No Country for Old Men

Directed by:
Ethan and Joel Coen

Starring:
Josh Brolin
Javier Bardem
Tommy Lee Jones

Synopsis:
Based on the acclaimed novel by Pulitzer Prize winner Cormac McCarthy. The time is our own, when rustlers have given way to drug- runners and small towns have become free-fire zones. The story begins when Llewelyn Moss (BROLIN) finds a pickup truck surrounded by a sentry of dead men. A load of heroin and two million dollars in cash are still in the back. When Moss takes the money, he sets off a chain reaction of catastrophic violence that not even the law - in the person of aging, disillusioned Sheriff Bell (JONES) - can contain. As Moss tries to evade his pursuers - in particular a mysterious mastermind who flips coins for human lives (BARDEM) - the film simultaneously strips down the American crime drama and broadens its concerns to encompass themes as ancient as the Bible and as bloodily contemporary as this morning’s headlines.

Read Rusty's happy review and Chase's angry review HERE.

Click MORE for the see the rest of the DVDs being released.
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Anyone that knows me knows that I am a cartoon fanatic, namely Speed Racer (the only TV series I own on DVD), so I have been especially wary about the upcoming summer release of the Wachowski brothers’ Speed Racer. I love the simple animation of the cartoon series and the fact that it is basically comprised of about 4 different poses for each character and the classic repeated frames to show the motion of the car. Larry and Andy Wachowski (Matrix trilogy) have taken this classic Japanese cartoon and turned it into a high adrenaline CGI tour de force. From what I understand, it is meant to resemble a video game. We’ll see how that works out. Watch both international trailers HERE

Source: FirstShowing.net

Harmony Korine is back new with a new film called Mister Lonely. It stars Diego Luna as a Michael Jackson impersonator in Paris. He meets a lovely Marilyn Monroe (the beautiful Samantha Morton), and she takes him to a secluded place off a coast in Scotland where a handful of other impersonators reside. Oh, and nuns jump out of airplanes without parachutes.

Most of you should know who Harmony Korine is. He wrote the critically acclaimed Kids at just 18 years old and then went on to write/direct Gummo and Julien Donkey-Boy. He vanished for some time and now he's back and ready to take Hollywood for everything it's got. If you are interested in knowing what he did during his time of absence, look for our video interview which will be posted in the next week or so.

My review of Mister Lonely won't be posted until the day the film opens, but I will say that I will be seeing this again in theaters. To view the trailer and get more information on Mister Lonely, click HERE.

10,000 B.C. took this weekend's box office with almost $36mil. I want to see this movie but haven't had the time just yet. I'm not really expecting a lot out of it, so maybe when I see it there will be a chance it can somewhat impress me. I guess I will have to wait and see.

Last week's #1, Semi-Pro, and #2, >Vantage Point, took a backseat to 10,000 B.C. and this weeks #2, >College Road Trip. I'm beginning to think there may have been a typo when the numbers came in because I can't imagine why anyone would have gone to see College Road Trip.

Something that may seem a little surprising to some is Vantage Point, last weeks #2, grossing more this weekend than last week's #1, Semi-Pro. To honest, though, I have seen both and my vote would definitely be for Vantage Point. Semi-Pro barely produced a chuckle from me while Vantage Point, even with it's annoying rewind thing, kept my attention. Regardless, I can't help but love Will Ferrell.

Here are the top 5:

Source Box Office Mojo

Going to SXSW for the first time as a journalist without a Journalism degree was like when I rode a bike for the first time, fell off, and happened to land on a nail. But in SXSW terms, I laid on that nail for three days.

(Dudes, she's single and can put up a good fight.)

Yesterday, after Amber and I left the Harold and Kumar 2 (NPH goes to our site!) press junket, we had to head straight to The Alamo Ritz to catch the screening of Mister Lonely, the film Harmony Korine was in town to promote. Of course with my luck, the list that we were on as press to see the film had been lost, so us getting into the screening was't looking good. Luckily, there was someone there who actually cared to help us out and snuck us through some retarded halls and into some very good seats that were well worth the confusion and wait. To the person that helped us, if you are reading this, thank you for your kindness.

