-
"They cry, they plead, they beg… It gets embarrassing. I like to kill 'em softly. From a distance."
Journey along with a reluctant hitman in this visceral, neo-noirish mystery thriller that doubles as an allegory about free-market economies.
"America isn’t a country. America is a business." >> Posted 03.22.13 by BrentJS -
"No women, no kids, that's the rules."
In a civil society, there are few professions more reprehensible than that of hitman, cleaner, assassin, a job that, by definition, requires the death of another human being to exist at all. In real life, you wouldn't want to meet a hitman, let alone get to know one, but Hollywood hitmen are often far more interesting, engaging, relatable and...handsome, like Brad Pitt in his new movie, Killing Them Softly. Of course, it wouldn't be fair to dismiss Pitt's second go-round — the first being John Smith in Mr. & Mrs. Smith — as a contender for the movie hitmen hall of fame based solely on his looks, so we'll reserve judgment until Killing Them Softly debuts on Friday. In the meantime, help us determine what sort of competition Pitt's Jackie Cogan is up against by ranking the best movie hitmen of all time.
Rate the Top 10 Best Movie Hitmen >>
killer entertainment newsWeeknights after the movies
Posted 11.26.12 by BrentJS -
"Have you ever killed anyone? They get touchy-feely."
For anyone that saw 2007's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, it shouldn't be any surprise that Killing Them Softly, which reunites Jesse James writer-director Andrew Dominik and Brad Pitt, is about more than just your average crime thriller.
Based on the 1974 novel Cogan's Trade by George V. Higgins, the Palme d'Or–nominated Killing Them Softly follows Pitt as mob point man Jackie Cogan, who is hired to investigate the heist of a mob-protected poker game. Co-starring James Gandolfini and Ray Liotta, the first trailer showed some of the humor that's filtered through the movie's hard-boiled characters, but in Interview (via The Playlist), Pitt revealed that Killing Them Softly is more than a tongue-in-cheek tale about hitmen and the mob.
the toughest trailersSaturdays 10:00a ET / 7:00a PT
watch the trailer >> Posted 10.19.12 by Ryan -
No, this isn't a story about Roberta Flack
Now that the Weinstein Co. has pushed the release of the upcoming Killing Them Softly (formerly Cogan's Trade) from September to October, the first trailer for the thriller has arrived online.
Based on the 1974 novel Cogan's Trade by George V. Higgins, Killing Them Softly follows Brad Pitt as mob point man Jackie Cogan, who is tasked with investigating the heist of a mob-protected poker game by two hapless up-and-comers (Monsters' Scoot McNairy and Animal Kingdom's Ben Mendelsohn). James Gandolfini co-stars as a hitman Pitt brings in for the job, Ray Liotta as the gangster in charge of the poker game and Richard Jenkins as Pitt's contact with the mob. Written and directed by Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), Killing Them Softly premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where it was nominated for the prestigious Palme d'Or.
watch the trailer >> Posted 08.02.12 by Ryan -
If seeing the recently released first trailer for director Paul Thomas Anderson's (There Will Be Blood) upcoming drama The Master got you excited to see the movie, you now have a month less to wait. Originally set for release on Oct. 12, The Weinstein Co. has moved The Master's opening to Sept. 14 in Los Angeles and New York before opening nationwide on Sept. 21. THR reports that the movie could premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, which starts Sept. 6.
In order to facilitate the move, The Weinstein Co. has moved the Brad Pitt-starring thriller Killing Them Softly (formerly Cogan's Trade) from September 21 to October 19. The moves will likely be seen as a way to take advantage of the publicity surround the divorce of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, as The Master is clearly based on Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, but Harvey Weinstein wouldn't admit to a Scientology connection in the movie during an interview with The Huffington Post.
more about The Master and Killing Them Softly >> Posted 07.29.12 by Ryan -
When it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, Brad Pitt’s Killing Them Softly got a 10-minute standing ovation. Well, now we get somewhat of an idea of why everyone was applauding.
