Friday, August 29, 2008

'Sukiyaki Western Django': Takeout, By Kurt Loder





The best thing about "Sukiyaki Western Django" is its high concept: samurai Western. At least that's short enough to sit through without losing your mind. The movie itself, which runs two hours, is something else.

Quentin Tarantino appears in the film as an actor, rarely a good thing. He isn't a bad actor, just an unconvincing one. This is why his appearances on screen are usually greeted with ripples of fond laughter — no matter what role he may be attempting to play, he can only ever be one character: Quentin Tarantino. He's trapped in that famous face. And goofy line readings ("It goes a little sumpin' like dis," he says at one point here) compound the problem — they pull us out of the story. Not that that's an entirely bad thing in this case.

Tarantino has no other connection with the picture (he's not a producer or a "presenter," for example), but it's saturated with his retro-blender sensibility. The Japanese director, Takashi Miike, is best-known in this country for a pair of memorable shockers — the stylishly disturbing "Audition" and the pulverizing gore flick "Ichi the Killer." Tarantino has been a vocal proponent of Miike's work for years, and Miike had a cameo role in Eli Roth's grisly "Hostel," a movie of which Tarantino was an executive producer. Now here they are, together at last.

Not a good idea, really; but then "Sukiyaki" is ill-advised in several ways. To begin with, it's one of those preening film-geek "tributes" to an old B-movie with which most people are, shall we say, not intimately familiar. (If they were, they might wonder why the geeks were bothering to pay tribute to it, instead of, say, coming up with an original movie of their own.) In this case, the picture being saluted/plundered is Sergio Corbucci's 1966 "Django," an Italian spaghetti Western that cheerfully ripped off Sergio Leone's 1964 spaghetti classic, "A Fistful of Dollars," which was already an adaptation of Akira Kurosawa's revered 1961 samurai epic, "Yojimbo."

The basic story has a primordial familiarity: Mysterious lone warrior wanders into corrupt village beset by contending gangs, plays them off against each other, watches the body count mount till no one's left, then wanders away again into the sunset. Miike relocates the action from an Italian Wild West fantasyland back to feudal Japan, which was where Kurosawa's film was set. Whether feudal Japan had Gatling guns, lip studs and dye-streaked hairstyles — or people saying things like "not too shabby" and "keep it in your pants" — needn't delay us here, any more than a sign at the side of a road that welcomes us to "Nevada." A familiar postmodern wackiness comes with this territory.

The picture is largely devoted to carnage, about which there's little to say. Being generic, the story isn't especially involving (there's a chest of gold at the root of whatever), and the endless shootouts, with their bullet armadas and kegs of blood, while energetically staged, aren't anything you haven't seen before. The warring gangs — clans, actually — are distinguished by the colors they wear, like medieval Crips and Bloods. The Genjis wear white, which gives their leader (Yusuke Iseya), in his flowing duster and flamboyant chaps, an odd late-Elvis vibe. The Heikes are partial to red, or just blood will do. (As a kooky aside, their leader, played by Koichi Sato, has just gotten into Shakespeare, and insists that everyone call him "Henry VI.") The nameless gunman (Hideaki Ito) who's come to upset all of their apple carts is heavily into black, and brooding. There's also a sort of vaudeville sheriff, played by Teruyuki Kagawa, who gives one of the most embarrassingly over-the-top performances — all gurgling slapstick and pop-eyed muggery — that you're likely to see in a movie whose makers expect it to be taken seriously.

This being a Miike film, however, there is some arresting imagery — a bank of fog pouring eerily through a forest, a blooming red-and-white rose with a fetus squirming inside. And the opening scene is remarkable for its bold artificiality. It's set on a fake-looking high-plains homestead, under a lemony sun and a plainly painted sky, with what looks like a big cardboard mountain propped up in the distance. A man appears, wearing a cowboy hat and a serape, and proceeds to do some wild things with a snake and an egg and a bullet. It's a great kickoff for a picture. Then, however, on closer inspection, the man turns out to be Tarantino, and inevitably we think, "Hey, it's Quent. What's he doing here?"

With the exception of Tarantino, who I'm happy to report plays a small part in the tale (although he also turns up later as a crusty old man in a wheelchair, about which the less said the better), the actors are all Japanese. However, they speak English — some quite well, but some with a clotted imprecision that's frequently impenetrable, especially amid all the machine guns, dynamite and endlessly chattering six-shooters. There are two women in the cast (played by the lovely Yoshino Kimura and the sassier Kaori Momoi), but they're on hand mainly to be raped, ogled and slapped around, although occasionally they, too, get to blow somebody away. One envies that opportunity. After what seemed like days of this interminable and overbearingly eccentric movie, I felt like turning a gun on myself.


See Marshall Lee from the upcoming Tekken movie
‘Up’ And Coming: 3-D Pixar Movie Tells A ‘Coming Of Old Age’ Story, Director Says
First Picture of Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince of Persia

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Kevin Smith Promises Full-Frontal Nudity In 'Porno,' Despite R Rating

It was a little over a year ago that Kevin Smith first talked to MTV News about his new movie "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," while reporter and subject stood against a wall outside the Crazy 4 Cult Art Show in West Hollywood.

It's becoming a trend.

With filming wrapped and public showings about to start for Smith's latest, we once again joined the celebrated director at the very same parking lot to tie up recent loose ends, including the amount of improv in the movie, what films he cited to get an R rating and whose naked body you finally get to see in all its glory.

(Click here to find out what subtle connections "Zack and Miri" has to other Smith films on the MTV Movies Blog.)


‘Watchmen’ Trailer: Director Zack Snyder Says Sneak Peek Had To Be In The ‘Spirit Of The Graphic Novel’
Seth Rogen Says Kevin Smith’s ‘Porno’ Is Having Trouble Getting An R Rating Instead Of NC-17
Blu-ray movie releases for the week of May 18

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

'Traitor': Lost In Thought, By Kurt Loder




"Traitor" is a movie about a gang of Islamist terrorists being hunted by U.S. intelligence agents. For reasons best known to themselves — fear of fatwa, perhaps — the filmmakers have chosen not to acknowledge this plain fact. Instead, their press notes speak airily of "a taut international thriller set in the treacherous world of covert counter-espionage operations." This is like describing "The Dark Knight" as an offbeat urban romance, and it prefigures the conceptual confusion to come.

Don Cheadle plays Samir Horn, a former U.S. Army special-ops sergeant who appears to have gone rogue — we first see him delivering several crates of Semtex detonators to a terrorist cell. Horn is a complex character, however: He spent his childhood in Sudan, the land of his father, who was blown up by terrorists before his son's eyes. After that, Horn was taken to Chicago, where he was raised by his American mother and grew up to be a devout Muslim.

FBI terrorist-buster Roy Clayton (Guy Pearce, sporting a Van Dyke beard and a soft Southern accent) and his partner, Max Archer (snarly Neal McDonough), are hot on Samir's trail. They almost manage to cart him off from a terrorist headquarters in Yemen, but he wriggles away. Continuing their investigation, they learn that Horn underwent terrorist training in Pakistan, that he appears to have been involved in a resort bombing in Spain that claimed the lives of several Americans, and that he has since moved on to Marseilles, where he and an idealistic fellow terrorist named Omar (soulful Saпd Taghmaoui) have hooked up with a cynical terror chief named Fareed (the superbly oily Aly Khan). Now they are plotting a series of attacks in America, where a squad of suicide bombers is already in place. Can Clayton and Archer nab Horn before he triggers a national calamity? And if they do, will they discover this mysterious renegade's true identity?

The best parts of the movie are a long prison interlude, which has a parched, dusty vйritй, and several chase and combat sequences, which are convincingly chaotic. Pearce, always an inventive performer, has little to do here beyond deploying his elegant cheekbones; and Jeff Daniels, as a CIA weasel who is the key to an overarching conspiracy, barely has a character to work with. But Taghmaoui and Khan, both fine actors, bring illuminating detail to their portrayals of two very different Islamist warriors. And of course Cheadle — a master at conveying states of thought and feeling with the most minimal means — could probably hold our attention just sitting in a corner staring at his shoe.

Unfortunately, for extended stretches of this movie, that's pretty much what he's compelled to do. His Samir Horn is a man wracked by obscure inner torments involving oppression, rebellion and the true nature of Islam. These are unusually weighty issues for what is essentially an action thriller; but since we have no clear idea what's at stake for Samir until near the end of the picture, he seems for most of its length to be literally lost in thought, leaving us rudderless amid the gunfire and the globe-trotting.