Today
9:00 AM screening of David Schwimmer's directorial debut Run, Fatboy, Run. Same Alamo, but different problem. Sadly, the projector was having some problems and the film stopped about twenty minutes in, so we split and head over to the Hilton Hotel to interview Harmony Korine. I can't post the interview until the day Mister Lonely opens, and I also can't stress enough that you have to watch this video interview. He is one of the gnarliest people I have ever met in my life. And awkward. I'm forever a Harmony Korine fan for the answers he gave me for the questions I asked him.

After Harmony's interview, we had to kill five hours for the David Schwimmer interview. There were lots of trying to catch up on sleep in hotel couches, lots of bumping into actors/actresses who were in town promoting their films, and lots of unhealthy eating. We finally got into the interview, did the damn thing, and headed home. David sure is a nice man, and I'm excited about sharing our interview we had with him.

(David's not blurry in real life. I promise.)

Over all I've learned that when going to a film festival, sleeping is limited, friendly journalists are rare (but they do exist!), always wear comfortable shoes, randomly running into celebrities is normal, and be ready when them questions. Great experience. Hey, Tribeca, Cannes, and Sundance. Bring it on!

Hey! How did we do?

Today was the roundtable interview with Neil Patrick Harris, Kal Penn, and John Cho who are here to promote Harold & Kumar 2. The room was full of eager journalist and my anxiety was no joke. I mean, seriously, NPH is no joke either. I grew up watching the Doogie. As soon as they came in and sat down, NPH looked at my Macbook and said, "Ohh, Gordon and the Whale, I went to your site. I saw your interview with Will Ferrell. Good stuff." I of course fumbled my words, but said thank you. He knew I was from GATW because I record from my Macbook (using iSight) and have a Gordonandthewhale.com logo for my background so when the person I am doing the interview with plugs our site, they know how to pronounce it. Sometimes it can be misinterpreted for porn (Gordon IN the Whale anyone?)

The reason why I cannot show you this is because after the interviews, the publicists for the actors and directors told us we didn't have the clearance to film and they had to watch me delete the footage from my computer. Depressing I know, but I'm not too upset by it because I feel very fortunate to be in the spot that I am, and the fact that DOOGIE FUCKING HOWSER M.D. GOES TO GORDON AND THE WHALE DOT COM means we are turning the right heads in our direction. Yeah boy.

Tomorrow Amber will fill the rest of todays adventure. Stay tuned. See you tomorrow David Schwimmer and Harmony Korine.

Question: What do you do when you leave a snowman filled Denton behind to head to a huge film festival in Austin only to arrive early and find out the first screening you're slated to attend has been delayed for five hours because the print has gone missing?

Answer: You eat ranch flavored corn nuts and sleep uncomfortably in your friend's car while cursing at the Movie Gods until those five hours have dissolved.

Now I'm not complaining, I am very lucky and fortunate to be invited here (newbie!), but it's a little unsettling when you have to mingle around a bunch of pissed off journalists who yell at the wrong people because they're "VIP treatment has been violated." I still can't fathom the shit that came out of one journalists mouth. If any of us every get that cocky, please punch us in the weiner. Or in Amber's case, in the boobie.

I plan on updating this until Sunday night, because that's when my first SXSW experience ends. Come Monday morning, I will have seen Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, Mister Lonely, and Run, Fatboy, Run, and I will have interviewed Neil Patrick Harris, John Cho, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, Harmony Korine, and David Schwimmer. Hopefully my sanity will remain intact.

I hope you like what I have to say about this experience, and let me know if I have spelled anything wrong. Waking up extremely early to write is clearly not my forte.

PS if you're on twitter, follow me on my South By experience HERE!

