Archive | April, 2010

‘The Lovely Bones’ Review

26 Apr

The Lovely Bones

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Saoirse Ronan, Stanley Tucci

Director: Peter Jackson

When I heard that The Lovely Bones was being made into a film, I was thrilled.  The original material, written by Alice Sebold, was amazing.  It was a brilliant story, filled with strong characters and evoked many emotional reactions from the reader. 

The story revolves around the brutal murder of 14-year old Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan).  On her way home from school she is approached by Mr. Harvey, a neighbor (Stanley Tucci) who tricks her into believing that he has something interesting to show her.  By the time she realizes that he has ulterior motives, it’s too late and he becomes the last person she ever speaks to again.

Determined to find out who killed his daughter, Jack Salmon (Mark Wahlberg) keeps in constant contact with the officer on the case.  He even takes matters into his own hands and tries to research a variety of people in his neighborhood.  His dedication to justice has an adverse affect on his marriage and his wife, Abigail (Rachel Weisz), leaves him and her other two children.

Stuck in an in between world, Susie watches her family and tries to aid them, unconsciously, in finding the real killer.  As the Salmon family slowly falls apart emotionally and physically, it appears that another family member could be the one to find the answers to Susie’s murder.

It disappoints me to say that director Peter Jackson failed to capture the feeling that Sebold was able to deliver with her words.  The story moved at a snail’s pace and was quite boring.  I felt that Jackson tried to turn the story into something it wasn’t.  His use of fantasy elements (CGI) for the scenes involving Susie were distracting and apart from one scene at the end, very unnatural looking.

Tucci was good as the evil Mr. Harvey; but apart from a hair piece, fake teeth and a weird laugh, he wasn’t as outstanding as I thought he’d be.  After seeing him in this role, I can’t say that his Oscar nomination was deserved.  The other performances, while decent, just did not have a cohesive feel to me.  The characters weren’t fleshed out enough and I felt as though I was watching a group of performances separately as opposed to one group project.

The book brought me to tears, but the film brought me to yawns.  I saw a bit more action and energy towards the end of the film, but that only lasted for a short period of time.  This movie could have been phenomenal, but it was just a huge miss in the end.

Weekend Box Office Results for 4/25/10

25 Apr

With three new entries into the weekend box office, it was the five-week running How to Train Your Dragon that came out on top. 

Bad buzz and reviews definitely played a factor in the showings of Jennifer Lopez’s The Back-Up Plan and the ensemble comic book film, The Losers.

Box Office Mojo’s Top 10 Box Office Estimates for 4/23-4/25:

1. How to Train Your Dragon – $15 million
2. The Back-Up Plan – $12.2 million
3. Date Night – $10.6 million
4. The Losers – $9.6 million
5. Kick-Ass – $9.5 million
6. Clash of the Titans – $9 million
7. Death at a Funeral – $8 million
8. Oceans – $6 million
9. The Last Song – $3.7 million
10. Alice in Wonderland – $2.2 million

Is your favorite ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ All-Star coming back this summer?

23 Apr

This summer should be exciting for the newest season of FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance.  Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe has promised that the show is changing things up for it’s return in May.

So far it’s been announced that the show will only eliminate one dancer per week, changing from season’s past where two dancers were sent home.  The biggest change comes in the form of the dance partners.  Lythgoe announced that the show would be bringing back former SYTYCD contestants to be paired with the newest group of dancing hopefuls.

Entertainment Weekly reported earlier today that FOX had released the names of the “All-Stars.”  12 favorites are coming back to once again strut their stuff and they are:

Stephen “tWitch” Boss
Comfort Fedoke
Courtney Galiano
Anya Garnis
Lauren Gottlieb
Neil Haskell
Allison Holker
Mark Kanemura
Pasha Kovalev
Kathryn McCormick
Ade Obayomi
Dominic “D-trix” Sandoval

 

I am most excited about Neil, Mark, tWitch and Lauren.  I’m sure more changes are to come.  The quick turnaround of the previous two seasons were a bit rough on the ratings, so it’s no big shocker that Lythgoe is aiming to come back with a bang.

