The Prodigy Movie

Every creative endeavor, in some way, owes a debt to what’s come before. Even the new hit show you’re watching on direct tv undoubtedly takes inspiration from a variety of sources. Sometimes, these sources might be difficult to see. When you’re talking about the hardboiled noir atmosphere of The Prodigy, though, there’s one man whose inspiration can’t be denied: a Pinkerton-agent-turned-writer named Dashiell Hammett.Hammett was born in southern Maryland in 1894, but grew up in both Baltimore and Philadelphia. He dropped out of school at 13 and eventually found his way to the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, where he worked from 1915 to February 1922. He also served in World War I. These experiences, along with Hammett’s anger at the role of the Pinkertons in strike-breaking, eventually led him to put down the gun and pick up the pen. Read the rest of this entry »

The film industry is one that is rapidly evolving. With every new technological advance films grab hold and plug it until the audiences bore of it. In the past whether it was animation and film coming together or wire kung fu stunts Hollywood fads grab hold. The latest craze that has the film industry at it’s mercy is 3D.

Last summer was just the tip of the iceberg as major action pictures dabbled in the 3D experience. Over Read the rest of this entry »

The summer of 2011 will be full of plenty of franchise hits: new “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Kung Fu Panda,” “Harry Potter,” “Transformers” and “X-men” editions will hit the movie screens. Luckily, for moviegoers in search of something unexpected, there are some new stories, and potential blockbusters on the calendar. J.J. Abrams, of “Lost” and “Star Trek” fame will bring the alien-centric “Super 8″ to theaters in June, with an intriguing late 70′s story of kids accidentally capturing some goings-on at Area 51. In July, another sci-fi tinged thriller, “Cowboys and Aliens,” will combine Read the rest of this entry »

Liam Neeson stars, in another great role that shows why he is a Kick Ass actor. He plays Dr. Martin Harris. After being in a car accident in Berlin, he wakes up in a hospital with very little memory. He also finds out that his wife does not recognize him and that another man is assuming his identity. The authorities do not believe him and he has assassins trying to kill him. A taxi driver aids Read the rest of this entry »

Part of The Prodigy‘s success comes from weaving violent action sequences with philosophical underpinnings. Luckily for fans, director William Kaufman is just the latest in a long line of directors to bring these disparate genres together. One of the best-known directors of this kind is Luc Besson, the French writer/director/producer. Since 1983, Luc Besson has worked on more than fifty different movies across a variety of languages. He’s also won a number of awards, including the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film Critics Prize, the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film (Nil By Mouth) and the Best Director Cesar Award (The Fifth Element). Now seems as good a time as ever to look back at some of his highlights.Besson’s first film was Le Dernier Combat (1983), a black-and-white science-fiction film about a world in which people have almost completely lost the ability to speak. An unnamed man (Pierre Jolivet) makes his way through an apocalyptic landscape while being followed by The Brute (Jean Reno). The film is notable for being almost completely silent, with almost no dialogue and less than two minutes of music. Besson’s first hit, however, didn’t come until his second film, Subway (1985). A young man who has stolen some Mafia papers retreats into the subway, where he falls in love with a gangster’s wife and starts a band. Subway was the third most popular French movie of 1986. Read the rest of this entry »

Edward Norton has proven himself a master at getting into the minds of complex characters, whether in Fight Club, American History X, or Fight Club. In his new film Stone, he joins up with a similarly varied actor, Robert De Niro. While it would be a thrill just watching these two talk to each other in the same movie, bringing them into conflict with each other is a surefire way to get the sparks flying. With Norton as the arsonist Gerald “Stone” Creeson and De Niro as his parole officer Jack Mabey, that’s exactly what happens.The crux of the film concerns Stone trying to con Mabey into allowing his release. To accomplish this, he relies on lies, manipulation, and the talents of his wife, Lucetta (Milla Jovovich), who seduces Mabey under Stone’s orders. During the film, we see flashbacks to earlier, supposedly happier times in Mabey’s life. Will Mabey fall to Stone’s plotting, and is there more at stake than these characters want to let on? Read the rest of this entry »