movies

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Film Rendition Gets it Right, Says Gitmo Lawyer

Movie 'surprisingly courageous,' but can't change the world on its own

(Newser) - Rendition, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon, is a "surprisingly courageous" and accurate film, says a lawyer for Guantanamo Bay prisoners. The movie tells the story of an Egyptian man abducted and tortured by the CIA in Egypt. "Now, will we persuade the world in a moment? No,...

Shot on Location&mdash;in Azeroth
Shot on Location—in Azeroth
Oct 14, 2007 4:08 PM CDT

Shot on Location—in Azeroth

(Newser) - World of Warcraft is home to 9 million adventurers—and one film crew. A team of New York-based programmers, filmmakers and geeks has been shooting a feature-length movie entirely within the online game, a uniquely difficult location shoot. “The crew doesn't usually start running off after their mortal enemy...

Mediocrity, Blahs Own the Night
Mediocrity, Blahs Own the Night
Oct 12, 2007 3:00 PM CDT

Mediocrity, Blahs Own the Night

Critics aren't too excited about James Gray's latest crime drama

(Newser) - No one feels too strongly about We Own the Night, a crime drama Variety calls “exceptionally conventional.” It delivers “jolts of pulse-quickening drama,” the Inquirer says, complete with a rainy car chase every reviewer loved. Beyond that, “reactions will depend greatly upon one's tolerance for...

Not Even Cate Can Save Liz 2
Not Even Cate Can Save Liz 2
Oct 12, 2007 11:57 AM CDT

Not Even Cate Can Save Liz 2

Everyone likes Cate, not so much the movie

(Newser) - Nobody can bear to say a bad word about Cate Blanchett, star of Elizabeth: The Golden Age," despite agreeing that the film itself is a big gooey mess. "Cate Blanchett can do anything," writes Peter Travers in Rolling Stone, "but she can't save this creaky sequel....

Stiller Feels Heartbreak as Flick Takes 2nd

Farrelly Brothers romp can't break Rock-solid The Game Plan

(Newser) - Ben Stiller stumbled with The Heartbreak Kid this weekend, a weak opening compared to his recent efforts. A mere $14 million return held it at 2nd behind a still-strong The Game Plan, which raked in $16.3 million in a moderate 29% drop. The Rock's vehicle has earned $42.8...

Clooney Wows in Sleek Clayton
Clooney Wows in Sleek Clayton
Oct 5, 2007 2:53 PM CDT

Clooney Wows in Sleek Clayton

Clooney wows critics in thoughtful corporate thriller

(Newser) - It might sound like a familiar corporate thriller—a court case, dark secrets, attacks of conscience—but Entertainment Weekly says Michael Clayton makes it all seem fresh, calling it “better than good.” It’s no Erin Brockovich, raves Slate, fading white and black hats to gray. And George...

Darjeeling a Thoughtful Ride
Darjeeling a Thoughtful Ride
Oct 5, 2007 11:55 AM CDT

Darjeeling a Thoughtful Ride

(Newser) - The Darjeeling Limited is a melancholy road comedy that never quite derails despite occasional bumps, say critics. Effortless performances by Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Jason Schwartzman "evince with unforced ease the rewards and resentments of brotherhood," writes Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post.

Issue of Stars' Safety Delays Kite Runner

Producers fear film may inflame Afghanistan's ethnic tensions

(Newser) - Paramount Vantage is pushing back the release of "The Kite Runner" to allow its child stars to leave Afghanistan, the New York Times reports. The studio, worried that a “Danish-cartoons situation” could erupt over an ethnically charged rape scene, has moved the film's release date to Dec. 14....

Will Lust, Caution Break NC-17 Taboo?

Producer lobbies theaters to show it despite kiss-of-death rating

(Newser) - Ang Lee, who turned taboo into gold with Brokeback Mountain, hopes theaters will show his new flick despite its NC-17 rating. And Hollywood is watching to see if the film — Lust, Caution, an erotic spy thriller — jumps hurdles for other filmmakers. NC-17 has been box office death for...

As Serious Film, 'Kingdom' Falls
As Serious Film, 'Kingdom' Falls
Sep 28, 2007 11:47 AM CDT

As Serious Film, 'Kingdom' Falls

Unrealistic action movie doesn't carry the weight it wants to, critics say

(Newser) - The Kingdom, starring Jamie Foxx and directed by Peter Berg, wants to be a thoughtful action movie about terrorism—part Rambo, part Syriana, muses the Washington Post. Instead, Newsday says, it's a “clamorous and patronizing” popcorn flick, that EW calls “shameless” in pushing audiences’ buttons.

