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Latest Hollywood script deals
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Indie production and management concern Benderspink has optioned the rights to an upcoming comic book titled "Starkweather."
Estonia's "Autumn Ball" a festival favorite
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Strong on atmosphere and angst, the multistrand Estonian drama "Autumn Ball" takes its time bringing together its orbiting characters, a half-dozen aching souls in a housing complex on the outskirts of Tallinn.
Matt Damon wins "sexiest man" title
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hollywood actor Matt Damon, star of "The Bourne Ultimatum," was named on Wednesday as the "sexiest man alive" 2007 by People magazine. Damon is the 22nd recipient of the magazine's sexy title, which was awarded to George Clooney both last year and in 1997, to Matthew McConaughey in 2005 and to Jude Law in 2004. The first winner in 1985 was Mel Gibson.
"Mr. Magorium" strains to be Wonder-ful
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - One of the central characters in "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" longs to achieve the "sparkle" that shows she's inspired and expressing her highest potential. The film, presumably, aims for that same glow. But for all its playful touches and neat-o nostalgia for nondigital entertainment, the whimsy feels forced
"Crossing Jordan" actress "Ready" for Piven comedy
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Crossing Jordan" alumna Kathryn Hahn has been cast in the comedy feature "The Goods: The Don Ready Story," starring Jeremy Piven in the title role.
Tom Cruise, Fred Claus Denied
Los Angeles (E! Online) - When is a Tom Cruise movie not a Tom Cruise movie?
Bush tops Film Threat's 'Frigid 50' list
LOS ANGELES - He's not exactly a movie star. He doesn't even play one on TV. But President Bush nonetheless has been named the coldest person in Hollywood.
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| Welcome to Movie-Leisure |
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| Movie reviews !! |
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Gimme Shelter this is not. The disillusions and stabbings of the 1969 concert have been replaced by the Clinton Foundation's benefit for the Natural Resource Defense Council and snapping camera phones. But Shine a Light is helmed by Martin Scorsese -- the man behind Goodfellas and Raging Bull -- shouldn't it push the boundaries set by Charlotte Zwerin and the Maysles brothers nearly 40 years ago? It should, but Scorsese has always had a cinematic hard-on for the Rolling Stones, and the result is a personal, biased love letter to the Stones signed with love by Marty.
When the Stones take the stage at New York City's Beacon Theater, it's frightening -- their age truly shows on film. As giants on the silver screen, we have a front row seat for an exhibition of frail bodies moving in ways that only young men should move. As Mick Jagger belts out songs of youthful rebellion and sexual frustration, he still does the same androgynous dances of yesteryear. Yet, this off-putting display of aged youth is clearly a place of sentiment for Scorsese, whose camera lingers with love.
That's not to say that the film is entirely a concert video, it is broken up by archival footage of the band -- comprised mostly old interviews. When Jagger, Richards and the crew aren't on stage shaking the skin hanging off their bones, their younger selves are making fools of themselves off stage -- displaying their naïveté at the end of a journalist's camera. While this might have been a point to show some sort of retrospective contrast to the geriatric Stones still rocking today, it merely perpetuates the idea that nothing has changed other than the Stones' bodies -- they are the oldest bunch of lovable 16-year-olds rock and roll has ever seen.
But there is one clear area where both the Stones and Scorsese have changed. Not only do the Stones alter their lyrics, taking out the more risqué lines of "Some Girls" and "Sympathy for the Devil," but, for whatever reason, Scorsese takes it upon himself to censor Jagger by removing several of his dropped F-bombs. The fact that several swears still slip through is even more maddening, as if Scorsese is putting his PG-13 rating on stage with the Stones. Rock and roll isn't rated PG-13. But Shine a Light provides a truncated, Wal-Mart version of the Rolling Stones that's as acceptable as the Pirates of the Caribbean pin on Keith Richard's jacket.
Sentimentality and nostalgia might fill the gaps for aging Stones fans, but for the rest of us, it's a missed opportunity for a reflection on the times and the unstoppable Stones. Gimme Shelter defined a change in a generation, but Shine a Light inadvertently defines our time of political correctness and accessibility through censorship. Perhaps the only insight we have into the post-2000 Rolling Stones is when Scorsese's camera swings into the drum set -- focused on drummer Charlie Watts -- and he unleashes a tiring sigh not more than three songs into the set. It's the only moment of weakness, of age, of reality. The rest is rock and roll that's sanitized for the whole family.
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| Nim's Island |
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Movies aimed at preteen boys are a dime a dozen, particularly as we approach the summertime when superhero movies compete with science-fiction sequels and bawdy high school comedies for available multiplex screens.
Young girls, unfortunately, aren't so lucky. On the rare occasion that Hollywood does decide to throw teen girls a bone, they're spoon-fed skeletal garbage like the dreadful Nancy Drew or a doomed vehicle for Hilary Duff. Asking Kirsten Dunst to sharpen an edge for Mary Jane Watson in the Spider-Man movies doesn't count.
Nim's Island tries to rectify this dire situation, and gets off to a strong start before abandoning its imaginative premise for madcap antics. Nim (Abigail Breslin) is the intelligent, inquisitive, and independent daughter of marine biologist Jack Rusoe (Gerard Butler, versatile in multiple roles). The two live a peaceful existence on an isolated island in the South Pacific. Jack searches for undiscovered single-cell organisms while Nim embarks on adventures with her best friends, Silky the sea lion and Galileo the pelican. Once a week, a supply ship brings food, tools, and the latest novel from best-selling author Alex Rover (Jodie Foster).
Nim's self-confidence is admirable, and her message deserves to be spread: "With a little imagination, I can go anywhere," she tells doting dad. When plot contrivances allow Nim and Alex to communicate via email, Island conveys welcome impressions about finding courage in life's difficult choices. For Nim, it might mean venturing to the mouth of a dormant volcano. For Alex, an agoraphobic, it might mean trekking to the mailbox to pick up today's post (though the fact that an agoraphobic has a detached mailbox in the first place is kind of silly).
Somewhere along the way, however, co-directors Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett lose their own courage and allow Island to devolve into a slapdash version of Home Alone on holiday. Breslin and her animal mates use farting sea lions and flying lizards to defend the island from boorish Australian tourists. The delusional Alex braves every method of transportation to reach Nim's island so she can help, and Jack receives unlikely assistance to return home from an unsuccessful sea trip. What begins as a worthy voyage sadly drifts way off course, leaving teenage females stranded once again.
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