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The Latest in ShowBiz News

Alejandro Arbona

By

2009/01/06 at 12:00am

Pineapple Express

01.6.2009 | By |

Rating: 4.0

Rated: R for pervasive language, drug use, sexual references and violence.
Release Date: 2008-08-08
Starring: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Judd Apatow (historia)
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/pineappleexpress/

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The title “Pineapple Express” refers to one plot element that turns out to be perhaps the movie’s most influential character: an especially potent kind of marijuana. It’s Pineapple Express that Saul Silver (James Franco) sells to Dale Denton (Seth Rogen), a sample that only Silver has. And it’s Pineapple Express that Dale is smoking when he witnesses a murder. And it’s due to drug cartels warring over Pineapple Express that that murder takes place. Now the killers, played by Gary Cole and the Puerto Rican actress Rosie Perez, spot the Pineapple Express that Dale dropped when he fled in terror, and they set out to kill Saul and his customer.

“Pineapple Express,” the movie, is an unexpected and interesting combination of three different genres, only one of which comes across in the synopsis I just gave you. It’s a hilarious comedy; it’s a buddy picture, about two friends adventuring and bonding; and, as you can gather from the above paragraph, it’s a crime story that eventually becomes excessively violent. That may just be this movie’s biggest surprise: that a Judd Apatow-produced comedy with the usual cast and improvisational style – usually associated with comedies about boy-men growing up like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up” and “Superbad” – suddenly climaxes in shootouts, explosions, dead bodies and tons of blood. But, jeez, they sure do make that violence funny.

Mack Chico

By

2009/01/04 at 12:00am

‘Monsters vs. Aliens’ 3D trailer to be seen in Super Bowl!

01.4.2009 | By |

'Monsters vs. Aliens' 3D trailer to be seen in Super Bowl!

Some 150 million 3D glasses will be given away for Super Bowl viewers to watch a 90-second 3D sneak preview of the big-screen animated feature “Monsters vs. Aliens.” While 3D telecasts are nothing new, this marks the first time one has been done for such a large audience.

DreamWorks Animation chief executive Jeffrey Katzenberg called the stunt “perhaps the biggest media-advertising event in history.” He wouldn’t give a hard figure on the cost, but said it “involves tens of millions of dollars.”

Katzenberg promised the quality of the 3D will be superior to what has been done in the past. He said the glasses will use Intel InTru 3D and ColorCode 3-D, which updates the old red-blue Anaglyph system.

The technology will also allow those without the glasses to see an almost ordinary image on the TV screen. But, Katzenberg added, it still doesn’t come close to the 3D quality moviegoers will see in theaters when the film opens stateside March 27.

“Monsters vs. Aliens” follows a group of ragtag Earthling monsters who are out to save the world following an alien invasion. The film features the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen and Kiefer Sutherland.

The glasses will be distributed free at Pepsi/SoBe Life Water displays at 28,000 locations including grocery, drug and electronics stores and big-box retailers.

The promotion was unveiled Saturday during NBC’s telecast of the AFC Wild Card Playoffs between the Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers. NBC, which will air the Super Bowl on Feb. 1, has its own interest in making sure the glasses are used, as it will air a 3D episode of its series “Chuck” the following night.

“Monsters vs Aliens” is co-directed by Rob Letterman (“Shark Tale”) and Conrad Vernon (“Shrek 2”), who supervised production of the promotion that will air during the Super Bowl.

The directors said they will be watching the telecast from home. “With beer,” Vernon said, laughing. “We’re going to test the effects of beer and 3D,” said Letterman.

Mack Chico

By

2009/01/04 at 12:00am

‘Marley and Me’ is #1 at box office

01.4.2009 | By |

‘Marley and Me' is #1 at box office

The box office this weekend brought more of the same, which for Hollywood was a good thing, as the comedy “Marley & Me” and other Christmas films continued strongly. The top five films — and some others down the ladder — kept their positions from last week.

