Movies

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  Roger Ebert

• Dear John / ** (PG-13)

  "Dear John" (PG-13,105 minutes). A Special Forces soldier and a sweet South Carolina rich girl Meet Cute, fall in love, and pledge to meet and marry when his tour ends in a year. But it s not to be. Another one of those bittersweet Nicholas Sparks stories that laboriously endeavor to wring from us a sad smile. I was sadly smiling not at their loss, but of mine. Although Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried are attractive and well-matched as the would-be lovers, and Richard Jenkins makes autism seem kinda sweet (if it's a mild case), this movie is so doomed to end exactly the way it does that we…

• Fish Tank / **** (No MPAA rating)

  "Fish Tank" (Unrated, adults, 123 minutes). The harrowing portrait of a 15-year-old girl on a reckless path toward self-destruction. Her mother, only about 30, is a drunken slut and she seems on the same path. Covers a few days of fraught experiences with sex and anger. Superbly acted by newcomer Katie Jarvis. Winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes 2009. Directed by Andrea Arnold. Four stars.

• From Paris With Love / ** (R)

  "From Paris with Love" (R, 92 minutes). John Travolta as an American Mr. Fix It who takes a cocky attitude to Paris and backs it up in a messy plot heavy on action scenes concocted from CGI and quick cutting. Nothing original, convincing or involving, although Travolta succeeds almost by being in a movie of his own. Directed by Pierre Morel, whose previous film, "Taken," was much better. Two stars.

• The Last Station / *** (R)

  "The Last Station" (R, 110 minutes). On his country estate, in his last year, Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer) rules over a household of intrigues. His wife Sofya (Helen Mirren) is in fierce battle with his disciple Chertkov (Paul Giamatti), who thinks the Count should leave his estate to the Russian people, and not to Sofya and their 13 children. Cherkov hires young Valentin (James McAvoy) to act as Tolstoy's private secretary and a spy, but Valentin is seduced by a nubile Tolstoyian (Kerry Condon) and broadens his views about the great man. Sort of a Merchant-Ivory picture with loud…

• Great Movie: The Hairdresser's Husband (1990)

  The hairdressing shop is their ocean liner, their lives are a cruise around the world. They will sail the Nile, kiss in the shadows of the Great Pyramids, see the sun set on every earthly paradise, and it will always be exactly like this. Perfect. "The Hairdresser's Husband" (1990) tells the story of two romantics besotted with love, living in a French hairdressing salon, she reading magazines on her perch by the widow, he working crosswords on the red leather bench, the sunlight flooding in. The yellows, blues, tropical colors. The exotic music he dances to. Occasionally at some unheard…

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  The Wrap

• Kathryn Bigelow Celebrated in Santa Barbara

  Steve Pond

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:45 am

  By Steve Pond“It’s been exhilarating and gratifying and thrilling and extremely surprising,” said the director of the year on Monday night at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where Kathryn Bigelow received yet another accolade and an evening dedicated not just to “The Hurt Locker,” but to her entire body of work. “This is a tough little war film about an extremely unpopular war,” she said. “How does one anticipate something like this, that putting a magnifying lens on a hellish situation would touch some kind of nerve?” I...

• Ratings: 'Big Bang' Just Won't Quit

  Adalian

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:44 am

  By Josef Adalian "The Big Bang Theory" just keeps getting bigger, scoring another record Monday thanks to a Super-sized promo push. CBS's geek-centric comedy notched a 6.0 rating/14 share among adults 18-49, its largest rating yet and the biggest demo number this season for any live action comedy. "Big" was one of a number of CBS shows that got a major push during the Eye's record-smashing broadcast of the Super Bowl. How big is "Bang"? Consider that it was just over a year ago, in January 2009, that CBS was putting out press releases noting record-high numbers…

• Stephen Colbert: 'Sarah Palin is a F---ing Retard' (Video)

  Dylan Stableford

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:19 am

  By Dylan StablefordSarah Palin's speech to the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville caused a bit of a stir over the weekend because Palin, who was critical of Barack Obama's use of a TelePrompTer, had visible notes on her hand. (Why Palin didn't use a wrist coach like the ones rookie quarterbacks use is beyond me.) Palin also defended Rush Limbaugh in his mini-flare up with the White House over the use of the word "retard." On Monday, Stephen Colbert summed up the Fox News contributor's week like this:

• Good Morning Oscar, Feb. 9: Campaign Strategy

  Steve Pond

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:36 am

  By Steve PondIn this morning’s roundup of Oscar news ‘n’ notes from around the web, “The Cove” goes to Japan and “The Hurt Locker,” to nobody’s surprise, goes to the top of another critics’ roundup. Variety looks at how the 10 Best Picture nominees have scored with the two top critics aggregation sites, Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes. If you combine the two scores, “The Hurt Locker” unsurprisingly comes out on top, followed closely by “Up.” “An Education” is next, and the top five is rounded out by…

• A Kentucky Station's Awesome Tribute to 'Press Your Luck' (video)

  Adalian

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:35 pm

  By Josef Adalian MoJoe loves game shows. MoJoe really likes "Press Your Luck." And apparently, so do the promo-meisters at WKYT, the CBS affiliate in Lexington, Kentucky. They aired a brilliant spot right before and after Sunday's Super Bowl that used the classic CBS quiz show to tout the station's mega doppler radar. It's quite awesome, and proof that there's plenty of talented folks toiling at stations across the country just ready to get the call to head to Hollywood or New York. CBS marketing chief George Schweitzer, take note! And by the way, since we're doing open memos ...

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  Film.com Movie Blog

• The Biggest Oscar Snub: Sam Rockwell in Moon

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:09 am

  Someday, Sam Rockwell will get his Oscar due, I have no doubt. But I bet that when that day comes, lots of movie lovers will look back and say, "But it should have happened for Moon." Rockwell has always been riveting on-screen, but his extraordinary performance in the Twilight Zone-ish mind frak that is Duncan Jones' Moon is far beyond anything he's ever achieved before. We just don't see movies like this one much: simple yet profound, obvious on the surface yet deepening with conundrums with…

• What to Expect from a George Lucas Musical

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:33 am

  Out of George Lucas' Death Star-like headquarters comes word that the Star Wars creator/ruiner is producing a computer-animated musical, to be directed by Kevin Munroe (TMNT) and written by David Berenbaum (Elf). All anyone knows about the plot so far is that fairies are involved. We don't even know for sure whether Lucas had anything to do with the story. But it would be unusual for him to be involved this heavily if the story hadn't been conceived in his nerdy little brain, so let us…

• The Very Best of the Miramax Vaults

  8 Feb 2010 | 1:18 pm

  Well, after several years of speculation and the loss of its founding fathers, the Weinsteins, Miramax has finally been shuttered for good and its library put up on the auction block. While this was truly sad news from a house that brought us so much joy over the years, it looks like it could be one heck of a bargain to a company looking to create a sizable (and bankable) DVD/Blu-ray catalog. What are the best bets sitting in the vaults? How about these titles? The best of Quentin TarantinoWhile…

• Romantic Comedies the Studios Have Somehow Overlooked

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:23 am

  Romantic comedy titles tend to stick to a pretty strict formula, picking from four general fields: some kind of weak third-grade level pun (Bride and Prejudice, Made of Honor); a phrase featuring the word "wedding" (The Wedding Singer, The Wedding Planner, The Wedding Date); a song title (Sweet Home Alabama, Just Like Heaven, The Sweetest Thing); or a bland, borderline meaningless term for romance (Love Actually, It's a Boy Girl Thing). Here, some rom-com titles and surefire pitches guaranteed…

• Review: From Paris with Love a Satisfying Escape

  5 Feb 2010 | 8:56 am

  "Eminently watchable." If you like a violent, silly, frenetic style of film you'll find plenty to enjoy here. There are a few glaring flaws, which we'll get to, but overall this is satisfying escapism. You could do much worse -- heck, I'm betting you have. Travolta is always at his best when he's playing oddball characters, and From Paris with Love is no exception.Jonathan Rhys Meyers is the assistant to the United States Ambassador to France, but he's handling the occasional…

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  New York Times

• ‘Blind Side’ Finds a Path to the Oscars by Running Up the Middle

  By MICHAEL CIEPLY and PAULA SCHWARTZ

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:32 pm

  The whoops and giggles, heard when “The Blind Side” was announced as a best picture nominee, were the sound of Hollywood surprising itself.

• Film: Cue the Director’s Adrenaline

  By TERRENCE RAFFERTY

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:39 pm

  With “Shutter Island,” Martin Scorsese finds his next “something else.”

• Arts, Briefly: Romance Overtakes ‘Avatar’

  By BROOKS BARNES; By RACHEL LEE HARRIS

  7 Feb 2010 | 9:42 pm

  Moviegoers turned their attention to a mushy Nicholas Sparks adaptation over the weekend as “Dear John” ended the seven-week run of “Avatar” as the No. 1 movie in North America.

• Apolitics and the War Film

  By A. O. SCOTT

  6 Feb 2010 | 3:00 pm

  The director of “The Hurt Locker” stakes a claim on neutrality. Given the agony of our current involvements, it is easy to see why.

• Film: His Hair’s Not Always Perfect

  By DAVE ITZKOFF

  5 Feb 2010 | 9:25 pm

  A field guide to the creatures whose hairy faces paved the way for the newest lupine film.

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  Hulu Popular Videos

• The Colbert Report - s6 | e21 - Mon, Feb 8, 2010

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:03 pm

  Jonathan Safran Foer makes Stephen ponder the morality of eating animals with his new book "Eating Animals," resparking the ancient battle between carnivores and herbivores.Add this to your queueAdded: Tue Feb 09 07:03:05 UTC 2010Air date: Mon Feb 08 00:00:00 UTC 2010Duration: 21:42Rating: 4.9 / 5.0Closed captions available.

• The Bachelor - s14 | e6 - Week 6, Part 1

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:03 pm

  The stakes are high for Jake as he visits the final four women's hometowns.Add this to your queueAdded: Tue Feb 09 07:03:05 UTC 2010Air date: Mon Feb 08 00:00:00 UTC 2010Duration: 48:43

• The Bachelor - s14 | e6 - Week 6, Part 2

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:03 pm

  The stakes are high for Jake as he visits the final four women's hometowns.Add this to your queueAdded: Tue Feb 09 07:03:05 UTC 2010Air date: Mon Feb 08 00:00:00 UTC 2010Duration: 37:03

• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - s15 | e21 - Mon, Feb 8, 2010

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:29 pm

  First Lady of South Carolina Jenny Sanford discusses her new book about dealing with the fallout from her husband's very public affair.Add this to your queueAdded: Tue Feb 09 06:29:05 UTC 2010Air date: Mon Feb 08 00:00:00 UTC 2010Duration: 21:40Rating: 4.7 / 5.0Closed captions available.

• Chuck - s3 | e7 - Chuck Versus the Mask

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:50 pm

  Chuck takes Hannah on her first Nerd Herd mission and must hide that he is also on a CIA mission with Sarah.Add this to your queueAdded: Tue Feb 09 05:50:05 UTC 2010Air date: Mon Feb 08 00:00:00 UTC 2010Duration: 43:22

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  MSN Video: What's Hot > Most Watched > Movies

• 'Celine: Through the Eyes of the World' Music Video: "All By Myself"

  5 Feb 2010 | 5:38 pm

  This documentary captures French-Canadian singer Celine Dion touring the world with her child and husband. In addition to footage of the award winner performing many of her most well-loved hits, the movie shows how she attempts to maintain a stable family life during these hectic tours.

• Travolta takes on terrorists in 'Paris'

  27 Jan 2010 | 8:42 pm

  John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers star in this spy thriller from "District B13" helmer Pierre Morel. The Luc Besson/Adi Hasak-penned tale revolves around the entwining paths of an American spy and an embassy worker during a tumultuous time in Paris.

• 'Clash of the Titans' Trailer

  19 Jan 2010 | 10:50 pm

  Louis Leterrier ("The Incredible Hulk") directs this remake of the 1981 mythological fantasy adventure of the same name. The film focuses on Perseus (Sam Worthington), the mortal hero made to carry out a series of quests by the gods in order to win the hand of the imprisoned princess Andromeda (Alexa Davalos). Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes co-star.

• A first look at 'Toy Story 3'

  15 Jan 2010 | 9:42 pm

  This latest entry into the "Toy Story" film franchise once again stars Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as wide-eyed cowboy doll Woody and space-ranger action figure Buzz Lightyear, respectively.

• HD Trailer: The 'A-Team' Reborn

  11 Jan 2010 | 9:53 pm

  1980s TV action gets a reboot with this new version of "The A-Team," which shifts the Vietnam-vet backstory to a group of Iraq War vets who become mercenaries for hire. In HD.

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  On Location Vacations

• Tuesday’s Filming Locations for ‘Gossip Girl’ in NYC, ‘Earthbound’ in New Orleans, ‘The Good Doctor’ in L.A., and many more!

  Christine

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:20 am

  Here’s a look at the exact filming locations for several TV shows movies shooting around the country today. For more information on these projects and others, be sure to check out out the upcoming filming locations and events calendar in the sidebar which is updated daily. If you have any tips you’d like to share [...]

• ‘How To Make It In America’ Premieres This Week

  Christine

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:10 pm

  How To make It America, whose locations we tracked through NYC last fall, is finally premiering on HBO this weekend. The show, which is being dubbed a kind of east coast Entourage, “follows a couple of struggling young Manhattan guys, Ben (October Road & One Tree Hill’s Bryan Greenberg) and Cam (Lords of Dogtown’s Victor Rasuk), [...]

• Sam Worthington begins filming ‘Texas Killing Fields’ in Lousiana this spring

  Christine

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:36 pm

  According to Variety, Avatar’s Sam Worthington has signed onto the mystery Texas Killing Fields. The movie will be based on a true story about two police officers who tried to solve 20 years worth of disappearances and homicides in an industrial wasteland. Sam will play a homicide detective who embarks on a mission to find [...]

• Monday Filming News Link Love: ‘Robin Hood’ Trailer, Jason Sudeikis on ‘30 Rock’ & so much more!

  Christine

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:16 am

  Here’s the Robin Hood Super Bowl Spot in case you missed it. And her’s a round up of filming new from around the web: Steven Soderbergh films Knockout scenes on Grafton Street in Dublin- Irish Times TNT’s Leverage held Thug Camp in Portland this weekend- Oregon Live Saw VII started filming- Dread Central Note to Jared: Dream [...]

• ‘Bel Ami’ filming officially underway in London

  Christine

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:06 am

  Several Robert Pattinson and Twilight fan sites are reporting that filming for Bel Ami is officially underway in London. Bel Ami stars Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Christina Ricci and Kristin Scott Thomas. According to E!, “He [Pattinson] is in every scene of [Bel Ami]“. According to BelAmiFilm.com, “A source that wishes to remain anonymous has reported [...]

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  MSN Movies: News

• 'Dear John' had last-minute ending change of heart

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:58 am

• Simon Monjack and Brittany Murphy: Tragedy Tars the Spin Machine

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:28 am

• 'Dear John' bumps 'Avatar' with $32.4M debut

  7 Feb 2010 | 1:45 am

  'Dear John' bumps 'Avatar' with $32.4M debut; sci-fi blockbuster lifts global total to $2.2B

• Coroner: Pneumonia, drugs killed Brittany Murphy

  4 Feb 2010 | 3:53 am

  Brittany Murphy's death ruled accidental from pneumonia, with prescription drugs a factor

• Underwood lands big break in surfer movie

  4 Feb 2010 | 2:54 am

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  Rotten Tomatoes

• Tim Robbins Joins Green Lantern

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:46 am

  Tim Robbins has joined the cast of "Green Lantern," signing on to play the father of villainous Hector Hammond (played by Peter Sarsgaard).

• Fox Moves Forward with 24 Movie

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:36 am

  After years of whooping on TV bad guys, Kiefer Sutherland will take Jack Bauer to the big screen in a "24" film, currently being scripted by Billy Ray.

• Terminator Franchise Rights Sold

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:30 am

  The auction for the rights to the "Terminator" franchise is over -- and to everyone's surprise, neither Sony nor Lionsgate emerged victorious.

• Bogdanovich Feels the Turn of the Century

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:25 am

  Peter Bogdanovich has agreed to write and direct an adaptation of Kurt Anderson's "Turn of the Century," a 1999 novel about "a Manhattan power couple with three kids who are managing their troubled marriage in a world where BarbieWorld has opened in Vegas and Charles Manson's parole hearing is live on TV."

• Aleen Leslie: 1908-2010

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:21 am

  Screenwriter Aleen Leslie, the oldest member of the Writers Guild and the writer whose 19 film credits included "Father Was a Fullback," has passed away. She was 101.

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  TVGuide.com: movie-scoop

• Today's News: Our Take - 24 Movie Script in the Works

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:49 am

  The countdown to a 24 movie is on: The screenwriter of State of Play and Shattered Glass has signed on to do the script, Variety reports. 24: Jack Bauer will survive to the end of the seriesBilly Ray's story will bring Jack Bauer to London. The show's executive producers, including star Kiefer Sutherland, would also produce the movie if it's made.One thing standing in the way of 24: The Movie is ... Read More >Other Links From TVGuide.com 24Kiefer SutherlandBilly Ray

• Movie News - Stretch Armstrong Casts Taylor Lautner in Title Role

  6 Feb 2010 | 8:47 am

  Taylor Lautner is about to stretch his acting muscles. The Twilight star has been cast in the title role of the upcoming action film Stretch Armstrong, Variety reports. The film will be shot in... Read More >Other Links From TVGuide.com Taylor LautnerTwilight

• Movie News - Spider-Man Reboot Leaves Raimi, Maguire and Dunst Behind

  11 Jan 2010 | 5:00 pm

  Spider-Man is about to face his biggest obstacle yet: high school. The film franchise is getting a reboot to focus on Peter Parker's teenage years, Columbia Pictures and Marvel Pictures announced Monday. The as-yet-untitled film — written by James Vanderbilt, who wrote the screenplay to 2007's serial-killer drama Zodiac — is tentatively set for a summer 201... Read More >Other Links From TVGuide.com Spider-Man 2Spider-ManKirsten DunstTobey MaguireSam RaimiSpider-Man 3

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  Hollwood.com

• The things they say

  "I was at a party where Steven Spielberg was stood behind me, and his films are what made me want to be an actor, so it was pretty mind-blowing being in the same air space as him." GREY'S ANATOMY star KEVIN MCKIDD was starstruck when he met director STEVEN SPIELBERG for the first time.

• The things they say

  "I never had a Valentine, ever. I've never been on a date or had a boyfriend (during the holiday). I usually sit in my bed with my girlfriends and listen to JONI MITCHELL and eat chocolate we bought each other. I mean, that sounds like a good Valentine's Day to me." Actress EMMA ROBERTS won't be looking for romance on St. Valentine's Day this Sunday (14Feb10).

• Roberts' Kind of Funny hair scare

  Emma Roberts suffered a hair-raising disaster while filming It's Kind Of A Funny Story - the actress' locks were accidentally dyed green for the role.

• Bonham Carter sick of playing 'corset sex symbol'

  Helena Bonham Carter is glad her days as a young British actress are behind her - because she no longer has to play the "corset sex symbol."

• Roberts' 'scary' car crash

  Teenage actress Emma Roberts had to buy her second car just months after passing her driving test - after a "scary" accident wrecked the star's first purchase.

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  Film School Rejects

• Weekly Drinking Game: Get Drunk with Doctor Who

  Kevin Carr

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:58 am

  As we bid a final adieu to David Tennant as the 10th incarnation of the beloved Doctor, we’d like to raise a glass and propose a toast. Please drink with us and enjoy the DVD release of Doctor Who: The Complete Specials while we also welcome Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor. And now, to cover our butts… This game is only for people over the age of 21. Please drink responsibly, and don’t mess with a Time Lord. TAKE A DRINK WHENEVER…. Someone laughs Someone is killed The Doctor takes his glasses off or puts them on A previous episode or a spin-off show is referenced TAKE A DRINK WHEN YOU…

• Christopher Nolan: Now Responsible for Batman and Superman

  Neil Miller

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:47 am

  The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan has been a busy man for a while. He’s pumped out one great movie every year or so since 2005, and is now Hollywood’s hottest commodity. That is to say that he’s Warner Bros.’ biggest hired gun at the moment, as he preps his upcoming tentpole Inception for release. And it would appear as if WB is looking for Nolan to be not just the savior of their Batman franchise, but of their Superman frnachise as well. It makes sense — this report that’s coming in from Deadline Hollywood. It has been alleged that Nolan is being…

• This Week in DVD: February 9th

  Rob Hunter

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:22 am

  Rob Hunter loves movies.  He also loves eating tofu and protecting exiled Chinese revolutionaries from assassination. These two joys come together in the form of cash money payments that he receives every week and immediately uses to buy more DVDs. So join us each week as he takes a look at new DVD releases and gives his highly unqualified opinion as to which titles are worth BUYing, which are better off as RENTals, and which should be AVOIDed at all costs. Click on any of the titles below to magically head over to Amazon.com and pick up the DVD.  And don’t forget to check out Neil…

• Culture Warrior: On Hollywood and Cheating

  Landon Palmer

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:01 am

  Editor’s Note: The following article features possible spoilers on Dear John, 2012, Amelia, and The Lovely Bones. You’ve been warned. I typically save the boiling points for Robert Fure, aiming instead to frame my column as an observation of media rather than a critique, analyzing trends and their meaning in the context of film and television as an intersecting object of commerce and art. But there is something that has been getting under my skin in some films released in the past several months, and it’s the way that Hollywood deals with the subject infidelity. Repeatedly in…

• Terminator Rights Sell to Evil Corporate Overlords; SkyNet Plans Revenge

  Neil Miller

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:52 am

  The rights to the Terminator franchise have been sold. And it happened with the least amount of fanfare possible. Aside from rumors that the head of Sony Pictures stormed out of yesterday’s auction, it was a relatively bland affair. According to reports, two major studios — Lionsgate and Sony Pictures — were in the running all the way to the end, but bailed just in time to let Santa Barbara-based hedge fund Pacificor win the final prize. The funny part about all of this is that it was Pacificor that was the debtholder responsible for the bankruptcy of the Halcyon Company,…

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  Variety.com

• Probst stays with 'Survivor'

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:11 am

  TV News: CBS keeps reality TV host through May 2011 -- Jeff Probst will remain host and exec producer of "Survivor" through May 2011.

• Ratings: Super surge for CBS

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:22 am

  TV News: Comedy combo of 'Men,' 'Bang' soar in ratings -- One day after hefty promotion during the Super Bowl, the CBS comedy combo of "Two and a Half Men" and "The Big Bang Theory" soared, with the latter hitting another series high. Also on the upswing Monday was ABC's reality veteran "The Bachelor," which hit a season high for the fifth straight week.

• BSkyB boss to speak at Mip TV

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:41 am

  International News: Chris Albrecht, Ben Silverman also on lineup -- Jeremy Darroch, chief exec of U.K. satcaster BSkyB, will deliver a keynote address at Cannes mart Mip TV on April 14.

• 'Burma VJ' wins Mumbai prize

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:11 am

  Asia: 'August 17' nabs Golden Conch for docu -- Anders Ostergaard's "Burma VJ -- Reporting from a Closed Country" won best film at the 11th Mumbai Film Festival of Documentary, Animation and Short Films, which wrapped Tuesday.

• San Sebastian to honor Don Siegel

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:48 am

  Europe: Festival prepares complete retrospective -- Action pic maestro Don Siegel will be honored with a retrospective at this September's 58th San Sebastian Film Festival.

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  Film.com Movie Reviews

• Review: From Paris with Love a Satisfying Escape

  5 Feb 2010 | 8:56 am

  "Eminently watchable." If you like a violent, silly, frenetic style of film you'll find plenty to enjoy here. There are a few glaring flaws, which we'll get to, but overall this is satisfying escapism. You could do much worse -- heck, I'm betting you have. Travolta is always at his best when he's playing oddball characters, and From Paris with Love is no exception.Jonathan Rhys Meyers is the assistant to the United States Ambassador to France, but he's handling the occasional…

• Review: Dear John, I'm Dumping Your Movie

  5 Feb 2010 | 6:30 am

  "It's like a bad soap opera." Watching the Dear John trailer, with different Nicholas Sparks fans at different times, I heard the same warning when his name flashed on the screen: "You know something bad will happen." Sparks, whose book the film is based on, is known for epic, bittersweet romances like The Notebook and Nights in Rodanthe.The first half hour or so of Dear John, directed by Chocolat's Lasse Hallstrom is as lovely and intoxicating as the trailer. It's set against…

• Review: Edge of Darkness a Bit Silly

  29 Jan 2010 | 8:18 am

  "Gibson tries his hardest to deliver here with a story full of plot holes and bland baddies." Mel Gibson's acting return in a cop role is a big-action hit but suspense-thriller miss as the BAFTA Award-winning BBC miniseries of the same name gets a cinematic makeover. In our book, a decent thriller should have three crucial elements: intrigue, suspense, plus a little heart-stopping, gasp-inducing action, as ugly events elevate into a crescendo. Thanks to director Martin Campbell…

• Review: When in Rome Worth Skipping

  29 Jan 2010 | 7:12 am

  "An appalling collection of unfunny." I counted how many times I laughed during When in Rome, as a service to you, the reader. The answer was seven. Seven times in 90 minutes I said, "Ha!" -- which averages out to around once every 13 minutes. To be fair, that's not in the "worst movie ever" territory; for instance, I only laughed out of hysterical pain during Babel, but it's certainly not equitable to the many dozens of times I laughed during Superbad, Old School, Wedding…

• Review: The Last Station on a Memorable Love Journey

  29 Jan 2010 | 3:55 am

  "A delightful comparison of old and new love, as well as the conflict between idealism and realism ... liberating, stimulating, and bubbling with humor throughout." "Everything that I know, I know only because I love..." wrote Leo Tolstoy in his fictional epic, War and Peace. This poignant quote serves as the topical opener in Michael Hoffman's exquisite-looking new film, The Last Station, about love, but not necessarily about Tolstoy's life, as the filmmakers are keen to…

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  ETonline - Movies

• Melissa Rycroft Woos Bradley Cooper at 'Valentine's Day' Premiere

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:44 am

  Love was in the air at the 'Valentine's Day' premiere, where ET special correspondent Melissa Rycroft got friendly with Bradley Cooper! The newly-wed Melissa couldn't help but tease Bradley about the ET kissing booth, where everybody puckered and pouted for their close-up. How do the stars treat the upcoming holiday? Watch the video to see how Julia Roberts, Taylor Lautner, Emma Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Eric Dane, Jessica Biel and Jessica Alba plan to spend this special day.

