Logan
04-09-2008, 08:55 AM
I know there's a lot of movie fans on the board, and we probably have a nice contingent of NYCers and LA people. If anyone that lives in these areas would be interested in seeing a really good movie this weekend, I have one for you (even if it's a bit of a plug).
Last night I was at the US premiere of "The Take" here in NY. The movie is directed by Brad Furman and stars John Leguizamo, Rosie Perez, Tyrese Gibson, and Yul Vasquez (Seinfeld fans will remember him as the "street tough" who mugged Kramer for his armoire, others will know him from American Gangster, Traffic, Bad Boys II, etc). The basic premise of the movie is that Leguizamo plays an armored truck driver who gets robbed, shot in the head, and lives to "seek revenge."
Some background...this is Furman's first full-length movie and it had a lot of issues in the basically political process of getting made, to the point where no one ever thought it would end up being released anywhere. Furman grew up with my brother-in-law Josh, who happens to be an ER doctor out in Philly. Because of all the stuff Leguizamo's character goes through after being shot, it was important to him for the scenes to be very realistic, so he hired Josh as the Medical Advisor. Leguizamo is known for getting very into his characters, and this wasn't an exception. He spoke with Josh everyday for a few weeks as he prepared for the role and learned about what someone with brain trauma would be experiencing. He also followed Josh around the hospital for a couple days, spending time with brain trauma patients. By the end of all this, he asked Brad if Josh could play his neurological rehab doctor, which he did, and he has a couple small scenes in the movie. So my non-actor brother-in-law has two credits in the film, which is pretty cool.
Anyway, because of who bought the movie when it was basically in the dumper, it has a very small chance of getting a full-blown release. However, that could be prevented with a big box office (relatively speaking) this weekend in the theater that it's playing in on each coast. So if anyone lives in NY or LA and wouldn't mind supporting this, it would be great.
In NYC, it's showing this weekend, the 11th to 13th, at the Clearview on 62nd and Broadway. In LA, same dates, at the Mann Criterion 6 in Santa Monica.
I'm not going to lie and say it's the greatest movie ever made, but it's a very solid showing in my book, and I tend to grade pretty hard. Honestly, Leguizamo's performance alone is worth the price of admission. I hung out with everyone associated with the movie, Leguizamo included, until it was almost time for work this morning, and I'd really like to see this get the showings it deserves. Oh, and if it helps, there's a crazy sex scene between Leguizamo and Perez (hxxp://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/04/08/people.rosieperez.ap/index.html). She's still hot and was really nice to meet last night.
Thanks for reading. Here's (http://www.comcast.net/entertainment/articles/2008/04/04/John.Leguizamo.The.Take/)a Q&A with Leguizamo about the movie if you'd like some more background.
Last night I was at the US premiere of "The Take" here in NY. The movie is directed by Brad Furman and stars John Leguizamo, Rosie Perez, Tyrese Gibson, and Yul Vasquez (Seinfeld fans will remember him as the "street tough" who mugged Kramer for his armoire, others will know him from American Gangster, Traffic, Bad Boys II, etc). The basic premise of the movie is that Leguizamo plays an armored truck driver who gets robbed, shot in the head, and lives to "seek revenge."
Some background...this is Furman's first full-length movie and it had a lot of issues in the basically political process of getting made, to the point where no one ever thought it would end up being released anywhere. Furman grew up with my brother-in-law Josh, who happens to be an ER doctor out in Philly. Because of all the stuff Leguizamo's character goes through after being shot, it was important to him for the scenes to be very realistic, so he hired Josh as the Medical Advisor. Leguizamo is known for getting very into his characters, and this wasn't an exception. He spoke with Josh everyday for a few weeks as he prepared for the role and learned about what someone with brain trauma would be experiencing. He also followed Josh around the hospital for a couple days, spending time with brain trauma patients. By the end of all this, he asked Brad if Josh could play his neurological rehab doctor, which he did, and he has a couple small scenes in the movie. So my non-actor brother-in-law has two credits in the film, which is pretty cool.
Anyway, because of who bought the movie when it was basically in the dumper, it has a very small chance of getting a full-blown release. However, that could be prevented with a big box office (relatively speaking) this weekend in the theater that it's playing in on each coast. So if anyone lives in NY or LA and wouldn't mind supporting this, it would be great.
In NYC, it's showing this weekend, the 11th to 13th, at the Clearview on 62nd and Broadway. In LA, same dates, at the Mann Criterion 6 in Santa Monica.
I'm not going to lie and say it's the greatest movie ever made, but it's a very solid showing in my book, and I tend to grade pretty hard. Honestly, Leguizamo's performance alone is worth the price of admission. I hung out with everyone associated with the movie, Leguizamo included, until it was almost time for work this morning, and I'd really like to see this get the showings it deserves. Oh, and if it helps, there's a crazy sex scene between Leguizamo and Perez (hxxp://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/04/08/people.rosieperez.ap/index.html). She's still hot and was really nice to meet last night.
Thanks for reading. Here's (http://www.comcast.net/entertainment/articles/2008/04/04/John.Leguizamo.The.Take/)a Q&A with Leguizamo about the movie if you'd like some more background.