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“Bandit” may be, as it proudly declares up front, based on a true story. But it’s hard to believe the titular antihero was quite as charming as the guy playing him.

Josh Duhamel is Robert Whiteman — or, technically, Gilbert Galvan Jr., as he’s known before he escapes a Michigan jail and flees to Ontario in 1985. He becomes Whiteman when he buys a homeless man’s ID, so he can get a job selling ice cream. But when he’s fired, he needs a new gig fast. Unfortunately, even in Canada it’s tough to find work as a wanted convict.

So Robert starts looking around for ways to make some easy money. Actually, make that fast money. Canadian banks, he learns while robbing them, have very little security, and he’s in and out in minutes. But it’s definitely work, what with the careful planning, the costumes and prosthetics,...

Quiver Distribution is premiering a new trailer aimed squarely at action fans this Monday. The Bandit trailer presents a film about seemingly ordinary men up to no good. Based on the remarkable true story of the Flying Bandit, the film stars Josh Duhamel, Elisha Cuthbert, and Mel Gibson. Allan Ungar directs from a script written by Kraig Wenman.

The Bandit trailer teases the story of Gilbert Galvan Jr. (Josh Duhamel), a charismatic career criminal who uses more disguises than Hitman’s Agent 47 to rob banks in broad daylight. As Gilbert tumbles deeper down a robbery-driven rabbit hole, he discovers that his obsession will lead to his life falling into chaos if he doesn’t walk away while the getting is good.

Here’s the official logline for Bandit:

In 1985, Gilbert Galvan Jr (Josh Duhamel), a charming career criminal, escapes from a US prison in Michigan and crosses the border into Canada,...

One of the things about modern Hollywood is that sometimes, if you want something to happen, you have just do it yourself — a lesson “Castle” and “Firefly” star Nathan Fillion has learned more than once.

In the video game world, one of the industry’s most popular franchises is the “Uncharted” series, a swashbuckling adventure series reminiscent of a modern-day “Indiana Jones.” It’s a premise that seems ripe for adaptation — it’s certainly more accessible than the high concept weirdness of “Assassin’s Creed.” But efforts to adapt the series to film have floundered, despite many high profile directors being involved, including Seth Gordon, Neil Burger, and David O. Russell.

While the games use the talents of motion capture and voice artist Nolan North to bring its protagonist to life, Fillion has been a fan favorite to play the main role of Nathan Drake in an on-screen adaptation (a...

The billing is more than a little misleading. “Universal Soldier” cohorts Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren may be listed in the credits (and promoted in the advertising art) as co-stars of “Black Water,” but it’s up to Van Damme to do most of the damage in this routine VOD-centric action thriller set aboard a submarine employed as a CIA black site. Throughout most of the movie’s perceptibly padded running time, Lundgren’s character is incarcerated in a dank prison cell on the sub — next door to the one in which Van Damme’s character fleetingly cools his heels — where we periodically see him reading, exercising, meditating, and generally looking very Zen. To call this a cameo role would be overly generous. Truth to tell, Lundgren enjoys a greater percentage of screen time, and engages in slightly more rough stuff, in the punchy music video for Imagine Dragons’ “Believer.

Director Allan Ungar might have found his next big actioner in Decoy, a project with some compelling star power in Frank Grillo (The Purge: Anarchy), Andy Garcia (The Untouchables) and Tyler Posey (Teen Wolf). Written by David Benullo, the story centers on an identity thief who becomes hunted by the Nsa after he steals the identity of a wanted man. The script was featured on the 2014 Hit List which tracks well-liked, unproduced work. Ungar's last film was the raucous 80s throwback Gridlocked, which channeled the fun of buddy cop films like Lethal Weapon and The Hard Way. That film starred Dominic Purcell, Stephen Lang and Danny Glover and is available on Netflix. The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop on the film and the fact...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

We were big fans of Allan Ungar's Gridlocked - a deliberate throwback to the pulpy Dtv action films of the 90s starring Dominic Purcell, Stephen Lang, Trish Stratus, Danny Glover, Vinnie Jones and Saul Rubinek - back when it premiered at Fantastic Fest and with the picture due for release on June 14th there's a red band teaser out there that showcases why, exactly, we had such a good time with it. Hint: It has to do with guns, explosions, and people getting punched in the face. It may not be high art but Gridlocked has no pretensions of being anything other than what it is and if what you're looking for is some beefy old school action then you've come to the right place....

