“GAME OF THRONES” ACTOR JASON MOMOA TALKS ABOUT “BULLET TO THE HEAD”

Popularly known for playing powerful warlord Khal Drogo in HBO's hit medieval fantasy series “Game of Thrones,” Jason Momoa will soon be seen in the big screen squaring off against Sylvester Stallone in the pulsating action-thriller “Bullet to the Head” from legendary director Walter Hill.

Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures

             In the film, Stallone stars as Jimmy Bobo, a New Orleans hitman who forms an alliance with Washington D.C. detective Taylor Kwan (“Fast Five's” Sung Kang) to bring down the killer of their respective partners: the mercenary Keegan (Momoa).

             Raised in Iowa by way of Honolulu and born of German, Irish, Native Hawaiian and Native American blood, Jason Momoa first turned heads as Hawaii's Model of the Year in 1999, thanks to his imposing stature and exotic looks. This success led directly to his first acting gig on “Baywatch: Hawaii,” which he followed up with a few small films and another TV series, but his true breakout came in the role of Ronon Dex on “Stargate: Atlantis.” Most recently, Momoa was seen in “Game of Thrones” which led to the 2011 feature film remake of “Conan the Barbarian.”

             In the following interview, Momoa talks about the glorious “Game of Thrones,” what it’s like working with the great Walter Hill and fighting “Rocky” Sylvester Stallone for the upcoming “Bullet in the Head.”

             Question: Have you spoken with “Game of Thrones” creators D.B. Weiss and David Benioff and asked, “Couldn’t you have picked me to play a character that lived longer?”

             Jason Momoa: [Laughs] I know right. It’s funny me and Dave and Dan are very close and when they called me back I just had such an amazing time, and it was an honor. I love those guys. My only disappointment is I wish (and this is on George Martin) is I wanted to see Drogo go to war, man. That was the only bummer, maybe he could have died in battle. It was a good way to go out because it was just heartbreaking but it would have been fun to see him kick some ass.

              Q: When you were making “Game of Thrones” did you know that it was something special?

             Momoa: Oh yeah, I’d never heard of anything like it. When I got the script, it was the first time in my life that I wanted to take the opportunity … take something and get it. I’ve never been so focused on getting something in my life. It was like I had to have it. 

             Q: So you’re just finishing up “Bullet to the Head” with Walter Hill. We’ve only heard little snippets about it but can you tell us about that?

             Momoa: That was an honor, it was just amazing and I mean Stallone is just a legend. It was a dream to work with him and my fight scenes with Stallone, it was like you just stop and pinch yourself and say “I can’t believe I’m fighting Rocky right now!” I watched “Rocky” when I was getting ready for Conan. It was fun and I got to play a ‘Don’ for the first time. I’m excited for people to see it.

              Q: So did Conan drink three eggs and train in Philly in the morning, just like Rocky?

             Momoa: [Laughs] No, Conan drank a lot of beer.

             Q: Your take on “Conan” nailed the savagery and made him the best take on the character. How did you feel about the rest of the film living up to your performance?

             Momoa: I was a comic book fan and a huge admirer of Frank Frazetta and when he died during our filming, it was so sad because I wanted him to see it and say “Wow, that’s my Conan!” Just looking at his paintings, I wanted to put that up on the screen. I absolutely remember seeing that one where Conan's standing on a pile of skulls and it’s seared into your memory and a I felt like Marcus Nispel is a pretty visually amazing director. There’s just a lot of things that came into it and sometimes the script just wasn’t there. I just wanted take a stab at doing Conan and it’s out of your control, you can only do so much I feel like I bled over, and over and over to do the best I could. I feel like we represented him very well. The movie sometimes, it fell short you can only show up as an actor and be the best you can be.

             (Bullet to the Head” is distributed by Buena Vista International through Columbia Pictures.)

BUY YOUR “SAVAGES” TICKETS ONLINE, WIN A FREE TRIP TO BORACAY !

Moviegoers who will purchase their “Savages” tickets online at www.sureseats.com will get a chance to win an all-expense-paid trip to Boracay, including airfare and hotel accommodations. 

