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Matador
Jun 27, 2006 23:38:23 GMT -5
Post by Ace on Jun 27, 2006 23:38:23 GMT -5
Admin Note: I was able to retrieve 4 out of 45 pages of Matador discussion lost in the Great Moronic Deletion of Film & TV of '06. I don' t think much more will be found but if it does I'll post it all in another topic or squeeze it in this one. Feel free to fill up this topic again with new posts. Thankfully almost every review and article posted here is on my Matador site.
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Matador
Jun 29, 2006 12:37:30 GMT -5
Post by Ace on Jun 29, 2006 12:37:30 GMT -5
Thread Started on May 26, 2003, 1:37am The Matador doesn't have a page for itself yet but info on it can be found in Film Rumblings pbfiles.t35.com/matador/index.htmlIt's scheduled to begin shooting Sept 29th in Mexico. It's directed and written by Richard Shepard (Oxygen. It's been described both as a thriller and a black comedy. Pierce will play hitman Julian Noble who experiences a mental breakdown while on ssignment in Mexico where he meets up with a business from Denver who has his own problems. The third main character so far seems to be the businessman's wife. Feel free to add info or discuss yadda yadda... Ace
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Matador
Jun 29, 2006 12:38:09 GMT -5
Post by Ace on Jun 29, 2006 12:38:09 GMT -5
Yuliya: Reply #1 on May 26, 2003, 1:15pm
So far, I don't like the name. A hitman Julian Noble sounds cheesy.
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Matador
Jun 29, 2006 12:38:34 GMT -5
Post by Ace on Jun 29, 2006 12:38:34 GMT -5
Ace: Reply #2 on May 27, 2003, 10:52pm
Which part the Julian or the Noble or all together? It's actually very British and I'm rather fond of a hit man called Noble, very ironic. And just think his nickname will be Jules! That should make our Jules happy.
Ace
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Matador
Jun 29, 2006 12:39:03 GMT -5
Post by Ace on Jun 29, 2006 12:39:03 GMT -5
CG: Reply #3 on May 27, 2003, 11:11pm
Jules has a secret desire to be a hit man? ::wonders how the monkey missed this one::
cg
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Matador
Jun 29, 2006 12:39:30 GMT -5
Post by Ace on Jun 29, 2006 12:39:30 GMT -5
Barbara: Reply #4 on May 28, 2003, 12:32am
Didn't you hear CG? Jules is a hitwoman!
As a goalie, she can hit people with the soccer ball. *g*
-- Xenobia
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Matador
Jun 29, 2006 12:40:20 GMT -5
Post by Ace on Jun 29, 2006 12:40:20 GMT -5
Yuliya: Reply #5 on May 28, 2003, 1:08pmAs a goalie, she has to be the target. To answer Ace's question - I don't like any man called Julius; I don't like Julius being shortened to Jules, at least not for a man. I'm not sure I like the combination of Julius and Noble, either. I'm not sure the name suits PB. But a hitman called Noble actually sounds nice. I reserve the right to change my opinion, though, once PB persuades the name is just what the doctor ordered.
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Matador
Jun 29, 2006 12:40:54 GMT -5
Post by Ace on Jun 29, 2006 12:40:54 GMT -5
sparklingblue : Reply #6 on May 28, 2003, 5:55pm
Hmm, let's see how much of it is rumour mongering. I just hope the plot doesn't involve sombreroes on everyones' heads.
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Matador
Jun 29, 2006 12:41:30 GMT -5
Post by Ace on Jun 29, 2006 12:41:30 GMT -5
This is probably the most complete article on the film so far.
Hollywood Reporter Brosnan joins Stratus' 'Matador' May 6, 2003 By: Zorianna Kit
Pierce Brosnan is finalizing a deal to star in Stratus Film Co.'s "The Matador," which New York-based filmmaker Richard Shepard wrote and will direct. A year-end start date is being planned with a budget of $20 million-$25 million. Furst Films and Irish Dreamtime are producing.
