Weekly Trailer Updates 10/27/2010

This week's trailer updates...

I Love You Phillip Morris

In theaters December 3rd, 2010

Ong Bak 3

In theaters December 3rd, 2010

The Rite

In theaters January 28th, 2011

The Legend of Pale Male

In theaters November 24th, 2010

Rabbit Hole

In theaters December 17th, 2010

Biutiful

In theaters December 29th, 2010

Made in Dagenham

In theaters November 19th, 2010

All Good Things

In theaters December 3rd, 2010

Four Lions

In theaters November 5th, 2010

Cars 2

In theaters June 24th, 2011

Casino Jack

In theaters December 2010

Blue Valentine

In theaters December 31st, 2010

Enjoy!!

Guest Entry: Secretariat

As you all know from time to time I like to spice it up with a few guest here and there, and today you get a treat!  Guest Blogger Radcliff Angus is giving us a wonderful review of the memorable Secretariat.

Secretariat, “…the excitement of the true sports movie like Rudy and Remember The Titans”

This is a movie I actually looked forward to seeing for a several reasons.  As a young kid that grew up outside 45 minutes away Saratoga, NY, which is famous for its horse racing, I often heard about this horse called Secretariat. I also heard many news stories of other horses that would try and fail to equal Secretariat’s historic 1973 U.S. Triple Crown win in similar dramatic fashion--only 11 horses every won the Triple Crown’s Belmont Stakes, Preakness and the Kentucky Derby races before Secretariat and none since.  I remember seeing news reels of Secretariat capturing the attention of the entire nation in the early 70s.  But, I never really knew the story behind how this horse came to be or who was responsible for bringing him to such fame.  As sports fan and sports movie fan, the story itself and how well it is told, especially from a historic perspective are what make Secretariat a very exciting and interesting movie.  All these attributes add to the excitement of the true sports movie like Rudy and Remember The Titans for example--two of the best sports movies of my generation. It is because it is about the underdog and his real life fight to overcome impossible odds. Secretariat to me is up there with this type of movie with the exception that this sports hero’s talent has not been repeated in over 30 years!  As a movie, it attains an exciting movie “Trifecta”--which in horse racing terms is the betting prowess of knowing the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place finishers of a race in that specific order.  It does a great job of telling a historic sports story without coming off as a boring documentary, establishing a great lead character who you can’t wait to see succeed at their impossible cause and finally creating a sports drama that has you cheering in your seat as if you are actually at the sporting event.

The story is not only about the unequalled talent of a young colt nick-named “Big Red” before getting its official racing name of Secretariat as a three year-old horse, but really a determined owner.  It is about her passion for horseracing and her belief in what her family values. It’s also about going against what most would call conventional wisdom in sports and finances--all of which what the sport of horse racing bets on.  Add to all these factors that this owner is a typical housewife in the late 60s where women are expected to be conservative.  The owner is Mrs. Helen Bates “Penny” Tweedy, played by Diane Lane (Unfaithful and The Perfect Storm) takes over her father’s Chenery family horse farm at a very difficult time. Her mother has passed away and her father, played by Scott Glenn (Training Day) is barely able to run the stable of horses with his ailing health. 

Lane and director Randall Wallace (Braveheart and Pearl Harbor) establish “Penny’s” character well and early as a lady-like character--but one who is not going to be anybody’s fool.  She is all about family and very much an independent thinker, just as her father taught her to be.  There are subtle instances in dialog with her father that being a housewife was not what he expected from her. There is an excellent plot twist that you do not expect when everyone is against her to continue her seemingly disastrous plans, that also shows her father’s wisdom and thoughts about is only daughter. Those against her include her brother and lawyer husband, played by Dylan Baker (Spiderman 3) and Dylan Walsh (The Stepfather, Nip Tuck) who do not want to go broke over an old and unprofitable family business.  