             Directed by Oliver Stone, “Savages” is a thriller about a pair of American marijuana growers (Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson) who fights a war against a powerful Mexican drug cartel. The film is now showing exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas, namely Glorietta 4, Greenbelt 3, Trinoma, Alabang Town Center and Market! Market!

             To find out more details on how to join the raffle promo, please log on to www.sureseats.com.

             “Savages” features an all-star ensemble cast that includes Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson, John Travolta, Benecio del Toro, Salma Hayek, Emile Hirsch and Demian Bichir. The film is based on Don Winslow's best-selling crime novel that was named one of The New York Times' Top 10 Books of 2010.

             In the film, Laguna Beach entrepreneurs Ben (Johnson), a peaceful and charitable Buddhist, and his closest friend Chon (Kitsch), a former Navy SEAL and ex-mercenary, run a lucrative, homegrown industry—raising some of the best marijuana ever developed. They also share a one-of-a-kind love with the extraordinary beauty Ophelia (Lively). Life is idyllic in their Southern California town...until the Mexican Baja Cartel decides to move in and demands that the trio partners with them.

             When the merciless head of the BC, Elena (Hayek), and her brutal enforcer, Lado (Del Toro), underestimate the unbreakable bond among these three friends, Ben and Chon—with the reluctant, slippery assistance of a dirty DEA agent (Travolta)—wage a seemingly unwinnable war against the cartel. And so begins a series of increasingly vicious ploys and maneuvers in a high stakes, savage battle of wills.

Lincoln movie review

Story: A biographical movie adaptation of the U.S.'s 16th president.

Review: It is not long ago when mash-up movie adaptation Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was shown in cinemas. For those who know the history will find the vampire lore fictional. Although the mashed-up story what Lincoln stood for, you will see in this movie what The Gettysburg Address meant even though most of us were too young to understand when we used it for declamation contests in our elementary school days.

What would the relevance for Lincoln be in a context of a Filipino? You may say 'Not a thing. so what?' But we can draw insights from him. President Lincoln live on the same era when Filipinos fought for revolution. At least on the same century. Even though he fought for the 13th amendment, what he stood for is what we Filipinos struggled for. Equality. Even though we were never independent after Spain, we were on the same wavelength as Lincoln even though timezones apart.

There was two battles Lincoln is facing during this time. One was the American Civil War and the other was the approval of the 13th Amendment at Congress. The American Civil War is not any regular war. It almost cost the Americans to have two separate countries. In duration of this period of time, the rebel states made their own government. The Confederate States Of America with Jefferson Davis as their president. In the case of the American Civil War, it was not a battle between good and evil. It is about which side stood for. But it also costs many lives.

 In the "battle" in the Capitol for the 13th Amendment, Honest Abe also had help. There was William Seward, his former rival turned trusted supporter and abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens.

It also makes me wonder if there were such person like Lincoln that is also "clothed with immense power" here in the Philippines, there might be a chance that the bloodshed the revolution brought just to gain independence from Spain could be avoided.

Daniel Day-Lewis did a great performance as Lincoln even though he is an English actor. His impression of a Yankee accent is flawless that he can pass off as American. Unlike the Vampire Hunter, he did much closer to likeness to Abraham Lincoln himself like he was cloned from the archived photos.  Lincoln production designer Rick Carter shares "I haven't gotten over the first time I saw him. Daniel Day-Lewis was not who I saw in front of me. I saw Abraham Lincoln. I didn't see any distinction or gap between them."

Sally Field was a great choice for the role of Mary Todd Lincoln. She bare resemblance to her photos and her performance was great enough to get good reviews. Mary Todd-Lincoln was really ahead of her time. She is very intelligent and headstrong for a woman living in the 20th century America. Tommy Lee Jones did amazing performance as Thaddeus Stevens.

Steven Spielberg is now doing great doing historical and biopic movies. He may not have anything Sci-Fi or Fantasy adventure but anything Spielberg movie is a must-watch. Lincoln is released by 20th Century Fox and distributed by Warner Bros.

A Good Day To Die Hard movie review

Story:  Retired New York cop John McClane is once again caught at the wrong place at the wrong time when he went to a vacation in Russia only to find his son is in a middle of a crime heist.

