Movies weblog

Junk food overdose

artentbfarm — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 05:00:08 +0000

in number two to the playfully argumentative dialogue between Roberts and George Clooney (playing exes, Danny and Tess Ocean) in the first one.

Using a formula of sly edits, exaggerated color schemes (lush oranges and blues) and neat toys, the new (the original being the 1960 Rat Pack caper parody) “Ocean’s” series gave us the enticing star power that Old Hollywood used to provide.

But in our modern US Weekly-rules-the-news world, star power is a diluted commodity. Another gigantic parade of People magazine’s sexiest actors dressed in designer duds needs something really special to captivate us a third time. “Ocean’s Thirteen” intermittently manages to excite because of the charm of its stars.

At the center of “Ocean’s Thirteen” is a massive new casino, The Bank, built by Al Pacino’s character Willy Bank. It’s a towering twisted structure, so defiant of structural engineering laws that it might make Frank Gehry blush.

The gang of cool guys — led by Clooney’s Danny Ocean, his right-hand man, Brad Pitt’s Rusty Ryan, and not-so-confident henchman Matt Damon’s Linus Caldwell — this time are teamed with former rival Andy Garcia’s Terry Benedict to make sure that the opening of Bank’s latest venture goes awful in every respect.

The scheme is revenge for Bank’s double-crossing the mentor/bankroller of the gang of thieves, Elliot Gould’s Reuben Tishkoff.

While the mission is simple in its objective, the fun is in the roundabout, disguise-heavy and tech-savvy techniques the operatives use to accomplish the task.

Whether they succeed or not is a non question. After all it’s impossible to fail at cracking the ridiculously tight security system of The Bank casino when your leaders are wearing Armani and perfect haircuts.

There’s never any sense of peril, not even when the Chinese acrobat of the group (Shaobo Qin) has to infiltrate a fast-moving elevator shaft.

There are a fair share of light-tickle laughs, such as Don Cheadle’s impersonation of a motorcycle stunt man or Ellen Barkin’s sudden sex-starved transformation, but these moments are not high-energy.

Helping hold everything together are David Holmes’ electro-jazz score and Louise Frogley’s eye-popping costumes. The improbable tools are interesting enough, from loaded dice to an earthquake-causing rig.

The ending is a letdown considering such a massive buildup. As the credits roll, you can practically feel the smugness of everyone involved with making the film.

While there’s nothing wrong with a little cinematic junk food every so often, a third helping is not a good idea — nor is it as thrilling as that first bite.

Monster In Law

artentbfarm — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 21:00:10 +0000

Not many people accept the existence of Internet television software. Most people who have heard about it think that it is too good to be true. To them Internet television software is more like a scam than a reality. If you are one of them, you have been missing a lot of the money you would have saved to date. Yes, because I have saved $540 in the last six months since I downloaded Internet television software. Read more…

A Critical Analysis of…MTV’s The Hills

artentbfarm — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 13:00:08 +0000

Oh yeah, you knew this one was coming.I have made no secret of the fact that I can, and do, watch the MTV “reality show” (and I use that term VERY loosely) Laguna Beach, and have continued to do so ov… Read more…

The 59th Cannes Film Festival concluded Sunday, and a Mojo correspondent files this final report: • And the winner is … British director Ken Loach’s “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” was the jury’s unanimous choice for top prize, the Golden Palm, for its haunting depiction of a family torn apart by the Irish Revolution in 1920. Spanish writer-director Pedro Almodóvar’s “Volver” garnered prizes for best screenplay and best actress — shared by its six female leads, including Penélope Cruz. Read more…

New Movies, Same Old Story

artentbfarm — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 21:00:13 +0000

Source: reel2reel.blogspot.com

“Mask”erading in the Movies Posted By : Ajeet Khurana
Movies would lose out on much of their charm without costumes. Here is an article on costumes in the movies and on masks in particular.
Source: www.articledashboard.com

Gangster Movies: America’s Love Affair With the Bad Guy Posted By : Jay Smith
No matter how much we like to see the good guy triumph in the end and those who have committed crimes be punished for them, we can never quite shake off that sneaking enjoyment that comes from bad guys doing what they do and being good at it!
Source: www.articledashboard.com