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

I had no idea this action film Gridlocked even existed until a Gt reader emailed me this red-band trailer for it. The trailer is insanely action-packed, and it looks like a hell of an entertaining movie that follows a former Swat leader named David Hendrix and hard-partying movie star named Brody Walker who are on a ride-along together. That ride-along is cut short when a police training facility is attacked by a team of mercenaries. The trailer sure does a good job of getting you pumped up! The vibe of the film could be likened to The Raid, only without the insane martial arts. 

The film has got a kickass cast that includes Dominic Purcell (Prison Break), Stephen Lang (Avatar), Vinnie Jones (Snatch) , Cody Hackman (Tapped Out), Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon), WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus, and Saul Rubinek (True Romance).

The movie will be released in the Us on June 14th.

A crowd-pleasing thriller in the tradition of classics buddy actioners like Lethal Weapon and The Hard Way, Allan Ungar's Gridlocked had audiences and critics praising its ability to juggle both brutal action and laughs when it ran the fest circuit last year.

We reviewed Gridlocked out of Tad last year and then had Ungar on a special episode of The Quietcast to discuss the film. At that time, there wasn't much to show except a clip.

Now the first trailer for the flick has dropped and I'm not s [Continued ...]...

[Editor's note: You can now subscribe to Quiet Earth's podcast on iTunes or via RSS!]

Gridlocked (review), Allan Ungar's thrilling and funny throwback to action films of the 80's and 90's recently had its Canadian premiere at The Toronto After Dark Film Festival. It also played Edmonton's DEDFest as well as Fantastic Fest last month in Austin.

The film has been embraced by critics and festival crowds alike for its love of a bygone action era and should be seeing release sometime early next year. In the meantime, w [Continued ...]...

Gridlocked

Written by Rob Robol & Allan Ungar

Directed by Allan Ungar

Canada, 2015

In Gridlocked, Dominic Purcell plays David Hendrix, a Strategic Response Team (a type of swat team) leader who after taking a bullet in the line of duty is on forced leave from his squad. Hendrix spends his days single-handedly kicking down doors and laying the smack down on petty thugs while pining to rejoin his former unit. Enter Brody Walker (Cody Hackman), a Justin Bieber-esque movie star with a downward spiraling career and a penchant for indiscretions that leaves him facing jail time. Walker’s PR/Legal team cut a deal placing him in a community service program as Hendrix’s tag-a-long, and surprise, surprise, the two don’t get along. Just when Gridlocked looks to be ripping pages right out of the 48 Hrs. and Ride Along movie making handbooks, it provides one more swerve. Hendrix takes Brody to his former headquarters,...

It's amazing to me that it took Canada twenty years to produce Gridlocked, the kind of fun, buddy cop action movie that ran its course by the mid 90's in most territories (and yes, I'm aware of Bon Cop, Bad Cop). Perhaps even more amazing is how this kind of movie - once a mainstream staple - is now considered "indie"! But, here we are, discussing the new action film by director Allan Ungar, which wears its love of 80's and 90's actioners like Lethal Weapon and The Hard Way on its sleeve and ends up being an enjoyable action movie if not particularly unique.

In what I can only assume is a narrative nod to The Hard Way starring James Woods and Michael J. Fox, the film is about a tough-as-nuts cop who's forced to take an arrogant actor under his wing i [Continued ...]...

Shock reviews gritty action fantasy flick Gridlocked. Editor’s note: The Toronto After Dark Film Festival runs from October 15th to 23rd and Shock is pleased to be able to provide coverage. Keep checking back for more features and reviews as the fest progresses. Movie star Brody Walker (the affable Cody Hackman) has landed in hot…

The post Toronto After Dark Review: Gridlocked appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

The tenth annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival kicks off in a couple weeks and the festival has finally announced the second half of titles for this year’s lineup as well as the Canadian and International shorts. PopOptiq will once again be covering the event so be sure to check back at the end of the month. Here is the press release.