Apart from the performers, and some atmospheric photography by J. Michael Muro, the movie is a conflicted muddle. A maddening amount of care has been taken to avoid giving offense — to explain at length that not all Muslims are terrorists (you don't say?) and that not all terrorists are bad guys (a harder sell, and one that probably wouldn't resonate with their victims — many of whom, of course, are other Muslims). So many punches are pulled in an effort to make us see all sides of every question that after a while, we begin to feel as if we're suffering through an endless ethics lecture by an especially windy professor.

This moral dithering leaves the picture becalmed on the screen — a crucial flaw in an action movie, even one that aspires to thoughtfulness. Since so much artistic effort has gone into making the film, you have to wonder who screwed it up. Was it the director, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, who wrote the screenplay from a story suggested by Steve Martin (yes, the veteran comic actor)? Or — more likely, perhaps — was it the movie's herd of 13 producers, whom one can imagine providing helpful second-guessing at every narrative turn? Whatever the case, the substantial issues the picture seeks to address are lost among the eggshells on which it attempts to walk.


Blu-ray movie releases for the week of June 22
‘Postal’: Bad To The Bone, By Kurt Loder
‘Get Smart’: Maxed Out, By Kurt Loder
First Picture of Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince of Persia

Vin Diesel Enjoys 'European Approach' To 'Babylon A.D.' Before Returning To Riddick

With comic book flicks like "Iron Man" and "The Dark Knight" dominating the box office like never before, it stands to reason that Vin Diesel is smiling. Action stars may come and go, after all, but how many actors can talk comics, games and "Dungeons & Dragons" with the knowledge and enthusiasm of Diesel?

It's no surprise then that this week finds him in sci-fi territory again, with the release of "Babylon A.D." Diesel stars as Toorop, a mercenary tasked with escorting a mysterious woman named Aurora (Mйlanie Thierry) from Eastern Europe to New York. Diesel sat down with MTV to talk up his latest film, speculate about when we'll see Riddick don his shades again and discuss why, after many close calls, we won't see him playing a superhero.

MTV: I saw a great deal of a "Blade Runner" influence in "Babylon A.D." As a sci-fi fan this kind of film, this must be a little bit of wish fulfillment for you.


M. Night Shyamalan Wants ‘Happening’ Audience To Be Entertained … And Then Traumatized
Nintendochu, I sue you!
‘Friday The 13th’ Set Visit: Our Resident Horror Fiend Makes Small Talk With Jason — And Holds The Mask!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

'Twilight' Tuesday: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart And Taylor Lautner Will Present At The VMAs

For months now, "Twilight" Tuesdays have been bringing you your weekly fix of news about Stephenie Meyer's vampire series and Catherine Hardwicke's movie adaptation. This week, we're also bringing news about our own little venture, the MTV Video Music Awards, where stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner will be presenting an award.

(That won't be the first time the Edward/Bella/Jacob love triangle will reunite in coming weeks. Read about why the cast is back on the "Twilight" set here.)

Back in May, Pattinson, Stewart and Cam Gigandet graced the MTV Movie Awards preshow before we debuted the first completed scene of the film. But it looks like their profiles have risen quite a bit in the past three months, because when the VMAs air live September 7, the actors will get the prime-time treatment.

"I've watched the VMAs in the past, and the presenters are always, like, these mega-stars like Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner," Lautner, who plays werewolf-to-be Jacob in the movie, told MTV News. "And now, you know, for me to be doing that, I'm really lucky and excited and looking forward to it."

The 16-year-old, whose only other big credit is 2005's "The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl," is gradually getting used to the limelight. He said the cast has been going to a lot of magazine shoots recently (including one for Vanity Fair), and they're all ramping up the publicity now that the movie's release date has changed to November 21. And perhaps after facing the screaming hoards at Comic-Con, his "craziest experience" so far, the VMAs will be a piece of cake.

The budding teen star is going to the show as a fan too. "I've watched some of the videos this year, and one of my favorites that's going to be up as a nominee is Chris Brown's 'Forever,' " he said. "It's a really, really cool video, and Chris Brown — he's like an acrobat, like me. I do a lot of flips and tricks, and he does too."

This year's VMAs, hosted by British comic and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" co-star Russell Brand, will feature just-announced live performances from Rihanna, T.I., Pink and Paramore, alongside previously announced performers the Jonas Brothers, Lil Wayne and Kid Rock. The big show will be broadcast live at 9 p.m. on September 7 from the legendary Paramount Pictures Studios in Hollywood.

Lautner said he'll be trying on some spiffy outfits from John Varvatos for the show, but it's going to be tough to squeeze the fittings into his schedule. In addition to his "Twilight" duties, he's also shooting his role in the new NBC series "My Own Worst Enemy," on which he plays Christian Slater's son.

"Christian Slater's character has two lives: He's like the clumsy family man, and then in his other life, he's like this assassin superspy," Lautner explained. "I have the blood of his assassin side. They don't know where it comes from. All of a sudden, I'm this star soccer player, and I'm really good at martial arts."


Star Wars Lightsaber Duels on Wii
‘Twilight’ Tuesday: Robert Pattinson Discusses ‘Harry Potter’ Comparisons … And His Huge Feet
Twilight’ Cast, Crew Reveal Extended Scene, Confirm Robert Pattinson’s ‘Lullaby’ At Comic-Con
VMAs Considering a Spears Comeback

'Tropic Thunder' Rolls Over Box-Office Competition For Second Week

The Box-Office Top Five

#1 "Tropic Thunder" ($16.1 million)
#2 "The House Bunny" ($15.1 million)
#3 "Death Race" ($12.3 million)
#4 "The Dark Knight" ($10.3 million)
#5 "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" ($5.7 million)

The Olympics are over, the flame has been extinguished, and the winners and losers are going home. But didn't it feel as if it was the same people who kept winning over and over again: Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt ... Robert Downey Jr.?

Downey's "Tropic Thunder" earned $16.1 million, closing the book on the summer by narrowly beating "The House Bunny" and earning its second consecutive first-place finish. Also starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Tom Cruise, the war spoof brought its overall total to a healthy $65.7 million. Thanks to "Iron Man," it was also the fourth #1 finish for Downey in as many months. (He has four golds to Bolt's three.)

Largely written off before the weekend, "The House Bunny" performed above expectations to walk away with the silver medal, earning $15.1 million in its debut week. The Anna Faris comedy about a former Playboy Playmate turned sorority house mom is the fifth-highest opening of the actress' career, but the highest ever for a movie without "Scary" in the title. (Yes, she was in four installments of "Scary Movie.")

Then there was "Death Race," the Paul W.S. Anderson re-imagining that stalled at the starting gate with a third-place finish. The Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson action flick had [insert car metaphor] but [second car metaphor] meaning that it [third car metaphor] instead. It earned just $12.3 million.

In fourth place, "The Dark Knight" continued to be the most awesome cultural force of the summer, falling just 37 percent in its sixth week to walk away with another $10.3 million. Already the second-highest-grossing movie of all time, by next week it'll cross the half-a-billion-dollar mark domestically. Meanwhile, rounding out the top five, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" continued to be , falling 61 percent in its second week to walk away with another $5.7 million.

Among other new releases, the Ice Cube-starring, Fred Durst-directed "The Longshots" was a true underdog, fumbling its way to $4.3 million and an eighth-place finish. And "The Rocker", totally bombed, good for just $2.7 million and a 12th-place finish. One wonders what will happen now to poor Jenna Fischer.


Katharine McPhee Goes Back To ‘American Idol’ Roots With ‘House Bunny’ Sing-Along
‘Tropic Thunder’ Takes Box Office, But ‘Dark Knight’ Becomes Second-Highest-Grossing Film Of All Time
Star Wars Lightsaber Duels on Wii

Monday, August 25, 2008

The Joker Uses A #2 Pencil, Mike Myers Flops And More Of Our Favorite Summer Movie Moments

Five superhero movies, four animated films, three $300 million blockbusters, two Brendan Fraser movies and one partridge in a pear tree later, summer 2008 is finally winding down.

What was the best of the summer season? Forget rankings or official lists — we decided instead to hand out a whole slew of crazy awards to our favorite moments, performances and movies from the past three months.

Summer's Biggest Hero, Inanimate Object Division

The refrigerator. Not only does a fridge shield Indiana Jones from a nuclear blast, thereby saving his life, but a fridge also protects a plant in "Wall-E," signaling to humans that the planet is ready for mankind's return.

