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20 articles
Movie Reviews: “Disney’S A Christmas Carol”
13 hours ago
There's little harmony among critics assessing the latest cinematic version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. (Actually, this one is called Disney's A Christmas Carol.) Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times, somewhat surprisingly, calls it "an exhilarating visual experience." Ebert, who has repeatedly denounced 3D technology in previous reviews (viewing a film through 3D glasses, he once remarked, is "like looking through a window that needs Windex.") remarks that director Robert Zemeckis is "one of the few directors who knows what he's doing with 3D." While he's reluctant to advise parents to take their kids to see it since it may be too frightening for them, he nevertheless concludes that it "has the one quality parents hope for in a family movie: It's entertaining for adults." A.O. Scott in the New York Times, while writing that Zemeckis goes overboard with the special effects near the end of the movie, says that he otherwise "sticks close to some of the sturdy virtues of the source material." And Chris Vognar in the Dallas Morning News regards the movie as "a worthy stab at mixing old and new, a vintage tale done with some fresh dazzle and a reminder that the movies can still bring the wow." On the other hand Joe Morgenstern in the Wall Street Journal condemns it as "a calamity." The story, he writes, feels "embalmed by technology." Likewise Carrie Rickey in the Philadelphia Inquirer calls it "visually immersive but emotionally uninvolving." As for the 3D technology, Claudia Puig in USA Today writes that Zemeckis "takes a story rich in nuance and renders it one-dimensional, more antic than thrilling." And Peter Howell in the Toronto Star comments that in this movie Zemeckis's use of 3D "only serves to further gild the lily. He's taken an immortal story and an A-list cast -- including Jim Carrey, Colin Firth and Gary Oldman -- and nearly smothered them with the digital equivalent of cellophane." »
Movie Reviews: “The Men Who Stare At Goats”
13 hours ago
We get more paranormal activity this week in The Men Who Stare at Goats, starring George Clooney, Jeff Bridges and Stephen Lang about a reporter's efforts to reveal the story of an Army unit (supposedly real) seeking to harness the parapsychology for the benefit of the U.S. The movie, writes Steven Rea in the Philadelphia Inquirer, "has a glorious good time satirizing the extravagant lengths to which the military and intelligence establishments will go if they think there's a payoff at the other end." That's especially true in the case of Clooney, several critics observe. Roger Moore in the Orlando Sentinel, for example, observes that "'Wacky' isn't George Clooney's strong suit as an actor. But it's always at least amusing to watch the suave, silky leading man let his freak flag fly." In the San Francisco Chronicle Mike Lasalle writes that the movie shows just how far Clooney has come in his acting ability, "building a screen identity that's as specific and engaging as that of any classic film star. Like a James Stewart or a John Wayne, Clooney represents something just standing there - integrity, shrewdness, irony and self-deprecation. Or, to put it simply, today's American man." But Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times writes that although the movie may have initially been conceived as a showcase for Clooney, "more or less stealing the picture from Clooney is Jeff Bridges, an actor you can never see often enough." »
Movie Reviews: “Precious”
13 hours ago
Precious is opening in fewer than 100 theaters this weekend, but most critics agree that it's the film to see. The movie's marketers are almost certain to plaster the Chicago Sun-Times's Roger Ebert's description of it as "a great American film" on their ads. But there are also similar hyperboles from critics. Joe Morgenstern in the Wall Street Journal calls it "a shockingly beautiful film." Lou Lumenick in the the New York Post describes it as "wrenching and uplifting" and finally "remarkable." The film stars a raft of pop stars (the comedian Mo'Nique, singers Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz) and an equal number of virtual unknowns, including Gabourey Sidibe in the title role. "Remarkable performances drive home the film's inspiring message," writes Claudia Puig in USA Today. And the Associated Press's David Germain concludes that "Precious -- both the film and its grandly resilient title character -- will steal your heart." »
Movie Reviews: “The Fourth Kind”
13 hours ago
