Recently by Jaclyn Garfinkel
Time and experience has led me to extrapolate that the filmic offerings of Will
Ferrell tend to go one of three ways: Funny But Forgettable (as in Talladega
Nights), Surprisingly Hilarious (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron
Burgundy), or Pointlessly Heinous (Blades of Glory). It is a rare
confluence of factors that produces a genuine comedic achievement like
Anchorman and elevates it above the run-of-the-mill masturbatory poo he
so frequently churns out. Sadly, Step Brothers most assuredly does not fall into this last category of insta-classic comedy. The jury is still out on which of the remaining two it ultimately belongs in, but after seeing a screening of it last night and feeling particularly generous after my twelfth caffeinated beverage of the day, I'm gonna vote on Funny But Forgettable.
Sometimes movies are based on video games and sometimes video games are based on movies. Usually in the latter's case, the release of a game coincides with the movie's premiere, or precedes it a little to help generate interest in the film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount Digital entertainment has decided to eschew convention by digging into its library of past movies that it will then adapt into "casual games." Just how far back are they digging? Try twenty-two years, for starters.
One of the first of Paramount's movies slated for adaptation is Pretty in Pink, the 1986 teen girl anthem from John Hughes that starred Molly Ringwald as the redhead with the endlessly rosy wardrobe. As of yet, there are no details about the plot of the game. Maybe you have to navigate the perilous halls of high school without benefit of money or status, get the cute rich guy to notice you, and turn a perfectly decent vintage prom dress into a shapeless pink abomination, all before the timer runs out. I just hope you get to choose what character you want to play. I'd want to be Duckie so I could flip off Andie and Blane right from the start.
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If Tom Cruise's publicist is looking for a quick fix for the bad media buzz
he's gotten in recent years, someone has found the answer: Rumors are buzzing that Cruise has been asked to dust off his
pilot's wings for a Top Gun sequel.
The supposed premise of the sequel would be that Cruise's character, Maverick
-- 22 years older, obviously -- is an instructor at the same Naval flight school
he attended in the 1986 film. This time, though, the instructor's dealing with a
young, cocky pilot much like he used to be, only this one's female. It's Top
Gun for a new generation! After all, the women in the first film were all
love interests and/or eye candy -- even Kelly McGillis' cougarish flight
instructor, Charlie.
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Thus, when it came time for me to interview Christian Bale, I did my best not to get lost in his dreamy green eyes and sexy accent, and I spoke with him about Bruce Wayne, Batman and the acting process.
In other interviews I'd heard Christian say that what Batman does is not good for Bruce Wayne, and the things Bruce does is never good for Batman. So I wondered, what would happen if Bruce Wayne wasn't a playboy and instead was a normal, nice guy?
Christian answered: "He couldn't really do it because without Batman he'd have this crazy rage within him and it would have to be let out somehow. So you know he needs this other character of the Batman in order field the rage and be able to act responsibility in regular civilized society."
And what about his process getting into the role of the Batman in The Dark Knight, having already learned so much about the character in Batman Begins?
"Well it was very nice... I knew it very well. I played it for seven months; this was like going on the 8th month. I knew the crew, I knew Chris [Nolan], I knew the other actors very, very well. And this is a continuation. It's an evolution. He's matured. You know this is now like the angry old man aspiring to some kind of power to be good. This is somebody with responsibility of having that power and the complicated decisions he has to make and the ethical dilemmas he's involved in."
The only ethical dilemma I had? Whether or not to hug Christian before he continued to walk down the "black carpet" at the world premiere. For the sake of keeping my job I chose not to, though if he had donned the bat suit, I'm not sure I could have held back.
Well, when I saw Alfred the Butler walking down the "black carpet" at The Dark Knight premiere, he reminded me of an adorable grandfather, which apparently made me feel extra comfortable with him. And so, straight to his face, I called him Michael. No "Sir" included. Just "Michael."
I could have slapped myself immediately, but it was too late. Luckily, the brilliant actor acted as if he didn't notice, and continued on chatting with me. I, however, will never forget the occasion when I thought I was on a first name basis with Sir Michael Caine.
Moving on... You'd think for a man who's been in the movie industry for almost 55 years that playing a butler would be no big deal.
Not true for Sir Michael. He gives as much energy to Alfred the Butler in The Dark Knight as he gave to his Oscar-winning roles in The Cider House Rules and Hannah and Her Sisters.
How so? As Alfred's history isn't presented in the film, Sir Michael has created his own back story for the character:
"I didn't want him to be just an ordinary butler. I wanted him to be very tough. So I made him an ex-SAS sergeant... He got wounded and worked in the officers' mess which is how he learned to do drinks and cocktails and be a butler. And Bruce Wayne turned up in the officers' mess and he saw him and he wanted a really tough butler and so he took him."
And though there are other huge stars in The Dark Knight—Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Aaron Eckhart, to name a few—don't expect Sir Michael Caine to get star struck.
"It was the older ones. I once found myself in Danny Kaye's kitchen eating dinner with Cary Grant. That was quite an evening. I've been in Hollywood 40 years. It'd have to be a very big star to strike me."
