After acquiring the film out of Cannes, Screen Media Films will release Temple in theaters and VOD day-and-date on September 1, 2017. Directed by Michael Barrett, and starring Logan Huffman, Brandon Tyler Sklenar, and Natalia Warner, Producers include The Ring‘s Neal Edelstein and Mike Macari, with Eric Bassett and Shinya Egawa. Temple follows three Americans on a trip to […]...
- 7/18/2017
- by Brad Miska
- bloody-disgusting.com
Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.
– Focus Features has acquired the worldwide rights to “The Little Stranger,” excluding the U.K., France and Switzerland, where it will be distributed by Pathé. Academy Award nominee Lenny Abrahamson (“Room”) will direct the film, a chilling ghost story, which will begin production in the U.K. this summer for release in 2018. “The Little Stranger” will star Academy Award nominee Charlotte Rampling, Domhnall Gleeson, Ruth Wilson and Will Poulter. Lucinda Coxon, who wrote the screenplay adaptation of Focus’ “The Danish Girl,” has adapted “The Little Stranger” from Sarah Waters’ acclaimed 2009 novel of the same name.
In a remote English village after the close of World War II, a local practitioner, Dr. Faraday (Gleeson), is called to the...
– Focus Features has acquired the worldwide rights to “The Little Stranger,” excluding the U.K., France and Switzerland, where it will be distributed by Pathé. Academy Award nominee Lenny Abrahamson (“Room”) will direct the film, a chilling ghost story, which will begin production in the U.K. this summer for release in 2018. “The Little Stranger” will star Academy Award nominee Charlotte Rampling, Domhnall Gleeson, Ruth Wilson and Will Poulter. Lucinda Coxon, who wrote the screenplay adaptation of Focus’ “The Danish Girl,” has adapted “The Little Stranger” from Sarah Waters’ acclaimed 2009 novel of the same name.
In a remote English village after the close of World War II, a local practitioner, Dr. Faraday (Gleeson), is called to the...
- 5/26/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Colin Minihan and Stuart Ortiz, known as The Vicious Brothers, will direct horror-thriller Temple, based on a script by The Guest screenwriter Simon Barrett. Neal Edelstein of Hooked Digital Media, Shinya Egawa of Hemisphere Motion Picture Partners, Eric Bassett of Absurda and Mike Macari are producing while Toei Animation in Japan is financing. The film will shoot in Japan this year. As a cool tie-in with the film, a book of ghost stories surrounding various real temples in Japan will also be released. Written by Eiji Otsuka, the book will be featured in the film because one of
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- 7/27/2015
- by Rebecca Ford
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
I really like what I have seen from director J.T. Petty so far. The Burrowers was a successful and unique blend of the western and horror genres and based on what I have seen from S&Man (as well as Andy’s glowing praise for it), this young director is quickly making a name for himself. Which brings me to question one thing: Why is he making a “J-horror” film? Don’t get me wrong, I love a lot of the titles that came from this aptly named genre, including some of the American remakes (I was one of the few that enjoyed both the original Ju-On as well as The Grudge). Yet, I feel that it wore out its welcome because of the fact the industry was inundated with so many of these films. This doesn’t even take into account the question of what else can one do...
- 5/18/2011
- by Michael Haffner
- Destroy the Brain
We've all been waiting patiently to see just what mega-talented filmmaker J.T. Petty would be doing next, and finally the answer has come. Looks like things will soon be going bump in the night in the Far East!
According to Variety a new film by the title of Haunted Temple is heading for production this fall in Japan, one of the first Hollywood-based features to shoot there after the March earthquake and tsunami.
Industrial Entertainment's Eric Bassett, Macari/Edelstein Filmed Entertainment producers Mike Macari and Neal Edelstein, and Japanese producer Shinya Egawa are producing with J.T. Petty directing.
Industrial Entertainment is selling rights at Cannes.
Haunted Temple is a Japanese-style horror feature that is said to be reminiscent of The Ring and The Grudge. Producers are keeping details about the script under wraps.
Look for more on this one as it comes.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
According to Variety a new film by the title of Haunted Temple is heading for production this fall in Japan, one of the first Hollywood-based features to shoot there after the March earthquake and tsunami.
Industrial Entertainment's Eric Bassett, Macari/Edelstein Filmed Entertainment producers Mike Macari and Neal Edelstein, and Japanese producer Shinya Egawa are producing with J.T. Petty directing.
Industrial Entertainment is selling rights at Cannes.