There are specific things you expect to learn about the sport and its business that are at first daunting, but you learn quickly.  The initial drama of how Big Red was born is essential to the film and the movie teaches how the sport creates champion horses based on creatively breeding the right “Sire” with the right “Mare” to create the perfect offspring--not to mention ironically how the sport once regarded as the “sport of kings” is turned upside down by a woman. Once the birth of “Big Red” happens, the spirit of the young colt’s life brings the good fortune the “Penny” and her family.  Even as many believe she should “cash in” on the value Big Red’s potential before it’s too late, her instincts to continue to believe in her newly famous horse make for excellent racing action.  Secretariat’s natural abilities displayed on film make you wonder how an animal can possess such amazing power and intelligence.   

The movie details Secretariat’s rise to win many races as a fast young colt, but doubt is cast when as a three year old he must now enter in longer distances to attain the Triple Crown that many do not believe he can do.   Penny believes Secretariat is a great combination of parents whom were a fast, short distance running “Sire” and a “Mare” that was great at long distances.  Secretariat proved many opponents wrong, breaking records in time and margins of victory at both distances.  A few of the specific historic details are changed for effect, such as the fact that the eccentric trainer Lucien Larin—played John Malkovich—was not Secretariat’s original trainer, but was actually Lucien’s son Roger Larin before Lucien took over.  However, these details do not take away from the film but actually help keep the pace of the film moving as you learn about “Penny’s” actions as they affect her husband and impressionable children—two of whom are young girls.  They ultimately learn the lesson “Penny’s” father taught her growing up; “Run your own race.” With a horse that always starts in last place and run’s its own race, this movie will make you feel like the owner and trainer in the stands holding your breath with anxious anticipation of the thrilling and historic inevitable. Don’t be surprised if you see the real-life “Penny” Chenery’s excitement on film!

3 and ½  stars out of 4 stars

\\\

Guest Blogger: Radcliff Angus

DVD Releases 10/26/2010

Check out this week's dvd releases: 

Sex and the City 2 (R)

Winter's Bone (R)

The Girl Who Played with Fire (R)

Enjoy!!

Friday Flicks!! 10/22/2010

Check out this week's flicks set to hit the theaters on Friday...

Paranormal Activity 2 (R): 

Paramount has ordered up some more 'Paranormal Activity' this October, a sequel to last fall's indie smash. 

Hereafter (PG-13): 

An American laborer (Matt Damon), a French journalist (Cécile de France) and a London schoolboy set out on a spiritual journey after death touches their lives in different ways.

Inhale (NR): 

After doctors diagnose a fatal lung disease in a girl, her desperate father (Dermot Mulroney) resorts to extreme measures to save her life. 

Kalamity (R): 

Billy returns to his hometown after a breakup and finds something wrong with his best friend. 

Knucklehead (PG-13): 

After incurring a huge debt with a crime lord, con man Eddie Sullivan (Mark Feuerstein) needs some quick cash.

Rising Stars (PG):

Faced with creating material for a reality show, three musical acts find more than their futures on the line when their reactions to increasing competition are caught on tape.

The Taqwacores (NR): 

A young Muslim gets into a punk-rock scene that only exists out West. 

Enjoy!

Top 10 Grossing Films of All Time

Every now and then I always like to take a look at how the cinema world has grown over time. Specifically in this post I wanted to point out some films that have shined not only on the big screen but in the pocket books! Its nothing like a film that makes some big bucks!

So for your viewing pleasure here are the Top 10 Grossing Films of All Time !

10) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix $937,00,866

9) Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End $958,404,152

8) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone $968,657,891

7) The Dark Knight $1,001,921,825

6) Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland $ 1,023,285,206

5) Toy Story 3 $1,056,431,733

4) Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest $1,060,332,628

3) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King $1,129,219,252

2) Titanic $1,835,300,000

And the MAJOR MONEYMAKER to date is...



1) Avatar $2,778,307,594

For a minute there I thought Harry Potter was going to have a complete takeover, but not before James Cameron had his way Titanic and Avatar . Either way just to be in the top 10 speaks huge volumes!!

Movies in the Oscar Buzz

Here are just few movies that have already being talked about for the 2011 Oscars...

Blue Valentine


The Social Network


Black Swan


How to Train Your Dragon


The Town


Tron


Despicable Me


Hmmm...Keep in mind some of these have not even hit theaters yet!!

