Crime movies are a captivating genre because they are the perfect holdall; a crime thriller can be altogether suspenseful and grotesque and profound, a reflection of our dual humanity. It is in this spirit that Ami Canaan Mann (Morning, Friday Night Lights) helmed Texas Killing Fields, which is available on Blu-ray and DVD beginning January 31st, and is the director's follow-up feature film after more than a decade of writing and directing for TV.

The seedling for the script is found in Texas City, the outskirts of which harbor a massive, haunting field with a macabre history. Over sixty murders were dumped within this region, known by locals as the Killing Fields and it was from this that director/producer Michael Mann (Thief, Heat) was inspired to commission a script. Like a lot of movies in Hollywood, it took years for all the right particles to come together and greenlight a story into creation but when it finally did, the story succeeded in its director’s aim to do three important things: do right by the families of the real victims, put a face to the victims of sexual assault murders, and to evoke the horror of the story in a sophisticated, non-procedural manner.

To achieve all that, Texas Killing Fields makes use of the genre’s elasticity. On the one hand, you have the high-stakes plot: the story focuses on two detectives, committed to finding the culprit of a murder that had been dumped in the field, who end up having to race the clock in order to save the life of another potential Killing Field victim, played by Chloë Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass). Sam Worthington (Avatar) plays Detective Mike Souder, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen) plays his partner, Brian Heigh, and Jessica Chastain (The Help) plays the former-Mrs.-Souder, Detective Pam Stall.

One thing that makes Jill Hennessy such a joy to watch is the way she speaks her lines. The flow of her words are rich with texture, and deep with a clean timbre. She has spoken those lines through a myriad of characters in film and on television. From Law & Order (1993-1996), Las Vegas (2004-2006), and Crossing Jordan (2001-2007), to characters in feature-length films of various genres, Hennessy has acquired enough solid acting credits to out-talk anyone … or out-sing them. Her performing experience extends beyond the screen. In 2009, Hennessy released an album titled “Ghost In My Head”, which she wrote and recorded herself. Hennessy has been a singer/songwriter for many years, performing shows in between her many acting gigs, and was even invited to perform at the 2010 revival of the illustrious Lilith Fair.

That’s why Roadie, opening in theatres on January 6th, is such a delicate surprise of a film. While it’s about middle-aged, ex-roadie Jimmy Testagross (Ron Eldard), who suddenly finds himself forced to go back to his hometown and deal with his arrested development all in the scope of twenty-four hours, it is often Jill Hennessy who steals the spotlight as Jimmy’s high school sweetheart and small-town amateur singer/songwriter, Nikki Stevens. When Nikki picks up her guitar and her voice transitions into a controlled Natalie Merchant-esque wail, the story picks up on the movie’s theme of music as sanctuary, music as a time capsule of emotion. Indeed, the characters in the movie are propelled by the idea that music is bigger than the sum of its parts, and that music can save them or help save them from themselves.

I recently had a chance to speak with Jill Hennessy about her role as Nikki Stevens in Roadie. Refreshingly laidback and thoughtful, she relayed her feelings about working with Ron Eldard (Super 8), how she got director Michael Cuesta to incorporate one of her songs in the film, and her excitement over her role in HBO’s new series, Luck.

Like a watch that's expensive enough to steal, a proper heist movie is intricate and precise, with interconnected components working in harmony together to create a compelling story that always stays ahead of an audience's expectations.  The structure of many films in this subgenre provide a template for an ensemble in which every character contributes something specific to the larger narrative goal while also populating the cast with unique personalities, all sharing the same basic motivation but clashing nonetheless.

As the title so succinctly conveys, Tower Heist is most definitely a heist movie.  In the film, which hits theaters tomorrow, a group of hardworking hotel employees who discover that they've been the victims of a craven Ponzi scheme executed by a ridiculously wealthy, slick bastard, played by Alan Alda.  With the schemer under house arrest in his lavish penthouse residence, a cast of characters played by Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck, Gabourey Sidibe, and Michael Pena conspire to exact revenge by robbing him blind.  In honor of Tower Heist and its tremendous ensemble cast, our latest Rogue 10 is a collection of characters who basically steal their respective heist movies, those irreplaceable and awesome characters who could support their own solo adventures with ease.