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Review: It is very rare to see old-school action movies recently. Bruce Willis started his first action movie with the film, Sunset but it was with Die Hard that launched him in movie star status and proved that he can be equal with action titans like Stallone and Schwarzenegger and even became a co-owner of Planet Hollywood with them.

I never thought that there were still Die Hard movies to follow after the last one. Although the last one was good but I prefer the first three Die Hard movies. I just felt that he could do other action characters that he is also good at when he played a former black ops agent in RED(Retired. Extremely Dangerous) and recently, Expendables 2. These movies shows that he can still do action movies now that he is also part of GI Joe Retaliation which is coming soon.

Not only that. Among all the movies in  the action genre, Die Hard is one of the longest. Rambo had three sequels and Terminator had two sequels counting only the ones with Schwarzenegger. Since the last movie, there are major developments and changes in his iconic character John McClane as well as revelation which involves his estranged son.

Jai Courtney first get the attention in a TV series, Spartacus: Blood and Sand. But it was in the movie, Jack Reacher starring Tom Cruise that proved he can do more roles beyond Spartacus. Now, he is playing the part of Jack, John McClane's son. Despite that there is some changes like Jack teaming up with his father, knowing that McClane is no longer doing solo action, it still a fun movie to watch. If you grew up watching action movies with your father, then this is the movie for you. A Good Day To Die Hard is released in 2D format and IMAX by Twentieth Century Fox and distributed by Warner Bros.

Savages movie review

Story: Two Laguna Beach drug entrepreneurs are in conflict with a Mexican cartel.

Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures

Review: What impresses me about this movie was that it was another Oliver Stone movie. It's been a while since I've seen his last movie. The last one was Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps which he directed in 2010.

Oliver Stone is that kind of director that tells the stories about the dark side of this world or society. He exposes the realities that most are not aware of. He did this in his classic movies like Platoon, Born In The Fourth Of July, JFK, Natural Born Killers, The People vs. Larry Flint, Wall Street and my personal favorites, Heaven & Earth; The Joy Luck Club. Regardless he is a director, executive producer or screenwriter, you can be assured that it is a quality good movie.

Oliver Stone also created characters that you would not imagine in real life. One such character was Mickey(played by Woody Harrelson) from the movie, Natural Born Killers. These  type of characters are somehow glorified in an Oliver stone movie which I noticed in Savages. The protagonists are not the heroic type.

I can describe the story as not wholesome since some of the scenes are too graphic in terms of violence and sex. The only nudity that you will see is limited to butt exposure from a guy which is not the only focal point. The violence may be too hard to look at if you don't have the stomach for it.

But there will be some unpredictable turn of events in the movie and the story is still something new. The quality of filmmaking Oliver Stone does is more of the quality movies which may not be allowed in a standard Hollywood movie but more of an independent kind. For the cast, Blake Lively evolved from her usual roles like in Gossip Girl to a more mature role. In Savages, she plays Ophelia, who has a torrid relationship with two men. Taylor Kitsch is known doing action movies. Although he has share of action scenes in Savages, his character, Chon, has a different twist in it. He is an ex-Navy SEAL and ex-mercenary who runs their home-grown marijuana business with his partner, Ben and they are both in a relationship with Ophelia.

Also in Savages are John Travolta, Benicio del Toro and Salma Hayek. Travolta and Hayek are not new in this kind of movie. They already have similar types of movies with Quentin Tarantino. Besides that, these veteran actors also gave way in the spotlight for the youngbloods like Lively and Kitsch.

What makes this movie more interesting is that you can only watch it exclusively at Ayala Cinemas. Savages released and distributed by UIP through Solar Entertainment Corp.

Megan Fox is cast for Michael Bay's TMNT Reboot

Michael Bay announced over his website that Megan Fox will be included in casting of the reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. No further details yet.

DANIEL DAY-LEWIS’ ILLUMINATION OF ONE OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST IN HISTORY IN “LINCOLN”

Academy-Award winner Daniel Day-Lewis (“My Left Foot,” “There Will Be Blood”) is also this year’s Academy-award nominee frontrunner for his titular role in the Steven Spielberg-directed movie “Lincoln.”

