To boldly go where no man has expected before: Star Trek 2009
Enough lah for the negative review yah. Let’s think positively now.
Let me write about one movie, in which I put great expectations. STAR TREK, the reboot version, coming May 2009. Sebentar lagi. Saya sudah download comic prequelnya (4 jilid) di iPhone saya. Saya sudah men-download semua Trailernya dari Apple Trailers. Saya terharu saat membaca cerita mengenai sneak preview kejutan di Austin yang dihadiri oleh Spock, er sorry, Leonard Nimoy sendiri. Saat ini saya tak sabar menunggu film ini main di Jakarta!
Semua review sampai saat ini rata-rata memuji film ini. JJ Abrams, yang sebelumnya telah membesarkan Alias dan Lost, kini berhasil mengguncang dan mengembalikan excitement pada franchise Star Trek ini. Kekhawatiran para fans sebagian besar telah luluh, at least yang beruntung telah menonton duluan. Banyak yang menyatakan ini film Star Trek layar lebar paling menegangkan sejak Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982).
Catatan kecil untuk parade pemerannya, saya lumayan suka dengan Zachary Quinto sebagai Sylar, tetapi saya benar-benar bakal nge-fan dengan dia sebagai Spock muda! He was born for this role!
Ya, saya punya harapan yang tinggi pada film ini, semoga reviewnya nanti benar-benar seperti yang diharapkan.
Slumdog Millionaire VS Daun di Atas Bantal
Jauh sebelum gegap gempita Slumdog Millionaire (SM), sebenarnya Indonesia telah memiliki Daun di Atas Bantal (DdAB) oleh Mas Garin. Dan saat saya dan istri menonton SM, kami sontak langsung ingat pada DdAB yang juga kami tonton bersama satu dekade yang lalu.
Mau membandingkan SM dengan DdAB, atau Oom Dyle VS Mas Garin? Itu bukan tema tulisan ini kok, tapi saya benar-benar terpancing untuk men-sandingkan kedua film ini.
Mumbay (dulu kita kenal sebagai Bombay kan?) dalam SM, bukankah sangat mengingatkan kita dengan Jakarta? Saya yakin cerita Jamal, Salim, dan Latika akan bisa kita temukan di berbagai kolong jembatan ibukota. Mas Garin menampilkan secuplik kisah serupa, meskipun di Yogyakarta, mungkin karena sebagai kontras atas Yogya sebagai basis kultur penting di Jawa? Itu hanya spekulasi saya, tapi tema yang dibawakan memiliki kesamaan yang khas.
Yang pasti saat menonton kedua film tersebut, perasaan jadi terasa down, sedih. Bahkan banyak penonton yang berkaca-kaca, misalnya saat Jamal bertemu dengan temannya yang masih menjadi pengemis buta dan menceritakan tentang Benjamin Franklin pada uang 100 Dollar Amerika.
Tetapi, kami berdua ingat sekali bahwa perasaan kami lebih sedih sesudah menonton DdAB, karena Mas Garin, dan Mbak Christine Hakim (yang juga producer filmnya) menampilkan suasananya dengan penuh ketelanjangan brutal kejamnya kehidupan. Doyle, mungkin dengan perhitungan bisnis dan selera penonton barat, membungkus kisahnya dengan Cinderella story dan romansa lost love found, dengan akhir yang Happy End, dengan kemenangan tokohnya atas kejamnya kehidupan. Ini suatu yang sangat membedakan perasaan kita saat menontonnya.
Satu persamaan kedua film ini adalah menggunakan pemeran cilik yang memang berasal dari kalangan anak jalanan. Kita tahu bagaimana pemeran Jamal dan Salim bahkan diajak ke Oscar, juga mereka mendapatkan semacam trust fund untuk masa depan mereka. Saya jadi tertarik bagaimana dengan pemeran cilik di film DdAB yah? Bukankah mereka sekarang sudah jadi pemuda-pemuda? Di manakah mereka?
Salute buat Oom Doyle dan Mas Garin yang membawa secuplik kisah dari bawah ini dengan gaya mereka masing-masing.
Salute for humanity.
A not so light film – Seven Pounds
Setelah Slumdog Millionaire, saya dan keluarga ingin mencari hiburan yang lebih ringan…. yang tidak bikin sedih, mungkin drama ringan seperti A Good Year (2006 oleh Ridley Scott dengan Russel Crowe dan Marion Cotillard). Tapi sayangnya saat ini belum ada kayaknya yah yang seperti itu, jadi pilihan jatuh pada Seven Pounds (SP), film teranyar dari Will Smith.
Will Smith sepertinya ingin mengulangi sukses dramanya setelah drama kisah nyata The Pursuit of Happyness (2006). Ia kembali menunjukkan bahwa ia pun bisa berakting dalam drama serius, non action comedy ala Bad Boys atau Hancock atau Independence Day.
Seven Pounds bercerita tentang kebaikan, tentang seseorang yang ingin “menebus dosa”nya. Will Smith hadir sebagai seorang Rocket Engineer lulusan MIT yang mencuri identitas IRS (Petugas Pajak) adiknya untuk mencari orang-orang yang dapat dibantunya. I dont want to spoil you the film, so I will stop here.
Bagi banyak orang, film ini sayangnya akan terasa lamban dan penuh pertanyaan, terutama di satu jam pertama film ini. Makin lama kita makin menyadari apa yang sedang dilakukan tokoh Will Smith (Tim menyamar sebagai Ben, adiknya). Oh yah, kita mulai bisa membayangkan akhir dari film ini begitu kita lebih mengenal masalah dari tokoh Rosario Dawson.
This film is not necessarily a romantic film. Plot ceritanya sebenarnya sangat sederhana begitu penonton menyadari kronologis peristiwa yang terjadi. Bukan hiburan sejenis yang kami cari sih – ceritanya tidak memiliki banyak kurva tegang dan haru seperti The Pursuit of Happyness.
Akhir-akhir ini memang jarang film ringan yang “make us feel good” sesudahnya yah. Seven Pounds bukan salah satunya. Untungnya film ini didukung oleh berbagai pemeran yang menaikkan kualitas film ini, Rosario Dawson sebagai peran utama wanita, Woody Harrelson sebagai seorang pianis buta, Barry Pepper sebagai teman Tim/Ben, dan Connor Cruise (putra angkat Tom Cruise dan Nicole Kidman) sebagai Tim kecil.
Oh yah, bagi yang bingung sesudah menonton, kok kayaknya judulnya ngga nyambung: Judul film ini mengacu pada drama Shakespeare yang terkenal, The Merchant of Venice (juga sudah difilmkan tahun 2004 dengan Al Pacino). Dalam film itu Antonio, dituntut untuk membayar hutangnya dengan dagingnya. Dalam film ini, Seven Pounds (7 pon, setara dengan 3,5 KG) adalah jumlah yang “dibayar” oleh Will Smith untuk menebus “hutang”nya.
Just Kidding: Moral terpenting film ini adalah: Jangan membaca dan membalas Blackberry Anda sambil menyetir mobil!!
Enjoy this not so light film!
Sword of the Stranger was a very nice intermezzo
After some quite negative reviews, let me push a nice smiling one. Sekali ini kita main-main dengan Anime, sebuah film dari tahun 2007 yang baru saya dapatkan kemarin. Film ini sepertinya tidak diputar di bioskop dan memang rada “susah” dicari, tapi bagi pecinta anime dan samurai film pasti tidak akan mengecewakan. Omong-omong memang jarang yah Anime di putar di bioskop kita, maybe Blitz bisa mulai lebih sering menampilkan Anime? Logikanya kalo film-film animasi 2D lalu 3D Disney saja laku keras di bioskop, masak Anime bisa ngga?
Film ini menceritakan tentang seorang anak kecil bernama Kotaro yang dikejar-kejar oleh serombongan pendekar dari negeri Ming Cina, dan penguasa benteng di salah satu provinsi Jepang di jaman Sengoku Jidai (abad 15 sampai awal abad 17 M). Dalam perjalanannya Kotaro dengan anjingnya Tobimaru dibantu oleh seorang samurai misterius tanpa nama yang disebut “Nanashi”. Samurai ini telah bersumpah untuk tidak lagi menggunakan pedangnya untuk membunuh. Oh yah, lucunya musuh terhebatnya dalam film ini ceritanya adalah seorang bule! bermata biru bernama Rarou yang merupakan salah satu pemimpin pendekar Ming.
Plot cerita yang ditampilkan sebenarnya sederhana, tetapi gaya penceritaannya manis dan secara visual film ini sangat baik. Adegan cepat seperti berkuda dan pertarungan ditampilkan dengan menawan meski sering cukup brutal dan banyak darah (not suitable for children?). Visual yang menarik juga adalah beberapa adegan ditampilkan dari sudut pandang orang pertama seperti First Person Shooter game. Gabungan antara animasi 2D dan 3D dalam film ini dibuat begitu seamless sehingga kita jadi sulit membedakannya.
Bagi pecinta film Samurai atau Manga Samurai, mungkin melihat kesamaan cerita di sini dengan Manga th 70an (yang telah difilmkan juga) yaitu Lone Wolf and Cub dengan Itto Ogami bersama anak balitanya Daigoro. Tetapi cerita dalam film ini lumayan riil juga untuk melupakan kesamaan tersebut.
If you are an anime fan, find this film.
If you are a samurai film fan, find this film.
It will be a very nice experience.
Dan Radcliffe
Most recently in the news for his breakout movie role in December Boys (September 2007) as well as a nude role in Equus on Broadway, the future child actor – who brought Harry Potter to life on screen – was born Daniel Jacob Radcliffe on July 23, 1989 in a London suburb, the only son of casting agent Marcia Gresham and literary agent Alan Radcliffe.
By age 6, Dan Radcliffe was reported to have seriously caught the acting bug after playing the part of a monkey in a school play.
Radcliffe’s parents, reluctant to indulge their son’s desire to persue a career in show business, had apparently relented by 1999, as the young actor made his first appearance on the small screen in a BBC production of a Dicken’s classic, David Copperfield.
In 2001, he made his big screen debut as Mark Pendel in The Tailor of Panama, a Hollywood film based on John Le Carre’s spy novel and starring James Bond actor, Pierce Brosnan.
Meanwhile, a movie based on the 1997 worldwide publishing phenomenon, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was about to begin production under director Chris Columbus, when Radcliffe auditioned for the plum role as Harry Potter.
Among hundreds of boys to test for the part, it was Dan Radcliffe who caught the attention of producer Columbus, and the book’s author, J.K. Rowling.
Both story creator and director were quite impressed by the young actor’s mix of innocence and naturalness during audition tapings, as well as the chemistry between him and co-stars, fledgling actress Emma Watson (playing Hermione Granger), and Rupert Grint (as Ron Weasley).
Subsequently appearing in movie versions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Radcliffe has since become synonmous with the role.
The actor has also appeared in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire released in November, 2005, and the fifth in the film series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which premiered on July 11, 2007.
Meanwhile, Radcliffe will take on his first movie role outside the Harry Potter franchise in December Boys, which tells the story of four orphans growing up in 1960’s Australia.The film is set to open in the U.S. .on September 14, 2007.
