Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: film

film stories: 615 news summaries

1 - 20 of 615 Stories | 1 2 3 4 5 ... 31 Next >>

Switch to grid view »

movie review

 Bullock Shines in 
 Crowd-Pleasing Blind Side  

Football chick flick lacks suspense, delivers happy ending

5 hours, 26 minutes ago
(Newser) - The Blind Side lacks inherent suspense—it's based on the true story of Michael Oher, a rookie offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. But the tale of a homeless African-American teen adopted by big-hearted white yuppies, at bottom a Sandra Bullock vehicle, goes over big in football country.
  • Writer-director
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • NFL • film • football • movie review • Tim McGraw • Baltimore Ravens • movies • Sandra Bullock • high school football • college football • sports movie • National Football League • pro football • The Blind Side • The Blind Side review • Quinton Aaron • John Lee Hancock

MOVIE REVIEW

 Bad Lieutenant Is 
 Terribly Fantastic 

Cage's unhinged performance dazzles, and Herzog keeps up

6 hours, 49 minutes ago
(Newser) - What is Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, exactly? Most critics haven't the foggiest, but they like Werner Herzog's not-at-all-a-remake and Nicholas Cage's performance. Some reactions:
  • Cage’s “sublimely deranged lead performance” compares favorably to Herzog’s work with Klaus Kinski, Scottt Tobias writes for the Onion
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Hurricane Katrina • film • movie review • Nicolas Cage • film noir • Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans • Bad Lieutenant movie review • Werner Herzog

 Movie Popcorn = 
 3 Quarter Pounders, 
 Plus Butter 

It's as unhealthy as it was 15 years ago

Nov 19, 09 4:10 PM CST
(Newser) - Figure 1,600 calories, 60 grams of saturated fat, and 980 milligrams of sodium—that’s what you’re eating when you scarf down a medium helping of movie popcorn at the nation's biggest theater chain. Add a soda and it’s the equivalent of eating a pound of baby... More »

MORE ABOUT:
film • popcorn • movie industry • Big Mac • movie theaters

 Couples Retreat Ad Sparks 
 Brit Race Brouhaha 

Black actors left off UK poster—but is US version any better?

Nov 16, 09 9:37 AM CST
(Newser) - Audiences in Britain are crying foul over a Couples Retreat poster that omits two black actors who were featured on the US version. A film rep tells the Mail that the change was meant “to simplify the poster to actors who are most recognizable in international markets”—... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • film • racism • advertisements • racist • Couples Retreat

finally

 Lauren Bacall 
 Wins an Oscar 

Roger Corman, Gordon Willis, John Calley share the spotlight

Nov 15, 09 3:24 PM CST
(Newser) - A mere 65 years after her unforgettable screen debut, Lauren Bacall has won an Academy Award. The honorary Oscar was a high point of a ceremony last night in Los Angeles that also celebrated the careers of filmmaker Roger Corman, cinematographer Gordon Willis, and producer John Calley. "I can't... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • Hollywood • Academy Awards • film • Los Angeles • film director • screenwriters • actor • Hollywood producers • movies • Oscars • actress • cinematographer • Lauren Bacall • Roger Corman • Gordon Willis • John Calley • honorary Oscar • filmmaker

box office roundup


 2012 Soars 
 to Top Spot 

Apocalypse flick does $65M as 'Precious' cracks top 5

Nov 15, 09 1:23 PM CST
(Newser) - Apocalypse preview 2012 raked in $65 million domestically at the weekend box office, the high end of the prerelease estimate range, en route to a $225 million haul worldwide. The doomsday action flick handily beat A Christmas Carol, which performed strongly in its second weekend in release. A new entry... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Hollywood • film • box office • John Cusack • Michael Jackson • Amanda Peet • A Christmas Carol • movies • Roland Emmerich • 2012 • Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire • This Is It • The Men Who Stare at Goats

AO SCOTT

 A Look Back at 
 Movies of the '00s 

Which films will be remembered, and which ones deserve it?

