Latest Video: FilmCrunch 067: Hairspray, Chuck & Larry, Premonition reviewed
Veronica Santiago and Neil Estep review Hairspray, Chuck & Larry, and Premonition in this episode of FilmCrunch.Play Video
Review: ‘Post Tenebras Lux’ Lacks Heart, Underwhelms
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Drama, Foreign, Foreign Language, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews
What I mistook as ambition and mythology for Carlos Reygadas' decision to title his film, Post Tenebras Lux, in Latin ("Light After Darkness") was simply pretentiousness. Though the movie - shot in a 1:33 ratio - was undoubtedly as stunning as a Terrence Malick film, the semi-autobiographic pic was as self-indulgent as a Tyler Perry flick.
The Mexican film - which won the Best Director award at last year's Cannes Film Festival - is comprised of a series of vignettes, mostly centering on the lives of a family who has made the transition from city to country life. Reygadas' meditation on both internal and external human conflicts is too ambitious, resulting in a film lacking cohesion and theme.
(Do not read past the jump if you wish to avoid spoilers.)
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Box Office Breakdown: ‘Now You See Me,’ ‘After Earth’ Trail Behind
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Roadside Attractions, Sony, Summit Entertainment, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Foreign Language, Period, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, New Releases
Neither magic tricks nor an futuristic-yet-abysmal Will Smith vehicle were enough to bring Fast & Furious 6 down from its number one position. The car thriller held its own in its second week at the theaters with $34.5 million while newcomers Now You See Me and After Earth just couldn't make the cut to the top spot.
The Louis Leterrier-helmed Now You See Me placed second with $28 million while M. Night Shyamalan's After Earth debuted with $27 million (even removing Shyamalan's name from promotional material for the film couldn't guarantee a better debut). Epic stayed put at number four in its second week with $16.4 million while Star Trek Into Darkness fell two spots to number five.
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Lincoln Leads Oscar Nominations
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: 20th Century Fox, Buena Vista, Columbia Pictures, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Biopics, Drama, Foreign, Foreign Language, Independent, Musicals, Period, Romance, Comedy, Thrillers, Awards, New Releases
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Lincoln leads the Oscar nominations after being named in 12 categories.
Emma Stone and Seth MacFarlane unveiled the shortlist for this year's Academy Awards earlier today, and the Steven Spielberg-directed biopic - which stars Daniel Day-Lewis as pioneering President Abraham Lincoln - leads the way, followed closely by Life of Pi, which is up for 11 honors.
Both movies are up for the prestigious Best Picture Oscar, but will face competition from Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Silver Livings Playbook and Zero Dark Thirty to take home the statuette.
Lincoln stars Daniel, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones are all up for awards, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor respectively, while Spielberg is in the running for Best Director.
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Will Ferrell is the ‘Muhammad Ali of Improv’
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Foreign, Foreign Language, Comedy, Celeb News, Filmmaking, New Releases
Will Ferrell is the "Muhammad Ali of improv."
The comedian stars in Matt Piedmont's Casa de mi Padre, a Spanish language Mexican telenovela, and although the motion picture was a huge challenge for Will, the director says he rose to the occasion beautifully.
"For Will it was surely a Heart of Darkness in that he pulled off something almost impossible that surely caused him night sweats: having to act in a very specific Northern Mexican accent in a language he does not speak. He is the Muhammad Ali of improv and we tied one hand behind his back and threw him to the lions covered in barbeque sauce. For me it was pure joy and a grand psychedelic trip down a crazy rabbit hole, like being strapped to a rocket ship of love made of liquid lightning."
Will stars as the brother who must save his family's ranch from an evil, cigarette-smoking drug lord (Gael Garcia Bernal), and rescue his brother (Diego Luna) from a life of crime and Matt revealed he was delighted his feature film directorial debut was an R rated Spanish language satire.
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Box Office Breakdown: Snow White Slays Competition
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Buena Vista, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Foreign, Foreign Language, Horror, Independent, Period, Political, Remakes, Romance, Satire, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, New Releases
Is it Chris Hemsworth's amazing hair? Was it the aggressive marketing campaign? Is Kristen Stewart actually a box office draw? Whatever it was, something prompted movie-goers this weekend to spend their dollars towards Snow White and the Huntsman -- approximately $56.2 million of them.
Men in Black 3, therefore, was bumped down from its short-lived number one spot to number two with $29.3 million. Marvel's The Avengers dropped to number three with a decent $20.2 million. Battleship dipped down one spot to number four with $4.8 million while The Dictator rounded out the top five with $4.7 million.
