Even if you don’t recognize the name Scoot McNairy, you most likely would remember one of his many layered film characters.  Whether it’s his turn as a cautious curmudgeon in the offbeat romantic flick "In Search of a Midnight Kiss", a cynical photojournalist in the cult classic "Monsters" or most recently as timid US embassy staffer Joe Stafford in the Academy Award winning best picture "Argo," McNairy is truly one memorable actor’s actor.  His latest film, the crime thriller "Killing Them Softly," has McNairy playing a small time thief who gets more then he bargained for after pulling a h...

For the third week in a row, "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" rose to the top of the box office, taking in $17.4 million over the weekend.

The film, starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, is the final installment of the massively popular vampire franchise based on the best-selling books by Stephenie Meyer.

In second place was James Bond film "Skyfall" starring Daniel Craig ($17 million), followed by Steven Spielberg's Lincoln ($13.5 million) and animated film "Rise of the Guardians" (also $13.5 million).

"Life of Pie" came in at number four ($12 million), while new rel...

'Killing Them Softly' is a quirky, black comedy about angst ridden hitmen dealing with the economic meltdown of 2008.

Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt) is a very laid back guy. He likes to chat with people, he's friendly and... he's a hitman. But Jackie can only kill people that he's never met and he can't kill them up close; only from a distance. He doesn't like to hear his victims beg for mercy; Jackie says he likes to 'Kill Them Softly.'

So when a mob protected poker game is robbed, Jackie is sent in by Richard Jenkins aka The Driver, to restore order.

The mastermind behind the robbery is a ...

Does Killing Them Softly have the best chance to take top spot at the box office this week? Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 has held the spot for two weeks and had grossed over $230 million in the U.S. since its release.

BoxOfficeMojo predicts that Twilight still has some fight left in it. That, combined with the fact that Killing Them Softly is showing in just over 2,400 theaters, makes them believe Twilight should top the box office for the third week in a row.

In fact, if Killing Them Softly performs like past films debuting the week after Thanksgiving, it could be out of the top 5 film...

Apologies that I have been MIA the last couple of weeks folks. I’ve been watching movies faster than I can write about them. Since my last column I’ve seen: “Skyfall,” “Not Fade Away,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “Red Dawn,” “Promised Land,” and most recently “Les Misérables.” If you haven’t already, definitely check out my reviews of “Skyfall” and “Silver Linings Playbook,” both of which I loved. I also posted my thoughts on “Red Dawn” on my website. In short, it’s not worth your time or money.

“Promised Land” was a very cool screening because actor and co-writer John Krasinski was here ...

Well, there’s no other way to put it other than I really enjoyed it. Truth be told, it isn’t any different than any other gun-toting, mob-laced film we haven’t seen before. However, this one hit more on contemporary times in terms of look, jargon, style and aura! It may not have seemed like much at first “glance,” but Andrew Dominik's crime drama 'Killing Them Softly' packs a decent punch.

Set in a hammered America, with economic echoes via TV recession chatter, and post-Katrina New Orleans exposing a rain-soaked backdrop, the film introduces low-lives Scoot McNairy and Ben Mendelsohn as...

You'd think that a new Brad Pitt film about gritty hitmen doing their dirty deeds would be the kind of thing that would generate a lot of buzz, but so far, there has been curiously little chatter about "Killing Them Softly," even though it opens this Friday. Heck, it hasn't even cracked the top 25 on our MovieTracker. Maybe they should have called it "Killing Them Loudly" instead.

All of which explains why there's a brand new trailer for "Killing Them Softly" making the rounds.

Hey, fans have to start watching something other than "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" at some point,...

After Killing Them Softly received a 10 minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival, it appears Oscar buzz is growing early for a man that has yet to hoist an Academy Award: Brad Pitt.

Killing Them Softly, which also stars Ray Liotta, James Gandolfini and Richard Jenkins, follows a mob enforcer (Pitt) sent to clean-up a mob-protected poker game after a robbery. The film has received some flak for being set in 2008 and centering on the recent economic downturn, with some wondering if the story was taking shots at President Obama.

"Only part of that is true. The movie sets Obama's 2...

Brad Pitt has defended the level of violence in his new gangster movie Killing Them Softly, insisting gory scenes are "absolutely important to film."

The Hollywood actor plays a mob fixer opposite Ray Liotta in the movie, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in France this week.

It features a number of brutal and bloody murder scenes, but Pitt is adamant violence on the big screen is an important part of Hollywood and admits he would feel worse about playing a racist character than a cold-blooded killer.

He tells reporters at Cannes, "Violence is an accepted part of the gangste...

A newly engaged Brad Pitt attended the photocall for his new film "Killing Me Softly" as part of the 65th Cannes International Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals yesterday.

In the film, a robbery committed against the mob is investigated by a hitman's boss. Ray Liotta also stars and Andrew Dominik directs. The film is a comic gangster story with an undertone that attacks politicians' failure to address the economic crisis.

Pitt showed off his usual sexy self in a casual beige suit with white shoes, a white belt and white t-shirt. He is growing out his hair again (we're guessing for...