2010 - 90 mins. - Rated R
D: James M. Hausler
C: Nick Stahl, Jonathan Jackson, Beau Garrett, Christopher M. Clark, Alona Tal, Sammi Hanratty, Patricia Kalember, Robert Forster
Lifelong friends come to grips with one of them falling apart psychologically and the murdering spree that springs from it all.
Yet another slick, visually polished film lacking in substance. Kalamity aims to be a psychological study on the deteriorating mental state of a character and how it affects his friends. The problem is that the focus of the film is put on the friend (Nick Stahl), who should of been a supporting character, instead of Jonathan Jackson whose character is falling apart mentally and who is the most interesting person in the film to begin with. Since there is only so much for the friend character to do, the film drags out relentlessly finding repetitive situations to engage Nick Stahl's character in,...
D: James M. Hausler
C: Nick Stahl, Jonathan Jackson, Beau Garrett, Christopher M. Clark, Alona Tal, Sammi Hanratty, Patricia Kalember, Robert Forster
Lifelong friends come to grips with one of them falling apart psychologically and the murdering spree that springs from it all.
Yet another slick, visually polished film lacking in substance. Kalamity aims to be a psychological study on the deteriorating mental state of a character and how it affects his friends. The problem is that the focus of the film is put on the friend (Nick Stahl), who should of been a supporting character, instead of Jonathan Jackson whose character is falling apart mentally and who is the most interesting person in the film to begin with. Since there is only so much for the friend character to do, the film drags out relentlessly finding repetitive situations to engage Nick Stahl's character in,...
- 3/2/2011
- by Big Daddy aka Brandon Sites
- Big Daddy Horror Reviews - Interviews
A look at what's new on DVD today:
"Tesis" (1996)
Directed by Alejandro Amenabar
Released by Widowmaker Films
Long out of print, "The Others" director Alejandro Amenabar's debut about a grad student's discovery of a snuff film is being remastered and rereleased by Widowmaker Films.
"Alice in Murderland" (2011)
Directed by Dennis Devine
Released by Brain Damage Films
A year after Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" scared the bejeezus out of kids in multiplexes everywhere, this horror take on Lewis Carroll's classic fairy tale aims to do so intentionally on DVD players around the country.
"America, America" (1963)
Directed by Elia Kazan
Released by Fox Home Entertainment
Elia Kazan's most personal film based on the story of his uncle's immigration to the United States from Turkey, where as a Greek his family is persecuted, was already released as part of last year's Kazan boxed set, but now will be...
"Tesis" (1996)
Directed by Alejandro Amenabar
Released by Widowmaker Films
Long out of print, "The Others" director Alejandro Amenabar's debut about a grad student's discovery of a snuff film is being remastered and rereleased by Widowmaker Films.
"Alice in Murderland" (2011)
Directed by Dennis Devine
Released by Brain Damage Films
A year after Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" scared the bejeezus out of kids in multiplexes everywhere, this horror take on Lewis Carroll's classic fairy tale aims to do so intentionally on DVD players around the country.
"America, America" (1963)
Directed by Elia Kazan
Released by Fox Home Entertainment
Elia Kazan's most personal film based on the story of his uncle's immigration to the United States from Turkey, where as a Greek his family is persecuted, was already released as part of last year's Kazan boxed set, but now will be...
- 2/6/2011
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
Quickcard Review
Kalamity
Directed by: James M. Hausler
Cast: Nick Stahl, Beau Garrettt, Jonathan Jackson, Alona Tal, Robert Forster, Christopher M. Clark
Running Time: 1 hr 40 mins
Rating: R
Release Date: January 25, 2011 (One-night only in Chicago)
Plot: A recently heartbroken young man (Stahl) returns home to find out that his shifty friend Stan (Jackson) is not at all who he used to be.
Who’S It For? A younger, college-aged audience would probably enjoy this movie best, as those more experienced with heartbreak and life itself might find the film to be particularly juvenile.
Overall
Kalamity is a little movie with a couple surprises, until its tone makes an ultimate shift for the worst. Originally feeling like a dark comedy, it eventually morphs into a angry film with no sense of humor at all. Though it features an Apatow-like friend embarking on what murder is like, (asking about what the Columbine kids thought before their act,...
Kalamity
Directed by: James M. Hausler
Cast: Nick Stahl, Beau Garrettt, Jonathan Jackson, Alona Tal, Robert Forster, Christopher M. Clark
Running Time: 1 hr 40 mins
Rating: R
Release Date: January 25, 2011 (One-night only in Chicago)
Plot: A recently heartbroken young man (Stahl) returns home to find out that his shifty friend Stan (Jackson) is not at all who he used to be.