The film not to have a close encounter with this weekend, most critics warn, is The Fourth Kind, which is set in Nome, Alaska but which was actually shot in Bulgaria -- documentary style, like The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity. It’s about a supposed invasion of aliens who terrorize the good citizens of Nome. Like its predecessors, says Roger Moore in the Orlando Sentinel, "The Fourth Kind is a fraud, but that wouldn't matter if it were scarier and better acted." Writes Joe Neumaier in the New York Daily News: "Badly acted by everyone (including the director, Olatunde Osunsanmi, who appears onscreen), this insipid jumble's idea of fright is incessant screaming." »
More Good News From The Media “Congloms”
5 November 2009 3:37 PM, PST
Media conglomerates News Corp and Time Warner each reported higher-than-expected quarterly results Wednesday, with their movie and cable businesses offsetting declines at their other -- mostly print -- businesses. Time Warner's Time Inc. unit, which publishes such magazines as Time, People, and Entertainment Weekly, took a particularly hard hit as advertisers retrenched and subscribers failed to renew. News Corp said that its newspapers, which include the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal in the U.S. and the Times in London, posted an 81-percent decline in operating income during the quarter from a year ago. Its MySpace website also performed poorly compared with rivals Facebook and Twitter. On the other hand, News Corp said that its 20th Century Fox film division saw its operating income grow to $391 million from $251 million a year ago. It credited much of that success to the performance of its animated Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, which became one of the all-time highest overseas moneymakers in history during the quarter. It also benefited from the home-video release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. As for Warner Bros, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes remarked that the studio "is on pace to report its highest profits ever." (The studio's Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince alone earned $974.73 million worldwide this year.) Both companies also raised their forecasts for the coming year. »
“Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs” Unseats “Transformers 2”
5 November 2009 3:33 PM, PST
Paramount/DreamWorks' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen fell off its top perch on the DVD sales and rental charts after only one week last week, unseated by 20th Century Fox's Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. The blow-'em-up movie fell to second place on both the Nielsen VideoScan sales chart and Home Media magazine's rental chart. It continued to hold on to first place and on the Blu-ray Disc sales chart, generating 24 percent of its total sales from Blu-ray, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The sales chart also saw Disney's Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure, in a direct-to-dvd debut, land in third place. »
Oscars Co-producer Defends Decision To Bring In Two Hosts
5 November 2009 3:23 PM, PST
Adam Shankman maintains that he was not brought in to co-produce next year's Academy Award show because of any desire by the motion picture academy to expand or enhance the production numbers. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Shankman acknowledged, "There had been a lot of speculation surrounding the hiring of me as a signal that there might be more of the song/dance. But I don't want musical numbers unless there's an organic fit into the show." He said that when he contacted Steve Martin, who had twice hosted the Oscars, about doing the show again, he told him, "I want the show to feel that we are continuing to build on the Oscars and I'm not trying to make the MTV Movie Awards. I want there to be some level of tradition that is respected by the [Hollywood] community." Shankman added Baldwin, he said, because he "wanted to twist it up, ratchet up the funny. ... It will keep it high entertainment." By presenting two hosts, he said, would lessen the burden on each of them. "Playing them together and separately will, I think, really help in the streamlining of the show." »
MPAA Asks FCC For Permission To Launch New Technology
5 November 2009 3:15 PM, PST
