THE BOX OFFICE MOVIE

SPIDERMAN 4

2010-10-23T22:08:00.000-07:00

SPIDERMAN 4

SEXIEST HOLLYWOOD ACCTRESS

2010-09-23T09:59:00.000-07:00

Angelina Jolie	Hayden Panettiere	Jessica Alba
Keira Knightley	Megan Fox

From the classic old days of legendary actress Audrey Hepburn to the present days of American sweetheart Megan Fox, Hollywood has always been the desired destination for beautiful aspiring actresses and models from across the world. Thanks to these beautiful Hollywood women over the year’s beauty, fashion and grace have become an integral part of Hollywood tradition.

Just like in the past present day Hollywood is filled with beautiful young women who are lighting up the silver screen, perfectly blending their terrific acting skills with their gorgeous looks and well-toned sensuous figures. Hollywood actresses today are way passionate about their craft and are blazing their own trails on the red carpet. These Charming beauties are doing their best on and off the screen to keep the Hollywood tradition alive. Hollywood actresses today are not only earning mind blowing salaries but also winning multiple awards and critical applause from the critics.

Here we bring you the best of the top creamy layer of Hollywood actresses whose admirable beauty, grace and fashion have made turned them into the most lovable stars on the planet.

Megan Fox who started dancing and acting at the age of five, first got noticed for her scintillating performance in the teen blockbuster movie, 'Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen'. Megan later gained worldwide recognition for her electrifying performance in one of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters 'Transformers' and it sequel 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'. She went on to earn critical acclaim for her sizzling performance in 'Jennifer’s Body'. Megan has a slew of big blockbuster movies like 'Jonah Hex', 'Passion Plays' and 'The Crossing' lined up, raising high expectations amongst millions of her fans across the world. This famed Hollywood actress has also graced several leading magazine covers such as FHM, Maxim and GoreZone. From the past couple of years Megan has found herself on the top of almost all the major magazine polls and rankings winning titles like the ‘sexiest woman alive’, most desirable woman and the hottest woman alive’.

Jessica Alba the top Hollywood actress is considered by many moviegoers as the sexiest woman in the world. Jessica Alba’s greatest asset is her hot sensuous figure, beauty, grace, disarming smile and her wonderful acting skills; which have all made her one of the most desirable actresses in Hollywood. Beginning with 'Camp Nowhere', Jessica Alba quickly rose to fame in Hollywood with a string of scintillating performances. This dewy-skinned bright-eyed actress is currently one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood. Jessica has six major projects lined up that are sure to consolidate her fame as a leading actress in Hollywood.

Nikki Reed became famous when her first movie 'Thirteen' received glowing reviews for her performance as a troubled rebellious teenager. Nikki played the role to perfection portraying her real-life experiences brilliantly on the celluloid. Nikki Reed besides starring in the film also co-wrote the script for 'Thirteen'. Following the success of 'Thirteen' young and hot Nikki Reed gained wider recognition as she went on to host a number of award shows. Nikki got her breakout role in the romantic-fantasy film 'Twilight'. Beautiful Nikki Reed is reprising her role in its upcoming sequels 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' and 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'. She is also playing lead roles in upcoming movies like 'Privileged' and 'K-11'. With age and talent by her side hot Nikki Reed surely has a bright future ahead of her in Hollywood.

Kristen Stewart at 19 is young and beautiful and has become quite popular for her on-screen and off-screen romance with her 'Twilight' co-star, Robert Pattinson. Kristen Stewart first gained fame with her electrifying performance in 'Panic Room' and then her role in 'Twilight' as Bella Swan in which her romance with a vampire Edward Cullen played by teen Hollywood heartthrob Robert Pattinson has created a sort of frenzy among the teenage female audiences. Kristen Stewart is reprising her role of Bella Swan in 'Twilight' sequels such as 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' and 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'. Her other upcoming movies include 'Welcome to the Rileys', 'The Runaways', and 'An American Girl'. This promising young actress is poised to become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood; and given her amazing acting skills, Kristen may even walk the red carpet at Oscars in the very near future.

Scarlett Johansson began her acting career at the age of nine. She shot to fame in Hollywood with her wonderful performance in 'Horse Whisperer. Soon after the success of 'Horse Whisperer, beautiful Scarlett Johansson bagged several plum roles in blockbuster movies like 'Match Point', 'Scoop', 'Lost in Translation' and so on. Critics hailed her eye catching performances in these movies. She has also received critical acclaim for her performances in hit movies like 'Manny & Lo', 'Girl with a Pearl Earring', 'Ghost World', and 'In Good Company' and so on. Scarlett Johansson known for her vintage-era beauty is all set to play the role of Black Widow in her upcoming movies 'Iron Man 2' and 'The Avengers'.

Amy Smart has given brilliant performances in teen movies like 'Varsity Blues' and Road Trip'. This good-looking blonde with an all out Californian looks grew up like a tomboy with dreams to become a Hollywood actress. From modeling to movies it has indeed been a smart move for this talented actress. It was her performance as Jules Harbor in 'Varsity Blues' that made the film audiences notice her acting skills while critics hailed and likened her performance to that of Katie Holmes in 'Dawson's Creek'. That set the ball rolling for this aspiring actress. Amy Smart has now become one of the most established actresses in Hollywood appearing in a string of hit movies. At 33, Amy Smart has a great future ahead of her and we expect many more amazing performances from this talented actress from Topanga, California.