"Matador" is a thriller that follows the unusual friendship between two very different men set against an international backdrop. Brosnan will play Julian Noble, a hit man who has a breakdown while on assignment in Mexico City. There, he crosses paths with an ordinary, married businessman from Denver with problems of his own.
"The Cooler" producers Sean and Bryan Furst are producing "Matador" through their Furst Films along with Brosnan's producing partner Beau St. Clair in their Irish Dreamtime. Stratus' Bob Yari, Mark Gordon and Mark Gill are executive producing.
Furst optioned the material, and when Brosnan expressed an interest, the company partnered with Irish Dreamtime. Stratus came on board to finance, with Arclight Films is handling foreign sales on the film.
"We are excited to be working with such extremely gifted filmmakers like Richard Shepard and Sean and Bryan Furst," St. Clair said. "There aren't many projects that come along which stop you dead in your tracks and make you want to go into production immediately. We were committed to making this movie as soon as we read the script."
Added Sean Furst: "To say we are ecstatic to have Pierce Brosnan taking the lead in 'The Matador' is a huge understatement. We fell in love with Richard's screenplay immediately upon reading it and knew we needed an actor of Pierce's caliber to maximize its potential."
Bryan Furst said, "This is shaping up to be what we knew it could be -- a very commercial and unique film."
"Matador" reunites Irish Dreamtime with Stratus as the two are working on "Laws of Attraction," starring Brosnan, with New Line Cinema coming aboard in a negative pickup.
Shepard, repped by the Gersh Agency, wrote and directed the indie feature "Oxygen," starring Adrien Brody. Shepard also produced the indie feature "Scotland, PA."
Brosnan and Irish Dreamtime are repped by CAA, which packaged the project. - Zorianna Kit
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Matador
Jun 29, 2006 12:42:06 GMT -5
Post by Ace on Jun 29, 2006 12:42:06 GMT -5
And this courtesy of a Stratus Films production report: www.stockhouse.com/news/news.asp?tick=V&newsid=1692611-- 'Matador', a black comedy about a most unlikely friendship between a globe-trotting assassin with a taste for extremes and a suburban couple from Denver. Richard Shepard wrote and will direct a cast led by Pierce Brosnan. Production starts Sept. 29.
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Matador
Jun 29, 2006 12:42:45 GMT -5
Post by Ace on Jun 29, 2006 12:42:45 GMT -5
From Director/Writer Richard Shephards own site: www.richardshepard.com/visual.htmABOUT RICHARD SHEPARD Richard Shepard was born, raised and lives in New York City. He attended NYU's film school but did not graduate because he failed his required science class. He is still awaiting his honorary degree. In the course of his career, Mr. Shepard has written, directed and produced five independent features, written numerous screenplays for the studios, directed Emmy-winning television and once fired Shelley Winters. "The Matador," a black comedy/thriller he wrote and will direct, has Pierce Brosnan attached to star and produce, Stratus Film Co. financing, and a February 2004 start date Mr. Shepard produced the Sundance Dramatic Competition entry "Scotland, P.A.," directed by Billy Morrissette in 2001. The film, starring James LeGros, Maura Tierney, Christopher Walken, Amy Smart and Andy Dick, was picked up and released by Lot 47 Films. Shepard also appears nude in the film as a streaker. This fact should not stop you from renting it at your local Blockbuster. Prior to that, Shepard wrote and directed the well-received indie thrillers "Oxygen," starring Adrien Brody and Maura Tierney, and "Mercy," starring Sam Rockwell and John Rubinstein. He also directed the romantic comedy "The Linguini Incident" starring David Bowie and Rosanna Arquette back in 1991 when he was 24 and a lot thinner. For television, Shepard won the 1996 Monitor Award for single-camera directing of twelve episodes of AMC's "Remember WENN." "The Royale," a children's television special he directed, was nominated for an Emmy Award. He also directed the USA cable flick "Class Warfare" for producer Neal Moritz. The film featured a lot of handsome teenagers running around the Vancouver wilderness being killed. Variety called it "a guilty pleasure." Shepard calls it something else. Last year Mr. Shepard wrote the thriller "Trace Evidence" for producer Joel Silver. During his entire employment he did not meet or talk to Mr. Silver once; however he did see Mel Gibson one day out by the parking lot. He is currently writing a pilot for director Clark Johnson for the FX network about drunks