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Movie Review: 'Twilight' (2008)
20 November 2008 3:36 AM, PST
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in Twilight
Photo: Summit Entertainment Twilight is a film fueled by online fan fervor as fans of Stephenie Meyer's best-selling teen-vampire franchise took to the Internet to talk about the upcoming film adaptation. The media was late to catch on to the obsession, but once they did Twilight was all anyone could talk about due to the short-term attention boost it brought to any outlet willing to dedicate space to the story. Shopping mall riots, online insanity and crying 14-year-olds denied access to my screening of the film all come with the territory. The only question is: Is it worth it? Regardless of quality Twi-hards, as the obsessed fan base has come to be known, will enjoy this film no matter what. It's their favorite characters brought to life on the big screen and that alone is enough for them. Where the film goes
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Brad Brevet
'Coraline' Trailer Debuts Online
20 November 2008 2:06 AM, PST
Photo: Focus Features I am one of the select few that does not like Henry Selick's The Nightmare Before Christmas. I am ceaselessly amazed at how I am able to fall asleep about 30 minutes in every single time I try to watch it. I have also never even seen his stop-motion animated feature James and the Giant Peach. There is no reason that I haven't seen that one outside of the fact I just haven't seen it. However, I am willing to admit the work that goes into a stop-motion animated feature is astounding. Sure, CGI animated features take work and some patience, but stop-motion animation is nothing but patience and the ability necessary to make such a feature look fluid is amazing. That said, the first official trailer for Selick's next feature, Coraline, based on Neil Gaiman's international best-selling book has come online and while the film itself doesn't really interest me,
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Brad Brevet
Oscar Predictions: My First Stab, All Top Eight Categories
20 November 2008 1:30 AM, PST
So far this week I have added The Wrestler, Frost/Nixon and Australia to my lists of films seen and tomorrow I will see Defiance capping off a week in which I will see eight films in the span of four days. Yet, just know as you read my first official list of predictions for the 2009 Oscars there are still a few films I have yet to see. They include the following: Doubt Che The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Defiance Gran Torino Last Chance Harvey Nothing but the Truth The Reader Revolutionary Road Seven Pounds It's not a long list, but considering half of those films will be found on one or more categories on my list and the other half could potentially replace some of the titles I have listed, it is best to know this is not a list set in stone. I plan on updating it
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Brad Brevet
Is 'Watchmen' the Next '300'? - Take Two
20 November 2008 1:30 AM, PST
Billy Crudup as Jon Osterman in Watchmen
Photo: Warner Bros. When I brought up an article idea with David with the question, "Do you think Watchmen will be the next 300?" I didn't elaborate any more than the question alone. I asked if he thought was an article he thought he could tackle and he was up for it. He was as you can read here. Now, one of the reasons I don't have a lot of writers on this site, despite having a "Write for RopeofSilicon" link at the bottom of every page is that I like my opinion and while I welcome arguments I like to make sure my opinion is clearly stated. This had me wondering if I should give David a ring and explain what I meant by the question and what angle I wanted him to take. I decided against that since having someone write about
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Brad Brevet
Is 'Watchmen' the Next '300'? - Take One
20 November 2008 1:30 AM, PST
Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach in Watchmen
Photo: Warner Bros. Brad riddled me this the other night: Is Watchmen the next 300? Oh God, I hope not. However, that response erupted without even considering how one would define Watchmen as the next 300. No matter how you map it the answer always pinwheels off director Zack Snyder. The director of 300 adapts another graphic novel as his follow up. Easy headline. If you expect Snyder to deliver another frame-faithful adaptation of a graphic novel, then yes, Watchmen is the next 300. Pretty much what you saw in 300 was what you got in the graphic novel, with the exception of the back-home politics subplot - which actually improved upon the source material. From all accounts and shown footage, there's no doubt Snyder's Watchmen treats Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon's work as God's word. The recent trailer indicates this could work out well for the film.
