Also starring are Eduardo Minett as the young boy, Rafo, in his feature film debut, Natalia Traven (“Collateral Damage”, TV’s “Soulmates”) as Marta, with Dwight Yoakam (“Logan Lucky”, “Sling Blade”) as Mike’s former employer, Howard Polk. The cast also includes Fernanda Urrejola (“Blue Miracle”, Netflix’s “Narcos: Mexico”) as Leta and Horacio Garcia-Rojas (“Netflix’s “Narcos: Mexico”, TV’s “La querida del Centauro”) as Aurelio.

Oscar winner Eastwood directed from a screenplay by Nick Schenk and N. Richard Nash, based on the novel by Nash. Eastwood, Albert S. Ruddy, Tim Moore and Jessica Meier produced the film, with David M. Bernstein serving as executive producer.

The filmmaker’s creative team behind the scenes included BAFTA-nominated director of photography Ben Davis (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”, “Captain Marvel”), production designer Ron Reiss (set decorator, “Richard Jewell” and “The Mule”), Oscar-winning editor Joel Cox (“Unforgiven”), who has cut most of director Eastwood’s films, and editor David Cox (“Den of Thieves”, assistant editor on “Richard Jewell” and “The Mule”), and longtime collaborator costume designer Deborah Hopper. The music is by Mark Mancina (“Moana”).

Warner Bros. Pictures Presents A Malpaso/Albert S. Ruddy Production, “Cry Macho”. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures and opens in Australian cinemas 4 November 2021.
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Clint Eastwood’s take on Navy Seal Chris Kyle’s (Bradley Cooper) autobiography certainly sets a scene of dread and foreboding as we follow Kyle and his descent into the war in Iraq.

Kyle is a good old boy from Texas, a former competitive cowboy and a very proficient marksman. His entry into the service is spurred on by the events of 9/11 and his upbringing with a very strong and opinionated father. This background is revealed is very broad strokes and lacks the nuance to really allow the viewer to relate to his on-screen character.

Once in the war zone, Kyle’s alpha male persona, the bleached out backdrop of the desert and the relentless graphic slaughter present such a one-dimensional portrait, it becomes difficult to connect with the film. His distance from his wife (played by Sienna Miller) and the obvious love she has for him also forms a very one-dimensional view. It’s not really until after his active service years that we see Kyle as anything other than a killing machine.

Being completely unaware of Chris Kyle’s real life story made the sting in the tail at the end of the film just that much more of a downer. Eastwood’s directorial style has always been to step out of the way of cinematic flourishes and let the main proponent’s actions define the story. Unfortunately, this time out that leaves the viewer with too much carnage and not enough characterisation.

Rob Hudson
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Tom Hanks plays Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger who after a bird strike disables the plane’s twin engines makes a snap decision that untimely saves all 155 passengers and crew aboard the Airbus A320. The film starts with Sully having nightmares about a different outcome to his actions and those scenes are quite arresting.

The film continues using the plot device of the investigation of Sully and his co-pilot played by Aaron Eckhart (with his usual roguish charm). These actions ultimately cost the Airline a lot of money and the investigation is quite questioning of Sully’s actions. This plays out in an us against them way and adds to the dramatic tension of the film.

The real life story is so engaging, Eastwood steps out of the way (mostly) and lets the story speak for itself. The script is taunt and the film gets it’s timing just right. The only slight misstep is having the event’s real participants pop up during the closing credits. This now almost obligatory pandering to the audience adds little to the film’s impact and feels too much like a Spielberg ending.

Rob Hudson
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Jewell was the security guard who was falsely accused of the 1996 Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta, Georgia. The FBI in a rush to solve the case came up with a profile and then twisted the facts to fit their created scenario. And even though Jewell was never formally charged, the media picked up on the story and he was tried, convicted and sentenced in the press.

Eastwood’s direction is even handed and Paul Walter Hauser (I, Tonya and BlacKkKlansman) delivers what is by all available information an accurate portrayal of Richard Jewell and his calm demeanour but his almost complete lack of outrage over the false accusations drain the proceedings of drama. Even if this element was faithfully presented, we as an audience, right or wrong, have come to expect more fireworks and drama from these miscarriage of justice stories.

Without the overstatement of anger, what we are left with that makes an impact are the close ups of the relationships that Jewell had with his mother (played by Kathy Bates) and his lawyer Watson Bryant (Sam Rockwell). Both Bates and Rockwell are outstanding and provide the emotional core of the movie. As an exercise in acting, Richard Jewell is top shelf, as a damning demonstration of the excesses that both the media and the FBI are capable of, the film is less engaging.

Rob Hudson
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“There is a bomb in Centennial Park. You have thirty minutes.” The world is first introduced to Richard Jewell as the security guard who reports finding the device at the 1996 Atlanta bombing—his report making him a hero whose swift actions save countless lives.

But within days, the law enforcement wannabe becomes the FBI’s number one suspect, vilified by press and public alike, his life ripped apart. Reaching out to independent, anti-establishment attorney Watson Bryant, Jewell staunchly professes his innocence. But Bryant finds he is out of his depth as he fights the combined powers of the FBI, GBI and APD to clear his client’s name, while keeping Richard from trusting the very people trying to destroy him.

RICHARD JEWELL is directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm, Olivia Wilde and Paul Walter Hauser, and will be released in Australian cinemas February 13!
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Earl Stone (Eastwood) is a down on his luck horticulturist whose business and passion has been ruined by changing times and the Internet. He becomes a drug runner out of necessity but grows to enjoy the money and the thrill. Eastwood looks every wrinkle the part and shuffles his way through the performance in a most engaging way.

