This is the ‘popcorn flick’ of the fall season.  Director Tony Scott has crafted an intense (and at times, dramatic) thrill ride for audiences.  I truly question why this film wasn’t released in the summer;  it has such a seasonal feel to it.  It combines vivid action sequences, a family element, and a rollercoaster of events designed to rattle your senses.  It’s even educational – throwing insight into the topographic layout of the Pennsylvania railways and rail car functionality.  

Based in rural southern Pennsylvania railroad country, the film follows the inaugural training day of conductor Chris Colson (Chris Pine) with his mentor Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington).   Unbeknownst to them, a train has left an alternate station unmanned and is careening at high speed into a bevy of populated areas not to mention on a crash-course towards them.  To further complicate matters, it has no air brakes and is toting a load of toxic chemicals which could vaporize an entire population.  Resigning to stop this runaway, Barnes and Colson use another train in an attempt to catch the coasting locomotive and slow it down or stop it before it reaches speeds too unstable to keep it on the track and potentially derail in a densely populated area. 

It sounds like a recipe for disaster no matter how you slice it.  Even if a railcar could catch up to a speeding train carrying twenty plus cars, how could they possible expect to slow it down or bring it to a halt?  No spoilers here but believe me when I say you’ll be gasping a few sighs of relief throughout the film.  Director Tony Scott (True Romance) is no stranger to this genre having piloted some of the biggest action thrillers in the past twenty years (and quite a few starring Denzel).  From ‘Top Gun’ and ‘Days of Thunder’, to ‘Crimson Tide’ and ‘Man On Fire’, he has shown his mettle to produce slick and energetic thrillers.  Denzel Washington (A Soldier’s Story) is cast so well as Frank Barnes, a 30 year veteran of the railway company.  As an older railway worker he wrestles with the influx of new younger guys that are a part of a corporate plan to replenish the ranks.  Rather than being jaded towards young Will Colson, his dialogue embraces and supports the character as a mentor should.  Denzel’s natural chemistry with actors flows so nicely in their on-screen relationship that you can envision his leadership within the rail yard even though he’s simply a semi-laid off conductor on his way into forced retirement.  Chris Pine (2009’s Star Trek) is solidly cast as Colson, a young conductor whose life has just hit the skids due to an unfortunate civil action in his recent past.  Pine’s rugged looks and temperament really pull his performance through and the banter he and Denzel share on screen is poignant and one of camaraderie.  What sets their relationship apart from other buddy-hero films is you want these guys to succeed.  Short lapses in action pave the way for great background stories on each character and knowing their past makes you root for a positive outcome in their future. 

Supporting their efforts is an outstanding performance by Rosario Dawson (A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints) as Connie, the rail yard supervisor.  Stuck in a winless situation where her corporate counterparts stonewall her, and usurp her knowledge and authority to deal with the situation, she still manages to bring a strong and convincing character performance to the role.  You walk away with a wonderment of the profession of emergency management.  While the layman at the helm of such a corporate disaster would solely concentrate on wildly inventive ways to stop the train, her character and others in the profession are smart enough to look at the collateral concerns; additional trains on the track and securing rail crossings every few miles.  Call it a combination of good writing and great execution on her part, but she made the role and gave me a renewed interest in the job of emergency management.

It can’t all be ‘sunshine and roses’ for the film.  Dismay comes in the form of its portrayal of television coverage embedded in the film.  You’ll notice the TV news choppers are hovering over our heroes like the angel of death.  Constantly overbearing, and at times a downright nuisance, I’m sure these copters were providing fantastic TV coverage for those at home watching, but I found myself screaming for them to stop interfering with the characters efforts to stop the train.  The must have had the largest gas tanks in existence because they never once wavered off for a refuel and give Frank & Will a break.  One of the cool movie tricks in a Directors arsenal when portraying news coverage on screen is to secretly embed filming cameras in each news chopper to grab the high level footage needed for the actual film.  Its a perfect cover for shooting an action sequence once, but getting multiple angles in a single shoot.

