movies

Stories 1301 - 1320 | << Prev   Next >>

Cruise Makes Valkyrie Bumpy Ride
 Cruise Makes 
 Valkyrie 
 Bumpy Ride 
MOVIE REVIEW
Dec 24, 2008 2:01 PM CST

Cruise Makes Valkyrie Bumpy Ride

Supporting cast shines, but film not exactly sharp on historical details

(Newser) - Valkyrie isn’t that good—and surely not Oscar-worthy, Peter Travers writes in Rolling Stone. “And the sooner you accept it, the more fun you’ll have at this satisfying B movie.” The supporting cast is fantastic, and Tom Cruise’s presence just serves to make “you...

Winslet on Reader Role: It's 'Blown My Mind'

(Newser) - Even for a seasoned actress like Kate Winslet, the role of Nazi guard Hannah Schmitz in The Reader was a game-changer, writes Brad Balfour in the Huffington Post. “I sort of walked away like some car crash victim who somehow hadn't been hurt on the outside,” Winslet said....

Star Wars' Secret Shame: The Holiday Special

1978 TV show included singing, dancing, and Wookiees

(Newser) - It sounded like a good idea at the time. In 1978, Star Wars was huge, but a sequel was 2 years away. So why not make a TV special? Why not a holiday special? Centered on Wookiees? "The only sound they make is like fat people having an orgasm,...

Cash-Strapped Studios Spend Big on Oscars

Pricey ads run for contenders despite industry layoffs

(Newser) - America's financial crisis hasn't stopped studios from dropping big money in their quest for Oscars, Nikki Finke writes on Deadline Hollywood Daily. Amid layoffs and cutbacks, Paramount took out 7 full-page ads for Revolutionary Road in the New York Times, and Disney spent $675,000 for a Wall-E insert in...

Seven Pounds Heavy on Heart, Light on Logic
 Seven Pounds 
 Heavy on Heart, 
 Light on Logic 
MOVIE REVIEW
Dec 19, 2008 10:43 AM CST

Seven Pounds Heavy on Heart, Light on Logic

Cryptic Smith film confounds critics with feel-good melancholy

(Newser) - The less you know about this movie before you see it, the more you'll like it, caution critics weighing the new Will Smith vehicle Seven Pounds. One thing not to expect in the "darker and more oblique" spiritual successor to Smith's Pursuit of Happyness is chuckles, Mick LaSalle writes...

Rourke Clinches Wrestler
 Rourke Clinches Wrestler 
MOVIE REVIEW
Dec 18, 2008 10:55 AM CST

Rourke Clinches Wrestler

Actor makes a bodyslam of a comeback with portrait of a has-been

(Newser) - Mickey Rourke takes the title role of The Wrestler and pins it to the mat in a stunning comeback, say critics. The tragicomic portrait of a washed-up star still hitting the circuit decades past his prime "is not just a comeback performance but something much rarer: a rounded, raddled...

Eddie Murphy Will Play Riddler in Next Batman

Christian Bale will return with new sidekick Shia LaBeouf

(Newser) - Batman’s next nemesis may be funnier than the Joker. Eddie Murphy, 47, will play the Riddler in the series’ next installment, due in 2010, the Sun reports. “Everyone’s excited to see what he does as the Riddler,” an insider said. Christopher Nolan returns as director, and...

Star Gazing: 9 to Watch in '09
 Star Gazing: 9 to Watch in '09 
Dec 16, 2008 7:35 PM CST

Star Gazing: 9 to Watch in '09

Entertainment Weekly picks next year's breakout performers

(Newser) - With next year's big-name film and TV projects (including a new Star Trek and a fresh Tom Hanks movie) featuring some unknowns, Entertainment Weekly lists the rising stars of 2009:
  • Kara DioGuardi, American Idol: The songwriting force behind hits by Pink and Ashlee Simpson will sit at the show's judging
...

Eastwood's First Love: Jazz Piano
 Eastwood's 
 First Love: 
 Jazz Piano 

Glossies
Dec 15, 2008 3:09 PM CST

Eastwood's First Love: Jazz Piano

Love, not practice, evinced in movies and performance

(Newser) - Growing up, Clint Eastwood had an affinity for piano but no money for lessons. He nurtured his passion for jazz throughout his life, Nick Tosches writes in Vanity Fair, and has written music for almost every picture he’s directed, including the theme for his recent Gran Torino. But, Eastwood...

Rapper Gravy Gets Another Shot at Fame, This Time as BIG

Hefty entertainer to portray the far more notorious BIG

(Newser) - His debut album was shelved, but Jamal “Gravy” Woolard still has a shot a fame, the New Yorker reports. The rapper, who notoriously took a bullet in the butt outside a radio studio in 2006, killed his music career with what was widely perceived to be a publicity stunt....

