This Day in Theaters: Sept. 30, 1994

Ed Wood (1994)

Out of all the Johhny Depp and Tim Burton projects to me the one that stands out the most is Ed Wood; and it has nothing to do with it being in black and white. The film tells the true story of Ed Wood, played by Johnny Depp, who is a young man hungry to make it in Hollywood just like his hero Orson Welles. However, he becomes more known for writing and directing B-movies and being a transvestite but his dream never defers. Throughout the film we get treated to some interesting characters, including Bela Lugosi, as well as witness the productions of some of Hollywood's worst films such as "Glen or Glenda" and "Plan 9 from Outer Space". With such interesting source material this movie definitely makes for an interesting two hours.

Hal Hinson of the Washington Post:

"Making a movie about the life of Ed Wood certainly qualifies as an impossible dream, but Burton has pulled it off with wit, imagination and something amazingly close to grace." 

Todd McCarthy of Variety:

"Tim Burton pays elaborate tribute to the maverick creative spirit in "Ed Wood ," a fanciful, sweet-tempered biopic about the man often described as the worst film director of all time. Always engaging to watch and often dazzling in its imagination and technique, picture is also a bit distended, and lacking in weight at its center. Result is beguiling rather than thrilling, oddly charming instead of transporting, meaning that Disney will have its work cut out for it with what is at heart a cult movie and a film buff's dream." 

Even Ed Wood is enthralled by Depp's performance

What sets this film apart from others taken on by the Burton/Depp duo is its simplicity. It is the story about one man, a quirky struggling narcissist, but it goes about itself different than say "Edward Scissor Hands". Which while similar in that it is about a weird young man, Ed Wood sets itself apart by not relaying on ridiculousness and doesn't come with this "look at me I'm different" angle. The film takes you back to a time in Hollywood when it was still run by the big studios while simultaneously churning out low budget independents before it was cool to do so. You really feel like you were part of Ed Wood's clique of friends and you want to tell him where he is going all wrong but his passion and commitment to realizing his dream would even make you second guess yourself. Depp delivers a great performance and Burton brings some subtlety to the table which is much different from his other films. There are a few slow moments in the film which can make it seem a bit longer than its run time but even they are so well done and genuine it won't ruin the experience. I more than recommend this film to anyone and I suggest you go out and rent it.

IMDb Score: 8.0

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

First OFFICIAL photo of Hugh Jackman as “The Wolverine”

Ben Affleck clears up rumors on directing 'Justice League'




http://www.mtv.com/videos/movies/840887/ben-affleck-addresses-justice-league-rumors.jhtml

Ratner & McG on the list to possibly direct the 'Justice Leage" movie!

 

http://www.flickdirect.com/news/3817/mcg-and-brett-ratner-on-short-list-to-direct-justice-league/article.ashx

This Day in Theaters: Sept. 29, 2000

Remember the Titans (2000)

There are two things this movie will be known for: being an overly inspiring sports film and Hayden Panettiere's breakout performance. Remember the Titans tells the story of a high school football team in the south coming together post-integration and overcoming prejudices both on and off the field to become champions. To top it all off Denzel Washington plays the head coach who is forced into the position by the school board, displacing the well established white coach, and working through tremendous adversity. From the start you can tell where this movie is gonna go but it is still a good ride; it also contains some of the best football scenes choreographed on the silver screen and has a rockin' soundtrack full of songs from the 60s and early 70s. We get to see these kids go from enemies, to teammates, to best friends, to champions, over the course of 100 minutes and almost everyone agrees it is a great ride.

Roger Ebert:

"Remember the Titans" is a parable about racial harmony, yoked to the formula of a sports movie. Victories over racism and victories over opposing teams alternate so quickly that sometimes we're not sure if we're cheering for tolerance or touchdowns. Real life is never this simple, but then that's what the movies are for--to improve on life, and give it the illusion of form and purpose."

But some like Paula Tatara though differently:

"...It's a pity that the script is so paint-by-numbers. 

