The Playlist

Review: 'Welcome To The Punch' Is A Stylish & Smart British Spin In On The Action-Thriller

By Oliver Lyttelton
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March 11, 2013 11:19 AM
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2 Comments

Reviews

The terms "British cinema" and "action movie" tend not to go together particularly well. Maybe it's the smaller budgets at play, maybe it's an awareness that our American and Asian cousins do it better, maybe it's cultural -- most British cops don't carry weapons, for example. It's not that it hasn't been tried, it's more that the examples we do have -- "The 51st State," "Centurion," "The Sweeney" -- tend to be bad enough to dissuade too many others from giving it a shot, and so the idea of an action movie set in the U.K. remains incongruous enough that it can form the central joke of an entire film, like Edgar Wright's "Hot Fuzz."

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Watch: Danny Boyle's 'Trance' Steals From An Auction In New 2 Minute Clip

By Cain Rodriguez
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March 8, 2013 9:40 AM
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1 Comment

News

Danny Boyle has always been a frenetic and energetic filmmaker, blending music and images like few others, but it looks he may go to trippy new heights with the mind-bending heist thriller “Trance.” With the Oscar-winning director heading to SXSW this weekend, a new clip from the film has dropped online.

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Watch: New Clip & Featurette For 'Welcome To The Punch' Starring James McAvoy

By Joe Cunningham
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March 4, 2013 5:09 PM
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News

“Welcome To The Punch” feels like it’s been a long time coming, but it finally hits cinemas in the UK a week on Friday, before debuting 12 days later in the US on March 27th. Eran Creevy’s follow-up to his excellent micro-budget “Shifty” is a crime thriller in the vein of “Infernal Affairs,” shot in the style of Tony Scott, and stars an impressive British cast lead by James McAvoy and Mark Strong. With those release dates fast approaching we’ve got a new clip and a new featurette.

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First Stills From 'The Disappearance Of Eleanor Rigby' With Jessica Chastain & James McAvoy Reveal Visual Differences

By Tess Hofmann
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February 28, 2013 10:19 AM
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3 Comments

News

A batch of stills from each “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: His” and “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Hers” have provided the first major break in the case of the mysterious two-part project. For those of you who haven’t heard, the loftily titled pair of features is a two-part set from writer-director Ned Benson starring Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy as a husband and wife with a failing relationship. One film will tell the story through the eyes of the husband, a restaurateur, while the other film sees the events through the eyes of the wife, who goes back to college.

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James McAvoy Reportedly Eyes Lead Role In 'The Crow' Reboot

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 25, 2013 12:23 PM
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3 Comments

News

So with all the Oscar hardware handed out, back to what Hollywood knows how to do best: make reboots and sequels. And one project Hollywood keeps trying to make happen is new version of "The Crow." At one time, the movie was gearing up as a vehicle for Bradley Cooper with "28 Weeks Later" helmer Juan Carlos Fresnadillo directing, but they both wound up leaving the project by the end of 2011, and not much has been heard since. But it seems a new face may be eager to go goth.

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Watch: James McAvoy & Andrea Riseborough Make A Proposal In Clip From 'Welcome To The Punch'

By India Ross
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February 19, 2013 8:56 AM
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News

It’s not as though James McAvoy has been gone very long, but his absence, albeit brief, from top-tier dramatic roles ("Arthur Christmas" notwithstanding) has been a difficult time for all of us. The good news, however, is that he’s back in our lives with a couple new movies arriving within the span of a few weeks, in Danny Boyle's "Trance" and "Welcome To The Punch." And a new clip for the latter British thriller, directed by Eran Creevy, has now landed.

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5 New Photos From 'Welcome To The Punch' Starring James McAvoy, Mark Strong & Andrea Riseborough

By Oliver Lyttelton
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February 1, 2013 3:43 PM
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News

"Hot Fuzz" aside, the history of the British cop/action film is not a glorious one. Indeed, it's hard to think of a truly successful one that plays it straight, especially with recent disappointments like "Blitz" and "The Sweeney" fresh in the memory. But there's one sneaking up that we've had high hopes for for some time.

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James McAvoy's 'Welcome To The Punch' Gets U.S. Theatrical & VOD Release In March

By Kevin Jagernauth
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January 31, 2013 3:30 PM
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4 Comments

News

With Ridley Scott executive producing, James McAvoy in the lead, a supporting cast that includes Mark Strong, Andrea Riseborough, Peter Mullan and more, all in a gritty crime flick directed by the rising auteur Evan Creevy, perhaps expectations were a bit higher for "Welcome To The Punch." We figured it might be the kind of thing that rolled into SXSW or Sundance, but instead, you can just check it out at home at the end of March.

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Watch: First Trailer For Danny Boyle's Thriller 'Trance'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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January 10, 2013 12:24 AM
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4 Comments

News

Tonight, during the closing credits of Film 2013 on BBC1, the first trailer for Danny Boyle's thriller "Trance" was unveiled. And, a few hours later, the full thing has made its way online via MSN.

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First Look: Rosario Dawson & James McAvoy In Danny Boyle's Thriller 'Trance'

By Edward Davis
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December 27, 2012 10:16 AM
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News

Speak of the devil. Not 24 hours ago, rumors swirled that Danny Boyle's upcoming enigmatic thriller/heist movie "Trance" had scored a March 2013 release date. While that hasn't been totally confirmed yet, USA Today has delivered some first-look photos from the film. "Trance" reunites Boyle with screenwriter John Hodge, who has written four of his films, including "Shallow Grave" and "Trainspotting," and it also marks a first for the filmmaker: the story centers on a female protagonist. Rosario Dawson is taking on that role.

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