Mel Gibson to make comeback in The Hangover 2

Well if Mike Tyson can do it, why not Mel Gibson...It appears the blockbuster hit The Hangover seems to be somewhat of an image rehabilitation type flick. Considering when Mike Tyson made his cameo appearance we were laughing so hard that we almost forget that he served a three year federal prison stint before starring in The Hangover.

Page Six reported Monday morning that Gibson will cameo on The Hangover 2 as a tattoo artist. (This was confirmed by MTV News later that afternoon.) This is most likely Gibson's first onscreen role since his infamous scandal involving his terrifying and graphically violent audiotaped rants against his ex-wife back in July.

Originally, "Hangover" director Todd Phillips wanted to cast fellow fallen idol Tiger Woods in the sequel, claiming, "We are going to try and get Tiger Woods for the second one ... help him regain his image." He appears to have settled on Gibson, who will supposedly play a tattoo artist that may or may not be the actual Mel Gibson. Last week, actress Sasha Barrese told E! Online that the sequel would have "the best cameo you've ever seen in your entire life," and it's clear she was talking about Gibson. The film will take place in Thailand, but Gibson, according to Page Six, will film on a soundstage in Los Angeles.

However everyone does not seem to be happy about this new addition...

Via a comedy podcast, Zach Galifianakis, The Hangover breakout star, said he had turned down several offers on moral grounds and then hinted darkly at an issue with a movie he's currently filming. Most likely he was referring to the The Hangover 2 project, saying, "I'm in a deep protest right now with a movie I'm working on, up in arms about something. But I can't get the guys to [listen]. ... I'm not making any leeway. ... It has something to do with a movie I'm working on, yeah. I'll tell you about it later. It's very frustrating." it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize, if there's an actor on earth whom someone might have moral issues about working with, it'd be Gibson.

What are your thoughts?

Batman 3 Has a New Villain

One of my anticipated films for 2011 and 2012 has begun its list of villains, and this ought to be very interesting how it turns out.

It seems as though Inception director Christopher Nolan has chosen Tom Hardy (Inception, Bronson) to play "a lead role" in the new Batman movie, presumably as one of the main villains. The fact that Hardy is so versatile, the list of villains he could potentially play is pretty lengthy – from The Riddler to Killer Croc, there are a number of large-and-in-charge bad boys this actor could take on.

Most (if not all) of the same cast will be returning (Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, and Michael Caine), but this time around Bruce Wayne will need a new love interest as well as  a new villain or two to square off against.

The third Batman installment which hasn't been given an official name yet will hit theaters on July 20th, 2012.

DVD Releases 10/19/2010

Check out this week's DVD releases:

Predators (R)

Oceans (G)

Another short list for you this week!

Singer Ne-Yo to Become Marvel Comic Book Character

Now this ought to be very interesting...Singer/Songwriter Ne-Yo is teaming up with Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee to create a storybook version of his forthcoming album “Libra Scale.”

“I’ve been a fan for years. I’m trying not to geek-out being with Stan,” he said. “It’s cool I can take this comic element of myself and blend it to the music element. I got to draw characters myself.”
Lee who has created such great characters like Spider-Man, Iron Man and The Hulk – believes the music industry can benefit by embracing comic book culture.

While at the New York comic book convention this past weekend, Lee stated: “Basically a really good rapper or really good music is super because people love it – and it inspires a man, it makes him feel great “Reading a really good comic book with super characters does the same thing. And I promised Ne-Yo that I’m gonna make him feel at home and make sure that he feels comfortable with what we’re doing, because he’s a very shy guy!

“But seriously nothing appeals to young people or even older people as much as a good story and good music, so we’re gonna put them both together.”

Ne-Yo's album “Libra Scale” hits shelves on Nov. 1.

I Just Gotta Share This...

I cannot tell you how excited I am about this movie that is set to hit theaters November 5th, 2010. What is the movie that I speak of, Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls! Everything about this movie reads powerful. And you have read the book seen the plays or both then you know exactly what I am talking about.  Well I just had to shear this message from Tyler Perry himself regarding the upcoming film. Check it out...

A Message from Tyler Perry...Something's Gotta Give

Hey there, I know I haven't written in a while, but I've been crazy busy with 154 performances since the top of the year. I filmed two movies this summer and I haven't had a break. It's all too much! Something's gotta
give here. I'm exhausted.  Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about FOR COLORED GIRLS.

