Opening This Week: Hannah Montana Fighting 17 Brothers Bloom Again

This week we have a jam-packed post as I bring you a couple of movies by two young stars, a critically acclaimed film and a movie which has been pretty under the radar. Sadly, its the first week since the summer season began in which we don't have a blockbuster coming out in Malaysia.

Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009)
Starring: Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus
Director: Peter Chelsom
USA release: April 10
Msia release: June 4
USA box office: $77,127,521
Worldwide box office: $86,089,892
Genre: Comedy, Family, Music
Runtime: 1 hour 32 mins
Rated in USA: G
Rated in Msia: U
IMDb User Rating: 2.8/10
Rotten tomatoes: 44%

Miley Cyrus struggles to juggle school, friends and her secret popstar persona. But when Hannah Montana's soaring popularity threatens to take over her life - she just might let it. So her father, Billy Ray Cyrus takes the teen home to Crowley Corners, Tennesse, for a dose of reality, kicking off an adventure filled with the kind of fun, laughter and romance even Hannah Montana couldn't imagine. (Cinema Online)

Tons of Malaysians will have no interest in seeing this movie. On the other hand, loads of kids would. But really, why do we need a movie in which Miley Cyrus plays herself playing Hannah Montana. Baffling. Great movie for kids, but it won't be for anyone else.




Fighting (2009)
Starring: Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard
Director: Dito Montiel
USA release: April 24
Msia release: June 4
USA box office: $22,747,485
Genre: Action, Drama
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Rated in USA: PG-13 for intense fight sequences, a sex scene and brief strong language
Rated in Msia: 18SG
IMDb User Rating: 5.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 40%

Shawn MacArthur (Tatum) is a young man going nowhere in life when he meets Harvey Boarden (Howard). Harvey, a veteran street fighting coach, introduces Shawn to the underground street fighting scene in New York which points his life into a new direction.

The plot to me sounds incredibly cheesy but I think it will be a decent fight movie. I love Terrence Howard and I think he's a great actor. Can't say the same for Channing Tatum but this film should be a decent watch watch you and your friends. Definitely not a movie for the family and kids.




17 Again (2009)
Starring: Zac Efron, Matthew Perry, Michelle Trachtenberg
Director: Burr Steers
USA release: April 17
Msia release: June 4
USA box office: $60,894,341
Worldwide box office: $96,542,966
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 1 hour 42 mins
Rated in USA: PG-13 for language, some sexual material and teen partying
Rated in Msia: PG-13
IMDb User Rating: 6.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 56%


Mike O'Donnell (Matthew Perry) is a man going through a mid-life crisis and wishes he could go back to being a teenager when he was much more handsome and popular in school. When this wish actually comes true, he goes back to his high school as a 17-year old boy and is classmates with his children.

Zac Efron's rise to fame has been mostly because of Disney and musical roles, ie. High School Musical and Hairspray. This is his first big non-musical film and I have to say, this might be the right thing for him. 17 Again was quite popular in the States and is a decent comedy. So check it out when it comes out this Thursday.




The Brothers Bloom (2009)
Starring: Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rinko Kikuchi
Director: Rian Johnson
USA release: May 15 (Limited)
Msia release: June 4
USA box office: $912,000
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Crime
Runtime: 1 hour 43 mins
Rated in USA: PG-13 for violence, some sensuality and brief strong language
Rated in Msia: N/A
IMDb User Rating: 7.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 60%

Bloom (Brody) and Stephen (Ruffalo) are con men and swindle millions from rich people for a living. They decide to go on one last scam before retiring. Along with their mute oriental sidekick, Bang Bang (Kikuchi) they take Penelope (Weisz) on a world tour. Their complex scam gets unnecessarily more complicated when Bloom develops feelings for Penelope.

Even with all the blockbusters coming out left, right and center, The Brothers Bloom is the film that I am dying to see the most. There have been some rave reviews for this film and I absolutely adore con movies. So if you want something a little bit more witty with less action this week, watch this film. I cannot express how much I want to see this film.

