Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Roger Moore, James Remar, Janet Gunn, Jack McGee, Aki Aleong, Abdel Qissi, Louis Mandylor | Written by Frank Dux, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steve Klein, Paul Mones | Directed by Jean-Claude Van Damme
Ah, 1996. The year that gave us Fargo, Scream, From Dusk till Dawn, The Craft and The Frighteners. It also gave us Daylight, with Stallone, Barb Wire with Pamela Anderson, Eraser with Arnie and… The Quest, with Jean-Claude Van Damme, who also directed it. The Quest. You remember this, right? I mean… at a time when action-stars were squeezing the last drops of sweat and tears from the action-movie genre that hit massive heights in the 80s, Van Damme joined them. He wrote, directed and, of course, starred in this movie, a movie that also starred Roger Moore. Yes, Roger Moore. James Bond. The Saint. Roger bloody Moore! I mean, Roger would say that The Quest was...
Ah, 1996. The year that gave us Fargo, Scream, From Dusk till Dawn, The Craft and The Frighteners. It also gave us Daylight, with Stallone, Barb Wire with Pamela Anderson, Eraser with Arnie and… The Quest, with Jean-Claude Van Damme, who also directed it. The Quest. You remember this, right? I mean… at a time when action-stars were squeezing the last drops of sweat and tears from the action-movie genre that hit massive heights in the 80s, Van Damme joined them. He wrote, directed and, of course, starred in this movie, a movie that also starred Roger Moore. Yes, Roger Moore. James Bond. The Saint. Roger bloody Moore! I mean, Roger would say that The Quest was...
- 10/25/2019
- by Chris Cummings
- Nerdly
Officials at Choate Rosemary Hall, an elite Connecticut boarding school, alleged that at least 12 former teachers sexually abused students at the prep school in cases dating back to the 1960s.
In a new report from the prestigious Wallingford institution, school investigators allege the former teachers sexually molested and, at least once, even raped students over a 50-year period.
It recounts the experiences of 24 alumin alleging sexual misconduct, asserting school officials did not report the allegations to authorities. Instead, it states, they quietly allowed teachers to resign or fired them.
The school was attended by Ivanka Trump, John F. Kennedy Jr.,...
In a new report from the prestigious Wallingford institution, school investigators allege the former teachers sexually molested and, at least once, even raped students over a 50-year period.
It recounts the experiences of 24 alumin alleging sexual misconduct, asserting school officials did not report the allegations to authorities. Instead, it states, they quietly allowed teachers to resign or fired them.
The school was attended by Ivanka Trump, John F. Kennedy Jr.,...
- 4/14/2017
- by Char Adams
- PEOPLE.com
A lawsuit alleging that the American Youth Soccer Organization failed to shield four unnamed players in Lancaster, California, from coach Renoir Vincent Valenti, now serving a life sentence for sexually abusing over a dozen kids, was filed on March 3 in Los Angeles. "Ayso knew, or should have known about Valenti's sexual abuse of minors and/or his sexually deviant propensities prior to the abuse," the complaint states. Last April, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge sentenced Valenti, 53, to 130 years to life in state prison after being convicted of molesting 14 boys and a girl over a period of 17 years, beginning in...
- 3/7/2015
- by Johnny Dodd, @Johnny_Dodd
- PEOPLE.com
We have been following this New York City Fest's development for a while and wish it well. Needless to say an important program of films.
Rated Sr Socially Relevant Film Festival New York , a new non-profit film festival will run March 14-20, 2014 at New York’s Quad Cinema. Founded by award-winning actor, filmmaker and curator Nora Armani, the festival will showcase films with human interest stories and socially relevant themes as a response to the proliferation of violence and violent forms of storytelling. Rated Sr aims to promote positive social change through the powerful medium of cinema.
Amy Goodman will deliver the festival’s keynote address on Tuesday, March 18th and she will give out the “Rated Sr Social Justice Award” for raising awareness to issues outside mainstream media. Such is the philosophy behind Democracy Now! Currently aired by more than 1,000 radio, television, satellite and cable TV networks in North America, and watched in dozens of countries via the Internet.
Over thirty narrative and documentary films will screen including twelve feature films which will compete for the Grand Prize, a week-long theatrical engagement at the Quad Cinema, courtesy of the QuadFlix Select Program, and ten documentaries will compete for the documentary prize. The winner will receive a VOD DVD distribution deal courtesy of Cinema Libre Studio, a leader in the distribution of social issue documentaries and independent feature films.