Keira Knightley the beautiful English actress came into prominence with her sterling performance in 'Bend It Like Beckham'. Keira who nurtured the sole aim of becoming an actress during her childhood days has today become one of the most sought after Hollywood actresses of her generation. Her magnificent performance as Elizabeth Swann in 'Pirates Of The Caribbean' trilogy series has made Keira zoom past ahead of her colleagues landing her amongst the highest paid actresses in Hollywood. Keira later walked the red carpet as an Oscar nominee for her outstanding performance as witty, lively, conceited, yet love-struck Liz Bennett in 'Pride and Prejudice'. To sum up, Keira Knightley with her boyish charms is elegantly beautiful, a blockbuster performer, a classic act with tremendous acting skills that reminds one of the legendary actress Audrey Hepburn.

Kate Beckinsale is a born actress having inherited her acting talents from her parents, the comedic British actor Richard Beckinsale and British television star Judy Loe. Kate wowed the British theater fans and American art house film lovers with her sizzling performances in several movies. Her performance in 'Much Ado About Nothing' gave her the much needed recognition in the world of cinema. She then landed several films like 'Shooting Fish' in which she played the role of a reluctant assistant to two conmen; and a nurse torn between the love of two lieutenants in 'Pearl Harbor', and played the sexy-looking vampire in 'Underworld' trilogy series of movies. All her performances received critical acclaim. Kate Beckinsale, at 36, still has a long career ahead of her. Her charming looks, graceful demeanor and her exuberating sensuality will continue to cast a spell on the millions of moviegoers across the globe.

Christina Ricci became a cult figure in Hollywood with her sterling performance as Wednesday Addams in 'The Addams Family' and its sequel 'Addams Family Values'. Christina's success as Wednesday Addams opened the door to a wealth of movie opportunities in Hollywood spurring her to unleash her amazing acting skills to the hilt. Christina's other notable performances include 'Casper', 'The Opposite of Sex', 'Sleepy Hollow', 'Bless the Child', 'Monster', 'Cursed', and 'Speed Racer' and so on. With her magnificent performances, Christina Ricci has become a top box office draw endearing herself to a huge number of film audiences. Her upcoming movies 'Long Time Gone', 'After.Life', 'Alpha and Omega', 'The Hero of Color City' and 'Born to Be a Star' are predicted to become huge box office hits landing Christina Ricci amongst the very best in Hollywood.

Emma Roberts is no stranger to movies, arc lights and film sets. She virtually grew up around the movie sets of her aunt and Oscar winning Hollywood actress Julia Roberts. She hails from a family of actors and actresses. Emma's father Eric Roberts is an Oscar nominated Hollywood actor while her aunt Julia Roberts is a three-time Oscar nominee and one time winner. Emma Roberts, like Julia Roberts, is more than just a 'Pretty Woman' and has carved a niche of her own in Hollywood as an actress par excellence. She wowed the movie audiences with her sizzling performances in hit movies such as 'Unfabulous', 'Aquamarine' and 'Nancy Drew' for which she garnered awards nominations and honors. With her upcoming movies all lined up: '4.3.2.1', 'It's Kind of a Funny Story', 'Twelve', 'What's Wrong with Virginia' and 'Valentine's Day'; talented and cute Emma Roberts is all destined to become a superstar in Hollywood.

Amanda Seyfried has become a famous actress earning impressive credits and honors as a blockbuster performer both in television soaps and movies. Amanda Seyfried's creditable blockbuster performances in movies include 'Mean Girls', 'Mamma Mia!' and 'Jennifer's Body' to name a few. Amanda Seyfried's sex appeal lies in her girl-next-door looks, her blond hair, blue beaming eyes in perfect symmetry with her graceful looks; and her hot shapely body all of which have set millions of hearts aflutter in Hollywood. With some good upcoming movies in the pipeline, Amanda Seyfried may spring a surprise at us by walking the red carpet at Oscars in the very near future.

Emma Watson the sweet-looking actress is best known as the Harry Potter girl, Hermione Granger, who is known for her quick-wittedness and super intelligence. Riding on the popularity wave of Harry Potter series of books and movies, Emma Watson too rose to fame in the world of movies garnering awards and honors. Emma is all set to appear in two more Harry Potter movies 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows': Part I and Part II. Emma Watson with a combination of beauty, youthful energy, wit, humor and amazing acting skills is all set to become one the top-rung actresses in Hollywood.

'Yogi Bear' Trailer Delivers Weak Results Online

2010-08-03T22:40:00.002-07:00

According to the most recent WebWatch report for theatrical trailers, Yogi Bear holds a 7.67% share of opinions, which puts it behind only TRON Legacy and Machete. In the report for unreleased films, the Warner Bros. release ranks 12th with a 2.46% share of opinions and a disconcerting 542 positive opinions vs. 272 negative opinions.