Serious Moonlight Review

23 Apr

Serious Moonlight

Starring: Meg Ryan, Timothy Hutton, Kristen Bell, Justin Long

Director: Cheryl Hines

Written before her untimely death in 2006, Adrienne Shelly’s screenplay, Serious Moonlight, was translated to the big screen by director Cheryl Hines.  The two women had previously worked together on Shelly’s film, Waitress.

“Moonlight” tells the story of Louise (Meg Ryan), an attorney who learns that her husband has been having an affair.  Determined to make Ian (Timothy Hutton) see the error of his ways, she restrains him and vows not to let him go until he loves her again.

Ian’s mistress is a much younger woman named Sara (Kristen Bell).  He is confident in his feeling for her and even intends on taking a romantic trip to Paris with her just as soon as his wife frees him from the duct tape.  While trying to get his point across, he tells Louise that he doesn’t love her anymore and even strikes a low blow by telling his wife of eleven years that she’s ugly.

After a close call that almost resulted in Ian getting away, Louise decides to run to the store to get ingredients for a special dinner.  While away, the house is broken into to by Todd (Justin Long).  He sees Ian, in all his taped up glory, and laughs.  He proceeds to trash the house and take all the expensive items. 

Louise gets home from the store to see a new guest in her house and she ends up in a similar situation to her husband.  After seeing his wife manhandled, Ian’s feeling begin to creep back and he must decide whether to fix the past or move on with his future. 

This small budget movie wasn’t great.  It didn’t have the same likability and emotion of Shelly’s other film.  The entire movie takes place in basically one of two locations and it becomes a bit redundant.  Sadly, the movie was driven more by story than by the characters.  It wasn’t difficult to pick up on the directions the movie was taking and that was a disappointment.

I did think that Ryan looked really good in this film, but her character was a little too whiney for my liking.  Hutton’s character turned me off at first, but as the film progressed and he showed more layers, he started to grow on me.  I think Hutton is a brilliant actor, so it was a pleasant sight to watch him.  As I watched him, I kept thinking that he’s like an older version of Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  They have a striking resemblance and are both phenomenal talents.

This film was shot in 15 days and was Hines’ feature film directorial debut.  Definitely a crash course in filmmaking, but it was a respectable outing.  The last scene of movie leaves the viewer questioning certain relationships and as I watched it, I felt like saying, “I knew it.”  Although I took it one way, I suppose it’s possible to be taken another way as well.

I had hoped for more from this film.  Regardless of the outcome of the film, it’s nice to see that there are still people who believe in Shelly’s work even post-mortem.

New Movie Friday 4/23/10

22 Apr

What are you doing this weekend?  Want to check out a new movie?

Here is what’s new in theaters on Friday 4/23/10:

Oceans – Documentary
                     Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud (directors)
                    *Released Thursday 4/22/10
 
My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend – Alyssa Milano, Christopher Gorham
                                                                Daryn Tufts (director)
                                                               Released Thursday 4/22/10
                                                               *Limited Release
 
The Back-Up Plan - Jennifer Lopez, Alex O’Loughlin
                                              Alan Poul (director)
 
The Losers - Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Idris Elba
                             Sylvain White (director)
 
Paper Man – Jeff Daniels, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone
                            Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney (directors)
 
 
 
 

Heap of Hollywood 4/21/10: Renewal Fever

21 Apr

Heap of Hollywood is your chance to read about some of the latest news and casting updates around H-town!

News:
*HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher has been renewed for a ninth season.  The show will produce 35 new episodes, up from the previous 24.
*HBO’s hit, Curb Your Enthusiasm, is coming back for an eighth season.
*Comedy Central has renewed both of the network’s ”news” programs, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s The Colbert Report.
*NBC has given the freshman drama, Parenthood, a renewal for a second season.
*HBO is bringing back How to Make it in America for a second season.
*New episodes of Mad Men are set to begin on July 25.

One happy TV woman: Glee, Idol, DWTS

21 Apr

TV has been on an upswing this week with incredibly original and exciting shows like Glee and Lost.  Let’s not forget that the reality shows (American Idol, Dancing with the Stars) have finally gotten rid of the two people who’ve been destined for elimination for weeks now.

