movies

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Beowulf Hath Brought Low Ye Box Office

Holdovers Bee Movie and American Gangster claim second and third spots

(Newser) - Beowulf reaped $28.1 million and claimed top spot this weekend in the best debut ever for a digital 3D film, Variety reports. Other newcomers fumbled, as Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium landed fifth and Love in the Time of Cholera banked a sickly $1.9 million in tenth. Sales...

Emporium Short on Wonder
Emporium Short on Wonder
NEW RELEASE
Nov 16, 2007 12:58 PM CST

Emporium Short on Wonder

Star power can't save unimaginative effort

(Newser) - Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium might be less than magical for grown-ups, critics of the whimsical family flick agree. Dustin Hoffman stars as the eponymous eccentric who bequeathes a magical living toy store to reluctant protégé Natalie Portman in a film that "sprinkles in charming moments but ultimately doesn't...

Bee Movie Goes to Head of the Class
Bee Movie Goes to Head
of the Class
Nov 11, 2007 5:20 PM CST

Bee Movie Goes to Head of the Class

Seinfeld vehicle passes American Gangster for number one spot

(Newser) - In a rare second-week coup, Bee Movie topped the weekend box office and passed fellow sophomore American Gangster, Variety reports. The Denzel Washington flick dropped 44% after leading last week, while Bee fell just 32%. Newcomer Fred Claus took third, with a less than stellar $19.2 million, while Lions ...

Fred Claus : Ho-Ho-Hum
Fred Claus: Ho-Ho-Hum
Nov 9, 2007 3:10 PM CST

Fred Claus: Ho-Ho-Hum

Great cast can't redeem not-so-great story, critics say

(Newser) - Critics gave a frosty reception to Fred Claus, the new holiday comedy starring Vince Vaughn as Santa's rebellious brother. The cast, which includes Paul Giamatti, Kathy Bates, and Kevin Spacey, "is an embarrassment of riches for a script this thin," says Michelle Orange of the Village Voice.

Why Do We Cry at Movies?
Why Do We
Cry at Movies?
Nov 5, 2007 4:30 AM CST

Why Do We Cry at Movies?

We could be purging toxins—or searching for meaning in our fleeting existence

(Newser) - Why do we cry at movies? Washington Post film critic Desson Thomson, recalling his own waterworks watching emotional films, checked out some research to find out. Audiences weep out of empathy, according to one expert. Women definitely cry more than men (four times as much) and weeping releases internal toxins....

Gangster Whacks Box Office
Gangster Whacks Box Office
Nov 4, 2007 4:25 PM CST

Gangster Whacks Box Office

Ridley Scott flick is highest grossing R-rated crime film ever

(Newser) - American Gangster put competitors on ice this weekend and became the top-grossing R-rated crime flick ever. Starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, Gangster scored the top debut of the fall, beating Seinfeld's Bee Movie by $46.3 million to $39.1 million. Seinfeld's first foray since Seinfeld buzzed a little...

Writers to Hit Picket Lines
Writers to Hit Picket Lines
Nov 2, 2007 8:00 PM CDT

Writers to Hit Picket Lines

Guild wants to negotiate this weekend, but film and TV companies are livid

(Newser) - Hollywood scribes vow to strike on Monday if they can't reach an accord with film and TV companies first. "We don't want to strike," a Writers Guild of America rep said today. "What we really want to do is negotiate." But the Alliance of Motion Picture...

Buzz Uneven for Bee Movie
Buzz Uneven for Bee Movie
Nov 2, 2007 9:10 AM CDT

Buzz Uneven for Bee Movie

Critics divided by Seinfeld's animated debut

(Newser) - Jerry Seinfeld uses “every stupid bee joke that he and his cronies could cook up” in Bee Movie, Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal says, and USA Today's Claudia Puig calls the animated feature “so unfunny it almost stings.” But Newsday finds Barry B. Benson’s...

Robert Goulet Dies at 73
Robert Goulet Dies at 73
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

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

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
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
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
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
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

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&mdash;in Azeroth
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
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
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

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...

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