The Scorecard Review

Press Release from Focus Features -- Production begins today on location in Minnesota on A Serious Man, for Focus Features and Working Title Films. Joel and Ethan Coen, Academy Award winners for No Country for Old Men and Fargo, are writing, producing, and directing the film. Working Title co-chairs Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner are executive-producing the film with Robert Graf, who has worked on the Coens’ last six features in various producing capacities.

The director of photography on A Serious Man is seven-time Academy Award nominee Roger Deakins, who is marking his tenth feature collaboration with the Coens. Mary Zophres is the film’s costume designer, marking her ninth feature collaboration with the Coens. Jess Gonchor is the production designer, marking his third feature collaboration with the Coens.

Sep 7
Sep 7 Box Office Review - September 7, 2008

WEEKEND TOP 5 STUDIO ESTIMATES, SEPTEMBER 5-7, 2008 Rank. Movie Title (Distributor) Weekend Gross | Theaters | Total Gross | Week #

1. Bangkok Dangerous (Lionsgate) $7.8 million | 2,650 | $7.8 million | 1

2. Tropic Thunder (Paramount (DreamWorks) $7.5 million | 3,446 | $96.8 million | 4

3. The House Bunny (Sony / Columbia) $5.9 million | 2,736 | $37.0 million | 3

4. The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.) $5.7 million | 2,575 | $512.2 million | 8

5. Traitor (Overture Films) $4.7 million | 2,108 | $17.7 million | 2

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)

Wow, no one saw movies this last weekend. I assume this was due to some football. Both college football and the NFL were in full swing this weekend, and next to Nic Cage in an action movie, there wasn't much of a choice.

"The Dark

Sep 4
Sep 4 Daryl Roberts - writer/director of America the Beautiful

Interviews

American the Beautiful is a documentary by Daryl Roberts that focuses on the body image of women and explores the question of whether America has an unhealthy obsession with beauty. The quick answer is of course, yes, but Roberts gives specific examples and interviews a wide variety of people to clearly show the problem. I sat down with Roberts at the Avalon Hotel in Portland and spoke about body image (obviously), the 12-year-old model showcased in the film, and any solutions to these issues.

Early on in the film, you spoke about the girl that got away … Was this whole film a love letter to this girl? No, as a matter of fact, I went out of my way to make sure she never sees it. It’s embarrassing. I would never want her to see that part of the documentary.

It’s rated R? Why? Eve Ensler said, “Get a bigger dick,” right in the middle of the film and they gave me an R for it. Come on … that’s it? They hit independents hard. If it was a studio film it would have been as PG as PG gets. It was just rated in Canada and they gave us a PG and said it was unbelievable that they gave us an R.

Sep 3
Sep 3 Babylon A.D.

Babylon A.D.Directed by: Mathieu Kassovitz Cast: Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh, Mélanie Thierry Time: 1 hr 35 mins Rating: PG-13

Quickcard Review

Plot:Toorip (Vin Diesel) is a mercenary hired to deliver a young woman (Mélanie Thierry) from post-apocalyptic Eastern Europe to New York City, but she has a mysterious secret that leads many to try and claim her as their own, including the religious group, the Neolites.

Overall: It doesn't help when everyone struggles pronouncing Toorip's name. I was thinking it might have been Tulip for the first half. But that's not nearly the big problem here. It seems that director Kassovitz fully understands the world he is creating, but he never bothers to explain it to the rest of us. The film starts with a voiceover from Diesel, and you remember how easy it is

Sep 3
Sep 3 Bruce Springsteen adds song to Aronofsky's Wrestler

Bruce Springsteen is back to working on soundtracks. Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain) has gotten the Jersey native to craft a song for the final credits to his new film The Wrestler starring Mickey Rourke. This quote is directly from Aronofsky's blog. off to venice on wednesday. but i wanted to just share with you all the other music news i talked about in the past post. bruce springsteen wrote a beautiful original song for the closing the film. called THE WRESTLER it is a wonderful acoustic piece. makes me choke up every time i hear it. he really captured the spirit of the film and mickey's character in the piece. This adds to the already impressive list of "Streets of Philadelphia," "Dead Man Walkin'" and "Secret Garden."

Aug 31
Aug 31 Box Office Review - September 1, 2008

Rank. Movie Title (Distributor)Weekend Gross | Theaters | Total Gross | Week #

1. Tropic Thunder (Paramount (DreamWorks) $14.3 million | 3,473 | $86.6 million | 3

2. Babylon A.D. (Fox) $12.0 million | 3,390 | $12.0 million | 1

3. The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.) $11.0 million | 2,750 | $504.7 million | 7

4. The House Bunny (Sony / Columbia) $10.2 million | 2,714 | $29.8 million | 2

5. Traitor (Overture Films) $10.0 million | 2,054 | $11.5 million | 1

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)

My "quality rank" of the Top 5. Dark Knight Tropic Thunder House Bunny Traitor Babylon A.D.

