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20 articles
November 6: DVD alternatives to this weekend’s multiplex offerings
13 hours ago
We know how it is: You’d like to go to the movies this weekend, but you’re gonna be busy staring at a big button, arguing with yourself about whether or not to push it. But you can have a multiplex-like experience at home with a collection of the right DVDs. And when someone asks you on Monday, “Hey, did you see The Box this weekend?” you can reply, “No, I contemplated cinematic moral conundrums of a different order.” Instead Of: The Box, Richard Kelly’s mysterious thriller about a moral dilemma -- push a button, kill a stranger, and pocket a cool million -- that turns out to be far stranger than it appears at first... Watch: Kelly’s first film, the deeply disturbing Donnie Darko (2001), which bends time as well as moral expectations in order to craft a deliciously odd parable about sacrifice; it’s so good »
- MaryAnn Johanson
The Men Who Stare at Goats (review)
6 November 2009 4:04 PM, PST
I’m not sure if I’ve seen a more sublimely funny moment on screen this year than the one in which George Clooney, in all deep serious earnestness, tries to convince Ewan McGregor that he -- McGregor, that is -- is a Jedi warrior. “What is a Jedi warrior?” McGregor had asked earlier, when Clooney, in all deep serious earnestness, insisted that he -- Clooney, that is -- was one. Now, it’s a safe assumption that McGregor’s (Amelia, Angels & Demons) journalist, Bob Wilton, knows what a fictional Jedi warrior is, and not just because McGregor has previously portrayed one of the ultimate examples of the breed, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Because as the film opens, as Bob -- from his far-more-knowledgeable perch in his future -- introduces us to himself and his miserable life in Middle America circa 2002, as he introduces some of the concepts that he will be »
- MaryAnn Johanson
A Christmas Carol (review)
6 November 2009 12:51 PM, PST
There’s something about Jim Carrey that I find highly intriguing, and it’s the something that’s very dark and bleak in him. It’s not a quality of his that often gets played to -- in fact, I first noticed this about him in the otherwise terrible psychological thriller The Number 23, a few years back, in which he portrayed a man descending into insanity, because it seemed as if the film was terrified of unleashing that aspect of Carrey. It struck me then that almost everything we’ve ever seen Carrey do -- comedy and drama alike -- has been terrified of what looks to me like rage in him, and so it gets corralled into a grinning, hyper mania that is somehow perceived as “safe” because it’s “just” “funny.” I’d love to see what Carrey would do with the Joker for a director who »
- MaryAnn Johanson
trailer break: ‘The Private Lives of Pippa Lee’
6 November 2009 10:32 AM, PST
I’m glad I hadn’t seen this trailer before I saw the film last night, because I had no idea where the story was gonna go, and I wouldn’t have been as wonderfully in the dark if I’d seen this. It doesn’t spoil everything, and in fact, the film is not the kind that’s about suspense, so it really can’t be spoiled. But still: it remains one of the things I love best about what I do, that I can see movies with next to no preconceived notions about what it’s gonne be. The Private Lives of Pippa Lee is already available on DVD in the U.K.; it opens in the U.S. on November 27. »
- MaryAnn Johanson
question of the day: Why aren’t there more movies about Thanksgiving?
6 November 2009 8:22 AM, PST
Sure, there are a big handful of films that take place in part around Thanksgiving, but I can think of only three (and one of them is a stretch) that are really about the holiday: Home for the Holidays and Pieces of April, both of which revolve around the family dinner, and Planes, Trains and Automobiles, which is really about the craziness in getting home for the dinner... but since Thanksgiving traveling is especially notoriously hellish, I’ll count that one. But that’s it. »
- MaryAnn Johanson
U.K. box office: ‘This Is It’ not so huge
5 November 2009 8:16 PM, PST
As in North America, the Michael Jackson doc/almost-concert movie opened well, but hardly as spectacularly as we were warned to expect. In fact, overall business was down 36 percent from the same weekend last year, when the James Bond flick Quantum of Solace opened to record-breaking box office (£15.4 million). This Is It did well for a documentary, but those kinds of qualifiers weren’t supposed to apply to this movie. I think we’ll see it take a sharp drop on both sides of the Atlantic this coming weekend. Up is down finally, but not much, and it’s edging close to a cumulative take of £30 million in its first four weeks, which would translate to about $300 million; but Up was “only” up to about $226 million at the end of its fourth weekend in North America. So it’s doing even better in the U.K. than it did in the U. »
- MaryAnn Johanson
trailer break: ‘The Young Victoria’
5 November 2009 12:12 PM, PST
Romance! Intrigue! Royalty! Politics! Assassination! Ruffles! Sideburns! What’s not to love? Don’t tell anybody -- shhh! -- but all of a sudden, between this film and Creation (both of which I’ve now seen), I suddenly have a little bit of a crush on Paul Bettany. It’s probably just the costumes, but still, it’s nice. The Young Victoria is already available on DVD in the U.K.; it opens in the U.S. on December 18. »
- MaryAnn Johanson
The Fourth Kind (review)
5 November 2009 8:13 AM, PST
Look: it’s all a crock of extraterrestrial doo-doo. There is no Dr. Abigail Tyler. Well, all right, with so common a name as that, there are probably lots of Dr. Abigail Tylers, but none of them is a Nome, Alaska, psychologist who has videotaped her patients experiencing hypnotic regressions in which they scream and scream through memories of being abducted by aliens. There is no “archival footage” of these sessions upon which The Fourth Kind was based. None of the “archival footage” we see here, as terrifyingly plausible as it is, is real. Seriously. I promise you. Also, Nome don’t look nothing like the verdant mountain town we see onscreen here. »
- MaryAnn Johanson
so, how much did ABC’s ‘V’ reboot suck?