Summer's Biggest Villain, Inanimate Object Division

The pencil. Used by the Joker in "The Dark Knight" for his "magic trick," and by an extra to commit suicide in "The Happening," the writing utensil has more confirmed kills than "Hulk" villain Emil Blonsky and "Iron Man" villain Obadiah Stane combined.

Best Performance, Comedy

James Franco, for his stoner-turned-action-hero Saul in "Pineapple Express."

Best Robert Downey Jr.-Assisted Cameo, "Tropic Thunder" Division

In a movie chock full of cameos, Tobey Maguire gets the biggest laughs alongside Robert Downey Jr.'s Kirk Lazarus as a gay medieval monk in a trailer for the fake movie "Satan's Alley."

Best Robert Downey Jr.-Assisted Cameo, Non-"Tropic Thunder" Division

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark at the end of "The Incredible Hulk." This scene (which director Louis Leterrier called "the first shot of 'The Avengers' ") also doubles as the best setup in recent memory.

Most Inexplicable Trend

Sending animals to space in animated movies, seen twice within a month with the releases of "Space Chimps" and "Fly Me to the Moon."

Idea That You Thought Was Going to Be Lame, But Turned Out to Be Awesome

The Joker explaining his backstory in "The Dark Knight."

Idea That You Thought Was Going to Be Awesome, But Turned Out to Be Lame

Karen Allen returning as Marion Ravenwood in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

The "I Bet You Didn't Know I Was a Box-Office Record Breaker" Award

"Mamma Mia," which will soon surpass "Grease" as the highest grossing musical in history.

Most Intentionally Funny Cultural Stereotype

John Turturro's deliciously over-the-top performance as Palestinian terrorist the Phantom in "You Don't Mess With the Zohan."

Most Unintentionally Funny Cultural Stereotype

The ambiguously gay Hutt, Ziro, in "Star Wars: The Clone Wars."

Best Dismissive Attitude Toward a Character's History

Agent Scully, whose child is done away with in one line of dialogue from "The X-Files: I Want to Believe."

Biggest Fall for a 2007 Oscar Nominee in the Category of Best Supporting Actor (Runner Up)

Mark Wahlberg, for talking to a plant, realizing he's talking to a plant, and then continuing to talk to a plant in "The Happening."

Biggest Fall for a 2007 Oscar Nominee in the Category of Best Supporting Actor

Eddie Murphy, for all of "Meet Dave."

Best Two Minutes of the Summer

A drunken Hellboy joining a heartbroken Abe Sapien to sing Barry Manilow's "Can't Smile Without You" in "Hellboy II: The Golden Army."

Worst Two Minutes of the Summer

Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) swinging through the jungle like Tarzan in "Indiana Jones."

Most Human Romance

The love between Wall-E and Eve — two robots — in "Wall-E."

Funniest Quote of the Summer

Seth Rogen's Dale, about a particularly pungent batch of weed: "It smells like God's vagina" from "Pineapple Express."

Most Unexpected, But Much Welcome, Comeback

Woody Allen, who is receiving strong reviews and even Oscar talk for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," his first really great movie in years.

Most Unexpected, But Much Welcome, Failure

Mike Myers, who had a massive misfire with "The Love Guru."

Best Movie Not Yet Mentioned

"Kung Fu Panda"

The Poochiest, Most Unnecessary Character Added to an Already Beloved Franchise For No Sane Reason Other Than to Appeal to Younger Viewers Only to be Universally Hated — Bronze Medal

Jennifer Hudson's character, Louise, in "Sex and the City."

The Poochiest, Most Unnecessary Character Added to an Already Beloved Franchise For No Sane Reason Other Than to Appeal to Younger Viewers Only to be Universally Hated — Silver Medal

Shia LaBeouf's character, Mutt Williams, in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

The Poochiest, Most Unnecessary Character Added to an Already Beloved Franchise For No Sane Reason Other Than to Appeal to Younger Viewers Only to be Universally Hated Award — Gold Medal

Ahsoka Tana, Anakin Skywalker's spunky Padawan learner in "Star Wars: The Clone Wars."

Best Performance, Drama

Heath Ledger, for his definitive portrayal of the Joker in "The Dark Knight."

The "I Guess I Picked the Wrong Week to Quit Acid" Award

"Speed Racer," which assaulted the senses with video game visuals, quick cuts, cartoon colors and clunky dialogue.

The Most Unnecessary Romantic Subplot (Runner Up)

The non-canonical relationship between Prince Caspian and Susie in "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian."

The Most Unnecessary Romantic Subplot

Charlize Theron and Will Smith in "Hancock," who are revealed to be ancient, immortal lovers.

Best Superhero Beatdown

When Iron Man, using his suit for the first time, raids a terrorist camp, killing several shooters with his computerized targeting system before leaving the last one for the villagers to take care of themselves.

Best Movie Nobody Saw

"Man on Wire," a documentary about tightrope walker Philippe Petit's high-wire routine performed between the Twin Towers.

Best Movie Everybody Saw

"The Dark Knight"

Best Movie Some People Saw, Brendan Fraser Division

"The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," slightly above "Journey to the Center of the Earth."

Agree or disagree with our choices? Got some of your own? Sound off below.


See Marshall Lee from the upcoming Tekken movie
‘Dark Knight’ Thumps ‘The Mummy,’ Rules Box Office For Third Week
Deal of the Day: 2-for-price-of-1 sale at Best Buy

Sunday, August 24, 2008

'House Bunny' Stars Katharine McPhee, Emma Stone, Rumer Willis Claim They're Awkward On The Inside

An "American Idol" runner-up, a "Superbad" breakout star and the product of one of the most famous celebrity couples of the last 20 years would seem an unlikely trio to play a band of misfits, but that's why they call it acting. Anna Faris may be the titular star of "The House Bunny," but this new twist on the "Legally Blonde" concept wouldn't get anywhere without Katharine McPhee, Emma Stone and Rumer Willis.

Faris plays Shelley, a Playboy Playmate unceremoniously booted from the mansion, only to take up with seven unpopular sorority sisters who are themselves on the verge of being kicked to the curb. MTV gathered McPhee, Stone and Willis to chat about their new film, who really is the most awkward of the three and which one just might be giving McPhee a run for a singing career.

MTV: I usually wouldn't bring an issue of Playboy to an interview, but Anna Faris is on the cover promoting the film.


Big Stone updates Twittelator, more
Katharine McPhee Goes Back To ‘American Idol’ Roots With ‘House Bunny’ Sing-Along
Bruce Willis in Talks to Star in Kane & Lynch Film

Saturday, August 23, 2008

'Hamlet 2': The Play's The Thing, By Kurt Loder

"Hamlet 2" was so smothered in buzz at this year's Sundance Film Festival that Focus Features apparently fought to pay $10 million dollars to acquire it. Now that the picture's being ushered out into the ticket-buying world, however, those who see it may wonder what's being put in the finger foods up in Park City.

The movie certainly sounds promising. Steve Coogan plays Dana Marschz, a failed actor with an undying love for the theater. Having abased himself in late-night TV commercials for power juicers and herpes medications, Dana has now followed his muse to Tucson, Arizona, where he runs the drama department at a local high school. The student productions he stages, however — musical adaptations of "Erin Brockovich" and "Mississippi Burning" — find no favor with the school board, which is in a budget-cutting mood and has decided to shut him down. Upon receiving this news, Dana's wife, Brie (Catherine Keener), decides she's just about had it. She and her hapless spouse are already so broke that they've had to take in a boarder, a near-mute individual named Gary (David Arquette). Now this.

But Dana is undeterred. Defiantly, he announces one final production: a sequel to "Hamlet" — a play at the end of which, as you may recall, all the main characters are dead. To finesse this problem, Dana's "Hamlet 2" will feature a time machine, which will bring all those dead characters back, along with Albert Einstein, Jesus and, for some reason, the as-yet-unexpired Dick Cheney. Motorcycles also figure in the proceedings. Several setbacks intervene, but in the end, as you'd expect, the show goes on.

Is there anyone who doesn't love Steve Coogan — for his incomparable "Alan Partridge" BBC series, his flamboyant indie-music mogul in "24 Hour Party People," his general satirical brilliance? Here, though, director Andrew Fleming seems to have turned Coogan a little too loose, indulging him in frantic declamation and hit-and-miss slapstick. Catherine Keener — is there anyone who doesn't love her, too? — is as sharp and endearing as ever, but there's way too little of her. On the other hand, a funny, self-deprecating appearance by Elisabeth Shue, playing herself, adds an element of weird invention that the movie could have used more of. (The idea is that Shue has quit showbiz to become a nurse in a local fertility clinic; when Dana persuades her to give an address to his theater class, the first question she takes is, "Who are you?")

