12.19.2008 | By Mack Chico |
Rated: PG-13 for thematic material, some disturbing content and a scene of sensuality.
Release Date: 2008-12-19
Starring: Grant Nieporte
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Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.sonypicturesreleasing.es/teaser/sietealmas/
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12.18.2008 | By Mack Chico |
The movie version of John Patrick Shanley’s Tony Award-winning drama about sexual and religious power struggles at a Bronx Catholic school in 1964, led the nominations for the 15th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards with five, including nods for each major member of its cast and an overall pick for outstanding performance by a cast.
Meryl Streep, who plays a suspicious school principal, Sister Aloysius, in the film, was nominated in the lead actress category. Her co-stars, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis, earned nominations in supporting categories.
Also doing well at the SAG nominations were “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Milk,” both of which earned three nominations. The films are up for outstanding cast, lead actor (Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, respectively) and a supporting performance.
Kate Winslet was nominated for her performances in two films. The actress earned a lead actress nomination for “Revolutionary Road” and a supporting nod for “The Reader.”
The late Heath Ledger, who earned critical and mass praise for his performance as the Joker in “The Dark Knight,” was nominated for supporting actor.
The outstanding cast nominations went to “Button,” “Doubt,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk” and “Slumdog Millionaire.”
The SAGs also shined a light on a handful of lower-profile performances. Richard Jenkins, who received plaudits for his performance in the little-seen “The Visitor,” received a best actor nomination. Melissa Leo, who plays a struggling single mother who turns to smuggling in “Frozen River,” earned a best actress nomination.
The SAGs also honor TV series, and among the top nominees are “Boston Legal,” which earned nominations for stars William Shatner, James Spader and its ensemble; “Mad Men,” which picked up nods for Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss and its ensemble; and “30 Rock,” which received nominations for Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin and its ensemble.
For Academy Award watchers, the SAG Awards nominations are considered a bellwether of Oscar acting nominations. The actors’ branch is the largest Academy voting bloc and is responsible for creating the short lists for the various Oscar acting categories.
However, a SAG win is by no means a guarantee of an Oscar. Though last year’s SAG lead actor winner, Daniel Day-Lewis, won the best acting Oscar for his performance in “There Will Be Blood,” the SAG lead actress winner, Julie Christie, didn’t duplicate the feat. Christie, who was nominated for “Away From Her,” lost to Marion Cotillard, who played Edith Piaf in “La Vie en Rose.”
Moreover, SAG Award nominees for casts sometimes have little overlap with the Oscar nominees for best picture. Last year, the SAG list had just one film — eventual winner “No Country for Old Men” — that was also nominated for best picture.
SAG Award nominations are decided by about 4,000 randomly selected members of the actors’ union. The full membership is allowed to vote on the winners.
The 15th annual SAG Awards are scheduled to air on January 25 on TNT and TBS. Both networks are units of Time Warner, as is CNN.
12.16.2008 | By Alex Florez |
Rated: PG-13 for intense violent sequences, thematic material and brief language.
Release Date: 2008-08-27
Starring: Jeffrey Nachmanoff,
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Country:USA
Official Website: http://traitor-themovie.com/
We know someone is either betraying a friend, a country or a principle – that we obviously get from the title. But who and why is something that’s buried deep enough in the film to keep us guessing and wondering how clever the filmmakers can actually get with this.
In some ways, ‘Traitor’ is the classic espionage film that mixes and matches modern day headlines to construct a plot where Americans continue fighting terrorism all across the world. To its credit however, it manages to personalize the story of its protagonist to a certain degree, stripping the film of the politically sententious rhetoric that so often make these films come across as propaganda.
Deceptively, Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda, Crash) plays Samir Horn, a former U.S. military operative who is linked to illicit activities in the middle east. When an FBI agent (Guy Pearce) heads the investigation, he begins to track Horn’s every move slowly uncovering the truth behind the massive conspiracy he’s been a part of.
Ultimately, the film is about a man trying to do the right thing for the right reasons, or his own convictions, but also about how wrong things can go in the process. In Traitor, that man just happens to be a Muslim American who finds himself in the middle of the conflict with hard decisions to make. However dangerously close the films comes to being about religious extremism and how far people will go for what they believe in, it is very careful with its commentary on the matter.
With a story that’s so rooted in politics and religion, the filmmakers actually manage to say very little about either subject. Both a good and a bad thing depending on how you look at it. Its moral ambiguity may frustrate some but alleviate others just tuning in to watch bombs being disarmed at the last possible second.
