January 21, 2008

Cloverfield sequel?

SpookyDan from Bloody Disgusting was on the 'Cloverfield' red carpet for the premier of the film. While chatting with director Matt Reeves, the subject of a sequel came up. This is what he had to say:
"Only time will tell. While we were on set making the film we talked about the possibilities and directions of how a sequel can go. The fun of this movie was that it might not have been the only movie being made that night, there might be another movie! In today's day and age of people filming their lives on their iphones and handy cams, uploading it to youtube...That was kind of exciting thinking about that."
Cloverfield has raked in with $41 million on its opening weekend.

January 18, 2008

Headless Statue of Liberty

In conjunction with the release of 'Cloverfield', Paramount has gone all out to promote the movie. Below are some pictures of a decapitated Statue of Liberty in front of Paramount Studios where the premiere will be held. So far, critics who have watched early screenings of the movie has been raving madly about how good it is.



January 17, 2008

Social networking for movie buffs

Forget MySpace. Forget Facebook. Filmcrave is the new social networking website for all you movie buffs out there.

If you hate the movie reviews written by professional critics, then you can view the 'Quick Movie reviews' section written by the other members. You can even rate and share your thoughts with the other members. One interesting feature is creating 'Movie Lists' which lets you rate your top 10 favourite movies in different genres.

Like IMDB, the site also provides details of the movies like director, cast and synopsis.

Recently, FilmCrave has added movie trailers, so you can check out the promo for a film that is of interest to you.

January 16, 2008

First Look at Disney's The Princess and the Frog


Walt Disney Pictures has just revealed the first official image from the upcoming animated movie 'The Princess and the Frog'.

This will be the return of Disney's traditional 2D animated movie since their purchase of Pixar. This will also be the first time that Disney is featuring an African-American princess. The fairy tale will center on a young girl named Princess Tiana who lives in New Orleans' French Quarter during the Jazz Age.

The movie will be directed by Ron Clements and John Musker (the duo who brought us 'The Little Mermaid'), with music composed by Randy Newman. Anika Noni Rose ('Dreamgirls') will voice the lead character, Tiana. It is currently scheduled for release in 2009.

January 15, 2008

High School Musical 3 is coming

According to TV Guide, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman are all now officially confirmed to reprise their roles in High School Musical 3: Senior Year.

The script was originally slated to have a Haunted/Halloween plot. However according to the latest press release from Walt Disney Pictures, the script has been changed to a more serious theme. The story finds seniors Troy and Gabriella facing the prospect of being separated from one another as they head off in different directions to college. Joined by the rest of the Wildcats, they stage an elaborate spring musical reflecting their experiences, hopes and fears about their future.

Production begins spring 2008 and tentatively will be released on October 24, 2008.

And guess what? This time round, the movie will be shown on the big screen instead of TV.

For your info, the premiere of High School Musical 2 last year brought in a total of 17.2 million viewers in the United States alone - almost 10 million more than its predecessor - making it the highest rated basic cable broadcast in U.S. history. In Asia, the premiere brought in a total of 17.5 million viewers, making it the highest rated international cable broadcast in Asia.

January 14, 2008

What is Cloverfield?

What is Cloverfield?

This is the question on everyone's lips since the teaser of the movie debuted last year. The plot of the movie has been shrouded in mystery since its inception and is one of the most carefully guarded secrets in Hollywood right now.

Directed by J. J. Abrams of 'Lost' fame, 'Cloverfield' is one of the most anticipated movie right now. If you have seen the trailer, you would know that the movie is about a big monster on a rampage in Manhattan, shot with a hand-held videocam (similar to 'Blair Witch Project').

The movie opens this weekend.

Getting subtitles for your torrent movies

If you are like me and does not have a good sound system connected to your PC or TV, you are likely to turn on the English subtitles when watching a movie.

If you download your movies or TV series via bittorrent, you might want to get the subtitles to go with them. I have discovered this website called Opensubtitles.org, which claims to have the largest database of subtitles around. The website is only a couple of months old, but already one of the most popular subtitle resources. It also has subtitles for different languages.

To view the subtitles, first of all make sure that you have DirectVobSub installed in your PC. Then, all you have to do is to download the subtitle file (which normally has a SRT file extension) and put it in the same folder as the AVI movie file. Note that both the SRT and AVI file must have the same name (eg. movie.srt and movie.avi). When you play the AVI file through Windows Media Player or Media Player Classic, the subtitles will be displayed automatically.

