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November 13: DVD alternatives to this weekend’s multiplex offerings
11 hours ago
We know how it is: You’d like to go to the movies this weekend, but you’re gonna be busy escaping the end of the world. But you can have a multiplex-like experience at home with a collection of the right DVDs. And when someone asks you on Monday, “Hey, did you see 2012 this weekend?” you can reply, “No, I watched all the movies that Roland Emmerich was giving the middle finger to instead.” Instead Of: 2012, in which Roland Emmerich destroys Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Yellowstone Park, Washington DC, Hawaii, the Pacific Ocean, the Himalayas, China, and the careers of John Cusack and Chiwetel Ejiofor... Watch: The classic 1951 science fiction movie When Worlds Collide, about humanity’s attempts to save itself when a rogue planet is discovered on a collision course with Earth: can they build an escape spaceship in time? If you need more modern disaster scenarios, be »
- MaryAnn Johanson
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (review)
13 hours ago
It’s sorta fascinating and sorta depressing and sorta predictable to see how some are reacting to Precious: It’s racist, they say. It’s exploitive. It’s emblematic of liberal guilt. It’s pornographic. It’s hysterical, even. Now, I get it: I understand that there’s a huge difference between a story, which is its own thing, and the manner in which that story is told, which can render a story unwatchable or preposterous. And I’ve certainly been on the other side of a critical divide, from which I simply cannot fathom how everyone else, it seems, is seeing something wonderful and noteworthy in a film that looks to me like the most detestable of crap. I get it. »
- MaryAnn Johanson
Women in Trouble (review)
16 hours ago
I’m guessing that Women in Trouble is intended as an honest, authentic depiction of real women with real problems, because writer-director Sebastian Gutierrez talked to The Los Angeles Times last week about where the movie sprang from, and he said this: It’s nothing new that women don't get to do much in Hollywood. They usually get stuck playing the girlfriend, so they can be the good girlfriend or the bad girlfriend and that's the extent of it. And I don’t know any women like that, the women that I know are smart and sexy, confident and confused, just full of contradictions -- which is why they are interesting and mysterious. Apparently, in Gutierrez’s mind, expanding the range of humanity available to women on film means they can be porn stars or prostitutes, they can be neurotic and indecisive, they’re all almost certainly suvivors of physical and emotional abuse, »
- MaryAnn Johanson
trailer break: ‘Clash of the Titans’ teaser
20 hours ago
I guess this is cool and all, but why does it feel really familiar? Should I have been getting flashes of The Lord of the Rings from a story set in the ancient world? Maybe I’m just worn out from these kinds of movies. I’ll certainly see the film and I’ll probably even like it... though I’d be happier if this was more like director Louis Leterrier’s first movie, Unleashed, than like Transporter 2, which was just preposterous, or like his The Incredible Hulk, which lost its way in the end. But I’m tired of seeing the same old stuff over and over and over again. Maybe I’m just exhausted cuz it’s Friday. Anyway: Sam Worthington is Perseus here, and between Terminator Salvation and Avatar and this, I’m certain he’s the new somebody. I’m not sure which somebody yet, »
- MaryAnn Johanson
question of the day: Is ‘2012’ the end of the line for the disaster movie?
22 hours ago
Roland Emmerich destroys the whole planet in 2012 -- is there anywhere left to go after this? What’s left to be destroyed onscreen? These movies are always about one-upping the last one, but there doesn’t seem to be any one-upping left? I’m guessing that until there are cities with distinctive skylines and notable landmarks on Mars and the moons of Jupiter and Saturn -- or maybe glittering cities floating in space -- there won’t be quite the same satisfaction, for either filmmakers or audiences, in watching the entire Solar System boil away. Is 2012 the end of the line for the disaster movie? If it is, what kind of big, loud, explosive action movie will replace it? If not, what will the next big, loud, explosive disaster movie look like? (If you have a suggestion for a Qotd, feel free to email me. Responses to this Qotd sent »
- MaryAnn Johanson
Five Minutes of Heaven (review)
12 November 2009 1:51 PM, PST
After a disastrous foray into Hollywood with the tepid sci-fi potboiler The Invasion German director Oliver Hirschbiegel returns to the realms of uneasy morality he explored in his portrait of Bunker Hitler in Downfall... and this difficult, uncomfortable film, which similarly deconstructs the notion of what “evil” is, hits even closer to home for today’s mess of a culturally fractured world. Back in 1975, a teenaged Protestant hitman (Mark Davison) killed a Catholic man, because that’s what “good” Protestant men did in Northern Ireland back then, in front of the man’s 11-year-old brother. Now, today, the two men are brought together by a television show seeking a sort of Irish version of the South African truth-and-reconciliation plan: Liam Neeson (Taken) is the former hitman who has put his life, since he got out of prison for that murder, to better use; James Nesbitt (Bloody Sunday) is the grownup »
- MaryAnn Johanson
2012 (review)
12 November 2009 7:02 AM, PST
You know that bit in Independence Day, where Air Force One barely gets off the ground and away from Washington DC just as the fireball of the alien’s city-destroying megablast overtakes the plane? Roland Emmerich loves that bit with the last-second escape of the plane so much he uses it three times in 2012. It’s kind of awesome, the film’s self-involvement. This isn’t really a movie: it’s more director/FX-mad wannabe supervillain Roland Emmerich calling out every other disaster film that has ever come before... including his own. Aliens blowing up the Empire State Builder? What piker came up with that? Big-ass cruise ship hitting an iceberg and sinking in the North Atlantic? Bah! Try topping this: The whole damn planet has struck the metaphoric iceberg and is going down by the head. And there is no Jack Dawson to save you. Well, there is John Cusack, »
- MaryAnn Johanson
question of the day: Is chimp-attack victim Charla Nash being exploited by Oprah and other news organizations?
