a lot of great decisions . as the executive producer , he appears to have made fewer .
he told guests at the opening ceremony : “we promised a games to remember and we’ve had a fantastic start . it’s an honour for us to host the british transplant games and there’s no reason it can’t be the best games ever .
if you need a quick dose of action , assassination games should do the trick . don ' t expect a masterpiece and you should walk away moderately pleased with the experience .
assassination games movie is a action thriller . jack conway and derek chase are the two best assassins in the world - but unknown to each other . while conway is . . .
new york theater loses sponsors over trump ′assassination′ scene | arts | dw | 12 . 06 . 2017
assassination games doesn ' t fully exploit - - in , say , the manner in which sylvester stallone ' s rocky balboa did - - the age and earned maturity of its leading man .
dyer - witheford , n . & de peuter , g . ( 2009 ) . games of empire : global capitalism and video games . minneapolis : university of minnesota press .
assassination games is now out on dvd , on video in demand and is also on itunes . the dvd includes deleted scenes and commentary with van damme and adkins . scott adkins fans are like early jcvd fans . sometimes you have to watch everything he ' s in because it ' s just fuckin mandatory . van damme fans , you won ' t be disappointed . assassination games is better than his previous action efforts .
1963 : the assassination games was the one hundred and eightieth story in big finish ' s monthly range . it was written by john dorney and featured sylvester mccoy as the seventh doctor and sophie aldred as ace .
schut , k . ( 2007 ) . strategic simulation and our past : the bias of computer games in the presentation of history . games and culture , 2 : 3 , 213 - - 235 .
sicart , m . ( 2009 ) . the ethics of computer games . cambridge : mit press .
declaring the games officially open , transplant sport chair andy eddy said : “thanks to north lanarkshire for everything they’ve done in what’s going to be an amazing games ; we couldn’t have wanted a better reception . ”
of the remaining four contributions , three deal with player experiences of war games and play , while a final paper addresses the question of how contemporary literature responds to the salience of games and play in contemporary culture .
the 2017 british transplant games kicked off in style in north lanarkshire with a colourful and often emotional opening ceremony .
jean - claude van damme and scott adkins both give decent enough performances , but assassination games is let down by weak pacing , lackluster direction from ernie barbarash . and poor cinematography that makes unnecessary frequent use of an ugly urine - yellow color palette .
sabin , p . ( 2014 ) . simulating war : studying conflict through simulation games . new york : bloomsbury .
[ 1 ] this notion of games and play as somewhat isolated from “real life” is of course a debated issue . drawing upon wittgenstein’s famous example , aarseth and calleja ( 2015 ) , for instance , not only question the possibility of a distinction of games and play from their respective contexts , but also argue that games cannot be defined at all . we acknowledge such critical advances , but would nevertheless like to highlight the role a delimitation of games and play from more serious activities has played in actual attempts to define games . for our part , we are in agreement with for instance payne ( 2016 , p . 4 ) who assumes a complex dialectical relationship between games and play and their varying contexts .
for better and worse , south korean period adventure assassination is the kind of overstuffed historical mega - production that hollywood doesn ' t make anymore .
[ assassination ] has such an unwieldy and ambitious storyline involving everything from doppelgangers to double agents , it completely loses the viewer within the first hour .
caillois , r . ( 2001 [ 1961 ] ) . man , play and games . chicago : university of illinois press .
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alice coachman was the first black woman to win an olympic gold medal , in the high jump at the 1948 games in london .
during the olympic games in rio de janeiro , not forgotten is resurfacing obituaries about some of the greatest olympic athletes of all time .
during the olympic games in rio de janeiro , not forgotten is resurfacing obituaries about some of the greatest olympic athletes of all time .
the competitors include leeds team member michael gibbons , the games’ oldest participant at 81 , who received a kidney from wife ann and and has since earned squash gold at the world transplant games ; plus several more world medallists and those marking several decades after their successful transplants .
pötzsch , h . & šisler , v . ( 2016 ) . playing cultural memory : framing history in ‘call of duty : black ops’ and ‘czechoslovakia 38 - - 89 : assassination’ . games and culture , online first , doi : 10 . 1177 / 1555412016638603 . retrieved november 14 , 2016 .
for anyone who has seen the public’s production – or read julius caesar – the message is not particularly ambiguous . julius caesar is not a pro - assassination play .
assassination box is a first person shooter . fight endless waves of enemies in survival mode or start stealth night mission . fight for a better score and higher rank .
there ' s really nothing extraordinary , or even interesting , about assassination games . it ' s simply a run - of - the - mill actioner with limited set pieces , tired dialogue and a bored story . but for a direct - to - video cheapie , it could have been much worse .
international action icon jean - claude van damme ( universal soldier franchise ) and rising star scott adkins ( the bourne ultimatum , undisputed franchise ) team up for the first time in the non - stop , pulse - pounding action thriller assassination games , hitting dvd on october 10 from sony pictures home entertainment .
halter , e . ( 2006 ) . from sun tzu to xbox : war and video games . new york : avalon publishing group .
juul , j . ( 2005 ) . half - real : video games between real rules and fictional worlds . cambridge : mit press .
craig received the games flag , along with members of the glasgow and edinburgh teams ; followed by the lighting of the transplant games flame – carried out by motherwell teenager erin burt , whose mother lynne saved lives when her organs were donated when she sadly passed away in december 2015 .
koro - sensei from “assassination classroom” class 3 - e at kunugigaoka middle school is about to give a special lesson - the balloon challenge ! as a student in class 3 - e , come and sharpen your assassination skills ! burst different types of balloons . pass levels to get a chance to assassinate koro - sensei ! ? come on !
also focusing on history and central europe , the contribution by piotr sterczewski compares and contrasts three polish games that deal with the warsaw uprising of 1944 - - a key event in the collective commemoration of world war ii in the country . sterczewski’s analysis brings together digital games and board games , critically investigates the interplay between narrative and gameplay , and contextualizes the findings with reference to polish culture and politics . employing the concept of “mnemonic hegemony” ( molden , 2016 ) , he investigates how the three games relate to established historical discourses and reiterate received notions of heroism and national sacrifice .
with crooked interpol agents and vicious members of the criminal underworld hot on their trail , these two assassins reluctantly join forces to quickly take out their target before they themselves are terminated . directed by ernie barbarash from a screenplay by aaron rahsaan thomas , assassination games was produced by justin bursch , brad krevoy and patrick newall .
allen , r . ( 2011 ) . the unreal enemy of ‘america’s army’ . games and culture , 6 : 1 , 38 - - 60 .
chapman , a . ( 2016 ) . digital games as history : how videogames represent the past and offer access to historical practice . london : routledge .
mead , c . ( 2013 ) . war play : video games and the future of armed conflict . new york : houghton mifflin harcourt publishing company .
payne , m . t . ( 2016 ) . playing war : military video games after 9 / 11 . new york : new york university press .
more than 1000 athletes , supporters and special guests packed a transformed ravenscraig sports centre for thursday evening’s event , marking the start of the 40th annual games .
two weeks ago i was asked if i wanted to interview van damme on behalf of his latest film , assassination games . after punch - dancing my happiness ( i ' m serious , that really happened ) , i did an interview with him via email . unlike a lot of the straight - to - dvd movies he has done in the past ,
assassination games movie is a action thriller . jack conway and derek chase are the two best assassins in the world - but unknown to each other . while conway is a master sharpshooter , chase is equally skilled with a knife . these two rival assassins form an uneasy alliance to take down the head of a drug cartel , which is backed by the dea .
schulzke , m . ( 2013 ) . rethinking military gaming : ‘america’s army’ and its critics . games and culture , 8 : 2 , 59 - - 76 .
it’s been non - stop scott adkins lately ( ninja & undisputed 2 , with undisputed 3 review coming up soon ) , and we’re checking out assassination games with both scott adkins and jean claude van damme . i have to say that van damme is picking some good talent for his movies these days , so i was excited to see how this movie turned out .
arjoranta , j . ( 2015 ) . real - time hermeneutics : meaning - making in ludonarrative digital games . jyväskylä : jyväskylän yliopisto [ jyväskylä studies in humanities ] .
assassination games is a solid van damme flick that blends in a bit of the professional with that stallone / banderas clunker assassins . think of van damme as leon teamed up with adkins playing the stereotypical statham character . it ' s an awesome team up , one where the world ' s best assassins face off then in typical movie form team up to kill the big bad .
coachman was in a position to know . a very good position : 5 feet 6⅛ inches on her first attempt of the high jump at the 1948 olympic games in london .
it is our contention that , due to their growing cultural currency , games increasingly matter in such processes . as payne ( 2016 ) writes , games and play are not located in a socio - political vacuum . rather , “the virtual realm of games and the physical world exist in a complex… coevolving dialectic” ( p . 4 ) . as part of a rapidly expanding militainment complex , he argues further , mainstream military and war games tend to “proselytize on behalf of state mythology” ( p . 9 ) and connect “the citizen’s identity to the national imaginary and its military power fantasies” ( p . 208 ) . not least because of such aspects , we believe that the war / game nexus merits our continued critical attention .