                Daniel Day-Lewis stars in Steven Spielberg’s powerful drama, “Lincoln,” which focuses on the last four months in the life of the 16th President of the United States. During this pivotal period, Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery and ended the Civil War that had ravaged the country and taken an estimated 750,000 lives. With an astonishing performance from Day-Lewis and masterful direction by Spielberg, a portrait emerges of a political genius who was also a moral visionary and a warm, compassionate man. 

Daniel Day-Lewis plays Abraham Lincoln, the far-sighted American president known as ‘The Great Emancipator’ and widely regarded as the most influential statesman of the 19th century.  Lincoln is determined to free the slaves, even if it means prolonging the Civil War and Steven Spielberg’s momentous new film delivers fresh and fascinating insights into the brilliant leader, explaining how the path to emancipation was fraught with complexity.

“Lincoln” explains how the President engages in backroom deals, patronage and political machinations in order to secure the passage of the all-important 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the measure that officially ended the evils of human bondage. He directs the war effort toward the destruction of slavery with insight and political mastery, deliberately prolonging the war and delaying peace negotiations as he tries to build a bipartisan consensus in the House of Representatives.  

Bearing a remarkable resemblance to the 16th President, Daniel Day-Lewis gives a wonderfully measured and nuanced performance as Lincoln. With his impassioned portrayal of abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens, Tommy Lee Jones offers up the performance of a lifetime. Sally Field is equally impressive as Lincoln’s highly intelligent but troubled wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. William Seward, Lincoln’s former rival who becomes the President’s greatest supporter, is masterfully played by David Strathairn. The formidably talented cast includes Joseph Gordon Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, John Hawkes, Jackie Earle Haley, Bruce McGill, Tim Blake Nelson, Joseph Cross, Jared Harris and Lee Pace.

 

Like many people, Day-Lewis was initially familiar with Lincoln only in broad strokes, mostly through speeches like The Gettysburg Address. “But as a human being, I had little sense of him whatsoever until I began to learn,” he says.  The screenplay kicked off the learning process. “In a very rich way, (screenwriter) Tony suggested the man through his intellect, his humor and his melancholy, both domestically and in office. The contrast between those two things is something that’s like food and drink to me. In Tony’s script you see a man in that strange paradox of being both public and private.”  

He then undertook an intimate engagement with “Team of Rivals” from which the movie was in part based as well as many other writings about and by Lincoln. But this gave way to something more organic.  “Doris’ book was a great beginning,” Day-Lewis says.  Another key to Lincoln became what Day-Lewis calls “the rhythm of the man.” He explains:  “He did everything at his own pace and could only do it at his own pace. He needed to arrive at his decisive conclusions by a logical process that he relied on. What looked to others like inaction or paralysis was just the physical impression that he gave.  In his own mind he was traveling as he needed to do, through each step of the process, after which he could see things clearly.”  

Indeed, production designer Rick Carter recalls a feeling of tumbling through time when Day-Lewis first came to the set:  “I haven’t gotten over the first time I saw him,” muses Carter. “Daniel Day-Lewis was not who I saw in front of me. I saw the man who was the President of the United States in 1865. I saw Abraham Lincoln. I didn’t see any distinction or gap between them.” 

“Lincoln” opens February 20 in theaters from 20^th Century Fox and DreamWorks Pictures to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Jessica Chastain In Guillermo Del Toro's Mama

Academy Award^®-nominee Guillermo Del Toro presents Mama, a supernatural thriller that tells the haunting tale of two little girls who disappeared into the woods the day their parents were killed.  When they are rescued years later and begin a new life, they find that someone or something wants to come tuck them in at night.

Photo courtesy of UIP

As Annabel played by Academy Award-nominee and Golden Globe Winner Jessica Chastain tries to introduce the children to a normal life, she grows convinced of an evil presence in their house.  Are the sisters experiencing traumatic stress, or is a ghost coming to visit them?  How did the broken girls survive those years all alone?  As she answers these disturbing questions, the new mother will find that the whispers she hears at bedtime are coming from the lips of a deadly presence.

