10.20.2009 | By Jack Rico |
*Updated March 2026
‘Touched,’ the movie starred and produced by Shalim Ortiz, best known for his role as Alejandro in NBC’s Heroes, has been chosen to lead the Dominican Republic Film Festival taking place in Santo Domingo from November 18th to the 22nd. Read More
10.18.2009 | By Pau Brunet |
After a long and troubled production, Warner Bros.’ Where the Wild Things Are found its supper waiting, and it was hot to the tune of $32.5 million, according to early estimates by Hollywood.com Box Office. The movie was easily the best debut for acclaimed director Spike Jonze, whose two previous films, Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, ended their domestic runs at $22.9 million and $22.5 million, respectively. All eyes will be watching to see how much Wild Things, with its reported $80 million budget, drops next weekend. The film earned a relatively solid “B+” grade from CinemaScore moviegoers, but some families may be staying away as the movie jumped only 2 percent from Friday to Saturday.
The violent thriller Law Abiding Citizen, starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler, attracted an adult audience and captured second place with $21.3 million. Right behind it was the box-office phenomenon of the season, Paranormal Activity, which scared up $20.2 million from a mere 760 theaters. The cult horror film, which Paramount brilliantly marketed by asking internet users to “demand” the movie to come to their town, grossed a spooky $26,530 per screen. That’s all the more impressive considering Paranormal Activity was produced on a budget of $11,000. The movie is expected to reach 1,800 theaters next weekend.
Fourth place went to the Vince Vaughn comedy Couples Retreat, which dropped a respectable 48 percent for a $17.9 million weekend. The thriller The Stepfather, a remake of the 1987 original, debuted in fifth place with $12.3 million. In limited release, Joel and Ethan Coen’s A Serious Man expanded to 82 theaters and grossed $860,257 for a hearty $10,491 per-screen average. And New York, I Love You, a collection of short films dedicated to the city, debuted with a decent $372,000 from 119 theaters. One wonders how many Gotham-loving moviegoers skipped the film to watch the Yankees play postseason baseball instead.
Overall, the weekend was up 41 percent from the same frame last year, when Max Payne opened to $17.6 million.
10.15.2009 | By SBC Staff |
La Nana llega a tierras estadounidenses como un mensaje dentro de una botella. Silenciosamente remitido por el cineasta chileno Sebastián Silva, el mensaje es sencillo y sincero. Es un relato de mucha idiosincrasia y a la vez, un estudio de la condición humana para compartir dondequiera que la corriente lo lleve. Read More
10.15.2009 | By Alex Florez |
The night that ‘Max put on a wolf suit and started doing one shenanigan after another’ marked the moment in my childhood when I let my imagination run wild. I’m referring to the boy in that fantasy book written by Maurice Sendak, who later finds himself in a forest ‘Where The Wild Things Are.’ Read More
10.15.2009 | By SBC Staff |
Odd Lot Entertainment, Lionsgate and Videocine announced today the start of pre-production on an English-language Mexican-US co-production film, entitled From Prada to Nada.
Cannes Golden Camera-winner and Alma-nominated director Fina Torres (Woman on Top, Oriana) will helm a contemporary, Latina version of Jane Austen’s classic novel “Sense and Sensibility.” Academy Award and Golden Globe nominated actress Adriana Barraza (Babel, Drag Me to Hell, Amores Perros), Camilla Belle (When A Stranger Calls), Alexa Vega (“Spy Kids” films), Wilmer Valderrama (“That 70’s Show”) and Kuno Becker (“Goal!” trilogy) are set to star in this ensemble romantic comedy.
A whimsical spin on Austen’s original, From Prada to Nada follows two spoiled sisters when they are left penniless after the sudden death of their father. Forced to move in with their estranged aunt in East Los Angeles, this is a fish-out-of-water story where the girls ultimately find romance, as well as a love for their culture. Torres co-wrote the script with Chicano dramatist Luis Alfaro (Electricidad).
