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The Latest in ShowBiz News

The Last House on the Left
Jack Rico
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2009/03/13 at 12:00am

Reviews

The Last House on the Left

03.13.2009 | By |

Rated: R for sadistic brutal violence including a rape and disturbing images, language, nudity and some drug use.
Release Date: 2009-03-13
Starring: Adam Alleca, Carl Ellsworth
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.thelasthouseontheleft.com/

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The Last House on the Left

‘The Last House on the Left’ is as uncomfortable a film as I have ever seen. Uncomfortable because the movie possesses elements that blur the lines between violence, abuse and entertainment. Cinematically, the film is arresting through and through due the high caliber of the production, the reliable and convincing acting performances and its engrossing premise to boot. But how can one recommend a movie that possesses a barbaric rape scene, as a good cinematic selection? It is a complex response, but ultimately, you need to be the judge.

This is the third remake of ‘The Last House on the Left’. In 1972, the first feature effort of Wes Craven, was a reworking of Ingmar Bergman’s 1960 picture, The Virgin Spring, which won the 1961 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. This third version, is more reminiscent to the 1972 edition. The story takes place after the kidnapping and butchering of two female teenagers. The guilty gang unknowingly finds refuge with the parents of one of the victims, hosts who devise a gruesome revenge.

Women be forewarned. If you have never been privy to scenes of sexual abuse, this is not the film to get acquainted with it. The rape scene images seen here are some of the most gruesome, disturbing and down right reprehensible ever committed to a Hollywood film. I’m not sure many will be able to withstand it and walking out of the theater just might be your best option. But if you can cover your eyes and get through it, there is a redeeming third act that will quench your thirst for revenge. 

After seeing the entire film, I must say, Greek director Dennis Illiadis was a fantastic director who maintained a level of dread, suspense and retribution throughout the whole film. This is not a horror movie but a highly intense thriller that works the mind to feel contempt in its first half then vindication in its denouement.

‘The Last House on the Left’ is not a “pretty” movie, but it does challenge the boundaries of entertainment, and hopefully with an open mind, you’ll be the one entertained.

Race to Witch Mountain
Jack Rico
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2009/03/12 at 12:00am

Reviews

Race to Witch Mountain

03.12.2009 | By |

Rated: PG for sequences of action and violence, frightening and dangerous situations, and some thematic elements.
Release Date: 2009-03-13
Starring: Matt Lopez, Mark Bomback, Andy Fickman
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.disneylatino.com/FilmesDisney/La_montania_embrujada/index.html

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Race to Witch Mountain

What an entertaining movie! I would dare say ‘Race to Witch Mountain’ will be one of the breakout hits of the young year. The story, the fast-action-packed sequences, the charming performances, all add to a fun time with the family at the movies this weekend.

In this new re-imagining of Disney’s “Escape to Witch Mountain” (1975) and its sequel “Return from Witch Mountain” (1978), a UFO expert enlists the help of a cabbie (Dwayne Johnson) to protect two siblings (AnnaSophia Robb, Alexander Ludwig) with paranormal powers from the clutches of an organization that wants to use the kids for their nefarious plans.

Disney, known for its animation, surprisingly presents an amusing live-action sci-fi flick that provides escapism for today’s troubled times. The film immediately begins with a suspenseful, special effects driven scenery that sets a swift pace for the rest of the film. Dwayne Johnson once again does a fantastic job of adding humorous and credible layers to his performance. This script fits him like a glove and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him do more roles like this (The Game Plan) in the next few years. The rest of the cast are appealing without being histrionic with the alien script.

‘Race to Witch Mountain’ feels like a Disney theme ride (I wouldn’t be surprised if one is in the works) extracting elements from E.T. and the Terminator while adding the Disney touch to make it viewable for kids and comfortable enough for parents to enjoy. There are some moments that are incoherent and random, but I say, so what? It’s a Disney film with all the bells and whistles made to be an enjoyable experience for the whole family.

Exclusive! 7 scenes from ‘Broken Embraces’!
Jack Rico
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2009/03/12 at 12:00am

Movies

Exclusive! 7 scenes from ‘Broken Embraces’!

