Mission:Impossible 4? Say it ain't so, Tom!

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 30 April 2008 by Don

After the over-blown, under-performing Mission: Impossible III, does anyone really want to see a fourth edition? Surely not, although one gossip mag says Tom Cruise will return to combat in M:I 4 once Paramount greenlights the script. "There will most definitely be another Mission: Impossible!" reports Life & Style. Here's three reasons why that's highly dubious. 1. The last Mission: Impossible made about $US182 million worldwide, way down on the first two editions and thin grounds for anot... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Mel Gibson's getting back in action

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 30 April 2008 by Don

Welcome back, Mel. The actor-director is ending his self-imposed on-screen sabbatical, signing up to play a by-the-numbers cop who uncovers corruption while investigating the death of his daughter in Edge of Darkness. Based on the 1985 BBC miniseries of the same name, the independently-financed movie will start shooting in Boston in August, scripted by William Monaghan, who wrote The Departed. It will be directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, Goldeneye), who also made the miniser... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Gwyneth adds plenty of spice as Pepper Potts in Iron Man

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 30 April 2008 by Don

One of the delights of Iron Man is the sparky relationship between Robert Downey Jr. as billionaire Tony Stark and Gwyneth Paltrow as his assistant Pepper Pots. Stark is headstrong, wilful and a womanizer; Pepper tries to reign him in, while protecting him. Just beneath the surface is unrequited love- on both sides, one suspects. It's both funny and endearing. It was Gwyneth's first major role in five years after marrying Coldplay's Chris Martin in 2003 and raising their two kids, Ap... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Made of Honour rings true for Michelle Monaghan

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 30 April 2008 by Don

When actress Michelle Monaghan got married in Sydney in 2005 to an Aussie graphic designer whom she'd met in New York, she asked her best friend, a guy named Mike, to be maid of honour. He was a little surprised- who wouldn't be?- but agreed, and did everything except wear a dress. So it was a case of art imitating life when Michelle was offered the lead role in Made of Honour. She didn't hesitate to say "I do," especially knowing Patrick Dempsey would play her best friend. "I was like, '... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Battle of the sexes: Watch special clips from What Happens in Vegas

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 29 April 2008 by Don

Imagine you went to Las Vegas on vacation, and after a night of drunken debauchery, woke up the next morning and discovered you'd married the person next to you. That's the... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Downey Jr. rises like Lazarus in Tropic Thunder

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 29 April 2008 by Don

While Robert Downey Jr. deservedly is getting rave reviews for Iron Man, his performance in upcoming comedy Tropic Thunder may just top that. One critic who's seen the film was knocked out by Downey's turn as Kirk Lazarus, an Aussie actor lauded as the greatest actor of his generation and a four-time Oscar winner. You may not even recognize him, as Kirk dies his skin black to impersonate an Afro-American soldier during the Vietnam War. The movie is directed by Ben Stiller, who co-star... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Christina Ricci: feminist role model in Speed Racer?

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 29 April 2008 by Don

Think of Christina Ricci, and you're reminded of the tormented teens and dark, damaged young women she's played in movies like Monster, The Ice Storm, Prozac Nation, The Opposite of Sex and Black Snake Moan. All well and good, but what she really aspired to do was star in a big budget action movie. She gets her wish in the Wachowski brothers' Speed Racer as Trixie, loyal girlfriend to the title character played by Emile Hirsch. She got to dress like a living doll in pink and red and fly in ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Iron Man rocks!

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 29 April 2008 by Don

Last night I saw Iron Man, and it delivers everything I expected. Ulike your typical superhero fantasy, the characters are flesh-and-blood and multi-dimensional. The dialogue is witty and original, the plot isn't predictable, and there's plenty of pulsating, crash and thump action. The gamble of casting actors you'd least expect to see in a mega-budget sci-fi adventure pays off in spades. Robert Downey Jr. brings a lot of guile, wit and charisma to Tony Stark. Jeff Bridges is a menacing v... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

There's no Forgetting Sarah Marshall

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 28 April 2008 by Don

Last weekend audiences showed they'd rather catch the second weekend of Forgetting Sarah Marshall than any of the new films. So the break-up comedy starring Jason Segel and Kristen Bell (pictured) was No. 1 again, fetching $1.6 million. That was a drop of just 10%, helped by the Anzac Day holiday, bringing its total to a handsome $4.2 million. Keanu Reeves starrer Street Kings plunged by 38% in its second shoot-out, scoring a moderate $956,000, for an 11-day tally of $3 million. Enoug... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Sex and the City movie theme song: Does anyone like it?

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 28 April 2008 by Don

Fergie's Labels of Love has been chosen as the theme song for Sex and the City: The Movie. Dumb choice, according to the overwhelming majority of people who've posted comments on the song on various websites. Samples: "What a dreadful techno-mid-nineties piece of crap. I just hate it hate it hate it." "Horrible." "The song is vile and boring and annoying and it does stay in your head, like the sound of a mosquito does." "It is comforting to know that even Fergie can count to fou... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Surrogate mum and stoners lead the way in the US

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 28 April 2008 by Don

A rent-a-womb comedy, stoners Harold & Kumar and the unforgettable Sarah Marshall dominated the US box-office in a laugh-filled weekend. Baby Mama (pictured) was No. 1, delivering $US17.4 million. It stars Tina Fey as a businesswoman who, unable to have her own child, hires a surrogate mother (Amy Poehler), who turns out to be a loud-mouthed, ill-bred troublemaker. That's the second best opening ever in the US for a romantic comedy in April; the film opens here in August. Harold & Kum... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

It's thumbs up for Iron Man--mostly

0 Comments | Posted on Sunday, 27 April 2008 by Don

The world's critics have started delivering their verdicts on Iron Man, and indications are it will be a big winner, artistically and commercially. Thus far I've not seen one unqualified rave, but that's not surprising. When did you last read a review which was 100% positive? Some critics seem to think their job requires them to find faults or shortcomings, while the rest of us go to the cinema to have a good time, without our critical faculties on high alert. I want to see Iron Man, which ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Damon is MTV Australia's first Movie Star winner

0 Comments | Posted on Sunday, 27 April 2008 by Don

Matt Damon won the inaugural Movie Star award at a star-studded MTV Australia Awards ceremony in Sydney last night. Mischa Barton presented the award. The Veronicas took home the Australian artist music award, and Delta Goodrem collected the music video of the year trophy for her single Believe Again. Timbaland was proclaimed international artist of the year. Pink was voted live performer of the year for her I'm Not Dead Tour and The Chaser team gate-crashing last year's APEC summit wa... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Cloverfield: the questions linger; will we ever get answers?