In February, the “boy wonder” also wowed audiences in London upon making his stage debut complete with nude scene playing the disturbed stable boy, Alan Strang, in Equus. Richard Griffiths, who plays Harry’s Uncle Vernon in the Harry Potter films, appeared in the role of the young man’s psychiatrist. As expected, the previews brought out fans in droves as the other stars exited by window to escape the Potter mob.
According to Forbes, Dan racked up an impressive estimated $13 million in 2006, but he looks to triple that amount in just a few years when Warner Bros. pays the actor $50 million to secure him for the final Harry Potter film installments – or $25 million for Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, and the same amount for his final appearance in The Deathly Hallows.
Later in 2007, Radcliffe appeared in the Rudyard Kipling World War I made-for-TV drama, My Boy Jack with co-stars David Haig and Kim Cattrall.
Radcliffe’s next move was to New York City bringing his critically-acclaimed performance in Equus for a limited Broadway run which opened in September to rave reviews by New York critics.
You already know it, Knowingly is predictable.
I hate it when I have to give negative reviews, tapi memang akhir-akhir ini film-film yang ditonton rata-rata kurang memuaskan yah? Terakhir sejak Dark Knight tahun lalu, saya belum lagi merasaka
n suatu excitement dan thrill di film-film bioskop baru. Saat mau nonton Knowing ini, saya jujur memiliki ekspektasi yang lumayan. Hal ini terutama disebabkan oleh trailernya juga yah, plot yang ditawarkan terasa menarik.
Sebenarnya film ini menawarkan banyak adegan-adegan yang dibuat dengan craftmanship tinggi, dengan bantuan CG terakhir, sang sutradara, Alex Proyas, berhasil menampilkan adegan 5 menit pertama yang benar-benar horor, juga adegan kecelakaan pesawat dan sesudahnya serta adegan kecelakaan kereta apinya benar-benar terlihat brutal dan tanpa kompromi. Adegan bencana terakhir mengingatkan kepada berbagai film kiamat lainnya ala Terminator tetapi tetap patut diacungkan jempol.
SPOILER ALERT!!
Sayang semua ini hanya menjadi pelipur atas cerita yang terlalu “digampangkan”. Promise akan plot yang menegangkan jadi hilang sejak munculnya beberapa oknum, yang jelas-jelas predictable merupakan alien. Saya menyayangkan sekali Alex Proyas, yang berhasil mengusung berbagai film “action pintar” seperti The Crow (1994), Dark City (1998), dan yang paling terkenal mungkin I, Robot (2004 dengan Will Smith), dalam film ini seperti menggampangkan ceritanya. Solusi atas misterinya begitu gampang, begitu jelas. Ayolah Alex, menggunakan alien seperti itu sebagai jawaban atas misteri yang dibangun begitu menyeramkan seperti menyapu dan menaruh kotoran di dalam karpet. Hanya mencari jalan pintas saja.
Visual yang begitu memukau menjadi pudar dengan cerita yang “digampangkan” begini. Film ini bukanlah film yang jelek. By far saya masih lebih puas melihatnya dibandingkan Dragonball Evolution kemarin. Dan rekan-rekan sekerja yang ikut juga bingung mengkategorikan ini film bagus atau jelek. Decide yourself.
PS: Mungkin akan lebih baik dan menegangkan apabila semua plot alien baru dimunculkan jauh di akhir cerita yah? Mungkin.
Good crafted film, but by far not the best spy film
Body of Lies (BoL) merupakan film spy (tentang CIA) yang dibuat dengan expertise Ridley Scott yang tinggi dalam menampilkan film yang enak ditonton, dengan materi dari Novel karangan David Ignatius yang lumayan kompleks. Tapi sayang film ini belum masuk dalam daftar film spy terbaik pribadi saya; oh yah, film spy terbaik bagi saya masih Three Days of The Condor (1975, Sutradara Sydney Pollack, pemeran utama Robert Redford), dari sisi twist cerita dan thrill-nya saat kita menonton.
Spoilers alert!! Jangan baca paragraf berikut bila Anda tidak ingin filmnya menjadi spoiled bagi Anda 
Kembali ke BoL, secara keseluruhan cerita yang ditampilkan menarik, bahkan romantisme antara Roger Ferris (Leonardo de Caprio), sang agen CIA dengan Aisha (Golshifteh Farahani) dibuat tidak “murahan” oleh Ridley Scott. Sayang beberapa klimaks dalam film dibuat begitu simplistik. Beberapa twist dalam film sudah bisa ditebak, bahwa Aisha akan menjadi “umpan” bagi Ferris, bahwa kita menebak Ferris pasti akan diselamatkan in the nick of time, dan kemungkinan besar penyelamatnya adalah Hani (Mark Strong), sang kepala Intelijen Yordania. How come every other non-american die easily one after another, but the sole CIA Agent survive all these?
Lalu peristiwa penangkapan tokoh antagonis utamanya begitu sederhana, apakah sedemikian mudah mereka bisa menangkap sang tokoh? Ini lumayan mengganggu, at least American cinema could give their country’s enemy the respect and credits of being not easy to be caught in the real life.
Spoiler alert ends.
Terakhir yang saya sayangkan adalah peranan Russel Crowe sebagai Ed Hoffman dalam film ini terasa kurang tergali, he was just being an a-hole, selfish egomaniac, but then what? Tidak ada peranan significant yang mengubah sesuatu dalam plot cerita sehingga dia bahkan bisa ditampilkan sebagai tokoh yang ada dalam cerita tapi tak perlu ditampilkan di layar. It was such a waste of Crowe’s talent.
Film ini adalah film yang enak ditonton sebagai hiburan, jalur ceritanya lumayan linear dan fokus pada seseorang, tidak serumit dan berlapis-lapis seperti Syriana (2005, film CIA juga dengan George Clooney dan Matt Damon). Tapi jangan mengharapkan terlalu banyak. Just sit and enjoy it as an ordinary spy movie.
Waiting for Inglourious Basterds
Saya suka sekali dengan Quentin Tarantino, dan temannya Roberto Rodriguez. His best film for me is Pulp Fiction, his best action is naturally Kill Bill 1 and 2. Sekarang, bayangkan Quentin Tarantino sedang finishing sebuah film action bertema World War II. Ngga kebayang kan? Saya menunggu surprise ala Tarantino.
Ensemble keren dengan Brad Pitt (yang lehernya ada bekas gantungan) yang kembali bermain dengan Diane Kruger (si cantik Helen dari Troy), Eli Roth sebagai psikopat dengan baseball bat, lalu ada Til Schweiger! Mungkin di Indo, Til Schweiger ini kurang dikenal, tapi di negara asalnya, Jerman, dia termasuk bintang terkenal dengan nada suara yang khas. Dalam film The Red Baron (2008) dia berperan sebagai Werner Voss. Oh yah, ada Maggie Cheung! Ngga aneh sih karena Tarantino memang fan berat film aksi asia terutama Hongkong. Ada lagi sang komedian Mike Myers, dan narasi oleh Samuel L. Jackson.
Ceritanya Brad Pitt memimpin sekelompok tentara Jewish-American yang disebut Basterds untuk membunuhi para Nazi di Perancis yang sedang dijajah Jerman-NAZI.
Rencananya film ini akan dirilis Agustus 2009.
I can’t wait for this movie. What will we get from Tarantino?
Let us pray, and wait, and pray again, for the first world war II movie with Tarantino bloody sauce!!
RACHEL WEISZ BIOGRAPHY
Biography
This page uses content from the Rachel Weisz biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. latesthollywoodupdates disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.
Rachel Weisz (born March 7, 1971) is an Academy Award, Golden Globe-winning, BAFTA-nominated English actress.
Biography
Early life
Weisz (surname pronounced or “vice”; it is a variant spelling of the German word weiss, “white”) was born in London, England and grew up in Hampstead. Her father, George Weisz, is a Hungarian-born inventor whose family fled to England to escape Nazi persecution. Her mother, Edith, is a Vienna-born Austrian psychoanalyst and aspiring actress. Weisz’s father is Jewish and her mother has been referred to as either Catholic, Jewish, or having Jewish ancestry. Weisz has referred to herself as Jewish.
Weisz was educated at North London Collegiate School, from which she was expelled. She was then sent to Benenden School and eventually settled when she was about 13 in St Paul’s Girls’ School. She then entered Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where she graduated with a 2:1 in English. During her university years she appeared in various student productions, co-founding a student drama group called Cambridge Talking Tongues, which went on to win a Guardian Student Drama Award at the Edinburgh Festival for an improvised piece called Slight Possession.
Career
Her breakthrough role was that of Gilda in Welsh director Sean Mathias’s 1995 West End revival of Noël Coward’s 1933 play Design for Living at the Gielgud Theatre. Having already worked for television, with strong parts in major UK series such as Inspector Morse (1993), Weisz started her cinema career in 1995 with Chain Reaction and then appeared Bernardo Bertolucci’s Stealing Beauty. She followed this work with more English films including Swept from the Sea,The Land Girls, and Michael Winterbottom’s I Want You. Since then she has starred in a number of films including The Mummy (1999), Enemy at the Gates (2001), About a Boy (2002), Runaway Jury (2003) and Constantine (2005). Her stage work includes the role of Catherine in a London production of Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly Last Summer and Evelyn in Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things at the Almeida Theatre (also film).
In 2005, Weisz starred in The Constant Gardener, a film adaptation of a John le Carré thriller of the same title set in the slums of Kibera and Loiyangalani, Kenya. For this role, Weisz won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, the 2006 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and the 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role. In her home country, she was recognized as a leading role for the film according to the nomination from the BAFTA Film Awards and winnings from the London Critics Circle Film Awards and British Independent Film Awards.
In 2006, Weisz starred in The Fountain, written and directed by Darren Aronofsky. In the same year, she plans to star in a New York production of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie, playing the titular role. Weisz also has the role of Saphira in the 2006 film Eragon.
Personal life
Weisz is engaged to American filmmaker Darren Aronofsky. They have a son, Henry Chance, born on May 31, 2006.The couple resides in Brooklyn. Weisz previously dated actor Alessandro Nivola, actor Neil Morrissey, and director Sam Mendes. In a recent interview, Weisz expressed her admiration for Harry Houdini, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jackie Onassis, among others, but it is for singer Elvis Presley that she keeps her greatest love .
On Hollywood’s racial politics
In an interview for Index magazine in 2001, Weisz was highly critical of the anti-gentilism of Jewish Hollywood executives. She said, “Hollywood’s run by Jews. I was advised by an American agent when I was about 19 to change my surname. And I said “Why? Jews run Hollywood.” He said “Exactly.” He had a theory that all the executives think acting’s a job for shiksas.” And, “In some way acting is prostitution, and Hollywood Jews don’t want their own women to participate.