“Marley & Me,” from 20th Century Fox, with Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson, was the weekend’s top film, with about $24 million in domestic ticket sales and $106.5 million since it opened on Christmas.

It was followed by another comedy, “Bedtime Stories,” from Walt Disney Company, with Adam Sandler. That film took in about $20.3 million over the weekend, for a total of $85 million since opening. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” from Paramount Pictures with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, was third, with about $18.5 million in weekend sales for a $79 million total.

In a similar display of staying power, “Valkyrie” from MGM, with Tom Cruise, remained the No. 4 film for a second weekend. The film took in $14 million, for a total of $60.7 million since opening on Christmas. Its success has laid to rest months of public speculation about whether the audience would accept Mr. Cruise in his role as a German officer who tried to kill Hitler.

Another holdover, the comedy “Yes Man” with Jim Carrey, from Warner Brothers, took in about $13.9 million, for a total of $79.4 million since opening.

A number of the season’s potential Oscar contenders continued to jockey for position in a field packed with movies that have been released to a relatively limited number of theaters.

“Doubt,” from Disney’s Miramax unit, among the more widely played of these, took in about $5 million for the weekend and $18.7 million since opening, to reach No. 8, up from 10th place.

“The Reader,” from the Weinstein Company, took in $1.6 million, as it moved into 398 theaters, and became the weekend’s 17th-ranked film, up from 22nd last week, when it played in a much smaller number of screens. It has total sales of $3.6 million.

Jack Rico

By

2009/01/03 at 12:00am

Valkyrie

01.3.2009 | By |

Rated: PG-13 for violence and brief strong language.
Release Date: 2008-12-26
Starring: Christopher McQuarrie, Nathan Alexander
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country: USA, Germany
Official Website: http://valkyrie.unitedartists.com/

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Valkyrie
Mack Chico

By

2008/12/31 at 12:00am

Woody Allen won’t be coming back to film in New York

12.31.2008 | By |

Woody Allen won't be coming back to film in New York

US filmmaker Woody Allen said Tuesday he hopes to shoot a new comedy in Paris next summer, continuing his recent run of choosing to film in European cities over his native-New York.

“I have always wanted to shoot a film in Paris. I have a scenario for Paris all written. I was going to shoot it a few years ago but when we came here and I started to put the film together, suddenly it became such an expensive film that I could not do it,” he said.

Allen’s last batch of films, including “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and London-based drama “Match Point”, were filmed in Europe.

He said financial problems should not derail the Paris project completely but added that he is prepared to film the comedy during the summer of 2011 in the event of more delays.

“Now that there is a new tax incentive in Paris we are returning and trying to see if it is possible to come again to do it,” he said after meeting with French Culture Minister Christine Albanel.

“If I can’t do it, then I will probably do another film in the US this year,” he added.

Mack Chico

By

2008/12/30 at 12:00am

Eagle Eye

12.30.2008 | By |

Rating: 2.5

Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and for language.
Release Date: 2008-09-26
Starring: John Glenn, Travis Wright, Hillary Seitz, Dan McDermott
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.eagleeyemovie.com/

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This movie tests the viewing public’s tolerance for enduring crass stupidity when the payoff is a series of repetitive, ADD infected chase scenes. Director D.J. Caruso (paired again with his leading man from Disturbia) does a moderately good job of hiding how incredibly dumb this screenplay is by keeping things moving at such a whirlwind pace that a lot more seems to be happening than actually is. In reality, the chase scenes don’t mean anything because they don’t advance the plot – it’s mice on a treadmill, running and running and not getting anywhere. The hope is that the edits will come so fast and furious and the music will be so loud and the actors will display such expressions of near-panic that maybe viewers will mistake all this chaos for suspense.

Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf) is a good-for-nothing layabout: a Stanford drop-out who earns a living by working at a copy store while making a few extra bucks on the side playing cards. One day, he stops by an ATM machine to withdraw some money and discovers that there’s $750,000 in his account. He gets home to find his apartment filled floor-to-ceiling with illegal weapons and bomb-making ingredients. He then receives a mysterious call on his cell phone telling him that if he doesn’t get out in 30 seconds, he’ll be arrested.

Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan) is a single mother sending her son off on a trip. While he’s away, she spends a night out on the town with her girlfriends. A call from her “son” lures her out of a bar onto a street, but the voice on the other end of the phone is the same mysterious caller who warned Jerry. Rachel is informed that unless she completes a series of actions, the train carrying her son will derail and he will be killed. Rachel does as she’s told and is brought face-to-face with Jerry. Together, these two go on a convoluted trip to do the bidding of the voice, which has the power to control electronic devices all around the world to get them where they’re supposed to go.

The film’s central flaw (although by far not its only one) is not difficult to discern. If an entity has the ability to access and control all networked computers and electronic devices around the world, giving it virtually limitless power, why does it need a couple of human beings to do its bidding? And, even if it chooses to use them, why send them on such an unbelievably long and convoluted wild goose chase when the same end could have been accomplished more simply. This issue looms so large that it is impossible to be ignored by anyone who allows a moment’s thought to pass through his mind while watching Eagle Eye. The movie was made for the brain dead, the catatonic, and those who have taken allergy medicine and are unable to stay awake.

The average positive review of this film will remark that “it’s a fun ride if you turn off your brain.” I’m not sure why anyone would want to turn off their brain, since that’s the organ where the body’s pleasure centers are located. Even granting that, when it comes to dumb popcorn movies, Eagle Eye is nowhere near the top. What makes the film even more disappointing is its veneer of social commentary about nonstop surveillance and the omnipotence of computers. These things are red herrings that, like Caruso’s frantically edited chase scenes, are designed to camouflage the bankruptcy of the writing. Should this film be a huge box office success, it will stand as a sad testament to how low the bar for cinematic entertainment has been set.

Mack Chico

By

2008/12/29 at 12:00am

‘The Spirit’ is a total disaster at the box office

12.29.2008 | By |

'The Spirit' is a total disaster at the box office

Things have not gone as Frank Miller had hoped for. The Spirit only managed to collect $6,510,000 from Friday to Monday and $3,842,000 on Christmas day. That is considered a calamitous result for a big budget film over this holiday weekend.This is also bad news for the actors associated with it like Eva Mendes and Gabriel Macht.

I scoured the internet and found a few quotes summarizing this abysmal outcome:

iO9.com says:

“We can only hope that this poor opening – and presumed subsequent disappointing box office, as I can’t see this movie suddenly becoming a hit based on word of mouth – means that TPTB will rethink their plan to let Miller recreate Buck Rogers for a new generation.”

Comicmix.com says:

“Frank Miller’s interpretation of Will Eisner’s classic character met with horrified reviews from those familiar with the source material and poor reviews from everyone else.  Spirit is considered the second straight misfire for Lionsgate, which also flopped with Punisher War Zone at the beginning of the month”.

Manodogs.blogspot.com says:

“Frank Miller’s film adaptation of Will Eisner’s The Spirit was soundly pummeled by ‘Marley and Me.’ Perhaps it’s a mixed blessing: if recent superhero movie performances are an indicator of audience taste, maybe the superhero movie fad is finally over; no longer will studios be able to churn-out cookie-cutter crap with a cape and expect big box office returns. Only time will prove either theory true. If The Spirit is a good film, it may have been overlooked in the wake of the superhero fad’s death; it may (also) have been overcome by bigger box-office star-power; or it could just be a bad flick. Only time will tell.”

Let’s see if Frank Miller gets a big budget for Buck Rogers now. Only time will tell.

Mack Chico

By

2008/12/29 at 12:00am

Pooch film ‘Marley and Me’ barks to #1 at the box office

12.29.2008 | By |

Pooch film 'Marley and Me' barks to #1 at the box office

“Marley & Me,” the story of a mischievous dog who grows up alongside the young couple who owns him, made $37 million in sales at U.S. and Canadian theaters, emerging as the top film in one of Hollywood’s most-competitive weekends.