Films:
Feature Competition Narrative and Documentary
Coney Island: Dreams for Sale, Alessandra Giordano, USA, 81min, 2013, documentary
Dovid Meyer, Paul Mones , USA/Israel, 101 min, 2013, narrative
Flore, Jean-Albert Lièvre, France, 2014, 85min, documentary
Forward 13: Waking Up the American Dream, Patrick Lovell, USA, 120 min. 2013, documentary
If Only Everyone, Nataliya Belyauskene, Armenia, 2012, 94min, narrative
Indian Summer, Simon Brook, France, 84, 2013, documentary
Lucky Express, Anna Fischer , USA, 87, 2013, documentary
Offside Trap (Abseitsfalle), Stefan Hering, Germany, 98min, 2012, narrative
Orphans of the Genocide, Bared Maronian, USA, 91min, 2013, documentary
Small Small Thing, Jessica Vale, USA, 85min, 2013, documentary
Documentary:
Coal Rush , Lorena Luciano & Filippo Piscopo, USA, 85min, 2013,
Control, Chris Bravo & Lindsey Schneider, USA, 50min, 2013 (Nyfa artist)
Destiny's Bridge, Jack Ballo, USA, 80min, 2013 (Nyfa artist)
From the Black You Make Color, Richie Sherman & Judy Maltz , USA, Israel, 75min, 2012
Hamshen Community at the Crossroads of Past and Present, Lusine Sahakyan, Armenia, Turkey, 60min, 2012
Not Who We Are, Carol Mansour, Lebanon, 72min. 2013
Stable Life, Sara Macpherson, USA, 52min, 2013
The Throwaways, Bhawin Suchak, USA, 62min, 2013
Festival partners include:
·Academic partner, the School of the Visual Arts Social Documentary department, home of the new Mfa in Social Documentary filmmaking.
·Dailymotion, the official video media partner. A selection of close to 100 film trailers from the festival submissions are viewable on an official festival page, garnering close to 100,000 visits to date.
·Village Voice (Media partner)
·Other promotional partners of the festival include: Nyfa, Indieflix, Unifrance Films International, Cineuropa, Alouette Communications, Fiaf, Samuel Infirmier, Final Draft and Center for Remembering and Sharing.
·New-York based metalsmith designer Michael Aram has donated a special trophy to be awarded to the recognized Rated Sr honoree.
·The festival awards the Vanya Exerjian award to a film that raises awareness to violence against women and girls, in commemoration of Armani’s late cousin and uncle, victims of a violent hate crime.
Rated Sr is a film festival that focuses on socially relevant human stories and raises awareness to social problems by offering positive solutions through the powerful medium of cinema. Rated Sr believes that through raised awareness, expanded knowledge about diverse cultures, and the human condition as a whole, it is possible to create a better world free of violence, hate and crime.
Rated Sr Socially Relevant Film Festival New York shines the spotlight on filmmakers who tell compelling, socially relevant narratives across a broad range of social issues without resorting to gratuitous violence and violent forms of movie-making. Rated Sr Films are enlightening, uplifting, entertaining, but most of all artistically appealing. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales each year of the festival will be donated to a charity selected from the fields of: poverty, homelessness, cancer and aging.
Rated Sr Socially Relevant Film Festival New York , a new non-profit film festival will run March 14-20, 2014 at New York’s Quad Cinema. Founded by award-winning actor, filmmaker and curator Nora Armani, the festival will showcase films with human interest stories and socially relevant themes as a response to the proliferation of violence and violent forms of storytelling. Rated Sr aims to promote positive social change through the powerful medium of cinema.
Amy Goodman will deliver the festival’s keynote address on Tuesday, March 18th and she will give out the “Rated Sr Social Justice Award” for raising awareness to issues outside mainstream media. Such is the philosophy behind Democracy Now! Currently aired by more than 1,000 radio, television, satellite and cable TV networks in North America, and watched in dozens of countries via the Internet.
Over thirty narrative and documentary films will screen including twelve feature films which will compete for the Grand Prize, a week-long theatrical engagement at the Quad Cinema, courtesy of the QuadFlix Select Program, and ten documentaries will compete for the documentary prize. The winner will receive a VOD DVD distribution deal courtesy of Cinema Libre Studio, a leader in the distribution of social issue documentaries and independent feature films.