The movie suffers from its spotty humor and low-budget listlessness. Or maybe it's just that the bulk of the picture seems enervated in comparison to its rousing conclusion — the glorious performance of "Hamlet 2." This is staged with a professionalism that's entirely ridiculous, of course — what cash-strapped high school drama department could afford the elaborate scaffolding and whiz-bang effects on display here? But Ralph Sall's songs are exuberantly beltable ("Rock Me, Sexy Jesus" could be more than just a YouTube hit), and the whole extravaganza is more entertaining than some Broadway musicals I've actually sat through.

It's too bad that so little of what precedes the movie's dynamite wrap-up is worthy of it. Well, with the exception of the gay men's chorus that gives forth with an oddly moving rendition of "Maniac." Now that's entertainment.


See Marshall Lee from the upcoming Tekken movie
Ludacris Prepares To Go From Theater Of The Mind To Movie Theaters

'The House Bunny': Butterflies, By Kurt Loder

How's a girl to score with a hot guy? According to exiled Playboy Bunny Shelley Darlingson (Anna Faris), the secret is ocular contact. Remember, she says, "The eyes are the nipples of the face."

Shelley was banished from the Playboy Mansion the morning after her fabulous 27th-birthday party, which also turned out to be the cutoff point for aging Bunnies. Now, following a series of bumbling adventures on perilously high pink platform sandals, she has wound up as the house mother at a college sorority. Unfortunately, it's Zeta House, home of the most pathetic sisters on campus. Zeta's membership is minimal, and the handful of girls in residence are all losers: one's a male-loathing Goth, one has a full-body spinal cast, another is pregnant. The snooty bitches at the nearby Phi Iota Mu house (led by hissable Sarah Wright) have targeted them for termination, and indeed, the Zetas are about to lose their charter and be turned out of their beloved home. Can Shelley transform these rejects into varsity vixens? Do ya think?

"The House Bunny" is an unabashedly formulaic movie — you know where it's going and you pretty much know what's going to happen when it gets there. What makes it one of the summer's funniest pictures is the actresses playing the Zeta girls, who are vividly pitiful, and, especially, Anna Faris, whose Shelley, with her great big eyes, microscopic skirts and plump, quizzical lips, is entirely and hilariously lovable. Shelley is a ditz, no question ("My heart is beating like a nail," she blurts at one point), but she's not stupid. She's simply been trained since puberty to be man-bait. Now she's passing on the lessons she's learned — the mysteries of makeup and water bras — to a group of dweebs for whom men are a previously unexperienced species.

For example, sorority president Natalie (Emma Stone, stepping up toward stardom) appears never to have had a date. Shelley coaches her in how best to snag the guy of her dreams (played with goofball charm by All-American Rejects frontman Tyson Ritter). Similarly pertinent advice is ladled out to the over-pierced Mona (Kat Dennings), the cast-bound Joanne (Rumer Willis) and the luxuriantly pregnant Harmony (who doesn't need all that much help, played as she is by the splendid Katharine McPhee). Before long, of course, the girls all blossom. "You're a butterfly now," Shelly tells one of them, "not an earthworm."

I have not given away the best lines in this movie — an indication, I hope, of how consistently funny it is. Along with the zingers, there are also some nicely designed set-piece scenes, among them a pair of disastrous dates (with Colin Hanks rearing back in horror on both of them) and an elaborate "Aztec party" at which the Zetas have no trouble at all finding a virgin to mock-sacrifice.

The movie's script is by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, who — tiny surprise — also wrote "Legally Blonde." Like that picture — underestimated at the time of its release, but in retrospect a small classic — "The House Bunny" also contains, along with many laughs, a low-key message about the importance of being yourself, no matter how offbeat that self may be. There's nothing new about this bromide, but it's always strangely gratifying to find it delivered with such an irresistible comic spirit.


Connecticut, your next State House Rep may be a WoW player
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New House of the Dead game on Wii

'Death Race': Bad Max, By Kurt Loder

The most astonishing thing about "Death Race," a crash-bang action movie otherwise wholly free of astonishment, or even much passing interest, is the presence in its cast of Joan Allen. And apart from the fact that she's actually in this damn thing — togged out in exactly the sort of dark, tailored suits she wears in the "Bourne" movies — she is also called upon to utter the most baffling line in any recent film. I'm sure you can make it out through the scrim of dashes: "OK, co------ers, f--- with me, and we'll see who sh--s on the sidewalk." This from an actress who's been nominated for three Academy Awards.

If I tell you that "Death Race" was directed by genial schlock purveyor Paul W.S. Anderson, the man who cluttered the world with "AVP: Alien vs. Predator" and "Resident Evil," that may be all you need to know about this dismal flick. But let's press on anyway.

The movie is set in a hell-hole prison — it looks like a vast abandoned foundry — that houses (what else?) "the worst of the worst": murderers, rapists, personal-injury lawyers, what have you. And Allen's character, Hennessey, is the warden of this place — or as one lowlife puts it, watching her walking to work right through all the scumbags, "the baddest ass in the yard." She also presides over an event called Death Race, a sort of armored NASCAR tourney in which the fearsome autos are equipped with all manner of cannons, flamethrowers, even napalm, and driven by guys with handles like Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson, looking very 50 Cent) and the Grimm Reaper (Robert LaSardo).

Death Race is beamed out worldwide on the Internet; it's wildly popular, and Hennessey gets hot watching the site hits click up into the multimillions. There's a problem, though: Her reigning champion, a mysterious subhuman called Frankenstein, grievously banged-up in the last Death Race, has secretly died of his injuries. Fortunately, since Frankenstein always wore a scary metal mask and never spoke, he can easily be replaced — and Hennessey has just the man for that purpose: a real-world racing star named Jensen Ames (Jason Statham), who was framed for the murder of his wife and now resides in Hennessey's nightmarish lockup. Ames is persuaded to get behind the mask and is paired with a hot female "navigator" (don't ask) named Case (Natalie Martinez). Before you can say "cue mayhem," the Death Race is back underway.

Statham, the English Vin Diesel, does most of his acting with his brow muscles, which may over-qualify him for this picture. He glowers and broods, beats and gets beaten, while all around him tank-like hot rods go screaming through the bullet-filled air and buying the farm in billowing fireballs. Once upon a time, car chases were a highlight of any serious action movie (come back, George Miller!); here they are its entire substance, which will make "Death Race" a source of fascination mainly for those who've never seen one.

The movie is notionally based on that '70s grindhouse classic, "Death Race 2000," which starred David Carradine and the pre-"Rocky" Sylvester Stallone. But that film had elements of satire and gobbets of humor amid the carnage. "Death Race," with its leeched color, is grim and laughless, and Anderson pushes his stuttery cameras so close to the action that it's often a strain to discern what exactly is going on. Or, if it need be said, to care.


See Marshall Lee from the upcoming Tekken movie
‘Death Race’ Trailer Brings Out The Haters … And We Took Their Complaints Straight To Director Paul W.S. Anderson
‘Death Race’ Director, Stars Say They’re Ready To Hit The Road Again For A Sequel
Blu-ray movie releases for the week of May 18

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

'The Rocker': Lite Show, By Kurt Loder

"The Rocker" is about a dumped musician attempting a comeback with a band composed of little kids, and hoping in the process to wreak vengeance on the now-successful group that discarded him. In other words, the movie is a shameless rip of "School of Rock." All that's missing is the idiosyncratic direction of Richard Linklater, a smart, un-cliched script by Mike White and, of course, Jack Black in the lead role.

Unfortunately, those elements are, as I say, missing. What we have instead is Rainn Wilson playing an over-the-hill '80s hair-metal drummer called Fish, who was booted from his band, Vesuvius (think Spinal Tap, naturally), 20 years ago, and has been a miserable office drone ever since. When Fish discovers that his nephew, Matt (Josh Gad), has formed a group with some fellow high school students and that they're in need of a drummer, he, too, feels a comeback coming on.

Does Fish whip the kids into musical shape? Does he lead them to stardom? Are the usual quirky adventures had along the way? Need you ask? The movie is sweet and unassuming, and the teen band members — huggy-bear keyboardist Gad, bassist-grrl Emma Stone and lightly brooding frontman Teddy Geiger (an actual musician making his feature-film debut) — are an agreeable team. But the picture has a plodding, TV-style blandness, and watching it is like treading yogurt.