Nov 14, 09 11:50 AM CST
(Newser) - The shifting sands of entertainment technology make a look at the past decade's movies a tricky proposition simply because standing the test of time means something different almost daily. "The possibility of a digital, on-demand afterlife guarantees at least a theoretically universal long-tail immortality to blockbusters and curiosities alike,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • Steven Spielberg • independent film • film • Coen brothers • Joel Coen • Ethan Coen • Joel and Ethan Coen • movies • film criticism • indie film • 2000s

MOVIE REVIEW

 Look Out, Pixar: 
 Mr. Fox Is Fantastic 

Is it a film for kids? Who cares! gush critics

Nov 13, 09 12:27 PM CST
(Newser) - Wes Anderson is winning raves for his stop-motion take on Roald Dahl's classic Fantastic Mr. Fox, with voices by a raft of stars including Meryl Streep and George Clooney:
  • It's so good, David Edelstein forgot himself. When the flick ended, he writes in New York , he wished "the
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • film • Dreamworks • Pixar • movie review • Wes Anderson • Meryl Streep • George Clooney • Roald Dahl • Fantastic Mr. Fox • stop motion • Brad Bird

MOVIE REVIEW

 Pirate Radio Rocks 
 on Good Tunes, Cast 

Playful 60s love/music comedy is more party than plot

Nov 13, 09 8:56 AM CST
(Newser) - Critics agree that the soundtrack of Pirate Radio can't be beat, and the top-notch cast is a joy. So when it comes to the shaky plot and pacing, some can turn a blind eye:
  • "There’s no denying the comic energy of the cast," Peter Travers writes
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • music • film • movie review • rock and roll • Britain • Philip Seymour Hoffman • 1960s • rock music • Pirate Radio • Richard Curtis • Bill Nighy • Rhys Ifans • January Jones

OLD RELEASES

 The Best of 
 Cold War Cinema 

With the Evil Empire as the bad guy, Hollywood made some great flicks

Nov 9, 09 2:30 PM CST
(Newser) - Maybe the reason Betsy Sharkey is feeling nostalgic about Cold War flicks is that the era offered a clear, if flawed, idea that we were the good guys. Regardless, it made for some good movies. The Los Angeles Times critic's faves, by "capricious category":
  • Aliens: With "subtexts
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • Hollywood • film • Soviet Union • Cold War • Matt Damon • James Bond • The Day the Earth Stood Still • Sean Penn • spies • Alfred Hitchcock • movies • Paul Newman • paranoia • Robert Ludlum • Evil Empire • Jason Bourne • Henry Fonda • Fail-Safe • Dr. Strangelove • The Falcon and the Snowman • Torn Curtain • Brother From Another Planet

Fox Sitting Pretty With Avatar—Even if It Flops

Studio—and Cameron—hedged bets on $500M megapicture

Nov 9, 09 11:47 AM CST
(Newser) - James Cameron’s 3D game-changer Avatar may end up costing upwards of $500 million to produce and market, but, strangely, no one at the studio is losing sleep over the possibility of a flop. The business just isn’t the same as it used to be, when the collapse... More »

MORE ABOUT:
James Cameron • film • movie financing • blockbusters • 20th Century Fox • 3-D • movie studio • Avatar (film)

box office roundup


 Christmas 
 Comes 
 Early 

'Precious' shatters record for per-location average

Nov 8, 09 1:38 PM CST
(Newser) - The stop-motion version of A Christmas Carol topped the weekend box office, opening with a $31 million haul. The figure is a slight disappointment, on the low end of the projected range for the family-friendly flick, reports Variety . The Michael Jackson documentary This is It lost 40% off last week's... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • film • box office • Michael Jackson • A Christmas Carol • movies • Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire • Paranormal Activity • This Is It • The Fourth Kind • The Men Who Stare at Goats

movie review

 Fourth Kind: Not Real, Not Scary

Alien-abduction mock-doc delivers lame premise with laughable framing device

Nov 6, 09 2:30 PM CST
(Newser) - The Fourth Kind attempts to combine dramatization of true events and fake-documentary alien abductions in Alaska, and falls horribly flat. Here's what critics are saying:
  • The ludicrousness of the grainy archival footage, presented as "real," and a lousy performance by Milla Jovovich, whose "notion of serious
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
film • movie review • horror flims • movies • horror movies • horror film • The Fourth Kind • Milla Jovovich

