Tickets, Please

'This Is It' Trailer Premiere!

2009-09-13T23:51:00.002-04:00

Thanks so much gurlfromik of YouTube for the clip!

New 'Pirates 4' Title Artwork

2009-09-11T17:15:00.003-04:00

Snagged it from Cinema Blend. It's...okay. Just not great.

New Posters for ‘Alice in Wonderland’

2009-09-10T15:37:00.002-04:00

I love them! Thanks Coming Soon! :D

First Poster for Michael Jackson Concert Biopic ‘This is It’

2009-09-09T15:16:00.002-04:00

Here it is, in all of its glory from Yahoo Movies!

‘Taking Woodstock’ a Bad Acid Trip Through 1969

2009-08-30T23:36:00.002-04:00

For what it's worth, I wish I could have lived the Woodstock era. To be part of something that revolutionary is killer; perfect stories to one day tell your kid's kids. Two weekends ago marked the fortieth anniversary of the music festival that rocked America, and to celebrate, the Bethel Center for the Arts near the original area that the event took place held a music festival. Some VH1 specials were also shown and a book by Woodstock helmer Michael Lang was released. You'd think that we'd be done with the recreation, right? Buddy, I can't tell you how wrong you are.

Taking Woodstock is about Elliot Teichberg. He and his parents Sonia and Jake are strapped for cash and are soon going to be bankrupt if they can't come up with a way to gather money. When Elliot hears of Michael Lang and his crew's failed attempt to hold their "peace and music" festival in Wallkill, New York, Elliot thinks that they could hold it on his fifteen acres. That's where Taking Woodstock's hour-and-a-half remaining time begins. And what a ninety-minutes it is. Not a lot of buzz prior to Taking's release, which I found to be pretty odd. Even Lee's last major movie Brokeback Mountain had a decent amount of commercial in hopes of snagging some Oscars (which it did). I, however, first saw the preview in June before Away We Go and you better believe I was psyched. Ang Lee doing a Woodstock movie? Far out!

When reminded of Ang Lee, you think generally good things. He seems like a big movie director, although he's really not. His movie list is phenomenal: Brokeback Mountain, The Hire, Sense and Sensibility and (for some reason) Hulk. However if you examine Lee's directing style, he's hit-and-miss. More of the same in Taking Woodstock. The beginning is fine enough, basically showing Elliot's life before holding the Woodstock music festival. You'd think it would be if James Schamus didn't drag his screenplay out so long that it takes a half an hour for Michael Lang and Elliot Teichberg to even meet. The half hour is filled with random nothingness, from nude dancing hippies who reside in the family's barn to a close-up of Eugene Levy walking out of a diner for thirty seconds. Who wants to see that? I get the point that you want Taking to be a sleeper hit and a revolutionary movie for music lovers Ang Lee, but are you serious?!

Which brings me to Demetri Martin, the kid that plays Elliot. I've enjoyed a lot of Martin's previous work, whether it is his Important Things sketch show on Comedy Central (which will soon launch its second season) to his stand-up comedy. While his general awkward and quirkiness can bring a television show or a comedy club audience to life, a feature-length flick shows a person's true colors: can this guy truly act? I'm reminded greatly of Dane Cook when he was an up-and-coming comic and was casted in Employee of the Month simply because the movie studio figured he'd bring in money from fanboys. I believe that Martin was hired because Lee didn't want a star-studded cast to reign in Taking Woodstock, rather for the audience to focus on the wonderful story. The offbeat way he speaks or acts may work on a Laugh Factory stage, but not in this movie. I don't know if it was because I only got three hours of sleep the night before I saw this but I found myself nodding off from time to time.

The cinematography on Taking Woodstock is gorgeous, however, the mud-slide scene in the second half especially beautiful. That's one thing you can say about Taking, that Ang Lee recreates the summer 1969 festival perfectly. The sad part is that's all you can say about it. The idea of a Woodstock docudrama after the Oscar and fan base-winning Woodstock documentary in the '70s was risky, and I can understand why Taking Woodstock wasn't all that good. For a movie to live up to that breaking point in American culture is damn near impossible. A positive point that can be made of Ang Lee is that his next movie will probably be fantastic. He has a habit of alternating between making good or bad flicks. I assumed that this would be one of his good ones, and to sum it up shortly I was wrong.

2 ½ out of five stars.

Taking Woodstock - Movie Review

2009-08-30T19:44:00.000-04:00

‘Halloween’ to be Remade in 3D?

2009-08-30T19:33:00.002-04:00

Rob Zombie, naturally, seems to be weaning off of the Halloween series to write and direct a remake of The Blob. But the Weinstein Company isn't done with John Carpenter's classic Michael Myers character, oh no. Dimension's Bob Weinstein told the LA Times that Zombie won't have any part in the upcoming remake of Halloween in 3D. Oh, and Halloween is being remade in 3D for a summer 2010 release. Slash Film is guessing that Alexandre Aja (High Tension) is in talks to direct it, but notes that Aja is also finishing up Piranha 3D for the same studio, Dimension, that is set to be released in April 2010, and that Aja to release two 3D horror flicks so close together for the same studio is highly unlikely. Nevertheless, Weinstein says that the new director has an experience in horror and will provide a "different take" on the Myers character.

Rob Zombie remaking Halloween was a risky move that turned out great, and I haven't seen his sequel for myself yet. But remaking Halloween for the second time in less than three years just so it can be in 3D? That's just like slapping both Zombie and Carpenter in the face for wanting generation Y to appreciate a classic series.

‘The Final Destination’ Scares Up Big Money – Box Office Results: August 28th-30th

2009-08-30T16:35:00.002-04:00

The Final Destination, which basically only added the word "the" as to not copy its original movie's title, came in first this weekend with $28.3 million. It became the highest-grossing opening for a Final Destination movie, surpassing 2006's Final Destination 3's sum of $19.2 million by $9.1 million. Bad reviews from critics didn't seem to hurt this horror flick at all!

In a Friday showdown between previous top rank holder Inglourious Basterds and debuting Halloween II, the Michael Myers remake dominated with $7.6 million over Basterds' $5.9 million. However Saturday Quentin Tarantino's WWII spoof passed H2 by $2.4 million, raking in $8 million. So who took the crown of second place for the overall weekend? Inglourious Basterds did, with an estimated $20 million! Writer-director Rob Zombie's Halloween II stayed in third with $17.4 million. Shockingly, this was less than Zombie's 2007 slasher remake Halloween! That managed $26.4 million and it landed in the #1 spot. Looks like there won't be a Halloween III redo after all.

Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp's District 9 fell 41.3% to fourth place with an estimated $10.7 million. Its total is up to $90.8 million in three weeks. My guess is that it will easily pass the century mark by next weekend. Rounding out the top five is G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra with $8 million. The movie based on Hasbro action figures now has a total gross of $132.4 million in its fourth week.

Other movies that opened this weekend-

Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock debuted with a disappointing $3.7 million total. Looks like my prediction was true: the Woodstock craze is over and opening a docudrama about the music festival this late would result in a negative box office finish.
R.J. Cutler's documentary The September Issue about Vogue magazine editor-in-chief Anna Wintour made $240,000 in six theaters.
Drama Big Fan starring Patton Oswalt grossed an estimated $26,000 in two theaters.
Dark comedy Mystery Team opened with $7,900 in only one theater.

Here is the estimated box office results according to studio estimates Sunday-

The Final Destination…$28.3 million
Inglourious Basterds…$20 million
Halloween II…$17.4 million
District 9…$10.7 million
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra…$8 million
Julie & Julia…$7.4 million
The Time Traveler's Wife…$6.7 million
Shorts…$4.9
Taking Woodstock…$3.7 million
G-Force…$2.8 million

‘The Descent: Part Two’ International Trailer

2009-08-29T12:39:00.003-04:00

I've never seen the first Descent. But just when I thought it was another forgettable horror movie, the sequel was announced along with the international trailer. Nothing new comes from it; blood-stained faces, suspicious-looking old men and caves. Neil Marshall doesn't return to write or direct this one though, making room for newcomer Jon Harris to film it off of nobody writers J. Blackeson, James McCarthy and James Watkins' screenplay. The Descent: Part Two picks up where the first one finished, with Sarah Carter escaping from the Appalachian cave system and immediately informing the police. The rescue team along with Carter head back to the caves to try to find her five friends and the Descent storyline kicks in once again. The plot sounds kind of fun. Maybe I ought to head to BlockBuster one rainy night and see the original for myself.

Check out the trailer from IGN.com via MTV Movies Blog below.

Judd Apatow Talks on ‘Anchorman’ Part Two

2009-08-29T12:19:00.002-04:00

I like to believe that Heavy Weights was where Judd Apatow got his official start in the comedy business. The next landmark was The Cable Guy followed by Freaks and Geeks, however Anchorman was where Adam McKay and Will Ferrell along with Apatow were all launched to huge fame. They still may have been unknowns, but that movie started a chain of great flicks by the two that are now modern classics. Think about it: without Anchorman, there would never have been a 40-Year-Old Virgin, Forgetting Sarah Marshall or a Step Brothers. John C. Reilly would probably never have made another funny movie and critics wouldn't have a reason to forgive Steve Carell for Evan Almighty.So when the Anchorman sequel was announced, I was sort of bummed. McKay and Apatow don't do sequels; it's just their thing. Like, I couldn't even imagine a Knocked Up 2. Although if McKay directs and co-writes with Ferrell, it could be pretty good.

Empire Online basically held Judd Apatow to the floor until he talked about the sequel, and they eventually got something out of him. "They're making a movie now, Will and Adam." Since that's all he said, he's either keeping the movie under wraps or he's not producing a sequel, since he didn't mention his name along with "Will and Adam's." That could be a possibility since his list of movies he's signed onto is so high. But come on; Judd Apatow not produce the Anchorman sequel? That's like John Lasseter not direct the follow-up to Cars. If something can't be done right, why even do it at all?

Three Added Posters for ‘2012’

2009-08-28T23:18:00.002-04:00

Roland Emmerich is an all-right director. He directed Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow and 10,000 BC, all great time killers. You may say "these movies suck!" but think about this: at least he's not Michael Bay. And 2012 doesn't look as bad as Transformers. Still, 2012 looks super-similar to Knowing, which was similar to Day After Tomorrow which was similar to Armageddon. Check out Emmerich's disastrous new posters from Slash Film below.

2012 comes out November 13^th.

New ‘Jennifer’s Body’ Pics Show More of Amanda Seyfried

2009-08-28T21:56:00.002-04:00

Breaking news: Megan Fox is an attention whore. Today when she said that she'd rather kiss Amanda Seyfried over the other boys she was forced to in Jennifer's Body I realized just how much of a media brat she really is. Not to say she isn't hot; her ego is just really big. Guess that doesn't matter, though. Oh well. Let's focus on Seyfried for a sec. Fox has released five new images of Jennifer's, mostly of Seyfried's character. Check them out below from Cinema Blend.

Jennifer's Body hits theaters September 18^th.

More Pics of the Volturi Squad of ‘New Moon’

2009-08-28T18:04:00.002-04:00

That's really all to say. Some new pics have come up on MTV Movies Blog, this time showing more of what the characters look like in the actual setting of New Moon. Check them all out below by clicking on the still below.

New Moon comes out November 20^th.

Rob Zombie to Remake ‘The Blob’

2009-08-28T17:31:00.002-04:00

I like Rob Zombie better as a director than I do a musician. I was never a fan of "hardcore rock" or "metal". I'll admit to enjoying his reboot of Halloween in 2007 a lot, considering I had such low expectations of it and I'm eager to check out Halloween II this weekend. Now apparently he's remaking 1958's The Blob, although without the title character. He told Variety "My intention is not to have a big red blobby thing - that's the first thing I want to change. That gigantic Jello-looking thing might have been scary to audiences in the 1950s, but people would laugh now."

Zombie made John Carpenter turn over in his grave when Michael Myers the adult killer wasn't ever shown with his real mask in the first Halloween and even more since he recreates the mask in the sequel. So he has a controversial way of remaking movies. My suggestion to Rob Zombie is for him to try writing a original screenplay. I'm all for a Blob remake, however a true Rob Zombie movie could be killer.