4 November 2009 8:44 PM, PST
[spoilers] Man, I kinda knew that ABC’s updating of V -- a dubious idea if ever there was one, except that anyone who scoffs at anyone who wants to update old sci-fi right now will get the glory that is Battlestar Galactica thrown in their face -- was gonna suck. But I never imagined it would suck this bad. It’s sort of stunning, actually, even grading on the network-tv scale, how much of a misfire this new V is. There are no characters to care about -- no matter how hard the mostly talented cast tries -- because the first episode was crammed full of enough plot for an entire first season. Really, how do you skip from the most momentous, most paradigm-busting event in the history of humanity -- the arrival of aliens -- to “three weeks later”? How do you pass over all the many, many cultural »
- MaryAnn Johanson
caption this! image from ‘Doctor Who’: “The Waters of Mars”
4 November 2009 6:27 PM, PST
Fun for Wednesdays! We look at an image from an upcoming movie -- or now, TV! -- and write snarky, witty, or otherwise entertaining captions for it. No prizes, it’s just for fun. Doctor Who: “The Waters of Mars” is the third to last outing with David Tennant as the Doctor: In Entertainment reveals a few details about the episode: The Waters of Mars, which is the title for a Doctor Who special, is one of the scariest according to star David Tennant. The special which sees the Timelord arrive on Mars in 2059 and battle terrifying zombie like aliens. Fans of the show will see the Doctor meet the first human colony of people living on Mars, facing a battle to save them from a parasitic virus that makes them spurt water. In time honored tradition the transformation scenes are sure to send children rushing to the back of the sofa, »
- MaryAnn Johanson
my week at the movies: ‘The Young Victoria,’ ‘The Box,’ ‘The Men Who Stare at Goats,’ ‘The Private Lives of Pippa Lee,’ ‘A Christmas Carol’
4 November 2009 9:41 AM, PST
Here it’s already Wednesday, and I’m just getting around to this now. But that’s okay, actually, because my “week” at the movies pretty much begins today. I did see The Young Victoria (already available on DVD in the U.K.; opens in the U.S. on December 18) yesterday, and I quite liked it. But today and tomorrow are the onslaught, and a rather disturbing one. For three out of four of these movies open this Friday, and I’m just seeing them now. Today I’ll start with The Box (opens in the U.S. on November 6, and in the U.K. on December 4), the thriller starring Cameron Diaz and -- not that you’d know it from the poster -- poor James Marsden. Then it’ll be on to The Men Who Stare at Goats (opens in the U.S. and the U.K. on November »
- MaryAnn Johanson
trailer break: ‘Ninja Assassin’
4 November 2009 8:53 AM, PST
Isn’t that the same remote mountain monastery/martial arts training ground where Batman went to study? Or is it a franchise? “Raised to become an assassin” made me hope that the next placard would be something like “but he really wants to dance!” But it wasn’t. Wow. This looks supersupersuper awesome. And by that I mean “dumb.” Ninja Assassin opens in the U.S. on November 25 and the U.K. on November 27. »
- MaryAnn Johanson
question of the day: Is America ready for ‘Doctor Who’?