Haunted Temple is a Japanese-style horror feature that is said to be reminiscent of The Ring and The Grudge. Producers are keeping details about the script under wraps.
Look for more on this one as it comes.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
- 5/17/2011
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
While Japan is in recovery, the country's film industry is slowly getting back on its feet and Hollywood is giving it some assistance. One of the first projects to lens across the pond this fall is Haunted Temple and J.T. Petty ( The Burrowers ) is sitting in the director's chair. Plot details are under wraps, however, the film is in the vein of The Ring and The Grudge . A number of the producers behind the films are responsible for the American Ring entries. Shinya Egawa ( Ju-On 2 ) is also shepherding the project.
- 5/16/2011
- shocktillyoudrop.com
This review was written for the theatrical release of "One Missed Call".Little wonder that this remake of a J-horror slipped out during the post-Christmas lull. The direction is uninspired, acting is lifeless, and the script borders on the inept. A PG-13 rating means that it's short on shocks, too. "One Missed Call" probably will die a quick death.
Eric Valette's film is a remake of cult director Takashi Miike's 2003 "Chakushin Ari". The thin plot hinges on a series of cell phone messages that contain recordings of the phone owner's future death cries. When friends of Beth (Shannyn Sossamon) start dying nasty deaths, she discovers that they all received horrifying messages at the time of their murder. Investigating with Jack (Ed Burns), a cop whose sister was a victim, she tries to discover the murderer before she, too, gets that call. They think the ghost of an abusive mother is doing the killings, but then the story takes a different turn.
Miike's films are overrated, but at least they're peppered with black humor and outrageous doings. But "One Missed Call" is so straightforward, with a predictable plot and ghosts that look as if they've bought their costumes from a Halloween supplies store. A slight twist at the end provides a moment of interest, but because it's not adequately foreshadowed in the story, it's hardly satisfying. Some scenes, including a priest trying to exorcise a cell phone (!) in a church, are simply ridiculous.
The story has elements of "Ringu", the terrifying movie that stated the J-horror craze in the past decade. Instead of a cell phone call, that movie had a spooky video signaling the death of the viewer. Valette makes a brief reference to the visual shocks of "Ringu" with a single use of a degraded, black-and-white video image.
ONE MISSED CALL
Warner Bros.
Alcon Entertainment and Kadokawa Pictures present in association with Equity Pictures Medienfonds GmbH and Co KGIV an Intermedia Films production
Credits:
Director: Eric Valette
Screenwriter: Andrew Kalavan
Based on the novel by: Yasushi Akimoto
Producers: Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, Scott Kroopf, Jennie Lew Tugend, Lauren C. Weissman
Executive producers: Shinya Egawa, Timothy M. Bourne, Martin Schuermann, Josef Lautenschlager, Andreas Thiesmeyer
Co-producers: Steven P. Wegner, Elizabeth Cushman, Alison Haskovee, Manfred Heid, Gerd Koechlin
Director of photography: Glen Macpherson
Production designer: Laurence Bennet
Music: Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek
Costume designer: Sandra Hernandez
Editor: Steve Mirkovich
Cast:
Beth: Shannyn Sossamon
Jack: Edward Burns
Taylor: Ana Claudia Talancon
Ted: Ray Wise
Leann: Azura Skye
Running time -- 87 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Eric Valette's film is a remake of cult director Takashi Miike's 2003 "Chakushin Ari". The thin plot hinges on a series of cell phone messages that contain recordings of the phone owner's future death cries. When friends of Beth (Shannyn Sossamon) start dying nasty deaths, she discovers that they all received horrifying messages at the time of their murder. Investigating with Jack (Ed Burns), a cop whose sister was a victim, she tries to discover the murderer before she, too, gets that call. They think the ghost of an abusive mother is doing the killings, but then the story takes a different turn.
Miike's films are overrated, but at least they're peppered with black humor and outrageous doings. But "One Missed Call" is so straightforward, with a predictable plot and ghosts that look as if they've bought their costumes from a Halloween supplies store. A slight twist at the end provides a moment of interest, but because it's not adequately foreshadowed in the story, it's hardly satisfying. Some scenes, including a priest trying to exorcise a cell phone (!) in a church, are simply ridiculous.
The story has elements of "Ringu", the terrifying movie that stated the J-horror craze in the past decade. Instead of a cell phone call, that movie had a spooky video signaling the death of the viewer. Valette makes a brief reference to the visual shocks of "Ringu" with a single use of a degraded, black-and-white video image.