0 Comments | Posted on Saturday, 26 April 2008 by Don

At the end of Cloverfield, do Rob, Beth and Lily perish after the helicopter crashes and the monster strikes again? Don't ask director Matt Reeves: he claims not to know. And while he says the sequel may provide some answers, the prospect of another Cloverfield instalment seems some way off. "We all had such a crazy experience making the movie," the 42-year-old director tells MTV. "It was so unusual and challenging to make a movie from that point of view and under these conditions. On... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian cranks up the excitement

0 Comments | Posted on Saturday, 26 April 2008 by Don

Expect major changes in tone and narrative style between the original Chronicles of Narnia fantasy/adventure and the sequel. For weeks, we've been hearing The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, will be darker, more action-packed and skewed to an older audience than The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe. That's exactly the message from actor William Moseley, who plays Peter, the old king of Narnia, who loses his kindgom in the new film. "The first film was a children's Narnia. Thi... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Seeing the funny side of sex

0 Comments | Posted on Saturday, 26 April 2008 by Don

Making out on camera for the first time was a hoot for some actors. For others, it was embarrassing. Hugh Grant's first on-screen romance was with another guy. Julia Roberts was horrified. Renée Zellweger was humiliated. Catherine Zeta-Jones (pictured) tried not to laugh. Kenneth Branagh lost his innocence, as it were, in Australia in the TV miniseries Boy in the Bush in 1984, in which he co-starred with Sigrid Thornton and Celia De Burgh. These revelations came to light when Pr... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Guillermo del Toro hops aboard The Hobbit

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 25 April 2008 by Don

After months of speculation, if not dithering and wrangling over a contract, Guillermo del Toro has signed on to direct the two Hobbit epics. The massive project will occupy the next four years of his life, after he wraps Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, which opens in the US in July and here in August. Del Toro will relocate to New Zealand to direct the films back-to-back, working with executive producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh and the production and visual effects teams at Wingnu... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Harold & Kumar on the run from a joint

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 25 April 2008 by Don

President Bush, in-bred Southerners, the Ku Klux Klan, xenophobic Yanks and Muslin terrorists....all are targets of the sex-drugs-and-rock-'n'-roll comedy Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, which opens in the US this weekend. The plot sees Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) arrested on a flight to Amsterdam after Kumar finds a bong in the plane's toilet. Mistaken for terrorists, they end up in the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison, from where they escape and are pursued by an overzealou... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Memorable movies that keep going to pot

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 25 April 2008 by Don

Ever since Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper embarked on a drug-fuelled trip across America in Easy Rider way back in 1970, 'stoner' movies have been entertaining audiences around the world. This year we're seeing a new wave of pot-charged movies, including Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay, Seth Rogen's Pineapple Express (pictured), documentary Super High Me (a twist on Super Size Me), and indie dramas Humboldt County (starring Frances Conroy and Peter Bogdanovich) and The Wackness (wi... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Which actors would you watch in almost any movie?

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 24 April 2008 by Don

Some stars are so talented, so clever and gifted with such a remarkable range and depth, you'd watch them in almost any movie. Even in films which could be described as mediocre, they light up the screen and make the experience worthwhile. Entertainment Weekly's list of 50 actors "we'd watch in anything" is an interesting mix of stars of varying ages and attributes, and includes many of my favourites. Daniel Day-Lewis earns that accolade after stunning performances in My Left Foot, La... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Diane Lane discovers a scary cyber-world in Untraceable

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 24 April 2008 by Don

A tough cop who struggles to balance the demands of the job with family life: not many years ago, you can bet Mel Gibson or Harrison Ford would have been Hollywood's first choice for such a role. So it's refreshing to see Diane Lane front-and-centre in Untraceable as an FBI special agent who patrols the Internet with her partner Griffin Dowd (Colin Hanks), cracking down on credit card fraud and sexual predators. When they discover the site killwithme.com, they pick up the trail of a ki... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Ang loses her 'sexiest woman' crown

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 24 April 2008 by Don

Yet another magazine poll to determine the world's sexiest woman-- but this time a less predictable result. Nope, not Angelina Jolie, it was Transformers co-star Megan Fox who topped FHM mag's readers poll. Megan (pictured left with director Michael Bay and Rachel Taylor) beat last year's champion, Jessica Alba. It was a meteoric rise for the 21-year-old actress/model, who was voted in at No. 77 last year. Ang must be out of favour, as she was ranked at No. 12. Britney Spears ma... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Ellen Page: clever again in Smart People

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 24 April 2008 by Don

If you were dazzled by Ellen Page's extraordinary performance in Juno, chances are you'll enjoy watching her in a very different role in Smart People. In some respects, this is a more challenging assignment. She plays Vanessa, teenage daughter of grumpy English professor Lawrence Wetherhold, (Dennis Quaid), who has never recovered from the death of his wife ten years ago. Vanessa is intellectually bright, tough, selfishly obsessed with her grades, and has a prickly relationship with he... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

The Painted Veil: a 1920s love story for today

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 24 April 2008 by Don

How far would you go in forgiving a partner who had wronged you?' That delicate question is tackled in The Painted Veil, a romantic drama set in 1920s China, starring Edward Norton, Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber. Based on a W. Somerset Maugham novel, it features Naomi as Kitty, an upper-crust English woman who cheats on her doctor husband after they move to Shanghai. To punish her, he takes a job in a remote village in China ravaged by cholera, and forces her to go with him. Schreiber pl... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

X-Files movie plot 'revealed''- or a smokescreen?