ramsay , d . ( 2015 ) . brutal games : ‘call of duty’ and the cultural narrative of world war ii . cinema journal , 54 : 2 , 94 - - 113 .
van damme is respectively solid and the action scenes are executed with precision . without carrying the entire movie on his shoulders , van damme seems to play well with others adding a buddy cop like feel to the flick . sure the bad guy , subplots and shoot em ups could have been better but assassination games plays out like a stealthy max payne fps that makes me proud to be a van damme fan .
fox news had reported on sunday : “ nyc play appears to depict assassination of trump ” , and suggested that one giveaway that the politician being killed was trump was that he was “brutally stabbed to death by women and minorities” .
for those watching in theaters , i found this ironic : a blu - ray was used to display the movie . no film was used . i found it ironic as mcpa ( the company that made the movie ) has assassination games set for release in a few months only on dvd . either way , though , check it out as you’ll see a good flick with potential actually achieved , with just minor gripes .
van damme is back and this time he shares the screen with martial arts new kid on the block , scott adkins undisputed ii , ninja and the highly acclaimed isaac florentine film , undisputed iii” ) , and the two of them wreak havoc on eastern europe in the new assassin thriller , assassination games ( formerly known simply as weapon , which is really a better name and more fitting due to some lines in dialogue ) .
the point of the play , greenblatt said , is that it can be dangerous to get what you think you want – and that the assassination of a hated leader “could bring an end to the very republic you’re trying to save” .
aarseth , e . & calleja , g . ( 2015 ) . the word game : the ontology of an indefinable object . foundations of digital games . urltoken . retrieved november 14 , 2016 .
huntemann , n . b . & payne , m . t . ( eds . ) ( 2010 ) . joystick soldiers : the politics of play in military video games . london : routledge .
her time in office would be as tumultuous as her childhood had been idyllic , ending in her assassination by the pakistani taliban on dec . 27 , 2007 , just days before general elections , which her populist party was expected to win .
final thoughts : assassination games isn ' t an offensively bad film . the most disappointing thing about it is that it isn ' t a whole lot better . van damme and adkins show up to the party , game for anything , but director ernie barbarash insists on weighing them down with a convoluted script that mistakes meanness for grit . the action beats are short and choppy but they do liven up the proceedings a bit . rent it .
“it’s inspiring to see so many recipients and families here , and the games are an opportunity to remember those no longer with us who donated organs – there are few actions more worthy of commemoration . ”
elliott , m . w . & kapell , a . w . r . ( eds . ) ( 2013 ) . playing with the past : digital games and the simulation of history . new york : bloomsbury .
voorhees , g . , call , j . , & whitlock , k . ( eds . ) ( 2012 ) . guns , grenades , and grunts : first - person shooter games . new york : bloomsbury .
members of the 39 adult teams and 14 children’s squads competing at the games entered the arena in turn , with some of their amazing transplant stories being shared by event compere heather reid as the arena quickly filled up .
for my first question , i want to talk about your character , brazil , in assassination games . he reminds me of léon in luc besson ' s leon : the professional - he keeps to himself , he ' s dangerous , and he adores something other assassins wouldn ' t ( in léon ' s case , a plant ; in brazil ' s , a violin ) . with that , did you draw an inspiration from other characters in cinema ? if so , who ?
thematically , history is an important emphasis of this special issue . five of the nine texts direct attention to how war history is represented , enacted , and understood in games . we will start by introducing these five contributions .
inexplicably hustling into ( limited ) theaters this weekend is “ assassination games , ” a hitman actioner the likes of which you’ve seen before . jean - claude van damme is the big name attached , but the “star” is martial artist scott adkins . together the two cinematic pugilists have been cutting a swath through the world of direct - to - dvd action , though van damme has dabbled in the mainstream a bit more as of late . so , to some , this is a momentous match - up .
j . ramsey and a . lewis licht , the comet of 44 b . c . and caesar ' s funeral games . atlanta : scholars press , 1997 . pp . 236 . isbn 0 - 7885 - 0274 - 3 .
a firebrand publisher , yale - educated lawyer , kentucky state legislator , major general in the union army , survivor of multiple assassination attempts and the united states minister to russia under presidents lincoln and johnson , general clay was as well known for his private activities as for his public ones .
pötzsch , h . ( 2015 ) . selective realism : filtering experiences of war in the first - and third - person shooter . games and culture , online first , doi : 10 . 1177 / 1555412015587802 . retrieved november 14 , 2016 .
the article quoted a commentator outraged that the production , he believed , was being partially funded by taxpayer dollars . he argued : “is this not a responsibility for the public to say , ‘if you can use our dollars to depict the assassination of the president , we’re not going to stand for that ? ’”
a free performance of william shakespeare ' s
julius caesar
in new york ' s central park is the latest in a series of art performances that have been met with controversy in the us . the interpretation by the public theater was criticized for its alleged depiction of the assassination of president donald trump .
gehrig did not make it into the baseball hall of fame for reliability alone . he played in six consecutive all - star games , was twice named the american league’s most valuable player , and was the first baseball player to have his number , 4 , retired .
during the olympic games in rio de janeiro , not forgotten is resurfacing obituaries about some of the greatest olympic athletes of all time . before tonight’s gold medal heavyweight match , between russia’s evgeny tishchenko and kazakhstan’s vassiliy levit , we revisit one of olympic boxing’s most talented pugilists .
adkins plays roland flint , a gun - for - hire who once witnessed his wife raped and beaten into a coma by a drug kingpin , one who seems less interested in his trade and more involved in who will bleed the most . he eventually learns that the villain is still on the market , with outside forces eagerly anticipating his downfall . flint takes up the case motivated entirely by revenge , and in case you think this movie will be a thorough analysis of the aftereffects of revenge , think again : “assassination games” exists in that specific movie universe where revenge goes down like warm chicken soup .
assassination games is presented in 1 . 78 : 1 anamorphic widescreen . cinematography is a bit ugly , with a nasty golden tint designed to give the film some atmosphere ( it only partially works ) . expect crushed visuals , bleeding blacks and the usual shot - on - video flaws ( motion blur , noise ) . the encode is a little wonky , too , with noticeable edge enhancement , mild banding and some shaky visuals that jutter for no apparent reason . perhaps some of these flaws were the result of a cheap low - budget production . regardless , they make for a less than stellar transfer .
the opening ceremony featured performances from members of north lanarkshire youth theatre , and from aerial edge circus school , whose five - strong troupe gave an acrobatic parkour display on steel frames – kitted out in the orange t - shirt uniforms of the “northlanders” , the games’ volunteer helpers .
david ritchie refers to the cuban missile crisis in october 1962 ( prose : heart of tardis ; audio : 1963 ) and the assassination of u . s . president john f . kennedy in dallas , texas on 22 november 1963 ( prose : who killed kennedy ; tv : rose ; audio : 1963 : the space race ) .
calling henry louis gehrig a steadfast first baseman for the yankees is like calling the pacific ocean a pond . better known as lou , he was nicknamed the iron horse for his streak of 2 , 130 consecutive games played , a record that stood until cal ripken broke it in 1995 .
a huge cheer greeted the arrival of team lanarkshire towards the end of the parade ; the county has formed a team for the first time in honour of hosting the games , with its 17 - strong contingent including monklands quartet joe allan , marie grant , james regan and craig ferguson .
gotti took control of the gambino family after engineering the assassination of his predecessor , paul castellano , in 1985 . he went on to make flagrant power moves , courting the press all the while . he cut a dashing figure , draped in expensive double - breasted suits that might as well have been suits of armor , as far as prosecutors were concerned .
but “assassination games” subverts expectations because it focuses not on the conflict , but on the inner turmoil of these two men . though their characters unfortunately never rise above genre cliché , the film loads up on quiet moments , such as brazil practicing the violin , or flint by his wife’s bedside , allowing the actors to brood and emote . flint is the more broken of the two , fueled by anger , and adkins has a cruel tom buchanan - esque beauty to his physicality . van damme seems the most dead inside — a subplot where he saves a local prostitute from her abusive pimp forces him to raise his fist , but not his voice . again , he’s done this thousands of times .
now , let’s talk for a moment about ernie barbarash’s direction . ernie has done films in many genres and is improving every film . assassination games is a big step up for ernie as he was able to take a small budget and make a film that , while flawed in some aspects , was genuinely enjoyable . some other reviewers mention slow , dragging parts in the middle and yes they are there . i did find myself checking the time , but i am obsessive compulsive and did that probably twenty times in transformers : dark of the moon . he was given a simplistic script , though better than most dtv movies , and a small budget and overall i think he did a respectable job .