ONE MISSED CALL
Warner Bros.
Alcon Entertainment and Kadokawa Pictures present in association with Equity Pictures Medienfonds GmbH and Co KGIV an Intermedia Films production
Credits:
Director: Eric Valette
Screenwriter: Andrew Kalavan
Based on the novel by: Yasushi Akimoto
Producers: Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, Scott Kroopf, Jennie Lew Tugend, Lauren C. Weissman
Executive producers: Shinya Egawa, Timothy M. Bourne, Martin Schuermann, Josef Lautenschlager, Andreas Thiesmeyer
Co-producers: Steven P. Wegner, Elizabeth Cushman, Alison Haskovee, Manfred Heid, Gerd Koechlin
Director of photography: Glen Macpherson
Production designer: Laurence Bennet
Music: Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek
Costume designer: Sandra Hernandez
Editor: Steve Mirkovich
Cast:
Beth: Shannyn Sossamon
Jack: Edward Burns
Taylor: Ana Claudia Talancon
Ted: Ray Wise
Leann: Azura Skye
Running time -- 87 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Little wonder that this remake of a J-horror slipped out during the post-Christmas lull. The direction is uninspired, acting is lifeless, and the script borders on the inept. A PG-13 rating means that it's short on shocks, too. One Missed Call probably will die a quick death.
Eric Valette's film is a remake of cult director Takashi Miike's 2003 Chakushin Ari. The thin plot hinges on a series of cell phone messages that contain recordings of the phone owner's future death cries. When friends of Beth (Shannyn Sossamon) start dying nasty deaths, she discovers that they all received horrifying messages at the time of their murder. Investigating with Jack (Ed Burns), a cop whose sister was a victim, she tries to discover the murderer before she, too, gets that call. They think the ghost of an abusive mother is doing the killings, but then the story takes a different turn.
Miike's films are overrated, but at least they're peppered with black humor and outrageous doings. But One Missed Call is so straightforward, with a predictable plot and ghosts that look as if they've bought their costumes from a Halloween supplies store. A slight twist at the end provides a moment of interest, but because it's not adequately foreshadowed in the story, it's hardly satisfying. Some scenes, including a priest trying to exorcise a cell phone (!) in a church, are simply ridiculous.
The story has elements of Ringu, the terrifying movie that stated the J-horror craze in the past decade. Instead of a cell phone call, that movie had a spooky video signaling the death of the viewer. Valette makes a brief reference to the visual shocks of Ringu with a single use of a degraded, black-and-white video image.
ONE MISSED CALL
Warner Bros.
Alcon Entertainment and Kadokawa Pictures present in association with Equity Pictures Medienfonds GmbH and Co KGIV an Intermedia Films production
Credits:
Director: Eric Valette
Screenwriter: Andrew Kalavan
Based on the novel by: Yasushi Akimoto
Producers: Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, Scott Kroopf, Jennie Lew Tugend, Lauren C. Weissman
Executive producers: Shinya Egawa, Timothy M. Bourne, Martin Schuermann, Josef Lautenschlager, Andreas Thiesmeyer
Co-producers: Steven P. Wegner, Elizabeth Cushman, Alison Haskovee, Manfred Heid, Gerd Koechlin
Director of photography: Glen Macpherson
Production designer: Laurence Bennet
Music: Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek
Costume designer: Sandra Hernandez
Editor: Steve Mirkovich
Cast:
Beth: Shannyn Sossamon
Jack: Edward Burns
Taylor: Ana Claudia Talancon
Ted: Ray Wise
Leann: Azura Skye
Running time -- 87 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Eric Valette's film is a remake of cult director Takashi Miike's 2003 Chakushin Ari. The thin plot hinges on a series of cell phone messages that contain recordings of the phone owner's future death cries. When friends of Beth (Shannyn Sossamon) start dying nasty deaths, she discovers that they all received horrifying messages at the time of their murder. Investigating with Jack (Ed Burns), a cop whose sister was a victim, she tries to discover the murderer before she, too, gets that call. They think the ghost of an abusive mother is doing the killings, but then the story takes a different turn.
Miike's films are overrated, but at least they're peppered with black humor and outrageous doings. But One Missed Call is so straightforward, with a predictable plot and ghosts that look as if they've bought their costumes from a Halloween supplies store. A slight twist at the end provides a moment of interest, but because it's not adequately foreshadowed in the story, it's hardly satisfying. Some scenes, including a priest trying to exorcise a cell phone (!) in a church, are simply ridiculous.