Dallas -- AMC NORTHPARK 15
Time & date: Thursday night, March 13 at Midnight

To have your passes mailed to you, fill out the form below. It's free and we wont give away your address. We promise.

You can also pick passes up from select locations around Denton. Check back later for a list of locations.

Release date: March 14, 2008
Genre: Action-Thriller
Cast: Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, Adrian Lester, Alexander Siddig and Malcolm McDowell
Written and Directed by: Neil Marshall

In the action-packed new thriller DOOMSDAY, from writer/director Neil Marshall (The Descent, Dog Soldiers), authorities brutally quarantine a country as it succumbs to fear and chaos when a virus strikes. The literal walling-off works for three decades--until the dreaded Reaper virus violently resurfaces in a major city.

An elite group of specialists, captained by Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra), is urgently dispatched into the still-quarantined country to retrieve a cure by any means necessary. Shut off from the rest of the world, the unit must battle through a landscape that has become a waking nightmare.

If only I had seen The Counterfeiters before the 80th Academy Awards on Sunday, February 24th, I would have surely picked this undeniably powerful film about Jewish men forced to make counterfeit money for the Nazis during World War II to win on my ballot, and that extra point would have tied me for the win. The Academy chose wisely in their awarding of the winner in the usually impressive, but often overlooked, category of Best Foreign Language Film.

While the timing of my viewing of The Counterfeiters could have been slightly better for my pride, allowing me a respectable tie, instead of a disappointing loss in my Oscar pool. Watching The Counterfeiters proves very rewarding for fans of mature and emotionally significant cinema.

The film begins with the introduction of Salomon Sorowitsch (Karl Markovis). We quietly observe Salomon as he puts a large amount of money in a safety deposit box, then he proceeds to successfully gamble in his hotel, and ultimately beds a beautiful woman. Things appear to be going well for Salomon, until his current lover notices the numerical tattoo on his forearm. This question causes the protagonist to leave his comfortable surroundings and momentarily recall the very real nightmare he lived through during the Holocaust. Salomon was able to survive, unlike many of his people, because of his ingenuity and talents. At First, Salomon's artistic ability allows him to paint for his Nazi wardens in exchange for food and life. Eventually, Solomon is moved to a concentration camp where he helps the Nazi’s make perfect counterfeits of the pound and eventually the dollar.

Salomon and most of the other men do as they are told and obediently try to make passable forgeries of the requested currency. However, when the men are ordered to make copies of the dollar, the printer Burger refuses to help the Nazis fund their war effort any further. Burgers does this knowing his sabotage could mean the death of all the Jewish men involved in the operation. Salomon and the others urge Burger to print acceptable counterfeits, but he always refuses, and a very difficult question is asked: What is more important, ones own survival or doing what one believes to be moral even if it means death? Many might say that you must sacrifice yourself and possibly a few others to have the ability to do a great amount of good. However, many of us have never been in a similar situation with our own death constantly hanging over our heads, and if one of the main parts of life is to live it, does self-preservation take precedence? This penetrating question, for the most part, becomes the center of the second half of the film.

Unlike Steven Spielberg’s Schlinder’s List, The Counterfeiters is shot in color, barely. Once the audience leaves the current Salomon and is thrust into his disturbing past, there are few bright colors to be found, just dim and faded shades of blue, gray, and black. The character’s misery and frustrations is appropriately captured by deceptively simple handheld shots. The filmmakers recognize there is no need for flash; they are aware of the quality of the script and the complexity of the question at the heart of their film.

Like many of the best and most chilling Holocaust films, The Counterfeiters contains several unforgettable moments, creating images and emotions that will stay in the mind of the audience for quite some time. While Salomon suffers throughout his stay in the terrible concentration camps, there is one moment in particular where he receives such a cruel and dehumanizing punishment from one of the commanding officers that he must finally let out all the pain that has accumulated inside of him during his imprisonment. This outburst by the protagonist, like several scenes in the film, is ripe with genuine anguish and is undeniably draining on the characters as well as the audience.