Source: Cinema Online, IMDb, Box Office Mojo, Rotten Tomatoes

Toy Story 3 Teaser Trailer

It’s been al most 14 years since the first one and almost a decade since the last one. But finally, after waiting for so long, we are going to see another Toy Story very soon. Toy Story 3 sees the return of all the original voices including Tom Hanks and Tim Allen and will be the first Toy Story to be made since Disney bought Pixar. Will this change the film? I don’t think so. I am so excited for this. Toy Story was one of my favorite animated films when I was growing up. I really cannot wait for Toy Story 3. Unfortunately, we still need to wait until next summer for its release. But along the way, Disney will be re-releasing Toy Story as well as Toy Story 2 in 3-D. I don’t know if the 3-D versions will hit Malaysian shores, but I sure would love to see it. Toy Story 3 will also be available in 3-D, of course.

For now, sit back and enjoy the teaser trailer below. It doesn’t divulge any of the films plot info, but it sure is nice to watch all these familiar characters just hang out. The trailer is in HD so it might take a while to load. If you really can’t wait, just hit the HD button to disable it.

Toooo infinity, and beyond!

Toy Story 3 hits theaters June 18, 2010.

So are you as excited for a third Toy Story after so long? Did you love it as a kid? Do you still love it? Tell me in the comments below.

The Final Destination Teaser Poster

On what should have been a fun-filled day at the races, Nick O'Bannon has a horrific premonition in which a bizarre sequence of events causes multiple race cars to crash, sending flaming debris into the stands, brutally killing his friends and causing the upper deck of the stands to collapse on him. When he comes out of this grisly nightmare Nick panics, persuading his girlfriend, Lori, and their friends, Janet and Hunt, to leave... escaping seconds before Nick's frightening vision becomes a terrible reality. Thinking they've cheated death, the group has a new lease on life, but unfortunately for Nick and Lori, it is only the beginning. As his premonitions continue and the crash survivors begin to die one-by-one--in increasingly gruesome ways--Nick must figure out how to cheat death once and for all before he, too, reaches his final destination. The film marks the latest in the highly popular "Final Destination" series, and its first 3D installment, giving horror fans an especially visceral thrill ride.

By the title of the film, this might be the last one of the franchise. But in any case, the fourth installment of the Final Destination franchise, aptly named The Final Destination is coming soon. Directed by Final Destination 2 director, David R. Ellis, this movie features Bobby Campo, Shantel VanSanten, Krista Allen, Mykelti Williamson, Haley Webb, Nick Zano, Andrew Fiscella and Richard T. Jones.

The Final Destination reaches theaters August 27 in Malaysia and a day later in the States.

New The Hangover Character Posters

It’s incredible how posters can be so funny.

DreamWorks Animation Announces 2010-2012 Schedule

The company had the initial plan of releasing two films a year. They have just upped that and will now release five films every two years. Below is a list of films that are planned for release over the next two years or so.

How To Train Your Dragon – March 26, 2010. Directed by Chris Sanders, and featuring the voices of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

Shrek Forever After – May 21, 2010. Retitled from Shrek Goes Fourth. Directed by Mike Mitchell. Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas and Justin Timberlake are all returning to voice their characters.

Oobermind - November 5, 2010. Directed by Tom McGrath. Featuring the voices of Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Tina Fey.

Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom – June 3, 2011.

The Guardians — November 4, 2011.

Puss in Boots – March 20, 2011. Directed by Shrek The Third director, Chris Smith. The movie is a prequel spin-off to Shrek 2. Antonio Banderas will voice Puss in Boots and Salma Hayek as his love interest, Kitty.

Madagascar 3 - May 27, 2012. Directed Eric Darnell.

November 12 2012 – Yet to be decided. One of these three: The Croods, Truckers and Super Secret Ghost Project.