03.12.2009 | By |

Exclusive! 7 scenes from 'Broken Embraces'!

If you’re a Pedro Almodovar fan or a Penelope Cruz fan, you are in for a treat. We have just obtained 7 exclusive scenes from ‘Broken Embraces’, movie which will be released in the U.S on November 6th, 2009. These scenes tell a bit more than what both the teaser and the theatrical trailers have shown. We don’t see too much of Penelope, rather the secondary actors led by Blanca Portillo and Lluís Homar.

This is Almodovar’s first ‘film noir’. He has gone to extreme measures to make sure the film feels old, yet modern. Many of the scenes are interconnected with a wonderful and magical score that should be one of the best of the year. It really sets a dark and mysterious tone to the whole film. John Huston would be jealous today. To see and read more, check out our comprehensive ‘Broken Embraces’ film page.

Sunshine Cleaning
Ted Faraone
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2009/03/11 at 12:00am

Reviews

Sunshine Cleaning

03.11.2009 | By |

Rated: R for language, disturbing images, some sexuality and drug use.
Release Date: 2009-03-13
Starring: Megan Holley
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country: USA
Official Website: NULL

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Sunshine Cleaning

“Sunshine Cleaning,” the third feature from helmer Christine Jeffs, is an amusing trifle of a chick flick that manages to hold attention for 102 minutes.  It does so despite a thin plot mainly due to smashing performances by Alan Arkin as con-artist cum paterfamilias Joe Lorkowski, Amy Adams as his less than successful elder daughter Rose, and crisp dialogue by screenwriter Megan Holley.  Arkin is making a career at playing pretty much the same existential character he played in “Little Miss Sunshine.”  Fortunately for “Sunshine Cleaning,” this time his character is not killed mid-flick.
 
Plot centers on Rose’s almost “I Love Lucy” style effort to better her circumstances.  A star high school cheerleader, opening cuts show her working as a maid days while screwing her now married high school boyfriend (Mac played by Steve Zahn) nights.  An unwed mother, her son Oscar’s (Jason Spevack) expulsion from public school ignites her immediate need for more money to pay private school tuition.  The Ethel in the duo is slacker younger sister Norah (Emily Blunt).  “Sunshine Cleaning” is a biohazard cleanup concern Rose starts after Mac mentions that it is a lucrative growth industry – a point driven home by pic’s opening in which a fellow played by Christopher Dempsey offs himself by shotgun in a sporting goods store.
 
After a shaky start, all goes well until Norah accidentally burns down a client’s house.  That puts uninsured Rose out of business.  A couple of notes of pathos (and tears) are introduced via the revelation, mid flick, of absent mother’s (Marya Beauvais) suicide when the siblings were tots.  The revelation is set up by an odd subplot with lesbian overtones that leads to a dead end.
 
Sharp editing by Heather Persons and Jeffs’ firm hand at the throttle move things along at a fine clip, making “Sunshine Cleaning” seem far more compelling than it is.  Its message, if it has one, is the Nike slogan, “Just Do It.”
 
A weepy ending would be out of the question.  Jeffs avoids it with a couple of scenes that appear to be almost tacked on – the pivotal one being a sort of deus ex machina that is not entirely set up by what went before, but is at least consistent with pic’s humorous tone.  Editor Persons offers a nicely balanced touch in which quick cuts at the film’s open and end accomplish a good deal of exposition.  “Sunshine Cleaning” is a bit like Chinese food.  It seems more substantial than it is while one is eating it.
 
Minorities are almost conspicuously absent in this flick set in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Beyond a few seemingly Mexican-American small roles, cast credits reveal only a few Spanish surnamed actors.  One, however, Clifton Collins (a.k.a. Clifton Gonzalez-Gonzalez) plays a pivotal although not necessarily ethnic role.
 
Distributed in the US by Overture Films, “Sunshine Cleaning” is rated “R” due to language, violence (the suicide in the first reel), and sexual content.