and scoundrels. Something he knows nothing about. ==================================== So a thriller/black comedy.... straight from the writer/ directors "mouth"... hopefully kind of like ToP but actually um marketed An October interview with Diector/Writer Richard Sheperd at www.jackasscritics.com/interview.php?int_key=13The relevant passge: Future: JAC: The IMDB has you listed as directing The Matador. Give us a rundown of what The Matador is, and when you expect it to be released. Richard Shepard: The Matador is a black comedy thriller that is either going to star Pierce Brosnan, or be made for fifty thousand bucks on DV. Either way, we’re shooting in March 2004. ==================================== I hope that doesn't mean Stratus is backing out on the financing like they recently did with Eric Idle's "Remains of The Piano" Mechant-Ivory spoof. I think this is easily the most meaty and interesting role on PB's upcoming slate and it would be a shame if he lost it. It's still listed though on Arclight Films as being in pre-production with PB as the lead but other films also listed in pre-production are now in post-production so the site looks to be several months behind. www.arclightfilms.com/films/matador/index.htmlAce
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Matador
Jun 29, 2006 12:43:52 GMT -5
Post by Ace on Jun 29, 2006 12:43:52 GMT -5
Pierce Brosnan's The Matador Starting in 8 Weeks Source: Moviehole Tuesday, February 3, 2004 comingsoon.net/news.php?id=3278Moviehole spoke to writer and director Richard Shepard who says that financing has come through for The Matador, a film he plans to make with Pierce Brosnan. "We finally got the green light from Stratus Films. Pierce Brosnan is starring and we start shooting in Mexico in 8 weeks," says Shepard, whose other credits include "Mexico City". "We have offers out to two great... we have signed David Tattersal the extremely talented DP of The Green Mile and the last three Star Wars films and Brosnan's Die Another Day to shoot it." Brosnan plays Julian Noble, a hitman who has a breakdown while on assignment in Mexico City. There, he crosses paths with an ordinary, married American businessman from with problems of his own. ================================= Interesting that filming will overlap for publicity for Laws but I'm so glad this film made it out of development hell since Status pulled the plug recently on other films they'd recently greenlighted. And Tattersal as a DP well that's a coup for such a relatively small film. I love his work. I assume the "we have offers out to two great"... means to two actors and the quote was just truncated. Ace
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Matador
Jun 29, 2006 12:44:46 GMT -5
Post by Ace on Jun 29, 2006 12:44:46 GMT -5
Pierce Brosnan's The Matador Starting in 8 Weeks Source: Moviehole Tuesday, February 3, 2004 comingsoon.net/news.php?id=3278Moviehole spoke to writer and director Richard Shepard who says that financing has come through for The Matador, a film he plans to make with Pierce Brosnan. "We finally got the green light from Stratus Films. Pierce Brosnan is starring and we start shooting in Mexico in 8 weeks," says Shepard, whose other credits include "Mexico City". "We have offers out to two great... we have signed David Tattersal the extremely talented DP of The Green Mile and the last three Star Wars films and Brosnan's Die Another Day to shoot it." Brosnan plays Julian Noble, a hitman who has a breakdown while on assignment in Mexico City. There, he crosses paths with an ordinary, married American businessman from with problems of his own. ================================= Interesting that filming will overlap for publicity for Laws but I'm so glad this film made it out of development hell since Status pulled the plug recently on other films they'd recently greenlighted. And Tattersal as a DP well that's a coup for such a relatively small film. I love his work. I assume the "we have offers out to two great"... means to two actors and the quote was just truncated. Ace
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Matador
Jun 29, 2006 13:13:47 GMT -5
Post by Ace on Jun 29, 2006 13:13:47 GMT -5
HUGE YAWING CHASM: 13 months and 250 posts laterVisit PB: Files: Matador for Filming & Sundance reviews & articles. Alas most of the links to articles done during filming in the Mexican papers will no doubt be broken. So you'll never be able to read about what Pierce ate or what museum he visited on April 23rd again. I’ll insert Ebert’s Sundance Review , Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Film Threat reviews for some historical perspective. And some photos to remind us of the mustache discussion.