Source: /Film

Do you have RM250 to burn? Why not make a zombie movie?

Yes you read right. One of the biggest stories to have emerged from the recently concluded Cannes Film Festival was the British zombie film, Colin, produced by Nowhere Fast Productions. What is so special about this movie? Well, the entire budget used to produce the film came to an astonishing $70 or about RM250.

British filmmaker Marc Price spent a year and a half producing this film which gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “low-budget”. As it premiered at Cannes, so much media buzz and interest was generated that Japanese and Hollywood distributors are looking to buy the rights to the film.

So how exactly did Price come about the idea to make this sort of movie? He said in an interview with CNN that he realized he would never be able to get enough cash to make even a “low-budget” film, so he wanted to make a “no-budget” film. So he advertised on Facebook and MySpace, looking for volunteer zombies to be in the film. To save money, he asked whoever he could to bring along their own make-up.

The film in itself is pretty unique as it is a zombie movie told from the perspective of a zombie. Take a look at the trailer and a short clip from the film below. Enjoy!

So what exactly did director Marc Price spend the $70 on? See what he tells CNN.

“We bought a crowbar and a couple of tapes, and I think we got some tea and coffee as well -- not the expensive stuff either, the very basic kind. Just to keep the zombies happy.”

You can read the CNN article here. Be sure to visit the official website ColinMovie.com and also, if you’re on Twitter, you can follow them at @ColinMovie. I’m on Twitter too so follow me at @mcampton for the latest movie updates and tons more of random things.

Opening This Week: Monsters Terminating Aliens

Two massive movies open in Malaysian cinemas this week. First up is the summer blockbuster Terminator Salvation, starring Sam Worthington and Christian Bale. Also coming out this week is the Dreamworks' animated film, Monsters vs Aliens featuring the voices of the likes of Seth Rogen and Reese Witherspoon.


Terminator Salvation (2009)
Starring: Sam Worthington, Christian Bale, Anton Yelchin, Common, Blair Williams
Director: McG
USA release: May 21
Msia release: May 28
USA opening weekend gross: $56,382,000
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi
Runtime: 2 hrs 10 mins
Rated in USA: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and language
Rated in Msia: N/A
IMDb User Rating: 7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 34%

Set in 2018, Salvation is about the original war between Skynet and humans. The Terminators have almost completely exterminated the human race with a nuclear holocaust. Only John Connor can stand in the way of total annihilation as he leads what remaining humans to war against the machines.

Many mixed reviews so far. More bad than good. But the average summer movie goer won't care. This is a summer blockbuster, so I don't think there is any question of whether you should see it or not. On top of that you would want to see how Sam Worthington does before his next project, James Cameron's Avatar, in which he's in practically every scene.




Monster vs Aliens (2009)
Voices: Seth Rogen, Reese Witherspoon, Kiefer Sutherland, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Paul Rudd, Stephen Colbert, Amy Poehler, Renée Zellweger, John Krasinski
Directors: Rob Letterman, Conrad Vernon
USA release: March 27
Msia release: May 28
USA box office: $192,991,000
Worldwide box office: $345,011,683
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Action
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins
Rated in USA: PG for sci-fi action, some crude humor and mild language
Rated in Msia: U
IMDb User Rating: 7.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 72%

When Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon) turns into a giant, she is taken to a secret facility where the government has been rounding up monsters over the years. When the safety of planet Earth is threatened by aliens who definitely do not come in peace, the government turns to the monsters as their last line of defense.

This movie has done very well at the box office all over the world so far and is also apparently quite a good film. Should be a good watch for the kids and the whole family.



Source: Cinema Online, IMDb, Box Office Mojo, Rotten Tomatoes

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First Look at The Last Airbender

This is for all the Avatar: The Last Airbender fans out there. The oh-so popular cartoon series is being adapted into a live-action film by none other than M. Night Shyamalan. Below are the first pictures of the characters released.

Noah Ringer as Aang

Dev Patel as Prince Zuko

M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender hits theaters July 2, 2010.