“Bedtime Stories,” starring Adam Sandler, finished second with $28.1 million, box-office tracker Media By Numbers LLC said today in an e-mailed statement. Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” debuted in third place with $27 million.

‘Benjamin Button’

Christmas ranks among the busiest times for Hollywood studios in terms of new releases, making this holiday weekend among the most competitive, Media By Numbers President Paul Dergarabedian said in an interview.

Second place’s “Bedtime Stories” stars Sandler as a father whose nighttime tales come to life. It will surpass $100 million in sales, which will be the second Sandler film this year to do so, after “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan,” Pandya said.

Benjamin Button,” which finished third, is the tale of a man who ages in reverse and is based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The film has garnered five Golden Globe nominations from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, including best drama and best actor. The Paramount Pictures movie cost about $150 million, according to Internet Movie Database Inc.

‘Valkyrie’

Also debuting this week was Tom Cruise in “Valkyrie,” the story of a German officer in World War II who leads a group trying to assassinate Adolf Hitler. The movie, the second from Metro Goldwyn Mayer Inc.’s United Artists studio, opened in fourth place with $21.5 million. The cast includes Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy and Tom Wilkinson.

Last weekend’s No. 1 movie, “Yes Man” from Time Warner, slid to fifth with $16.5 million. Jim Carrey plays a man who transforms his humdrum life by saying “yes” at every opportunity for a year. It has made $49.6 million in two weeks of release.

Rounding out the top 10 in sixth through 10th places, respectively, were “Seven Pounds,” from Sony Corp., at $13.4 million; “The Tale of Despereaux” from General Electric Co.’s Universal Pictures with $9.37 million; Fox’s “The Day the Earth Stood Still” at $7.9 million; “The Spirit,” from Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., opened ninth with $6.51 million; and Disney Miramax’s “Doubt” finished in 10th with $5.68 million.

Receipts for the top 12 movies rose 7.6 percent to $182.5 million from the year-earlier period, Los Angeles-based Media By Numbers said. For the year, box-office sales have dropped 0.9 percent to $9.55 billion. Year-to-date attendance has declined 5.3 percent.

The following table has figures provided by studios to Media By Numbers. The amounts are based on gross ticket sales from Dec. 26 and yesterday and estimates for today.

Mike Pierce

By

2008/12/26 at 12:00am

The Spirit

12.26.2008 | By |

Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of stylized violence and action, some sexual content and brief nudity.
Release Date: 2008-12-25
Starring: Frank Miller, Will Eisner (Comic)
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.mycityscreams.com/

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The Spirit

Well…well…well…what can I say about Frank Miller’s, The Spirit? If you don’t know…this is the same guy who brought you…SIN CITY…and my favorite…300.
SOOO…I was definitely setting my standards high. Well people…it was CRAP!! As in Great Dane crap!! It’s about this cop – – who gets murdered in the line of duty – – he is then brought back to life…by an experimental drug (Yeah, I know)…once realizing his super abilities – he decides to fight crime. (Wack!)
 
It’s got a HOT cast – Miss Eva Mendes and Scarlett Johansson are in the movie…if it wasn’t for them…I would’ve gotten up and left the theater. I was sooo confused…and bored…not going to lie…it didn’t make any sense to me. (lol) Mr. Samuel L. Jackson stars in it as well…and, I’m not going to lie. The more I watch his movies – – the more he annoys me. I don’t know what it is. I just know its super wack…with a capital S.
 
The movie is filmed great though – it did have that Sin City / 300 feel to it…but that’s about it. Maybe that’s why it only made 4 million at the box office opening weekend.

Mack Chico

By

2008/12/26 at 12:00am

The Spirit

12.26.2008 | By |

Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of stylized violence and action, some sexual content and brief nudity.
Release Date: 2008-12-25
Starring: Frank Miller, Will Eisner (Comic)
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.mycityscreams.com/

Go to our film page

The Spirit
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