• Angelina Jolie Goes on Goodwill Mission

  9 Feb 2010 | 3:41 am

  Angelina Jolie is embarking on another field mission for The UN Refugee Agency. UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic told the Associated Press that the star is spreading her motherly love to the devastated country of Haiti today. Due to security concerns related to the high profile star, no further details were released. After taking in the Super Bowl in Miami with Brad Pitt and son Maddox on Sunday, Jolie traveled to the Dominican Republic to visit hospitalized Haitian earthquake victims, a rep told the AP.

• Sam Worthington Goes From Oz to Lone Star State

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:05 am

  Aussie actor Sam Worthington is getting plenty of screen time. According to Variety, the quickly budding star has signed onto 'Texas Killing Fields,' a murder mystery. Based on a true story, the plot centers on two police officers trying to solve 20 years worth of disappearances and homicides in the industrial wastelands surrounding refineries. This is quite an undertaking because they are investigating up to 60 victims. Sam landed the role of a homicide detective who, working with a detective from New York, embarks on a mission to find the killers. Filming begins in April in Louisiana,…

• Academy’s 2010 Nicholl Screenwriting Competition Underway

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:02 am

  The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is now accepting entries for the 2010 Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition. This year, AMPAS is conducting the entire application online, with no scripts being accepted by e-mail or snail mail. To qualify, an individual may not have earned more than $5,000 from the sale or option of a screenplay or teleplay, or received a fellowship or prize of more than $5,000 that includes a “first look” clause, an option or any other quid pro quo involving the writer’s work.

• 'Dear John' Takes Down 'Avatar' at Box Office

  7 Feb 2010 | 12:00 pm

  After seven straight weeks at No. 1, 'Avatar' fell to No. 2 after being beat out by the low budget romance movie 'Dear John.' Starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried, the romantic drama grossed an astonishing $32.4 million. Click the pics to see what 'Avatar' made over the weekend and what other films topped the box office.

• 
  BV on Movies

• Filmmakers Talk HBO's 'The Blacklist: Volume 3'

  Wilson Morales

  31 Dec 1969 | 4:00 pm

  Filed under: Previews Premiering tonight on HBO is 'The Blacklist: Volume Three,' which profiles some of today's most dynamic African Americans. The film is a collaboration between distinguished portrait photographer and filmmaker Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, who serves as the show's director, and award-winning journalist Elvis Mitchell, who interviews the subjects, which include Oscar-winning actress and TV host Whoopi Goldberg, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter John Legend, United Negro College Fund President Dr. Michael Lomax, actor Hill Harper, fashion model Beverly Johnson, CEO of…

• Forest Whitaker's 'Hurricane Season' Finally Released on DVD

  Wilson Morales

  31 Dec 1969 | 4:00 pm

  Filed under: Previews, TrailersAfter years of being delayed since its 2008 production, Tim Story's 'Hurricane Season,' which stars Oscar winner Forest Whitaker, is finally being released on DVD this week. Written by Robert Eisele, the film also marks rapper Lil' Wayne's film debut and features Taraji P. Henson, Robbie Jones, Bonnie Hunt, Isaiah Washington, Bow Wow, Michael Gaston, Courtney B. Vance and Joshua Byers. Based on a true story and set a year after Hurricane Katrina, Al Collins (Whitaker), a high school basketball coach in Louisiana, assembles a team of players who previously…

• Will & Jada Pinkett Smith: Bad 'Contract' Leads to Legal Threats

  Wilson Morales

  31 Dec 1969 | 4:00 pm

  Filed under: News Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith say they're not to blame for a movie that made absolutely no money. In legal papers filed Feb. 5 in L.A. County Superior Court, the Hollywood power couple claims the guy who financed the movie is threatening to sue them because he believes they "guarThe Human Contract Jadaanteed" a return on an investment to get him on board. According to TMZ, the Smiths claim they "made no such representations."When news first broke out that Jada would be writing and directing her first film called 'The Human Contract,' some saw it as a breakthrough in the…

• Monica Calhoun Stars in Web Soap 'Diary of a Single Mom'

  Wilson Morales

  31 Dec 1969 | 4:00 pm

  Filed under: Previews, TrailersIt's been a while since we've seen actress Monica Calhoun, who first gained prominence in Ice Cube's 'The Players Club' and later 'The Best Man' with Taye Diggs. After a few independent films and some episodic roles on various TV series, she's hasn't been seen on the big screen since starring in 'The Salon' with Vivica A. Fox in 2005. The Philadelphia native may not have taken on any Hollywood roles recently, but she's stayed busy. She's now headlining a Web-based original series called 'Diary of a Single Mom,' which also stars Billy Dee Williams, Richard…

• Rumorville: Beyonce Now Attached To 'A Star Is Born' Remake

  Wilson Morales

  31 Dec 1969 | 4:00 pm

  Filed under: News Is Beyonce that hot in demand? She's either loved or hated by the entertainment world. After celebrating her record six Grammy wins and then nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst actress of 2009, the latest story is that she's attached to act opposite Oscar winner Russell Crowe in yet another remake of 'A Star is Born.' The story is coming from the LA Times blog, who states that Warner Bros. is now looking at the 'Gladiator' star as the lead opposite her. If you've seen the previous versions that came out in 1937, 1954 and 1976, you know that the movie is about an aging,…

• 
  MTV

• EXCLUSIVE: Joseph Kosinski's 'Black Hole' To Begin Script Work Soon, Will Preserve Maximilian, Cygnus And More

  Eric Ditzian

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:00 am

  As "Tron Legacy" director Joseph Kosinski plows forward with post-production work on his 3-D sequel to the 1982 sci-fi classic, he's also keeping his eye on bringing to the big screen a new version of another decades' old sci-fi touchstone: "Black Hole." In an exclusive interview with MTV News, Kosinski gave us insight into the film's central concepts and revealed that Travis Beacham ("Clash of the Titans") will begin work on a script in early 2010. "We've got a really strong idea and concept for the film," Kosinski said early in January. "The title alone has tremendous amount of potential.

• Rachel Weisz Moves Into The 'Dream House' With Daniel Craig And Naomi Watts

  Josh Wigler

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:00 am

  Fresh off her turn in Peter Jackson's "The Lovely Bones," actress Rachel Weisz is sticking close to a murder plot in "Dream House." According to Variety, Weisz has signed on to star in "Dream House," a new thriller directed by "Brothers" filmmaker Jim Sheridan. Weisz will star alongside the previously cast Daniel Craig and Naomi Watts. The Morgan Creek production comes from a script by David Loucka and will be distributed by Universal Pictures. In "Dream House," Craig and Weisz are a married couple that move with their two daughters to a quiet New England town after Craig's character quits…

• 'Valentine's Day' Star Ashton Kutcher Offers Some Tips For Your Romantic Weekend Plans

  Jocelyn Vena

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:30 am

  FROM MTV.COM: In the "Valentine's Day" trailers, Ashton Kutcher pops the question pretty early in the day to his onscreen love, Jessica Alba. And, in real life, he goes by a similar Valentine's Day mantra: You should always kick off the romance of the day ASAP. "I'm generally a morning person myself," he told MTV News while promoting "Valentine's Day," opening Friday. "I actually think that Valentine's Day must start first thing in the morning. I really, really do believe the only way you're really going to catch somebody off-guard on Valentine's Day is when they're waking up." Continue…

• 'Terminator' Franchise Sold, Sony And Lionsgate Lose Out To... A Hedge Fund?

  Adam Rosenberg

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am

  For the past several months, we've been following a developing story around the "Terminator" franchise. Despite the solid box office performance of 2009's "Terminator Salvation," license-holder Halcyon Holding Corp. was forced to file for bankruptcy in the latter half of last year. The killer robot franchise has been up on the auction block for awhile, with studio frontrunners Lionsgate and Sony leading the charge. We knew as of last week that the auction was scheduled for yesterday, and that the winner would become the new owner of all things "Terminator" moving forward: movies, TV, games,…

• Steven Soderbergh Enlists An All-Star Cast For 'Contagion'

  Josh Wigler

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:31 am

  Steven Soderbergh is a Terminator. No, that's not some tricky wordplay stating that he's directing the next "Terminator" films or anything — he's not. I'm simply hypothesizing that Soderbergh is a machine from the future sent back through time to protect us all with crazy amounts of film work. Honestly, the director goes from project to project so quickly that it's almost as second nature as breathing for the guy. So it's not much of a surprise, though still wild to hear, that he'll follow up his currently shooting ensemble action flick "Knockout" with yet another ensemble thriller,…

• 
  NPR

• 'Avatar' Success Prods Theaters On 3-D Tech

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:00 pm

  The box-office success of Avatar is making movie theaters consider upgrading to 3-D projection systems. Cleveland Cinemas is one chain that has converted some screens to the format. Jon Forman, president of Cleveland Cinemas, talks about converting to 3-D digital. » E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• Thanks To Hulu, Indie Film 'Strictly Sexual' Hits Big

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:24 am

  Hulu's most-watched movie is not, as the title might suggest, just about sex. Strictly Sexual, despite never making it to the big screen, has made more than 10 times its cost because of its success on Hulu. This could mean the Internet is a good place for independent filmmakers to thrive.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• 1962: The Year Oscar Really Needed 10 Nominees

  5 Feb 2010 | 3:20 pm

  This year Hollywood nominated 10 films for Best Picture instead of the usual five, leaving some movie buffs feeling nostalgic for years that honestly could have used more Best Picture slots. Critic Bob Mondello points to one year in particular that had more than its share of potential contenders.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• Capturing England's Wild 'Red Riding' On Film

  5 Feb 2010 | 1:20 pm

  In the complicated, often gory films of The Red Riding Trilogy, a serial killer and a rogue police force are both terrorizing a disillusioned Yorkshire town. Pat Dowell speaks with a director, the screenwriter and the novelist behind a startling cinematic epic — one based on a story that's entirely too true.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• 'Love' American Style: In Paris, Travolta Takes Names

  5 Feb 2010 | 9:40 am

  Luc Besson's latest action fantasy, From Paris With Love, stars John Travolta as an FBI agent and Jonathan Rhys Myers as a diplomat trying to stop a terrorist attack in Paris. The story moves at warp speed — and it doesn't skimp on thrills.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• 
  AOL

• Whatever Works

  AOL LLC

  Rating: PG-13

• Adios Amigos

  AOL LLC

  Rating: NA

• 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure

  AOL LLC

  Rating: G

• Foolish

  AOL LLC

  Rating: R

• Incident at Channel Q

  AOL LLC

  Rating: R

• 
  IMDb News

• Carradine's Ex Sentenced For Perjury

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:31 pm

• Sidibe's Mum A Busker

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:31 pm

• Barrymore Bumped In Beverly Hills

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:31 pm

• Duff Named Best Actress At Evening Standard British Film Awards

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:31 pm

• Miller's Embarrassing Wardrobe Malfunction

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:31 pm

• 
  MSN

• Frozen

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:41 am

  Director Adam Green (Hatchet, Spiral) takes the helm for this relentlessly tense tale of three snowboarders who must fight for their lives in the freezing cold after getting stranded on a ski lift. As the trio rides up the mountain in preparation for their final run of the day, the night lights suddenly go dark, and the lift chairs grind to a sudden halt. Realizing that the resort will be closed until the following weekend, the three friends decide to take their fate into their own hands, and find their way... [more]

• A Prairie Home Companion Encore With Garrison Keillor

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:41 am

  NCM Fathom, Prairie Home Productions, American Public Media, and BY Experience present an ENCORE screening of "A Prairie Home Companion With Garrison Keillor Live" in HD on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010. This show will be recorded live the previous week out of the Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota, and be rebroadcast to select movie theatres across the country for a special one night ENCORE showing. For more than 35 years, legions of fans have tuned in to Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion": to be... [more]

• Dear John

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:41 am

  Director Lasse Hallström and screenwriter Jamie Linden collaborate to adapt author Nicholas Sparks' novel about a young soldier who falls for an idealistic college girl. Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried) was on spring break when she first met John Tyree (Channing Tatum), who was home on temporary leave. For the smitten soldier it was practically love at first sight. Over the course of the next seven years, when each deployment seemed more treacherous than the last, the love letters that Savannah sent to John... [more]

• To Save a Life

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:41 am

  Advertised by its distributor as a successor to such theatrically released religious dramas as Facing the Giants (2006) and Fireproof (2008) -- though it came from a completely different production team -- this inspirational saga recounts the story of Jake Taylor (Randy Wayne), a well-rounded, Middle American teen who seems to have everything going for him, his world in perfect balance. But when an unexpected tragedy strikes in the form of a childhood friend's death, Jake suddenly begins to question everything... [more]

• From Paris With Love

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:41 am

  This action film, directed by Pierre Morel (Taken), concerns young CIA agent James Reece Jonathan Rhys Meyers who has a cushy day job, but dreams of an exciting life in the field. When the Agency offers him his first big-time assignment, James must team with crazed lone-wolf Charlie Wax John Travolta to stop a terrorist bombing plot. Although James is initially in way over his head, he soon realizes that he needs to trust Charlie if he wants to live his dream and save his own life, becuase the bad guys not... [more]

• 
  Coming Soon

• Tim Robbins Joins Green Lantern Cast

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  Tim Robbins has joined the cast of director Martin Campbell's Green Lantern at Warner Bros. Pictures, reports Heat Vision . Robbins will play Senator Hammond, the disapproving father of the movie's villain, Dr. Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard), who becomes infused with psychic powers. Ryan Reynolds stars as Green Lantern, with Blake Lively as the hero's love interest, Carol Ferris. Filming is set to star in March in New Orleans. The studio is planning a June 17, 2011 release.

• Interview: Rick Baker Opens Up About The Wolfman

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  Rick Baker and the Wolfman. The pairing of the two is sweet like peanut butter and chocolate, and when we broke the scoop about his involvement back in 2007, An American Werewolf in London fans rejoiced. It's the first time, in a long time, Baker gave us a lycanthrope. We almost got to see one of his beasties run rampant had Dimension Films and Wes Craven stuck with their initial vision of Cursed in 2005 (KNB EFX later took over creature duties when Baker's designs were scrapped). Before that, he took the minimalist approach in bringing out the animal in Jack Nicholson in Wolf . With The…

• Rachel Weisz Joins Dream House

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  Rachel Weisz will star alongside Daniel Craig and Naomi Watts in Universal Pictures' Dream House . The Morgan Creek production is being directed by Jim Sheridan and was written by David Loucka. Filming began Sunday in Toronto. The film is about a family that relocates into what appears to be the ideal residence in small town Connecticut. However, the father (Craig) and his family are disturbed to discover that their beautiful new home was the site of another family's slaughter, believed to be at the hands of the husband who survived. Weisz will play the wife and Watts is the family's…

• New French Trailer for Percy Jackson

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  Allocine has posted this new French trailer for Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief which shows more footage from the big screen adaptation, opening in theaters on February 12th. Directed by Chris Columbus (first two "Harry Potter" films), the fantasy-adventure stars Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Steve Coogan, Rosario Dawson, Catherine Keener, Kevin McKidd, Joe Pantoliano, Uma Thurman and Ray Winstone.

• The Valentine's Day Loveline

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  At the press conference for Warner Bros.' new romantic comedy Valentine's Day , some people who attended wanted to know more than just about the movie - they needed serious relationship advice and thought they'd ask the panel of celebrities, who were in Beverly Hills promoting their new film, for help in their love lives. Julia Roberts, who is one of the many A-listers in the ensemble cast, gave it to them and the pretty woman didn't hold back! Q: My boyfriend says I'm a bad planner so how can I get him to make me happy on "Valentine's Day"? Julia Roberts: Wow, wow. This is, yeah. Can we at…

• 
  Reel Movie News

• James Cameron Has a Plan for Avatar Sequels

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:08 pm

   Now that Avatar is officially the biggest movie ever made, having grossed over $2.2 Billion dollars worldwide, everyone wants to know when there's going to be a sequel, and what that sequel might be. Comingsoon.net spoke to James Cameron about the possibility of more Avatar movies while on the red carpet for this year's Santa Barbara International Film Festival as the filmmaker was due to receive the Lucky Brand Modern Master Award. Asked whether he had a direction for sequels for Avatar when he was writing the script 15 years ago, Cameron said: "No, but a lot of ideas for the sequels…

• Bill Murray Backs Up Sigourney Weaver's Ghostbusters 3 Spoilers

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:45 pm

  Actor Bill Murry recently confirmed some of Sigourney Weaver's Ghostbusters 3 spoilers in a new interview with Mail Online. Warning! There are spoilers below! In a December interview for Channel 4, Sigourney Weaver stated: "I know that my little son, Oscar – who was kidnapped from me – I think he has grown up to be a ghostbuster," adding, "I might be in it and I see nothing wrong with being in it, although I don't think I will have a big part in it. I think Bill Murray has a little more to do with it - he might be a ghost." To which Murray responded in his Mail Online interview:…

• Avatar Gets Taken Out by Dear John

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:26 pm

  We knew it couldn't last forever. Avatar was finally knocked from its coveted #1 spot atop the box office charts, surprisingly, by the war-centric romantic drama Dear John. Dear John took the top spot this weekend with $32.4 million, dashing hopes that Avatar would remain at #1 for eight consecutive weekends. Dear John, which is based on the popular Nicholas Sparks novel, far exceeded Screen Gems' expectations, which were set at around $20 million. The picture cost $25 million to produce. Cameron's opus still fared well, bringing in $23.6 million, breaking the record for money earned in a…

• Disney Reveals Tim Burton's Red Queen Sketch

  6 Feb 2010 | 12:35 am

  Tim Burton will be bringing Alice in Wonderland to the silver screen again, this time in an ultra-trippy 3-D presentation, on March 5th, 2010. Disney has been hitting the promotional trail hard for this one, and from the look of all the posters and trailers, it is very much a Tim Burton film, incorporating classic elements of his characteristic visual style. This is very evident of just how close Helena Bonham Carter's Red Queen resembles Burton's original character sketch, which you can see below! Click on the thumbnail to view a larger version, and compare the sketch to posters and stills…

• Rusell Crowe is His Father's Son in the Robin Hood Super Bowl TV Spot

  6 Feb 2010 | 12:21 am

  Ridley Scott's newest film, Robin Hood, an epic retelling of the classic story of the bandit who robbed from the rich to give to the poor, hits theater screens on May 14th, 2010. Scott's new vision for the film resembles the gritty, blue-tinted look of his previous Crusade-era effort Kingdom of Heaven, or the first 10 minutes of Gladiator. So what's new about this interpretation of Sherwood Forrest? Well, for one, it looks like Scott's Robin Hood likes to talk in riddles. Two of the lines in this new television spot are easily some contenders for my "Most Ridiculous Movie Lines of 2010" list,…

• 
  DVD Spin Doctor

• The final days: StudioCanal on Criterion

  Glenn Abel

  3 Feb 2010 | 10:30 am

  The bad news, in case you missed it, is that StudioCanal video titles are no longer part of the Criterion Collection. The good news comes in the form of a firesale of those classic Euro titles on the Criterion site.... Please read the full post at dvdspindoctor.com

• Blu-ray review: Soderbergh's 'Che'

  Glenn Abel

  22 Jan 2010 | 7:25 pm

  In total, "Che" runs 4.5 hours. Too much for most moviegoers, but not for director Steven Soderbergh. He regrets not extending his guerrilla warfare chronicle to 10 hours -- "the miniseries route." In fact, Soderbergh regrets the whole thing. "I... Please read the full post at dvdspindoctor.com

• 'The African Queen' finally on DVD, Blu-ray

  Glenn Abel

  11 Jan 2010 | 4:27 pm

  "The African Queen's" long journey finally includes a stop on DVD and Blu-ray. Paramount confirmed that the Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn starrer is set for release March 23. More than an hour of extra features are promised. "The African Queen"... Please read the full post at dvdspindoctor.com

• Top 10 DVDs, Blu-rays of 2009

  Glenn Abel

  31 Dec 2009 | 2:51 am

  Here, in no particular order, are this DVD blog's favorite discs of 2009. There were few notable box sets in this year of cutbacks, but plenty of impressive Blu-ray debuts. (The Criterion Collection's entry into high definition certainly brought a... Please read the full post at dvdspindoctor.com

• Blu Christmas: 5 holiday videos in HD

  Glenn Abel

  20 Dec 2009 | 4:13 am

  Miracle on 34th Street : Incredibly, some folks are unhappy that the Blu-ray debut of the 1947 classic didn't make room for a colorized version. Fox's original packaging promised the latest and greatest faux color, but it didn't happen. A... Please read the full post at dvdspindoctor.com

• 
  notcoming.com | Recent Updates

• No Blade of Grass

  Cullen Gallagher

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:02 am

  “No blade of grass grows, and birds sing no more; no joy or laughter where waves wash the shore; gone are all the answers, lost is all we have won; gone is the hope that life will go on.” As the movie progresses, that last line of the first verse proves to be unsettlingly prophetic. No Blade of Grass is less about preserving humanity in the face of annihilation than it is about the characters’ bitter realization that their world may be irreversibly changed.

• 92YTribeca Film Series: Not Coming to a Theater Near You

  Leo Goldsmith

  3 Feb 2010 | 7:11 pm

  On January 16th, we’re hosting a screening of Peter Greenaway’s The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover. More information is available below, and at 92YTribeca.org “Looks like catfood for constipated French rabbits!” Peter Greenaway’s hearty, lurid helping of Jacobean nastiness stuffs the eye (and all the other senses) with enough sex, gastronomy and haute couture for a half-dozen films. With subtlety thrown violently to the wind, the film is beautiful, demanding and appalling in equally meticulous measure, an overstuffed canvas with music by Michael Nyman,…

• I Fidanzati

  Ben Ewing

  2 Feb 2010 | 7:47 am

  First the glimmering white and black images of Ermanno Olmi’s I Fidanzati light up the screen and warm your heart. Then they abruptly flicker out—like imagined fleeting glances of a love affair you can’t forget but couldn’t hold onto. In seventy-some minutes, I Fidanzati teaches – no, simply lets you learn – about distance, time and the uncontrollable, bittersweet ways in which romances wax and wane.

• The Working Class Goes To Heaven

  Ian Johnston

  1 Feb 2010 | 4:51 pm

  Elio Petri is pretty much a forgotten figure nowadays but in his day made enough of an impact to share a Grand Prix at Cannes for this and to win an Academy Award for his earlier Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion. Like that, Working Class stars Gian Maria Volonté, who gives here the ultimate portrayal of Alienated Labour in a full-blooded performance that’s still subtle enough to show clearly how Volonté’s character, factory pieceworker Lulù Massa, is barely conscious of the degree of exploitation he’s suffering, even when the loss of a finger…

• Taken

  Cullen Gallagher

  1 Feb 2010 | 7:13 am

  While the xenophobic anxiety of Americans abroad isn’t a new subject (even Alfred Hitchcock approached the topic in his 1956 remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much), it’s difficult to watch certain scenes in Taken without thinking of contemporary parallels. It is moments like these in which the politics of action heroism reveal their hidden complexity. With the line between “good guy” and “bad guy” blurred, we allow the action hero to cross certain moral boundaries that would otherwise be prohibited.

• 
  MovieSet Behind the Scenes blog

• As Seen on Twitter on 2010-02-09

  grip

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:45 am

  Natasha Calis & Quinn Lord – Child’s play on ‘Daydream Nation’ http://ow.ly/15h36 # Kat Dennings' first video blog http://ow.ly/15gsR # Daydream Nation actors we're following… @OfficialKat @landonliboiron_ @connor_stanhope @andiemacdowell @CalumWorthy # Tweet This! Share this on Facebook Post this to MySpace Digg this! Share this on del.icio.us Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Linkedin Email this to a friend? Subscribe to the comments for this post?

• Child’s play on ‘Daydream Nation’

  Michelle

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:17 pm

  Want to know the thing that most child actors become nervous over on set? A kiss of course—it’s serious business! Natasha Calis (Lily) and Quinn Lord (Thomas) are playing hide-n-seek in the damp, dark woods as their romance begins to blossom… Clip description: Natasha Calis (Lily) and Quinn Lord (Thomas) on the set of Daydream Nation More Getting a grip on Daydream Nation Kat Dennings gives props to the Daydream Nation crew Josh Lucas has a dark side in Daydream Nation Kat Dennings – New photos from the Daydream Nation set Daydream Nation’s Key Production Assistant gives…

• ‘Pandorum’ Winners Announced!

  Blaine Jeffery

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:14 pm

  You Shared The Terror and WON! Well, you guys are officially part of the ’sick and twisted’ film club! There were so many wickedly, horrid, entries I had to employ the entire office to debate and finally pick our winners. Thanks to everyone who took the time to enter and even if you don’t see your name on this list keep an eye out for more opportunities to win cool prizes. Here’s who won: Martin Joanne Jim Toni Peter Sean Jacob Ariel Edith Jason Check out the Pandorum trailer and thanks to everyone who entered: Synopsis: In Pandorum, actors, Dennis Quaid (Vantage…

• Michael Myers has claimed four more winners/victims!