The following are a couple of other sites which you can get your subtitles:
http://www.divxsubtitles.net/
http://www.mysubtitles.com/
http://www.kloofy.net/ (asian movies)

Hope this tip is useful. Enjoy.

Hidden Disney in 'Enchanted'

Disney's 'Enchanted' swept the box-office over last Thanksgiving weekend making it one of top earners for a Disney live action movie. As of January 2008, the movie has earned a domestic gross of over $121mil and over $258mil worldwide.

Did you know that numerous references to Disney's past and future works are included in the film? A lot of scenes, actions and dialogue were purposely included by the filmmakers to be specific references/tributes to classic Disney films.

Here's the list that I picked up from Empire Magazine Online:


Cartoon intro

* Like most Disney animations of yore (anything before about 1960), Enchanted starts with the opening of a storybook. The hall the book is in is inspired by Evind Eryle's artwork for Sleeping Beauty.

* The ogre captured by Prince Edward wears a loincloth made from scraps of the dresses of Disney princesses. It's made of the costumes of Snow White, Belle (Beauty And The Beast), Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. He also wears Ariel's (The Little Mermaid) shell bra as earrings.

* Edward dances with his sidekick Nathaniel in the same way that Prince Philip danced with his father in Sleeping Beauty.

* When the troll is catapulted into the next kingdom, his scream is Goofy's.

* The rose in a bell jar from Beauty and the Beast can be seen in Giselle's tree house.

* Giselle and Edward ride into the sunset in the same way as Snow White and Prince Charming at the end of Snow White And The Seven Dwarves.


The Queen

* The Queen disguises herself as an old hag to trick Giselle, just as the wicked Queen did in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

* The Queen attempts to kill Giselle with a poisoned apple, just as the Queen does in Snow White And The Seven Dwarves.

* During the film's climax The Queen turns into a purple dragon, just as Maleficent did in Sleeping Beauty.


The Lawyer

* The last name of the divorcing couple that Robert (Patrick Dempsey) is working for is Banks, in reference to the bickering husband and wife from Mary Poppins.

* Sam, Robert Philip's assistant, is played by Jodi Benson, who voiced Ariel in The Little Mermaid. She is also named Sam, after Prince Philip's trusty steed in Sleeping Beauty.

* A muzak version of the The Little Mermaid song 'Part of Your World' plays in the office while Giselle looks at the fish tank.

* Robert works for the law firm Churchill, Harline and Smith. These are the surnames of the songwriters of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves: Frank Churchill, Leigh Harline and Paul J. Smith.

* A pregnant mum in Robert's apartment building is played by Judy Kuhn, the voice of Pocahontas.


Giselle

* Giselle arrives for her wedding in a carriage reminiscent of the pumpkin carriage used by Cinderella.

* During Giselle's performance of Happy Working Song, which is written to directly mimic 'Whistle While You Work' from Snow White, the following references occur:

* Birds make Giselle's dress into an apron, as birds put on Cinderella's apron in Cinderella.

* Giselle's reflection appears in bubbles as Cinderella's do in Cinderella.

* Animals wash the dishes as they do in Snow White.

* The ending mimics the endings of 'Under The Sea' from The Little Mermaid and 'Be Our Guest' from Beauty and the Beast.

* Giselle makes a dress out of curtains, just as the mice help Cinderella make a dress out of household items in Cinderella.

New York

* In Times Square, a woman with a bag of seed can be seen in homage to the bird woman in Mary Poppins. She also appears later in the movie feeding birds in Central Park.

* The bus driver who confronts Edward has hair styled like Mickey Mouse ears.

* Billboards can be seen for the Broadway versions of Tarzan and Beauty and the Beast.

* The restaurant, The Bella Notte, is named after the song in Lady and the Tramp that is sung while the dogs eat at an Italian restaurant.


Central Park

* Rapunzel is being performed in the park when Giselle dances past. Rapunzel is an upcoming Disney animation. The square trees in the production are reminiscent of Eyvind Earle's designs for Beauty and the Beast.

* Giselle and Robert take a boat ride in a scene framed in a way reminiscent of Kiss The Girl from The Little Mermaid.

* A group of old men dance in the same kicky way as the chimney sweeps in Mary Poppins.