Can you blame him?
Heath's performance was truly remarkable. One minute he was so creepy as The Joker that he'd give you nightmares, and the next minute he'd cause you to fall off your movie theater seat from laughter. Heath went so deep into the character that it was hard to remember that an actor was playing the part. All the audience sees on the screen is a complete lunatic in the form of The Joker.
When I asked producer Charles Roven about the difference in pace between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, he attributed the majority of the Dark rollercoaster ride to Heath.
"There's a character in this story, The Joker, who kind of is, as [director and writer] Chris Nolan calls him, a shark. He just moves through the movie and he carries a lot of weight with him... As dark a character as Heath plays, he's compelling and charming and you can't take your eyes off him and you want to watch him and he does funny things."
Even Gary Oldman (Commissioner Gordon), who has portrayed numerous villains in his career, was fully taken aback by Heath's performance.
"It is one of the scariest. It's so psychological and kind of creepy. I haven't seen a villain like this or a bad guy like this since Dennis Hopper played Frank Booth in Blue Velvet. Remember that scary performance? This out scares Hannibal Lecter."
As for voting for Heath for an Oscar, Gary said, "I'm singlehandedly starting a campaign. I think there's a posthumous Oscar for Heath. He's got every chance of winning it."
Once you've seen the movie, tell me what you think. Would this movie have been so incredible without Heath Ledger? Could Heath have played another villain besides The Joker? Should he win an Oscar for his role? And, lastly, who was more important to the film: Batman or The Joker?
The suave Aaron Eckhart effortlessly plays Harvey Dent, the Gotham City District Attorney in the latest Batman flick, The Dark Knight.Aaron not only does a great job of portraying Dent, but he also looks the part. He has the face and demeanor of a smooth and charming politician. As comic book readers know, however, Harvey doesn't remain Harvey for too long, as he soon transforms into the corrupt villain, Two-Face. The name Two-Face, comes, of course, from the fact that half of his face becomes disfigured by acid. And even when Aaron shows his new appearance, audiences can't help but to feel an attraction to his character, because he lets just enough of Harvey's presence shine through. It's what makes Aaron so great in the role.
We got the scoop on how Aaron was able to transition between the two characters so flawlessly:
"I think the pain that Harvey/Two-Face feels comes from how he experienced himself as Harvey Dent. So I was really happy to get the opportunity to let the audience know where Harvey/Two-Face comes from, so they could have some empathy or understanding of why he is what he is. Why he's doing what he's doing. I was happy to do that in this movie whereas otherwise he would have just come out of the gate having the Harvey/Two-Face attitude. I really enjoyed playing Harvey Dent, the guy in the courtroom wheeling and dealing."
Would you pick Harvey Dent over Batman? Find out what Maggie Gyllenhaal had to say!
In Batman Begins we learned that Rachel felt as though she couldn't be with her true love Bruce Wayne while he was playing the role of the Batman. This is why, in The Dark Knight, she chooses to be with politician Harvey Dent, played by Aaron Eckhart. At last night's "black carpet" premiere, I had to ask Maggie: What girl doesn't want to be with a superhero?
Thus Harvey Dent swooped into Rachel's life, though as fans know, it's never easy for a woman to leave Batman in the dust.
"I think she really loves them both equally," Maggie said. "But I think they each have different things on each other. I think she's trying to figure out who is more honorable. I think part of what she thinks is sexy in a man is someone who's got honor. I think they're both trying to do good and I think they're both doing it in very different ways and she's trying to figure out which way she thinks is really most honorable."
When I asked Aaron Eckhart what he had on Batman in this love triangle, all he could do was laugh. Even guys know it's hard to beat out the superhero!
Josh Hartnett's latest film, August, is a drama about the dot.com era. Josh and Adam Scott (Tell Me You Love Me) star as brothers whose Internet start-up, Landshark, is as hot as can be one minute, and the next... well, you know how it goes. Their stock price plunges and their world is about to go up in smoke.
When I first heard about this movie, I got excited. I obviously work in the online world, so to me, a story about my business is interesting. Plus, most ladies enjoy the look of Josh Hartnett, so seeing him on the big screen is always an added benefit.
Aside from Mr. Hartnett, the cast of August has some other semi-big names attached to it as well. I was very happy to see Adam Scott in it, as I absolutely love him in HBO's Tell Me You Love Me (if you haven't seen it, you must!). Robin Tunney (The Craft, Prison Break) and Emmanuelle Chriqui (Entourage, You Don't Mess with the Zohan) also have slight roles in the film, with Rip Torn and David Bowie making appearances.
IMDb.com users gave August 5 out of 10 stars. To give that some meaning, here are some other movies that also received 5 stars: Free Willy, I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle and My Wife and My Dead Wife. Now, Free Willy was a pretty big movie. The other two? Never heard of them, which I think leaves August's fate up in the air.