Opening in theaters on October 14th is a new crime thriller from first time director Ami Canaan Mann, daughter of director Michael Mann (Heat), called Texas Killing Fields. The film reunites The Debt co-stars Sam Worthington (Avatar) and Jessica Chastain (The Help), as well as featuring a cast of exceptional actors including Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen), Jason Clarke (TV's The Chicago Code), Annabeth Gish (The X-Files), Sheryl Lee (Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me), Stephen Graham (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides), and Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass). 

IAR's managing editor Jami Philbrick recently had a chance to sit down and speak with actor Sam Worthington, as well as director Ami Canaan Mann about Texas Killing Fields. Worthington, and Mann spoke honestly about the new film, the true story that it is based on, Mann's approach to the material, Worthington's research into his role; why he wanted to re-team with his The Debt co-star Jessica Chastain, and the "good cop/bad cop" routine. 

It’s my birthday; I’m sitting in the bedroom I grew up in at my parent’s house in Massachusetts … and I’m waiting for Ron Perlman to call me. Does life get any better than this?

Last week while I was home visiting my family, I had the pleasure of spending the evening of my 36^th birthday speaking with one of my all-time favorite actors. I first became aware of Ron Perlman’s immense talent as a performer from his work on the popular ‘80s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast, but it’s his impressive and vast resume of film accomplishments that has made me a fan. I loved his unique portrayal of characters in movies like The City of Lost Children, Alien Resurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis, but it is his collaborations with lifelong friend Guillermo del Toro (Cronos, Blade II, Hellboy, and Hellboy II: The Golden Army) that I think marks some of his finest work.

But recently it seems like Perlman’s career could not be hotter. For the past three seasons he’s starred as Clay Morrow on FX’s hit motorcycle gang series Sons of Anarchy, which just began airing its forth season. He is also currently getting rave reviews for his role as a crime boss in director Nicholas Winding Refn’s critically acclaimed movie Drive, starring Ryan Gosling. Not to mention that he was seen this past summer playing the father of Conan the Barbarian in Lionsgate’s big screen adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s beloved character. Now the actor once again plays a crime boss in the new film Bunraku, which opens in theaters on September 30^th.

As you may have heard, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, Sony, and Universal have all signed on to participate in a premium Video on Demand service that will allow cable and satellite subscribers to view certain films in their homes just 60 days after the theatrical release, starting with Just Go With It, starring Adam Sandler.  Naturally, the National Association of Theater Owners vociferously opposes this new idea, and now America's foremost popcorn-peddlers have support from a formidable group of 23 filmmakers, including James Cameron, Guillermo del Toro, Kathryn Bigelow, Peter Jackson, Gale Anne Hurd, Robert Rodriguez, Michael Bay, Gore Verbinski, Michael Mann, Robert Zemeckis, and Todd Phillips.  Check out the none-too-happy open letter that these nearly two dozen directors and producers have addressed to those studios.

Though he's known as the stylistically distinct director of films like Heat, Public Enemies, Last of the Mohicans, Collateral, and The Insider, Michael Mann is no stranger to televised drama, having served as executive producer on the pastel procedural Miami Vice.  He's returning to television as the executive producer of the new HBO series Luck, which stars Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Joan Allen, Dennis Farina, and Kevin Dunn.  Mann is also directing the pilot for the David Milch-scripted series, and a new behind-the-scenes video, courtesy of Slashfilm provides our first look at the characters and the rough and tumble world of horse racing and gambling that they inhabit.  Take a look.

iamROGUE.com takes and exclusive early look at the Definitive Director's Cut of Michael Mann's 1992 classic 'The Last of the Mohicans'

In 1992, Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeleine Stowe enthralled audiences with their fiery romance in Michael Mann’s thrilling historic epic The Last of the Mohicans.

This mesmerizing period piece takes place in 1757 and tells the tale of three members of a dying Indian tribe called the Mohicans, with Day-Lewis as an adopted white man.  The three Mohicans give aid to the daughter’s of a British officer.  You can bet that they’ll be battles, fighting and a ton of romance as Hawkeye (Day-Lewis) falls for the strong-willed Cora Munro (Stowe).