* Giselle runs up the hill in a shot that is almost identical to a shot of Belle running up a hill in Beauty and the Beast, which is itself a reference to The Sound of Music.

The TV

* Prince Nathaniel (James Marsden) refers to the TV as 'Magic Mirror' in direct reference to Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

* The soap opera shown on the TV stars Paige O'Hara who voiced Belle in Beauty and the Beast. Her character is called Angela after Angela Lansbury who voiced Mrs Potts in the same movie. She's having an affair with Ogden, named for David Ogden Stiers who voiced Cogsworth. The male soap star is named Jerry after Jerry Orbach who voiced Lumiere. The soap is scored with music from Beauty and the Beast and is set up to look like the bandaging scene from the movie.

* The TV newswoman is called Mary Ilene Caselotti. This is a combination of Mary Costa, Ilene Woods and Adriana Caselotti, who voiced Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Snow White respectively.


The Ball

* The song 'So Close' is based on the title song from Beauty and the Beast.

* Giselle and Robert's eyes lock in the same way as Cinderella and Charming's in Cinderella.

* During the dance sequence there is a sweeping overhead shot that directly copies one from the ballroom scene in Beauty and the Beast.

* Robert and Giselle dance in the stars, which is a tribute to Snow White and Cinderella.

* The sequence where Giselle eats the poisoned apple directly mimics the editing of the same sequence in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

* Giselle can only be woken by true love's kiss, as in Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, and must happen before midnight, as in Cinderella.

The Climax

* Giselle pulls a sword from the floor, as in The Sword in the Stone.

* Giselle loses her glass slipper, as in Cinderella.

* The glass slipper fits Nancy (Idina Menzel) perfectly, just as it did Cinderella.

* The battle on the tower that takes place in a thunderstorm takes inspiration from Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.

* Giselle and Robert enjoy true love's kiss, as in every Disney animation ever.

2008 Golden Globe Award winners

The winners of the 2008 Golden Globe was announced this morning (6pm Sunday January 13 in Los Angeles) via a press conference. Here's the winners:

Best Motion Picture - Drama
Atonement

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Johnny Depp for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Julie Christie for Away from Her

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Marion Cotillard for La Vie En Rose

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Cate Blanchett for I'm Not There

Best Director - Motion Picture
Julian Schnabel for Scaphandre et le papillon, Le (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
Into the Wild ("Guaranteed")

Best Animated Film
Ratatouille

Best Foreign Language Film
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Television Series - Drama
Mad Men

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Extras

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Longford

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Jim Broadbent for Longford

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Queen Latifah for Life Support

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
David Duchovny for Californication

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
Jon Hamm for Mad Men

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Tina Fey for 30 Rock

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama
Glenn Close for Damages

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Jeremy Piven for Entourage

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Samantha Morton for Longford

January 11, 2008

In search of sex offenders


I'm sad to see Richard Gere's career going down the drain. His last four movies ('Bee Season', 'The Hoax', 'The Hunting Party' and 'The Flock') have all bombed commercially at the box-office.

Gere's latest movie, 'The Flock' will not even be shown in the US theaters and will be going straight to DVD release. Directed by Hong Kong's Andrew Lau ('Infernal Affairs'), the movie is a psychological thriller that delves into the dark and shady world of sexual sadism. Gere plays a case worker assigned to keep an eye on 'registered' sex offenders. Clair Danes co-stars as his assistant. When a 17-year old girl gets abducted, Gere is convinced that one of his charges is responsible and goes looking for the sex offender responsible.

Although both Gere and Danes turn in great performances, the pace is pretty slow and takes a while before the suspense is built up. The 'fuzzy' editing, full of flashes and freeze-frames makes it all the more distracting to enjoy the movie. Overall, the film is just a run-of-the-mill thriller and lacks any indication that it’s been directed by a man as talented as Andrew Lau.

January 9, 2008

Golden Globe Awards cancelled

This year's much anticipated Golden Globes ceremony has been cancelled after actors vowed to boycott the event in support of striking Hollywood writers, the Los Angeles Times reported on its website today.

The Times, citing an email sent by broadcasters to studios today, reported that the traditional televised dinner and prize-giving had been scrapped in favour of a press conference and scaled back red carpet event.

December 25, 2007

December 14, 2007

The Golden Compass vs The Holy Bible


Some food for thought.....

http://www.landoverbaptist.org/news1207/goldencompass.html?

