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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.
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Ryan Reynolds Embraces His Inner Woman

Ryan Reynolds set to go drag in upcoming filmIn an effort to expand his acting range, Ryan Reynolds will dress as a woman in his next movie.

The X-Men Origins: Wolverine actor is set to take on the lead role in an as-yet untitled movie which will see his character disguise himself in drag in order to befriend his ex-girlfriend in a bid to win her back.

Ryan, who will next shoot superhero movie The Green Lantern, will also serve as executive producer on the project, which does not yet have a director.

The script is being penned by Wall Street 2 writer Allan Loeb. No further casting information has been given.

In addition to the cross-dressing caper, it was recently reported that Ryan is set to take over from Tom Cruise in Motorcade after the Mission Impossible star dropped out of the project to appear in Wichita. The action thriller sees the actor playing a disgraced Secret Service agent who happens to be in the wrong place at the right time when the US president is kidnapped in New York.


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Big Plans for the X-Men Franchise

X-Men Origins: WolverineWolverine won’t be the last of the side stories; there are more flicks in the works for eager comic book fans.

Producer Lauren Shuler-Donner recently revealed a few juicy details about the future of the franchise. Wolverine 2 will feature “samurai, ninja, katana blades, different forms of martial arts”—in other words, lots of “extreme fighting.”

Other planned movies include X-Men: First Class and Deadpool. First Class will be a little “darker” and potentially include several “strange villains.” will be working on Deadpool at the same time he’s shooting for the Green Lantern movie, but Shuler-Donner doesn’t anticipate a problem. In the flick, Reynolds will play Wade Wilson, described as “a bad ass, a wise-cracking mercenary who will go out and kill anyone for money.”

Read More | Perez Hilton

This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: October 13, 2009

The Proposal on Blu-rayHere are some of the options available this Tuesday:

  • Adoration: DVD, Blu-ray
  • American Violet: DVD, Blu-ray
  • The Craft: Blu-ray
  • Drag Me to Hell: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Every Little Step: DVD
  • Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas: Blu-ray
  • Happy Birthday to Me: DVD
  • Land of the Lost: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Natural Born Killers (Director’s Cut): DVD, Blu-ray
  • The Proposal: DVD, Blu-ray
  • South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut: Blu-ray
  • The Stepfather: DVD
  • Stop Making Sense: Blu-ray

Make sure to also check out the TV-on-DVD options for this week.

Read More | Amazon

Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Drawn to Funny People

Funny People

When you combine the talents of , Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow, a 1st place finish shouldn’t shock you. A $22.7 million haul? That is surprising.

Despite earning enough to displace G-Force for the weekend’s top spot, failed to bring the movie house down. The 144-minute length dramedy pulled in the lowest gross for any #1 entry this summer. While the film did better than any of Sandler’s dramatic efforts, it didn’t fall line with his comedic outings.

On the other hand, Rogen and Apatow had more reason to be pleased with the box office results. The Universal pic gave Seth his best debut since 2007’s Superbad. Meanwhile, Funny fell right in between The 40-Year-Old Virgin ($21.4 million) and ($30.7 million) for Judd.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Drawn to Funny People

Read More | Variety

Box Office Breakdown: G-Force Teams Up on Harry Potter

G-Force

Let’s face it: Daniel Radcliffe may be cute, but guinea pigs are cuter.

Despite earning $78 million last weekend, could not keep up the magic. The sequel fell to second place after earning a still impressive $29.5 million take over the past three days. Overall, the film has raked in $220 million to date and a delayed opening in IMAX theaters this Wednesday - Transformers 2 had been taking up room - should give the film another boost.

So what could possibly scoot the wizards out of first place? Rodents. Disney, which has already seen The Proposal and Up premiere on top this summer, earned another victory with the debut of . The comedy about a bunch of whiskered CIA operatives roped in $31.6 million over the weekend, just enough for a close win.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: G-Force Teams Up on Harry Potter

Read More | Variety

Box Office Breakdown: Harry Potter Casts a Big Win

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

After putting up with a frustrating delay, eager Muggles rushed to the theaters this weekend in droves. kicked off its extended debut with a record-breaking premiere ($22.2 million) at midnight Tuesday. The series’ sixth installment went on to earn $158 million over five days and officially became the biggest international opener of all time ($237 million).

Despite the numbers, there was one film Half-Blood could not beat: The Dark Knight. At this same time last year, the Batman sequel had also racked up $158 million in sales. But that film did it in only three days.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Harry Potter Casts a Big Win

Read More | Variety

Box Office Breakdown: Bruno Crawls His Way to #1

Bruno crawling

Just like in the fashion world, one day was hot—the next day he was not.

Even though the comedy did well enough to place first this weekend, it appears the sexually graphic film may have turned some off. Ticket sales for the entry dropped 39% between Friday and Saturday, leading many to believe that negative word of mouth played a factor.

In total, Bruno piqued enough interest to raise $30.6 million over three days. While that gross beats Borat‘s $26.5 million debut, the 2006 film later went on to earn $129 million domestically.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Bruno Crawls His Way to #1

Read More | Variety

Warner Bros. Casts Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern

Ryan Reynolds cast as Hal Jordan/Green LanternFor what seemed like decades, Warner Bros. had been searching for the star of their latest comic book adaptation, Green Lantern. They finally announced yesterday that they would be picking The Proposal star Ryan Reynolds, who beat out The Hangover‘s Bradley Cooper, Justin Timberlake, and Jared Leto.

He also beat out my beloved Nathan Fillion, whom fans have shown support for through homemade trailers. Of course, unfortunately studios tend to pick the bigger names over those who are more capable and suitable for the role. I mean we’re talking about Ryan Reynolds, the current king of romantic comedies who somehow conned Scarlett Johansson into marrying him (and did so by asking via text message). And as such, if he’s not in a romantic comedy, he’s always playing a wise-cracking smart-ass with little or no dynamic.

I have to give credit where credit is due, and unfortunately he does get kudos for scoring roles as both Marvel and DC superheroes—he’s so far the first and only.

He’ll be playing the Silver Age version of the Green Lantern, test pilot Hal Jordan. The film is expected to hit theaters December 2010.

Read More | E! Online

Box Office Breakdown: Transformers Melts Ice Age’s Hopes

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

This was one heated battle that left Ice Age out in the cold.

Only 24 hours ago, and the animated comedy were estimated to finish in a possible tie. But when the final numbers were computed, last Monday’s champ managed to keep its spot for another round. In just two weeks, the Paramount feature has managed to earn just under $300 million.

But had nothing to complain about. Even though it missed the #1 spot by less than $1 million, the threequel had the best per screen average of any entry in the Top Ten. In total, the movie earned $66.7 million over five days, just shy of what 2006’s Ice Age: The Meltdown grossed over only three days.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Transformers Melts Ice Age’s Hopes

Read More | Variety

Box Office Breakdown: Transformers Rises Above the Competition

Transformers: Rise of the Fallen

It’s not very often when “loud” and “mindless” are deemed good qualities. But in Paramount’s case, it was a recipe for success.

Over the past five days, did what most films have been attempting all year: It passed the $200 million mark. (Up just became the first 2009 film to hit $250 million.)

While the Michael Bay film is definitely on track to be one of the most successful entries this year (let’s not forget about Harry Potter), the sequel’s opening still takes second behind last year’s topper. During its opening run, earned $203.8 million domestically.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Transformers Rises Above the Competition

Read More | Variety

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