Title: Man on a Ledge Director: Asger Leth Starring: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Genesis Rodriguez, Anthony Mackie, Edward Burns, Ed Harris, Titus Welliver It’s a decent idea; Man on a Ledge. Now what can we do with this? Best guess is that this discussion went on all the way through shooting, because after taking in the 102 minutes, the only thing creative and truly engaging is in fact, the man on the ledge. Sam Worthington makes the most of his predominantly statuesque role. The guy is standing on a twenty-to-thirty story ledge of a plush hotel in New York City. A crowd (spectators and first-response teams) form around…

Read our exclusive interview with actor Derek Magyar, who’s set to appear in two films in 2012, the adventure-thriller ‘Phantom’ and the horror-thriller ‘No One Lives.’ The critically acclaimed screenwriter-director-producer is also in pre-production for his second directorial film effort, the 2013 drama ‘The Secrets We Share.’ Magyar discussed with us what compelled him to take on his new acting roles, and shared some production details on his new helming projects. ShockYa (SY): You recently finished shooting ‘Phantom,’ in which you play Garin. The film follows the haunted Captain of a Soviet submarine, who holds the fate of the world in his hands. What was it about Garin that you…

TVLine has got the first trailer from HBO’s film “Game Change,” starring Ed Harris as Sen. John McCain and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin. The trailer, which also features Woody Harrelson as McCain’s campaign manager Steve Schmidt, is amazing, simply for the fact that the casting was nailed perfectly. These actors look so much like the real-life people they’re portraying that it’s almost horrific. But it’s also amazing in how the film plays the Republican side out to be something of a horror story. From the first time we see Moore’s high-heeled foot step out of the car, we get the feeling that McCain and his campaign are going to…

Summit Entertainment sent us the official movie trailer and synopsis for the upcoming film “Man On A Ledge” by directed by Asger Leth (GHOSTS OF CITÉ SOLEIL), written by Pablo F. Fenjves, produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura (RED, SALT, TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN) and Mark Vahradian (TRANSFORMERS) and starring Sam Worthington (AVATAR, CLASH OF THE TITANS,TERMINATOR SALVATION), Elizabeth Banks (THE NEXT THREE DAYS, W., THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN), Jamie Bell (KING KONG, BILLY ELLIOT), Anthony Mackie (THE HURT LOCKER, MILLION DOLLAR BABY, 8 MILE), Ed Burns (27 DRESSES), Titus Welliver (THE TOWN), Kyra Sedgwick (TV’S THE CLOSER) and Ed Harris (NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS, A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE). Synopsis:…

Title: Salvation Boulevard Director: George Ratliff Starring: Greg Kinnear, Pierce Brosnan, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Yul Vazquez, Marisa Tomei, Jim Gaffigan, Isabelle Fuhrman, Ciaran Hinds, Howard Hesseman Its title awash in suburban metaphorical significance, Salvation Boulevard sounds like one of those dramas where some already stressed-out parents suffer and cope with the unexpected loss of a child, or maybe reconcile after decades of emotional drift and infidelity. After an hour with plenty of chilly exchanges, someone flips their lid in the kitchen and starts yelling, maybe smashing a glass or turning over a dining set for effect. Well, histrionics do indeed eventually take center stage here, but Salvation Boulevard‘s putative area of focus is instead a…

Over the past two years there have been a spate of tiny, reform-touting documentaries lamenting the dismal state of American public education, including “The Cartel”, “The Lottery”, “Teached” and “Paramount Duty”, but the 800-pound gorilla was of course Davis Guggenheim’s “Waiting for Superman”. Taking its name from an anecdote about the intractable stasis and absence of any single superhuman rescuer as it relates to the education problem, the movie explores a variety of reasons for public school underachievement, and paints a fairly dire portrait of future American readiness in a global economy. So why return to it now, seven months after its theatrical bow, and a month-plus after its first…

Title: That’s What I Am Director: Mike Pavone Starring: Ed Harris, Chase Ellison, Molly Parker, Daniel Roebuck, Randy Orton, Daniel Yelsky, Alexander Walters, Mia Rose Frampton, Amy Madigan The fact that actual personal experience informs a movie’s narrative flavor doesn’t, of course, guarantee its quality in any way, shape or form — a fact reaffirmed by writer-director Mike Pavone’s “That’s What I Am”, an awkward mish-mash of observational coming-of-age cliches and half-baked moralizing that feels like a bloated, not particularly well sketched episode of “The Wonder Years”. Set in California during the 1960s, the film centers on 12-year-old Andy (Chase Ellison), a bright but small eighth-grade kid whose favorite teacher, Mr. Simon…

When it was first greenlit, I seriously doubt that anyone would have taken bets on The King’s Speech grossing the amount of money it did. It was an Oscar-bait movie through and through, designed to charm arthouse audiences and win little gold trophies. But having producer Harvey Weinstein on one’s side is a good thing if you’re a small independent film that requires a special marketing push, or associated with such. Six months, $393 million in worldwide theatrical receipts and a stunning four top-shelf Oscar victories later, no one is laughing at this little British drama. I won’t pretend to necessarily agree with its Best Picture Academy Award win, and…

Title: The Way Back Directed By: Peter Weir Starring: Jim Sturgess, Dragos Bucur, Colin Farrell, Ed Harris, Alexandru Potocean, Saoirse Ronan, Gustaf Skarsgard, Mark Strong, Sebastian Urzendowsky No, it’s not right to knock a film for a lengthy runtime, but if a movie is pushing two hours, it better be able to justify it. In The Way Back’s case it does – kind of. While the first portion of the film drags considerably despite impressively effective imagery, it isn’t until over an hour into it that things really become compelling. There’s nothing wrong with a film that saves the best for last, but it still needs to be entertaining while…

Warner Bros released a brand new movie poster featuring Ed Harris for the upcoming western “Appaloosa” by director Ed Harris (Pollock) and starring Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises), Renée Zellweger (My One and Only), Jeremy Irons and Lance Henriksen (Alone in the Dark II). The screenplay is written by Robert Knott and Ed Harris. Synopsis: Two friends are hired to protect a small town from a renegade rancher find their plans disrupted and their friendship tested when an attractive widow arrives in town. Based on the novel by Robert B. Parker. Stay tuned to Toxic Shock TV for the latest Appaloosa movie news and posters.