Well after gracing the cover of People with the title of “The Sexiest Man” Hugh Jackman is on the cover of Empire as the character we know and love Wolverine. X-Men Origins: Wolverine opens to theaters on May 1st. So check out the magazine cover and pick up your copy today and see the movie when it hits theaters.
Source: www.Empire.com/ www.canmag.com
Attention to all the fans out there of Marylin Monroe… Google has teamed with LIFE Magazine to host digital photo archives online for all to see and enjoy. The archive contains tons of great photos of the legendary starlet, including head shots, model poses and candid images of her at work and play. This FREE access to the large collection is definitely worth a look!
Check out the LIFE Magazine digital photo archive of Marylin Monroe on Google here.
You can also lose yourself in the plethora of Academy Awards photos digitally archived here.
It’s been so long, Baz… good to have you back! The simple but appropriately named ‘Australia’ is the newest film in the Luhrmann legacy. Who would have thought that an Australian filmmaker would end up making a gorgeous and entertaining film about his home country, casting Australians of all people in the lead roles and beyond? Go figure…
‘Australia’ stars Aussie stars Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman as Drover and Lady Sarah Ashley in this sweeping drama filled with romance, adventure and action. Drover is a man who lives by his own rules, carries everything he owns in his saddlebags as he drives livestock across the Outback during “the dry” while Lady Ashley is a prim and proper English woman who travels to Australia to deal with her husband’s alleged antics, only to find he has been murdered. Faced with the dilemma of what to do with her husband’s cattle station, Lady Ashley ends up hiring Drover as her new manager after giving Fletcher (David Wenham) the boot for being a very unsavory character. This sparks a load of animosity between Fletcher, Drover and Lady Ashley, much of which is centered around a young mixed-race Aboriginal boy named Nullah. There is so much more depth and detail to the story than this that I’m not even going to dip my fingers any deeper into what’s in store for you. Primarily because it would take too long, but also in the hopes you’ll do yourself a favor and see this film!
Luhrmann, as always, has really outdone himself. He’s succeeded in an area that so many director’s have attempted and not quite been able to master. ‘Australia’ is just shy of three hours but it truly doesn’t feel like it… well, except maybe in your tush. It’s been quite some time sense I’ve seen such an engaging film with so much to enjoy and such a diverse variety of strong elements. The film manages to have fun with itself without making fun of itself. The drama is real and the romance is not overly mushy or melodramatic, but just enough to maintain the proper mood. Really, this is a film in two parts, separated by the death of a significant character named King Carney (Bryan Brown).
‘Australia’ offers something for everyone. The panoramic vistas and landscapes will appeal to the western fans, the second half holds some incredible scenes of Japan blind-siding the northern Australian town of Darwin with an aerial assault. We witness an intense scene of action as Drover and his crew must attempt to stop their herd of cattle from stampeding to their deaths. For those of you who swoon over Jackman, I promise you will not be disappointed… or, so I’m told.
Finally, let’s talk Oscars. Why not? Everyone else will be. Jackman and Kidman do a fine job, but neither of their performances are Oscar-worthy. If anything, give the young Brandon Walters a nod for supporting actor as Nullah, who truly touched my heart as the most riveting character in the film. Lurhmann definitely could stand for best director and, while it’s a stretch, ‘Australia’ could even make an unlikely bid for best picture. Without a doubt, the strongest elements in the film are the cinematography and art direction. If you don’t leave the theatre certain this is one of the most visually beautiful films you’ve seen all year, you may want to make an appointment with your eye doctor. Oh, and for the guys out there… this one’s safe. It’s not a musical!
[Overall: 4.5 stars out of 5]
I’d like to start out by saying that I went to the wrong theater… I was supposed to see another film that night (There were five screenings at five different theaters that night). Once I realized what screening that I was at, I was really aggravated. I cannot tell you a single movie that I haven’t liked Nicole Kidman in, yet for some strange reason I am not quite fond of her. I called Travis up anyway, since he was already in the theater and went on a magical journey to ‘Australia’.
Kidman was wonderful as Lady Sarah Ashley, a woman coming to Australia to bring her husband home because she suspects that he is having an affair. Once she gets there and realizes that her husband has been killed, she decides to take over his Cattle ranch and complete the work that was so important to him.