The Counterfeiters is one those heartbreaking but genuinely great films that will be seen by a very small amount of the movie going public. A fact, that feels almost criminal when you consider the film’s quality. However, given The Counterfeiters' recent Oscar, perhaps a few more people will see this difficult but fantastic film than would have before Sunday, February 24th.

Filmmaker John Sayles obviously cares deeply about the characters he creates. This affection and focus can cause his films to appear slow at times, some might say becoming too infatuated with his subjects and not enough with making an entertaining movie. However, the audience is allowed time to become well acquainted with the world that he has created on the screen, allowing for a real interest in the filmmaker’s often flawed but very interesting screen characters. Ultimately, his attention to characters and their development is what makes Mr. Sayles films so engaging.

Honeydripper is Mr. Sayles latest film, and it serves as another classic example of the directors’ fascination with his characters. While the film has a large cast, it does possess a true protagonist in Tyrone Purvis (Danny Glover). Tyrone’s club is not doing well and as a final attempt to save his failing business he decides for the first time ever to have a guitar musician play at the club.

The audience gets to meet Tyrone’s family, the opportunist sheriff, the guitar carrying outsider Sonny who drifts into Harmony during the film’s beginning, as well as several other colorful people. You see there is a story; it is about the protagonist trying to make sure something resembling a show does happen on Saturday night, allowing him to keep his establishment. However, Honeydripper does not merely try to piece together a somewhat amusing tale about a man getting in way over his head. Instead, Sayles takes an in-depth look at the desperate people on the movie screen, examining their demons and insecurities. These interactions might seem longer and more frequent than neccesary to people with smaller attention spans. Mr. Sayles is not concerned with creating a crisp or breezy story, but is perfectly content with capturing his fascinating people and their sharp dialogue as they interact with one another and mature before our eyes.

Don’t let me fool you into thinking that this is a very serious film that has no fun. In fact, the film is often quite comical and vibrant. Tyrone’s business partner Maceo (Charles S. Dutton) has several comical interactions with one of his female admirers. Also, the long awaited Saturday night performance is clearly one of the film’s highlights, creating an elaborate and very enjoyable tribute to rock n roll.

Along with being the writer and director of Honeydripper, John Sayles is also the editor, which seems necessary since many other editors might want to trim the film, cutting some of the longer character driven scenes down significantly. However, cutting the film would take away the emotional center of the film, as the audience’s interest in the character’s outcome is what truly makes Honeydripper a mostly enjoyable film.

Today the lineup for the Dallas AFI International Film Festival has been announced. This is a big deal for Dallas because it's like a mini-SXSW being held here. There will be some major star power in attendance: David Gordon Green (for his film Snow Angels), Richard Jenkins (The Visitor), Helen Hunt (for her directorial debut film Then She Found Me), Charlize Theron, and Mickey Rooney has been confirmed already. Get your tickets HERE.

The festival will begin on March 27th, and end on April 9th. Below is the list of screenings, contests, and other information on how to get tickets. Click HERE to view the trailers for the films listed.

PS I got tired of bolding and italicizing every film title, so it kind of trails off, but I promise they are all there.

Click MORE to see the complete lineup.
(more...)

Lots of buzz floated around about a new ending to I Am Legend, and here it is in all its glory. You better watch this before Joblo gets into legal troubles and is asked to take this down. This hit YouTube yesterday about 15 times, and every single one of them were taken down with a blink of an eye.

I personally think the original ending fits (even if I didn't like it). What do you think?

Zach Snyder (300) announced that Watchmen will come out in exactly one year and to thank us for being so patient, he has given us some of the character photos from the film. I think all the costumes look uber cool except for Nite Owl, which looks like a rejected Batman Begins suit, and Ozymandias, which looks like a rejected Nite Owl suite. Do you agree with me on this?