Films:
Feature Competition Narrative and Documentary
Coney Island: Dreams for Sale, Alessandra Giordano, USA, 81min, 2013, documentary
Dovid Meyer, Paul Mones , USA/Israel, 101 min, 2013, narrative
Flore, Jean-Albert Lièvre, France, 2014, 85min, documentary
Forward 13: Waking Up the American Dream, Patrick Lovell, USA, 120 min. 2013, documentary
If Only Everyone, Nataliya Belyauskene, Armenia, 2012, 94min, narrative
Indian Summer, Simon Brook, France, 84, 2013, documentary
Lucky Express, Anna Fischer , USA, 87, 2013, documentary
Offside Trap (Abseitsfalle), Stefan Hering, Germany, 98min, 2012, narrative
Orphans of the Genocide, Bared Maronian, USA, 91min, 2013, documentary
Small Small Thing, Jessica Vale, USA, 85min, 2013, documentary
Documentary:
Coal Rush , Lorena Luciano & Filippo Piscopo, USA, 85min, 2013,
Control, Chris Bravo & Lindsey Schneider, USA, 50min, 2013 (Nyfa artist)
Destiny's Bridge, Jack Ballo, USA, 80min, 2013 (Nyfa artist)
From the Black You Make Color, Richie Sherman & Judy Maltz , USA, Israel, 75min, 2012
Hamshen Community at the Crossroads of Past and Present, Lusine Sahakyan, Armenia, Turkey, 60min, 2012
Not Who We Are, Carol Mansour, Lebanon, 72min. 2013
Stable Life, Sara Macpherson, USA, 52min, 2013
The Throwaways, Bhawin Suchak, USA, 62min, 2013
Festival partners include:
·Academic partner, the School of the Visual Arts Social Documentary department, home of the new Mfa in Social Documentary filmmaking.
·Dailymotion, the official video media partner. A selection of close to 100 film trailers from the festival submissions are viewable on an official festival page, garnering close to 100,000 visits to date.
·Village Voice (Media partner)
·Other promotional partners of the festival include: Nyfa, Indieflix, Unifrance Films International, Cineuropa, Alouette Communications, Fiaf, Samuel Infirmier, Final Draft and Center for Remembering and Sharing.
·New-York based metalsmith designer Michael Aram has donated a special trophy to be awarded to the recognized Rated Sr honoree.
·The festival awards the Vanya Exerjian award to a film that raises awareness to violence against women and girls, in commemoration of Armani’s late cousin and uncle, victims of a violent hate crime.
Rated Sr is a film festival that focuses on socially relevant human stories and raises awareness to social problems by offering positive solutions through the powerful medium of cinema. Rated Sr believes that through raised awareness, expanded knowledge about diverse cultures, and the human condition as a whole, it is possible to create a better world free of violence, hate and crime.
Rated Sr Socially Relevant Film Festival New York shines the spotlight on filmmakers who tell compelling, socially relevant narratives across a broad range of social issues without resorting to gratuitous violence and violent forms of movie-making. Rated Sr Films are enlightening, uplifting, entertaining, but most of all artistically appealing. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales each year of the festival will be donated to a charity selected from the fields of: poverty, homelessness, cancer and aging.
- 3/10/2014
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
Badly in need of more humor and humanity, like that found in his best Hong Kong features, Tsui Hark's long-awaited big-budget debut "Double Team" is doubly problematic.
Beyond a few sequences with some of the Hark magic and the formidable presence of NBA superstar Dennis Rodman, the Columbia Pictures release is not exactly an airball, but it bounces around the rim and finally fails to go in.
The track record of emergent Hong Kong filmmakers working with Jean-Claude Van Damme and producer Moshe Diamant is anything but inspiring -- John Woo's "Hard Target" and Ringo Lam's "Maximum Risk" were both tepidly received by fans and failed to generate much heat in the marketplace. The same will happen to "Double Team", although action-film devotees might pump up the opening-weekend numbers.
Hark has made some of the finest Hong Kong features of the past 20-odd years ("Peking Opera Blues", "Once Upon a Time in China"), and he's been involved with more than 50 features as director, producer, writer and/or actor.
But Hark struggles with the material here, and Van Damme plays another cold, barely articulate hero. There is a halfhearted attempt to personalize the mayhem, with Van Damme's crack counterterrorist on the verge of retirement and looking forward to quieter days with his wife (Natacha Lindinger).
"Double Team" tips off with a big chase scene as Quinn (Van Damme) drives a "super truck" with stolen plutonium through and over numerous obstacles. Not long after, by the pool with his pregnant mate, Quinn is called upon to vanquish a ruthless international terrorist and is told: "You can't retire until he dies".