4 November 2009 8:29 AM, PST
Scott Brown at Wired magazine recently came to the defense of Doctor Who, explaining why it’s so essential these days, and why it stands out: There’s a fix I just don’t get from mainstream American science fiction, perhaps because of its grinding obsession with the imperialistic (and its depressive sibling, the dystopic), not to mention its wearisome push for ever-shinier effects. Like its not-so-distant cousin American religion, American sci-fi is fixated on final battles, ultimate judgment (particularly on questions of control and leadership), and an up-or-down vote on the whole good/evil issue. Even the most morally restless imaginings — the Losts and Battlestars — eventually prolapse into Bruckheimer-esque excerpts from the Book of Revelation. »
- MaryAnn Johanson
Oscar hosts: Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin
3 November 2009 7:34 PM, PST
The question of the other day -- Who should host the Oscars now that Hugh Jackman has stepped down? -- has been answered: Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will cohost, according to The Los Angeles Times: Martin, who hosted the 73rd and 75th Oscar ceremony, said in a statement: “I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin.” Alec Baldwin should worship at Tina Fey's feet for making him cool again, with 30 Rock. Hey, why isn’t Tina Fey hosting the Oscars?! »
- MaryAnn Johanson
Coco Before Chanel (review)
3 November 2009 1:28 PM, PST
Oh, sure, Chanel: She freed women from the tyranny of torturous undergarments. She didn’t merely dare to wear trousers, she made them fashionable for women. You know what else she did? She introduced the idea of the skinny, boyish figure as an impossible ideal. She made clothes that look better on a hanger than they do on most women, which has now become the, pardon the pun, model for today’s high fashion. It wasn’t Chanel’s fault, of course: she was reacting to the impossible styles of her day, like the corset, which attempted to impose ridiculous, exaggerated hourglass shapes even where none existed. And hats that looked like a florist exploded. Women: we just can’t win. »
- MaryAnn Johanson
the oh-no! DVD of the week: ‘Jenny Takes a Shower’
3 November 2009 7:10 AM, PST
It’s okay -- it’s artistic: An artistic video collection featuring Jenny, in nine revealing scenes, as she showers completely nude indoors, and out in the open, on hot summer days. Watch Jenny as she takes her morning shower, wash mud off in her garden, scrub paint off her naked skin, cool off on a hot summer afternoon, as well as being forced to flee outside completely naked, when she hears an intruder, while showering at a friend's house. 100 minutes - Unrated - Contains artistic female nudity. Look for the other volumes in this artistic series: Jenny Does the Dishes While a Peeping Tom Jerks Off Outside the Kitchen Window, Jenny Takes Out the Garbage and Encounters the Neighborhood Perv, and Jenny Goes Grocery Shopping and Has a Dangerous Liaison with a Cucumber. Remember, it’s art! »
- MaryAnn Johanson
question of the day: What movie are you most looking forward to in November?
3 November 2009 6:17 AM, PST
As of this writing, 12 movies will open wide in North America in the month of November. Which means that even if you’re an active moviegoer and see a movie each week, you’ve still gotta pick and choose (and it’s even worse if you’re in a city on the arthouse circuit, but let’s not make this too complicated). After a jump, a list of those 12 movies to whet your appetite, or not, as the case may be: November 6 • The Box (trailer) (opens in the U.K. on December 4) • A Christmas Carol • The Fourth Kind (trailer) (opens in the U.K. on the same day) • The Men Who Stare at Goats (opens in the U.K. on the same day) »
- MaryAnn Johanson
North American box office: ‘This Is It’ ain’t all that
2 November 2009 8:01 PM, PST
Overall business was up a scant four percent over the same weekend last year, which doesn’t seem like much, considering how This Is It was supposed to be the biggest movie ever. Speculation was running high that the film would have a five-day opening of $250 million -- instead, it has taken in less than $35 million since opening last Wednesday. Which is very respectable for a concert film, but downright embarrassing compared to Sony’s fevered expectations. In other can’t-miss, sure-thing news: Saw VI dropped 63 percent in its second week. On the flip side, Amelia dropped only 22 percent in its second week, despite an almost complete lack of advertising, which suggests excellent word of mouth among those few who have seen it. »
- MaryAnn Johanson
Motherhood (review)
2 November 2009 12:59 PM, PST
There are nice touches of what makes New York uniquely New York in this should-be-charminger little film, and they’re things that rarely get acknowledged onscreen. The awkward realities of living in a walkup apartment... six flights up. The daily dance of “alternate-side parking.” The true small-town, neighborhoody feel of the city. It’s too bad that writer-director Katherine Dieckmann couldn’t imbue her portrait of the titular state in this place with as much easy, authentic panache. It’s a day in the life for Uma Thurman’s (The Producers) crazy-busy stay-at-home mom on the especially busy day when she’s getting ready for her daughter’s sixth birthday party, and it’s all juggling the million things a mom needs to do for her family while also trying to grab a few minutes for herself. »
- MaryAnn Johanson
question of the day: Who should host the Oscars?
2 November 2009 7:18 AM, PST
Hugh Jackman has announced that he won’t be repeating his Oscar hosting duties again for the upcoming 2010 ceremony, according to E! Online -- though he hasn’t ruled out a return in a later year: Jackman's quiet exit doesn't mean he won't one day become this generation's Billy Crystal. His rep confirmed to E! News that he has not ruled out a return to the Oscar stage, but just didn't want to emcee for two consecutive years. »
- MaryAnn Johanson
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