The Hunger Games movie, due in theaters on March 23, 2012, continues to move forward with more casting, this time choosing newcomers Amandla Stenberg and Dayo Okeniyi as the tributes from District 11, Rue and Thresh. Fans of the novels vividly remember Rue as the 12 year-old girl Katniss Everdeen befriends in her first trip to the games. Rue could jump from tree-to-tree because she worked in the orchards in District 11, which is how she was able to warn …
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I promise to withhold total judgment until this fan film is completely finished, but as a fan of Halo and someone who wishes Microsoft would pull their heads out of their asses and make the damn thing already, this kind of low-budget, let’s-play-guns-in-the-backyard dorkiness just makes me cringe. I know, I know, someone – in this case UK amateur filmmaker Peter Cooper – is passionate about Halo and has put quality time and effort into translating that love to film, …
Summer 2011 is going to be quite beefy, but between all the superheroes and the Autobots and Decepticons, the movie I’m most excited to see is Cowboys and Aliens, which hits theaters on July 29. How could this not be nothing but pure win? It stars Harrison Ford (Morning Glory), Daniel Craig (Quantum of Solace), Olivia Wilde (Tron: Legacy), Sam Rockwell (Conviction), Paul Dano (Knight and Day) and Adam Beach (Flags of Our Fathers), plus it’s directed by John Favreau, …
It takes a lot to offend me. It really does. In most cases, swearing, nudity and violence in movies doesn’t rankle me or leave me feeling like I need a bath. The fact that Your Highness, the new comedy starring Danny McBride (Tropic Thunder), James Franco (127 Hours) and Natalie Portman (Black Swan), made me feel like I need to scrub my body with Clorox and spend a fortnight reading the Holy Bible speaks volumes about how puerile and callow this amazingly …
There are quite a few worthy films playing in the local theaters right now (Hanna, The King’s Speech, Source Code, The Lincoln Lawyer, Rango, Insidious and Limitless), but it you’re not into paying eight bucks for a half-assed Westates’ screening, then the DVD/Blu-ray pickings this week (and recently) will give you enough entertainment. As always, most of these can be found at a Redbox, on Netflix or your local video rental store (in Cache Valley that amounts to Hastings or The Book Table). If you want …
Movies like Crazy Stupid Love, due in theaters on July 29, 2011, make me nervous, especially when I take a liking for the trailer. 99 percent of the time they simply cannot replicate the two and a half minute euphoria they achieved in the trailer, but, as I with Warrior, I’m giving this movie the benefit of the doubt based solely on the cast. Steve Carell (Dinner for Schmucks), Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine), Julianne Moore (The Kids Are Alright), Emma …
Ever since Zack Snyder was announced as the director for the forthcoming Christopher Nolan-produced Superman re-boot, titled Superman: Man of Steel, I’ve been hearing rumblings about General Zod being the main foe for Supes in this big-screen outing. As you probably know, General Zod was last seen in Superman II, opposite Christopher Reeve and Margo Kidder. He was played in that 1980 sequel by Terrance Stamp (Wanted). Early rumblings had Viggo Mortenson (The Road) tabbed as the frontrunner for Zod, …
And that’s not a bad thing. At all. The Fighter was an Academy Award darling, nominated for six awards and winning in the best supporting actor and actress categories (Christian Bale and Melissa Leo). This movie, Warrior, has the same gritty, blue-collar feel, but instead of boxing we get plopped into the octagon, the brutal, blood and broken bones world of mixed martial arts (MMA), i.e. the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). And while we’ve seen that style of fighting in …