other research traditions have focused on such issues as the feasibility of games for military planning , training , and rehabilitation ( sabin , 2014 ; mead , 2013 ) , examined the potential of peace games or anti - war titles ( morwood , 2014 ; kwiatkowski , 2016 ) , or have directed attention to game design and development from both instrumental and critical vantage points ( sabin , 2014 ; šisler et . al . , 2014 ; perla , 2016 ; flanagan , 2016 ) . the present special issue comprises contributions adopting perspectives from all the approaches highlighted above , and in this way , we hope , provides a timely update on a constantly evolving debate .
this book cogently demonstrates the importance of these games for octavian who used them to advance politically in his rivalry with antony . it should be noted that antony continued to challenge octavian ' s legitimacy , in particular by erecting a statue of caesar on the rostra with the inscription ,
parenti optime merito
( cic . fam . 12 . 3 . 1 , dated 2 october , 44 ) , and octavian continually had to reaffirm his , in particular in his contio in november , 44 , when he swore an oath on caesar ' s statue ( cic . att . 15 . 28 . 4 ) . but it was the games and the appearance of the comet that provided octavian with what could readily be interpreted as divine confirmation of caesar ' s divinity and his own right to succeed his adopted father . rl show how all this was possible while at the same time introducing new evidence to the debate and clearing up some old issues concerning the appearance of the comet at octavian ' s games .
after the assassination austria - hungary declared war on serbia . soon europe , and much of the world , spiraled into war as one country after another , enmeshed in a web of previously established alliances , took sides — either with the central powers ( germany , austria - hungary and their allies ) or the allies ( france , britain , russia and others , including , eventually , the united states ) .
the contributions to the present special issue can be roughly divided into two categories that are somewhat characteristic of major directions in game studies . a number of articles emphasize formal features of games at the level of rules , mechanics , and / or narrative , and show how potentials for meaning and ( inter ) action are created at this formal level ( chapman , sterczewski , ford ) . other articles included here present empirical research that points to actual player experiences ( jørgensen , healey , o’neill & feenstra , banks & cole ) . the piece by šisler combines both perspectives , while the article by guanio - uluru views the cultural significance of war games through the lens of a different medium .
deterding , s . ( 2010 ) . living room wars : remediation , boardgames , and the early history of video wargaming . in n . b . huntemann & m . t . payne ( eds . ) , joystick soldiers : the politics of play in military video games ( pp . 21 - - 38 ) . london : routledge .
kennedy , at the time new york’s junior senator and a former attorney general in the cabinet of his brother john f . kennedy , had just claimed victory in the california presidential primary in a rally at the ambassador hotel in los angeles when he , like his brother four and a half years earlier , was felled by an assassin . he died 20 hours later , the first assassination of an american presidential candidate .
after the war grant dealt calmly but firmly with the erratic behavior of president andrew johnson in the wake of lincoln’s assassination . and although as president ( 1869 - 77 ) he was tarnished by financial scandal after placing too much trust in some members of his cabinet , he sought to be compassionate during the indian wars and in the conduct of reconstruction , and demonstrated integrity in guiding the nation through a host of financial crises .
salvati , a . j . & bullinger , j . m . ( 2013 ) . selective authenticity and the playable past . in m . w . elliott & a . w . r . kapell ( eds . ) , playing with the past : digital games and the simulation of history ( pp . 153 - - 168 ) . new york : bloomsbury .
to the dismay of hitler and the nazis , owens went on to win four gold medals — in the long jump , 100 - meter dash , the 200 - meter dash and the 4x100 meter relay — more than any other american track and field athlete in a single olympic games . his long jump record , of 8 . 13 meters , would not be surpassed for 25 years .
at the 1932 games , didrikson won gold medals in both the javelin throw and the high hurdles . in the high jump , she cleared 5 feet 5 inches , the same as gold medalist jean shiley . but she was disqualified on her final jump and awarded the silver medal after a judge ruled her technique had violated olympic rules , even though the issue had not been raised in earlier rounds .
the a . a . u . wasn’t the only organization involved in a moral tug of war over the olympics . owens , who was black , was encouraged by some civil rights groups to boycott the games . after deciding to go , he found a chilly reception in germany , where claims of aryan supremacy were central to nazi ideology . he was called racial epithets and subjected to other mistreatment .
things become a little complex when many different parties become involved . initially a corrupt group of interpol agents release polo to lure out flint and kill him , all the while flint is trying to kill polo . during the failed assassination brazil accidentally kills polos brother , so polo is out to kill brazil . not to mention initially brazil and flint want to kill each other before joining forces . things defintely take off but as you’d suspect , it all sorts itself out as the movie progresses .
yet that lifetime of training , which propelled owens into the history books with his performance in the 1936 games in berlin , seemed for a time as if it might be of little use . with the rise of nazi germany roiling europe , the amateur athletic union remained divided in 1935 over whether to allow american athletes to compete in berlin ; it ultimately approved their participation , but only by a narrow vote .
next you have flint ( adkins ) who has a personal tragedy driving him and making him careless and undisciplined . there’s not much back - story on either brazil or flint , as to why they became assassins , etc . , but adkins motivation for his role is quite clear with some excellent quick flashback sequences showing what brutally happened to his wife . this is a man living a conflicted life between good husband , taking care of his comatose wife and assassin , trying to get close to the man that did this to his wife . adkins does a fine job , obviously having had more practice acting dramatically . he’ll always impress with his martial arts prowess , but he’s always been limited in acting . in assassination games he won’t win any awards but he shows what he is capable of and with more roles stretching him like this one , i have no doubt he’ll continue to be a dtv favorite .
she was a cloistered nun , in a convent , yet she was seen by hundreds of millions of people worldwide as the host of a series on ewtn . how was she able to embrace both of these so very opposite vocations ? ( i am an introvert by nature , and performing in front of millions during the olympic games gave me anxiety , as does speaking at events in front of thousands now . )
the article by jamie banks and john g . cole presents an empirical study on the role of war games and avatars in military veteran gamers’ self - coping strategies . arguing for the usability of everyday gameplay for the reduction of stress - related pathologies among military personnel , the authors show how coping practices such as escapism / diversion , managing physical / psychological maladies , receiving social support , and connecting with civilian life can be enhanced by gameplay in informal settings .
fortunately , nobody was hurt . mckinley didn’t seem to mind , she writes . but his secretary george cortelyou was worried , just like he was worried about an assassination attempt at the world ' s fair meet - and - greet , where crowds would surround the president at a public event , giving as assassin a prime opportunity . mckinley’s predecessors lincoln and garfield had both been shot at somewhat similar events–lincoln at the theater and garfield in a train station waiting room . cortelyou kept taking the event off mckinley’s official itinerary , robertson writes–but the president insisted .
this book , the result of a collaboration between a classicist ( ramsey ) and a physicist ( licht ) [ hereafter rl ] , examines the significance of octavian ' s games and the comet . it is divided into two sections : the first deals with the games themselves , their name , date , and significance , calling into question some old assumptions ; the second deals with the comet , its historicity , the sources , including chinese evidence for its appearance , its probable orbit , and its interpretation as a positive omen . there are also eight appendices and 12 figures . the chapters , which include intricate mathematical equations , calculations and scientific theory , are prefaced with abstracts clearly summarizing each chapter ' s thesis , argumentation , and conclusion for those ( like the reviewer ) whose last math course is but a foggy memory . for this review , i will focus on matters of historical interest and leave the scientific issues to a more qualified reviewer .
gehrig delivered a farewell speech to a crowd of 61 , 808 at yankee stadium on july 4 , 1939 , during a sweltering break between games in a doubleheader with the washington senators . the yankees had lost the first game , 3 - 2 , and gehrig took the field with his aging teammates from the 1927 world - series - champion yankees , a fearsome lineup known as murderers’ row . he was overcome with emotion but still delivered what some have called baseball’s gettysburg address .
normally , writes robertson , anybody who was coming near the president was required to have empty hands and present themselves to whoever was guarding him for inspection before approaching . but because it was so hot , the rules were waived : people were allowed to continue carrying handkerchiefs to wipe the sweat off their faces , which made a perfect hiding place for a gun . also , while a secret service agent would normally have stood on the president’s left , he had been replaced by a local guard who could tell mckinley the names of local dignitaries . these factors both contributed to the assassination .
films , documentaries and books have been made about lee’s life , and cultural references to him abound . he has inspired video game characters , even entire games . yellow outfits , like the jumpsuit he wore in “ game of death , ” a film that was released posthumously , were also worn by the lead character in berry gordy’s “ the last dragon ” and uma thurman in the climactic scenes of the first part of quentin tarantino’s martial arts epic , “ kill bill vol . 1 . ”
sure it ' s another lone hitman movie , the generic action flicks that jason statham and his transporter / crank / the mechanic / killer elite fold of movies we all love . but this one has van damme and it has adkins and somehow it held my interest for the entire duration . sure the bad guy and his goons were just assassination fodder , the killing of innocents for motivation and the quick witted banter between the 2 stars was a bit funny . but i like to think of this as a webisode of the expendables 2 . it ' s just a taste of what two fuckin huge action stars together can get done .
