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The Latest in ShowBiz News

Mack Chico

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2008/10/23 at 12:00am

Zac Efron could be casted in "Pirates 4" and "Musical 4"

10.23.2008 | By |

Zac Efron could be casted in "Pirates 4" and "Musical 4"

The latest rumor hitting the high seas — MTV UK reports that Zac Efron has signed on to star in Pirates of the Caribbean 4, for the prime sum of 6 million pounds — a deal that would also glue him to another HSM sequel. But rumor control is already in the works. MTV, stateside, reports that this all came from The National Enquirer, and that there’s no truth to the story. They talked to Efron, who says the rumors aren’t true, although he’d definitely be interested. Gee, ya think?

Whoever cooked up this rumor at least thought it out — Zac might not be interested in more HSM, but I bet he’d agree to more for the chance to star in a huge Disney feature that reaches beyond the teen girls and allows him to act alongside Depp. And from the studio’s side, Sparrow’s last male rival couldn’t hold a torch to Johnny, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney did it again.

Orlando Bloom might have been one heck of a Legolas, but I just hated him in Pirates. His charisma, or lack thereof, was no match for Depp, and to give Johnny another star that can’t give him a run for his money … that would be a shame. This franchise’s best bet: focus on Sparrow with a few co-stars who can rival Depp’s charisma and chemistry. Any suggestions?

Mack Chico

By

2008/10/23 at 12:00am

Javier Bardem partners with Iñárritu in ‘Biutiful’

10.23.2008 | By |

Javier Bardem partners with Iñárritu in 'Biutiful'

Javier Bardem will star in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s “Biutiful,” the Mexican helmer’s first project after his much-publicized bust-up with former screenwriting partner Guillermo Arriaga.

Spanish-language pic “Biutiful,” which Gonzalez Inarritu wrote, shoots on location in Barcelona next week.

Pic is about a man embroiled in shady dealings who is confronted by a childhood friend, now a policeman.

Arriaga and Gonzalez Inarritu were Mexico’s most successful filmmaking duo, starting with their breakout hit “Amores Perros” in 2000 and the subsequent leap into Hollywood with English-language pics “21 Grams” and “Babel” that formed a trilogy.

Quibbles over writing credits on the three films came to a head with “Babel” when Arriaga was reportedly shut out from attending its debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006.

“Biutiful” will be co-produced by Fernando Bovaira‘s Mod shingle and Cha Cha Cha, Gonzalez Inarritu’s three-way partnership with Alfonso Cuaron and Guillermo del Toro.

Cha Cha Cha is a $100 million, five-feature production partnership with financing, distribution and international sales handled by Universal Pictures and Focus Features Intl.

Arriaga recently helmed “The Burning Plain,” based on his own screenplay, starring Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.

Mack Chico

By

2008/10/22 at 12:00am

Ashton Kutcher is casted for ‘Five Killers’

10.22.2008 | By |

Ashton Kutcher is casted for 'Five Killers'

Lionsgate has set Ashton Kutcher to star in and Robert Luketic to direct “Five Killers,” an action comedy that will begin production early next year.

Kutcher will play a former hit man whose life is turned upside down because someone from his past has paid a group of killers to bump him off.

Lionsgate acquired the project as a spec script by Bob DeRosa, and Ted Griffin is doing a rewrite.

Scott Aversano is producing along with Kutcher and his Katalyst Prods. partner Jason Goldberg.

Michael Paseornek and John Sacchi are set to exec produce.

Luketic is coming off “21” and most recently wrapped the Katherine HeiglGerard Butler starrer “The Ugly Truth,” which Columbia Pictures releases April 3. Kutcher is coming off “What Happens in Vegas.”

Lionsgate will distribute the film in North America, the U.K. and Australia, and Mandate Intl. will sell remaining world territories at AFM.

CAA reps Kutcher and Luketic, the latter of whom is managed by Mosaic.

Alex Florez

By

2008/10/21 at 12:00am

The Strangers

10.21.2008 | By |

Rating: 2.0

Rated: R for violence, terror and language.
Release Date: 2008-05-30
Starring: Bryan Bertino
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.thestrangersmovie.com/

 Go to our film page

The Strangers is a chilling horror film about a home invasion. This movie doesn’t break any new ground on a plot level, but its interesting cinematography suffuses the production with an overpowering combination of paranoia and claustrophobia. This is one of those rare horror movies that concentrates on suspense and terror rather than on gore and a high body count. By keeping the premise simple and making the small group of characters seem like genuine human beings, Bertino sets the audience up for a tense and uneasy 85 minutes.