The MPAA on Wednesday once again called upon the FCC to allow it to employ a technology -- called selectable output control (Soc) -- that can deliver movies to the homes of consumers while preventing piracy. In a statement, MPAA chief Dan Glickman said that the movie producers' object was to give consumers "the option to enjoy movies in a more timely fashion at home." However, there was no definition of "a more timely fashion" -- something that theater owners have demanded. As of now films are not made available for home viewing until four months after their theatrical run. And, in an interview with today's (Thursday) Los Angeles Times, John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners, said that while his group doesn't oppose the use of Soc, he objects to the fact that the MPAA isn't "telling the FCC or anyone else how early they want to go, so there's no way of telling what the impact is on the cinema industry and our consumers." Referring to the MPAA filing, influential Hollywood blogger (DeadlineHollywood.com) Nikki Finke headlined, "MPAA Betrays Theaters" and commented that if the industry has its way, "It would put the struggling theater chains virtually out of business." However, other industry analysts have observed that the barn door was already unlocked by peer-to-peer technology, which has made bootlegged versions of movies available online at about the same time they are released in theaters -- or even earlier. »
Martin And Baldwin To Co-host Oscars
4 November 2009 2:26 PM, PST
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is doubling the number of films nominated for its Best Picture Oscar, has also doubled the number of hosts of the awards show. It announced Tuesday that Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will co-host the 82nd awards presentation. (The two are also co-starring with Meryl Streep in It's Complicated, due to be released on Christmas Day.) For Martin, it will be his third time hosting what is generally the second-biggest TV attraction of the year (after the Super Bowl). In an interview with the New York Times, Oscars co-producer Bill Mechanic said that the two funnymen had been cast because he and co-producer Adam Shankman "liked the idea of contrasting personalities." Commenting on the selection, Los Angeles Times TV writer Mary McNamara remarked, "It's hard to imagine this pair fumbling. With any luck, they will not only shepherd the by-nature unwieldy show through its multiple hours with minimum bumps and dead air, but they'll also do it with the old-fashioned insiders' charm that made the academy want to put the event on television in the first place." »
No Movies, Little Money For Marvel
4 November 2009 2:22 PM, PST
Marvel shareholders were no doubt bracing for lousy news Tuesday when the superhero comics company issued its third-quarter results. After all,they realized that the company had not released a movie during the entire year. As it turned out, the company did indeed report a profits plunge of 60 percent on a 42-percent drop in revenue. It earned just $20 million on about $106 million in total sales. (Spider-Man 3 earned $148 million on its opening weekend.) Shareholder anticipation of the rotten results was apparently already reflected in the stock's price. (And, after all, Disney is acquiring the company in a cash and stock deal worth about $4 billion, keeping its current stock price perhaps artificially high.) In fact, Marvel stock climbed higher on Tuesday and higher still today (Wednesday), trading near its 52-week high of $51.86. »
Scorsese Touts Wonders Of Blu-ray
4 November 2009 2:10 PM, PST
Director Martin Scorsese attempted to perk up public enthusiasm for the Blu-ray high-definition home theater system Monday by declaring that "it creates a completely different experience" from conventional DVDs. Viewing restored versions of older movies, he told a Blu-ray convention in Washington D.C. was "like experiencing the film for the first time again." He added later, "I have a daughter who's 10, and she can't tell the difference between old films and new films." While it can't beat the experience of seeing a movie in a theater on a big screen, the Blu-ray system, he said, "allows the film to be seen as closely as possible to how it was intended to be." »
Initial Plans Approved For Shanghai Disneyland
4 November 2009 2:06 PM, PST
After nearly a decade of on-again, off-again negotiations, the Walt Disney Co. and the municipal government of Shanghai have settled on a plan to create a $3.59-billion Disneyland-type theme park in the model city, the Chinese government confirmed early today (Wednesday). "China is one of the most dynamic, exciting and important countries in the world, and this approval marks a very significant milestone for the Walt Disney Co. in mainland China," Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger said in a statement. Some analysts also observed that the theme park would also clear the way for Disney to set up a kind of Chinese command center on mainland China where its executives and staff could importune Chinese officials to relax their tight control over the distribution of foreign movies. »
Comcast To Provide Movies On Demand On Day Of DVD Release
4 November 2009 2:01 PM, PST
