The Number 23 Movie Review

Jim Carrey stars as a man who becomes obsessed with the number 23, and that his life is tied to a book that predicts that he will eventually end up killing his wife. Unfortunately, Carrey sounds more like Ben Stiller in Zoolander than a serious character, and Schumacher fails to deliver anything original. Read more of our movie review.

What is Martin Scorsese's next movie?

According to Variety, Warner Bros. and Graham King's Initial Entertainment Group have acquired screen rights to bestselling Brian Selznick children's novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret - and who is going to direct? They're hoping Martin Scorsese will direct.

John Logan is writing the screenplay, which follows a 12-year-old orphan who lives in the walls of a Paris train station in 1930 and a mystery involving the boy, his late father and a robot, says Variety.

No word if The Invention of Hugo Cabret will be next up for a production schedule.

Borat and Antonio Banderas - How are they related?

They aren't! Borat has nothing to do whatsoever with Antonio Banderas, but we have a couple of links to clips featuring the so-called "hysterical" writers of Borat, Anthony Hines and Peter Baynham, and Antonio Banderas on his directorial work on the movie Summer Rain. So what's the connection?
They're both hosted on iklipz. Exciting, I know. Anyway, here they are:

Lunch With David Featuring Academy Nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay for Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan - Anthony Hines & Peter Baynham

Antonio Banderas on SUMMER RAIN

Before They Were Nominees

We have some neat (a.k.a. funny) clips of some of the actors who have been nominated for the Academy Awards. Check them out:
Leonardo DiCaprio

Mark (Marky Mark) Wahlberg

Jennifer Hudson

Helen Mirren

Forest Whitaker

Meryl Streep

Will Smith

Zodiac Movie Review

Zodiac hits theaters March 2nd, and stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey, Jr., and more, and comes from David Fincher. Fincher also directed one of the best serial killer movies of all time - Seven - and guess what? Zodiac is also about a serial killer!
And guess what even more? We have a movie review already online for you to see if this lives up to expectations. Read our Zodiac movie review now.

Keanu Reeves is The Night Watchman

According to Variety, Fox Searchlight and New Regency will co-finance the drama, The Night Watchman starring Keanu Reeves.
The film is written by James Ellroy; David Ayer will direct and re-write the screenplay. Variety adds the script has evolved since Ellroy started on the LAPD tale right after the O.J. Simpson verdict and the L.A. riots. Reeves plays a cop who's always done what was needed to solve homicides and crack down on gang violence until he gets a wakeup call and decides he can no longer play the game that made him so effective.

John Rambo? That is not the movie title... is it?

Moviehole is reportingthat Sylvester Stallone is no longer referring to the next "Rambo" movie as Rambo IV: Pearl of the Cobra, or Rambio IV: In the Serpent's Eyes, but instead as simply John Rambo.
Stallone referred to the film as John Rambo on a recent news interview, and it seems as though he is trying to follow the success of Rocky Balboa. The only problem is, that was a drama, and this is an action movie. Just call it Rocky Returns! for all I care, but for God's sake don't call it John Rambo.
Regardless, all of those titles are stupid. Keep trying, Mr. Stallone. Keep trying.

Superman in the Top Ten?

Some people have commented (though unfortunately not on this blog) that they think Superman Returns deserves no place in my Top Ten Movies of 2006, if for the sole fact that it is a comic book movie about a man in red tights who flies around and saves people. To them, I say watch the frikkin' movie! If you're a comic book junkie, you've probably already seen it, and if not, you probably won't LOVE it, but maybe you'll actually like it. Give it a chance!

Top Ten Movies of 2006

1. Children of Men

Children of Men received a surprisingly mixed number of reviews, for what reason I do not know. The movie I saw engaged me from minute one and had me on the edge of my seat up until the end, even if the previews do show just about every part of the movie. Despite those marketing flaws, the movie still throws in a few twists you wouldn't have guessed from the previews, and still offers plenty of action and drama to make it number one.

Children of Men stars Clive Owen as a man who lives in a future Britain where the government has closed its borders, arrested all immigrants, and terrorism is rampant. Oh, and no child has been born in over 18 years, which means that humanity only has 50 more years to live.

The movie is bleak, depressing and wholly realistic, thanks to director Alfonso Cuarón. Cuarón's world wraps itself around the audience and makes you part of the experience, and so you feel everything the characters feel. While set in a hopeless world, the movie is about hope, even if it is just a glimmer. One scene near the end, where soldiers and terrorists (or freedom fighters?) cease fire to let Owen and co-star Claire-Hope Ashitey through, is nearly tear-jerking. I say "nearly" because I don't cry at movies.

Children of Men has it all, and that's why it's my favorite film of 2006. Read our movie review

2. Pan's Labyrinth

Pan's Labyrinth is from director Guillermo del Toro, who really hasn't done much in terms of delivering memorable films. With exception to Hellboy, most of his movies are pretty lame, but if Hellboy showed he could be imaginative, Pan's Labyrinth shows he is a force to be reckoned with.