A Christmas Story at 25: Stealth Classic

Industry born on collectors items, museum, and conference

(Newser) - After 25 years, devotees of A Christmas Story and its wacky realism still tune in to regular holiday showings, including an annual 24-hour marathon on Christmas Day. Just as Star Trek has Trekkies, A Christmas Story has Ralphies, named after Ralphie Parker, a 9-year-old desperate for a BB gun. CNN ...

1940s Star Van Johnson Dead at 92

(Newser) - Former film and TV heartthrob Van Johnson died today in New York of natural causes, Variety reports. He was 92. Johnson starred in many movies in the 1940s and 1950s, and was later nominated for an Emmy for his appearance on the TV show Rich Man, Poor Man. Dubbed the...

Gran Torino is Vintage Eastwood
 Gran Torino is Vintage Eastwood 
Movie Review
Dec 12, 2008 3:57 PM CST

Gran Torino is Vintage Eastwood

(Newser) - Clint Eastwood has hinted that Gran Torino might be his last gig in front of the camera, and “it is a humdinger of a valedictory,” writes Peter Travers in Rolling Stone. The movie, which tells the tale of a bigoted Korean War vet’s redemptive attempt to clean...

Holidays Is Familiar, Charming
 Holidays Is Familiar, Charming 
MOVIE REVIEW
Dec 12, 2008 10:08 AM CST

Holidays Is Familiar, Charming

Movie adds a little Latin spice to the usual holiday movie recipe

(Newser) - Nothing Like the Holidays is much like many other holiday heart-warmers, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, say critics. The "warm but generic family-stressing-for-the-holidays dramedy" tells the tale of an extended Latin clan getting together for Christmas and stars a who's who of Hispanic talent, Roger Moore writes...

LiLo, Sean Penn Talk Collaboration

Spy overheard celebs gabbing with director Gus Van Sant

(Newser) - Lindsay Lohan and Sean Penn may make a movie together, the New York Post reports. LiLo, out with girlfriend Samantha Ronson, was overheard talking shop with the actor and director Gus Van Sant. They discussed “possibly doing a film together,” an eavesdropper told Page Six. “Lindsay seemed...

Next Gen Movie Watching: Chat Meets DVDs

New Blu-ray feature allows viewers to chat on screen; other innovations on way

(Newser) - As technology takes movie-watching ever further from the days of clunky film reels, the Wall Street Journal rounds up some developments to look for:
  • A new Blu-ray feature—called BD Live—combines movies with social networking, letting people viewing the same movie chat on screen.
  • Technology in the works will
...

Amarcord Still Sentimental, Sexist ... and Great
Amarcord Still Sentimental, Sexist ... and Great
Movie Review
Dec 8, 2008 1:56 PM CST

Amarcord Still Sentimental, Sexist ... and Great

Fellini gives us a coming-of-age during 1930s fascist Italy

(Newser) - “Kids, dogs, wisecracking old men and well-proportioned female derrières take up a significant portion of screen time in Amarcord,” writes Andrew O’Hehir in Salon of the newly re-released, semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale from Federico Fellini—but it doesn’t lack gravitas. The color restoration is as “...

Oscar Campaign for Ledger Is a Tough Balancing Act

(Newser) - Warner Bros. is tiptoeing around the possible Oscar nomination for Heath Ledger, the late star of Dark Knight, writes Rachel Abramowitz in the Los Angeles Times. Hollywood insiders contend that a nod for Ledger is almost certain, but the studio must tread the line between boosting his chances and exploiting...

Cadillac Is Quite a Ride
 Cadillac Is Quite a Ride 
movie review
Dec 5, 2008 10:10 AM CST

Cadillac Is Quite a Ride

Top-notch music, performances powers the story of Chess Records

(Newser) - Cadillac Records may play fast and loose with historical fact, but you can't fault the tunes that fuel it, say critics. The "rollicking and insightful celebration of Chicago blues in its hectic golden age" tells the story of Chess Records and bluesmen like Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters, writes...

Big Lebowski Revives White Russians

White Russians, featured in The Big Lebowski , are making a comeback

(Newser) - Once derided by cocktail enthusiasts as more of a milkshake than anything else, the White Russian is becoming a signature drink among hipsters, writes Steven Kurutz in the New York Times. For this, we can thank the 1998 cult classic The Big Lebowski. The drink—a mixture of vodka, Kahlua,...

Stories 1301 - 1320 | << Prev   Next >>