The movie industry, already warring with the likes of Netflix and Redbox over renting movies at kiosks and online as soon as they are released on DVD, may have a new foe to fight. Comcast said on Tuesday that during the next year it expects to release about 100 movies on its video-on-demand service on the same day they are released on DVD. The announcement came as negotiations between Comcast and Ge continued over the cable company's bid to acquire 51 percent of NBC Universal. If that should materialize, Reuters observed today (Wednesday), Comcast could become "an industry game-changer [by] offering blockbuster [Universal] films on movie-on-demand channels ahead of their DVD release." »
At Last: A Media “Conglom” Reports Profits Boost
3 November 2009 2:40 PM, PST
Coming in ahead of most new quarterly reports from media conglomerates, Viacom raised spirits today (Tuesday) by reporting a 15-percent boost in profits. It credited the success of DreamWorks/Paramount's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen for a large measure of the success but also noted that its cable-tv channels, which include MTV, Nickelodeon, Bet and Comedy Central, also showed solid growth. In a conference call, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman indicated that advertisers are returning to TV and cable, especially automotive companies, who had "suffered a lot in the recession." However, he cautioned, "The next several weeks going forward will really tell the tale" of whether a full-scale recovery is taking place. »
“This Is It!” Bigger Than Estimated
3 November 2009 2:35 PM, PST
Favorable word of mouth boosted attendance at theaters showing the Michael Jackson concert documentary This Is It! on Sunday, pushing the total box office to $23.2 million, up from an original estimate of $21.3 million. (The movie has earned $34.4 million since opening on Tuesday night.) Final results for foreign screenings also proved to be higher than originally estimated -- by about $1 million. Total worldwide results for the movie stands at $103.9 million as of Sunday. The mini-budget Paranormal Activity also performed strongly, raking in $16.4 million in its third week of wide release. It has now taken in $84.6 million since opening in a handful of college towns six weeks ago. Overall, the domestic box-office tallied $82.9 million, up 12 percent from $74 million for the comparable weekend a year ago, when High School Musical 3 led with $15.3 million. Revenue for the year stands at $8.3 million, up 7.68 percent from last year's $7.08 million. »
Weinsteins May Buy Back Miramax Name
3 November 2009 2:14 PM, PST
Harvey and Bob Weinstein are planning to make a bid to regain the Miramax brand name, following Disney's decision to shutter the unit's New York headquarters, dismiss its president, and drastically reduce its staff, TheWrap.com reported Monday, citing unnamed individuals close to the Weinsteins. The website said that the Weinsteins are planning to make a direct appeal to Disney CEO Robert Iger to allow them to buy the name, which they coined in 1979 after the names of their parents, Miriam and Max. According to the website, the Weinsteins had originally appealed to former Disney CEO Michael Eisner to allow them to take the Miramax title when they left Disney in 2004 but that Eisner, "in an ungenerous mood," declined. If Iger agrees to sell the name, the website said, the two brothers would drop The Weinstein Company as the name of their company and change it to Miramax. »
Best Buy Will Connect Electronic Items To Movies
3 November 2009 2:04 PM, PST
Buy a new TV set, computer, telephone, DVD or Blu-ray player, or game console from consumer electronics giant Best Buy later this year and you'll likely find that it will sport software that will enable users to watch movies over the Internet. The Los Angeles Times reported today (Tuesday) that Best Buy has partnered with CinemaNow to deliver the movie service to customers who buy electronic devices from Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, and Toshiba, among others. It will compete with similar services provided by Amazon, Netflix, and Apple's iTunes Store. CinemaNow already operates a similar service for Blockbuster. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported today that many electronics companies are now offering Blu-ray disc players that have the ability to play movies streamed from the Internet, in the belief that consumers will eventually abandon discs and elect to receive their movies online. "The horse is out the gate and there's no going back," said Samsung VP Reid Sullivan. "Consumers want Internet-enabled devices." Still, studios are hedging their bets. Paramount on Monday said it is partnering with Kingston Technology to deliver movies on tiny Flash drives. And Home Media magazine reported that Blockbuster Express and e-Play rental kiosks already come equipped with card slots for future movie rentals on Flash drives. »