Ratatouille Movie Review Posted By :

artentbfarm — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 13:00:08 +0000

In the new movie Ratatouille, Remy has a problem. As with many who live in France, he has a passion for fine food, and a gift for making it. His keen sense of smell serves him very well as an enthusiastic gourmet, and in his ability to pick just the right combination of ingredients to create magical flavors. And great food is that to him magic. It has a power that fills him with wonder and awe. Only problem is, Remy is a rat. Merde! Whats a rat to do? His pragmati…
Source: www.articledashboard.com

“Freaks and Geeks”

artentbfarm — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 05:00:12 +0000

With his velvety baritone and his sour puss (you half expect him to leave a trail of lemon husks, sucked dry, in his wake), Alan Rickman is the ideal actor to play a very particular kind of brooder — fierce but harmless, in pain but blessed with a high threshold for it.

In Marc Evans’ “Snow Cake,” sensitively directed from a witty, personal screenplay by Angela Pell, Rickman plays Alex Hughes, a mysterious Englishman making his way across Canada after a recent release from prison, where he landed after killing someone.

At a moose-themed roadside diner, somewhere in darkest Ontario, Alex is approached by a spunky teenager named Vivienne (Emily Hampshire). She talks him into giving her a lift home, and he reluctantly agrees.

Not long afterward, Vivienne is dead in an accident, and a guilt-stricken Alex, who was on his way to meet the mother of the son he never knew he had, feels compelled to visit Vivienne’s mother, Linda (Sigourney Weaver), who lives in an obsessively well-kept house in a tiny, remote town.

As Alex soon discovers, Linda is autistic; she can look after herself but cannot process her daughter’s death emotionally. This causes some consternation among her neighbors, who doggedly insist that Linda react in the usual way to their rote condolences and giant bereavement cookies. Read more…

Salman Khan bares his soul in an exclusive interview

artentbfarm — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 21:00:10 +0000

There’s a new Salman Khan in town. A more atpeace avatar of the bad boy of Bollywood. At 42, and with rumours of marriage fast threatening to erode his eligible bachelor image, he is still ruggedly handsome. Perhaps even more than before, despite (or is it because of) the silver earrings on both ears now. [...] Read more…

Fighter in the Wind (2004)

artentbfarm — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 13:00:11 +0000

Lara Dutta tells why Mumbai filmmakers can t ignore her anymore

artentbfarm — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 05:00:13 +0000

Unlike her contemporaries, Lara Dutta believes in following her instinct when it comes to signing films. “I’ve always worked in films that make me happy,” she says. Given that her recent flicks are comedies (No Entry, Bhagam Bhag and the forthcoming Partner) does that mean working in comedies make her happy? “Of course, I love [...]
Source: feeds.feedburner.com

Akshaye Khanna : Being single and an actor is a deadly combo
Akshaye Khanna is a confused man these days. He cannot understand why people want him to be more controversial than he is. “Somebody asked me a few days back why I am not involved in any controversy! Isn’t that the strangest thing to ask?” he asks. Then he goes on to explain, “Call me boring, [...]
Source: feeds.feedburner.com

‘Potemkin’ director’s Mexican film launches series

artentbfarm — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 21:00:10 +0000

The High Museum of Art’s 21st annual Latin American Film Festival opens at 8 p.m. Oct. 13 with Sergei Eisenstein’s 1931 silent film “¡Qué Viva México!” accompanied by the world premiere of a score for chamber ensemble composed by Atlanta classical guitarist and musician Brian Mitchell. Shot in 1931 by Eisenstein (“Battleship Potemkin”) and funded by muckraking novelist Upton Sinclair, the unfinished film is an impressionistic portrait of the nation. Think of it as an early model for Mikheil Kalatozishvili’s gorgeous “I Am Cuba.” Eisenstein’s work isn’t nearly as breathtaking as that 1964 film, and it leans a little heavily on slightly kitschy views of evil, wealthy Mexicans vs. saintly, exploited peasants. But it’s still very much worth a look. Unfinished by Eisenstein and stored away for decades, it was restored by the director’s assistant Gregori Alexandrov, based on original storyboards and notes.
Source: www.accessatlanta.com