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David Frank
Latest MPAA Ratings: #131
19 November 2008 10:42 AM, PST
17 Again Rated PG-13 For language, some sexual material and teen partying. Release Date: February 20, 2009 Australia Rated PG-13 For some violence, a scene of sensuality, and brief strong language. Release Date: November 26, 2008 Bedtime Stories Rated PG For some mild rude humor and mild language. Release Date: December 25, 2008 Big Stan Rated R For crude and sexual content, and language. Release Date: Tba 2009 Gran Torino Rated R For language throughout, and some violence. Release Date: December 17, 2008 Hippie Hippie Shake Rated R For sexual content including strong dialogue, graphic nudity, drug use throughout, and language. Release Date:tba 2009 Marley and Me Rated PG For thematic material, some suggestive content and language. Release Date: December 25, 2008 New in Town Rated PG-13 For brief strong language. Release Date: January 30, 2009 Old Dogs Rated PG For some mild rude humor. Release Date: November 25, 2009 The Soloist Rated PG-13 For thematic elements, some drug use and language. Release Date: April 24, 2009 The Tale
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Brad Brevet
Come Meet the Sultry Women of 'The Spirit'
19 November 2008 2:16 AM, PST
Eva Mendes as Sand Saref, Scarlett Johansson as Silken Floss, Jaime King as Lorelei, Paz Vega as Plaster of Paris, Stana Katic as Morgenstern and Sarah Paulson as Ellen Dolan
Photo: Lionsgate Everything I have seen related to Frank Miller's The Spirit tells me it is going to be an awful movie. Well, almost everything. The most recent trailer left out a lot of the crap that made the previous trailers look so bad and now comes this latest featurette focused on the women in the film and it is actually a very well presented feature and something I bet Lionsgate wish they had thought of much earlier on. When the trailer for The Spirit first popped up online they were, for the most part, dedicated to the women in an attempt to look stylized and sensual. However, the latest trailer dropped the silliness and decided to present the
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Brad Brevet
'X-Men: First Class' Goes All 'Gossip Girl'
19 November 2008 1:46 AM, PST
In a not-so-surprising bit of news 20th Century Fox has continued their trend of staying away from risky and sticking to conventional by hiring "The O.C." and "Gossip Girl" creator Josh Schwartz to write a screenplay for X-Men: First Class, a film that will center on the students at Professor Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning. Such characters are assumed to include Iceman, Rogue, Angel, Colossus, Jubilee and Shadowcat. However, it could also mean they are going way back in time and we will see Wolverine, Storm, Jean Gray and Cyclops as first year students. Fox is already set to release X-Men Origins: Wolverine in May next year and is also working on a similar, origin story spin-off for Magneto, the character played by Ian McKellen in the first three X-Men films. The Magneto feature would likely be a great place to transition into an origin story of the Xavier Institute
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Brad Brevet
'Captain America' Finds His Storyteller
19 November 2008 1:46 AM, PST
Marvel has done well in their second turn in keeping their next big superhero in the news cycle as news screenwriting duo Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have been brought aboard to pen the script for First Avenger: Captain America based on the 1941 Jack Kirby and Joe Simon created comicbook superhero. Markus and McFeely both contributed to the first two Narnia films as well as the Ben Kingsley 2007 starrer You Kill Me. The news comes 9 days after director Joe Johnston was named as the film's helmer, but there still remains no word on who is being considered for the lead role of Steve Rogers a man deemed too frail to enter the Army, but through a secret 'Super-Soldier Serum' he becomes a perfect specimen. Following his transformation he sets out as Captain America in a war against evil. Captain America is also the leader of the superhero group knows as the Avengers,
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Brad Brevet
Korean Mutant Squid Flick, 'The Host', Getting Americanized
19 November 2008 1:45 AM, PST
I'm not sure how Universal Pictures and producer Gore Verbinski were convinced Mark Poirier was the man to write an American adaptation of the Korean mutant fish hit The Host, but he has apparently got the gig. Poirier has only this year's mediocre Smart People to his credit and it hardly screams horror. For those not familiar, The Host is a Korean horror/thriller centering on the idea of the contaminated waters of the Han River spawning a mutant fish beast that begins eating the locals. Personally I am not a huge fan of the film and actually wrote an article headlined "So What's the Big Deal with The Host?" I got a couple bites in the comments on that article, but no overwhelming outcry saying I was wrong. Considering the film maintains a 92% rating at RottenTomatoes I expected some kind of resistence. The studio has attached Fredrik Bond as director.
