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Saturday, September 18, 2010
Happy Birthday, Cale!
Second Season of "Castle" Arrives on DVD
CASTLE: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON
Available on DVD September 21, 2010
“The show has drama, suspense, and a smokin’ hot lead character.” – Cosmopolitan, February 2010
BURBANK, CA, July 2010 – The critically-acclaimed complete second season release of ABC’s smart, witty dramedy Castle showcases the unique partnership between “ruggedly handsome” crime novelist, Richard Castle (Nathan Fillian) and hard-nosed NYPD detective, Kate Beckett (Stana Katic)-- in a fantastic five-disc DVD set -- available on DVD September 21, 2010 from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.
ABC’s Castle: The Complete Second Season invites viewers to dive into their real world crimes, and relive all the compelling second season cases in a great set that includes all 24 second season episodes; cool never-before-seen bonus features; on-set bloopers and behind-the-scenes access features that allow fansto go inside one of the network’s critically acclaimed and most exciting series!
Castle and Beckett’s unconventional partnership and banter creates humorous situations and romantic tension unlike anything on TV. During this past season, Castle and Beckett’s relationship has grown stronger as they’ve dodged bullets, captured killers, and solved countless murder cases in their unorthodox partnership. But by the Season Two finale, Beckett’s new relationship with a robbery detective has pushed Castle away, forcing them both to confront their feelings for one another. When Castle leaves to finish writing his second Nikki Heat novel, Naked Heat, Beckett has to watch him walk away, unable to express her true feelings and unsure whether he will return to the precinct.
Castle: The Complete Second Season also stars Ruben Santiago-Hudson as NYPD Captain Roy Montgomery, Tamala Jones as Medical Examiner Lanie Parish, Jon Huertas as NYPD Detective Javier Esposito, Seamus Dever as NYPD Detective Kevin Ryan, Molly Quinn as Alexis Castle, with Susan Sullivan as Martha Rodgers.
Bonus Features:
• On Set With Seamus & Jon — Go Behind The Scenes With Cast’s Resident Comedians, Seamus Dever And Jon Huertas, As They Reveal Secrets Of The Set
• On Location With Nathan — Nathan Fillion Introduces Us To Some Of His Favorite Crew Members And Demonstrates Some Interesting Tricks Of The Trade
• Manhattan‘s Most Unusual Murders — Discover How The Production Team Stages Murders Using Research, Props And Special Effects With Inside Stories From The Producers, Actors And Set Designers
• Deleted Scenes
• Misdemeanors: Bloopers & Outtakes
Castle: The Complete Second Season is priced at $45.99 SRP (US) and $54.99 SRP (CAN).
Street Date: September 21, 2010
DVD
Suggested Retail Price: $45.99 US; $54.99 Canada
Feature Run Time: Approx. 1018 minutes (24 1-hour episodes)
Rating: US: TV-14 DLSV
Canada: PG Not Recommended for Young Children, Violence
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (1.78:1)
Languages: English; Spanish and French subtitles
Review: "Ninotchka" and Greta Garbo Are Eternally Beautiful (Happy B'day, Greta Garbo)
Ninotchka (1939) – Black & White
Running time: 108 minutes (1 hour, 48 minutes)
DIRECTOR: Ernst Lubitsch
WRITERS: Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, and Walter Reisch; from an original story by Melchior Lengyel
PRODUCER: Sidney Franklin (no screen credit) and Ernst Lubitsch
CINEMATOGRAPHER: William (H.) Daniels
EDITOR: Gene Ruggiero
Academy Award nominee
ROMANCE/COMEDY
Starring: Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Ina Claire, Sig Rumann, Felix Bressart, Alexander Granach, and Bela Lugosi
1939 was a banner year for movies, seeing the release of films such as Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Gone with the Wind, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz, and Wuthering Heights, among many, many others. Another film stood out because of a catchy advertising campaign. When ads for the film, Ninotchka, proclaimed “Garbo Laughs!,” film fans knew they were in for a special treat as the legendary actress Greta Garbo starred in her first romantic comedy. The now-famous film slogan was actually created before the screenplay was written, and the film was built around it. Ninotchka, now considered by some to be a classic film about romance in Paris, went on to earn Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Actress, Original Story, and Screenplay.
