|
I have had a surface interest that occasionally disappears, but then I find I get distracted again by this and start to care again.
Check out the new trailer for Despicable Me:
Yeah, I am not 100% sold on it, but I am interested in a family friendly animated film told from the perspective of a badguy. I’m just very luke warm in my anticipation.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse – Now On The Big Screen!
Midnight Showings!
Okay, so it seems somewhat appropriate that a movie about vampires would open at midnight. After all, isn’t that when vampires do their best work?
The moment millions of teens have been waiting for
has finally arrived.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the third movie in the Twilight series opened with many midnight showings. In all, the latest installment in the vampire series is opening on 4,416 screens!
Catching Up On Story Line
Just in case you haven’t been keeping track of what’s going on in the Twilight world here’s a quick summary.
Kristen Stewart’s character, Bella, is caught up in a love triangle with Edward the vampire, played by Robert Pattinson, and Jacob, a werewolf portrayed by Taylor Lautner. From two very different worlds, as a matter of fact, if Jacob is true to himself and his character he’s supposed to kill Edward, but now they will put their differences aside. Why would they do such a thing? Mainly because the story line of Eclipse has vampires and werewolves teaming up to battle the evil vampire Victoria. She’s looking for revenge against Bella and her band of “newborn” vampires.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse also stars Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed, Kellan Lutz, Peter Facinelli, Dakota Fanning and Bryce Dallas Howard and is rated PG-13.
Frame by Frame Reviews of Earlier Twilight Movies
Your’s in movie news!
Dr. Rus
Knight and Day
PG-13 for sequences of action violence throughout
and brief strong language.
Genre: Comedy, romance
Running Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz star in what’s being described as a sexy action comedy. In Knight and Day a chance encounter thrusts a woman and a charming, but lethal operative into a series of adventures across the globe. As if dodging assassins and uncovering world-changing secrets weren’t enough, June Havens, played by Diaz, also finds herself trying to figure out if Roy Milner, played by Tom Cruise, is a good guy, a bad guy, a traitor……
Or just plain crazy!
Who Carries This Movie?
Going into Knight and Day we pretty much knew if it was going to be any good, it would have nothing to do with Tom Cruise. Right out of the gate we have to admit, neither Sandra nor myself really like Tom Cruise. He’s pretty much a one-dimensional-actor who’s ego gets in the way of everything he does. In all honesty, in some of his older movies, such as Mission Impossible and the remake of War of the Worlds, Cruise was nothing more than a screen hog. It seemed like they were more vanity movies than anything else. As a result, we knew if Knight and Day was destined for any kind of staying power, it would have more to do with Cameron Diaz than Tom Cruise.
In the end, that’s exactly what makes Knight and Day work.
While Cruise may get top billing in the movie, if it weren’t for Cameron Diaz, this movie would be a total flop. Actually, in many cases Diaz is the bigger than life star in this movie than Tom Cruise. It seems like Cruise is on auto-pilot with his standard one-dimensional-style of acting. Diaz should have received top billing in this new spy comedy. She’s the one that comes to life on the screen and she’s the one who keeps the story moving along. Cruise, while he says he enjoyed working with Diaz, simply falls into the background in many scenes while Diaz simply shines and pulls off yet another stellar performance.
Mission Impossible With A Laugh Track
Knight and Day centers on a lonely woman, June Havens, whose seemingly harmless “bumping into” a man at the airport, suddenly turns her life upside-down when a super spy played by Tom Cruise takes her on a violent worldwide journey to protect a powerful battery that holds the key to an infinite power source. In the midst of the intrigue, mystery and yes, even murder, June’s super-spy-friend makes sure she gets back to town in time for her sisters wedding.
Overall, Knight and Day is a very funny movie. As for genre, the filmmakers classify it as a comedy-romance. While there is romance, this movie is more comedic than anything else. When it comes to spoofs, I usually don’t like them. But the bottom line is this…
Knight and Day is a spoof of Mission Impossible
Tom Cruise became bigger than life for his role as a secret agent in the big screen version of the Mission Impossible franchise. Of course in my opinion the whole big screen version of the popular Mission Impossible TV show was nothing more than a series of special effects and vanity movies for Cruise. As a result, I really wondered what we would discover with Knight and Day.
When all is said and done – We loved this movie!
While I say Knight and Day is more of a spoof of the Mission Impossible franchise, even that doesn’t fully describe the flick. It’s actually more of a Mission Impossible movie with a laugh-track.
