movies – News Stories About movies - Page 65

Feb 17, 2009 4:03 PM CST

Phoenix: Music Is My Legacy

Not my acting

(Newser) - Joaquin Phoenix thinks he’ll be remembered for his music, rather than his Oscar-nominated acting, he tells the Mirror. Phoenix is a lot wordier than he was in his monosyllabic appearance on Letterman, telling the paper he’s serious about becoming a rapper. “I feel like everything in my...

Madge-Jesus Fling
Is—Get This—
a Sham: Pals

Feb 16, 2009 8:24 AM CST

Madge-Jesus Fling Is—Get This— a Sham: Pals

Pop star just using model for publicity

(Newser) - How did Madonna score a Brazilian model less than half her age? His parents cried “kidnapping,” but pals claim the whole thing is a well-played publicity stunt typical of the Material Pentagenarian, the Mirror reports. “Taking Jesus to Kaballah is a masterstroke as she always historically introduces...

Friday Hacks Up Box Office

Feb 15, 2009 3:40 PM CST

Friday Hacks Up Box Office

(Newser) - Friday the 13th took an ax to Valentine's Day flicks by bagging the biggest opening weekend gross of the year, $42.2 million, Entertainment Weekly reports. He's Just Not That Into You fell to second with $19.6 million, followed by Taken ($19.3 million), Confessions of a Shopaholic ($15....

Winslet's
Oscar Bid
Battered by
Nazi Furor

Feb 15, 2009 8:37 AM CST

Winslet's Oscar Bid Battered by Nazi Furor

'Nazi porn' asks use to 'empathize with mass murderer'

(Newser) - Mounting criticism of The Reader as an apologia for the Nazis is seriously undermining Kate Winslet's chances for an Oscar, reports the Telegraph. Critics have blasted the film as "Nazi porn," and the author of a book on Hitler charged in a recent article in Slate that it...

Shopaholic Not So Addictive

MOVIE REVIEW

Feb 13, 2009 8:19 AM CST

Shopaholic Not So Addictive

Subprime rom-com maxes out the clichés

(Newser) - Chick-lit flick Confessions of a Shopaholic is one victim the credit crisis should have claimed, say critics. Isla Fisher stars as a credit card addict who lands a job at a financial magazine, but her considerable comic gifts are wasted by a script that turns her into a "babbling...

Coraline Scares in Stunning 3-D

MOVIE REVIEW

Feb 6, 2009 10:14 AM CST

Coraline Scares in Stunning 3-D

Dazzlingly creepy stop-motion animation conjures up children's worst fears

(Newser) - Coraline is an eerie marvel of stop-motion animation guaranteed to give little kids nightmares, say critics. The story of a young girl—voiced by Dakota Fanning—who stumbles into a strange parallel universe where life seems almost too good to be true is a "dazzling, delightfully dark children's movie,...

It's Official, Finally: Sex Is Back

Feb 6, 2009 9:40 AM CST

It's Official, Finally: Sex Is Back

Director says 2nd movie is a go; but don't expect as much drama

(Newser) - Sex and the City director Michael Patrick King has confirmed that another movie is in the works, but he refused to divulge much more than that. "I would love to give everyone more information about the sequel," he told the New York Daily News. "But I'm busy...

Forget Oscar—Who
Were 2008's Rainmakers?

Feb 5, 2009 1:51 PM CST

Forget Oscar—Who Were 2008's Rainmakers?

(Newser) - The Oscars are coming up, but that orgy of self-congratulation doesn’t celebrate what really matters in Hollywood: money. Forbes crunched the numbers for 2008 and selected the winners of a different award: the Rainmaker.

Best Actor: Robert Downey Jr. returned $52.60 to Paramount for every dollar it spent

...

Not Much New in This Town

MOVIE REVIEW

Jan 30, 2009 10:30 AM CST

Not Much New in This Town

Bland rom-com fails to rise above heap of clichés

(Newser) - Fish-out-of-water romantic comedy New In Town takes an old recipe and follows it to the letter, say critics. That's not a good thing. Renee Zellweger stars as a cynical Miami exec sent to cut jobs in an icy Minnesota hamlet full of warm-hearted folks, with results you can see coming...

Arrested
Development
Film Is a Go

Jan 29, 2009 11:24 AM CST

Arrested Development Film Is a Go

Rising star Cera is on board for adaptation

(Newser) - After years of rumors and crossed fingers, the Arrested Development movie is finally on, the New York Daily News reports. "The movie is going to happen this year, and Michael Cera is on board. Trust me," said Jeffrey Tambor, patriarch of the dysfunctional TV family. Cera, whose career...