Watchmen hits theaters 3.06.09

Click on the photos to enlarge.

Source Warner Bros.

I am one of the few people that thought Hot Rod was one of the funniest movies ever created. When Rico turns to his friend and says "I'm kinda grumpy today, dude. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I was having those dreams again. Ya know, how it's just me in a castle and I gotta fight, like, a thousand wizards and the only way to beat them is to punch them as hard as I can in their faces." I was sold. Remember that guy. His name is Danny R. McBride.

Here's the RESTRICTED RED BAND trailer for his new film, Foot Fist Way, which is backed by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. Enjoy!

Source Funny or Die

Mark your calender. The film that SHOULD HAVE won the Best Picture will be arriving on DVD. It will be released on two different version (of course!). I'm sure the studio had something to do with that. One single disc, and the other packed out with special features. Blasting in dolby digital 5.1 surround, Both will also be in anamorphic widescreen.

The two disc will give us three featurettes called “Dailies Gone Wild,” “The Story of Petroleum,” and “15.” It will also come with two deleted scenes called “fishing” and “haircut/interrupted hymn.” Both versions will have the teaser and theatrical trailers. The double disc will also going to be released on Blu Ray.

Source Cigarettes and Red Vines

If you haven't seen the trailer yet in theatres, here it is online! Iron man stars Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man along with Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, and Jeff Bridges. Jon Favreau is directing the super hero flick based on the comic book by Stan Lee. View the trailer and read about the movie here

source empireonline

Awake

Starring: Hayden Christensen, Terrence Howard, and Jessical Alba
Directed by: Joby Harold
Clay Beresford (Christensen) finds himself awake during his heart surgery, and learns of his doctors’ plan to murder him. Despite being paralyzed, Clay’s spirit is able to leave his body as he witnesses the fall out from his surgery and the plot against his life. A poor box office run and a cold critical reception does little to inspire confidence in this thriller’s entertainment value.

Into the Wild


Starring: Emile Hirsch, Jena Malone, Catherine Keener, Hal Holbrook, William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, and Vince Vaughn
Directed by: Sean Penn
Based on the true story of Christopher McCandless who after graduating from college, separated himself from his physical possessions and hitchhiked across the United States. The film has been widely praised for its performances and the Eddie Vedder authored score. Read Chase Whale’s Review HERE.

Also being released:

Things We Lost in the Fire

Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium

Just Jared has first look photos of Liev Schreiber as Sabertooth in the upcoming solo Wolverine film, X-Men Origins: Wolverine Check out them claws!

Will Liev live up to Tyler Mane's version? He was pretty dead on.

Head over to Just Jared for the rest of the set.

Last week we learned Ellen Page dropped out of Drag Me to Hell, Sam Raimi's first film since Spiderman 3. There was gossip over whether or not she got cold feet from her Oscar win, but sources have confirmed the split had to do with scheduling conflicts. This week we are told Allison Lohman is stepping in to replace the talented miss Page.

Drag me to Hell is slated to shoot March 31, and was written by the Raimi two, Ivan and Sam.

PS does this photo not look like a blonde Ellen Page?

Source Variety

As the creator of many “horror” films, most of which were created based on video games (Bloodrayne 1 and 2, House of the Dead, Alone in the Dark) Uwe Boll plans to release his movie, Postal, on May 23rd meaning it would go head to head with Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Uwe Boll is one of the most irritating and undeserving filmmakers of today, and if he actually thinks that he’s going to win this “war,” I have a feeling he will have a few tear-filled nights after the movie’s release.

Source /film

The Weinstein Co. announced yesterday they will produce a first attempt film at Bob Marley's life based on his wife's memoire entitled, "No Woman No Cry: My Life With Bob Marley." She will be executive producing, and according to her, she plans on getting the icon's daughter in law Lauren Hill to play her.