the contributions summarized above show that the nexus between war , play , and games constitutes a complex and dynamic terrain open for a variety of inquiries combining different methods and theoretical frames . the present special issue received a huge number of submissions and only a handful of them made it through a thorough double - blind peer review process . we hope that the authors whose contributions could not be included here will also keep up their important work . too many valuable perspectives and findings could not be included this time and too many questions and problems still remain underexplored . at present we are glad to be able to present a snapshot - - a freeze - frame - - of ongoing debates and scholarly work that , we hope , helps to map the field and inspire new critical inquiries .
yet , as schulzke ( 2013 ) among others has pointed out , many studies that present critical perspectives on the military - game - propaganda nexus suffer from a tendency to merely assume problematic consequences of military games without however adequately explaining “the mechanisms that may produce this harm” ( schulzke , 2013 , p . 60 ) . responding to this criticism , pötzsch ( 2015 ) , pötzsch & šisler ( 2016 ) , and payne ( 2016 ) , among others , have advocated the empirical investigation both of specific game structures inviting particular perceptions and actions , and of the performative activation , negotiation , or subversion of these potentials in and through practices of reception , play , marketing , and modification . only by means of such methodical empirical work at the level of game form , player , and context , can the actual structures and performances underpinning what payne ( 2016 ) terms a “ludic war culture” ( p . 10 ) be adequately addressed and brought to light .
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could have been a rollicking good time . it has all the elements of an awesomely cheesy action - fest at its disposal but they go largely untapped . working from a script by aaron rahsaan thomas , director ernie barbarash insists on grinding out a dour crime flick that fails to appropriately capitalize on the charisma or ass kicking potential of his leads .
roland flint ( scott adkins ) has a comatose wife at home and revenge on his mind . he used to be an assassin in the employ of some dirty interpol agents until an infiltration assignment went horribly wrong . a gangster named polo ( ivan kaye ) didn ' t take kindly to flint ' s treachery so he and his goons gang - raped flint ' s wife and beat her into a coma while flint watched on helplessly . when an opportunity presents itself for flint to exact vengeance by striking back at polo , he jumps at the chance .
i get the sense that if life were to hand ernie barbarash lemons , he would make toast . how else can one explain the utterly wasted potential on display here ? for starters , there is the weathered van damme who has aged quite gracefully and has really started to come into his own as an actor . then there ' s the young hotshot adkins who has been itching for a breakout role ever since the
series put him on many an action fan ' s radar . these are two guys who can deliver a beatdown and make it look
. unfortunately every action sequence here is either too short , too choppy or muted thanks to an overreliance on guns .
since adkins and van damme don ' t really get to strut their stuff in the fisticuffs department , it ' s reassuring to see that they resist the urge to completely phone in their performances . adkins sells the part of the angry husband with a lethal set of skills while van damme goes in a slightly different direction with his role . his hitman is morally flexible until the very end . this leads to some interesting double - crosses and at least one scene late in the film that paints him in a very negative light . van damme steps over all the contradictions in his character in order to give us a unified vision of his burgeoning humanity
it ' s a pity that our heroes don ' t have proper villains to square off against in the film . the interpol agents come across as bumbling and ineffective while polo is defined largely by his misogyny and little else . i ' m not sure when this happened but apparently threatening to kill someone just isn ' t enough anymore . you have to gang - rape them , beat them into a coma and then threaten to gang - rape them
while they are comatose . this sort of lazy plotting pops up throughout the film . we even get a hooker with a heart of gold who helps van damme get in touch with his softer side . gag me , please .
as it stands , the film is far from successful . there are flashes of kinetic energy but they just aren ' t enough to deliver on the promise of what could have been . i watched the film hoping for a healthy portion of van dammage and a decent showcase for adkins . i ' ll just have to wait a bit longer .
the video is presented in a 1 . 85 : 1 aspect ratio with anamorphic enhancement . the visuals have a desaturated look that screams ' gritty ' while the yellow and green color palette screams ' sickly ' . i didn ' t notice any major defects other than a few minor cases of moiré . although the excessive bleaching of the image was distracting in parts , i found the presentation to be more than adequate .
the audio was presented in english and french dolby digital 5 . 1 tracks with english sdh and french subtitles . the audio mix was fairly clear although it only truly came alive during a few of the more bombastic action moments .
( 10 : 11 ) . they were presented with unfinished effects and a temporary audio track . although none of them were essential to the film , feel free to dig in if you need any more of polo ' s violent misogyny .
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sony pictures worldwide acquisitions takes worldwide media rights to the hitman story , the latest jean - claude van damme collaboration with brad krevoy and ambitious los angeles - based mpca .
mpca’s justin bursch and patrick newall also produced and mpca’s reuben liber and mike callaghan served as executive producers on the story of vincent brazil , an assassin who encounters a younger hitman called roland flint ( scott adkins ) after they are assigned to kill the same mobster .
ernie barbarash directed the film – formerly called weapon – from a screenplay by aaron rahsaan thomas . serbian actress marija karan plays october , a young woman who becomes embroiled in the killers’ plans .
the project shot on location in new orleans , louisiana , and at mediapro studios in bucharest , romania . spwa’s dan primozic and peter nelson brokered the deal with liber on behalf of mpca .
“this is one of the first films in a long time that [ van damme ] has been the major lead , ” krevoy , who previously collaborated with van damme on hard corps , said . “he plays a new role as a mentor to the scott adkins character and it’s him and a younger guy together , which is a way of expanding his audience . this is van damme 2 . 0 , on the rise in a new action role . ”
krevoy said of the deal with spwa : “i have had a relationship with all divisions of sony for the past 20 years so this was a natural evolution . it made sense for them to distribute and me to produce . ”
he added later : “we are sitting on about 10 stories and we have a couple of huge ones . in the past we sold our films to the studios but now we are embarking on a major push with our international sales company . ”
mpca has produced , acquired , and distributed more than 100 films including dumb and dumber , beverly hills chihuahua 2 and taking chance . upcoming titles include the english - language remake of the japanese oscar winner departures and a remake of japanese fantasy romance yomigaeri with dreamworks .
new boss warns staff of challenges ahead as cable channel looks to boost viewers’ ’hours of engagement’ .
exclusive : first look at toronto premiere from aqui y alla director antonio méndez esparza .
screen international is the essential resource for the international film industry . subscribe now for monthly editions , awards season weeklies , access to the screen international archive and supplements including stars of tomorrow and world of locations .
van damme and scott adkins team up for this solid , but somewhat dull dtv effort .
jean - claude van damme plays a weathered hitman named vincent brazil . he accepts a lucrative hit on a notorious russian gangster , but finds he ' s got some competition in roland flint ( scott adkins ) , a fellow assassin with a vendetta against the target ( who put flint ' s wife in coma ) . when it becomes clear the two will just get in each others way , they decide to team up instead .
perhaps it ' s the fractured story , which focuses on both flint and brazil at the same time as opposed to just picking one character and making them the lead , that renders the film dull . there ' s a feeling of disconnect throughout the entire picture , as though the script is uncertain who ' s the more interesting character ( it ' s brazil , by the way ) .
but i must admit , i ' ve seen plenty of truly terrible dtv films in my day and this one is pretty solid , despite a myriad of flaws . the story seems more focused than most , and the script , while in need of one good rewrite , is better than the standard dtv action muck that sony usually puts out . it ' s not great – not by a long shot – but it ' s a decent effort . if only it were able to capitalize on its fantastic stars a little better instead of spending its time with a story we ' ve seen a dozen times over .
audio is presented in dolby digital 5 . 1 . it ' s not a bad mix , but its shortcomings do stand out quite a bit . dialogue is tuned way too low , especially in comparison to the film ' s stock sound effects , which feel rather cumbersome and overbearing . don ' t expect this one to be your go - to reference disc , but it does do the film justice on occasion .
extras are virtually nonexistent . there ' s a series of deleted scenes as well as some previews . most annoying is a promo for blu - ray . come on , sony ! you can ' t advertise blu - ray on a disc that doesn ' t have a blu - ray release . that ' s like advertising wendy ' s at a burger king . if there ' s a blu - ray release , fine . advertise blu - ray . otherwise , leave that trailer off the disc . but i digress .
there are three actors in this world who i will always have an adoration for , and jean - claude van damme happens to be one of them . growing up , i was a scrawny kid who got his ass - kicked a lot and van damme helped me escape to the fantasy world and believe that one day i ' d grow up to be just like him - big , tough , non - shit taker . that day never came but i still loved all the films he made pre - street figher . it wasn ' t until jcvd that van damme got back to what he initially seemed to have lost , his passion for film .


the boys is a 1998 australian drama film directed by rowan woods .

the screenplay by stephen sewell is based on the play by gordon graham ( loosely based on the murder of anita cobby ) , first performed by griffin theatre company directed by alex galeazzi .