In case you're scoring at home, there are good people and bad people. There are also black people and white people. Before it's all over, there are only good people, although they retain their original color. Given the film's general tone, it's a wonder Washington doesn't convince everyone to turn beige."

Ryan Gosling's on the sidelines daydreaming about one day being Oscar nominated

Now I do get the paint by numbers, preachy, we've seen it all before complaints but you have to remember it is a Disney picture so there is no getting around that. The preachiness does come on a bit heavy. But at its core it is a good movie and I can see it becoming somewhat of a classic. It is already on TV quite a bit and I must've seen it 7 or 8 times in high school (2001-2005). Remember the Titans has all the elements you look for in a family film and that is why I would put it up near the top of that list. I do have a few problems with the movie though. For instance it takes place in Alexandria, VA which they portray as some small southern town when in reality is a decent size D.C. suburb. They also took a few liberties by deviating away from the factual aspects of the story and modified them to fit their story but who doesn't do that. If you haven't seen this film yet, and I don't know how you couldn't, I would check the guide on the TV and find out when it is on.

IMDb Score: 7.6

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 73%

'Promised Land' Trailer

After 10 years,  kick ass director - Gus Van Sant & the man himself, Matt Damon team up for 'Promised Land'!

Classic Episode of Inside The Actors Studio- Dustin Hoffman

Being a big fan of Al Pacino, Robert Deniro and Dustin Hoffman, I had to  share an amazing interview / insight on the career of Dustin Hoffman. The episode gives you some of the best behind the scene stories of one of the best Actors that has brought some of the most amazing characters into life!

Our Future...

Anthony Hopkins' 'Hitchcock' Tapped as 2012 AFI Fest Opener

"Hitchcock," starring Anthony Hopkins as iconic filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, is to open this fall's AFI Festival at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2012/09/27/Hitchcock-to-open-AFI-Festival/UPI-94891348772841/#ixzz27plIRtFD

This Day in Theaters: Sept. 28, 2007

The Kingdom (2007)

 

Let me take you back to a time when America was at war with Middle-Eastern terrorist. It was a simpler time back then before we were preoccupied with Angry Birds and when the Cavaliers were the favorites to win an NBA title. I am talking about 2007; the year we were presented with Peter Berg's The Kingdom. Like yesterdays it is fair to ask while this film is worth noting but like yesterday it was tough finding films to profile released on September 28. Unlike yesterday, however, this isn't the feel good movie they play on TBS twice a month. This is a film about FBI agents (Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman) teaming up Saudi Police (Ashraf Barhom, Ali Suliman) to investigate a terrorist bombing of an American workers' compound. But it turns out that bombing was a small part of a bigger plan. With action, suspense, and intrigue and it i in my opinion Berg's best effort to date. But what do the critics say?

Peter Howell of the Toronto Star:

"At a time when Hollywood insists that Americans feel guilty about their Middle Eastern misadventures – as seen in such angsty agitations as In the Valley of Elah and the upcoming Grace is Gone – this noisy endeavour harkens to the days when all the Yanks needed to straighten out scruffy foreigners was an arsenal of automatic weapons, aviator sunglasses and four-letter words.

...

Director Peter Berg and writer Matthew Michael Carnahan obviously possess some kind of social conscience, because the movie takes pains to point out that the title kingdom, Saudi Arabia, has both heroes and knaves within its walls. Just as America does."

"Why did you tattoo your head if you never shave it?"

A contrast from the Minneapolis Star Tribune's Colin Covert:

"The film becomes a hallucinogenic swirl of jaggedly edited jump cuts and gut-clenching carnage that ends with a lot of people dead, but nothing really changed. The coda throws into question the noble intentions that supposedly guided the FBI team, creating a queasy moral equivalency between their actions and the terrorists'.

I left the theater completely uncertain about what the filmmakers intended to say about the orgiastic bloodshed they showed me. "The Kingdom" is an explosion of rage in search of a rationale."

