Filmsy - Movie Reviews Blog

Dark Blood Director: Movie to Be Finished 18 Years after River Phoenix Death

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Director George Sluizer has plans to enlist Joaquin Phoenix to help finish the last movie brother River Phoenix was working on before his untimely death in 1993.

When he died of drug-related heart failure, River Phoenix was working on a drama called “Dark Blood” for Sluizer. It tells the story of a desert hermit living near a nuclear testing site waiting for the world to end. When a Hollywood couple on a driving honeymoon breaks down nearby, Phoenix’s character “Boy” takes them prisoner because he desires the woman and wants to create a better world with her, according to an IMDB summary.

Sluizer – who directed the Jeff Bridges and Kiefer Sutherland psychological thriller “The Vanishing” – told The Hollywood Reporter he still has the original film footage from “Dark Blood” and has re-edited it. Sluizer said he believes with some voice over work he can deliver a final version to be released next year.

He plans on asking River Phoenix’s brother Joaquin to assist. “The voices of both brothers are very much alike,” Sluizer, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Before his death at 23, River Phoenix had roles in 24 movies. In honor of his return to the silver screen, here’s a list of favorite performances:

  • Stand By Me: In many people’s minds, Phoenix’s performance as the tough, yet vulnerable, Chris chambers was his best ever. The 1986 drama told the story of a group of young boys who go on a journey to view the body of a missing child who had been hit by a train.
  • My Own Private Idaho: Starring opposite Keanu Reeves, Phoenix played Mike Waters in the 1991 movie directed by Gus Van Sant. The poignant drama tells the story of two Portland street hustlers who are best friends in a troubled relationship.
  • I Love You to Death: Phoenix plays Devo Nod, the young friend of a middle-aged woman who repeatedly tries to have her pizza shop owner husband killed due to his infidelity. The comedy starred Kevin Kline and Tracey Ullman.
  • The Mosquito Coast: In this Harrison Ford movie, Phoenix plays Charlie Fox, the son of an eccentric inventor who sells his house and moves his family to Central America to build an ice factory in the middle of the jungle.
  • Sneakers: Phoenix has a supporting role as Carl Arbogast in this light spy-thriller starring Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier and Dan Aykroyd.

About Author

Stanford Diligence wishes he was Clint Eastwood because that would be boss, beside spending day and night into movies, you can find Stanford doing UFX Markets Trading, screening, couch casting, writing, singing and other activities. He learned a lot of market trading methods from an old hollywood star which he wants to keep a secret.

Leonardo DiCaprio Barely Recognizable as J. Edgar Hoover

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Perennial pretty-boy Leonardo DiCaprio is aged 20-or-so years and rendered barely recognizable as former FBI strongman J. Edgar Hoover.

leonardo

DiCaprio tweeted a link this week to new still pictures from his upcoming movie “J. Edgar” that show him portraying Hoover later in life. The pictures – that also include shots of director Clint Eastwood working with DiCaprio behind-the-scenes – show a remarkable resemblance.

But fear not, those who couldn’t suffer an entire movie with DiCaprio’s leading-man looks obscured; he is clearly himself in earlier scenes portraying Hoover as a younger man.

The biography is scheduled for theater release Nov. 9, according to IMDB.com. It tells the story of Hoover who was FBI director from 1924 until his death in 1972.

Unrecognizable

DiCaprio isn’t the only A-list Hollywood actor to star in a movie that obscures the attractiveness that helped make them stars in the first place. And that’s always fun. To see an actor transformed into something completely unexpected is one of the classic joys of cinema.

Too often, actors reside in safe zones that don’t challenge conventional perceptions. It’s always refreshing to see an actor step out of that box and do something different – something that allows viewers to fully appreciate their performing ability.

Here’s a list (in no particular order) of some of the best movies that starred unrecognizable actors:

  • The Dark Knight: Heath Ledger (The Joker), 2008.
  • The Hunger: David Bowie (John), 1983.
  • How The Grinch Stole Christmas: Jim Carrey (The Grinch), 2000.
  • Hook: Glenn Close (Gutless), 1991.
  • Tropic Thunder: Tom Cruise (Les Grossman), 2008.
  • Shadow of the Vampire: Willem Defoe (Schrek), 2000.
  • Raging Bull: Robert DeNiro (Jake La Motta), 1980.
  • Edward Scissorhands: Johnny Depp (Edward), 1990.
  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort), 2005.
  • After the Sunset: Salma Hayek (Lola Cirillo), 2004.

Any, or all, of these great flicks would do nicely to pass the coming weeks until DiCaprio’s “J. Edgar” hits theaters.

About Author:

Edward Chipotle writes about technology and movies – two of his favorite subjects. When he isn’t enjoying a dark movie theater, Edward can be found Metrofax online faxing to celebrities and other known entities, he hates to call and only uses fax to reach out to big celebrities.