Joe Carnahan Movies
Brother of screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan, Joe Carnahan has contributed to the film world primarily as a director. After getting his start in the mid-'90s working in the promotional department of a California television station, Carnahan produced several short films and generated a certain amount of excitement within the independent film community for his series of feature-length action flicks: Blood, Guts, Bullets & Octane, Narc, and Smokin' Aces. He was one of the many people in talks to direct one of Tom Cruise's Mission Impossible sequels, but landed his biggest box office hit to that point with 2010's big-screen adaptation of The A-Team. He reteamed with that film's star Liam Neeson two years later for the survival adventure drama The Grey. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
Sid (director Joe Carnahan) and Bob (Dan Leis) are two down-on-their-luck, very fast-talking used car salesmen with a lot full of lemons and a gaping hole in their finances, when, at their most vulnerable, they are offered a deal: Park a cherry Pontiac LeMans convertible for two days...and they get $250,000. The catch is, "don't look, don't touch." The trunk is rigged to explode if they try to open it, and a sniper awaits them if they attempt to run off with it. On top of that is a trail of bodies stretching from South America to the car's delivery. Living in the shadow of Dan Woo (Dan Harlan), the giant car dealer down the street for whom Sid and Bob used to work, the boys have little choice. Hilarity and the FBI ensue. In the '90s it's Quentin Tarantino's world, we just watch the footage. Like a low-rent Faust on too much caffeine, director Joe Carnahan, armed with his car, his friends, and less than $8000, has made an energetic, eager-to-please debut to serve as his calling card to Hollywood. ~ Ron Wells, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dan Leis, Joe Carnahan, (more)
Suspended from the police force following an undercover drug bust gone horribly awry, Detroit undercover narcotics officer Nick Tellis (Jason Patric) is reluctantly goaded back into active duty in hopes that he can help to crack the case of a slain fellow officer. Promised reinstatement in the force in exchange for his efforts, Tellis is paired with the victim's volatile ex-partner Henry Oak (Ray Liotta) and soon begins to actively seek the killer in an increasingly complex case. A recent father whose wife fears for her husband's safety and begs him not to take back to the dangerous streets, Tellis struggles with his conscience as he navigates a twisting road of half-realized truths, shifting loyalties and questionable agendas. With every step closer to Tellis gets to solving the troubling murder, he grows farther away from his wife and newborn son, and edges ever closer to a resolution so complicated that it threatens to devour his soul and shatter every preconceived difference he has ever made between cop and criminal. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ray Liotta, Jason Patric, (more)
When a shifty magician turns state's evidence against a Las Vegas underworld heavy, the high price placed on his head sparks a fevered race to rub the snitch out and collect a tidy paycheck in Narc director Joe Carnahan's dark action comedy. Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven) is a small-time scammer who has somehow managed to get the goods on big-time mobster Primo Sparazza. Upon discovering that Buddy is about to deliver the evidence needed to get him thrown in jail for life, Primo takes out a sizable contract on Buddy that entices every two-bit thug, grizzled bounty hunter, deadly vixen, skilled assassin, and ladder-climbing Mafioso within a hundred-mile radius into taking a shot at the prize. Now holed up in his luxurious Lake Tahoe hideout with only two FBI agents (Ryan Reynolds and Ray Liotta) standing between him from a virtual army of money-hungry rogues, Buddy is about to find out just how far this motley crew of killers is willing to go in order to take him out and hit the jackpot. Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Andy Garcia, Alicia Keys, and Martin Henderson co-star in a bullet-strewn, ensemble crime comedy that never stops to reload. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, (more)
- 2008
- Add Playing for Change: Peace Through Music to Queue Add Playing for Change: Peace Through Music to top of Queue
Filmmakers Jonathan Walls and Mark Johnson combine the work of musicians on four continents into one global song in an inspirational tribute to the remarkable power of music. Over the course of one year, Walls and Johnson traveled the globe in order to explore the concept of music as a tool in promoting peace. From the traditional music of South African freedom fighters who used song to fight apartheid to the religious songs of the Zuni in New Mexico, music has been bringing people together ever since that fateful first note was sung. Interviews with such acclaimed musicians as Manu Chao highlight the ways in which music unifies mankind while bringing out the best in humanity, while a unique version of Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" recorded on four continents offers firsthand testament to the theory of song as an international language. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Director Gavin O'Connor collaborates with Narc director/screenwriter Joe Carnahan on this family-focused police drama concerning an honest homicide detective (Edward Norton) assigned to investigate the precinct run by his potentially crooked older brother (Noah Emmerich). As the investigation begins to reveal some troubling facts about the precinct, it gradually becomes apparent that the policeman who is also the older brother's best friend (Colin Farrell) may be the man orchestrating many of the suspected crimes. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, (more)