 I do agree with Covert when it comes to editing. For some reason Hollywood thinks its cool to film movies without a tripod and cut quickly between shots and scenes to give a film more realism but it can end up being more of a distraction than an upgrade. If you get past the jarring camerawork you do get a pretty decent flick. The actors all seem to play their parts well, even though we've seen the same stock characters before, and they created some good chemistry too. The movie has enough twist and turns to keep you guessing which I enjoyed. The action was fierce and the whole film had an intensity that fit it quite well. Even though we've seen it all before, the Americans come to country X to investigate incident Y and end up helping foreign organization Z get their man, this movie still provided some great entertainment.

Can you spot the Americans?

Many critics seem to have taken issue with the way the movie portrayed the Saudi characters as well as its attempts to convey some sort of message. The first issue is just many of these critics trying to play it PC and pretend they are above thinking of the Middle East as some terrorist filled region; unfortunately it is and there is no use pretending it is not. However, I do think The Kingdom should've shunned any sort of political or moral message and treated itself as a straight up action and suspense film. That way they wouldn't have had to waste time trying to get us to leave the theater with a different point of view. We all know plenty of good citizens and families live in Riyadh and that terrorism is bad so don't force it down our throats; just give us what we want and not a sociology lesson. But for its faults I still say it is worth a watch so check it out if you get the chance.

IMDb Score: 7.0
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 51%

Beach OLD MEN Boys out of work?

http://www.examiner.com/article/brian-wilson-fired-from-the-beach-boys

This Day in Theaters: Sept. 27, 2002

Sweet Home Alabama (2002)

The first thing you are probably thinking is "this movie is 10 years old"! The next thing you are probably thinking is why we here at the Film Junkeez are profiling this movie as part of our This Day in Theaters series. Well there are two reasons for that: not too many movies of note have been released on this date and in the words of the San Francisco Chronicle's Jonathan Curiel, "This is a feel-good movie that actually makes you feel good." It is the story of a young southern woman, Reese Witherspoon, who upon getting engaged to a JFK Jr. facsimile, Patrick Dempsey, must travel back home to Alabama and get her ex-husband to sign divorce papers; a marriage her fiancee and future mother-in-law are unaware of. Once she arrives we get to see the funny contrast between Witherspoon's new city girl persona and her redneck family and friends; and being someone who grew up in the south many of these stereotypes portrayed are true. Will she end up falling back in love with her ex-husband?

Some more from Curiel:

"There's a certain formulaic and familiar quality about "Sweet Home Alabama, " but it doesn't matter. This is a film that uses traditional screenwriting touches (like characters from antithetical social classes falling in love) to great effect, mining the material for laughs, awkward moments and a sweet revelry that is endearing and infectious." 

But many others don't see it that way. For instance Mike Clark of USA Today:

"Sweet Home Alabama is the latest picture to give you the sense that Hollywood filmmakers simply plucked another old pop-tune title ripe for ripping off, then were shaken by the rude reality of coming up with a script to jerry-build around it" 

Despite the name of the movie these guys don't make an appearance

And most of the negative reviews focus on what Clark was talking about. Yes the film is formulaic and yes it seems 100% manufactured for mucho dinero. By the way, it took in over $180 million against a budget of $38 million so the producers did their jobs. But who cares why it was made or if we've seen it before? These are the kinds of movies we like when we want to see a happy ending with some romance and laughs along the way. I am quite confident the writers and directors weren't attempting to channel their inner Kubrick so why hold these films to such high standards? Sure there are some minor gripes I have about the film. Like where the hell in Alabama does this take place since they seem to be very close to the Gulf of Mexico yet the location looks more close to the Piedmont region? But only I care about stuff like that and you can't let it ruin a movie for you. While I wouldn't pay to see this one I would recommend checking it out if its on TV, which happens about 568 times each year.

