Movie Review

October 20, 2008

This weekend has had a wide variety of movies- from video games to presidents and secret lives of bees, with some Chihuahuas running around. Here are this weekend’s numbers.

1. Max Payne – 18.0 MM
2. Beverly Hills Chihuahua – 11.2 MM
3. The Secret Life of Bees – 11 MM
4. W. – 10.5 MM
5. Eagle Eye – 7.3 MM

Those films rounded out the top five. Weekend numbers courtesy boxofficemojo.com.

By,

Rish Arhant-Sudhir

Hollywood News

August 15, 2008

Author – Rish Arhant-Sudhir

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood prince was possibly the most anticipated film in the coming months. For those of you waiting for the sixth film in the franchise, you may have to wait a bit longer. Originally planned for release on November 21st, Warner Brothers have pushed the latest installment of Harry Potter to July 17th 2009. Warner is partly saying that the Harry Potter films are better suited for summer and partly saying that the writer’s strike conflicted the readiness of the script.

Dreamworks recently announced that they will have sequels to some of their biggest hits. A Kung Fu Panda 2 is planned due to the success of the first film this summer. Madagascar 2 comes out this November, but there is already talk of a third film where we will hopefully see our heroes return to New York.

Valkyrie has changed release dates yet again! Tom Cruise’s next film regarding German army men and their plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler was originally planned to release on August 8, 2008 then changed to October 3, 2008, followed by February 13, 2009, and as of now the final release date of Valkyrie is December 26, 2008. The date was pulled back due to successful test screenings.

Mike Myers joins the cast of Inglorious Bastards, Quentin Tarantino’s war film planned for 2009. Myers will play Ed Fenech, a British militant who creates the plot to kill Nazi Leadership. Other cast members include Brad Pitt and Eli Roth. The Office star B.J. Novak is in talks to join the cast as well.

Hollywood Blu-Ray News

August 15, 2008

Author – Rish Arhant-Sudhir

Release dates of new blu-rays have been announced including-

Wall-E – November 18th
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian – December 2nd
Austin Powers Set – December 2nd
Monster’s Ball – November 4th
Ultimate Gangster Collection ( American Gangster, Casino, Eastern Promises ) – Occtober 14th
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – October 14th
Iron Man – September 30th

Tropic Thunder

August 15, 2008

Author – Rish Arhant-Sudhir

Tropic Thunder is a phenomenal summer comedy with some great bits of action. If you want to laugh the whole time, you may want to see Pineapple Express, but for an all around better movie, Tropic Thunder is the perfect choice.

Ben Stiller plays Tugg Speedman, a washed out action star who has only found success with his “Scorcher” series. He recently portrayed a character call “Simple Jack” in the film which spawned many protests regarding the film’s lack of respect for the mentally challenged. Although this issue could have been handled more delicately by the makers of the film, it was from my understanding, attempting to make fun at the ignorant stars who think like the characters in the film.

Jack Black portrays Jeff Portnoy, a comedian who, from what the audience can tell, is only getting laughs from his “The Fatties” series which are flatulent comedies staring only Jeff Portnoy in rubber suits. Jack Black pulls off some great jokes with finesse as always.

Robert Downey Jr. has a great performance as Kirk Lazarus, the 5-time academy award winning Australian actor who takes on the role of an African-American man. He not only portrays an African-American man well but also delivers a particularly good Australian accent. Downey pulls of the role hysterically and once again stepped outside the box.

Brandon T. Jackson has some great one-liners throughout the movie and is quite funny as rapper Alpa Chino. Jay Baruchel is just alright as Kevin Sandusky, the only actor who was committed to his part, although he has great chemistry with the rest of the cast members. Danny Mcbride’s talent was wasted. Nick Nolte is good as the real Four-Leaf, author of the novel Tropic Thunder. Steve Coogan is in the movie less than you may anticipate. Bill Hader is barely in it. Brandon Soo Hoo, Reggie Lee, and Trieu Tran are marvelous as the members of the flaming dragon.

There were many cameos in the film including Tobey Maguire, Jon Voight, Alicia Silverstone, and Jason Bateman. Matthew McConaughey is great in his role as Rick Peck, Tugg Speedman’s agent. Tom Cruise steals the show as the dancing studio executive, Les Grossman.

Tropic Thunder is not the likes of The Dark Knight, by far, although it is good for more than a few laughs. Although it has its flaws, Tropic Thunder is successful in entertaining the audience throughout.

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