FilmCrunch 064: Blades of Glory Review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: DreamWorks, Comedy, Sports, DVD Reviews, Short FilmCrunch, Theatrical Reviews, Videocasts,
Veronica Santiago and Neil Estep take a look at Blades of Glory in this episode of FilmCrunch.
When the macho, swaggering Chazz Michael Michaels takes to the rink, he is the rock star of the arena, leaving a trail of thrashed ice and shrieking female fans in his wake. The only competitor who can match Michaels’ scores is the driven former child prodigy, Jimmy MacElroy. Spotted as a youth executing triple lutzes on the frozen pond of an orphanage, MacElroy was whisked away to days of endless training, and now stands as the picture of poise, the personification of the highest ideals of the men’s sport. Michaels and MacElroy have met in finals rounds before, but their latest head-to-head at the World Championships—when they tie for first—is more than either one can bear, and their longstanding rivalry erupts into a no-holds-barred fight. The ensuing brawl not only sets fire to the World Championship’s helpless mascot, but lands both athletes in hot water: Chazz and Jimmy are called before the sport’s governing board, stripped of their gold medals and banned from the sport for life. Now, three-and-a-half years later, both men are still trying to find their way in a world without competitive skating. To skate again, all Chazz and Jimmy have to do is set aside their long festering hatred of one another and join forces—as the first male/male figure skating pair to compete in the history of the sport.
Now we want to hear from you - hit the forums and let us know what you think, what you want us to watch next, and any other recommendations you have for the show.
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Owen Wilson Drops Out of Tropic Thunder
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: DreamWorks, Fox Searchlight, Comedy, Casting, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip, Upcoming Releases,
Funnyman Owen Wilson, who’s been getting some not-so-hysterical headlines, has dropped out of the comedy Tropic Thunder. The DreamWorks picture is already six weeks into production in Hawaii, and will no longer include Wilson among the cast. This stems from the Sunday phone call, where Wilson was rushed to hospital after an apparent suicide attempt. Wilson’s next flick, The Darjeeling Limited, features Wilson as a distraught man who might have attempted suicide. Fox Searchlight has announced the film will go forward as planned, opening September 29. Wilson has also recently wrapped production on another film, which will debut next spring.
Read More 
| Yahoo News
Good News For HD DVD Owners
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Paramount, Distribution, Home Entertainment, Technology,
Although Blockbuster recently announced they were leaning toward Blu-ray rentals (citing customer preferences), HD DVD owners finally have a win in their corner.
Blu-ray had been noted for having a wider movie catalogue due to their exclusive partnerships with several movie studios. Now Paramount Studios (with DreamWorks Animation) has decided that they will go strictly HD DVD from this point forward. This announcement may finally help ignite an actual competition between the two formats.
The August 28th release of Blades of Glory will signal the first movie under the new Paramount/HD DVD partnership.
Read More | Variety
Fifth Shrek to Close Book on Ogre-licious Movies
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: DreamWorks, Animation, Sequels, Comedy, Rumors, Upcoming Releases,
Though DreamWorks Animation SKG probably hasn’t popped the last celebratory bottle of champagne after the success of Shrek the Third, the studio is planning the fifth – and final – chapter in the daily life of everyone’s favorite ogre. The fourth Shrek is set to come to theatres in 2010, the only one the studio has expressly committed itself to make, but studio insiders say there are five chapters to the Shrek saga. Since the May 18 release of Shrek the Third, the ogre and his pals have raked in $643.6 million for Dreamworks. What will happen in the fifth film? Even the secrets of the fourth film have yet to be revealed, but it’s certain that Shrek will only be successful as long as Eddie Murphy (my personal favorite) remains involved.
Read More | LA Times
Box Office Breakdown: Almighty Only Does Alrighty
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Political, Religious, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Question: When is being the #1 movie just not enough? (Hint: You have three chances to answer this question correctly).
Answer(s):
- When the critics don’t really have anything good to say about you
- When you made less than 1/2 of what your predecessor did on opening weekend
- When it cost over $175 million just to create you
Apparently having God on your side doesn’t guarantee you heavenly box office numbers. Evan Almighty, the follow-up to 2003’s Bruce Almighty, failed to bring in a large congregation this past weekend. Although it did better than the rest of the flock, it’s $32 million take paled in comparison to Bruce’s $68 million opening. And then there’s that glaring $175 million bill…
Of course, we shouldn’t feel so badly about Steve Carell’s career. I have a feeling that God is providing for him in other ways.
Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Almighty Only Does Alrighty
FilmCrunch 038: Flags of our Fathers Review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: DreamWorks, Warner Bros, Adaptation, Period, Short FilmCrunch, Theatrical Reviews, Videocasts,
Veronica Santiago and Neil Estep review Flags of our Fathers in this episode of FilmCrunch:
It is the most memorable photograph of World War II, among the greatest pictures ever taken. The winner of the Pulitzer Prize for photography and one of the most-reproduced images in the history of photography, the picture has inspired postage stamps, posters, the covers of countless magazines and newspapers, and even the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima,” a picture taken by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal on February 23, 1945 depicts five Marines and one Navy Corpsman raising the U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi. The image served as a counterpoint for one of the most vicious battles of the war: the fight to take Iwo Jima, a desolate island of black sand barely eight square miles that would prove a tipping point in the Pacific campaign. Lasting more than a month, the fight was a bloody, drawn-out conflict that might have turned the American public against the war entirely, had it not been for the photo, which was taken and published five days into the battle. The photograph made heroes of the men in the picture as the three surviving flag-raisers were returned to the U.S. and made into props in the government’s Seventh War Bond Tour. Uncomfortable with their new celebrity, the flag-raisers considered the real heroes to be the men who died on Iwo Jima; still, the American public held them up as the best America had to offer, the supermen who conquered the Japanese—and then, just as quickly as it had arrived, the glory faded. For two of the surviving flag-raisers, life became a series of compromises and disappointments; for the third, happiness came only by shutting off his war experiences and rarely speaking of them ever again.
Now we want to hear from you - hit the forums and let us know what you think, what you want us to watch next, and any other recommendations you have for the show.
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