Most spoofs are shallow on script, or even much thought. However, that’s what separates Knight and Day from other spoofs. This movie actually does have a plot line that hangs together and those involved in the movie actually wanted to make a good movie. They weren’t just looking for a quick buck and a quick laugh as they tried to spoof a popular franchise. In other words, not only is Knight and Day a fun movie, it’s an intelligent movie where the writers worked hard for the laughs and the actors worked hard to make sure the movie has quality.
All in all, we really enjoyed Knight and Day. Some will love it because of Tom Cruise. Other’s will love it because of Cameron Diaz. Still others will love it simply because it’s a fun spy movie with a different twist. When it comes to rating, we are calling Knight and Day family-friendly.
But remember, that’s family-friendly for the rating.
This is a PG-13 movie!
Our family rating always lines up with whatever the MPAA rating is. So, with a PG-13 rating, we’re saying Knight and Day is family-friendly. Yes, there’s violence. But, reality is, the 13 and up crowd see more violence on some TV shows then they will see in this movie. The only thumbs down we have for Knight and Day is the fact that for some reason they decided to have the Cameron Diaz character drop the “F-bomb” once, in a very loud fashion. Not only was it uncalled for, it wasn’t even needed. Tsk, tsk, and shame, shame to the scriptwriters for thinking the “F-bomb” might somehow bring credibility to the character. It does not. It only makes us wonder what they were thinking.
Enjoy the show!
Dr. Rus
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
There’s a certain kind of indie film that feels like they ought to be made-for-cable movies, except they cuss and swear too much and maybe have a little too much flesh in them. They’re competently made; they just somehow don’t feel big enough to be filling up the big screen. If pressed, I could probably come up with ten movies I’ve seen in the last year that feel like that. “City Island” is one of them.
Andy Garcia plays a prison guard (pardon me, corrections officer) who lives in the same small, secluded community in New York where he and his father and grandfather grew up. He idolizes Marlon Brando and dreams of becoming an actor; a dream so outlandish to his wife and family that he pretends to be playing poker when really he’s taking acting classes. His wife knows it’s a lie, but thinks he has a mistress. Won’t she be shocked and proud when she learns the truth, especially after he lands a small part in a Scorsese/De Niro film. It’s fun to see Margulies return to the screen; I hadn’t seen her since she left “ER” years ago. I hardly recognized her. Emily Mortimer is Garcia’s acting partner, and is all wispy and romantic to offset his gruff, working-class demeanor; her breathy English accent works against his tough Bronx vowelizations. Seems like everyone in “City Island” has some kind of accent, and the only actor who doesn’t seem to be focusing more in the accent than the acting is Alan Arkin, who plays Garcia’s acting teacher. He’s not faking an accent; just talks that way.
Garcia may not be dumb, but he sure is an idiot; he brings home a long lost son, doesn’t tell his family who this tall dark and handsome stranger is, and then puts him to work shirtless in the backyard while he’s off at prison. He looks very, very good with his shirt off. Did I mention Garcia has a 19-year-old daughter home from school on spring break? Except she’s not on spring break, she got kicked out of school and is now a stripper. And she doesn’t fool around with the mysterious shirtless hunk in the backyard, Margulies does. Because she thinks Garcia’s fooling around on her. Oh boy.
It all builds to a grand shouting/fighting match when the truth about everyone comes out, in the middle of the street, with all the neighbors watching and the shirtless one handcuffed to a light pole. This is the kind of farcical scene that really works better on the stage than on the screen; it’s reminiscent, a bit, of Moliere or one of Shakespeare’s more ridiculous comedies. It kind of works here, almost. Anyway it’s possible, I think, to get caught up in the characters and the dramas, their secrets and the secret yearnings behind them. Garcia and Margulies probably handle all the shouting (did I mention there’s a lot of shouting in “City Island?” It’s almost non-stop) better than most actors/actresses would, but sadly, there’s really no hint of the kind of gravitas/menace Garcia’s been able to bring to his more serious films. This is a silly comedy, and it’s played that way. You’ll likely find it on cable sometime soon, and you may pause in your channel surfing, at least until the next commercial. But then you’ll go on, and end up watching the Food Channel again.
Alex Merez is one of the wolf pack in this week’s release of “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” the third of the series based on Stephanie Meyer’s wildly popular books. The wolf pack are the Quileute people who become wolves. I spoke to him when he came to Washington D.C. for a special showing of the last film, “New Moon.”
When “New Moon” came out, I spoke to two of the vampires, who told me they took movement lessons to develop their cat-like grace. What kind of preparation did you do for moving like a wolf? Was your background in dance helpful?