  Blaine Jeffery

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:39 pm

  Congrats to our Halloween Winners! It’s fun coming up with creative contest challenges, but man is it hard to pick winners especially with so many awesome entries! Now some winning songs were submitted by multiple people so I did a random draw to identify which of the contestants would take home the prizes.  Here are the four winners with the killer luck! Ronald: Superbeast Anthony: Demonoid Phenomenon Martin: Murder World Jacob: Perversion 99 Thanks to everyone who entered and remember that MovieSet has got more cool contests coming up so keep an eye out! Tweet This! Share this on…

• As Seen on Twitter on 2010-02-05

  grip

  5 Feb 2010 | 4:45 am

  A waking dream: On the set of Daydream Nation in B.C. | Kelowna.com: http://bit.ly/aa2DvT via @addthis # Getting a grip on Daydream Nation http://ow.ly/143G1 # Tweet This! Share this on Facebook Post this to MySpace Digg this! Share this on del.icio.us Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Linkedin Email this to a friend? Subscribe to the comments for this post?

• 
  CNN

• Fashion world star joins 'Top Model'

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:00 pm

  It took a while, but after 13 cycles of "America's Next Top Model," Tyra Banks has finally convinced Vogue editor-at-large André Leon Talley to take a seat at the judges' table.

• Jackson doctor charged with manslaughter

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:44 pm

  Dr. Conrad Murray, personal physician to Michael Jackson, has been charged with a single count of involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors said.

• Opinion: Ad not Tebow's fumble

  8 Feb 2010 | 1:41 pm

  There is no rule anywhere in existence that says that the Super Bowl should be free of politics and social causes. None. So what's the big deal over Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and his mother starring in a pro-life ad?

• Ten rocking music biopics

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:48 am

  Whether they're overcoming odds to reach stardom, battling inner demons or dealing with tragedy, the personal histories of our musical heroes are made for the big screen.

• Producer: The Leno-Oprah ad was Letterman's idea

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:35 am

  EW talked to "The Late Show" executive producer Rob Burnett about David Letterman's surprising decision to include Jay Leno in a promotional spot during the Super Bowl.

• 
  Coffee and Celluloid

• New Breed Park City Video Series

  Joey

  4 Feb 2010 | 4:16 pm

  There’s a very cool video series up by Sabi Pictures with Filmmaker Magazine and Workbook Project. It’s a series incorporating interviews and discussions by a few filmmakers and producers from this past Sundance and poses questions, answers, and solutions  on new ways for filmmakers to distribute and find life for their films. Also, for video series that partly revolves around a table discussion, it’s beautifully shot. NEW BREED PARK CITY – AN OPEN DISCUSSION from Sabi Pictures on Vimeo. NEW BREED PARK CITY – Discovering the Questions from Sabi Pictures on Vimeo. NEW…

• Bots High Teaser Trailer

  Joey

  6 Dec 2009 | 10:47 am

  Check out the teaser trailer for Bots High! Follow the action over at the site.

• How to Operate Your DSLR via Your iPhone for $4

  Joey

  8 Oct 2009 | 5:38 am

  Want to control your digital SLR camera from your iPhone (or Touch)? When I was taking pictures of grilled cheese sandwiches, there was a bit of downtime between the grillin’, so I figured out how to work this totally awesome magic, all for less than $4. (While writing this and researching links, I realized OnOne has their own dedicated tethered shooting app. However, their app is $20 while the one I describe below is only $4. And before you say there’s a $2 Lite version, you can do so much more with Keymote) Here’s what you’ll need: Digital camera1 Laptop or computer…

• RED: The Ultimate Guide Interview with Author Noah Kadner

  Joey

  7 Oct 2009 | 5:22 am

  Despite how long the RED camera has been out, RED: The Ultimate Guide to Using the Revolutionary Camera is one of the first books to tackle all the details of the camera. The author of the book, Noah Kadner, was cool enough to answer a few questions on his new book and the RED camera and future of film in general. He brings up a good point that while we can all get up in the technical aspects of moviemaking, it ultimately comes down to a great story. Enjoy! If I get your book and know nothing about the RED camera, what level of expertise would I be at after reading it? If you read the book…

• Putting Lipstick on a Pig (Color Timing)

  Joey

  6 Oct 2009 | 5:47 am

  Remember UnderCover, that pig movie I was producing? The one where I said I would give you a play-by-play into the process of making but kind of slacked off a bit. Yeah, that one. Well, it’s officially done. And it’s really funny. This post is a little long and rambling, so I divided it into an explanation of what color timing is, the actual experience, and whether or not hiring a colorist and timing at a professional lab is worth it. Why Color Time The final step in the process of finishing your movie is to get it color timed. I had moved back to Miami while the film was still…

• 
  FirstShowing.net

• Rumor: Penélope Cruz Cast in Lars von Trier's Melancholia?

  Alex Billington

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:26 am

  It looks like the lovely Penélope Cruz wants a bit of time in the controversial von Trier spotlight after seeing Charlotte Gainsbourg steal her thunder in Cannes last year (Gainsbourg won the Best Actress award, Cruz did not). I just received a news tip from a Swiss reader who runs the site Cineman.ch. He was informing me that, somewhere in Germany, it was just announced that German director Lars von Trier cast Penélope Cruz is his next upcoming film called Melancholia. On their website, though, I can't find any sourcing details at all. While I do trust them, I need confirmation before I…

• Rock Band Phoenix Scoring Sofia Coppola's Film Somewhere

  Alex Billington

  9 Feb 2010 | 1:53 am

  I'm actually starting to like this new Hollywood trend to have rock bands or music groups score big movies. Sure, it's not new, but it's really starting to pick up again and there are some great collaborations coming up (like Daft Punk scoring Tron Legacy or Mastodon scoring Jonah Hex). In the same vein, SlashFilm found a story on Prefix Mag yesterday reporting that French rock band Phoenix (famous for the song "1901") will be writing and recording the soundtrack for Sofia Coppola's new film Somewhere starring Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning. Sounds like another awesome collaboration between…

• Lionsgate's Saw Series Finally Ending at Saw VII This Year?

  Alex Billington

  9 Feb 2010 | 1:31 am

  Now this is an interesting update, mainly because the quotes are a bit old, but it's big news we missed. I'm a fan of the Saw series and still attend the midnight of every new one every year, but I admit that its run out of steam, and at this point I'm pretty much done with it. But as always, Lionsgate presses on, and Saw VII is in the works as we speak. When will it ever end? Latino Review published a transcript from an interview conducted on 107.5 Demon FM in the UK (listen here) with Saw VII writer Patrick Melton. It's a couple months old, but he says some interesting stuff about where…

• Casting Tidbits: Rachel Weisz, Cate Blanchett, Amber Tamblyn

  Ethan Anderton

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:47 am

  That's a Casting Tidbits bingo! First, Deadline Hollywood is reporting that Cate Blanchett will join the recently cast Eric Bana in Hanna, the Saoirse Ronan driven film from Joe Wright which tells the story of a 14-year-old Eastern European girl saved from a CIA breeding camp and raised to be a cold-blooded killing machine. After finding peace with a French family, the girl is dragged back to her father's world, and she must fight her way to a free life. No word on exactly what character Blanchett will be playing, but I imagine she will be the mother of the French family Hanna makes her life…

• The Cove's Mark Monroe to Make Formula One Documentary

  Ethan Anderton

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:30 am

  One of the most daring and revealing documentaries of last year is also one of the most talked about. The Cove is an eye-opening look into the dolphin slaughtering in a secret cove off the coast of Japan which has gone from its Audience Award winning premiere at Sundance last year to an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary. Now Variety says the film's writer, Mark Monroe is teaming up with Paul Crowder (who has edited docs like Riding Giants, and co-directed Amazing Journey: The Story of the Who) to make a documentary on the world's fast paced and most expensive sport Formula One…

• 
  /Film

• Penelope Cruz to Lead Lars von Trier’s Melancholia

  orfilms@gmail.com (slashfilm.com)

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:23 am

  In October of last year Lars von Trier revealed his next movie, Melancholia, a ‘psychological disaster film’ with sci-fi overtones. In true von Trier fashion he revealed little else about the movie, promising only “no more happy endings!” If you’ve seen Antichrist, or any of his other films, you know that a von Trier happy ending might just mean that one character suffers a bit less than the others. Now it seems that Penelope Cruz will be doing the suffering in Melancholia. Hey, suffering won Charlotte Gainsbourg a best actress nod at Cannes last year, so why…

• Steven Soderbergh Puts off Liberace in Favor of Contagion, a Viral Outbreak Thriller

  orfilms@gmail.com (slashfilm.com)

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:03 am

  Steven Soderbergh is putting off his Liberace biopic in favor of something with a little more heat and conventional appeal. Instead of Liberace, this fall Soderbergh will now shoot a script called Contagion by his The Informant! writer Scott Z. Burns. Said to be “an action-thriller about the outbreak of a deadly virus,” the script reportedly is constructed in a style much like that of Traffic. So expect several narrative strands that run parallel, with some of them finally (possibly) intertwining in some measure. Why the reason for the sudden change-up? First, Burns’ script…

• Christopher Nolan Overseeing Superman for Warner Bros.; Batman 3 Moving Forward

  orfilms@gmail.com (slashfilm.com)

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:40 am

  I’m sure quite a few people have called for something like this in discussions about what Warner Bros. should do to make Superman work on the big screen: the studio is reportedly turning to Christopher Nolan to act as a “godfather” to help shepherd development of a new Superman film. Before we go further, at this point Nolan is not writing, and is not directing. Rather, Nolan would play more of a mentor’s role to help the film get moving. In other words, WB wants him to communicate some of the methods he used to reinvent Batman on film to help Superman get off the…

• This Week in DVD & Blu-ray: A Serious Man, Couples Retreat, Bronson, and More

  orfilms@gmail.com (slashfilm.com)

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am

  This Week in DVD & Blu-ray is a column that compiles all the latest info regarding new DVD and Blu-ray releases, sales, and exclusive deals from stores including Target, Best Buy and Fry’s. A SERIOUS MAN Some films rely on your willingness to invest a great deal of time and energy to analyze their themes and explore what they’re trying to say in order to appreciate them. Better films allow you the privilege of having no idea what the point is without detracting from the overall enjoyment of the experience. A Serious Man is the latter. Between the thematic mirroring of the…

• Will Saw VII Be the Final Installment of the Saw Franchise?

  orfilms@gmail.com (slashfilm.com)

  9 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

  Could Saw VII be the final installment of the popular horror movie franchise? Screenwriter Patrick Melton, who co-wrote the last three Saw films and the upcoming seventh movie, claims the the series will probably end with the seventh installment, and they have even planned to wrap up the lingering questions. The following quote comes from Melton on UK radio station 107.5 Demon FM as transcribed by LatinoReview: “I think it’s going to end with Saw VII. I have a very strong feeling its going to end with Saw VII. That’s something we’re debating now. You saw in previous…

• 
  IGN Movies

• Millar's Secret Superhero Project

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:01 am

  Comic book visionary Mark Millar discusses his directorial debut, a low-budget superhero flick set in Scotland and starring a cast of unknowns.

• Presented By:

  9 Feb 2010 | 3:55 am

• 24 Movie Closer to Reality?

  9 Feb 2010 | 3:55 am

  The long-gestating big screen version of 24 could be closer to reality, with studio Fox hiring a writer to pen a movie adaptation.

• Mark Millar Exclusive

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:40 am

  New superhero movie will be set in Scotland.

• Kick-Ass International Trailer

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  Check out Hit-Girl, Big Daddy and Kick-Ass in action in Matthew Vaughn's violent adaptation of the bestselling comic series.

• 
  Bollywood Mantra

• Aasheekaa - Bollywood Actresses Pictures

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:23 am

• Subarrami Reddy Anniversary Bash - Bollywood Parties Pictures

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:11 am

• Araish Event - Bollywood Miscellaneous Pictures

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:56 am

• Striker Success Bash - Bollywood Parties Pictures

  9 Feb 2010 | 1:42 am

• Indo-Pak Aman Ki Asha Event - Bollywood Miscellaneous Pictures

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:07 am

• 
  Bollywood Buzz

• Photo Shoots: Sunny Deol for Fitline Gym (February 2010)

  Ravi

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:27 am

  Photo Shoots: Sunny Deol for Fitline Gym (February 2010) is a post from: Bollywood Buzz Related posts:Photo Shoots: Abhay Deol for Andpersand Magazine (February 2010) Photo Shoots: Nandana Sen for FHM Magazine (February 2010) Photo Shoots: Gul Panag for Prevention Magazine (February 2010) Photo Shoots: Soha Ali Khan for Hello! Magazine (February 2010) Photo Shoots: Anushka Sharma for Femina Magazine (February 2010) Photo Shoots: Deepika Padukone for Maxim Magazine (February 2010)

• Video: Shah Rukh Khan on Jonathan Ross Show

  Ravi

  8 Feb 2010 | 1:01 pm

  Jonathan Ross Video: Shah Rukh Khan on Jonathan Ross Show is a post from: Bollywood Buzz Related posts:Video: Shah Rukh Khan & Kajol on Aseem Chhabra Show Video: Shah Rukh Khan On Farah Khan’s TV Show (Tere Mere Beach Mein) Snapshots: Lara Dutta@Jonathan Atherton’s Comedy Show Video: Jon Stewart of The Daily Show talks about Shah Rukh Khan’s detention in USA Video: Shah Rukh Khan In Airtel Ad (October 2009) Video: 25 Things Not To Ask Shah Rukh Khan

• Photo Shoots: Abhay Deol for Andpersand Magazine (February 2010)

  Ravi

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:53 pm

  Photo Shoots: Abhay Deol for Andpersand Magazine (February 2010) is a post from: Bollywood Buzz Related posts:Photo Shoots: Abhay Deol for People magazine (June 2009) Photo Shoots: Sunny Deol for Fitline Gym (February 2010) Photo Shoots: Abhay Deol for MW Magazine (December 2009) Photo Shoots: Nandana Sen for FHM Magazine (February 2010) Photo Shoots: Gul Panag for Prevention Magazine (February 2010) Photo Shoots: Soha Ali Khan for Hello! Magazine (February 2010)

• Photo Shoots: Shah Rukh Khan & Kajol for Filmfare Magazine (February 2010)

  Ravi

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:46 pm

  Photo Shoots: Shah Rukh Khan & Kajol for Filmfare Magazine (February 2010) is a post from: Bollywood Buzz Related posts:Photo Shoots: Shah Rukh Khan for GQ Magazine (February 2010) Photo Shoots: Priyanka Chopra for Filmfare Magazine (February 2010) Photo Shoots: Shah Rukh Khan & Kajol For Vogue Magazine (October 2009) Photo Shoots: Soha Ali Khan for Hello! Magazine (February 2010) Photo Shoots: Salman Khan for People Magazine (February 2010) Photo Shoots: Imran Khan for Filmfare Magazine (January 2010)

• Video: Bipasha Basu launches fitness DVD

  Ravi

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:35 pm

  Bipasha Basu: Love Yourself – Fit & Fabulous You DVD Video: Bipasha Basu launches fitness DVD is a post from: Bollywood Buzz Related posts:Video: Bipasha Basu with MS Dhoni in Reebok ad Bipasha Basu swims in the dark! Snapshots/Video: Bipasha Basu@Durga Puja 2009 Video: The making of Bipasha Basu & MS Dhoni’s Reebok ad Bipasha Basu’s going Hollywood by making love with Billy Zane in Daniel Silverman’s Chimera Bipasha Basu to do a British TV show

• 
  Wise Kwai's Thai Film Journal

• Review: Tai Hong (Die a Violent Death)

  WiseKwai

  7 Feb 2010 | 11:00 pm

  Directed by Chartchai Ketknust, Manus Worrasingha, Tanwarin Sukkhapisit and Poj ArnonStarring Mai Charoenpura, Akara Amarttayakul, Supaksorn Chaimongkol, Sattawat SethakornReleased in Thai cinemas on January 28, 2010; rated 18+Wise Kwai's rating: 4/5There is an exploitive Grindhouse feel to the portmanteau horror Tai Hong (, Die a Violent Death), four short stories that are ripped bleeding from the gruesome front pages of Thailand's mass-market daily newspapers -- the ones that infamously splash gore-filled pictures of motorcycle wrecks on their front pages.The segments deal with a fire in a…

• IFFR 2010 review: Reincarnate

  WiseKwai

  6 Feb 2010 | 3:06 pm

  Directed by Thunska PansittivorakulStarring Panuwat WisessiriWorld premiere at 2010 International Film Festival Rotterdam; reviewed on screener DVDWise Kwai's rating: 5/5I'll never look at an orange the same way again. In fact, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to eat one. Traumatized by citrus fruit is what I am, all thanks to Thunska Pansittivorakul and his new feature, Reincarnate.Oranges actually cause the main character in Reincarnate to become nauseous. He explains his mother always gave them to him, and he never told her they made him ill. It's just one of the many mysteries of…

• IFFR 2010: Mundane History wins Tiger Award

  WiseKwai

  5 Feb 2010 | 1:14 pm

  Anocha Suwichakornpong's Mundane History Jao Nok Krajok) is among the recipients of the VPRO Tiger Awards at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.The jury consists French actress and singer Jeanne Balibar, Polish-Dutch filmmaker Úrszula Antoniak, former director of the Singapore International Film Festival Philip Cheah, Mexican filmmaker and jury chair Amat Escalante and Ugandan actor and activist Okello Kelo Sam. Their statement about Mundane History:Constantly surprising, this film offers philosophical and political dimension of Thai society, while presenting a seemingly mundane…

• IFFR 2010: Anocha's By the Time It Gets Dark gets CineMart funds

  WiseKwai

  4 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am

  Anocha Suwichakornpong's By the Time It Gets Dark was awarded the Prince Claus Fund Film Grant at the close of CineMart 2010 on Wednesday night at the Rotterdam International Film Festival.According to an IFFR press release, the jury chaired by documentary filmmaker Bregtje van der Haak was impressed by the “unconventional episodic storytelling” of Anocha's proposal, which is described as "a highly personal take on contemporary Thailand".The €15,000 award, now in its tenth year, is given to a CineMart project by a filmmaker from Africa, Asia, Latin America or the Caribbean, to support…

• Burma VJ nominated for Oscar

  WiseKwai

  2 Feb 2010 | 9:00 am

  The 82nd Academy Awards nominations have been announced, and Thailand missed out on a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. Yongyoot Thongkongtoon's Best of Times was submitted but didn't make the cut for the shortlist.But Thailand and Southeast Asia are still represented -- in the Best Documentary Feature category with Burma VJ, directed by Anders Østergaard. It's the second consecutive year for a nod by a Southeast Asian documentary. Last year The Betrayal, Laotian filmmaker Thavisouk Phrasavath's story, co-directed with Ellen Kuras, was a longshot to win an Oscar.Chronicling the work…

• 
  The Hollywood Reporter

• MTV orders two extreme-stunt reality series

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:16 am

  Johnny Knoxville is on the executive producing team of "Dudesons in America."

• Oscar's short-film races could surprise

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am

  There are several Oscar races brewing that could result in genuine surprises -- even if those surprises will be fully appreciated only by those aficionados who track the three short-film categories.

• Hasbro Q4 profit ahead of expectations

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:12 am

  Toy giant Hasbro Inc. on Monday reported a fourth-quarter profit that exceeded expectations and said full-year 2009 "Transformers" toy sales amounted to $592 million, up about 21% from the previous "Transformers" movie year in 2007.

• Peter Bogdanovich boards 'Century' film

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:58 am

  Peter Bogdanovich will write and direct an adaptation of Kurt Andersen's 1999 novel "Turn of the Century" for Das Films.

• Anchor Bay nabs 'Solitary Man'

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:33 am

  Anchor Bay Films has acquired all U.S. distribution rights to Millennium Films' "Solitary Man," starring Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Mary-Louise Parker and Danny DeVito.

• 
  Tim Ryan's Reel Hawaii

• TURTLE BAY RESORT STARTS NEW YEAR AS OAHU’S PRODUCTION HUB

  Tim Ryan

  25 Jan 2010 | 8:37 pm

  ABC FINISHES FILMING A “SCRIPTED REALITY ” PRESENTATION ON OAHU It was a busy week at Oahu’s Turtle Bay Resort not only with a nearly full house of guests but several productions including the feature film Soul Surfer, two television commercials by Capital 1, and a photo shoot by REI for its summer catalogue…Actually, [...]

• CARRIE UNDERWOOD SIGNED FOR “SOUL SURFER”

  Tim Ryan

  22 Jan 2010 | 8:31 pm

  BIB BIO PIC ABOUT KAUAI SURFER  BETHANY HAMILTON BEGINS FILMING TUESDAY FEB. 2 As recently reported on Reel Hawaii, singer/actor Carrie Underwood will have a co starring role in Soul Surfer which begins filming Monday on Oahu’s North Shore, production sources confirmed…Underwood will only be filming here three days because she goes on tour March 11…Underwood plays [...]

• MAUI NO KA OE FOR ADAM SANDLER FEATURE & OAHU

  Tim Ryan

  19 Jan 2010 | 3:36 pm

  BULLETIN! BULLETIN! BULLETIN! BULLETIN! BULLETIN! BULLETIN! On the heels of hosting the Clint Eastwood protected feature Hereafter for three days in and around Lahaina, Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions appears committed to film Columbia studio’s romantic comedy Pretend Wife on Maui for for six weeks beginning in mid April… Producers are still looking for a Maui hotel as [...]

• DISNEY TO FILM “PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES” IN HAWAII!

  Tim Ryan

  18 Jan 2010 | 10:21 am

  THE DISNEY PICTURES’ PRODUCTION MAY GENERATE $85 MILLION HERE State agencies/county film offices had two-week deadline from Disney/Bruckheimer to assist in making it happen or lose to an international location Largest production for Kauai since the Ben Stiller comedy Tropic Thunder BULLETIN As mentioned in Reel Hawaii for weeks, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the [...]

• ADAM SANDLER FEATURE FOR MAUI OR OAHU

  Tim Ryan

  17 Jan 2010 | 9:43 am

  ABC REPORTEDLY COMING TO OAHU THIS WEEK TO FILM PILOT Hawaii, one of Adam Sandler’s favorite locations, looks to be the setting for part of Columbia studio’s romantic comedy Pretend Wife. Jennifer Anniston (below) is in talks to play opposite Sandler… Production executives slipped into Maui recently to scout locations with the Valley Isle’s Glenn Beadles helping…The [...]

• 
  Twitch

• IFFR 2010: "R" Review

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:53 am

  With all the (deserved) media attention "Un Prophète" has been getting you'd almost think it is the only prison drama worth watching this year. But even at the International Film Festival Rotterdam it wasn't isolated in its genre, as the Danish documentary filmmakers Tobias Lindholm and Michael Noer presented their first narrative feature film: a prison drama called "R"...  Yet though both films give a gritty and none-too-favorable view of prisons as gangster academies instead of as places for rehabilitation, their storylines have little in common.   While "Un Prophéte" tells…

• Imagi Studios Closed Down

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:15 am

  Hong Kong based Imagi Animation Studios has thrown in the towel in lieu of massive cutbacks and layoffs of over 300+ employees. In 2007, the studio released its first CG animated feature TMNT and it became a success at the box office.  However, its second feature, Astro Boy didn't fare so well when it was released last year and as a result, the box office failure puts the final nail in the coffin, amist of its earlier financial woes.  The project it was planning to developed next was Gatchaman but unfortunately, I think its safe to say its dead in the water, atleast for the time…

• Have Your Say: Should animal cruelty in Asian films be censored when those films are released in Europe and the US?

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:57 am

  With John Woo's "Red Cliff" finally slated for a North-American BluRay release (both in the 2.5 hour International Edition AND in the 5.0 hour two-part Original Edition), collectors can start asking the general questions. Will this release be as good as the Hong-Kong BluRay releases? What extras will there be? But first and foremost: will I be able to watch the whole film or have bits been censored? When "The Good, the Bad, the Weird" was released in western countries, all bits of animal cruelty had been clipped out, mostly tripped stunt-horses falling…

• Fedor Bondarchuk Ushering Russia Into The 3D Era With STALINGRAD

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:25 am

  I'll put money on it now. Fedor Bondarchuk's Stalingrad will re-write all Russian box office records upon release. How can I feel so confident about a film still in pre-production? Simple.First, Bondarchuk is a proven commodity, his films routinely topping the Russian box office chart. See hits like 9th Company and Inhabited Island for proof.Second, this is poised to be Russia's first ever 3D film.  Look what Avatar did.  That's going to happen in Russia.Third - and most importantly - Russian passions still run very high indeed on matters relating to WWII and the fight against Nazi…

• PSIFF10: DAWSON ISLAND, 10: Interview With Miguel Littin

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm

  "We wanted to change history, but destiny led us to this strange sensation of uncertainty and defeat. What did we do wrong? What mistakes did we make?"--Sergio Bitar, Dawson Island prisoner, and author of Isla 10. "I felt like the protagonist of one of those World War II movies. When we arrived at the camp, some of us cried to see so many wire fences. There were 27. It was difficult to believe."--Baldovino Gomez, Dawson Island prisoner. "A story starts when someone is born, someone dies, someone leaves, or someone arrives."--Director Miguel Littin, quoting Ernest Hemingway.  

• 
  Are You Screening?

