Mark Romanek Movies
- 2010
Keira Knightley stars in this sci-fi thriller focusing on a group of people brought up through boarding schools who discover they're clones for organ harvesting in this Fox Searchlight production from director Mark Romanek. Alex Garland provides the screenplay, with Andrew Garfield and Carey Mulligan also starring. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
Universal Studios resurrects the classic lycanthrope with this tale of an American who experiences an unsettling transformation after returning to his ancestral home in Victorian-era Great Britain and being attacked by a rampaging werewolf. His brother having recently vanished without a trace, haunted nobleman Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) returns to his family estate to investigate. What he discovers upon reuniting with his estranged father (Anthony Hopkins), however, is a destiny far darker than his blackest nightmares. As a young boy, the untimely death of his mother caused Talbot to grow up before his time. Though Talbot would attempt to bury his pain in the past by leaving the quiet Victorian hamlet of Blackmoor behind, the past returns with a vengeance when his brother's fiancée, Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt), convinces him to return home and aid the search for his missing brother. But something monstrous has been stalking the residents of Blackmoor from the nighttime shadows, something not quite human. Not even recently arrived Scotland Yard inspector Aberline (Hugo Weaving) can dream up a rational explanation for the gruesome spell that has been cast over Blackmoor, yet rumors of an ancient curse persist to this very day. According to legend, the afflicted will experience a horrific transformation by the light of the full moon, their animal rage becoming far too powerful for their human bodies to contain. Now, the woman Talbot loves is in mortal danger, and in order to protect her he must venture into the moonlit woods and destroy the beast before it destroys her. But this isn't your typical hunt, because before the beast can be slain, a simple man will uncover a primal side of himself that he never knew existed. Screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker pens a film directed by Joe Johnston and featuring creature effects by special-effects makeup legend Rick Baker. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, (more)
Adapted from the novel by Myla Goldberg, Bee Season tells the story of a family whose turmoil is brought to the surface by a young girl's unexpected talent. Eleven-year-old Eliza (Flora Cross) is the invisible element of her family unit -- her mother and father (played by Juliette Binoche and Richard Gere) are both consumed with work and busy avoiding their faltering marriage. Her brother, praised for musical genius, is wrapped up in his own adolescent life. Eliza ignites not only a spark that makes her visible but one that sets into motion a revolution in her family dynamic when she wins a spelling bee. Finding an emotional outlet in the power of words and in the spiritual mysticism that he sees at work in her unparalleled gift, Eliza's father pours all of his energy into helping his daughter become spelling bee champion, further distancing himself from his wife and son. A religious studies professor, he sees the opportunity as not only a distraction from his life but as an answer to his own crisis of faith. His vicarious path to God, real or imagined, leads to an obsession with Eliza's success and he begins teaching her secrets of the Kabbalah. Now preparing for the National Spelling Bee, and with her family spreading further and further into four separate directions, Eliza looks on as a new secret of her family's hidden turmoil seems to be revealed with each new word she spells. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Juliette Binoche, (more)
- 2005
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More than two-dozen music-videos directed by filmmaker Mark Romanek (One-Hour Photo) are collected together in this compilation from Palm Pictures. Among the songs featured in The Work of Director Mark Romanek are "Novocaine for the Soul" by Eels, "99 Problems" by Jay-Z, and "Hurt" by Johnny Cash. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
A standout cut from what proved to be the last studio album Johnny Cash released in his lifetime, "Hurt" was a song originally written and performed by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, but Cash's striking interpretation gave the song's tale of chemically induced woe a greater and more haunting resonance than it ever had before. Filmmaker Mark Romanek worked with Cash to create a music video for the song that combined clips of the singer at the peak of his fame and his strength contrasted with the frail but determined artist near the end of his life; the result was a striking short film which paid a sincere if painful homage to one of America's most influential musicians. The video received such high praise that it was released on DVD; Johnny Cash: Hurt features a high-bit transfer of the film, which was also included as a bonus disc with a special edition of Cash's album American IV: The Man Comes Around. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Funnyman Robin Williams steps out of character in this tense, low-key thriller that marked the feature-film directorial debut of music video veteran Mark Romanek. Semour "Sy" Parrish (Williams) runs the photo processing department at a large discount store; Sy is dedicated to his job, and takes great pride in his work. Sy's favorite customers are Nina and Will Yorkin (Connie Nielsen and Michael Vartan), an attractive and cheerful young couple with a nine-year-old boy, Jake (Dylan Smith). Sy dotes on the Yorkins and their son whenever they drop off film to be processed -- something they've been doing quite often ever since Jake was born -- and Nina and Will are indulgent of Sy's attentions, regarding his as a harmless eccentric. What the Yorkins don't know is Sy is a desperately lonely man with no real life of his own, and he's been obsessively making copies of their photos, for years, imagining himself to be "Uncle Sy," a member of the family. Sy's tenuous hold on reality begins to collapse when he develops a roll of film brought in by a new customer that suggests Will has been unfaithful to Nina; the notion that his ideal family may be falling apart is troubling enough for Sy, and when he loses his job, Sy reaches the breaking point. One Hour Photo was screened in competition at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Connie Nielsen, (more)
- 1985
- R
Keith Gordon plays a oddball loner who builds a very special kind of TV set. He claims he can tune in to images of Heaven, and all evidence points to the veracity of his claim. Gordon's eccentric religiosity attracts the attention of wacko evangelist Bob Gunton, who'd like to snatch the TV for his own purposes. Director Mark Romanek went on to hone his unique style with a number of high-profile music videos. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keith Gordon, Amanda Plummer, (more)