Yogi Bear certainly has its work cut out for it since it's opening on December 17, the same day as TRON Legacy. The latest TRON trailer inspired great reactions online, while Yogi Bear is off to a weak start. Luckily, with theater chains expanding their 3D capabilities at a healthy pace there should be room for two major 3D releases during the same weekend. There won't be too much overlap between the two flicks, because TRON's trailer plays as dark and brooding and that may keep families with young children away.

Yogi Bear opens a week after Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader and Gulliver's Travels hits theaters on December 22. Both of those films will dilute Yogi's audience slightly, but there's always a need for family entertainment during the holiday season. It'll be a case of healthy competition.

The Other Guys

2010-08-03T22:40:00.001-07:00

Funny but forgettable

When a bomb explodes before Bruce Willis, his cheekbones are highlighted with ash. When one explodes before Will Ferrell, he collapses in a puddle sobbing, "I've got blood blisters on my hands! I call bullshit on that!" The joke isn't just that he's a wuss (he is), it's that movie violence never measures up to the human pain of the real thing. Does The Other Guys measure up to a dumb summer comedy? Sure: it's dumb and consistently funny, and the weekend high in Manhattan is 88° which means the sizable audiences who'll escape to the movie theater for some air conditioning will find The Other Guys as good and fleeting as a street corner popsicle.

In dog years (or dog days of summer years), it's been eons since big-ticket action films were pure, raw action. (Though Sylvester Stallone is out to change that with The Expendables.) Instead, in a nod to audiences who fake-gripe that, "There's, like, no way he could have survived all those bullets, man!" Hollywood's made action flicks where comedians joke through hailstorms of lead, where there's no risk that Seth Rogen might actually die and, therefore, no real thrill or flutter of tension.

Into this mock-machismo climate struts--or really, tiptoes--Will Ferrell, who's spent his career lampooning masculinity. He's either under the bar (Step Brothers, Elf) or far, far over it (Anchorman, Talladega Nights). Here, he's femme. According to sour new partner Mark Wahlberg, demoted to a desk job after accidentally capping Derek Jeter in the knee during Game 7, even the sound of Ferrell's pee is feminine. Wahlberg is half a foot shorter than Ferrell, but he makes up for the height with a glower that could kill pigeons. His career's being kneecapped by this namby pamby transfer from Forensic Accounting who drives (gasp!) a Prius, which in this world is like cruising in a Barbie bike. (Quick! Somebody warn Leonardo DiCaprio!) And now while real cops Damon Wayans Jr. and Rob Riggle, and superstar cops Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson are out cracking skulls, these two are stuck at NYPD headquarters where Ferrell whistles the theme to I Dream of Jeannie while Wahlberg plays solitaire and grumbles.

With the entrance of shyster stockbroker Steve Coogan (whose motto is "Live for Excess!") and the $32 billion lost investment he's scheming to recoup, director Adam McKay gives this undynamic duo a chance to prove their mettle. Problem is, no one else cares, not Captain Michael Keaton (having a lark) and definitely not the audience. How can we when even McKay and co-writer Chris Henchy's script would rather squander time on Ferrell's sonorous Irish singing and supremely hot wife, Eva Mendes? (It's meant to be funny that the goon treats her like garbage despite having a doctorate and a killer push up bra, but that joke wears thin fast.)

At least unlike those uppity, over-achieving women, the movie knows its place as multiplex fast food. Or does it? At the credits, McKay runs infographics on real life Ponzi schemes, as if to suggest all the earlier shenanigans were just a warm-up for some learning. And it turns out that fact still beats fiction. While Coogan's scrambling for $32 billion, McKay reminds us that Bernie Madoff swiped double that ($64.9 billion). Of course, by this moment in the running time, choppers have now exploded next to Ferrell and left him without a scratch; they're fittingly harmless in a movie that will sell you anything for a laugh.

Distributor: Columbia
Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson, Steve Coogan, Andy Buckley, Ben Schwartz and Anne Heche 
Director: Adam McKay
Screenwriters: Chris Henchy and Adam McKay
Producers: Patrick Crowley and Jimmy Miller
Genre: Action/Comedy
Rating: PG-13 for crude and sexual content, language, violence and some drug material.
Running time: 107 min
Release date: August 6, 2010

Inception Review : A Fun, Intellectual Thrill Ride! -spoilers warning

2010-08-03T22:27:00.000-07:00

A Fun, Intellectual Thrill Ride! -spoilers warning

Great movie, there were some pre-teens behind us in the theatre and they all hated it repeatedly saying how confused they were. That made me laugh as I enjoyed this fun and fast-paced romp. If you went in with no expectations and a semblance of an intellect, you probably were thrilled and still challenged to keep pace with the events. If you came in expecting a bubble-gum action pic, you got disapointed and I am glad you did, wait for the next Transformers movie. This movie required patience and thought to follow so if you hated it you probably don't posess those qualites. I thought it was an inventive and well resolved plot, Yes, the ending leaves you guessing if it too was a dream, but that's what the Director wanted to do. At least respect Nolan had a vision for his film. I find it interesting that in the final level with the partial repeated opening scene that Saito was very old. This means he lived a long time in the dream, trapped for decades and waiting for Cobb to find him. And when he was asking Cobb if he was going to kill him he was actually saying are you going to rescue me now? I find that revelation to be chilling and very effective. This one is well worth repeated viewings and I am going to be waiting for the blu-ray with great anticipation!