Wilson, still best-known for his work in "The Office," does what he can, but he's prone to mugging, and here, at least, lacks star wattage. And although he shares with Jack Black a penchant for parading his proudly unbuff body, he's not especially funny doing it (maybe because Black and Will Ferrell have already done it to death), and in any case, he lacks Black's mad comic energy. This is the movie's crucial shortcoming — or would have been, had "The Rocker" had any pressing reason to be made in the first place.


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'Death Race' Director, Stars Say They're Ready To Hit The Road Again For A Sequel

When the first trailer for Paul W.S. Anderson's "Death Race" hit in June, the director found himself besieged by a plethora of questions, which he dutifully answered in a chat with MTV News.

Now Anderson has a question for those very same fans: "How would you like your 'Death Race 2'?"

Although nothing official has been announced, and everything depends so very much on how "Death Race" does when it opens Friday, a sequel is already being sketched out, Anderson and stars Tyrese Gibson and Jason Statham revealed.

"It's a movie that would definitely lend itself to seeing further adventures," Anderson insisted.

"I'm the sequel master! I just did 'Transporter 3' and 'Crank 2,' " Statham laughed. "Let's do 'Death Race 2'! I had a terrific time working with this group of people. Paul's terrific. If they want to make another one, then I'm in."

In many ways, actually, the sequel for Anderson's "Death Race" has already been scripted, filmed and released, the director stressed. If you missed the announcement, though, don't worry — you probably weren't alive.

"We did the movie that is the beginning of [Roger Corman's original 'Death Race 2000'], the genesis of the death race that is portrayed in that [1975] film," Anderson told MTV News in June. "If you watch this movie, you can imagine how that would develop into what Roger portrayed."

Anderson's referring to the fact that in the original, participants joined a cross-country road-rage-a-thon, gunning to make it to the finish line first. Anderson's "Death Race," by comparison, pits prisoners against each other for the benefit of a pay-per-view audience. It doesn't spill over into the general population.

"But there are aspects to the first movie that we haven't really addressed in this movie," Anderson added more recently, when MTV News caught up with the director at Comic-Con. "For example, in the first movie, you run people down for points. In this movie, certainly lots of people get run down, you just don't score points. If we did do another movie, I would like to address that. If this develops into a franchise, it would be slowly building towards what Roger's movie was. It feels like that movie actually takes place about 20 years after the events of this movie."

(Spoiler alert: Ending given away ahead!)

Anderson's "Death Race" actually concludes on a very open-ended note, with Statham's Jensen, Gibson's Ames and Natalie Martinez's Case alive and well and living in Mexico after the conclusion of their first race. The two leading men, who Anderson called "the new Butch and Sundance," have come to an uneasy truce after being rivals for most of the flick. Their friendship is a tenuous one, though, that could easily lead to them gunning each other down once again.

Actually, count on it, Gibson said.

"I think me and Jason is gonna get along for a certain period, but we're gonna end up having another conflict [in the sequel]," Gibson said. "I look forward to fight scenes with Jason, 'cause I don't think nobody is really gonna believe he can whoop my ass."

'Death Race' Director, Stars Say They're Ready To Hit The Road Again For A Sequel




Wrath of the Lich King: playing as the Death Knight
Jason Statham Plays Vengeful ‘Bad Boy Turned Good’ In ‘Death Race’ Reimagining
Blu-ray movie releases for the week of August 10th
‘Death Race’ Trailer Brings Out The Haters … And We Took Their Complaints Straight To Director Paul W.S. Anderson

'Twilight' Tuesday: Jackson Rathbone Explains Jasper's Angst And Edward's Attraction

PORTLAND, Oregon — Lately, we've been doing a lot of talking about "Breaking Dawn," the best-selling latest novel from Stephenie Meyer — which seems only right, since the eyes of Twilight Nation have been buried deep in its pages for the past few weeks.

But with the recent announcement that the "Twilight" movie has slipped into the high-profile release date that "Harry Potter" left wide open, this week's "Twilight" Tuesday returns the focus where it belongs: the eagerly anticipated film that is now only 94 (!) days away.

Since I began meeting the cast, I can't shake the thought that "Twilight" might become one of those "Breakfast Club," "Diner" or "Dazed and Confused"-type movies that launch the careers of numerous young stars and then leave us all looking back, amazed that they all once acted together. Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson obviously have big-time acting chops, and actors like Mike Welch, Taylor Lautner and Kellan Lutz are just a few of the others who seem like they could similarly explode if given the right project.

If I were a betting man, however, I'd place my money on Jackson Rathbone, a 23-year-old actor who also plays several musical instruments and has lived all over the world. In person, he's a cool customer with an Elvis-like twang, radiating the kind of charisma that could make George Clooney look like McLovin. While speaking with him, I found a disarmingly intelligent star who took the "Twilight" world as seriously as any super-fan. (Speaking of super-fans, in the MTV Movies blog, Rathbone addresses the one issue that caused an uproar among Twilighters when he was first cast.) Read on, watch the attached video and judge for yourself if a star is being born.

MTV: Tell us about your character.

'Twilight' Tuesday: Jackson Rathbone Explains Jasper's Angst And Edward's Attraction




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‘Twilight’ Tuesday: Robert Pattinson Discusses ‘Harry Potter’ Comparisons … And His Huge Feet
‘Twilight’ Actor Michael Welch Auditioned For Edward Cullen But Found Right Fit With Athletic Geek Mike Newton

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

'Tropic Thunder' Takes Box Office, But 'Dark Knight' Becomes Second-Highest-Grossing Film Of All Time

The Box-Office Top Five

#1 "Tropic Thunder" ($26 million)
#2 "The Dark Knight" ($16.8 million)
#3 "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" ($15.5 million)
#4 "Mirrors" ($11.1 million)
#5 "Pineapple Express" ($10 million)

The Scarecrow couldn't do it. Neither could Two-Face. The Joker, it turns out, was just a minor hassle. Batman has been assaulted by the combined efforts of every major villain in Gotham City, but who ultimately brings him down? Would you believe no villain at all, but, gulp, Iron Man?

Well, sort of.

Tony Stark would be mincemeat if he ever got into it with Bruce Wayne, but something's gotta give after a month in theaters. And so, buoyed by a strong performance from the man of the summer, Robert Downey Jr., Ben Stiller's "Tropic Thunder" scored $26 million over the weekend to claim the #1 spot at the domestic box office, ending the four-week reign of supremacy by "The Dark Knight." The war spoof has made $37 million since opening on Wednesday (incidentally, $4 million behind what "Pineapple Express" made last weekend).

But with a second-place finish and $16.8 million, "The Dark Knight" is still the story of the summer, meaning "Tropic Thunder," "Iron Man" and just about everyone else save Michael Phelps will have to settle for minor victories. Falling only 35 percent, "The Dark Knight" continued to make history in its fifth weekend in release, climbing past "Star Wars" to become the second-highest-grossing movie of all time. Its total now stands at a mind-boggling $471.5 million.

Coincidentally, "The Dark Knight" also laid the smackdown on the newest redundant chapter in George Lucas' ever-expanding universe. The Force was not strong with "The Clone Wars," as the critically panned midquel managed only $15.5 million. Hey, at least it has a grossly stereotyped gay character going for it, right? The animated adventure should top off around $40 million.

In fourth place, "Mirrors," starring Kiefer Sutherland, scared up $11.1 million. "Pineapple Express" rounded out the top five with $10 million. The stoner comedy's two-week total stands at $62.9 million.

Among other new releases, Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" came in 10th place with $3.7 million, while Luke Wilson's "Henry Poole Is Here," well, wasn't. The spiritual dramedy managed only $800,000.

'Tropic Thunder' Takes Box Office, But 'Dark Knight' Becomes Second-Highest-Grossing Film Of All Time




‘Dark Knight’ Reigns Over Box Office For Second Week
‘Dark Knight’ Takes Box-Office Crown, Becomes Third Highest-Grossing Film Of All Time
Sonic & The Black Knight Wii exclusive

'Harry Potter' Vs. 'Twilight': Battle Of The 'Bands About Books'

"Oh, Cedric, I can't believe you are dead/ Oh, Cedric, now you're in 'Twilight' instead/ Oh, Cedric, vampires are no fun to haunt/ Oh, but Edward, you can bite me if you want" — "Cedric," by the Moaning Myrtles

Robert Pattinson isn't the only thing that "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" share. Thanks to wizard rock, other fandoms have gotten the idea: If you really want to spread your love of a book or movie, form a band in tribute to it.

"Five years ago, when we were first starting out, we'd autograph shirts and say, 'Start your own band about books,' " Harry and the Potters singer/guitarist Paul DeGeorge recalled. "We just wanted to present a different idea of what a band could be."