Three Soviet envoys: Michael Simonavich Iranoff (Sig Rumann), Buljanoff (Felix Bressart), and Kopalski (Alexander Granach) arrive in Paris during springtime to sell some czarist jewels to earn enough money for their government to buy bread for the Russian populace, as the country’s own food production has come up too short to feed the Soviet masses. The trio, however, falls in love with their decadent new capitalist environment and spend their time being wined and dined. Nina Ivanovna Yakushova, known to her friends as Ninotchka (Greta Garbo) is the dour, severe Soviet official sent to straighten out the mess her three comrades have made. However, the special magic of Paris in the spring turns business to pleasure when she meets a suave Frenchman named Count Leon D’Algout (Melvyn Douglas). Leon is a friend of the Russian exile, Grand Duchess Swana (Ina Claire), who is the rightful owner of the czarist jewels in question, as she was a noblewoman before the Bolsheviks overthrew the Czarist Empire in Russia. Initially, Leon’s only thoughts are to reclaim the jewels for his friend and probable lover, the Grand Duchess, but he falls for Ninotchka, who resists at first, but soon succumbs to Leon’s charms. Will their budding romance survive a jealous Grand Duchess and Ninotchka’s Soviet bosses.
The film works on several levels, but its best charms come from Greta Garbo’s great comic performance as the title character and from the hilarious screenplay that wickedly pokes fun at the stuffy and dour Soviet regime of the times. Ms. Garbo is sly and droll as the no-nonsense and no-fun Ninotchka who first arrives in Paris. Her kabuki-like mask of seriousness brings the best out of Melvyn Douglas, and his performance as Leon, trying to woo Ninotchka, to make her laugh. As she finally gives in and laughs at Leon’s jokes, we can see Ms. Garbo’s mask begin to slowly break before she finally erupts in genuine laughter that really turns on this film’s magic.
The screenplay (co-written by the legendary Billy Wilder) is known for all it’s witty asides and sharp jabs at the Soviets, but the writers also take gentle swipes at the overly pampered and spoiled rich who live so lavishly that they don’t really appreciate or notice how well they have it. Directed with flair and finesse by Ernst Lubitsch (The Shop Around the Corner and To Be or Not to Be), a director known for his sophistication, Ninotchka is a film treasure and a great romance for moviegoers who love the enchanting best of that genre.
8 of 10
A
NOTES:
1940: Academy Awards: 4 nominations: “Best Picture,” “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Greta Garbo), “Best Writing, Original Story” (Melchior Lengyel), and “Best Writing, Screenplay” (Charles Brackett, Walter Reisch, and Billy Wilder)
This film entered the National Film Registry, Library of Congress in 1990.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
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Friday, September 17, 2010
Who Will Get to See "Paranormal Activity 2" First?
YOU DECIDE WHO SEES “PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2” FIRST!
"Demand” That Your City is One of the Top 20 to Win A First Look At the Eagerly Awaited Next Installment
HOLLYWOOD, CA (September 16, 2010) – Paramount Pictures will debut PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 for the fans that “Demand” to see it first. The Demand it!® campaign launches at midnight tonight, and the first 20 cities with the highest “demands” for the movie will be invited to attend a free screening on Wednesday, October 20th at 11:59 pm, before the film’s nationwide release.
“The support of the online community was phenomenal on the first film.
We want to reward them for that support by offering them the chance to see it first,” said Rob Moore, Vice Chairman of Paramount Pictures.
Dread Central is calling PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 “The most anticipated horror event of the year,” and Bloody Disgusting states, “If the first one gave you nightmares, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 looks to induce night terrors!”