Hilarious First Trailer and Poster for ‘The Men Who Stare At Goats’

2009-08-28T14:34:00.002-04:00

This may be fall's sleeper hit. The Men Who Stare At Goats sounds so deliciously absurd, whether it be the title or the plot of a journalist who meets a man who says he was part of the U.S Army's First Earth Battalion, a squad of people with supernatural powers. In the trailer the man, Lyn Cassady, calls himself a "jedi." The lead role is played by George Clooney, a rare A-list actor who still makes great movies. I've always loved Kevin Spacey before I even knew who he was. Whenever he makes a bad flick, there's always a follow-up that blows me away making me once again realize how much of a phenomenal actor he really is. The rest of the cast is filled by Ewan McGregor, J.K Simmons and Jeff Bridges. The new trailer is hilarious, to sum it up in one word. The ending especially is funny, when Boston's "More Than a Feeling" is suddenly blasted. Check out the poster and trailer below from Cinema Blend.

You too can stare at Goats November 6^th.

Sneak Peek at Volturi Vampires in ‘New Moon’

2009-08-27T22:30:00.002-04:00

I'm not really a fan of the whole Twilight craze. I thought the first one was enjoyable, but certainly not as great as people (aka "tweens") are ranting. New Moon looks to be more of the same engrossing yet forgettable garbage. Here's a look at the "Volturi" vampires of New Moon, including Dakota Fanning and Michael Sheen's Jane and Aro. Check out Sheen; he looks like a zombie Ozzie Osbourne. Er, Ozzie Osbourne. Check all of them out below from New Moon Movie.

New Moon ventures onto screens November 20^th.

First Poster for ‘Capitalism: A Love Story’

2009-08-27T22:18:00.003-04:00

One of the problems I have with Michael Moore is that he makes these documentaries when an issue is hot, but he releases them when everybody has moved on to another problem. Enter Capitalism: A Love Story, Moore's doc on the financial bailout in Washington and where exactly our money is going. While everybody is now focused on health care reform and social security, Moore is hell-bent on this. Here's the first official poster for Capitalism, a movie that I hope will be hilarious. It looks a bit like a MySpace layout or a duplicate of In The Loop's one-sheet, nonetheless it premiered on Fandango today.

Capitalism: A Love Story bails out theaters October 2^nd.

Steven Spielberg’s Aboard for ‘Pirates Latitude’

2009-08-27T17:09:00.002-04:00

Great idea Spielberg, chalk another movie up on your ever-expanding list. He's all aboard to direct the movie version of Michael Crichton's novel Pirates Latitude about piracy in Jamaica in the 17^th century. The book isn't even out yet (it's released in November), but like Ron Howard with Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series, he's already set to film it. Crichton is the guy who wrote The Lost
World and Jurassic Park, both of which Spielberg directed movie versions of the novels. So it comes as no surprise that he jumped at the opportunity to make this one. He's hired David Koepp, the screenwriter of both Lost World and Jurassic, to pen the script. Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks partner Stacey Snider said to USA Today that "Anything that Michael wrote, Steven would be keenly interested to read. But without Michael knowing it, or even me knowing it, it turns out Steven always wanted to direct his own pirate film."

At this point with Spielberg, I want his Abraham Lincoln biopic already. I would be happy if he looked at his résumé and noticed the recent crap he's done and think about the future of his career over long and hard. The last Indiana Jones flick proved to me that both he and George Lucas are all washed up. I don't get as excited for either of their movies like I used to. But we'll see how this all plays out. Maybe William H. Macy or Jeff Goldblum will be strapping on an eye patch soon.

New Clip from ‘Zombieland’

2009-08-26T23:40:00.002-04:00

Zombieland looks like this fall's Shaun of the Dead. Just a stupid horror-comedy that we can all have a good laugh at. I'm excited for Zombieland; it looks pretty sweet. In this new clip from MTV via Bloody-Disgusting, Amber Heard is afraid of zombies, so she heads to Jesse Eisenberg's house for comfort. The stuff that happens afterward you'll just have to see for yourself!

Zombieland crawls to theaters October 9^th.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Pretty Cool International Poster for ‘Jennifer’s Body’

2009-08-26T23:32:00.002-04:00

Why is it that the international posters for American movies are always better than the ones in the states? Take this one for Jennifer's Body from Aullidos, for example. The lipstick writing, the dead body in a backpack. It's actually not so special. No, wait, Megan Fox is on it that must be why I like it. Who knew I was so shallow.

Jennifer's Body bites screens September 18^th.

Unused Poster for ‘Inglourious Basterds’ is the Best

2009-08-26T20:27:00.002-04:00

What a marvelous poster. Inglorious Basterds is officially a hit, grossing almost $40 million domestically and $60 million worldwide. I found this unused poster over at PosterWire via Cinema Blend and my jaw nearly dropped at how cool it looks. If you haven't seen Basterds yet, first of all, you should run out right now. Second, you won't understand a lot about this poster. I think they should have used this in the advertising campaign, considering how beautiful it looks. Check it out below and tell me that it doesn't rock. Whoever purchased a previous one-sheet, return that sucker and pick up this one.

Christopher Hampton to Scribe ‘Netherland’

2009-08-26T19:07:00.003-04:00

If you know me, you know that I adore Sam Mendes. He's been my idol forever. Every movie he's directed (Revolutionary Road, American Beauty among many others) has been magnificent. Now, according to Slash Film, he's recruited Christopher Hampton (Chéri) to scribe Netherland, his adaptation of the classic novel about an ex-pat Dutchman resident of New York who creates a cricket club among a group of immigrants after the fateful events on September 11^th. The film rights are currently owned by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo films, long having tried to get Mendes to direct it. Within the past few days, he's finally agreed to.

Hampton has done some pretty great works in his career. Anything Mendes does is gold and teaming with Hampton is a great idea. This will probably be the best sports movie in the recent years. However anything could top Invincible.

Second Trailer for ‘Armored’

2009-08-26T18:37:00.003-04:00

I never saw the first trailer for Armored, and it really doesn't matter. Nonetheless, here's the second trailer for Armored, a thriller about truck drivers who attempt to steal $42 million. It stars Matt Dillon and Laurence Fishburne with Nimród Antal (Vacany) directing off of newcomer James V. Simpson's screenplay. Check out the so-so trailer for Armored below from Cinema Blend.

Armered starts December 4th in theaters.

‘Soul Train’ Becoming a Movie?

2009-08-26T15:52:00.002-04:00

Oh, nice! They've remade so many old TV shows into movies (Get Smart, Dukes of Hazzard, Alvin and the Chipmunks), why not make one of Soul Train? You know, that dance show hosted by Don Cornelius? Yeah. Variety says that Warner Bros. expects to cash in on this, penning Malcolm Spellman to write the screenplay. I don't know how audiences will react to this. Land of the Lost in June, also based on an old television program, bombed and left room for the totally original The Hangover to stay number one at the box office two weeks in a row. Of course I know nothing of the Soul Train show since it was way before my time; however I know a dumb idea when I see one. Remaking this would be like doing a movie about American Idol or America's Got Talent: how? I guess that's what I'd like to know. Spellman wrote a Sopranos video game and is currently scribing a sequel to Johnson Family Vacation (sweet Jesus, no) and the Soul Train movie isn't a good place to start in the Hollywood business if you want to be respected. But money-wise, business is booming.

‘The Dark Knight’ Follow-Up Being Filmed Exclusively in IMAX

2009-08-26T00:25:00.002-04:00

I've seen only two films in IMAX my entire life, both of them limited release documentaries. (Exciting, right?) I will probably see Avatar in IMAX 3D since that's pretty much the only way to see it. I heard that The Dark Knight on that big of a screen was breathtaking, and I kick myself for not having caught it for myself. I may get another chance to see the caped crusader in that view, according to AICN. Apparently the follow-up to Knight, which is still being highly teased by not having a title since Christopher Nolan remains focused on Inception, will be filmed exclusively in IMAX.

I don't believe that this is that great of an idea. What about the people who see it on a regular movie theater screen? It's no use for them that 'Batman 3' was taped only in IMAX. Limited showings of the movie in that version are a given, obviously. Not exclusively. Still, Chris Nolan is a genius who will no doubt make a tremendous sequel to The Dark Knight. I'm not denying that.

Final ‘Astro Boy’ Poster

2009-08-25T18:36:00.002-04:00

Hum. Well, I suppose with every great poster release comes a disappointing one. This one from Astro Boy seems less dazzling than animated flicks usually release. I'm not expecting a Pixar-worthy one-sheet, but come on David Bowers, this looks like something out of Cartoon freaking Network!

Astro Boy comes out October 23^rd.

Stupendous First Poster for ‘Whip It’

2009-08-25T18:30:00.002-04:00

Well, all I can say is bravo. Whip It is going to rock. Check out the first poster for Drew Barrymore's directorial debut below from Cinema Blend.

Whip It rolls onto screens October 2^nd.

‘Your Highness’ Gets Justin Theroux as the Villain

2009-08-25T18:25:00.002-04:00

Man, do I love Justin Theroux. This is the guy who co-wrote the hilarious Tropic Thunder and played a part in scribing next summer's Iron Man 2. He's starred in Miami Vice, the HBO miniseries John Adams and many other random movies and television shows and now he's returning to the acting world with Your Highness. If you don't already know, Highness is the comedy written by Danny McBride (who also stars) and Ben Best (Eastbound and Down) and directed by David Gordon Green, the man who brought us Pineapple Express. Theroux will play the evil sorcerer, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He joins James Franco, Zooey Deschanel and Natalie Portman. Your Highness is about a wimp of a prince who has to defeat an evil sorcerer who's kidnapped the princess. I'm sold.

Your Highness comes to theaters October 1^st, 2010.

‘Cars 2’ Gets an Unofficial Title

2009-08-25T18:12:00.002-04:00

I loved the first Cars. Sure it may have been childish, but Pixar is known for doing that with a spin that adults can enjoy as well. I'm excited for Toy Story 3 next summer and already counting down for Cars 2 in 2011. We know that the upcoming sequel will be about Lightning McQueen and Mater somehow involved in the World Grand Prix. Jim Hill of Jim Hill Media recently noted that Disney has purchased four domain names:

CARS2-WORLDGRANDPRIX.COM
CARS2WORLDGRANDPRIX.COM
CARSWORLDGRANDPRIX.COM
WORLDGRANDPRIX-MOVIE.COM

Speculation is that the film will be entitled Cars 2: World Grand Prix. Let me take out my Doc Hudson poster one more time and get stoked for this bad boy.

Mila Kunis Speaks on Mysterious 'Black Swan' Lesbian Scene

2009-08-25T18:01:00.003-04:00

Last time I mentioned the teased sex scene between Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, I said that I really didn't mind the situation. The Wrestler, writer-director Darren Aronfosky's last flick, had pretty tasteful sex sequences. Still, people are buzzing over this. (Mostly 47-year-old perverts, but nevertheless people are buzzing. Mila Kunis recently said in an interview with Collider "Yes. I've heard about this from everybody. I mean, something got out." She also revealed that the script "got a recent rewrite last weekend." She did not confirm anything in the interview.

I'm ecstatic about Black Swan. The plot, about a ballerina develops a strange competitive feeling towards a dance who may or may not be real, sounds so good. Could an Oscar-nod be coming for Portman or Kunis? We have to wait and see.

New Set Pics from ‘Twilight Saga: Eclipse’

2009-08-25T17:49:00.002-04:00

New Moon comes out in October. However apparently we're already focused on Eclipse, the one after Moon. Recently Rachelle Lefevre was replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard as Victoria for the third installment, leading to some controversy. The first stills of her on set have been released of her seduction scene with Riley (Xavier Samuel).

Check all of the pics out at Lainey Gossip by clicking on the image below. New Moon comes out November 20^th with Eclipse set for a June 30^th, 2010 release.

‘Pirates 4’ Plot Details Released (Sort Of)

2009-08-25T17:36:00.002-04:00

The Jack Sparrow origins story that is the fourth installment of the Pirates series doesn't seem all that hyped up, for a reason I'm not quite sure of. The last Pirates of the Caribbean movie grossed damn near a billion dollars, the second more than The Dark Knight. Without Keira Knightly, Orlando Bloom or director Gore Verbinski returning for the fourth movie, the plot details for the next film have been released. Kind of. According to Hollywood-Elsewhere (via Cinema Blend), it'll have something to do with the Fountain of Youth and a Captain Nemo-type character that uses modern technology.

