More Early Reviews for The Dark Knight

Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories: Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Sequels, Upcoming Releases

If you needed more than a post on Ain’t It Cool News to tell you The Dark Knight was good, then you’re in luck.

Today, Peter Travers (Rolling Stone) and the David Germain (Associated Press) both heaped their praise on the latest Batman sequel.

Click to continue reading More Early Reviews for The Dark Knight

Read More | Rolling Stone

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Early Review for The Dark Knight

Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories: Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Sequels, Upcoming Releases

UPDATE: You can find additional reviews from Rolling Stone and The Associated Press here.

Although we still have 3 weeks to go until the premiere of The Dark Knight, Ain’t It Cool News already has an early review of the highly-anticipated sequel.

Here are a few of the highlights from the (spoiler-free) critique:

“The film feels more like a crime drama in a grand city scape than a typical comic book movie.”

“Christian Bale owns this role. He is Bruce Wayne and he is Batman.”

“Heath Ledger’s performance of the Joker is truly one for the books. A man of no remorse or morals who simply wants to see things burn.”

Dying to know more? Read the entire review for yourself here.

The Dark Knight rolls into theaters on July 18.

Read More | Ain't It Cool News

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Mixed Reviews for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories: Paramount, Action, Adventure, Sequels, Upcoming Releases

The U.S. premiere of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is still 3 days away, but an audience at Cannes got its first glimpse yesterday.  Here’s a sampling of the reviews being posted by critics today:

• Associated Press:  “Except for the opening — which literally starts the film off with a bang — and a couple of dazzling chase sequences, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is about as unfocused and meandering as the title itself.”


• Entertainment Weekly:  “There’s joy and a middle-aged playfulness to the best of Steven Spielberg’s unlikely sequel. And I mean that as a full compliment: All the movieman’s themes are here, his interests, obsessions, trademark strengths as a cinematic storyteller, and Spielbergian ‘tells,’ too, with hubcap and sideview mirror reflections dating back over 35 years to Duel.”

Click to continue reading Mixed Reviews for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull



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Ebert & Roeper Continues without Roger

Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories: Celeb News

Although he will continue to watch movies, don’t be expecting Roger Ebert to be speaking about them anytime soon.

The former co-host of Ebert & Roeper (or Siskel & Ebert) has not been seen in his usual theater chair since he required surgery on his salivary glands back in 2006.  That was one of several operations the 65-year-old has had in the past few years for removal of growths.

In a recent post for the Chicago Sun-Times, the famous film critic said that he won’t be able to engage in a friendly argument with Richard Roeper anytime soon:

“I underwent a third surgery in January, this one in Houston, and once again there were complications. I am sorry to say that my ability to speak was not restored. That would require another surgery.”

Click to continue reading Ebert & Roeper Continues without Roger

Read More | Chicago Sun Times

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American Teen: Teen Drama for Today

Posted by K.C. Morgan
Categories: Paramount, Documentary, Upcoming Releases

In the ‘80s, teens watched movies like Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club, which showed the angst and agony of growing up with plenty of bubble gum cheer mixed in. Those same ‘80s teens grew up and found out (like Jay and Silent Bob, two View Askew characters) that there is no Shermer, Illinois. Even in the ‘80s, teens just aren’t that tame. Or…are they?

There’s only one way to find out. The documentary American Teen features four Warsaw, Indiana High School students. Which High School do they attend? The only one available in Warsaw, Indiana - and yes, I’m totally serious. The movie follows four stereotyped teens - a homecoming queen, an artistic female student, a jock and a “geeky” loner. Throw in one of those catchy, mellow ‘80s rock tunes and you’ve got a good start on re-making St. Elmo’s Fire. But for this flick, there’s no script. There might not even be a happy ending where the somewhat awkward girl gets the hotter-than-hot guy.

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Read More | CNN

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DVD REVIEW:  ‘Away From Her’

Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories: Lionsgate, Drama, Romance, DVD Reviews

As I was putting the DVD of Away from Her back in its case, I noticed this line on the cover:  Sometimes you have to let go of something you can’t live without.  Of all the vague, cheesy and misleading taglines on most movie posters today…I couldn’t have chosen something more apt for this film.  The next best thing would have been:  If you loved that weeper ‘The Notebook’, this movie will rip your heart out.

Away is the feature-length directorial debut from actress Sarah Polley, who’s probably best known by younger audiences as Ronna from Go.  She is also credited with adapting the screenplay from a short story by Alice Munro (’The Bear Came Over the Mountain’).  Atom Egoyan, Polley’s director in her breakthrough film The Sweet Hereafter, served as the movie’s executive producer.