“What is unique and exciting about PARANORMAL ACTIVITY is the depth of commitment from fans who ‘demanded’ to see it.” said Adam Goodman, President of Paramount Film Group.
To “demand” PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 visit: http://www.paranormalmovie.com/.
The Demand it! campaign is available to U.S. and Canadian residents aged 17 and older ends at 11:59 pm on Wednesday, October 13th. The top 20 cities will be announced on Friday, October 15th. No purchase necessary.
Follow PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TweetYourScream for audience reactions and important announcements.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 is produced by Jason Blum and Oren Peli with story by Michael R. Perry and screenplay by Michael R. Perry and Christopher Landon, and directed by Tod Williams.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
VIZ Media Announces Anime DVDs FOR September and October 2010
VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced several new DVD releases scheduled for September and October that expand the company’s popular BLEACH, NARUTO and VAMPIRE KNIGHT animated series.
New BLEACH Releases Include:
BLEACH Volume 32 • Rated ‘T’ for Teens • MSRP: $24.92 U.S. / $35.99 CAN • Available September 21st
Captain Hitsugaya’s advance Soul Reaper troops get involved in some unexpected sidelines during their stay in the World of the Living. When Karin Kurosaki agrees to go up against a tough group of middle school students in a game of soccer, Hitsugaya himself steps in to lend a hand. Then all the top members of Karakura First High School’s kendo team are injured, and Ikkaku is brought in to put the remaining team members through a training regimen from hell! Contains episodes 132 thru 135.
BLEACH UNCUT BOX SET SEASON 6 • Rated ‘T’ for Teens • MSRP: $49.95 U.S. / $71.99 CAN • Available September 28th
Back in the World of the Living, Ichigo Kurosaki has been officially recognized as a Substitute Soul Reaper by the Soul Society. But trouble soon comes to Karakura Town in the form of Visoreds, a group of ex-Soul Reapers that have crossed over into the realm of the Hollows. As they try to recruit Ichigo to their side, it is revealed that former Captain Sosuke Aizen is attempting to create an army of Hollows with Soul Reaper powers called Arrancars. It will take Ichigo and his friends, along with a detachment of Soul Reapers, to keep them from destroying the town. Contains episodes 110 thru 121 (Original and Uncut)
For more information on BLEACH, please visit http://www.bleach.viz.com/.
New VAMPIRE KNIGHT Releases Include:
VAMPIRE KNIGHT Volume 2 • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens • MSRP: $19.97 U.S. / $28.99 CAN • Available September 28th
A new teacher arrives at Cross Academy with a hidden identity and possibly deadly connection to Zero, whose suffering is driving him to desperation. Yuki's feelings are torn between Zero and Kaname, and her determination to help Zero may lead her to betray the one she loves most. Contains episodes: 5-8
For more information on VAMPIRE KNIGHT, please visit: http://www.shojobeat.com/
New NARUTO and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN Releases Include:
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN BOX SET 4 SPECIAL EDITION • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens • MSRP: $69.97 U.S. / $99.99 CAN • Available October 19th
Team Kakashi's spying mission brings them face to face with the Leaf's most deadly enemy, Orochimaru. Naruto's rage brings forth the Nine-Tailed Fox, but at great risk to both himself and those he cares for the most. With Naruto's rampage quelled, the team continues on to Orochimaru's lair to find Sasuke, but the mysterious Sai has disappeared. Could one of their own be planning the ultimate betrayal?
The Special Edition Box Set contains 14 episodes (episodes 40-53) on 3 discs, and a special limited edition collectible Sasuke figure.
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN BOX SET 4 STANDARD EDITION • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens • MSRP: $49.95 U.S. / $71.99 CAN • Available October 19th
DVD-only collection featuring 14 episodes on 3 discs. Limited edition collectible figure not included.