My scores for those films actually goes 9, 8, 7, 6 and then Babylon messes everything up by getting a 4. I haven't written that review yet and might just give a quick blurb. Good start, terrible finish pretty much seems

Aug 29
Aug 29 Roger Ebert attacks Jay Mariotti

Roger Ebert, the film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times wrote an open letter to Jay Mariotti, who recently quit the newspaper. This is the opening ... What an ugly way to leave the Sun-Times. It does not speak well for you. Your timing was exquisite. You signed a new contract, waited until days after the newspaper had paid for your trip to Beijing at great cost, and then resigned with only an email. You saved your explanation for a local television station.

As someone who was working here for 24 years before you arrived, I think you owed us more than that. You owed us decency. The fact that you saved your attack for TV only completes our portrait of you as a rat.

To read the article in its entirety --

Aug 28
Aug 28 Disaster Movie

Disaster MovieDirected by: Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer Cast: Matt Lanter, Crista Flanagan, G. Thang, Kimberly Kardashian Time: 1 hr 20 mins Rating: PG-13

Plot: No wait, seriously there is a plot. Over the course of one evening, a group of twenty-somethings find themselves confronted by a series of disasters and odd events.

Who’s It For? This is for teenagers who are hung up on trying to decide what is cool and what's not. I mean ... didn't teenagers flock to the superhero flicks? So why do they want to sit through lame jokes involving them? Also, parents should know, it's indecent, profane and includes one joke comment about a coat hanger for an abortion.

Expectations: I wasn't excited about this film at all. No reasonable person would be. But College and Babylon A.D

Aug 28
Aug 28 Tropic Thunder's "Rain of Madness" on iTunes

A press release has announced that beginning today, DreamWorks Pictures is offering an original documentary “Rain Of Madness,” for download exclusively on the iTunes Store.________________________ “Rain of Madness,” starring Jay Baruchel, Jack Black, Steve Coogan, Robert Downey Jr., Bill Hader, Nick Nolte and Ben Stiller is a companion piece to the hit comedy “Tropic Thunder,” which debuted in theaters nationwide on August 13, and serves as a documentary of the making-of the feature film. It was shot on location in Hawaii, at the same locations used in the feature film, and details the demise of the fictitious cast & crew of “Tropic Thunder”, as they struggle to finish shooting their film despite numerous shooting, budgeting and casting problems.

"We wanted to do a fake documentary about the making of the movie

Aug 27
Aug 27 Traitor

Chris De Salvo

TraitorDirected by: Jeffrey Nachmanoff Cast: Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Said Taghmaoui, Neal McDonough Time: 1 hr 54 mins Rating: PG-13

Plot: When a special operative (Cheadle) goes into deep cover constructing horrendously deadly bombs for a terrorist group, he unwillingly becomes a public enemy to the C.I.A.

Who’s It For? Not for the faint of heart, or anyone who only follows world affairs casually. It’s a more relevant version of the Jason Bourne story, hitting far closer to home than any James Bond spin off ever has.

Expectations: A stellar cast isn’t always the perfect formula for cinematic success. After sterling performances in thinking-man films (Hotel Rwanda), and touching humanized features (Reign Over Me), the question is whether or not Cheadle can pull off both at once.

SCORECARD (1-10)

Actors: Don Cheadle as Samir Horn: Reinstates

Aug 26
Aug 26 Shia LaBeouf's hand injury now part of Transformers

SCI FI Wire is now confirming that star Shia LaBeouf's hand injury has become part of the film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. LaBeouf's hand was injured in a car accident earlier in August. The film is hoping for a release date of June 26, 2009."Shia just got back to the set last week," Roberto Orci, co-writer, said in an interview in New York on Aug. 25, where he was promoting his upcoming Fox TV series Fringe. "We incorporated his injury into it. Not because it was absolutely necessary, but [director] Michael [Bay] in particular wanted to be able to protect him on the set."

"He's still going to be running around in this movie," said Orci. "[Bay] literally just wanted, for [LaBeouf's] safety, ... to make sure that we weren't

Aug 23
Aug 23 Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist Soundtrack

Atlantic Records has announced the release of “NICK & NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST: ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK,” the musical companion to the upcoming Columbia Pictures/Mandate Pictures film. Due in stores and online on September 23rd, the album features tracks from some of indie rock’s best and brightest, including Vampire Weekend, Band of Horses, We Are Scientists, Bishop Allen, and Devendra Banhart. Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist is slated to open in theatres nationwide on October 3rd.