Awards
| Year | Award | Film |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | London Critics Circle Film Award for British Actress of the Year | The Constant Gardener |
| 2006 | British Independent Film Award for Best Actress | The Constant Gardener |
| 2006 | Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | The Constant Gardener |
| 2006 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role | The Constant Gardener |
| 2006 | Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role | The Constant Gardener |
Nominations
| Year | Award | Film |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | BAFTA Film Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role | The Constant Gardener |
| 2006 | Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress | The Constant Gardener |
Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Eragon | Saphira (voice) |
| 2006 | The Fountain | Izzi |
| 2005 | The Constant Gardener | Tessa Quayle |
| 2005 | Constantine | Angela Dodson/Isabel Dodson |
| 2004 | Envy | Debbie Dingman |
| 2003 | Runaway Jury | Marlee |
| 2003 | The Shape of Things | Evelyn Ann Thompson |
| 2003 | Confidence | Lily |
| 2002 | About a Boy | Rachel |
| 2001 | The Mummy Returns | Evelyn Carnahan O’Connell/Princess Nefertiri |
| 2001 | Enemy at the Gates | Tania Chernova |
| 2001 | Beautiful Creatures | Petula |
| 1999 | Sunshine | Greta |
| 1999 | The Mummy | Evelyn Carnahan |
| 1998 | Swept from the Sea | Amy Foster |
| 1996 | Chain Reaction | Dr. Lily Sinclair |
Footnotes
External links
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify the biographical information on this page under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.
Cheri (2009)
Cheri (2009)
Rating: 5.7/10
Rated: R for some sexual content and brief drug use
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Jun 19, 2009 Limited
Synopsis: Stephen Frears, director of THE QUEEN and HIGH FIDELITY, continues to demonstrate his genre-defying talent with this adaptation of a Colette novel. Set in Paris in the years before World War I, CHERI paints a picture of the romance between young Chéri (Rupert Friend) and retired courtesan Léa (Michelle Pfeiffer). Chéri’s mother (Kathy Bates), a rival of Léa, plots to separate the pair by arranging a marriage between her son and Edmée (Felicity Jones). Screenwriter Christopher Hampton previously collaborated with the director on DANGEROUS LIAISONS.
Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathy Bates, Rupert Friend, Felicity Jones, Frances Tomelty
Director: Stephen Frears
Screenwriter: Christopher Hampton
Producer: Bill Kenwright, Andras Hamori, Tracey Seaward, Thom Mount
Composer: Alexandre Desplat
Studio: Miramax Films
TRANSFORMER’S TRAILOR AND THREAD
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:Jun 24, 2009 Wide
Synopsis: In the highly-anticipated “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” debuting June 24, 2009, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) again joins with the Autobots® against their sworn enemies, the Decepticons®. Michael Bay directs from a screenplay written by Ehren Kruger & Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman. –© Paramount
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, John Benjamin Hickey, Ramon Rodriguez, Isabel Lucas, John Turturro
Director: Michael Bay
Screenwriter: Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman
Producer: Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, Ian Bryce
Composer: Steve Jablonsky
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC
HOT BRITNEY GOSSIPS
Britney Spears Attends Cousin’s Wedding in Louisiana
After playing with the kids in the Bahamas the day before, Britney Spears emerged on Saturday afternoon in Amite, La., for a nice, low-key appearance as an “honorary” bridesmaid at the wedding of her cousin, Laura Lynne Covington.
“When her brother (Bryan Spears) walked her down the aisle, she looked stunningly calm and beautiful,” says one wedding guest. “She was very pretty, low-key. She was not the center of everything, just pretty and calm and collected.”
The wedding took place at the same church where the funeral for Covington’s mother Sandra, who died of ovarian cancer, was held in January 2007.
Some may recall Britney attending the funeral with then-beau Isaac Cohen.
After a brief Bahamas beach vacation, Britney Spears, Jayden James and the rest of the singer’s posse rolled to Louisiana for her cousin Laura Lynne’s wedding.
Later, at the reception, the pop star hung out with her little sister and fellow bridesmaid, Jamie Lynn Spears, who toted baby Maddie Briann, and “sat at a table off to the side and visited with local people she knew,” says the guest.
“There was no fanfare,” noted the guest. “With all the star power Britney Spears and her family command, it was still the bride’s day.”
Britney kicks off the European leg of her Circus tour in June.
Britney Spears: On Our Radar
With a hugely successful world tour, 50 million in career albums sold, and a personal life that never stops sparking gossip (even when it’s just about her bikini pictures from the Bahamas), Britney Spears is on everyone’s radar.
It’s only fitting, then, that the title of her newest single from Circus is titled “Radar.”
The star’s official site released the cover art for the new single yesterday …
Among the lyrical gems in the new single: Confidence is a must / Cockiness is a plus / Edginess is a rush / Edges (I like ’em rough) … Interesting sense of style / Ten million dollar smile / Think I cant handle that / Animal in the sack.
Some lucky guy is on Britney’s radar. Could it be Jason Trawick?
Either way, we’re excited for the single’s release, and for the European leg of the Circus tour to get underway soon. We really miss seeing her in costume every night, and documenting the various wardrobe malfunctions that take place.
Britney Spears Bikini Pics, Cute Kid Pics Galore!
Yowza! Britney Spears showed off her fit bikini body while on vacation in The Bahamas with her dad, kids and agent Jason Trawick on Wednesday.
“Nothing better than a day at the beach with my family!” she Twittered.
Good to see Britney getting some good relaxation in before beginning the European leg of her massively successful Circus tour extravaganza underway.
Here’s the pop superstar hitting the beach, and looking amazing …
In addition to looking hot in bikini, the 27-year-old spent time building sand castles with her adorable sons Sean Preston, 3, and Jayden James, 2, and hung out with her father, Jamie, her brother, Bryan Spears, and her agent, Jason Trawick.
While the romance rumors involving Britney and Jason continue to surface, all we can say for sure is that the star sure looks happy in the pictures below.
Click to enlarge lots of photos of a bikini-clad Britney with Jason, Sean Preston and Jayden James, enjoying some fun in the sun in the Bahamas …
Britney Spears Sued By Former Bodyguard
Britney Spears’ ginormous expense report just got even bigger after a former bodyguard filed a lawsuit against the pop star and comeback queen.
Kerry Vine claims that he sustained physical injuries while working at the superstar’s former home at the Summit in Beverly Hills in March 2008.
“Advanced Security Concepts … negligently operated their business thereby causing injuries to [Kerry Vine] who worked for [Britney Spears] at the time,” Vine’s attorney, Charles Swain, wrote in his declaration of intent to sue.
“[Britney Spears] breached that duty of care to the plaintiff by failing to ensure that he could safely perform duties that he was ordered to perform.”
If we had to juggle 10 lawsuits a week, we’d look this dazed too.
Britney Spears is thus being sued for personal injury, battery negligence for which the bodyguard claims he suffered lost wages, medical and hospital costs, loss of personal property and earning capacity. A hearing is set for September 2.
So what happened? According to TMZ, a source involved in the situation says that Vine worked at Britney’s home a grand total of three days. On the last day of that brief tenure, he volunteered to move a small table with a few other guys.
He called in sick the next day, complaining of shoulder pain. He’s been on worker’s comp ever since moving that pesky table … a year ago.
Britney Spears: Relaxed, in Normal Clothes
Enjoying some down time and a rare break from her traveling S&M show, Britney Spears make a trip to Starbucks in Malibu looking beautiful and natural as ever.
The US leg of The Circus Starring Britney Spears is in the books, giving her a few weeks to relax before she takes the show to Europe, starting in London June 3.
Should give her plenty of time to stock up on pork rinds, pick up a couple of contraband prepaid cellphones, and drive around L.A. aimlessly with Jason Trawick.
Here’s Britney with little or no makeup, and in a springy dress. Man, when you get her outside the big show, the ring leader looks like a surprisingly normal girl:
A fit-looking Britney Spears hits up her home away from home – Starbucks – while enjoying some time in California before her Circus tour resumes in Europe.
When the tour resumes, she’ll be bringing her sons and ex-husband Kevin Federline along, so she won’t have to worry about missing Sean Preston and Jayden James.
If she even remembers who they are, that is.
While she continues to rack up insane expenses and it seems like one legal squabble after another surrounds her daily life, Spears does seem reasonably happy and even stable lately. Those pharmacuetical companies make wonderful things.
Bank of Britney Spears Transaction Details
Britney Spears’ conservatorship filed legal papers detailing her finances down to the last penny. And according to TMZ, there is, um, no shortage of pennies.
From March to December of 2008, Britney spent $447,633.69 … on security alone. Six months of household repairs and maintenance? A paltry $49,387.22.
Britney also spent $625,000.00 to pay lawyers … for Kevin Federline. A judge ordered this as a result of court proceedings stemming from her behavior.
In the documents, these payments are listed as “Federline Fees.” They do not include legal fees paid to her own lawyers, estimated at over a million.
Britney Spears certainly has a lot of expenses to pay these days. Good thing her worldwide striptease / S&M show has been doing quite well at least.
Despite reports that he wants a raise from Brit, K-Fed is rakin’ in good coin from her as it is, grabbing $178,818.00 from March-December in child support.
Britney Spears’ grand total of expenses between February, when the conservatorship was set up after she went bat$h!t, and December: $10,116,678.23.
At a certain point, what’s another $3,400.00 on that pile? Not a lot. Brit definitely felt the Christmas spirit when she spent that much just to hang lights.
Britney Spears Leeches Want Trial By Jury
The lawyer who tried to torpedo the conservatorship of Britney Spears’ dad, and claims the singer herself enlisted him to do this, has just filed legal papers, contesting the restraining order issued against him and asking for a new trial.
Only this time, Jon Eardley, wants a jury to rule on the matter.
Eardley, along with Sam Lutfi and Adnan Ghalib, are now bound by restraining orders after the conservators convinced a judge they were harassing Britney and her family. None of them can contact the star in any way before April 2012.
But the attorney says a jury should have made that decision and wants a new trial. Jon Eardley failed in his previous attempt to get Britney on the stand, as a judge ruled she lacked the capacity to testify in the restraining order case.
Does Britney Spears want to be free of her dad’s rule?
Accounts of Britney’s role in trying to oust the conservatorship vary. She has not said anything on the record, of course, as that would require her dad’s approval, as would everything she does. But she is certainly on a tight leash.
Earlier this month, one of the singer’s most popular fan sites, BreatheHeavy.com, also felt the wrath of the conservatorship after criticizing Jamie Spears.
Sam Lutfi, who is battling the conservatorship over this and other legal issues, has also stated he did nothing wrong and that Britney initiated contact.
Britney Spears-Jason Trawick Rumors Reignite!
Back home in California before heading off to Europe with the Circus next month, Britney Spears was spotted with her agent, Jason Trawick, over the weekend.
The couple were seen riding, alone, in her white Mercedes. The pair just drove around Los Angeles for two hours straight, without even a stop for food or gas.
Two hours straight? Are these two an item again? Were they ever? All we know is that every few months, this same rumored relationship seems to pop up.
Here are some photos of them together – not from this week’s driving adventure (follow the link to see those) – that have sparked such gossip in the past:
While it’s possible they were just driving aimlessly around LA talking biz – we have done so and have far less interesting lives – but isn’t that a bit strange for Britney Spears and Jason Trawick, who have twice been linked romantically?
Is it possible they wanted to spend time together and not worry about being seen or overheard? Were they (unsuccessfully) looking for a place to shack up?
Whatever the case may be, Jason Trawick appears to be a decent guy, and a good influence on Britney. And no matter what, he’s no Osama Lutfi. Nice.
Britney Spears Fan Site Ready to Fight Conservatorship
Whoever imagined Jordan Miller, who started a Britney Spears fan site while a high school sophomore in 2004, would one day receive half a million visits a day?