The Hallow (Ireland) Toronto Premiere

Possibly the scariest film in this year’s Toronto After Dark lineup, The Hallow from the producers of Let Us Prey terrified audiences at Sundance on its debut. After a young family move from the big city to a peaceful Irish woodland cottage, their dismissive attitude to folklore legends angers the local townspeople. It’s not long before the family members find themselves in a desperate fight for survival in a prolonged confrontation with some vicious creatures lurking in the forest.

The...

If you're looking for a movie with hyper-violence, well-choreographed ass kickings, and a lot of bloodshed, Gridlocked is your Huckleberry. Not to be confused with the great 1997 crime film Gridlock'd starring Tim Roth and the late Tupac Shakur, Gridlocked is a hepped up Assault on Precinct 13 with bullets calling all the shots.In Gridlocked, Dominic Purcell (Prison Break) plays the hard-as-nails Swat leader David Hendrix. He's the guy you send into an apartment packed with guns and goons ready to fire them. He's the guy who walks out of that situation with a lot of blood on his hands, and none of it is his own. (Move over Liam Neeson, there's a new bad motherfucker in town with a particular set of skills.)Today is...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Dominic Purcell anchors the cast of Allan Ungar's indie action film Gridlocked and with the film set to have its world premiere at Fantastic Fest later today the first clip is freshly arrived online.David Hendrix (Dominic Purcell) has got it all under control. Highly trained, highly competent, a complete and total badass, there's nothing he can't handle. Whether you throw a strung out junkie or a mercenary packing fully-automatic heat at him, Hendrix can take it all on without blinking an eye. At least that's what he thinks... until he meets Brody Walker (Cody Hackman). A hard partying star whose career is more TMZ than the multiplex these days, Walker has one chance left to straighten himself out if he wants to avoid living in...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

It is time for me to make my peace with the fact that I will not be at Fantastic Fest this year. Last year's fest was one of my favorites ever, fitting for a tenth anniversary, and I would love to go this year. It's just not in the cards, though. It guts me, too. The event continues to grow and change and evolve, and it features one of the greatest programming teams in the business right now. There are films playing at the festival that I'll see in Toronto, and I'm sure I'll catch up with others, but that's not the point. Fantastic Fest is an experience, and an amazing one. If you want to go, you still can. "Daytime Only Badges, Fan Badges, and 2Nd Half Badges for Fantastic Fest 2015 are available for purchase here," today's press release urged. If you can go for the second half, you'll...

One of the greatest genre film festivals in the world (some say the best) has just announced its second wave of titles, including a few titles so anticipated you’ll wish you’re in Austin next month. Below are 35 more films to add to the 23 already announced in the first wave. They include Ridley Scott’s The Martian, Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster, Ben Wheatley’s adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s High-Rise and Jeremy Saulnier’s follow up to Blue Ruin, The Green Room. In addition to the films, Fantastic Fest is also delivering something special this year with a performance from Itchy-o – “a blazing, 32-member aural assault from the darkest depths of Colorado.” Fantastic Fest will also host the World Premiere of Lazer Team, the first feature film from web series gods Rooster Teeth. “This is a big year for genre cinema. We’re exceptionally proud to honor incredible filmmakers...

It’s hard to believe that we are a month away from what is possibly the best genre film festival in North America! After announcing a Kurt Russell included first wave, we get a wave that probably includes all the films I have the most interest in. The French remake of what I consider is one of Mario Bava’s best films, Rabid Dogs is included. Along with Jeremy Saulnier’s follow up from Blue Ruin, Green Room where Patrick Stewart plays a Neo-Nazi club owner, Ridley Scott’s The Martian, Ben Wheatley’s adaptation of High-Rise and the horror film that has some chilling buzz, The Witch, are all included. Check out the full listing below and wait with anticipation for our coverage of the festival!

Fantastic Fest is excited to announce the second wave of programming featuring the Us Premiere of Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster as the opening night film.

Austin, TX – Wednesday, August 26, 2015 — Fantastic Fest is excited to announce the second wave of programming featuring the Us Premiere of Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster as the opening night film. Lanthimos will be in attendance to share his wonderfully surreal examination of human connections. Joining The Lobster is a dazzling array of the year’s most anticipated genre films from heavyweight directors including Ridley Scott’s sci-fi epic The Martian, Ben Wheatley’s High-rise and Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room. Fantastic Fest will also host the World Premiere of Lazer Team, the first feature film from web series gods Rooster Teeth. Lazer Team director Matt Hullum and cast members Burnie Burns, Alan Ritchson, Colton Dunn, Michael Jones, and Gavin Free will be in attendance to celebrate the highly anticipated sci-fi comedy and join Fantastic Fest’s official opening night party, presented by Rooster Teeth. “This is a big year for genre cinema.