The Pirates movies have gone downhill. I don't really know what to expect in the next one since two of the supporting roles and the original director have left, basically leaving Johnny Depp and new director Rob Marshall to blame if it sucks. I still need to know a lot more info on the sequel before I can come to a conclusion.

Disappointing Teaser Trailer for Nolan’s ‘Inception’

2009-08-24T20:28:00.003-04:00

The first official teaser trailer for Christopher Nolan's Inception is here and it's a bit of a let-down. It shows pretty much nothing that we haven't seen before; the spinning top, the flippy rooms, etc. Check it out below from Cinema Blend and tell me what you think.

Inception spins to theaters July 16^th.

Dakota Fanning May Be Dorothy in ‘Oz’ Remake

2009-08-24T10:09:00.003-04:00

Folks, you know I hate remakes. So obviously I was less than thrilled to discover that Todd McFarlane is planning to do one of The Wizard of Oz (re-titled Oz, not to be confused with the HBO series) and has been since 2007, apparently. He claims to want to make it darker than the original. Is modern Hollywood going goth? With a Red Riding Hood gothic movie also coming, I fear what's next. I wouldn't be surprised if a Jack and Jill remake was in the cards. In addition, McFarlane says he doesn't really care about how good the movie is, anyway. According to Cinema Blend, he's too busy asking questions such as "How do we get people who went to 'Lord of the Rings' to embrace this?"

The Daily Express, a British tabloid, says that MacFarlane has a plot for Oz, one that requires a 15-year-old daughter of Dorothy, supposedly played by Dakota Fanning. This could be a good idea. I'm only concerned with McFarlane's part in it, which is a rather major one. He is only a producer-writer of video games, with little to no movie experience. And you know video games; they're full of blood, sex and shoot-em-up's. Dakota Fanning is a great actress; most recently in Coraline she was phenomenal. Although do we really even want a remake of The Wizard of Oz to begin with?

‘Bioshock’ Movie Gets a New Director

2009-08-24T09:50:00.002-04:00

Gore Verbinski, the director of all three Pirates of the Caribbean flicks, quit the Bioshock movie. The reason? Since Universal dropped the project because of its growing budget, they wanted to rewrite the script and find somewhere out of the country to shoot the movie, taking advantage of some of the price cuts. The Los Angeles Times got this out of Verbinski when asked on Bioshock:

"The bottom line is it has to shoot out of the States for budget reasons and my schedule may be prohibitive. There's a great script and a really interesting cast. It really comes down to the financial model now. Big movies are just not being shot in the States. I'm weighing whether I can physically go the U.K. or Australia or one of those other places with a tax rebate for a year-and-a-half."

So there you have it. He dropped out because he couldn't commit to shooting overseas since, according to Variety, he's doing an animated flick called Rango with Johnny Depp. He will, however, produce. But that's all.

Obviously Universal didn't want to drop this thing, since it has the potential to be a huge hit. Now they've got Juan Carlos Fresnadillo to direct it, the guy who did 28 Weeks Later in 2007. I say that this really isn't that bad of an idea. 28 Weeks Later was dark and creepy, the exact direction that I believe the Bioshock movie will go. Tell me what you think about this in the comments.

I'll update you on any new details that gets released (or leaked).

‘Inglourious Basterds’ a Breath of Fresh Air, Exciting and Hilarious

2009-08-23T19:18:00.003-04:00

Whenever the words "World War II" are uttered when a movie is involved I generally groan. (Clint Eastwood is the exception to these opinions.) Frankly, I just don't care for war movies anymore. Valkyrie, Defiance, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. I'm sick of it; I don't care what Hitler looked like in the eyes of some godforsaken first-time director. And with an adaptation of The Book Thief coming in 2010 I'm just about ready to lose it. So here comes Inglourious Basterds, yet another war movie. It stars Brad Pitt; it should bring in an audience. That audience will not, however, include me. Until I saw the guy behind what seems like the millionth Nazi-era movie made: Quentin Tarantino. The directing god Tarantino? He's doing a war movie? This should be worth seeing.

The trailer doesn't show a lot. Hitler is banging on a desk with his fist yelling "Nein, nein, nein!" and Pitt is talking in a southern accent. So while the trailer isn't the best, I loved that it was about a group of Nazi killers. Not some flamboyant concentration camp escapees, resistance or prisoners. (God knows that's been done to death.) Tarantino was going to put a comic spin to this; nice! As I started to look forward to Basterds, I began to wonder whether this would be an action movie like Tarantino was known for or more of a comedy. I wanted it to be a comedy since that would be kind of fun. Although Tarantino has the knack of being unpredictable when it comes to his movies, Kill Bill being a perfect example. Bill pretty much came out of nowhere, with a crazy story of a woman who wakes up from a coma and wants to kill her husband for putting her in one. Jackie Brown and who could forget the insane Pulp Fiction? His movies are always so full of sex and violence that I was surprised the MPAA approved them to only be rated R. But that's why I love him.

Inglourious Basterds follows a team of Nazi killers called the "Basterds". ("that's Quentin Tarantino spelling", he said on David Letterman recently.) "Once upon a time in Nazi-occupied France," The Basterds have been chosen to wreak havoc on Nazis residing in the Third Reich. A French-Jewish teenage girl who owns a movie theater discovers that, without her approval, the Nazis are going to have a movie premiere at her cinema since the star has a crush on her. Word is that Hitler will even be in attendance. So being a Jew, she devises a plan to lock the doors when everyone is inside and burn down the movie theater. However the Basterds soon discover of this get-together as well. They come up with their own plan, hiring a French actress to help them fool the Nazis.

Quentin Tarantino as you may already know, (but if you don't, this will section will be a major spoiler alert, so I'd skip to the next paragraph) changed the outcome of World War II. In traditional war movies that tell of Adolf Hitler's reign, Hitler lives in the end, since the famed "Valkyrie" plan failed. Most movies that try to be historically accurate end up trying to be entertaining and true at the same time, yet both still fail. (Public Enemies is a great example.) While I do appreciate historical accuracy and truth in films, when I go to the movies I expect to be entertained; I don't pay my $10 to take a nap in the broken seats. Tarantino goes all out in Basterds and basically just says "Fuck it! I know my audience; I've known my audience since Reservoir Dogs. And my audience likes to be thrilled when they see my movies!" Inglorious indeed, Basterds is a perfect summer treat.

I never really enjoyed Brad Pitt in his recent movies. Ocean's Thirteen, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Mr. and Mrs. Smith were all epic disappointments. I found myself asking where his Twelve Monkeys and Fight Club days were. He's an A-list star who somewhere along the line sold out. In Inglourious, I forgot about all of that. This is the Pitt that America fell in love with; who'd a thunk in a movie title with both words misspelled? I can't decide whether it's his spoof-of-an accent or his amazing acting that bowled me over, but nonetheless he's extraordinary. Another phenomenal actor in Inglourious Basterds is Christoph Waltz. Waltz plays Hans Landa, a Nazi colonel. Early buzz on Basterds from when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May was mostly glowing reviews of how hilarious that Waltz was. They're right, you know. Waltz is a major part of the movie, and he plays off of Tarantino's script like a pro, even though he's been only in mostly German films before Basterds. Diane Kruger is also a winner in QT's latest creation. I wasn't expecting much of her (I was mostly expecting from Pitt); however she delivered more than I could've ever wanted! Without Kruger, Basterds wouldn't be one of the best movies we've had so far this year. I'm not familiar with Kruger's work (besides the fact that her last name sounds curiously like a certain movie monster), though for Inglourious she holds up the minimal female cast of Basterds perfectly. I wouldn't be surprised if any of these three gifted actors and actresses' names were called come Oscar season.

The only problem that I had with Inglourious Basterds was B.J Novak. If you're like me and love NBC's The Office, then you'll notice his tremendous work producing, starring and sometimes even writing for the groundbreaking comedy. When I heard that he would be an addition to the Basterds cast, I was thrilled. I had been expecting that, like John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer, fellow Office alums, he would have either a lead role or a major supporting one. He had neither! More of a cameo, really. Novak has maybe ten lines in all throughout the entire two hour thirty-two minute movie. I would have loved to see his talent on the big screen in a real role, and I don't believe that he won't have another chance. Still, the lines that he did spit out were hilarious. The icing on the cake of Basterds.

From the cameo by Mike Myers to every sentence that Brad Pitt utters, Inglourious Basterds simply pops. Unlike other Tarantino movies, there isn't a lot of sex. One imaginative one for a few seconds (no visible nudity, however), but overall not a lot. Those of you who bag on Tarantino for this and don't see his genius movies solely because of that factor, check out Basterds for probably the only one he doesn't include any in. As for the violence? There's plenty of that. Add comedy and action together and you get the brilliant and gut-busting Inglourious Basterds. A breath of fresh air in the dreadful August month of movies. (Shorts and Post Grad think that they can compete with this? Please!) Quentin Tarantino's latest is a joy ride in World War II through a very dark and twisted man's eyes. Again, that's why I love him.

4 ½ out of five stars.

The ‘Basterds’ are Inglourious – Box Office Results: August 21st-23rd

2009-08-23T13:58:00.002-04:00

It was a great weekend for writer-director Quentin Tarantino, his latest flick Inglourious Basterds raking in an estimated $37.6 million! This is Tarantino's highest ever opening weekend gross, topping Kill Bill Volume 2's $25.1 million ($66.2 million total run) and his last movie, 2007's Grindhouse's $11.6 million ($25 million total run). As for Brad Pitt, Basterds is his highest opening weekend since Mr. and Mrs. Smith's $50.3 million haul. It's also his fourth-highest of his career. It looks like Pitt was the only A-list star whose summer movie will go on to become a blockbuster hit!

District 9 fell 49.4% to an estimated $18.9 million. The alien thriller is doing better than similar Cloverfield, Starship Troopers and The Day the Earth Stood Still, however it couldn't beat I, Robot's second weekend sum of $21.7 million. (Thanks for the comparison chart Box Office Mojo!) G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra also fell 44% this weekend to $12.5 million. Stephen Sommer's action flick based on the Hasbro toys now has a sum of $120.5 million in three weeks. The Time Traveler's Wife dropped a spot (and 46.2%) to fourth place holding a modest $10 million. The romantic starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams has a total of $37.4 million in ten days.

Julie & Julia finishes off the top five with an estimated $9 million. Nora Ephron's film about the late chef Julia Child and a blogger who attempts to recreate her recipes has a grand sum of $59.3 million in three weeks.

Other movies that opened this weekend-

Shorts was exactly that at the box office this weekend, debuting in sixth place with $6.6 million, the lowest opening for director Robert Rodriguez since 1995's Four Rooms.
Post Grad starring Alexis Bledel nabbed the tenth spot managing $2.8 million.
X Games 3D: The Movie started off with a disappointing $800,000, though that could be since it earned a bland 38% on poll site Rotten Tomatoes.
My One and Only, starring Renée Zellweger as a single mom in the 1950s who looks to marry a rich man to support her grossed an estimated $60,700 in four theaters.
Five Minutes of Heaven starring Liam Neeson raked in $5,200 in only one theater.

Here are the box office results according to studio estimates Sunday-

Inglourious Basterds…$37.6 million
District 9…$18.9 million
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra…$12.5 million
The Time Traveler's Wife…$10 million
Julie & Julia…$9 million
Shorts…$6.6 million
G-Force…$4.2 million
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince…$3.5 million
The Ugly Truth…$2.9 million
Post Grad…$2.8 million

Two New Posters for Shane Acker’s ‘9’

2009-08-22T15:47:00.002-04:00

I love these new posters for 9. The premise of this movie is twisted brilliance, a perfect start for co-writer/director Shane Acker. Forget Avatar, I need to tell myself that this movie is only a cartoon. Drool over the cool new one-sheets below, and for the full gallery of pics and posters head over to Cinema Blend.

9 comes to theaters September 9^th.

A ‘Hangover’ Rip-Off by Dan Fogelman and Peter Chelsom Happening

2009-08-21T15:51:00.002-04:00

Who didn't see this coming? Todd Phillips' Old School and Road Trip were classics, and other movie studios wanted in on the craze. So they did their own crappy comedies, none of which I can even remember today. Here comes a comedy, ripping off Phillips' genius The Hangover called Last Vegas. It'll be about four guys in their 60s who go to Vegas for a bachelor party. And guess what? Peter Chelsom, the director of Hannah Montana: The Movie is also directing this of of Dan Fogelman's, who spawned the career-shredding Fred Claus for Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti, screenplay. Chelsom knows this is the same concept as The Hangover, but in his defense he told Variety: "These are four guys from Coney Island, who, when we meet them, think they are invincible. I think the film should attract four great stars in that age range."