Whoever imagined Miller, now a typical college student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, would be threatened with legal action by her dad, Jamie Spears?
Miller’s world was turned upside-down last fall after he received an angry phone call from the pop star’s father-guardian, accusing him of copyright violations.
“I’m working my ass off to report on this girl,” Miller said.
In February 2008, after Britney Spears was forced into a treatment program for bipolar disorder, Jamie Spears was awarded conservatorship, giving him the authority to make legal, financial and medical decisions on behalf of his daughter.
Miller posted several blogs begging for Britney to be “freed.”
One fan site creator’s opinions on Britney and posting of stories about Jamie Lynn Spears apparently have not gone over well with the stars’ father and chief handler.
He also posted about a magazine story that suggested Britney’s younger sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, was expecting her second child. Then his cell phone rang.
Miller said Jamie Spears told him, “I am going to destroy your ass.”
“I was really freaking out for a good three or four weeks,” Miller said. “Lately, I’ve been doing my own thing. I just kind of want to keep it going.”
Each day, Miller scans the Internet for stories about Britney Spears, posts them on his site, BreatheHeavy.com, and adds his own comments. He encourages her fans to send him Circus tour photos or updates regarding her.
Miller said the site keeps him busy, but it is not as demanding now as it was when the troubled, out-of-control singer was shaving her head, bashing vehicles with an umbrella, being photographed without no underwear, and so on.
Keira Knightley Glamour Spain May 2009
Keira Knightley Glamour Spain May 2009
Hollywood actress from UK Keira Knightley featured on Glamour magazine Spain for the month of May 2009.
Freida Pinto Cosmopolitan Russia June 2009
Freida Pinto was an Elite Model from 2005 to 2008 and got her huge break with Slumdog Millionaire through the agency. Freida featured in the Elite Calendar in 2007 and 2008.
Since 2005, the agency has produced a calendar each year, which has been shot by the best photographers in the country and styled aesthetically to highlight the agency’s talent pool.
Freida Pinto Cosmopolitan Russia June 2009
Bollywood actress Freida Pinto graces the cover page of Cosmopolitan Russia for the month of June 2009.
COLLECTION RECORDS
‘Angels & Demons’ and Dollars
Sunday, May 17, 2009
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Angels & Demons beat the Vulcans and Romulans in a box-office death match as Star Trek is nudged out of the top spot in a very close race.A terrific opening for Sony/Columbia’s Angels & Demons as the summer-movie season keeps marching toward that revenue record I’ve been talking about for a couple of months. Great product is driving this incredible momentum as evidenced by the miniscule summer blockbuster second weekend drop of Star Trek of only 45 percent! This is almost unheard of for a film that opened so huge, but with a level of quality that transcends the genre, the film will have “legs” — or as Spock would say: “live long and prosper” at the box office.
Angels & Demons, the action-packed follow-up to 2006’s mega-hit The Da Vinci Code, earned $48 million this weekend with $16.6 million on Friday, $17.8 million on Saturday and $13.6 million on Sunday. Back on May 19 of 2006, The Da Vinci Code opened with a massive $77 million and went on to earn $217 million in domestic receipts and over $750 million worldwide! Da Vinci captured the zeitgeist of the moment and carried with it the momentum of the massive sales of the Dan Brown novel. Still, this is a great result for Angels, and it also does not hurt that Tom Hanks is back (and with a better haircut) along with director Ron Howard, hot on the heels of his amazing direction of Frost/Nixon.
Star Trek landed in second in a near-photo finish as the well-reviewed and well-liked film beamed up another $43 million in intergalactic loot, closing in on the $150 million mark domestically. A “tribble-sized” second weekend drop made it a formidable competitor in this robust marketplace, and it should continue to generate solid returns in the weeks to come.
In third is Fox’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine with an impressive third weekend take of $14.8 million and a domestic cume of $151.1 million. After a steep 69 percent second weekend drop, just a 44 percent third weekend drop indicates that audiences are enjoying the X-Men ride as part of their summer movie diet.
Matthew McConaughey just will not budge out of the top five as Warner’s Ghosts of Girlfriends Past continues to reap the benefits of being a very non-summer-style film amidst the season; the number-four flick rang up another $6.8 million, reaching the $40 million plateau.
Rounding out the top five is Sony/Screen Gems’ Obsessed, which audiences seem to be obsessed with as it remains a mainstay in rank. Its fourth weekend of release draws an impressive $4.5 million against a tiny 31 percent drop and a total of $62.6 million for the hugely profitable adult drama.
No discussion of this weekend would be complete without a mention of one of my favorite films of the year, Summit Entertainment’s The Brothers Bloom. Released in just four theaters, the film earned $82,000 and posted an impressive per-theater average of $20,500. The film expands into a wider release on the 22nd and the 29th of May, and I urge everyone to go see this unique and hugely entertaining comedic romp.
The second “up” weekend in a row puts the year-to-date box office at a solid 16 percent advantage at this point over last year and attendance at 13.25 percent ahead as we look forward to another huge weekend as Warner’s Terminator Salvation and Fox’s Night at the Museum 2 prepare to continue this massive winning streak at the nation’s theaters.
May 10: ‘Star Trek’ Beams Up Millions
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As expected, Paramount’s well-reviewed reboot of the Star Trek franchise took the number-one spot with a stellar $72.5 million. An incredible Friday to Saturday uptick shows that the film is resonating with audiences. After a strong showing of $4 million in pre-midnight Thursday screenings, the film went on to a solid $26.8M on Friday, $27.4M on Saturday and $18.3M on Sunday for a Friday through Sunday total of $72.5 million and a total cumulative of $76.5 million including the Thursday previews. The film will show major “legs” in the comings weeks with strong word-of-mouth propelling it well beyond the opening weekend. The J.J. Abrams crowd-pleaser boasts a terrific new cast (including Chris Pine as James T. Kirk) that nails the essence of the classic characters while giving them their own unique spin.IMAX showings of Star Trek set a new record for the large-screen giant with $8.2 million for the weekend (beating The Dark Knight‘s previous record of $6.3 million). Ninety percent of IMAX screenings of Trek were sold out for the entire weekend!
BONUS TRIVIA: Chris Pine’s dad, Robert Pine, played Sgt. Joseph Getraer (Ponch and John’s boss) in the TV cop show C.H.I.P.S., which ran from 1977-1983. Interestingly enough, Chris played Bill Pullman’s son in the 2008 wine country comedy Bottle Shock and Robert and Bill Pullman co-starred in 1996’s Independence Day. Pullman played President Thomas J. Whitmore and Pine played his Chief of Staff Glenn Parness. Chris was just 16 when that movie was released.
At number two with a silver bullet is Fox’s Wolverine, which took in about $27 million and a not insignificant, but expected second weekend drop of 68 percent. The film has earned a whopping $130 million in just ten days of release and certainly met with a lot of competition from Star Trek. Thus, no surprises here.
In third is the romantic comedy Ghosts of Girlfriends Past with $10.4 million for the weekend. The Warner Brothers film offers a safe haven to women looking to avoid the sci-fi genre and have their own “girl’s night” alternative. The Matthew McConaughey vehicle is up to $30.2 million in domestic receipts.
Number four brings Sony/Screen Gems’ Obsessed with about $6.6 million in alimony and offers another alternative to the big blockbusters; the highly profitable film now approaches the $60 million mark.
Rounding out the top five is Warner’s 17 Again as Zac Efron proves he is a box-office force to be reckoned with. Another $4.4 million has it holding strong with just a small fourth weekend drop of 31 percent and a total domestic cumulative of $54.2 million.
Finally at number six is the debut of R-rated comedy Next Day Air from Summit Entertainment. The film offered a comedy alternative in the weekend’s only other wide release debut and took in about $4 million worth of box office in the process.
A big 20 percent plus “up” weekend at the box office after last week’s slightly “down” weekend, and so begins the statistical tug-of-war for summer 2009 vs. 2008 box-office supremacy. Year to date still rockin’ at a 16.1 percent advantage in the revenue department and 13.4 percent attendance advantage as the summer-movie onslaught continues next week with Sony’s Da Vinci Code follow-up, Angels and Demons, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard. In limited release, look for the amazing The Brothers Bloom from Summit Entertainment.
THREE-DAY ESTIMATES:
1. NEW! Star Trek (Paramount) – $72.5M; 3849 theaters; $18,836 PTA
2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Fox) – $27M; 3849 theaters; $7,015 PTA; -68%; $129.6M cume
3. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (Warner Bros.) – $10.4M; 3175 theaters; $3,291 PTA; -32%; $30.2M cume
4. Obsessed (Sony/Screen Gems) – $6.6M; 2602 theaters; $2,537 PTA; -45%; $56.2M cume
5. 17 Again (Warner Bros.) – $4.4M; 2903 theaters; $1,517 PTA; -31%; $54.1M cume
6. NEW! Next Day Air (Summit) – $4M; 1138 theaters; $3,515 PTA
7. The Soloist (Paramount) – $3.6M; 2090 theaters; $1,725 PTA; -36%; $23.5M cume
8. Monsters vs. Aliens (Paramount) – $3.3M; 2185 theaters; $1,546 PTA; -42%; $186.8M cume
9. Earth (Disney) – $2.4M; 1794 theaters; $1,387 PTA; -43%; $26M cume
10. Hannah Montana: The Movie (Disney) – $2.4M; 2301 theaters; $1,049 PTA; -42%; $74M cume
THREE-DAY ESTIMATES:
1. NEW! Angels & Demons (Sony/Columbia) – $48M; 3527 theaters; $13,609 PTA
2. Star Trek (Paramount) – $43M; 3860 theaters; $11,140 PTA; -43%; $147.6M cume
3. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Fox) – $14.8M; 3892 theaters; $3,803 PTA; -44%; $151M cume
4. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (Warner Bros.) – $6.8M; 3150 theaters; $2,178 PTA; -33%; $40M cume
5. Obsessed (Sony/Screen Gems) – $4.5M; 2634 theaters; $1,727 PTA; -31%; $62.5M cume
6. 17 Again (Warner Bros.) – $3.4M; 2450 theaters; $1,388 PTA; -20%; $58.3M cume
7. Monsters vs. Aliens (Paramount) – $3M; 1951 theaters; $1,538 PTA; -8%; $190.5M cume
8. The Soloist (Paramount) – $2.4M; 2022 theaters; $1,199 PTA; -39%; $27.5M cume
9. Next Day Air (Summit) – $2.2M; 1139 theaters; $2,003 PTA; -45%; $7.6M cume
10. Earth (Disney) – $1.6M; 1584 theaters; $1,061 PTA; -37%; $29M cume
May 3: ‘Wolverine’ Sliced It!
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With baited Wolverine breath, the industry waited for the kick-off weekend of the summer-movie season amidst much anticipation as the X-Men franchise proves to be one of the most reliable and consistent at the box office. With a whopping $35 million on Friday, $29.7 million on Saturday and an estimated $22.2 million on Sunday, the $87 million opening proved that star Hugh Jackman’s appeal goes beyond his song and dance skills — and translates to major summertime superhero bucks.Of course, last year’s comparable weekend provided a very tough comparison with the $98.6 million opening of Paramount’s awesome Iron Man. However, by the closest of margins we have our sixth consecutive “up” weekend with year-to-date revenues running 16.4 percent ahead of last year with an attendance at a 13.7 percent advantage.