With candy and popcorn getting star billing in movie theater lobbies, our mouths start watering at the first preview. The problem: Jumbo "movie sizes" of candy can run bigger than a star's ego—and the scary stats of buttered popcorn belong in a horror flick. But summer blockbusters don't have to bust your diet. To sate your appetite for romance, adventure—and, yes, Junior Mints—check out these "flick picks" >>
Turning your favorite television show into glamorous movies seems to be the new trend in Hollywood. I call it the SATC Syndrome, after, of course, the Sex and the City movie.
But the latest show-to-movie rumor revolves around my very best friends. Yes, that's right. According to British reports, the gang will supposedly reprise their roles, under the right circumstances, within the next 18 months. At least that's what industry insiders are saying.
There originally was speculation that Jennifer Aniston had become too famous to play Rachel again, but those rumors seem to be false.
"She and Courteney [Cox] have already talked this summer about what they want out of a Friends movie, and if deals can be made with them, everything else can fall into place rather quickly," a source told The Daily Mail.
While this is all still a rumor, The Daily Mail also reported that Warner Brothers will be the studio producing what I deem a highliy anticipated reunion with the Geller-Bing-Green-Tribbiani-Buffay clan. Does a production company attached to the project mean there's at least a little truth to the gossip?
I'll be there for you 'Cause you're there for me too
Hopefully they will be!
Check out the clip below, in which Matthew talks about his new dark comedy.
After about an hour of watching the crew unload equipment, Shia LaBeouf came on set around 8 a.m. to film what appeared to be a "move-in" day scene right next to the Princeton University Chapel. After several takes, the crew moved out onto the street to shoot a few stunt scenes on Washington Street. Most of the cars looked brand new (there was no futuristic Chevy Camaro in sight, which was a bummer) but after a few takes, one of the cars had bullet holes and a smashed windshield, which led me to believe they were filming a chase scene. Shia's stunt double nearly got hit several times by another car, and the crew shot the scene from different angles up and down Washington as if all of the shots were going to be pieced together later. And even though the stunt drivers went really fast, you could tell that they speed it up even more in the editing process.
After the first stunt was over, we saw our first sighting of Megan Fox. They were getting a shot of her driving from inside the car but she lost control and slammed it into a curb. Don’t worry, she’s perfectly fine. She got out of the car smiling and laughing and walked it off. Shia, on the other hand, hadn’t stopped chain smoking since the end of the first scene and every time they broke from filming he seemed to have a really bad attitude.
When the stunts got wilder the crowd was forced into nearby buildings where we got to watch from the second story. As we were leaving we were hoping we would be able to see Megan Fox again through a window or something, but we were even luckier, -- when we got to the end of the hall, Megan was chilling at a snack table.
Shia had turned us down when we asked for a picture earlier, but after seeing Megan take a picture with another fortunate group of guys, we walked up to her. Her people immediately shot down the request, but she very graciously and kindly agreed to take one more. We took a picture with her and proceeded to ask her a few questions about the movie. Shia was also there but added nothing to the conversation.
The crew is going to be shooting for another two days in Princeton. All in all, a really, really cool experience.
--Cameron Busacca, 19 years old
If you're one of the few who didn't see it, or someone who loved it and can't wait to see it again, never fear! Definitely, Maybe will be out on DVD on Tuesday, June 24.
For those who don't know what the movie is about, think How I Met Your Mother. The hot Ryan Reynolds plays Will Hayes, a political consultant, who tells the stories of his past relationships to his 11-year-old daughter Maya, played by Abigail Breslin. So that his little girl can guess which of these former girlfriends turned into her mother, Will changes the names of his previous loves as he tells the tales. Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener), Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers) and Elizabeth Banks (The 40 year Old Virgin) play the three lucky ladies.
So I'll put it right out there: I didn't expect Get Smart to be any good. While I'm a fan of Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway, I was a bit weary of little ol' Steve since his not-so-smart venture into Evan Almighty, the un-funny sequel to the hilarious Bruce Almighty.
But I digress. Now, while I've never seen an episode of the television show, my sources parents tell me that it was funny, so I was actually VERY surprised with the turnout of Get Smart, and couldn't stop myself from laughing throughout the entire film.
Steve plays Maxwell Smart, a man so desperate to be an agent, his antics to achieve that goal leave you wondering why on Earth you'd want him to protect you. Steve certainly made the character his own, delivering his lines in a sarcastic, yet somewhat monotone voice that could only be Steve Carell. But almost too quickly into the film, Marqwll is give the position of Agent 87 and is immediately sent on a mission alongside Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway).
Ali Lohan, who currently stars on the reality show Living Lohan, is reportedly in talks to star in the remake of the movie Troll.
Mini Lohan auditioned for the role of Eunice St. Clair last week, and according to these reports, director John Carl Buechler is really fighting for her and she's his first choice.
The director said, "She was great. The camera loves her. She's a really good actress."
Um, what the director said about Ali isn't exactly thrilling news. I mean, those short, choppy sentences? Sounds as if he was reading from Dina Lohan's cue card.
Whatever the case may be, it will be very interesting to see Ali star in this remake. if it goes through, that is.
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