An R-rated comedy for old people? Genius, Chelsom and Fogelman! Next you should remake the Hannah Montana movie and put Catherine O'Hara in the lead role! I don't expect this to have the same popularity as The Hangover did. Todd Phillips must be laughing his brilliant ass off.

Catherine Hardwicke to Direct ‘Riding Hood’ Movie

2009-08-21T15:28:00.003-04:00

Catherine Hardwicke, the director most known for doing Twilight and The Nativity Story has been recruited to direct The Girl With The Red Riding Hood, according to Variety. The movie is a darker version of the classic fairytale, one that adds romance and a supposed "twist" ending. This is the movie that Leonardo DiCaprio and his studio recently announced that they would produce, with David Johnson (Orphan) writing the screenplay. Hardwicke is also set to direct the remake of Hamlet and the movie adaptation of James Patterson's Maximum Ride novel. (Both are currently in pre-production.)

Hardwicke was a mediocre director in Twilight, in my opinion. However I do think that Red Riding Hood is her type of movie. And hey, if DiCaprio is producing and Johnson is writing like they both did in Orphan, this should be pretty good! DiCaprio is turning dark, it seems; his upcoming Shutter Island and last month's Orphan perfect examples. Still, his strange career moves have brought a relatively good thriller. Martin Scorsese would have been a great choice to direct this, even DiCaprio himself! But I wouldn't call upon Hardwicke, since she does have two other big movies on her plate.

George Lucas to Honor John Lasseter

2009-08-20T19:40:00.002-04:00

This is long overdue, but better late than never! John Lasseter and fellow Disney/Pixar directors (which are Brad Bird, Lee Unkrich, Pete Docter and Andrew Stanton) will be honored with the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement. Better yet, George Lucas will present the award at the Venice Film Festival! The award will be presented along with the premiere of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D and a ten-minute preview of The Princess and the Frog and a preview of Toy Story 3. The festival starts September 2^nd and ends on the 12^th.

This is great! The Pixar crew is inspirational to so many people, me included. Lucas presenting the award must be because he's venturing into the three-dimensional universe. You rock, Pixar directors!

Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Black Swan’ Script is Sex-Filled

2009-08-20T18:00:00.002-04:00

Warning: This post contains spoilers.

Script Shadow was reviewing the script for Black Swan, the new movie written/directed by Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler), and some interesting things came up. Not that the whole script doesn't sound interesting, it's just that this bit…stood out. Black Swan is about two ballerinas who develop a relationship during a competition. A lesbian version of Brokeback Mountain? You tell me; the review opens with this:

…in this movie, Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis have sex…And not just nice sweet innocent sex either. We're talking ecstasy-induced hungry aggressive angry sex.

Nice. The review went on to say:

…she begins noticing another girl around town and at the ballet company who looks exactly like her. But not just "exactly." We're talking identical. Yet every time Nina tries to get close, the girl turns away or hides her face. Finally, Nina meets this mysterious doppelganger after rehearsal. Her name is Lily. And while she definitely looks like Nina, she's by no means an identical replica. Was it Nina's imagination perhaps?

People are going to freak out over this. But me, I say big deal! So they do it. Remember The Wrestler? How is Marisa Tomei giving Mickey Rourke a topless lap dance and Rourke having an affair in a dressing room any worse than Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis having sex with each other? All I know is that this won't affect my opinion about the movie. A sex scene could either kill this or make it even more personal. First this movie was cancelled by Universal. Until Portman became interested in it and the Wrestler awards were thrown at everyone involved. But now Fox Searchlight is rumored to pick it up and shooting may begin in New York City in the fall. Bring it on.

Full-Length Trailer for Moore’s ‘Capitalism: A Love Story’

2009-08-20T17:41:00.002-04:00

The teaser was disappointing. The title felt strange. The full-length trailer is here for Capitalism: A Love Story, and it's anything buy disappointing and strange. Capitalism will follow top documentarian Michael Moore as he attempts to find out what exactly caused the economic meltdown. In the trailer, we hear M.I.A's "Paper Planes", which now only reminds me of Pineapple Express. We also see Moore interviewing people like Elizabeth Warren, the Congressional Oversight Officer. He asks questions such as "Where is our money?" to which they respond "…I don't know." Capitalism looks to be pretty funny; I enjoyed his last movie Sicko a great deal. Moore isn't a filmmaker who doesn't know what he's exactly doing a movie on, either. He knows his stuff. Check out the trailer below and tell me what you think!

Capitalism: A Love Story comes to theaters October 2^nd.

Awesome New Trailer for ‘The Wolfman’

2009-08-20T14:08:00.002-04:00

The new trailer for The Wolfman is here, and it's filled with awesomeness. Wolfman is about a man who's bitten by a werewolf, thus becoming one. Emily Blunt looks promising in the trailer; however I can never be too sure about her when it comes to the actual movie. I always thought that all she could do was comedy, until she starred in Charlie Wilson's War. Anthony Hopkins and Hugo Weaving appear great as usual. The real story here is Benicio Del Toro as the Wolfman. I loved Del Toro in both of the Che movies and 2000's Traffic; The Wolfman looks to be another great role for him to add to his résumé. All in all, it looks very American Werewolf in London/The Illusionist-y. Check out the trailer here and tell me what you think!

The Wolfman claws into theaters February 10^th.

New Images from ‘The Wolfman’

2009-08-19T23:54:00.002-04:00

Wow, does this look familiar. A monster stalking a girl with most of her cleavage visible (see above). Here comes a movie called The Wolfman, a remake of George Waggner's 1941 classic horror about a man who's bitten by a werewolf, thus turning into one. However, it does star Benicio Del Toro as the Wolfman. Sweet! Emily Blunt, Anthony Hopkins and Hugo Weaving also star. The director also did one of my favorite movies of all time October Sky, Joe Johnston, with David Self (Road to Perdition) and Andrew Kevin Walker (8MM, Sleepy Hollow) adapting Curt Siodmak's classic screenplay. Some new stills have surfaced of Wolfman, and you can check them out by clicking on the one I've posted above (it'll direct you to Cinema Blend).

The Wolfman howls into theaters February 10^th.

‘Yellow Submarine’ Remake Happening

2009-08-19T20:16:00.002-04:00

No, Hollywood. You've remade everything and I only faulted you every time, but please do NOT remake Yellow Submarine, the movie based on the music of The Beatles! Alas, Robert Zemeckis (Beowulf) is doing just that for Disney. And to top it all off, he's doing it in 3D! Apparently this has been in negotiations for months now. Zemeckis just finished A Christmas Carol starring Jim Carrey, which is also in 3D and will be released November 6^th. What's worse is that the remaining Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr's voices will be replaced by actors'. It worked for Across the Universe, although Disney does have the reputation of making garbage when it's not Pixar-related. We've all seen first-hand how bad CGI/live action mixes. Alvin and the Chipmunks was terrible, and The Smurfs Movie looks equally as bad.

Don't get me wrong; Zemeckis is a good director. Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump, Cast Away. He had a great streak of movies going…until he discovered 3D. The Polar Express and
beyond has been one long series of a critically-acclaimed filmmaker throwing his entire career away. Some are saying that this is only happening because of the sudden success of Michael Jackson after his tragic death. Disney appears to want in on some of that money; next month being a huge month for The Beatles, with remastered CDs and a Rock Band game being released. All will be revealed come November. Let's see if Zemeckis has what it takes to pull this off.

Yellow Submarine is planned to be released around the 2012 Summer Olympics, which starts July 27th.

Jon Hamm Joins ‘Sucker Punch’ Cast

2009-08-19T19:00:00.002-04:00

Any Mad Men fans out there? Should be, since it's the best show in television right now. Jon Hamm (Don Draper on the AMC series) is now joining the cast of Zack Snyder's highly-anticipated Sucker Punch. He simply plays a man called "High Roller", with no synopsis available. He accompanies Vanessa Hudgens, Emily Browning, Jamie Chung, Jena Malone, Abbie Cornish and Carla Gugino. However, his role will be a minor one. Hamm is currently filming season three of his über-popular show Mad Men and will head to Boston in September to shoot Ben Affleck's directorial follow-up to Gone Baby Gone.

I'm not skeptical on his role in Sucker Punch at all. Jon Hamm is a crazy-good actor and I can't wait to see him in this. My only worry is that Punch will disappoint, similar to Snyder's highly-awaited Watchmen last March. So it might not fully portray Hamm's talent. Although Sucker Punch is not based on a comic book or a graphic novel, so it may be good. I still can't picture him seriously, though. I'm still laughing at that "John Hamm's 'John Ham'" sketch he was on when he hosted SNL.

Sucker Punch rolls to theaters March 25^th, 2011.

‘World’s Greatest Dad’ is Williams’ Best Movie in Years

2009-08-18T19:48:00.002-04:00

Bobcat Goldthwait's career can be traced back to 1983, when he got his first big break appearing on Late Night
With David Letterman. He basically went on as a comic until retiring in 2005, having starred in Police Academy two, three and four in addition to appearing in random bad flicks
up to 1991 when he wrote, directed and starred in the cult classic Shakes the Clown. Stand-up may have launched his career; however Shakes brought him into the public eye. After that, he directed random episodes of such his-style shows as Crank Yankers, The Man Show, Chappelle's Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live! (which he did 267 episodes of). He also did Goldthwait Home Movies, a series of home videos that he shares commentary on with buddy Tom Kenny (who gets a cameo in World's Greatest Dad) and Kenny's wife Jill Talley. The movie may have been only eight minutes long, but it showed a more personal side of Goldthwait that reminded me of Judd Apatow when he did Funny People.
An essential move if Goldthwait wanted to be taken seriously as a writer/director, not just someone who spray-painted "Paramount Sucks" on Arsenio.

Robin Williams and Goldthwait have always been pals; having a brief partnership going under the aliases "Marty Fromage" and "Jack Cheese". Goldthwait used the name when he was in the movie Tapeheads, with Williams covering his name on the credits of Shakes where he shortly appeared as Mime Jerry. So it was cool to know some of the back-story to Dad prior to seeing it, so you can look for cameos like Kenny's and roles like Williams. Williams played it entertaining, sort of like a way better version of Nia Vardalos in I Hate Valentine's Day. He keeps a smile on his face at all times, hiding his true feelings about the world and people in general.

World's Greatest Dad opens on Williams' character Lance Clayton. He's a writer, but none of his work has ever been published (which really says something, since there's so much that was denied by publishers). Lance works at his son Kyle's (Daryl Sabara, a great asshole teen) high school as a poetry teacher. He's dating Claire (Alexie Gilmore), another teacher, but she doesn't want their relationship public. However she has no shame in showing affection to Mike (Henry Simmons) when an article of his is published in the New Yorker. "It's the first thing I ever sent in!" Lance's life sucks. His son hates him; his (secret) girlfriend might be cheating on him; his writing gets him nowhere; his poetry class might be cancelled, thus losing his job. The first half of Greatest Dad is disgusting brilliance. We clearly see his son choking himself whilst masturbating (all I can think of is David Carradine whenever I see this now, rest his soul) and from there it only gets worse. Goldthwait sticks his middle finger to the MPAA with World's Greatest Dad. The screenplay is as gross, unfunny, moronic; tasteless as it is genius, hilarious, original and true. An instant cult classic that in its own way is slightly moving.

The soundtrack that plays I have to say make the movie. It's mostly by Bruce Hornsby, who also receives a cameo in Dad. With the help of the pop/folk sound, Goldthwait directs World's Greatest Dad somewhat like one long, giant music video. The world's best long giant music video! If you thought that Brüno was dirty, wait until you see this. In The Loop is the greatest comedy of the year by far, however I'm not counting out Dad at all. One of the funniest comedies in the recent decade. Pure poetry. Dirty poetry, but poetry still.

Five out of five stars.

