Michael Moore Attracts His Own Gadflies

Woody Harrelson vehicle dethrones Meatballs in debut weekend

(NEWSER) - Zombieland raked in $25 million to dominate the box office in its debut weekend, easily dethroning Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, which had held the top spot the previous two weekends. The R-rated comic horror movie starring Woody Harrelson drew an overwhelmingly young audience, with 56% under 25, Variety reports. Director Drew Barrymore's Whip It disappointed, taking in just $4.85 million and tying for sixth place with Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story. The top five: More»

Filmmaker's 'magnum opus' sticks up for the little guy

(NEWSER) - Michael Moore’s latest film, Capitalism: A Love Story, which had its debut last night at the Venice Film Festival, isn't likely to match the “political impact” of Fahrenheit 9/11, but you might still call it his “magnum opus: the grandest statement of his career-long belief that big business is screwing the hard-working little guy while government connives in the atrocity,” writes Mary Corliss in Time. A series of “instructive and appalling” anecdotes make his point. More»

He's working on two screenplays

(NEWSER) - Michael Moore’s upcoming Capitalism: A Love Story might be his final documentary, he tells the Detroit News. "While I've been making this film, I've been thinking that maybe this will be my last documentary," Moore says. "Or maybe for a while." Instead, the most successful documentary director of all time is setting his sights elsewhere at the box office. More»

Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones return for alien flick

(NEWSER) - Sure, no one was that desperate for a Men in Black 3—but it's actually a pretty good summer movie. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back defending the planet from aliens, and this time, Josh Brolin's along for the ride as a young Jones.

• The movie "turns out to be so much fun," writes AO Scott in the New York Times . While it "carefully fulfills its blockbuster imperatives—with chases and explosions and elaborately contrived plot twists—it swerves into some marvelously silly, unexpectedly witty, and genuinely fresh territory."

Jason Segel, Emily Blunt star in truthful romantic comedy

(NEWSER) - The Five-Year Engagement clocks in at over two hours, which is a bit too long for many critics. But its honesty about relationships makes the Jason Segel-Emily Blunt rom-com stand out from the pack.

• "Because it's so willing to drill down into Tom and Violet's misery, The Five-Year Engagement involves a higher grim-to-grin ratio than its fluffier brethren," writes Ann Hornaday in the Washington Post . "But there's an unmistakable ring of truth to the couple's conflicts and mixed feelings."