At number two in a perfect counter-programming move is Warner Brothers’ romantic comedy Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, which earned a solid $15.3 million in a similar situation to last year’s number-two film Made of Honor (Sony), which went head-to-head with Iron Man and earned $14.8 million. Shocking as it may seem, there is always a percentage of the populace that has no interest in the comic-book superhero genre and, thus, an opportunity to grab up a portion of that audience when a weekend like this presents itself.
At number three is last weekend’s highly profitable fatal romance drama Obsessed from Sony’s red-hot Screen Gems division with $12.2 million. The modestly budgeted film ($20 million production budget) is already at $47 million. Given the level of competition this weekend, this was a pretty impressive performance.
The Zac attack continues as Warner Brothers’ 17 Again earned another $6.35 million propelling its way to $50 million on domestic box-office. It proves that teen idolatry pays off in the movie business.
Rounding out the top five is Paramount’s Monsters Vs. Aliens, which scared up another $5.8 million and impressive domestic cumulative of $182.4 million.
Debuting way outside of the top 5 is Roadside Attraction’s 3-D animated Battle for Terra, which found itself on the tough end of a brutally competitive weekend with just $1 million in receipts.
Summer’s start continues the tradition of strong performances with the sixth “up” box-office weekend in a row, albeit by the slimmest of margins. In fact, if today’s estimates are on the high side. we could end up with a “down” weekend when the final numbers are tallied on Monday. Regardless, this was an incredibly strong weekend and a great way to start the summer movie season.
THREE-DAY ESTIMATES:
1. NEW! X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Fox) – $87M; 4099 theaters; $21,225 PTA
2. NEW! Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (Warner Bros.) – $15.3M; 3175 theaters; $4,827 PTA
3. Obsessed (Sony/Screen Gems) – $12.2M; 2514 theaters; $4,853 PTA; -57%; $47M cume
4. 17 Again (Warner Bros.) – $6.3M; 3255 theaters; $1,952 PTA; -45%; $48.4M cume
5. Monsters vs. Aliens (Paramount) – $5.8M; 2626 theaters; $2,209 PTA; -32%; $182.4M cume
6. The Soloist (Paramount) – $5.6M; 2033 theaters; $2,755 PTA; -42%; $18.1M cume
7. Earth (Disney) – $4.1M; 1804 theaters; $2,319 PTA; -53%; $21.8M cume
8. Fighting (Universal) – $4.1M; 2312 theaters; $1,805 PTA; -62%; $17.5M cume
9. Hannah Montana: The Movie (Disney) – $4M; 2819 theaters; $1,446 PTA; -37%; $70.8M cume
10. State of Play (Universal) – $3.6M; 2445 theaters; $1,495 PTA; -47%; $30.8M cume
UP,INGLORIOUS BASTARDS,BRUNO
UPTheatrical Release:May 29, 2009 Wide
Synopsis: From Disney•Pixar comes Up, a comedy adventure about 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip: an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell. From the Academy Award®-nominated director Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc.), Disney•Pixar’s Up invites you on a hilarious journey into a lost world, with the least likely duo on Earth. UP will be presented in Disney Digital 3-D in select theaters. –© Disney Pixar
Starring: Ed Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger, Bob Peterson, Delroy Lindo, Jerome Ranft
Director: Pete Docter
Screenwriter: Bob Peterson, Pete Docter
Producer: Jonas Rivera
Composer: Michael Giacchino
Studio: Buena Vista Picture
BRUNO
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for pervasive strong and crude sexual content, graphic nudity and language
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Jul 10, 2009 Wide
Synopsis: After BORAT took over America in 2006, another Sacha Baron Cohen creation arrives on the big screen. In BRUNO, the gay Austrian model of the title brings his antics to the States.
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen
Director: Larry Charles
Screenwriter: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Mazer, Jeff Schaffer
Story: Sacha Baron Cohen, Peter Baynham, Anthony Hines, Dan Mazer
Producer: Sacha Baron Cohen, Jay Roach, Dan Mazer, Monica Levinson
Composer: Erran Baron Cohen
Studio: Universal Pictures
Theatrical Release:Aug 21, 2009 Wide
Synopsis: Inglourious Basterds begins in German-occupied France, where Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent) witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). Shosanna narrowly escapes and flees to Paris, where she forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema.Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) organizes a group of Jewish soldiers to engage in targeted acts of retribution. Known to their enemy as “The Basterds,” Raine’s squad joins German actress and undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) on a mission to take down the leaders of The Third Reich. Fates converge under a cinema marquee, where Shosanna is poised to carry out a revenge plan of her own… –© Weinstein Co. and Universal Pictures
Starring: Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Melanie Laurent, Til Schweiger, Samm Levine, B.J. Novak, Daniel Bruhl, Michael Fassbender, Julie Dreyfus, Christian Berkel, Richard Sammel, August Diehl, Michael Bacall
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Screenwriter: Quentin Tarantino
Studio: Miramax Films
HARRY POTTER &TRANSFORMERS BACK WITH A BANG
Theatrical Release:Jun 24, 2009 Wide
Synopsis: In the highly-anticipated “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” debuting June 24, 2009, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) again joins with the Autobots® against their sworn enemies, the Decepticons®. Michael Bay directs from a screenplay written by Ehren Kruger & Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman. –© Paramount
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, John Benjamin Hickey, Ramon Rodriguez, Isabel Lucas, John Turturro
Director: Michael Bay
Screenwriter: Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman
Producer: Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, Ian Bryce
Composer: Steve Jablonsky
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Rated: PG
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Theatrical Release:Jul 15, 2009 Wide
Synopsis: Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort’s defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself more and more drawn to Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas. And Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her, only she hadn’t counted on Romilda Vane’s chocolates! And then there’s Hermione, simpering with jealously but determined not to show her feelings. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again. –© Warner Bros
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, Helena Bonham-Carter, David Bradley, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Helen McCrory, Hero Fiennes Tiffin
Director: David Yates
Screenwriter: Steve Kloves
Producer: David Heyman, David Barron
Composer: Nicholas Hooper
Studio: Warner Bros.
McG ON TERMINATOR
Director McG Talks ‘Terminator Salvation’
Christian Bale, McG and Terry Crews on the set of ‘Terminator Salvation.’
© Warner Bros Pictures
McG on the PG-13 Rating:
“From day one we were given the okay to shoot the movie we wanted to shoot. We talked to [Jeff] Robinov at Warner Brothers and Alan Horn on down and Amy at Sony and they said, ‘If it’s an R, it’s an R.’ We said, ‘We’re just going to make the movie we want to make.’ And it just became clear that the things that would take it to an R or an NC-17 would be, ‘Oh, there goes the arm and now the blood is squirting on my face.’ And that wasn’t in the service of the character or the story. And, ultimately, we were able to make exactly the film we wanted to make without any compromise whatsoever, and it happened to garner the rating it got.”
“Look at The Dark Knight, that’s a compromise-free picture. And ratings, it’s just never really been a concern to us and it is what it is. And, truthfully, I’m pleased because I know when I was 14/15 years old, I wouldn’t want a guy busting my chops keeping me from seeing the movie that I ultimately wanted to see. The elements that would have taken it to R just ended up feeling gratuitous in the editing room. There’s a topless scene with Moon Bloodgood. I was trying to echo that scene in Witness where Kelly McGillis turns and says, ‘I’m not ashamed,’ to Harrison Ford. But it just felt like, ‘Oh, there’s the genre stunt of the good-looking girl taking her top off.’ It felt counterproductive in the spirit of what we were looking to achieve on a storytelling level. So away you go.”
McG on His Meeting with Jim Cameron:
“I had to go down and talk to Jim Cameron about it and he said, ‘Why do you feel this story’s worth telling?’ I said, ‘That’s an excellent point. I think that the fact that this takes place in a world after Judgment Day is a great point of entry for the passionate to stay involved in the story.’ And he sort of nodded and said, ‘Aww, that’s interesting. Tell me a little bit more about this, that, the other.’ And he ultimately went on to share the story of how he felt following the great Ridley Scott with Alien and people said, ‘Who the f–k does this guy Jim Cameron think he is?’ He did, what, Piranha 2 at the time? And he just thought, ‘Well, I think I can honor what Ridley did and I think I can go further.'”
“I think everybody at this table is glad he made Aliens, and I would never be so bold again as to say, ‘We’ve done it!’ But the idea was the first three pictures are contemporary pictures with Terminators coming back in time and our film takes place during that dark age that was never thoroughly explored between Judgment Day and indeed 2029, which is the first known point of the T800 coming back. And here we see how Skynet, through farming human beings, is building towards that realistic-looking T800, just like we went through a lot of lab rats to get to a polio vaccine.”
To clarify, McG didn’t say Cameron gave him his blessing. “No, I think the nature of that was just I went around saying we went down there looking for his blessing, and then it came out that he gave us his blessing. He never gave me his blessing. He said, ‘I reserve the right to like or not like your movie like any movie fan.’ I said, ‘I reserve the right to like or not like Avatar like any movie fan.’ And we sort of giggled and away we went. It was never egregious but yes, he hadn’t read the script. He didn’t know what was going on and he just said, ‘Hey man, I’d rather you guys made a good movie than a bad movie, but I’m not going to sit there and tub-thump for you guys and tell the world how excited I am about this new idea.’ And that’s only fair and that just made me want to drill down that much more deeply and make sure that we populate the film with the most talented people from Stan Winston to Christian Bale.”
On Script Changes and Christian Bale:
“What can you do then when you go in and say, ‘Hey Christian, I want you to play Marcus,’ and he says, ‘I want to play Connor.’ And you say, ‘Maybe we need to go back and make this a little bit more of a two-hander.’ And you just sort of… Listen, filmmaking is always about being nimble and adapting and doing what’s right, and you never stop working on the script and you never stop working on the film. And my style is a style of doing a great deal of listening.”
Casting Sam Worthington to Play Marcus Wright:
“It was before Avatar. I saw a picture called Somersault. The girls who cast the film, Kim and Justine, said, ‘You should look at this guy Sam Worthington.’ And I knew I just needed a guy who could stand up to Bale in a two-shot, because Bale’s a very physical presence and most actors in their 20s and 30s are these little heroin chic waif guys that Bale would crush. And I think, what I think is the best scene in the picture is when they go face to face. I think the audience can look at that and go, ‘I don’t know who I’d take in that fight.’ And that really says a lot on Sam’s behalf, to stand up to the mighty Christian Bale and make you believe should those chains come off, I don’t know who wins that one. And I think that’s the victory of casting Sam Worthington.”
“He did a great job. But the funny thing is, is I think that’s the ultimate testament to the greatness of Christian. How great is Russell [Crowe] in 3:10 to Yuma? Pretty great. How great is Heath [Ledger] of course, in Dark Knight? And I’ll bet you Johnny Depp’s pretty doggone good too in Public Enemies. And of course look what he did for the unknown Sam Worthington, which I really think speaks volumes to the elegance of Christian and his choices and his willingness to do what’s right for the film on the whole level and not just a me, me, me level. He’s a very considerate actor in that regard.”
