Movies36

Ellen Page plays the part of Bliss Cavendar in her upcoming film Whip It!  The movie is directed by Drew Barrymore who also has a part in the film.  It’s about a beauty pageant contestant who joins a female roller derby league.  If you’re wondering why Drew would pick a roller derby film for her directorial debut I’ve got a theory.  Remember the opening scenes of Charlie’s Angels?  There was a roller derby scene there.  I’m thinking Drew didn’t get enough the first time around and is going in for another round.

Just to through a wrench in the works Drew and her boyfriend Justin Long (Live Free or Die Hard) broke up and he pulled out of the movie which started filming this summer.

I remember roller derby.  We used to watch it on Saturday nights when I was a kid. It was way more fun than ice hockey, kind of like wrestling on skates.  So I’m thinking this should be fun.

Look for it next year in theatres!

What happens when a Playboy bunny gets booted out of the mansion?  She goes to college of course.  Well not actually goes to college but she does move into a really lame sorority.  The girls of Zeta Alpha Zeta are desitined to lose their house to the Phi Iota Mu gals unless they can do something drastic.  (Sound familiar?)  Anyways Shelley, the bunny, teaches them how to wear makeup and how to dress and what to do with a guy if they can get their hands on one.  And in the end they all learn to just be themselves, only a little more well groomed.

Normally I would think this movie was totally lame but Fred Wolf (Without a Paddle, Joe Dirt) is directing and the writing team Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith(Legally Blonde, Ella Enchanted, She’s the Man) did the screenplay.  While their movies haven’t been Oscar material they are perfect for a good laugh.

The film stars Anna Faris (Brokeback Mountain, My Super Ex-Girlfriend), Emma Stone (Superbad),  Kat Dennings (The 40 Year Old Virgin), Colin Hanks and Katherine McPhee.  It’ll be in theaters August 22, 2008

“The Midnight Meat Train” is based on a short from one of Clive Barker’s Books of Blood.  The movie studio tried to rename it Midnight Train but Clive stuck to his guns and held out for the original title.  The movie is about a photographer who is trying to track down a serial killer on the subway at the insistence of an art gallerist (Brooke Sheilds).  He not only catches up with Mahogany, the Subway Butcher, but with a bunch of cannibals as well.

Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura has expanded on Clive’s short story while keeping the original intent alive.  It’s being said that the movie is incredibly gorey as Kitamura was given full creative license.  If you’re a fan of horror and like lots of gore this is the perfect film for you.

The Midnight Meat Train stars Bradley Cooper (Wedding Crashers, Failure to Launch), Vinnie Jones(Swordfish, Tooth & Nail), Leslie Bibb(Iron Man), Brooke Sheilds( Blue Lagoon, Endless Love), and Roger Bart( American Gangster, The Stepford Wives) .

The Book of Blood is the next short story of Clive’s that will be adapted to the screen.  The word is it’s already shooting.

It opens August 1, 2008

Ten years ago today Armageddon blew onto the big screen with character who were larger than life.  It was the first film that Michael Bay (Pearl Harbor, Transformers) ever produced.  This film had it all action, adventure, a love story, scenes that would bring you to tears, laughter and the even blew stuff up. 

Here are a few things you may not have known:

• This is the first movie ever that NASA allowed to use actual space suits.
• Parts of the film were made in the restricted section of NASA.
• The day the film opened was Liv Tyler’s 21st Birthday.  She turned down her role in the movie twice before finally accepting it.
• The movie trailer shows shots of real space shuttles launching.
• Bruce Willis used a photo of his kids to help him cry during the scene when he said goodbye to Grace (Liv).
• Kevin Costner was originally going to star in the movie.

My favorite scene is when they are making their demands and don’t want to ever pay taxes again.  What’s yours?