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

2010-07-27T07:40:00.000-07:00

Third bite's a charm

Fans feuding over Team Edward and Team Jacob can put down their fangs. After Eclipse, both fans will convert to Team David Slade. The first-time-to-the-franchise director combines his experience with violent vampires (30 Days of Night) and impassioned teen girls (Hard Candy) to create the series' most balanced and fun vam-rom-drama. Twihards will embrace it as the first installment to live up to their imaginations (which, frankly, have always been better than either the movies or Stephenie Meyer's prose) and Summit can breathe easy that the saga of Bella Swan still has momentum going into the fourth and fifth (and final) flicks.

Slade's challenge is to navigate a novel that leaps from blood to tears, from a newly made bloodsucker (Xavier Samuel) slaughtering Seattle to Bella's (Kristen Stewart) literally eternal love triangle between Robert Pattinson's clenched-jawed sparkle-vamp and Taylor Lautner's huggable werewolf. Eclipse is about extremes: it opens with a vampire attack, then cuts to Stewart and Pattinson snuggling in a meadow reading Robert Frost's "Fire and Ice," a metaphor for the choice she has to make between warm-blooded wolves and the ice-cold undead. If tweens miss the symbolism, it's repeated in every other scene. (The best is when Lautner snipes, "Let's face it, I am hotter than you.")

Eclipse has its cheesecake and eats it, too. Like New Moon, it's heavy on topless shots of barely legal Taylor Lautner, but now Pattinson grumbles, "Doesn't he own a shirt?" It's winking melodrama that lets fans smile and critics snort with glee.

Not much happens in Eclipse. In their first scene, Pattinson and Stewart have this exchange: "Marry me." "Change me." 100 Minutes later, they're still having the same conversation, but Slade doesn't let the emo inertia drag. Since his leads are still more mannequins than actors, he physicalizes their emotions: Pattinson furiously peels out of parking lots, Lautner-in wolf form, as big as a horse-charms Stewart into petting his fur.

Though the first half hour struggles to shake off the dour New Moon vibes, this is likable fluff, junk food without regret. Reluctant boyfriends have a few minutes of the wolf pack's bros-before-emos tumbling. Reluctant chaperons will be happy that all of the adults note that Bella and Edward's romance is too obsessive. Reluctant history buffs will delight in the Civil War era reenactments. (Okay, that one's a stretch.) And conservative abstinence advocates will thrill at a teen flick where the guy wants to wait for marriage. As he tells his hot-and-bothered girlfriend, he comes from a different culture of front porches and lemonades with the family. Can he be a 109-year-old virgin? Teen abstinence group True Love Waits: have I got a poster boy for you. And trust me, he makes the ladies swoon.

by Amy Nicholson

Distributor: Summit Entertainment
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ashley Greene, Peter Facinelli, Jackson Rathbone and Kellan Lutz.
Director: David Slade
Screenwriter: Melissa Rosenberg
Producers: Wyck Godfrey, Greg Mooradian and Karen Rosenfelt
Genre: Drama/Romance/Fantasy
Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and some sensuality.
Running time: 124 min
Release date: June 30, 2010

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

2010-07-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Release Date: 2010-07-14 · Running time: 108 minutes

Genres

Fantasy

Action

Adventure

Director

Jon Turteltaub

Writers

Matt Lopez

Carlo Bernard

Doug Miro

Producers

Jerry Bruckheimer

Principal Cast

Ethan Peck

Nicolas Cage

Jay Baruchel

Monica Bellucci

Alfred Molina

Teresa Palmer

Theatrical Release Date

2010-07-14

Despicable Me

2010-07-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

Despicable Me

Release Date: 2010-07-09 · Running time: 95 minutes

Genres

Animated (CGI)

Family

Director

Chris Renaud

Pierre Coffin

Writers

Cinco Paul

Ken Dario

Producers

John Cohen

Janet Healy

Christopher Meledandri

Principal Cast

Mindy Kaling

Kristen Wiig

Miranda Cosgrove

Ken Jeong

Will Arnett

Danny McBride

Julie Andrews

Russell Brand

Steve Carell

Jason Segel

Theatrical Release Date

2010-07-09

Salt

2010-07-27T07:18:00.000-07:00

Salt

Release Date: 2010-07-23 · Running time: 100 minutes

Genres: Spy
Director: Phillip Noyce
Writers: Brian Helgeland; Kurt Wimmer
Producers: Lorenzo di Bonaventura; Sunil Perkash
Principal Cast: Corey Stoll; Yara Shahidi; Gaius Charles; Victor Slezak; Daniel Olbrychski; Cassidy Hinkle; Angelina Jolie; Liev Schreiber; Chiwetel Ejiofor; Zoe Lister Jones
Theatrical Release Date: 2010-07-23

Ramona and Beezus

2010-07-27T06:57:00.000-07:00

Harnessing the power of pop for a more decent, warm-fuzzier world.

