Title: Toast Director: S.J. Clarkson Starring: Oscar Kennedy, Freddie Highmore, Helena Bonham Carter, Ken Stott, Victoria Hamilton, Matthew McNulty British period piece import ‘Toast’, playing at Laemmle theaters in Los Angeles this weekend as part of their “From Britain With Love” series, is a well-acted if somewhat meandering and pedantic coming-of-age story, based on the memoir of Nigel Slater, a popular English food writer, journalist and broadcaster. Fans of ‘EastEnders’ and all other sorts of across-the-pond television, as well as kitchen-sink dramas in general, will find reward in the detail and clarity of this tale. The movie opens in Wolverhampton in the late 1960s, where nine-year-old Nigel (Oscar Kennedy, quite  [ Read More ]

Title: Bride Flight Director: Ben Sombogaart Starring: Karina Smulders, Elise Schaap, Anna Drijver, Waldemar Torenstra, Rutger Hauer Based on the novel by Marieke van der Pol, Dutch import ‘Bride Flight’ is emblematic of the particular sort of heritage cinema that is from the outside and at first glance stuffy and a bit boring but, if one gives it time and an open heart and mind, eventually blossoms due to the strength of its characterizations. Directed by Ben Sombogaart (‘Twin Sisters’) and based on true events, the film opens in the present day at a funeral and then flashes back to 1953, as a plane full of (mostly betrothed) women escape  [ Read More ]

Title: Morning Writer-director: Joseph Mitacek Starring: Andrew Ramaglia, Emily Cline, Wally Dalton, Ryan Cooper, Deb Craig An achingly sincere (and achingly familiar), Seattle-set drama of parental bereavement and relationship drift, writer-director Joseph Mitacek’s Morning, which just screened as part of the recently concluded 14th annual Dances With Films festival, is proof that there’s quiet, to-scale reward in plenty of indie cinema, if predominantly for those who don’t mind its laid-track similarity to so much heartstring-tugging Hollywood studio product. Morning centers around Michael (Andrew Ramaglia) and Sarah Hade (Emily Cline), a married couple with a two-year-old son, and all of the typical sorts of challenges that come with trying to juggle both home and  [ Read More ]

Title: The Double Hour Director: Giuseppe Capotondi Starring: Filippo Timi, Ksenia Rappoport, Antonia Truppo, Gaetano Bruno, Fausto Russo Alesi, Michele Di Mauro A sort of poison pill for arthouse enjoyers of square-jawed foreign film literalism, Italian import The Double Hour, which scored three top prizes at the 2009 Venice Film Festival, is a woozy and engaging romantic mystery loosely in the vein of Wicker Park, Swimming Pool or even Jacob’s Ladder. It’s not for all tastes, but the movie’s superlative lead performances give it an undeniable hold. The film starts out as a seemingly fairly straightforward drama of lonely hearts disengagment. At a speed-dating event, mousey, unhappy hotel maid Sonia (Ksenia Rappoport) meets the mysterious Guido (Filippo Timi), who turns  [ Read More ]

Title: Earthwork Writer-director: Chris Ordal Starring: John Hawkes, James McDaniel, Zach Grenier, Laura Kirk, Bruce MacVittie, Chris Bachand, Sam Greenlee, Brendon Glad Wiry and kind of owlish at the same time, looking a bit like the physical model for the animated character of Scrat from the “Ice Age” films, John Hawkes is a bonafide character actor — someone whose face a lot of filmgoers might recognize, but not quite be able to place. That’s in the process of changing. Hawkes has had success and glowing media notices before (Miranda July’s “Me and You and Everyone We Know” was the darling of the 2005 Sundance Film Festival), but achieved a whole  [ Read More ]

Title: Sympathy For Delicious Director: Mark Ruffalo Starring: Christopher Thornton, Juliette Lewis, Mark Ruffalo, Laura Linney, Orlando Bloom, John Carroll Lynch, Noah Emmerich It’s not just about the free, high-end swag for celebrities, although that’s certainly nice. Of the many perks and privileges they are afforded, one of the more precious ones that can’t be entirely quantified is the professional line-jump pass that actors receive to jump behind the camera and into the director’s chair. Trading on their name-recognition value, they have instant credibility with an assortment of potential financiers, easily landing the sort of important creative meetings for which hundreds of would-be auteurs would punch out their own mothers. Their efforts  [ Read More ]

I don’t know about the movie as a whole, but in terms of trailers, the Harry Potter franchise is going out with one heck of a bang. Ever since the first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the Potter theme has given me chills time and time again and the trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 kicks off with just that. After the unforgettable jingle fades out, we get a series of absolutely incredible visuals charged by a powerful score. If you were of the camp that felt The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 was lacking in action, Part 2 certainly won’t disappoint. The CGI and  [ Read More ]