Set in fascist Spain in 1944, the movie follows a little girl who has a vivid imagination and who is told by a creepy faun that she is the long list princess of the underworld, but to return to the underworld and her true parents, she has to complete three tasks. The movie is marketed as fantasy, but the film is more about a girl trying to separate herself from the horrors that surround her. Her mother is struggling to deliver a baby, her father is an evil, fascist soldier, and there is a rebellion in the woods that surround her home.

The movie is as creative as it is gory, and is certainly one of the most serious films of the year. Del Toro's vision exists in every facet of the movie, and the result is a vivid, shocking and emotional tale.

Pan's Labyrinth is in subtitles, but that shouldn't keep you from watching this amazing film. Read our movie review

3. The Departed

This has to be Scorsese's year. Right. Right? Who the hell knows, as we've said that in the past and repeatedly he gets snubbed. Compared to the other directors in the race, Clint Eastwood is perhaps his closest competition, but Eastwood has won before for better films than Letters from Iwo Jima and Flags of our Fathers.

Scorsese's latest is The Departed, a gangster-cop flick based on an Asian film called Infernal Affairs. Unlike Infernal Affairs, which was a great little film but more action-oriented than anything else, The Departed is a deep, moving character drama that still allows Scorsese to deliver his brutal gangster violence.

The movie also features spellbinding performances from Leonardo DiCaprio (who is better here than he is in Blood Diamond, for which he was nominated for), Matt Damon (as the bad guy) and Jack Nicholson (as the bad guy of bad guys). Read our movie review

4. Little Children

This movie was in theaters for nearly four months before I finally went and saw it, and it was well worth the wait. A dark, sometimes disturbing drama that at the same time has plenty of laughs, Little Children is about the dark secrets of suburbia, the pent-up tension and the restraints society places on us.

What makes Little Children great is that it is so different from any other movie that has come out this year. The film is narrated in a very witty, comical way, yet the subject matter is serious. The mixture of the two result in a very matter-of-fact, emotionally engaging film that slowly builds up to a terrific climax. Read our movie review

5. United 93

When United 93 came out in early 2006, most people dismissed this film as hitting too close to home too early after September 11th. I tended to agree, but went and saw it anyway, and was blown away from minute one. Director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy) presents an unbiased re-telling of that morning, and uses many of the real people involved in the air traffic coordination that day. The result is an emotionally-charged and fast-paced drama that has you on the edge of your seat, despite the fact you know exactly what is going to happen.

Unlike Oliver Stone's God-awful World Trade Center (which somehow made a lot more money), this movie doesn't have any emotional fluff or hammy A-list stars to clutter up the store. It just tells things as is, and lets the day's events do their work on you. Had this movie come out in November or December, it almost undoubtedly would be a front runner for Best Picture, and would probably be higher up on this list. Read our movie review

#6: An Inconvenient Truth

From a filmmaking perspective, An Inconvenient Truth is hardly groundbreaking and does not warrant a top ten listing. It is a PowerPoint presentation and not much more, and never tries to do anything technically challenging.

But that's okay.

An Inconvenient Truth, featuring Al Gore, takes a direct stab at global warming and presents in very clear terms just how serious and obvious this problem is. A water cooler subject for months, Gore's movie has finally (we hope) gotten the issue of global warming out of the environmentalists' hands and into mainstream discussion. As a result, Al Gore has received a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, and we had to give him an even more coveted spot in Movie-Source.com's Top Ten movie list. Read our movie review

#7: Letters from Iwo Jima

Clint Eastwood directed two movies in 2006, both about World War II, and both set on the island of Iwo Jima. His first movie, told from the American perspective, was somewhat of a cluttered mess, as it jumped around in time a lot and failed to develop its characters properly. His second, Letters from Iwo Jima, is told from the Japanese perspective and focuses on a few soldiers who fight to the very end with no chance of escape or survival.

Iwo Jima is not Eastwood's best movie, but unlike its predecessor, it is simple and powerful. Top notch acting from every actor involved, some good battle scenes and some horrifying moments make Letters from Iwo Jima one of the best movies of 2006, and one of the front runners for Best Picture. Read our movie review

#8: The Pursuit of Happyness

I saw The Pursuit of Happyness way back in March, nearly nine months before it was released to theaters, so I haven't seen the final cut and my memory is a bit hazy on certain aspects. All I remember is that this one was one of the most frustrating, depressing, emotional, kick-me-while-I'm-down movies I've seen in a long time, and that it ends happily.

