Amy Adams is the New Lois Lane

AMY ADAMS TO STAR AS LOIS LANE IN THE NEW SUPERMAN MOVIE FROM WARNER BROS. PICTURES AND LEGENDARY PICTURES

BURBANK, CA, March 27, 2011 — Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced today that Amy Adams will star in the coveted role of Lois Lane in the new Zack Snyder-directed feature film.

Snyder remarked, "Second only to Superman himself, the question of who will play Lois Lane is arguably what fans have been most curious about. So we are excited to announce the casting of Amy Adams, one of the most versatile and respected actresses in films today. Amy has the talent to capture all of the qualities we love about Lois: smart, tough, funny, warm, ambitious and, of course, beautiful."

Amy Adams will star opposite Henry Cavill, who plays the new Clark Kent/Superman in the film. The main cast also includes Diane Lane and Kevin Costner, as Martha and Jonathan Kent.

Amy Adams was recently honored with her third Oscar® nomination in five years, for her performance in the true-life drama "The Fighter," with Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. She previously earned Oscar® nominations for her work in the acclaimed films "Doubt" and "Junebug." She has also starred in such diverse hits as "Enchanted," "Julie and Julia," "Charlie Wilson's War," and "Catch Me If You Can." She will next be seen in Walter Salles' "On the Road" with Viggo Mortensen and "The Muppets."

Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Deborah Snyder are the producers of the film. The screenplay is being written by David S. Goyer based on a story by Goyer and Nolan. Thomas Tull and Lloyd Phillips are serving as executive producers.

The new Superman movie will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

The Empire Awards Name "Inception" Best Film

The Empire Awards are named for Empire, Britain's best-selling film magazine. The Empire Awards are voted for entirely by the British film-going public.  The 2011 Jameson Empire Awards were presented at a ceremony in London, on Sunday, March 27.

2011 Jameson Empire Awards winner:

Best Film presented by Kirin Ichiban – Inception

Best Director presented by Sony – Edgar Wright

Jameson Best Actor – Colin Firth (The King’s Speech)

Best Actress presented by Citroën – Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)

Best Newcomer – Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass)

Best Comedy – Four Lions

Best Horror – The Last Exorcism

Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Best Thriller – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Best British Film presented by The Industry Trust – Kick-Ass

Empire Inspiration presented by HMV – Edgar Wright

Empire Hero presented by Jameson Irish Whiskey – Keira Knightley

Empire Icon – Gary Oldman

Done in 60 Seconds – 127 Hours by Maeve Stam

Walt Disney's "Tangled" Now on DVD and Blu-ray

TANGLED: Grossing over 400 million dollars in global theatrical sales to date, TANGLED, The Walt Disney Studios blockbuster animated feature that takes a modern twist on the famous hair-raising fable Rapunzel, debuts as the ultimate 4-Disc Disney Blu-ray Combo Pack (3D Blu-ray + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy in a single package) on March 29, 2011.

 

As the 50th full-length animated feature in The Walt Disney Studios’ celebrated library and the first animated feature film to ever debut day-and-date on Disney Blu-ray 3D, TANGLED’s uniquely packaged home entertainment release ensures that viewers of all ages can enjoy this film on a variety of superior, hi-def media platforms while diving further into the history and quirky details behind the making of this film via amusing and informative bonus features.

Featuring unexpected heroes, magic, laughter and adventure, this animated feature is supported by an amazing cast of voice talents including Mandy Moore (“A Walk To Remember,” “The Princess Diaries”) as Rapunzel, Zachary Levi (TV’s “Chuck,” “Less Than Perfect”) as Flynn Rider, Brad Garrett (TV’s “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “’Til Death”) as Hook Hand Thug, Donna Murphy (“Spider-Man 2,” “The Fountain”) as Mother Gothel, and Ron Perlman (“Hellboy,” “Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” “The City of Lost Children”) as the Stabbington Brothers. From directors Byron Howard (“BOLT”) and Nathan Greno and the award-winning songwriter of “The Little Mermaid” and “Beauty and the Beast,” Alan Menken, TANGLED’s hair-raising adventure keeps viewers entertained throughout with its exciting storyline and memorable melodies.

TANGLED hits store shelves this spring and is available as a 4-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) for the suggested price of $49.99 US/$56.99 Canada, a 2-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD) for $39.99 US/$44.99 Canada and/or a 1-Disc DVD for $29.99 US/$35.99 Canada.