IMDb Score: 5.9

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 37% (Click and check out the audience score)

'Sons of Anarchy' Actor Dead in Hollywood Murder Mystery

Lewis as Kip "Half-Sack" Epps in Sons of Anarchy

 From Cnn.com

 

The violent deaths of "Sons of Anarchy" actor Johnny Lewis and an elderly woman in an affluent Hollywood neighborhood Wednesday is a murder mystery for Los Angeles police. 

 

Lewis, 28, whose acting resumé included "The O.C." and "Criminal Minds," died in the driveway of a three-story home in the Los Feliz neighborhood near Griffith Park, apparently after climbing on the roof and falling, police said Thursday.

Police, responding to a call from neighbors saying they heard screams for help from a woman inside the house, found Katherine Davis, 81, dead in what a police spokesman called a "gruesome scene."

"It appears that some type of altercation occurred inside the house, resulting in the death of the woman, then this individual ran outside and had an altercation with a couple of neighbors," LAPD Commander Andrew Smith told reporters.

Autopsies will be conducted Thursday on the bodies of Lewis and Davis, Los Angeles County Coroner's Lt. Larry Dietz said.

Police would not comment on the possibility of drugs being involved in the case.

Lewis is credited with playing Kip "Half Sack" Epps in 26 episodes of "Sons of Anarchy" in the FX Network drama's first two seasons, according to the Internet Movie Database. His character was killed off in the finale of season two.

"Sons" creator Kurt Sutter, in an extended Twitter posting Thursday, called Lewis' death "a tragic end for an extremely talented guy, who unfortunately had lost his way."

"I wish I could say that I was shocked by the events last night, but I was not," Sutter's tweet said. "I am deeply sorry that an innocent life had to be thrown into his destructive path. Yes, it's day of mourning, but it's also a day of awareness and gratitude. Sadly, some of us carry the message by dying."

Sutter told TV writer Alan Sepinwall in an interview published in December 2009 that "Johnny wasn't happy on the show."

"Creatively, he really wanted out of his contract," Sutter told Sepinwell. "We had ongoing conversations, and we decided we'd find some noble way for him to go."

Lewis played Dennis "Chili" Childress in nine episodes of "The O.C." in 2005 and 2006, according to IMDb.com.

His last work was in an independent movie, "186 Dollars to Get Out," which was scheduled to release this month, the IMDb.com listings said.

Lewis -- whose full name is Jonathan Kendrick Lewis -- was born and raised in Los Angeles, although he holds dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship, according to his IMDb biography.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/27/showbiz/hollywood-murder-mystery/index.html?hpt=en_c1

This Day in Theaters: Sept 26, 1997

The Edge (1997)

 

If I was making a list of underrated movies, hmm there's an idea, this movie would definitely make the Top 10. The plot revolves an older man played by Anthony Hopkins and the man his trophy wife his having an affair with, who is played by Alec Baldwin, surviving in the North American wilderness. To complicate things the reason they are stranded is due to a plane crash so their situation is unknown to the friends and family and to top it all off they are being stalked by a Kodiak bear. Not only do they have to hold themselves together through what they can only suspect is their slow demise but they have to work together enduring so very this tension regarding the infidelity.

Rogert Ebert: 

"It's about con games and occult knowledge, double crosses and conversations at cross-purposes. Its key scenes involve two men stalking each other, and it adds to the irony that they are meanwhile being stalked by a bear. `Most people lost in the wild die of shame,' the older character tells the younger. `They didn't do the one thing that could save their lives--thinking.''' 

Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle:

"The picture loses all linear structure, and the Mamet undercurrent of hostility and malice is hard to track. Every sequence is identical: A threat to the men's survival is introduced and must be overcome. The movie depends on the intrinsic interest of each episode to hold the viewer. Yet, surprisingly enough, "The Edge" keeps the thread unbroken -- or rather, Hopkins does it."