We are only a little more than 3 weeks out from FOR COLORED GIRLS, which opens on November 5th.  Wow, time is flying! I wanted to talk to you for just a second about this film. There has been a lot of Internet chatter about me doing this film. I've heard everything from, "I'm glad he's doing it!", to "How dare he touch this!".  Believe me, I know that this is sensitive material and I handled it that way. If you don't believe me see for yourself on November 5th.

If you know anything about the book or play, FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF, which is what my film is based on, then you know that it is one of the most powerful literary works of this century. But, if you know it, you are also thinking like I was, "How can I make this into a movie?"

After reading the play a thousand times and listening to these poems a million times, it hit me.  There was only one way to approach it.  So what I did was, I put these characters in the situations around the poems, so that they could speak the dialogue of the book without it sounding like a poem. And I have to tell you, I wasn't sure that it could be done. But, after listening to Phylicia Rashad, Thandie Newton, Kerry Washington, Macy Gray, Kimberly Elise, Tessa Thompson, Whoopi Goldberg, Loretta Devine, Anika Noni Rose and Janet Jackson say these words it was awesomely seemless.

The stories are about eight women who live in NYC and we follow them through their lives; follow them through loving, losing, giving too much of themselves, being hurt and betrayed, but most of all, we follow each of these women as they find love for themselves.

This movie is powerful.  It is incredible.  The performances in it are astonishing, but most of all this film will leave you lifted.

I don't know if you know this either, but never in the history of a feature film has there been an ensemble of this many black women.  That alone is worth celebrating. I hope you are planning to see it on November 5th.

By the way, you don't have to be a colored girl to be able to relate to and enjoy this movie.

Click the link to view the trailers: http://tylerperry.com/fcg

See ya soon,

TP

Definitely cannot wait to see this flick! Loved the book and the play and hope to say I will love the movie! Hits theaters November 5th, 2010.

DVD Releases 10/12/2010

Check out this week's dvd releases:

How to Train your Dragon (G)

Jonah Hex (PG-13)

I am Love (R)

Short and sweet for you this week!

The Social Network

On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg sits down at his computer and heatedly begins working on a new idea. In a fury of blogging and programming, what begins in his dorm room soon becomes a global social network and a revolution in communication. A mere six years and 500 million friends later, Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history... but for this entrepreneur, success leads to both personal and legal complications. -Columbia Picures

This is a movie that is very clear cut and to the point. And please don't be confused in thinking this movie is about "Facebook", that is really a very small percentage.What can say about this film in two words or less...Awesome Script! Watching this movie takes on a whirlwind journey. One has to admire the direction of this film, because it could have easily gone into the direction of just being a movie about Facebook, instead it took a deeper perspective. The fast, rapid pace of the dialogue is definitely a highlight of the film, one could say its the glue that holds everything together.

Director David Fincher also does a great job keeping the audience captivated with a roller coaster ride of a film. There is no denying the film's opening argument between two characters pretty much is the best scene stealer of the year. A good friend of mine said it best "The Social Network is a perfectly crafted biography of how technology and money can destroy a rooted friendship"- this amongst many other messages is portrayed in this film. After watching this movie, one can't help but to think how did they make a movie about the founding of one if not the largest social networking site. Well it was a brilliant idea!You will come in with one perception and leave out with another. The film not only provides us with a great storyline, but superb cinematography, great direction, and a musical score perfectly made just for this film. As a viewer you get sucked into each scene, wondering what could possibly come next.

The fact that the film showcase a very interesting and eclectic cast of young actors speaks volumes in the fact that Fincher could have used several big names, but I think that would have taken away the charm of the film. stepping out of their comfort zones and delivering some truly phenomenal work. Having Jesse Eisenberg portray Mark Zuckerburg was a genuis of an idea, simply put he nailed this role. You can't help but have this 'love-hate' feeling for him. And Andrew Garfield who plays Eduardo Saverin, is the calm before the storm which reveals his true raw talent. You empathize with him and at the same time feel sorry for them too. Garfield is so beliveable its bound to be noticed by the Academy in some sort of fashion. Lest I not forget Justin Timberlake who played the role of the slightly paranoid and delusional Napster founder Sean Packer  so well that I forgot about the fact that he is a pop star. And even though her role is small Rashida is quite poignant, in the fact that she says the perfect words of what people from the outside are really thinking. All in all, this is the best cast for their roles...job well done!