the boys ( 1998 film )

john polson , david wenham and anthony hayes in the 1998 film the boys . photograph : pr / madman entertainment
featured in the newton boys / meet the deedles / a price above rubies / no looking back ( 1998 ) . see more »
the singapore film commission supports the growth of the local film industry . browse through our film directory to view our catalog of singaporean feature films .
original film trailer for australian film , the boys , starring david wenham and directed by rowan woods . this was the first of two trailers shown in australian cinemas .
the boys trailer 1998 director : rowan woods starring : lynette curran , john polson , toni collette , david wenham , anthony hayes , official content from stratosphere entertainment every monday night , the boys put on their hockey skates and leave their troubled lives behind . coached by stan , the owner of their favorite bar , they play for the love of the game . but stan is in serious debt with a tough mobster . stan can clear his debt - with a hockey game . movie , the boys movie , the boys trailer , the boys 1998 , rowan woods , lynette curran , john polson , toni collette , david wenham , anthony hayes ,
if you are interested to film in singapore or film within the one - north precinct , head over to“filming in singapore” .
linklater utilizes the jail cells of the caldwell county jail museum twice for two of his feature films . first appearing in the newton boys in 1998 and then again in the 2001 production of waking life , creating a new perspective of the location via a rotoscoping animation technique .
thanks to the generosity of the rights holders , we are able to offer ' lousy , no - good bludgers ' from the feature film the boys as a high quality video download .
released in 1998 , rowan woods’ the boys ( featuring david wenham and toni collette ) is one of the most important films ever made in australia . an intense and claustrophobic study of working - class suburbia in inexorable limbo , the boys depicts three brothers , one menacingly dominant , the others wretchedly submissive , spiralling toward the commission of a horrific crime that is only ever alluded to in the narrative .
ewatching director rowan woods’ chilling suburban drama the boys ( 1998 ) feels like spending time with creepy acquaintances you hoped to never meet again . the story is based on a horrific crime , but there is something disturbingly mundane and commonplace about the way the film unfolds – the sense similar events may be taking place as we watch , in suburbs we frequent and neighbourhoods in which we live .
in 1994 , the same year he wrote the mammy , brendan was voted ireland’s no 1 variety entertainer at the national entertainment awards . memorable film appearances around this time include roddy doyle’s the van ( 1996 ) , stephen bradley’s sweety barrett ( 1998 ) and frank mccourt’s angela’s ashes ( 1999 ) . he also had a small role in his own novel adaptation agnes brown and he wrote and directed sparrow’s trap ( 1998 ) , an adaptation of his novel of the same name .
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looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing the newton boys near you .
linklater visits the iconic paramount theatre in two very different films , the newton boys and waking life . in both films , the lead characters spend time in the historic venue to reflect on their actions through the film playing in the theater during the scene .
on march 5 , 2016 , the film was pushed to june 2 , 2017 .
my rating for the newton boys is relatively low as the script is a distance from the best linklater has done . but nevertheless it worked fine and is far from bad . at a few points the story would sag and lose a bit of charm , although the newton boys mostly remains a good film with richard linklater’s pleasant touch .
these are fetching performers , but their built - in energy is about all the newton boys has going for it .
bombay boys ( 1998 ) is an unorthodox hindi comedy film written and directed by the indian director kaizad gustad . it follows the adventures of three young men in modern - day mumbai ( or bombay ) . the boys are of indian origin , but were all raised in the west . krishna sahni ( played by naveen andrews ) is an aspiring actor from new york who wants to make it big in bollywood . ricardo fernandes ( rahul bose ) is from sydney , australia and is in mumbai to search for his long - lost brother .
ozon ' s provocative film can do much to improve attitudes towards lgbti people .
this was honestly quite a pleasant surprise . i was looking through richard linklater’s filmography for films to watch in preparation for boyhood . when i came across the newton boys , i thought i wouldn ' t care for it as it seemed to be a slightly obscure and lackluster film from the director . however , the newton boys turned out to be a nice and very solid effort from richard linklater and an often enjoyable film .
a slow - paced film set in the poor working - class suburbs of sydney . . .
singapore is proving to be a fertile ground for developing exportable media content . its rich cultural backdrop acts as a kaleidoscope of inspiration , fuelling creative output with international appeal . singapore’s growing success in the worldwide film industry attests to this , with homegrown films such as pop aye , apprentice , a yellow bird , ilo ilo , tatsumi , sandcastle , here and my magic selected for , and receiving accolades , at acclaimed film festivals such as the cannes film festival , international film festival rotterdam , toronto international film festival and busan international film festival .
libby sharpe / producer libby sharpe has been working in the australian film industry for nearly 15 years . originally from a casting background , she moved over to film and tv production in 1993 . libby produced the short film titled burnout which screened at the sundance film festival and the edinburgh film festival . burnout also won the award for best cinematography at the st . kilda film festival . libby has also production managed many australian and american features and telemovies . some of her credits include , stealth , moulin rouge and somersault . she has production managed for porchlight films on two projects delivery day and walking on water .
in this light , the objections raised against a film as bleak ( and oblique ) as the boys are hardly surprising . what is astonishing , though , is the fundamental hypocrisy of ongoing reactionary attacks upon progressive art and artists in australia . it is instructive to consider the reception of the boys alongside that of a more explicit filmic portrayal of the anita cobby case that was broadcast first on subscription television and then on the nine network .
for a movie that pushes so intently under your skin , it’s fitting that it should be scored by the masters of unsettling post - jazz . veteran trio the necks anchor the boys with menacing tension , highlighting the violent inevitability lurking within rowan woods’ 1998 cult classic . but this album includes more music than is heard in the film , and functions just as effectively outside a cinematic context . “fife and drum” is a harsh highlight , full of open space yet roughed up with rock - damaged bass and organ .
since 1998 , the sfc has supported more than 600 short films , scripts , feature films , as well as film - related events in singapore that showcase homegrown talent and works . some notable films by singapore filmmakers include pop aye ( kirsten tan ) , apprentice ( boo junfeng ) , a yellow bird ( k . rajagopal ) , ilo ilo ( anthony chen ) , the ah boys to men series ( jack neo ) , and 881 ( royston tan ) .
. despite generally negative reviews , the film was a box office success , grossing $ 270 million worldwide .
, but that the greatest obstacle to the potential sequel would be the cost , as he and will smith demand some of the highest salaries in the film industry .
it ' s a difficult and painful film to watch , but it is nonetheless an experience in the waiting .
opening credits play the way they would in a film made durring the silent and early sound period ( 1920 - 1940 ) .
the singapore film commission ( sfc ) is a division under the infocomm media development authority ( imda ) , and is made up of an advisory committee comprising 15 members from the film , arts and cultural community . the sfc is supported by a secretariat within the imda .
the national film and sound archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials , unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the site .
woods nails the scungy , low class , dole bludging , suburban vibe , but the boys is more elusive than it looks . as david wenham put it , the film “was never about the crime , but the events leading up to it . it was a search , on our part , for understanding . ”
set in working - class suburbs of sydney , much of the drama in the boys takes place over the course of one day between members of a closely knit but brutally tempered family .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
the film was a financial success . it made $ 138 , 608 , 444 in north america and $ 134 , 731 , 112 in other territories , totaling $ 273 , 339 , 556 worldwide — almost twice the gross of the original film .
the narrative was decent and something different . maybe they were trying to keep things as realistic as possible . it was an interesting film that should ' ve been a documentary instead . if a director doesn ' t push the action in a gangster film then he risks making the audience feel bored . a decent film that makes for good background noise .
i could never not admire richard linklater , his best films are some of my favourite films , but in the newton boys , i’ve seen the weakest link in his chain .