Review: "Waste Land" Finds Treasure in Trash

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 27 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Waste Land (2010)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Brazil, U.K.
Running time: 99 minutes (1 hour, 39 minutes)
DIRECTORS: Lucy Walker with Karen Harley and João Jardim
PRODUCERS: Angus Aynsley and Hank Levine
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ernesto Herrmann and Dudu Miranda with Heloísa Passos (co-D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Pedro Kos
COMPOSER: Moby
Academy Award nominee

DOCUMENTARY

Starring: Vik Muniz, Fabio, and Tíao Santos

Waste Land is an Oscar-nominated documentary that follows an art project initiated by Brazilian contemporary modern artist, Vik Muniz. Waste Land documents the two years in which Muniz joined forces with the “catadores,” the garbage pickers working at Jardim Gramacho. Gramacho is one of the world’s largest landfills, and it serves Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. These pickers dig in the garbage and refuse to find recyclable material, a job for which they are paid $20 to $25 per day.

Muniz guided the pickers in a process in which they used recyclable materials from Gramacho to create large-scale portraits of themselves. These portraits were sold at art auctions in London and were also exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in São Paulo. Along the way, Waste Land portrays the lives of the garbage pickers and their working conditions.

Waste Land is one of those pure documentaries in which the director (and, in this case, co-directors) point the camera, stand back, and let the magic happen. In that way, something is documented and the subject comes to life. The film depicts Vik Muniz as such an open-hearted and warm individual, so the pickers are drawn to talk to him. Muniz is so encouraging that when he reveals the portraits to his collaborators, the viewer will likely feel the joyful emotions of the pickers.

Best of all is how the film allows the pickers to slowly bring the viewer into their personal lives. Some even open up about their histories and personal tragedies, and the stories are poignant, sad, inspirational, and even beautiful. Waste Land reveals how connected we are and how much more we can be. It says that we can change each other’s lives, and that isn’t always a bad thing. Waste Land is one of the best films you will see all year.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2011 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Documentary, Features” (Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley)

-----------------------

2011 Empire Award Nomination List

The Empire Awards are named for Empire, Britain's best-selling film magazine. The Empire Awards are voted for entirely by the British film-going public.

The 2011 Jameson Empire Awards will be presented at a ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, on Sunday, March 27.

Complete list of nominations for the 2011 Jameson Empire Awards:

Best Film
Inception
Kick-Ass
The Social Network
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
The King's Speech

Best British Film
127 Hours
The King's Speech
Kick-Ass
Four Lions
Monsters

Best Director
David Fincher (The Social Network)
Chris Nolan (Inception)
Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World)
Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)
Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass)

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception)
James Franco (127 Hours)
Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass)

Best Actress
Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Noomi Rapace (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)
Emma Watson (Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1)
Olivia Williams (The Ghost)
Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech)

Best Newcomer
Gareth Edwards (Monsters)
Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass/Let Me In)
Jaden Smith (The Karate Kid)
Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
Mia Wasikowska (Alice In Wonderland)

Best Thriller
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Shutter Island
The Town
Black Swan
127 Hours

Best Horror
Let Me In
A Nightmare On Elm Street
The Last Exorcism
Paranormal Activity 2
The Crazies

Best Comedy
Four Lions
Get Him To The Greek
The Other Guys
Easy A
Toy Story 3

Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Inception
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Kick-Ass
Alice In Wonderland

Review: Excellent Cast Keeps "Little Miss Sunshine" Shining (Happy B'day, Alan Arkin)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 186 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Running time: 101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)
MPAA – R for language, some sex, and drug use
DIRECTORS: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
WRITER: Michael Arndt
PRODUCERS: Albert Berger, David T. Friendly, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub, and Ron Yerxa
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Tim Suhrstedt
EDITOR: Pamela Martin
Academy Award winner

COMEDY/DRAMA

Starring: Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Abigail Breslin, Steve Carell, Paul Dano, and Alan Arkin, Paula Newsome, Dean Norris, and Lauren Shiohama

Seven-year old Olive Hoover’s (Abigail Breslin) deepest wish is to compete in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in Redondo Beach, CA. Schedules and financial issues compel her parents: her mother Sheryl (Toni Collette) and her father Richard (Greg Kinnear), who is struggling to take his motivational seminar national, to make the trip from their home in New Mexico to California in a VW bus. The trio won’t be alone, though; the rest of her odd clan is coming along on this stressful road trip. That includes her heroin snorting Grandpa (Alan Arkin), her suicidal, gay uncle, Frank (Steve Carell), and her brother, Dwayne (Paul Dano), who has taken a vow of silence until he attains his dream – the Air Force Academy. Along the way, the Hoovers must learn to deal with their broken dreams, heartaches, and the broken-down VW bus. It’s the only way they’ll learn to accept themselves for who they are and to give each other the support that helps to overcome the challenges on the path of life.

