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'Christmas Carol' Takes Top Spot While 'The Box' Barely Makes Top Five at Friday Box-Office

Brad Brevet — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:33:14 +0000

Nikki Finke delivers the top six at this weekend's Friday box-office and I don't think there is any big surprises here. As a matter of fact, I will be more interested in seeing how films such as The Men Who Stare at Goats, The Fourth Kind and The Box do in their second weekends. But [...]

Pfriday's Poster Puzzles: November 6, 2009

Brad Brevet — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:42:16 +0000

The rules for this one are simple. I have washed away all the credit details from the poster snippet above leaving only the cast names. Your job is to guess the title of the movie. Be sure to spell correctly, misspelled titles are wrong answers. [poster_form] GIVE UP? CLICK HERE

This Weekend at the Movies: November 6, 2009

Brad Brevet — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:32:42 +0000

It's hard to figure Hollywood out sometimes. Last week we had nothing outside of the last minute addition, Wednesday release of the Michael Jackson doc This is It and then this week is packed, albeit with a lot of smaller stuff and a pair of thrillers, but any weekend where I am posting five reviews [...]

Movie Review: The Box (2009)

Brad Brevet — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:32:09 +0000

Photo: Warner Bros. How much do you know about French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, his play "No Exit" and his ideas of free will? Well, you may want to bone up a bit if you want to have a leg up on your friends before going into Richard Kelly's The Box. This is hardly an accessible [...]

Movie Review: Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (2009)

Brad Brevet — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:25:17 +0000

Gabourey Sidibe in Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire Photo: Lionsgate For almost 90-percent of it's runtime Precious is so bleak and downright desperate you wouldn't need to explain yourself if you told me you didn't want to see it. However, should you go against what your instincts are telling you, you will end up [...]

Movie Review: The Fourth Kind (2009)

Brad Brevet — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:18:36 +0000

Milla Jovovich in The Fourth Kind Photo: Universal Pictures Perhaps I am over-reacting, but the "this is real" approach to Universal's alien abduction thriller The Fourth Kind grates on me something fierce. I have no problem with filmmakers saying something is "based on" or "inspired by" true events, but to have your lead actress walk out at [...]

Movie Review: A Christmas Carol (2009)

Brad Brevet — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:15:35 +0000

Jim Carrey as Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol Photo: Walt Disney Pictures One thing's for certain with Robert Zemeckis's latest attempt at motion-capture CGI animation, kids need not apply. I have had conversations with fellow critics and the conclusion I've come to concerning children and Disney's A Christmas Carol is that while some elements may indeed [...]

Movie Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)

Brad Brevet — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:11:17 +0000

George Clooney in The Men Who Stare at Goats Photo: Overture Films If you've seen the trailer you've seen the movie. In fact, choose any scene from the trailer, extend it, duplicate it and give it no real reason to exist and you have The Men Who Stare at Goats, a film that's got plenty of laughs [...]

Timberlake, Aykroyd and Faris Set to Voice 'Yogi Bear'

Brad Brevet — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:10:35 +0000

For some reason I get these crazy thoughts in my head that some of these needless movies will just get announced in the trades and will ultimately be forgotten. Sometimes that's the case and other times… well, not so much, and not so much is the case today as Entertainment Weekly reports the animated feature [...]

A 'Complicated' New Poster and Trailer with Streep and Baldwin

Brad Brevet — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:59:06 +0000

Photo: Entertainment Weekly / Universal Pictures Universal has just debuted a new trailer and poster for the Meryl Streep and 2010 Oscar co-hosts Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin romantic comedy It's Complicated from writer/director Nancy Meyers. The film is described as a comedy about love, divorce and everything in between. Jane (Streep) is the mother of three [...]

Box-Office Oracle: Nov. 6 – Nov. 8, 2009

Laremy Legel — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:29:22 +0000

#1 movie predicted correctly: 1 Week in a Row 1. A Christmas Carol First off, an apology that I wasn't here to take my beating after This is It failed so spectacularly (at least domestically). I was doing a bit of traveling and so Brad had to fill in. I'll try not to let it happen again! Now [...]

Has 'Prince of Persia' Nailed What It Means to be a Video Game Adaptation?

Brad Brevet — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:19:29 +0000

Jake Gyllenhaal puts on his sexy face in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Photo: Walt Disney Pictures I'm not much of a gamer, and that may in fact be an understatement considering in the last few years the only games I have played and finished are "Gears of War," "Burnout," "Uncharted," "Call of Duty: Modern [...]

Promo Trailer for Winterbottom's 'The Killer Inside Me'

Brad Brevet — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:18:56 +0000

Thanks to The Playlist we have been made aware of a promotional trailer for Michael Winterbottom's The Killer Inside Me based on the Jim Thompson novel and starring Casey Affleck, Simon Baker, Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba, Elias Koteas, Bill Pullman and Ned Beatty. Thompson, as many of you may already know co-wrote Stanley Kubrick's killer heist [...]

New Pics and Trailer for Universal's Animated 'Despicable Me'

Brad Brevet — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:52:18 +0000

Photo: Universal Pictures Universal has debuted the second trailer for their upcoming animated feature Despicable Me featuring a voice cast made up of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, Danny McBride, Miranda Cosgrove, Jack McBrayer and Julie Andrews. The film, directed by Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin, centers on the villainous Gru and [...]

'The Tourist' Now Looks to Team Up Jolie and Depp

Brad Brevet — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:50:20 +0000

Wow, the production of The Tourist is quite the bumpy ride as recently announced director Florian von Donnersmarck and Tom Cruise replacement and Avatar star, Sam Worthington, have both left the production citing creative differences leaving Angelina Jolie all on her own… at least for a brief moment as Variety is now reporting Johnny Depp [...]