The story has elements of Ringu, the terrifying movie that stated the J-horror craze in the past decade. Instead of a cell phone call, that movie had a spooky video signaling the death of the viewer. Valette makes a brief reference to the visual shocks of Ringu with a single use of a degraded, black-and-white video image.
ONE MISSED CALL
Warner Bros.
Alcon Entertainment and Kadokawa Pictures present in association with Equity Pictures Medienfonds GmbH and Co KGIV an Intermedia Films production
Credits:
Director: Eric Valette
Screenwriter: Andrew Kalavan
Based on the novel by: Yasushi Akimoto
Producers: Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, Scott Kroopf, Jennie Lew Tugend, Lauren C. Weissman
Executive producers: Shinya Egawa, Timothy M. Bourne, Martin Schuermann, Josef Lautenschlager, Andreas Thiesmeyer
Co-producers: Steven P. Wegner, Elizabeth Cushman, Alison Haskovee, Manfred Heid, Gerd Koechlin
Director of photography: Glen Macpherson
Production designer: Laurence Bennet
Music: Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek
Costume designer: Sandra Hernandez
Editor: Steve Mirkovich
Cast:
Beth: Shannyn Sossamon
Jack: Edward Burns
Taylor: Ana Claudia Talancon
Ted: Ray Wise
Leann: Azura Skye
Running time -- 87 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Randa Haines' "Dance With Me" -- the energetic, crowd-pleasing opening film at the inaugural Los Angeles International Women's Film Festival -- teases with the noble lead's shy demeanor, but the love story explodes in vibrant dance sequences and finds its own catchy rhythm and moves.
A Sony Pictures summer release, "Dance With Me" stars Latin American pop star Chayanne and Vanessa L. Williams as lovestruck partners in a romantic evening's worth of false starts, close encounters and sensual adventures on the dance floor. Directed with passion and a light touch by Haines, the upbeat film could be a sleeper with mainstream appeal and should become an international hit.
Rafael (Chayanne) is a handsome, kind-of-sad Cuban who leaves his beloved island for Houston, where he becomes the new handyman at a dance studio owned by family friend John (Kris Kristofferson). With plenty of raw talent but unable to break the ice with professional competitor Ruby (Williams), Rafael also can't talk to John about his mother. Instead, he restores an old truck and waits for an opening.
Screenwriter Daryl Matthews does not give Chayanne a lot of lines, but the uneasy assimilation of homesick Rafael is deftly handled, with the red-hot Puerto Rican singer-actor captured in all moods and degrees of hunkiness by Haines and cinematographer Fred Murphy. The dancing is always stunning, and Williams has to sweat a lot to keep up.
Along with the upcoming "Tango", "Dance With Me" has a compelling plot revolving around a dance style -- salsa -- with Haines employing many bravura camera angles and movements to follow theaction. In one wonderful sequence, Rafael and Ruby come upon a wedding party and join a large group performing a dazzlingly intricate number.
There are scenes of kids and old people dancing, including the remarkable Joan Plowright, and everything from ballroom to ballet is featured in the Olympian competition for which everyone is preparing.
The storytelling is also accomplished and agile. The expected pairing of Rafael and Ruby in the climactic World Open Dance Championship in Las Vegas doesn't happen, with blond nice-girl Patricia (Jane Krakowski) requesting him instead.
Rafael and Patricia go far in the intense contest, but he is stuck on Ruby -- even as she goes back to her old boyfriend long enough to win. Rafael keeps learning and finally wins her, while the slightly overlong film always keeps one entertained. The superb soundtrack has more than 40 selections, including several by Cachao and the leads' heartfelt rendering of Diane Warren's "You Are My Home".
DANCE WITH ME
Sony Pictures Releasing
Columbia Pictures
Mandalay Entertainment presents a Weissman/Egawa production
A Randa Haines film
Director: Randa Haines
Producers: Lauren C. Weissman, Shinya Egawa, Randa Haines
Screenwriter: Daryl Matthews
Executive producer: Ted Zachary
Director of photography: Fred Murphy
Production designer: Waldemark Kalinowski
Editor: Lisa Fruchtman
Costume designer: Joe I. Tompkins
Music: Michael Convertino
Casting: Lora Kennedy
Color/stereo
Cast:
Rafael: Chayanne
Ruby: Vanessa L. Williams
John: Kris Kristofferson
Patricia: Jane Krakowski
Bea: Joan Plowright
Lovejoy:: Beth Grant
Running time -- 126 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
A Sony Pictures summer release, "Dance With Me" stars Latin American pop star Chayanne and Vanessa L. Williams as lovestruck partners in a romantic evening's worth of false starts, close encounters and sensual adventures on the dance floor. Directed with passion and a light touch by Haines, the upbeat film could be a sleeper with mainstream appeal and should become an international hit.