The untitled project from producer Rudy Langlais ("The Hurricane") is tentatively set to begin filming early next year with a projected late 2009 release date. Langlais said the film will be an "epic romance," including the Marleys' life and the assassination attempt on the couple. "It's miraculous that Rita is still here after being shot in the head," he says. The singer had 13 children, including several from extramarital affairs... Marley plans to be on the set every day. "Every inch of me is in there," Rita says, "and I don't want a fairy tale or Cinderella story."

Source Hollywood Reporter

Due to the weather, this event has been canceled for tonight.

Jim Sturgess (star of 21 and Across The Universe) will be at the Angelika in Dallas on Thursday and we have FREE passes for you to print! The Q&A with Mr. Sturgess will follow the screening of his new movie 21.

We have PRINTABLE free screening passes for the movie 21 for this Thursday, March 6, at the Angelika in Dallas. Click HERE or the thumbnail below to download and print your pass. Each pass is good for 2 people but remember that seats are first come first serve.

Wide Release:

10,000 B.C.

Written by: Roland Emmerich and Harald Kloser

Directed by: Roland Emmerich

Starring: Steven Strait, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis, Omar Shariff, Timothy Barlow

Synopsis: A prehistoric epic that follows a young mammoth hunter's journey through uncharted territory to secure the future of his tribe.

The Bank Job

Written by: Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais

Directed by: Roger Donaldson

Starring: Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Stephen Campbell Moore, Daniel Mays, James Faulkner

Synopsis: Inspired by a 1971 London bank robbery, a band of thieves tunnel their way into a safe deposit vault taking millions in cash and jewelry.

College Road Trip

Written by: Emi Mochizuki and Carrie Evans

Directed by: Roger Kumble

Starring: Raven Symoné and Martin Lawrence

Synopsis: A college-bound teenager has her hopes of independence shattered when her over-bearing father insists on escorting her on a road trip to visit prospective universities.

Limited Release- check local listings

CJ7

Written by: Stephen Chow and Vincent Kok

Directed by: Stephen Chow

Starring: Stephen Chow, Xu Jiao, Zhang Yuqi,

Synopsis: A hard working father brings a toy home that turns out to be a bizarre “pet” with extraordinary powers.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Written by: Simon Beaufoy and David Magee

Directed by: Bharat Nalluri

Starring: Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, Shirley Henderson, Lee Pace, and Mark Strong

Synopsis: Based on the novel by Winifred Watson, a seasoned governess gets a taste of the glamorous life when she's sent to work in the home of an exciting nightclub performer.

Married Life

Written by: Ira Sachs and Oren Moverman

Directed by: Ira Sachs

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper, Patricia Clarkson, Rachel McAdams, David Richmond-Peck

Synopsis: Based on the novel by John Bingam. When a gentle married man falls in love with another woman, he plots to kill his wife rather than humiliating her with a divorce.

Girls Rock

Directed by: Shane King and Arne Johnson

Synopsis: Documentary follows young ladies rocking out and learning life lessons of empowerment at the Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls.

Paranoid Park

Written by: Gus Van Sant

Directed by: Gus Van Sant

Starring: Gabe Nevins, Jake Miller (II), Taylor Momsen, Lauren McKinney, and Daniel Lui

Synopsis: Based on the novel, a young skateboarder falls into a world of crime, guilt and fear when he accidentally kills a security guard in self-defense.

Snow Angels

Written by: David Gordon Green

Directed by: David Gordon Green

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, Olivia Thirlby, Amy Sedaris, and Michael Angarano

Synopsis: Based on the novel, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell star as a separated couple in an intertwining story of love lost and found in a small town.

This is has not been a good weekend for movies. In fact, this is not been a good month for movies.

Since previous hits Talladega Nights opened with $47MIL and Blades of Glory at $33MIL, Semi-Pro had an optimistic $30-42 million opening weekend box office but only barely managed $15MIL. It did manage to make #1, but it had nothing to compete with this weekend. The fact that it was rated R (was it seriously necessary to have the eff word every five minutes?) didn't help it either. Good thing New Line folded to Warner Bros. Future Will Ferrell sports films are not looking bright.

