Tom Waits Wows Film Critics, Ticks Off His Mom

Andrew Garfield will play Peter Parker in 2012 reboot

(NEWSER) - Andrew Garfield has been chosen to play Spider-Man in the sequel that will reboot the franchise in 2012, Zap2it reports. Garfield, 26, who appeared most recently in Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, beat out actors like Jamie Bell, Logan Lerman, and Josh Hutcherson in a grueling casting process. Director Marc Webb said Garfield has "a rare combination of intelligence, wit, and humanity. Mark my words, you will love Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker." More»

But Nicolas Cage seems to get it: critics

(NEWSER) - Critics agree: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is ridiculous. But they're divided over whether the silliness of the sequel, once again starring Nicolas Cage as the devilish superhero, is funny or just bad.

• In the Merced Sun-Star , Roger Moore calls the movie "a profoundly silly mash-up of comic book and quasi-religious 'prophecy' about a motorcyclist who sold his soul to the devil." It beats the original: "This time around, Cage and everybody else on board are in on the joke," and that makes it "almost a great bad movie."

Movie reviews: Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum can't save amnesia romance

(NEWSER) - In The Vow, Rachel McAdams plays a woman who must learn to love her husband again after amnesia wipes her memory. It's no surprise it was released ahead of Valentine's Day: It's pure mushiness, critics say.

• In the New York Daily News , Elizabeth Weitzman calls the film a "down-the-middle, by-the-numbers fantasy, in which no one is too quirky or interesting or challenging in any way." Still, "there’s no shortage of viewers ready to embrace an old-fashioned, guilty-pleasure romance."

Summer movie revenue, on the other hand, is up

(NEWSER) - This summer saw the release of some beloved films, but that wasn’t enough to keep theaters packed. Even as studios and theater owners saw record revenues (thanks to an average ticket price of $7.88), attendance fell to its lowest level since 1997, Bloomberg reports. The number of tickets sold this summer is expected hit 552 million, a drop of 2.6% from 2009. Meanwhile, summer revenue will rise to $4.35 billion, an increase of 2.4%. More»

Action flick less than the sum of its all-star parts

(NEWSER) - Sylvester Stallone directed and co-stars, alongside a Magnificent Seven-style roster of action-film legends—Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, and Jason Statham—but critics have some issues with The Expendables.

• James Verniere (and a friend), Boston Herald : "Hulk like Expendables. It SMASH. Guns go BANG-BANG. Things go BOOM. Fire EVERYWHERE. Cars crash and make even MORE FIRE. HA-HA-HA. Hulk no like Rourke, though. Rourke NUTS."