• In Defense Of Watching Stupid People On Television

  Marc Eastman

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:06 pm

  It seems the gloves have come off recently, and everybody and their brother is climbing on their high horse about the level of stupidity on television. I’m not sure why there seems to be this sudden upsurge of feeling superior to those who tune in to such things as Jersey Shore, which seems to be a major culprit in the upturn, but it’s gotten to the point that it bears examination. As though tuning in for the State of the Union somehow makes one less stupid than spinning the dial (play along, I’m old) in any other direction, or, in point of fact, is anything less of a…

• Lisa Edelstein Interview – House’s Cuddy Gets Focus Episode

  Marc Eastman

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:41 am

  Not that long ago, Wilson got his own feature episode on House, and now it’s Cuddy’s turn. Lisa Edelstein held a Q&A to talk about her character generally, and the episode “5 to 9,” which airs tonight. The show is certainly mixing things up, and I for one am glad. These two character specific (sort of) episodes, along with the jumps and twists that have gone on this season are keeping things fresh, and the show needs it. During a day in the life of Princeton Plainsboro’s Dean of Medicine, Dr. Lisa Cuddy, the inner workings of the hospital are seen through her…

• Gary Unmarried The Complete First Season DVD Review – Win Yours Here

  Marc Eastman

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:35 am

  It’s getting to the point where it becomes difficult for television critics to partake of one of their favorite endeavors – championing the lesser-knowns. Unless it’s on cable, if you don’t already know about it, it’s probably gone anyway. About the closest we get these days comes by way of cases like Gary Unmarried. Already in its second season, the show is doing pretty well, but it hasn’t quite got everyone talking. That’s about as good as it gets for a critics longing to share the undiscovered. The first season DVD hits tomorrow, Feb. 9, and I…

• You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown DVD – Win Yours Here

  Marc Eastman

  7 Feb 2010 | 11:30 am

  Of all the Peanuts DVD releases, few are quite as interesting as You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown. While other releases include some of the rarer specials, adding value to bringing home the classics, this one is not only rarely seen, but is such a unique creature in its own right that it’s a must own for anyone calling themselves a fan. Working the Peanuts characters into a Tony Award-winning stage phenomenon, and subsequently working that effort back into an animated special is the kind of cultural icon exploration you just aren’t going to run into often. In You’re a…

• From Paris With Love Movie Review

  Marc Eastman

  7 Feb 2010 | 9:45 am

  Sometimes you find yourself just asking, “Why?” A good percentage of the time the answer turns out to be that a goodly portion of those people who actually buy tickets are going to go see something. It’s Friday night. You don’t want to go see the love story, but you’re not particularly in the mood for comedy, and whatever actiony thing is at the theater is what you’re going to pick. Some movies get made just to be that option. From Paris with Love is such a film. However, it does have a few things going for it that at least distinguish it from much of the…

• 
  Daily Film Dose

• Golddiggers of 1933

  Alan Bacchus

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:45 am

  Golddiggers of 1933 (1933) dir. Mervyn le RoyStarring: Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers, Warren William, Ned Sparks, Guy Kibbee***1/2By Alan BacchusThe first of one of the most successful and beloved musical franchises in the cinema - the Gold Diggers films, a series of musicals in the 30‘s portraying predatory attitude of the poor against the rich with comedic fervour and eye-popping musical

• The White Ribbon

  Alan Bacchus

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am

  The White Ribbon (2009) dir. Michael HanekeStarring: Christian Friedel, Burghart Klaussner, Maria-Victoria Dragus, Leonard Praxouf, Leonie Benesch, Rainer Bock, Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Tukur**1/2By Alan BacchusFuck you too Michael Haneke. There you go. You insult me I insult back. Your concerted effort not to pay off the drama and mystery you teased me with for two hours and twenty minutes felt

• Pandorum

  Greg Klymkiw

  7 Feb 2010 | 9:24 am

  Pandorum (2009) dir. Christian AlvartStarring: Ben Foster, Dennis Quaid, Antje Traue, Cung Le, EddieRouse and Cam Gigandet**1/2By Greg Klymkiw"Pandorum" is as derivative a hodge podge of other sci-fi horror thrillers as one could begin to imagine - a celluloid gumbo of "Alien", "Event Horizon", "The Descent" and a few dozen other movies of a similar ilk. It is a picture that's infused with some

• Sundance 2010 - TUCKER AND DALE VS. EVIL

  Alan Bacchus

  6 Feb 2010 | 8:47 am

  Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil (2010) dir. Eli CraigStarring: Tyler Labine,***½By Alan BacchusTucker and Dale manages to find an angle in the cabin movie horror genre as yet untapped. Eli Craig lampoons these films by putting his audience into the point of view of the hillbilly psychopath characters creating a great comedy of errors pitting a couple of lovable but hapless hillbillies against a group

• Turner Classic Movies - Sci-Fi Adventures

  Alan Bacchus

  5 Feb 2010 | 5:22 am

  By Alan BacchusIt was the '50s, the height of the cold war, nuclear testing is at its peak and Joseph McCarthy is running wild. Out of this fervour and paranoia came a rash of topical sci-fi flicks playing against these post-war fears. Warner and Turner Classic Movies have packaged four of these not-so-classics — 'Them!', 'Beast From 20,000 Fathoms', 'World Without End' and 'Satellite in the Sky'

• 
  Filmstalker

• 24 has a film script

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:44 am

  To be honest the thought of a 24 film doesn't work for me, the whole idea is that 24 is more or less real time and delivers 24 hours of excitement, a film will be 1 hour 40 minutes let's say, and that title really isn't as catchy, nor is the idea. However plans are pressing forward, and while a film version still may not be started until after the show completes, there is now a pitch and both 20th Century Fox and Keifer Sutherland are keen on it. So is it a go?...Visit Filmstalker for the full story. Restricted feeds to protect content.

• Soderbergh casts Contagion

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:38 am

  Steven Soderbergh has begun casting his next film, and it's a film called Contagion written by Scott Z. Burns, and pushed to the front of his queue for a start this year. Word is that the thriller is a multi plot threaded one which is terrifying, the exact word used to describe the story. It's moving ahead so quickly that we're hearing about the closing casting deals already, and the strong casting seems to have come out of nowhere....Visit Filmstalker for the full story. Restricted feeds to protect content.

• Terminator rights sold

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:48 pm

  The auction is complete, the Terminator franchise rights are sold, and neither of the studios that were involved have won it. In fact the company who are the victors, as long as the bankruptcy court agrees the deal, is the very company that Halycon owed all the money to in the first place and who effectively forced them into bankruptcy in the first place. There's more to the deal that makes you think this could all be some sort of conspiracy on a Wall Street insider deal plot line, but it's not, it's real life....Visit Filmstalker for the full story. Restricted feeds to protect content.

• Formula One documentary

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:46 pm

  I've been desperate for a Formula One film for a long time, a modern day racing film to match the likes of the James Garner led Grand Prix or the Steve McQueen led Le Mans, even though that's not an F1 film, it did capture a lot of the essence of racing. That may move a little bit further towards fruition as we hear that there's going to be a Formula One documentary, one that looks to the past of the sport, before the days of money, courts and rule bending....Visit Filmstalker for the full story. Restricted feeds to protect content.

• Planet of the Apes restart causes star backlash?

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:07 pm

  It's interesting that when we think of Hollywood making bad choices about projects we tend to bundle everyone together, yet we forget that the writers, directors, actors, etc are people and have their own values, their own beliefs, and tend to know when a film idea is right or wrong just as much as we do. So is it a great surprise to find that directors are turning down the chance to bring the Planet of the Apes franchise back to life? I actually think it is for many of us, myself included, because I am surely guilty of lumping...Visit Filmstalker for the full story. Restricted feeds to…

• 
  Burbanked

• This may be your one and only chance to happily tap your feet to the melodious sounds of Edward Furlong’s sing-songy voice.

  Burbanked

  13 Jan 2010 | 10:17 am

  This is such extraordinary creativity. This guy known as “Pogo”* can apparently recut an entire music video using only the sounds from a movie and its soundtrack. The finished piece is a kind of dance music/movie mashup that pays impressive homage to the movie’s sound effects, visuals, dialogue and aesthetic, while at the same time [...]

• Jason Reitman shows us the joys, trials and steak plates of a movie junket tour.

  Burbanked

  9 Jan 2010 | 7:03 am

  I haven’t seen Up In the Air yet – and I’m starting to feel fairly desperate to do so – but I saw this video the other day at roughly 8900 websites and wanted to include it here. This is a terrifically cool piece that director Jason Reitman put together following the press junket tour [...]

• The She’s Out of My League trailer is packed with Pittsburgh-friendly goodies.

  Burbanked

  8 Jan 2010 | 9:22 am

  The trailer for this May’s Apatow-lite romcom She’s Out of My League certainly won’t change anyone’s life with its overly familiar meet-cute, unlikely-romance, guys-humiliating-each-other, schlubby-dudes-deserve-love-too, embarrassing-sex-jokes sensibilities, but I have to say that I was impressed with the sheer amount of Pittsburgh-love that the clip shows. Someone in the Pittsburgh Film Office should probably get [...]

• Oh thank you, creators of Nic Cage As Everyone. Thank you so very very much.

  Burbanked

  5 Jan 2010 | 9:47 am

  As much of a fan as I am of dorky movie mashups, particularly those involving my own bad-to-horrible Photoshop jobs – and especially those involving Nicolas Cage – the idea that someone has gone to the wonderfully demented trouble of creating a blog called Nic Cage As Everyone is, quite simply, a spectacular find. The [...]

• How is it that I’ve gotten to the ripe-old blogging age of four without knowing about MOVIECLIPS.com?

  Burbanked

  23 Dec 2009 | 8:55 am

  By the blue skin of Jake Sully’s monkey-cat tail, I had no idea this site existed. On movieclips.com, you can find great-quality, embed-able movie clips searchable by title, actor, genre and even setting and prop! Wow. Just…wow. I hate spending a boatload of time making my own clips, especially when YouTube then decides that I [...]

• 
  Movie Poster Addict

• Hot Tub Time Machine Poster

  Larking

  3 Feb 2010 | 1:59 pm

  Every once in a while I encounter a poster that creates in my mind a great curiosity as to what exactly people could possibly be thinking when they designed it. This is one of those posters. So I was very glad to see that EW has the answer to that question: “The title is provocative,” explains studio marketing head Michael Vollman. “We wanted to try to tell some story with the poster, which you don’t do a lot of the time. Who has algebra in something aimed at a mass audience? It was a fun way to make the title even more interesting.” Sometimes things aren’t done a certain way…

• The Wolfman Posters

  Larking

  25 Jan 2010 | 1:24 pm

  So far I have failed to understand exactly why they are remaking The Wolfman. As I understand the original (and its sequels) is to this day remembered for the transformation scenes, which were memorable for the time. Well, we certainly can do a much more incredible transformation scene nowadays, but considering the kind of things we are used to seeing I doubt any kind of transformation will be impressive enough to merit a movie. So why are they doing this? Something about the story that feels newly resonant? A different take on the story that feels newly resonant? And in the second case why…

• Catching Up With 2009: Avatar

  Larking

  18 Jan 2010 | 5:58 pm

  By now any discussion of the adequacy of the Avatar posters as a marketing instrument have been rendered useless. The film is big. It will make lots of money. Whether the posters helped that a little or made the path to the top a little harder is of little importance. A more interesting question right now is how the posters works as iconic images for the film. After all the film has been seen by many, many people, several of whom must have loved it. And the posters seem to be selling well. But will those posters work as a reminder of the things that people liked about the movie? Will they…

• Catching Up With 2009 : Iron Man 2

  Larking

  8 Jan 2010 | 1:41 pm

  So, to recap, the poster campaign for the first Iron Man was basically a bunch of teasers showing how cool the suit was followed by a couple of final posters in a sort of Star Wars style with a lot of things happening. Despite these differences the sell was clear, especially when coupled with the trailers: Iron Man himself. The campaign for the second Iron Man feels a lot less focused. Three posters. The suit without the helmet, pointing to the “everybody knows Tony Stark is Iron Man” aspect of the film. Iron Man and War Machine fighting together (”He is not alone…

• I’m Back

  Larking

  8 Jan 2010 | 1:36 pm

  Posting should resume shortly. Lots of catching up to do. Apparently people don’t just stop making posters when I’m not writing about them. Weird. I’m also starting to work through the e-mail backlog. Slowly. Very slowly. So, if you sent me an e-mail, expect an answer, but don’t hold your breath.

• 
  Best Movies by Farr

• Why "Avatar" Should Not Win Best Picture

  John Farr

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:17 pm

  It seems like more of the same -or worse- at the Academy Awards this season. With Oscars coverage continuing its five year-plus struggle with uneven formats, rotating guest-hosts, and sheer over-length, what does the Academy decide to do? Add, not subtract, of course: double the number of hosts for the broadcast (Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin), as well as the number of nominees for Best Picture. On the face of it, it's hard to see how these decisions will make the already bloated proceedings any leaner or more focused, which is precisely what's needed- but hey, the movie business works in…

• When the French Spiced Up Film: Rohmer, Truffaut, Godard and Cahiers Du Cinema

  John Farr

  31 Jan 2010 | 3:22 pm

  I happened to meet recently with a film student from Paris who wondered why so few Americans attended a certain French film festival held recently in New York City. My somewhat involved response came with some brief historical perspective, which follows. Just as Hollywood began losing its way in the fifties (much like today, except then their feeble response was Cinemascope, not CGE), France was becoming known for something new and different: a whole new take on how films should be made and assessed. Eric Rohmer, who just died three weeks ago at age 89, had not yet picked up a movie camera,…

• A Sampling of Top Winter Sports Movies

  John Farr

  25 Jan 2010 | 5:11 am

  In my recent research on sports movies, I've been keeping a rough mental tally of which athletic endeavors adapt most readily and successfully to feature films. Topping the list is boxing, no big surprise since the sport embodies the inherent primal drama of two people knocking each other silly, a theme that speaks volumes about us and the society we’ve shaped. Baseball comes in a close second, evoking a heroic, nostalgic sense of our American character like no other sport. Ranking at number three, the punishing, macho world of football is also fairly well-represented on celluloid. For…

• Thoughts on Haiti and Activist Movies

  John Farr

  18 Jan 2010 | 6:46 am

  It must be acknowledged, I think, that the horrific tragedy in Haiti concerns much more than a natural disaster. As David Brooks astutely observed on "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer", we had already pumped an enormous amount of aid and resources into this, the poorest country in our hemisphere before last Tuesday's tragedy, yet both economic and social progress was agonizingly slow in coming. It would be criminal to minimize the horrendous human loss and devastation we've all witnessed - who can fail to have their guts wrenched by the misery and suffering broadcast from there into our tidy…

• Missing the Mark on Warren Beatty

  John Farr

  13 Jan 2010 | 5:03 am

  It's an odd and infuriating phenomenon in popular culture today: On the one hand, we crucify celebrities for their private sexual peccadilloes with unbridled self-righteousness, while at the same time, we adore rummaging around in people's dirty undies. (Even Tiger, who admittedly handled his own crisis like a total ass, has been over-pilloried, if that’s a word). Today, it seems the time-tested notion of personal privacy (and yes, even a measure of it for public figures) is passé, and the lowest common denominator rules. We like to wallow in it, and no outmoded sense of decorum or…

• 
  Movie Juice

• MovieJuice meets Mystery Science Theater 3000

  mramsey@moviejuice.com (Mark Ramsey)

  26 Jan 2010 | 9:26 pm

  Now that the MovieJuice site is redesigned, I wanted to share with you some of the classic interviews I’ve done over the years.  These will probably be new to lots of you. Here’s one (in three chapters) with the Film Crew, a.k.a. two-thirds of the cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000. In this first chapter, we discuss the challenges of having your hand up the ass of a puppet for the entire duration of a series, among other things. In Part 2, we discuss the joys of peeing next to a Stormtrooper, and I take on Kevin Murphy in an arm-wrestle challenge to the death. In this final…

• Legion

  mramsey@moviejuice.com (Mark Ramsey)

  25 Jan 2010 | 6:07 am

  If you never thought you’d see the day that an angel falls to Earth and immediately steals a weapons cache, then you never thought you’d see Legion.  And you will surely wish you hadn’t. “Every time an M16 with teflon-coated bullets fires, an angel gets his wings,” said Zuzu in It’s a Wonderful Life – or something like that. “This is my passion project,” said star Paul Bettany, whose passion is evidently to pay the mortgage on that Malibu Beach House. So here’s the deal, God has lost his faith in mankind, and not just the kind of…

• Awards Weekend Wrapup

  mramsey@moviejuice.com (Mark Ramsey)

  18 Jan 2010 | 11:22 am

  So another kickoff to the awards season comes to an end. The end of the beginning, as it were. What began with Friday night’s fabulous Critics’ Choice Movie Awards ended with Sunday’s Golden Globes.  I was present at the former and set my DVR on “stun” for the latter. As is my custom at this time of year, it’s all grist for the satirical conversational mill that is my good friend Richard Laermer.  Richard is a well-known Hollywood PR guru, author and columnist.  And he is my guest to discuss that madness that is awards-giving in Hollywood. Enjoy my chat…

• Watch the 2010 Critics’ Choice Movie Awards!

  mramsey@moviejuice.com (Mark Ramsey)

  14 Jan 2010 | 1:29 pm

  I’m a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (I know, believe it or not), so I’ll be attending the gala Critics’ Choice Movie Awards ceremony in Hollywood. And you can participate, too! It’s on VH1 on Friday, January 15, at 9:00 PM ET!  Please tune in! Watch the red carpet pre-show live from the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards… Friday, January 15th, 8:30 PM ET!  (The screen will be black until then). And during the show, chat along with the LIVE blog party below!  It will be moderated by VH1 senior staff and representatives from Moviefone,…

• Paranormal Activity

  mramsey@moviejuice.com (Mark Ramsey)

  10 Jan 2010 | 3:48 pm

  What do you get when you combine one of 2009’s hottest movies with that dumb puppet from SAW? Something like this… Paranormal Saw – watch more funny videos

• 
  Stephanie Zacharek

• Stephanie Zacharek's best movies of 2009

  By Stephanie Zacharek

  7 Feb 2010 | 6:02 pm

  George Clooney's real performance of the year wasn't "Up in the Air." Plus: Jane Campion, "Star Trek" and madness!

• "Dear John": Not just another corny romance

  By Stephanie Zacharek

  7 Feb 2010 | 6:02 pm

  Lasse Hallström turns Nicholas Sparks' novel into an open-hearted depiction of how war tears apart young lives

• "The Lovely Bones": Be very afraid

  By Stephanie Zacharek

  7 Feb 2010 | 6:02 pm

  Director Peter Jackson turns Alice Sebold's poetic bestseller into a garish supernatural thriller

• "From Paris With Love": Just say "non"

  By Stephanie Zacharek

  7 Feb 2010 | 6:02 pm

  John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers scamper through the City of Light in this stinky action-comedy

• Long live "The Young Victoria"

  By Stephanie Zacharek

  7 Feb 2010 | 6:02 pm

  Emily Blunt shines as the tough-minded British queen in this lush, and even sexy, period romance

• 
  Box Office Mojo - Top Stories

• 2010 Preview: Saw VII

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:10 pm

  Release Date: Oct. 22 Studio: Lionsgate Genre: Horror Director: David Hackl Writer: Marcus Dunstan & Patrick Melton Cast: Tobin Bell, Tanedra Howard Studio Description: Not Available Analysis: For its first five movies, the Saw series owned the weekend before Halloween, with Saw II through Saw V all grossing over $30 million. It got to the point where promos boasted that "If it's Halloween, it must be Saw." However, the grosses became increasingly frontloaded as ...

• 2010 Preview: The Social Network

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:47 pm

  Release Date: Oct. 1 Studio: Sony Genre: Comedy/Drama Director: David Fincher Writer: Aaron Sorkin (based off the novel The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich) Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake, Andrew Garfield, Rashida Jones, Joseph Mazzello, Malese Jow, Brenda Song, Rooney Mara, Max Minghella Studio Description: A story about the founders of the social-networking website, Facebook. Analysis: Founded in 2004 by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, social-networking site Fa...

• 'Dear John' Delivers, 'Avatar' Flies Higher

  8 Feb 2010 | 12:11 pm

  While Dear John broke up Avatar's box office reign at No. 1, both pictures performed extremely well over Super Bowl weekend. Dear John drew $30.5 million, ranking as the second highest-grossing Super Bowl opening gross ever behind the Hannah Montana concert, while Avatar raked in another $22.9 million. Playing on approximately 3,500 screens at 2,969 sites, Dear John's opening was way above the norm for a romantic drama, and it came close to doubling the estimated initial attendance of ...

• 2010 Preview: The Other Guys

  5 Feb 2010 | 2:07 pm

  Release Date: Aug. 6 Studio: Sony Genre: Action Comedy Director: Adam McKay Writer: Chris Henchy and Adam McKay Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, The Rock, Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendes, Ray Stevenson, Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan, Anne Heche, Paris Hilton, Craig Robinson, Lindsay Sloane, Rob Riggle, Damon Wayans Jr. Studio Description: Two mismatched New York City detectives seize an opportunity to step up like the city's top cops whom they idolize ‑ only things don't quite go a...

• 2010 Preview: Salt

  5 Feb 2010 | 12:42 pm

  Release Date: July 23 Studio: Colombia Genre: Action Thriller Director: Phillip Noyce Writer: Kurt Wimmer and Brian Helgeland Cast: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor Studio Description: Evelyn Salt (Jolie) is a CIA officer who swore an oath to duty, honor, and country. When she is accused by a defector of being a Russian sleeper spy, Salt goes on the run to clear her name and ultimately prove she is a patriot. Using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative...

• 
  SF Gate

• Review: '44 Inch Chest' shrunk by plot flaws

  5 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  44 Inch Chest RATING: (ALERT VIEWER)Drama. Directed by Malcolm Venville. With Ray Winstone, Tom Wilkinson, John Hurt, Ian McShane and Stephen Dillane. (Rated R. 94 minutes. At the Lumiere in San Francisco and Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley.) In "44 Inch Chest,"...

• Review: 'District 13: Ultimatum' kicks plot aside

  5 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  District 13: Ultimatum RATING: (POLITE APPLAUSE)Action. Directed by Patrick Alessandrin. Starring Cyril Raffaelli and David Belle. In French with English subtitles. (R. 101 minutes. At Bay Area theaters.) You need to know two things heading into "District 13:...

• Review: 'Dear John' spoiled by montages

  5 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  Dear John RATING: (ALERT VIEWER)Drama. Starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried. Directed by Lasse Hallström. (PG-13. 105 minutes. At Bay Area theaters.) Dear "Dear John," I don't know how to say this - it's so hard for me, I'm just weeping all over the...

• Presented By:

  5 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

• Review: 'The Last Station' glimpses at Tolstoys

  5 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  The Last Station RATING: (POLITE APPLAUSE)Drama. Starring Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer, Paul Giamatti and James McAvoy. Directed by Michael Hoffman. (R. 120 minutes. At Bay Area theaters.) It wasn't easy being Countess Tolstoy, stuck in the same house...

• 
  Cinematical

• Casting Bites: From Weisz's 'Dream' to Wasikowska's 'Eyre'

  Monika Bartyzel

  9 Feb 2010 | 10:32 am

  On this Tuesday, lots of female casting bites are hitting the net: First, Rachel Weisz has found her next gig. Variety reports that she's signed on to star with Daniel Craig and Naomi Watts in Jim Sheridan's Dream House. Craig and Weisz play a couple who move from Gotham to a New England town, and then discover that a mother and her two children were murdered in their new home. Watts plays the neighbor who knew the family, and Toronto is standing in for New England as production kicked off on Sunday. And the rest of the goodies come from a post over at Deadline Hollywood Daily: Cate Blanchett…

• Oxford Film Fest: Voices 'Ole' and New

  Todd Gilchrist

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:55 am

  According to a detailed manifesto on its website, the Oxford Film Festival began in 2003 "as a project of the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council... committed to celebrating the art of independent cinema." What the festival actually is, however, is so much more: a four-day celebration where filmmakers, industry professionals, critics, and cinephiles gather together, get to know one another, and share in a community's collective appreciation for film in all of its forms. Cozily entrenched in the businesses and residences of Oxford, Mississippi, the town that the picturesque college Ole Miss calls home,…

• Discuss: Movie Date Disasters

  Jenni Miller

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:20 am

  There are varying schools of thought on the movie date. Some think it seems silly to try and get to know someone in the dark of a movie theater -- I mean, get to know each other's personalities, you frisky whippets! I tend to agree with this when it comes to more formal first dates, but I think seeing a movie with someone you have already been on one or two dates with can be a good way to feel out the other person's taste, sense of humor, and temperament. And I definitely agree with Christopher Campbell that going to a movie with your steady is an awesome thing indeed. If going out to see…

• Spin-ematical: New on DVD and Blu-ray for 2/9

  Peter Martin

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:35 am

  A Serious Man Coen Brothers. Academy Award-nominated. Need more? "The culmination of their lives, reminiscent both of their own suburban childhoods in the '60s, and of their cinematic successes over the last twenty-five years." Michael Stuhbarg stars as "a man utterly at a loss to explain his life's severe turn for the worse; he is a man desperate for answers." (Monika Bartyzel, Cinematical.) Buy it. Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon Couples Retreat Shameless it may be, but "you end up laughing more than expected," I wrote in my review. Vince Vaughan, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, Faizon…

• Watch This: Brilliant Oscar-Nominated Short 'Logorama'

  Erik Davis

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:50 am

  I was glad I opted to watch the opening night shorts program at this year's Sundance Film Festival because it was packed with four fantastic short films. One of those (arguably the favorite of the bunch) was an animated film called Logorama, written and directed by the French duo of François Alaux and Herve de Crecy. Now nominated for a Best Animated Short Oscar, Logorama takes place in a world full of corporate and brand logos (in which roughly 2,500 appear), and it follows a few different stories that all intertwine with one another. Honestly, it's bloody brilliant, and I guarantee…

• 
  Supehero Hype

• Tim Robbins Joins Green Lantern Cast

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  Tim Robbins has joined the cast of director Martin Campbell's Green Lantern at Warner Bros. Pictures, reports Heat Vision . Robbins will play Senator Hammond, the disapproving father of the movie's villain, Dr. Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard), who becomes infused with psychic powers. Ryan Reynolds stars as Green Lantern, with Blake Lively as the hero's love interest, Carol Ferris. Filming is set to star in March in New Orleans. The studio is planning a June 17, 2011 release.