 

Bart the Bear

Some people, and critics, tend to find this film repetitive and cliched but I guess it depends on how you approach The Edge. Are you going in expecting to be awed by the grandeur of the silver screen or do you want to have 120 minutes of fun? I always go for the latter. Baldwin and Hopkins were great in their roles, as was Bart the Bear in his, and the story moved a long nicely with a few curve balls and nail biting situations to keep you entertained. The directing was sufficient as was the dialogue so you don't have really any head scratching "what were they thinking" moments. This is one of the cases where I have to disagree with the negative reviews;but I do give the critics the benefit of the doubt since many of them were probably fixated on the David Mamet writing credit and comparing it to his previous works when this is more of a stand alone. If you are looking for some good old fashion 90s entertainment check this one out.

IMDb Score: 6.8

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 60%

Familiar Villains making a second round in 
IRON MAN 3? 

http://moviepilot.com/stories/661624-tony-stark-will-meet-some-familiar-foes-in-iron-man-3?stamp=44789&subscribe_to=24391&utm_campaign=iron-man-villain-returning-for-part-3&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=fb-stream-post

Todd Phillips branching out of comedy to direct thriller...

After directing movies like the Hangover and Hangover 2, Due Date, Starsky & Hutch, Old School and Road Trip, director Todd Phillips is now branching out to direct his first thriller titled 'Trust Your Eyes'.  Trust Your Eyes is novel by the Canadian author Linwood Barclay.  The project is described as a cross between Hitchcock's "Rear Window" and Levinson's classic "Rain Man"

  

First Look at the New RoboCop!

Take a look at the New RoboCop!!  

It's like if Iron Man and Batman had a one nightstand, and 9 months later....





.....
...

FIRST LOOK:

Russell Crowe in Darren Aronofsky's Noah

This Day in Theaters: Sept 25, 1992

The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

Who can’t forget the French & Indian War? Practically everyone accept history teachers. And even some of them probably couldn’t tell you if it was the French Fighting the Indians, the Indians and French fighting the British, the Indians and British fighting the French, or the British and French fighting the Indians. All I know is that Daniel Day-Lewis fiercely fought to defend his dwindling tribe from the encroaching Europeans using any means necessary. If you enjoy historical movies that try to stay true to times this is a great flick for you; or you could just read the book but that takes more effort.

From Entertainment Weekly:

“Michael Mann's fierce and beautifuladaptation of the James Fenimore Cooper novel, has scenes of brutal physicalpower that hold you in thrall. Mann doesn't distance Cooper's episodic tale ofwar and adventure on the American frontier; he plunges you into 18th-centurycombat as surely as Francis Coppola placed you in the Vietnam jungles in Apocalypse Now.”

Desson Howe from the Washington Post:

“Mann wasn't thinking story,he was thinking scheme. Keep the eyes and ears dazzled, he reasons, and thesubstance will follow.”

These reviews, and many others, bring out the same thing I always thought when watching this film; it really feels like you are there. He made you feel as though you were trudging through the forest with Hawkeye. But that is all I can remember; in fact other than Daniel Day-Lewis I don’t remember too much from the other leads. It could be that he is such a known entity and he tends to command a heavy presence that can drown out the other performers. Or it could be down to the fact that our focus should be more on the story overall and not too much the individual characters. For someone like me who loves American Indian history this movie had me enthralled the entire time and I suggest you check it out.

IMDb Score: 7.8

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

Weekend Box Office:

Sept 24,2012

Top Ten Movies at Box Office for September 21-23: 

1. "End of Watch" - $13.1 million
2. "House at the End of the Street" - $12.2 million
3. "Trouble with the Curve" - $12.1 million
4. "Finding Nemo" 3D - $9.6 million
5. "Resident Evil: Retribution" - $6.7 million
6. "Dredd" - $6.2 million
7. "The Master" - $4.3 million
8. "The Possession" - $2.6 million
9. "ParaNorman" - $2.3 million
10. "Lawless (2012)" - $2.2 million

Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena

Joseph Gordon- Levitt is a younger version of Bruce Willis.....

NO COMMENTS!!!

