Articles filed under Movies

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  'Battleship' fact-check: Could we revive Mighty Mo?May 26, 2012 12:00 AM
  What's the expiration date on a World War II warship? That's a question raised by the surprising third act in Peter Berg's new naval actioner "Battleship." Desperate for another ship to complete their one last job, our heroes turn to the World War II battleship the USS Missouri. If faced with such a situation, could we really revive the Mighty Mo?
  

   
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  Cartoon studio in China faces state clout, global stars May 26, 2012 12:00 AM
  Chinese cartoonist Carol Liu Hong built her studio from scratch, doing postproduction work for TV commercials and then, once she broke even, realizing her dream of creating cartoons for Chinese kids. Breaking into a market dominated by state media companies has been tough — even more so now that Kungfu Panda creator DreamWorks Animation SKG and other big cartoon giants are launching their own local studios.
  

   
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  Tuskegee airmen drama 'Red Tails' arrives on DVD May 25, 2012 12:00 AM
  Based on the true story of the Tuskegee Airmen, "Red Tails" weaves together history, drama and action. The movie is no available on DVD.
  

   
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  Poll Vault: What’s the last movie you saw in a theater? May 25, 2012 12:00 AM
  Have you seen any good movies lately? Or has it been so long since you've been in a theater, you can't remember whether the film was a talkie?
  

   
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  French film ‘Polisse’ a gripping cop drama May 24, 2012 12:00 AM
  "Polisse" feels like the two-hour pilot for the kind of meaty cop drama that could only exist on cable television, one you'd want to program into your DVR to watch all season long. The subject matter is inherently repulsive — crimes against children — yet the film itself, which won the jury prize at last year's Cannes Film Festival, is irresistibly watchable, full of complicated characters on both sides of these investigations.
  

   
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  Tommy Lee Jones teases Will Smith about Moscow kiss May 24, 2012 12:00 AM
  Will Smith may not want to talk about what happened last week in Moscow, but Tommy Lee Jones sure does. The actors met on the black carpet at the premiere of "Men in Black 3" Wednesday night, with Jones twice asking Smith, "How's life in Moscow?" Representatives from Sony Pictures and Smith's publicity team repeatedly told members of the media the star wouldn't be talking about the incident, but someone forgot to tell Jones.
  

   
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  'Hysteria' interesting, but doesn't quite hit the spotMay 24, 2012 12:00 AM
  Dann returns from a New York vacation to discover that a few of his readers aren't all that happy with him. They take him to task over politics, Ted Nugent and his reviews of Johnny Depp's "Dark Shadows" and "Marvel's The Avengers." Dann also reviews former Long Grove resident Tanya Wexler's new period movie "Hysteria," all about the invention of the electric vibrator in Victorian England.
  

   
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  'G.I. Joe' gets new marching orders, moves to 2013 May 23, 2012 12:00 AM
  G.I. Joe won't be going into action on the big-screen this summer, after all. The Hollywood Reporter says Paramount Pictures yanked its sequel "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" from its June 29 release date and rescheduled the movie for March 29 next year.
  

   
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  Obama officials offered Bin Laden raid insights to filmmaker May 23, 2012 12:00 AM
  The Obama administration promised a Hollywood filmmaker unprecedented access to the top-secret Navy unit that killed Osama bin Laden to help her make a feature film on the operation at the same time it was publicly ordering officials to stop talking about the raid.
  

   
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  Injured ‘Transformers 3’ extra receives $18.5 million May 23, 2012 12:00 AM
  The family of a woman left with brain damage after an accident during the filming of "Transformers 3" has reached an $18.5 million settlement with Paramount Pictures.
  

   
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  The Suburbs This Weekend: Memorial Day, Monty Python and The Red Hot Chili Peppers May 23, 2012 12:00 AM
  The resilient Red Hot Chili Peppers, Monty Python and a special Memorial Day remembrance are among the items selected by Sean Stangland and Richard Battin for The Suburbs This Weekend.
  

   
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  'MIB' agents Smith and Jones talk alien attraction May 23, 2012 12:00 AM
  Fifteen years into their relationship, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are like an old married couple, intimately familiar with each other's habits and quirks. So much so that when this Hollywood odd couple sits down together in an interview for "Men in Black 3," the affable Smith plays it like couples counseling, launching into whiny-wife mode about Jones, his sometimes curmudgeonly cast mate.
  

   
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  ’Avengers’ sinks ‘Battleship' to remain No. 1May 20, 2012 12:00 AM
  “The Avengers” continues to muscle out everything else Hollywood throws at it, easily sinking naval rival “Battleship” and other new releases. With $55.1 million domestically, Disney’s superhero sensation remained No. 1 for a third-straight weekend and took in more than the three big newcomers combined. Overseas, “The Avengers” added an additional $56 million.
  

   
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  Got story? Hollywood builds tales on famous brands May 20, 2012 12:00 AM
  Coming up with characters and narratives around popular brands that intrinsically have neither one has become business as usual in Hollywood. Just look at "Battleship" and "What to Expect When You're Expecting," which premiered this week. "With movies costing so much, studios are looking for any kind of a hook that would ring a bell with an audience," said veteran film critic Kenneth Turan, who writes for the Los Angeles Times.
  

   
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  An American influx at Cannes’ global glamour fest May 19, 2012 12:00 AM
  Despite the mood in Europe, there's not much austerity at the Cannes Film Festival, the annual Cote d'Azur extravaganza where glamour is wrapped in world cinema fervor and gauzy Mediterranean sunshine. Except for the Oscars, it's the flashiest red carpet in the world, a ruby staircase flanked by tuxedoed photographers — and a world away from financial turmoil.
  

   
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  Jackie Chan goes out swinging May 18, 2012 12:00 AM
  Jackie Chan says he is landing his last punch. The Hong Kong actor told the AP on Friday that his latest film "Chinese Zodiac" will be his last action movie.
  

   
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  Banks' hit summer includes 'Hunger Games,' babies May 18, 2012 12:00 AM
  With “The Hunger Games” in the rear-view mirror, the ensemble comedy “What to Expect When You're Expecting” just ahead and a 14-month-old at home, Elizabeth Banks is tired. “I've signed on to being exhausted for the next 25 years,” the 38-year-old actress says. That's the price of being a working mom with a successful career that includes starring in three films this year, a recurring role on “30 Rock,” a burgeoning production company and various other projects in different stages of development and production.
  

   
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  ‘What to Expect’ delivers few laughs May 17, 2012 12:00 AM
  If only "What to Expect When You're Expecting" had focused on the dads' group, we might have been onto something here. Chris Rock, Thomas Lennon and Rob Huebel are among the dudes who meet regularly to push their kids in tricked-out strollers, tote them in high-end carriers and talk guy stuff in a confidential setting. They totally liven up an otherwise predictable and cliched depiction of pregnancy.
  

   
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  Too much is too much in crime-inspired 'Bernie'May 17, 2012 12:00 AM
  Things end badly when a mortician befriends the most hated woman in town in "Bernie." Jack Black plays the title mortician, and Shirley MacLaine cranks up the crank as the awful Mrs. Nugent.
  

   
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  Inspiring 'First Position' stays on pointMay 17, 2012 12:00 AM
  "First Position" is a welcome antidote to tawdry reality shows like "Dance Moms" and breathless competitions like "So You Think You Can Dance." Director Bess Kargman's documentary follows a half-dozen aspiring professional ballet dancers at the Youth America Grand Prix, an elite competition for performers ages 9-19 where prizes, scholarships and contracts with prestigious companies await.