Cannibalistic skyscraper tribes, a punk band forced to fight for survival, and 17th century-set supernatural happenings will grace the big screen this fall at Fantastic Fest 2015, as High-Rise, Green Room (co-starring Patrick Stewart), and The Witch are among the films announced in the festival's second wave of programming.

Taking place September 24th–October 1st at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar theater in Austin, TX, Fantastic Fest 2015 celebrates an abundance of titles spanning multiple genres (as well as those that don't fit into one specific genre). Stay tuned to Daily Dead for the upcoming final wave of Fantastic Fest 2015 programming, and to read about the first wave of the festival's programming, visit:

http://dailydead.com/fantastic-fest-2015-first-wave-includes-bone-tomahawk-the-invitation/

Press Release: Austin, TX - Wednesday, August 26, 2015 - Fantastic Fest is excited to announce the second wave of programming featuring the Us Premiere of Yorgos Lanthimos' The Lobster as the opening night film.

While some Afm buyers were sitting on their wallets and spilling blood this year in hopes of scoring Quentin Tarantino’s Hateful Eight, others were ponying up for the schlock and genre awe that still sells in Santa Monica. This year a new trend brought heat to the halls of the Loews: Ebola. Not just ebola, but ebola zombies. Is anyone out there ready to see ebola spread to the undead?

Here’s one way to defuse the tacky sensationalism of Afm schlock-hawking: Apologize in advance. “Is it too soon?” genre seller Rob Hauschild asked the buyers and lookyloos who stopped, did double takes, and even took selfies with the poster for Ebola Zombies this year. He’d break the ice with a smile and a sheepish shrug. “I’m sorry!”

The audacity worked; Hauschild sold Ebola Zombies to Germany and is closing a deal with a Japanese distributor for his Wild Eye Releasing,...

It was back in May of 2013 that we first wrote about Toronto based indie director Allan Ungar. He was wrapping up Tapped at the time, a gritty fight drama starring former karate world champ Cody Hackman opposite Michael Biehn in the story of a young man fighting to avenge his family. Well, Ungar and Hackman are back together with the upcoming Gridlocked, this one also starring Dominic Purcell and Danny Glover. Plot details thus far are sparse - the official synopsis says only "An ex-nypd swat leader and his trainee organize a commando team to fight of an attack by a band of ex-soldiers." - but with Afm right around the corner we've got the first artwork below....

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Exclusive: The action-thriller stars Dominic Purcell, Danny Glover, Cody Hackman and Stephen Lang and is in post.

Allan Ungar directs Gridlocked, about a former Swat leader and a movie star on a ride-along who become trapped when a training facility is overrun by mercenaries.

Ungar and Rob Robol wrote the screenplay and Bruno Marino produces alongside Jenna Mattison and Geoff Hart from Hackybox Pictures.

“It’s fun to sell such an energetic, exciting and edgy film,” said Red Sea Media CEO Roman Kopelevich. “This is a high-quality production with an outstanding script and we think this type of action film is exactly what buyers are looking for.”

Ungar previously wrote and directed the Mma thriller Tapped starring Michael Biehn and Anderson Silva.

Red Sea Media’s Afm sales slate includes Dawn Patrol starring Scott Eastwood and Rita Wilson, The Timber starring Josh Peck and action adventure Beyond Skyline, set to begin shooting in December.

• Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey has reportedly signed on to play former CIA agent Edwin Wilson in The Company Man. The film, written by Andrew Cypiot, will tell the true story of Wilson, who was convicted in 1983 of illegally selling weapons to Libya, but had all charges overturned in 2003 after years of imprisonment. The True Detective Emmy nominee is said to also be in the process of finding a director for the film. [Deadline]

• Sandra Bullock is about to throw one big Tupperware party. The Oscar winner will star as Brownie Wise in Tupperware Unsealed, based on writer Bob Kealing’s non-fiction...