NARUTO UNCUT SEASON 4, PART 1 • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens • MSRP: $49.95 U.S. / $71.99 CAN • Available October 26th
In the Hidden Leaf Village there are few things that Naruto and Choji love more than a steaming bowl of Ichiraku ramen. But when the daughter of the noodle shop owner is kidnapped, they’re on the case. Then, missions for the Leaf ninja lead them to the Land of Bears after a fallen meteorite and on to the Land of Greens where the team must protect a princess. When an evil ninja who’s after the princess gets in their way, Naruto puts his life on the line to save her! Contains episodes 164-191.
For more information on NARUTO and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN, please visit http://www.naruto.com/
About VIZ Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), is one of the most comprehensive and innovative companies in the field of manga (graphic novel) publishing, animation and entertainment licensing of Japanese content. Owned by three of Japan’s largest creators and licensors of manga and animation, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media is a leader in the publishing and distribution of Japanese manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and South Africa and is a global ex-Asia licensor of Japanese manga and animation. The company offers an integrated product line including the popular monthly manga anthology SHONEN JUMP magazine, graphic novels, and DVDs, and develops, markets, licenses, and distributes animated entertainment for audiences and consumers of all ages. Contact VIZ Media at 295 Bay Street, San Francisco, CA 94133; and website at http://www.viz.com/.
Review: "Gone Baby Gone" Superb Directorial Debut for Ben Affleck
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 9 (of 2008) by Leroy Douresseaux
Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Running time: 115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence, drug content, and pervasive language
DIRECTOR: Ben Affleck
WRITERS: Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard (from the novel by Dennis Lehane)
PRODUCERS: Ben Affleck, Sean Bailey, Alan Ladd, Jr., and Danton Rissner
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Toll (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: William Goldenburg
2008 Academy Award nominee
CRIME/DRAMA/MYSTERY/THRILLER
Starring: Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, John Ashton, Amy Ryan, Amy Madigan, Titus Welliver, Michael K. Williams, Edi Gathegi, and Madeline O’Brien
Like Martin Scorsese did before him in 1973 with Mean Streets, Ben Affleck visits the tough streets of a city in which he’s familiar, Boston, for his film Gone Baby Gone, based upon a Dennis Lehane (Mystic River) novel. There Affleck tells a harrowing tale of shocking crime, brutal violence, and ultimate betrayal set in the seedy underbelly of a lower working class neighborhood.
Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan), two young private detectives, are hired by grieving aunt, Beatrice “Bea” McCready (Amy Madigan), to take a closer look into the disappearance of her niece, a little girl named Amanda (Madeline O’Brien). Capt. Patrick Doyle (Morgan Freeman), the head of the investigation, and the two senior detectives, Det. Remy Bressant (Ed Harris) and Det. Nick Poole (John Ashton), aren’t happy about Bea and her husband, Lionel McCready (Titus Welliver), bringing in Kenzie and Gennaro, whose specialty is finding missing debtors.
Patrick and Angie take their investigations to the extra mean streets of the Boston neighborhood where the major players, including themselves, live. Patrick and Angie soon trace the child’s disappearance to some kind of deal gone bad involving her mother, a loud and vulgar drug addict/alcoholic named Helene McCready (Amy Ryan, in an Oscar nominated role). Ultimately, Kenzie finds himself risking everything, including his relationship with Gennaro, their sanity and lives, to find Amanda. Nothing is what it seems, and the case is vastly complicated.
If Ben Affleck was known as a pretty boy actor who made bad career choices, now he’s known as an up and coming director to watch. Gone Baby Gone, which Affleck also co-wrote with Aaron Stockard, is a sharp, edgy and morally ambiguous tale. The detective angle of the story is certainly a piece of pulp crackerjack that is as sweet and bitter as dark chocolate, but also as addictive as faerie food. Once you bite into Affleck’s beautiful/accursed confection, you will never leave it, and it won’t leave you.