In the clip, we learn where the title of the movie comes from (the movie is actually based on the novel Cogan's Trade by George V. Higgins). Pitt’s character, Jack Cogan, talking to Richard Jenkins, says he likes to kill his victims softly, “from a distance, not close enough for feelings.” The two then to proceed to bargain over the cost of hiring a hitman. Cogan is an enforcer hired to track down three dumb guys who robbed a mob-protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse.
watch the new clip >> Posted 05.29.12 by Chris -
When it comes to movie posters, most play it safe: a generic photo-manipulated collage of the movie's cast or an action-packed money shot from the movie. Most don't leave any doubt of what the movie is about (that's the point of a movie poster, right?).
Lately there's been a movement of minimalist movie posters, ones that provide a visual tease rather than serve as the print equivalent of a 30-second TV spot. Most of these minimalist posters have been fanmade (check out minimalmovieposters.tumblr.com for some truly amazing examples), but recently mainstream movies are beginning to jump on the minimalist bandwagon, starting with Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained and now Brad Pitt's upcoming movie.
The new Killing Them Softly poster perfectly embodies the minimalism style. Instead of a flashy shot of Pitt running or pointing a gun, we only get aviator glasses reflecting an American flag and a revolver pointed right at the onlooker.
While the poster communicates almost nothing, we do know the movie stars Pitt as Jackie Cogan, a professional enforcer who investigates the heist of a mob-protected poker game. Check out the poster in all its minimalist, full-size glory after the jump.
check out the full-size poster >> Posted 05.21.12 by Chris -
When the Weinstein Company changed the name of writer-director Andrew Dominik's (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) latest movie from Cogan's Trade — the title of the 1974 crime novel by the late George V. Higgins on which the movie is based — shortly after announcing the movie's release date, we hoped that the change was made because of the violence the title implied rather than because the Weinsteins were fans of the R&B stylings of Roberta Flack.
Well, we have yet to see a trailer for the movie, so we can only guess about the soundtrack, but the first preview clip that was just released definitely brings the violence. While the star of the movie, Brad Pitt, who plays Jackie Cogan, a mob enforcer investigating the robbery of a mob-protected high-stakes poker game, does not appear in the clip, we do get to see Ray Liotta get tossed through a window, out a door and over a balcony by two of his fellow hoods true Goodfellas fashion.
watch the preview clip [MATURE LANGUAGE] >> Posted 05.13.12 by BrentJS -
After the release of several new photos of the crime movie Cogan's Trade starring Brad Pitt, we speculated whether this meant The Weinsten Company would finally schedule a release date, and, only a day later, they have.
Box Office Mojo reports that Cogan's Trade will arrive on September 21st, putting it in competition against comic book adaptation Dredd and horror movie House at the End of the Street. Prior to its September release, the movie could also screen at the Venice or Toronto International Film Festivals.
Cogan's Trade follows Pitt as Jackie Cogan, a mob enforcer who investigates a heist that occurred during a mob-protected poker game. Based on the 1974 book by the late author George V. Higgins, the movie co-stars Ray Liotta, Richard Jenkins, and James Gandolfini. The movie was adapted and directed by Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford).
when will Scary Movie 5 and Butter arrive? >> Posted 02.16.12 by Ryan -
The first image of Brad Pitt as mob enforcer Jackie Cogan from the upcoming crime movie Cogan's Trade was released last May, but new details have been scarce about the movie until now.
Several new photos have been released for the movie, which follows Cogan as he investigates a heist that went down during a mob-protected poker game. Besides several new photos of Pitt, the latest photos also reveal Ray Liotta as the mobster that runs the poker game, Richard Jenkins as a lawyer, and James Gandolfini as an alcoholic hitman.
When The Weinstein Company grabbed the distribution rights for Cogan's Trade over a year ago, Cogan's Trade was expected sometime in the first quarter of 2012, but, much to our chagrin, a release date has yet to be scheduled. Perhaps with the onslaught of buzz-inducing images, we'll finally find out when Cogan's Trade will get in front of audiences.
check out the photos >> Posted 02.15.12 by Ryan