Confirmed! Mickey Rourke will be ‘Iron Man 2’
Mack Chico
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2009/03/11 at 12:00am

Movies

Confirmed! Mickey Rourke will be ‘Iron Man 2’

03.11.2009 | By |

Confirmed! Mickey Rourke will be 'Iron Man 2'

Mickey Rourke has closed his deal to play the Russian villain in “Iron Man 2.”
His involvement was expected, but dealmaking was arduous after Marvel Entertainment offered “The Wrestler” star only $250,000 for his first major studio film in years.More than one option

Rourke’s salary will be now better than that.

While his ICM rep, David Unger, battled for more dough, Rourke’s encounters with “Iron Man” star Robert Downey Jr. on the awards circuit sealed his participation in the film.los

Rourke won the Golden Globe and was Oscar nominated for “The Wrestler” and Downey got Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for “Tropic Thunder,” so Downey used each occasion to recruit Rourke.

When Downey, Rourke as well as actors including Frank Langella and Anne Hathaway took part in a roundtable discussion with Newsweek’s David Ansen, Downey interrupted the proceedings, reached across the table and flat out asked Rourke to do “Iron Man 2.”

Rourke also met with Jon Favreau and scribe Justin Theroux and got to be part of the development of his character. He’ll play Whiplash, a character that includes elements from that comicbook villain and Crimson Dynamo, another Russian baddie.

Marvel wouldn’t confirm Rourke’s involvement, but he’s planning to join Downey, Sam Rockwell and Samuel L. Jackson, with Scarlett Johansson the frontrunner to play the Black Widow.

Juan Antonio Bayona could direct ‘Twilight 3’
Mack Chico
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2009/03/11 at 12:00am

Movies

Juan Antonio Bayona could direct ‘Twilight 3’

03.11.2009 | By |

Juan Antonio Bayona could direct 'Twilight 3'

Could Summit be going genre with its third “Twilight” pic?

Sources indicate that horror wunderkind — and Guillermo Del Toro protege — Juan Antonio Bayona has emerged as one of the finalists to direct “Eclipse,” the third movie in Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” franchise.

The studio declined to comment; a rep said producers were looking at a number of candidates.

Bayona’s name has come up in recent months, though generally in a group of other directors — an eclectic list that’s ranged from Paul Weitz to Drew Barrymore to James Mangold;earlier today, in fact, a report on the Twilighters fansite reported it would be Paul Weitz.

Many of the other names have been batted down. Bayona’s name, on the other hand, has surfaced more in recent days as the man who could land the job, in what would mark a bold departure for the franchise.

If he does come aboard, the studio would have brought on a female coming-of-age girl director in Catherine Hardwicke for the first “Twilight” picture, a mainstream Hollywood comedy director in Chris Weitz for sequel “New Moon” and a genre maven for the third picture.

 The shift would make sense on a number of levels — “Eclipse,” while continuing the romances and love triangles of previous books, does contain a mystery of unsolved murders that protags Bella and Edward seek to solve. (Notably, Bayona’s debut “The Orphanage” also contained a plotline centering on children who had been killed under mysterious circumstances.) It also features battles between werewolves and vampires that could call for a practiced genre hand.

Bayona, for those who don’t follow foreign horror directors, is a hot property — the 33-year-old Spaniard  who goes mainy by his last name has been championed by  “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “The Hobbit” director del Toro, who has produced and/or godfathered his work. Bayona received rave reviews for his Spanish-language “Orphanage,’ the Picturehouse-released Gothic tale about childhood and loss that was rife with spooks. He’s currently signed on to direct the dystopian thriller “Hater” for Universal. 

That project was to mark his English-language debut. If he and Summit can make a deal work, he may have some vampires to contend with first.

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo to direct ‘X’
Mack Chico
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2009/03/11 at 12:00am

Movies

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo to direct ‘X’

03.11.2009 | By |

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo to direct 'X'

Spanish helmer Juan Carlos Fresnadillo has made a deal with MGM to develop a film based on director Roger Corman’s 1963 pic “X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes,” a movie from the Lion’s library.

The original starred Ray Milland as a scientist who is near a breakthrough in X-ray vision technology when his funding is cut off. Desperate to show results, the doc applies eye drops that eventually cause him to lose control over his growing powers.

Mandeville Films partners David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman will produce with Enrique Lopez Lavigne. Lou Arkoff will exec produce.