Some casting news you can use... First, Danny Glover has joined the cast of the Canadian indie thriller "Gridlocked," which stars Dominic Purcell as a former Swat leader being shadowed by a movie star with quite an ego, played by Cody Hackman. Glover will play a police chief in the film, which will be directed by Allan Ungar, from a script penned by Ungar and Rob Robol, with Hackybox Pictures producing. Vinnie Jones and Stephen Lang round out the film's key cast, with principal photography set to begin later this month, in Toronto and London. Next, Tory Kittles has joined the cast of HBO's Bessie Smith biopic, which stars Queen Latifah and is written and...

• Pretty Little Liars star Ashley Benson has joined the cast of Pixels, a Sony comedy starring Adam Sandler, Josh Gad, and Peter Dinklage as a group of ’80s video game champions who President Kevin James calls on to save the day when aliens attack using strategies from those games. Benson will play a character named Lady Lisa, described as “a beautiful warrior from the fictional ’80s video game Dojo Quest.” [The Wrap]

• Hunger Games co-stars Liam Hemsworth and Woody Harrelson may team up for the Western action thriller By Way of Helena. The story follows a Texas ranger (Hemsworth) in the 1880s...

Take Down

Jeremy Sumpter, Phoebe Tonkin and Sebastian Koch are in talks to star in Jim Gillespie's young adult thriller "Take Down". Filming is scheduled to start in April.

Alexander Ignon wrote the screenplay about a colony of spoiled brats who fight back when armed invaders take over their remote boot camp. [Source: Screen]

Tell

Katee Sackhoff, Milo Ventimiglia, Jason Lee, Alan Tudyk, Robert Patrick and John Michael Higgins will star in Jmr Luna's crime thriller "Tell" for Arclight Films.

Ventimiglia plays a small-time crim who pulls of a complex $1 million heist. His riches are soon the target of his ex-wife (Sackhoff), a partner he betrayed, his parole officer and two corrupt detectives. [Source: Digital Spy]

Gridlocked

Cuba Gooding Jr. has joined Allan Ungar's action thriller "Gridlocked" at Hackybox Pictures. Filming begins this Spring in Toronto and London, Ontario.

The actor plays play a former Swat leader who is being shadowed by an arrogant movie star.

Exclusive: Red Sea Media has come on to handle international sales at the Efm on the Cuba Gooding Jr [pictured] thriller Gridlocked.

Allan Ungar directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with Rob Robol about a former Swat chief and his trainee caught in a training facility overrun by mercenaries.

Bruno Marino produces with Geoff Hart and Cody Hackman from Canada’s Hackybox Pictures.

“We’re really going to be pushing the envelope in terms of the action,” said Ungar. “It’s going to remain grounded, but it will pack a punch. You’re going to see Cuba Gooding Jr like you’ve never seen him before. It’s going to be exciting.”

Ungar previously wrote and directed the Mma thriller Tapped with Michael Biehn and Anderson Silva, which Lionsgate releases in May.

Red Sea Media’s slate includes two films from La-based FX specialists Hydraulx ­ The Seventh Tear produced by Brett Ratner and Chimera ­ as well as Jinn...

Cuba Gooding Jr has booked the starring role in a Canadian action/thriller titled Gridlocked, which will be directed by Allan Ungar, from a script penned by Ungar and Rob Robol. for Hackybox Pictures. The feature film will see Gooding play a former Swat team chief who who finds himself having to take on a team of mercenaries, with the help of the surviving members of a training facility that was attacked, and an actor shadowing him for a part. The project is being shopped at the ongoing European Film Market in Berlin, with a spring 2014 shoot eyed. Gooding will next star in Clement Virgo's much-anticipated film adaptation of...

Coming off a strong supporting turn in “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. has signed on to star in the upcoming action-thriller “Gridlocked,” which will be financed and produced by Canada-based Hackybox Pictures. The “Jerry Maguire” star will play a former Swat team leader who’s being shadowed by an arrogant movie star researching a role. When a team of mercenaries attacks a training facility, the unlikely duo must organize its survivor members and fight for their lives. Also Read: Barack Obama Praises Oprah Winfrey’s Acting, Cuba Gooding Jr.’s Jokes In ‘Lee Daniels’ The Butler...