( cnn ) - - director - screenwriter kimberly peirce ' s
boys don ' t cry
is a devastating emotional experience . there ' s real bravery in this film , the kind that ' s almost been snuffed in modern films , independent or otherwise .
over the years , singapore’s diverse and multicultural landscape have been captured on film . our breath - taking cityscape was showcased to the world in
stephen sewell , who wrote the screenplay ( based on the stage play ' ' the boys ' ' by gordon graham ) , and rowan woods , the director , have created a believable world down to the last emotional detail . that is the film ' s strength . maybe its weakness , a lack of energy that mirrors the characters ' own , was intentional .
the boys was powered by a cast and crew of rising australian talent . it marked the first feature produced by robert connolly , who made his debut film as a director ( with the bank ) and went on to produce romulus , my father , these final hours and the turning , and direct films such as three dollars , balibo and underground : the julian assange story . for actors anthony hayes , toni collette and tropfest founder john polson , the boys was an early entry on their cvs .
linklater also serves as the artistic director for the austin film society , which he founded in 1985 to showcase films from around the world that were not typically shown in austin . now one of the nation’s top film organizations , the austin film society shows over 200 films a year , has educational programs , and has given out over $ 1 , 500 , 000 in grants to texas filmmakers since 1996 .
i love the cast , but the film just seems all over the place for me . it could be interesting and boring at the same time that it gave me mixed feelings
we must warn you now that the language in the boys is frequently very harsh . rowan woods ' corrosive film version of gordon graham ` s award - winning play is much more successful than last year ' s blackrock - another filmed play - in charting the events leading up to an horrific crime . stephen sewell ` s screenplay punctuates the claustrophobic suspense with chilling flash - forwards , depicting what will happen to these
boys
- a clever , dramatically effective device .
opening credits play the way they would in a film made durring the silent and early sound period ( 1920 - 1940 ) . see more »
this book captured my interest after seeing that there is an annual rocket boys festival . thought it would be fun to read the story . was hooked from page 1 .
an interview with writer / director boots riley about his incendiary new film ,
sorry to bother you .
in recognition of linklater’s immense talent and commitment to the state , we inaugurate the texas film trails program with the richard linklater texas film trail , highlighting 15 filming destinations from some of his most iconic features . we hope you enjoy your experience in the great state of texas through the lens of the acclaimed filmmaker , richard linklater !
this list collects every film from the starting list that became they shoot pictures don ' t they ' s 1000 greatest films . this…
she falls in with a close group of bored , boisterous friends who spend their nights drinking , drugging and fighting , and she ' s accepted as one of the boys in the early going .
rocket boys is a book that can easily be compared to tom sawyer and huckleberry finn . . . . homer hickam writes from the heart about days spent in coalwood , west virginia in a small mining town . a group of young men get interested in rockets after the russians seem to be winning the race to the moon . the town gets behind the boys with meager resources and knowledge from different teachers who get behind the boys to make the rockets a success . homer makes lifelong friendships with the boys as he struggles with the relationship with his father . homer ' s mother seems to be behind him and encourages his efforts in the rockets reminding him not to ' blow himself up ' . there is a favorite teacher and a young engineer with the coal company who are great inspiration along with the welding shop men who are all for the boys to succeed . . . and succeed they do going all the way to the state championship with their rockets . my amazon copy of this book has been shared with many . . . especially young students who need to be inspired in their dreams . if you have not read rocket boys yet get your copy quickly from amazon and start reading . . . you won ' t want to put the book down until the last page is finished .
' ' the boys ' ' is rated r ( under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian ) . it includes profanity and crude sexual references , sexual situations and domestic violence .
the director then leads the boys to the nursery , where they observe a group of delta infants being reprogrammed to dislike books and flowers . the director explains that this conditioning helps to make deltas docile and eager consumers . he then tells the boys about the “hypnopaedic” ( sleep - teaching ) methods used to teach children the morals of the world state . in a room where older children are napping , a whispering voice is heard repeating a lesson in “elementary class consciousness . ”
the protagonist of ' ' the boys , ' ' which won a batch of awards from the australian film institute and the film critics ' circle of australia , is brett ( david wenham ) , the oldest son , who has just returned from prison . when he brings his mother ( lynette curran ) a parsons table he has made and she just stares at it , without a thank you or any comment at all , it ' s clear that we are dealing with severe emotional illiteracy .
the most interesting part of the film is the end credits , when we see footage of two actual newtons talking about their exploits from years past . especially the footage of joe on the tonight show with johnny carson .
support honor / earth campaign . support american indian college fund . contributions from the profits of this film will be made to each of these organizations .
sam petty / sound designer sam petty and his company big ears bring a wealth of experience in sound production and design to jewboy . spanning features , documentary , short film and television , his large list of credits in film include the boys where he was nominated for an afi , on a full moon , winner of best sound at the annecy film festival , france , icq , nominated for an afi for best sound in a non - feature , the bank , nominated for best sound design in both the afi ' s and the if awards and two thirds sky , nominated for best sound in a non - feature . most recently sam won the afi sound design award for the highly acclaimed somersault .
find out more on how the singapore film commission ( sfc ) , nurtures , supports and promotes singapore talent in filmmaking and the production of films in “programmes and grants” .
among the more positive reviews was seattle post - intelligencer critic ellen a . kim , who wrote that the film was
mindlessly fun . . . if you like this type of movie , that is .
the film was also praised by a few critics and viewers for its deftly handled action sequences and visual effects .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
beautifully photographed , with an impressive cast , the film elizabeth can be compelling to watch but felt like a missed opportunity . i wish the script had done a better job of presenting a highly complex and fascinating queen . if seeing the film makes the audience want to learn more about the 16th - century queen elizabeth , however , it will still have served a good purpose .
at the 2004 mtv movie awards , the film was nominated for
best action sequence
for the inter - coastal freeway pursuit and
best on - screen team
, but lost to the lord of the rings : the return of the king and 50 first dates , respectively .
organisation / companies that offer film - related programming and / or activities with the aim to increase the access to singapore films to audiences , as well as strengthen the appreciation of local films and talent .
the novel opens in the central london hatching and conditioning centre , where the director of the hatchery and one of his assistants , henry foster , are giving a tour to a group of boys . the boys learn about the bokanovsky and podsnap processes that allow the hatchery to produce thousands of nearly identical human embryos . during the gestation period the embryos travel in bottles along a conveyor belt through a factorylike building , and are conditioned to belong to one of five castes : alpha , beta , gamma , delta , or epsilon . the alpha embryos are destined to become the leaders and thinkers of the world state . each of the succeeding castes is conditioned to be slightly less physically and intellectually impressive . the epsilons , stunted and stupefied by oxygen deprivation and chemical treatments , are destined to perform menial labor . lenina crowne , an employee at the factory , describes to the boys how she vaccinates embryos destined for tropical climates .
if the boys reaches that understanding , it does so through the despairing sense that evil can be random and ubiquitous . the crime at the heart of this tale is completely unprovoked ; the closest we have to a motivation is the gradual seething discontent apparent in the lives of the perpetrators . a motivation that informs the slow , eerily casual way with which this unnerving classic moves and resonates .
linklater ' s additional credits include the 70 ' s cult hit dazed and confused ( 1993 ) ; before sunrise ( 1995 ) , for which he won the berlin film festival silver bear award for best director ; suburbia ( 1997 ) ; the newton boys ( 1998 ) , a western / gangster film set in the 1920s ; the animated feature waking life ( 2001 ) ; the real - time drama tape ( 2001 ) ; the hit comedy school of rock ( 2003 ) ; $ 5 : 15 an hour ( tv ) ; before sunset ( 2004 ) which earned him an academy award nomination ; bad news bears ( 2005 ) ; a scanner darkly ( 2006 ) ; fast food nation ( 2006 ) ; inning by inning : a portrait of a coach ( 2008 ) ; me and orson welles ( 2009 ) ; bernie ( 2012 ) ; up to speed ( 2012 , hulu ) ; before midnight ( 2013 ) ; and boyhood ( 2014 ) .
this success led to the creation of agnes browne as the central character in brendan’s first novel the mammy . the book topped the bestseller charts in ireland for months and was eventually made into the film agnes brown in 1999 , directed by and starring oscar winner angelica huston .
the crime investigation australia episode could not be further removed from the aesthetic sensibility of the boys . whereas the latter flinches at nothing except the detailing of the ultimate offence , encouraging the audience to contemplate the everyday nature of malevolence , ‘the anita cobby murder’ shields its gratuitousness beneath a carapace of moral indignation that such evil could exist in a nation as benign and welcoming as australia . yet whereas woods’ film has been roundly censured for mingling the horrific with the imaginative , crime investigation australia remains a popular , oft - repeated program that has not raised an iota of critical suspicion .
when the boom director was ready to make another film after the unfortunate accident , bollywood was in no mood to accept him . but now he’s back with jackpot , a movie starring sunny leone and sachiin joshi . excerpts from an interviewin may 2004 , while shooting for a film at the mahalaxmi railway station , nadia khan , a [ … ]
initially broadcast in a quiet late evening slot , mrs brown ' s boys became a huge word - of - mouth hit , and quickly moved to primetime . created by and starring o’carroll in the lead role , mrs brown’s boys also features his wife jennifer gibney , his sister eilish , his son danny and his daughter fiona , and the show’s first series eventually pulled in an average audience of 3 . 6 million people in 2011 .
rahul bose ( born 27 july 1967 ) is an indian film actor , director , screenwriter , social activist , and rugby player . bose has
but one of the film ' s greatest failings is that it does not present an accurate portrait of its title character . today many people are interested in the concept of a strong , independent woman , and many of them may flock to the theater as a result , but unfortunately the film ' s character elizabeth is not as interesting as many historians ' depiction of the actual 16th - century monarch .
based on a true story ,
boys don ' t cry
follows the sad trajectory of brandon teena , who in 1993 was raped and murdered in falls city , nebraska , after her complex sexual ruse was discovered .
