film – News Stories About film - Page 18

MOVIE REVIEW

Dec 4, 2009 2:52 PM CST

Serious Moonlight a Dim Effort

Filming slain writer's script a fine sentiment, poorly executed

(Newser) - When Waitress writer-director Adrienne Shelly was murdered, in 2006, she left behind the script for Serious Moonlight. Critics speculate that she might have made it work, but that hasn't happened:

"A wife duct-tapes her husband to a chair and tells him that she will make him fall in love

...

Brothers Has Strong
Acting, Weak Heart

movie review

Dec 4, 2009 12:20 PM CST

Brothers Has Strong Acting, Weak Heart

Critics wonder: Why did Jim Sheridan need to do this remake?

(Newser) - Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, and Jake Gyllenhaal deliver solid performances in Jim Sheridan's war movie Brothers, but the film doesn't measure up to the 2004 Danish original, say critics:

Peter Howell, Toronto Star : "It's still a film worth seeing, if only for the performances, but it seems to be

...

Everybody's Fine?
No, Everybody's Sappy

Movie Review

Dec 4, 2009 11:10 AM CST

Everybody's Fine? No, Everybody's Sappy

De Niro the best part about predictable holiday treacle

(Newser) - Critics are divided on Everybody’s Fine: Some think the family drama is okay because of Robert De Niro, and others think it’s awful despite him. What they’re saying:

It’s “a thoroughly fake movie that is about, of all things, the need for truthfulness,” writes

...

Entourage Will End With a Film

hollywood buzz

Dec 3, 2009 3:58 PM CST

Entourage Will End With a Film

Walhberg says show might go longer than 2 more seasons

(Newser) - Look for the boys on Entourage to be making the leap to the big screen. Executive producer Mark Wahlberg tells the Hollywood Reporter that plans are in the works for a movie when the HBO series wraps up after two more seasons. Of course, that's if it wraps up after...

New Moon
Eclipses
Blind Side

box office roundup

Nov 29, 2009 1:47 PM CST

New Moon Eclipses Blind Side

Football flick tops vampire saga in Thanksgiving receipts

(Newser) - New Moon extended its domination of the the box office over the Thanksgiving weekend, but The Blind Side showed surprising resilience and even outdrew the vampire picture on the holiday. New Moon raked in $42.5 million in 3 days, bringing its 10-day total to $230.7 million. The Blind ...

2009's Coolest Pop Culture

Nov 28, 2009 8:03 AM CST

2009's Coolest Pop Culture

Wired picks the year's best

(Newser) - This has been a vintage year for pop culture, say Wired writers listing their year's best in fields from film to video games to microsculpture.

Stephen Colbert's "hyper-real genius" made the year for Scott Thill, who believes "Earth’s most relevant living cultural critic" is long overdue for

...

Carla Bruni to
Star in Woody
Allen Flick

Nov 24, 2009 1:30 PM CST

Carla Bruni to Star in Woody Allen Flick

French first lady returns director's fawning with a 'yes'

(Newser) - French first lady Carla Bruni doesn’t have any delusions about her acting ability—“Perhaps I’ll be completely hopeless”—but when Woody Allen comes a-knocking, you don’t say no. The director has asked the former model to appear in an upcoming movie after meeting her earlier...

New Moon Vamps to $141M Haul

box office roundup

Nov 22, 2009 1:54 PM CST

New Moon Vamps to $141M Haul

Latest 'Twilight' entry enjoys 3rd-biggest weekend ever

(Newser) - In the third-largest weekend debut ever, The Twilight Saga: New Moon rang up $140.7 million, riding records for a midnight opening and a single day to totals trailing only The Dark Knight and Spider-Man. Audiences were four-fifths female, with the remaining 20% mostly teen boys, USA Today reports. The ...

Bullock Shines in
Crowd-Pleasing Blind Side

movie review

Nov 20, 2009 1:25 PM CST

Bullock Shines in Crowd-Pleasing Blind Side

Football chick flick lacks suspense, delivers happy ending

(Newser) - The Blind Side lacks inherent suspense—it's based on the true story of Michael Oher, a rookie offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. But the tale of a homeless African-American teen adopted by big-hearted white yuppies, at bottom a Sandra Bullock vehicle, goes over big in football country.

Writer-director John

...

Bad Lieutenant Is
Terribly Fantastic

MOVIE REVIEW

Nov 20, 2009 12:02 PM CST

Bad Lieutenant Is Terribly Fantastic

Cage's unhinged performance dazzles, and Herzog keeps up

(Newser) - What is Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, exactly? Most critics haven't the foggiest, but they like Werner Herzog's not-at-all-a-remake and Nicholas Cage's performance. Some reactions:

Cage’s “sublimely deranged lead performance” compares favorably to Herzog’s work with Klaus Kinski, Scottt Tobias writes for the Onion AV

...