• Mark Millar on His Secret Superhero Movie

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  IGN has posted a new video interview segment in which Mark Millar ( Kick-Ass , Wanted ) talked more about his new secret superhero movie. Millar says he will direct the independently-financed film this summer in Scotland. You can watch the clip below!

• Christopher Nolan to Mentor New Superman Movie?

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  In possibly one of the biggest superhero movie shockers since the last one--when was the Spider-Man reboot, three weeks ago?-- Deadline Hollywood is now reporting that The Dark Knight and Batman Begins director Christopher Nolan has been assigned the potentially thankless task of being the latest filmmaker assigned by Warner Bros. to try to save the "Superman" franchise, in this case in a mentoring capacity to figure out the best way to proceed. Director Bryan Singer helmed the last installment Superman Returns three and a half years ago, which grossed $391 million worldwide, but wasn't seen…

• TMNT and Gatchaman Studio Shuts Down

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  The Associated Press is reporting that Imagi International Holdings stopped funding its computer animation studio on February 5 to "to further preserve its limited liquidity and shareholder value." The studio will ask a Hong Kong court to name liquidators. According to the report, Imagi said it will continue to develop movie ideas and outsource the actual animation work to mainland China and other countries, where costs are lower. We assume this means that the CG-animated Gatchman is safe. Nickelodeon and Paramount recently announced they are making a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie…

• Reese and Wernick on Writing Deadpool

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  MTV talked to Zombieland screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick who are collaborating with Ryan Reynolds on the script for X-Men Origins: Wolverine spin-off Deadpool . "We're outlining it pretty seriously right now," Reese said. "Were in the early stages." "We just absolutely adore the character and the comic," added Wernick. "And tonally, it's right up our alley. He's the unstable, smart-ass, self deprecating guy — and they say write what you know, so [we're perfect for it]." So what has it been like working with Reynolds? "One of the nice things about working with Ryan is that he…

• 
  Film.com Movie Blog

• The Biggest Oscar Snub: Sam Rockwell in Moon

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:09 am

  Someday, Sam Rockwell will get his Oscar due, I have no doubt. But I bet that when that day comes, lots of movie lovers will look back and say, "But it should have happened for Moon." Rockwell has always been riveting on-screen, but his extraordinary performance in the Twilight Zone-ish mind frak that is Duncan Jones' Moon is far beyond anything he's ever achieved before. We just don't see movies like this one much: simple yet profound, obvious on the surface yet deepening with conundrums with…

• What to Expect from a George Lucas Musical

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:33 am

  Out of George Lucas' Death Star-like headquarters comes word that the Star Wars creator/ruiner is producing a computer-animated musical, to be directed by Kevin Munroe (TMNT) and written by David Berenbaum (Elf). All anyone knows about the plot so far is that fairies are involved. We don't even know for sure whether Lucas had anything to do with the story. But it would be unusual for him to be involved this heavily if the story hadn't been conceived in his nerdy little brain, so let us…

• The Very Best of the Miramax Vaults

  8 Feb 2010 | 1:18 pm

  Well, after several years of speculation and the loss of its founding fathers, the Weinsteins, Miramax has finally been shuttered for good and its library put up on the auction block. While this was truly sad news from a house that brought us so much joy over the years, it looks like it could be one heck of a bargain to a company looking to create a sizable (and bankable) DVD/Blu-ray catalog. What are the best bets sitting in the vaults? How about these titles? The best of Quentin TarantinoWhile…

• Romantic Comedies the Studios Have Somehow Overlooked

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:23 am

  Romantic comedy titles tend to stick to a pretty strict formula, picking from four general fields: some kind of weak third-grade level pun (Bride and Prejudice, Made of Honor); a phrase featuring the word "wedding" (The Wedding Singer, The Wedding Planner, The Wedding Date); a song title (Sweet Home Alabama, Just Like Heaven, The Sweetest Thing); or a bland, borderline meaningless term for romance (Love Actually, It's a Boy Girl Thing). Here, some rom-com titles and surefire pitches guaranteed…

• Review: From Paris with Love a Satisfying Escape

  5 Feb 2010 | 8:56 am

  "Eminently watchable." If you like a violent, silly, frenetic style of film you'll find plenty to enjoy here. There are a few glaring flaws, which we'll get to, but overall this is satisfying escapism. You could do much worse -- heck, I'm betting you have. Travolta is always at his best when he's playing oddball characters, and From Paris with Love is no exception.Jonathan Rhys Meyers is the assistant to the United States Ambassador to France, but he's handling the occasional…

• 
  The Movie Blog

• Bill Murray could be a Ghost in Ghost Busters 3

  Rodney

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:53 am

  With much of Ghost Busters 3 hinging on the entire original cast returning, it seems that Bill Murray is the only person not eager to get on board just yet. He has this thing against doing sequels since the Ghost Busters sequel and doesn’t want to do this one either. But now it seems he is reluctantly involved and spills a bit about what Dr Peter Venkman might be doing in the film. Dying. Screenrant shares: Speaking of which, Weaver made that oddball, off the cuff statement at a press junket for Avatar back in December where she said she thought Bill Murray was going to be in…

• Will Saw 7 be the Last?

  Rodney

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:45 am

  Screenwriter of Saw is talking that they are seriously considering writing the seventh chapter as its last, tying together the loose ends and ending the series for good. /Film says Screenwriter Patrick Melton, who co-wrote the last three Saw films and the upcoming seventh movie, claims the the series will probably end with the seventh installment, and they have even planned to wrap up the lingering questions. As noble and artistic as they want to be with Saw ending, I honestly don’t see the studio letting that happen. These movies rake in serious cash on a regular basis and there is no…

• Terminator Rights sold to Pacificor for $29.95m

  Rodney

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:40 am

  Terminators just don’t die. You can kill em, but they just build another one. Judgement Day cannot be averted. We thought it was over with Salvation as it failed to save the franchise from bankruptcy, but after a fierce battle with Sony and Lionsgate over the auction for the rights, it appears that Pacificor, the creditors that put Halycon into bankruptcy in the first place have overbid to lay claim to the corpse. Obsessed with Film reports: In the end it was Santa Barbara-based hedge fund Pacificor, the debtholder who pushed previous owners Halcyon into bankruptcy. The final bid was…

• Tim Robbins joins Green Lantern

  Rodney

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:29 am

  Green Lantern’s supporting cast is shaping up well with Reynolds snogging with Blake Lively, Mark Strong likely playing Sinestro (but Sinestro wont be the villain yet) and Peter Sasgaard playing Dr Hector Hammond. But now we find out that Tim Robbins has also join the cast.. but as who? Hammond’s dad? So, that leaves Dr. Hector Hammond, played by Peter Sarsgaard, as the feature villain of the Green Lantern origins movie. We know that Dr. Hector Hammond is “the pathologist son of a senator who is seen as a disappointment in his father’s eyes” and now we know who’s playing…

• Mr and Mrs Smith 2: Meet the Jones’ – A Reboot!

  Rodney

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:25 am

  I often defend the originality in film when people say that EVERY film is a remake (you just notice those – there are more original films but you just don’t see them advertised as much) but then Fox goes and does something like this that really doesn’t help my cause. It seems they are taking the premise of the Jolie and Pitt action film Mr and Mrs Smith and re-envisioning it as Mr and Mrs Jones… and rebooting the movie. Fused Film says The site also reports that the new film will be titled Mr. and Mrs. Jones and will not feature the original film’s stars Brad Pitt…

• 
  Crunchy Reviews

• The Spy Next Door

  Annie

  1 Feb 2010 | 7:43 am

  It's kind of hard to write a review of "The Spy Next Door" without saying up front that what you see is what you get. If you've seen the previews, then it should be obvious to you that this movies will be filled with violent sequences (it's Jackie Chan, after all) and lots of improbable stunts (it's Jackie Chan, after all). In fact, even without seeing the previews, the fact that it's called "The SPY Next Door" and stars Jackie Chan should give it away.

• The Tooth Fairy

  Annie

  30 Jan 2010 | 7:33 am

  The Tooth Fairy is a movie that is heavy on message, and full of silly gags that give it several funny moments. That said, unfortunately they were unable to offset the "does this tutu make my butt look big", the innumerable displays of (necessary to the character but nausea-inducing) machismo, the downright mean-spiritedness of the main character's callous interactions with childen, and the hockey slams - oh, the many, many violent hockey slams.

• Inkheart

  Annie

  28 Dec 2009 | 9:07 am

  The movie Inkheart, which is shockingly rated 'PG', should be rated at least PG-13. It is goulish, and gruesome, with slavery, weapons, violence, and monsters galore.

• The Princess and the Frog

  Annie

  28 Dec 2009 | 8:51 am

  Why is it that Disney insists on always, always, always killing off one of their main characters in just about every children's movie? As if children's feelings aren't jerked around enough just by the fact of growing and learning, do we really have to subject them to getting attached to a character only to have it killed off? (Or seeing a parent figure get killed, as in Bambi, and The Lion King?) The Princess and the Frog is no different.

• Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

  Annie

  28 Dec 2009 | 8:16 am

  We were really looking forward to seeing Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, and for the most part we weren't disappointed. However there are some scenes that were entirely inappropriate, and language that was disappointing, neither of which were necessary to the plot and both of which considerably reduced our enjoyment of the movie.

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  Movie Marketing Madness

• Oscar: Studios look for nomination boost; Poster sells the event as a comedy film

  Chris

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:00 am

  Last week saw the release of the nominees for the 82nd Academy Awards. That means we’re entering into Phase Two of this annual dance. Phase One saw all sorts of studios lobbying and spending like mad on ads designed to garner a nomination. Now the efforts have begun to secure a win. And it’s at this point that studios are looking to cash in on those nominations at the box-office (Los Angeles Times, 2/2/10) with a few extra ticket sales. It’s also at this point that it’s worth pointing out – as I have in the past – that many of these nominations campaigns…

• Valentine’s problems

  Chris

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am

  I was going to take a pass on reviewing the campaign for Valentine’s Day, this week’s ensemble romantic comedy that looks to be treading on ground broken by Love, Actually and He’s Just Not That Into You, but two stories about how people are upset at the marketing briefly had me reconsidering. First, there’s the excising of Eric Dane’s character from all the marketing materials, which some people are reading as intentional because said character is a homosexual. Second, the marketers have unleashed the fury of Shirley Maclaine, who appears in the movie and has…

• Deflating the “social media does harm” myth

  Chris

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:00 am

  When the results of a study by Manpower on corporate social media policies came out last week, most people focused on the finding that only 30 percent of U.S. companies had a formal policy in place. But what’s more interesting to me is the stat that shows only eight percent of U.S. companies say their online reputation has been harmed by the social media activities of an employee. Considering that’s often the push-back offered by organizations who want to limit employee usage of social media entirely that stat is important. More importantly it’s important to put the two…

• Virtual attendance

  Chris

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am

  Brook Barnes’ piece (The New York Times, 2/2/10) on whether or not, with so many films being available on-demand at the same time they debut at Sundance and as buzz pops up in everybody’s email inbox instantaneously, is well worth reading. But pulling back from the microcosm of the film industry and looking at the bigger picture, it’s worth considering whether or not physical, in-person attendance at any industry trade show or event is necessary. Having run programs myself where contacts were tuned in to what was happening at an event without actually being there, I can say…

• ICG Publicists awards nominees announced

  Chris

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am

  The publicists and promotional departments for a number of films are included in the nominees for the ICG Publicists awards which were announced (Hollywood Reporter, 2/1/10) the other day. Campaigns for Avatar, 2012, Couples Retreat, The Hangover, Paranormal Activity and The Proposal are among the nominees, which also extend into the television and other entertainment industries. There are some here that make sense and some that don’t, but it seems like there are a couple of key omissions. The campaigns for Up in the Air, Crazy Heart (which gets points for happening really quickly), A…

• 
  Always Watching

• Finding the Common Ground: Fun Facts About the 82nd Academy Award Nominees

  Adam Quigley

  2 Feb 2010 | 1:39 pm

  In a surprise twist, this year's Academy Award nominations are less terrible than usual. In lieu of an article explaining why that is though (read: I don't care enough to write one), here are some random observations and bits of trivia that have no useful bearing on anything that matters. Best Picture:read more

• We Judged Too Soon: Fantastic "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" Trailer Instantly Validates Sequel's Existence

  Adam Quigley

  29 Jan 2010 | 5:08 am

  What makes a good trailer? I suspect most people would submit the obvious; it should make you want to see the movie. As far as I'm concerned, that's only one-third of the equation. Yes, it should (1) make you want to see the movie, but it should do so (2) without spoiling it, and (3) without misleading or deceiving the audience.read more

• 16 Short Films Turned Feature Films (And the Filmmakers Who Made it Happen)

  Adam Quigley

  23 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am

  Full Disclosure: This is a sponsored feature for the movie "9", which hits DVD and Blu-ray on Dec 29. The author was granted complete creative control over the topic and content, so long as it related to said movie. To avoid any potential conflict of interest, no opinions in regards to that particular film will be asserted. read more

• Unraveling the Mysteries of "Lost": What Happens After the Bomb Goes Off?

  Adam Quigley

  3 Aug 2009 | 9:32 am

  read more

• "Smurfs" Movie Finds Its Director, Flatulence Jokes Pretty Much a Given

  Adam Quigley

  8 Jul 2009 | 8:03 pm

  If you were at all worried that Hollywood might fuck up the Smurfs movie, I have some good news: they were always going to fuck it up. It was always going to suck. Why is that good news? Because now you can stop hoping it won't. You don't even have to wait until the trailer. With a single announcement, Columbia Pictures and Sony Animation has already told us everything we need to know about the shitstorm of cringe-worthy gags and hack-tastic storytelling that's in store for us.read more

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  MarketSaw

• 3D Game Shows Coming Soon? And Another 3D Education Opportunity

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:16 pm

  Michael here. The Hollywood Reporter has an article about a 3D clip of Wheel of Fortune that was screened Friday morning on the Sony lot at an open house for Sony's new 3D Technology Center. The... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• DRIVE ANGRY 3D Casting Rumors!

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:55 am

  Jim here. Got an update for you on Nicholas Cage's DRIVE ANGRY 3D thriller that Patrick Lussier is helming. BloodyDisgusting says that apparently William Fichtner (ARMAGEDDON) and Amber Heard... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• The TOP TEN Of 2010! Jim's S3D Movie Guide...

  7 Feb 2010 | 7:24 pm

  Jim here. Here is my 2010 S3D Movies Guide for you! I waited a while to ensure I captured all the recent S3D conversion announcements! Here are my most anticipated S3D movies for 2010: 1. TRON... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• 3D Shorts: Taylor Lautner As STRETCH ARMSTRONG; JP Morgan Finally Gets That $700m For Digital Rollout; Realtime 2D To 3D Conversion Tech?

  6 Feb 2010 | 5:05 pm

  Jim here. S3D news is coming fast and furious (HEY! Time for that franchise to go 3D too!) and I've got 3 more breaking stories for you! First up, Troy Lautner has just been cast in Universal's... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• 5 New Posters: CLASH OF THE TITANS 3D!!

  6 Feb 2010 | 7:35 am

  Jim here. YES!! Finally we get to see posters showing off the fact that CLASH OF THE TITANS will be in stereoscopic 3D! Thanks to UGO for providing these. Click to enlarge. Man oh man, that Kraken... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• 
  OUP Blog

• Freedom Riders: The Film Premiere

  Rebecca

  26 Jan 2010 | 7:20 am

  Raymond Arsenault is the John Hope Franklin Professor of Southern History and co-director of the Florida Studies Program at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg. His book, Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice, is the full-length story of one of the most celebrated episodes of the civil rights movement. The book has recently been turned into a film which premiered at Sundance yesterday. Below Arsenault talks about the experience. It was an emotional experience to be at the first public showing of the American Experience documentary based on my book, Freedom…

• Editing and Framing in Robert Bresson’s Films

  Rebecca

  7 Jan 2010 | 8:39 am

  Robert Bresson, one of the most highly regarded French filmmakers, created a new kind of cinema through meticulous refinement of the form’s grammatical and expressive possibilities.  In his book, Robert Bresson: A Passion for Film, Tony Pipolo provides a nuanced analysis of each of Bresson’s films, elucidating Bresson’s unique style as it evolved.  In the excerpt below, from the introduction, we learn about the importance of Bresson’s editing techniques. Tony Pipolo is Professor Emeritus of Film and Literature at the City University of New York. Of all the elements…

• Video Interviews with Gustav Meier

  Rebecca

  21 Dec 2009 | 8:52 am

  Today we have a special treat for you thanks to banddirector.com. Recently they conducted a series of interviews with author Gustav Meier and banddirector.com has agreed to let us re-post them here for your viewing pleasure. Meier, the author of The Score, the Orchestra, and the Conductor, is the director of the Orchestra Conducting Program at the Peabody Institute and Music Director of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra in Connecticut. Meier has served on the faculties of Yale University, the Eastman School of Music, the University of Michigan and the Tanglewood Music Center. He makes…

• From Garland to Zellweger: The Ten Best Musical Films

  Rebecca

  2 Dec 2009 | 5:37 am

  Richard Barrios has lectured extensively on film, served as a commentator on numerous DVDs, and co-hosted a series on Turner Classic Movies. He currently lives outside Philadelphia. His book, A Song in the Dark: The Birth of the Musical Film, 2nd edition, illuminates the origins of the movie musical from the smash hits of The Singing Fool and Sunny Side Up to bizarre flops like Golden Dawn and Cecil B. DeMille’s Madam Satan. In the original post below, Barrios looks at the 10 best musical films ever made.  Be sure to check out his 10 worst list here. Any art, naturally, is inherently…

• Five Things You Never Knew about West Side Story

  Rebecca

  17 Nov 2009 | 8:32 am

  Geoffrey Block, Distinguished Professor of Music History at the University of Puget Sound, is the author of Enchanted Evenings: The Broadway Musical From Show Boat to Sondheim and Lloyd Webber.  The book offers theater lovers an illuminating behind-the-scenes tour of some of America’s best loved, most admired, and most enduring musicals, as well as a riveting history.  In the original post below we learn five new things about West Side Story. 1. Did you know that choreographer Jerome Robbins insisted on making the Jets snap their thumbs against their index fingers instead of their middle…

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  The Envelope - Ultimate Awards Site

• James Cameron leaves no Oscar ballot unturned

  8 Feb 2010 | 1:16 pm

  The "Avatar" director has been participating in almost daily Q&A sessions.

• Oscar experts agree: Jeff Bridges will win best actor

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:36 am

  While Bridges will likely prevail, pundits disagree over who'll win best picture.

• Box office: 'Dear John' steals first place from 'Avatar'

  7 Feb 2010 | 10:36 am

  Disney/Pixar's "Up" won best film at the 37th annual Annie Awards on Saturday evening, receiving two awards -- for best film and best director, Pete Docter. Disney/Pixar's "Up" won best film at the 37th annual Annie Awards on Saturday evening, receiving two awards -- for best film and best director, Pete Docter.

• Can 'Up in the Air' turn USC Scripter into a win at Oscars?

  7 Feb 2010 | 10:33 am

  "Up in the Air" won the USC Scripter Award on Saturday, competing against three of its competitors at the Oscars. "Up in the Air" won the USC Scripter Award on Saturday, competing against three of its competitors at the Oscars.

• 'Up' wins top Annie Award

  7 Feb 2010 | 10:26 am

  Disney/Pixar's "Up" won best film at the 37th annual Annie Awards on Saturday evening, receiving two awards -- for best film and best director, Pete Docter. Disney/Pixar's "Up" won best film at the 37th annual Annie Awards on Saturday evening, receiving two awards -- for best film and best director, Pete Docter.

• 
  scanners

• You better you better you best: The better of the best lists

  Jim Emerson

  4 Feb 2010 | 9:59 pm

  If all the year-end and decade-end lists (even though we realize the decade isn't actually over until 2011) have left you dizzied and depleted, take heart! Perhaps you've missed out on some of the more invigorating, far-sighted list-based ventures. Over at Some Came Running, for example, Glenn Kenny conducted an ingenious and fascinating project, going back and taking a look at the late Manny Farber's Best Films of 1951. Meanwhile, at The Crop Duster, Robert Horton is engaged in surveying the year's best -- in non-chronological order -- from, oh, about 1919 or so, to the present, posting a…

• What it takes to win the Best Picture Oscar

  Jim Emerson

  2 Feb 2010 | 6:56 pm

  Traditionally (or, perhaps a better word is "statistically"), in order for film to win the Best Picture, it has to also receive director, screenplay, editing and acting nominations. Of the ten BP nominees this year, only "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds" and "Precious Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire" were nominated in all the winning categories. Sure, there have been exceptions. James Cameron's "Titanic" screenplay didn't get nominated, either. And remember the stink when "Driving Miss Daisy" won Best Picture without even a nomination for its director, Bruce Beresford? The…

• The Muriel Awards: I See You

  Jim Emerson

  2 Feb 2010 | 5:38 pm

  Some Muriel history here. She's alive.

• Pee-wee gets an iPad!

  Jim Emerson

  29 Jan 2010 | 5:45 pm

  Pee-wee Gets An iPad! from Pee-wee Herman

• Cherry Bomb! The Sundance Swag Fest

  Jim Emerson

  28 Jan 2010 | 5:48 pm

  In today's New York Times, Manohla Dargis writes: For almost as long as it's been in existence, the Sundance Film Festival has fended off criticism that it has gone Hollywood. [...] But let us not be (entirely) cynical. For all its problems, the festival remains one of the most important in the world and the foremost launching pad for American independents. Both parts of that last sentence are arguable, but if Sundance is (or has ever been) one of the most important film festivals in the world, I hope it's because it retains some power to launch American films, "independent" or otherwise,…

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  Observations on film art

• Light is a law

  bordwellblog

  2 Feb 2010 | 8:58 pm

  DB here: What do we see when we look around us? A world teeming with creatures and things. We tend to ignore what enables us to see all that: light. To a great extent, that bias is wired into our perceptual systems. An orange looks the same color to us in sunshine and in shade. But photograph it, and you’ll see that actually it throws off very different wavelengths in the two situations. We evolved, it seems, to mute all the variations in light we encounter. Psychologists call this “the primacy of object perception.” It takes an artist to shift from the what to the how, to notice how…

• Paris-Berlin-Brussels express

  bordwellblog

  25 Jan 2010 | 2:33 pm

  Doktor Satansohn. Our trip to Europe has come to an end, and so we finish with a post scanning some highlights. The magic lantern learns new tricks DB here: What am I seeing? Many avant-garde films pose this question. Mainstream fiction film and documentary cinema have mostly relied on the idea that the image should be recognizable as “what it is.”  But one strain of experimental film has worked to delay or even prevent us from making out what’s in front of the camera. Sometimes we lose our bearings only briefly, as when we eventually identify pot lids in Ballet Mécanique or bits of…

• 2-4-6-8, whose lipdub do we appreciate?

  bordwellblog

  20 Jan 2010 | 6:24 am

  DB here: “There is really no such thing as Art. There are only artists.” I tend to interpret the disarming opening of Ernst Gombrich’s Story of Art as a protest against the idea that art has an essence that unfolds through history. Those of us in film studies can spot the heritage of this Hegelian idea in one standard story that is told about how editing came to be a dominant technique. According to the formula, editing is “essentially cinematic,” but this essence didn’t reveal itself immediately. It emerged in phases, thanks to the insights of brilliant creators (Méliès,…

• French fortuities

  bordwellblog

  13 Jan 2010 | 3:21 pm

  DB here: What is it about French doors and French books? I have no trouble opening a door in other countries, but here it’s hard to tell whether to push or pull. Yes, I know a door swings toward its hinged side, but sometimes the hinges seem hidden. Yes, there are often instructions on the door (POUSSEZ, TIREZ), but often there aren’t. And it’s not just me. French people ahead of me in a queue seem just as baffled. Yesterday, a kind lady helping me at the Bibliothèque Nationale made a mistake when opening her own office door. I also note that some doors have handwritten instructions…

• Paris fun, in at least three dimensions

  bordwellblog

  10 Jan 2010 | 2:25 am

  What he saves films from: Serge Bromberg faces down the flames. We’re ending the first week of three in Paris. At the invitation of Jean-Loup Bourget and Françoise Zamour, David is giving three weekly lectures at the École Normale Superieure. He’s introducing some ideas about the development of film style in the 1910s and early 1920s, updated with new material from his summer research in Denmark and Brussels. Jean-Loup and Françoise have proven excellent hosts, and the first lecture seemed to go well. We thought that Paris in January might be chilly and rainy, but we figured it…

• 
  John Locker : Latest Documentaries

• The Largest Black Holes in the Universe

  How big can they get? What\\\'s the largest so far detected? Where does an 18 billion solar mass black hole hide? A SpaceRipTV original in collaboration with Space.com

• Lost Nation: Stories from the Uyghur Diaspora

  A documentary film produced for Forced Migration Online, Oxford University (January 2007). Uyghurs formerly from East Turkistan / Xinjiang, China discuss their reasons for leaving and lives in Europe, Turkey and the USA. www.forcedmigration.org

• War Promises

  DVD: http://www.nuoviso.com Millions of people believe that evidence proves that Western intelligence services organised the hideous attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001. Even the mainstream media have stopped defending the official version and now prefer to ignore the issue altogether.