The director hasn’t committed to a film since “28 Weeks Later.”

Fresnadillo is in Hollywood this week meeting with writers for “X” and is expected to set one quickly.

Javier Bardem to join ‘Cartel’?
Mack Chico
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2009/03/11 at 12:00am

Movies

Javier Bardem to join ‘Cartel’?

03.11.2009 | By |

Javier Bardem to join 'Cartel'?

Latino Review is reporting that Javier Bardem is in talks to join Sean Penn in Cartel.

The movie would star Penn as a man who journeys to protect his son after his wife is brutally murdered in the gritty world of Mexican cartels.

Bardem would take the role of Rafael Castillo, a wealthy but righteous DA who wants to put the cartels away. Castillo shunned his rich family for the law.

Asger Leth will direct from a script by Peter Craig. The project started as a remake of 1993 Italian film La scorta but has since evolved into an action vehicle for Penn.

Transporter 3
Alex Florez
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By

2009/03/10 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

Transporter 3

03.10.2009 | By |

Rating: 2.5

Rated: PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence, some sexual content and drug material.
Release Date: 2008-11-26
Starring: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:France
Official Website: http://www.letransporteur3-lefilm.com/

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Let’s be frank (no pun intended). This review really isn’t needed. 

The latest installment of the ‘Transporter’ series is everything you expect it to be: one ridiculous action sequence after another with a senseless romantic plot sandwiched in between.  But who says that’s a bad thing?

Frank Martin (Jason Statham), a former Special Forces officer and now a highly skilled courier for the underworld world, has been pressured into ‘transporting’ Valentina (Natalya Rudakova), the kidnapped daughter of Leonid Vasilev, a top Ukrainian politician, all across Europe.  But things get pretty ugly for him when he has to contend with the people who strong armed him to take the job, the special agents sent by Vasilev to intercept him, and his unruly passenger.  If you haven’t seen the first two films, you’ll quickly pick up on its simple premise. 

Oh yes, one other matter of hilarious complication. On this particular run, Frank is forced to wear a high tech bracelet which is programed to explode if he gets too far from his Audi S8.  And so he speed races through Europe stopping only to battle dozens of henchmen that are on his tail using his masterful kung fu skills – all within 50 feet of his car, of course.

If nothing else, Transporter 3 is hysterical. The implausibility of all the stunts should be enough to keep you entertained for a couple of hours. And the fact that it takes itself so seriously makes it even funnier. If you’ve seen ‘Crank’ (my personal favorite Statham film), I’m sure you know exactly what I mean. 
 
It is what it is.  A kung fu movie with fast cars and a British accent.

Now we all know the effects a big turkey dinner can have. So if you’re looking for a film to watch on Thursday night, perhaps ‘Transporter 3’ is a better choice than the 3 hour epic which also opens this weekend.

Role Models
Mike Pierce
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2009/03/10 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

Role Models

03.10.2009 | By |

Rating: 4.0

Rated: R for crude and sexual content, strong language and nudity.
Release Date: 2008-11-07
Starring: Paul Rudd, David Wain
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.rolemodelsmovie.com/

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The dynamic duo is back! Sean William Scott and Paul Rudd are tag teaming it on the big screen in the hilarious movie, Role Models.

Let me tell you people…I haven’t laughed that hard in a longgggg time. I’m telling the truth…you laugh from the beginning to the end! NO LIE.

It’s basically about two guys who work for a energy drink company…Paul Rudd who plays, Danny…well, his girlfriend breaks up with him…totally crushed…he decides to go off during a high school speech…after being kicked out…their Minotaur truck gets towed…a huge fight breaks out…and their arrested.
 
Instead of doing jail time…they are told they have to do 150 hours of community service at Sturdy Wings. (like a Big Brother’s Program) They have become mentors.
 
Danny gets a kid named Augie…who’s into REAL FANTASY roll playing. (Watch the trailer)…Wheeler is mentoring, Ronnie…this little black kid…who is funny as hell. You have to see it for yourself.
 
This is a great Rated R movie…cussin, boobies, fighting, biting, screaming, drinking…a good ass movie. I’m actually going to see it again.

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