Say Hello To Sideways

Source

And also, check out what the Transformers 2 poster would look like if Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park had his way.

Opening This Week: Night at the Museum Limits the Control of Corrupt Cops

Three movies out this week- Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, The Limits of Control and I Corrupt All Cops. Let's jump right into it then.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
Starring: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Amy Adams, Robin Williams, Hank Azaria, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais, Jonah Hill
Director: Shawn Levy
USA release: May 22
Msia release: May 21
Genre: Comedy, Family, Action, Adventure
Runtime: 1 hour 45 mins
Rated in USA: PG for mild action and brief language
Rated in Msia: PG-13

Ben Stiller is back as Larry Daley, the museum night watchman. This time around, the movie is set in Washinton D.C. at the Smithsonian where things are very different.

I really disliked Night at the Museum, so I'm not excited for this one at all. But this is still a summer blockbuster and it should be a decent family comedy nonetheless. There are a couple cameos that are noteworthy like George Foreman, The Jo Bros, Brad Garrett, Shawn Levy (director) and Eugene Levy aka Adrian Monk.




The Limits of Control (2009)
Starring: Isaach De Bankolé, Gael García Bernal, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray
Director: Jim Jarmusch
USA release: May 1
Msia release: May 22
USA box office: $202,484
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Drama
Runtime: 1 hour 56 mins
Rated in USA: R for graphic nudity and some language
Rated in Msia: 18PL
IMDb User Rating: 6.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 32%

The Limits of Control is the story of a mysterious loner (De Bankolé), a stranger, whose activities remain meticulously outside the law. He is in the process of completing a job, yet he trusts no one, and his objectives are not initially divulged. His journey, paradoxically both intently focused and dreamlike, takes him not only across Spain but also through his own consciousness. (Cinema Online)

By the looks of it, the film looks extremely offbeat and only a super small portion of the Malaysian market would want to see this kind of movie. So if you're up for something different, here it is.




I Corrupt All Cops (2009)
Starring: Alex Fong Lik Sun, Anthony Wong, Bowie Lam, Eason Chan, Kate Tsui, Nick Cheung, Tony Leung Ka-Fai
Director: Wong Jing (王晶)
Country: Hong Kong
Language: English
Hong Kong release: April 30
Msia release: May 21
Genre: Crime, Drama, Action
Runtime: 1 hour 53 mins
Rated in Msia: 18PL

In the 1960s and 1970s, Hong Kong was a corrupted place where law existed only in theory and an anti-corruption agency was created to solve these problems. The leader of the corruption practices is Senior Inspector Lak (Tony Leung) who soon becomes increasingly arrogant. The Hong Kong governor set up an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) to deal with the corruption and Yan Guo Liang (Bowie Lam) is in charge of arresting Lak. Through sheer perseverance, they successfully bring down the corrupted police force. (Cinema Online)

I don't know what it is about Hong Kong films about corruption, I just find them so intriguing. Been a while since I've seen a Hong Kong film. Hmm.


Source: Cinema Online, IMDb, Box Office Mojo, Rotten Tomatoes, You Tube

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Say Hello To Isabel Lucas

We’re edging ever closer to the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and a new bunch of pictures were just made available on the Web. Above is the Australian newcomer, Isabel Lucas, who plays Alice, a possible love interest for Sam Witwicky when he goes to college.

The other new photos includes Tyrese Gibson who returns in his role of Sergeant Epps, Shia LeBeouf, Megan Fox, John Turturo in his role of Agent Simmons, newcomer Ramon Rodriguez who plays Sam’s college buddy, Leo and Josh Duhamel as Captain Lennox.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen opens June 24.

Sherlock Holmes Trailer Looks Amazing!

The first official trailer for Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes has been released by Warner Bros. And it looks awesome! The Sir Arthur Conan Doyle classic definitely has a Pirates-esque feel to it and Robert Downey Jr., alongside Jude Law who plays a very different Dr. Watson, is great. Rachel McAdams plays Irene Adler, Sherlock’s love interest. The trailer is something else. Watch it below.