This is what you pay for when you visit the megaplex.  An exciting, fast, tense film with characters you can feel for.  You’ll feel really good about the time spent when exiting.

4 Stars Out of 5

Unstoppable is rated PG-13 for sequences of action and peril, and some language. 

Atomic Popcorn is getting you ready for the winter season with some action to warm up your insides! Denzel, Chris and Rosario erupt in this action packed film from Tony Scott. Unstoppable is invading Baltimore on November 8th and here is your chance to see it before your friends do!

Synopsis:

Oscar-winner Denzel Washington and “Star Trek’s” Chris Pine team with action maestro Tony Scott in this non-stop thriller. A massive unmanned locomotive, nicknamed “The Beast” and loaded with toxic cargo, roars through the countryside, vaporizing anything put in front of it. A veteran engineer (Washington) and a young conductor (Pine), aboard another train in the runaway’s path, devise an incredible plan to try and stop it – and prevent certain disaster in a heavily populated area.

Cast:

Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson.

Trailer Below:

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It has been a struggle worthy of the funny books. The casting search for the next Captain America has been well documented the web over, including right here at AP. At one point our little geek hearts leapt up when Jensen Ackles was briefly mentioned, or Chris Pine looked poised to grab the mask and shield. That’s all behind us now, though.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Chris Evans (Push, The Fantastic Four) has been offered the role of Captain America in Joe Johnston’s big screen adaptation of the beloved character. Evans has a couple of projects currently lined up, including one just wrapped called Puncture, and there’s the possibility that if he takes the Captain gig, some of those that have yet to film might fall by the wayside. Let’s not forget that America comes with a deal for 9 options. Pretty heavy.

As for the specifics of the offer and Evans’ response, publicists for both Chris and Marvel have not offered up comment. Something tells me we will hear soon, though.

Evans, best known as The Human Torch in the silly and tepid Fantastic Four films is actually a better and stronger actor than his resume would let on. He may not have hit any particularly resonant notes in last year’s sci-fi trash Push, but check out something like Sunshine or The Perfect Score to see the man supporting a film with all his might.

Captain America seems like a great opportunity for him, and I’m now curious about what he could do with the role given the right script and direction. Better yet, playing Cap will help wash away the taste of those dreadful FF movies, of which he was the best thing.

How about all of you? Does Evans as Captain America tickle your fancy?

Let’s hear your thoughts on this.

Here’s an interesting rumor. Sources over at Cinema Spy has reporting that Chris Pine (Star Trek) may be one of the actors in the running to play Steve Rogers. For those not in the comic-book know, Steve Rogers is the secret identity of Marvel’s Captain America who is heading to the big screen soon in Joe Johnston’s The First Avenger: Captain America.

Just last week, Joe Johnston was mentioning that the role of Cap wouldn’t be going to a big Hollywood name. Several of the actors suggested to be in the running fit this description; Chad Michael Murray, Ryan Partlin, and Supernatural’s Jensen Ackles.

Now though, it appears that Chris Pine is at the forefront of the list. Pine just finished playing another Captain, Kirk, in the summer’s smash hit Star Trek. He’s also showed up in some smaller pics lately like Bottle Shock and the horror thriller Carriers. I’m not sure he would qualify outside of ‘a big Hollywood name’ now, but he’s definitely more of an up-and-comer as opposed to an established presence like Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise.

Personally I can see this happening, but would just as soon prefer it didn’t. Pine’s got the Trek franchise and he’s done a great job making that role his own, despite the definitive spin Shatner had stamped on it. I’m not sure I want to see him juggling two big blockbusters, since it’s quite possible they could interfere with one another.

Of those names mentioned above, I’m most interested in the Jensen Ackles mention. Although he’s got one more contracted season of Supernatural, I think he has the right presence and personality to pull off Steve Rogers. It might also be the break he needs to really come into his own with the general audience of filmgoers. So far, he’s mostly done low budget thrillers like My Bloody Valentine outside of his work as Dean Winchester.