Poster art to the contrary, the cast is filled with heavyweights like Bradley Cooper and Michael Peña as DEA agents, Dianne Wiest as Stone’s long suffering ex-wife and Andy Garcia as the benevolent leader of the cartel. They all deliver fine performances but there is no doubt it’s Eastwood’s film, both behind and in front of the camera.

The film gets its comments on the disposability and invisibility of the elderly spot on and yet never feels preachy. There are some very emotional scenes as Stone reconnects with his lost family. Also in a life is stranger than fiction reality, you have to read the Wikipedia listing for Leo Sharp, his plea to the judge for leniency is a classic.

Rob Hudson
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Eastwood stars as Earl Stone, a man in his 80s who is broke, alone, and facing foreclosure of his business when he is offered a job that simply requires him to drive. Easy enough, but, unbeknownst to Earl, he’s just signed on as a drug courier for the cartel. He does well—so well, in fact, that his cargo increases exponentially, and Earl is assigned a handler.

But he isn’t the only one keeping tabs on Earl; the mysterious new drug mule has also hit the radar of hard-charging DEA agent Colin Bates. And even as his money problems become a thing of the past, Earl’s past mistakes start to weigh heavily on him, and it’s uncertain if he’ll have time to right those wrongs before law enforcement, or the cartel’s enforcers, catch up to him.

THE MULE, in cinemas January 24.
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BURBANK, CA, June 4, 2018 – Cameras rolled today on esteemed filmmaker Clint Eastwood’s next feature film, a drama entitled “The Mule,” from Warner Bros. Pictures and Imperative Entertainment. In addition to directing, the veteran actor will step in front of the lens again, alongside fellow stars Bradley Cooper, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Peña and Dianne Wiest, as well as Alison Eastwood, Taissa Farmiga and Ignacio Serricchio.

Eastwood stars as Earl Stone, a man in his 80s who is broke, alone, and facing foreclosure of his business when he is offered a job that simply requires him to drive. Easy enough, but, unbeknownst to Earl, he’s just signed on as a drug courier for a Mexican cartel. He does well—so well, in fact, that his cargo increases exponentially, and Earl is assigned a handler. But he isn’t the only one keeping tabs on Earl; the mysterious new drug mule has also hit the radar of hard-charging DEA agent Colin Bates. And even as his money problems become a thing of the past, Earl’s past mistakes start to weigh heavily on him, and it’s uncertain if he’ll have time to right those wrongs before law enforcement, or the cartel’s enforcers, catch up to him.

“The Mule” marks Oscar-winner Eastwood’s first time on both sides of the camera since he starred in 2009’s critically acclaimed “Gran Torino.”

Cooper, who stars as Bates, received his most recent Oscar nominations for his work with Eastwood, acting in and producing “American Sniper.” Oscar nominee Fishburne (“What’s Love Got to Do with It,” TV’s “Black-ish”) plays a DEA special agent in charge; Peña (upcoming “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” Netflix’s “Narcos”) plays a fellow agent; Oscar winner Wiest (“Bullets Over Broadway,” “Hannah and Her Sisters,” TV’s “Life in Pieces”) plays Earl’s ex-wife; Alison Eastwood (“Rails & Ties”) plays Earl’s daughter; Farmiga (upcoming “The Nun”) plays the role of Earl’s granddaughter; and Serricchio (Netflix’s “Lost in Space,” “The Wedding Ringer”) plays Earl’s cartel handler.

Clint Eastwood (“Sully,” “American Sniper”) directs from a screenplay by Nick Schenk (“Gran Torino”). Eastwood also produces the film under his Malpaso banner, along with Tim Moore, Kristina Rivera and Jessica Meier, and Imperative Entertainment’s Dan Friedkin and Bradley Thomas. The film’s executive producers are Dave Bernad, Ruben Fleischer and Todd Hoffman. Imperative’s Jillian Apfelbaum will co-produce.

The film will be shooting primarily in Georgia and New Mexico. “The Mule” is a presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures, in Association with Imperative Entertainment. It will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
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In the early evening of August 21, 2015, the world watched in stunned silence as the media reported a thwarted terrorist attack on Thalys train #9364 bound for Paris—an attempt prevented by three courageous young Americans traveling through Europe. The film follows the course of the friends’ lives, from the struggles of childhood through finding their footing in life, to the series of unlikely events leading up to the attack. Throughout the harrowing ordeal, their friendship never wavers, making it their greatest weapon and allowing them to save the lives of the more than 500 passengers on board.

THE 15:17 TO PARIS is directed by Clint Eastwood and stars the heroic trio Anthony Sadler, Oregon National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos and U.S. Air Force Airman First Class Spencer Stone, who play themselves in the film. Alongside Jenna Fischer, Judy Greer, Ray Corasani, PJ Byrne, Tony Hale and Thomas Lennon.

THE 15:17 TO PARIS releases in Australian cinemas on February 8, 2018.
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Tom Hanks plays Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger who after a bird strike disables the plane’s twin engines makes a snap decision that untimely saves all 155 passengers and crew aboard the Airbus A320. The film starts with Sully having nightmares about a different outcome to his actions and those scenes are quite arresting.

The film continues using the plot device of the investigation of Sully and his co-pilot played by Aaron Eckhart (with his usual roguish charm). These actions ultimately cost the Airline a lot of money and the investigation is quite questioning of Sully’s actions. This plays out in an us against them way and adds to the dramatic tension of the film.

The real life story is so engaging, Eastwood steps out of the way (mostly) and lets the story speak for itself. The script is taunt and the film gets it’s timing just right. The only slight misstep is having the event’s real participants pop up during the closing credits. This now almost obligatory pandering to the audience adds little to the film’s impact and feels too much like a Spielberg ending.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/SullyMovie