Sherlock Holmes hits American theaters Christmas Day.

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First Photo and Video Clip of Jim Carrey in A Christmas Carol

Here’s a first look at Jim Carrey as Ebeneezer Scrooge in Disney’s upcoming performance-captured A Christmas Carol. The film is directed by Robert Zemeckis, who also did The Polar Express, starring Tom Hanks, which was also filmed using performance-capture technology. The video below is a short 20-second clip shown at Cannes recently.

A Christmas Carol will be released in the US November 6.

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New Moon Poster

There have been a few fan-made New Moon posters to date but this one could be genuine. It is still unconfirmed so it could very well be fan-made. So when I saw this poster, I said why not? It’s fun to be excited isn’t it? I’m not, but I’m sure some of you reading this are.

Oh but what I do know is that the first glimpse we're all going to get of New Moon will be on May 31 at the MTV Movie Awards.

Source

Edit: The poster is confirmed to be the read deal. How do you like it?

Movie News Roundup- May 18, 2009

As I scour the Internet and Hollywood movie blogs, I come across tons of stories all the time. So I thought I would bring you a few quick news bits from movieland:

Angels & Demons raked in $48 million at the US box office in it’s first weekend. That’s down from the $77 million The Da Vinci Code grossed three years ago. However, Angels & Demons did significantly better on a worldwide scale, earning $104 million from 96 other countries. Read my review on Angels & Demons here.

Word-of-mouth overcame geekdom as Star Trek’s gross for it’s 2nd weekend fell by only 43% from last week, earning $43million taking its total tally to $148 million, domestically. Read my review on Star Trek here.

Chris Hemsworth (George Kirk- James Kirk’s dad in Star Trek) has been cast as Marvel’s Thor.

Jon Favreau likes Star Trek, briefly reviewing it on Twitter: “Just saw Trek. JJ did a great job. I recommend it highly.”

A video has been released featuring snippets of movies showing at the Cannes Film Festival. Towards the end, there is 16 seconds of video in which we get the first look at Heath Ledger in his last movie before his death, (yes, The Dark Knight was not his last movie) The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Watch the video here.

The Inglourious Basterds official website is now live here.

How long have you been waiting for Toy Story 3? It seems half my childhood and all my adolescence for me. Well, the wait is almost over as the trailer will be attached to the screenings of Pixar’s new film Up. Be sure to catch it here on Doctor Popcorn once its available on the Web.

Keep it here on Doctor Popcorn for your dose of movie stuff. If you’re on Twitter, you can follow me: @mcampton.

Sources: The Movie Blog, /Film, ComingSoon.net, Screen Rant

Badass The Expendables Posters

The Expendables is an in production action flick by Sylvester Stallone, someone who is very familiar with action. You won’t have to watch even a second of the movie to know it’ll filled with action. Why? Take a good look at the names that are in this movie. Directing himself would be Sly Stallone. Joining him in front of the camera will be Jason Statham from The Transporter fame; the “Governator” himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger; Chinese kung-fu star Jet Li and a revived Mickey Rourke fresh from his award winning role as Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson in The Wrestler.

Not much is known on the plot for the movie, but it will be set in South America where a group of mercenaries try to overthrow a dictator.

Recently, the posters for the movie were released onto the internet. Check it out.

Do you think that’s Sylvester Stallone’s back with The Expendables tattoo on it? The movie is slated for an April 23, 2010 release in The States and April 29 in Malaysia.

Reach

Here’s a short film called Reach that’s showing at the Cannes Film Festival right now. Very interesting animated short film. Enjoy!

The National Film Board of Canada, in association with the Cannes Short Film Corner and partner YouTube, welcomes you to this NFB competition, now in its fifth year. Its your turn to choose. Internet votes will decide the best film, and the winner will be announced at Cannes on May 21. The prize: an HD MINI-DV camera and a mobile studio including laptop and editing suite.