That’s because the heart of Gone Baby Gone is so frighteningly familiar to viewers – the unsettling notion of a small child stolen by a monstrous human who savages, violates, and ultimately destroys a young life by murder or psychological ruin. However, novelist Dennis Lehane’s tale takes you to even darker regions below the surface of this familiar scenario, and Affleck doesn’t shy from visualizing the story into a film that goes for the vulnerable places on your body and in your mind. It’s the place where the self-righteous find that not only is the road to damnation paved with good intentions but that their justifications make them as bad as the worse people.
Ben Affleck also found his film gifted with a number of high quality performances, including some from Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, and Amy Madigan, among others. The stand outs are the director’s brother, Casey Affleck, and Amy Ryan. Affleck, playing the little tough guy, is a bubbling cauldron as he takes his Patrick Kenzie from the sweet guy who really cares to the tough guy/bad ass detective who can take on the most dangerous on mean street.
Amy Ryan is superb as Helene McCready. Simply put, the audience has no reason to believe that Helene is not a real-life breathing person with an ugly past, a pathetic present, and a loser future. Ryan makes you believe that Helene is both lost in an addictive personality and a totally lousy mother. This is the richness of Ben Affleck’s Gone Baby Gone.
9 of 10
A+
NOTES:
2008 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Amy Ryan)
2008 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Amy Ryan)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
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Spike TV's "Deadliest Warrior" Heading to the Big Screen
PARAMOUNT BRINGS SPIKE TV’S “DEADLIEST WARRIOR” TO THE BIG SCREEN
HOLLYWOOD, CA (September 14, 2010) – Paramount Pictures announced today it has made a deal for Shawn Levy's 21 Laps Entertainment to do a big-screen adaptation of sister company Spike TV's original hit series "Deadliest Warrior." The announcement comes on the heels of the show’s Season 2 finale, which brought about exceptional ratings for the network. Spike TV has renewed the series for a third season.
This partnership by Paramount and Spike TV marks the first time that the Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B) owned companies have worked together. “Spike has some of the most innovative and forward-thinking content on television today, “Deadliest Warrior” being no exception. The property has proven its ability to engage audiences across multiple platforms,” said Paramount Film Group President Adam Goodman. “We hope this is the first of much future collaboration with Spike.”
"Deadliest Warrior" pits history's greatest warriors against one another to determine who reigns supreme. Along with the use of 21st century science and the latest in CGI technology, the series enlists world-class fighters, historians and weapons experts to provide insight into the unique history and style of these combatants which culminates in a head-to-head final fight between two warriors to declare which one would have been the deadliest. The first two seasons showed such memorable battles as Spartan vs. Ninja, Viking vs. Samurai, Pirate vs. Knight, Yakuza vs. Mafia and Comanche vs. Mongol.
The film's storyline is being kept under wraps.
Shawn Levy and 21 Laps President Dan Levine will produce the film, with the possibility that Levy may direct. The property fits within Levy and 21 Laps’ ongoing expansion from family comedies to event action movies, following the “Night and the Museum” franchise and Levy’s current action drama “Real Steel” with Hugh Jackman for DreamWorks.
ABOUT PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The company's labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio Group, and Worldwide Television Distribution.
ABOUT SPIKE TV
Spike TV http://www.spike.com is available in 98.6 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV's Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV's press site at http://www.spike.com/press.
ABOUT "DEADLIEST WARRIOR"
“Deadliest Warrior,” which just completed its second season in late July, is Spike TV’s most successful original franchise. The series is a hit with the network’s male fan base, ranking #2 in its timeslot on Tuesday nights with Men 18-34 on cable. “The Deadliest Warrior” Xbox LIVE Arcade game has been a top-selling title on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, selling over 190,000 units within the first month of its July 14 release. Season three premieres on Spike TV next summer with all new legends of the battlefield and unprecedented matchups. Richard “Mack” Machowicz, a Navy SEAL joins the cast for the new season, which includes Geoff Desmoulin and Dr. Armand Dorian.
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