What do you think? Is Pine right for the role? Or would bringing in a lesser known face be the right move for Captain America? For all of you Supernatural fans, how bout Jensen? Think he could cut it?

People who don’t know much about me probably wouldn’t guess that I’m a huge Star Trek fan. But the facade of being normal cracks at the seams, once you start noticing Trek-themed coasters sitting around my apartment.

Rest assured, J.J. Abrams’ reboot of Star Trek was, in my opinion, the bee’s knees, only outdone this year by a few films including the majestic Inglourious Basterds. It set the stage perfectly for a series that I hope maintains the quality of the first outing.

One thing that did manage to peak my curiousity, though, was word of a deleted scene featuring Eric Bana and Clifton Collins Jr.’s villains being interrogated on a Klingon ship. Well, for those of you like me who are much too impatient to wait a bit for the DVD/Bluray release, here’s the deleted scene in all its glory.

Notice how they keep the faces of the Klingons masked, in order to avoid constraining their future design for them by a brief scene in the first film. This is likely due to how much different the Klingons looked in the original series (i.e., shortly after this film takes place) and The Next Generation, in which they looked completely different.

It’s a cool scene, but ultimately unnecessary in the movie. A very good choice of editing on Abrams and Co.’s part.

Today is a big news day for the new Captain Kirk, Chris Pine. After this morning’s report that Pine was in talks with Paramount to star in The Art of Making Money with Disturbia director D.J. Caruso, now it seems that Paramount also wants to reel the rising star with the role of Jack Ryan in a series reboot.

The CIA analyst with a penchant for solving tricky situation has a long history in Tom Clancy books and on screen, where he’s been played by Harrison Ford, Alec Baldwin and Ben Affleck. Ryan Gosling was once a name being tossed about for a reboot of the series that ended after Affleck’s mediocre The Sum of All Fears, but Pine seems like a perfect candidate considering the success of Star Trek.

It’s unknown whether or not Pine will return for Star Trek 2 before or after the untitled Jack Ryan reboot, but I’d bet on the former — the film is deep in development, without a director but with a script by Hossein Amini (The Four Feathers).

Hopefully, this will turn out to be a success for Paramount and Pine. The Hunt For Red October and Patriot Games are espionage classics, and the wonderful character of Jack Ryan deserves a powerful comeback.

Paramount Pictures is taking the first steps in moving forward with production of their newest drama, The Art of Making Money, by wooing actor Chris Pine and director D.J. Caruso to be involved with the project.

If negotiations go as Paramount would like, Pine, who audiences will remember from his recent portrayal as James T. Kirk in Star Trek, will be cast as the film’s lead. Pine would be playing the role of Art Williams, the alias of a former Chicago petty thief who made his way up through the ranks of the criminal world to become a master counterfeiter.

Paramount also hopes to have Caruso, who most recently directed Disturbia and Eagle Eye, take on directing duties for the film. If Caruso agrees to be part of The Art of Making Money, he will be joining producers Brian Robbins, Sharla Sumpter and Brad Weston in making the movie, along with executive producer Paul Pompian.

Production on The Art of Making Money is set to start early next year.

Denzel Washington (The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3) strolls his way off of Unstoppable, the film being spewed out of Twentieth Century Fox. Originally negotiating re-teaming yet again with Tony Scott, he jumps ship after the estimated release date and production budget took too long to gather together. 

Currently onboard with the upcoming production is Chris Pine who was set to co-star alongside the actor and Tony Scott possibly sitting along in the director’s chair again. This would have been another pairing between him and Scott, working with him already in The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 and Deja Vu. Despite all of this, money issues overall prevented continuing this pairing.

Denzel’s latest role will be the title character in The Book of Eli, opening on January 15th, 2010.