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Matador
Jun 29, 2006 13:16:25 GMT -5
Post by Ace on Jun 29, 2006 13:16:25 GMT -5
Schmoozing in MexicoBeing JulianCake and tequila courtesy of reporters on his birthday
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Matador
Jun 29, 2006 13:18:05 GMT -5
Post by Ace on Jun 29, 2006 13:18:05 GMT -5
Some reviews from Sundance : january 2005'Matador' rises above expectations
BY ROGER EBERT / January 23, 2005 PARK CITY, Utah -- "Matador" sounds on paper like a formula film, the kind of generic dreariness you expect Sundance to avoid. On the screen, it's another matter altogether -- funny, quirky and sad, and wonderfully well-acted. The Sundance premiere audience walked out astonished by a film so much better than they'd expected. Well, what did we expect? The movie stars Pierce Brosnan as a professional hit man, and Greg Kinnear as an unemployed Denver executive. They meet in a bar in Mexico City, become unlikely friends, and find themselves sort of in business together. When Kinnear's wife (Hope Davis) meets the assassin she's heard so much about, she gets right to the point: "Did you bring your gun?" Everything I have described could perfectly well add up to a mediocre comedy destined for the video shelves. But it adds up to so much more. Writer-director Richard Shepard finds an eerie balance of the macabre, the delightful and the sentimental; the movie is so nimble it sometimes switches tones in the middle of a sentence. Everything centers on the best performance Pierce Brosnan has ever given. He's a loner with no home and no friends, a man who uses booze and prostitutes to distract himself from killing people for a living. He's coming to pieces when he meets Kinnear in a hotel bar. Kinnear can hardly believe Brosnan actually kills people, and there is a virtuoso sequence at a bullfight when Brosnan demonstrates how easy it would be to kill -- well, almost anyone. But he's beginning to fall apart, and botched a job in the Philippines. Now his employers are planning to kill him. The problem with "Matador" is that no description can do it justice, because its elements sound routine, but its direction, writing and acting elevate it into something very special. It's "Sideways" with death instead of wine, someone said after the screening. I think it was me.
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Matador
Jun 29, 2006 13:18:47 GMT -5
Post by Ace on Jun 29, 2006 13:18:47 GMT -5
Film Threat
Pierce Brosnan as an international man of mystery. Been there. Pierce Brosnan as a world-class thief. Done that. Pierce Brosnan as a depraved, smooth-operating “corporate” assassin? Okay, so it’s not much of a stretch, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t a slam-bang revelation for the actor. As hit man Julian Noble in Richard Shepard’s highly satisfying “The Matador”, the former Bond, James Bond, screws, chews, and woos the scenery like its none of your business. In fact, he leaves the film smarting like a Bangkok hooker on a Sunday morning after the Navy’s left town, to quote his character. Oh yeah, the film’s pretty good too. But this is definitely Brosnan’s show all the way.