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 23 April 2008 by Don

The producers have gone to great lengths to keep a lid on the plot of The X-Files: I Want to Believe, both intriguing and frustrating fans. Reporters visited the Toronto set without gleaning anything about the storylines, and a panel on the movie at Comic-Con convention last weekend was similarly unenlightening. So would co-creators Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz have somehow conspired to allow the plot to leak out online? Highly unlikely, but numerous web sites have posted a summary of a ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Love and betrayal in Deception

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 23 April 2008 by Don

Betrayal, treachery and murder set in a sex club, starring Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor and Michelle Williams. It sounds like a potent combination in Deception, a psychological thriller written by Mark Bomback, who penned Live Free or Die Hard. Maybe, although the film's release this week, a week before the blockbuster season kicks off with Iron Man, and a low-key campaign suggest this may see a brief run in cinemas. Deception indeed. McGregor plays Jonathan, a work-obsessed corporate... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

McDreamy's latest wheeze: Maid of honour!

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 23 April 2008 by Don

Take My Best Friend's Wedding, reverse the roles and you have Made of Honour. In place of Dermot Mulroney and Julia Roberts in the earlier romcom, we have Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan. McDreamy plays Tom, a wealthy playboy whose best friend Hannah (Michelle) falls in love while on a trip to Scotland. Hannah asks Tom, who's come to realize she's the perfect girl for him, to be her maid of honour. He agrees, but only so he can figure out how to sabotage the wedding. The role s... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Super-women to the fore in superhero movies

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 23 April 2008 by Don

Long gone are the days when actresses in action movies were hired simply for their looks rather than their brains or charm. As the latest feisty role models, look at the female star power in three upcoming superhero adventures. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pepper Potts, the title character's offsider in Iron Man (pictured); Maggie Gyllenhaal is Rachel Dawes, Gotham City assistant district attorney and Bruce Wayne's gal pal in The Dark Knight; and Liv Tyler is heroine Betty Ross in The Incredible H... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Watch exclusive video of the Iron Man and Street Kings premieres!

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 22 April 2008 by Don

Why were studio bosses initially reluctant to cast Robert Downey Jr. as the star of Iron Man? How badly did he want the job? And why was director Jon Favreau convinced Downey was the right guy to play the troubled industrialist? For the answers to all these questions and more, tune in to the Cinebuzz Show's exclusive interviews with Downey and Favreau when they were in Sydney for the world premiere. Downey shows the kind of laconic humour he brings to the role, the biggest ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Speed Racer: Will the hype match the reality?

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 22 April 2008 by Don

I must confess the Speed Racer trailer doesn't make me desperate to see the Wachowski brothers' movie. It looks like a cross between a video game and a cartoon, with ultra-bright colours, simplistic dialogue and thin characters. Great for young boys and teenagers, perhaps, but for adults? Especially females, despite the presence of hunky Emile Hirsch in the lead role, together with Matthew Fox and Christina Ricci. Maybe that's unfair. The film was screened for the media in Los Angeles last... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Greater Union joins Facebook!

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 22 April 2008 by Jess

Facebook is one of the busiest social networking sites on the internet and is used by millions of users around the world to keep in touch with friends, family and general going ons in their social circle. Greater Union has joined Facebook by creating an official Facebook page. People can become fans of Greater Union and hear about upcoming advance screenings, engage in discussions with fellow fans, submit movie reviews, watch movie trailers and even check out other fans of Greater Uni... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Pixar's on the money again with WALL*E

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 22 April 2008 by Don

Pixar looks like delivering another hit animated comedy for all ages in WALL*E, the tale of an abandoned robot that develops a human-like personality. Extended clips from the movie, created by Academy Award®-winning writer-director Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo), were warmly received at last weekend's Comic-Con in New York. One clip shows WALL*E's first encounter with EVE, a female robot designed to explore what's left of earth's vegetation. That doesn't go so well as she fires at him a... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Watch out for the incredible bending bullet in Wanted

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 22 April 2008 by Don

Hollywood has been doing amazing things with bullets, arrows and other missiles for years. Now, thanks to digital technology, we have the ultimate weapon that shoots "curved" bullets, which can change direction around obstacles to hit the target. We'll see this new trickery in the upcoming Angelina Jolie/James McAvoy thriller Wanted. Based upon Mark Millar’s graphic novels, the movie sees Jolie recruiting the nerdy McAvoy to a secret society and training him to be an assassin to avenge his... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Forgetting Sarah Marshall delivers laughs and top dollars

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 21 April 2008 by Don

How funny is Forgetting Sarah Marshall? Amusing enough to earn top spot at the Australian box-office last weekend. The raunchy comedy starring Jason Segel, Kristen Bell and Russell Brand rang up $1.8 million, a return to form for producer Judd Apatow after Drillbit Taylor and Walk Hard. Street Kings, the Keanu Reeves' cop thriller, was second, making $1.5 million, followed by The Spiderwick Chronicles, which collared $1 million in its third outing, bringing its total to a juicy $5.8 m... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

New Incredible Hulk footage wows fans

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 21 April 2008 by Don

Fans at the New York Comic-Con convention went wild yesterday when they were treated to new scenes from The Incredible Hulk at a panel featuring the filmmakers and actor Tim Roth. “Going in with lowered expectations, I left dying to see the movie,” one San Francisco-based blogger raved. While such geeks may not be typical of mainstream cinemagoers, the reaction does indicate the film is starting to generate a strong buzz. Until now there had been negative vibes stemming from reports of a fe... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

New Dark Knight trailer serves up more of Joker, Harvey Dent

0 Comments | Posted on Sunday, 20 April 2008 by Don

A new trailer for The Dark Knight reveals more tantalizing footage of The Joker (Heath Ledger) and Harvey "Two-Face" Dent (Aaron Eckhart). It was shown unannounced to delighted fans at the Comic-Con convention in New York today. It begins with a shot of Batman perched high above Gotham as a voiceover from The Joker asks, “Where do we begin?” and Batman soars through the city. The Joker is then seen ordering mob bosses to “Kill the Batman,” before an explosion and a close-up of a Joker card. Thi... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

The most seductive woman of all time?

