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Review: 'Jack Reacher' Is The Rare Franchise-Starter That Makes You Hungry For More

  • By Drew Taylor
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  • December 17, 2012 1:15 PM
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  • 6 Comments
Reviews
Much of the hoopla surrounding "Jack Reacher," the first adaptation of the insanely popular series of Lee Child-penned thrillers, has had to do with the casting of the diminutive Tom Cruise in the title role. As described in the novels, Reacher is, physically speaking, a brute – close-cropped blonde hair, nearly seven-feet tall, well over 200 pounds. In one of the novels he literally crushes a dude's skull with his bare hands. By comparison, Tom Cruise could fit snugly into a standard-sized teacup, is slimmer than an iPhone 5, and has muddy brown hair. But one of the more miraculous things about "Jack Reacher," an altogether entertaining and completely surprising pulp romp, is how Cruise embodies the Reacher character in the way he moves, the way he glances, and the way he talks (or doesn't talk). It doesn't matter that Tom Cruise is the tiny, snuggly version of Jack Reacher. He is still, very much, Jack Reacher.
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More: Jack Reacher, Christopher McQuarrie, Tom Cruise, Werner Herzog, Rosamund Pike, David Oyelowo, Richard Jenkins, Review

Will Tom Cruise's 'Jack Reacher' Kick Ass Or Jump The Couch?

  • By The Playlist Staff
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  • October 18, 2012 1:00 PM
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  • 19 Comments
Features
Last Christmas, Tom Cruise proved, after a difficult few years, that he's still got it with "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol," a surprisingly thrilling actioner that proved to be, by some distance, the best film of the franchise so far, which further paid off by becoming the biggest movie of the season.
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More: Features, Jack Reacher, Tom Cruise, Werner Herzog, Christopher McQuarrie

Werner Herzog Convinces Sundance Selects To Release 'Into The Abyss' Next Month Instead Of Next Year

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • October 7, 2011 6:11 AM
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  • 1 Comment
'Salmon Fishing In Yemen' Baits Spring Release DateWerner Herzog is having one helluva 2011. His 3D documentary "Cave Of Forgotten Dreams" has been an arthouse smash hit, still playing theaters (in Montreal where this writer is from, it was brought back for as second run due to popular demand -- that pretty much never happens) and in the best casting news of the year, Herzog landed the villain role opposite Tom Cruise in the thriller "One Shot." Just typing that out still makes our mind reel. He hit TIFF last month with his new documentary "Into The Abyss," and while Sundance Selects were going to wait until 2012 to release it, Herzog has twisted their arm to get into the theaters a little bit sooner. Like next month.
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More: Films, Film Studios, Werner Herzog, Salmon Fishing In Yemen, Death Row, Sundance Selects, Gazing Into The Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale Of Life

Best. Casting. Ever. Werner Herzog To Play The Villain In 'One Shot' With Tom Cruise

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • October 4, 2011 6:38 AM
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  • 7 Comments
Holy. Fucking. Shit. Werner Hezog is going to face off against Tom Cruise in "One Shot." You win Hollywood.
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More: Films, Werner Herzog, One Shot

Werner Herzog's Prison Doc Now Titled 'Gazing Into The Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale Of Life'

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • June 20, 2011 9:00 AM
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  • 3 Comments
Though he can be uneven at times, Werner Herzog's quest for ecstatic truth -- which can sometimes mean making up the existence of mutated albino crocodiles -- is always compelling, interesting and sometimes, just plain weird. But his next effort, if anything, should certainly be sobering.
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More: Werner Herzog, Death Row, Gazing Into The Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale Of Life

Werner Herzog Fesses Up To The Fake "Mutated" Albino Crocodiles In 'Cave Of Forgotten Dreams'

  • By Edward Davis
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  • June 7, 2011 3:23 AM
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  • 7 Comments
Here's a spoiler if you haven't seen Werner Herzog's latest documentary, the 3D-made (no really), "Cave Of Forgotten Dreams" which centers on ancient cave art -- the oldest paintings known to man in the world (shot in three-deee!). So yeah, if you haven't seen it (and if this headline hasn't ruined it already), stay away.
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More: Werner Herzog, The Cave Of Forgotten Dreams

Retrospective: The Films Of Werner Herzog

  • By The Playlist Staff
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  • April 29, 2011 5:21 AM
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  • 10 Comments
Few filmmakers have had as varied, or colorful, a career as Werner Herzog. A man that Francois Truffaut, who should know, once called "the most important film director alive," Herzog has been knocking out classics, in both the fictional and documentary worlds, for over 40 years now. Perhaps still best known for his tempestuous relationship with Klaus Kinski, with whom Herzog produced many of his very best films, the director's oeuvre goes far beyond those five, from minor classics to eye-opening documentaries, from classics of German cinema to a star-driven remake of an Abel Ferrera film.
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More: Feature, Werner Herzog, The Cave Of Forgotten Dreams, Retrospective

Review: Werner Herzog's 'Cave Of Forgotten Dreams' Is Neither Forgettable Nor Very Dreamy

  • By The Playlist
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  • April 26, 2011 10:51 AM
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  • 0 Comments
The following is a slightly modified reprint of a review that ran at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.
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More: Review, Werner Herzog, The Cave Of Forgotten Dreams

Werner Herzog Says Woody Allen Won't Milk A Cow, Calls Out Oliver Stone For Skipping Warren Report

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • April 19, 2011 8:37 AM
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  • 10 Comments
Says Klaus Kinski Turned Down Frederico Fellini Because He Thought He Made Bad FilmsPut a microphone near Werner Herzog and he's bound to say something amazing -- the director is relentless quote machine. So no surprise that in a recent interview with GQ (print edition), Herzog dropped a few more fantastic nuggets about his fellow colleagues in the industry.
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More: Werner Herzog

Matt Damon Discusses How 'Bourne Ultimatum' Scheduling Kept Him Out Of 'Avatar'

  • By Gabe Toro
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  • February 28, 2011 8:17 AM
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  • 7 Comments
Actor Also Took 'Stuck On You' Instead Of Werner Herzog's 'Rescue Dawn'While discussing "The Adjustment Bureau" during press rounds this past week, Matt Damon admitted to what we already know is one of cinema's greatest what-ifs: that instead of Sam Worthington as Jake Sully in "Avatar" it could have been the Oscar-winning actor instead. Damon took the opportunity to clarify that he had not made a giant career blunder in not taking on "Avatar," but that something as simple as scheduling had killed the chance for the most successful movie of all-time to have an actually interesting leading man as its protagonist.
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More: Films, Actors, Werner Herzog

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