• The Awful Truth Man of The Year: TV Pundits

  Made during the Clinton Administration to help people learn the names of the enemy (bigwigs in corporations); Michael Moore institutes an annual Awful Truth Man of The Year award. / Moore thinks one of the worst things about this whole Clinton/Lewinsky scandal is the obnoxious pundits seen on network television. He decides to have a Pundit Challenge. / Moore receives a restraining order.

• Desegregating Baltimore City Schools

  A Look Back at Brown vs. Board of Education. A 2004 documentary produced by the Baltimore Sun.

• 
  Ain't It Cool News - The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news.

• THE GREEN LANTERN's Villain Gets A Daddy!!

  Merrick

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:44 am

• Christopher Nolan To 'Godfather' SUPERMAN!?!? Oh Yeah, There's Another BAT Movie Being Written Now, Too!!

  Merrick

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:51 am

• And The TERMINATOR Rights Go To...Hunh??

  Merrick

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:45 am

• Win a Copy of Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic

  ScottGreen

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:10 am

• SARAH SILVERMAN!! SERLING!! STARGATE!! IRON MAN!! MAD MEN!! RAD GIRLS!! TIM!! JEREMIAH!! POLTERGEIST!! HercVault!!

  Hercules

  9 Feb 2010 | 1:26 am

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  Bloody-Disgusting Horror News

• Lars von Trier Plans the End of the World for Penelope Cruz!

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:36 am

  Various sources are reporting that Penelope Cruz could be toplining Danish auteur Lars von Trier's (Antichrist) psychological drama-cum-disaster film, Melancholia. Budgeted at around E5 million ($7 million), English-lingo film is set for a European 2010 shoot. The title refers to Planet Melancholia, an enormous planet illustrated on the press release that looms threateningly close to Earth. "No more happy endings!" commented Lars von Trier, who will direct from his own screenplay. "As a disaster movie, 'Melancholia' will use some special effects, but nothing compared to Hollywood," exclaims…

• 'Terminator' Bidding War Comes to Abrupt and Shocking End

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:07 am

  The future has been saved -- for now. Last week it was reported that both Sony and Lionsgate were in a heated bidding war to score the rights to Terminator, with newly revealed plans to reboot the franchise (oh come on!). Thankfully, they both lost out when "Halcyon Holding Corp accepted the $29.5 million bid from, of all parties, the debtholder which pushed it [the franchise] into bankruptcy, Santa Barbara-based hedge fund Pacificor. (This is the same Pacificor whom Halcyon accused in a lawsuit of extortion, bribery, and fraud and demanded $30M in damages.)," reports Deadline. My favorite…

• A New 'Epidemic' in Third 'Day of the Dead'

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:45 am

  Bloody Disgusting learned that Taurus Entertainment (vomit) is developing a third Day of the Dead film. Day of the Dead: Epidemic begins when a new version of the virus spreads out from a tiny village in Asia, desperate groups of survivors around the world make contact over the internet as they search for possible clues to a cure. Filming is supposed to begin this month, but we're not sure who is directing and starring. Check out some promo art below.

• 'Panzer' 88' Concept Art and In Depth Interview!

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:41 am

  Late last week it was announced here that Peter Briggs (Hellboy co-writer, and the forthcoming Mortis Rex) will be getting beind the camera for Panzer 88 from his own screenplay with Gary Kurtz (Star Wars(!)) is producing. Not a whole lot of information was revealed, so we got in touch with Briggs who not only told us everything you could possibly want to know, but he also provided us with an exclusive look at some cool concept art. Check it all out by Clicking here and watch for more soon

• 'Pearblossom' Title Change to 'Life Blood' -- Still Tons of Hot Chicks

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:37 am

  Bleiberg Entertainment has changed the title of their thriller Pearblossom to Life Blood (thank god). The flick takes place on New Year's Eve, 1968: While driving on the Pearblossom Highway, a lesbian couple (played by the incredibly sexy Sophie Monk of The Hills Run Red and Date Movie; and Anya Lahiri) find themselves face to face with the creator of the universe (played by Victoria's Secret supermodel Angela Lindvall). Laid to rest for 40 years, the women wake up on New Year's Day as reborn creatures. Now, they walk the earth fighting in the eternal battle of good and evil, not alway…

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  Rick's Flicks Picks

• FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (1971) (***1/2)

  ricksflickspicks

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:11 am

  Check Out the TrailerMany a commentator has called this film the quintessential Jewish film, while others have called it the opposite. The broad story of a father sweating over the marriages of his daughters is common to any religion or culture, but the details of this film are seeped in Jewish tradition. There is a simple philosophy about how one should live ones life that anyone can find poignant. And it’s filled with great songs. Tevye (Topol, FLASH GORDON) is the milkman in the village of Anatevka, Russia in 1905. He embraces tradition and finds comfort in it. But his oldest…

• STRIPES (1981) (***)

  ricksflickspicks

  4 Feb 2010 | 1:27 pm

  Check Out the TrailerMany of the creative forces behind ANIMAL HOUSE came together to make this raunchy military comedy. Ivan Reitman directed and Harold Ramis wrote and starred in it. Reitman brought in Bill Murray who previously starred in his low-budget raunch-fest MEATBALLS. Unlike ANIMAL HOUSE there is no nostalgia to rely on and the sticking it to the establishment theme isn’t as fresh. But there are some great laughs to be had and Murray is outstanding in the type of role that defines his screen persona. John Winger (Murray, GHOSTBUSTERS) is the quintessential slacker, whose life…

• This Weekend’s Film Festival – Sports Crazy

  ricksflickspicks

  3 Feb 2010 | 10:05 pm

  With the Super Bowl this weekend, leading up to the big game, This Weekend’s Film Festival delves into the world of obsessed fandom. A loser’s entire life revolves around the New York Giants. An Arsenal soccer fan has trouble balancing between his girlfriend and his team. A Red Sox fan makes all his life decisions around his team’s schedule. Female Iranian soccer fans risk prison to attend a World Cup qualifying game. Soccer hooligans beat rival team fans for the fun of it. Starting with writing THE WRESTLER and now with BIG FAN, former THE ONION editor-in-chief Robert D.

• OFFSIDE (2007) (***1/2)

  ricksflickspicks

  3 Feb 2010 | 1:12 pm

  Check Out the TrailerJafar Panahi has been fighting for the rights of women in his native Iran his whole career. Outside of bootleg DVDs, his work is not widely seen in his own country. But his work has been lauded at film festivals all over the globe. With this film, he took a much lighter touch on equal rights than his previous films like THE CIRCLE. In Iran, women are not allowed to attend male sporting events. His story follows women who dress up like boys to sneak into soccer matches to support their national team. Through this often-humorous tale, he exposes the hypocrisies and…

• IN THE LOOP (2009) (***1/2)

  ricksflickspicks

  30 Jan 2010 | 5:55 pm

  Check Out the TrailerArmando Iannucci’s political satire looks at the maneuvering the British government makes to find out what the Americans have in the works in the lead up to a war in the Middle East. Pro-war and anti-war sides connive to push their agendas. A throwaway comment on a radio show puts the hapless Minister for International Development right in the middle of this political battle. The minister, Simon Foster (Tom Hollander, PRIDE & PREJUDICE), said that he felt war in the Middle East was unforeseeable. The next day the Prime Minister’s strong arm Malcolm Tucker…

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  Film.com The Big Hitter

• The Best of the 2010 Super Bowl Commercials

  7 Feb 2010 | 8:13 pm

  Let's face it, it wasn't the best year for Super Bowl commercials. Still, we're all about the bright side; here are the advertisements we found particular enjoyment in.Robin Hood Teaser TrailerGladiator in tights? I'll take it. Heck, I'll take anything Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe want to give me. Robin Hood looks like big fun. Careerbuilder.com, Casual FridayOccasionally people take casual Friday too far. This commercial starts quick, with a half-naked fella in the background, immediately…

• Review: From Paris with Love a Satisfying Escape

  5 Feb 2010 | 8:56 am

  "Eminently watchable." If you like a violent, silly, frenetic style of film you'll find plenty to enjoy here. There are a few glaring flaws, which we'll get to, but overall this is satisfying escapism. You could do much worse -- heck, I'm betting you have. Travolta is always at his best when he's playing oddball characters, and From Paris with Love is no exception.Jonathan Rhys Meyers is the assistant to the United States Ambassador to France, but he's handling the occasional…

• 2010 Oscar Nominations, Favorites, and Snubs

  2 Feb 2010 | 3:18 am

  Best Picture The Hurt Locker Inglourious Basterds Avatar Precious Up in the Air An Education Up A Serious Man District 9 The Blind SideSnub: District 9 and The Blind Side were late inclusions, probably taking the spots of Invictus and A Single Man. Favorite: I'm taking Avatar even though the DGA recently rewarded The Hurt Locker. Best Director Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) James Cameron (Avatar) Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds) Lee Daniels (Precious) Jason Reitman (Up in the Air)Sn…

• Review: When in Rome Worth Skipping

  29 Jan 2010 | 7:12 am

  "An appalling collection of unfunny." I counted how many times I laughed during When in Rome, as a service to you, the reader. The answer was seven. Seven times in 90 minutes I said, "Ha!" -- which averages out to around once every 13 minutes. To be fair, that's not in the "worst movie ever" territory; for instance, I only laughed out of hysterical pain during Babel, but it's certainly not equitable to the many dozens of times I laughed during Superbad, Old School, Wedding…

• Review: Welcome to the Rileys - Sundance Film Festival

  26 Jan 2010 | 1:20 pm

  "An engaging, if tense, viewing experience." Welcome to the Rileys, to its credit, doesn't conform to narrative expectations. It's a drama, but a drama on the edge of utter destruction. Kristen Stewart is Allison ... or Mallory, depending on the scene (trust me, this makes sense). She's an exotic dancer in New Orleans, she meets James Gandolfini (who is on a business trip), and we're off from there.James Gandolfini (as Doug Riley) is a damaged man. His wife, played by Melissa…

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  Film.com DVD Blog

• DVD Alternatives to This Weekend's Theatrical Offerings

  5 Feb 2010 | 12:42 pm

  We know how it is: You'd like to go to the movies this weekend, except you're busy writing long, flowery letters to the love of your life, who's on the other side of the planet somewhere where there's no Internet access. But you can have a multiplex-like experience at home with a collection of the right DVDs. And when someone asks you on Monday, "Hey, did you see Dear John this weekend?" you can reply, "No, but do you have a stamp?" INSTEAD OF: Dear John, a would-be weepy melodrama about a…

• DVD Review: Emma

  5 Feb 2010 | 9:22 am

  Emma holds a peculiar place among Jane Austen's six legendary romantic comedies. It's easily her funniest story and features some of her greatest comic characters. But not all modern women have an easy time stomaching the "taming" of confident, witty, mischievous Emma by the smug, dull, condescending Mr. Knightley. The greatest compliment that can be paid to the BBC's lovely new adaptation is that it remains faithful to Austen's masterpiece, yet still makes us believe that Emma is ending up with…

• DVD Review: The House of the Devil

  3 Feb 2010 | 10:54 am

  There's something to be said about a director wanting to try something new and different, whether it's putting a new spin on a tired genre, or going a different direction than the audience would likely expect. For those reasons, The House of the Devil director Ti West has my utmost respect. West took the modern way of horror filmmaking and went the exact opposite with The House of the Devil, creating a slow-building creepfest that's so thick with tension you could practically cut it with a…

• DVD Review: Doctor Who: The Complete Specials Is No Place for Newbies

  2 Feb 2010 | 11:05 am

  Here is my spoiler-free recommendation for those wishing to jump into the phenomenon that is Doctor Who but who have never seen a lick of the "classic" series -- the one that ran from 1963 through 1989 -- nor a moment of the rebooted series, which debuted in 2005 and has since taken the world -- or the U.K., at least, and slices of American sci-fi cultdom -- by storm. Don't start with "The Complete Specials," just out on DVD from BBC Video. See, cuz David Tennant is the best Doctor ever.…

• DVD Alternatives to This Weekend's Theatrical Offerings

  29 Jan 2010 | 12:01 pm

  We know how it is: You'd like to go to the movies this weekend, except you're busy investigating the latest government/corporate cover-up and that leaves little time for amusing yourself. But you can have a multiplex-like experience at home with a collection of the right DVDs. And when someone asks you on Monday, "Hey, did you see Edge of Darkness this weekend?" you can reply, "No, but gimme back my DVDs!" Goodness, only two wide releases this week, and no new arthouse flicks worth…

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  ScreenCrave.com - Passionate about movies

• Tim Robbins Joins The Green Lantern

  Krystal Clark

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:44 am

  The Green Lantern movie has gained a little credibility with its latest casting of Oscar winner Tim Robbins. According to THR, Robbins has signed on to the Warner Bros big screen adaptation of the DC comic of the same name, where he’ll join Ryan Reynolds as the title character, Blake Lively as Carol Ferris, and Peter Sargaard as Hector Hammond. According to the trade, Robbins will play daddy dearest to Sarsgaard as Senator Hammond, the disapproving father of the movie’s villain. From my limited knowledge of the Green Lantern comics, Papa Hammond doesn’t appear in the books.

• 24 Feature Film Headed to the Big Screen

  Krystal Clark

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:15 am

  We all know that our television sets are too small to contain the amazing spectacle that is Jack Bauer. It sounds like that “24” TV movie we got two years ago was just a warm up for bigger things to come. According to Variety, the Fox heavy weight will finally appear on the silver screen, and the studio has already tapped a screenwriter to pen the story. Rumors regarding a “24″ movie have been around for the past few years, and most of us thought they would end after 24: Redemption, but we were wrong. It turns out that the series’ star and executive producer…

• Christopher Nolan Prepping Superman Reboot

  Krystal Clark

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:47 am

  Christopher Nolan has become the go to guy to restore comic book franchises. Over at Deadline Hollywood, they’re reporting that the director has been tapped to mentor the upcoming Superman reboot. The last film in the series was Superman Returns, which was released in 2006 and helmed by Bryan Singer. Warner Bros have enlisted Nolan to work his magic and bring Supe back to his former glory. According to Nikki Finke’s sources, Nolan has been asked to play “godfather” to the Superman reboot for Warner Bros to ensure it gets off the ground after a 3 1/2 year hiatus. The…

• Heroes: Season 4 Episode 19: Brave New World – TV Review

  Krystal Clark

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am

  Last night’s episode of “Heroes” entitled “Brave New World” brought season 4 to a close and possibly the entire show. Samuel was ready to act on his plan to kill hundreds of people in Central Park, while Peter, Sylar, Claire, and Noah all worked to stop him in their own way. The episode took a page from season one, by showing all the “heroes” working together for a single cause. Even Tracy showed up to help, and she’s far from my favorite character. Whether it was the end of the show or the beginning of a new chapter, this was one of the better…

• New DVD Releases: Couples Retreat, A Serious Man, The Time Traveler’s Wife

  Andrew Payne

  9 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am

  There are plenty of big-time movies rolling onto DVD shelves including an October tent-pole film that wasn’t, an August tent-pole that wasn’t, and a romantic comedy comeback that wasn’t. Okay, so maybe these movies aren’t so big, but we do get a chance to catch up with one of the ten Best Picture nominees as A Serious Man hits the shelves, plus a new collection from one of the greatest directors ever. Check it all out below… FEATURE FILMS Couples Retreat Is Vince Vaughn Over? It seems like if this movie had come out in, say, 2007 it could have been a massive…

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  Illiterary Fiction

• Film and TV Grammar is Like Body Language

  Len Esten

  31 Jan 2010 | 4:34 pm

  Movies are made up of individual shots stitched together to convey something. In stories they convey what happens and in what order. In film things do not just happen, there is also the way these things are seen. The camera can be put in any number of positions and pointed in countless ways. This has become a language of its own, film grammar, but its nature is not like that of spoken words but like the way we speak without words. Image by John Kratz Silent, Visual Cues Like the way you walk or the way you stand, film language is just as utilitarian. The camera has to be pointed at the…

• Filmmaker Local Acting Resources You Overlook

  Len Esten

  26 Oct 2009 | 5:11 am

  Filmmakers not situated in major filmmaking areas are at a disadvantage in certain ways. Camera and lighting rental places will not be as plentiful, skilled crew members will be hard to come by, and screen actors fill not be waiting tables at every restaurant. There are realities of regional filmmaking and one of them is that most things cannot be done like they would be in New York or Los Angeles. Even though you may not have a ready pool of waiting actors for your project it does not mean you cannot make one. Image by sazztastical Community College, Universities Most medium-sized cities are…

• Why Filmmakers Use Makeup on Actors

  Len Esten

  30 Jul 2009 | 5:41 pm

  Many beginning filmmakers overlook makeup and get by for a long time without it. Thought makeup is not a requisite for fine filmmaking, it is a tool you should be familiar with. In real life we are used to makeup being use for one purpose and mostly by women: to look more attractive. In filmmaking the focus of makeup is to help an actor come across on camera the way looking like the character they are playing, which often has nothing to do with looking "good". Image by back to menu Change Age Or Type If your pool of available actors is small, you will find yourself using makeup to turn them…

• Low Budget Film Sound Recorders

  Len Esten

  28 Apr 2009 | 1:38 pm

  Films can be ruined with unintentionally poor sound. If dialogue is unintelligible, so will the film be. We all know recording good sound is important, but the confluence of lack of experience and the variety of devices compounds the situation. Often we hear about expensive, difficult to obtain machinery that is "a must have" to get good sound, but this is not the case. Image by Lee Gumienny Good sound is not a binary situation. In fact two people using the same equipment can get widely different results. Instead of buying some equipment and hoping it will save your production, use something…

• Why Movie Directors Avoid Overcast Filmmaking

  Len Esten

  30 Mar 2009 | 6:33 am

  Image by Jobe Cinematography can be a confusing subject for a non-technical director. There are f-stops, shutter speeds, ISO ratings, and foot candles involved, so it can get overwhelming. Often a director has a trusted cinematographer that handles this part of the filmmaking for them. This person knows the gear and techniques and the director goes along with their opinions. Early on a movie director will learn from this person to avoid cloud cover when shooting on-location. As much as I feel you should just trust a cinematographer's advice, it is important to know the reasons why you should…

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  Consolidated Films

• Do Not Distribute Movies In Theaters

  Julian Perrera

  31 Jan 2010 | 2:32 pm

  Filmmakers of many stripes all dream of the same thing: theatrical distribution. The thing they never consider is whether it is right for their situation. Rather than seeking the ephemeral validation that you movie's name in lights offers, consider the downsides to theatrical distribution. Image by Bob Jagendorf Expensive Until the day comes when we can give theaters a digital file which they can project digitally, we will likely need to strike a 35mm print of your movie to screen it. The average is about $20,000 for a feature film to be put on film, though duplicates run in the $1000 range.

• Filmmaking Legal Issues To Ignore

  Price Jaccobi

  26 Oct 2009 | 4:15 am

  Filmmakers often make the mistake of doing too much planning and not enough doing. A certain amount of studying can help make a filmmaker better, but knowing too much can sometimes become a hindrance. With no knowledge of how other people make films, an ambitious filmmaker would just grab the closest camera, shoot footage, and edit it together. This film might end up being virtually unwatchable, but it would be an experience they can learn from and would put them miles ahead of those with their head still in filmmaking books. Image by Sir Nube Negra Once a filmmaker has done a fair amount of…

• Free Indie Film Promotion In Media Tips

  Julian Perrera

  30 Jul 2009 | 3:29 pm

  Most filmmakers do not have money to throw at advertising their film. Even if they did, they would soon find ads are not that effective. Many look at media relations (aka press relations, PR) as free advertising, but it is more complex than that idea implies. The media will mention you in articles, columns, radio stories, or videos but only if you have a story or information that interests them. Image by CIVICO13 If you want media people to cover you, you must think like one. Learn how to spot and mold stories from the real life people that help you make films. Not only that but it is as…

• Film Producing Changes In The Digital Age

  Price Jaccobi

  27 Apr 2009 | 2:38 pm

  Films have been made the same way for a long time. Since 1926 the combination of sight, sound, and general running time have become a de facto for feature films that most aspiring filmmakers aim for. The days of movie theaters being the only place to see films are over, as are the days of television as the only way to watch episodic and serial stories. The internet has taken over and with this change in distribution comes a corresponding need to change or expand the concept of filmmaking. Image by chris.bryant Upon reading Scott Kirsner's new book Fans, Friends and Followers (amazon) it…

• More Movie Versions, Easier Film Marketing

  Julian Perrera

  31 Mar 2009 | 6:14 am

  Filmmakers have often been afforded the luxury of only having one version of their film released. There are the anomalous films like Star Wars that have had multiple versions released long after the original and sometimes there are the movies with both a studio and director version, like Blade Runner, but for the most part films have a single definitive version set in stone. As an independent filmmaker you are wise to be wary of any Hollywood tradition, the idea of a single version of a film being best is no exception. Just because it has always been done that way does not mean it is the…

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  Valerie Atherton's Playground and Intellectual Dept.

• My Oscar Movie Awards Picks

  Valerie Atherton

  22 Jan 2010 | 6:03 pm

  There are lots of movie awards during the year, but there is one that Hollywood people like most because they get to vote on themselves and their friends, kind of like a beauty pageant where only the models get to vote. These are the Oscar Movie Awards. Every year for the past four or five [...]

• Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes

  Valerie Atherton

  8 Jan 2010 | 4:55 pm

  Ah, Paris. Even if they’ve never actually been, I think most people love Paris just because…it’s Paris. Paris is the home of pretty much everything we take for grants, today. France people created fancy cooking (thank god or else we’d all just be eating that weird casserole with hot dogs on it that my mom’s [...]

• Holiday Movie Review: A Wonderful Life

  Valerie Atherton

  17 Dec 2009 | 7:32 pm

  Looking for movies to watch at Christmas can be pretty overwhelming. Kind of like how singers and music people make cd’s with Christmas songs, it seems like actors from every country in the world have made a Christmas movie. Unfortunately, a certain movie rental place in Woodland Hills that rhymes with Vollywood Hideo barely doesn’t even [...]

• One Book – A Thousand Trilogies

  Valerie Atherton

  3 Dec 2009 | 11:47 pm

  I was at the local Borders Books with my friend Sarah (Hi, Sarah!) because we were looking for cheap gifts for certain relatives who are impossible to buy for, so you just end up getting them books. So, while we were there, we noticed a book version(*) of Transformers 2. I was like, “OMG, someone [...]

• Team Jacob or Team Edward?

  Valerie Atherton

  25 Nov 2009 | 3:09 pm

  I remember a couple months ago when everyone in America was trying to figure out, ‘Am I a Democrat or a Christian?’ because you had to vote for President Bush or President Obama. Well, these days are even more complicated with pretty much everyone in America and countries that understand American movies trying to figure [...]

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  BSGCAST

• WOLFMAN PREVIEW: Exclusive Clips and Interviews

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:54 am

  http://YourGeekNews.com - Nearly 70 years after Lon Chaney Jr. first howled at the moon, Benicio Del Toro is slipping into his signature hair, ears and underbite to bring the classic Universal monster to life in Joe Johnston's remake of The Wolf Man, With Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving and Emily Blunt along for the ride!

• BURIED SNEAK PEEK

  7 Feb 2010 | 12:29 pm

  http://YourGeekNews.com - Watch clips from the film and see Ryan & Rodrigo the night of the Sundance premiere! When we heard that Ryan Reynolds teamed up with Spanish Director Rodrigo Cortes to make a film that takes place exclusively in a coffin for 90-minutes, we were terrified and intrigued. When it rocked Sundance and got a $3-Million Lionsgate distribution deal right after its premiere, we were sold!

• REVIEW: Capricast 1.02 - Rebirth

  4 Feb 2010 | 10:04 pm

  After months of waiting, the story of Caprica finally moves forward with Zoe in her new Cylon body as the Graystone and Adama families try to cope with tragedy - and of course, Matt + Nat from BSGcast are here with your weekly CapriCast to chat all about it! This episode gives us lots to talk about from the new theme song and opening credit sequence to the concept of group marriages and little Willy’s life of crime. What did you think of the first steps in the series?

• BOOK OF ELI REVIEW: Rewatch!

  30 Jan 2010 | 8:19 am

  The Hughes Brothers may have delivered us a familiar "by the book" post-apocalyptic world, the story certainly took some unexpected turns to the point that The Book of Eli may just have a "Sixth Sense" need for a rewatch! Just keep your eye on Denzel in some of the clips in this review!

• THE BOOK OF ELI PREVIEW: Exclusive Clips and Interviews

  15 Jan 2010 | 6:08 am

  http://YourGeekNews.com for more! The Hughes Brothers have been away from the limelight since 2001's From Hell with Johnny Depp, but their return features the huge combo of Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman in a post-apocalyptic western-inspired tale of biblical proportions. ~Matt + Nat

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  WHAT WOULD TOTO WATCH?