Brosnan’s Julian Noble is on assignment in Mexico City when he inadvertently meets American businessman/everyman Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear, who turns in another typical Greg Kinnear performance, which is to say fine in its own nice-guy, sit-commy kind of way). In one of the film’s highlight scenes, the two hit it off, kind of, after a pricelessly awkward exchange in a bar. (Julian casually reveals to Danny that there are two things that always taste better in Mexico: margaritas… and cock. Joking. Or is he?) It’s the perfect odd couple. Julian is the jaded, over-sexed (he likes ‘em young), badass hit man, sorry, assassin, who’s beginning to lose his edge. And when you’re an assassin, edge is all you got. Danny however, is Julian’s exact opposite, an improbably nice guy who happens to have fallen on some hard times. Sure, he’s got a loving wife, Bean (Hope Davis), and a swell suburban home. But he’s also recently lost a son in a tragic car accident and financially, he’s desperate. Should it pan out, the trip to Mexico City represents a golden business opportunity for Danny’s struggling firm. It could literally mean the difference between hitting the jackpot and utter financial ruin.
Julian’s colossal weirdness (he’ll paint his toenails on a whim, walk through a hotel lobby in a black Speedo and cowboy boots, etc.) naturally unnerves Danny. While Danny, on the other hand, represents to Julian the everyman he long ago rejected, a decision (if there ever was one) he’s clearly starting to regret. When Danny’s golden opportunity looks to soon turn sour, he starts to ponder the once unthinkable: to have Julian, his new pal and “confidant”, “facilitate the fatality” of his Mexican competition. Flash forward six months: Julian’s in worse shape, getting sloppy with work and yearning for an assassin’s retirement home, while Danny’s life appears firmly back on track (he got the big job)… until Julian shows up at his door one day (Surprise!), that is. (If you’ve read David Bowker’s splendid “I Love My Smith and Wesson”, you may experience a little déjà vu here.) Things take a decidedly weird turn after that and lots of sticky questions begin to surface, like Did Danny have Julian off his competition back in Mexico City? What is the real meaning of Julian’s unexpected visit? Is Danny Julian’s next (and last) job? The answers aren’t as obvious as you might fear and “The Matador” plays them out in smart, surprising ways.
“The Matador” has that shiny sheen that quickly fades, yet is still fun while it lasts. Yes, this is basically a buddy picture, but one with a fresh, vaguely deviant sensibility. Writer/director Richard Shepard mostly avoids the buddy picture trappings with his focused direction and engaging screenplay. By the end credits, you may even find yourself feeling for this troubled hit man and his more domesticated buddy. The film also has a really great look, courtesy of D.P. David “Second Star Wars Trilogy” Tattersall. Bold colors and striking camera work perfectly compliment the film’s in-your-face attitude. Above all that however, it’s Brosnan’s refreshingly bold performance, probably his finest, that really makes this picture seethe and breathe with such nasty abandon. At this point in his career, he could easily call it a day and go down as a pretty decent Bond and an occasionally good leading man. Instead he chooses the role of Julian Noble and blows us all away. Props to him for that.
Friends of Film
Sundance 2005 faves, so far.
By a long shot, Richard Shepard's THE MATADOR, starring Pierce Brosnan, in a stunning loose-as-a-goose performance as an assassin loosing his skills and finding his conscience is easily the tops so far... Brosnan has never been more comfortable in front of the camera.
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Matador
Jun 29, 2006 13:19:29 GMT -5
Post by Ace on Jun 29, 2006 13:19:29 GMT -5
Variety Joe Leyden
Deftly maneuvering through audacious mood swings and tonal shifts, "The Matador" emerges as a quirky yet commercial commingling of black comedy, seriocomic psychodrama, heart-tugging sudser and buddy-movie farce. Propelled by a fearlessly self-mocking perf by Pierce Brosnan as a swaggering vulgarian who's losing his edge as an international hit man, writer-director Richard Shepard's eccentric amalgam remains funny and sustains interest even during a shaky third act. Still, pic will require critical kudos and clever marketing to maximize bullish theatrical potential before charging into ancillary venues.
Pic pivots on a chance meeting between strangers in a hotel bar, the kind of latenight interlude that encourages complete honestly between lonely travelers who feel secure in their anonymity. Denver businessman Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear) is in Mexico City to close a deal that he desperately hopes will end a long string of bad luck that includes the loss of his son in a school bus accident.