0 Comments | Posted on Saturday, 19 April 2008 by Don

Here's a big surprise- not. Angelina Jolie has been voted as today's most seductive woman in a UK survey. And Marilyn Monroe topped the poll for the most seductive woman of the past. Asked to compile an ideal woman using the body parts of various celebrities, the 1,000 women surveyed chose an amalgam of Monroe's signature white dress, Jolie's pout, Halle Berry's eyes, Jennifer Lopez's nose and English TV star Kelly Brook's hair and body. Blokes weren't asked, but I suspect Ang a... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Harrison Ford needs a hit

0 Comments | Posted on Saturday, 19 April 2008 by Don

Let's not mince words: Harrison Ford has a point to prove in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Two points, actually. The obvious: That, at 65, he can convincingly play an action hero whom we last saw in 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The second: That his career isn't heading for the rocks after the only two films he'd made in the past six years, crime comedy Hollywood Homicide and techno-thriller Firewall, fizzled. It's clear the failure of those fil... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Spielberg and Lucas open up about Cate, Shia and Harrison

0 Comments | Posted on Saturday, 19 April 2008 by Don

Cate Blanchett is the uber-villain in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Shia LaBeouf had to be tutored in the art of being a 'greaser,' and the movie makes fun of Indiana's advancing years. We have all that on the good authority of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, who are finally loosening their lips about the plot and characters as we get closer to the May 22 launch date. They describe the film as an ode to the B movies of the 1950s, and in that era felt it should... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Sex and the City: a movie to die for?

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 18 April 2008 by Don

Kill off a character in the Sex and the City movie? The filmmakers wouldn't dare, would they? Internet sites have been buzzing with speculation over who might kick the bucket in the hotly anticipated film after Cynthia Nixon allegedly let slip that "a character dies in the movie." According to the New York Post, Cynthia made the remark at the Creation Nation comedy show at New York's Zipper Theatre earlier this week, but she wouldn't say who, of course. Plenty of websites have we... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Doing the full monty: what's the funniest nude scene you've seen?

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 18 April 2008 by Don

When struggling musician Peter gets dumped by his TV star girlfriend in Forgetting Sarah Marshall after he gets out of the shower, he's so shocked his towel falls to the floor...and stays there. Peter (Jason Segel) does the full monty for what seems like several minutes as he begs Sarah (Kristen Bell) not to leave him. You only get to see brief, ah, flashes of his manhood, totalling two and a half seconds, but it must have seemed longer to Jason, who knew what he was in for as he wrote th... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Romcom wrestles with Jackie Chan and Jet Li

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 18 April 2008 by Don

What will be first choice for American cimemagoers this weekend: a raunchy romantic comedy, an adventure/fantasy with the dream team of Jackie Chan and Jet Li, or an Al Pacino thriller? We can rule out 88 Minutes, which casts Pacino as a college professor who doubles as a forensic psychiatrist for the FBI, who gets a death threat stating he has 88 minutes to live. The reviews have been dire, some saying it's the worst movie in Pacino's long career, and Sony is hedging its bets by limiting t... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Naomi Watts a cheating heart again in The Painted Veil

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 18 April 2008 by Don

Naomi Watts seems drawn to playing unfaithful women. In We Don't Live Here Anymore, her character has an affair with her best friend's husband. She's at it again in The Painted Veil as an upper-class woman who cheats on her husband after they move to Shanghai. The common link: Both films are directed by Aussie John Curran. Teaming with Curran again was one of the attractions that drew her to The Painted Veil, a 1920s set tale based on a W. Somerset Maugham novel. Another lure was the c... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Girls talking dirty in Forgetting Sarah Marshall

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 17 April 2008 by Don

In this era of equal opportunity, it's probably no surprise to see the girls in Forgetting Sarah Marshall are just as potty-mouthed as the blokes. Especially when you know it's another romantic comedy from producer Judd Apatow, who has perfected the art of raunchy humour without being offensive or tasteless. Jason Segel, who also wrote the smart script, stars as Peter, a struggling layabout musician who gets dumped by TV actress Sarah (Kristen Bell) when she takes up with English rock star ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Edward Norton isn't mad about The Incredible Hulk...or so he says

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 17 April 2008 by Don

Every Hulk fan knows that you don't want to make Bruce Banner angry. The same could be said for Edward Norton, who plays the big green guy in The Incredible Hulk. The sometimes prickly actor has issued a 257-word statement to hose down reports that he's been feuding with Universal, Marvel and director Louis Leterrier over the film's final cut. The obvious intention: Eliminate the risk that fans' expectations of the film, which debuts on June 12, will be soured. Norton paints a... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

What's the best comic book movie ever- and the worst?

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 17 April 2008 by Don

Comic book characters have figured in some of the most thrilling and memorable movies through the years-- and some of the worst. It will be fascinating to see how this year's crop compares with the classics. The line-up starts with Iron May (pictured) on May 1, followed by the likes of Speed Racer, The Incredible Hulk, Wanted, The Dark Knight and Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. As for the best, my favourites are the original Spider-Man; Tim Burton's Batman, which starred Michael Keaton and... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Sex on screen: how did they do that?

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 17 April 2008 by Don

Have you ever watched a lovemaking scene and wondered how the actors prepared themselves for such an intimate interlude? Now some directors have taken the lid off how they "coached" actors through steamy scenes. And it turns out such grappling is often far from romantic and indeed difficult. Take the pivotal scene in Notes on a Scandal where art teacher Cate Blanchett makes out with a 15-year-old student, played by Andrew Simpson, alongside a railway line. "It was freezing cold and inc... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Finally, the new X-Files movie has a title!