"We wanted to play music that you wouldn't normally see on the TV or the radio," Harry and the Potters singer/keyboardist Joe DeGeorge said. "We weren't thinking we would create a wizard-rock movement. It just evolved."

The 500-and-counting wizard-rock bands, who play clubs, libraries, music fests and "Harry Potter" conventions, have not only created a movement of their own, but they've acted as godfathers to a new one: "Twilight" rock, or Twi-rock. ("Why aren't they calling it vampire rock?" DeGeorge asked. "But it's cool to see 'bands about books' realized in some way.")

(Wizard-rock and Twi-rock bands are paving the way for more movie-based music — read more in the MTV Movies Blog!)

Twi-rock, still in its infancy, only has a handful of bands to its name, from the Bella Cullen Project to Bella Rocks to the Mitch Hansen Band. One wizard-rock band, the Owl Post, even has a spin-off, called Be Safe Bella. But there are some growing pains.

Even though it's possible to be a fan of both book series — and a member of both music scenes — there's definitely tension between the two (which has only worsened with last week's news that the "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" movie would be bumped to a July 2009 release date, leaving November 21 open for "Twilight").

"There's a backlash in the 'Harry Potter' community," said Owl Post/ Be Safe Bella's Devin Overman. "Some people don't like 'Twilight' potentially becoming the new 'Harry Potter.' There's a lot of groaning and moaning about the movie coming out. And the fact that there is 'Twilight' music kind of bothers some people."

When a question was posed about Twi-rock during a wizard-rock panel at the Harry Potter Terminus convention earlier this month, the audience booed. And when Alex Carpenter from the wizard-rock band the Remus Lupins responded to the Twi-rock question with "Do they sound like Hannah Montana?" the audience cheered.

" 'Twilight' is sort of like the 'Hannah Montana' of literature," Carpenter explained to MTV News. "If you're outside the 14-to-16-year-old age range, you might listen to it, and it might get stuck in your head, but it's not good literature. It's not really enriching your life the way 'Harry Potter' might."

Plus, many wizard rockers argue, there are aspects of "Harry Potter" that lend themselves more to making rock music than "Twilight" does — from the DIY aesthetic to the sense of community to the depth of characters and themes explored.

"People have been writing about love for eons," said Amy Snow of the wizard-rock band Romilda Vane and the Chocolate Cauldrons. "Love is never going to get old, and if you can find new ways to talk about love, you can find new ways to write about 'Twilight.' But I don't think 'Twilight' is as powerful as 'Harry Potter' is. 'Twilight' is about love and being a teenager and wondering if you fit in, and 'Harry Potter' is that and so much more."

"It's different for us," said Lauren Fairweather of the Moaning Myrtles. "For us, it's a community, not so much a genre of music. And I don't know if they have a community yet, if they all get together, if the bands are as close as all of us are."

"There isn't a whole lot of that in 'Twilight,' " Carpenter said. "There's just a lot of romance and biting."

But even if "Twilight" is taking a bite out of the "Harry Potter" scene, some of the wizard-rock bands welcome the fresh blood and say — even if it might be ill-advised when dealing with vampires — "Come on in."

"I don't think it could have a movement on its own," said Kristina Horner of the wizard-rock band the Parselmouths (they reference "Twilight" in their song "This Is Never Going to End"). "But wizard rock can expand to be bands themed about other books. It doesn't just have to be about 'Harry Potter.' Anyone who is singing about any book can be part of wizard rock."

"If you're a male 'Twilight' fan, I highly recommend starting a band named Edward and the Cullens," said Ministry of Magic's Aaron Nordyke. "Every teenage girl in America will love you."

'Harry Potter' Vs. 'Twilight': Battle Of The 'Bands About Books'




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Minnies

Monday, August 18, 2008

'Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince' Release Pushed Back To Summer

Don't expect any boy wizards to make box-office magic this year. Though a teaser trailer for it just came out a few weeks ago, the sixth film in the series, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," will not be coming out in November after all. Warner Bros. announced Thursday (August 14) that it's pushing back the release date of the film to July 17, 2009.

The studio said that it had reconsidered the timing based on the overall market as well as the recent writers' strike.

"Our reasons for shifting 'Half-Blood Prince' to summer are twofold," Warner Bros. President and Chief Operating Officer Alan Horn said in a statement. "We know the summer season is an ideal window for a family tent-pole release, as proven by the success of our last Harry Potter film [released July 11, 2007], which is the second-highest-grossing film in the franchise, behind only the first installment."

Horn added that "like every other studio," Warner Bros. was still "feeling the repercussions of the writers' strike," which had affected scripts for other films, and changed "the competitive landscape for 2009." Because of this, the studio felt next summer was a "new window of opportunity" for the franchise. The film's producer, David Heyman, concurred, saying that this would allow them to "reach the widest possible audience."

Entertainment Weekly had already put Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, on the cover of this week's fall movies preview issue, on newsstands Friday. However, the studio was quick to dispel any speculation that the film was behind schedule or that the release-date change would affect anything in the film itself.

"The release-date change does not alter the production schedule for this or future Harry Potter films," Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group President Jeff Robinov said in a statement. "Post-production on 'Half-Blood Prince' was completed on time, and the studio's release plans for the two-part 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' will not be affected by this change."

"I am extremely proud of this latest film and of the work of [director] David Yates and our incomparable cast," Heyman said in a statement. "I believe we have developed and pushed the series further still. We are all looking forward to sharing it with Harry Potter fans around the world, even if we have to wait just a bit longer."

The delay is actually "good news" for fans, Robinov said, since it also means "the gap will now be shortened" between the release of "Half-Blood Prince" and the first installment of "Deathly Hallows."

"Even as we put finishing touches on this latest film," Yates said in a statement, "we are already beginning preparations on the final two films ... and I am excited to bring this remarkable series to the exciting and moving conclusion its loyal fans deserve."

Because of the change in release date, the studio will likely cut a new trailer as well, though a release date for that remains undetermined. Filming for the first part of "Deathly Hallows" starts in February.

'Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince' Release Pushed Back To Summer




Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Trailer
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‘Twilight’ Bumps Up Release Date After ‘Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince’ Delay

'Vicky Cristina Barcelona': Spanish Lessons, By Kurt Loder





Getting out of New York was good for Woody Allen, as we know. After nearly 30 years of making movies there, he'd done the town. But maybe his relocation to London, the setting for his last three films, put insufficient distance between the man and his native metropolis. With his new picture, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," shot in Spain, Allen, at the age of 72, seems truly refreshed, set free, perhaps, by the linguistic shift and the bright Mediterranean sun.

New York still lurks in the background of the new movie, but it's a misty presence. When we first meet them, Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson), fresh from Manhattan, have arrived in Barcelona for a two-month summer vacation. They'll be staying with a pair of Vicky's distant relatives, Judy (Patricia Clarkson) and Mark (Kevin Dunn), veteran expatriates who have a beautiful home in the city and an apparently idyllic marriage. The girls immediately set about exploring the town, and we see the expected sights: the Sagrada Família, the Park Güell, a Miró exhibition. But despite Barcelona's abundant photogenic temptations, Allen resists turning the movie into a travelogue; his characters are the only local color he needs.

Vicky and Cristina are very different. Vicky is a sensible grad student who's engaged to marry her boyfriend, Doug (Chris Messina), as soon as she returns home from this last single-girl adventure. Doug is standard-issue good-looking and successful, but also smug and judgmental. Marriage, however, is part of Vicky's level-headed life plan, and Doug will have to do.

Cristina, on the other hand, is restless and unfulfilled. She sees herself as a bohemian romantic and yearns to be an artist, maybe a filmmaker. She's already directed a short film in New York, but she hates the way it turned out. She's also just dumped her most recent boyfriend and is now up for whatever.

One night, sipping wine with Vicky at a Barcelona art gallery, Cristina's eye is drawn to a magnetic figure across the room. This turns out to be Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), a well-known painter. Noticing Cristina's unmistakable interest, he approaches her table with a proposition: She and Vicky should fly with him to picturesque Oviedo for the weekend: "We'll drink good wine, we'll make love." The plane, he says, leaves in an hour. Vicky is appalled, but Cristina is frankly interested, so off they all go.

With his big, fleshy features (his head could pass for a Rodin sculpture), Bardem might seem an unlikely love man to those who know him only as the dead-eyed killer of "No Country for Old Men." Here, though, he's light and charming — not a manipulative Lothario, but a genuine romantic. Cristina, unsurprisingly, offers no resistance to his advances. Vicky is a harder sell, but eventually even she, to her own surprise, comes around.

