Tagged: Academy Awards

“The Odd Life of Timothy Green” Trailer Unveiled

“The Odd Life of Timothy Green” Trailer Unveiled

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Jennifer Garner in anything so we were pleased to see her in the credits for the Disney film, The Odd Life of Timothy Green. The trailer for this film, which has no release date as yet, just broke and it looks like a family friendly affair. Check out the trailer then the official write up below.

Academy Award®–nominated director/writer Peter Hedges (Dan in Real Life, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?) brings enchantment to the screen with The Odd Life of Timothy Green, an inspiring, magical story about a happily married couple, Cindy and Jim Green (Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton), who can’t wait to start a family but can only dream about what their child would be like. When young Timothy (CJ Adams) shows up on their doorstep one stormy night, Cindy and Jim—and their small town of Stanleyville—learn that sometimes the unexpected can bring some of life’s greatest gifts.

When young Timothy suddenly comes into the lives of Cindy and Jim Green, they learn that sometimes the unexpected can bring some of life’s greatest gifts.

Cast:                             Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton, CJ Adams, Ron Livingston, Dianne Wiest, Odeya Rush, Rosemarie DeWitt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, M. Emmet Walsh, Lois Smith and Common

Director:                       Peter Hedges

Producers:                     Ahmet Zappa, Scott Sanders, Jim Whitaker

Executive Producers:      John Cameron, Mara Jacobs

Story by:                       Ahmet Zappa

Screenplay by:               Peter Hedges

 

 

Scarface Comes to Blu-ray in Style

  • News
  • June 29, 2011

scarface-beauty-shot-rendering_mps_rev-300x235-4222185Coming in September is the Blu-ray debut of the classic Al Pacino film Scarface on September 6. Universal Home Entertainment is sparing nothing to make certain this becomes quite the event. There have been art contests and now there’s the imminent arrival of the Scarface-themed humidor.

For the ultimate collector and cigar enthusiast, an elegantly hand-crafted Scarface-themed humidor will be made available in an exclusive, never-before-available, limited edition, along with the new Scarface Special Limited Edition Blu-ray.

Created by the renowned Daniel Marshall, the humidor’s exterior is hand painted and polished with the Marshall’s trademark “1000 coat brilliant finish.”  The interior – made with untreated Spanish cedar – will properly condition and age approximately 100 cigars at optimal humidity levels. Limited to 1,000 worldwide, each individually numbered humidor comes embellished with custom medallions inspired by the iconic film and includes a certificate of authenticity.

As seen in the photo above, The Scarface Special Limited Edition Blu-ray also includes art cards from the “Scarface Kingpins of Design” fan art contest where fans had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to design Scarface-inspired artwork using classic Tony Montana images from the film. (more…)

Review: Rain Man

A breakthrough performance can be indelibly imprinted in the collective memory but it can also be easily imitated to the point where it becomes parody. Unfortunately, that has happened with strong work by actors portraying the mental disabled. The arrival of [[[Rain Man]]] on Blu-ray reminds us of how good Dustin Hoffman was and how important spotlighting the needs of these people and their impact on families has been in our society.

For those who barely remember, the 1988 movie earned four Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Actor.  After Hoffman won, actors were taking similar roles and mocked for it as their bid for an easy Oscar nomination, forgetting that this is a segment of the population without a voice and with a desperate need for understanding and compassion.

You see that from the beginning as Charlie Babbit (Tom Cruise) is anything but a cuddly younger brother, willing to take on his the burden of caring for his afflicted brother Raymond (Hoffman). Being a 1980s film, Cruise is at wonderfully smarmy best, a yuppie without a conscience, until he spends time with Raymond and learns the kind of man he has become and is humbled by the experience. Interestingly, Charlie grew up a spoiled, morally bankrupt man totally unaware of his older brother’s existence. Just as he was broke and desperate, his father died and the bulk of the wealth, the inheritance he salivated for, was left to someone else. As he followed the trail, he found the Walbrook Institution and finally met Raymond. On the one hand, you can’t blame Charlie for being who he is and on the other, you can blame the father for not preparing the younger sibling for his familial obligations.

Along the way, though, the film takes the characters and the audience on a six day road trip as Charlie tries to exploits his brother’s gifts in Las Vegas. We witness all the odd quirks and tics that make Raymond an amusing presence and an irresistible character for an actor. Hoffman wears Raymond’s skin comfortably and you buy the affliction without question.