This Day In Theaters: Sept 24, 1993

The Good Son (1993)

 

 Ah yes, everyone's favorite blonde haired menace is back to more hijinks. Is it the wet bandits back for revenge? Nope, this time around his objective is to eliminate his family. And we're not talking about putting some Micro Machines in the foyer. This time around he shoots at a cat with arrows, throws his sister through a frozen pond, drowns his baby brother, and lures his mother to the edge of a cliff; all while physically and psychologically tormenting a young Frodo Baggins. 

From Roger Ebert:

"The movie is a creepy, unpleasant experience, made all the worse because it stars children too young to understand the horrible things we see them doing."

Entertainment Weekly had another take:

"(It is) a nasty and rich pop thriller that looks at a child and sees the numb blandness of a future serial killer...'The Good Son' delivers its knuckle-gnawing set pieces with a skill that makes other thrillers look logy."

Culkin threatening Wood with a French kiss

When I was younger I used to walk pass this film at the video store begging my mom to rent it; the only reason being it had Macaulay Culkin on the cover. I didn't get to see it until it came on one of those premium movie channels on cable some years later and I found it somewhat disturbing. Not necessarily by the content but more of the context. Looking at this movie 10 years after release, and Culkin's subsequent drop from A-list to D-list, it is clear he was pushed into this film as an attempt by his father to diversify him and make him more bankable. What was also clear was that Elijah Wood seemed to deliver a much better performance than Macaulay who seemed to be trying too hard to be creepy it wasn't believable. Is he to blame or the director? Who knows? But in the end this is one of those movies you should see just so you aren't left out in any conversation involving it. 

IMDb Score: 6.1

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 24%

Celebrating Gangnam Style!!!! 

The music video has been viewed over 265 million times as of September 24, 2012, making it YouTube's most watched K-pop video.

Fox And Seth MacFarlane working on new show! 

 Seth MacFarlane +Fox + and the Ted writers = TV show about a couple guys whose fathers move in with them.

-MacFarlane will executive produce 

-MacFarlane’s & Fox = The Winner, Family Guy, The Cleveland Show,  and American Dad.

http://www.screenjunkies.com/tv/tv-news/fox-and-seth-macfarlane-to-collaborate-for-the-millionth-time/

      

King Of All Media to work with a Oscar Winner??

Looks like the king of all media is contemplating of doing round 2 on the big screen with a Oscar nominated actor.  Shock Jock radio talk show host, Howard Stern has recently announced his plans of either taking up an Hollywood offer to do another movie or to do a second season on NBC's talent show, America' Got Talent.  

What are your thoughts?

4 Reasons Why Christopher Nolan Should Direct Next James Bond Film

http://whatculture.com/film/4-reasons-why-christopher-nolan-should-direct-next-james-bond-film.php

First Look at Jim Carrey as Colonel Stars on 'Kick-Ass 2' Set

http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00054075.html

Dark Knight Rises

DKR reaches the # 7 spot on both  all time domestic box office list as well as the all time worldwide box office list!!



Seven has proven to be a lucky number for The Dark Knight Rises this past week. The film has now reached the number seven position on both the all time domestic box office list as well as the all time worldwide box office list.

On the all time domestic box office list, The Dark Knight Rise passed by Shrek 2 to reach the seventh position. With the film winding down at the box office in its tenth week of release, it’s uncertain if The Dark Knight Rises will be able to rise any higher. Star Wars sits in the number six position with around $17 million more than The Dark Knight Rises. However, a case could be made that The Dark Knight Rises deserves to already be ranked higher than both Star Wars and Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace since both of those films accumulated their box office totals through multiple releases.

On the all time worldwide box office list, The Dark Knight Rises passed by Toy Story 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mean’s Chest to reach the seventh position. The Dark Knight Rises has grossed $1,066,818,000 at the worldwide box office. The Dark Knight Rises is still putting up impressive numbers at the international box office, so it could rise higher yet on the worldwide list. However, to do so, the film would need to rake in at least another $54 million to catch The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which would likely be a challenge

http://comicbook.com/blog/2012/09/24/the-dark-knight-rises-to-number-seven-on-worldwide-box-office-list/