Greed, Friendship, Betrayal, and Loyalty are the essential components that make up this film. Many have even gone to say that "this is probably the closest modern version of Citizen Kane that we will ever get in a long time." It shocks you with everthing that it can muster up, hoping to not disappoint you in the end. It doesn't take much to pull off a great film, and The Social Network is a great example of that from beginning to end. Even if you are not a Facebook user this is still a definite MUST-SEE movie!

Stars: 4 out 4 stars

Emma Stone to join cast of new 'Spider-Man' flick

Easy A lead actress Emma Stone has been set to play Gwen Stacy in the next "Spider-Man" movie.

Stone will star opposite Andrew Garfield, who plays Spidey and alter-ego Peter Parker. The announcement was made Tuesday by Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and Columbia Pictures.


The new movie will focus on a younger version of the superhero. It will be filmed in 3-D, and is scheduled for release July 3, 2012.

"Ghost Rider" sequel adds Elba and Whitworth

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Idris Elba and Johnny Whitworth are in negotiations to join the cast of Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Columbia's sequel to the 2007 hit.

Based on the Marvel comic, the movie stars Nicolas Cage, returning as the demonic biker antihero, with Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor directing.

The story finds Johnny Blaze, aka Ghost Rider (Cage), hiding out in remote Eastern Europe and struggling to repress his curse. Blaze is recruited by a sect to take on the devil (Ciaran Hinds), who wants to take over his mortal son's body on the kid's birthday.

Elba plays an alcoholic warrior monk tasked with finding Ghost Rider. Whitworth plays a criminal who is recruited by the devil to find the boy and is later turned into a demonic creature.

Elba recently came on board a new adaptation of James Patterson's best-selling Alex Cross books; he starts work on "Cross" in 2011.

Whitworth recently wrapped The Dark Fields with Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro and booked a leading role in FX's "Outlaw Country."

DVD Releases 10/5/2010

Here are this week's dvd releases...

The Karate Kid (PG)

A Nightmare on Elm Street (R)

Grindhouse (R)

Splice (R)

Enjoy!!

Friday Releases 10/1/2010

Here are this weekend's movie's to see:

The Social Network (PG-13): 

On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg sits down at his computer and heatedly begins working on a new idea. In a fury of blogging and programming, what begins in his dorm room soon becomes a global social network and a revolution in communication.

Let Me In (R): 

Chloe Moretz (Hit Girl from Kick-Ass) stars as Abby, a secretive 12-year old girl, who moves next door to Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Road). Owen is a social outcast who is viciously bullied at school and in his loneliness, forms a profound bond with his new neighbor. 

Case 39 (R): 

In her many years as a social worker, Emily Jenkins (Renée Zellweger) believes she has seen it all, until she meets 10-year-old Lilith (Jodelle Ferland) and the girl's cruel parents.

Barry Munday (R): 

Barry Munday, a suburban wanna-be ladies man, wakes up in the hospital after being attacked in a movie theater, only to realize that he is missing one of his most prized possessions... his testicles.

Chain Letter (R): 

When high school senior Jessie Campbell (Nikki Reed) and her tight-knit group of friends begin to receive a series of foreboding email chain letters, they have no idea the terror that awaits them.

Douchebag (NR): 

Accompanied by his estranged brother (Andrew Dickler), a man (Ben York Jones) embarks on a road trip to find his childhood sweetheart.

Freakonomics (PG-13): 

What started as a New York Times article in 2003 became one of the best-selling books of the last decade and is now one of the most compelling films of the year.

Hatchet II (NR): 

With even more action, carnage, gore and fun than the irreverent original, director Adam Green’s follow-up to 2006’s HATCHET will solidify the nightmarish film and its characters as a franchise.

Leaving (NR): 

With her idle bourgeois lifestyle getting her down, well-to-do mother Suzanne goes back to work as a physiotherapist in the south of France.