The film’s strong performances (save for Jeff Daniels as the veteran CIA contractor with a personal agenda) almost do the impossible: make it cliché-proof. Unfortunately, it is what it is: another spy thriller mirroring the ever present war on terror.
12.16.2008 | By Alex Florez |
Rated: PG-13 for adventure action and violence.
Release Date: 2008-08-01
Starring: Alfred Gough, Miles Millar
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Official Website: http://robcohenthemummy.com/
Make no bones about it, The Mummy franchise is and always has been a blatant attempt to recreate the Indiana Jones lore. In this third installment, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, the similarities are even more apparent. Rick ‘Ricochet’ O’Connell (Brendan Fraser) is Indy of course; Maria Bello (who replaces Rachel Weisz as Evelyn) is their version of ‘Marion’; and their son Alex O’Connell (Luke Ford) matches up with Indiana’s heir apparent, Mutt Williams (as played by Shia LaBeouf).
Unfortunately, the similarities also extend to the campiness, predictability, and unintelligent plot lines of ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’. Come to think of it, even their titles are both ridiculously long.
This time around, the O’Connells travel to Asia to battle the resurrected Han Emperor (Jet Li), awoken from a 2,000-year-old curse that a chinese sorceress (Michelle Yeoh) cast on him. The film, to its credit, moves along rather quickly with one battle scene following another, and its a good thing because the acting is often unbearable. At times, I couldn’t shake the feeling that newcomer Luke Ford, was doing his best Matt Damon impression. Just a terrible pick altogether to play Brendan Fraser’s son, since they look only a couple of years apart. An army of mummies, yetis in the himalayas and witchery I can believe, but Luke Ford playing Rick’s son, not a chance.
Of the three films, this one seems like the most poorly thought out as it strives to become more of a family adventure, than the thrilling archeological escapades in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ that most likely inspired the filmmakers in the first place. I assure you that years from now, these films will be no relic.
12.16.2008 | By Ted Faraone |
Rated: PG-13 for some sex-related comments.
Release Date: 2008-07-18
Starring: Catherine Johnson
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Meryl Streep gives a bravura performance as Donna, the innkeeper of “Mamma Mia!,†a faithful screen adaptation of the ABBA-based musical of the same name that has played on stages worldwide for the past several years. In addition to acting, she excels at physical comedy, dance, and singing. The same is true of the entire cast. “Mama Mia!†may well become the feelgood movie of Summer 2008. Streep is well matched by Christine Baranski (Tanya) and Julie Waters (Rosie), as erstwhile members of an all-girl pop trio.
The soundtrack cannot be beat. The ABBA tunes, although thoroughly rooted in the 1970s, are excellent music and not the easiest for singers. “Dancing Queen†has a three octave range. As with the play, the audience leaves the theater humming the tunes… just like the best musicals of yore.
In the transition from play to movie, helmer Phyllidia Lloyd (who directed stage productions in London and New York) took advantage of the scope afforded by film to expand on the choreography using expressionistic imagination sequences to build on some of the production numbers. Writer Catherine Johnson missed not a beat in adapting her script for the big screen.
The plot is basically an excuse to string together ABBA’s best tunes in a movie. Twenty-year-old Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), about to marry, invites to her wedding the three men her mother’s (Streep as Donna) diary indicates could be her dad. Her mother is unsure. She also doesn’t know about the invitations. It is a tribute to the filmmakers that no one questions why DNA testing is not at issue. “Mama Mia!†simply beguiles the audience into total suspension of disbelief.
The three, Pierce Brosnan as architect Sam Carmichael, Colin Firth as prosperous banker Harry Bright, and Bill, a travel writer played by Stellan Skarsgård, make an unlikely Three Stooges. Firth’s uptight banker is a wonderful counterpoint to Skarsgård’s loosey-goosey world traveler, while Brosnan wonderfully projects a mixture of ego, hope, and humility tempered by experience.
The pic is long on sight gags – from Streep’s phallic cordless drill to a pair of tattoos on Skarsgård’s tush. The latter may be the only objection brought by overly sensitive parents to this PG-13 rated opus. In a nod to multiculturalism, minority players get some featured screen time. “Mamma Mia!†needs no excuse to be a family outing.
12.16.2008 | By Mack Chico |
We just got word that Dimension Films will make “H2,” the sequel to Rob Zombie’s 2007 remake of “Halloween.” The film made $58.3 million domestically and was considered a success. Will the sequel do better?