Nominations for the 65th Golden Globe Awards

The following nominees for the 65th Golden Globe Awards was announced last night in US. The winners will be announced on 13 January 2008.

Best Motion Picture - Drama
American Gangster
Atonement
Eastern Promises
The Great Debaters
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Across the Universe
Charlie Wilson's War
Hairspray
Juno
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
George Clooney for Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood
James McAvoy for Atonement
Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promises
Denzel Washington for American Gangster

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Johnny Depp for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Ryan Gosling for Lars and the Real Girl
Tom Hanks for Charlie Wilson's War
Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Savages
John C. Reilly for Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie for Away from Her
Jodie Foster for The Brave One
Angelina Jolie for A Mighty Heart
Keira Knightley for Atonement

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Amy Adams for Enchanted
Nikki Blonsky for Hairspray
Helena Bonham Carter for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Marion Cotillard for Môme, La
Ellen Page for Juno

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Casey Affleck for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman for Charlie Wilson's War
John Travolta for Hairspray
Tom Wilkinson for Michael Clayton

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Cate Blanchett for I'm Not There
Julia Roberts for Charlie Wilson's War
Saoirse Ronan for Atonement
Amy Ryan for Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton

Best Director - Motion Picture
Tim Burton for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen for No Country for Old Men
Julian Schnabel for Scaphandre et le papillon, Le
Ridley Scott for American Gangster
Joe Wright for Atonement

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
Enchanted ("That's How You Know")
Grace Is Gone ("Grace Is Gone")
Into the Wild ("Guaranteed")
Love in the Time of Cholera ("Despedida" )
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story ("Walk Hard")

Best Animated Film
Bee Movie
Ratatouille
The Simpsons Movie

Best Television Series - Drama
Big Love
Damages
Grey's Anatomy
House M.D.
Mad Men
The Tudors

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Californication
Entourage
Extras
Pushing Daisies
30 Rock

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
The Company
Longford
The State Within
Five Days

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Adam Beach for Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Jim Broadbent for Longford
Ernest Borgnine for A Grandpa for Christmas
Jason Isaacs for The State Within
James Nesbitt for Jekyll

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Bryce Dallas Howard for As You Like It
Queen Latifah for Life Support
Debra Messing for The Starter Wife
Sissy Spacek for Pictures of Hollis Woods
Ruth Wilson for Jane Eyre

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock
Steve Carell for The Office
David Duchovny for Californication
Ricky Gervais for Extras
Lee Pace for Pushing Daisies

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
Michael C. Hall for Dexter
Hugh Laurie for House M.D.
Bill Paxton for Big Love
Jon Hamm for Mad Men
Jonathan Rhys Meyers for The Tudors

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Christina Applegate for Samantha Who?
America Ferrera for Ugly Betty
Tina Fey for 30 Rock
Anna Friel for Pushing Daisies
Mary-Louise Parker for Weeds

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama
Patricia Arquette for Medium
Glenn Close for Damages
Minnie Driver for The Riches
Edie Falco for The Sopranos
Sally Field for Brothers & Sisters
Holly Hunter for Saving Grace
Kyra Sedgwick for The Closer

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Ted Danson for Damages
Kevin Dillon for Entourage
Jeremy Piven for Entourage
Andy Serkis for Longford
William Shatner for Boston Legal
Donald Sutherland for Dirty Sexy Money

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Rose Byrne for Damages
Katherine Heigl for Grey's Anatomy
Rachel Griffiths for Brothers & Sisters
Samantha Morton for Longford
Anna Paquin for Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Jaime Pressly for My Name Is Earl



December 13, 2007

The Origins of Alvin And The Chipmunks


The big screen live-action version of 'Alvin And The Chipmunks' is currently playing in theaters worldwide. Alvin, Theodore and Simon has been our favourite chipmunks for the last 50 years, but do you know how they came about?

In 1958, Ross Bagdasarian Sr. was down to his last $200. So he spent $190 to buy a tape recorder and experimented with children's songs and piano tracks slowed to half speed. He wrote and performed his first song 'The Witch Doctor' which he convinced his record company, Liberty Records, to release. The song quickly went to Number One, selling more than a million records.

A few months later, Ross wrote a Christmas song. He loved the voice of the Witch Doctor, but wanted to marry that voice with personalities. One day while he was driving, a tiny chipmunk dashed in front of his car, and Ross knew he had found his star.

