by Shannon Hood, Jan 5 2011 // 9:00 AM
I was surprised at how much trouble I had narrowing down my top ten movies this year. My top 20 were all very close, but here are the movies that I ultimately enjoyed the most. I readily admit that I did not see near as many foreign films as I would have liked, but by the time I cover most of the mainstream fare, there is simply no time left.
Honorable Mentions: Fair Game, Tiny Furniture, Greenberg, Cyrus, The Tillman Story, The American, Mother and Child, Scott Pilgrim.
10. Waiting for Superman
This Documentary was equal parts frustrating, inspirational, and heartbreaking. Director Davis Guggenheim (No End in Sight) sheds light on the dismal state of our public school system. He follows the plight of several children who live in various geographic regions who are placing all of their hope for an decent education into lottery systems for charter or private schools. Guggenheim relies on their compelling stories for a narrative, while interspersing lots of graphics and cartoons illuminating some pretty harrowing statistics.
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Posted in: Best of 2010 · Exclusive · Features · Flickcast Presents · Movies
Tagged: 127 Hours, Aaron Eckhart, Aaron Sorkin, Amy Adams, Annette Bening, Aron Ralston, Ballet, Barbara Hershey, Ben Affleck, Blue Valentine, Chris Cooper, Christian Bale, Danny Boyle, Darren Aronofsky, David Fincher, Davis Guggenheim, Debra Granik, Facebook, hailee steinfeld, James Cameron Mitchell, James Franco, Jeff Bridges, Jennifer Lawrence, jesse eisenberg, Julianne Moore, Justin TImberlake, Lisa Cholodenko, Maria Bello, mark ruffalo, Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon, Melissa Leo, Michelle Williams, Natalie Portman, Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole, Revenge Movies, Rosemarie DeWittBlack Swan, Ryan Gosling, Swan Lake, the Coen brothers, The Company Men, The Fighter, The Kids Are All Right, The Social Network, Tommy Lee Jones, Trent Reznor, true grit, Waiting for "Superman", Westerns, Winter's Bone
by Matt Raub, Sep 9 2010 // 11:00 AM
OK, so this one on the right isn’t an image from the set of the new Captain America: The First Avenger film, but it looks pretty close. After the jump, check out some actual shots of Captain America from the set of the new film, courtesy of Screen Rant.
The images show off Chris Evans’ stunt double in his classic World War II Captain America garb, and even wearing a fashionable Captain America bike helmet. You know, for safety.
We all hope the costume doesn’t turn out looking like this for the entirety of the film, because let’s face it, it’s pretty terrible, and looks more like the costume from the 1978 Incredible Hulk TV movie, in which Cap basically wore an Evel Knievel outfit.
The cool part of these pics is that we also get a look at some of the H.Y.D.R.A. technology, in the form of their cool steampunk-like motorcycles. We can only imagine what the rest will look like, and we’ll more than likely get a look as the film finishes up principal photography in London.
Captain America: The First Avenger is set to hit theaters July 22, 2011, and also stars Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Stanley Tucci, Tommy Lee Jones, and Sebastian Stan. Check out the full set pics after the jump, and let us know what you think below!
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Posted in: Action · Casting · Comics · Marvel · Marvel Studios · Movies · News · Paramount · Photos
Tagged: Captain America, Captain America: The First Avenger, Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Hugo Weaving, Marvel, Marvel Studios, Sebastian Stan, Stanley Tucci, Tommy Lee Jones
by Joe Gillis, Jun 30 2010 // 9:00 AM
In some casting news that seemed to slip under our radar yesterday, it looks like we can add yet another actor to the growing list of those with a part in The First Avenger: Captain America. Tommy Lee Jones has joined the cast as Super Soldier program supervisor Colonel Chester Phillips.
Jones will star in Captain America alongside Chris Evans as the star-spangled superhero, Sebastian Stan as his sidekick Bucky, Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine and Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull. In addition, it looks like the front runner to play the enticing Emma Frost in X-Men: First Class is now Alice Eve, late of the movie She’s Out of My League.
Previously, it seemed she may have ended up with the role of Peggy Carter in Captain America but, as we previously reported, that went to actress Haley Atwell. Instead, Eve will reportedly take on the Emma Frost character and join others already in the film including James McAvoy as Professor Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Magneto and Benjamin Walker as Hank “Beast” McCoy. Matthew Vaughn is directing and co-writing the adaptation with Jane Goldman.
Captain America is currently slated for a July 22, 2011 release. X-Men: First Class is currently scheduled for a June 3rd, 2011 release. So, lots of good superhero action next Summer. Can’t wait.
Posted in: Comics · Marvel · Marvel Studios · Movies · News
Tagged: Alice Eve, Captain America, Chris Evans, Comics, Fox, Hugo Weaving, James McAvoy, Marvel, Marvel Studios, Michael Fassbender, The First Avenger: Captain America, Tommy Lee Jones, X-Men: First Class
by Matt Raub, Mar 24 2010 // 1:00 PM
News broke a while back that there are plans to return to the Men in Black franchise with a third film and original stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones would also return to reprise their roles. Smith was on board and ready to go, until another film of his got greenlit over at Fox. That film? The City That Sailed. From Variety:
Penned by Andrew Niccol, “City that Sailed” revolves around a New York street magician who is unhappily separated from his young daughter. The girl, who moves to London, finds magic candles that make her wishes comes true, with unintended consequences: The island of Manhattan separates from the continent and floats toward England, bringing her dad ever closer. There’s no director yet on the project.