Yes. I think it is mostly about your posture. People can tell whether it is defensive or aggressive. I put some thought into it but I didn’t take any classes. (Laughs.) It’s all in the eyes. That’s where their chain of command is, in the eyes. Little subtleties, too, where their ears are, keeping my shoulders in, kind of scrappy and aggressive.
Do you have any action scenes in the film?
No, but my wolf does! I made sure to massage Phil Tippett, the genius behind making the wolves do what they do. I just massage his shoulders and then he made my wolf do extra-cool stuff.
What’s the most fun about playing a wolf person?
Being half-nude the whole time! It got freezing cold, but it was the only time I could be that naked and not get a ticket.
I watched over and over again Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Did you want to be an actor when you were a kid?
It wasn’t until much later. I thought if you wanted to be an actor you had to be on stage, acting, singing — that was not my cup of tea. But I met my mentor, a very strong, physical, masculine man and he persuaded me to go into it.
You are a First Nation descendant of the Purepecha Nation, so like the wolf pack in the movie you are of Native American descent. Is that important in playing the role?
The cool thing about it is coming from that cultural perspective, you can’t fake it or read a book about it. It’s something you just have. It’s just a part of you. So we really bring that into our characterization. We definitely focus on the community. And wolf packs rely on each other. They can’t survive alone. That’s something native people do anyway.
What did you do to have fun while you were filming?
We would go out to eat, we were watching movies. And Taylor would just hang with us.
Do you study martial arts?
Yes, I’m a black belt in Shidokan karate, have done muay thai, Afro-Brazilian martial arts, a little bit of ju-jitsu. 
Why is this story so popular?
It’s grounded in reality. Every great story is a love story at the root. Everyone can relate to that. Everyone understands hatred, betrayal, revenge, unrequited love. It touches on a lot of things that fans can grasp.
What do the fans say to you?
Take your shirt off!
I can understand why John Cusack, producer and star of this movie, would like to find a time machine to take him back to 1986. That was the last time he was making popular movies.
With the most explanatory title since “Snakes on a Plane,” we know where this is going, literally. Four shlubs, unhappy with their lives, go for a ski weekend at a place where the three middle-aged friends used to live it up. The fourth member is a shlub from the next generation who has never had a chance to live it up. At the resort, they go into a hot tub and faster than you can say Spandau Ballet, they are back in 1986. Three of them have a chance to correct their mistakes and the fourth has a chance to find out something about where he came from that will surprise no one. Within the first ten minutes we see a bong, a character throwing dog poop in someone’s face, and a suicide attempt. Party on!
Can you guess what happens next? Will there be jokes about cheesy 80’s trends? Someone is wearing a “Miami Vice” t-shirt. Will there be jokes about things people in the 80’s didn’t know were coming? Someone from the 80’s asks cluelessly, “What is email?” Will men who never figured out how to be grown-ups go back to being kids and learn that they didn’t know how to do that, either? Will there be appearances by performers from the 80’s intended to make us feel nostalgic but in reality just reminding us of how old they are now? Watch for Chevy Chase and, reminding us in addition about how much worse this is than “Back to the Future,” Crispin Glover. And then, just to throw everything possible into the mix, let’s add some raunchy humor with a lot of cheerful sexism and homophobia. Its slacker vibe matches its era, but it’s not unpretentious; it’s just lazy.
It tries hard to be outrageous, but more often it’s dull. Once again, and I’m just going to have to keep saying this until they get the message, referring to something is not the same as making a joke about it. And, for the record, let me add that jokes about and the appearance of bodily fluids are not inherently funny, either. On the other hand, if you disagree, you will love this movie.
The few bright spots include the always-welcome Craig Robinson and the on-the-brink-of-breaking-through Lizzy Caplan, still just one great part away from the big time. The un-bright spots include pretty much everything else.
A divorced couple celebrating their son’s college graduation wonder if there is anything left of their original relationship. Complicating matters is the fact that Jake is remarried to a younger woman and Jane has just met an architect who is showing interest in her. Jane is faced with an empty nest, two men who want her and the possibility of digging up old wounds from her divorce or traveling down a new path in life.
This is an engaging romantic comedy with some better than average writing and great actors in the lead roles. Streep is excellent as usual, making Jane someone you’d like to sit down and spend an afternoon with. Alec Baldwin steals scenes with his impeccable comic timing as the charming ex-husband Jake. Steve Martin is excellent as well in a low-key performance as the somewhat reserved, intelligent architect who is Jane’s new love interest. John Krasinski is a bright light in every scene as he makes the most of the son-in-law’s clever dialogue.