NIGHT AT MUSEUM REVIEWS
‘Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian’ Movie Review
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Ben Stiller and Robin Williams are back in ‘Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.’
© 20th Century Fox
The Story
We catch up with Larry the Night Watchman after he’s moved on from his job at the museum to being a rich inventor of semi-useful products. He’s pretty much forgotten about his friends at the museum, but when his old buddies are crated up to be shipped to the Smithsonian’s warehouse where they’ll languish for eternity (or until someone cleans the place and tosses them out), Larry comes to their rescue. The tablet that brought them to life in NY didn’t make the trip, but as luck would have it there’s another tablet already housed in the Smithsonian’s warehouse that has the same magical powers. Unfortunately, the guy who possesses this tablet, Kahmunrah (the older brother of NY’s tablet owner), uses its powers for evil.Kahmunrah’s collecting henchmen (i.e. Napoleon, Ivan the Terrible, Al Capone) to help him open up a passageway between worlds so he can bring forth his army of bird warriors. The gang from NY are ready to fight, but they’re being held prisoner in a shipping container for most of the film. Meanwhile Larry, Amelia Earhart, the monkeys, some Einstein bobble heads, and the Statue of Abraham Lincoln are left to figure out how to stop Kahmunrah and save the day.
The Cast
From just checking out the trailers I thought Hank Azaria was going to annoy me to no end as the Egyptian Kahmunrah, but he’s actually more entertaining to watch than Stiller or the rest of the returning Night cast. However, his performance doesn’t hold a candle to Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart. I don’t know if Adams is playing her anything like the real Amelia, but it’s a blast to watch Adams get all sassy as the world’s most famous female aviator.
The Bottom Line
There’s a batch of other actors thrown into the mix (Christopher Guest, Alain Chabat, Bill Hader, etc) without being given much to do, and way too much time is spent on scenes that are only sort of cute but go absolutely nowhere. Two different scenes have Stiller being threatened if he crosses an imaginary line when one would have been just fine. And we’ve seen the Easter Island statue or whatever it is make rhymes out of dum dum a couple of times already so enough is enough. With so little time to devote to so many new characters, chopping out a few dum dums wouldn’t have harmed the movie whatsoever. I know I’m nitpicking, but I wanted something fresh, something original out of this sequel, and instead it’s mostly recycled material.Kids should still get a kick out of this Museum, but adults may have a harder time finding something worth laughing at this time around.
GRADE: C
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian was directed by Shawn Levy and is rated PG for mild action and brief language.
Theatrical Release Date: May 22, 2009
TERMINATOR REVIEW
‘Terminator Salvation’ Movie Review
Rating 
Christian Bale as John Connor in ‘Terminator Salvation.’
© Warner Bros Pictures
Director McG and screenwriters John Brancato and Michael Ferris had a heavy load to bear in bringing this fourth Terminator to life, and for the most part they succeeded in making a movie that is worthy of Cameron’s TerminatorT2, but it’s certainly within arm’s reach of the bar set by that film. franchise. It might not be quite as good as
The Story
After a brief recap of events leading up to Terminator Salvation’s present day – post-apocalyptic 2018 – we find Skynet and its Terminators, Hunter-Killers, Hydrobots, and other cruel machines have left the planet a bombed out wasteland, with just scattered pockets of human survivors. Members of the Resistance (they wear red arm bands as a badge of courage) fight off the machines in organized assaults, but we humans are not winning this war. John Connor, not yet the leader of the Resistance, is disliked by the Resistance’s head guy (played by Michael Ironside) but respected by the grunts on the ground. Along with his right-hand man Barnes (Common) and his eight months pregnant wife, Kate (Howard), John Connor works on hunting down Skynet’s machines. But an encounter with Marcus Wright completely changes John Connor’s perception of Skynet’s capabilities.
The Cast
Bale’s the very definition of intense and he can handle action scenes like nobody’s business. But he opted to use a modified Batman growl in this that just seems out of place. It’s a small misstep but one that bothered me enough to remind me throughout the film that this is Christian Bale. I think it’s the first movie where I didn’t lose sight of Christian Bale the actor while watching one of his characters.Bloodgood’s a real revelation in this, and boy does she kick some serious butt. Howard is also terrific, though underused, as John’s second in command. Same goes for Common as John’s right-hand man. We see little of him but when he’s there, he has an impact.
The two real standouts in the whole production are Yelchin as Kyle Reese and Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright. They’re so good in this I’d liked to have seen more of them working together as a tag team going after Terminators. Yelchin’s boyish good looks don’t at first glance fit with the hard-nosed, take-no-prisoners Kyle portrayed by Michael Biehn. But the more Yelchin’s onscreen, the more Kyle the teenager seems to warp into Kyle the man who will become the father of the leader of the Resistance. And Worthington is the star of this film. The pre-release hype focuses on the John Connor storyline, but Marcus Wright as played by Worthington is the most compelling character to come out of the Terminator franchise other than Schwarzenegger’s Terminator.
THE 10 MOST AWESOME MOVIES HOLLYWOOD EVER KILLED
EmailThe 10 Most Awesome Movies Hollywood Ever Killed
Hollywood is a slaughterhouse where cool movie ideas go to die. Here are ten films that were tragically cut down before their time, simply because they were just too friggin’ awesome.
Fans of the popular video game wept tears of joy when a Halo film was announced in 2005. Other bodily fluids escaped when it was announced that the Lord of the Rings guy (Peter Jackson) was on board to produce and Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy) was in talks to direct. But suddenly, in the fall of 2006, both of the studios financing the film bailed out.
Why it didn’t get made: The rumored budget offered about 200 million reasons, with a dollar sign in front. To break even, every single person who bought the last Halo game would have to go see the film version seven times. Also, Microsoft’s deal included demands that Gates & Co. have creative control over the project. If you don’t see why that would be a problem, then you’ve apparently never heard of Microsoft.
Sure, somebody will make a Halo movie some day (Twentieth Century Fox re-acquired the rights in June of 2007), but it won’t be the beautiful love child of Lord of the Rings and Aliens that fanboys dreamed of the moment the heard “Halo” and “Peter Jackson” in the same sentence. It’s more likely come back as a bargain basement $60 million production, most likely with a wrestler in the lead. And no matter how bad it is, the geek crowd will give them a big opening weekend and the studio will make a tidy little profit. Direct-to-DVD sequels will surely follow.
And while we’re on the subject: We won’t be seeing Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit any time soon, either. New Line booted him from the project, their revenge for a lawsuit he brought over some disputed Lord of the Rings profits. Let us grieve for all the great movies that would get made if Hollywood wasn’t full of greedy douchebags.
Whether or not you think Unbreakable was a great movie, you almost have to agree it was a great idea for a movie. It’s a grown-up superhero film, without the silly costumes or CGI monsters or preposterous plans to take over the world — Just a taut battle of wills between extraordinary men, both of the roles played by charismatic superstars. But right as the story reaches its crucial apex, where the hero tracks down the evil genius and realizes he must Stop Him at All Costs, the film abruptly ends. Credits.
That there was supposed to be a sequel (in fact, a trilogy, according to Willis) is obvious. What is not obvious is what in the holy hell M. Night Shyamalan was thinking.
Everyone knows the reason superhero sequels are usually better than the original (think X-Men 2, Superman 2, and Spider-Man 2) is because they don’t have to devote half their running time to the tedious origin story. The origin story is always boring, with the pre-superhero protagonist stumbling around like an everyday dumbass for an hour. Shyamalan, for reasons science may never unravel, decided to make Unbreakable nothing but the origin story, stretching that part across the entire running time and saving the actual awesome Good vs. Evil super-battle for the next film.
Why it didn’t get made: Not enough people went to see the origin story part. Not after the first weekend, anyway, when crowds of moviegoers sat blinking as the lights came up, thinking someone had stolen the last reel. The Sixth Sense-esque word-of-mouth producers had been banking on turned out to be literally one word: “Ass.”
And while we’re on the subject: Did you know Shyamalan was in talks to direct the first Harry Potter movie back in 2001? Even those of you who don’t like the director have to admit that he probably could have made a more interesting first film than Chris Columbus crapped out. Plus, at the end, maybe we would have found out Harry was actually DEAD THE ENTIRE TIME.
Dan Aykroyd has been desperately pushing for a Ghostbusters sequel for over a decade (yes, we’re refusing to acknowledge that Ghostbusters 2 exists). He wrote a script years ago called Ghostbusters: Hellbent (later changed to the more descriptive Ghostbusters in Hell when co-conspirator Harold Ramis got involved) where the ghostbusting crew wind up in a version of New York that exists only in Hell. As the original actors aged and the film continued to not get made, the script was changed to accommodate new, younger group of comedy all-stars to play newly-hired ghostbusters-which, for better or worse, was going to include Ben Stiller.
Why it didn’t get made: Because “Billy” didn’t want to get within ten feet of the thing, according to Aykroyd. “Billy” is Bill Murray, who didn’t like how the second movie turned out (what second movie?) and has since dedicated his life to making more serious films. To be fair, special effects are fun to watch but not so much fun to act in. Murray, now in his late 50s, probably didn’t want to spend half a year in front of green screens, covered in slime and getting thrashed around by hydraulic monsters, with Aykroyd and Ramis calling him “Billy” and giving him big thumbs-up signs the whole time
And while we’re on the subject: Before the original Ghostbusters came around, Ivan Reitman, Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd were in talks to make Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It was scrapped when Aykroyd came up with the idea for Ghostbusters.
If at the mention of “Fletch” you groan and say, “That ’80s Chevy Chase movie?” then we’re very, very ashamed of you. Long before that film came along, the Fletch character appeared in a dozen very smart, funny novels by author Gregory McDonald. You should read them. No, not right now.
In 2000 Kevin Smith and Miramax got the rights to Fletch Won, a McDonald novel about a young Fletch that takes place before the Chevy Chase movies. It seemed like a perfect fit: It saved Smith from the burden of coming up with a story, and it let him focus on writing the crude, rapid-fire dialogue that is his one unique talent.
Pretty much every young male actor in Hollywood was mentioned in connection with the role (Matthew Perry, Brad Pitt, Adam Sandler, Jimmy Fallon, many more) but we’d have rolled the dice with Chris Rock, who apparently wanted the part very badly. The difference in race from the original Fletch shouldn’t have been an issue. At worst, they could have just digitally added Chevy Chase’s face and had Chris Rock dub the dialogue.
Why it didn’t get made: Smith said he wouldn’t direct the movie unless his best friend for life Jason Lee got the part. Shortly thereafter, Miramax announced that Smith wouldn’t be directing the movie. Once again, Smith’s career was evidently set back by his insistence that he only work with actors he’s had at least one drunken pillow fight with. Since this limits his choices to Lee and Ben Affleck (and we’re thinking the latter would not only have ruined the franchise, but would have incited fans to pile up all the copies of the novel and hold a Nazi-style book burning) the studio is wisely developing Fletch with another writer and director.
So everything’s back on track! On the other hand, apparently the lead in talks to play Fletch is now-brace yourself-Zach Braff.
And while we’re on the subject: Maybe Kevin Smith shouldn’t take over other people’s franchises after all; his Superman Lives script (widely available online) had the potential to be one of the worst movies ever made.
