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Movies / On DVD / The Matador
The Matador

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The Matador (2005)

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Reviews Counted:146

Fresh:110

Rotten:36

Average Rating:6.7/10

Consensus: This humorously amoral, oddball comic thriller features strong performances by Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear as a flamboyant, aging hit-man and an out of work suburban businessman, respectively.

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Dec 30, 2005 Limited

Box Office: $12,449,517

Synopsis: Pierce Brosnan is outstanding as an international hit man falling apart at the seams in Richard Shepard's dark comedy THE MATADOR. Brosnan, riffing on his success playing the very well groomed and... Pierce Brosnan is outstanding as an international hit man falling apart at the seams in Richard Shepard's dark comedy THE MATADOR. Brosnan, riffing on his success playing the very well groomed and genteel James Bond and Remington Steele, stars as Julian Noble, a no-longer-noble hit man who spends his free time getting drunk and chasing impossibly young skirts. In Mexico he meets Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear), an average Joe trying to land an important business deal. Jealous of Danny's simple life, Julian becomes friends with the Denver suburbanite, who married his high school sweetheart, Bean (the very good Hope Davis), but lost his young son in a terrible accident. One day at a bullfight, Julian tells Danny what he does for a living, but Danny doesn't believe him--until Julian shows him an example of his expertise. But when Julian asks Danny to help him with his next assignment, Danny is dead-set against it, and ready to end their brief friendship. Little does he know that he has not seen the last of the rather unique hit man. Writer-director Shepard, whose previous work includes the indie films OXYGEN, MERCY, and THE LINGUINI INCIDENT, shows a deft hand for offbeat comedy in THE MATADOR, a very funny movie with a razor-sharp edge to it. Brosnan and Kinnear make a great duo, the latter the straight man to the former's reckless abandon. Shepard keeps the laughs coming with huge titles announcing the different locations as well as with a brilliant soundtrack featuring songs by Tom Jones and Asia in addition to the Jam, the Killers, and the Cramps--whose "Garbageman" anchors a hysterical scene involving Julian, a can of beer, a pair of Speedos, a hotel lobby, and a shark. [More]

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Hope Davis, Dylan Baker

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Hope Davis, Dylan Baker, Philip Baker Hall

Director: Richard Shepard, Bob Yari

Director: Richard Shepard
Screenwriter: Richard Shepard
Producer: Pierce Brosnan, Sean Furst, Mark Gordon, Brad Jenkel, Beau St. Clair
Director: Bob Yari
Composer: Rolfe Kent
Studio: Weinstein Company

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Release:

Dec 19, 2006

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Reviews for The Matador

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121 - 140 (sorted by date)
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Eventually, you forget Brosnan's ongoing effort to set fire to his trademark creased-and-polished image and begin to share his apparent glee in traipsing through this seriocomic farrago of crime melodrama, buddy movie and sob story.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
12/30/05
Gene Seymour
Gene Seymour
Newsday
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Told with kinetic flair and a go-for-broke style that's more amusing than engrossing.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment 1 Comment
12/29/05
Sean O'Connell
Sean O'Connell
Filmcritic.com

...plays a little classier, a little more hip than it otherwise might have due to Pierce Brosnan's rascally embracement of poking holes in his own image...

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
12/29/05
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Sneaky, off-beat, satirically seedy psychodrama/thriller with Pierce Brosnan as a droll, comically demented hit-man

Full Review Source: Modamag.com | comment Comment
12/29/05
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
Modamag.com

...thoroughly enjoyable and equally shallow.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
12/29/05
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

The general details and color of The Matador fade quickly from memory while Brosnan's gamy, inscrutable libertine is still exhaling Scotch vapor in your face.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
12/28/05
Michael Atkinson
Michael Atkinson
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Shepard and his terrific cast turns a fairly simple premise into one of those rare buddy comedies that has both brains and heart!

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment Comment
12/27/05
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net

An effective, wise, and frequently amusing entertainment that fondly sticks in the viewer's memory after the end credits have finished rolling.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
12/27/05
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

Its Like 'after The Sunset' Without Salma Hayak.

Full Review Source: Outtakes With Fiore | comment Comment
12/27/05
Fiore Mastracci
Fiore Mastracci
Outtakes With Fiore

A testament to the relatively unknown Shepard’s imagination and smarts.

Full Review Source: Premiere Magazine | comment Comment
12/27/05
Premiere Magazine

It's easy to tell how much Brosnan relished this particular role as he practically licks his lips in pleasure after nailing key scenes.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
12/26/05
Rebecca Murray
Rebecca Murray
About.com

Where an actor's comfort zone and preconception of audience expectation intersect, Richard Shepard's The Matador exists.

Full Review Source: Now Playing Magazine | comment Comment
12/23/05
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
Now Playing Magazine

Be sure to grab this one by the horns and enjoy the ride.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
12/23/05
E! Online

Rarely does an ensemble cast of such limited numbers create such charm and entertainment derived from plot and character.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
12/21/05
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

It’s a savage, breezy, occasionally obscene and sometimes poignant mix of comedy and crime.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
12/21/05
Rex Reed
Rex Reed
New York Observer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

...a captivating comedy. Brosnan gives the best performance of his career. Kinnear is a true comic genius.

Full Review Source: tonymedley.com | comment Comment
12/18/05
Tony Medley
Tony Medley
tonymedley.com

Mixing comedy and the hit man thriller, Matador is a dialogue-driven buddy film about two disparate men (Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear) who meet in a hotel bar--and help each other go through mid-life crisis.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
12/04/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Explores the friendship between a hit man and a suburban businessman that strains belief and leads to a totally improbable finale.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
12/04/05
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

The movie has a nicely modulated mix of comedy and pathos, but succeeds as much because of the two lead performances as Richard Shepard's writing and directing.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
12/02/05
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Just sit back and enjoy the fun.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
11/30/05
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
121 - 140 (sorted by date)
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Latest News for The Matador

November 23, 2007: Total Recall: Thank Goodness For Hit Men
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While sitting on a Comic Con panel, Frank Miller was asked about the hold-up on Sin City 2. (Numerous times, probably.) And it looks like the celebrated author / artist /... More...

January 26, 2007: Another "Crown" for Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan took a detour into indie productions after hanging up his Bond tux and martini -- most recently in "The Matador" and "Seraphim Falls" -- but... More...

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