Title: Win Win Director: Thomas McCarthy Starring: Paul Giamatti, Jeffrey Tambor, Amy Ryan, Alex Shaffer, Burt Young, Bobby Cannavale, Melanie Lynskey “Win Win” dabbles in a few genres. By doing so, the qualities of all these genres are delivered in a subtle manner. There is an ample amount of comedy and drama laced throughout; typically known as the modern-day dramedy. Add in the high school wrestling backdrop, and a nice little sport subplot is on display. In certain sequences, it may remind one of Hoosiers. Other times, it can feel like The Blind Side, with regards to the family-drama angle. Yet it cannot emulate the emotional value either of those  [ Read More ]

Title: Another Year Directed by: Mike Leigh Starring: Jim Broadbent, Ruth Sheen, Lesley Manville, Oliver Maltman, Peter Wight, David Bradley, Karina Fernandez Click Here for the latest clips and trailers from “Another Year”. Not sure if it was writer/director Michael Leigh’s intention to depict a comedy in the 129 minute “Another Year.” For whatever reason, this guy could not stop laughing at the train-wreck of characters that came in and out of this story. And that’s a very good thing my friends (it‘s not one of those ‘it is so bad it’s funny’ type of pieces). The contrasting dynamics within the characters is quite enjoyable to watch. Granted the length  [ Read More ]

Watch the first official movie trailer for the upcoming film “How To Be” written and directed by Oliver Irving and produced by Justin Kelly and starring Robert Pattinson (Twilight) Johnny White, Mike Pearce, Powell Jones, Jeremy Hardy, Rebecca Pidgeon, and Michael Irving. Synopsis: At first fancying himself an “enigmatic poet”, twenty something Art gradually realizes that he must take action if he’s going to escape his depressed life as a struggling musician in London. A solution comes in the shape of a book titled “It’s Not Your Fault”. Not content to just draw inspiration from its pages, however, Art invites the elderly author of the book to come live with  [ Read More ]

Sci Fi Channel is teaming with Will Smith for “Unfinished Business”, a new crime procedural/drama about an ex-cop who starts seeing flashes of memories from the recently deceased, and then, compelled by them, begins helping lost and wronged souls take care of unfinished business. Sci Fi/Syfy plans to initially air “Business” as a 2-hour movie, that also will serve as a series pilot. It isbeing produced through Overbrook Entertainment, with Smith, James Lassiter and Ken Stovitz executive producing. Sally Robinson (“Iron Jawed Angels”) is writing the pilot, and Mikael Salomon (“Band of Brothers”) is attached to direct. Both Robinson and Salomon are also attached as executive producers. No release date  [ Read More ]

Watch a brand new movie trailer for the upcoming drama “The Soloist” by director Joe Wright (Atonement, Pride & Prejudice) and starring Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder), Catherine Keener (The 40 Year Old Virgin) and Jamie Foxx (Ray, Dreamgirls). Synopsis: A schizophrenic (Jamie Foxx), is a homeless musician from Skid Row, Los Angeles who dreams of playing at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Through “chance,” he meets a journalist (Robert Downey Jr.), who tries to help this mentally disturbed man get “back on his feet” and make his dreams come true. Stay tuned to Toxic Shock TV for the latest movie posters and trailers from “The Soloist”.

Variety reports that actors Maria Bello, Abigail Breslin and Samuel L. Jackson have signed on for indie drama Rape: A Love Story. Domestic Disturbance director Harold Becker will helm with Michael Mendelsohn producing and financing through his Patriot Pictures banner. Rape: A Love Story is based on a 2003 Joyce Carol Oates novella that centers on a mother (Bello) who is recovering from a brutal gang rape and is stalked by the perpetrators when a sympathetic cop (Jackson) comes to her rescue. Breslin will play the woman’s 12-year-old daughter who witnesses the attack. John Mankiewicz, a writer and co-executive producer for hit TV drama “House M.D.”, adapted the screenplay. Bello,  [ Read More ]

Actor Tony Shalhoub has confirmed that the eighth season of USA’s hit drama “Monk” will be the last. The actor, who plays an obsessive-compulsive private investigator, is pulling the plug on the show so he can pursue other acting projects and work behind the camera. Shalhoub says, “It’s a great job, and I work with great people, and I really enjoy doing the character, but I think eight years is enough. I think we’ve kind of explored all the avenues we could possibly cover, and as much as I like the show and working on it, I really do want to think about moving onto whatever the next chapter might  [ Read More ]

Screen Gems recently released this brand new movie clip from the upcoming drama “Not Easily Broken” by director Bill Duke (Reflections of a Motor City) and starring Morris Chestnut (Bones), Taraji P. Henson (Boston Legal, Eli Stone) and Maeve Quinlan (90210). Synopsis: After years of disagreeing on what true happiness, success, and love really are, Dave and Clarice Johnson have finally reached a breaking point in their marriage. When Clarice is hurt in a car accident, the obvious truth that more than just her injuries need immediate attention is exposed. Their odds of making it worsen as Clarice begins to see a physical therapist, and Dave develops a friendship with  [ Read More ]