Seth Rogen Calls Upon James McAvoy for a Cancer-Comedy

2009-08-18T17:39:00.002-04:00

Recently, Seth Rogen starred in Funny People, about how Adam Sandler's character was told he had cancer. Apparently Rogen liked the concept of "cancer-comedy" enough, since him, Ben Karlin and writing partner Evan Goldberg are all producing a comedy about (surprise) a guy who is diagnosed with cancer. The Hollywood Reporter is saying that now they've graced James McAvoy with the lead role. Various sources are guessing that Rogen is going ahead with this idea because he wants to "follow in the footsteps" of his "mentor", Judd Apatow. And they act like that's a bad thing! Every comedy writer/director thinks of Judd Apatow when doing whatever it is they're doing; the difference with Rogen is that he has experience with him. This being the first movie that he'll solely produce (he has the tendency to star in whatever he does), I'm With Cancer (the title) could be his Cable Guy.

McAvoy I thought was fantastic in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe as well as last year's surprise smash Wanted. Making the transition to doing funny movies reminds me of Robert Downey Jr. Great actor and can do both drama (The Soloist) and comedy (Tropic Thunder). Iron Man could easily pass for either. No official writer, director or release date has been announced.

TWO New Posters for Jason Reitman’s ‘Up In The Air’!

2009-08-18T17:15:00.002-04:00

If you follow Jason Reitman on Twitter, he speaks a lot of his movie Up In The Air, which he co-wrote (it’s based on a book by Walter Kirn), directed and produced. So far I've heard nothing of the movie except that it is on the list of films that will be at the Toronto Film Festival next month. No trailer is out yet, although that may come soon since two new posters (one from In Contention and one from Slash Film via Cinema Blend), one for the US and one for the UK, have premiered.

Up In The Air follows Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizing know-it-all when his traveling lifestyle is threatened just when he almost has ten million frequent flier miles and has met the woman of his dreams. The plot doesn't tell exactly how his lifestyle is threatened, but it still sounds good. Judging from the posters, it looks to be a lot like Reitman's Thank You For Smoking, which I found to be surprisingly witty. George Clooney, Vera Farmiga (most recently in Orphan), Jason Bateman and Danny McBride all star. Reitman always picks a great cast and works his script around what the actors and actresses are good at (see Juno). Check out the posters below and tell me what you think!

Up In The Air has no official release date yet, however you can see it at the Toronto Film Festival in Canada in September.

‘Spider-Man’ Sequels Have New Writers

2009-08-17T13:22:00.002-04:00

Sony Pictures may be saying farewell to writer/director Sam Raimi for Spider-Man 5 and 6. Sony has hired James Vanderbilt, the screenwriter of David Fincher's Zodiac in 2007, to scribe the two sequels after the fourth. Vanderbilt actually helped write the next Spider-Man movie; however Raimi didn't quite like the screenplay, so he hired some people to rewrite it. This is no different than from the previous smash Spider-Man 3. Sam Raimi wasn't entirely pleased with some of the writers of it. Still, he directed and co-wrote that one and will direct and has co-written the upcoming sequel. Speculation says that Sony Pictures may just not give a damn what Raimi thinks. Just recently, the Drag Me to Hell writer/director signed on to direct the World of Warcraft movie. So that means there would have to be a four-year wait until we get another Spider-Man movie after the fourth, and that might not even come out until at least summer 2011. Sony might be ditching Raimi and his crew, the guys who were part of every single film-adaptation of the classic Marvel comic. This always happens; studios get too greedy and abandon those that made their movies famous. If they do that, the franchise as we know it may soon come to an end. That would stink, since the last Spider-Man movie was so crazy cool and promising of better movies ahead.

I don't expect that this will be the end of Raimi, though. He's proven he can make it on his own, give the success of Hell. He also has a great line of movies he's set to produce with an upcoming remake of his breakout hit The Evil Dead. If I was Sam Raimi, after the fourth movie I would flip a Sony executive the bird and walk out, high and mighty. He made Spider-Man a household name.

The Real “Goods” So Far of 2009 – My Top Ten Movie List

2009-08-16T20:11:00.002-04:00

Believe it or not it's already August. It's been a fun first half of the year; however it will be September soon, and to me and pretty much everyone else in America that's the cutoff point for the first half of the year. Let's look back on all the good movies we've had in the past eight months. Here's my top ten-

10. Brüno

Sacha Baron Cohen's sequel to his ever-popular Borat certainly did not disappoint. Raunchy, lewd and crude, Brüno had everything that I had hoped from it. In the mockumentary, Cohen plays a gay Austrian "fashionista" who's fired from his job as a reporter and moves to America in hopes of becoming über-famous. "I want to be the biggest Austrian star since Hitler." Larry Charles hits all of the scenes dead on off of Baron Cohen, Dan Mazer, Anthony Hines and Jeff Schaffer's brilliant screenplay. Some of it was obviously planned, although for the most part Brüno was comedic genius.

9. The Hangover

The Hangover was the "breakout comedy of the summer" (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone). It out-grossed Land of the Lost (a dud) opening weekend and stayed high and mighty for two. In The Hangover, Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and stand-out Zach Galifianakis are all best man at Justin Bartha's wedding. So for a bachelor party, the group heads to Vegas, gets wasted and wakes up the next morning and can't find the groom. Todd Phillips made his official comeback from Old School and Road Trip and proved that Jon Lucas and Scott Moore could write more than just romantic comedies. Probably the funniest movie not done by Judd Apatow. The movie itself wasn't just fun, but it had the country cracking up. The craze was insane.

8. Observe and Report

It may have been a dud at the box office, but as I always say, numbers on a chart mean nothing to me. Observe and Report was hailed by critics, saying it was "light years funnier" (Gary Wolcott, Tri-City Herald) than similar Paul Blart: Mall Cop. 2009 has been an amazing year for R-rated comedies, and Report continued that trend. In Observe, Seth Rogen plays a demented mall cop hell-bent on capturing a flasher and winning over the heart of Anna Faris. Faris was funny, however Rogen simply made the movie. Saying that Blart was better is like saying that Wayne's World was better than Star Wars: A New Hope. They're two totally different films. Call it dark, dirty, disgusting, whatever you want to; but Observe and Report rocked.

7. The Last House on the Left

Just when I absolutely couldn't stand anything more based on a book, TV series or most of all remake, the Friday the 13^th redo was released. It shed a whole new light to Jason to a younger audience. The same can be said for The Last House on the Left, based on the classic horror flick that launched the career of Wes Craven. With both Craven and Sean S. Cunningham producing, The Last House on the Left was pure terror. Sara Paxton, a regular Disney good-girl completely surprised me with just how great an actress that she is. Suspense at every corner, Last House was a fanboy's dream.

6. Away We Go

Early buzz on Away We Go was mostly positive. Pretty much the first hit indie of the summer, Away was directed by my longtime idol Sam Mendes. Mendes was just bouncing off of his epic Revolutionary Road and still a fresh young director on the scene. He cast John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph as an expectant couple searching the U.S for a place to settle down and raise their soon-to-be kid. Offbeat and quirky is hard to pull off, however Mendes did it. Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida are fantastic screenwriters and authors. Away We Go was a surprising hit with audiences and critics, calling it "Juno road comedy for grown-ups." (Mike Scott, Times-Picayune) The cinematography and directing was beautiful, partially because a portion was filmed in my hometown of Connecticut. If you haven't seen Away We Go, see it NOW!

5. Funny People

Critics found it to be an odd move on writer/director/producer Judd Apatow's part. Well, in my review of the drama-comedy, I literally told the critics to screw off. I loved Funny People. The witty screenplay, the gorgeous directing, Seth Rogen, the fact that George Simmons was probably the best character that Adam Sandler has ever portrayed in his career…although what I loved the most about it was the subtle personal touches Apatow put on the movie. Mocking Sandler's previous movies with posters of stuff that Sandler probably would do, Leslie Mann and Apatow's kids playing a cameo, the actual crank calls caught on camera from when Apatow and Sandler were roommates. I never really understood how somebody could hate such a smart movie. "It's too long and not funny." Sorry if nobody showed their genitals and you got your money's worth when it came to a decent runtime. Funny People was exactly that, no matter what anyone else says.

4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Everybody loved the first two Harry Potter movies. Although from Prisoner of Azkaban on, the films started to get darker. From then, I stopped being a Potter-phile (love that saying). Let the record say, however, that I did catch Goblet of Fire in theaters, but never saw Order of the Phoenix. So I really wasn't that stoked for Half-Blood Prince, the series' sixth (!) installment. One night I went to the drive-in movie theater to see Ice Age 3; skipped on that (heard it was bad) and walked over to the screen that was playing Prince. I was immediately blown away. The beautiful cinematography could catch a person's eye from a mile away. The story was heartbreaking, and it proved to me once again why people still went gaa-gaa over Potter. Heart, story, acting and cinematography. What more could you ask from a movie?

3. Up

I've been a giant Pixar fan since I was a kid. I remember that Toy Story was my all-time favorite movie then. I've been hooked since. The Incredibles, Finding Nemo and WALL∙E had such rich storylines and messages. I went to an advanced screening of Up a few weeks before its release May 29^th. Me and a friend were among the first to see the world premiere of the Toy Story 3 teaser trailer and a preview of Princess and the Frog before it went live on Disney Channel that night, along with, of course, the actual movie. Convinced that nothing could beat the absolute genius of WALL∙E, I watched Up. While it didn't quite top WALL∙E, Up was still an early summer treat for kids and adults alike. What Pixar captures in all of their movies, nothing can even touch upon. Many and I mean many have tried (cough cough DreamWorks cough cough) to take Pixar's crown as for making the best animated movies and nobody can. Up was sad, funny and moving all at the same time. A serious contender for 'Best Picture' at this year's Academy Awards. And I'm sure I'll see it on that list, now that the rules have shifted.

2. Coraline

This was the movie where Henry Selick got serious recognition as a director. Tim Burton was credited for directing James and the Giant Peach and Nightmare Before Christmas, however Selick actually did. Disappearing after 2001's Monkeybone, Selick returned to his stop-motion roots with Coraline. It took a year and seven months to shoot Coraline along with two years of post-production. Everything that the crew worked on for this delight certainly paid off! Dakota Fanning was amazing voicing Coraline. It makes you forget that she's a teenager now; almost all grown up, since she brings her character to life. The book by Neil Gaiman itself is utter brilliance, and the movie I believe only accompanies it as a modern classic children's tale. To call Coraline better than Up pretty much tells you how much I indeed loved it. In a winter month with nothing good coming out (Tyler Perry and the Jonas Brother, akk!), Coraline came marching through.

1. In The Loop

Lots of hit movies come out of the annual Tribeca Film Festival in New York, but In The Loop was ridiculous. Loop followed a corrupt British government when a mis-communication gets them accidentally involved in a United States war. Whenever I look back on this movie, I laugh. I've never really been a big fan of political comedy, and that might be because there hasn't been any real ones in the past years. And then Loop came along and stunned me. Easily the best movie so far this year, and one of the best comedies of the decade. Armando Iannucci pulled off an extremely difficult concept perfectly. Those of you who think that all indie movies are the same, boring crap, check out In The Loop. All comedies should be based around this; I know I use this as a model whenever I write.

There's my top ten list, folks. Disagree or agree with me? Tell me what you think in the comments and give me your top ten!

Audiences Enter ‘District 9’ – Box Office Results: August 14th-16th

2009-08-16T14:48:00.002-04:00

Audiences everywhere entered District 9 this weekend. The movie was a surprise hit, grossing an estimated $37 million, considering it had no real stars besides producer Peter Jackson, and with a low budget. District 9 was also a hit among critics as well, earning an 89% on poll site Rotten Tomatoes. Early buzz could've also helped District become a success; considering this was the movie that Jackson and first-time director Neill Blomkamp had scrapped the Halo
adaptation for.

In second place was last weekend's successor G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra with $22.5 million. It took a 59% dive. Ouch. The Time Traveler's Wife, starring Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana about a wife whose husband is forced to travel to random points in time against his will, finished third with $19.2 million. It beat similar My Sister's Keeper's $12.4 million. Strange, since a mere 37% of critics enjoyed it. Fourth was Julie & Julia starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep. The film, portraying Streep as late cook Julia Child gathered $12.4 million, with a total of $43.7 million in ten days. G-Force rounds out the top five with $6.9 million. The family comedy now has a sum of an estimated $99 million.

