Trailer Tuesday: David Mamet’s REDBELT

David Mamet has given us New York City’s seedy underbelly in Edmond (featured in last year’s IFFB), and the endless twists and turns of a con job in House of Games and The Spanish Prisoner, and has written classics like Glengarry Glen Ross, The Untouchables and the remake for The Postman Always Rings Twice. Coming May 9th, Mamet’s Redbelt will take on … Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu … and the samurai code … and Hollywood … and prize fighting … and empowering women. Kind of. I think.

There is a lot going on in the Redbelt trailers, with tons of different information in each one. I’m excited at the possibility of another convoluted plot, à la Spanish Prisoner. But, if this is the case, I also fear a bit too much given away in the second trailer. And I can’t help but be distracted by the whole Jiu-Jitsu thing. In a David Mamet movie. Despite Mamet’s own purple belt, it feels a little bizarre that this is coming from him (although his work on Ronin and Hannibal suggest otherwise).

Redbelt stars Chiwetel Ejiofor (Children of Men, Dirty Pretty Things), Emily Mortimer (Lars and the Real Girl), Alice Braga (I Am Legend), Joe Mantegna (Criminal Minds, Joan of Arcadia), and Tim Allen (various Santa Clause movies).

For your enjoyment, here is the other trailer for Redbelt:

Other Posts of Interest

April 1st, 2008
Categories: Action Movies, Trailers . Author: Allison

3 Comments

  1. Comment by Burbanked on April 3, 2008 12:30 am

    Wow. If David Mamet can convince me that Tim Allen is a believable actor - acting as an actor - then he (Mamet) is truly some kind of frigging genus.

  2. Comment by Norm S. on April 3, 2008 4:24 pm

    True! Perhaps Tim Allen has few lines.

    Allison, I can’t believe you didn’t mention Ricky Jay by name! Ricky Jay and Joe Mantegna in a Mamet movie?! Somebody rent me House of Games.

    -Norm S. (Meet In the Lobby)

  3. Comment by Allison Stevens on April 3, 2008 6:04 pm

    You’re right, Norm. Shame on me!

    I see Tim Allen going the path of John Travolta in “Pulp Fiction” with this. If it works out for him, we can expect to see him playing Rose in the movie version of the musical “Gypsy”. Then, people will claim this was a great move for him, but I will wonder how it’s not considered a step down.

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