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 17 April 2008 by Don

The new X-Files movie has a name at last--The X-Files: I Want to Believe. There's no '2' in the title to indicate this isn't a sequel to the 1998 X-Files movie. It's a familiar phrase for fans of the series which starred David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as FBI agents Mulder and Scully investigating aliens and other supernatural happenings. "I Want to Believe" was the slogan on a poster in the cluttered basement office where the agents worked. "It's a natural title," says director/... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

SPOILER ALERT: Sex and the City Movie secrets revealed!

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 16 April 2008 by Don

Read no further if you don't want to discover some of the major twists and turns in the plot of Sex and the City: The Movie. Still with us? The revelations come from the New York Post, which claims to have had access to sources within the production, and has published what appears to be a well-researched and credible story. Here are some of the big plotlines, according to the Post: Carrie and Big get engaged. Samantha has moved to an LA beach house. Charlotte falls pregnant. And Mirand... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Are we seeing the demise of the romantic leading male?

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 16 April 2008 by Don

Where are all the young, hunky romantic male leads? In comedies these days, the leading men tend to be chubby slobs, sensitive dweebs or skinny dorks. Think back to Steve Carell in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and, more recently, Seth Rogen in Knocked Up; Jonah Hill, Michael Cera and Christopher Mintz-Plasse in Superbad; and John C. Reilly in Walk Hard. Now we have Jason Segel as a struggling muso whose TV star girlfriend dumps him in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. (Segel is pictured here with Hil... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Mike Myers shows his schtick again in The Love Guru

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 16 April 2008 by Don

An American kid is abandoned by his parents in India and raised by gurus. As an adult, he moves back to the US, posing as Guru Pitka, intent on making money as a self-help spiritualist. If that sounds like something from the manic mind of Mike Myers, it is. The Love Guru is his first live-action movie in five years (voicing Shrek enabled him to pay the rent in the meantime). Myers co-wrote the script, which explains why the plot involves his beloved Toronto Maple Leafs ice hockey team;... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Forgetting Sarah Marshall: when romance turns into diabolically funny disaster

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 15 April 2008 by Don

How brave is Jason Segel? The writer-star of Forgetting Sarah Marshall puts himself through some daunting assignments in this clever comedy which is both raunchy and endearing. Like having his character, struggling musician Peter, appear nude, not just fleetingly, but for many long minutes, when his actress girlfriend Sarah (Kristen Bell) dumps him. And, for a guy who is scared of heights, being suspended over the side of a cliff, via tension wires which he felt were only a tenuous lin... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

300's Zack Snyder heading Down Under for an animated kids fantasy

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 15 April 2008 by Don

From masterminding 300 to crafting Guardians of Ga'Hoole, an animated film for kids to be created in Sydney, seems like a large leap, but that's the career path of Zack Snyder. On second thoughts, perhaps not such a big transition as the highly stylized 300 used a lot of computer-generated visual effects, and this new pic will be fully CG. Based on the books by Kathryn Lasky, Guardians of Ga'Hoole is set in the Forest of Tyto, where barn owls are threatened by band of rogue owls that could destr... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

The Spiderwick Chronicles is No 1, but who's watching?

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 15 April 2008 by Don

It's a rare weekend when the top film at the Aussie box-office fails to crack $1 million. So it's a sign that business is far from brisk when The Spiderwick Chronicles was No. 1 last weekend, taking $997,000. That was the family fantasy's second chapter, bringing its progressive tally to a decent $3.9 million. In second place is Superhero, which fetched a fair $995,000 in its debut. That was followed by fellow debutante Prom Night, which scared up $926,000, in line with the generally tepid ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Guillermo del Toro set to board The Hobbit

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 15 April 2008 by Don

While he's racing to finish Hellboy II: The Golden Army (pictured), Guillermo del Toro has all but confirmed he'll call the shots on The Hobbit, the 2-part epic fantasy for executive producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh. The director reports there's been a lot of progress towards agreements on cast, crew and visual effects on the two movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien's classic novel. "We are all happily in synch about all creative aspects so far and all willing and eager to move forth,... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Can M. Night Shyamalan get his career Happening again?

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 15 April 2008 by Don

Somewhere along the way, a scary thing happened to director M. Night Shyamalan's career. After making a string of hits, starting with The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs, he had a very public row with Disney after the studio dared asking him to change his script for Lady in the Water. Incensed, the Indian-born, Philadelphia-raised director took the film to Warner Bros. and shot it exactly as he pleased. The result: A critical and commercial disaster. Two years later, M. Night has t... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Cate Blanchett gives birth to a baby boy

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 14 April 2008 by Ben

Oscar-winning Australian actress Cate Blanchett has given birth to a baby boy and named him Ignatius Martin Upton. Ignatius is the third boy for Blanchett and her playwright husband, Andrew Upton. The couple already have 2 sons - Dashiell (6) and Roman (3). The 38-year-old star of Elizabeth and the upcoming Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull gave birth on Sunday. ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Prom Night takes 1st spot at the North American box office

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 14 April 2008 by Ben

The teen horror movie Prom Night was the big winner over the weekend at the US box-office earning $20.8 million in its first weekend in cinemas. Teenage girls and boys came out in force to see the film about a high school student pursued by an obsessed teacher. The new crime thriller, Street Kings, starring Keanu Reeves, grabbed the number 2 spot with a solid $12.5 million. After two weeks at No. 1, Sony's gambling drama 21 fell to 3rd with $10.4 million. After three weeks in cinemas,... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Keanu Reeves jets into Sydney for Street Kings premiere

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 14 April 2008 by Ben

Hollywood star Keanu Reeves will be in Sydney on Tuesday night (15th April) for the Australian premiere of his latest film, the crime thriller Street Kings. The actor became a big-budget action star with the release of Speed before gaining further success when he took on the lead role as Neo in action film trilogy The Matrix. Add to this list previous films such as Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, The Devil's Advocate, Point Break and Something's Gotta Give and Reeves proves he's got staying po... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Did Jason Reitman really turn down Justice League: Mortal?

