Stardust is a fantasy tale and a love story about the adventures of a young man called Tristan Thorn (Charlie Cox) and the people he encounters. Tristan lives in the town of Wall and is in love with a girl named Victoria, the town’s greatest beauty. He is not having much success at winning over her heart though, as she seems to be saving her affections for whichever suitor can bring her the best and most expensive presents. The crux of the film starts when Tristan and Victoria see a star falling to earth in the distance, and Tristan promises to bring her back the star in order to win her hand in marriage. To get to the star though, Tristan has to cross the wall that divides his town from a parallel universe called Stormhold and enter this other realm. (more…)

Right behind Gone Baby Gone, this would have to be my second favorite film last year. Juno, starring Ellen Page as the title character, as well as Michael Cera, Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner, is a wonderful comedy that hits the right spot on the intelligent meter, avoiding the pretentious border. The acting, writing and directing—the fundamentals of a good film—all come together. (more…)

Okay, you've got a cop thriller with Keanu Reeves opening in theaters, plus a college comedy with Dennis Quaid, plus a rom-com with Ryan Reynolds -- and, oh yeah, a cruddy remake of a 1980 Jamie Lee Curtis horror movie that wasn't even screened for critics. Guess which one ruled the weekend box office?

Right, "Prom Night" (above), which pulled in an estimated $23 million, versus Keanu in "Street Kings" ($12 million), Quaid in "Smart People" ($4 million), and Reynolds in "Chaos Theory," a limited release which managed a woeful $23,000 at 11 theaters. Card-counting drama "21" is holding up well in third place and has grossed $61 million overall; it won't hit $100 mill but its DVD afterlife is assured. I just remain mildly astonished by how many people are willing to accept it as a "good movie".

But to "Prom Night" -- how do we explain that a generally reviled piece of slasher remake product, lacking stars or any originality whatsoever, tops the box office? The question answers itself: From its cannily targeted title on down, the movie's purely generic -- the equivalent of buying superstore shampoo. There doesn't need to be a star because the genre (and its return on minimal emotional investment) is the star. The audience knows what it's going to get, and it knows what it wants, which is an excuse to paw one's date under the socially acceptable blanket of movie suspense. Doesn't matter how bogus the film is; indeed, the lamer it is the more fun the group experience can be.

Or, as a friend's son said when his dad asked how "Prom Night" was, "Okay -- there were four or five good jumps."

There's the fallacy of movie criticism right there -- the assumption that every film should have worth beyond the utilitarian when much of the time the audience goes simply hoping for Pavlov to ring his little bell.

More numbers from Box Office Mojo and Leonard Klady.

Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom

Ooo-wee, that Uwe makes good copy. Happily, those who have responded to the petition to get Uwe Boll to step away from the camera now have more than one force of opposition: a second petition to keep Dr. Uwe in his current line of work. Cinematical's Erik Davis caught the beleaguered Boll's plea for support on April 9, and yet another fan has responded: Lauren Brenner of Greyface Media is the sponsor behind this noble petition: "after all, he's better than that hack Scorsese." Boll couldn't have said it better. (In case you were wondering, the first pro-Boll petition is here, and so far there are almost 4,000 signatures.)

Oh wait, he did: he's not a bleeping retard like Michael Bay, and he isn't making the same bleeping movie again and again like Eli Roth, as the good doctor was saying ... So far, four cineastes have signed this (hopefully 100% on-the-level) petition. Now, are these four names going to count against the 194,000 so far who who have signed the Stop Dr. Uwe Boll Petition? I know those looking for a 2009 release of In the King's Name Again, Already will want to add their email addresses in hopes of being solicited by hapless Nigerian ex-ministers of finance and providers of natural sex herbs. Thanks to Glenn Creamer for this tip.

Which side are you on: Pro Boll or anti Boll?

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I’m not quite sure what message moviegoers are sending Hollywood these days. Or what message Hollywood is sending the audience. Take a look at The Ruins, a horror film based on a best selling suspense novel, written by Scott Smith. Smith, who is also known for adapting his book A Simple Plan to the big screen. The suspense is there, the mystery is present, we get an R rated horror film…and in its opening weekend in the US, almost nobody shows up. For years, there have been watered down horror films and thrillers where “fans” moan about the genre not being R rated anymore. Then there’s a backlash over the sub-genre of horror dubbed ‘torture horror’ or ‘torture porn’. Now Hollywood listens, and seats are empty. What is more troubling than the studio not giving screening to critics? The film isn’t that bad. In fact, it’s rather good. (more…)

Jodie Foster has, in some way, come full circle with The Brave One. Ever since her performance in Taxi Driver, Foster has proven herself to be a versatile actress that can headline a studio film. In Taxi Driver, Foster plays a prostitute imprisoned by circumstances only to be rescued by a deranged vigilante killer. In The Brave One, Foster plays a victim who becomes a vigilante killer. Both films take place in New York City and both are compelling in their own ways. (more…)

Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Newsstand

At the end of last month, an interview with classic Harold and Maude star Bud Cort popped up on the Austin American-Statesman. It's rather ... biting -- and not because it was a discussion over breakfast. From the get-go, you can tell that interviewer Chris Garcia wasn't happy with the whole experience, in a way that brings to mind Steve Buscemi's take on the matter in Interview. I get the feeling that Garcia never wanted this interview, and that Cort picked up on it right away.

The interview, as Wiley Wiggins pointed out in his blog, is definitely lacking in "meaningful content." Words used to describe Cort throughout the piece range from "picky and precise," to his clothing being "a snazzy shade of melancholy," to "A wounded ego is a big ego. Cort emanates an air of entitlement born of bad luck or bad choices or whatever it is that makes Hollywood such a torture chamber of heartache, anger and rejection." On the one hand, it seems like Garcia was shot down when he tried to navigate any path with the actor, but on the other, Cort doesn't seem to have been given much to work with -- unlike, say, this interview with DVDTalk.

Continue reading Bud Cort Speaks Out Over Questionable Interview

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