The Screening Log - blogging film

Seen on: June 12, 2009

The players: Director: Tony Scott, Writer: Brian Helgeland, Cast: Denzel Washington, John Travolta, James Gandolfini, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Brian Haley

Facts of interest: Remake of Joseph Sargent's 1974 flick of the same title.

The plot: A New York City subway dispatcher is thrust into the middle of a hostage situation on-board a subway train.

Our thoughts: I didn’t exactly love Tony Scott’s “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3” remake, but much to the film’s credit, it sure did entertain me for most of its running time. “Pelham” has its flaws, and the central plot could have been a tad more intriguing, but all in all, it qualifies as a decent summer thriller that mostly works.

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Friday

12Jun2009

'The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3' web reviews

Friday, June 12, 2009 at 10:32AM | By

Tony Scott returns to the big screen with a remake of "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta. Let's find out what some of the Web's critics have to say about the thriller:

• Josh Tyler at CinemaBlend: "Solid performances from Washington and Travolta are wasted on a script that probably wasn’t worth making and a movie that’s definitely not worth seeing."

• Matt Goldberg at Collider: "Of course, Scott does what he always does: hyperactive editing regardless of the appropriate tonality as dictated by the narrative."

• Ron Henriques at LatinoReview: "There are so many directions the story could have taken, all of them better than the final result."

• Cole Abaius at FilmSchoolRejects: "What works about 'Pelham' is that, despite being high concept, there’s a solid focus on the characters that gives us shades of who they are without getting too preachy or attempting to get deeper than it needs to."

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Thursday

11Jun2009

Lame trailer for 'Old Dogs' debuts online

Thursday, June 11, 2009 at 3:01PM | By

Penguins attacking John Travolta and Robin Williams? A gorilla rocking Seth Green? Ladies and gentleman, the end of the world is near. These are signs of another disaster heading our way.

The first trailer for Walt Becker's new comedy "Old Dogs" has just debuted online, and to be honest, it kind of looks like a combination of "Wild Hogs" and Strange Wilderness." In other words, it looks quite aweful.

In the film, Williams and Travolta play two business partners whose lives take a sharp turn when Williams' character finds out he has 7-year-old twins. Oh and by the way, that guy's horrible with kids, so you can imagine what happens next...

The whole thing is a Walt Disney production, but judging by this trailer, it seems this is just the kind of flick you should not take your kids to, unless you want them to be sucked into the realm of unnecessary, absurd filmmaking.

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Monday

08Jun2009

This week's new movie releases - June 12, 2009

Monday, June 8, 2009 at 10:46PM | By

This week, we're only looking at two wide releases: Tony Scott's remake "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" with Denzel Washington and John Travolta; and Karey Kirkpatrick's family film "Imagine That" with Eddie Murphy:

THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3

Synopsis: Denzel Washington stars as New York City subway dispatcher Walter Garber, whose ordinary day is thrown into chaos by an audacious crime: the hijacking of a subway train. John Travolta stars as Ryder, the criminal mastermind who, as leader of a highly-armed gang of four, threatens to execute the train's passengers unless a large ransom is paid within one hour.

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Wednesday

01Apr2009

New 'Pelhalm 123' trailer boasts new footage

Wednesday, April 1, 2009 at 11:19AM | By

The folks at MySpace recently posted a new trailer for Tony Scott's upcoming remake of "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," and you can check it out after the jump.

This second feature trailer contains quite a bit of new footage, some of which may even reveal a little too much. I just don't get why so many trailers today almost run through the whole movie in less than three minutes.

Anyway, John Travolta plays a criminal mastermind who hijacks a New York subway train and threatens to kill passengers unless he receives a large ransom.

Meanwhile, Denzel Washington stars as a subway dispatcher who does everything in his power to stop Travolta's character and save the hostages. James Gandolfini and John Turturro co-star.