Rafael (Chayanne) is a handsome, kind-of-sad Cuban who leaves his beloved island for Houston, where he becomes the new handyman at a dance studio owned by family friend John (Kris Kristofferson). With plenty of raw talent but unable to break the ice with professional competitor Ruby (Williams), Rafael also can't talk to John about his mother. Instead, he restores an old truck and waits for an opening.
Screenwriter Daryl Matthews does not give Chayanne a lot of lines, but the uneasy assimilation of homesick Rafael is deftly handled, with the red-hot Puerto Rican singer-actor captured in all moods and degrees of hunkiness by Haines and cinematographer Fred Murphy. The dancing is always stunning, and Williams has to sweat a lot to keep up.
Along with the upcoming "Tango", "Dance With Me" has a compelling plot revolving around a dance style -- salsa -- with Haines employing many bravura camera angles and movements to follow theaction. In one wonderful sequence, Rafael and Ruby come upon a wedding party and join a large group performing a dazzlingly intricate number.
There are scenes of kids and old people dancing, including the remarkable Joan Plowright, and everything from ballroom to ballet is featured in the Olympian competition for which everyone is preparing.
The storytelling is also accomplished and agile. The expected pairing of Rafael and Ruby in the climactic World Open Dance Championship in Las Vegas doesn't happen, with blond nice-girl Patricia (Jane Krakowski) requesting him instead.
Rafael and Patricia go far in the intense contest, but he is stuck on Ruby -- even as she goes back to her old boyfriend long enough to win. Rafael keeps learning and finally wins her, while the slightly overlong film always keeps one entertained. The superb soundtrack has more than 40 selections, including several by Cachao and the leads' heartfelt rendering of Diane Warren's "You Are My Home".
DANCE WITH ME
Sony Pictures Releasing
Columbia Pictures
Mandalay Entertainment presents a Weissman/Egawa production
A Randa Haines film
Director: Randa Haines
Producers: Lauren C. Weissman, Shinya Egawa, Randa Haines
Screenwriter: Daryl Matthews
Executive producer: Ted Zachary
Director of photography: Fred Murphy
Production designer: Waldemark Kalinowski
Editor: Lisa Fruchtman
Costume designer: Joe I. Tompkins
Music: Michael Convertino
Casting: Lora Kennedy
Color/stereo
Cast:
Rafael: Chayanne
Ruby: Vanessa L. Williams
John: Kris Kristofferson
Patricia: Jane Krakowski
Bea: Joan Plowright
Lovejoy:: Beth Grant
Running time -- 126 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 8/27/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Randa Haines' "Dance With Me" -- the energetic, crowd-pleasing opening film at the inaugural Los Angeles International Women's Film Festival -- teases with the noble lead's shy demeanor, but the love story explodes in vibrant dance sequences and finds its own catchy rhythm and moves.
A Sony Pictures summer release, "Dance With Me" stars Latin American pop star Chayanne and Vanessa L. Williams as lovestruck partners in a romantic evening's worth of false starts, close encounters and sensual adventures on the dance floor. Directed with passion and a light touch by Haines, the upbeat film could be a sleeper with mainstream appeal and should become an international hit.
Rafael (Chayanne) is a handsome, kind-of-sad Cuban who leaves his beloved island for Houston, where he becomes the new handyman at a dance studio owned by family friend John (Kris Kristofferson). With plenty of raw talent but unable to break the ice with professional competitor Ruby (Williams), Rafael also can't talk to John about his mother. Instead, he restores an old truck and waits for an opening.
Screenwriter Daryl Matthews does not give Chayanne a lot of lines, but the uneasy assimilation of homesick Rafael is deftly handled, with the red-hot Puerto Rican singer-actor captured in all moods and degrees of hunkiness by Haines and cinematographer Fred Murphy. The dancing is always stunning, and Williams has to sweat a lot to keep up.
Along with the upcoming "Tango", "Dance With Me" has a compelling plot revolving around a dance style -- salsa -- with Haines employing many bravura camera angles and movements to follow the action. In one wonderful sequence, Rafael and Ruby come upon a wedding party and join a large group performing a dazzlingly intricate number.
