The strongest image in Appaloosa: a mountain lion overlooking a steam-engine locomotive, a feral beast contemplating industry and its movements (forward and away, receding into the expansive horizon). It also illustrates the disconnect between nearly every element of director/co-writer/star Ed Harris' adaptation of Robert B. Parker's novel, exploring the friendship between gun-for-hire Virgil Cole (Harris) and his right-hand man Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) - the various symbols never coalesce into metaphor so much as they stand stagnant and hollow at the edges of the frame.

Unsurprising for an actor assuming the directorial reins (his second such effort after 2000's Pollock), Harris indulges his performers to the point that they each seem to be inhabiting a different movie. Mortensen is all mustache and soul patch, asked to drone an embarrassingly nail-on-the-head voiceover at film's opening and close. Harris himself trades on the opaque, internalized psychosis of his brilliant turn in Alex Cox's Walker (except in the presence of the opposite sex when he becomes a stuttering, rom-com befuddled mess). And as Allie, an out-east pianist come to town to start anew, Renee Zellwegger is downright embarrassing: she's supposed to be the complicated, sexual heart of the piece, but her apple-cheeked smile-'n'-squint routine is more off-putting than alluring (and it hardly helps, besides, that Zellwegger's face now seems permanently fused - Botox I 'spect - into a rigid Joan Crawford fright mask).

First (Panorama) Magazine.

Appaloosa Movie Stills. I added 6 HQ photos. If you take the photos, credits goes to viggo-online.com

Ed Harris directed and stars (with his History of Violence pal, Viggo Mortensen) in Appaloosa, an adaptation of a Robert Parker novel. Renee Zellweger is the love interest.

Lance Henriksen and Jeremy Irons are sure to be bad to the bone. Looks epic, though the cinematography doesn't suggest that sepia-and-dusty hue that the best Westerns of late have sported. Could be great. [Source]

The first stills from the upcoming adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s instant classic The Road have hit The Web, and the photos seem to indicate that the film is doing its best to stay faithful to the novel.

And that’s just the way it should be.


For those who read blogs and not books, The Road is the gripping story of an unnamed man and his son, who are making their final trek across the wasteland of post-apocalyptic America towards the California coast, where salvation and warmer weather hopefully await. They have just one gun, two bullets, and a wobbly shopping cart of supplies to keep them alive and protected from roving bands of cannibals, thieves and degenerates. (National Lampoon’s Vacation this is not.)

The Road is slated for a November 26, 2008 release. It stars Viggo Mortensen as “The Father”, Charlize Theron as “The Wife” and twelve-year old Australian actor Kodi Smit-McPhee as “The Son”. Guy Pearce, Robert Duvall and Michael K. Williams (aka “Omar” from The Wire) all costar. The Road is directed by John Hillcoat. [Source]


To see the photos, click here

Hello there!

I added some new Appaloosa photos. If you take them, credits goes to viggo-online.com

Hello there!!

I added a new video to the Multimedia Zone so, go there to watch this.

-- "Appaloosa" Trailer (2008)

Enjoy!

I don't necessarily have a soft spot for westerns -- although 3:10 to Yuma, Seraphim Falls, and The Proposition certainly didn't hurt that cause -- but because we as moviegoers aren't exactly inundated with them, it always feels like they tend to have more effort and care put into them than most other genre fare.

Judging from the MSN exclusive trailer for the upcoming Appaloosa, this looks to follow suit as Ed Harris (who also directed and co-wrote the film) and Viggo Mortensen (for whom Harris played an adversary in A History of Violence) deal with lawlessness in a small town out west, while the widowed Renée Zellweger surely tempts them both.

Toss in a supporting cast that includes Jeremy Irons and Lance Henriksen (that reminds me, The Quick and the Dead merits mention as well), and the benefit of my doubt at least has been earned. Appaloosa is scheduled to play Toronto in September, followed by an October 3rd release. [Source]

Online retailer HDAddicts.com has alerted us the Viggo Mortensen Russian mob drama Eastern Promises is scheduled for a Blu-ray Disc release on October 14.

Eastern Promises was originally released on HD DVD and presented in widescreen 1.85:1 1080p video and 5.1 Dolby Digital lossy audio. The move to Blu-ray should result in a jump to 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio.

Supplemental features found on the HD DVD will likely also appear intact on Blu-ray. Those include a pair of featurettes: Secrets and Stories, and Marked for Life.

Eastern Promises on Blu-ray will carry an SRP of $29.98. Check back regularly for high resolution cover art, finalized disc specs and pre-order information, all of which we expect on or shortly after Universal officially makes an announcement.

Browse all Amazon.com Blu-ray pre-orders. [Source]

An intense and gripping Russian gangster movie set in London.

Veteran director David Cronenberg reunites with Viggo Mortensen after the stunningly soft tale of one’s past in A History of Violence. The two follow the same rule of thumb, as in Eastern Promises, it’s safe to say that Viggo is even more badass. Building upon the Lord of the Rings trilogy and History, Viggo proves you don’t need to be a Stallone to be considered tough.

Eastern Promises opens with a Russian teenager in London who dies on the operating table during childbirth. Her diary leaves clues to medical resident Anna (Naomi Watts), that tie her child to a vicious rape involving a Russian mob family. The plot thickens when Anna tries to follow the clues that lead to the mob, and put her life in danger. The mysterious Nikolai Luzhin (Viggo Mortensen) is a driver for the Russian mob that Anna clashes with, and bridges the gap as things escalate.

When we think of crime-mobster dramas, we usually think of Italian families, or even more recently, Irish, as seen in The Departed. So it’s nice to see a nice expansion and have a compelling story about a Russian mob family. The film has no fat on it as it’s fast paced with a 90 minute runtime.

Cronenberg triumphs again as he incorporates psychological drama and turmoil mixed with gritty, graphic violence that allow Viggo to fully immerse himself in this role. Viggo emulates the Russian mobster flawlessly as he has the realistic tattoos, slicked back hair, an affection for vodka and, of course, how could one forget that hauntingly accurate accent he sports. There’s a certain memorable scene that is just simply hypnotizing as I have never seen anything in movies quite like it. That would be the sauna scene, which I will stop myself now from spoiling.