Who’S It For? A younger, college-aged audience would probably enjoy this movie best, as those more experienced with heartbreak and life itself might find the film to be particularly juvenile.
Overall
Kalamity is a little movie with a couple surprises, until its tone makes an ultimate shift for the worst. Originally feeling like a dark comedy, it eventually morphs into a angry film with no sense of humor at all. Though it features an Apatow-like friend embarking on what murder is like, (asking about what the Columbine kids thought before their act,...
- 1/25/2011
- by Nick Allen
- The Scorecard Review
Rating: 1.0/5.0
Chicago – There was a day not that long ago when it felt like Nick Stahl was the next rising star. He delivered nuanced performances in films and on HBO’s “Carnivale” that led one to believe there was potential for stardom. “The Thin Red Line,” “In the Bedroom,” “Bully” — he was going somewhere in the early ’00s, but he was derailed into basically nothing but straight-to-video junk like “Mirrors 2” since 2005’s “Sin City.” Does “Kalamity,” playing a one-night engagement at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago tonight, January 25th, 2011, represent a comeback or continued decline?
I won’t tease you any more by delaying the answer — it is definitely the latter. A muddled mess from the very beginning, “Kalamity” is a near-disaster, a work that offers glimpses yet again at the talent Stahl appears to have squandered but never once comes together into an entertaining piece of its own.
Chicago – There was a day not that long ago when it felt like Nick Stahl was the next rising star. He delivered nuanced performances in films and on HBO’s “Carnivale” that led one to believe there was potential for stardom. “The Thin Red Line,” “In the Bedroom,” “Bully” — he was going somewhere in the early ’00s, but he was derailed into basically nothing but straight-to-video junk like “Mirrors 2” since 2005’s “Sin City.” Does “Kalamity,” playing a one-night engagement at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago tonight, January 25th, 2011, represent a comeback or continued decline?
I won’t tease you any more by delaying the answer — it is definitely the latter. A muddled mess from the very beginning, “Kalamity” is a near-disaster, a work that offers glimpses yet again at the talent Stahl appears to have squandered but never once comes together into an entertaining piece of its own.
- 1/25/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Jonathan Jackson's new film, Kalamity, premiered in New York City on Monday. On Friday night, the movie made its Los Angeles debut at the Laemmle's Sunset 5 Theatre.
James M. Hausler wrote and directed the film which also stars Nick Stahl, Christopher M. Clark, Beau Garrett, Robert Forster and Alona Tal.
Here's a preview of the storyline:
Haunted by memories of his ex-girlfriend Alice (Beau Garrett), a heartbroken Billy (Nick Stahl) returns home to Northern Virginia seeking solace from old friends. But what he finds there is more disconcerting than comforting: his best friend Stanley (Jonathan Jackson) has become unstable, mysterious, and withdrawn from those around him. Billy teams up with another old friend, Stanley’s roommate Christian (Christopher M. Clark), to find out what’s going on, and as they probe Stanley’s recent activities, their friend’s behavior seems more and more bizarre and frightening. The discovery of...
James M. Hausler wrote and directed the film which also stars Nick Stahl, Christopher M. Clark, Beau Garrett, Robert Forster and Alona Tal.
Here's a preview of the storyline:
Haunted by memories of his ex-girlfriend Alice (Beau Garrett), a heartbroken Billy (Nick Stahl) returns home to Northern Virginia seeking solace from old friends. But what he finds there is more disconcerting than comforting: his best friend Stanley (Jonathan Jackson) has become unstable, mysterious, and withdrawn from those around him. Billy teams up with another old friend, Stanley’s roommate Christian (Christopher M. Clark), to find out what’s going on, and as they probe Stanley’s recent activities, their friend’s behavior seems more and more bizarre and frightening. The discovery of...
- 10/27/2010
- by We Love Soaps TV
- We Love Soaps
Nick Stahl isn’t a happy guy, or at least the characters he play usually aren’t. Stahl isn’t someone we’ve never seen in a rom-com or a straight comedy, and Stahl is well aware of that. The characters he usually plays are never the ones you’d particularly wanna hangout with or actually find likable or charming. He even managed to make John Connor a whiny jerk (which is a compliment). Kalamity continues that streak of Stahl playing a damaged or off-putting individual. It’s one of those films where all the main characters are suffering as they’re subjected to torturous ordeals. It’s a coming of age story where everyone’s lives are heading down the toilet because of a murder, which is material that could easily slip into becoming a soap opera episode. Here’s what Nick Stahl had to say about playing internal, making...
- 10/23/2010
- by Jack Giroux
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Summary: An indulgent, moody movie with absolutely no wisdom, suspense, or worthwhile emotion to impart.
