thomas kretschmann

Review: STRATTON Holds Its Own As Much As Its Star

Actor Dominic Cooper’s feasibility as an action star is something I wouldn’t have suspected, as unassuming as he is. Then again, recent years have shown that filmmakers can make anyone an action star and the outcome depends on how the filmmaker in question applies the necessary methods for doing so. Some are pretty lackluster in this effort while others do manage to keep things well knit and lensed in the process and this, on top of of a tight script, good drama and pacing can certainly do a film justice. Stratton achieves this, albeit measuring about as far in its spectacle as you would presume to believe a limited theatrical and VoD run would allow. The bright side is that it largely maintains itself for worthy viewing with action fans, providing an otherwise refreshing and watchable espionage thriller from top to bottom. Taken from the published work of pennamed author […]

Review: Jang Hun’s A TAXI DRIVER Enthralls And Reminices On A Time When Getting It On Video Meant Something

Lee B. Golden III

I haven’t seen a lot of films featuring actor Song Kang-Ho, although I can assert that he has never disappointed in being the entertaining actor that he is. Films like The Good, The Bad, The Weird, Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance and Snowpiercer come to mind, and I can certainly now add his latest performance in acclaimed filmmaker Jang Hoon’s A Taxi Driver to the list. Reuniting with Jang since the 2010 action drama, The Secret Reunion, Song stars as Kim Man-Seob, a former soldier-turned-Seoul taxi driver struggling to make ends meet for himself and his daughter Eun-Jung. Desperate to pay the rent and keep the peace with his landlord, he jips a private cab service of its new scheduled pick-up: a high-paying customer named Peter who declares himself a missionary upon entry in South Korea. Learning his latest mealticket happens to, instead, be German reporter from Japan covering the Gwangju […]

Check Out The New IMAX Trailer For STALINGRAD 3D

Lee B. Golden III

Following a press release unveiled a few weeks ago, we now have a new IMAX trailer for next month’s one-week engagement of the upcoming blockbuster World War II epic, Stalingrad 3D from director Fedor Bondarchuk. The film is written by Ilya Tilkin and Sergey Snezhkin and stars the newly cast Avengers: Age Of Ultron actor Thomas Kretschmann along with Petr Fedorov, Sergey Bondarchuk, Mariya Smolnikova and Yanina Studilina. The film kicks off its one-week programming in IMAX theaters in North America on February 28, 2014. SYNOPSIS: Stalingrad is a drama set in 1942, during one of the most important battles of World War II, which stopped the progress of Nazi forces and turned the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The Soviet army mounts a counter-attack on the Nazi forces that occupy half of Stalingrad on the other side of the Volga, but the operation to cross the […]

[UPDATED] Thomas Kretschmann To Double The Villainy In THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

Lee B. Golden III

Reports are now circulating that actor Thomas Kretschmann has signed on to play another main villain known as Baron Wolfgang von Strucker in the upcoming film, Marvel’s The Avengers: Age Of Ultron. The report comes just a month after rumors circulated around the internet that the character, a H.Y.D.R.A. leader and former Nazi soldier whose body was augmented to the point of near invincibility and invulnerability would be brought on as a secondary villain with specific ties to the characters Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch, being played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olson, respectively. The news also comes on the heels of recent updates that the film’s shooting schedule will include London, and locations in South Africa, with word that actor Mark Ruffalo‘s return as The Hulk would also be accompanied a love interest in the new film, with actor Jeremy Renner‘s character, Hawkeye, given a much larger part. Furthermore, recent […]