Ramona and Beezus is based on Beverly Cleary's Ramona series of children's books, and while it isn't the only adaptation to give flesh (or ink) to Cleary's indomitable misfit, it's the most accessible retelling to date. Set in Portland, Oregon and swimming in the post-prairie-meets-hipster regional aesthetic, Elizabeth Allen's vision of Ramona makes up for its flaws with a perfect cast and a timeless set of values. In this world, sincerity is decency. The Quimbys aren't the comically dysfunctional family of sitcoms or the tenuously held together family of divorce dramas. They're as ideal as imperfect, and struggling in an economic climate that has a bottomless reservoir for hardship. The Quimbys (four females, one male) may be a bit femme-power-y, which could dissuade the boy demographic, but it's safe viewing for all families and it doesn't degrade itself by leaning on the blandly uncontroversial. While the film can't possibly do poorly it will still deserve higher numbers than it'll get, even with past generation book fans dragging their kids to theaters. DVD afterlife should be tidy.

Ramona Quimby (a supremely charming Joey King) is a plucky and imaginative kid whose big ideas typically get her into a heap of mess. Her imagination is so oversized, in fact, that is seeps out of her and transforms fitted sheets into parachutes and her room into the night sky awash with stars and astronauts. Her older sister, Beatrice, a.k.a. Beezus (Selena Gomez), knows better how to work in the real-world systems that surround her and has both popularity and authority to show for it. While their mother (Bridget Moynahan) stays home caring for their baby sister, father Robert (John Corbett) sublimates his artistic tendencies to hold down a sturdy job as a paper-pusher-it's a sturdy job until he's let go right in the middle of their house renovation. Frightened that the bank will (literally) drive off with her family's home, Ramona embarks on a handful of earning schemes that demonstrate her impractical cleverness and unfortunately cost the family money. Meanwhile, her Aunt Bea (Ginnifer Goodwin) is softly lured by her high school sweetheart (Josh Duhamel), an adventurer of unclear distinction who's home for a few weeks. As the bank threatens to get between the Quimbys and their home, and Aunt Bea's budding romance threatens to get between Ramona and her aunt, Ramona's excursions into her imagination grow fewer and further between (which smartly designates them as healthy) and she's forced to lean on her sister, who has her own problems to contend with. In the end of the day, it's not Ramona's penchant for daydreaming or even her cheer, which she works to preserve through her many failures, it's the bonds of family that keep the Quimbys afloat, whatever inventions Ramona thinks the tide can send.

It's fascinating to consider Cleary's Ramona is nearly five decades old, particularly as this incarnation of her poses the 9 year old as a manic pixie dream girl in the making. Ramona's ingenious to a fault and her awkwardness is a mark of her authenticity; without making a case of it, the film pits polished girls against Ramona's lack of polish (implication being polish requires no imagination). A scene in which Ramona botches an audition to play a princess in a commercial puts this contrast before the audience even as Ramona herself is never particularly obsessed with the other girls...or their superior bling. What results, besides a sort of sustainable, down-home attitude towards family, is a view of girl identity that favors the innocent wonk to the worldly (and therefore wounded) prize child. The prize child is not the villain here; she's just a nag whose admissions defend a brand of order that Ramona and the Quimbys gently oppose. This opposition goes a long (if sweet) way toward defining the family as an affectionately flawed entity, one whose cracks prove its longevity and strength. In this vision of Ramona, sincerity is decency and no mores, politics or creeds define those bounds. Screw irony, it's a temp trend anyway.

by Sara Maria Vizcarrondo

Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Cast: Joey King, Selena Gomez, John Corbett, Bridgette Moynahan, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Duhamel and Sandra Oh.
Director: Elizabeth Allen
Screenwriters: Laurie Craig and Nick Pustay
Producers: Denise Di Novi and Brad Van Arragon
Genre: Family Comedy
Rating: G
Running time: 104 min.
Release date: July 23, 2010

Toy Story 3

2010-07-27T06:55:00.000-07:00

Toy Story 3

Release Date: 2010-06-18 · Running time: 86 minutes

Genres: Animated (CGI)
Director: Lee Unkrich
Writers: Michael Arndt
Producers: Darla K. Anderson
Principal Cast: Timothy Dalton; Tom Hanks; Michael Keaton; Whoopi Goldberg; Joan Cusack; Tim Allen; Bonnie Hunt
Theatrical Release Date: 2010-0

Farewell (L'affaire Farewell )

2010-07-27T06:50:00.000-07:00

An elegant story about the slow crumbing of the Iron Curtain

French director Christian Carion's follow-up to 2005's well-received Joyeux Noel is a decided step up in genre and ambition that confirms his strong command of material, even if it's not quite as devastatingly relevant as it wants to be. Based on Serguei Kostine's true-life tale of a KGB operative turned-double-agent during the waning days of the Cold War, there's no question that Bonjour Farewell possesses strong crossover appeal for political thriller fans not usually lured by foreign-language fare; the problem for micro-distributor NeoClassics will be converting that appeal into theatrical release dollars with sparse marketing resources. Final box office tally will depend entirely on how many screens NeoClassics is able to wrangle, and for how long.

