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Top 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2008: #35 Redbelt

Published on January 31, 2008

#35. Redbelt

Director/Writer: David Mamet
Producers: Chrisann Verges (Mrs. Harris)
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics

The Gist: Based on Mamet’s original screenplay, Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is the chief instructor at the Southside Jiu-jitsu Academy. Although a talented fighter, he refuses to compete in professional bouts: “Competition weakens the fighter.”

Fact: Want to know why Mamet ventured into this world? Read article here.

See It: Mamet doing action films? The answer is very mcuh yes after the little seen but extremely loved 2004 film starring Val Kilmer called Spartan. Plus it might just be the first time where I actually want to see a film about the world of hand to hand combat fighting.

Release Date/Status?: I imagine that the April 25th release date might coincide with a Tribeca film festival premiere.

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Eric Lavallée

Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist and critic at IONCINEMA.com (founded in 2000). Eric is a regular at Sundance, Cannes and TIFF. He has a BFA in Film Studies at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013 he served as a Narrative Competition Jury Member at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson's This Teacher (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). In 2022 he served as a New Flesh Comp for Best First Feature at the 2022 Fantasia Intl. Film Festival. Current top films for 2022 include Tár (Todd Field), All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen), Aftersun (Charlotte Wells).