Kalamity is a calamity, a quiet one, but one nonetheless. There's barely a plot to be wrung, but I'll try my best. Billy (Nick Stahl) is haunted, quite literally, by memories of his ex, Alice (Beau Garrett). He returns home to Northern Virginia to, I dunno, "chill," but finds his childhood friend Stanley (Jonathan Jackson) in dire straits. Stanley has matured into a spacey, cold misogynist, so it's up to Billy and other friend Christian (Christopher M. Clark) to figure out what's wrong with him.
Screen Frontpage
read more...
Kalamity is a calamity, a quiet one, but one nonetheless. There's barely a plot to be wrung, but I'll try my best. Billy (Nick Stahl) is haunted, quite literally, by memories of his ex, Alice (Beau Garrett). He returns home to Northern Virginia to, I dunno, "chill," but finds his childhood friend Stanley (Jonathan Jackson) in dire straits. Stanley has matured into a spacey, cold misogynist, so it's up to Billy and other friend Christian (Christopher M. Clark) to figure out what's wrong with him.
Screen Frontpage
read more...
- 10/22/2010
- by Benny Gammerman
- Filmology
Opening today is a thriller called Kalamity, starring Nick Stahl (Sin City, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) as a heartbroken young man who returns home to Northern Virginia to find his best friend, played by Jonathan Jackson (Camp Nowhere, Insomnia), unstable, withdrawn, and possibly hiding a deadly secret. Mr. Stahl was kind enough to give me a slice of his time earlier this week, and the conversation that ensued tore the very fabric of the space-time continuum. And by that, I mean, it was quite lovely.
read more...
read more...
- 10/22/2010
- by Benny Gammerman
- Filmology
Good things come to those who wait and for those who feel as though they've suffered through a year of largely uninspired films up to now will likely breathe a sigh of relief at the sound of names like Darren Aronofsky, Sofia Coppola and Peter Weir. 'Tis the season for Jim Carrey to take a pay cut to star in a gay romance like "I Love You Phillip Morris" or Javier Bardem is whispering sweet nothings to spirits in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu's "Biutiful" rather than Julia Roberts.
There is the naughty -- Kristen Stewart stripping in "Welcome to the Rileys," the would-be terrorists of the Brit comedy "Four Lions," or the evil Santa in "Rare Exports" -- and the nice -- the tap-dancing lovers in "Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench," the glory of James Franco's daredevil surviving "127 Hours" and Colin Firth's verbally-challenged royal conquering his stutter in "The King's Speech.
There is the naughty -- Kristen Stewart stripping in "Welcome to the Rileys," the would-be terrorists of the Brit comedy "Four Lions," or the evil Santa in "Rare Exports" -- and the nice -- the tap-dancing lovers in "Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench," the glory of James Franco's daredevil surviving "127 Hours" and Colin Firth's verbally-challenged royal conquering his stutter in "The King's Speech.
- 10/22/2010
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
Filed under: Celebrity Interviews, Cinematical
Billy (Nick Stahl) has a problem. After having recently broken up with his girlfriend (Beau Garrett), he moves back to Northern Virginia to live with his parents in the hopes that a return to familiar family and friends will help him get his life back on track. Trouble is his best friend Stanley (Jonathan Jackson) has changed. Casual investigations into his friend's erratic behavior only make matters worse as they reveal things like blood-stained clothing in Stanley's possession.
Putting it that way, James M. Hausler's 'Kalamity' (opening in New York and L.A. on October 22nd) sounds like it could be strictly a horror movie, but it's not. Yes, it involves murder, but blood shed and intrigue isn't the main motive here. 'Kalamity' is a well written, starkly realistic drama about how people, particularly friends, change over time; about how...
Billy (Nick Stahl) has a problem. After having recently broken up with his girlfriend (Beau Garrett), he moves back to Northern Virginia to live with his parents in the hopes that a return to familiar family and friends will help him get his life back on track. Trouble is his best friend Stanley (Jonathan Jackson) has changed. Casual investigations into his friend's erratic behavior only make matters worse as they reveal things like blood-stained clothing in Stanley's possession.
Putting it that way, James M. Hausler's 'Kalamity' (opening in New York and L.A. on October 22nd) sounds like it could be strictly a horror movie, but it's not. Yes, it involves murder, but blood shed and intrigue isn't the main motive here. 'Kalamity' is a well written, starkly realistic drama about how people, particularly friends, change over time; about how...
- 10/21/2010
- by Peter Hall
- Cinematical
Film noir and crime fiction are studded with examples of men whose psychosis is cloaked in misogyny, most notably the plainspoken deputy sheriff in Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me, a novel that goes deep into sadomasochism, abuse, and murder. Even the notion of the femme fatale arises from male suspicion—or outright hostility—about the opposite sex. In the awkward neo-noir Kalamity, writer-director James M. Hausler attempts to tap into that same reservoir by following two men haunted to different degrees by recent breakups. Nick Stahl stars as a young man who returns to his Northern Virginian hometown ...