MOVIE REVIEW

 Motion-Capture 
 Christmas Carol 
 Hits Wrong Notes 

Spirit's there, but critics split on wow-factor of evolving tech

Nov 6, 09 1:30 PM CST
(Newser) - Most critics express a hearty "humbug" for Robert Zemeckis' motion-capture version of A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey. A sampling:
  • "It's a heartwarmer that doesn't have much of a heart itself," Michael O'Sullivan writes in the Washington Post, "populated by figures that are halfway between
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
film • animation • movie review • Charles Dickens • Jim Carrey • motion capture • Robert Zemeckis

MOVIE REVIEW

 Inside The Box, 
 a Muddled Surprise 

Film is wayward, most critics agree, but for some it's interesting

Nov 6, 09 12:11 PM CST
(Newser) - Critics are split on The Box, the new film from writer-director Richard Kelly, known for the much-loved Donnie Darko and the reviled Southland Tales. Some takes on the flick about a box with a mysterious, life-changing button:
  • Pass, writes writes Elizabeth Weitzman in the New York Daily News.
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • film • movie review • thriller • Cameron Diaz • Richard Kelly • James Mardsen • Twilight Zone • The Box

 Funding for 
 Independent 
 Films Dries Up 

We need government help, say small-budget movie-makers

Nov 4, 09 5:03 PM CST
(Newser) - With no public funding and credit lines frozen, American independent filmmakers are finding it tough to make a movie these days. “I mean if Osama bin Laden gave me money to film, I’d take it,” Todd Solondz tells Bloomberg . The financial crisis has heavily curbed bank financing,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
film • funding • movie industry

INTERVIEW

 Winona 
 Talks Jolie, 
 Comeback 



After 9 years, Ryder is back—and setting the Jolie record straight

Nov 4, 09 9:36 AM CST
(Newser) - After two decades in Hollywood, a string of high-profile romances and even higher-profile troubles, Winona Ryder is “the happiest I’ve ever been,” she says. In a wide-ranging interview with BlackBook , Ryder discusses her return to the spotlight in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, her disdain for... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • Angelina Jolie • film • celebrity • Winona Ryder

THE NEXT BESTSELLER?

 Lampoon Lampoons 
 Twilight With Nightlight 

Edwart's no vamp, he just has nosebleeds, but don't tell Belle

Nov 3, 09 12:27 PM CST
(Newser) - She's a klutzy transplant to the Oregon town of Switchblade who falls for a computer geek with nosebleeds named Edwart. “Looking into his eyes I felt waves of electricity, currents of electrons charging towards me. Was this how it felt to be in love ... for robots?” Yes, it's Belle,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
film • parody • satire • publishing • book • movies • sequel • Twilight • Harvard University • Harvard Lampoon

DOWDY DIVA

 Mariah Carey: I Look 
 'Rancid' in Precious 

Carey still embarrassed by her appearance in film

Nov 3, 09 9:08 AM CST
(Newser) - Mariah Carey, who has her very own director of photography tag along to photo shoots to ensure the lighting and frame size are as flattering as possible, still finds her dowdy appearance in Precious “humiliating,” she tells Fox News . “When I first saw the film I thought... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • film • celebrity • acting career • Mariah Carey • Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire • Mariah Carey Precious • Precious reviews

box office roundup

 Jacko Rules the World 

'This Is It' wears crown as 'Paranormal Activity' heads for $100M

Nov 1, 09 1:34 PM CST
(Newser) - This Is It lived up to its name at the weekend box office, raking in $21.3 million domestically and $101 million internationally. The Michael Jackson documentary's strong showing prompted distributor Sony to extend its original 2-week run by 3 weeks, through Thanksgiving weekend, reports Variety . The sleeper sensation Paranormal ... More »

MORE ABOUT:
film • documentary • box office • Michael Jackson • movies • documentary film • Couples Retreat • Paranormal Activity • This Is It • Law Abiding Citizen • Saw VI

1 - 20 of 615 Stories | 1 2 3 4 5 ... 31 Next >>


from our news partners