12 November 2009 6:33 AM, PST
Charla Nash, the woman who earlier this year was mauled by a chimp and lost most of her face in the attack appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show yesterday to talk with Oprah -- as much as her devastated face will allow her to talk -- and to reveal the extent of her injuries. Perhaps needless to say, every other news and entertainment organization is now all over this. ABC News was somewhat circumspect about it, offering an edited clip that includes images of Nash only while she’s wearing a veil over her face. But E! Online posted clips that included Nash’s unveiled face. »
- MaryAnn Johanson
U.K. box office: ‘A Christmas Carol’ not so jolly
11 November 2009 9:50 PM, PST
Oh boy: The latest theme-park attraction from Robert Zemeckis opened even worse in the U.K. than it did in North America. We could have expected a debut of around £3 million, given the $30 million figure for the U.S. and Canada, but less than £2 million is pretty bad. And what’s that second-week drop for This Is It? So much for sure things. After a fantastic second weekend over which it jumped 2 percent, Fantastic Mr. Fox dropped out of the top 5 this past weekend, dropping 49 percent to land at No. 6. Still, it’s taken in almost £7 million in its three weeks, which sets the performance bar high: no Wes Anderson movie has grossed anywhere near $70 million over the entire course of its North American run, which would be a comparable take. Can this one do that well? We’ll start seeing this weekend. »
- MaryAnn Johanson
giveaway: ‘Broken Embraces’ poster
11 November 2009 8:13 PM, PST
Rules: You’re eligible to win if 1) You have not won anything from me in 2009; 2) You have a U.S. mailing address; 3) You enter once and only once. Broken Embraces -- the new film from Pedro Almodovar and starring Penelope Cruz -- opens in New York on November 20, and in Los Angeles on December 11. To celebrate, I’ve got two posters from the film to give away, courtesy of Sony Classics. Enter by using this link to send your name and U.S. mailing address. (Visit the film’s official site.) Enter By: 11:59pm Eastern time, Tuesday, November 24. Winners are chosen at random from all eligible entries received. Note: Your email address and mailing address will be used Only for contest purposes. You will not be added to any mailing lists; you will not be spammed as a result of entering. All contest entries are discarded at the end of the contest period. »
- MaryAnn Johanson
giveaway: ‘Bright Star’ soundtrack CD
11 November 2009 8:01 PM, PST
Rules: You’re eligible to win if 1) You have not won anything from me in 2009; 2) You have a U.S. mailing address; 3) You enter once and only once. The soundtrack to the historical romance Bright Star -- featuring a score by composer Mark Bradshaw -- was released recently, and I’ve got two copies to give away, courtesy of Lakeshore Records. Enter by using this link to send your name and U.S. mailing address. (Read my review of the film.) (Read my interview with star Paul Schneider.) (Buy the CD at Amazon.) (Click here for the Bright Star love letter contest.) Enter By: 11:59pm Eastern time, Tuesday, November 24. Winners are chosen at random from all eligible entries received. Note: Your email address and mailing address will be used Only for contest purposes. You will not be added to any mailing lists; you will not be spammed as a result of entering. »
- MaryAnn Johanson
bias update: November 11
11 November 2009 7:19 PM, PST
obsession: Doctor Who (and eager for “The Waters of Mars”) boyfriend: Ben Mansfield in Primeval (where did this cutie spring from?) psyched: Up in the Air (more George Clooney? yes, please) girl crush: Emily Blunt in Young Victoria (it’s good to be the queen) dreading: The Twilight Saga: New Moon (vampires who don’t suck suck) enemy: director Robert Zemeckis for A Christmas Carol (thanks for ruining Dickens, dude) »
- MaryAnn Johanson
caption this! image from ‘The Twilight Saga: New Moon’
11 November 2009 2:10 PM, PST
Fun for Wednesdays! We look at an image from an upcoming movie or TV show and write snarky, witty, or otherwise entertaining captions for it. No prizes, it’s just for fun. Omg Omg Omg New Moon is gonna be here next week Omg Omg Omg: What’s it all about? Following Bella Swan's ill-fated 18th birthday party, Edward Cullen and his family abandon the town of Forks, Washington, in an effort to protect her from the dangers inherent in their world. As the heartbroken Bella sleepwalks through her senior year of high school, numb and alone, she discovers Edward's image comes to her whenever she puts herself in jeopardy. Her desire to be with him at any cost leads her to take greater and greater risks. With the help of her childhood friend Jacob Black, Bella refurbishes an old motorbike to carry her on her adventures. Bella's frozen heart »
- MaryAnn Johanson
watch it: “Doctor Who: Dreamland First Clip!”