Vantage Point, Jumper, and Spiderwick Chronicles are holding strong, and newcomer The Other Boleyn Girl made it in fourth place. That's pretty damn good considering it was only released in only 1,166 theaters.

And It's no surprise that No Country For Old Men made it up to the top ten since receiving four Academy Awards last weekend. I still stand by my views that this should not have taken home Best Picture, but I'm just a voice in the crowd. In other Oscar related films, Juno STILL manage to stay in the top ten (tenth to be exact and 13 weeks strong) and brought the total to $135,135,000. That's incredible.

Results (Feb. 29- Mar. 2):

Source Box Office Mojo

So... it turns out we have had some problems the last few days with the comments. If you commented and it didn't show up, we apologize. This has hopefully been fixed. We love you.

Every now and then, there's a film that's so challenging and unconventional that it polarizes critics and audience members into two categories, those that love and adore the film’s energy and creativity and those that despise the complicated film with a passion. Penelope is definitely not one of the films. Instead, it's a slight and forgettable film that it is hard to have strong feeling for the film either way.

This modern fairy tale’s prologue explains that due to the indiscretion of a deceased relative, Penelope (Christina Ricci) is cursed with a pig snout. Penelope’s Mother, the always enjoyable Catherine O’Hara, believes that the only way to break the curse is for Penelope to marry and be accepted by a fellow member of British high society. The movie plays out much like you would expect, with valuable lessons learned by most of the characters.

It easy is to understand why Reese Witherspoon plays a part in Penelope, since she produced the film, even though her part is only a little more than that of cameo. Witherspoon also personally offered the title role to Christina Ricci, which is perhaps why Ms. Ricci agreed to do this film. Penelope is much more mainstream than most of Christian Ricci’s other film projects. Ricci proves to be very apt at playing the likeable but understandingly bitter lead. Atonement star James McAvoy plays the kind-hearted sensitive man who sees past the snout to the beauty inside of Penelope. Mr. McAvoy oozes with European Charm, despite his character’s scruffy appearance. Catherine O’Hara, the high-strung and determined Mother, and Peter Dinklage, the one-eyed reporter, get every ounce of possible humor out of their characters. The skill of the entire cast helps keep Penelope at least moderately engaging.

Penelope’s also possesses a decent visual sense and musical score, providing a stronger style than the movie’s simple material would suggest. However, this technical style only helps to nudge Penelope over the average mark, but does not evaluate itself to anything worth remembering.

Penelope will most likely not be on very many favorite movies lists for people over the age of ten. However, there are enough chuckles and fairly enjoyable moments to somewhat entertain the adults that find themselves in the audience.

It's official. Mike Myers has run out of funny things to write, say, and do. This is full of stupid mini-me jokes (yes, that is Verne Troyer) and jokes that would have worked circa 1995. I'm calling the box-office flop now.

Click HERE to view the trailer.

Source AOL

Rating: 6/10

Director: Kent Alterman
Writer: Scot Armstrong
Cast: Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Will Arnett, Rob Corddry
Studio: New Line Cinema

SEMI-PRO begins with the audience listening to Jackie Moon’s (Will Ferrell) once number one and hit song, “Love Me Sexy,” while the camera pans over newspapers, magazine covers, and various sorts of things letting the viewer know that Jackie Moon had a song that made him incredibly wealthy. He used that wealth to fulfill his dream of owning, managing, coaching, and playing for a baskeball team (the Flint Michigan Tropics) in the ABA. Problem is, the ABA just announced that they are merging with the NBA and only bringing the best four teams with them. It’s up to Jackie Moon and his team of good-for-nothings to lead them to at least fourth place and into the NBA. To do that, he trades in the team's washing machine for former NBA Point Guard, Ed Monix (Woody Harrelson). (more...)