As he nurses a margarita in the wee small hours, Danny shares his not-so-quiet desperation with an improbably simpatico stranger: Julian Noble (Brosnan), a vet assassin marking time after his latest "corporate gig" as a "facilitator of fatalities."
The first meeting ends badly when Julian, chronically averse to emotional displays, tries to change the subject with a crude joke. The next day, however, Julian apologizes and invites Danny to a bullfight.
After a popular matador ends a mano a toro matchup with a single, graceful sword thrust -- and Julian pointedly admires the bullfighter's professionalism -- Danny again asks Julian what he does for a living. So Julian tells him. Danny is incredulous, then horrified -- and, ultimately, genuinely curious.
Throughout pic, but especially in the early scenes, Shepard does bang-up job of lacing humorous scenes with an undercurrent of threat, hinting that gregarious Julian is capable of turning fatally violent without warning.
Danny rebuffs Julian when the latter attempts to enlist the businessman's assistance in an upcoming killing. Six months later, however, Julian appears on Danny's Denver doorstep, teetering on the brink of professional burnout and psychological meltdown. After bungling two assignments due to panic attacks, blurred vision and other psychosomatic ills, Julian has been marked for termination.
Once again, the hit man asks the businessman to collaborate on a killing. This time, however, Julian plays a trump card. "You owe me," he tells Danny, cryptically alluding to something heretofore unrevealed. When Danny reluctantly agrees, the audience is left to imagine why.
Bedecked in gold chains and loud clothing, and seldom far from a potent drink or a nubile hooker, Brosnan exuberantly trashes his slick screen persona from the James Bond pics, "The Thomas Crown Affair" remake (1999) and other bigscreen outings. (A wink-wink sight gag recalls 007's penchant for shaken-not-stirred martinis.) Coming off as a cross between a sleazy used-car salesman and a party-hearty conventioneer, actor continues to be boisterously likable even after pic shows Julian's dead-serious approach to killing.
But "Matador" wouldn't be nearly as much fun if Brosnan didn't develop an aptly edgy give-and-take with Kinnear. Latter roots pic in some semblance of reality with his subtle portrayal of a decent fellow who has been driven close to despair by tragedy, and who finds himself by turns appalled, intrigued and unexpectedly supportive while forging a most unlikely friendship.
Unfortunately, pic's refusal to risk aud's regard for Danny by cutting away from the outcome of a key scene in the final reel bespeaks a last-minute failure of nerve.
In the underwritten role of Danny's wife, Hope Davis makes a strong impression while conveying character's lusty regard for her husband and unseemly interest in Julian's firepower. Pic is basically a three-hander, with only notable support coming from Adam Scott as Danny's business partner and Philip Baker Hall and (fleetingly) Dylan Baker as Julian's overseers.
Filmed on location in Mexico City, which doubles nicely for Denver, Budapest and several other locales, "The Matador" benefits from vividly colorful production design by Rob Pearson and sharp lensing by David Tattersall.
Costumer Catherine Thomas also merits accolades for providing Brosnan with attire garish enough to serve as a running sight gag. And speaking of sight gags: Scene in which Brosnan parades through hotel lobby clad only in cowboy boots and skimpy Speedo is drop-dead hilarious.
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Matador
Jun 29, 2006 13:20:20 GMT -5
Post by Ace on Jun 29, 2006 13:20:20 GMT -5
Entertainment Insiders: Capsule Reviews Day Two: The Matador Jonathan W. Hickman
The Matador" is all about Pierce Brosnan. Of course, I've always been a fan of the suave actor but it always seems as though he is playing the same guy. In "The Matador" we see the vulnerable side of him as he plays what his character refers to as a "parody." You see, Brosnan plays a hitman who has broken down emotionally and just can't do it anymore. Greg Kinnear is solid as the everyman who attempts to help the hitman end his career with dignity. Oddly and darkly funny with a hint of sadness "The Matador" ought to play well throughout the world having something for just about all tastes. And Brosnan is a delight when he reels off crude one liners or melts into an emotional puddle.
