Wanna cuddle up to a romantic comedy this weekend?
Maybe you’ll consider “Valentine’s Day,” the most obviously titled rom-com ever.
The new film from “Pretty Woman” director Garry Marshall stars … take a deep breath … Jennifer Garner, Jamie Foxx, Julia Roberts, Bradley Cooper, Queen Latifah, Ashton Kutcher, Taylor Swift, Topher Grace, Eric Dane, Jessica Biel and Patrick Dempsey.
Did we leave anyone out?
Oh, yeah. Emma Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Biel and Papa WWTW’s choice for best character actor working today - Hector Elizondo.
Sounds like “Crash 2: Even Crashier” what with all the overlapping story threads.
(Photo: Taylor Swift and Jennifer Garner star in New Line Cinema’s romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo by Ron Batzdorff)
The Super Bowl is more than just the biggest sporting event of the year for many fans.
It’s also a great chance to expose movie trailers to the nation.
So MovieTickets.com polled more than 550 people who watched the big game in toto to see which movie commercial made the biggest impression on them.
“Alice in Wonderland,” the upcoming 3-D feature starring Johnny Depp, joined the New Orleans Saints in the winner’s circle.
The poll question read: Which of the following movie advertisements (trailers) do you remember seeing during the Super Bowl?
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George Constanza had a curious plan to stop his girlfriend from breaking up with him on “Seinfeld.”
He avoided her at all costs. If she couldn’t call or see him, she couldn’t end their relationship.
Perfect pretzel logic.
The same holds true for Meg Ryan in “Serious Moonlight.” She plays a woman who learns her husband is about to divorce her.
So she duct tapes him to a chair and won’t let him free until he falls back in love with her.
It’s the kind of bitter rom-com that requires a delicate touch, a whipsmart script and performances that make you buy into such a crazed premise.
“Moonlight” goes 0-for-3.
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Adam Green must be doing something right.
His new film “Frozen,” a thriller set at a shuttered ski resort, is hardly the kind of movie likely to play at the Sundance Film Festival.
Yet Green’s movie bowed at the just-wrapped festival, the indie mecca known for sober dramas, liberal documentaries and star-studded premieres.
“Frozen” isn’t any of the above, but it still made the cut.
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Tony Jaa doesn’t smile, laugh or emote beyond a grimace in his breakout feature “Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior.”
He doesn’t have to.
Jaa, the latest martial arts sensation, announced his arrival as an action hero to be reckoned with in this grimly lit, wonderfully explosive actioner.
The film, getting its Blu-ray release this week, proves a bare-bones plot and stilted acting cannot slow Jaa down.
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Sometimes all a horror movie needs is a simple scenario from which to spin its tale of terror.
A haunted house. A zombie apocalypse. A possessed kid.
Or a ski lift.
“Frozen,” from “Hatchet” creator Adam Green, takes the latter and creates a taut, deliciously spare thriller.
The film, opening Feb. 5 in select cities, follows longtime buddies Joe (Shawn Ashmore) and Dan (Kevin Zegers) who decide to go skiing along with Dan’s girlfriend, Parker (Emma Bell).
It sounds good on paper, right?
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People who ride Ferris wheels can’t help but think what might happen if the wheel stopped and left them at the top of the ride, stranded indefinitely.
A similar thought grabbed writer/director Adam Green about ski lifts.
“Anybody skiing has gone through that scenario in their heads,” Green says.
That kernel of fear inspired “Frozen,” a new thriller opening in select theaters this weekend. The movie follows three friends who bribe a ski lift operator for one last pass before the park closes.
A series of miscues leaves the trio up on the chair lift, in the dark, and at the mercy of the elements.
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John Travolta’s new action film “From Paris with Love” does itself a favor and a disservice with one throwaway scene.
Travolta’s character, in a rare moment without violence, extols the virtue of a Royale with Cheese.
The line takes us back to an infinitely better Travolta vehicle - “Pulp Fiction.”
It also announces “Paris” is nothing more than cinematic fast food - tasty, easily digested and nothing to brag about.
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I'm an award-winning journalist and film critic with more than a decade of experience in newspapers, magazines and the Web. I'm a member of both the Washington, DC Area Film Critics Association and the Denver Film Critics Society.
Broderick and co. TV bound
February 8, 2010
Film actress Julianne Moore showed off a wicked good Boston accent on “30 Rock” this season playing Jack Donaghy’s old Beantown flame.
Turns out she was just getting her feet wet.
The actress is currently fielding offers for a TV project, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Moore has some highly regarded company in her switch to the small screen.
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