• Biel too buff for rom-com hijinks?

  cftoto

  9 Feb 2010 | 7:20 am

  Actress Jessica Biel was recently named the most “dangerous celebrity to search in cyberspace” by a leading virus protection company. The Boulder native also could win the “buffest beauty” contest in a walk. Biel, the co-star of this week’s rom-com “Valentine’s Day,” is an avowed athlete and brings a more, ahem, defined version of beauty to the big screen. She’s ripped, basically. And people who search for her images online don’t seem bothered. But how do movie audiences feel about her fit form? Biel’s career isn’t white…

• Those oh, so tolerant ‘Basterds’

  cftoto

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:58 am

  Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” received critical acclaim last year and nabbed a flurry of Oscar nominations. But its latest honor is a bit … incurious to use the director’s fractured spelling. Tarantino took part in a panel discussion last Thursday in a special community event at the Museum of Tolerance, part of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The chat, led by Rabbi Abraham Cooper, opened with a screening of “Basterds,” about a band of Jewish soldiers who capture, torture and kill every Nazi they find. Can’t we all just get along? The…

• ‘Valentine’s Day’ starring … everyone

  cftoto

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:21 pm

  Wanna cuddle up to a romantic comedy this weekend? Maybe you’ll consider “Valentine’s Day,” the most obviously titled rom-com ever. The new film from “Pretty Woman” director Garry Marshall stars … take a deep breath … Jennifer Garner, Jamie Foxx, Julia Roberts, Bradley Cooper, Queen Latifah, Ashton Kutcher, Taylor Swift, Topher Grace, Eric Dane, Jessica Biel and Patrick Dempsey. Did we leave anyone out? Oh, yeah. Emma Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Biel and Papa WWTW’s choice for best character actor working today -…

• It’s ‘Alice’ by a nose …

  cftoto

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:26 am

  The Super Bowl is more than just the biggest sporting event of the year for many fans. It’s also a great chance to expose movie trailers to the nation. So MovieTickets.com polled more than 550 people who watched the big game in toto to see which movie commercial made the biggest impression on them. “Alice in Wonderland,” the upcoming 3-D feature starring Johnny Depp, joined the New Orleans Saints in the winner’s circle. The poll question read: Which of the following movie advertisements (trailers) do you remember seeing during the Super Bowl? 1. Alice in Wonderland…

• Broderick and co. TV bound

  cftoto

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:15 am

  Film actress Julianne Moore showed off a wicked good Boston accent on “30 Rock” this season playing Jack Donaghy’s old Beantown flame. Turns out she was just getting her feet wet. The actress is currently fielding offers for a TV project, according to Entertainment Weekly. Moore has some highly regarded company in her switch to the small screen. Oscar winner Forest Whitaker (”The Last King of Scotland” came out last week in glorious Blu-ray splendor) is slated to anchor a “Criminal Minds” spin-off for CBS. And Matthew Broderick will star in a new…

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  ZDONK

• Oscar’s Got a New Look

  ZackRoth

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:45 am

  Avatar, The Blindside, District 9, An Education, A Serious Man, Up, Inglourious Basterds, The Hurt Locker, Precious, Up In The Air — your 2010 Academy Award nominees for Best Picture. (Full list of nominations). When the Academy Awards expanded it’s Best Picture nominations from 5 to 10, I’m not sure people anticipated that the extra slots [...]

• Video Games, Hollywood & Original Content

  Dennis Stratton

  13 Jan 2010 | 4:02 pm

  This could be paranoia, but the dismal year-end performance of the video game industry, despite huge successes like Modern Warfare (it put up Avatar numbers), could lead to an ironic turn of events as video game creators also flock toward brands with pre-existing fan bases. Because of the huge marketing expense that goes into promoting a [...]

• 2010: A Big Year for Blockbusters

  Roy Klabin

  11 Jan 2010 | 10:13 am

  Am I the only one who’s looking forward to all these remakes? The negative connotation associated with a “remake” might have been applicable in the days of old: Studios had steady funding and a variety of tent-poles to rely on. They had sequels, experimental projects and even a steady stream of indies. Action stars like [...]

• GeekWeek, Your Multiverse

  Dennis Stratton

  5 Jan 2010 | 4:15 pm

  Jeff Katz – founder and CEO of American Original, Comic Book author, Producer, former Executive at New Line, ZDONK Board Member, etc, etc, etc — has launched the genre consumer’s response to The Huffington Post. GeekWeek is a one-stop shop for everything…well, geek. The design is an amalgamation of Newsweek and the NY Post. It’s layout is [...]

• Hulu to Create Content

  ZackRoth

  17 Dec 2009 | 11:41 am

  Simon Fuller’s 19 Entertainment and Hulu have partnered to create and distribute the reality web show If I Can Dream. The show will air in America in 2010 on both Hulu.com and ificandream.com. (Check out this article on Mashable for more). For as long as the site has existed, Hulu’s been known for streaming already seen [...]

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  Film Gecko

• DVD Review: ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’

  Jane Boursaw

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:52 pm

  Just getting caught up on a few DVDs that have been stacked in my office waiting for a review. ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ was released in several versions last year: Two-Disc Blu-ray with Digital Copy, Single Disc DVD, and Two-Disc Special Edition DVD with Digital Copy. The people who put these out must go nuts trying to keep up with all the new technologies. Glad I’m not them. Let’s talk about the Two-Disc Special Edition DVD. This has a bunch of bonus features:  Trailers: Night At The Museum 2, The Marine 2, Family Guy Presents: Something Something Something Dark Side, X Men…

• ‘The Tiger’s Tail’ on DVD – An entertaining crime thriller

  Jane Boursaw

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am

  ‘The Tiger’s Tail’ (2006) is a movie that you’ve probably never heard of, but was released on DVD Aug. 11, 2009 and is definitely worth checking out if you like crime thrillers. It stars Brendan Gleeson (Prof. Alastor ‘MadEye’ Moody in the ‘Harry Potter’ series) as an Irish property developer of humble origins who has become rich and powerful as a result of the “Celtic Tiger,” a.k.a. Ireland’s economic boom. He’s involved in a scheme to build a national stadium, but a rival developer is planning on thwarting his plans. Wildly over-extended, Liam finds himself…

• ‘Miracle’ on Blu-ray – a good movie to gear up for the Olympics

  Jane Boursaw

  7 Feb 2010 | 6:00 pm

  In case you need something to get revved up for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver (beginning Friday, Feb. 12), I suggest ‘Miracle,’ the movie starring Kurt Russell as Herb Brooks, the determined Minnesota hockey coach who managed to assemble a once-in-a-lifetime team and whip them into a victorious frenzy over their Soviet champion opponents during the 1980 Olympic Games. One of my favorite actors, Patricia Clarkson, plays his wife, and Noah Emmerich plays his long-suffering assistant. Director Gavin O’Connor (‘Tumbleweeds’) and the producers of the similar sports movies ‘Remember…

• Captain Awesome from ‘Chuck’ to play ‘Captain America’?

  Jane Boursaw

  7 Feb 2010 | 3:00 pm

  They’re still looking for a star for ‘Captain America,’ and director Joe Johnston says they’re starting to narrow the field. One hopeful who’s read for the part and is ready and willing to slap that big A on his forehead is Ryan McPartlin, best known as “Captain Awesome” on NBC’s ‘Chuck.’ McPartlin told Moviehole, “It is in the casting process and like many other actors, I read for it, so we’ll wait and see what happens. Regardless, I’m pretty psyched to be Captain Awesome for the time being.” Well, he is darn awesome on ‘Chuck,’ though I can see him as…

• DVD Review: ‘Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs’ – Cute with great animation

  Jane Boursaw

  7 Feb 2010 | 12:00 pm

  They’ve really mined everything they can out of these "Ice Age" movies, haven’t they? That’s not to say they’re not cute and fun and all that stuff. Just that maybe they’ve come to the end of the line on these particular characters and stories. Then again, they’ve added a few new characters in this movie, and let’s face it, they’re just at the dawn of the dinosaurs, which means this franchise could go on into infinity. The first movie, 2002’s "Ice Age," was definitely the best. The second, 2006’s "Ice Age: The Meltdown," was cute, and this one…

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  Fandango.com Top 10 Box Office Movies

• 1. Dear John $30.4M

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:22 pm

• 2. Avatar $22.8M

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:22 pm

• 3. From Paris With Love $8.1M

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:22 pm

• 4. Edge of Darkness $6.8M

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:22 pm

• 5. Tooth Fairy $6.6M

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:22 pm

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  MSN Entertainment: Gossip

• Jen's Mexican getaway with Gerard

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:41 am

  Jen's Mexican getaway with Gerard

• Cameron's bump-and-grind with A-Rod?

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:41 am

  Cameron's bump-and-grind with A-Rod?

• Alba defends Lindsay over hubby make-out claims

  9 Feb 2010 | 2:41 am

  Alba defends Lindsay over hubby make-out claims

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  Jinni Blog

• Jinni Voted “Best Product Idea” at CableLabs

  Phoebe

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:41 am

  We’re honored to have been voted Best Product Idea most likely to succeed during informal polling conducted as part of the Innovation Showcase at the CableLabs Winter Conference, which is being held this week in Denver, Colorado. Technorati Tags: CableLabs, CableLabs Winter Conference

• The 10 Deadliest Onscreen Creatures

  May

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:37 am

  The 80s and early 90s were a good time for deadly creatures, with franchises like Alien, Predator, Tremor, Species and many more. The Wolfman represents a revival of the mythical deadly creature, continuing the return of the genre with some new twists that we’ve seen over the past couple years, e.g. with Cloverfield and The Mist. Which are the deadliest creatures on film so far? And will Wolfman enter the hall of fame? 10. Maritime Creatures: Jaws (1975) Who doesn’t remember those few notes, which became one of the greatest suspense themes in the history of cinema? Although Jaws was not…

• Who Hacked the 2010 Oscars?

  Barak

  3 Feb 2010 | 7:57 am

  And the Oscar Goes To… (Find Out Here First) The Oscar nominations have been announced! But here at Jinni, we got our hands on the list of winners!! It wasn’t that difficult, we just told the guy with the envelope to look over there. While he was busy looking for something extraordinary, we opened the envelope, took out the list, copied it with our cell phone (smart and slick, we know) and put it back in the envelope. He never noticed. So there you have it. More than a month before everyone else, we give you the list of winners: Best Movie: Avatar The Academy went with the people and…

• Hollywood’s 10 Biggest Douchebags

  Barak

  26 Jan 2010 | 4:32 am

  With Christian Bale celebrating his 36th birthday on the 30th, and with Mel Gibson’s new movie Edge of Darkness coming out on the 29th, it’s time to name Hollywood’s biggest a-holes. A list made entirely of douchebags. 10 people we could all do without. Try to imagine the cinematic scenery without these real life villains, wouldn’t it be much nicer? 10. Emile Hirsch Almost the most annoying person alive. During the entire movie Into the Wild, I was hoping he would just stay there, live in the desert and stop acting. Sadly for me, the opposite happened and the movie’s success earned…

• Sundance’s Toxic Buzz Syndrome

  Ami

  20 Jan 2010 | 5:53 am

  Have you heard of the Sundance Toxic Buzz Syndrome? Maybe not, since I made it up – but in my experience, it’s a real phenomenon. There’s no arguing that Sundance has contributed a lot to independent cinema. Still, the festival tends to overhype its line-up and winners. Winners at every festival sometimes fail to deliver on their promise. Yet Sundance seems to have perfected the art of the misleading buzz. This serves producers who cut dreamy distribution deals for low-cost titles. But viewers, and mostly buyers, should beware. The after-Sundance-reality is that only a few buzzed…

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  Late Film

• Japan Society, New York, Screening Of Kenji Misumi's "Destiny's Son"

  Fiona

  3 Feb 2010 | 8:17 am

  New York inhabitants seeking to extend their filmic Japanorama need look no further than the Japan Society's upcoming screening of Kenji Misumi's 1962 breakthrough film, Destiny's Son (Kiru.) Forming part of their Monthly Classic Series, The Double-Edged Sword: The Chambara Films of Shintaro Katsu and Ichikawa Raizo, Destiny's Son sees Misumi (Zatoichi, Lone Wolf and Cub) set the formidable Raizo Ichikawa on a visually stylistic journey of revenge and redemption.  Destiny's Son screens Friday Feb. 19th at 7.30pm. See Japan Society for tickets and more info. on current…

• Jim Groom's "Room 36" Gets DVD Release

  Fiona

  29 Jan 2010 | 9:40 am

  When writer-director Jim Groom conceived the idea for an unrelated follow-up project to his underrated 1992 comedy-horror, Revenge of Billy the Kid, little could he have predicted the series of unfortunate events that would set the project back a testing 11 years. But persistence and unfaltering willpower paid off as, with several years now elapsed since Room 36's inception and 2005 theatrical release, this labour of love has finally seen the light of its DVD release day.  In addition to the smart Brit comedy/noir thriller feature that pitches a chain of unsavoury events in a suitably…

• Saint John of Las Vegas - Trailer

  Fiona

  21 Jan 2010 | 9:39 am

  After a run of bad luck, John (Steve Buscemi), a compulsive gambler, runs away from Las Vegas and toward a normal job and life.  Taking a nondescript position in an auto insurance company in Albuquerque, he tries to get ahead in the straight world, amid the ever-present temptations of scratch-off lotto tickets. When his boss, Mr. Townsend (Peter Dinklage), asks John to accompany his top fraud debunker, Virgil (Romany Malco) on an investigation of a dubious car “accident” near Vegas, John sees an opportunity to get a promotion , though he’s concerned about…

• Scriptapalooza!

  Ricardo

  14 Jan 2010 | 9:59 pm

  You've watched movies for years and suddenly an idea hits you. Not just any idea, this is a full on motion picture running through your head. You toil for hours on your computer and, if you're really freaky, an old Smith Corona typewriter. You skip meals, lose touch with your friends and family, seldom see the sunlight, and subsist on Chinese food being delivered to your cramped apartment. You barely recognize yourself in the mirror. You ask with alarm, what have I become? The answer is simple, a screenwriter. No longer an aspiring one, but a real one because your putting it all on paper with…

• From Paris With Love - Trailer

  Leigh

  6 Jan 2010 | 6:14 am

  From Paris With Love is directed by Pierre Morel (District 13, Taken) and stars John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Kasia Smutniak. A personal aide to the U.S. Ambassador in France, James Reese (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) has an enviable life in Paris and a beautiful French girlfriend, but his real passion is his side job as a low-level operative for the CIA.  All James wants is to become a bona fide agent and see some real action.  So when he's offered his first senior-level assignment, he can't believe his good luck - until he meets his new partner, special agent Charlie Wax (John…

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  HOLLYWOOD ACTOR PREP by Dana Kaminski

• Actors Who Shoulda Been Contenders For 82nd Oscars©

  Dana Kaminski

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:27 pm

  You won't find them on the either the list of Best Actor Nominees, or Best Supporting Actor Nominees, on the Official Oscar Ballot [link]. Distinctively, here's what was great about each of these fine actors' performances, in films this past year...? [[...Just a partial post. If interested in seeing the entire post, & media...CLICK on the TITLE.]]

• Acting Nomination? Oscars? How Does That Feel?

  Dana Kaminski

  5 Feb 2010 | 3:37 pm

  Actor Christoph Waltz, who already won the SAG Award and a Golden Globe, Describes How The Oscar Nom Feels... And, here's a VIDEO of a backstage interview, after his SAG Award Win. By Dana Kaminski [[...Just a partial post. If interested in seeing the entire post, & media...CLICK on the TITLE.]]

• On Acting Fear :: Video With Sandra Bullock, Jeff Bridges, More

  Dana Kaminski

  4 Feb 2010 | 12:08 pm

  What makes it different for successful actors; is experience handling their nerves, working under high pressure with internal churning. But there's more...[video with Sandra Bullock, Jeff Bridges, Morgan Freeman...] [[...Just a partial post. If interested in seeing the entire post, & media...CLICK on the TITLE.]]

• 82nd Oscar Nominated Actors, As Announced Today

  Dana Kaminski

  2 Feb 2010 | 1:59 pm

  Oscar© Nominees For Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress :: PRINTABLE LIST Nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards Performance by an actor in a leading role... [[...Just a partial post. If interested in seeing the entire post, & media...CLICK on the TITLE.]]

• “Acting Is Like Loving A Beautiful Woman Who…”

  Dana Kaminski

  1 Feb 2010 | 11:29 am

  "...Can't Love You Back." Says actor; and now director, Mark Ruffalo. Ruffalo's directing debut just premiered at Sundance. 'Sympathy For Delicious' was written by an actor that Ruffalo went to acting classes with (back in the day). [[...Just a partial post. If interested in seeing the entire post, & media...CLICK on the TITLE.]]

• 
  Film-Book dot Com

• Brooklyn Decker Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Cover 2010

  filmbook

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:31 pm

  Brooklyn Decker has landed the coveted cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue for 2010. Brooklyn Decker has appeared in the pages of SI’s Swimsuit Issues previously but this is the first time she has napped the coveted cover. “The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition cover was revealed Monday night (Feb. 8, 2010) on David Letterman as a billboard in Times Square.” Wow did the people on the street get an eye full. From the cover, all I can say is that this will be a popular issue. Check out the Brooklyn Decker Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Cover 2010 below and…

• Film Review: Avatar (2009)

  filmbook

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:01 pm

  Avatar is a hybrid sci-fi, hero-going-native film with audacious, blazing, state of the art CGI and 3-D effects. Director James Cameron has created a film with the earmarks of the future all over it. Constantly upping the eye-candy currency, the story, at times, becomes a non-issue. Much like the action movies of decades past, stuff gets blown up and the viewer literally wants to reach out and touch what is going on during certain scenes. After the film’s CGI brilliance becomes a normality and the viewer adjust to it, their attention diverts to the meat of the movie, the story.

• Love Magazine Issue 3 Pictures

  filmbook

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:38 pm

  Love Magazine, Issue 3 pictures have been released. The covers include Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Lara Stone, Daria Werbowy, Natalia Vodianova, Amber Valletta, Kristen McMenamy, Jeneil with Alessandra Ambrosio, Miranda Kerr, Izabel Goulart, Devon Aoki, and Emily Didonata in various forms of undress. I do not know what the film is about but I love their art direction.

• Box Office: Feb. 5-7, 2010

  filmbook

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:20 am

  It had to happen sometime. Dear John premiered in the Number One spot at the box office with $32.4 Million. After 7 weeks at the top of the box office, Avatar has been dethroned. It had to happen sometime. Avatar was Second with $23.6 Million for a total of $630 Million so far. From Paris with Love premiered in Third Place with $8.1 Million. Edge of Darkness was Fourth with $7 Million. Tooth Fairy was Fifth with $6.5 Million. When in Rome, The Book of Eli, Crazy Heart, Legion (2010), and Sherlock Holmes rounded out the top ten respectively. Source: BoxOfficeMojo

• Word of the Week: Gelid

  filmbook

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:43 am

  Gelid - very cold, icy. Source: Dictionary

• 
  Daily Actor

• An Evening With… Eric Stephen Souliere

  Lance Carter

  8 Feb 2010 | 1:36 pm

  Eric Souliere is a casting director with UDK. This is an extremely busy office which casts television, pilots and films. If you'd like to read the rest, please visit: http://www.dailyactor.com

• 81 Year Old Actress Makes Her Broadway Debut

  Lance Carter

  4 Feb 2010 | 1:15 pm

  While most 81 year old’s are sitting back and thinking about the accomplishments they’ve made in their lives, Alice Duffy isn’t resting on her laurels. She’s just made her Broadway debut at age 81(!) in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of Noel Coward’s... If you'd like to read the rest, please visit: http://www.dailyactor.com

• Scarlett Johansson on her Broadway debut, playing a teenager and Iron Man 2

  Lance Carter

  3 Feb 2010 | 12:21 pm

  From wsj.com: The Wall Street Journal: Normally you play characters who are older than you. Is it a challenge to play a teenager on stage? Ms. Johansson: It’s really kind of agonizing in some ways to be 17, and I didn’t know if I wanted to go back there. I’m very wary of actors... If you'd like to read the rest, please visit: http://www.dailyactor.com

• List of Acting & Directing Oscar Nominees

  Lance Carter

  2 Feb 2010 | 9:34 am

  Nominees for the 82nd Academy Awards Actor in a Leading Role Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart” George Clooney in “Up in the Air” Colin Firth in “A Single Man” Morgan Freeman in “Invictus” Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker” Actor in a Supporting Role Matt Damon in “Invictus” Woody [...] If you'd like to read the rest, please visit: http://www.dailyactor.com

• Broadway star Montego Glover on ‘Memphis’, advice and her journey to success

  Lance Carter

  27 Jan 2010 | 2:21 pm

  Talent + Education + Drive + Perseverance = Montego Glover, the star of the hit Broadway musical, Memphis! If you'd like to read the rest, please visit: http://www.dailyactor.com

• 
  CinemaSpy

• Is Hollywood Jumping the Shark with a 3-D 'Jaws' Remake?

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:15 am

  You've read the headline, and we suspect we're echoing your thoughts. Hollywood's penchant for remakes and three dimensions is swallowing up damn near everything destined for the big screen these days, and it's getting tiresome. So is reporting about it. The CinemaSpy staff has joked over the past year that almost every movie story we cover is about a remake of one kind or another. More recently, it's about turning everything — remakes and original projects — into 3-D. It's sad, frankly.But not as sad as this story.CinemaBlend is reporting that Universal…

• Fox Ready to Produce '24 The Movie'

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:10 am

  The following takes place… sometime in the future. But in this case, it could be the near future. Variety is reporting that 20th Century Fox's film and TV divisions are teaming up to finally bring the television series 24 to the big screen, though it cautions things are still in the preliminary stages. So while there's no word yet on whether or not Season 8 will be the series' last on television — a decision from the network about a ninth season is expected in the next month or so — Jack Bauer could be around for some time to come, even if the series does…

• 'Green Lantern' Adds Tim Robbins to its Cast

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:05 am

  Tim Robbins has joined the cast of director Martin Campbell's Green Lantern at Warner Bros. Pictures, according to The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog.Robbins will play Senator Hammond, the disapproving father of the movie's villain, Dr. Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard), who becomes infused with psychic powers.In the comic book fable, Hal Jordan is a second-generation test pilot, an ordinary man given a power ring and battery (lantern) by a dying alien named Abin Sur. When Abin Sur's spaceship crashes on Earth, the alien uses his ring to seek out an individual to take…

• Fox Planning to Reboot 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith'

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:55 pm

  According to NY Mag, 20th Century Fox plans to remake the 2005 film Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which starred Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. And if you're thinking, "Well that's a bit soon, isn't it?" you're not alone.For those who haven't seen the "original" film, Pitt and Jolie played a married couple, neither of whom knew that the other was an assassin hired by a competing agencies to kill one other.The remake, called Mr. and Mrs. Jones, will serve as an origin story about a similar but differently named couple, showing how a pair of twenty-something spies…

• 'The Thing' Gets Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:40 pm

  Every great movie actor has a breakout role at some point. For Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton, the first truly big thing on their resumes might be the upcoming prequel to The Thing.According to The Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision blog, the two actors have signed on for Mattijs Van Heijningen’s sci-fi/horror flick, which concerns a shape-changing space creature. In the 1982 film The Thing, directed by John Carpenter, the creature infiltrates a military base disguised as a dog, then wreaks havoc, killing and replacing the surrounding humans one by one.In the new film,…

• 
  Top Movies

• Oscar Nominations Announced!

  Maryanne

  2 Feb 2010 | 11:52 am

  The second biggest day in the showbiz calendar is here, and no, we’re not talking about Groundhog Day. fine film though it may be Nope, it’s the day that the Oscar Nominations are announced. Not too many surprises here, with both Avatar and The Hurt Locker nominated for 9 awards, including Best Picture, although I must say I’m mildly intrigued by all the love for Inglourious Basterds. Here’s the list, tell us your picks! (commentary provided by Dave Karger of EW) Best Picture Avatar The Blind Side District 9 An Education The Hurt Locker Inglourious Basterds Precious A…

• We’ve picked a winner!

  admin

  18 Jan 2010 | 2:31 pm

  Hey everyone! Thank you so much for participating in our drawing! We had a lot of really great answers! We’re excited to announce that through our incredibly technologically advanced scientific selection process (okay, so we just threw all the entries in a hat and picked one at random) we found a winner for our Best Movie of the Decade Contest! Here’s the winning comment: Walt says: January 9, 2010 at 6:34 pm No Country for Old Men I have been of fan of Coen bros movies since Miller’s Crossing. In No Country, the Coen bros successfully marry two tried and true American cinema…

• Check out our forum!

  admin

  13 Jan 2010 | 1:01 pm

  Some of you may have noticed a new link up at the top of our page.  Go ahead and click it!  We’ve rolled out our new forum and we’d love to have you join in!

• EXTENDED! Win a Sony Blu Ray Player in our Best Movie of the Decade Drawing!

  Maryanne

  30 Dec 2009 | 3:58 pm

  It’s almost the end of the first decade of the now the second decade 21st century, and you’ve already seen my list of the worst movies I saw in the past 10 years, but there have been a lot of spectacular films made as well, and we want to know what your pick is for the best! All you have to do to win this contest is simple.  Fill out the form below, and you’ll be directed to a page where you can post your pick in the comments. That’s it!We’ll select a random winner on 01/08/1001/15/10 Here’s what you’ll get:  (a $199 value!! Check out the full specs…

• The 9 Worst Tech Movies (according to CNN)

  admin

  17 Dec 2009 | 1:16 pm

  I just came across this list on CNN, and thought it was too good to share. What do you guys think? Let us know what you would have put on this list in the comments! (CNN) — Sometimes terrible movies — the ones with such bad acting, dumb dialogue and cheesy special effects that they’re unintentionally hilarious — are the ones we remember the most. No genre is immune, but movies about technology — ominous Web sites, evil hackers and so on — seem to fail more often than not. Maybe that’s because it’s hard to dramatize someone sitting at a computer.