 

It’s 4:00 am when Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) arrive at his cabin in the woods. It has not been a good night for them – Kristen turned down his wedding proposal – but it’s about to get much worse. As they’re preparing for bed and trying to figure out how to bridge the gulf that has suddenly opened between them, there’s a knock at the door. This is the first of many such interruptions of the still night, and it isn’t long before harassment develops into something darker and more dangerous. The woods, normally empty and serene, now hold the promise of terror and death.

 

The Strangers (there are three of them) wear masks. They are simple masks but, as we know from the lesson taught by Michael Myers, even a blank white covering of the face can be terrifying in certain circumstances.

The Strangers is not a perfect motion picture, but it’s one of the horror genre’s rare recent standouts. The melodrama at the beginning is weak, failing to connect us to the characters to the degree Bertino intends, and the final shot is a bit of a cheat. 

 

The Strangers is so effectively produced that if you arrive home after a night showing to find the electricity off, you will have misgivings about going inside. Horror movies come in two categories: those that deal in supernatural creatures and those that have their roots in very real dangers. The escapism that often categorizes and distances viewers in the former is absent in productions like this. There’s pain and blood in The Strangers, but the movie is more about psychological torture than the physical variety. It’s intense but not necessarily fun and may disappoint less sophisticated horror fans. However, for die-hard supporters of unsettling peeks into the dark side of human nature, this is a welcome excursion.

Mack Chico

By

2008/10/21 at 12:00am

Pride and Glory

10.21.2008 | By |

Rated: R for strong violence, pervasive language and brief drug content.
Release Date: 2008-10-24
Starring: Joe Carnahan, Gavin O’Connor
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.prideandglorymovie.com/

Go to our film page

Pride and Glory

‘Pride and Glory’ is one of the better cop films to come out in a long time. It’s still not as good as the films from the 70’s, but it can sure pack a punch in the drama and acting department. The choice of using the streets of Washington Heights and a large urban latino cast, gave the film its grit and authenticity. The film even gave us a return to Spanish speak for Ed Norton since his early work in ‘Keep the Faith’.

This story is centered around a family of New York City Police officers. The family’s moral codes are tested when Ray Tierney (Edward Norton), investigates a case that reveals an incendiary police corruption scandal involving his own brother-in-law (Colin Farrell). For Ray, the truth is revelatory, a Pandora’s Box that threatens to upend not only the Tierney legacy but the entire NYPD.

The last two good cop films I saw were ‘Narc’ with Ray Liotta and ‘Gone Baby Gone’ starring Casey Affleck, Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman. Yes, I’m not mentioning ‘The Departed’ since it wasn’t that good and you know it. Since then, every film of that nature has been monotonous, recycled and just plane ol’ stale. They just don’t make them like they used to back in the 70’s. Movies such as Bullit, Serpico, The French Connection, have stood the test of time and set the measuring bar way too high for any to reach, just ask Pacino who has not been able to replicate his own successes.

Nevertheless, Pride and Glory is darn good, I wouldn’t call it great just because I can’t see Ed Norton being a bad ass cop. As great an actor as he is, there are just somethings I can’t see him in and this is one of them. Jon Voight does his typical solid work and Farrell does his best job in years.

The performances of the Latino cast in the film composed of John Ortiz, Manny Perez, Ramon Rodriguez, Rick Gonzalez and Max Hernández were credible and sound. I particularly like the work of John Ortiz who keeps on getting better with time.

‘Pride and Glory’ is worth your time and money at the movies this weekend. It’ll remind you of a time when cop movies were something to be excited about. Let’s hope Hollywood keeps them coming.

Mack Chico

By

2008/10/21 at 12:00am

‘SAW 5’ – Scare yourself with these 3 scenes!

10.21.2008 | By |

'SAW 5' - Scare yourself with these 3 scenes!

Boy are you in for a treat! Lionsgate films just gave us these 3 clips of the 5th installment of SAW.

These films are never going to win any awards, but the appeal to the SAW franchise films are an anomalie to me. Who cares, though. Around Halloween, I just need a scare in my walk and the SAW films do a hell of a job in doing that.

Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda are dead. Now, upon the news of Detective Kerry’s murder, two seasoned FBI profilers, Agent Strahm and Agent Perez, arrive in the terrified community to assist the veteran Detective Hoffman in sifting through Jigsaw’s latest grizzly remains and piecing together the puzzle. However, when SWAT Commander Rigg is abducted and thrust into a game, the last officer untouched by Jigsaw has but ninety minutes to overcome a series of demented traps and save an old friend or face the deadly consequences.

Mack Chico

By

2008/10/21 at 12:00am

Brad Pitt poses for ‘Inglourious Basterds’

10.21.2008 | By |

Brad Pitt poses for 'Inglourious Basterds'

Quentin Tarantino has painted his WWII epic Inglourious Basterds as his take on a spaghetti western, even joking that he might title the film ‘Once Upon a Time in Nazi-Occupied France’.

This first look from the set shows Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine, leader of a group of Jewish -American soldiers, known as ‘The Basterds’ who are chosen specifically to spread fear among the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis.

Check out the pic below!

Brad Pitt in 'Inglorious Basterds'

 

Mack Chico

By

2008/10/21 at 12:00am

Cuba and Italy to film together

10.21.2008 | By |

Cuba and Italy to film together

Italy and Cuba have signed a co-production agreement under which Silvio Berlusconi-owned Medusa is expected to shoot a comedy by Italo helmer Paolo Virzi on the Caribbean isle.

The Italo-Cuban co-production treaty was inked in Havana by Italian state film department chief Gaetano Blandini and Omar Gonzalez, topper of Cuban film institute Icaic.

Blandini has said he hopes the treaty will turn Italy into “a gateway into Europe” for Cuban cinema, adding that the closer rapport will make it easier for young Cuban filmmakers to liaise with Italian producers.

Meanwhile, Italy looks set to make the most of Cuba’s spectacular locations and low-cost prices.

The Italian delegation in Havana included Medusa prexy Carlo Rossella, who was quoted by Cuban press reports as saying Virzi will helm the first Italo-Cuban co-prod in the works. A Medusa spokesman in Rome declined immediate comment.

Virzi shortly before travelling to Cuba said he would like to shoot a Havana-set satire about Western sexual tourism on the Communist isle.

As part of the Italo-Cuban exchange Virzi is currently being celebrated in Cuba with a retro of his biting social laffers, including his latest, titled “Her Whole Life Ahead of Her,” a scathing sendup of telemarketing and corporate greed.

Mack Chico

By

2008/10/21 at 12:00am

Almodovar has a home in the USA

10.21.2008 | By |

Almodovar has a home in the USA

Sony has officially picked up Pedro Almodovar‘s ‘Broken Embraces’. Pathe Distribution has picked up rights in the U.K., France, Belgium and Switzerland.

Cineart has taken Dutch rights.

Pathe has distribbed all of Almodovar’s pics since “All About My Mother,” including “Talk to Her,” “Bad Education” and “Volver.”

“The deal was effortless,” said Damien Golla, Pathe’s director of trade and theater marketing department. “We have a great relationship with Almodovar and we trust him completely.”

“Broken Embraces,” which stars “Volver” thesp Penelope Cruz, will be released next spring.

Shot in the style of an American film noir, pic shot in Madrid and the Canary Islands and is now in post.

Pedro Almodovar’s shingle, El Deseo, co-owned by his brother Augustin Almodovar, has retained Spanish rights.

Other territories are being sold by Focus Features International.

Alex Florez

By

2008/10/20 at 12:00am

The Incredible Hulk

10.20.2008 | By |

Rating: 3.5

Rated: PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence, some frightening sci-fi images, and brief suggestive content.
Release Date: 2008-06-13
Starring: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://incrediblehulk.marvel.com/

 Go to our film page

For five years, Marvel has been trying to figure out what to do with one of the biggest potential franchises of its universe. Ang Lee’s Hulk proved to be a dud with fans and producing a direct sequel was as unlikely an alternative as altogether forgoing additional Hulk movies. So the decision was made to “re-imagine” the character, which is a nice way of saying that the 2003 feature would be ignored. The Incredible Hulk is a more traditional superhero movie than its predecessor and should please those who want their not-so-jolly green giant served with helpings of action. This film provides less talk and more smashing.

 

Structurally, The Incredible Hulk is a fairly straightforward superhero movie. While it is not an “origin story” in the strictest sense, it functions as one in the way it must introduce characters, establish situations and relationships, and open a series. As a result of so much backstory, there’s not a lot of room for a complex plot. So the principal villain remains half-formed and the storyline as a whole revolves around three confrontations between the Hulk and this nemesis.