Other movies that opened this weekend-

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard starring Jeremy Piven as a used car salesman finished at number six with about $5.4 million. Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, the guys who last year brought us the sleeper Step Brothers, served as producers; however it seems that the only hits the duo can make are when McKay is director and Ferrell is star. The opening weekend gross didn't come anywhere near Brothers $30.9 million debut.
Ponyo, the latest animated movie from writer/director Hayao Miyazkai finished in ninth with an estimated $3.9 million.
Bandslam, about a group of misfits who enter a battle of the bands contest opened with $2.3 million showing on 2,121 screens. I expected it would do way better than this, considering it stars HSM star Vanessa Hudgens and appeals to a generally tween-based audience.
Spread, starring Ashton Kutcher as a male gigolo, debuted with $117,000 showing on 91 theaters.
It Might get Loud, the new documentary from Davis Guggenheim (the director of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth) hauled in $101,000 on seven screens. The movie starring The Edge, Jack White and Jimmy Page couldn't manage to beat Truth's $281,330 opening gross.

Here are the box office results according to studio estimates Sunday-

District 9…$37 million
G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra…$22.5 million
The Time Traveler's Wife…$19.2 million
Julie & Julia…$12.4 million
G-Force…$6.9 million
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard…$5.4 million
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince…$5.2 million
The Ugly Truth…$4.5 million
Ponyo…$3.5 million
(500) Days of Summer…$3 million

Bland Trailer for ‘When in Rome’

2009-08-16T01:22:00.002-04:00

Oh, Kristen Bell. Poor, innocent, confused Kristen Bell. You were first recognized as Veronica Mars on your three-year CW run and from there you made the rights moves: Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Party Down and Fanboys. However, your story is a lot like Katherine Heigl and Elizabeth Banks'. Now you've finished Astro Boy and are currently filming Couple's Retreat (an obvious copy of Marshall) and You Again, a romantic comedy from the director of Race to Witch Mountain. Your latest project When in Rome has just debuted its trailer and my, how you've changed. See, you're just another Apatow blonde prodigy who, instead of taking advantages of the fact that, hello, you were in a Judd Apatow movie and become the next Leslie Mann or Emma Stone, trashes her résumé with trashy teen romantic comedies. Please come back to being Sarah Marshall again, Kristen Bell. That's where you belong.

When in Rome voyages into theaters January 29^th, 2010.

‘Avatar’ Official Trailer to be released Thursday

2009-08-15T13:46:00.002-04:00

It seems that "Avatar Day" is coming early. August 20^thearly. This Thursday at 7AM, Apple has confirmed that the official trailer for James Cameron's highly-awaited Avatar will start to play (there's a countdown clock on their site). That's according to Coming Soon. You can bet that I'll wake up early that day to see it and let you guys know what I think!

Avatar jumps onto screens December 18^th.

Casting News for ‘Little Fockers’!

2009-08-15T13:40:00.002-04:00

John Hamburg, coming off of co-writing and directing I Love You, Man, is already moving ahead with the teased Little Fockers, the next sequel to Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers. Nothing is confirmed yet, however Spoiler TV found a bit on the casting news. Read it below-

[TOUGH KID] 7 yrs old, he teases Henry for peeing his pants, gets in Greg's face when he threatens him…2 lines, 1 scene

[[RUFUS] Tough 5 yr old who takes Henry's tricycle, runs him over, but then gets knocked off the bike by Samantha…1 line, 1 scene NEED LEGAL 6 TO PLAY 5 YRS OLD

[SVETLANA] Kevin's hot, bikini-clad Russian girlfriend…6 lines, 2 scenes SPEAKS WITH A RUSSIAN ACCENT

[DR. PATEL] An Indian/South Asian doctor at the medical conference…1 line, 1 scene

[MR. ANDROVSKY] 50's, overweight, diabetic patient getting an enema from Louis…3 lines, 1 scene

Coming Soon points out that "Henry" might be one of the twins that Ben Stiller's Greg Focker and Teri Polo's Pam have. Also since they are casting a Russian girlfriend for Owen Wilson's Kevin, that says he indeed is returning as rumored. I'll update you on anything Fockers as it gets released!

New Poster for ‘Toy Story’ and ‘Toy Story 2’ in 3D

2009-08-15T13:32:00.002-04:00

"1 Ticket. 2 Movies. 3 Dimensions." That's right; Toy Story and Toy Story 2 will both be re-released in 3D this fall AND they will play back-to-back! It's only for two weeks however, and you can bet that I'll be there. The two Story's are my favorite Pixar films of all time; I grew up with them.

Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D comes out October 2^nd and plays until October 16^th.

First Official Still of Cameron’s ‘Avatar’

2009-08-14T23:12:00.003-04:00

Avatar may be the most highly-awaited film of the year. We've been teased with what's called "Avatar Day" (which I'll have more info on as we approach the Friday, August 21^stdate) and some half-faced glittery teaser posters, however now we are graced with the first official still from James Cameron's Avatar. In it, we see Sam Worthington's character Jake Sully in front of a tank holding what looks to be a developing clone. My guess is that since the movie is about an advanced population that this is the human's attempt to copy one of the mysterious planet's inhabitants in order to stay the dominant race. But all we can do now is really just guess. Check out the pic from Slash Film and tell me what you think.

Avatar soars onto screens December 18^th.

New Never-Before-Seen Promo for ‘Extract’

2009-08-14T19:35:00.002-04:00

This looks absolutely hysterical. Extract is, as an undisclosed source said (and by "undisclosed source" I mean I don't remember who said it), Mike Judge's Funny People. And I know how much I loved that. There's a new TV spot that premiered exclusively on Coming Soon that shows a lot more of what the plot is about, out now; check it out below and tell me what you think!

Kick the fall movie season off right with Extract, out September 4^th.

Promising Trailer for ‘Gentlemen Broncos’

2009-08-14T17:53:00.003-04:00

Gentlemen Broncos is the next film from director Jared Hess, the guy who brought us Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre. Broncos is about a sci-fi writer teen whose story gets taken by a famous author and marked as his own. The trailer looks pretty promising; the Napoleon Dynamite is clearly seen (not so much Libre, which in my opinion is a good thing). He writes it once again with his wife, Jerusha Hess, who also wrote Libre and Dynamite. We've also got Sam Rockwell starring, which is always good. Check out the trailer below from Cinema Blend.

No official release date for Gentleman Broncos has been set, although speculation is early 2010.

Sommers, What Have You Done To ‘G.I Joe’?! – Movie Review

2009-08-13T01:23:00.002-04:00

My uncle really liked the G.I Joe animated series and action figures as a kid. He still has everything he collected from his childhood to this day, just in case he ever needs some extra money or just wants to revel in his past. Somehow I believe that the net worth of those figurines will drop on eBay thanks to the new live-action movie G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Cobra pretty much recaps the story of how the team of heroes came to be, and how team Cobra came into power. It tells the story, and badly, I must say. Stephen Sommers (the evil mastermind who did the Mummy and Scorpion movies) directs this action-crap in hope of topping Michael Bay. Although who can? Bay is the king of sex/action/garbage movies (Day After Tomorrow, I'm talking to you) and nobody in this day and age can beat him. Sommers attempt is a bit sad, actually. Could Sienna Miller walking slowly out of an automobile and frenching a Chinese guy be the next Megan Fox checking out the hood of Bumblebee? Long story short: no, it cannot.

Channing Tatum stars as Duke, the acting first sergeant of the "Joe" team. Tatum delivers a new set of emotionless drama to Cobra; not the dancing emotionless drama he did in Step Up or the dreadful thirty seconds of being shot and looking depressed he worked oh-so-hard on in Public Enemies; no, a whole new set! America needs to face that fact that Tatum simply cannot act. You've heard by now of his Chippendale's past, and that's where he really belongs. I'd much be happier seeing him on a billboard in Abercrombie and Fitch than on the big screen making me feel sad inside whenever I see him. Marlon Wayans also appears as Ripcord (his purpose really doesn't matter that much). Immediately, Joe is a joke. Hiring a Wayans in an action movie that I'm supposed to take seriously?! (Note the emphases.) I guess to provide a little bit of comedy into the mixed-up cast. Surprisingly, it doesn't work. And if you didn't get that I was being sarcastic in that last sentence, G.I Joe is the movie for you.

Sienna Miller is eye candy as Baroness; Stephen Sommers' Megan Fox. I didn't take her role that seriously, I'm sorry. But I couldn't help myself. I think that Miller, who's starred in such great movies as Factory Girl and Layer Cake, is the only reason that I'm not writing this movie of as a whole. Sure, she pushes her, um, cleavage together and wears skin-tight leather throughout, but she brings life to her character. That's more than you can say for Tatum or Wayans. The other reason I'm not writing this off is because Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as "The Doctor" or "Rex", whatever you want to call him. It's only in Joe that you realize that he's no longer the little rascal from Third Rock from the Sun. He's a fully-blossomed Keanu Reeves (which he so closely resembles in Cobra). I hope that he does more serious work than G.I Joe. And I'm not worrying, because he will.

G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra is a messy Transformers with bad acting and an even worse storyline. Whatever credibility Paul Lovett, Stuart Beattie, David Elliot and Stephen Sommers previously had is al blissfully lost with his latest concoction. Take my advice and skip Rise of Cobra. This high-hope that movie studios have of creating the next Dark Knight is a laugh. That Cobra would even come relatively close.

1½ out of 5 stars

New Trailer for ‘Motherhood’

2009-08-12T14:57:00.002-04:00

This must've been written after Julie & Julia; Motherhood is about a mom who blogs about her life and raising her kids. Bor-ing! I didn't see Julia yet, however I hear that Amy Adams blogging about cooking is the worst half of the movie. Nevertheless, the trailer for Motherhood is here. Written and directed by Katherine Dieckmann (Diggers with Paul Rudd) and starring Uma Thurman. Check it out below from Cinema Blend.

Motherhood booms to theaters October 16th.

‘Perfect Getaway’ Thrilling, Yet a Bit Too Cliché

2009-08-12T00:07:00.003-04:00

In a world of romantic comedies, it's nice to see thrillers and horrors that surprise every once in a while. So far this year, we've had clichés as far as the eye can see, whether it be The Uninvited or The Proposal. Enter A Perfect Getaway, a follow-up to David Twohy's 2004 hit The Chronicles of Riddick. Getaway tells the tale of two couples, Nick and Gina, and Cliff and Cydney, on a trip to Hawaii. They soon learn of a serial killer in Honolulu, and suspect each other of committing the crimes. The plot has been done before, however the twist in the last 40 minutes is somewhat original (and by "somewhat original" I mean "rarely been done") and gripping. The sad part is that Twohy waits until the climax to pull out all the stops and show what he has to offer in the field of movies. In the beginning, Getaway is slow. It reminded me of the start of 2007's Vacancy (who am I kidding, pretty much the whole awful thing). But after Cydney and Cliff stumble across a pair of hitchhikers, you really wonder if they're the Hawaiian murderers. That's where the flick gets exciting.

Steve Zahn isn't known for thrillers. For what it's worth, he's not really known for anything except his last name ("The Zahn!"). More recently he starred in the indie Sunshine Cleaning, where in my review I said that he was pretty bad, both physically and actoral…y. What? However, an A Perfect Getaway-style movie is his niche. The same can be said of Milla Jovovich. As a supermodel-turned-actress, I wasn't expecting anything more out of her than providing eye candy for horny teenage boys, much like Megan Fox's sole purpose in both Transformers. She was surprisingly fantastic. Jovovich is the kind of actress that you'd see in, say, a Sandra Bullock-type role-either a ditzy bimbo or a mental psychopath. Meet in the middle; there's Jovovich. She'd be good in a drama; she could go beyond Perfect Getaway. You can't say that about Megan Fox.

A Perfect Getaway is thrilling, yet a bit too cliché. Zahn and Jovovich work magic, while Twohy waits until the climax to show off his directing skills. I admit, Chronicles of Riddick was probably better (we're waiting on the test results), although Getaway isn't that bad. Check it out sometime; it's the most fun cliché you'll have at the movies all summer.

3/5 stars.

New Trailer for ‘Astro Boy’

2009-08-11T20:28:00.002-04:00

Summit Entertainment has been teasing Astro Boy for quite some time now, and the trailer is officially here! First reaction: oh no. It looks like another horribly animated kids flick, and God knows we've had our fill of those lately (Delgo, Battle for Terra, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs). It stars Nicolas Cage, Charlize Theron, Kristen Bell, Samuel L. Jackson, Bill Nighy, Freddie Highmore, Donald Sutherland, Moises Arias and Eugene Levy. Then again, this might not be that bad. The director is David Bowers, who did Flushed Away in 2006, which I absolutely adored. Although Timothy Harris writes the screenplay, the guy who's responsible for Kindergarten Cop and Space Jam (don't think about it, don't think about it!). I don't know; it could actually be pretty good. Check out the so-and-so trailer below from Cinema Blend.