Things quickly become complicated, in the Woodian manner (as always, he wrote the script). Back in Barcelona again, Juan Antonio and Cristina, who has now moved in with him, are suddenly joined by his ex-wife, Maria Elena (Penélope Cruz), a wild-eyed woman who ended their marriage, if not their tempestuous relationship, by stabbing him with a knife. Maria Elena is initially hostile toward Cristina. ("After all," she nonchalantly admits, "I want to kill you.") She eventually softens, though, and begins instructing Cristina in the art of photography. Soon comes that darkroom kiss you may have heard about.

Meanwhile, Vicky, hurt that Juan Antonio never called her after their night of love in Oviedo, instead receives a call from the increasingly annoying Doug, still back in New York, who's decided to fly over to Barcelona himself and marry Vicky there. Unfortunately, Vicky realizes that she has fallen in love with Juan Antonio. What next?

The picture has a romantic glow that recalls the Woody Allen of old and, of course, it's quite funny. ("If you don't start undressing me soon," Cristina tells the talkative Juan Antonio, "this is gonna turn into a panel discussion.") The actors, for the most part perfectly cast (especially Bardem, Cruz and the soon-to-be-less-little-known Hall), form one of the director's liveliest ensembles; and his autumnal assessment of human relations emerges naturally from the dynamics of the story. ("This whole thing about finding peace and happiness," Juan Antonio tells one of the women, "will pass.") You may leave the movie unexpectedly absorbed in life's melancholy complexities, but that's OK; you'll remember the glow.

'Vicky Cristina Barcelona': Spanish Lessons, By Kurt Loder




‘Elegy’: Alone In The Dark. By Kurt Loder
Wee-Fi: NPR on BART-Fi, San Antonio Airport Now Free
Allen Unveils Chic Bloody Deer Look

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Zac Efron Co-Star Melora Hardin Says She'd Go After The Teen Idol If She Were 'Seventeen Again'





If Melora Hardin were 17 again, she would definitely have a thing for Zac Efron.

The "Office" actress appears with Efron in the movie "Seventeen Again," due next year. In the flick, she plays his school principal, and after working with him, she totally understands what all the hoopla is about: Hardin said he's every bit as attractive as people make him out to be.

"He is a dreamboat. If I were that age and single, I'd be in so much trouble," she said. "I said, 'You'd be exactly my type.' He liked it — he was like, 'That would be great.' I was of course teasing but of course not teasing."

In addition to his physical attributes, Hardin notes that Efron is a very sweet guy. "He's just a lovely, lovely person," she said. "He's so nice and grounded and sweet as can be. He's the real deal. He's a teen idol."

Speaking of teen idols, Hardin also had the chance to work with Miley Cyrus on the "Hannah Montana" movie being released next year. She said that despite achieving staggering success at such a young age, Miley is extremely grounded and focused.

"She was great. She's a very normal 15-year-old girl, and I guess that makes her extraordinary, considering the circumstances," Hardin said. "She works hard and she's got a good attitude. I think with the right direction and the right choices, she can do some great things."

Hardin plays Billy Ray Cyrus' character's love interest in the film, and she found the role a welcome change of pace from her overly ambitious character, Jan, on "The Office." "He's a very nice guy, and we had a real good time together," she said. "She's such a different character than Jan. She's earthy, with no ulterior motives."

But soon enough, Hardin will be back to playing the now-pregnant, on-again/off-again love interest to Steve Carell's character, Michael Scott. "You know she'll either be a great mother or be the greatest example of what not to be as a mother," she said. "It'll be interesting to see Michael and Jan now. They always have a power struggle. He had it all last season, and now she's got it back again, and it keeps them an interesting couple."

Hardin also spoke about the spinoff rumors surrounding "The Office."

"I think [creator] Greg Daniels doesn't want to disrupt the magic that happens over at 'The Office,' " she said. "I know a lot of people felt Jan would be a perfect character for a spinoff, and she is, but she's important to Michael and his evolution as a man. She adds a real fight. She's that surprise spice that makes the dish."

Zac Efron Co-Star Melora Hardin Says She'd Go After The Teen Idol If She Were 'Seventeen Again'




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Katharine McPhee Goes Back To ‘American Idol’ Roots With ‘House Bunny’ Sing-Along
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Green Arrow Plans Jail Break With Help From Joker, Lex Luthor In Upcoming Film

He's a DC Comics hero with nearly 70 years of backstory and mythology, a modern-day Robin Hood who uses every tool in his arsenal to fight for the little guys of Star City, but in the pantheon of great comic characters, Oliver Queen (a.k.a. the Green Arrow) ain't exactly the most well-known mask around.

Heck, he won't even be the most well known in his own movie, scribe Justin Marks told MTV News.

"Oh, we've got Lex Luthor in there," Marks gleefully revealed. "I'm pretty sure Riddler gets his shot — Ed Nigma gets his moment."

Tentatively titled "Green Arrow: Escape From Super Max," Marks' take on the titular titan is unlike any superhero movie out there in that it takes the familiar tropes of comic book films and mixes them with the long-established traditions of prison movies. In the film, Queen is unjustly locked up in a federal penitentiary for meta-humans and forced to rely on a whole bevy of villains to make his escape — villains like Luthor, Icicle and even the Joker.

(Want to know what they plan to do with Black Canary? Find out over on the MTV Splash Page blog.)

But the best superhero of all in the Green Arrow prison movie? Would you believe it's the prison itself?

"It's a very, very awesome prison. I majored in architecture in college, and design is how I actually started in. For 'Super Max,' designing that prison, it had to be the kind of thing that was a character in and of itself," Marks said. "We're in a world where instead of just trying to contain a guy who's really big, you're trying to contain a guy who can — in the case of Icicle — who can freeze things. What kind of a cell would a guy like that need in order to have his powers neutralized? So to escape from Super Max they have got to go through the most elaborate heist we've ever seen, involving superpowers. Because the prison itself kind of has superpowers!"

It's a fitting tribute to a character that over the years has been more famous for his team-ups than for his individual adventures, Marks pointed out. Those team-ups include characters like the Green Lantern in a legendary run in the '70s and Batman in Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns."

You can't find a much better character, then, if you're DC and your goal is to produce cross-pollinating superhero movies like Marvel has done with "Iron Man" and "The Incredible Hulk."

"What we wanted to do, and I think we'll continue to do as the studio continues to push the movie forward, is to be able to [put Queen] in the center of a much bigger universe," Marks said. "In the same way that Marvel is starting to do, when you're in the [filmed] DC Universe [where] this world and this world and this world — they all exist in an interrelated web. It's the kind of thing that I think absolutely is about spelling out a couple different roads for a couple different characters."

That means Queen won't get a traditional origin story along the lines of Bruce Wayne or Peter Parker. But you wouldn't really want that anyway, Marks asserted.

"By the time a movie like this comes out, we will all understand origin stories. And mainstream audiences now are willing to suspend their disbelief to the point that we can believe that a world exists where superpowers exist and people dress up in costumes. So now what? Now what do we do? And I call this Superhero 2.0," Marks said. "We do deal with his origin — he's got a very interesting origin with a desert island and everything else — but we get to the core of Green Arrow not by showing where he starts but by pushing him into a key moment in his life where everything he has is lost, and he's got to earn it all back. I think for audiences it's going to be a great way to get to know a new character."

Queen himself is the "perfect hero" for this sort of reinvention, Marks said, as he's a B-level super without all the heavy baggage of Batman or Superman. More important, though, he's also a real guy, a mortal without any meta-human skills or weapons, a vigilante who gets by on nothing more than his preternatural intellect and guile. That already makes him less like the silly Golden Age caricatures and more like the reinventions so many writers deem necessary these days.

"I see him as the Jason Bourne of superheroes, a guy who exists with his own sort of set of tricks. And I think the difference between Ollie Queen and a guy like Bruce Wayne — they're both rich. They both have their things. But Batman is about his equipment and is about his theatricality and about his detective skills. And Green Arrow is a guy who's really just the sort of MacGyver type," Marks said. "In his hand, anything can be a weapon."

Green Arrow Plans Jail Break With Help From Joker, Lex Luthor In Upcoming Film




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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

'Twilight' Lexicon Blog Hacked By 'Breaking Dawn' Haters

The feuding vampires and werewolves in Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series have enjoyed a long-standing truce, but the battle between unabashed fans of the latest novel, "Breaking Dawn," and those who were disappointed or angered over the eagerly awaited conclusion is just heating up.

