movies – News Stories About movies - Page 87

Critics Riding High on Western
'3:10 to Yuma'

Sep 7, 2007 6:47 AM CDT

Critics Riding High on Western '3:10 to Yuma'

Remake is fast paced, well acted, but ending is 'murky'

(Newser) - Critics are saddling up for "3:10 to Yuma," a remake of a Western that “moves like a barn on fire,” according to Newsday’s Jan Stuart. It's director James Mangold's "most sustained and evocative work," touts the New Yorker. The morally nuanced film...

Iraq War Pics Win Fans at Venice Festival

Sep 5, 2007 10:55 AM CDT

Iraq War Pics Win Fans at Venice Festival

De Palma's Redacted and Jones vehicle Elah generate critical buzz

(Newser) - Films about the Iraq war are hits at the Venice Film Festival, Reuters reports. One critic calls Brian De Palma's Redacted, about the rape of an Iraqi girl by US soldiers, "truly a blow to the stomach." Others tout In the Valley of Elah, starring Tommy Lee Jones...

Halloween Slashes the Competition

Sep 2, 2007 4:36 PM CDT

Halloween Slashes the Competition

Spooks Superbad out of top spot as moviegoers cap record summer

(Newser) - Moviegoers basked in the glow of Halloween a month early this year, shocking the movie biz by capping the fastest $4 billion in Hollywood summer history. Rob Zombie’s horror remake topped the weekend box office with a record $26.5 million, scaring two-time champ Superbad out of first place...

Critics Paddle Balls of Fury

Aug 31, 2007 4:47 AM CDT

Critics Paddle Balls of Fury

Lame ping-pong comedy lacks bounce, reviewers grumble

(Newser) - Balls of Fury is barely getting it over the net, according to most critics, who find the ping-pong-meets-martial-arts comedy lifeless and unfunny. “It's the kind of comedy that finds Asian people hi-lar-ious because they're...Asian. (Are you laughing yet?)," writes Entertainment Weekly’s Owen Gleiberman.

Owen Wilson Drops Out of Next Movie

Aug 29, 2007 3:41 PM CDT

Owen Wilson Drops Out of Next Movie

Drugs, heartbreak may have been behind suicide attempt

(Newser) - Owen Wilson won’t appear in Tropic Thunder after an alleged suicide attempt that's made the actor tabloid fodder, Fox News reports. Wilson was to join the production next week in Hawaii but has struck a “mutual agreement” with director Ben Stiller. The news comes on the heels of...

Can Keanu Outact a Robot?

Aug 27, 2007 4:49 PM CDT

Can Keanu Outact a Robot?

Whoa— Day the Earth Stood Still remake scores Matrix star

(Newser) - Keanu Reeves is coming back to sci-fi—the Matrix star will play the mysterious alien Klaatu in an upcoming remake of 1951's The Day the Earth Stood Still, Variety reports. In the original, Klaatu threatened Earth with destruction if humans didn't stop fighting amongst themselves. No word yet on the...

'Superbad' Still Has Soul at Box Office

Aug 26, 2007 2:39 PM CDT

'Superbad' Still Has Soul at Box Office

Out-laughs the competition for second week; highest-grossing debut is 'Mr. Bean'

(Newser) - Movie fans are filling the last week before school starts by going to the flicks their friends liked: “Superbad,” “The Bourne Ultimatum” and “Rush Hour 3” kept drawing them in with the top 3 spots this week. Rowan Atkinson's “Mr. Bean's Holiday” took surprise swipes...

Ang Lee's 'Lust' Too Hot for Hollywood

Aug 25, 2007 1:45 PM CDT

Ang Lee's 'Lust' Too Hot for Hollywood

Ratings group slaps 'Brokeback' director's new flick with NC-17

(Newser) - Focus Features says it will stand by Ang Lee and his racy new war flick “Lust, Caution,” even though a movie trade group branded the film NC-17. The film industry's Scarlet Letter could cost the pic audiences, ad dollars, and theater distribution, but Focus CEO James Schamus said...

'Champ' Packs a Weak Punch

Aug 24, 2007 11:45 AM CDT

'Champ' Packs a Weak Punch

(Newser) - The newsroom-meets-boxing-ring drama "Resurrecting the Champ" is slow on its feet, critics say, weighed down by its own sentimentality, despite a powerful performance by Samuel L. Jackson—"slumming again in a role miles beneath him," writes Stephen Hunter of the Washington Post—and a taste of the...

This 'Nanny' Is No 'Devil'

Aug 24, 2007 9:08 AM CDT

This 'Nanny' Is No 'Devil'

Credits don't see much to like about "The Nanny Diaries"

(Newser) - One-dimensional characters and wooden acting cripple "The Nanny Diaries," critics say, calling the lavishly appointed frustrated-underling tale similar to "The Devil Wears Prada" in everything except quality. "They should've thrown everything away except the title and the outline," writes Michael Phillips in the Chicago Tribune.