You watch two incredibly unalike people grow closer and the audience gets to see how similar they truly are. Raymond can’t relate to people but neither can Charlie as witnessed by how cavalierly he deals with others, including his girlfriend Susana (Valeria Golino). Director Barry Levinson does a terrific job with the characters and the glimpse of an America that has since grown a little tarnished.

The video transfer is clean and unspectacular accompanied by good sound. There are a bunch of extras starting with three audio commentaries: Levinson, writer Barry Morrow, and the other writer Ronald Bass.  Together, they would have been incredibly informative; separately, they are a little tedious. “The Journey of Rain Man” (22:07) is the usual making-of featurette spotlight the audio commentators. “Lifting the Fog: A Look at the Mysteries of Autism” (20:13) is a strong, useful look at the affliction. There’s one deleted Scene (2:13) and that’s about it.

Our appreciation of the film may be different today given how many other media portrayals have heightened our overall awareness of autism and its colorful spectrum. Still, the story and performances make this well worth discovering for the first time or watching again with a little more wisdom and experience.

Review: ‘Dances With Wolves’

You never know when magic will happen. You tell a friend to go write a story. He goes and does his research, getting very excited by the prospects and writes. He reads to you the finished novel and it moves you in unexpected ways. Since you’re a film producer, you decide you want to adapt this to the screen. Somehow, you convince someone to publish the book while you go out and raise the $132 million you know in your heart it will take to make the film. Along the way, a third friend, equally moved by the book, convinces everyone that he not only wants to star in the film, but make his directorial debut. Everyone agrees and suddenly, you’re shooting in South Dakota. A year or so later, the movie tests through the roof. Audiences have responded with enthusiasm. Your peers honor you with twelve Academy Award nominations and you win seven. When you weren’t looking, you not only conjured up magic but you made an important film.

And that is what happened with [[[Dances With Wolves]]], the three-hour long story of John Jay Dunbar, a wounded Civil War veteran who asks for a remote assignment out in the frontier, noting he wants to see it before it’s all gone. While out in the wild, he slowly recognizes the beauty of America and the nobility of the Native Americans, many (including Wind in his Hair [Rodney A. Grant] and Kicking Bird [Graham Greene]) who cautiously befriends him. Dunbar also discovers a white woman, who was raised by the Lakota and renamed Stands with a Fist (Mary McDonnell). She serves as his guide to a world he falls in love with, making him unique among his fellow man.

Kevin Costner did a marvelous job taking his friend Michael Blake’s novel and turning it into a movie that reminded Americans of those who dwelt here first and still linger on their reservations. He let the story unfold slowly, with marvelous cinematography, making American the Beautiful once more. He filled the cast with many Native Americans, many who needed to relearn their native tongue. Coupled with John Barry’s stirring score, the movie transports you to another time and another way of life. When it was released 20 years ago, it also sparked a new dialogue over the plight of the Native Americans and just how cruel the settlers were. The Library of Congress thought it significant enough to add it in 2007 as one of the culturally significant films to be preserved.

In case you missed this excellent movie, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has released it as a 20th Anniversary two-disc Blu-ray event. The first disc is an extended version of the film, now running 3:54 and frankly the extra 55 minutes Costner tucked back in doesn’t necessarily make it a better story. Instead, we are treated to lots of extended views of the land and the people moving across the land. It’s all beautiful but doesn’t necessarily add to our enjoyment of the story.  The film is brilliantly transferred to high-definition with rich colors. The new DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 is also most welcome.

(more…)

Fox Prepares Plethora of Holiday Gift Items Plus a Major Sale

Fox Prepares Plethora of Holiday Gift Items Plus a Major Sale

  • News
  • November 22, 2010

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has made their list and are checking it twice to prepare DVD gift sets for every conceivable taste and special interest. We’ll be exploring some of those options when ComicMix launches its Holiday Gift Guide in the coming days.

With Black Friday imminent, we want to tip you off that FoxConnect is having a Black Friday Sale that runs from November 22nd to December 5th.  Savvy shoppers can save up to 70% off on favorite Movies and TV shows on Blu-ray and DVD – Some favorites for as little as $4 for select titles!