Astro Boy comes to theaters October 23^rd.

John Hughes Biopic Gets a Distributor

2009-08-11T12:44:00.001-04:00

Don’t You Forget About Me is a documentary that, until a few days ago, had no distributor and no shot of being seen on the big screen. Until John Hughes died last Thursday. Toronto film festival creator Matt Austin-Sadowski was sent an email by CNN saying that they wanted an interview on Friday morning. By noon, the Alliance Films of Montreal studio bought the world-rights to the doc, with a possible showing in the United States. So you may be asking yourself - what does this have to do with John Hughes? The movie is about Austin-Sadowski and producers Kari Hollend, Mike Facciolo and Lenny Panzer go on a road-trip in their van to suburban Illinois in an attempt to find Hughes. Along the way, it looks at the story behind the man who helmed Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Sixteen Candles and many, many more ‘80s teen movies. The documentary includes interviews with Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Mia Sara, Kelly LeBrock and Andrew McCarthy, all of whom have worked with Hughes at one point in time. Austin-Sadowski also said that he hopes that this movie will get people more interested in John Hughes’ films.

‘Collector’ Packed With Gore and Suspense - Movie Review

2009-08-09T20:42:00.002-04:00

When I heard about The Collector a few weeks before its release, I ignored it. "Hey, it's another stupid R-rated horror flick that teens go to only to make out at. How fun." I said. Until I looked into the movie a bit more, and saw that Marcus Dunstan directed it and co-wrote it with Patrick Melton. If you're a true hardcore horror fan, then you already know who these guys are; they wrote Saw IV, Saw V and the upcoming Saw VI and Saw VII in addition to the cult-fave Feast trilogy. Now I started thinking that this could be pretty good! And it was. The Collector is brilliant, in its own sick and twisted way. I was a fan of Orphan, which was released a week before Collector. I found Orphan to be highly suspenseful and good for a legit scare. Step aside, Esther, there's a new horror image in town, and his name is The Collector.

The Collector is about Arkin, an average Joe who, in a plea to settle his wife's debts, attempts to rob his boss's house. Little does he know that someone else is already inside. The plot is original and that's the majority of why I'm raving so positively about it. Unlike the Friday the 13^th movie we were treated with in February, The Collector isn't just all blood and gore (there is, however, a lot of that stuffed into the 80-minute running time, mind you). It has story. Hollywood has been in a slump lately, looking to revive previous classics and novels on a high hope of raking in some cash. The Collector is highly underrated, but hey, with talking guinea pigs and giant robots around, who cares about some creepy guy who collects human bodies? I do, my friends, which is why I'm telling you to check this out now!

The Collector is packed with gore and suspense, although the only problem that I have with this movie is the fact that the reason behind why this "Collector" chose this family specifically to terrorize. And if Arkin could easily leave the house without the beast's knowing, then why didn't he send for help? Don't look for right and reason in a slasher-horror film. Just sit back and enjoy the crazy, shocking, and most importantly, scary ride.

4/5 stars.

‘G.I Joe’ Rises to the Top – Box Office Results: August 7th-9th

2009-08-09T14:09:00.002-04:00

It looks like G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra wasn't a flop as expected after all, raking in an estimated $56.2 million this past weekend. The movie was not screened in advance for critics, people wondering if Paramount was just nervous or the movie really did suck. Joe, starring Dennis Quaid and Channing Tatum, opened with good reviews; then to bad reviews; and now to mixed reviews; Cobra currently holds a 39% on poll site Rotten Tomatoes. That's far more than similar Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which has only 20% of critics enjoying it. It sure didn't beat Fallen's opening haul of $109 million, although what can compete with argueable summer 2009's biggest hit?

In second place was Julie & Julia, which also opened this weekend. Noah Ephron's comedy about a young woman (Amy Adams) attempting to copy famed cook Julia Child's (Meryl Streep) recipes and write a blog about it grossed an estimated $20.1 million, considerably more than the Adams/Streep duo's last movie Doubt ($5.3 million wide opening weekend). It's also destined to beat Doubt's total of $50.8 million in the coming weeks. G-Force fell a steady 44% to $9.8 million in third this weekend; Jerry Bruckheimer's animated family-comedy now up to $86.1 million domestic.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, constantly jumping box office spots with G-Force came in fourth this weekend, after holding second place the last. Potter lost over half its audience of last weekend (50.4%) to gain $8.9 million, with a total of $273.8 million domestic. Funny People took the biggest dive in the top ten this weekend, falling five places from first with $7.9 million. Still loving Funny People; box office numbers mean nothing to me!

And my Hangover watch continues! This weekend it left the top ten for eleventh place with $3.4 million. Its total is now up to an estimated $262 million. Another movie I loved, and love how other people did too!

Other movies that opened this weekend-

A Perfect Getaway, a surprisingly suspenseful thriller and loved among critics and fans alike (54% on Rotten Tomatoes!), debuted in seventh with $5.8 million, less than writer/director David Twohy's previous film Pitch Black's $11.6 million opening sum. Quirky romantic-comedy Paper Heart, starring Michael Cera and Charline Yi, opened with $206,000 in thirty-eight theaters. Cold Souls with Paul Giamatti grossed $63,300 opening weekend showing on only seven screens. (500) Days of Summer entered the scene at number ten after moving into 551 more theaters; up 34.1% to $3.7 million. The Sundance prodigy's total is up to $12.3 million

Here are the box office results according to studio estimates Sunday-

G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra…$56.2 million
Julie & Julia…$20.1 million
G-Force…$9.8 million
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince…$8.9 million
Funny People…$7.9 million
The Ugly Truth…$7 million
A Perfect Getaway…$5.8 million
Aliens in the Attic…$4 million
Orphan…$3.7 million
(500) Days of Summer…$3.7 million

LEAKED FOOTAGE OF ‘IRON MAN 2’ FROM COMIC-CON!

2009-08-08T13:35:00.003-04:00

I'm going to cut right to the chase; watch it before it gets pulled! (Snagged it from JoBlo, thanks guys!)

Iron Man 2 comes to theaters May 7^th, 2010.

‘Saw VI’ Blood Drive Posters Out

2009-08-07T17:34:00.002-04:00

For every Saw installment, there comes a blood drive. Whether or not it's supposed to help promote the movie, I don't know. But there's also always a poster that comes out that's really disturbing. Enter the two new sheets for the Saw VI annual blood donation drive. Check them out below from Shock Till You Drop.

Saw VI comes to theaters October 23^rd.

Gorgeous Second Trailer for ‘Where the Wild Things Are’

2009-08-06T20:53:00.003-04:00

Here it is, snagged it from /Film! Where the Wild Things Are comes to theaters October 16^th!

@ Yahoo! Video

New Shots of the Dawn Treader Ship from the Third ‘Narnia’ Movie!

2009-08-06T17:03:00.002-04:00

Just leaked on NarniaWeb, check them out above! Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader comes to theaters December 10^th, 2010!

‘Machete’ Details!

2009-08-05T18:36:00.002-04:00

Machete was the fake trailer for that movie in Grindhouse. Now it's becoming an actual movie. The cast has been revealed (along with a poster) and according to Variety, Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Steven Seagal, Lindsay Lohan, Cheech Marin, Don Johnson and Jeff Fahey will star, with Robert Rodriguez writing, directing and producing. Quentin Tarantino will produce.

Weird New Trailer for ‘Cirque du Freak’

2009-08-05T17:01:00.002-04:00

Crap! Here's another kid's series turned movie series, Cirque du Freak. Vampires are a tired old thing, aren't they? I've had it with Twilight (New Moon best be mostly werewolf-related, which I heard it is) and True Blood, we need a new thing! Nevertheless, the new trailer for Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant is here (check it out below from Cinema Blend). It stars John C. Reilly, Salma Hayek and Jane Krakowski. More stars throwing away their careers with garbage drama bleh. Also, Paul Weitz directs; the guy who helmed American Pie.

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant starts October 23^rd.

Amazing New Trailer for Peter Jackson’s ‘The Lovely Bones’

2009-08-05T12:49:00.002-04:00

The Lovely Bones follows a girl, Susie, after she was murdered at the age of 14. Now from the "other side", she tries to tell her father the murderer. Peter Jackson has been teasing this one, and we've all forgotten about it because of District 9 (out August 14^th). Well, the trailer is knocking at our doors now and we better answer. The trailer for Bones is literally breathtaking; the cinematography is gorgeous. The story is amazing as well, and Mark Wahlberg and Susan Sarandon look fabulous. This will top Avatar this winter, I just know it. Check out the trailer below from Cinema Blend.

The Lovely Bones comes to theaters December 11^th.

‘Orphan’ Suspenseful and Intense, Although Unoriginal

2009-08-03T19:10:00.002-04:00

The storyline of Orphan, the latest from director Jaume Collet-Serra (House of Wax), is extremely unoriginal. An adopted child, Esther, threatens a family and makes the mother and father turn on each other. Yawn. When you see the demented "Esther", you'll immediately recall Damien from The Omen or Adam from Godsend. But right where you think that Orphan is just another devil-child movie (which is about a half-hour in), the film snaps. It breaks away from that tired category and Collet-Serra makes it his own. The horror takes off when the child is introduced to the family. Esther starts out sweet and kind, however the mother Kate (a wonderful Vera Farmiga) is soon suspicious of the nine-year-old girl after she can surprisingly play the piano, after admitting that she cannot. "She lied to us!"

The acting median was mediocre. Isabelle Furham (Esther): great. If you search Furham on Google and notice what she actually looks like not in costume…damn! She nails every scene with utter creepiness, making Orphan an actual, legit horror movie. Not a slash-em-up bloodfest and certainly not a horror/comedy like Drag Me to Hell or Zombieland. Peter Sarsgaard (John, Kate's husband): bad. Sarsgaard, I've disliked his entire career. The fictional personality on him in every movie is always the same! I could take his character John and put him in the part he played in Jarhead and I wouldn't know the difference. A great actress besides Furham was C.C.H Pounder, who was Sister Abigail. Abigail starts off saying that Esther would be a perfect addition to the Coleman family, but later goes back on her word. The terrifying emotion that the role called for, she hit spot-on. The Shield actress made me wish that she played a bigger part in Orphan. I can't wait to witness her work in James Cameron's Avatar this winter.

Orphan is no Omen, although it tops Godsend on the terror scale. Collet-Serra's style of filmmaking is hit-or-miss, and it sucks that Orphan was a hit up until the final scene, where he freaks the fuck out with his camera. Critics hate on this while audiences love it. The reaction of one fanatic pretty much sums up what I thought as well: Orphan has the making of a horror cult hit.

3.5/5 stars.

‘Funny People’ Laughs it Up – Box Office Results: July 31st-August 2nd

2009-08-02T17:38:00.002-04:00

Judd Apatow's Funny People, no surprise, took the top spot this weekend with $23.4 million. While it didn't quite beat Knocked Up's debut of $30.7 million, it did outsell The 40-Year-Old Virgin's $21.4 million opening weekend.

In second place was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince with $17.7 million. Its grand sum is up to a whopping $255.5 million. Weird how this time last weekend, G-Force topped it. Instead, Disney's animated comedy about guinea pigs that fight crime came in third with $17.1 million. Its total is now $66.5 million in ten days. The Ugly Truth starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler was in fourth this weekend holding roughly $13 million. Truth fell about 53%. Aliens in the Attic opened in fifth with $7.8 million. I would think that it would be in third place, replacing G-Force since the two films are going for the same family-orientated audience, and Force has been in release for two weeks.

Other movies that opened this weekend-

The Collector, aiming for an audience of fans of the Saw series (it's written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, who wrote IV, V and the upcoming VI and VII), opened in eleventh place with $3.6 million playing on 1,325 screens.
Adam, about a man with Asperser's Syndrome who falls in love with his neighbor, opened last Wednesday, July 29^th. These past two days alone, it made $66,300. Adam is now up to $94,800.
Sundance prodigy The Cove, a documentary on animal abuse and human health, opened with $55,500.
Thirst, a Korean horror film about a religious man who is turned into a vampire, grossed $55,200 on four screens.