The real highlight, though, is Will Smith, who turns in his best performance to date. His Oscar nomination is an understatement, as he transforms himself into a character he's never done before. To top it off, his real-life son co-stars with him, and the chemistry between the two works wonders. Read our movie review

#9: Superman Returns

Some may spite me for including Superman Returns in a Top Ten list, but it deserves to be there. After nearly two decades and the death of Christopher Reeves, Superman was noticeably absent from the big screen. The movie passed from director to director, screenwriter to screenwriter (some absolutely insane screenplays were tossed around), and eventually it wound up in the perfect hands: Bryan Singer, the man behind two of the best comic book movies ever, X-Men and X-Men 2.

Singer doesn't take the same approach to this DC franchise that he did to his mutants; Superman Returns is much more of a drama, and Singer makes obvious allusions to Jesus in his portrayal of Superman. The movie suffered heavily at the box office for its more serious approach, but the result is a high energy, dramatic and still action-packed adventure that features Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor.

While the movie unfortunately lacks a good guy vs. bad guy climax at the end, Superman Returns still offers some excellent action scenes. Love him or hate him, Brandon Routh did a better job than expected, and Kate Bosworth is the hottest Lois Lane to grace the silver screen. This is a high quality film and I look forward to the next one (hopefully it will have a lot more action, though). Read our movie review

#10: The Prestige

This spot was going to go to Babel, a rather poetic and symbolic look at the world, but that one just didn't live up to my expectations. By chance, I happened to watch both The Prestige and Babel for the second time this last weekend, on DVD, and whereas Babel remained consistently good but not great, The Prestige was much more impressive the second time around.

This tale of two rival magicians who develop such an obsession with one another that they are willing to do anything, including lose their humanity, to reign over the other is a wonderful, complex and well-acted film from director Christopher Nolan (Memento, Batman Begins). Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman turn in tremendous performances, and the movie offers a character study in a way that can appeal to mainstream audiences.

While not without its flaws, The Prestige is one of those films that is much better the second time around, and just scrapes into the Top Ten as a result. Read our movie review

Friday Box Office Analysis - Good and bad

It is a weekend of cheers, and a weekend of shaking heads. On the positive side, American audiences finally figured out that Tyler Perry movies are God-awful pieces of crap as Daddy's Little Girls looks to make around $10.1 million dollars over the holiday weekend, according to Box Office Prophets.

Unfortunately, Ghost Rider made $15.8 million on Friday, which means it will make approximately $50 million over the four-day Presidents Day weekend. This movie looked like a loser from the first trailer, but American audiences went for the flaming skull anyway. Sad, sad, sad.

As for Breach, the best-reviewed film to open this week, it looks to make less than $10 million over the weekend. I wonder if there would have been a better weekend to release this film.

1 Ghost Rider

2 Bridge to Terebithia

3 Norbit

4 Music and Lyrics

5 Daddy's Little Girls

6 Breach

7 Because I Said So

8 Hannibal Rising

9 Night at the Museum

10 The Messengers

Shut Up and Sing DVD Review

I've posted Shut Up and Sing over at my movie review website and must say that after watching the film, I have a much greater respect for the Dixie Chicks. The movie chronicles the three years after their fall from grace following a statement made on tour by one of the band members, the deliciously honest, "I'm ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas." They should be, so I don't know what the big deal was, but a bunch of right wing nut jobs decided it would be right to ban The Dixie Chicks from country radio.

Aaron Eckhart is Two Face

With The Dark Knight, the sequel to Batman Begins, coming to theaters next year, the casting keeps rolling in. Heath Ledger is already the Joker, but Aaron Eckhart is in final negotiations to play Harvey Dent and Two Face. Two Face, as you might recall, is the ex-district attorney of Gotham who, after his face is scarred with acid (by the Joker?) , becomes a villain who does good or evil based on the flip of a coin.
Eckhart has been inconsistent over the years, but has shown signs of moving up in the world with projects like Thank You for Smoking. He could certainly play a good Two Face, and I'm looking forward to seeing Christopher Nolan's interpretation of the character. After Batman Forever massacred the character with cartoon delivery by Tommy Lee Jones and ridiculously cheesy makeup, Nolan's darker, more serious approach should finally do justice to the character.

Anna Nicole Smith Dies

A perfect example of how a woman no one really liked still makes the top headlines for the day. I have to admit, I was a bit surprised when I heard Anna Nicole Smith died... certainly didn't see that one coming. As my roommate always says, famous people die in threes, so that means it should be an interesting weekend.

The Grudge 2 Movie Review

The Grudge 2 is now out on DVD, and how else can God make me suffer? If you read my Grudge 2 movie review, you will discover just how lame this franchise is.

Because I Said So Movie Review

Read our Because I Said So movie review! Mandy Moore, Diane Keaton, and Piper Perabo star in this romantic comedy movie. Because I Said So is now in theaters. Read the movie review now at http://www.movie-source.com/movie_page.asp?movieID=2425.
My little bro wrote this review as he fits his screening attendance in between school and his new internship at a film production company. Let's hear what he has to say... I haven't even read it yet.