If Only Jackson Had Been Alive To See “It”
2 November 2009 1:52 PM, PST
In a case of what Billboard describes as turning "human tragedy into ... creative and financial triumph," the Michael Jackson concert documentary This Is It! opened with an estimated $32.5 million over its first five days ($21.3 million over the three-day weekend) in North America and $68.5 million in 97 other countries, including $10.4 million in Japan, $7.6 million in the U.K., $6.3 million in Germany, and $5.8 million in France. While the film's box office did not rival the openings of major studio blockbusters -- at least domestically -- it certainly exceeded the ticket sales for previous concert documentaries. Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds 3D Concert collected $31.1 million over a three-day weekend last year, which included 3D surcharges at most theaters (This Is It! played at a relative handful of IMAX venues), and $70.6 million worldwide. Like the Cyrus movie, This Is It! was announced as a limited-run event. But the movie had barely hit the screens before Sony announced that it was extending it until the Thanksgiving weekend. Overall ticket sales, which are typically soft over the last weekend of October and dismal over any weekend that includes Halloween, were up 7 percent over the comparable weekend last year. Meanwhile, Paranormal Activity continued to scare up ticket sales in its sixth week of release (three weeks nationwide), as it took in $16.5 million, to bring its domestic total to $84.8 million. But Saw VI bled 61 percent of its audience in its second week to wind up with about $5.6 million. Where the Wild Things Are suffered a worse decline, slumping 64 percent to $5.1 million. And The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day apparently played only to cult fans in the 68 theaters where it opened, earning $462,000. »
Iatse May Boycott American Film Institute
2 November 2009 1:49 PM, PST
Iatse, the movie industry's principal technical union, is taking on the august American Film Institute and threatening to boycott its activities because of what the union claims is the AFI's "outrageous anti-union activities." In a letter quoted today (Monday) by TheWrap.com, Iatse President Matthew Dr. Loeb charged that AFI was attempting to discourage employees working as ushers and ticket takers at the AFI's facility in Silver Spring, MD from seeking union representation. Noting that Iatse had supported the AFI in past years, Loeb said that he was "shocked by the position taken by the AFI" regarding the users and ticket takers in Maryland. He asked the union's membership to "support the Iatse in its efforts to assist these individuals in their right to organize by boycotting any AFI-sponsored events and to make known publicly that financial support of AFI should be withheld until this matter is resolved." The matter came to a head two weeks ago when the union leafleted the AFI's annual presentation of the DC Labor FilmFest. The AFI's projectionists are already represented by Iatse. »
Movie Stars Featured In Levinson Documentary
2 November 2009 1:32 PM, PST
Producer/director Barry Levinson takes a look at the convergence of celebrity and politics in the documentary Poliwood,which airs tonight (Monday) on Showtime. Featured in the film is a raft of Hollywood celebrities, including Susan Sarandon, Spike Lee, Ellen Burstyn, Tim Daly, Anne Hathaway and the late Ron Silver. Levinson, a celebrity in his own right with films such as Rain Man and the political satire Wag the Dog and with TV shows like Homicide: Life on the Street and Oz, attempts to show not only what happens when celebrities come together with politicians but also with ordinary folks. Most critics suggest that the result is confusing. Boston Herald critic Mark A. Perigard says that Levinson's documentary is simply too simplistic. Levinson, he notes, calls his film an "essay." That, says Perigard, is "like calling the back of a cereal box a novel." The Wall Street Journal's Dorothy Rabinowitz comments that Levinson presents "a tonnage of vague pronouncements." Ellen Gray in the Philadelphia Daily News remarks that "for all the eye-rolling that goes on as noncelebrities weigh in on what they believe is Hollywood's undue influence, Poliwood doesn't pack much of a punch." And Alessandra Stanley concludes in the New York Times: "Poliwood feeds our prurient fascination with celebrities' fascination with politics, but Mr. Levinson's thesis is undermined by an election process that he bemoaned but didn't film." »
20 articles