-I will start with what I think is one of the best episodes of television in a long time: the Madonna episode of Glee.  Not only did they center an entire episode around the music of Madge herself, but they brought depth and longing to the show’s tortured pseduo-couple of Rachel and Finn. 

They are no longer an item, but this was the first episode in the show’s short history where I actually felt that they worked as a couple.  Before this week’s show, I felt that their maybe-relationship was sort of contrived.  That feeling is long gone now though.  The hidden stares and the confessions of this pairing was palpable.  I have to say that I LOVE the addition of Jonathan Groff as Jesse though.  I know he can’t bring anything good to the kids at McKinley High, but I can’t wait to see what they do with his character!

Jane Lynch.  Emmy.  The Vogue video was insane.  Who even thinks of tackling a classic Madonna video, scene for scene?  Glee, creator Ryan Murphy and Lynch, that’s who.  She was beyond fantastic and that was just in the video.  Each week she continues to build upon the wonderfully written character of Sue Sylvester and hits it out of the park every time.

-I cannot believe that there are only five episodes of Lost remaining.  The Desmond centered episode from a few weeks back was incredible and I shed a tear this week during a scene that involved the reuniting of a certain married couple. 

Am I the only one who is dying to know who is the mom of Jack’s son is??  I’m pretty over Kate, so kinda hoping it’s not her.  I’m hearing that the finale of the show is going to be an extravaganza, something like 5 hours of programming devoted to the show (pre-show, show, Jimmy Kimmel). 

-As for Idol and DWTS, the curtain fell on Tim Urban and Kate Gosselin, respectively.  There was no way that Gosselin wasn’t going to get the ax this week, unless she was a magician of some sort.  Her tears at the end were definitely NOT pulling at my heartstrings.  I was ready for her to be voted off before the season even began. 

Urban had been able to escape the final elimination for weeks now, but his time came as well.  Up against Casey James in the bottom two, he left the show the way he came in: smiling.  The show is now left with six contestants and next week their job is to conquer the music of country superstar and Idol mentor, Shania Twain. 

-In other TV news, I’m loving where Bones and Fringe are going.

DVD Release Tuesday 4/20/10

20 Apr

So all of you hard-core movie fans out there know what every Tuesday is, right?  It is new DVD release day.  I look forward to this day every week and I always have my Netflix set up ahead of time to make sure I get the newest flicks that are out there.  Here’s a short list of what is coming out today:

Movies:
Avatar – Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver
                  *Hits stores on Thursday 4/22
Crazy Heart – Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal
The Lovely Bones – Saoirse Ronan, Stanley Tucci, Mark Wahlberg
The Young Victoria – Emily Blunt, Jim Broadbent

 

Television:
Perry Mason – Season 5, Volume 1

Comedienne Kathy Griffin spreads for cancer

18 Apr

Chicago native and My Life on the D-List star, Kathy Griffin, has taken her game to the next level.  In a bold and adventurous move, Griffin decided that the best place to take care of some lady business would be poolside at the Palomar Hotel in Los Angeles…

Comedienne Kathy Griffin spreads for cancer

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Weekend Box Office Results for 4/18/10

18 Apr

So for two weeks in a row, the race is too close to have a for sure winner.  Kick-Ass is trailing box office veteran How to Train Your Dragon for the top spot this week by about $250,000. 

Both of the new entries this week, Kick-Ass and Death at a Funeral, had respectable grosses, but still came in with less than ideal figures.

Box Office Mojo’s Top 10 Box Office Estimates for 4/16-4/18:

1. How to Train Your Dragon - $20 million
2. Kick-Ass – $19.7 million
3. Date Night – $17.3 million
4. Death at a Funeral – $17 million
5. Clash of the Titans – $15.7 million
6. The Last Song – $5.8 million
7. Why Did I Get Married Too? – $4.1 million
8. Hot Tub Time Machine – $3.5 million
9. Alice in Wonderland – $3.5 million
10. The Bounty Hunter – $3.2 million
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