In addition to songs by such artists as Richard Hawley, The Real Tuesday Weld, and the late, great Chris Bell, the soundtrack also features a previously unreleased tune from L.A.-based newcomers Army Navy, as well as an exclusive selection from the film’s score, performed by its legendary composer, Mark Mothersbaugh (DEVO, Rugrats, Big Love

Aug 23
Aug 23 Box Office Review - August 24, 2008

WEEKEND TOP 5 STUDIO ESTIMATES, AUGUST 22-24, 2008 Rank. Movie Title (Distributor) Weekend Gross | Theaters | Total Gross | Week #

1. Tropic Thunder (Paramount (DreamWorks)) $16.1 million | 3,352 | $65.7 million | 2

2. The House Bunny (Sony / Columbia) $15.1 million | 2,714 | $15.1 million | 1

3. Death Race (Universal) $12.3 million | 2,532 | $12.3 million | 1

4. The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.) $10.3 million | 3,163 | $489.2 million | 6

5. Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Warner Bros.) $5.7 million | 3,452 | $25.0 million | 2

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)

Wow, this played out exactly like I hoped. Tropic Thunder deserves a second week at the top, House Bunny definitely had enough laughs and clearly appealed to more than just girls. Death Race ... should have been much better.

So far

Aug 21
Aug 21 Death Race

Death RaceDirected by: Paul W.S. Anderson Cast: Jason Statham, Joan Allen, Tyrese Gibson and Ian McShane Time: 1 hr 40 mins Rating: R

Plot: In the near future, prisons are run by corporations and Death Race is bigger than the Super Bowl. Jensen (Statham) is framed to become the next great driver.

Who’s It For? It's a fairly boring action movie that fails to just give us an awesome "Death Race." There is some pretty violent moments so it definitely earns its R rating. If you'll sit through anything for some blood, then you won't mind the absurd leaps and bounds Death Race attempts to take with a straight face.

Expectations: I was nervous. Event Horizon, Mortal Kombat and Resident Evil are all directed by Anderson and Allen's presence had me scratching my head.

SCORECARD

Aug 21
Aug 21 House Bunny

House BunnyDirected by: Fred Wolf Cast: Anna Faris, Emma Stone, Colin Hanks and Katherine McPhee Time: 1 hr 40 mins Rating: PG-13

Plot: Shelly (Faris), a Playboy bunny, is kicked out of the mansion and forced to look for work. She stumbles upon the Zeta Alpha Zeta house with seven members full of odd quirks and they are about to lose their house. Shelly and her feminine ways attempts to save the day, but the girls from Phi Iota Mu are trying to stop them.

Who’s It For? Guys, don't be fooled. This isn't just for the girls, there is quality humor plus there is tons of eye candy of all varieties. And parents, a lot of the film is about using or accentuating sexuality, so keep that in mind if you are bringing the

Aug 21
Aug 21 Hamlet 2

Hamlet 2Directed by: Andrew Fleming Cast: Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Joseph Julian Soria, Elisabeth Shue Time: 1 hr 30 mins Rating: R

Plot: Dana Marschz (Coogan) is a failed actor turned into an even worse drama teacher for West Mesa High in Tucson, Arizona. He has one chance to save his job or the drama departure will be dropped. Dana decides to write an original play titled "Hamlet 2."

Who’s It For? If you ever had an over eager drama school teacher or adore the comedic styling of Coogan than you'll find plenty of laughs with Hamlet 2.

Expectations: Coogan turned in a strong performance in Tropic Thunder. He's mostly known for his portrayal as Alan Patridge, but I've never seen that British show, am I missing out? The film is by the co-writers

Aug 19
Aug 19 The Rocker

The RockerDirected by: Peter Cattaneo Cast: Rainn Wilson, Teddy Geiger, Christina Applegate, Emma Stone Time: 1 hr 30 mins Rating: PG-13

Plot: Robert 'Fish' Fishman was the drummer in the band Vesuvius, but just before they hit it big, they kicked him out. Now it's 20 years later and Fish has a second chance ... only this time it's with his nephew's high school band A.D.D.

Who’s It For? If you've missed out on your dreams, maybe this film will be a nice venting experience for you. It's School of Rock mixed in with Rock Star but not as strong as either.

Expectations: Is Rainn Wilson only capable of being the great Dwight Schrute? That's the question. He's not normally what you would think of for leading man material, plus, would his awful looking

Aug 17
Aug 17 Box Office Review - August 17, 2008

WEEKEND TOP 5 STUDIO ESTIMATES, AUGUST 15-17, 2008 Rank. Movie Title (Distributor) Weekend Gross | Theaters | Total Gross | Week #

1. Tropic Thunder (Paramount (DreamWorks) $26.0 million | 3,319 | $37.0 million | 1

2. The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.) $16.8 million | 3,590 | $471.5 million | 5

3. Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Warner Bros.) $15.5 million | 3,452 | $15.5 million | 1

4. Mirrors (Fox) $11.1 million | 2,664 | $11.1 million | 1

5. Pineapple Express (Sony / Columbia) $10.0 million | 3,072 | $62.9 million | 2

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)

Some good news and bad news. Batman is dead. OK, not dead, just not first anymore. But Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder definitely worked hard to entertain. Perhaps the best news is The Clone Wars underperformed. True, this will probably only make George

Aug 15
Aug 15 Star Wars: The Clone Wars