Along the way she meets, and falls in love with Drover (Hugh Jackman), a cattle driver who works for no man. He is an outcast from society and prefers to march to his own drum rather than fitting in. He’s rough, crude, and every bit the sexiest man alive Together, along with an aboriginal boy named Nulluh, who the old fashioned town people call “creamy” because he is of mixed race, they move their cattle across the Outback and start a family.
Kidman was outstanding as Lady Sarah Ashley, she was funny, strong, and overall a very well developed character. And how could Hugh Jackman not pull off the rugged, handsome type? The character that stole the show, though, was Brandon Walters as Nullah. It seems that this is his first movie, and you better watch out for him because he is going to be a star! His doe eyes and bright smile steal every sceen that he is in! During the movie, he uses song so that others can find him. The song that becomes his favorite is Somewhere Over The Rainbow from ‘The Wizard of Oz’.
I am so glad that they did a great job with ‘The Wizard of Oz’Â tie-in. I grew up with an Oz room in my house. I can quote that movie all the way through… all because of my mothers tiny obsession. It is very hard to take a famous movie, or pop culture icon, and re-use it in an efficent way, or to reinterpret the meaning. The gave Oz a new edge, a new respect that was quite touching. I was very pleased with it.
I was also estatic that I did not look at the time once during the film. If you have read any of my reviews on long movies, you’ll know that I think most of them are too long. Not the case in ‘Australia’. It was close to three hours long and it kept my interest the entire time. If that doesn’t say good movie… I don’t know what does…
Oh yeah… Hugh Jackman soaping up his body under the moonlight and then pouring water over his body… THAT SAYS GOOD MOVIE! (And that I want to lick his skin off!) Sorry… I had to!
[Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars]
About ten minutes into ‘Australia’, Baz Luhrmann’s grandiose tale set in 1930s and ’40s Australia, I had a nagging feeling. Â I wasn’t enjoying the film as much as I had hoped. Â In 2001, I fell in love with ‘Moulin Rouge’, loved its gentleness and its quirk equally. Â However, there it was uneasy at the start of his newer film. Â Then it hit me. Â It had been years since I had seen a film by Lurhmann, a filmmaker who tells his stories his own, flamboyant way, who commands his actors to spout their dialogue as if preaching to the back row, and who, until now, has created personal-level love stories about people who must cross oceans of conflict.
Don’t let that last little statement confuse you. Â ‘Australia’ is through and through a love story. Â The two leads are two people who, on the surface, don’t appear as if they belong together. Â However, through matters both large and small, they come to find true love within one another.
Nicole Kidman plays Lady Sarah Ashley, a British aristocrat who inherits a cattle ranch deep within the continent of Australia. Â Hugh Jackman plays Drover. Â Actually, he really has no name. Â People just call him The Drover, because, well, that’s what he does. Â He droves cattle. Â As with most filmed relationships, the two are at each other throats in the early portion of the film. Â Left with only a skeleton crew to help take care of her ranch, Sarah must travel along with Drover and a few others as they move the cattle towards the coastal city of Darwin. Â It is on this journey that Sarah and Drover begin their powerful relationship.
That’s the first half of the film. Â The second half revolves around the coming World War and the Japanese air raids on Darwin. Â This transition between the first and second halves of the film is where the biggest problem with ‘Australia’ lies. Â It’s one that is easily overlooked, but it’s there, nonetheless. Â The changeover that covers a two-year span is not handled the smoothest of ways. Â In fact, it’s handled about as smoothly and as precise as a butter knife. Â The film really could have ended with the end of the first half, and picked up at the start of the second half for the sequel. Â If people thought ‘The Dark Knight’ had a natural ending point that was completely overlooked, they’ll really be in store for something with ‘Australia’.
Having got that out, ‘Australia’ is both beautiful and epic. Â It’s a sweeping reminder of, at first, the great westerns by John Ford and Howard Hawkes, and then of the great World War II films of the ’40s and ’50s. Â Yet, the setting of the film is very much a part of how well the story works. Â A major part of the story revolves around a “Stolen Generation”, native Aboriginal children who were removed from their families by the Australian government and church missions.
Doe-eyed, young actor, Brandon Walters plays Nullah, a half-Aborigine/half-white child whose mother dies tragically early on in the film. Â Left with no one to care for him, Sarah takes it upon herself to tend to the boy. Â This sets her as an outcast to the rest of the community. Â The moments Kidman and Walters share together are heartbreaking in their sweetness. Â She tells him a story, as he is trying to go to sleep, and she begins telling him the story of ‘The Wizard of Oz’. Â It’s an incredible analogy to the events that are happening around them, and the scene is made all the more emotional from Walters’ performance.