The story begins in the early 1980s when the aggressive anti-Communist posture of American President Ronald Reagan (Fred Ward) is beginning to open fissures in the once formidable Soviet empire. One such fissure is a KGB Colonel, Sergei Gregoriev (Bosnian director Emir Kusturica), an unlikely traitor who simply sees the writing on the Iron Curtain. Motivated not by money or power but by a desire to see his son enjoy a better life than his own, the cool and collected Gregoriev begins passing documents and information to French intelligence via another unlikely spy, converted functionary and chronic neurotic Pierre Froment (actor/director Guillaume Canet). How their relationship evolves amid higher and higher geopolitical stakes puts a powerfully personal face on events, which even at the time were almost ritualistically depersonalized by their rapidity and unprecedented historical magnitude.

It's hard to watch Farewell without thinking of such '70s classics as All the Presidents Men and Network, mature dramas that Hollywood has since all but abandoned (with intermittent exceptions like The Insider). Boasting top tier Hollywood-style production values and thoughtful, character-driven writing, it's a picture custom-built for older, more discriminating audiences for whom the picture will also likely resurrect memories of the era. At the same time, Carion stays true to his French sensibilities, spending welcome time on the evolution of Froment and Gregoriev's peculiar relationship as well as considering how the affair impacts each of them in their private lives. Opportunities for Hollywood-style pandering (chase scenes, shootouts, etc.) are intentionally missed without so much as compromising a single, suspenseful beat.

Unfortunately, the film's slavishness to history, which is normally a strength in pictures of this sort, too often handicaps the power of the drama, detouring an otherwise intimate story at crucial moments in order to make a broader point about the magnitude of the events in question. While Ward's impersonation of Reagan never quite rings true, the mere fact that Reagan and French President François Mitterrand (Philippe Magnan) even figure in the story feels a bit too overly ambitious. That's not to say that Carion's intentions aren't well-placed, he means for the story to have both an emotional and an intellectual impact, and tries mightily to have it both ways. Such misgivings, however, are a minor blot on an otherwise very impressive effort.

In addition to the sterling efforts of Canet and Kusturica, both exceptional filmmakers in their own rights, the film benefits from a variety of fine supporting turns from an excellent international cast: David Soul, Willem Dafoe, Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Diane Kruger and Benno Fürmann, to name only a few. Superlative cinematography from Walther van den Ende and another memorable Clint Mansell score cap the effort off with impressive aplomb.

by Wade Major
Distributor: NeoClassics Films
Cast: Guillaume Canet, Emir Kusturica, Alexandra Maria Lara, Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Diane Kruger, Willem Dafoe, Fred Ward and David Soul
Director: Christian Carion
Screenwriter: Christian Carion and Eric Raynaud
Producers: Philippe Boeffard, Bertrand Faivre and Christophe Rossignon
Genre: Drama
Rating: Not rated
Running time: 113 min.
Release date: July 23 NY/LA, July 30 DC/CHI/SF, August 6 Exp

Countdown to Zero

2010-07-27T06:49:00.000-07:00

The most chilling film of the year has no vampires, zombies, or serial killers. It contains no thrills at all, just archival footage, news reports, graphics and a lot of policy wonks, politicians and scientists offering commentary. It's what they're talking about that'll turn your blood cold: nuclear annihilation and just how casually it could happen. Countdown to Zero is likely to score only minor returns at the box office, but it should strike a bull's-eye with its target audience of political junkies, some of whom may be in a position to help effect the change the documentary demands.
President John F. Kennedy gave a speech to the United Nations in 1961 in which he chillingly observed, "Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles." Countdown to Zero demonstrates exactly what he meant in a history lesson that begins with the splitting of the atom and expands to include the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the arms race, terrorism in a nuclear age and more. The doc covers near-misses and other almost catastrophes and offers scenarios over what could happen if a bomb were to fall into the wrong hands or a computer system fail. Security is another big issue in a world where a Pakistani physicist, Dr. A.Q. Khan, approached nuclear technology as a retail enterprise and where safeguards in the former Soviet republics are so lax that stealing the enriched uranium necessary to make a bomb is almost simpler than shoplifting from a 7-11.

Director Lucy Walker has amassed an impressive list of talking heads for her project including President Jimmy Carter, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, recent Brit Prime Minister Tony Blair, Pakistani ex-President Pervez Musharraf, Carter's National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and assorted CIA analysts (including Valerie Plame), scientists (including Robert Oppenheimer in archival footage) and other experts. There are charts and aerial maps showing what the blast patterns would be in the major cities of the world. Footage of terrorist attacks from around the world along with security tapes from the New York subway underline exactly how vulnerable the world is.

