Archive for December, 2007
‘Nim’s Island’ Poster And Trailer
Hollywood seems to love making these fantasy movies about little kids. They can’t be doing it for the profit, since no one ever shows up to see any of the ones without Harry Potter in the title, so I assume they’re doing it because they’re passion about it. It’s kind of like their version of community service, except I’m not really sure how it betters the community. Maybe they’d be better off sending the cast of their latest one, Nim’s Island, out on the highway to pickup litter.
|
‘There Will be Blood’
‘There Will be Blood’ is the latest in a string of 2007 films hell bent on depending on an audience’s use of their brain just as much as their eyes. Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson has taken Upton Sinclair’s 1927 novel “Oil!” and woven an interesting character piece drenched in dust and darkness.
From the start and all the way through to the end you never quite know what to think of protagonist Daniel Plainview, but every move he makes in the film’s two-and-a-half-hour runtime weighs on your mind for days after viewing.
The story begins in 1898 as Daniel Day-Lewis as Plainview is seen digging deep in the bowels of the earth for silver and gold. The dusty scratch of skin against rock and the torturous theme presented by the score performed by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood instantly tells you this isn’t going to be your average drama. The music from the outset implies a Kubrick-ian character study as Plainview could just as easily be compared to Charles Foster Kane (as he has) as he could be to Jack Torrance.
Flash forward 13 years later and Plainview is a different man. He is an oil man, and to hear him speak is to hear a man you may trust, but all the while you realize there is a beast just below the surface that isn’t only there to suck the Earth dry of its oil but to suck dry anything that would stand in his way. Plainview’s fortunes change when he is visited by a man named Paul Sunday.
Claiming to know of land rich with oil he sells the secret for a reasonable price. Plainview then descends upon the Sunday family ranch under false pretenses only to begin drilling for oil and changing the landscape of the small town known as Little Boston forever.
watch the trailer after the jump
|
|
Top Ten Hollywood’s Most Overpaid Actors
The list is compiled by comparing stars’ salaries to the gross income made
by their films.
1. Russell Crowe
2. Nicole Kidman
3. Jim Carrey
4. Will Ferrell
5. Jennifer Lopez
6. Adam Sandler
7. Cameron Diaz
8. Denzel Washington
9. Will Smith
10. Tom Cruise
Comedians Jim Carrey and Will Ferrell followed in third and fourth positions.
Apparently, Carrey is taking a huge risk on his next film ‘Yes Man’, as he’s not being paid anything upfront and will only get paid if the film makes money.
American Gangster has already made $173m worldwide; almost double the $100m it cost to create. Kidman earned second place after earning a reported $15m for her most recent film ‘The Golden Compass’, despite only making $26m in its US debut weekend, compared to the $200m it reportedly cost to make.
Angelina Jolie - who is apparently paid less than Kidman, averagely grosses $15m per film.
Jennifer Lopez was the fifth contender. According to reports, her 2003 Gigli film did not earn as much as it cost to make.
Adam Sandler, Cameron Diaz, Denzel Washington, Will Smith and Tom Cruise also featured in the list.
|
|
"Charlie Wilson’s War" Movie Review
It’s amazing to me that a film like Charlie Wilson’s War, a film about key events in the United State’s history, a film where the consequences of the events are being felt very harshly today, a film with MULTIPLE Oscar winners like Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman can get so little attention when coming into the theaters. Don’t get me wrong, Charlie Wilson’s War hasn’t been invisible, but you’d expect a hell of a lot better marketing campaign then what it got.
Tom Hanks is one of those very few actors that forces you to assume whatever movie he will be appearing in will automatically be quality stuff. His role selection over the years has been insanely good and as a result, his reputation, awards shelf and ultimately his legacy as one of the all time great Hollywood leading men continues to grow. Does Charlie Wilson’s War help or hurt that reputation or legacy? IT HELPS!
|
|
“Coraline” Movie Clip
The story of a young girl who unlocks a mysterious door in her new home, and enters into an adventure in a parallel reality. On the surface, this other world eerily mimics her own life–though much more fantastical.
In it, Coraline encounters such off-kilter inhabitants as the morbidly funny Miss Forcible and Miss Spink, and a counterfeit mother–who attempts to keep her. Ultimately, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness, determination, and bravery to get back home.
STARRING The Voices of: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Ian McShane
DIRECTORS: Henry Selick and Mike Cachuela
STUDIO: Focus Features
Watch “Coraline” movie clip after jump Read the rest of this entry
|
|
Del Toro Direct ‘The Hobbit’?
On Thursday ‘Variety’ seemed to insinuate that Sam Raimi was the frontrunner to direct ‘The Hobbit’ films, but a new interview at Entertainment Weekly seems to suggest that Guillermo del Toro may not exactly be out of the running.
When asked about the feature Del Toro responded, “You know, I think I’ve been abroad too long. I’ve heard some rumblings, but nothing official. I don’t want to think about it because it’s such an eventuality. It’s the only Tolkien book I read. I tried my best to read ‘Lord of the Rings’, the trilogy. I could not. I could not. They were very dense. And then one day, I bought ‘The Hobbit’. I read it and I loved it. So it would be a privilege. But listen, I wish I knew. At this stage, after ‘Hellboy’, I’m unemployed.”
However, as for his comments, the one thing that sticks out is when he says ‘because it’s such an eventuality.’ This leads us to believe that he knows a little more than he is leading on.
|
|
`National Treasure 2` #1 Movie This Weekend / Movie Box Office
The next eleven days - the last eleven days of 2007 - produce in movie theaters some of the best choices for you to actually sit back, relax, and ENJOY the show you’ll be paying record amounts of money to see.
Among the best: “Sweeney Todd,” “Charlie Wilson’s War,” “The Orphanage,” “Walk Hard,” “The Bucket List,” “The Water Horse,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Persepolis” and “The Honeydripper.” The one new movie that all will go to, yet should avoid, at least until its DVD release, “National Treasure 2,” may become the second highest December opening ever, after last week’s “I Am Legend.”
New movies to avoid, as much as you would sitting in The Demon Barber’s chair, “PS I Love You,” “The Great Debaters” and “Steep.” For something in between, especially if you’re in for a sci-fi scare, run to “AVP2″ and laugh while you scream, (but mostly laugh), at the inane screenplay. Read the rest of this entry
|
|