'Resident Evil' Tops Box Office
'Resident Evil' Tops Box Office
Sep 24, 2007 3:18 AM CDT

'Resident Evil' Tops Box Office

Zombie threequel beats out 'Good Luck Chuck' and 'The Brave One' in debut weekend

(Newser) - "Resident Evil: Extinction" ruled the box office this week, raking in $24 million over the weekend, more than either of the previous two installments. The video game-inspired zombie threequel trounced fellow openers "Good Luck Chuck" ($14 million), which ranked second, fifth-place "Eastern Promises" ($5.7 million), and...

'Eastern Promises' Makes Good
'Eastern Promises' Makes Good
Sep 21, 2007 9:43 AM CDT

'Eastern Promises' Makes Good

Russian mob thriller a worthy follow up to History of Violence

(Newser) - Eastern Promises, like director David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence before it, is a crime thriller starring Viggo Mortensen. And like Violence, critics love it. Its Russian mobsters transplanted to London are not characters, Roger Ebert raves, but “plausible human beings.” Mortensen stands out, having “just...

Speilberg & Paramount Head for Divorce

Unhappy DreamWorks director will likely seek new backer

(Newser) - A split between the DreamWorks braintrust and Paramount appears inevitable amid reports that director Steven Spielberg and partner David Geffen will seek new backers as soon as they're free to do so. The duo have been upset almost from the moment they sold Dreamworks to Paramount two years ago, complaining...

Father Upset by Rape Scene in Kite Runner

Dad of Afghan actor afraid film will ignite anger against his family

(Newser) - The father of an actor in a film adaptation of The Kite Runner is worried about a pivotal rape scene and wants it nixed, the BBC reports. The production features Afghans in many roles, and the boy actor's father, Ahmad Jaan, is concerned that the movie could unleash sectarian anger...

Jodie Hits #1 With a Bullet
Jodie Hits #1 With a Bullet
Sep 16, 2007 2:00 PM CDT

Jodie Hits #1 With a Bullet

The Brave One ranks first at the weekend box office, but fails to meet expectations

(Newser) - Jodie Foster's The Brave One ranked number one with a bullet this weekend at $13.5 million, although it failed to meet studio expectations, reports Deadline Hollywood Daily. Critic Nikki Finke laments the film's reviews and marketing, but applauds Foster as a rare actress able to open a hit movie....

Philip K. Dick Is Ready for His Closeup Now

In death, troubled sci-fi writer is darling of Hollywood

(Newser) - Sci fi writer Philip K. Dick died paranoid, impoverished, and obscure. But since his death in 1982, nine movies have been based on his novels—including Blade Runner, Minority Report, and Total Recall—-and interest in his work , eerily prescient of the digital age, has never been higher. 

Tarantino Recuts Flop for Euro Release

'Grindhouse' is now violent, chatty chick flick 'Death Proof'

(Newser) - Quentin Tarantino has taken the first flop of his career, the violent schlock-fest Grindhouse, and shaved it down to a lean slasher-film with a lot of girl talk and car chases tossed in. Death Proof,  the story of a Texas DJ  and her posse, has done well in France,...

'70s Vigilantes Take '07 in Hands
'70s Vigilantes Take '07 in Hands
Sep 14, 2007 6:51 PM CDT

'70s Vigilantes Take '07 in Hands

New slate of vigilante films in era that mirrors '70s anxiety

(Newser) - Our era of economic upheaval and political powerlessness mirrors that of the 1970s, and now we’re getting our own silver screen vigilantes to clean up the mess. Everyman killers like Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle took action when the system wouldn’t, says Slate, and this season “vengeance...

Affleck Flick Won't Run in UK
Affleck Flick Won't Run in UK
Sep 14, 2007 5:59 PM CDT

Affleck Flick Won't Run in UK

Gone Baby Gone plot closely resembles story of missing Madeleine McCann

(Newser) - Ben Affleck's directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, won't open in the UK because of eerie similarities between the film and the disappearance of British 4-year-old Madeleine McCann, Variety reports. Affleck said it has been withheld out of concern for the McCann connection. A film release, he noted, "is just...

'Elah' Bares Iraq Rage, Sorrow
'Elah' Bares Iraq Rage, Sorrow
Sep 14, 2007 8:50 AM CDT

'Elah' Bares Iraq Rage, Sorrow

Critics hail 'lacerating' murder probe that lays bare social scars

(Newser) - "In The Valley of Elah," a murder mystery with an Iraq war vet veteran as the victim, is “a raw, angry, earnest attempt to grasp the moral consequences of the war,” writes A.O. Scott of the Times. He's one of several critics who hail the...

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