this australian drama , following events during the 24 hours prior to a horrible ( but unseen ) crime , is adapted from the award - winning 1991 gordon graham play , which was inspired by the real - life rape - murder of a nurse in sydney , australia . after serving time for an assault on a liquor - store owner , troubled brett sprague ( david wenham , repeating the role he created onstage ) is released from prison and returns home to his brothers , mother , and girlfriend . as brett begins to drink his way through the day , his anger and suspicions turn into a psychopathic rage . shown at the 1998 berlin film festival .
after the armoured car robbery , when the boys stop the car and fight about why it had gone so badly , a modern day wheelchair - access drop - down curb is seen . during the 20s , no such curb would have existed . they would have been straight across . see more »
the newton boys ' ' tells the story of the four brothers and a friend who knew how to handle nitroglycerine . operating mostly at night , blowing up safes that were no match for their skill , they worked under a simple code : no killing , no stealing from women and children and no snitching . according to the film , they managed to complete their criminal careers without shooting anybody except one of their own brothers , by accident .
nastiness is not enough . there has to be some saving grace , a memory of decency , a hint that once a mother ' s love mattered . the boys is too ugly to watch . in the - truth - hurts school of misogynistic brutalism , a film such as this has gutter cred . to decry the way things are , because it offends , is not a critical statement , simply a point of view .
directed by rowan woods ; written by stephen sewell , based on the play ' ' the boys ' ' by gordon graham ; director of photography , tristan milani ; edited by nick meyers ; music by the necks ; production designer , luigi pittorino ; produced by robert connolly and john maynard ; released by stratosphere entertainment . at the cinema village , 22 east 12th street , greenwich village . running time : 86 minutes . this film is rated r .
at the end of the film uses the traditional irish tune
garryowen .
the tune was a favorite of acting - general george armstrong custer during the civil war , and became the official air of the us 7th cavalry regiment in 1867 . according to legend , it was the last tune played before the battle of the little bighorn , where custer and his entire regiment were killed .
a hit worldwide , mrs brown ' s boys has now aired in australia , belgium , canada , denmark , iceland , malta , new zealand , serbia , sweden and africa . the success of the series led to a film adaptation being released in 2014 . mrs brown’s boys d’ movie made a record breaking €1 . 02m at the irish box office after its first three days on release , and proved a hit with audiences worldwide too as it went on to make $ 28 , 840 , 379 on a budget of just £3 . 6 million . mrs brown’s boys has also proved popular with o’carroll’s peers in the industry , both in ireland and the uk , and the show has so far won a bafta award for best situation comedy , an ifta award for best television programme , a bafta scotland award for best comedy entertainment programme as well as a writers guild of great britain british comedy award , among many other accolades .
peirce could have taken the accepted sundance film festival route and turned the subject matter into a celebration of her own hip open - mindedness , but her focus is on character and slowly - dawning desperation .
toward the end of the film ( in complete variance with historical fact ) elizabeth sends cecil into retirement , telling him that she has listened to him but now will listen only to herself . in fact , she is dependent on the machinations of walsingham throughout the film . the sinister walsingham , whom we first see slitting the throat of a boy who may have been his lover and who certainly was bribed to kill him , demonstrates how a man may act immorally for the good of his queen and country . toward the end of the film walsingham travels to scotland to seduce and then poison elizabeth ' s rival , mary of guise ( again an entirely invented sequence of events ) .
after the film was released in the summer of 2014 , richard linklater ( who once played college baseball at sam houston state university ) was invited back to minute maid park to throw out the first pitch at a home game vs . the texas rangers .
a chilling film rife with domestic violence features brett sprague ( david wenham ) , a man on parole whose thin veil of humanity becomes evident within hours of moving back in with his girlfriend , two brothers , and mom . manipulating and intimidating everyone in the household as the mother fails to keep together the family in brett ' s wake , the family becomes beset with brett ' s omnipotent presence evidenced in the following quote from the end of the film :
we ' re all gods in our own world
. the beginning of the film features eerie piano music from the necks while showing still images of everyday household objects , illustrating how the ordinary can take on meaning often larger than itself and providing escape for the inhabitants of this household run by a sociopath .
elizabeth was a strong and fascinating woman , but the film rarely depicts her complexity or strength of character . she is weak and indecisive through much of the film , and though she claims to be
no man ' s elizabeth ,
she seems dependent on francis walsingham ( her master of spies ) even at the end . this is a pity , as the film has some beautiful photography , stunning costumes , and occasional magnificent moments . the cast is impressive , especially its star ; cate blanchett looks just right as the young elizabeth and has tremendous presence . she could have been truly excellent with a better script and better direction .
while the movie at least steers clear of the hypocritical moralizing that usually dominates the second half of bank robbing movies , the sense of charming camaraderie linklater tries to achieve among the titular boys mostly came off tedious and rote . mcconaughey and hawke take turns trying to out - mug each other , while ulrich and d ' onofrio are mostly non - entities .
the filmmaker is known for his not so successful films but with this upcoming venture , he hopes to enter mainstream cinemafilmmaker kaizad gustad , credited for movies like bombay boys and boom , says his forthcoming project jackpot is his effort to get a taste of the commercial zone of cinema .
greig fraser / director of photography greig fraser is an exciting , young , up and coming talent both in australia and asia . greig started his career as a stills photographer , during which time he worked with director garth davis on his award winning documentary p . i . n . s and prompted his move into cinematography . greig worked for a thriving company exit films in melbourne where he was able to dp national and international campaigns for tvc ' s , cinema commercials , as well as experimental films , music film clips and photography . moving into the freelance world in 2002 , greig also moved into more drama based projects . he shot glendyn ivin ' s highly acclaimed , and award winning short film , crackerbag which took out the palm d ' or in the 2003 cannes film festival , 2003 afi short film award and st kilda festival short film award . greig was also nominated for a cinematography award in the 2003 afi awards .
outside , the director shows the boys hundreds of naked children engaged in sexual play and games like “centrifugal bumble - puppy . ” mustapha mond , one of the ten world controllers , introduces himself to the boys and begins to explain the history of the world state , focusing on the state’s successful efforts to remove strong emotions , desires , and human relationships from society . meanwhile , inside the hatchery , lenina chats in the bathroom with fanny crowne about her relationship with henry foster . fanny chides lenina for going out with henry almost exclusively for four months , and lenina admits she is attracted to the strange , somewhat funny - looking bernard marx . in another part of the hatchery , bernard is enraged when he overhears a conversation between henry and the assistant predestinator about “having” lenina .
the film thus ends with elizabeth reclaiming her virginity and turning herself into stone , painted white , a living statue of the virgin to replace the virgin mary . in certain ways the elizabeth of the film appears to be a modern woman trying to figure out if she can have it all , or if she must give up love to be successful . showing a beautiful but flighty woman , the center of attention , who grows into the position , behind the film ' s elizabeth may stand the ghost of princess diana and the fascination people today have for a royal romantic heroine . the screen flashes with the information that the next 40 years of elizabeth ' s reign were very successful , and that while she never saw robert in private again she died saying his name . is the message that a woman cannot be successful both politically and emotionally ? if , as the film suggests , she died with robert ' s name on her lips , is it saying the cost for being successful was too high ? it is unfortunate that we are told that elizabeth was successful but do not have much opportunity to see it .
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according to the film , brandon straddled two worlds while trying to make a real home for herself , but the constricted social parameters of the american heartland could never accommodate such an experiment . her tragedy is our tragedy , and that scope is what gives the story much of its raw power .
a handsome production that nicely evokes the 1920s and a likeable cast headed by mcconaughey can ' t compensate for a western - gangster film that ' s too diffuse and lacks a discernibel pov to be dramatically engaging .
located in the violet crown shopping center in austin , texas , this popular bbq restaurant was lensed as the exterior of the
the emporium
pool hall in dazed and confused . in what would later be regarded as breakout roles for ben affleck as “o’bannion” and matthew mcconaughey as “wooderson” , the two can be seen in the film hanging around the shopping center getting into some serious shenanigans !
linklater reaches for a good old fashioned yarn of bank robbers and kinship , but never grabs it . the rooted and direct camera work heightens his films based around improvisation and conversation - but the newton boys aspires to be fun , fast and a hearty good time , and it yearns to be shot that way .
jodie fried / costume designer jodie fried came from a theatre background . after graduating from nida ( national institute of dramatic art ) in 1998 she went on to design for many theatre and dance companies . she has costume designed for belvoir st , ensemble , bell shakespeare company , chunky move dance company , and the adelaide festvial . jodie became interested and involved in classical indian dance and packed up and moved to india . there she designed many productions for the darpana dance troupe before moving on to europe where she designed for the royal shakespeare company , london , dogtroep , amsterdam and the almeida , london . returning to australia , she has continued to design theatre as well as branching into short films . jodie brings her wealth of experience from theatre to the screen in her first film , jewboy .