Here’s a look at the press release Dimension sent us:
Once again, Rob Zombie has been tapped to write and direct. Malek Akkad of Trancas International Films, who also produced 2007’s Halloween with Dimension, will produce the sequel, along with Andy Gould of Spectacle Entertainment Group, Zombie’s long time manager and producing partner. The announcement was made today by Bob Weinstein, Co-Chairman of The Weinstein Company.
Dimension’s “Halloween” scored the highest Labor Day weekend opening ever with a record-breaking $30.6 million in its first four days of release and went on to gross nearly $60 million at the domestic box office in 2007.
Zombie’s “H2” will pick up at the exact moment the first movie stopped and follow the aftermath of Michael Myers murderous rampage through the eyes of heroine Laurie Strode.
“H2” will be Zombie’s fifth written and directed feature. Prior to the success of Halloween, Zombie released the critically-acclaimed film “The Devil’s Rejects” (2005), the follow-up to his cult classic “House of 1000 Corpses” (2004). Zombie just wrapped production on his animated feature film “The Haunted World of El Superbeasto” due to be released in 2009. Zombie, also an accomplished recording artist, has sold over fifteen million albums worldwide, making him one of Geffen Records’ top selling and longest running artists.
Bob Weinstein stated: “Following the success of 2007’s ‘Halloween,’ we are thrilled to be back in business with Rob Zombie, bringing a sequel to theatres. The fans have made it clear – and we agree – that they feel the franchise is in great hands with Rob Zombie.”
Rob Zombie said, ”I am very excited to be working with Bob Weinstein again and returning to the world of ‘Halloween.’ The remake laid the groundwork, now it’s time to really take Michael Myers to the next level. I believe we’ve just barely scratched the surface of where we can take this series.“
John Carpenter’s “Halloween” launched the Halloween franchise in 1978 and Moustapha Akkad, founder of Trancas International Films, executive produced the original classic. Akkad’s son Malek has continued with the franchise, producing “Halloween” (2007), “Halloween H20: 20 Years Later” (1998) and now, “H2.”
“I am thrilled to be making ‘H2’ at Dimension, the home of the ‘Halloween’ franchise for the last 15 years,” commented Malek Akkad. “I look forward to working again with Bob Weinstein, as well as a filmmaker of Rob Zombie’s talent and stature.”
12.16.2008 | By Mack Chico |
Jennifer Lopez may have just given birth, but she’s all in favor of Plan B.
After taking time off her busy film career to play mama to fraternal twins Emme and Max (born last February), the A-lister has signed on to topline a fertility-themed romantic comedy for CBS Films.
Per Variety, Lopez will play a single woman who, unlucky in love, resorts to artificial insemination to have a child only to wind up falling for Mr. Right on the day she learns she’s pregnant.
Plan B, written by Kate Angelo, is slated to start shooting in April or May. Also in the pipeline for 2009, J.Lo is attached to star in The Governess, playing a thief who poses as a nanny to a wealthy widower in order to pull off the job of a lifetime.
12.15.2008 | By Alex Florez |
Rated: PG-13 for sex-related humor, partial nudity and brief strong language.
Release Date: 2008-08-22
Starring: Karen McCullah Lutz, Kirsten Smith
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Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.thehousebunny.com/
From the get-go ‘The House Bunny’ wants you to believe it’s a post-modern fairy tale comedy set on a college campus. Only when it nearly forgets what the moral to its story is, it almost becomes the ‘makeover’ episode from a daytime talk show. In fact, I’m inclined to say it turns the word ‘makeover’ into a genre.
Leading the way is Anna Faris (Scary Movie), who steps into Shelley Darlingson’s pumps as a stereotypical blond Playboy bunny who is kicked out of Hugh Hefner’s mansion. But soon enough she finds a new home at an awkward sorority where the girls are dull, unpopular and desperate for pledges in order to keep the dean from taking away their house. Predictably however, Shelley takes it upon herself to transform the girls into beauty queens and become the most coveted group to be around.
The ‘girls’, played by stars on the rise, Emma Stone (Superbad), Kat Dennings (Charlie Bartlett), Katharine McPhee (American Idol), Rumer Willis (Bruce and Demi’s eldest) and a few others, are so surprisingly likable during their pre-makeover stage that you’d almost wish they didn’t undergo any treatment. Emma Stone in particular, works the ‘bookworm’ role so charmingly well, she steals more than one scene clearly meant for Faris to carry, who can’t seem to hide how hard she tries for every laugh.Â
The pitfall here is that for too long a period, the film paints vanity in such a great light, that it sends mixed signals to the audience about the message the filmmakers want to convey. Is being beautiful on the outside really that important to get ahead in life? Well, for most of the film, they make you think so. Of course, that’s no message for a fairy tale to send – Shelley must learn that what boys really like is what’s on the inside. And so begins a mad and sloppy dash during the second half of the film to make things right. Â
One opportunity that the filmmakers certainly missed was to demystify the famous Playboy mansion. It does nothing to change or add to the widely held and fixed idea we all have of the estate. Instead we’re limited to some Hugh Hefner cameos and a thinly put together subplot involving Shelley’s banishment.