When selecting the actors to portray the key roles in Mama, it was crucial to find the correct performers, regardless of their star power at the time.  The key parts that the filmmakers needed to fill were those of the new family cobbled together after Victoria (Megan Charpentier) and Lilly (Isabelle Nelisse) are found in the woods and returned to civilization.  Their unlikely saviors are their Uncle Lucas (NikolajCoster-Waldau) and his wild-child girlfriend, Annabel, who is admittedly unprepared for motherhood.

The free-spirited Annabel supported her boyfriend during the years that he spent searching for his missing nieces.  After they are found, the bass drummer initially resists getting involved with the girls’ caretaking, but ultimately she finds solidarity with them.  

When casting for the part began, actress Jessica Chastain had already worked with filmmakers including Terrence Malick, John Madden and Al Pacino, but few of her movies had been released and she was still relatively unknown.  That would all change during 2011, the year her career launched into the stratosphere.

Del Toro gives his production executive, Russell  Ackerman, credit for bringing Chastain to his attention.  Needless to say, the executive producer was blown away with her work.  As timing met opportunity, the buzz about Chastain began to build as her slew of 2011 releases—including The Help, in which she gave an Oscar^®-nominated performance—introduced her to audiences worldwide.  Del Toro commends: “Our biggest victory in Mama was casting Jessica Chastain.  She has the unique ability of showing great strength and great vulnerability at the same time, and the intangible gift of instantly making you care about her.”

The director also praises the production’s Annabel: “Jessica is a beautiful human being and an amazingly talented actress.  I will be forever grateful for how she dug inside herself to give a dimension of life and sorrow to Annabel that I never dreamed of.  There were intense moments where she made huge emotional investments that you feel on screen.  We were very lucky to have her.” 

Chastain admits that she looks for projects that challenge her comfort zone, and when she read Mama, she was immediately hooked.  She reflects: “I’m a huge fan of horror films, and Mama is terrifying and unlike anything I’ve ever done before.”  She also responded to her character’s deep arc.  “I love the way Annabel goes from being a reluctant guardian to the girls, to the place where she’d rather die than let harm happen to them.”

The performer appreciated that Muschiettis weren’t aiming for cheap scares with their feature debut.  Rather, she knew they were constructing a thriller that is as much psychological as supernatural.  Explains Chastain: “Mama tries to kill Annabel because Annabel is the rival to the affections of the girls.  Mama is perfectly fine with the girls being in Annabel and Lucas’ house, as long as they love Mama best.  But once the girls discover that Annabel is warm, they see there is something they can get from Annabel that they could never get from Mama.  You start to see their alliances shift, and that’s what causes all hell to break loose in the house.”

With the collaboration of wardrobe, hair and makeup departments, director Andy Muschietti worked with Chastain to create Annabel’s signature look: a reluctant hero and raven-haired 30-year-old teenager.  Del Toro admits he was the most surprised when he first saw the character come to life.  He laughs: “The look of Annabel was very surprising to me—tattoos, black hair—I would have gone a completely different route.  But when I saw her, I understood who she was instantly.”

 

Jessica Chastain  has emerged as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors of her generation.

Following a whirlwind 2011, in which she received several nominations and accolades for her work from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, BAFTA, the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Screen Actors Guild and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, she has had an equally impressive 2012.

Chastain was last seen in The Weinstein Company’s Lawless, opposite Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy, also lent her voice to DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted as the character of Gia the Jaguar.  The film opened to huge numbers and outstanding reviews. She currently stars in Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow’s much anticipated follow-up to The Hurt Locker. The film received numerous accolades this year , including Chastain’s Oscar^{® Nomination} for Best Actress and winner for the Golden Globe Best Actress in Drama. Chastain is best known for the role of Celia Foote, an insecure Southern lady constantly trying to fit in with the high-society women who reject her, in DreamWorks’ Academy Award^®-nominated adaptation of the best-selling Kathryn Stockett novel “The Help.”

Guillermo Del Toro ‘Mama’ s released and distributed by

United International Pictures through Solar Entertainment Corp