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Brad Brevet
Oscar Brief: Rourke is Great and 'Australia' is Long
18 November 2008 5:39 PM, PST
Mickey Rourke as Randy "The Ram" Robinson in The Wrestler
Photo: Fox Searchlight Just got back from seeing The Wrestler and Mickey Rourke is definitely the front runner for Best Actor at this moment. His performance outweighs the film, which is good but I really don't see it as a Best Picture contender. I did, however, enjoy Clint Mansell's score once again and it may be the only thing that makes the film feel like a traditional Darren Aronofsky picture as this is much different than anything else Aronofsky has made. I will obviously do a much more thorough review closer to the film's December 17 release, but just wanted to toss that added nugget into the fray. I have also received official word Australia's running-time is 155 minutes. I am seeing that one tomorrow along with Frost/Nixon followed up by Defiance on Thursday. Speaking of Australia there were a
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Brad Brevet
There's a Lot of Pressure Being Put on Cruise, MGM and 'Valkyrie'
18 November 2008 1:29 PM, PST
Tom Cruise as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg in Valkyrie
Photo: MGM Studios / United Artists An article over at the New York Times headlined "A Studio, a Star, a Fateful Bet" has a primary focus of discussing MGM's current woes as a studio in general, but also dips into the reality that they haven't had any real success for quite some time. I mean, even Quantum of Solace was co-financed and co-distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Of course MGM holds the sole rights to the 23rd James Bond film, but they have to hope they have their head above water by the time that film rolls around. I am sure the current economic crisis isn't helping matters much as far as that idea is concerned. Based on everything that has happened the article ends up pointing at the December 26 release of Valkyrie as a major test for the studio as well as its star,
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Brad Brevet
New Pics from 'Revolutionary Road' and Some Early Reviews Roll In
18 November 2008 1:29 PM, PST
Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio as April and Frank Wheeler in Revolutionary Road
Photo: Paramount Vantage Late last night I added five new images to the gallery for Revolutionary Road, the December 26 release bringing Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio together for the first time since Titanic under the direction of Kate's hubby Sam Mendes. You can check those pictures out right here, but don't leave to look just yet. The film has long been considered a potential Oscar nominee and I am talking in the major categories including all the top line cats from Best Picture to Best Screenplay Adaptation. However, no one had seen the film, that is until recently. Three reviews of note have found their way online and seeing how I am not seeing the film until December 3 this is the best I can offer in opinion outside of telling you the book it is based on
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Brad Brevet
Alan Moore's Nightmare: 'Watchmen' Video Game Prequel and Potential Sequels
18 November 2008 12:34 PM, PST
Rorschach and Nite Owl own the streets of '72
Photo: Tiscali Games It's already been revealed there will be a video game based on the upcoming release of Watchmen from Warner Bros., and as you can see from the image above and the gallery at the end of this article it's already being promoted as stills from "Watchmen: The End Is Nigh" have hit the Internet. The game will serve as a prequel of sorts to the film in which Rorschach and Night Owl do their superhero work cleaning up the streets of 1972. The games are expected to earn a mature (M) rating and will be available for download on PCs, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. "Watchmen" co-creator, Alan Moore, has always been against the film adaptation of his acclaimed graphic novel, but since he doesn't hold the rights to give the thumbs up or down to the go ahead he simply chooses to ignore its existence.