Time to Give Netflix
Its Dot-Com Due

OPINION

Jan 28, 2009 4:47 PM CST

Time to Give Netflix Its Dot-Com Due

Disciplined growth has helped it through many setbacks

(Newser) - Despite plenty of naysayers, Netflix boasts success like few other dot-coms, Chris O’Brien writes in the San Jose Mercury News. The movie-rental service reported record earnings despite the recession, “a neat trick that eBay and Yahoo could only dream of emulating.” Netflix’s innovative distribution system, inventory...

What to See From Sundance

OPINION

Jan 26, 2009 10:45 AM CST

What to See From Sundance

Film festival spawns potential hits

(Newser) - This year’s indie love-fest Sundance spawned several movies that have a shot at real commercial success, with a roster of films showcasing “more old-fashioned storytelling,” writes Andrew O’Hehir in Salon. Jury prizes went to Push and We Live in Public, but here’s a sampling of...

Best Picture Nod
Brings $6.7M Boost

Jan 23, 2009 1:40 PM CST

Best Picture Nod Brings $6.7M Boost

Advertising is expensive, but nominations can pay off big for studios

(Newser) - With studios shelling out huge bucks to push their films on Oscar voters—Frost/Nixon probably dropped hundreds of thousands for a few days of spreads in the Hollywood papers—could such ad blitzes actually pay off? The answer is yes: A best picture nomination is worth at least $6.7...

Inkheart Better on the Page

MOVIE REVIEW

Jan 23, 2009 10:33 AM CST

Inkheart Better on the Page

Kids' movie about bringing books to life struggles to bring book to life

(Newser) - When it comes to the kids-lit adaptation Inkheart, fans are probably better off sticking to the book, say critics. Brendan Fraser stars as a father with the power to bring characters off the page to life, but the special-effects-driven movie fails to capture the "dark whimsy" of the...

Ex-Child Star Fanning Weighs Villainous Twilight Role

Jan 22, 2009 12:25 PM CST

Ex-Child Star Fanning Weighs Villainous Twilight Role

Actress, 15 next month, in talks to play bad vampire in sequel

(Newser) - Dakota Fanning: adorable child star or sadistic teen vampire? The actress, 15 next month, is in talks to star as vamp villain Jane in Twilight sequel New Moon, scheduled for a Nov. 20 release, E! reports. “There were no auditions. They just offered it to her outright, and now...

Sex and the City Sequel Is On

Jan 22, 2009 11:14 AM CST

Sex and the City Sequel Is On

All four ladies are in

(Newser) - Hang on to your Manolos, ladies: All four stars of Sex and the City have agreed to appear in a second movie, Us Weekly reports. “Not all the contracts are signed, but everyone is on board,” a source said. Why the quick decision after the first film—which...

Notorious Aims Too Small

MOVIE REVIEW

Jan 16, 2009 9:33 AM CST

Notorious Aims Too Small

By-the-numbers rap biopic fails to bring Biggie's world to life

(Newser) - The Biggie Smalls biopic Notorious efficiently recaps the murdered rapper's short life, but it's not a movie significant enough for one of rap's greats, say critics. Brooklyn rapper Jamal Woodard turns in a convincing performance, Chris Richards writes in the Washington Post, but he's rapping to a script that seems...

Studios Call Off Watchmen War

Jan 16, 2009 1:49 AM CST

Studios Call Off Watchmen War

Long-awaited comic adaptation to hit theaters after Fox, Warners settle

(Newser) - Audiences will be able to watch Watchmen as scheduled now that Warner Bros and Fox smoothed out a super hero dispute, E! Online reports. Fox, which sued Warners for copyright infringement over the DC Comics film adaptation, has agreed to relinquish distribution rights for a cash payment and a...

Globes Fave
Hoffman Calls
Acting 'Torturous'

Jan 11, 2009 5:25 PM CST

Globes Fave Hoffman Calls Acting 'Torturous'

Nominee and veteran character actors talks shop

(Newser) - A virtual shoe-in for a Golden Globes award tonight, Philip Seymour Hoffman insists that his supporting role in Doubt came "at a price"—as have most of his other parts as a veteran character actor. “For me, acting is torturous, because you know it’s a beautiful...

You May Kiss Off Bride Wars

MOVIE REVIEW

Jan 9, 2009 10:37 AM CST

You May Kiss Off Bride Wars

Lame rom-com makes Bride of Chucky look like Dr. Zhivago

(Newser) - It's only January, but Bride Wars looks like a perfect match for the Worst Film of 2009 title, say critics. It's a "synthetic chick-flick-rom-com-formulaic-retread," writes Ann Hornaday in the Washington Post. Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway star as a best friends who become fierce enemies when their weddings...