Annual Top Films Lists

Top 200 Most Anticipated Films for 2014: #139. Jean Baptiste Leonetti’s The Reach

Published on February 11, 2014

The Reach

Director: Jean-Baptiste Leonetti
Writer: Stephen Susco
Producer: Michael Douglas, Robert Mitas
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Michael Douglas, Jeremy Irvine, Ronny Cox

Jean-Baptiste Leonetti’s directorial debut was the stylistic dystopian film Carre Blanc, which reflected a world as a Kafkaesque caste system. While it played at Sitges and Toronto, the film never received a US release, but it was enough to get Leonetti a high profile English language gig starring Michael Douglas. Even more exciting is the fact that this based on a young adult novel by Robb White, the screenwriter that penned a host of William Castle films (of which The Tingler and Homicidal are definitely worth a look, while more popular titles like 13 Ghosts and House on Haunted Hill have recently been remade). All around, it’s an arresting combination and we can’t wait to see what the offbeat Leonetti has in store for us.

Gist: The story of a big game hunter who hires a young guide to lead him through an American desert…

Release Date: This title, if it doesn’t receive a straight theatrical release, could likely make a splash as a premiere at Toronto or Venice.

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Nicholas Bell

Los Angeles based Nicholas Bell is IONCINEMA.com's Chief Film Critic and covers film festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Cannes and TIFF. He is part of the critic groups on Rotten Tomatoes, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and GALECA. His top 3 for 2021: France (Bruno Dumont), Passing (Rebecca Hall) and Nightmare Alley (Guillermo Del Toro). He was a jury member at the 2019 Cleveland International Film Festival.