Ghost Town is a romantic comedy starring Tia Leoni, Ricky Gervais and Greg Kinnear.  It’s about a man who dies for seven minutes and can see ghosts when he wakes up.  How annoying would that be?  Anyways, Greg plays one of the ghosts and talks Ricky’s character into breaking off his engagement.  This results in a love triangle gone wrong.

David Koepp ( Secret Window, War of the Worlds, Indiana Jones IV) and John Kamps (The Borrowers, Zathura) co-wrote the screenplay and David directed the movie.  It sounds like a lot of fun.  I wonder if it’ll be along the vein of The Frighteners.

The film releases August 19,2008

Australia is a film that is starred in and directed by Australians and it’s in the wind that it’s Oscar bait.  All this hype and it’s not due out until November 14th.  The film stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman and is directed by Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge) .

It relates the story of Lady Sarah Ashley who has recently inherited a huge ranch.  She makes a deal with a stock man to save her land from being taken over.  The two of them team up to drive 2,000 head of cattle cross country when the Japanese decide to bomb Darwin, Australia. 

While Nicole garnered an Oscar for her role in The Hours and was nominated for another one for her role in Moulin Rouge! it’s been a few years since she’s made anything noteworthy.  Hopefully the team of Nicole and Baz will live up to their past and bring us another winner.

This movie is being directed by David O. Russell (Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees) and was written by Al Gore’s daughter, Kristen.  The stars attached are Jake Gyllenhaal, Jessica Biel, James Marsden, Kirstie Alley, Paul Reubens and James Brolin.  No problem so far, right?

The problem comes with the finances.  This movie has stopped production on three seperate occasions due to monetary concerns.  The staff have boycotted due to not being paid.  Jake and Jessica walked off the set when producers couldn’t prove that there were funds available to compensate them.  They’ve had a wrap party but the movie still isn’t complete.

It tells the story of a waitress who gets a nail stuck in her skull.  Alice (original name isn’t it?) goes to Washington DC and falls in love with a young Senator while trying to promote her cause (whatever that is).

The movie will be out sometime next year if they are able to complete it.

Julia’s latest film Fireflies in the Garden is due out this fall.  It has already been released at the Berlin International Film Festival in Germany and will be released in Russia on July 24th. 

So far all the news I can find on it is from imdb.com.  They say that it’s the story about the complexities of love and commitment in a family torn apart by an unexpected tragedy.  Honestly, is there any other kind?

Dennis Lee is the director and writer of this film.  Dennis won a Student Academy Award for his work on 2003’s Jesus Henry Christ.  The film has a cast loaded with big names.  In addition to Julia Roberts it also stars Ryan Reynolds, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, and Hayden Panettiere.

So far Christian Bale, Anton Yelchin (House of D, Alpha Dog), Sam Worthington, and Moon Bloodgood (Eight Below) are confirmed cast for this film with Josh Brolin and Chris Browning (3:10 to Yuma)  are rumored. 

In this, the fourth Terminator movie, John Conner (Christian Bale) is leading the resistance against Skynet in the year 2018.  But Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) shows up and alters the future that John thought he knew.  Marcus’ last memory was as a prisoner on death row but he doesn’t know if he came from the future or the past.  Together John and Marcus will discover the secret of Skynet.

If you’re a Terminator fan they’ll be back on May 22, 2009

In order to bump DVD sales, Warner Brothers will be releasing Tales of the Black Freighter direct to DVD five days after Watchmen is released in March of 2009.  One of the charcters in the Watchmen will actually be reading a ‘Tales of the Black Freighter‘ comic book.  It will include a documentary type film titled Under the Hood which will go into the backstory of the characters in Watchmen.  It sounds like a brilliant marketing strategy, if the movie lives up to expectations. 

Watchmen stars Malin Akerman (27 Dresses),  Jackie Earle Haley (Semi-Pro), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (PS I Love You), Carla Gugino(Sin City), Billy Crudup (The Good Shepherd), and Patrick Wilson(Phantom of the Opera).  Zac Snyder of 300 and Dawn of the Dead is directing.