Movie Popcorn =
3 Quarter Pounders,
Plus Butter

Nov 19, 2009 4:10 PM CST

Movie Popcorn = 3 Quarter Pounders, Plus Butter

It's as unhealthy as it was 15 years ago

(Newser) - Figure 1,600 calories, 60 grams of saturated fat, and 980 milligrams of sodium—that’s what you’re eating when you scarf down a medium helping of movie popcorn at the nation's biggest theater chain. Add a soda and it’s the equivalent of eating a pound of baby...

Couples Retreat Ad Sparks
Brit Race Brouhaha

Nov 16, 2009 9:37 AM CST

Couples Retreat Ad Sparks Brit Race Brouhaha

Black actors left off UK poster—but is US version any better?

(Newser) - Audiences in Britain are crying foul over a Couples Retreat poster that omits two black actors who were featured on the US version. A film rep tells the Mail that the change was meant “to simplify the poster to actors who are most recognizable in international markets”—but...

Lauren Bacall
Wins an Oscar

finally

Nov 15, 2009 3:24 PM CST

Lauren Bacall Wins an Oscar

Roger Corman, Gordon Willis, John Calley share the spotlight

(Newser) - A mere 65 years after her unforgettable screen debut, Lauren Bacall has won an Academy Award. The honorary Oscar was a high point of a ceremony last night in Los Angeles that also celebrated the careers of filmmaker Roger Corman, cinematographer Gordon Willis, and producer John Calley. "I can't...

2012 Soars
to Top Spot

box office roundup

Nov 15, 2009 1:23 PM CST

2012 Soars to Top Spot

Apocalypse flick does $65M as 'Precious' cracks top 5

(Newser) - Apocalypse preview 2012 raked in $65 million domestically at the weekend box office, the high end of the prerelease estimate range, en route to a $225 million haul worldwide. The doomsday action flick handily beat A Christmas Carol, which performed strongly in its second weekend in release. A new entry...

A Look Back at
Movies of the '00s

AO SCOTT

Nov 14, 2009 11:50 AM CST

A Look Back at Movies of the '00s

Which films will be remembered, and which ones deserve it?

(Newser) - The shifting sands of entertainment technology make a look at the past decade's movies a tricky proposition simply because standing the test of time means something different almost daily. "The possibility of a digital, on-demand afterlife guarantees at least a theoretically universal long-tail immortality to blockbusters and curiosities alike,...

Look Out, Pixar:
Mr. Fox Is Fantastic

MOVIE REVIEW

Nov 13, 2009 12:27 PM CST

Look Out, Pixar: Mr. Fox Is Fantastic

Is it a film for kids? Who cares! gush critics

(Newser) - Wes Anderson is winning raves for his stop-motion take on Roald Dahl's classic Fantastic Mr. Fox, with voices by a raft of stars including Meryl Streep and George Clooney:

It's so good, David Edelstein forgot himself. When the flick ended, he writes in New York , he wished "the whole

...

Pirate Radio Rocks
on Good Tunes, Cast

MOVIE REVIEW

Nov 13, 2009 8:56 AM CST

Pirate Radio Rocks on Good Tunes, Cast

Playful 60s love/music comedy is more party than plot

(Newser) - Critics agree that the soundtrack of Pirate Radio can't be beat, and the top-notch cast is a joy. So when it comes to the shaky plot and pacing, some can turn a blind eye:

"There’s no denying the comic energy of the cast," Peter Travers writes in

...

The Best of
Cold War Cinema

OLD RELEASES

Nov 9, 2009 2:30 PM CST

The Best of Cold War Cinema

With the Evil Empire as the bad guy, Hollywood made some great flicks

(Newser) - Maybe the reason Betsy Sharkey is feeling nostalgic about Cold War flicks is that the era offered a clear, if flawed, idea that we were the good guys. Regardless, it made for some good movies. The Los Angeles Times critic's faves, by "capricious category":

Aliens: With "subtexts rich

...

Fox Sitting Pretty With Avatar—Even if It Flops

Nov 9, 2009 11:47 AM CST

Fox Sitting Pretty With Avatar—Even if It Flops

Studio—and Cameron—hedged bets on $500M megapicture

(Newser) - James Cameron’s 3D game-changer Avatar may end up costing upwards of $500 million to produce and market, but, strangely, no one at the studio is losing sleep over the possibility of a flop. The business just isn’t the same as it used to be, when the collapse of...

Christmas
Comes
Early

box office roundup

Nov 8, 2009 1:38 PM CST

Christmas Comes Early

'Precious' shatters record for per-location average

(Newser) - The stop-motion version of A Christmas Carol topped the weekend box office, opening with a $31 million haul. The figure is a slight disappointment, on the low end of the projected range for the family-friendly flick, reports Variety . The Michael Jackson documentary This is It lost 40% off last week's...