11 November 2009 12:06 PM, PST
I hadn’t heard about this CGI-animated version of Doctor Who till I ran across a posting last week on TV Squad... and frankly, what I see here I like even less than the traditionally animated “The Infinite Quest.” Yea to a Doctor Who story set in the United States -- at Area 51, no less. Boo to the jerky animation and crappy dialogue. You can read about the production at the blog at the BBC’s official Doctor Who site. »
- MaryAnn Johanson
Wtf?: Twitter feed to become TV show; apocalypse edges nearer
11 November 2009 11:51 AM, PST
Supposedly, 29-year-old Justin Halpern recently moved back in with his parents, and has been tweeting the “wisdom” of his 73-year-old father at shitmydadsays. Sometimes his father says things that are mildly amusing, such as: "The baby will talk when he talks, relax. It ain't like he knows the cure for cancer and he just ain't spitting it out." Sometimes he says things that are depressing but observant: "I'm sitting in one of those Tgi Friday's places, and everyone looks like they want to shove a shotgun in their mouth." »
- MaryAnn Johanson
question of the day: Is it a spoiler to reveal that ‘The Fourth Kind’ is a total fakeout?
11 November 2009 7:28 AM, PST
And there I’ve gone and spoiled The Fourth Kind again, at least according to Cole Abaius at Film School Rejects. Yesterday, he posted a long complaint about how elitist film critics who don’t really love film but love feeling all insider-y have ruined this movie by highlighting -- sometimes in the headlines of our reviews, where those who would prefer to avoid spoilers can’t avoid them -- that the film is not, in fact, based on reality like it insists it is. He wrote, in part: »
- MaryAnn Johanson
trailer break: ‘Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans’
10 November 2009 8:27 AM, PST
Sometimes... good cops go bad. Beautiful: “What are these iguanas doing on my coffee table?” --Nicolas Cage. “There ain’t no iguanas.” --Val Kilmer. And: “Shoot him again -- his soul is still dancing.” --Nicolas Cage. I think I’ve got some entries in the year’s worst dialogue... or maybe the best, depending on the context. Werner Herzog, really? Werner Herzog is doing reboots now? Who’da thunk it? (Apparently Michael Shannon is in this, and since I just said that I’d see almost anything with him, I guess I’ll have to see this.) Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans opens in the U.S. on November 20; no U.K. release date has been announced. »
- MaryAnn Johanson
the oh-no! DVD of the week: ‘Robsessed’
10 November 2009 7:08 AM, PST
I actually feel bad for this guy. I think he had no idea what he was in for with Twilight: The exclusive, Access-All-Areas pass inside the Life of Hollywood's Hottest New Talent..... Robert Pattinson After clinching "Top Male Hottie" at the Teen Choice Awards, winning "Breakthrough Performance" and "Best Kiss" awards from MTV Movies for his smash hit Twilight, Robert Pattinson is Hollywood's Hottest Heartthrob! Or heartthROB! Robssesed is the exclusive and first-ever all-access film into the leading actor's life, available to own on DVD. Calm down, girls: You can own only the DVD, not his life. »
- MaryAnn Johanson
question of the day: Who will be back next season on ‘Mad Men’? Who should be back?
10 November 2009 6:12 AM, PST
Inspired by a post at Defamer: Who will be back next season on Mad Men? Who should be back? A somewhat spoiler-iffic wrapup on Sunday night’s season finale from Defamer: The Mad Men season finale left a real easy way to get rid of a whole bunch of cast members. So, who is going to leave this critically-acclaimed show for fame and fortune and who is here to stay? »
- MaryAnn Johanson
North American box office: ‘A Christmas Carol’ generates little holiday cheer
10 November 2009 12:01 AM, PST
“That’s opening already?” someone asked me incredulously when I mentioned A Christmas Carol, and as I explained to him: Disney knows it’ll play at least middling well through the entire holiday season, particularly with no Harry Potter movie to contend with (though it will have another Disney toon, The Princess and the Frog, as competition). And Disney will have to milk it for all it’s worth -- it cost $200 million to make; whether it’s worth that is your call -- because a $30 million opening is not great. Nine Novembers ago, Jim Carrey delivered another kiddie Christmas flick, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, to an opening of $55 million... though Robert Zemeckis’s The Polar Express didn’t do quite so well when it opened in November 2004: $23 million. Then again, as Box Office Mojo notes: »
- MaryAnn Johanson
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