If you’ve seen the trailer or heard the plot synopsis for the new Tony Scott film Unstoppable, starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine, then you know that it’s about a train that won’t stop that’s also going to cause some damage. So, if you look at this poster, you may be wondering the same thing everyone else is: “Where’s the train?” Read the full story

Five days ago we reported that Ryan Reynolds led the pack which included Tom Hardy, James McAvoy, Zac Efron, Sam Worthington and Shia LaBeouf to join Denzel Washington in the drama Safe House. Read the full story

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The Hollywood Reporter informs us that Ryan Reynolds is at the head of the pack of young leading men to star opposite Denzel Washington in Safe House. As the story unfolds Reynolds who plays the only CIA agent who has survived an attack on their headquarters attempts to get Washington to a safe house before the evil forces can finish the job. Read the full story

You may get some Deja Vu (sorry) when you see Denzel Washington, a train, Tony Scott, fast cutting, high contrast colors and impending doom. No, this isn’t last year’s The Taking of Pelham 123, but Tony Scott‘s upcoming Unstoppable. Read the full story

E-mail Jordan Raup here. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook for the latest TFS updates!

The Book of Eli has arrived on Blu-ray and it’s ready to deliver us. It got mediocre reviews when it was in theaters as the film was criticized for its preachy nature, uneven plot twist and lack of action. Now that the film is on Blu-ray we get to take another look at it. The question is, does The Book of Eli manage to entertain, or does it fall off the path and lose its way? Read the full story

This week’s release of Robin Hood marks the 5^th time actor Russell Crowe and director Ridley Scott have worked together (with the last 4 Scott films all starring Crowe). The pair has done well together but perhaps it’s time these two give each other a break and explore other options. Director/Actor pairings can produce amazing results but can also become stagnant after repeated couplings. We’ve compiled a list of 10 Actor/Director unions that could need to take some time apart and reassess their relationship. Read the full story

A few weeks ago, word hit that Kathryn Bigelow turned down the Spiderman reboot in order to direct Triple Frontier. Now, First Showing brings us further reassurance and reports that Bigelow plans to shoot the action-adventure story in 2011. Triple Frontier will be located in the border z0ne between Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil, but thankfully (because of The Hurt Locker), Bigelow is no stranger to warm weather. Read the full story

In this episode of the The Film Stage podcast Jordan Raup and Dan Mecca discuss Tom Ford’s A Single Man and The Hughes Brothers’ The Book of Eli. We also talk about Joe Carnahan‘s new projects as well as two things Marc Forster is rumored to direct. You can stream the episode below or download it here. (right click + save as…) Read the full story

I’ve never interviewed a screenwriter before. I’ve talked to directors/screenwriters, but never just a screenwriter. So when I hopped on the phone with Gary Whitta I was hoping for a good experience which actually ended up being a great one. I was a bit worried about seeing the film just a day before our chat since that’s not the best amount of prep time, but after I saw the film I had plenty of questions running through my head I was excited about asking. If you’ve read my review then you know I really enjoyed it and it’s always great to talk to people behind films you not only enjoy, but also admire. The Book of Eli is ambitious and different from the current wave of post-apocalyptic films. It also features a new side of Denzel we haven’t seen before, Gary Oldman going all out as the villain and it’s also a welcoming return for the Hughes brothers. Whitta is one of the main men responsible for Eli’s audacity and talking to him for an hour and forty minutes was a real treat. While not all of that conversation is here since some of that time involved us sidetracking and talking about other films, I have of course included everything revolving around Eli. Now with the long introduction out of the way, here’s what Mr. Whitta had to say: Read the full story

Last year was a phenomenal time to be a genre fan. There was Moon, District 9, Avatar and even Star Trek to fuel the hunger for fresh and exciting new entries. Now it’s 2010 and things couldn’t be off to a better start. With Daybreakers and now The Book of Eli this is shaping up to be another excellent year. The Book of Eli is unique and original; it may not be perfect, but there’s a level of ambition at work that isn’t seen very often.

Eli (Denzel Washington) is a man on a mission. A mission he’s been on for almost thirty years. He’s heading west in possession of a very important and very powerful book. To him, the only thing that matters is accomplishing the mission he’s been sent on. If someone gets in his way, he’ll of course retaliate with brutality — in other words fight you off with a giant body chopping blade. He’s not interested in saving the ones around him if it causes a sidetrack; he’s only looking out for the book he has. He’s carrying a message of hope. A message that some want to harness for the wrong reasons, that’s where Carnegie (Gary Oldman) comes into play. Once Eli makes his way into a nice quaint run down town he finds himself in even more trouble. What Eli has is what Carnegie has been looking for for many years. It’s a book that will give him the power he wants and to do what he truly believes in. Eli will not give it up and will do so at all costs. This leads to an old fashioned face off between the two. Even Carnegie’s lover’s daughter Solara (Mila Kunis) gets involved, but understandably takes Eli’s side.