Odd Lot, Lionsgate and Videocine are production, financing and distribution partners on the film. Odd Lot’s Gigi Pritzker and Linda McDonough will produce, along with Rossana Arau and Gary Gilbert.
“Fina’s decadent filmic style, combined with a socially relevant and hip story, drew together our exceptional and fresh cast,” says McDonough. Continued Prizker, “I believe in telling stories with a cultural basis, and of course I also believe in smart deals – From Prada to Nada does both.”
10.13.2009 | By Namreta Kumar |
With a film that has so many names attached to it there are so many places where it can succeed and just as many places where it can fail. New York, I Love You startles on this double-edged sword for so many reasons. Read More
10.5.2009 | By Pau Brunet |
Sony’s marketing machine marches on: “Zombieland” opened No. 1 at the weekend box office, giving the studio its sixth first-place debut of the year. The horror-comedy hybrid sold an estimated $25 million in tickets at North American theaters, according to tracking services. The entry to watch, however, was Disney’s experiment in using 3-D to repackage the Pixar classics “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2.” The films, re-rendered in 3-D and released as a double feature, sold an estimated $12.5 million, placed third — behind a three-week-old animated entry from Sony, “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.” (That movie sold another $16.7 million for a cumulative total of $82.4 million.)
So Disney did a successful job priming the market for “Toy Story 3,” set for release in June, but so far failed to prove any points about the goldmine potential of re-releasing old hits in 3-D. The Ricky Gervais comedy “The Invention of Lying” (Warner Brothers) was fourth with about $7.4 million, while “Surrogates” (Disney) limped into fifth place with $7.3 million ($26.4 million total). The only other wide release, “Whip It,” fared poorly in sixth place. The Fox Searchlight comedy, backed by a months-long marketing campaign and featuring the talents of Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page, sold about $4.9 million.
10.2.2009 | By Ted Faraone |
*Updated April 2026
The brothers Joel and Ethan Coen have brought an amazing variety of films to the screen over the last 25 years. From the over-the-top Blood Simple to the extraordinarily annoying Fargo and the superbly funny Burn After Reading, they have at last decided to make a serious picture. A Serious Man is a drama in disguise, performed by comedic actors. Read More
10.2.2009 | By Alex Florez |
With a jaunty title like Zombieland, you know you’re in for a senseless horror comedy. Now that’s just fine, but the surprise here is that it’s more of a buddy road movie with a teen romance sandwiched in between. Come to think of it, this film attempts to do the nearly impossible – get loyal zombie fans and mainstream folk to share the same theater. Read More
10.1.2009 | By SBC Staff |
Rated: R for some language.
Release Date: 2009-10-02
Starring: Michael Moore
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.capitalismalovestory.com/
Go to our film page
‘Capitalism: A Love Story’ is like a Sylvester Stallone ‘Rocky’ film – it leaves you wanting to kick some ass, in this case, Corporate America’s ass. Documentarian and funny man Michael Moore is up to his old tricks as he combats the evil forces in the USA in an entertaining and factual manner, including revelations that might twitch your spine. Capitalism isn’t as good as ‘Sicko’, but it manages to deliver a punch right in the patriotic gut.
The premise has Mr. Moore exploring the price that America pays for its love of capitalism, but the principal appeal of the film is Moore’s quest to uncover the why’s and who’s of the economic collapse, and even though he does this with human affection and charm, he doesn’t necessarily tell us what to do with the information. Consequently, we’re left asking questions with no right or wrong answers. I almost wish he would’ve tread a little further and had someone arrested – caught on film! No such luck, but I can’t say he didn’t try. To most proletariats, Moore is their champion and so with each documentary, the expectations for him to do something about his findings become more demanding.
At the end, Moore is in the business of informing and entertaining us with his topical stories on our governments fallacies, but he wants us to do something about. He feels he started it, we should finish it. Will we? Stay tuned.