 

The film opens with a re-telling of how Dr. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) entered his Jekyll and Hyde state. This allows the 2003 Hulk to be “erased” from the record for those who care about such things. As we join the story, Banner is in South America, on the run from himself and the military, trying to keep a low profile while he searches for a cure to what plagues him. A mishap at a factory alerts General Ross (William Hurt) to Banner’s location. A tactical team, led by the amoral Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), goes in to capture Banner. After turning into the Hulk, he escapes and heads back to the United States, where he is reunited with his former love, Betty Ross (Liv Tyler). Meanwhile, the General and Emil plot a “foolproof” method of capturing Banner – one that involves injecting Blonsky with a serum that makes him superhuman.

 

The Incredible Hulk takes place in the same “universe” as Iron Man (a point that is driven home by a Robert Downey Jr. cameo), but the movies aren’t on quite the same level. Iron Man was rightfully described as a “comic book movie that you don’t have to be a comic book fan to like.” The same is not true of The Incredible Hulk. This film’s appeal, while not as narrowly focused as Sex and the City, is designed primarily with fanboys in mind. Director Louis Leterrier’s approach lacks the wit and sophistication of Iron Man. While The Incredible Hulk has some emotional resonance, it’s built on a foundation of action. When Lou Ferrigno (providing the main character’s voice) shouts “Hulk Smash!”, it encapsulates the attraction.

 

As Banner, Edward Norton takes over for Eric Bana but there’s little apparent difference in the way the character is interpreted. Banner is still the same tortured soul he was in 2003. Liv Tyler’s version of Betty Ross is surprisingly awkward and at times unconvincing, but maybe that has a lot to do with her dialogue. It’s as if George Lucas was brought in to ghost write her lines. At least there’s a real sense of affection between Banner and Betty; that goes a long way toward redeeming weaknesses in Tyler’s performance. As Blonsky, Tim Roth is at his badass best, even if all he really has to do is sneer a lot. William Hurt is fine, if a little bland, as Ross. Then there’s Downey, who’s on-screen for about 30 seconds, but steals the movie and brings down the house. That says a lot about the popularity of Iron Man and indicates how big Iron Man 2 will be.

 

The Incredible Hulk pays homage in many ways to the popular late-’70s/early-’80s TV show of the same name. In addition to providing the little-used voice of the Hulk, Ferrigno reprises his role from the 2003 movie as a nameless security guard. Bill Bixby gets a little face-time via some archival footage that’s inserted in such a way that anyone not looking for it won’t be bothered by it. There’s also a brief snippet of the TV show’s theme tune, a character named “Jack McGee,” and an iconic shot of Banner walking alone, hitchhiking. Plus, Stan Lee makes his obligatory cameo. (He and Ferrigno are the only two to appear in both Hulk and The Incredible Hulk.)

 

After a slightly protracted introduction that puts all the pieces in place, The Incredible Hulk stays action-oriented for the remainder of its running time, pausing occasionally for some exposition or to advance the Banner/Betty relationship. Granted, a lot of the action consists of chase scenes with soldiers running after Banner, but whenever the Hulk appears, things get interesting. The final battle, bits of which have been shown in TV commercials and trailers, recalls one of those Japanese monster-a-thons where giant creatures collide. And it’s a lot more kinetic (and shorter) than the climactic conflict in Transformers. The Incredible Hulk builds to this, and it doesn’t let us down.

 

The special effects used to create the Hulk aren’t flawless but they’re good enough. The CGI is evident mainly during the final battle, when it’s apparent that a lot of what we’re seeing was crafted in a computer. The word “cartoonish” comes to mind but, considering that this is adapted from a comic book, that’s not an inappropriate descriptor. The work here passes muster, and the Hulk is no longer the bright green of the 2003 feature. Letterier has rendered him in a grayish-green.

 

The Incredible Hulk provides Marvel with its second superhero hit of the summer. For comic book fans, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk represent a solid one-two punch. If the former movie was a triple, the latter is a solid single, and good enough to drive the earlier one home. Now, the wait is on for The Dark Knight, to see whether D.C. can hold its own. Certainly, Marvel has succeeded in wiping away the hangover from last summer’s crop of superhero movies and revising the future look more promising.

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