Thursday 13 October 2011
Over the summer when we tried to figure out how to restore some luster to Reese Witherspoon's career, we mentioned that we were really intrigued by "This Means War," a Fox comedy about two CIA operatives (Chris Pine and Tom Hardy) who are best friends until they realize they're dating the same woman (Witherspoon). Could be fun, right? Yeah, well, now we've seen the trailer. We are no longer so hopeful.
Trailer category: Effects-laden action-comedy.
Major selling points: Pine and Hardy are hunky. Witherspoon is briefly seen in her underwear.
What successful movies are they trying to remind us of?"Mr. & Mrs. Smith." "Spy Game." "Enemy of the State." "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."
"Hey, (s)he's in this?" Chelsea Handler. (Sorry -- although maybe the movie dislikes her as much as we do since the trailer's best joke is at her expense.)
Line of dialogue that's really what the whole movie is about: "May the best man win."
Spoilage? Medium. Pine is dating Witherspoon, but so is Hardy. What are they going to do? Duh, they're both going to continue dating her but not mention that they know about each other, instead using all their fancy spy stuff to sabotage the other guy's chances. We would not be shocked if there's some sort of twist -- like maybe she's a spy, too -- but the trailer doesn't say a thing about that.
Enticement Percentage Increase: 2 percent. We like all three stars a ton, and yet this trailer does almost nothing for us. (OK, fine, some of the action stuff looks kinda cool.) Maybe it's because director McG has never been known for his deft comedic touch. (There's a shot-to-the-crotch joke in this, people.) But it's mostly that the trailer sets up one of our least favorite scenarios: "Hey, watch people be jerks to each other to win a girl who's completely oblivious to what they're doing!" Man, is that funny. Also, Chelsea Handler.
'This Means War' Trailer: Did McG Just Abuse Tom Hardy's Appeal? [/film]
Thursday 13 October 2011 0
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood has signed up its first female director for a major superhero movie.
Marvel Studios announced Thursday that Patty Jenkins will direct "Thor 2," the sequel to last summer's hit that is due in theaters Nov. 15, 2013.
Jenkins is best-known for writing and directing 2003's "Monster," which earned Charlize Theron the best-actress Academy Award. Her credits also include episodes of "Entourage" and "Arrested Development."
Chris Hemsworth will reprise his title role in "Thor 2" as the Norse god of thunder, with co-stars Natalie Portman and Tom Hiddleston also returning.
The first "Thor," directed by Kenneth Branagh, took in $448 million worldwide.
Another female filmmaker, Lexi Alexander, made the lower-budgeted Marvel movie "The Punisher: War Zone" in 2008. But Jenkins is the first woman to direct a blockbuster superhero franchise.
Pretty Woman indeed!
Like her peers Sandra Bullock and Demi Moore, Julia Roberts just keeps getting more gorgeous with age.
PHOTOS: Julia's style through the years
The 43-year-old Oscar winner showed off her endless legs in a black ruffled mini dress with sexy platform sandals at the premiere of her new movie, Fireflies In The Garden in New York City on Wednesday night. She also sported a chic tuxedo jacket, sparkly statement necklace and wore her hair in tousled waves.
PHOTOS: See Julia as The Evil Queen in Snow White!
Roberts plays Ryan Reynolds' mother in the film, even though she's only 10 years older than the actor. "Well, [it was] bizarre at first because he's so tall," she told Us Weekly. "But it worked out all right. He's a good boy."
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"Avatar"
Famously, Cameron once touted 3D filmmaking as the entertainment industry's best hope for combating piracy. Unfortunately, the 3D spectacle doesn't seem to have helped his film escape the wrath of torrent sites, but the film has raked in nearly $2.8 billion in wordwide theatrical gross nonetheless.
Avatar's 21 million downloads beat out 19 million downloads apiece for The Dark Knight and Transformers.
All of the films on the TorrentFreak's all-time list of "most pirated movies" did quite well at the box office. Only Kick-Ass failed to crack the $100 million mark, although it came close at $96 million.
Of course, theatrical gross is merely part of the story. Some studio executives believe that online piracy does its most damage on ancillary income like DVDs and TV sales.
Here's the full list of the top 10 most all-time pirated movies:
- Avatar (21 million downloads)
- The Dark Knight (19 million)
- Transformers (19 million)
- Inception (18 million)
- The Hangover (17 million)
- Star Trek (16 million)
- Kick-Ass (15 million)
- The Departed (14 million)
- The Incredible Hulk (14 million)
- Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End (14 million)