Nevertheless, this female driven comedy has its appeal as screenwriters Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith (Legally Blonde) take parts from ‘The Revenge of the Nerds’ lore and attempt to make it their own.
12.15.2008 | By Mack Chico |
Keanu Reeves, an actor known for his offbeat movie choices, added another unlikely box office hit to his collection on Sunday with “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” a chart-topping remake of a 1951 sci-fi movie.
The film, largely ridiculed by critics, sold an estimated $31 million worth of tickets in the United States and Canada since opening on Friday, distributor 20th Century Fox said.
It was also the top pick internationally, raking in $39 million from 90 markets. Fox, a unit of News Corp, said the film was No. 1 in 53 of those markets, with Russia ($5.6 million) and Britain ($4.1 million) leading the way.
The film cost about $80 million to make, said Fox.
The North American tally was in line with expectations. It marks Reeves’ biggest opening since 2003’s “The Matrix Revolutions,” the third film in the blockbuster “Matrix” franchise, kicked off with $48 million on its way to $139 million. Since then, he has starred in a series of art-house pictures (2005’s “Thumbsucker”) and middling studio pictures (2006’s “The Lake House”).
Reeves, 44, plays the alien Klaatu, who comes to save Earth from itself. The film co-stars Jennifer Connelly. Scott Derrickson (“The Exorcism of Emily Rose”) directed.
“It’s an environmental as well as a political statement,” said Chris Aronson, Fox’s senior vice president of domestic distribution.
Critics were less impressed. The Wall Street Journal said the movie was “insufferably full of itself,” while the Houston Chronicle described it as “a stunningly misconceived folly.” On the other hand, the Los Angeles Times said the film was “enjoyable.”
After two weeks at No. 1 in North America, the holiday comedy “Four Christmases” slipped to No. 2 with $13.3 million, taking its total to $88 million. The film, starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, was released by Warner Bros. Pictures, a unit of Time Warner Inc.
The only other new entry in the top 10 was also a Christmas tale. The Latin-themed ensemble piece “Nothing Like the Holidays” opened at No. 7 with $3.5 million. Industry analysts had expected an opening in the $5 million-$6 million range. It was released by Overture Films, a unit of Liberty Media Corp.
Rounding out the top five were the vampire romance “Twilight” at No. 3 with $8.0 million (total: $150 million); the canine cartoon “Bolt” at No. 4 with $7.5 million (total: $89 million); and the period drama “Australia” with $4.3 million (total: $38 million).
“Twilight” was released by Summit Entertainment LLC, which is privately held. “Bolt” was released by Walt Disney Pictures, a unit of Walt Disney Co. “Australia” was also released by Fox.
12.12.2008 | By Mike Pierce |
Rated: PG-13 for thematic elements including some sexual dialogue, and brief drug references.
Release Date: 2008-12-12
Starring: Rick Najera, Ted Perkins, Alison Swan
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Country: USA
Official Website: http://nothingliketheholidays.com
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A holiday movie for the holiday season…Nothing like the Holidays stars a HUGEEE Latino cast. Freddy RodrÃguez, Luis Guzmán, Jay Hernández, Elizabeth Pena, John Leguizamo, and more. It’s about a Puerto Rican family living in Humboldt Park in the COLD, WINDY city of Chicago.
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What’s it about you may ask…well, mix one crazy family, 1 white girl, a great soundtrack, and you get a pretty damn funny movie. Ok Ok…I’ll tell ya – keep up!
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One son comes back from Iraq – not really sure on what he wants to do with his life…another son who’s married to the white girl – – who happens to make more money than him. The sister who her family thinks is a huge actress in Hollywood…but really isn’t. (Who is hot though!) The crazy ass cousin…who is pretty much like another brother – he’s just nuts! The almost adopted son who lives the street life and has HIS own drama. The dad – – who runs a cool little store on the street corner…who is hiding a secret…and last but not least…the mom – who thinks that “secret†is…well, that he is cheating on her.
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Does all that make sense? (Lol) The movie is funny and entertaining…I loved the cast.
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