Kidman and Jackman steam up the screen a time or two, and their chemistry works very well. Â Jackman is great in his performance. Â He must change his character’s emotions several times throughout the film, and he is just as charismatic when he is trying to act tough as he is when he is being comedic. Â Kidman doesn’t manage as well as her counterpart, but she holds her own just fine. Â There is a large segment near the end where she isn’t seen, and she isn’t really missed all that much.
David Wenham and Bryan Brown, who it is refreshing to see on the big screen again, each play a villain central to the plot, and both give resounding performances. Â Wenham is more of the typical Hollywood villain, evil to his core and unflinching in the brutality he is capable of. Â Brown is more the businessman-type villain, an Aussie Gordon Gecko of the cattle business. Â Each one plays their part with a particular gusto that, it seems, only Lurhmann can dig out of his actors. Â Remember John Leguizamo in ‘Romeo + Juliet’? Â Remember Richard Roxburgh in ‘Moulin Rouge’? Â However, Wenham and Brown are quickly swept aside, Brown much too soon, by the love story that blossoms.
‘Australia’ throws in every kind of emotion that you can think of in a film. Â It is melodrama at its very highest form, an overly seasoned steak where even the fat that probably should have been trimmed tastes delicious. Â It is the kind of film that only a filmmaker such as Lurhmann can pull off, and for no other reason than the fact that his previous films have shown us what he can do with it all. Â It may be overblown. Â It may be corny. Â It may be every bit as frivolous and obvious as a Lifetime movie, but, if anyone can make something like that shine bright, it’s Luhrmann. Â He proves that once again with ‘Australia’.
[Overall: 4.5 stars out of 5]
So, perhaps you know someone who’s such a major Movie Geek (or, perhaps it’s you?) that they still have a massive collection of VHS movies that they simply refuse to part with because it’s such a rare collection and none of it’s available on DVD… perhaps that person is your significant other and the stacks of old bulky video tapes is truly starting to drive you mad! Which ever be the case, we all know what it’s like.
Well, no true Movie Geek will easily part with their treasure but maybe we can make it easier on everyone this holiday season. Sure, there’s already methods for transferring VHS to DVD, but not everyone is computer savvy, right? ION has developed a damn near perfect solution and it’s even got some kick ass bonus perks! The ION VCR2 PC “device” may look like a simple VCR, but when you look closer you realize the power one will possess if they own this piece of Movie Geek technology.
Check out this write-up for the ION VCR2 PC device taken from BedBathandBeyond.com …
Now you can easily save all of your VHS movies, shows and family videos directly to your PC with this innovative VCR with single cable USB output. You can even connect your camcorder’s RCA output to the VCR and capture your personal videos directly into the PC. Just think no more tapes cluttering your home! Plus, videotapes are saved forever in pristine digital format. You can burn your videos to DVD or watch your PSP, iPod or laptop computer. This VCR can even export video that’s compatible with mobile phones and portable multimedia devices. Features VHS tape playback, front-panel RCA inputs and USB output, rear-panel RCA outputs, separate NTSC and PAL versions, auto tracking, playback and rewind. VCR connects to Windows XP and Vista machines via USB 2.0 port, and videos are captured at resolutions up to 720 x 480 (NTSC) or 720 x 576 (PAL). Measures approximately 14″ W x 11 1/2″ D x 3 3/4″ H. Ninety-day warranty.
Not much to see in the photo, especially when you consider she is playing a stripper in this movie. Here is the synopsis for it even though we don’t have much else to give you:
Several Los Angelenos meet on Christmas Eve through chance, tragedy and divine intervention. Swayze will play the sleazy owner of the strip club where Biel’s character dances. Redmayne will portray a mortician who falls in love with her. Kristofferson will play the head of a corporate crime organization who tries to convince his former employee (Liotta) not to seek vengeance on his former co-workers. Whitaker, who also serves as a producer on the film, will play a suicidal ex-priest.
Star studded cast with Patrick Swayze, Forest Whitaker, Jessica Biel, and Ray Liota so it should make for a pretty damn good movie.