Set in the fall of 2000 and purportedly based on actual events, The Fourth Kind stars Milla Jovovich as Dr. Abigail Tyler, a Nome, Alaska-based psychotherapist whose videotaped sessions with her patients offer the most compelling evidence of alien abduction ever documented. Elias Koteas and Will Patton co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Milla Jovovich
- 2009
After appearing in the director's 2007 shootem-up Smokin' Aces, Jason Bateman again teams with filmmaker Joe Carnahan for this action comedy. From an idea concocted by Bateman himself, Remarkable Fellows follows the adventures of a pair of brothers who elaborately exact revenge at the behest of their high-priced clients. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 2009
Narc and Smokin' Aces director Joe Carnahan teams with actress Reese Witherspoon for this remake of the 1965 Otto Preminger thriller concerning the mystery that unfolds when a woman reports her daughter missing and the police investigation reveals that no such girl ever existed. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Doug Wright (Quills) rewrites his own script in collaboration with Carnahan for a film produced by Spyglass partners Roger Birnbaum and Gary Barber, Mark Gordon, and Type A partners Witherspoon and Jennifer Simpson. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2010
The Yari Film Group moves forward with the biopic of Pablo Escobar with director Joe Carnahan heading up the adaptation of the book Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw by author Mark Bowden. The film will follow the exploits of a Delta Force squad headed by Christian Bale as they hunt down the famed drug trafficker with the help of the DEA, CIA, and Columbian military. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- 2010
Smokin' Aces director Joe Carnahan takes the helm for this adaptation of James Ellroy's novel concerning a corrupt LAPD lieutenant assigned to a high-profile case just as his notoriously debauched department is singled out for investigation. White Jazz is a screen adaptation of the fourth and final installment of author Ellroy's popular "L.A. Quartet" series of crime novels (which also includes L.A. Confidential, The Big Nowhere, and The Black Dahlia). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Director Joe Carnahan resurrects the popular 1980s-era action series with this explosive reboot following the adventures of four Iraq War veterans who begin a second career as mercenaries for hire. Col. John "Hannibal" Smith (Liam Neeson), Templeton "Face" Peck (Bradley Cooper), B.A. Baracus (Quinton "Rampage" Jackson), and H.M. "Howlin' Mad" Murdock (Sharlto Copley) are a group of former Special Forces operatives who have been fighting the good fight for eight years when they're sentenced to military prison for a crime they didn't commit. Breaking out with relative ease, they embark on a treacherous quest to clear their names while being hunted across the globe by Charissa Sosa (Jessica Biel), a high-ranking military officer and one of Face's many former lovers. Meanwhile, mysterious CIA operative Lynch (Patrick Wilson) offers tips that help point the federal fugitives in the right direction, which seems to lead straight to former military contractor Pike (Brian Bloom), who may have been responsible for setting them up in the first place. Just when it seems that the A-Team has all the evidence needed to prove their innocence, however, they discover that their latest mission is just getting started. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, (more)
- 2010
- R
- Add Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball to Queue Add Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball to top of Queue
The world's most resourceful assassins target an FBI desk jockey in this action-packed prequel. Hal Leuco wants FBI agent Walter Weed (Tom Berenger) dead, and he's got the connections to get the job done. When Hal offers a sizable bounty for the head of Agent Weed, the killers start to come out of the woodwork. Of course, the Tremor family is always game for a challenge, but with a lethal beauty (Martha Higareda), a maniacal driller killer (Vinnie Jones), and a stealth assassin (Tommy Flanagan) all gunning for the prize, too, it'll be a miracle if Agent Weed lives to see the next sunrise. Fortunately for Agent Weed, Agent Baker (Clayne Crawford) and his team of heavily armed operatives may have just enough firepower to beat this determined team of assassins at their own game. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tom Berenger, Clayne Crawford, (more)
Liam Neeson stars in producer/director Joe Carnahan's tense adventure thriller about a group of tough-as-nails oil rig workers who must fight for their lives in the Alaskan wilderness after their airplane crashes miles from civilization. With supplies running short and hungry wolves closing in, the shaken survivors face a fate worse than death if they don't act fast. Dermot Mulroney, Dallas Roberts, and Frank Grillo co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Frank Grillo, (more)
- 2013
Joe Carnahan directs this remake of the 1974 Charles Bronson classic revenge tale with this MGM/Paramount Pictures production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
Rating Systems
Blockbuster
BLOCKBUSTER name, design and related marks are trademarks of Blockbuster L.L.C.
2013 Blockbuster L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Corporation. 2013 Rovi Corporation.