This perfunctory setup leads to an early showdown with said terrorist Stavros (Mickey Rourke) at an amusement park, after Quinn visits a funky arms dealer played by Rodman. In the elaborate firefight with Stavros, the villain's wife and child are killed and Quinn is nearly blown to bits. The bad guy lives on and the good guy is sent to the Colony, a think tank/prison for spies who are removed from active service but deemed too dangerous to be left alone in the world.
Unhappy with the turn of events -- his wife thinks he's dead and she's vulnerable to Stavros' revenge -- Quinn sets out to escape from the Colony. He accomplishes this by hitching a ride on a C-130 cargo plane in a wild sequence that's arguably the best in the film. Hooking up again with Rodman's character, the duo agree that the "best defense is offense."
Jokes alluding to basketball and Rodman's colorful costumes and comic asides are the extent of the film's stabs at humor.
DOUBLE TEAM
Sony Pictures Releasing
Columbia Pictures and
Mandalay Entertainment present
a Moshe Diamant production
a One Story Pictures production
a Tsui Hark film
Director Tsui Hark
Producer Moshe Diamant
Writers Don Jakoby, Paul Mones
Exec producers Don Jakoby, David Rodgers
Co-producers Rick Nathanson, Nansun Shi
Director of photography Peter Pau
Editor Bill Pankow
Production designer Marek Dobrowolski
Music Gary Chang
Costume designer Magali Guidasci
Casting Penny Perry, Illana Diamant
Color/stereo
Cast:
Quinn Jean-Claude Van Damme
Yaz Dennis Rodman
Stavros Mickey Rourke
Goldsmythe Paul Freeman
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Beyond a few sequences with some of the Hark magic and the formidable presence of NBA superstar Dennis Rodman, the Columbia Pictures release is not exactly an airball, but it bounces around the rim and finally fails to go in.
The track record of emergent Hong Kong filmmakers working with Jean-Claude Van Damme and producer Moshe Diamant is anything but inspiring -- John Woo's "Hard Target" and Ringo Lam's "Maximum Risk" were both tepidly received by fans and failed to generate much heat in the marketplace. The same will happen to "Double Team", although action-film devotees might pump up the opening-weekend numbers.
Hark has made some of the finest Hong Kong features of the past 20-odd years ("Peking Opera Blues", "Once Upon a Time in China"), and he's been involved with more than 50 features as director, producer, writer and/or actor.
But Hark struggles with the material here, and Van Damme plays another cold, barely articulate hero. There is a halfhearted attempt to personalize the mayhem, with Van Damme's crack counterterrorist on the verge of retirement and looking forward to quieter days with his wife (Natacha Lindinger).
"Double Team" tips off with a big chase scene as Quinn (Van Damme) drives a "super truck" with stolen plutonium through and over numerous obstacles. Not long after, by the pool with his pregnant mate, Quinn is called upon to vanquish a ruthless international terrorist and is told: "You can't retire until he dies".
This perfunctory setup leads to an early showdown with said terrorist Stavros (Mickey Rourke) at an amusement park, after Quinn visits a funky arms dealer played by Rodman. In the elaborate firefight with Stavros, the villain's wife and child are killed and Quinn is nearly blown to bits. The bad guy lives on and the good guy is sent to the Colony, a think tank/prison for spies who are removed from active service but deemed too dangerous to be left alone in the world.
Unhappy with the turn of events -- his wife thinks he's dead and she's vulnerable to Stavros' revenge -- Quinn sets out to escape from the Colony. He accomplishes this by hitching a ride on a C-130 cargo plane in a wild sequence that's arguably the best in the film. Hooking up again with Rodman's character, the duo agree that the "best defense is offense."
Jokes alluding to basketball and Rodman's colorful costumes and comic asides are the extent of the film's stabs at humor.
DOUBLE TEAM
Sony Pictures Releasing
Columbia Pictures and
Mandalay Entertainment present
a Moshe Diamant production
a One Story Pictures production
a Tsui Hark film
Director Tsui Hark
Producer Moshe Diamant
Writers Don Jakoby, Paul Mones
Exec producers Don Jakoby, David Rodgers
Co-producers Rick Nathanson, Nansun Shi
Director of photography Peter Pau
Editor Bill Pankow
Production designer Marek Dobrowolski
Music Gary Chang
Costume designer Magali Guidasci
Casting Penny Perry, Illana Diamant
Color/stereo
Cast:
Quinn Jean-Claude Van Damme
Yaz Dennis Rodman
Stavros Mickey Rourke
Goldsmythe Paul Freeman
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.