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Box Office Breakdown: Hill-Tatum Bromance Gets the Jump on The Lorax
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: 20th Century Fox, Buena Vista, DreamWorks, Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign Language, Political, Remakes, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, New Releases
It took a few weeks, but a new film has finally pushed The Lorax off its perch at number one: 21 Jump Street.
The reimagined film adaptation of the popular 80's television series of the same name, 21 Jump Street took in $35 million at the box office this weekend, well ahead of the $22.8 million last week's top film -- The Lorax -- earned. Disney's latest live-action film John Carter was bumped back one spot from last week, landing at number 3 with $13.5 million. The party hard film from the folks behind The Hangover, Project X, fell one spot to number 4 with $4 million while Eddie Murphy's A Thousand Words took the fifth spot with $3.8 million in its second week.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Hill-Tatum Bromance Gets the Jump on The Lorax
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Angelina Jolie Relied on Cast For Advice
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Drama, Foreign, Foreign Language, Independent, Political, Romance, Celeb News, Filmmaking, New Releases, Scripts
Angelina Jolie "wasn't afraid" to take advice from her cast and crew on her directorial debut. The Oscar-winning actress' movie In The Land of Blood and Honey tells the tale of a romance between a Serbian soldier and Bosnian Muslim woman set in the Yugoslav wars and ensured it was as authentic as possible by quizzing the local actors and behind-the-scenes staff she hired for the project.
"I wasn't afraid to ask the DP [director of photography]. And I listened to my cast, most of whom lived through the war. I listened to their stories and tried to incorporate it into the work. [I] read a lot of books about the war. I talked to a lot of people, I watched, I listened. I just wanted to tell the real story. I wanted to be respectful of people. [If I did not know something,] I asked."
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In Theaters This Weekend: January 28, 2011
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: IFC Films, Lionsgate, New Line, Warner Bros, Action, Drama, Foreign, Foreign Language, Horror, Independent, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases, Trailers
Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:
- The Mechanic (R): starring Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Donald Sutherland (directed by Simon West)
- The Rite (PG-13): starring Anthony Hopkins, Colin O'Donoghue, Alice Braga (directed by Mikael Hafstrom)
- Biutiful* (R): starring Javier Bardem, Maricel Alvarez, Hanna Bouchaib (directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)
- From Prada to Nada* (PG-13): starring Camilla Belle, Alexa Vega, April Bowlby (directed by Angel Gracia)
- Ip Man 2* (R): starring Donnie Yen, Lynn Hung, Simon Yam (directed by Wilson Yip)
- Kaboom* (zzznr): starring Thomas Dekker, Haley Bennett, Chris Zylka (directed by Gregg Araki)
- When We Leave* (NR): starring Sibel Kekilli, Derya Alabora, Florian Lukas (directed by Feo Aladag)
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This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: January 18, 2011
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Magnolia, Lionsgate, Sony, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Drama, Foreign, Foreign Language, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases
Here are some of the DVD and Blu-ray options available this week:
- Animal Kingdom: DVD, Blu-ray
- Buried: DVD/Blu-ray combo
- Death Race 2: DVD, Blu-ray
- Freakonomics: DVD, Blu-ray
- Jack Goes Boating: DVD, Blu-ray
- Lebanon: DVD, Blu-ray
- The Naked Kiss: DVD, Blu-ray
- Paper Man: DVD, Blu-ray
- Shock Corridor: DVD, Blu-ray
- Stone: DVD, Blu-ray
- Takers: DVD, Blu-ray
Make sure to also check out the TV-on-DVD options for this week.
Read More | Amazon
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This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: January 11, 2011
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: MGM, Lionsgate, Sony, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Animation, Biopics, Drama, Family, Foreign, Foreign Language, Horror, Period, Comedy, Sports, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases
Here are some of the DVD and Blu-ray options available this week:
- All in the Family: DVD, Blu-ray
- Army of Shadows: Blu-ray
- Ben 10: Ultimate Alien: Volume 1
- Dances with Wolves (20th Anniv. Edition): DVD, Blu-ray
- The Endless Summer: Blu-ray
- The Great Debaters: Blu-ray
- Once Upon a Time in America: DVD
- Pirahna: DVD, Blu-ray
- Raging Bull (30th Anniversary Edition): Blu-ray
- The Social Network: DVD, Blu-ray
- Sordid Lives: Complete Series
Make sure to also check out the TV-on-DVD options for this week.
Read More | Amazon
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