Adrienne Shelly began her career in 1989’s The Unbelievable Truth. She went on to star in numerous other films, as well as over two dozen off-Broadway plays. She moved towards behind the scenes, working as a writer and a director, but she still stayed in front of the camera as well. On November 1st 2006, she was murdered in her office by an illegal immigrant doing construction in her apartment building. This was just a few short weeks before Waitress, her final film, was accepted into Sundance. Soon after, her husband, Andy Ostroy, started the Adrienne Shelly Foundation to honor her and to help struggling female filmmakers to foster their visions and find an audience.
Last Monday, the Adrienne Shelly Foundation 2nd Annual Fundraising Gala was held at NYU. Paul Rudd, Jeremy Sisto, Cheryl Hines and Keri Russell were some of the stars who showed up to support the foundation and perform for the crowd. Tickets were available to the general public at various prices, with the money raised going towards the foundation.
The evening began with a video reel showing clips from various project Adrienne worked on through the years. It even showed a video of her singing on a home video from what looks like a school play at Jericho High School. Once the video ended and was met by a round of applause, Andy Ostroy came out with his and Adrienne’s adorable daughter, Sophie. He told us a little about the foundation and how Adrienne would have liked to make the evening as little about her as possible because that’s the way she was. He introduced Paul Rudd who came out and did an absolutely hilarious bit. He taught us all the meaning of Independence, by reading us multiple definitions of the word and giving us an example for ach usage. For years I have been a huge fan of Paul Rudd and I have said before that he could read from a dictionary and I would find it funny. Well, he proved my theory correct.
Rudd then introduced a video, which showed clips from last year’s grant recipients films and some interviews with them. The recipients then came on to the stage. Cynthia Wade, who won an Academy Award for her documentary short funded by the Adrienne Shelly Foundation, gave a short speech on behalf of herself and the other recipients. Michael Cerveris then came out to perform the song “Baby Don’t You Cry (The Pie Song)†, which is from Waitress.
After the beautiful song played and received a rousing applause, a reading of the O Letters was performed by Keri Russell, Lilly Taylor, Cheryl Hines, Maria Tucci, Ally Sheedy and Karen Black. The O Letters, is a short satire written by Adrienne Shelly about 5 love letters uncovered in the year 4046 and read at a women’s conference. Each letter read at the Cognitive Center For Women’s Emotional Health is addressed to Stedman and signed only with an O. The hilarious letters are meant to be fictional correspondences between Oprah and Stedman Graham. Some of the funniest moments come when O continuously brings up her studio audience and complains about why Stedman won’t commit.
Following the reading, a mockumentary was shown that honored the biggest individual donor to the Adrienne Shelly Foundation. If you don’t know Brian Darcy, you should really do some research on him. According to the video, he delivered John Slatterly’s baby, de-boned himself to be a guest skeleton on Bones, and was Marie Louise Parker’s first. He was also Keri Russell’s. And Paul Rudd’s. He was also a great inspiration to Seth Rogen, John Hamm, Bill Hader and Fred Armisen. Following the video was Jeremy Sisto who introduced singer Dana Parish, who performed two songs off her new album, Uncrushed.
The evening lasted almost 2 hours and was a lot of fun. Everyone on stage seemed to enjoy themselves and you could tell they all really loved Adrienne and are proud of this foundation. If you would like to make a donation to the Adrienne Shelly Foundation or find out more about it, please go to www.AdrienneShellyFoundation.com.
Prior to the actual performance, I was waiting out in the press area to speak with some of the stars. The following is a video of what some of them had to say about Adrienne and the Foundation. You may notice that a lot of the footage is of the celebrities speaking to other media outlets. That’s because I am still very new at this and the whole Red carpet is definitely not my thing. Thank God this was a very well run media event or I would probably have no decent footage to show you right now. Since most of the other outlets were just recording audio for news stories, they were mostly fine with me joining them. In fact, some of them recorded audio of my interviews, as well. Enjoy!
Remembering Adrienne Shelly
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Now I tried to keep my coverage of this event as unbiased as possible but now it’s time for me to geek out. The highlight of my evening was getting to meet Paul Rudd. As I said above, he has been one of my favorite actors for years. When I posted my Jason Ritter interview, I said that meeting him has put him high up on my list of actors I’d love to work with. Well, before I met Paul Rudd, he was already honing in on the top of my list. Below is a video of my interview with him, as well as some great footage of him talking with other media outlets. He was a lot of fun and really is a great guy. I hope to get the chance to interview him again someday. Enjoy!