In the wrong hands, this story could have been mishandled in the worst way possible. It could have been another standard formulaic action romp, another film that doesn’t live up to its great ambitions and something that we’ve undoubtedly seen before. But it isn’t. There’s a few elements here and there that can be connected to past films of the genre, but luckily the film is aware of that. Far too many films lack a sense of awareness of that what they’re trying to do at times has been done before and don’t even try to make an effort by at least putting their own spin on it. This is one of the keys to The Book of Eli’s success, it’s at least aspiring to do something new. It barely ever divulges into the overused tropes set by previous films– that especially applies to the last twenty minutes.

What happens in the third act won’t be spoiled here, but it’s another factor that breathes audaciousness. There’s a twist that will undoubtedly split audiences and some may downright despise it, but there’s a message there and it’s certainly far from predictable. Without spoiling much, it doesn’t end the way most films similar to this would — i.e. final battle then roll credits. It’s known within the first few minutes that this is different, there’s no pandering narration or the always laughable text appearing onscreen describing the events that took place or how the world became the way it was. It’s the opposite, the first few minutes fully pulls one into the world the Hughes brothers have crafted. Everything you need to learn about the world and Eli’s isolation is cemented in a subtle silent manor.

The second act mostly revolves around the struggle between Carnegie and Eli, which is of course more than fun to watch despite feeling a tad episodic at times. They’re two men who contain the polar opposite set of morals and yet share something in common. They’re both dedicated and believe that what they’re doing is right. It’s an intriguing contrast that doesn’t make the face off come across as the standard good guy vs bad guy scenario. Washington and Oldman unsurprisingly handle the dynamic greatly. Washington perfectly portrays a sense of dedication and the heroism of Eli. Heroism may not be the perfect way to describe Eli though. His mission is priority number one and he won’t go out of his way to help others if it gets in the way of his mission. He doesn’t act all gung-ho, he does his best to stay under the radar. He’s the man with no name or a samurai if you will placed in a post apocalyptic world.

Similar to his classic performance in The Professional, Oldman is menacing and even somewhat likable. He’s a man who is doing terrible things to achieve what he wants, but when he cracks a joke you laugh with him and more importantly he’s an antagonist you can understand. He’s not just evil for the sake of being evil. He’s partially right that the book could help build towns and a society. There’s an underlying goodness there, but he’s ultimately more interested in exploiting that power.

Kunis also handles herself well despite taking a moment or two to warm up. This is a grimy world that embodies savageness, so at first it’s a bit odd seeing someone like Kunis appear. After that, she holds her own with Oldman and Washington. She’s strapped with the challenge of making the usually cliché arc of going from just another person to an action heroine. It’s not an easy transition to portray, but Kunis does it convincingly. She adds a sense of innocence which makes Eli’s transition of going from a man on a mission to someone with a real sense of humanity believable. There’s also an array of fantastic supporting performances worth mentioning from the always wonderful Tom Waits, the intimidating Ray Stevenson and the classy Michael Gambon. They’re unsurprisingly excellent even to the point where you selfishly wish for more of them. Especially with Stevenson who’s a bit underused.

This is a more than welcoming return for the Hughes brothers. Their last film From Hell was slightly overlooked and far more engaging than some would claim, but Eli is unquestionably the superior film. They shot this with the red one and it looks rather stunning. The wide compositions of all the deserted landscapes add an even broader sense of isolation and eeriness. This is a technique that’s been used before, but it’s still none the less effective. The Hughes brothers have always shown a knack for framing and they continue that trait here. Their action choreography especially stands out. They’re all easy to follow, swift and as violent as one would expect. This heavily applies to the first action beat which is done greatly with a single take — clearly inspired by Oldboy.

The Book of Eli is a very good film that will most likely even work better on repeat viewings. If one is fully able to buy into the overall concept of the story then they will find themselves embracing the ambitiousness, the excellent performances and of course the final act.

As a quick final side note: Atticus Ross’s score is terrific.

8 out of 10

What did you think of The Book of Eli?