Sci-Fi fans seem doomed to choose between silly action movies (like Transformers or Independence Day) and slow, existential lower-budget fare (like Solaris). What we want is more films like The Matrix, goddamnit, where they can delve into metaphysical ideas and still get a solid hour of zero-gravity kung fu. (Seriously, Hollywood, why is that so hard?) Fans saw a ray of light a few years ago with word that none other than Fight Club‘s David Fincher was on board to direct a big-budget adaptation of Rendezvous with Rama, an Arthur C. Clarke classic about a mysterious 30 mile-long cylinder that comes humming toward Earth like Gaia’s lost vibrator.
Why it didn’t get made: Money. If you want to make a Rama film you’ll need nine digits just to get a seat at the table (remember, Fincher is the guy who needed a $90 million budget to make a movie about two guys fighting in their basement).
Merchandising on Rama wouldn’t exactly be a gold mine, either. Little Timmy isn’t going to spend hours with his 100 foot-long plastic Rama mothership, contemplating how it symbolizes man’s eternal struggle against the cosmic unknown. While the producers hunted in vain for funding, Fincher’s schedule filled up with other, less interesting projects (Panic Room, Zodiac).
And while we’re on the subject: Fincher was supposed to direct Mission Impossible IIILost, which languished without JJ Abrams (who had to basically abandon it in order to direct MI:III) as well. If he had taken the job, he could have simultaneously saved both that franchise and the TV show
It was Jim Carrey, before he got older and started making serious movies. It was Matt Stone and Trey Parker, before South Park got all preachy and libertarian. Their paths nearly intersected in a way that could have made, yes, we’ll say it, Poop Joke History.
Forget about the terrifyingly bad film that did get made, Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd. Stone and Parker were hired to write a Dumb and Dumber prequel back in the late ’90s, right after the first film became a hit. Had they followed through, the result could have been a film so crude that society itself may have been in danger of total, immediate collapse (people eating each other on the streets, fathers clubbing sons to death with family dogs, etc.).
We can only guess at what the plot would have been. Perhaps it would have involved a terrorist plot to unleash a chemical bomb that causes every victim within a mile to become inflamed with ravenous homosexual lust. Maybe Harry and Lloyd could have stolen that bomb from the terrorists and realize the only way to keep it from detonating is by continually farting on it (it has a voice-activated detonator and, by sheer chance, Lloyd’s farts sound exactly like the phrase “delay timer” in Arabic). Then maybe at the climax of the film they accidentally detonate the bomb at mid-field during the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl.
Or, you know, not. We’ll never know.
Why it didn’t get made: When a hot, young talent hits it big, there’s invariably a period where they’re tempted to say “Yes” to every offer that comes in, for fear that people will stop asking. Stone and Parker were in that stage when they took this on, before they realized they’d be working 22-hour days meeting South Park deadlines.
Another factor: Jim Carrey decided he was too good for sequels right around the time of Ace Ventura 2, so chances are he wouldn’t have come on board anyway (at which point the studio started talking prequel instead of sequel). Thus, the horror that was Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd was born. hoisted onto an unsuspecting populace, and then quickly forgotten, peace and reason returning.
And while we’re on the subject: It’s just as well that Dumb and Dumberer bombed. If the director (Troy Miller) had been given more movies, he may not have gone on to make the superb Flight of the Conchords TV show.
Three of the greatest films of all time were made by one guy, in one seven-year span. In 1974, two of the nominees for Best Picture were directed by that same guy. Francis Ford Coppola (Apocalypse Now, The Godfather films, come on, you know who he is) has been coasting on it ever since.
That’s why no list of unmade masterpieces would be complete without Megalopolis, Coppola’s pet project about a futuristic New York that’s had pretty much every Oscar winner of the last decade attached to it at some point or another (including Nicolas Cage, Russell Crowe, and even some talented actors like Robert De Niro, Paul Newman, and Kevin Spacey). This, dear readers, was the mythical Good New Coppola Movie that Hollywood, and America, had been waiting three decades for. They’ve probably already etched the name of this thing onto a whole box of awards, just waiting for Coppola to actually make the damn film.
Why it didn’t get made: Too ambitious, too expensive, maybe too much to undertake for an aging, talent-atrophying Coppola. They did some shoots in New York at some points, but were put on hold by 9/11; then the film’s distributor went broke. It just seems like one of those cursed projects.
And while we’re on the subject: George Lucas, not Coppola, was originally hired to direct Apocalypse Now. Considering what a drawn-out torture the ApocalypseStar Wars never happened. Dude. production turned out to be, there’s a good chance that in that alternate universe,
Ah, Fartman. Hey, don’t look at us like that. Shouldn’t a well-rounded renaissance man be able to long equally for a Francis Ford Coppola epic and for a film about a superhero who can propel himself through the air using only his own gas?
Fartman is Howard Stern’s Megalopolis. He’s been trying to make a movie about the character since 1992, and he’s serious about it. They had a writer and director lined up at one point, with a budget of $10 million or so from New Line. Writer J.F. Lawton spoke of the screenplay as if it was a 120-page excuse for a series of gratuitous lesbian love scenes.
Could this have been the worst movie ever made? Sure. But knowing Stern, the odds are good that every member of the audience would have left the film changed in some way.
Why it didn’t get made: The studio wanted it PG-13, which ran somewhat against Howard’s vision for the film. So instead we got 1997’s autobiographical Private Parts, a pedestrian, friendly movie which mostly existed to prove to the world what a nice guy Howard is.
And while we’re on the subject: If you think this sounds like the superhero movie that would kill superhero movies once and for all, picture this: Larry and Andy Wachowski wrote a Plastic Man script back in 1995. The star, according to internet rumor, was going to be Paul “Pee Wee Herman” Reubens.
While 300 was tearing up the box office, somewhere Arnold Schwarzenegger and Paul Verhoeven were glancing at each other and rolling their eyes, maybe making a sarcastic jerk-off motion with their hands.
Back in 1995 Arnold was set to star in the sword-in-guts epic Crusade, on a budget of $150 million with director Verhoeven (Robocop, Total Recall). The script (by Walon Green, who wrote The Wild Bunch) is considered one of the most brutally violent things ever put to paper.
Why it didn’t get made: The studio, Carolco, wanted to make a big-budget pirate movie first. The result was Cutthroat Island, the biggest financial bomb in Hollywood history. Meanwhile, Verhoeven went off to direct Showgirls, one of the worst films in Hollywood history. The Cutthroat Island losses then forced Carolco into bankruptcy. Arnie went on to become governor of California, where his first act was to rope off the whole scene and declare it an official disaster area.
And while we’re on the subject: To this day comic fans bemoan the loss of James Cameron’s Spider-Man project from the early ’90s. Well, if it had gotten made, Arnold was set to play Dr. Octopus.
Probably no single project in Hollywood history has been attempted as many times, by as many people, as A Confederacy of Dunces. For 26 years, directors, actors, producers, writers and studios have come and gone. So why, in a Hollywood where thousands of quickly-forgotten projects wash in and out like the tide, do they keep coming back to Dunces?
It’s because the book, by John Kennedy Toole, is the funniest thing ever written. Don’t try to argue. Scientists have proven it (they have a computer or something). The novel is one big, intricate clockwork of a joke, plot threads converging in ways so ridiculous it’s almost impossible to grasp it all with one reading. You don’t think of them awarding Pulitzer prizes to balls-to-the-wall comedies, but they gave one to Dunces.
Will Ferrell was all set to star in this one as recently as a year ago, with Lily Tomlin and Drew Barrymore and Mos Def (fans of the book will have an easy time guessing who plays which character). But, once again, the studio pulled the plug.
Why it didn’t get made: Will Ferrell has said it’s the movie everyone in Hollywood wants to make, but no one wants to finance. They’re right to have doubts. Anyone who saw the Hitchhiker’s movie knows how hard it is to translate a funny novel to the big screen. Too much of the comedy lies in the language, in pages of narration that won’t be in the film. Whenever it’s time to write the checks for Dunces, somebody always gets cold feet.
This film will always be the weird girl at the book store, the enigmatic one who listens only to bands you’ve never heard of and who just rolls her eyes when you try to make a joke. Hollywood doesn’t need that girl, not with a line of slutty cheerleaders right behind her.
And while we’re on the subject: Did we mention the project is cursed? John Belushi was set to star in the film in 1982, but just days before he was to meet with producers, he died. Then John Candy was on board, before his death in 1994. Then Chris Farley, before he died in 1997. Then, all plans to film in New Orleans were halted after the city was devastated by hurricane Katrina. Don’t get us wrong, we want to see Dunces on the big screen. But there is a significant chance that, upon release, the sky itself will burn with unholy fire and the rivers will flow red with the blood of the innocent.
Kara DioGuardi vs. Katrina Darrell: American Idol Bikini Battle!
Kara DioGuardi vs. Katrina Darrell: American Idol Bikini Battle!
We were surprised that Kris Allen won American Idol.
Still, that wasn’t the most unexpected thing to take place on the stage of the Nokia Theatre last night.
As part of the two-hour finale, Kara DioGuardi sang a duet with former nemesis Katrina Darrell! (Remember her? Darrell earned the nickname “Bikini Girl” during the initial rounds of Idol auditions for donning a swimsuit while she sang for the judges.)
Moreover, at the end of their “Vision of Love” rendition, DioGuardi flashed her own bikini body for the world to see.
We strongly recommend watching the duet, if only for Randy Jackson’s priceless reaction when Darrell comes out on stage, clearly enhanced in one area of her body.
TERMINATOR BACK WITH A BANG
LET US SEE WHAT THE PRODUCERS SAY ABOUT THE FILM
“The year is 2018. Judgment Day has come and gone, leveling modern civilization. An army of Terminators roams the post-apocalyptic landscape, killing or collecting humans where they hide in the desolate cities and deserts. But small groups of survivors have organized into a Resistance, hiding in underground bunkers and striking when they can against an enemy force that vastly outnumbers them”
A fourth film, Terminator Salvation, has been produced and is slated for a May 2009 release. Salvation was written by The Perfect Weapon’s David C. Wilson. Script treatment are by John Brancato, Michael Ferris, David C. Wilson, Paul Haggis (Quantum of Solace), Shawn Ryan (TV’s The Shield, The Unit) and Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight). Arnold Schwarzenegger is not expected to reprise his starring role due to his duties as Governor of California. However, Roland Kickinger, who played Schwarzenegger in biography See Arnold Run, will have a major role in the film as the prototype T-800. Christian Bale would take over the role as John Connor, Bryce Dallas Howard as Kate Brewster, and Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese. New to the series are Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright, Moon Bloodgood as Blair Williams, Common as Barnes, and Helena Bonham Carter as the film’s antagonist Serena Kogen. The film is directed by McG.
ALTHOUGH THE FANS WOULD BE DISAPPOINTED THAT THEY MISS THE ACTION HERO ,THE MAKERS ARE IN A CONFIDENCE THAT THE FILM CAN ENTERTAIN THEM
DETAILS ON CHARACTERS
- Christian Bale as John Connor: A soldier in the Resistance waging war against Skynet after it destroyed much of humanity in a nuclear holocaust, who is destined to become humanity’s leader.
- Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright: A resistance soldier who is plagued by vague memories and is discovered to be a decommissioned Terminator. His last memory is of being on death row, and John is unsure of whether Wright is from the past or from the future.
- Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese: A teenage soldier and admirer of John Connor. As portrayed by Michael Biehn in The Terminator, he was sent back in time to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor to ensure the survival of the human race, and fathered John with her.
- Bryce Dallas Howard as Kate Connor: John’s wife, who is seven months pregnant. Charlotte Gainsbourg was originally set to play the part, but left due to scheduling conflicts with another film. As portrayed by Claire Danes in the third film, Kate was a veterinarian; but in this film, she is now a physician.
- Common as Barnes: A resistance soldier and John’s right-hand man.
- Helena Bonham Carter as Dr. Serena Kogan: The lead villain of the film, and a Terminator hybrid. Before Judgment Day, Serena was an ex-Cyberdyne scientist with terminal cancer working on advanced technology, convincing Marcus to donate his body to Project Angel for her “research,” for which will fall into the hands of Skynet.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger and Roland Kickinger as the T-800 Model 101: The first Terminator covered in living human tissue built as Skynet’s newest weapon for the extermination of humankind. Schwarzenegger will reprise his role via ADR and CGI facials, while the Austrian bodybuilder Kickinger, who previously portrayed Schwarzenegger in the 2005 biographical film See Arnold Run, was his double on set, for which a mold of the former — from 1983 — was scanned to create Kickinger’s digital resemblance to the actor.
NEW RELEASES
NOVEL COVER PAGE
NOW LETS SEE THE MOST SUCESSFUL “NOW RUNNING FILM”
THE “Angels & Demons ” ITis a bestselling mystery–thriller novel written by American author Dan Brown and published by Pocket Books in 2000. It revolves around the quest of fictional Harvard University symbologist Robert Langdon to uncover the mysteries of a secret society called the Illuminati and to unravel a plot to annihilate Vatican City using destructive antimatter. The book uses the idea of a historical conflict between science and religion, particularly that between the Illuminati and the Roman Catholic Church.
OFFICIAL POSTER
The novel introduces the character Robert Langdon, who is also the protagonist of Brown’s subsequent 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code. It also shares many stylistic elements with its sequel, such as conspiracies of secret societies, a single-day time frame, and the Catholic Church.Ancient history, architecture, and symbolism are also heavily referenced throughout the book. An eponymous film adaptation is due for release on May 15, 2009
ABOUT FILM
THE REVIEW SAYS THAT THE FILM IS OKAY AND WOULD BE A BOXOFFICE HIT.THE PERFORMANCE OF TOM HANKS IS EXCEPTIONAL
THE OFFICIAL SITE SAYS
“What terrifying discovery would make the Vatican turn to Robert Langdon, the man who cracked history’s most controversial code? When Langdon discovers evidence of the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati – the most powerful underground organization in history – he also faces a deadly threat to the existence of the secret organization’s most despised enemy: the Catholic Church. Upon learning that the clock is ticking on an unstoppable Illuminati time bomb, Langdon travels to Rome, where he joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and enigmatic Italian scientist. Embarking on a nonstop, action-packed hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra will follow the 400-year-old Path of Illumination that marks the Vatican’s only hope for survival.”
THE CAST OF THE FILM IS AS FOLLOWS
| Cast | Credit |
| Tom Hanks | Robert Langdon |
| Ewan McGregor | Camerlengo |
| Ayelet Zurer | Vittoria Vetra |
| Stellan Skarsgard | Commander Richter |
| Pierfrancesco Favino | Inspector Olivetti |
| Nikolaj Lie Kaas | Assassin |
| Armin Mueller-Stahl | Cardinal Strauss |
| Thure Lindhardt | Chartrand |
| David Pasquesi | Claudio Vincenzi |
THE DESCRIPTION ON EACH CHARACTER IS AS GIVEN
- Robert Langdon – A professor of symbology at Harvard University and the main protagonist of the novel. He is flown to CERN to help investigate the murder of Leonardo Vetra. He is described as wearing a pair of chinos pants, turtleneck, and tweed jacket. His name is a tribute to John Langdon.
- Leonardo Vetra – A scientist working at CERN and a priest. He is researching on antimatter when he is murdered by the Hassassin. He is also the adoptive father of Vittoria.
- Vittoria Vetra – The adopted daughter of Vetra. Her research focuses on biology and physics. The reader learns early in the novel that Vittoria worked with her father in their research of antimatter.
- Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca – The Camerlengo during the conclave. He murdered the pope, who is later revealed to have been his father.
- Cardinal Saverio Mortati – The most senior cardinal in the conclave, and the current Dean of the College of Cardinals. He was the Devil’s Advocate for the late pope.
- Commander Olivetti – The commandant of the Swiss Guard. He is initially skeptical on the claims of Langdon and Vittoria until he talks with the Hassassin.
- Captain Rocher – The second in command after Commander Olivetti. He is contacted by Max Kohler telling his knowledge on the real cause of the events.
ME PERSONALLY WOULD GIVE 3.5/5 FOR THIS FILM
SO GO WATCH,THRILL BY TOM’S PERFORMANCE
Sword of the Stranger was a very nice intermezzo
After some quite negative reviews, let me push a nice smiling one. Sekali ini kita main-main dengan Anime, sebuah film dari tahun 2007 yang baru saya dapatkan kemarin. Film ini sepertinya tidak diputar di bioskop dan memang rada “susah” dicari, tapi bagi pecinta anime dan samurai film pasti tidak akan mengecewakan. Omong-omong memang jarang yah Anime di putar di bioskop kita, maybe Blitz bisa mulai lebih sering menampilkan Anime? Logikanya kalo film-film animasi 2D lalu 3D Disney saja laku keras di bioskop, masak Anime bisa ngga?
Film ini menceritakan tentang seorang anak kecil bernama Kotaro yang dikejar-kejar oleh serombongan pendekar dari negeri Ming Cina, dan penguasa benteng di salah satu provinsi Jepang di jaman Sengoku Jidai (abad 15 sampai awal abad 17 M). Dalam perjalanannya Kotaro dengan anjingnya Tobimaru dibantu oleh seorang samurai misterius tanpa nama yang disebut “Nanashi”. Samurai ini telah bersumpah untuk tidak lagi menggunakan pedangnya untuk membunuh. Oh yah, lucunya musuh terhebatnya dalam film ini ceritanya adalah seorang bule! bermata biru bernama Rarou yang merupakan salah satu pemimpin pendekar Ming.
Plot cerita yang ditampilkan sebenarnya sederhana, tetapi gaya penceritaannya manis dan secara visual film ini sangat baik. Adegan cepat seperti berkuda dan pertarungan ditampilkan dengan menawan meski sering cukup brutal dan banyak darah (not suitable for children?). Visual yang menarik juga adalah beberapa adegan ditampilkan dari sudut pandang orang pertama seperti First Person Shooter game. Gabungan antara animasi 2D dan 3D dalam film ini dibuat begitu seamless sehingga kita jadi sulit membedakannya.
Bagi pecinta film Samurai atau Manga Samurai, mungkin melihat kesamaan cerita di sini dengan Manga th 70an (yang telah difilmkan juga) yaitu Lone Wolf and Cub dengan Itto Ogami bersama anak balitanya Daigoro. Tetapi cerita dalam film ini lumayan riil juga untuk melupakan kesamaan tersebut.
If you are an anime fan, find this film.
If you are a samurai film fan, find this film.
It will be a very nice experience.
Chow Yun Fat (and John Woo) in double gun perfection – Hard Boiled!
Sambil nunggu Chow Yun Fat tampil di film live action Dragon Ball, mari kita ulas salah satu film terbaiknya, at least bagi saya . Jauh sebelum sekarang lazim dilihat dalam berbagai film action Hollywood, dari Matrix sampai Punisher: War Zone, two guns action mulai dipopulerkan oleh John Woo dan Chow Yun Fat, aktor favoritnya, di era tahun 80an terutama lewat rangkaian film A Better Tomorrow (di Indonesia diberi judul Gangland Boss).
Bagi banyak orang film action terbaik John Woo di era Hong Kongnya adalah The Killer (1989 dengan Chow Yun Fat dan Sally Yeh), tapi bagi saya film terbaiknya di Hong Kong adalah Hard Boiled (1992). Ini merupakan kolaborasi terakhir John Woo dan Chow Yun Fat saat itu (pra Hollywood), sehingga mereka berdua all-out dalam adegan-adegan action film ini. Duet mereka ini mengingatkan akan duet Akira Kurosawa dan Toshiro Mifune, yang saling mendukung satu sama lain, untunglah perpisahan mereka diakhiri dengan suatu hit yang lumayan sukses dan di banyak pecinta fil action Hong Kong menempati posisi khusus. Film ini juga didukung oleh Tony Leung yang mampu menyaingi Chow Yun Fat dengan gayanya yang kalem (yang kini seperti menjadi “trade mark”nya dalam Red Cliff, 2046, dan In The Mood for Love).
Dalam film ini, Chow Yun Fat berperan sebagai seorang polisi bernama Tequila, seorang Dirty Harry ala Hong Kong, jago tembak dan selalu membuat pusing atasannya. Tony Leung berperan sebagai seorang polisi dalam penyamaran (dengan atasan yang sama), yang ditampilkan benci membunuh tetapi harus sering membunuh sebagai anggota Triad (mafia Hong Kong) yang terlibat persaingan dalam menjual senjata api. Karakter Tony membuat origami bangau setiap kali ia membunuh seseorang sebagai tanda penyesalannya.
Film ini full packed with action, bahkan sejak lima menit pertama, kita sudah disuguhi dengan adegan tembak-menembak yang dibuat sangat piawai di rumah minum teh. Sisi dramanya jadi sedikit kurang terpoles atau menjadi rada kurang menonjol karena padat dan sempurnanya actionnya, tetapi John Woo berhasil memasukkan beberapa sentuhan menarik.
Misalnya saat Tony Leung dipaksa tokoh Antagonis utama untuk menghabisi Boss nya dan semua anak buahnya, dramanya lumayan terbangun baik dan ini merupakan highlight bagi Tony Leung, saat menembak dengan mata berkaca-kaca. Sentuhan lain yang manis adalah bahwa jago tembak utama (bermata satu) sang tokoh Antagonis nya adalah seorang bandit yang kejam, metodologis, cool, tapi gentleman, saat adegan duel klimaks dengan pistol bersama Chow Yun Fat, mereka berdua meletakkan senjata dan melakukan “gencatan senjata” agar pasien-pasien yang terjebak dalam pertarungan mereka bisa mengungsi (action klimaks berlokasi di sebuah rumah sakit). Ia juga menolak untuk menembaki pasien saat diperintahkan oleh Bossnya (yang berakibat fatal bagi dirinya sendiri).
Bagi yang capek melihat action film Hollywood yang begitu-begitu saja, cobalah bernostalgia kembali dengan film ini, dan saya yakin Anda tetap akan puas, seperti kembali ke kampung halaman dan mencicipi kembali makanan kedai favorit Anda 
Oh yah, Hard Boiled di Indonesia dulu dipasarkan dengan judul Master Gunman.
Flickr Photos
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