Ten Things We'd Push 'The Box's Button For

Brad Brevet — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:03:16 +0000

A cool ass box with a shiny red button! Photo: Warner Bros. The picture you see above comes from this week's upcoming release of The Box and could it be any more enticing? Look at that button unit. I mean, who doesn't want to push the plunger on that bad boy to see what will happen? Now imagine [...]

Official Trailer for Angelina Jolie's Actioner 'Salt' is Here

Brad Brevet — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:58:05 +0000

Angelina Jolie in Salt Photo: Columbia Pictures Yesterday the Russian version of the Angelina Jolie action-thriller Salt arrived online and was promptly removed, but as expected the domestic version debuted on Yahoo today for all of you to see. In the film directed by Phillip Noyce (Clear and Present Danger, Dead Calm) Jolie plays CIA officer, Evelyn Salt [...]

Is 'The Fourth Kind' Real or Another 'Blair Witch' Fake Out?

Brad Brevet — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:41:06 +0000

Milla Jovovich in The Fourth Kind Photo: Universal Pictures I saw The Fourth Kind last night and while I'm not allowed to review it until this coming Friday, I did want to talk about it a little bit beforehand and share with you what little information I know. I hadn't watched a trailer before going into the film [...]

Latest MPAA Ratings: BULLETIN NO: 2094

Brad Brevet — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:39:52 +0000

Here are the new MPAA ratings from BULLETIN NO: 2094. $5 A Day Rated PG-13 For sexual content, brief nudity and language. Bad Lieutenant Port Of Call New Orleans Rated R For drug use and language throughout, some violence and sexuality. Release Date: November 20, 2009 City Of Life And Death Rated R For wartime violence and atrocities including sexual assault, and [...]

Poster for 'Green Zone' Stares Back At You

Brad Brevet — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:20:54 +0000

Empire has scored the poster for Universal's Green Zone starring Matt Damon and directed by Paul Greengrass. The film is due in theaters on March 12, 2010 and is set set in the early days of the Iraqi War when no one could be trusted and every decision could detonate unforeseen consequences. Damon leads a team [...]

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin Set to Co-Host the Oscars

Brad Brevet — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:49:50 +0000

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin After a report from Nikki Finke earlier this morning saying Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. declined the duty of co-hosting the 2010 Oscars, the Academy made an official announcement this afternoon that It’s Complicated co-stars Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin have agreed to host the show. Oscar telecast producers Bill Mechanic [...]

Russian Trailer for Jolie's Action Thriller 'Salt'

Brad Brevet — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:13:42 +0000

UPDATE: The Russian trailer was removed, but the official trailer is available now RIGHT HERE. The arrival of this Russian trailer for Angelina Jolie's Salt directed by Phillip Noyce tells me we should expect a high definition domestic version very shortly as Trailer Addict is the first with the video. In the film, that was once set [...]

20 New Looks at 'The Road' In All Its Hopeless Glory

Brad Brevet — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:11:28 +0000

I feel like I have already reviewed The Road after my brief comments in my post featuring the second trailer and the comments afterwards. Now that I have added 20 more images I would say anyone that has already read the book can pretty much piece together the entire film using what you already know and [...]

This Week On DVD and Blu-ray: November 3, 2009

Brad Brevet — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:53:15 +0000

DVD LINKS: DVD NEWS | RELEASE DATES | NEW DVDS | REVIEWS | RSS FEED Before we get into this week's releases I thought I would alert you to an upcoming 50% off Criterion Collection titles at Barnes and Nobles beginning on November 10 and running for two weeks. The full details, and a $5 off [...]

Blu-ray Review: North by Northwest (50th Anniversary Edition)

Brad Brevet — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:50:09 +0000

There was talk earlier this year that it wasn't in the studios' best interest to continue to release classic films on DVD/Blu-ray as the demand for them was dwindling and the cost of restoration was climbing. The article in question even quotes Warner Home Video senior vice president George Feltenstein saying "most of the studios [...]

Blu-ray Review: Wings of Desire (Criterion Collection)

Brad Brevet — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:42:00 +0000

Wim Wenders's Wings of Desire is able to capture your attention despite its sparing plot for the main reason you know its about something even if that something takes its sweet time in fully revealing itself. The film follows two guardian angels, Damiel (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander), as they watch over humanity from [...]

Blu-ray Review: Howards End (Criterion Collection)

Brad Brevet — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:30:58 +0000

My experience with Merchant/Ivory Productions is limited to say the least as Howards End now marks the second film of theirs I have seen, with A Room With a View being the other. While elegantly made, A Room With a View didn't move me that much, but I can say Howards End did a lot [...]

Trailer for 'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'

Brad Brevet — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:05:08 +0000

The trailer for Disney's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, a film based on the video game, has debuted online. The story is set in medieval Persia, Earth's mightiest and most mysterious kingdom, where a king and his son defeat the powerful Maharajah and kidnap his daughter, looting his palace of priceless treasure, including [...]

Cast for 'Let the Right One In' Remake Fills Out

Brad Brevet — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:24:45 +0000

Overture and Hammer Films have officially announced the cast of Let Me In the English-language remake of Tomas Alfredson's 2008 Swedish-language hit Let the Right One In based on the best-selling novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist. Directed by Cloverfield helmer Matt Reeves, the adaptation centers on Owen, an alienated 12-year-old boy played by Kodi Smit-McPhee [...]

How Far is Too Far When Characterizing a Film's Intended or Actual Audience?

Brad Brevet — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:50:29 +0000

Have you ever watched a movie and hated it so much you can't imagine anyone in their right mind actually enjoying it? I'm not talking about the films we all know cater to a tightly knit audience of fans, I'm talking about those films where you simply say to yourself, Nope, that film was so [...]