Director: Luke Randall
Running Time: 3 mins 50 secs
Country: Australia
Category: Comedy

A tiny robot is given the gift of life with only one limitation, the length of his power cable. When a curious bird appears at the workshop window, the robot feels a lust to live outside of his reach that may be his demise.

Originally from the island of Tasmania, Luke Randall is a director/animator currently based in Melbourne, Australia. Luke has been fortunate enough to work on CG TV series, video game cinematic and animated feature films over the past couple of years and has received several awards for his work.

Angels & Demons Review

[This review is spoiler-free]

Right off the bat I’m going to say that Angels & Demons surpassed my expectations. Maybe because they weren’t high expectations, but expectations nonetheless.

I will say that this movie is a huge improvement over The Da Vinci Code, but of course not as good as the book. Whichever way you were to look at this film, it is worthy of being a “summer blockbuster”.

Robert Langdon is a Harvard symbologist who is thrown into the middle of a terrorist threat situation by a long forgotten cult called the Illuminati. They’ve kidnapped 4 cardinals and have threatened to kill them as well as destroy Vatican city using a new piece of technology called anti-matter.

All of this while Conclave, the traditional ritual where the cardinals elect a new leader of the Catholic world after the death of the Pope, is going on. Langdon, alongside Dr. Vittoria Vetra, a physicist who worked on the anti-matter project, traipse across the Vatican and Rome both in search of the hidden anti-matter and attempting to prevent the murders of the 4 abducted cardinals.

If you’re a devoted fan of the book and was expecting them to stay completely true to the story, then you’re going to be disappointed. Not only were parts of the book I found entertaining omitted from the movie, but some parts were even altered.

For the sake of the people reading this who haven’t read the book, I won’t divulge the parts that were changed and removed.

Unlike Star Trek, Angels & Demons starts off really slow. I disliked the opening 15 minutes or so, in which only Italian is spoken with no English subtitles. It felt like a really low-budget European film. I read the book and even I couldn’t make out what was going on. But slowly, the film picks up in the middle as we see more of Tom Hanks and finally climaxes in a rather spectacular and exciting fashion.

The camerawork is quite clever in parts and manages to give an ominous and dark feel to the movie. This could be just me or a lot of other people too, but I thought the way the story was brought to life visually was impeccable. Quite a number of things in the movie appeared almost identical to what my mind’s eye made them to look like when I was reading the book. Ron Howard definitely did a magnificent job of imagining the buildings and the inner decor of certain places, and bringing them to life on the big screen.

I’ve mentioned before that Tom Hanks is past his prime in these kinds of movies but I thought he does a respectable job in this one, better than in The Da Vinci Code. I’m also kind of thankful he got rid of that god awful haircut. The rest of the cast does an OK job. Ewan McGregor did pretty well with the part of the Camerlengo but he was just too Obi Wan Kenobi for me.

Effects are a little dodgy in places but when it matters, it is awesome. This movie has an outrageous and ridiculous plot, which is why so many loved the book. Ron Howard has managed to create a movie that will, for the most part, please this strong fan base. This movie is by no means an excellent film. It is purely a fun, exciting thrill-ride and again, worthy of being one of the year’s biggest movies. Go watch it. You will be entertained.

Looking to the future, Paramount has already announced the planned production for the third Robert Langdon story, The Lost Symbol. Not much about the story yet but it will be set in Washington D.C. and will revolve around freemasonry. The Dan Brown book gets a North American release September 15 with a first printing of 5 million copies, which is a lot. The movie is slated for a 2012 release. If Angels & Demons does well, which it most probably will, we can count on Ron Howard and Tom Hanks on returning for a third installment.

Popcorn-meter

7/10 Popcorns

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Set Photos

Here are some photos from the two-parter, directed by David Yates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: ComingSoon.net