The new release we’re most looking forward to is the studio’s 75ht Anniversary Gift Set, coming December 7. Check out the formal release:

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment paints the town diamond white with the release of the TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX 75TH ANNIVERSARY GIFT SET, a 75-film, three-volume set, highlighting a remarkable, rich and unparalleled heritage of classic films, Academy Award® winners and box office smashes.  Debuting on DVD December 7, each volume covers 25 years of the studio’s legacy along with an exclusive hard cover companion book highlighting the historic significance of Fox’s 75th anniversary featuring legendary stars, compelling stories, timeless music and unforgettable images.

The massive DVD set features a variety of genres and some of the finest films of all time from South Pacific to Star Wars, Alien to Avatar and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes to The Devil Wears Prada.  Among its 46 Academy Award®-winning features, the collection highlights seven Best Picture winners including the DVD debut of Cavalcade, How Green Was My Valley, All About Eve, The Sound of Music, Patton, The French Connection, and Slumdog Millionaire.

Just in time for the holiday season, the TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX 75TH ANNIVERSARY GIFT SET will be available for the suggested retail price of $499.98 U.S.

(more…)

‘Three Musketeers’ 3-D Film Builds Cast

‘Three Musketeers’ 3-D Film Builds Cast

Now that the Robin Hood legend has been mined once more for the screen, attention has pivoted from England to France as director Paul W.S. Anderson has begun casting for The Three Musketeers, a 3-D extravaganza.

To date, he has envisioned Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief) as his D’Artagnan with Ray Stevenson (The Book of Eli), Luke Evans (Clash of the Titans) and Matthew Macfadyen (Robin Hood) as Porthos, Athos and Aramis, respectively.

For the villains, it’ll be Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds) as Cardinal Richelieu and Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale) as Rochefort.  Orlando Bloom (Lord of the Rings) has been offered the role of the Duke of Buckingham. Milla Jovovich, Anderson’s wife, will portray Milady de Winter, Athos’ former lover.

The Alexander Dumas novel has been adapted for movies and television dating back to 1903 and was most recently seen in the crowd-pleasing 1993 Disney attempt. The Alexander Salkind two-film production is being dusted off for a Blu-ray release on June 1 from Lionsgate.

Anderson cowrote the script with Andrew Davies and the filming is expected to begin in September. Summit will release the film domestically but has yet to announce a date, which is likely to be in 2011.

This is the second modern adaptation with the other being mounted by director Doug Liman (The Bourne Ultimatum) and Warner Bros. with a 2012 release planned. No casting has been announced and this too will start shooting in the fall.

(more…)

‘Avatar’ Gets 9 Oscar Nominations; ‘Star Trek’ Misses Best Picture

‘Avatar’ Gets 9 Oscar Nominations; ‘Star Trek’ Misses Best Picture

  • News
  • February 2, 2010

The 82nd Annual Academy Award nominations have been announced with Avatar and The Hurt Locker , racking up nine nominations each.

Quentin Tarantino’s love it or hate it  Inglorious Basterds received eight nominations while Precious and Up in the Air got six; Up has five; District 9, Nine and Star Trek with four; and An Education, Crazy Heart, The Princess and the Frog and The Young Victoria with three.

Star Trek had been on many lists as expecting a Best Picture nod given the Academy’s expansion of Best Picture nominees from five to ten; but instead settles for three technical awards. The genre didn’t fare badly with District 9, Up, Avatar, and the parallel world of Inglorious Basterds making up four of the ten films named.

And while Avatar has plenty of nominations, none of its performers received recognition, adding fuel to the motion capture isn’t acting debate.

Michael Giacchino’s score for Up, the best part of the movie, is my odds on favorite. (more…)

‘Bleach: The Diamond Dust Rebellion’: The Trials of Toushiro and Why I Watch, part 2

‘Bleach: The Diamond Dust Rebellion’: The Trials of Toushiro and Why I Watch, part 2

  • News
  • January 21, 2010

For part 1 of this article, click here.