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Brad Brevet
On DVD Today: November 18, 2008
18 November 2008 2:06 AM, PST
DVD Links: Release Dates | New Dvds | Reviews | RSS Feed One quick note regarding Criterion Collection's initial wave of Blu-ray releases. The company has delayed their first wave by nearly a month as Bottle Rocket, Chungking Express, The Third Man, and The Man Who Fell to Earth will now release on December 16 and The Last Emperor has now been set for January 6. However, there is some good news on the Criterion front... They have a sale going on right now giving you 40% off of everything on their site. Click here to take advantage. Now to today's DVDs and Blu-ray releases. Wall-e I just reviewed the Blu-ray version of this and I have to say, it is a very long review. So let me give you the short version: Buy It... On Blu-ray if you were wondering. Clicking the Buy Now button will give you a look at all the buying options over at Amazon.
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Brad Brevet
You Have to Buy 'Tropic Thunder' and Here are All the Reasons Why
18 November 2008 12:55 AM, PST
Photo: Paramount Home Entertainment It's been a long time since I have enjoyed a DVD or Blu-ray release as much as I enjoyed this one. Sure, some good movies have come my way, but for the most part the majority of special features and extra content never really does anything to get me too excited. The Tropic Thunder Director's Cut DVD and Blu-ray not only offer an extended look at the funniest film of the year, but it also comes equipped with features you are going to want to watch as opposed to features you will skim through. This isn't to say all of the features are good, but there are a couple that make the release worthwhile on their own. Throughout this review you will see screenshots taken directly from the DVD release accompanied by captions either describing what you are seeing or quoting what the actor was saying when the image was captured.
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Brad Brevet
Blu-ray Review: Wall-e (3-Disc Collector's Edition)
18 November 2008 12:49 AM, PST
I am mildly surprised and impressed by the fact Disney and Pixar didn't feel as if they had to overwhelm consumers with an abundance of special features to get across how great a film Wall-e actually is. Sure, this is described as a 3-Disc release, which sounds like they have thrown everything but the kitchen sink at it, but when one of those discs is the digital copy of the film, another is dedicated to the film and the other for the features you end up with a satisfying release that will satisfy animated cinephiles, casual viewers and families with young children alike. Then again, I would recommend this title if it came with nothing but the film, because that's really all I care about and this is one great movie. Way back in June, I wrote an article headlined "For Your Consideration, 'Wall-e' for Best Picture". It was not
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Brad Brevet
Watch Live: The 'Twilight' Premiere
17 November 2008 6:47 PM, PST
Get ready to take part in the madness as Summit Entertainment has partnered with Premiere to bring fans tonight's Twilight premiere live to the Internet. Whether you are a fan of the books, annoyed by the fans or just mildly interested this has the serious potential to be entertaining. Unfortunately for me I cannot watch as I am heading out the door to check out Walt Disney's Bolt in 3-to-the-d, but the rest of you... Enjoy!
Brad Brevet
15 Documentaries Getting Oscar Consideration
17 November 2008 6:28 PM, PST
The Academy has just sent over the list of 15 documentary films up for nomination in the Documentary Feature category for the 81st Academy Awards. A record 94 pictures had originally qualified in the category and I am actually quite shocked Bill Maher's Religulous is not among the list of contenders. However, I am not a huge documentary watcher so my opinion here is not exactly the best. The 15 films in contention are listed below in alphabetical order: At the Death House Door The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh Encounters at the End of the World Fuel The Garden Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts I.O.U.S.A. In a Dream Made in America Man on Wire Pray the Devil Back to Hell Standard Operating Procedure They Killed Sister Dorothy Trouble the Water The Documentary Branch Screening Committee viewed
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Brad Brevet
The Official 'Star Trek' Trailer and 26 Screen Grabs
17 November 2008 11:44 AM, PST
Photo: Paramount Pictures Paramount has unveiled the official version of the new Star Trek trailer over at Apple.com and I think we can now finally make our judgment. If I may be the first one, I would say it looks like something I will enjoy only because I am an original series Star Trek fan, but it does look very much like it is nothing more than a glorified TV show. You can check out the flash version of the trailer below or in high-definition at Apple. Below the trailer I also added 26 screen grabs for you to browse, just click on one of the thumbnails and they should pop right up for you to preview. Star Trek hits theaters on May 8. [gallery=2]
Brad Brevet
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