It’s Complicated is an enjoyable romantic comedy that is elevated by its stars, with a sturdy screenplay and adept direction by Nancy Meyers. There is nothing new or earth shattering in this movie plot when it comes to romantic comedies, but it is one of the best of its genre and well worth watching.
2009. Written and directed by Nancy Meyers. Starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, John Krasinski, Lake Bell, Mary Kay Place, Alexandra Wentworth and Rita Wilson.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Weapons of Mass DestructionThis marks Steve Carell’s second foray into providing his voice for animated features, the earlier one having to share the limelight with Jim Carrey in Horton Hears a Who some two years ago. Now he’s the head honcho in providing the voice for the lead character Gru, a mediocre villain out to attempt his next big diabolical project, if only he can secure funding for it.
It’s here! WAIT NO LONGER! The first trailer for “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” of which Part 1 is opening November 19 is now available and can be watched right below. So let’s not waste time watch it, comment on it, and have fun!
Rango, the new animated feature being put forth by director Gore Verbinski written by John Logan and with Johnny Depp as the lead voice actor, Depp plays a chameleon who goes on a big adventure. Depp’s character then meets others along the way voiced by Abigail Breslin, Bill Nighy, Harry Dean Stanton, Isla Fisher, Alfred Molina, Timothy Olyphant, Stephen Root, and Ray Winstone.
There’s been some mixed buzz about Rango, with such a great cast lined up for this animation flick it’s expected that something great should come out of it but the recently released teaser got people scratching their heads and wondering if it is going to be worth watching.
Well, there is a new Character Poster up of Depp as the Chameleon and I must say it made me giggle. First of all I’m a sucker for animals with clothes on, I just think it’s hilarious. But this Chameleon looks to be wearing a shirt to represent Johnny Depp’s past character from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Hunter S. Thompson. I know that Johnny Depp got really close to Hunter in the making of that film and I can only hope that he’s using character elements from Hunter for this Chameleon character. Therefor with that thought in mind I am excited to see the future trailer for the film. What do you think? Do you like the Chameleon?
Toys Remain Box Office Tops!
Toys Overrun Grown Ups For Top Box Office Spot
The new Adam Sandler movie Grown Ups debuted this weekend, but the adults were not in charge of the weekend. Instead, Toy Story 3 grabbed the top spot once again for the second weekend in a row.
Meanwhile, the action film Knight and Day, which is best described as a comedic Mission Impossible with a laugh track, debuted in third place.
Top 10 Box Office Results With Estimates
Enjoy the show!
Dr. Rus
This week Jonathan and Mike take a look at the Karate Kid remake. They discuss martial arts choreography, an aging Jackie Chan, and just how creepy twelve year old romances can be.
Give us a listen or we’ll sweep the leg.
And visit our sponsor at http://audiblepodcast.com/devilsadvocates for your 14 day free trial and a free audiobook of your choosing.
iTunes Feed:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=343227972
RSS Feed:
And that’s not necessarily a bad thing in this case. Unlike its predecessor, Hot Tub takes the miniscule plot to the extreme, basing the entire film on what sounds like the drug-addled dreams of a teenager: a hot tub that’s also a time machine. Add on a lot of unnecessary reasons to go back in time in the first place, an odd diversion into Back to the Future–esque get-your-parents-together-or-you’ll-never-be-born drama, and you have all the makings of mediocrity.
Although the biggest name in the film, Cusack seems radically out of place. Perhaps it is how the character is written that grinds my gears; a blend of extremes that range from love-struck teenager (that Cusack should know how to play) to middle aged, jilted lover. I don’t know if anyone could have pulled that off and still been likeable and funny. Regardless, it didn’t happen here.
Hot Tub is not without its charms or laughs; they just aren’t as plentiful as they should be. It never finds its sweet spot, instead wildly swinging at everything in the hopes that it connects. What we end up with is a batting average well below the Mendoza line; nothing to write home about. Consider it a rental for a slow night.
New Expendables TV Spot Online
The new TV Spot for the Expendables is online, and while it doesn’t show us much more than we have already seen, it is a fun ride.
I worry about giving Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger top billing when their parts in this are barely larger than cameos. But seeing those names together with Stallone is enough to make me a little nostalgic. Not to mention the Guns and Roses Paradise City which was popular back when those guys were in the prime of their action careers!
Looks like fun though! I am still itching to see it.