Jerry Cavallaro -Â www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com
I just received an email with a TON of ‘Black Dynamite’ photos, wallpapers, and posters! I can’t wait for this damn movie… check out the pictures below:
Here it is the first ‘Adventureland’ Movie Poster. ENJOY!!!
Fox Searchlight Pictures is bring you the story of one of the most influential rappers in the 90’s and the story behind the man. Notorious is about the life of rapper Christopher Wallace a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G. In just a few short years Notorious B.I.G. rose from the streets of Brooklyn to become one of the most influential hip hop artists of all time. B.I.G. was a gifted storyteller; his narratives about violent life on the streets were told with a gritty, objective realism that won him enormous respect and credibility. His stories were universal and gave a voice to his generation. This movie stars Angela Bassett, Derek Luke, Jamel Woolard, and Anthony Mackie. The movie hits theaters January 16th 2009.
Source: www.canmag.com
No, this isn’t a type-o. Sure, everyone loves the funny action-packed killer assassin romance of ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, but that’s not the film I am speaking of. I would venture to guess most people reading this right now had no idea that the Pitt/Jolie film is actually a remake. Furthermore, it’s a remake of an old 1941 comedy by none other than Alfred Hitchcock himself. No, really… I’m not kidding!
The biggest difference between the two films is in the story. In the 1995 version, the quarreling couple are rival assassins that discover each other’s true identity and then go about trying to kill each other before thy finally realize they really do love each other. In the 1941 classic by Alfred Hitchcock, written by award-winner Norman Krasna, none of the assassin storyline exists. This was clearly added to the remake as a way to attract modern audiences. However, the original is still extremely funny and well made, as is to be expected from one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of filmmaking.
The story begins with friends and co-workers worried about the married couple, as Mr. and Mrs. SMith have locked themselves in their bedroom for what has been three days, refusing to exit. No, they’re not having a “sleep-in” like Lennon and Yoko. Mr. and Mrs. SMith have rules in their marriage and one of them is this… never leave the bedroom angry. So, the two remain locked in their bedroom after a fight until they’ve made up. The opening sequence is great. Mrs. Smith (Carole Lombard) is still in bed trying to ignore that Mr. Smith (Robert Montgomery) is even in the room. Anytime Mr. Smith makes an effort to get his wife’s attention, she buries herself deeper in the sheets.
Eventually, they make up when Mr. Smith tricks her into thinking he’s left the room as she pops up in bed looking surprised and hurt and Mr. Smith rises from behind the couch to join her in bed. The trouble really begins when Mr. and Mrs. Smith are sitting at the breakfast table and she asks him if he’d still marry her if he had it all to do over. Whereas most of us realize there is only one logical answer to this question (unless you enjoy having your “scruples” handed to you for breakfast), Mr. Smith feels he must be honest and tells her he’d like to remain single if he had it to do all over. Oops!
Obviously, Mrs. Smith is upset about the breakfast incident, but things get really interesting when Mr. Smith is informed at the office that, due to a legal mix-up, the couple is not “truly” married. Mr. Smith doesn’t really see this as a problem, so long as Mrs. Smith doesn’t find out. Well, we all know where this is going and Mrs. Smith, but instead of approaching her husband about this directly, she decided to wait and see if he asks her to marry him for real. After an incredibly awkward day of dashed expectations and a terrible date, Mrs. Smith decides she no longer wants to be married to Mr. Smith, who really does want to be married to her. Thus begins his efforts to win her back.
Not best-known for his comedies, Hitchcock delivers a gem. Most people have heard of ‘The Trouble With Harry’ and ‘To Catch a Thief’, both made in 1955. These were good comedies. ‘Family Plot’, his final film in 1976, doesn’t succeed as well as his past films, but this atypical Hitchcock film doesn’t involve a murder, a mystery or a deception. It’s a funny relationship comedy that predates modern romantic comedies by decades. Given Hitchcock’s knack for brilliant camera use, ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ retains this edge. The presense of Hitchcock’s camera is still there, but is made more subtle as not to interfere with the story. Despite being over 60 years old, this Hitchcock original still holds up to modern comical standards, offering a story that is perhaps more relevant today than it was in the forties.