• 
  Dave On Film

• Review: "Edge of Darkness"

  Dave Taylor

  5 Feb 2010 | 7:14 pm

  Mel Gibson has made a lot of films where he's the simple-minded tough guy, notably the Lethal Weapon series, but the last few years have seen his personal life overshadow his career, as he careened from one gaffe to the next. Edge of Darkness represents him trying to get back into the groove, to recover his acting career, and it's an exciting but distressingly formulaic film.The film, based on a mid-80's BBC drama also directed by Martin Campbell, opens with choppy home movies of daughter Emma (Gabrielle Popa) at the beach when she was seven or eight, cutting directly to Tom Craven (Gibson)…

• Review: "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"

  Dave Taylor

  31 Jan 2010 | 7:27 pm

  If you've never seen a Terry Gilliam film before, you'll be baffled and likely frustrated by the storytelling style and visual exaggeration that are trademarks of his weird and wonderful movies.  A former member of the comedy team Monty Python, a peculiarly English sense of humor suffuses his films too, from Time Bandits to The Adventures of Baron Munchausen to Brazil. In the spirit of disclosure, I am a big fan of Gilliam's work and have looked forward eagerly to the cinematic release of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, and really enjoyed it.A more accurate title for the…

• Review: "A Serious Man"

  Dave Taylor

  27 Jan 2010 | 9:30 am

  When does a dark satire about life transition into a marathon of bad luck and suffering by a hapless, spineless man?  Though I'm sure that's not what the Coen Brothers intended when they created A Serious Man, that's the experience I had when I watched the film.A Serious Man is about the trials and tribulations of Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), and it's an ostensibly retelling of the story of Job from the Old Testament. Bad things happen, then worse things happen, then even worse things happen, all while Larry hangs on to his faith in Judaism. If you go back to the Bible and read…

• Review: "The Lovely Bones"

  Dave Taylor

  22 Jan 2010 | 7:12 pm

  When someone is murdered, their spirit lingers on, observing and trying to influence the course of justice, a ghost seeking revenge or simply to experience the karmic balance that we hope will transpire. But what of the ghost during this period of time, what's their experience and what if there is no peace, no justice, nothing but someone who refuses to let go, who refuses to accept that they have died?That's the basic story behind The Lovely Bones, an ethereal and moving film by Peter Jackson based on the best-selling book by Alice Sebold and starring the lovely and…

• Review: "The Book of Eli"

  Dave Taylor

  14 Jan 2010 | 11:00 pm

  The 23rd Psalm of the Bible, in case you haven't memorized the entire Old Testament, goes like this: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: For thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies...The 23rd Psalm is also the inspiration for the dark, moody film The Book of Eli, and though it takes quite a while to move beyond its Mad Max roots and get into the main storyline, it is ultimately a dark, modern religious parable.Denzel Washington is the main character,…

• 
  Filmcrave.com

• Three Coins in the Fountain (3/4 Stars)

  I like most of the characters in this film, except Louis Jordan and the girl who's trying to get him. I always have thought of her as more of a stalker than a lovestruck girl. I usually get a snack d...

• Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, A (4/4 Stars)

  I love this movie (so does my boyfriend who hates musicals) the guy who wrote the songs Steven Sondheim is the same guy who wrote the songs for Sweeny Todd. Zero Mostel is simply a comedic god. Plu...

• Julia (1977) (2.5/4 Stars)

  I found this to be an extremely depressing film. With no real resolution. Still I'm glad I watched it. If for no other reason than it was Meryl Streep's first film. Once I learned that Fred Zinneman...

• When in Rome (1/4 Stars)

  I'm gonna attempt to talk about this movie without listing everything I hated about it. The reason being I would get carpal tunnel from typing millions of words. The first thing that peeved me was t...

• Inglourious Basterds (4/4 Stars)

  Not Avatar, the Hurt Locker or Precious. Hands down, the Best Picture of 2009 was Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds. While a movie about World War II being nominated for Best Picture is like th...

• 
  Shockya.com

• 3rd Superman Movie Reboot Imminent

  Brian Corder

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:02 am

  Warner Bros. Pictures president Jeff Robinov has officially comfirmed that the studio will be rebooting the Superman series. The 2006 film “Superman Returns” starred Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, James Marsden and Parker Posey. Here’s a snippet from The Wall Street Journal article: “Warner Bros. also put on hold plans for another movie starring multiple superheroes — known as ‘Batman vs. Superman’ — after the $215 million ‘Superman Returns,’ which had disappointing box-office returns, didn’t please executives.

• Andrew Shue and Amy Robach Marry

  karen

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:29 am

  Actor Andrew Shue, who portrayed Billy Campbell in the hit ’90s FOX series ‘Melrose Place,’ married ‘Weekend Today’ anchor Amy Robach on February 6 at Chelsea Piers in New York, PEOPLE Magazine is reporting. The day was extra special for the couple, as the actor’s mother officiated the ceremony, and it was the anchor’s 37th birthday. PEOPLE also reported that the ceremony had a modest gathering, as the couple wanted an intimate feel with close friends and family. The wedding party did, however, include Shue’s three sons and his ex-wife Jennifer…

• Writers Named For Another Batman Movie

  Costa Koutsoutis

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:26 am

  David Goyer and Jonah Nolan, brother of director Christopher Nolan, were mentioned as already working on a script for a third Nolan-directed “Batman” film, a followup to 2005’s “Batman Begins” and 2008’s “The Dark Knight”. Goyer recently announced his departure as showrunner from ABC’s “FlashForward” to concentrate on his film work, specifically mentioning working with Chris Nolan’s brother Jonah on the Batman film, which has been long-rumored ever since the release and record-breaking theater run of “The Dark…

• DC Comics Documentary In The Works

  Costa Koutsoutis

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:21 am

  Director Jeffrey Blitz and producer Sean Welch (”Spellbound”, “Rocket Science”, “Lucky”) recently revealed that they’ve started filming and production on a documentary about the legendary comic book publishers DC Comics. According to an interview with Collider.com, they home to premiere the movie at this summer’s Comic-Con. Originally founded in 1934 as National Allied Publications, DC Comics is the publishing division of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. and Time Warner. The company is home to comic book heroes and titles such as…

• Taylor Lautner Set to Play Stretch Armstrong

  karen

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:23 am

  Fan favorite Taylor Lautner, who portrays werewolf Jacob Black in the blockbuster hit series ‘The Twilight Saga,’ will take on his next big role by taking on the title character in ‘Stretch Armstrong,’ Universal Pictures has announced. The studio’s chairman, Adam Fogelson, and co-chairman, Donna Langley, announced on February 5 that the movie will be released in summer 2012, and will also be in 3-D. According to comingsoon.net, Brian Goldner, the president and CEO of Hasbro, Inc., the company that released the toy, said ‘Stretch Armstrong’ won’t…

• 
  Before the Trailer

• Daily filming locations for los angeles, new york and Hopkins, minnesota for Feb 9

  admin

  9 Feb 2010 | 12:13 am

  The locations below are listed.   We have locations for today and coming up listed on our Feb 1st update Don’t forget to become a fan, and follow us on facebook and get regular updates to filming locations, filming news, and trailers.  You can just click below and become a fan. New York Filming Locations Gossip Girl is filming in the area of 120th and 122nd in the Broadway and Riverside area, and this is on location in NYC. Its the same location as yesterday. (Thanks again Brandon!!) Black Swan, Natalie Portmans movie is still filming in the Brooklyn area today. (Thanks Nick!!) He let us…

• Daily filming locations for Febuary 8 for los angeles, new york City, and Hopkins, minn

  admin

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:35 am

  Los Angeles filming locations Dark Blue continues to film at 590 S. Santa Fe Ave and Bridge at Santa Fe Ave. through March 31 from 12am til 12am Flashforward is filming on location in Los Angeles at the area of  S Breed and 6th St. Thor continues to film at Raleigh Film Studios in Manhattan Beach New York Filming Locations Black Swan, Natalie Portmans movie is still filming in the Brooklyn area today.   (Thanks Nick!!) He let us know they are filming at the area of Washington Ave. Law and Order is filming on location in the Bronx today, near Locus Point. (Thanks Steph for getting us that…

• Shutter Island Official Website Launch

  Joey DC

  6 Feb 2010 | 4:45 am

  I received a notification email from Paramount Pictures that the official site for Shutter Island has launched with videos, downloads and more information about the film. You can also read about Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio and the rest of the cast and filmmakers. Click here to visit. Definitely a must for every fan, as you can also get high resolution wallpapers for your computer. Besides, the official website is set up beautifully, so also a must-see for every web designer. Shutter Island hits the movie theaters on February 19, 2010 and I’m quite certain that it is another…

• Worlds largest Sound Stage opens in West Michigan

  admin

  5 Feb 2010 | 1:12 am

  From WZZM13.com The world’s largest sound stage is now open, right here in West Michigan. Hanger42 Studios is ready for business in Walker, Michigan in the former Lear plant. You can find out about future job possibilities at Hanger42 Studio’s website. Operators of Hangar42 Studios announced Thursday that they will be opening a 500,000 square-foot, full-service film production studio in the old structure.  The film tax incentives have brought hundreds of millions of dollars in productions to Michigan. Hanger42 Studios is an example of a permanent structure, to draw more movies…

• Daily filming locations for Feb 5 and casting calls for True Grit, The Convincer and Reel Steel

  admin

  4 Feb 2010 | 11:56 pm

  The locations below are listed.   We have locations for today and coming up listed on our Feb 1st update Don’t forget to become a fan, and follow us on facebook and get regular updates to filming locations, filming news, and trailers.  You can just click below and become a fan. New York Filming Locations Black Swan is filming through the 5th near the Brooklyn Museum (thanks Rachel) Damages is still filming on Staten Island on Katan Avenue. John sent us an email yesterday about Damages. He let us know today they should be there for the rest of the week. Gossip Girl is filming in the…

• 
  RELEVANT Magazine

• From Paris with Love

  5 Feb 2010 | 3:57 pm

  Carl Kozlowski says this film is lots of fun. Sure, you’ve seen it all before: an inexperienced rookie who’s never experienced a moment of real danger in his life suddenly finds himself thrust into one life-threatening situation after another after meeting a crazed, adrenaline-junkie cop or spy. The two proceed to bicker and banter across a city or around the planet for the next two hours, offering viewers laughs and thrills without reinventing the wheel. Bruce Willis has starred in a million of these. The Lethal Weapon series wasn’t too different from the concept. But no matter how…

• To Save a Life: More than a "Christian Film"

  4 Feb 2010 | 3:57 pm

  A school shooting, and a suicide in the first 15 minutes of the film. A sex scene, drinking games and a keg in the first 20. It doesn’t take long to figure out that To Save a Life (out January 22) is not your typical Christian film. The good news is, the movie doesn’t have big shoes to fill. From the pure silliness of 1970’s “end times” films to Kirk Cameron’s phoned in performance in 2008’s Fireproof, Christian films are rarely enjoyable, even to the market they’re marketed to. To Save a Life wastes no time setting up the story. Childhood pals Jake and Roger do everything…

• Edge of Darkness

  29 Jan 2010 | 3:14 pm

  Our reviewer says Gibson's strong performance anchors this slightly better-than-average thriller. The '00s were an interesting decade for Mel Gibson. He starred in a blockbuster comedy (What Women Want) as well as a powerful smash thriller (Signs) before deciding to take a long break from acting. He then directed The Passion of the Christ, turning his self-financed, highly risky and hyper-violent portrayal of Jesus Christ’s torture and death by crucifixion into a smash hit that earned $600 million worldwide—despite critics who claimed the film had anti-Semitic undertones. Then in the…

• Movies You May Have Missed: Fish Tank

  27 Jan 2010 | 3:25 pm

  With moviegoers sporting 3D glasses, watching billion dollar blockbusters, it's inevitable that many "small" films go completely unnoticed. The unfortunate fact is, however, that several of these unseen works are far more precious than any ridiculous budget can buy. Fish Tank, a British socio-realist drama by Academy Award-winning director Andrea Arnold, is one of these hidden gems. Starring newcomer Katie Jarvis, the film tells the story of Mia (Jarvis), a rebellious and foulmouthed 15-year-old living in a modern slum of London with her self-absorbed mother (Kierston Wareing) and…

• Q&A: The Stars of Extraordinary Measures

  25 Jan 2010 | 4:44 pm

  Harrison Ford made one of the biggest comebacks of the last decade with 2008’s hugely successful Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but he was looking to offer a more meaningful film as his followup. He found the right kind of project in the new film Extraordinary Measures, playing a research scientist who helps a desperate father (played by Brendan Fraser) find a cure for the rare genetic disorder Pompe Disease. Fraser’s character, John Crowley, is a real person who inspired a book called The Cure: How a Father Raised $100 Million—and Bucked the Medical…

• 
  Dave On Film

• Review: "Edge of Darkness"

  Dave Taylor

  5 Feb 2010 | 7:14 pm

  Mel Gibson has made a lot of films where he's the simple-minded tough guy, notably the Lethal Weapon series, but the last few years have seen his personal life overshadow his career, as he careened from one gaffe to the next. Edge of Darkness represents him trying to get back into the groove, to recover his acting career, and it's an exciting but distressingly formulaic film.The film, based on a mid-80's BBC drama also directed by Martin Campbell, opens with choppy home movies of daughter Emma (Gabrielle Popa) at the beach when she was seven or eight, cutting directly to Tom Craven (Gibson)…

• Review: "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"

  Dave Taylor

  31 Jan 2010 | 7:27 pm

  If you've never seen a Terry Gilliam film before, you'll be baffled and likely frustrated by the storytelling style and visual exaggeration that are trademarks of his weird and wonderful movies.  A former member of the comedy team Monty Python, a peculiarly English sense of humor suffuses his films too, from Time Bandits to The Adventures of Baron Munchausen to Brazil. In the spirit of disclosure, I am a big fan of Gilliam's work and have looked forward eagerly to the cinematic release of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, and really enjoyed it.A more accurate title for the…

• Review: "A Serious Man"

  Dave Taylor

  27 Jan 2010 | 9:30 am

  When does a dark satire about life transition into a marathon of bad luck and suffering by a hapless, spineless man?  Though I'm sure that's not what the Coen Brothers intended when they created A Serious Man, that's the experience I had when I watched the film.A Serious Man is about the trials and tribulations of Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), and it's an ostensibly retelling of the story of Job from the Old Testament. Bad things happen, then worse things happen, then even worse things happen, all while Larry hangs on to his faith in Judaism. If you go back to the Bible and read…

• Review: "The Lovely Bones"

  Dave Taylor

  22 Jan 2010 | 7:12 pm

  When someone is murdered, their spirit lingers on, observing and trying to influence the course of justice, a ghost seeking revenge or simply to experience the karmic balance that we hope will transpire. But what of the ghost during this period of time, what's their experience and what if there is no peace, no justice, nothing but someone who refuses to let go, who refuses to accept that they have died?That's the basic story behind The Lovely Bones, an ethereal and moving film by Peter Jackson based on the best-selling book by Alice Sebold and starring the lovely and…

• Review: "The Book of Eli"

  Dave Taylor

  14 Jan 2010 | 11:00 pm

  The 23rd Psalm of the Bible, in case you haven't memorized the entire Old Testament, goes like this: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: For thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies...The 23rd Psalm is also the inspiration for the dark, moody film The Book of Eli, and though it takes quite a while to move beyond its Mad Max roots and get into the main storyline, it is ultimately a dark, modern religious parable.Denzel Washington is the main character,…

• 
  JWEwrite

• BANNED SUPER BOWL COMMERCIALS

  9 Feb 2010 | 9:29 am

  Image via Wikipedia69 commercials ran during the Super Bowl. This surprised me since I watched the game and really didn't feel inundated by ads.YouTube has them all up and grouped together for easy viewing. After you watch them you can vote for your favorite in their annual YouTube Ad Blitz contest. Voting ends Feb. 14th, and then YouTube will put the winning ad on their home page.Rather than try to post them to the blog, I'm linking to the YouTube page.But first, here are four that were banned:

• SUNDAY, Feb. 7th on TV

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:25 pm

  Image via WikipediaThe Superbowl dominated TV tonight and other networks ran no new episodes. Except for HBO which ran Big Love, and Band Of Brothers.Band Of Brothers is not new, but bears repeating.Here are your links:Big LoveSeason 4 : Episode 5 megavideo wisevid Band Of  Brothers10 part mini-seriesEpisode 1  Curraheemegavideodivx Episode 2  Day Of Days megavideodivx Episode 3  CarentanmegavideodivxEpisode 4  ReplacementsmegavideodivxEpisode 5  Crossroadsmegavideodivx Episode 6  Bastgonemegavideodivx Episode 7  The Breaking Pointmegavideodivx…

• DEAR JOHN

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:39 am

  Dear John hit theaters with a vengeance this weekend, finally toppling Avatar as the #1 draw.This love story looks like it'll deliver on it's promise. I know everyone can't wait to see it, but we'll just have to wait a little bit longer.Meanwhile, I have the trailer here:

• SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

  7 Feb 2010 | 5:48 pm

  Saturday Night Live had Ashton Kutcher and Them Crooked Vultures. It was a good show, but I have to ask - because I can - Is that Kutcher's real package, or is it enhanced - and if so, I'd like details. Here are your links to see Kutcher, package and all - enhanced or not:SNL: Season 35 : Episode 14HULUwiseviddivx

• HARRY POTTER

  7 Feb 2010 | 2:00 am

  Image by K嘛 via FlickrI've got Harry Potter feaver Probably because I'm anticipating the release of The Deathly Hallows Part 1, due out this year.Also Universal Studio's in Orlando, Florida is adding a Harry Potter theme park and the word is that it's expected to open around May.So I'm listing all the Harry Potter movies here in order:Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stonemegavideodivx Harry Potter And The Chamber of SecretsmegavideodivxHarry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkabanjwplayer megavideo Harry Potter and the Goblet  Of Firejwplayer megavideo Harry Potter And The Order Of The…

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  Fandango Movie Blog

• Missed Any Superbowl Movie Trailers? Watch Them Here!

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:05 pm

  The 2010 Superbowl has come and gone, and we congratulate the New Orleans Saints on a well-deserved victory. Oh wait, there was a football game played yesterday? I thought we only tuned in to watch commercials and scope out the latest movie trailers. Sound familiar? Those of you who were actually interested in watching the game probably took the time to go to the bathroom or cook up some tasty grub while the commercials were on. If that was the case, you may have missed one or more of the many movie trailers/TV spots that aired during the game. So, to make things easier for you, we’ve…

• 'Dear John' Beats 'Avatar' at Box Office

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:54 pm

  Not to toot my own horn or anything, but did I or did I not go way out on a limb and predict Dear John to finally beat Avatar at the box office this past weekend? Those Fandango Fanatics who follows our Friday box office posts should already know the answer to that question. Yes, based on the sappy nature of the film and the power of the female audience (plus those who, like, so totally adore The Notebook), I had a really good feeling that Dear John would topple Avatar before Valentine's Day could get its rom-com mitts wrapped around those funky blue aliens. And it did! Dear John finished the…

• Taylor Lautner is Stretch Armstrong

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:41 pm

  Yes, out of all the possible movies Taylor Lautner could've signed onto following his break-out success co-starring in the Twilight franchise, the dude will join Universal's upcoming Stretch Armstrong movie as Stretch Armstrong himself. In the film, which will be pushed from 2011 to 2012 in order to bring it to audiences in 3D, Lautner will play an uptight spy who winds up stumbling across a stretching formula and now must adjust to everyday life while being able to freakishly stretch his body in all different directions. Stretch Armstrong will be based on the Hasbro toy of the same name, and…

• 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith' Remake Being Planned Minus Pitt and Jolie

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:22 pm

  All aboard the remake train! Next stop: Mrs. and Mrs. Smith! You remember the 2005 film starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as a married couple who learn they're each a secret agent working for a competing agency, right? You may also recall that this was the film that helped create the entity that is now known as Brangelina, since shortly after it came out Brad Pitt left Jennifer Aniston for Jolie, and the two lived happily ever after with their hundreds of kids. Well, now, after unsuccessfully attempting to re-launch Mr. and Mrs. Smith as a TV show, the Powers That Be over at Fox New…

• Box Office: Who Will Win The Weekend?

  5 Feb 2010 | 2:08 pm

  I feel like we're at that point where all the other films are cautiously sneaking out from their hiding spots, whispering "Is it over yet?" in regards to Avatar and its massive box office takeover. Unfortunately for them, it's not over yet, as Avatar continues to rake in the cash (earlier this week it slid past Titanic in domestic grosses, and is now the highest grossing film of all time here at home, too). And while a lot of folks think that Valentine's Day (the movie, not the actual day) will be the film that finally topples Avatar, I have a feeling that Dear John may just have a…

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  PassionforCinema.com

• Michael Mann- Stylish, Visually Arresting

  Ratnakar Sadasyula

  9 Feb 2010 | 4:02 am

  To me style is just the outside of content, and content the inside of style, like the outside and the inside of the human body. Both go together, they can’t be separated.- Jean Luc Goddard If i  had  to  pick  one  movie  that  was  completely  representative  of  Michael  Mann’s style  of  direction,  for me it  would  be  The  Insider.  For  quite  some time,  Michael  Mann,  was  seen  as  a  director, whose  movies  were stylish,  containing  some  exemplary  camera  work,  brilliant   graphics, use  of  long  shots  and  close …

• Hotaru no haka (Grave of the fireflies)

  Vineet

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:43 pm

  “Whom the Gods love die young”   — Old Saying When was the last time a movie hit you in stomach and knocked the wind out of your breath, wrenched your heart open and seared your spirit. Now compound that effect a hundred times and you have this, animation that transcends it’s two dimensional life and comes alive before your eyes. It’s been almost a week since I saw the movie, but the images have refused to part with me. “Hotaru no Haka” translated as “Grave of the fireflies” deserves a place among the top list of any movie lover.

• Lahore : First Look

  PFCdesktop

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:55 am

  Lahore has been directed by Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan and produced by Vivek Khatkar. It Stars debutants Aanaahad and Shraddha Das in the leading roles and has  actors like Farouque Shaikh, Nafisa Ali, Sushant Singh, Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Saurabh Shukla, Ashish Vidyarthi, Kelly Dorji, Mukesh Rishi, K Jeeva, Nirmal Pandey, Shraddha Nigam in key roles. Tip : Tejas Score: 0 (0 votes cast) PFC Desktop | Permalink | © PassionforCinema, 2010. Post tags: Aanaahad, Ashish Vidyarthi, Farouque Shaikh, K Jeeva, Kelly Dorji, Lahore, Lahore Trailer, mukesh rishi, Nafisa Ali, Nirmal Pandey, Sabyasachi…

• A not so short journey…

  Cyrus Dastur

  7 Feb 2010 | 10:30 am

  Shamiana Launch At Ahmedabad The first tagline for SHAMIANA said “Keep it Short”. Yet it’s been anything but that for the exciting journey the Short Film genre has witnessed in the last nine years… It’s been a long, eventful road since short films first came into the spotlight sometime around 2001 when Bombay saw perhaps the first dedicated short film club in India – The Blewnote Film Club. Born with an audience of just about 15 people at a teen café in Colaba, most of whom were friends and neighbors of yours truly, the club screened whatever short films and documentaries we…

• Striker Review: Chandan Arora Strikes

  Magik

  7 Feb 2010 | 7:07 am

  My mother, sometimes I call her Chintu, sometimes Shobha, sometimes Amma, depending on what we are talking about, so I didn’t mind much when Bombay was renamed as Mumbai, though I still prefer to call it Bombay, irrespective of whatever & whoever. I felt real bad when the ‘ownership’ issue was raised by the greedy politicos. Who the hell owns Bombay anyways? In the same vein, who the hell owns any city or state? By the way, is Pondicherry for sale? But this post is about Chandan Arora’s Striker, a movie that I loved, as much as I love Bombay, almost. It…

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  Christians in Cinema

• Why Are Christian Movies So Bad?

  Angela Walker

  4 Feb 2010 | 2:21 pm

  That’s the title of an article written recently by Dallas Jenkins, a friend and filmmaker. He makes great points like: Why did it take Hollywood so long to acknowledge the Christian market? Why can’t they replicate even half the success of The Passion of the Christ? (Everyone is asking that, because everyone wants to make the next one!) When over half the population of the U.S. self-identifies as Christian, why (more…)

• Jesus at the Movies

  Angela Walker

  29 Jan 2010 | 2:25 pm

  What movie do you think Jesus would go see this weekend? There are lots of choices right now, and an interesting collision of films, there are four films with strongly spiritual themes playing. FOUR! Can you believe it? Would Jesus watch To Save a Life,  The Blind Side, The Book of Eli, or Legion, or none of the above? All four of those films have a combination of several of the following: Discussions about God and His role in our lives Open discussions about the Bible and its impact on our lives Christian characters in lead roles Portrayals of heavenly beings It’s like “The…

• Use What You Have - Filmmakers for Haiti

  Angela Walker

  22 Jan 2010 | 2:58 pm

  Today is a great day for the nation of Haiti. People around the world are pouring out their compassion through money, resources and people. Filmmakers are no different. Tonight, George Clooney hosts a telethon called “Hope for Haiti Now.” Tons of performers will join him and the show will be aired on several networks. Yesterday, brothers Bobby and Kevin Downes helped orchestrate the rescue of 80 Haitian orphans and united them with their families in Miami, Florida. Tomorrow, David deVos heads to Haiti with a medical missions team from his church. What are others doing to help with…

• Filmmakers Stage Rescue of Haitian Orphans

  Angela Walker

  21 Jan 2010 | 12:18 pm

  80 children from God’s Littlest Angels Orphanage in Haiti will be united with their new parents in Miami, Florida, this evening (Thursday, January 21). Filmmakers Kevin and Bobby Downes (The Moment After 1 & 2, Mercy Streets, whose latest film Like Dandelion Dust had several scenes set in Haiti, worked with the orphanage director to arrange flights to get the children out of Haiti and into the United States. After Secretary Janet Napolitano announced a humanitarian parole policy for Haitian orphans, the brothers went to work and did what they do best - managed logistics, assets…

• Commercial Video Contest Announced

  Angela Walker

  21 Jan 2010 | 11:45 am

  From our friends at Christian Contest:  Enter the Christian Contest video contest. The criterion is to make an appropriate video commercial to help promote Christian Contest. Upload the video to your YouTube or Tangle account and send the link to info@christiancontest.com and put Video Entry in the subject line. Videos can be a straight up commercial, a comedy, action, let your creative muse go. They will pick the top 15 or so videos and then send them to a panel of 11 or so judges to pick the top three videos.Prizes: 1st Place $100 ?2nd Place $25 3rd Place $10 Entries give Christian…