On Friday, that battle went technological, as the most prominent "Twilight" fan site on the Web, the Twilight Lexicon blog, was hacked by a malicious computer criminal, shutting down the site for more than 48 hours. It was an opening salvo aimed directly at the series' most vociferous and zealous supporters, who were targeted because of their allegiance, site moderator Nicole Bright told MTV News.

"The Internet community has become very polarized — either you liked this book or you hated this book. We took a stance that if you liked the book, we're going to be a place for discussion about that," Bright said. "We know that it was a disgruntled fan of the series who hacked our system. It took place as a direct result of the Lexicon's backing of Stephenie Meyer and her work."

By Bright's own admission, the Lexicon blog is not particularly welcoming of those readers who hated the book, particularly when that hate spills over from appropriated review sections and message boards into other areas of the site. In recent weeks, moderators have removed many of these especially hateful comments, in effect limiting the free exchange of ideas and thoughts on the blog.

That's their right, Bright insisted, claiming the Lexicon is not the place for divisive contrarianism.

"If you were posting on every thread on our forums, 'Stephenie Meyer is a terrible writer. Everything about it is horrible,' then we just aren't the place for you," Bright said. "As her official fan site, this needs to be a positive place where we can gather together and discuss what we like and have positive conversation. Hate spam makes it very difficult for someone to enjoy the site."

It was this aggressive moderation that the hackers used as their war cry, ironically stating that they were championing free speech by taking down the much-trafficked community. After breaching the security wall of the site, the hackers went about deleting forums and news blog items.

Although the Lexicon wasn't able to go live again until Sunday night, very little material was irrevocably lost, Bright said, citing the board's failsafe copy, which goes back two days. In the end, that means only 48 hours of material is now gone forever.

Also gone forever is the possibility of finding out who was ultimately behind the espionage, according to Bright, indicating that the perpetrators are free and clear of any repercussions as far as she knows. Interestingly, it's not because their hate wasn't loud and obnoxious that they will get off, Bright said, but because there were so many haters being loud and obnoxious.

"If you hit the site with enough traffic, its security measures begin to fall. The message board had been spammed, and it allowed a hole in the security net that somebody was able to get [through] and delete forums," Bright confessed. "Because of the spamming — there were so many IP addresses — there is no shortage of suspects, and no way to know which one exactly did the attack."

The Lexicon's approach, then, is to be proactive rather than punitive, Bright said, telling MTV News that they are taking measures so such an action doesn't happen again.

"The hole that enabled them to get into the blog has been sealed. As far as contacting law enforcement, we have been in contact with our server company, and there are definite measures being taken to ensure that this doesn't happen again," Bright asserted.

One thing that the Lexicon won't change, however: Bright insisted that the Twilight Lexicon blog will forever be a place for those who truly love Stephenie Meyer's work.

"It's a very difficult time for the fandom, in that you liked it or you really hated it. Everyone feels like they need to get their say, but that means that the fans that really liked it need to have their site too. The blog is that place, for these ladies and a few men who have been worshipping this book for years," Bright said. "For those who were disappointed, go be passionate about something else."

According to Bright, no money was lost by the Lexicon despite being down for the weekend, and no personal e-mail addresses were accessed, despite a message from the hackers that went out to the entire Lexicon mailing list.

'Twilight' Lexicon Blog Hacked By 'Breaking Dawn' Haters




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‘Twilight’ Tuesday: Stephenie Meyer Answers Your Burning ‘Breaking Dawn’ Questions

'Twilight' Tuesday: Stephenie Meyer Answers Your Burning 'Breaking Dawn' Questions

No doubt, many devoted Twilighters are already well into their third read of "Breaking Dawn," now that it's been out for a full week and a half. But no matter how many times you delve into the final installment of the "Twilight" series, there are burning questions left to be answered.

Stephenie Meyer couldn't reveal much when we spoke to her before the book's release, so we cornered her one more time and hit her with the queries you submitted in the MTV Movies Blog.

(Just in case you've been locked in a subterranean hideout, far from any bookstores, SPOILER ALERT!)

Though she's been enduring complaints about "Breaking Dawn" from a very vocal minority, the author said she was relieved to be able to talk about the novel after keeping it a secret for so long. Here, she opens up about the technicalities of Bella's pregnancy, the original "Forever Dawn" version of the story, the future of the "Twilight" universe and more. (Meyer reveals her suggestion for two "Dawn" movies in the MTV Movies blog.)


'Twilight' Tuesday: Stephenie Meyer Answers Your Burning 'Breaking Dawn' Questions




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Tuesday, August 12, 2008

'Tropic Thunder' Director/Star Ben Stiller Says Disability Advocates' Planned Boycott Is Unwarranted

One of the characters in Ben Stiller's "Tropic Thunder" is an Australian actor who undergoes a deep-tissue pigmentation to become black. One is an overweight, drug-addled comic who seems to speak only in farts.

Stiller and company have navigated plenty of minefields in their new Hollywood satire, and the unlikeliest one of all might trip them up. A consortium of disability groups has called for a national boycott of the highly anticipated war spoof because of what they see as open ridicule of the mentally handicapped, according to The New York Times.

In the movie, Stiller's character, Tugg Speedman, plays a character called "Simple Jack" in a film within the film, a satire of actors who chase Oscar glory by portraying the mentally challenged. Disgraced by his performance, Speedman is repeatedly referred to throughout the movie as a "retard."

"The most disappointing thing, the most incredible thing, is that nobody caught it," Special Olympics chairman Timothy Perry Shriver told the paper, adding that he planned to picket the film's Monday (August 11) premiere in L.A. and ask Congress for a resolution condemning the movie's so-called "hate speech."

"That will be the start of a nationwide protest," Special Olympics spokesman Peter Wheeler told Reuters. "We will continue to be vocal about the destructive effect of this film. We are asking people not to go to the movie and hope to bring a consciousness to people about using derogatory words about this population."

While not denying that ridicule exists in the film, Wheeler, Shriver and the rest of the protesters miss the point of who is being made fun of, Stiller told MTV News.

"It's sort of edgy territory, but we felt that as long as the focus was on the actors who were trying to do something to be taken seriously that's going too far or wrong, that was where the humor would come from," Stiller insisted. "[The joke is on] actors reaching for roles in terms of hopefully winning awards."

"Some people have taken this as making fun of handicapped people, but we're really trying to make fun of the actors who use this material as fodder for acclaim," co-writer Etan Cohen echoed to MTV. "The last thing you want is for people to think you're making fun of the victims in this who are having their lives turned into fodder for people to win Oscars."

The joke, then, is really on people like Dustin Hoffman ("Rain Man"), Sean Penn, ("I Am Sam") and Tom Hanks ("Forrest Gump"), actors who do more harm than good by denying the painful realities of the illness and instead paint their characters as too sunny or bright, Cohen said.

"Movies about the mentally retarded is something we talked about for a long time. My grandfather was adopted by a mentally retarded man, a man who shouldn't have been allowed to adopt a kid," Cohen revealed. "When he saw 'Forrest Gump,' you never saw a guy angrier than him. It was not such a picnic to be raised by that guy."

According to The Times, over a dozen groups, including the National Down Syndrome Congress, plan to join the boycott, urging Paramount and DreamWorks Studios to change the film's content.

No such changes will be made, DreamWorks spokesman Chip Sullivan insisted in a statement released to Ain't It Cool News.

"The film is in no way meant to disparage or harm the image of individuals with disabilities. We have had productive discussions with representatives of disability-advocacy organizations and look forward to working with them closely in the future," Sullivan wrote. "However, no changes or cuts to the film will be made."

"Tropic Thunder" opens Wednesday.

'Tropic Thunder' Director/Star Ben Stiller Says Disability Advocates' Planned Boycott Is Unwarranted




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Paul Rudd Talks About 'Role Models' Co-Star McLovin, 'Ghostbusters' Remake Rumors

There was a time when Paul Rudd might have been considered a comedic secret weapon that only those in the know were privy to. But as his supporting roles in Judd Apatow films like "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up" have found a wider audience, so too has his reputation as a go-to scene-stealer.

In November, Rudd takes center stage alongside another Apatow vet, "Superbad" breakout star Christopher Mintz-Plasse (you know him as McLovin), in "Role Models." As the movie's trailer hits theaters with "Pineapple Express," MTV News caught up with Rudd to discuss the film, his increasingly curmudgeonly ways and whether he's going to be a Ghostbuster.

Paul Rudd Talks About 'Role Models' Co-Star McLovin, 'Ghostbusters' Remake Rumors




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