, the film has a 23 % approval rating , based on 176 reviews , with an average rating of 4 . 1 / 10 . the site ' s critical consensus reads ,
two and a half hours of explosions and witless banter
.
it ' s the lethargy that ' s appalling . yes , the house that the spragues live in is unremittingly ugly and uncared for , from the dirt - brown air - conditioning unit to the red - tile bathroom walls to the empty , misshapen wire hangers . and the family ' s criminal tendencies - - the police always seem to be dropping by to question one of them - - is hardly admirable . but what stays with the moviegoer , after seeing the gloomy , somewhat plodding but still arresting australian drama , ' ' the boys , ' ' is the maddening inertia of its characters , their seeming inability to take even the smallest action .
ewen leslie / yuri ewen leslie graduated from waapa ( western australian academy of performing arts ) in 2000 . shanahan management , one of australia’s leading acting agents saw his immense talent and immediately signed him up for representation . at 23 , he has already had roles in film and tv . he played luke mason in the junction boys and has had guest roles in all saints and the road from coorain . ewen brings a great sensitivity , intelligence and empathy to the role of yuri and is a new up and coming talent to watch out for .
the film is set in northern ireland shortly after 1994 cease - fire . hazel is a protestant and malachy a catholic . romance between them is threatened by rohan ( leader in militant underground . . . see full summary »
later , at the burnett house , mike has bought marcus a new pool ( replacing a previous pool that had been destroyed in a prior gag ) , and marcus finally makes peace with mike dating syd and no longer doubts their partnership . despite the sentiment , mike ' s new pool breaks , washing the two into a river , as they sing the
bad boys
theme song .
sewell and woods also know exactly how much to show - and what not to show - for maximum dramatic effect . of a flawless cast , i must single out david wenham , exceptional as the fearful brett , and toni collette giving her best screen performance to date as michelle . the boys is an almost unbearably tense depiction of the events leading up to a crime
that events from throughout elizabeth ' s reign are presented as occurring in the first five years is forgivable as dramatic license , but numerous made - up events and historical errors mar the film . it begins at the violent end of mary i ' s reign , as the catholic ruler has heretics burned in a violent effort to halt the protestantism unleashed by her father henry viii . though greatly at risk , elizabeth survives her sister ' s reign to become queen and establish england as a protestant nation . the film takes great liberties by compressing the political intrigues with members of her court and the conflicts with scotland , france , and spain from throughout her reign into the first five years .
a day in the life of austin , texas as the camera roams from place to place and provides a brief look at the overeducated , the social misfits , the outcasts and the oddballs .
i was pleasantly surprised at how good this movie turned out . to be honest , i ' d never heard of it until a friend recommended it ( based on a very old trailer on imdb ) . it came out during 1998 , which saw both
mask of zorro
and
armageddon
, so maybe that ' s one reason for me never hearing about it . i think it was right before matthew mcconnaughey broke onto the scene . either way , i just plain enjoyed watching it . . . they show interviews from a couple of the real newton boys as the credits roll , which are pretty good . in particular , the interview on johnny carson is pretty funny . this makes me even more excited for
public enemies
, another bank - robbery movie . . . they even have a minor character in here who supposedly goes on to work with john dillinger , the guy that movie will be focused on .
the newton boys were the most successful bank robbers in american history , up until the savings and loan bandits of the 1980s . operating in the roaring ' 20s , they hit as many as 200 banks and then pulled off the nation ' s biggest train robbery , a mail train heist in northern illinois . despite their remarkable record , they never became as famous as john dillinger or
bonnie and clyde
. on the basis of this movie , i suspect it was because they were too respectable .
and when there is action ( as in a scene where they ' re unexpectedly chased by bank guards ) , it plays like a pale shadow of this film ' s master ,
bonnie and clyde . ' ' the
b & c ' ' influences are everywhere : in the period , the clothes , the cars , the banjo music on the soundtrack , the reunions between brothers , the suspicions of girlfriends and even in the character of texas ranger frank hamer ( ken farmer ) , who arrests the newtons . hamer was the ranger forced to pose for photos with bonnie and clyde ; to be fair , his inclusion is probably a deliberate in - joke by richard linklater , the director and co - writer , but the film as a whole seems drained of thrust and energy - - especially compared to his earlier films .
the film has two distinct time strands , which some viewers found confusing . most of the action in the house takes place over the 18 hours after brett sprague is released from prison . these scenes are intercut with short scenes from the future – from just after the crime , when brett is seen burning his clothes in the backyard , to the day when all three are about to be sentenced in court . this script strategy shifts the drama away from contemplation of the crime itself , to the question of how the three young men could become ready to commit such a crime . in a real sense , it takes the story back into the home , where the dynamics of family dysfunction allow the story to become more universal .
texas native , richard linklater is among the vanguard of the 1990’s american independent film renaissance , having directed early cult classics such as slacker and dazed and confused . linklater has showcased his home state of texas as the rich backdrop and source of inspiration for the films he has written , directed and produced . his storytelling takes audiences all across texas , from the incredible vistas of the greater big bend region , to the celebrated landmarks and cultural institutions of central texas , all the way to the charming small towns of the east texas piney woods .
je kiffe le casting , et bien sûr je suis membre du linklater fc , et c ' est cool qu ' il ait fait un film dans ce style parce qu ' il touche vraiment un peu à tout , mais du coup c ' est pas dans ce genre que je préfère , on ressent moins sa patte , c ' est pas ce qui le distingue quoi . un film pas désagréable , mais globalement assez banal .
the second point of contention about the boys aligns it with other australian films from the last two decades . upon its release , right - wing agitator andrew bolt attacked the picture directly , calling the script ‘cockroach droppings’ and lambasting local filmmakers for producing ‘black - hearted films for their black - skivvy mates’ . it is a theme that has persisted in local criticism , with individuals as diverse as playwright louis nowra , former president of the screen producers association antony ginnane and the age newspaper’s jim schembri publicly lamenting the cinema industry’s supposed inability to turn out profitable , entertaining movies that justify the taxpayer funding they receive .
the film is shot and directed on a very specific plan . the scenes in the house are generally given a deep focus , to allow us to see down corridors and to establish a strong sense of close proximity . much of the drama in the house is shot with hand - held camera , the characters partly obscured by corners , to give a sense of lack of privacy and conversations overheard . the overall effect is extremely claustrophobic , and very oppressive .
boys don ' t cry
is a tough ride . there ' s female nudity and off - screen oral sex , but the deplorable rape and murder are harsh and unsparing . this is a thoughtful but thoroughly rattling piece of filmmaking from a director who promises to be around for a while . rated r . 114 minutes .
at the close of the film the threats against elizabeth and the way she resolved them are not carefully explicated either except that it ends in a bloodbath . that the plot was so hard to follow might lead an unwary theatergoer to conclude for this very reason that all these various episodes were what actually happened , and the need for historical accuracy meant the sacrifice of a coherent plot line . but the muddle of events , many of them invented , have little to do with the early reign of elizabeth . perhaps shakur and writer michael hirst thought the extreme violence made up for the lack of clarity .
when thomas walks into the gym , he places the boom box on the floor facing away from basketball court . in the next shot it ' s turned towards the court .
peirce and her enormously talented star , hilary swank , both deserve academy award nominations , but it ' ll be interesting to see if the formal accolades roll in . the film hardly goes down like honey , and peirce ' s laudably restrained camera records moments of graphic hatred with unflinching honesty .
the comparison to the strong , sexually confident warrior queen mary of guise ( the regent of scotland ) is particularly striking . in one scene , we see mary on the battlefield in armor sending a young boy back to elizabeth ; his english blood stains her french colors . this is contrasted with elizabeth prostrate before the shrouded portrait of her father henry viii , and weeping because the english sent boys to fight in scotland had been slaughtered because there were no reinforcements . emotionally at that moment , mary is a far more attractive queen to the audience than elizabeth .
the # 1 new york times bestselling memoir that inspired the film october sky , rocket boys is a uniquely american memoir - - a powerful , luminous story of coming of age at the dawn of the 1960s , of a mother ' s love and a father ' s fears , of a group of young men who dreamed of launching rockets into outer space . . . and who made those dreams come true . with the grace of a natural storyteller , nasa engineer homer hickam paints a warm , vivid portrait of the harsh west virginia mining town of his youth , evoking a time of innocence and promise , when anything was possible , even in a company town that swallowed its men alive . a story of romance and loss , of growing up and getting out , homer hickam ' s lush , lyrical memoir is a chronicle of triumph - - at once exquisitely written and marvelously entertaining . one of the most beloved bestsellers in recent years , rocket boys is a uniquely american memoir . a powerful , luminous story of coming of age at the end of the 1950s , it is the story of a mother ' s love and a father ' s fears , of growing up and getting out . with the grace of a natural storyteller , homer hickam looks back after a distinguished nasa career to tell his own true story of growing up in a dying coal town and of how , against the odds , he made his dreams of launching rockets into outer space come true . a story of romance and loss and a keen portrait of life at an extraordinary point in american history , rocket boys is a chronicle of triumph .