His Christmas song became 'The Chipmunk Song'. He named the three chipmunks after the executives at Liberty - Al Bennet (Alvin), Si Waronker (Simon) and Ted Keep (Theodore). The trio is 'managed' by their human 'father' and confidant, David Seville, a stage name created by Ross.

The record was sold more than 4 million copies in seven weeks, and it launched the careers of the chipmunks. It spent four weeks at Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart from December 27, 1958 to January 19, 1959. It also earned three Grammy Awards and a nomination for Record of the Year.

The rest, like they say, is history.

Matthew Gray Gubler as the voice of Simon

Justin Long as the voice of Alvin

Jesse McCartney as the voice of Theodore

Today, Ross' son, Ross Junior continues to run the Chipmunk empire with his wife.

In the new movie, Jason Lee ('My Name Is Earl') stars as David Seville, a struggling Los Angeles songwriter who discovers the singing chipmunks in his apartment. David adopts the chipmunks, taking care of them as father and manager of their famous rock band.

December 10, 2007

Angelina Jolie - Sexiest Movie Star


Empire Magazine recently released their list of 'Top 100 Sexiest Movie Stars'. Guess who tops the list? Angelina Jolie! They say her sexiest moment was 'beating the hell out of Brad Pitt in Mr. and Mrs. Smith and then banging the hell out of him by way of apology'.

Here's the Top 10 from the list:

1. Angelina Jolie
2. Natalie Portman
3. Daniel Craig
4. Jessica Alba
5. Johnny Depp
6. Eva Green
7. Brad Pitt
8. Scarlett Johansson
9. Keira Knightley
10. Gerard Butler

You can get the complete list here.

December 7, 2007

Movie Spoilers

What is a spoiler? It's when somebody reveals an important plot twist or ending of a movie which will ultimately spoil your enjoyment of the movie. Everybody hates it when some big-mouth tells you the ending of a movie before you watched it! For example, if someone had told me that Bruce Willis is a ghost in Sixth Sense before I saw the movie, I would have punched him in the face.

Anyway, I came across a company called Threadless which designed this interesting T-shirt which they called 'The Spoiler Shirt'. Check this out.....


Can you guess all the titles of the movies in the design above? Click here for the answers.

December 6, 2007

Looking for Osama Bin Laden



You might all remember Morgan Spurlock's last documentary 'Super Size Me' where he set out to prove the negative effects of fast food by subjecting himself to a diet of McDonald's fast food three times a day for thirty days!

Spurlock's latest project is by far, his riskiest yet. Spurlock has just finished his new movie 'Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?' in which he sets out to search for the most wanted man on the planet.

The following is an article from MSNBC News:
Rumors are flying that filmmaker Morgan Spurlock of "Super Size Me" fame may have done what the United States government has failed to do for the last six years — find Osama bin Laden.

The speculation first began at the Berlin International Film Festival in February, where Spurlock showed a select group of potential buyers 15 minutes of footage from his new documentary, "Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden?" The film follows Spurlock through the Middle East in his search for the elusive leader of al-Qaida. According to Slashfilm.com, The Weinstein Co. quickly snapped up the picture after seeing the clips.

Adding to the belief, Daniel Marracino, the film's director of photography, is quoted in Variety, saying of the movie, "We've definitely got the Holy Grail."
The question on everybody's lips now is whether Spurlock has actually found Osama or this is just a clever publicity ploy. We'll just have to wait until next year when the movie comes out.

December 5, 2007

'The Dark Knight' teaser poster

Here's the new teaser poster for for next summer's highly-anticipated Batman sequel 'The Dark Knight'. Christian Bale will reprise his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne.


The film will detail Batman, Lieutenant James Gordon, and District Attorney Harvey Dent rounding up the criminals that plague Gotham City. In particular, they will battle a mysterious criminal mastermind we all know as The Joker.

The movie will open in July 2008.

'One Missed Call' offical website

Warner Bros. Pictures have just launched the official website of the new horror movie 'One Missed Call', where you can navigate through the various room and see clips from the movie.

Click here to enter the site.


'One Missed Call' is a remake of the 2003 Japanese horror about several people who start receiving messages of themselves getting murdered in the near future. The remake stars Edward Burns and Shannyn Sossamon. The movie will hits theaters on January 4th, 2008.