There are scenes of kids and old people dancing, including the remarkable Joan Plowright, and everything from ballroom to ballet is featured in the Olympian competition for which everyone is preparing.
The storytelling is also accomplished and agile. The expected pairing of Rafael and Ruby in the climactic World Open Dance Championship in Las Vegas doesn't happen, with blond nice-girl Patricia (Jane Krakowski) requesting him instead.
Rafael and Patricia go far in the intense contest, but he is stuck on Ruby -- even as she goes back to her old boyfriend long enough to win. Rafael keeps learning and finally wins her, while the slightly overlong film always keeps one entertained. The superb soundtrack has more than 40 selections, including several by Cachao and the leads' heartfelt rendering of Diane Warren's "You Are My Home".
DANCE WITH ME
Sony Pictures Releasing
Columbia Pictures
Mandalay Entertainment presents
a Weissman/Egawa production
A Randa Haines film
Director: Randa Haines
Producers: Lauren C. Weissman,
Shinya Egawa, Randa Haines
Screenwriter: Daryl Matthews
Executive producer: Ted Zachary
Director of photography: Fred Murphy
Production designer: Waldemark Kalinowski
Editor: Lisa Fruchtman
Costume designer: Joe I. Tompkins
Music: Michael Convertino
Casting: Lora Kennedy
Color/stereo
Cast:
Rafael: Chayanne
Ruby: Vanessa L. Williams
John: Kris Kristofferson
Patricia: Jane Krakowski
Bea: Joan Plowright
Lovejoy:: Beth Grant
Running time -- 126 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
A Sony Pictures summer release, "Dance With Me" stars Latin American pop star Chayanne and Vanessa L. Williams as lovestruck partners in a romantic evening's worth of false starts, close encounters and sensual adventures on the dance floor. Directed with passion and a light touch by Haines, the upbeat film could be a sleeper with mainstream appeal and should become an international hit.
Rafael (Chayanne) is a handsome, kind-of-sad Cuban who leaves his beloved island for Houston, where he becomes the new handyman at a dance studio owned by family friend John (Kris Kristofferson). With plenty of raw talent but unable to break the ice with professional competitor Ruby (Williams), Rafael also can't talk to John about his mother. Instead, he restores an old truck and waits for an opening.
Screenwriter Daryl Matthews does not give Chayanne a lot of lines, but the uneasy assimilation of homesick Rafael is deftly handled, with the red-hot Puerto Rican singer-actor captured in all moods and degrees of hunkiness by Haines and cinematographer Fred Murphy. The dancing is always stunning, and Williams has to sweat a lot to keep up.
Along with the upcoming "Tango", "Dance With Me" has a compelling plot revolving around a dance style -- salsa -- with Haines employing many bravura camera angles and movements to follow the action. In one wonderful sequence, Rafael and Ruby come upon a wedding party and join a large group performing a dazzlingly intricate number.
There are scenes of kids and old people dancing, including the remarkable Joan Plowright, and everything from ballroom to ballet is featured in the Olympian competition for which everyone is preparing.
The storytelling is also accomplished and agile. The expected pairing of Rafael and Ruby in the climactic World Open Dance Championship in Las Vegas doesn't happen, with blond nice-girl Patricia (Jane Krakowski) requesting him instead.
Rafael and Patricia go far in the intense contest, but he is stuck on Ruby -- even as she goes back to her old boyfriend long enough to win. Rafael keeps learning and finally wins her, while the slightly overlong film always keeps one entertained. The superb soundtrack has more than 40 selections, including several by Cachao and the leads' heartfelt rendering of Diane Warren's "You Are My Home".
DANCE WITH ME
Sony Pictures Releasing
Columbia Pictures
Mandalay Entertainment presents
a Weissman/Egawa production
A Randa Haines film
Director: Randa Haines
Producers: Lauren C. Weissman,
Shinya Egawa, Randa Haines
Screenwriter: Daryl Matthews
Executive producer: Ted Zachary
Director of photography: Fred Murphy
Production designer: Waldemark Kalinowski
Editor: Lisa Fruchtman
Costume designer: Joe I. Tompkins
Music: Michael Convertino
Casting: Lora Kennedy
Color/stereo
Cast:
Rafael: Chayanne
Ruby: Vanessa L. Williams
John: Kris Kristofferson
Patricia: Jane Krakowski
Bea: Joan Plowright
Lovejoy:: Beth Grant
Running time -- 126 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
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