The Soul Reaper Academy (every society needs an academy – see Plato, Aristotle, Hogwarts), founded 1000+ years ago by Commander-General Yamamoto, graduated the youngest person to ever become a captain, Hitsugaya Toushiro. Serious in countenance, sharp of mind, fierce in battle, child-like in stature (brilliantly voiced by seiyuu Romi Park and by English voice actor Steve Staley), with spikey white hair and turquoise eyes that made him an outcast in his rural Rukongai district (where most souls live; the Sereitei, Court of Pure Souls, is for the shinigami and nobility), and thus a loner, he nonetheless mastered the strongest ice-based Zanpakutou ever in its full bankai form, Hyourinmaru (manifests as an ice dragon and a regal humanoid). He stands tall amongst the captains, despite his relative youth, respected and well loved. But his soul knows only hard work and justice, unlike those who had defected and nearly killed him and everything he loves. Toushiro, too, knows loss, and he and Ichigo had seen battle together and they are friends, though opposites: Toushiro the samurai dubbed a “snotty brat” by Ichigo who is…well…15. When we meet Toshiro in this story, he and his lieutenant, Matsumoto Rangiku (who’d discovered him in the Rukongai), and soldiers of Squad 10 are guarding the royal family and the magical artifact, the Ouin, when the entourage is attacked, the Ouin stolen. The forces suffer heavy losses and Toushiro is seriously wounded. He sees his masked attacker, who says, “You haven’t changed,” and thus knows him by voice and leaves his post to go after him.

When a law becomes unjust, it is our duty to defy it and rewrite it. Ichigo taught Captain Kuchiki Byakuya (Rukia’s noble brother by adoption) this during the ordeal of Rukia’s execution and Byakuya eventually thanked him for it. Our Founding Fathers and the revolutionaries before them who’d inspired them voiced such axioms, schooled in the classics back to Plato. The Japanese constitution is based upon ours, framed by MacArthur at the armistice after WWII. We share an ideal and thus Bleach speaks on both sides of the world. And like much Japanese literature, though it shows many fierce battles, it counsels that battles are to be avoided whenever possible between people of reason – a hallmark of Philosophy, Just War Theory (Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas). Ichigo gets all this because he’s the outsider of the Soul Society, 17th vs. 21st C. The others are slower to defy even seemingly unjust laws and decisions, finding injustice in their midst so hard to believe due to their resolve, their utter certainty that what they risk their lives to do every day is Good, that all life on both sides of the veil depends on them (think Sorkin’s Marines in A Few Good Men).

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Shooting Begins on ‘Red’

Shooting Begins on ‘Red’

  • News
  • January 19, 2010

Flush with cash from the Twilight films, Summit Entertainment is moving ahead with other projects and today announced work has begun on Red.

January 12, 2010 — Toronto, Canada – Principal photography has begun in Toronto on Summit Entertainment’s spy-thriller Red, based on the WildStorm graphic novel of the same name by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner.

Joining previously announced stars Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker and Academy Award-winners Helen Mirren and Morgan Freeman, are two-time Academy Award-nominee John Malkovich, Karl Urban, Brian Cox, Academy Award-winners Richard Dreyfuss and Ernest Borgnine, Julian McMahon, James Remar and Rebecca Pidgeon.

Red is the story of Frank Moses (Willis), a former black-ops CIA agent, who is now living a quiet life.  That is, until the day a hi-tech assassin shows up intent on killing him.  With his identity compromised and the life of the woman he cares for, Sarah (Parker), endangered, Frank reassembles his old team (Freeman, Malkovich and Mirren) in a last ditch effort to survive.

Directed by Robert Schwentke (The Time Traveler’s Wife, Flightplan) from a screenplay by Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber (Whiteout), the film is produced by di Bonaventura Pictures’ Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian (Salt, Transformers, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen).  Executive producers are Jake Myers (Shanghai, Hollywoodland) and Gregory Noveck (Jonah Hex).  Di Bonaventura Pictures’ production executive David Ready serves as co-producer.

Red reunites director Schwentke with director of photography Florian Ballhaus (Marley & Me, The Devil Wears Prada) and Oscar-winning film editor Thom Noble (Witness, Thelma & Louise) who collaborated with Schwentke on The Time Traveler’s Wife and Flightplan.  Additionally, Red production designer Alec Hammond (Donnie Darko) and costume designer Susan Lyall (Rachel Getting Married) lent their talents to Schwentke’s Flightplan as well.

“I’m so excited at the phenomenal cast that Robert and our script have attracted,” said di Boneventura.  “I think audiences are going to have a great time.”

Summit’s President of Production Erik Feig said, “Red is that classic project with a little bit of something for everyone.  We are thrilled to see it come to vivid life with an outstanding cast, incredibly talented director, and top notch producing team.  It’s gonna be a good one!””

Red will film in and around the Toronto metropolitan area for nine weeks before moving on to the road and ending in New Orleans in late March for the final two weeks of principal photography.  The film is scheduled for worldwide release on October 22, 2010.

(more…)

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