The film stars the beautiful Julie Christie (Fiona) and Gordon Pinsent (Grant) as a couple still madly in love after 45 years of marriage.  Their peaceful existence in their cozy cabin is eventually interrupted by a series of signs.  Signs they tried to do their best to ignore.  Unfortunately, it comes to a point where Fiona’s memory lapses prove too worrisome to simply brush off.

Click to continue reading DVD REVIEW:  ‘Away From Her’

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DVD REVIEW:  God Grew Tired Of Us

Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories: Documentary, DVD Reviews

Every once in a while you are fortunate enough to watch a movie that really shakes you to your core.  Afterwards, you feel compelled to grab any and everyone you see to tell them about it.  I had that experience just last week—and since then, my friends have had to bear the brunt of my enthusiasm.

Earlier this year, I caught a Nightline piece about the film, God Grew Tired of Us.  This documentary about the ‘Lost Boys of Sudan’ was having it’s Los Angeles premiere.  But the road to completion required a lot of celebrity assistance along the way.  Actor Dermot Mulroney sought Brad Pitt’s help when his director friend (Christopher Quinn) was running low on funds.  Pitt provided financial assistance and took on an executive producer role.  Nicole Kidman also contributed as narrator after being asked by actress Catherine Keener.

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Read More | Nightline

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DVD REVIEW:  Red Dawn: Collector’s Edition

Posted by Veronica Santiago
Categories: Action, Drama, DVD Reviews

Vanessa Williams giving up her Miss America Crown....the Summer Olympics in LA....The Cars stealing MTV’s Best Video Award from Michael Jackson....and Tommy Howell drinking deer blood on Red Dawn. These were things I distinctly remember from 1984.

I can’t even tell you how many times I watched Red Dawn around that time....nor do I really remember why.  Could it have been because my best friend loved Darren Dalton?  Was it because I was fascinated seeing Ponyboy Curtis from The Outsiders (Howell) turn into a cold-hearted Wolverine?  Was it the newly introduced PG-13 rating?  Maybe it was because young women (Jennifer Grey, Lea Thompson) got to help take down the Russians?  (This was the era of the Cold War after all).  So when I heard that they were coming out with a collector’s edition of Red Dawn, I was all over it.

For those who can’t remember the 23-year-old film, here’s a quick refresher:  The movie begins with Soviet paratroopers landing behind a high school.  They immediately start shooting at the students gawking through their classroom window.  It seems the Soviets and Cubans have invaded the US and have basically started WWIII.  A group of teens drives into the woods with the weapons they have stockpiled.  Although they struggle being away from their families, they eventually create their own insurgency and do their best to wreak havoc on the foreign troops. 

Click to continue reading DVD REVIEW:  Red Dawn: Collector’s Edition

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DVD Review: Zodiac

Posted by Neil Estep
Categories: Paramount, Action, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thrillers, New Releases, DVD Reviews

David Fincher’s slow, introspective thriller was released on DVD last week.

In the late 1960s, the San Francisco Chronicle receives one of the first letters from the Zodiac killer, a partial cipher detailing the gruesome deaths of his first victims and his intention to kill again.  What begins as a unique gimmick attached to senseless murder becomes a calculated plan to confuse and manipulate San Francisco police and news media, leaving the city in a state of panic.  Robert Graysmith, a young cartoonist for the Chronicle, grows obsessed with the Zodiac and, with the help of some local detectives, sets out to uncover the truth behind his identity.

Please read FilmCrunch’s full Zodiac review.

Click to continue reading DVD Review: Zodiac

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DVD Review: The Number 23

Posted by Neil Estep
Categories: New Line, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, New Releases, DVD Reviews

The slickly-directed and highly-stylized Joel Schumacher film about an ordinary man’s infatuation with an extraordinary number was released on DVD this week.  Starring Jim Carrey and Virginia Madsen, The Number 23 delves deep into the psyche of Walter Sparrow, a man all too ordinary, and a small red book that enters his life.  The thin, disheveled paperback tells the story of Fingerling, a detective whose encounter with the eponymous number grows into an obsession beyond the bounds of logic — an obsession that begins to take hold of Sparrow himself.

Although the film looks beautiful in every way, and the performances hold up enough to keep one intrigued, The Number 23 attempts to invoke malevolence from mathematical coincidence and superstition, and neither become anything more for it’s audience.

Please check out FilmCrunch’s full video review and textual review.

Click to continue reading DVD Review: The Number 23

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