0 Comments | Posted on Saturday, 12 April 2008 by Don

Can you imagine Jason Reitman, who directed those smart indie films Juno and Thank You for Smoking, calling the shots on the $US150 million-plus comicbook-based epic Justice League: Mortal? Neither can I, but the 30-year-old Canadian-born director claims he was offered the chance to direct the superheroes adventure, which George Miller will shoot for Warner Bros., once he decides on the location. Reitman told the Howard Stern show he turned it down because he figured he'd have made "a ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Message from the fans: Don't cut a thing from The Dark Knight!

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 11 April 2008 by Don

Following our item yesterday on reports that audiences at a private preview of The Dark Knight were upset by a scene involving Heath Ledger's Joker, I think we can rule out any risk of Warner Bros. making any cuts. Why? Because I'm sure the studio will want to honour Ledger's work in what may be the crowning achievement of his career; and it will want to keep faith with director Christopher Nolan's vision. Lastly, it won't want to alienate fans of the actor or of the Batman franchise. ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

You Don't Mess with the Zohan: more schtick from Sandler

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 11 April 2008 by Don

How's this sound as the premise for a comedy: An Israeli commando fakes his own death to covertly move to the US to pursue his dream of becoming a hot-shot hairstylist in New York? Doesn't sound like a barrel of laughs, does it? Until you see the talent involved: Adam Sandler stars and co-wrote the screenplay in concert with comedy maestro Judd Apatow and Saturday Night Live writer Robert Smigel. The director is Denis Dugan, who has runs on the board with I Now Pronounce You Chuck and... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Keanu Reeves' dilemma: No Neo, not so good?

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 11 April 2008 by Don

It's probably just as well that Keanu Reeves made his fame and fortune in The Matrix, because when he's not Neo, he's not been terribly convincing. Who remembers mediocre efforts like Constantine, The Lake House, A Scanner Darkly and The Replacements? Keanu gets another chance to show his mettle in Street Kings, which opens in the US this weekend. A thriller directed by David Ayer, who wrote Training Day, it has Reeves as a take-no-prisoners LA detective who sets out to solve the murd... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

SPOILER ALERT: The first Dark Knight review

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 10 April 2008 by Don

What could be the first review of The Dark Knight has appeared online. While it's a rave, it does claim a preview audience was upset by one scene involving Heath Ledger. What follows should be taken with a grain of salt, if not a bag full, because the review hasn't been authenticated and Warner Bros. has yet to make any comment on the allegedly contentious scene. It's actually not a review, but comments relayed to a journo who blogs for a website run by Globo, Brazil's largest media co... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Watching the unwatchable: what are cinema's most shocking scenes?

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 10 April 2008 by Don

Hollywood's ability to shock audiences with scenes that are so explicit they almost dare you to look is a time-honoured and succesful tradition, depending, of course, on your taste. For mine, the most memorable, blood-curdling scene occured in Hannibal, when Anthony Hopkins' Lecter fed his captive Krendler (Ray Liotta) a soupcon of his own brain, sautéed in butter and herbs. Hard to stomach, but chillingly effective! In a similar vein, that dark French comedy Delicatessen treated us to... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Luke Ford leaps into the new Mummy adventure

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 10 April 2008 by Don

Aussie actor Luke Ford describes landing a key role in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor as akin to winning Lotto. That doesn't mean a financial windfall, yet. But if the movie, which opens on September 11, is a hit, the riches will surely come as Luke signed up for three Mummy adventures. Not bad for a guy who had made just two Australian films, The Black Balloon (in which he gives a moving portrayal of a teen afflicted with autism and ADD), and Kakoda. That followed a TV career which ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Another scary night at the Prom

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 10 April 2008 by Don

What is it about Americans and their Prom nights? Someone always gets killed, or humiliated or off their face: doesn't anyone actually have fun? Evidently not, at least at the movies. The latest exhibition of this twisted Yank ritual is Prom Night, confusingly not a remake of the 1980 film of that title, which starred Leslie Nielsen when he was still acting, not to be confused with spoofing, and Jamie Lee Curtis. This one features Brittany Snow, whom you may remember from Hairspray, ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Disney, Pixar unveil 10 animated treats

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 9 April 2008 by Don

If you love Pixar's family films, famed for their fantasy, humour and dazzling animation, and who doesn't, you have lots to look forward to. Studio chiefs unveiled the Pixar and Disney animation slate of 10 films for release through to 2012, including sequels to Cars and Toy Story, to the industry and media in New York today. They showed 30 minutes footage of WALL-E, a cosmic comedy about a determined robot, described as an affecting mashup of Blade Runner and Charlie Chaplin, which de... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Iron Man set to blow audiences away

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 9 April 2008 by Ben

How cool is this - I saw Iron Man on Monday! And boy is this film going to blow your socks off. Without giving too much away, the film is sensational. The state of the art graphics, unbelievable technology and gizmos displayed are crazy and really makes you wonder what the military have at their disposal in this day and age. Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow add more star power in key roles and with a star cast comes a truly action packed and entertaining movie from start to finish. ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

U23D: Taking pride, in the name of love

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 9 April 2008 by Don

Bono has done it all in his career, but even he was blown away when he went to the premiere in Dublin of U23D. The first live-action film to be shot, produced and projected in the digital 3-D format, U23D gives audiences literally the best seat in the house. Even better, the immersive experience actually puts the viewer on stage at times, close enough to see the sweat on The Edge’s brow, almost feel his guitar, and watch the veins in Bono’s throat as he soars to the peaks of Miss Sarajevo.... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Abigail Breslin is the new 'Nimdiana Jones'