Steve Carell’s hit NBC comedy, “The Office” resonates with audiences not because its portrayal of the working life in a corporate office is necessarily real, but because it captures the spirit of absurdity and idiocy that often thrives in the office space. Carell is also part of the ensemble cast of the film, Little Miss Sunshine, and perhaps, this movie resonates with audiences and critics not because it is a realistic portrayal of the nuclear and extended family (though the script does take verisimilitude to the next level). Little Miss Sunshine captures in its spirit the irritation, aggravation, and disappointments of being in a family while simultaneously capturing the essence of what makes being in a family so damn cool when it works right.

This charming little film gets it right from top to bottom – character, plot, setting, and concept. In fact, the Hoovers’ odyssey on that little VW bus and how they have to work together to make it run long enough to get them to the pageant and back is a metaphor for the hard won teamwork that it takes to keep a family in working order and working together – especially when it often seems that by every right it should be broken into hundreds of little pieces. Little Miss Sunshine doesn’t laugh at the family or their drama. Instead, it reveals the creamy inside of the family’s tough exterior through dry humor – the kind the family uses to deal with itself.

Little Miss Sunshine is also a superbly cast film because it has a superb cast. They hit their marks, and they get their moments right. Each actor knows that he or she has scenes scattered throughout the film when it’s up to the individual to not only sell his or her character, but to also sell this movie. From Steve Carell’s Frank having a run-in with a lover who spurned him to Abigail Breslin’s moment to make Olive shine at the pageant, this cast hits a home run or at least gets an extra base hit. It’s hard to find an ensemble cast that outshines them this year.

Little Miss Sunshine sometimes offers pat resolutions, but those are the sweetest pats of butter around. Sometimes, the actors seem too earnest and overact in making their characters weird and troubled. This flick, however, is filled with black humor, and ultimately, its seeming ease at reaching a resolution is hard fought. They show us the dark side of family, but it’s sweet as dark chocolate, and the aftertaste is one we’ll enjoy. Hooray to directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris who saw the magic in Michael Arndt’s script and spun gold cloth from it, and bravo to the fates for giving us an enchanting cast to bring it all to life.

8 of 10
A

Sunday, August 27, 2006

NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 2 wins: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Alan Arkin) and “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Michael Arndt); 2 nominations: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (David T. Friendly, Peter Saraf, and Marc Turtletaub) and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Abigail Breslin)

2007 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Alan Arkin) and “Best Screenplay – Original” (Michael Arndt); 4 nominations: “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Abigail Breslin), “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Toni Collette), “Best Film” (Albert Berger, David T. Friendly, and Ron Yerxa), and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris)

2007 Golden Globes: 2 nominations: “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Toni Collette)

------------------------

------------------------

Review: Wesley Snipes Pumps Little Life into "Game of Death"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 26 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Game of Death (2010)
Running time: 86 minutes (1 hour, 26 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence and language
DIRECTOR: Giorgio Serafini
WRITERS: Jim Agnew and Megan Brown
PRODUCERS: Philippe Martinez, Rafael Primorac, Billy Dietrich
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Erik Curtis
EDITORS: Kevin Budzynski and Todd C. Ramsay

ACTION/THRILLER

Starring: Wesley Snipes, Gary Daniels, Zoe Bell, Robert Davi, Aunjanue Ellis, Quinn Duffy, Michael Maurice, and Ernie Hudson

Wesley Snipes’ latest straight-to-DVD thriller, Game of Death, only received a theatrical release in Japan. Game of Death is such a low budget action flick that it barely looks better than such high-end, television crime dramas as “NCIS: Los Angeles” and the 2010 “Hawaii Five-O.”

Game of Death centers on CIA Agent Marcus Jones (Wesley Snipes). Marcus has been assigned by his company mentor, Dietrich (Michael Maurice), to act as a bodyguard for an arms dealer, Frank Smith (Robert Davi). Smith has ties to the Detroit-based Redvale Corporation and its owner, John Redvale (Quinn Duffy). Marcus’ assignment is to gather intelligence on Smith and Redvale Corp. before taking them down.

The mission is complicated when Smith falls ill shortly after he and Marcus arrive in Detroit. The mission is compromised when a rogue CIA agent, Zander (Gary Daniels), and his team make a move to kidnap Smith at Detroit Receiving Hospital. Now, Marcus fights his way through a wave of assassins and killers, while Rachel (Aunjanue Ellis), a courageous doctor, tries to save Smith’s life.

Although it shares a title with the movie Bruce Lee was filming when he died in 1973, Snipes’ Game of Death is unlikely to become a legend among film fans. It isn’t bad. It’s just a mediocre movie all around, and what isn’t mediocre is amateurish or substandard – the directing and the writing. I watched this because I am a big fan of Wesley Snipes, but even I have to admit that it was not often I found something entertaining, interesting, or engaging about this movie. I forced myself to find something in this movie to like. If you like Wesley Snipes, rent Game of Death. Why? Just because…?

4 of 10
C

Friday, March 25, 2011

-----------------------