I remember being younger and playing different variations of the good old “king of the hill” game with my brother. We would defend our territory with our toy guns and battle it out in the backyard with our friends. For the youngsters at Dead End Hill, the game is quite different. They don’t play with toy guns, and picking a side means much more than choosing who you want to win or lose; it means choosing who you want to live or die. Allegiance is everything.

As a follow up to the venerated City of God and the subsequent TV series of which it gets its name, City of Men is absolutely capable of holding its own in the shadow of its predecessors. Writer/director Paolo Morelli has created a much more character driven drama than the more violent City of God, directed by Fernando Meirelles. As long time collaborators, Morelli and Meirelles are able to create two distinct films that still compliment each other.

The movie centers around two main characters, Ace (Douglas Silva) and Wallace (Darlan Cunha), as they approach their 18th birthdays. Both characters struggle with the fact that they are fatherless, which is a common problem in Brazil. As a child himself, Ace works as a security guard to support his son while Wallace obsesses over his father’s identity. The best friends soon find out that they share more of a past than previously thought after a dark secret from the past of Wallace’s recently paroled father comes out. The audience, however, can see this revelation coming from a mile away, and it is almost irritating how much it is hinted at.

The gang war surrounding Wallace and Ace only facilitates the tension building between them. As with every other Brazilian slum, life in Dead End Hill is inherently one of crime, even for children. After the boss of Dead End Hill is overthrown, everyone must pick a side and fight for their territory, and not picking a side is presumably just as bad as picking the other side.

Morelli includes a multitude of flashbacks taken from the TV series, which serves well to deepen the relationship between Ace and Wallace. From the very beginning, the audience cares about the main characters and is able to identify with them through the way in which Morelli pulls back the curtains to reveal what life is really like for adolescents in Rio de Janeiro. The grainy film and quick movement of the camera gives it a documentary feel, however, every shot is still beautiful and thoughtful. The performances from all of the characters, especially Silva and Cunha, are effortless and natural. The script is beautifully written, and I have almost no complaints about this film. It’s the most worthwhile two hours I’ve spent in a theatre in quite some time.

Side note:To the woman that walked out of the movie because she thought it was too violent, this stuff actually happens, and is probably happening right now. You should just be thankful that there are people like Fernando Meirelles and Paulo Morelli to bring it to light and make everyone more aware.

Rating: 5.5/10

Poor Arvilla (Jessica Lange). It’s bad enough that her husband has just passed away, but now she has to battle with the bratty step daughter (Christine Baranski) over where his freshly cremated body gets laid to rest. With the deceased forgetting to update his will, the step daughter now has say so where the deceased goes. Arvilla has the ashes, but her house will be taken away from her if she does not obey and bring the ashes to Santa Barbara, where the deceased grew up.

Here is where her two best friends come in: the hardass with a soft side, Margene (Kathy Bates), and the over-achieving do-gooder Mormon (Joan Allen). They accompany Arvilla on a road trip across country to deliver the ashes in time for the funeral while “finding themselves” on the way in Arvilla’s late husbands '66 Bonneville. Sounds like fun right? Wrong.

Think Thelma and Louise plus one minus all the fun. They give us the young good looking hitchhiker, the trucker, and the standoffish finale, but watered down for a Lifetime Network finish. No guns, no sex, and no police standoff big cliff leap ending.

Bonneville was written by and directed by newcomers Daniel D. Davis (Writer) and Christopher N. Rowley (Director). This snoozer took two years to get into theaters after completion, and after watching the movie and constantly eyeing my watch, it’s no surprise why I didn’t like it. What they lacked in writing, they made up in costume design. Kudos to whoever recommended them to wear those ultra hip sunglasses.

Granted, it’s certainly an age demographic film, and I have never nor will I ever experience menopause, but I have seen cute little chick flicks and appreciated it from opening scene to the credits. This is just one boring trip I’d rather have passed on.