movies – News Stories About movies - Page 81

Oct 31, 2007 3:39 AM CDT

Robert Goulet Dies at 73

Acclaimed crooner was awaiting a lung transplant

(Newser) - Robert Goulet, whose deep baritone and matinee-idol looks propelled him to fame in the 1960s, died yesterday while waiting for a lung transplant. Goulet, 73, became a star almost overnight when he debuted as Lancelot in the Broadway production of Camelot, the LA Times reports, and went on to a...

History of Loathing Fuels Labor Unrest

Oct 30, 2007 7:12 PM CDT

History of Loathing Fuels Labor Unrest

In Hollywood, art vs. business has long divided writers, studios

(Newser) - The current Hollywood labor difficulties are the culmination of generations of animosity, dating to the earliest days of talking pictures and studios' resentment of the sophisticated New Yorkers they employed. With the Writers Guild of America set to strike at midnight tomorrow, the LA Times takes a look at a...

Netflix in Heated Race for Online Movies

Oct 27, 2007 3:10 PM CDT

Netflix in Heated Race for Online Movies

Company offers 5% of flicks online, and stays relevant by picking up indie fare

(Newser) - They beat Blockbuster, but can Netflix outpace rivals in the race to show downloaded movies on TV? "It's like a three-act play, and we're in the opening minutes of the second act," said Netflix exec Steve Swasey. Act two is where startups like Vudu take on giants like...

Devil Will Make You Watch It

Oct 26, 2007 4:56 PM CDT

Devil Will Make You Watch It

Crime drama could net legendary director first best directing Oscar

(Newser) - He may be 83, but in Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Sidney Lumet musters the “wide-awake elegance of a virtuoso half his age,” EW's Owen Gleiberman says, producing a vivid crime melodrama critics unanimously place among the year’s best. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke...

DVD Pirates Outwit Hollywood

Oct 26, 2007 7:18 AM CDT

DVD Pirates Outwit Hollywood

Pre-release bootlegging on the rise despite studio security measures

(Newser) - The high-profile Oscar hopeful American Gangster opens next week—but it's already available as a pirated DVD for $5 or for free via internet file-sharing sites. American Gangster is the latest example of the upper hand that bootleggers have gained of late in their war against security measures, the Wall ...

My Big Fat
Indie Meltdown

Oct 25, 2007 3:34 PM CDT

My Big Fat Indie Meltdown

Art flicks can't find mainstream success as glut of releases floods market

(Newser) - Small-budget indie flicks become improbable mainstream successes every year—except, the LA Times notes, 2007. Moviegoers are bombarded with art films that have all flopped, from melancholy war pieces to classy, studio-backed star vehicles. “It's as bad a fall as I've ever seen,” says Focus’ CEO. The problem?...

Del Toro's Good; Berry's on Fire

Oct 19, 2007 10:15 AM CDT

Del Toro's Good; Berry's on Fire

Tearjerker garners mixed reviews

(Newser) - Things We Lost in the Fire, the weepie opening today and starring Halle Berry as a newly bereaved widow and Benicio Del Toro as her heroin-addicted comforter, draws mixed reviews. Most agree with the Chicago Tribune that it's "consistently well acted," awarding special praise to Del Toro. But...

Film Rendition Gets it Right, Says Gitmo Lawyer

Oct 17, 2007 2:04 PM CDT

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—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

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

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

Oct 7, 2007 6:20 PM CDT

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

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

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

Oct 4, 2007 1:02 PM CDT

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?

Sep 29, 2007 5:56 PM CDT

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

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

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

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

Sep 21, 2007 3:35 AM CDT

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...