Source: JoBlo.com/FilmBitch By: Scott Weinberg
THE MATADOR is one of the festival's most pleasant surprises thus far. It stars Pierce Brosnan (who is drop-dead hilariously brilliant here) as a burnt-out assassin and Greg Kinnear as a nice-guy businessman who finds himself pals with the gleefully profane hitman. Hope Davis delivers a great supporting turn, the flick is directed with big doses of colorful zing, and the screenplay delivers surprises that don't feel tacked on or stupid. It's consistently funny, lovely to look at...and it even gets bizarrely sweet when all's said and done. Good stuff!
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Matador
Jun 29, 2006 13:21:29 GMT -5
Post by Ace on Jun 29, 2006 13:21:29 GMT -5
Screen Daily Mike Goodridge in Park City THE MATADOR
Pierce Brosnan's deliciously uninhibited performance lifts this crime caper above the ordinary, says Mike Goodridge
A crime comedy which plays like Pulp Fiction-ultra-lite, The Matador is an unlikely fit for the Sundance Film Festival where it world premiered on Saturday night. Broad, benign and cheerfully implausible, it is an independently financed film with mainstream sensibilities and distributors who have already committed will be pleased with their purchase.
Chief among its pleasures is a deliciously uninhibited performance from Pierce Brosnan, whose post-Bond career looks promising if he continues to subvert his screen persona like this.
At time of writing, The Matador hadn’t yet scored a domestic distribution deal, but buyers were buzzing, and Syndicate Films will mop up international sales once word is out that the film plays well with audiences.
The Matador was financed by Bob Yari through his Stratus Film Company – he also owns Syndicate – with Blockbuster’s DEJ division and German media fund Equity Pictures. It’s a good-looking production shot entirely in Mexico City which plays itself as well as doubling for Denver, Tucson, Budapest and Manila! It’s a handsome independent production and feels like a studio picture, not least because of its impressive cast led by Brosnan and Greg Kinnear.
Writer/director Richard Shepard, whose credits include lower-budget indie thrillers Oxygen and Mercy, plays it for laughs rather than exploring the darker elements of its subject matter. But the film’s good nature, however amoral, keeps it on course and it should stand up well with other hitman comedies like Grosse Pointe Blank or The Big Hit, if not matching the box office of The Whole Nine Yards.
Brosnan plays Julian Noble, a grumpy assassin-for-hire with a bad dress sense and a coarse South London accent who usually kills off businessmen as commissioned through middlemen by their rivals. Having blown up one such victim in Denver, he heads to Mexico City to bump off another.
Kinnear plays Danny Wright, an entrepreneur whose new business is on the skids and whose future may depend on the success of a pitch he and his partner (Scott) make in Mexico City. Danny leaves behind his devoted wife Bean (Davis) in Denver.
Julian and Danny meet at a hotel bar and, while Danny waits for a couple of days for the outcome of his pitch meeting, the two become fast friends. At a bullfight, Julian reveals that he is an assassin and, although Danny doesn’t believe him at first, he is soon persuaded after various demonstrations of his technique.
It soon becomes clear to Danny that he and his partner are unlikely to win the job and financial ruin looms. We leave Mexico with a drunk Julian knocking on Danny’s door crying to be let in.
Six months later, Julian is on the rocks. Bungled jobs in Manila and Budapest have left him a nervous wreck and a death warrant is put out on him. His only option is to go to Danny, his only friend, to seek help.
The tone throughout the film is wildly uneven, and it veers between polished comedy, dark satire, serious action thriller and comedy caper. There is also a gay streak in Julian’s character, hinted at but never explored, which would have added an edge to what will otherwise be perceived as a soft film.
But Brosnan keeps it watchable. Whether parading around the hotel in his speedos, falling about drunk or coming on to women, and Danny, like some past-it south London lothario, he lifts the film out of the ordinary.
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