Some points are driven home over and over again and that repetition robs the doc of a bit of its power, but overall Countdown to Zero is effective and frightening. It is not a film without hope, as this is very much an advocacy film that suggests how the nuclear threat could be eliminated, but in making its argument, it emphasizes the worst case scenario, an almost lyrical imagining that has the force of a brutal punch to the gut.

by Pam Grady

Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Director: Lucy Walker
Producer: Lawrence Bender
Genre: Documentary
Rating: PG for thematic material, images of destruction and incidental smoking.
Running time: 90 min
Release Date: July 23 NY, July 30 LA

Spoken Word

2010-07-27T06:46:00.000-07:00

It takes the Mexican-American melodrama Spoken Word a long time to express myriad sentiments that we've heard uttered many times before in many ethnic settings. Being centered on a Latino wordsmith-cum-performance artist doesn't really enliven the earnest effort. The performances of Kuno Becker as the aforementioned prodigal poet and Rubén Blades as his dying father ultimately help it avoid triteness and tedium. Not surprisingly, the Victor Nunez-helmed piece will elicit the warmest reactions in Hispanic markets, but it's proof that a knack for spinning verse is no guarantee of street cred in any culture.

Cruz Montoya (Becker) shoulders a number of burdens. He's a bi-polar recovering drug addict and alcohol abuser. He lost his mother at a young age and, more recently, a close friend shot himself in Cruz's living room. The latter incident apparently launched Cruz on his career as an urban poet. We meet the handsome twentysomething, now clean and sober, living with his painter girlfriend (Persia White) in the Bay Area. When not slamming down verbiage in West Coast cafes, he and a poet friend teach kids from Oakland's inner-city how to express themselves.

One November day Cruz gets word that his father has pancreatic cancer. After a three-year absence, he returns home to Santa Fe, New Mexico where neither Cruz Senior (Blades) nor his yuppified younger brother (Antonio Elias) is very happy to see him. The only two people that are genuinely excited are his childhood pal-turned-junky, George (Maurice Compte), and his former boss, nightclub owner and shady businessman, Emilio (Miguel Sandoval in oily, villainous mode).

Emilio wants Cruzito to once again manage a downtown hip-hop club, the scene of his former drugging and drinking. Since he's decided to stick around for the holidays to care for and mend fences with his father, he agrees--against his better judgment. Things get worse before they get better, but all's well eventually, in spite and because of the Grim Reaper's inevitable yuletide appearance. The enmity between father and son, and brother and brother, evaporates thanks in part to the bonding properties of a Chevy Impala that Senior, a retired teacher and amateur painter, has always prized.

Based on the experiences of Sante Fe poet and performance artist Joe Ray Sandoval, Spoken Word's primary flaw is that it takes its own sweet time. (Hence the snoring of the fellow seated next to me in one of Gotham's smaller screening rooms.) It plays ponderous, although Nunez (Ulee's Gold) is able to squeeze quite a bit of feeling out of the emotional climax, with Blades delivering understated authenticity and Becker wisely taking his cue from his elder castmate.

These quiet moments of touching family interaction are set up by a vision of machismo that exists despite the artistic tendencies of the males involved. It should be noted that the two female characters are strictly Madonna figures, nurturing and gently nudging their wounded men no matter how much guff or neglect they get in return. Having its Latino bona fides in tact and including a sprinkling of Spanish-language expressions doesn't prevent Spoken Word from feeling bland. Canned lines such as "Don't shut me out," uttered before Cruz even has a chance to absorb news of his father's illness, don't help.

The movie's defenders can point to lensing that nicely juxtaposes Georgia O'Keefe reminiscent backdrops with images of a lower-middle class Hispanic community tattered by drugs and crime. Less convincingly, they may cite the novelty of Cruz's literary vocation and the passages in which he recites his poetry in voice over, accompanied by relatively abstract visuals. It's difficult to form a strong opinion, pro or con, about the words themselves or the spoken-poetry movement they channel. Nunez visualizes these protagonist-P.O.V. bridges with tasteful restraint, but they don't impress one way or the other.

Communication may be essential to healthy relationships, and a few choice words amongst family members may promote fast healing. Yet just as ethnic dramas can be as tame and soporific as the whitest, white-bread scenario, linguistic dexterity does not ensure a vital motion picture. Advice Cruz gives to one of his writing students gets at what's missing: he exhorts him to "go deeper; move from the general to the specific." While in many respects Spoken Word is adequately specific, it's still not very deep.

by John P. McCarthy

Distributor: Variance Films
Cast: Kuno Becker, Ruben Blades, Miguel Sandoval, Persia White, Antonio Elias and Monique Curnen
Director: Victor Nunez
Screenwriters: William T. Conway and Joe Ray Sandoval
Producers: Karen Koch and William T. Conway
Genre: Drama
Rating: Unrated
Running time: 116 min.
Release date: July 23 NY, July 30 LA

Salt

2010-07-27T06:43:00.000-07:00

After Salt, Angelina Jolie could be crowned the number one action star in the world. Period.

With Russian spy swaps suddenly in the headlines after all these years you would swear Columbia Pictures had a direct line into the White House for their marketing plan on the new action thriller Salt, but the timeliness of current events only makes this sizzling hot, explosive and nail-biting ride all the more pertinent. With Angelina Jolie on the run as a CIA agent accused of being a "sleeper spy" for the Russians we have the ingredients for a summer potboiler that Bond and Bourne together can't match for non-stop thrills. Massive financial rewards around the globe should be in store for Sony along with a no-brainer launch for a new franchise.