Dylan Flick Coming Soon to (1 or 2) Screens Near You

Aug 21, 2007 5:55 PM CDT

Dylan Flick Coming Soon to (1 or 2) Screens Near You

Starting small, even with big star power

(Newser) - A little movie looking for a crowd will open on only 4 screens this fall, but its distributor boasts that “I’m going to play every major city in the United States with this movie.” With Heath Ledger, Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett taking star turns in a...

Paramount Drops Blu-Ray for HD DVD

Aug 21, 2007 9:23 AM CDT

Paramount Drops Blu-Ray for HD DVD

High-definition format war takes a new turn as player prices fall

(Newser) - The face-off between two standards for high-definition DVDs took a new turn yesterday as Paramount Pictures and its subsidiary DreamWorks dropped support of Sony's Blu-ray format. Starting this week, the studios will distribute new discs exclusively in the HD DVD format, which is supported by Toshiba and functions on less...

11 Injured
in Cruise Film
Car Crash

Aug 20, 2007 2:52 PM CDT

11 Injured in Cruise Film Car Crash

Berlin police investigate a totaled truck for defects on the set of "Valkyrie"

(Newser) - Eleven extras were injured on the Berlin set of Tom Cruise's latest film, "Valkyrie," when the side of a truck—decked out to look like a Nazi military transport—blew open as it took a corner. One man was seriously injured in the crash. Local authorities reported "...

'High School Musical 2' Sets TV Record

Aug 20, 2007 3:19 AM CDT

'High School Musical 2' Sets TV Record

17M fans make Disney original most-watched basic cable show ever

(Newser) - An estimated 17.2 million viewers tuned into "High School Musical 2" Friday night, making the Disney Channel original the most watched basic cable program in history. Backed by an 18-month promotional blitz, the sequel nearly doubled the debut audience of last year's "High School Musical" and is...

Leahy to Act in Batman Flick

Aug 20, 2007 2:25 AM CDT

Leahy to Act in Batman Flick

He won't be in tights

(Newser) - Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, a long-time Batman aficionado, will play a role in the upcoming Batman movie, "The Dark Knight." And while President Bush and some members of the GOP may think he has the title role, he plays only a small part as a "distinguished gentleman....

'Superbad' Scores
Super Big

Aug 20, 2007 12:34 AM CDT

'Superbad' Scores Super Big

Low-budget teen comedy rakes in $31.2M at box office despite R rating

(Newser) - Ribald teen romp "Superbad" triumphed at the box office this weekend, raking in $31.2 million despite an R rating and a modest budget under $20 million, reports Variety. It marks the seventh biggest opening for an R-rated comedy, edging out Judd Apatow's other summer hit, "Knocked Up,...

Seagal Is Back, and This Time It's Personal

Aug 17, 2007 12:45 PM CDT

Seagal Is Back, and This Time It's Personal

Action star targets FBI for sabotaging his career

(Newser) - Steven Seagal, the high-kicking, cartel-busting action star that dominated the "Under Siege" movies in the early 90s, is demanding an apology from the FBI for allegedly shattering his stardom, the LA Times reports. Seagal's career didn't prove that hard to kill—he has been headlining in low-rent straight-to-DVD films...

'Superbad' More Super Than Bad

Aug 17, 2007 9:40 AM CDT

'Superbad' More Super Than Bad

Dirty but adorable teen romp looks like a non-sleeper sleeper hit

(Newser) - Superbad, the tale of two high school seniors' attempts to get laid in a single day and night, is an honest teen comedy in the mold of recent movies that are foul-mouthed and raunchy but actually kind of sweet, critics say. Says Carina Chocano of the LA Times, "for...

Disney Goes Back to High School

Aug 16, 2007 12:44 PM CDT

Disney Goes Back to High School

(Newser) - The sequel to Disney's smash hit 'High School Musical' will air Friday, and with a barrage of merchandise including CDs, DVDs, musical handbags, stationery, bedding, and a board game, the two kids' flicks are expected to rake in $100M for the Mickey Mouse company, reports the LA Times.

Hollywood Won’t Wait for Troops to
Come Home

Aug 14, 2007 7:15 PM CDT

Hollywood Won’t Wait for Troops to Come Home

Slate of controversial war films on the way

(Newser) - About a dozen films exploring America's widely debated role in Iraq and Afghanistan are set for release or in production, marking a break with Hollywood's unwritten rules for depicting an ongoing war. Most films made during WW2 were outright propaganda. And films critical of the Vietnam conflict weren't released until...