Here are the box office results according to studio estimates Sunday-

1. Funny People…$23.4 million
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince…$17.7 million
3. G-Force…$17.1 million
4. The Ugly Truth…$13 million
5. Aliens in the Attic…$7.8 million
6. Orphan…$7.3 million
7. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs…$5.3 million
8. The Hangover…$5.1 million
9. The Proposal…$4.8 million
10. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen…$4.6 million

‘Funny People’ is Classic Apatow, No Matter What People Are Saying – Movie Review

2009-08-01T17:31:00.002-04:00

I've been waiting for Funny People, comedic god Judd Apatow's third directorial, since last summer. I've seen Knocked Up, The 40-Year Old Virgin, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and most of the other movies that he has produced. Going into Funny People, I had heard mixed reviews on it. I had heard that it was "depressing", "dull" and "long". I didn't listen to these critics (Roger Moore, ahem), and neither should you. Funny People shattered my expectations. It's a perfect follow up to Apatow's cult hits that exploded him to fame in 2005 (Virgin) and in 2007 (Up). Judd Apatow is an indescribable genius; the touch he puts on his movies, whether he's writing, directing or producing (he does all three in People) is classic. No matter how many times movie studios have tried to copy him with films like The Hangover and I Love You, Man, they can't top it; they're all good movies, however Apatow is the undisputed R-rated king of comedy.

Funny People tells the story of George Simmons (Adam Sandler, his best performance in years), a world-famous actor in crud flicks like Re-Do and Mer-Man (watch the posters carefully; you'll see a funny cameo by a certain star pf Virgin). Now dying of leukemia, he makes friends with Ira (Seth Rogen, hilarious), a stand-up comic trying to make it big time. He hires Ira to write stand-up for him after seeing his bit at a comedy club. Along the way, we meet Ira's roommates: Mark (Jason Schwartzman, a riot), the star of a low-rated sitcom called Yo Teach! and Leo (Jonah Hill), with a back-story similar to that of Ira's. In an attempt to woo his old girlfriend back, George tells Laura (Leslie Mann, great as usual) of his illness. He wants to get back together, but he soon discovers of Laura's husband (Eric Bana, a fresh face) and two kids Mable and Ingrid (Mann and Apatow's own kids Maude and Iris, showing serious potential as actresses with a bigger role than in Knocked Up in Funny People). Cameos fill People, from Aziz Ansari (a spin-off mockumentary is already planned) and Sarah Silverman to Norm McDonald and Andy Dick.

Funny People is classic Judd Apatow, no matter what critics or audience members are saying. The only difference between this movie and his previous accomplishments is that you have to know a bit about every character in this. Sandler's prank phone calls in the beginning trace back to when him and Apatow were roommates and the relationship between Sandler and Budd Friedman to really appreciate People. Sure, nobody reading this can relate to George Simmons' problem of being too rich and famous, although we can understand how it feels to be rejected and going nowhere in your life. If you look at it from this point of view, that can be pretty funny.

4.5/5 stars

Ridley Scott WILL Direct ‘Alien’ Prequel!

2009-07-31T12:26:00.002-04:00

You heard me right; Ridley Scott (the Oscar-nominated director of Black Hawk Down, Gladiator and Thelma and Louise) will direct the prequel to his 1979 blockbuster Alien, finally setting the rumors straight. Variety said this, but no word yet on the story for the movie. The only other confirmed news is that Tony Scott (Man on Fire, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3) will produce with Ridley Scott and Jon Spaihts, who most recently wrote Passengers, is scribing the screenplay. The movie is aiming for a 2011 release.

Wacked Out New Trailer for ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’

2009-07-30T20:13:00.002-04:00

Do they say "wacked out" anymore? That's beside the point; however, as a new full-length trailer has been released for animated The Fantastic Mr. Fox. First reaction to it: whoa. And not in a good way. As Cinema Blend puts it, the stop-motion looks like something from Robot Chicken. Like not even Wallace and Gromit, they go straight to Seth Green's cartoon! Skeptical about this one. Watch it below and tell me what you think.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox opens in theaters November 13^th, 2010.

Sick New Trailer for ‘Pandorum’

2009-07-29T18:19:00.002-04:00

The teaser for Pandorum was amazing. It reminded me of that Saw V trap where you get your head trapped in a box with a tube in your neck that you have to get out to unlock the box before it fills with water. (Don't ask me to explain it, this is about Pandorum, not Saw!) So here lies that teaser, make way for the new full-length trailer! It premiered at Comic-Con, but since sadly I wasn't there, I just saw it moments ago over at Cinema Blend. It isn't quite as good as the teaser (this one is riddled with special-effects and screaming), although this movie might surprise us. Some people are saying that you can't tell the plot from the preview. I disagree, you can totally understand! Some people are captured and wake up godnowswhere and don't know who or where they are. Check it out below.

Pandorum comes to theaters September 18^th.

PANDORUM Comic-Con Trailer
by thatsfunny

‘Narnia 3’ Will be Happening

2009-07-29T14:13:00.002-04:00

I personally loved Prince Caspian and The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe, all members of the Chronicles of Narnia series, despite what everyone else says (but what everyone else says doesn't matter when you get a worldwide gross of well over a billion dollars when you combine the two). So no duh I'd want a third, Voyage of the Dawn Treader. And now according to Coming Soon (via Cinema Blend), principle photography has started on the sequel in Queensland, Australia. Dawn Treader will be about the three kids and their cousin Eustace as they sail on a ship across the sea to save Narnia. Michael Apted (The World is Not Enough) will direct. It even has a release date already!

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader comes to theaters December 10^th, 2010.

‘Batman 3’ Update from David S. Goyer

2009-07-29T14:02:00.002-04:00

Heard lately that Miley Cyrus would play Batgirl (which was obviously not true) and that David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan had already written half of the script? False! According to Goyer, when MTV asked about the new Batman movie, he said "Right now, Chris is involved in filming Inception. When he finishes that, he will turn his studious gaze back to the Bat universe and we'll see." So Michael Caine lied at Comic-Con (sort of) that filming would begin in 2010. Or maybe he just didn't know and wanted to look cool in front of an audience. Still, at least know we now that a third movie is happening on the Dark Knight. I'll be willing to wait as long as the studio wants, just look how Half-Blood Prince turned out!

‘Hurt Locker’ Shows Promise, but Gets Groggy – Movie Review

2009-07-28T19:48:00.002-04:00

I heard that The Hurt Locker is the best movie of the year (and we're only in July) by a lot of major critics like Peter Travers and Roger Ebert. So I went to see it for myself, and I don't think that I saw the same movie as them. Hurt Locker starts off promising; squad "Bravo Company" defusing a bomb by hand after a robot breaks down. After an explosion and the death of a beloved team member, Bravo gets a new staff sergeant: William James. James, unlike previous sergeant Matt Thompson is a loose cannon. He's reckless and fearless, the kind of guy who likes to shoot now and take names later. At the point of his first greeting, the movie takes a downward spin. While some rare patches are suspenseful and will have you on the edge of your seat, the filler scenes between are filled with, well, nothing. Talking, talking, walking, walking. See a suspicious guy, watching, watching. Shoot someone, thinking, contemplating. Get my point?

The Hurt Locker stars Jeremy Renner (North Country) as James, Anthony Mackie (Eagle Eye) as Sergeant JT Sanborn and Brian Geraghty (We Are Marshall) as Specialist Owen Eldridge. Geraghty is the most convincing out of the three. There's also a short role for Guy Pearce as the later deceased Thompson, who's incredible, and another for Ralph Fiennes as the Contractor team leader. The big story here is the director, Kathryn Bigelow. Sure, she directed Point Break, but the lowdown on Locker is that she might have an Oscar nod in line for her come February. She'd be the fourth female director nominated for "Best Director" (the first if she wins) at the Academy Awards. Her style of directing is a mix of documentary and action. That works for some of the scenes, but I'm reminded of Michael Mann's arguable filming of Public Enemies. I'm going to cut her a break, since her directing is so influential. Mark Boal writes the screenplay, who also wrote In the Valley of Elah, and produces with Bigelow.

The Hurt Locker shows promise, although gets groggy as the movie unfolds. The reason I'm not giving it a lower grade than three out of five stars is because of the relationships the movie portrays with the Iraqi people. That's original, whilst The Hurt Locker is really just more of the same ol'.

3/5 stars.

Crazy New Red-Band Trailer for ‘The Goods’

2009-07-27T16:25:00.002-04:00

For all of you wusses out there who couldn't handle the first red-band trailer for The Goods: Live Hard Sell Hard don't watch the next one from Funny or Die (via Cinema Blend) below. I hate how the FCC can't play these previews on regular cable; it's hilarious! Whatever. Check it out below from producers Adam McKay and Will Ferrell (Step Brothers, Talladega Nights).

The Goods: Live Hard Sell Hard opens in theaters August 14^th.

‘RANDY’ Movie Happening, Says Apatow

2009-07-27T14:00:00.003-04:00

God-director Judd Apatow's Funny People comes out this Friday, July 31^st, and in it you'll see Aziz Ansari's newly famous "Randy" character. And if you thought that that was the last you'd see of him, you are wrong my friend. Judd Apatow himself said that he and Ansari are making a feature-length RANDY movie, according to JoBlo. "Randy isn't in the movie anywhere near as much we wish he was. Something hilariously magical happened when Aziz showed up," said Apatow. "So we all said, 'What else can we do?' Let's just make a documentary! We just couldn't stop writing for him. And now we're talking about making the RANDY movie. We can't get enough of Randy..." He also added that "we're (Ansari and himself) outlining it right now." I'm guessing that it'll be a mockumentary, just like the series on Funny or Die, where the comedian character leaked. Ansari has been a riot since he was a writer on Human Giant. With Apatow behind the movie as well, if he does actually go through with this it should be awesome.

Check out "Randy" in Judd Apatow's third directorial film Funny People, in theaters Friday.

Concept Art for ‘Sucker Punch’…Kind Of

2009-07-27T13:45:00.002-04:00

During the Watchmen DVD panel at this year's Comic Con (which ended yesterday), tee shirts for director Zack Snyder's (also did 300) Sucker Punch were handed out. This is the only real look we have so far of the movie, starring Vanessa Hudgens, since it doesn't come out until spring of 2011. Still, here it is in all of its glory from JoBlo.

Sucker Punch comes out March 25^th, 2011.

Guinea Pigs Throw Pellets at ‘Potter’ – Box Office Results: July 24-26

2009-07-26T22:24:00.002-04:00

The Disney comedy G-Force beat Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince this past weekend, grossing an estimated $32.2 million. Bad reviews from critics took no major part in Jerry Bruckheimer's first 3D film, since kids I'm guessing took up the majority of the seats. In second place was Potter, which broke records in midnight showings last week, took a sharp dive of 62% to $30 million. Its total is now $221.8 million.

In third, also opened this weekend was The Ugly Truth, starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler. It grossed an estimated $27 million, less than Knocked Up's $30.7 million opening weekend, however Truth did gross more than Heigl's 27 Dresses haul of $23 million. In fourth, another new release, Orphan. Reviews were mixed on this evil-child horror flick, 45% of critics recommending it on poll site Rotten Tomatoes. It gathered $12.8 million. Rounding out the top five is Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs with $8.2 million. Fox's animated movie now has a grand total of $171.3 million.

And my Hangover watch continues! This weekend it totaled $6.5 million in seventh place, falling 21% from last weekend. Although the Bradley Cooper comedy goes up one weekend and down the next. Its sum is up to $247.1 million, becoming the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all time.

Other movies that opened this weekend-

Armando Iannucci's British political comedy In The Loop grossed $201,000 in only eight theaters. With a likely expansion, it should do considerably better before its run at the box office comes to an end. Shrink, starring Kevin Spacey, raked in $17,000 in two theaters. Sundance pick The Answer Man, starring Jeff Daniels got $13,000 tackling six screens.

Here are the weekend results according to studio estimates Sunday-

G-Force…$32.2 million
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince…$30 million
The Ugly Truth…$27 million
Orphan…$12.8 million
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs…$8.2 million
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen…$8 million
The Hangover…$6.5 million
The Proposal…$6.4 million
Public Enemies…$4.2 million
Brüno…$2.7 million