Letters from Iwo Jima DVD Review
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: DreamWorks, Miramax, Action, Drama, Foreign Language, Thrillers, New Releases, DVD Reviews,
Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-nominated war epic was released on DVD last week; this is a review of the two-disc special edition. The film is a companion piece to Eastwood’s other war film from last year, Flags of Our Fathers, which depicts the same war from the American side.
Letters from Iwo Jima is the story of a pivotal battle between the United States and imperial Japan during WWII. The film portrays the war from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers as they desperately attempt to keep the US from taking their island and using it against the mainland. General Kuribayashi takes command and without proper infantry or supplies does his best to defend Iwo Jima from the country he once considered a close friend. Meanwhile, a young, homesick infantryman named Saigo endeavors to surrender to the opposing forces as they drive his comrades deep into the caves of the desolate island.
Letters from Iwo Jima is directed by Clint Eastwood, written by Iris Yamashita, and stars Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomaya, and Tsuyoshi Ihara. Rated R
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Box Office Breakdown: Sparrow vs. Spidey
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Yo, ho…whoa.
As predicted, Captain Jack Sparrow’s resurrection raked in serious booty helping the Pirates franchise score another box office record. The Memorial Day Weekend crown was snatched away from last year’s holder, X-Men: The Last Stand.
But one thing POTC: At World’s End did not do was take back the title for any three-day weekend. It’s $139.8 million dollar domestic take fell a bit short from the $151 million raised by Peter Parker et al.
Other notables this week? The impressive showing by Waitress. The small movie, starring Keri Russell, has been receiving great reviews and viewers must be taking notice. Ranking 5th in a busy holiday weekend is definitely something to be proud of. And what about those Wild Hogs? After exiting the Top Ten weeks ago, it made one final surge. Apparently motorcycles, leather and holiday weekends go hand-in-hand.
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‘The Dark Knight’ Shot With Imax Cameras
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Sequels, Thrillers, Casting, Filmmaking, Technology, Upcoming Releases,
We’ve barely gotten through this summer of sequels and yet it somehow feels appropriate to look ahead to next year. I, for one, would gladly sit out most of the offerings this season if it meant that I could get to the Batman Begins follow-up sooner.
The Dark Knight is not even slated to be released until July 18, 2008…but we now know how some of it will look. Director Christopher Nolan has announced that four sequences of the movie will be shot with IMAX cameras. While viewing movies reformatted for an IMAX screen is not unusual, this is the first major motion film to actually be shot with these cameras (as opposed to 35mm). I personally detest waiting in long lines for any movie, but the opportunity to see Christian Bale looking larger-than-life may be worth the pain.
New arrivals to the latest saga will include Heath Ledger (as The Joker) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (replacing the I’ve-got-better-things-to-do-Katie-Holmes-Cruise).
Read More 
| Hollywood Reporter
Make Your Own Star Wars Movie
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Action, Adventure, Classics, Science Fiction, Technology,
You may have already purchased the collectible stamps, watched the History Channel tribute or dropped your mail into an R2-D2 mailbox….but if you are still looking for a way to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the original Star Wars, you can simply make your own movie.
Through www.starwars.com, fans can ‘mash up’ their own tribute videos and then post them on the site. The film shorts can simply be a rejumbling of over 200 provided movie scenes or a combination of classic footage/home-grown stuff. Just think, this could give die-hard fans a legitimate reason to wear the costumes they’ve shelved since the saga ended.
Read More | Star Wars MashUps
Lohan in the News – Again
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Box Office, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip,
Less than forty-eight hours after her well-publicized DUI arrest, Lindsay Lohan was photographed by paparazzi early Monday morning after another apparent night of partying. In the pictures, Lohan looks decidedly worse for wear and very much partied out. Wearing a gray hoody, 20-year-old Lohan was spotted slumped in the passenger seat of a car, mouth hanging open, passed out. Lindsay’s current tabloid-worthy behavior (she was arrested for DUI Saturday night, and reports say that an “usable amount” of a substance being labeled as “probably cocaine” was found somewhere in the vehicle) seems at odds with her recent image-boosting activities. Lohan signed on to join Alcoholics Anonymous after a stint in rehab for substance abuse problems…though, judging from recent activities, none of this has helped much.
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Read More | Yahoo News
Lohan Arrested for DUI
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip, Celebrity Controversy, Rumors,
Oh, Lindsay. I could set my watch by your absurdity.
After she joined AA last December and entered a rehab clinic a month later, it seems Lindsay Lohan has fallen off the wagon. That is, of course, assuming she ever really got on in the first place. Apparently, the starlet lost control of her Mercedes convertible early Saturday morning, ran into a curb and some shrubbery, and was taken by acquaintances to the hospital for some minor injuries. When the Beverly Hills Police Department tracked her down, they took her into custody under suspicion of DUI. As if that isn’t bad enough, the officers also found a substance inside the car believed to be cocaine. This information coincides with the recent release of a blurry cellphone video featuring an alleged Lohan and friends “riding the white tiger” in a bathroom stall. I guess she should get used to confined quarters – she’ll likely be joining Paris soon in a jail cell.