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 9 April 2008 by Don

Abigail Breslin, action hero? It seems unlikely until you see her as Nim in the Queensland-shot fantasy adventure Nim's Island. Nim's island is threatened after her marine biologist father disappears. The role meant Abigail had to do a lot of climbing and running as well as fly on a zip-line, learn how to sword fight, perfect breathing- and screaming- underwater, and get towed along by giant Sea Lions. The 11-year-old actress handled it all with such aplomb, the stunt experts nicknamed... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Radha Mitchell's star is rising

0 Comments | Posted on Wednesday, 9 April 2008 by Don

Radha Mitchell has been appearing in Hollywood films such as Man on Fire, Finding Neverland and Melinda and Melinda, for eight years, without really cutting through like her friend Naomi Watts. That may change over the next year or so as the Australian actress is attached to four high-profile films. This month she starts work on The Surrogates, a sci-fi thriller which stars Bruce Willis as a cop in a futuristic world where humans live via robot surrogates that are eternally young, perfect-l... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Transformers 2 - Potential SPOILER!

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 8 April 2008 by Jess

I'm having trouble containing my excitement for Transformers 2! I was reading on US website IESB.net this morning that although Transformers 2 hasn't quite reached production, the script has been worked on, and production isn't too far away from starting. And, also according to the site, the 'Constructicons' from the original cartoons will be making an appearance in the movie, helping out the bad guys, the 'Decepticons'. However, it is likely they will not be using their ... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Blackjack taken to another level in 21

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 8 April 2008 by Ben

I was lucky enough to make a recent trip to the U.S for a holiday and I took the opportunity to see the film, 21, starring Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth. It's the hottest film out in the U.S at the moment having topped the box office the last 2 weeks and it's not released here in Oz until May 15 so I thought I'd get in early. What's amazing is this film is a true story, involving 6 extremely academically gifted students from MIT and their professor, who together, train to become card... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Thrills and an unexpected spill in the new Indiana Jones adventure

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 8 April 2008 by Don

During the filming of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which cast member would you most expect to get injured for real, not staged? Here's a clue: it wasn't Harrison Ford, who apparently managed to put his 65-year-old body through the experience without a scratch. No, the casualty was none other than Shia LaBeouf who, you'd think, at 21 would be at the peak of fitness and endurance. “I pulled a rotator cuff in my hip,” Shia told MTV, pointing to the spot. “I... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

How She Move brings more drama to the dance

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 8 April 2008 by Don

How refreshing to find an urban teenage drama where the lead character's ambition is to become a doctor, not just escape the ghetto by winning a dance competition. That's the premise of How She Move, the tale of a Raya, a Jamaican immigrant who's forced to drop out of private college and return to her old school in a tough, crime-infested neighborhood in Toronto after her sister dies of a drug overdose. Winning the annual Step Monster competition offers her the only way out, and the c... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Superhero shows us Pamela Anderson is....smart?

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 8 April 2008 by Don

You'll get a good idea of what Superhero is about from the tagline: "The greatest superhero movie of all time! (not counting all the others)." Yes, here's another spoof, this one aimed at comicbook characters, chiefly Spider-Man, with Leslie Nielsen, Pamela Anderson, a clever Tom Cruise impersonation and fart jokes all thrown into the mix. Writer-director Craig Mazin, who wrote Scary Movie 3 and 4, says he fashioned Superhero in the vein of Naked Gun, meaning: "You're spoofing a genr... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Why do we fall for some silly US comedies?

0 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, 8 April 2008 by Don

Why are Aussies sometimes more partial to broad, slapstick comedies than audiences in the US? I don't know, but the question is worth asking as Drillbit Taylor has performed more strongly here than in the US, and Semi-Pro had a respectable opening last weekend, proportionately better than its limp US debut. The 1970s-set Will Ferrell basketball spoof scored $1.384 million, within a whisker of taking the No. 1 spot. That honour went to The Spiderwick Chronicles, whose weekend figure be... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

What would you say if you bumped into Mick Jagger?

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 7 April 2008 by Don

If you move in the rarefied circles of Hollywood, you get to meet all sorts of celebrities, wannabes and used-to-bes. But that doesn't mean it's easy to strike up a conversation with them, or, probably, vice-versa. Variety's editor Peter Bart had just such an encounter with Mick Jagger the other night, at a party for the launch of the Stones' concert film Shine a Light. Before divulging how he approached the Jaggster, Bart ruminated on his brushes with stars over the years, and reveal... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Does Batman cross the line in The Dark Knight?

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 7 April 2008 by Don

Warner Bros. has issued a new synopsis for The Dark Knight, suggesting our hero may cross a morally ambivalent line in the movie which opens on July 17. The summary is shorter, with a sharper focus on the characters, and a relevation in the last line about a dilemma facing Christian Bale's Batman. It reads: "The Dark Knight reunites director Christopher Nolan with star Christian Bale, who returns to continue Batman's war on crime. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) a... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

George Clooney drops the ball in Leatherheads

0 Comments | Posted on Monday, 7 April 2008 by Don

George Clooney may be one of the world's most popular and publicized stars--but that's no guarantee that he'll sell cinema tickets. For proof, take Leatherheads, which opened in the US at the weekend but didn't have enough appeal to beat the second weekend of blackjack drama 21, or fellow debutante Nim's Island. As the star, director and someone who had a lot of input into the script, George must shoulder the blame for Leatherheads' inability to reach a wide audience, although co-stars... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Vale Charlton Heston

0 Comments | Posted on Sunday, 6 April 2008 by Don

Charlton Heston, who will be forever remembered for playing some of history's greatest heroes, from Ben-Hur, Moses and Michelangelo to El Cid, has died, aged 83. The actor passed away on Saturday night at his home in Beverly Hills with his wife Lydia at his side. Cause of death wasn't disclosed but in 2002 he revealed he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's disease, saying, "I must reconcile courage and surrender in equal measure." His family said in a statement, "Charlton Heston was se... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Tobey Maguire finds a busy life outside Spider-Man