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Sunday

15Feb2009

'Taking of Pelhalm 123' trailer doesn't look bad

Sunday, February 15, 2009 at 10:45PM | By

Tony Scott will soon return to the big screen with a remake of "The Taking of Pelham 123."

In the film, John Travolta plays a criminal mastermind who hijacks a New York subway train and threatens to kill passengers unless he receives a large ransom.

Meanwhile, Washington stars as a subway dispatcher who does everything in his power to stop Travolta's character and save the hostages.

The first trailer for "Pelham 123" has been released, and you can check it out below. Sure, it looks very much like every other Scott flick, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I certainly didn't like all of Scott's films, but among his recent ones, I enjoyed "Spy Game" and "Deja Vu." And, judging by the footage below, I believe there is a good chance of Travolta and Washington working together quite well.

"The Taking of Pelham 123" opens everywhere June 12, 2009.

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Saturday

20Dec2008

Bloody set pics for 'From Paris With Love'

Saturday, December 20, 2008 at 9:18AM | By

Pierre Morel's latest thriller "From Paris with Love" is still shooting, and the Bad and Ugly recently got a hold of new images of John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers from the set.

As you can see above, Meyers looks bloody and Travolta looks... scary (sort of). Based on a script by Luc Besson and Adi Hasak, the film centers on an embassy worker who encounters an American secret agent during a risky mission in the French capital.

Production for the film halted two months ago because members of the production team found ten cars belonging to Europacorp burned out by arsonists, but it looks like everything is back to normal.

Anyway, check out one still above and click here if you want to see some more.

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Wednesday

17Dec2008

Brand-new pic from 'Old Dogs' debuts online

Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at 11:01PM | By

Walt Disney today released the first official still from Walt Becker's upcoming comedy "Old Dogs," about two middle-aged business partners whose lives are turned upside down when they find themselves in the care of 7-year old twins.

John Travolta and Robin Williams lead the cast, which also includes Seth Green, Kelly Preston, Matt Dillon and the late Bernie Mac. At this stage, "Old Dogs" is set for release Nov. 25, 2009. Becker also recently directed "Wild Hogs."

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Thursday

27Nov2008

Adam Shankman spills 'Hairspray 2' details

Thursday, November 27, 2008 at 7:57AM | By

I'm sure by now you've heard that Adam Shankman is already working on a sequel to his 2007 hit musical "Hairspray," which pulled $118.8 million domestically.

Shankman recently talked to EW, revealing that the writing process for the follow-up is about to begin. "We just got an outline and some ideas from John Waters, and now we're going out to writers," he said.

Apparently, the plot will center on Tracy Turnblad and her friends as they sing their way through the late '60s. "That period was superpolitical," Shankman told EW.

But wait, there's more. Although details remain under wraps, Shankman also said Zac Efron's character Link will somehow become involved in the British Invasion.

Whatever ends up happening in this thing, I personally don't need a sequel. Plus, John Travolta recently announced he may not even want to return as Edna Turnblad.

What do you think? Ready for round two? Or not at all excited about this? Let me know by leaving your comments below.

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Saturday

22Nov2008

'Bolt' web reviews

Saturday, November 22, 2008 at 1:53PM | By

"Twilight" is certainly this weekend's box office winner, but for all those fed up with all the fuss around the vampire romance, Walt Disney has a great alternative. The film's title is "Bolt," and it follows a super-dog who believes he has unique powers until he realizes he's just the star of a TV show. Here's what the Web's critics have to say about it:

• Josh Tyler at Cinema Blend: "It takes each moment, each gag, and builds on it to push story and characters further."

• Jette Kernion at Cinematical: "It's better than many other recent non-Pixar animated films from Disney, and it'll give families something to see in a theater together over the Thanksgiving holiday."

• Brian Orndorf at Collider: "However, the lack of screenwriting imagination is offset by the inherent charm of the picture, resulting in a pleasing arrangement of CG-animated action set-pieces and slapstick comedy to push 'Bolt' beyond the repetitive family film norm."

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