In a crackerjack and very lean 100 minutes (including credits), the lithe and physically dynamic Jolie burns up the screen and shows the boys how it's done. She plays Evelyn Salt, a top level CIA officer who has unexpectedly been "outed" by a defector (Daniel Olbrychski) as a sleeper spy. According to intel, sleeper spies were planted in the U.S. by the Soviets years ago as part of an elaborate plan to be executed on "Day X," the appointed time when a cell of spies is set to wake up and begin an attack on the United States. Freaked by the accusations, Salt goes on the lamb taking actions that make her look guilty. The officials are incensed and her actions cue an elaborate cat and mouse game between Salt and her once-close CIA colleague Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber); all of this occurs just as the Russian President is due to arrive in New York for a speech.

Initially concerned for the safety of her newly missing husband, Salt has a strong emotional reason for getting to the truth of the matter and stopping unknown evil forces before meeting with tragic consequences for herself, her family and her country. But of course there are twists galore and plenty of diversions set up by director Philip Noyce (Patriot Games, The Quiet American), to keep us guessing throughout about the real identity and motives of this woman.

Although the movie doesn't slow down for even a nanosecond, there is time for character and story development to make this incredible situation credible enough to keep us engaged.

Jolie is just dynamite here, reportedly performing most of her own numerous stunts (from an elaborate freeway chase on top of semis to a freewheeling swing through the White House), and she still manages to give dimension to this intriguing character; intriguing also is the fact the character was originally written for a man and converted when Jolie became interested in the project. Schreiber is perfectly cast as her devoted colleague who's slowly convinced he's been duped, while Chiwetel Ejiofor is also a welcome presence as a straight-laced CIA officer looking to bring Salt in at all costs. Olbrychski is excellent as the defector whose initial interrogation kicks off the mayhem.

Noyce, whose varied body of work ranges from the Tom Clancy thriller Patriot Games to the searing Michael Caine drama The Quiet American, is a strong director who knows how to do it all. Here, he's crafted the perfect summer blockbuster; it's exciting and full of smarts and style. Plus it's got Jolie. This thing rocks.

by Pete Hammond

Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Obrychski, Andre Braugher and Olek Krupa
Director: Philip Noyce
Screenwriter: Kurt Wimmer
Producers: Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Sunil Perkash
Genre: Action Thriller
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action.
Running time: 100 min.
Release date: July 23, 2010

Boy A (2007)

2010-07-25T00:40:00.000-07:00

just a few unusual movie stills - moviescreenshots - captures - photo gallery plus dvd covers and/or posters of:

Boy A
(2007)

Director:
John Crowley

Writers:
Jonathan Trigell (novel)
Mark O'Rowe (screenplay)

Cast:
Andrew Garfield ... Jack Burridge
Peter Mullan ... Terry
Siobhan Finneran ... Kelly
Alfie Owen ... Eric Wilson
Victoria Brazier ... Teacher
Skye Bennett ... Angela
Madeleine Rakic-Platt ... Schoolgirl
Josef Altin ... Bully
Dudley Brewis ... 2nd Bully
Leigh Symonds ... Eric's Dad
Maria Gough ... Eric's Mum
Taylor Doherty ... Philip Craig
Jeremy Swift ... Dave
Shaun Evans ... Chris
Carlene Hanson ... Waitress
Katie Lyons ... Michelle
James Young ... Zeb
Anthony Lewis ... Steve
John Catterall ... Man in Club
Tilly Vosburgh ... Shopkeeper
Philip Rowson ... Policeman (as Phil Rowson)
Luke Broughton ... Policeman
Paul-Michael Giblin ... Photographer
Helen Wilding ... Carol
Steven Pacey ... Prosecution Barrister
Jared Garfield ... Guy 1
Cyriack Stevenson ... Council Officer
Tom Cottle ... Reporter
Nathan Kershaw ... Reporter
Josh Moran ... Ticket Collector
Iris Sharple ... Woman in Train (as Iris Sharples)

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YOU CHANGED MY LIFE

2010-07-18T02:07:00.000-07:00

BOX OFFICE MOVIE POSTER : YOU CHANGED MY LIFE

TRANSFORMER 2 REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

2010-07-18T02:05:00.000-07:00

BOX OFFICE MOVIE POSTER : TRANSFORMER 2 REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

IP MAN 2

2010-07-18T02:04:00.000-07:00

BOX OFFICE MOVIE POSTER : IP MAN 2

PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER

2010-07-18T02:02:00.000-07:00

BOX OFFICE MOVIE POSTER : PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER

The KARATE KID

2010-07-18T02:00:00.000-07:00

BOX OFFICE MOVIE POSTER : The KARATE KID

IRON MAN 2

2010-07-15T07:57:00.000-07:00

Box Office Movie Poster : IRON MAN 2

AVATAR MOVIE POSTER

2010-07-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

AVATAR MOVIE POSTER

THE HURT LOCKER

2010-07-15T07:54:00.000-07:00

Box Office Movie Poster : THE HURT LOCKER

CLASH OF THE TITAN

2010-07-15T07:53:00.000-07:00

Box Office Movie Poster : CLASH OF THE TITAN