- 10/21/2010
- avclub.com
Earlier this week I sat down to chat with actor Nick Stahl. Known for his intense roles in In the Bedroom, Sin City and Terminator 3, the actor's latest film is Kalamity, a homecoming drama that metamorphoses into a dark thriller. The film opens in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, October 22nd. In it, Stahl plays Billy, a young man who, haunted by memories of his ex-girlfriend, returns to his North Virginia home, only to find his best friend, Stanley, embroiled in problems far greater than his own; problems that eventually lead Billy into a nightmare of bloody violence. Check out my chat with Stahl after the jump. This is an interesting role for you. You play the every man, in the tradition of the classic...
- 10/21/2010
- FEARnet
Kalamity finds Nick Stahl as Billy, a man who has recently broken up with his long-term girlfriend and returns to his home town to find that all is not quite right with his best friend Stanley (played by Jonathan Jackson).
A trailer has been released, which although in places makes the film look like a bit of a by-the-numbers thriller, has enough intriguing elements to make us believe this might have something a bit different.
Writer/Director James M Hausler previously wrote and directed Wild Seven and Trip Out, neither of which I have heard of, much less seen so I cannot really comment on his form. Having said that, the cast here is of a generally high calibre and although this one has sat resolutely below the radar, it might yet prove to be a winner.
Kalamity is due in Us cinemas on 22nd October. No word yet on a UK release.
A trailer has been released, which although in places makes the film look like a bit of a by-the-numbers thriller, has enough intriguing elements to make us believe this might have something a bit different.
Writer/Director James M Hausler previously wrote and directed Wild Seven and Trip Out, neither of which I have heard of, much less seen so I cannot really comment on his form. Having said that, the cast here is of a generally high calibre and although this one has sat resolutely below the radar, it might yet prove to be a winner.
Kalamity is due in Us cinemas on 22nd October. No word yet on a UK release.
- 9/22/2010
- by Dave Roper
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Filed under: Cinematical
Do you like independent feature films in which Nick Stahl returns to his hometown in Virginia and discovers that his long-time best friend might be an lunatic who murders people? Then you are in for a treat, as 'Kalamity' -- due in theaters Oct. 22 -- appears to be a movie about exactly that!
The fine people at Original 4 Releasing have been kind enough to give us an exclusive peek at the trailer, and we're being kind enough to share it with you. You can watch it by pointing your Internet clicker at this link right here.
Stahl's friend, the possible killer, is played by Jonathan Jackson (not Joshua Jackson). The cast also includes Robert Forster, Christopher M. Clark, and Beau Garrett. It was written and directed by James Hausler, whose first two movies, 'Trip Out' and 'Wild Seven,' made their way around the fest circuit.
Do you like independent feature films in which Nick Stahl returns to his hometown in Virginia and discovers that his long-time best friend might be an lunatic who murders people? Then you are in for a treat, as 'Kalamity' -- due in theaters Oct. 22 -- appears to be a movie about exactly that!
The fine people at Original 4 Releasing have been kind enough to give us an exclusive peek at the trailer, and we're being kind enough to share it with you. You can watch it by pointing your Internet clicker at this link right here.
Stahl's friend, the possible killer, is played by Jonathan Jackson (not Joshua Jackson). The cast also includes Robert Forster, Christopher M. Clark, and Beau Garrett. It was written and directed by James Hausler, whose first two movies, 'Trip Out' and 'Wild Seven,' made their way around the fest circuit.
- 9/21/2010
- by Eric D. Snider
- Cinematical
By Wrap Staff
Los Angeles-based Fabrication Films has picked up international distribution rights for three films at the American Film Market. Fabrication picked up “Kalamity," a noir tale starring Nick Stahl and Robert Forster; the psychological thriller “Nine Dead” starring Melissa Joan Hart; and the action feature “D4."
“Kalamity” and “Nine Dead” will have their premiere screenings at the market.
Fabrication Films Executive Vice President Jodie Skalla and Senior Vice President Miriam Elchanan negotiated the contracts for the...
Los Angeles-based Fabrication Films has picked up international distribution rights for three films at the American Film Market. Fabrication picked up “Kalamity," a noir tale starring Nick Stahl and Robert Forster; the psychological thriller “Nine Dead” starring Melissa Joan Hart; and the action feature “D4."
“Kalamity” and “Nine Dead” will have their premiere screenings at the market.
Fabrication Films Executive Vice President Jodie Skalla and Senior Vice President Miriam Elchanan negotiated the contracts for the...
- 11/5/2009
- by Brent Lang
- The Wrap
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