Smith has been off-screen for some time and hasn’t had a hit since his 2008 film Hancock (which is also being talked about for a sequel). Smith has been wearing his producer pants more lately, with his company Overbrook Films. They’re currently producing the reboot of The Karate Kid, starring Smith’s son, Jaden.
With the deadline for casting coming up for both films pretty soon, Smith will inevitably have to make his decision, which could mean we won’t see a third Men In Black film for quite some time.
Posted in: 20th Century Fox · Casting · Columbia Pictures · Comedy · Deals and Dealmaking · Movies · News · Prequels and Sequels · Sci-Fi
Tagged: Andrew Niccol, Gattica, Jaden Smith, Men In Black, Overbrook Films, The City That Sailed, Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith
by Chris Ullrich, Nov 10 2009 // 10:00 AM
Oliver’s Stone’s Natural Born Killers is a movie that, even with its political and social overtones, still stands the test of time. It’s a bravura tour de force motion picture that still pushes the limits of the form to this day. And now, a brand new Uncut Version and Director’s Cut has been released by Warner Home Video, which is sure to delight fans of this controversial motion picture.
An extremely violent satire of modern media that still asks questions 15 years later, the film is a brutal, bloody, surreal and stylized journey along with terrible twosome Mickey and Mallory Knox. Their tri-state killing spree brings questions of the media and its obsession with “celebrity” into focus. Even though this film was created before people like Paris Hilton, or whomever, could be considered a “celebrity” simply by virtue of being on the Internet or videotaping themselves having sex, it predicts a culture obsessed with these pseudo celebs all too realistically.
The story is presented in extremely diverse ways utilizing different colors, film stocks, presentation styles and many other ways, sometimes causing the very sensory overload in the viewer Stone is trying to show has overcome society. This somewhat over-the-top approach to the film only serves to heighten the experience and provides a great deal of fodder for standout performances by leads Woody Harrelson and Juliet Lewis as well as co-stars Robert Downey, Jr., Tommy Lee Jones and Tom Sizemore.
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Posted in: Drama · DVD · DVD Reviews · Movies · News · Reviews · Warner Bros
Tagged: Blu-Ray, Juliet Lewis, Natural Born Killers, Oliver Stone, Robert Downey Jr., Tommy Lee Jones, woody harrelson
by Chris Ullrich, Oct 30 2009 // 12:15 PM
If you were one of the people clamoring for more of the Men in Black franchise after the second installment ended, then this article is for you. Why? Well, it seems the studio responsible for the Men in Black movies is also interested in more of them and so, has decided to make at least one more.
The studio has enlisted Tropic Thunder writer Etan Cohen to pen the script for Men in Black 3 but that’s about as far as things have gone. No deals for franchise stars Will Smith or Tommy Lee Jones are in place as yet though, according to the trade, its unlikely that the film would move forward without them.
Sorry to all you MIB fans out there but to me this seems like a longshot. The studio may have a chance at getting Tommy Lee Jones to reprise his role, although I think that’s pretty unlikely given his recent selection of more “meaningful” projects. Getting Will Smith, who has a very, very lucrative and successful solo career these days, I feel is pretty much impossible.
Still, if they do get them both to come back and director Barry Sonnenfeld, who jumped on the project late yesterday, finds his mojo again and basically forgets MIB 2, this movie might just turn out to be something. Until then, we’ll just have to wait and see what develops.
Posted in: Action · Columbia Pictures · Comedy · Comics · Movies · News · Prequels and Sequels
Tagged: Barry Sonnenfeld, Men In Black, Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith
by Joe Gillis, Oct 2 2009 // 4:07 PM
Seeing as how October is the month of spooky and scary Halloween and its associated themed entertainments, we’ve got something here just for you. If you’re a fan of movies like Natural Born Killers and think you know the movie very well, we’ve got a website for you.
To commemorate the 15th anniversary of the film and its upcoming director’s cut release on Blu-ray and DVD on October 13th, Warner Bros has created a site and included a pretty detailed trivia game to test your knowledge of the movie. The questions range from the rather simple to the much more detailed and specific so if you are not sure of your Natural Born Killers knowledge, you may want to get the film first and then try your hand at the trivia.
You don’t win anything at the site except the right to post your score to your favorite social networking site — which allows for a certain amount of bragging rights at least. The film, which stars Woody Harrelson, Juliet Lewis, Robert Downey, Jr., Tom Sizemore and Tommy Lee Jones, is written by David Veloz and Oliver Stone and directed by Stone. Head on over to the site and test your knowledge today.
Posted in: DVD · Fandom · Movies · News · Warner Bros · Web
Tagged: Juliet Lewis, Natural Born Killers, Oliver Stone, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Sizemore, Tommy Lee Jones, woody harrelson