0 Comments | Posted on Sunday, 6 April 2008 by Don

While Sony and director Sam Raimi appear to be in no rush to decide if, or when, to proceed with Spider-Man 4, Tobey Maguire isn't sitting by the phone waiting for their call. The talented young actor is attached to at least five films, apart from a cameo in the upcoming Ben Stiller comedy Tropic Thunder. Tobey's latest project is Hungry Rabbit Jumps, a thriller in the vein of David Fincher's The Game, in which he will star as well as serve as a producer. Maguire recently finish... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Daniel Craig looks forward to a long career as 007

0 Comments | Posted on Saturday, 5 April 2008 by Don

Sean Connery played James Bond for a remarkable career span of 21 years, finishing with Never Say Never Again in 1983, when he was a still-trim 53. If he has his way, Daniel Craig may be mixing martinis, slaying villains and winning hearts for nearly as long. Dismissing speculation that his 007 assignment may end after his three-picture deal, Craig, 40, insists, "Until my joints go I will keep going as Bond. I have no intention of giving up just yet.” Speaking to the London Sun on lo... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Steve Carell shows his smarts in Get Smart

0 Comments | Posted on Saturday, 5 April 2008 by Don

If you never expected to see Steve Carell as an action hero, nor did he! Until, that is, the producers of Get Smart cast him as super spy Maxwell Smart in the action comedy inspired by the classic TV series. "I never thought in a million years I’d be doing anything like this," Steve said. "It’s crazy and just so much fun. I mean, I’m an action guy now so that’s going to be my new career path. I’m going to get really bulked up and just do action movies." Carell expressed a great... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Ben Barnes: From obscurity to valiant Prince Caspian

0 Comments | Posted on Saturday, 5 April 2008 by Don

If you didn't see Stardust last year--which applies to most of the cinemagoing population- - chances are you'd never heard of Ben Barnes. Until, that is, he landed the role of Prince Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Stardust, a fantasy in which the English actor played Young Dunstan Thorn, was his only previous film role. One of Narnia director Andrew Adamson's scouts spotted Barnes in Alan Bennett's play The History Boys at the National Theatre. Subsequently, Ben saw th... Find out more...   |   0 Comments   |   buy tickets

Do you love YouTube?

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 4 April 2008 by Jess

I'm guilty of having a look on YouTube now and then, and stumbling video upon video of 'stuff' that people upload. Whether it's snippets from my favourite TV shows, or hilarious ads or even just random people doing their thing, YouTube is another avenue for people to 'express' themselves in a public space. It never ceases to amaze me what people publish online! Whilst filtering through some videos on YouTube, I stumbled upon this video of people taking off the G... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Tropic Thunder: making merry out of war

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 4 April 2008 by Don

Tropic Thunder is generating terrific buzz after the Ben Stiller comedy was screened this week for Hollywood agents, managers, publicists and reporters. Especially for Robert Downey Jr's turn as an Aussie superstar actor who dies his skin black to try to get inside the head of an Afro-American soldier during the Vietnam War. And for Tom Cruise's cameo as a bald, fat, hairy-chested, foul-mouthed movie mogul. The movie, which opens here on August 21, is the saga of five actors who are dropped... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Clooney and Zellweger take a punt on Leatherheads

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 4 April 2008 by Don

A romantic comedy starring George Clooney, Renée Zellweger and The Office's John Krasinski, directed by Clooney: it sounds like a winning recipe. Maybe, although Leatherheads, which opens this weekend in the US and here on May 29, is a risky proposition in several respects. It's set in the roaring 1920s and is billed as a screwball comedy, a throwback to the era of Howard Hawks, George Cukor and Frank Capra. And while this won't bother US audiences, the movie's set during the early ye... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Would we ever get sick of George Clooney?

0 Comments | Posted on Friday, 4 April 2008 by Don

Plugging his new film, Leatherheads, in the US this week, George Clooney mused on the risk that audiences might tire of seeing him as well as some other stars who frequently grace cinema screens. "Ten years from now, I imagine people will be fairly sick of seeing a lot of us who are on camera now. My hope is I'll be directing more. That is my goal," said George, who directs Leatherheads as well as playing the lead role. That triggered a debate on various websites on the question of w... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Kung Fu Panda: can you turn a slacker into a kung fu fighter?

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 3 April 2008 by Don

After recording the voice of Lenny the shark in Shark Tale, a kind of Woody Allen of the marine world, Jack Black got another offer from DreamWorks Animation's Jeffrey Katzenberg. This time the studio wanted Black to lend his voice to the hero of Kung Fu Panda, an animated comedy about Po, a lowly waiter in a noodle restaurant. Po is a kung fu fan, but being a panda, and a lazy one at that, isn't in the best shape for any martial arts-ing. Po soon learns he's been named as the Chosen One in... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Guy Pearce and David Wenham go to war in The Last Man

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 3 April 2008 by Don

Guy Pearce and David Wenham will star in The Last Man, the true story of Aussie SAS soldiers trapped on their final Vietnam mission. It will be directed by Fred Schepisi, his first Oz film for 20 years since A Cry in the Dark, which dramatized the disappearance of baby Azaria Chamberlain. The Last Man synopsis says the soldiers do whatever it takes to survive, and 12 years later later, they and their wives still suffer the emotional consequences. Among the other films which have just secur... Find out more...   |   0 Comments

Why are some movie titles so long and unappealing, or just dull?

0 Comments | Posted on Thursday, 3 April 2008 by Don

One of the reasons, I suspect, why Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium didn't grab audiences here and around the world is its terrible clunky title. Similarly, movies with unexciting, anodyne titles such as We Own the Night, Because I Said So, Next , Shooter, Are We Done Yet?, Perfect Stranger and Fracture struggled to make their mark at multiplexes. I often wonder: Given the many millions of dollars spent in creating, producing, distributing and marketing movies, why can't the studio geni... Find out more...   |   0 Comments