Read More | X17
Apocalypto DVD Review
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: Buena Vista, Touchstone, Action, Adventure, Drama, Foreign Language, Period, Thrillers, New Releases, DVD Reviews,
Mel Gibson’s epic film about the decline of the Mayan civilization in 16th century South America was released on DVD last week. The story begins when a small but productive Mayan village comes under attack by a local tribe desperate to save itself from ecological demise by appeasing the gods with human sacrifice. While the movie displays the unique architecture, weaponry, and overall culture of these indigenous peoples, it also narrows to focus on the remarkable story of a brave warrior, captured and tortured but determined to return to his village and family.
Apocalypto is co-written and directed by Mel Gibson, co-written by Farhad Safinia, and stars Rudy Youngblood and Dalia Hernández. Rated R
The film was generally received well by critics but has been disputed by anthropologists and archaeologists who claim it’s filled with historical inaccuracy; many believe it also depicts the Mayan people negatively as much more violent a civilization than is historically evident. Gibson and Safinia, however, claim to have studied Maya extensively before making the film. All controversy aside, the film is nothing short of amazing, placing you in inconceivable peril and holding you there until you feel you’ve become a part of it. Be sure to check out FilmCrunch’s Apocalypto Video Review.
The DVD features don’t really support a film of such magnitude:
- Subtitles in English (both standard and for the hearing impaired), Spanish, and French
- Commentary by Mel Gibson and Farhad Safinia
- Becoming Mayan: Creating Apocalypto
- Deleted Scene
Most of the features are fairly standard, though the single deleted scene, which is completely unnecessary on this release, is embarrassingly trivial and feels like a thoughtless tack-on. The commentary is relatively illuminating and, even if you’ve grown to despise him, Gibson succeeds at keeping it informative and fun. The real draw, however, is the behind-the-scenes featurette. Clocking in at 25 minutes, this mini-documentary chronicles the creation of the film from concept to creation, including make-up, costumes, weapons, and locations. While the segment satisfied most of my curiosity, there were some elements that would’ve given me a bit more to appreciate – maybe some concept art, design and construction of the Mayan temples, cast interviews/screentests, special effects, etc. Overall, the DVD release of Apocalypto is a standard but solid one that will leave some perfectly satisfied and others wanting more. Let’s hope there’s a special edition on the horizon.
Is Pirates Worth the Hype?
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Disney, Action, Adventure, Sequels, Box Office, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews,
Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean was a surprise success – able to delight both children and adults, the flick pulled in big star power and even bigger box office numbers. That’s quite an achievement for a movie that was, essentially, based upon a theme park ride. The slick production, clever acting, high-priced sets, and interesting costumes all make the third installment to this multi-million-dollar franchise look wonderful. But…is it actually worth the time and money that moviegoers will have to invest?
At nearly three hours long, At World’s End feels less like the Pirates attraction and more like the never-ending It’s a Small World tunnel. Children will love the silly gags, amazing effects, high-action drama, and the sword fighting. But, it holds almost none of the appeal of the first film and does little to fix the damage wrought by the second (Dead Man’s Chest, which was one action sequence after another, coupled with a quickly-confusing script and a few plot twists that made audiences scratch their heads and go “am I in the right theater?”).
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Read More | TV Guide
Box Office Breakdown: Shrek Seeing A Lot of Green
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, FOCUS, Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Horror, Satire, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
I believe somewhere out there Justin Timberlake is crediting himself for this…
Two weeks ago, Spider-Man 3 broke box office records for a debut weekend. Now Shrek the Third gets the honor for ticket sales of an animated feature (beating the animated record established by Shrek 2). The $121 million take is the third largest opening for any movie…right behind Spidey 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.
Of course in just seven days, I’m sure Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End will enter the picture to reclaim the title for its franchise. Or at the very least, make the most money for a movie with a monkey in it..
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Shrek Seeing A Lot of Green
FilmCrunch 052: The Number 23 Review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: New Line, Drama, Thrillers, Short FilmCrunch, Theatrical Reviews, Videocasts,
Veronica Santiago and Neil Estep review The Number 23 in this episode of FilmCrunch:
Spiraling into a dark obsession with the number 23, Walter Sparrow twists his once idyllic life into an inferno of psychological torture that could possibly lead to his death as well as the deaths of his loved ones. Spurred on by a mysterious novel, The Number 23, that he doesn’t dare put down, Walter is forced to unlock the secrets of his past before he can continue his future with his wife, Agatha, and teenage son, Robin.
Now we want to hear from you - hit the forums and let us know what you think, what you want us to watch next, and any other recommendations you have for the show.
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