News

This article contains massive spoilers for "Novocaine."

Although the marketing campaign for "Novocaine" is overall a pretty clever one, it does make the film's plot look as old school as possible. A mild-mannered Everyman, Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid), decides to chase after some bad guy bank robbers when, during the robbery, they kidnap the love of his life, the girl-next-door bank teller Sherry (Amber Midthunder). Going by the trailers and TV spots alone, it would seem that the only twist on such a tried-and-true "hero rescues the girl" plot is that Nathan suffers from a condition which doesn't allow him to feel pain, and thus despite his lack of combat training, he can credibly take a beating and keep on kicking.

However, it turns out that "Novocaine" has several more tricks up its sleeve than just that, especially when it comes to subverting its initial premise and the character dynamics.

It was a rough weekend at the box office. A slew of smaller releases tried to drum up some business as Warner Bros. finally unveiled director Bong Joon Ho's "Mickey 17," which disappointed greatly with a $19 million debut. That was still good enough to top the charts, which says a lot about just how poorly the weekend went. To further illustrate just how bad it was, another flop sort of flew under the radar in the form of "In the Lost Lands." One would be forgiven for not knowing this movie even exists but, nonetheless, its investors are undoubtedly unhappy.

Based on "Game of Thrones" author George R.R. Martin's short story of the same name, "In the Lost Lands" opened to just over $1 million on 1,370 screens. That made for a truly lousy $761 per-screen average. This one is Doa, despite having an awful lot of talent involved. To make matters worse,...

It’s important for movies to ask serious questions. Brian Netto and Adam Schindler’s new Netflix thriller “Don’t Move” asks a very, very big one: What if a scene that would only be a couple minutes long in any other movie was the whole damn movie?

“Don’t Move” makes a decent attempt to address themes of mortality and depression but more than anything it’s a formal filmmaking exercise. In a nutshell, the film stars Kelsey Asbille (“Yellowstone”) as Iris, a mother mourning the accidental death of her son. At the start of the film she nearly takes her own life on a hiking trail. She’s interrupted by Richard, played by Finn Wittrock (“Origin”), who snaps her out of it and helps her remember that “Broken doesn’t have to mean hopeless.”

Then, right when Iris has finally rediscovered her will to live, Richard tases her, ties her up,...

The 1940s are credited as the height of classic film noir, initially gaining notoriety with iconic movies such as The Maltese Falcon, Out of the Past, and D.O.A. Throughout the decade, countless noir movies were released and are considered to be some of the best film noirs of all time, but titles like The Dark Corner and The Locket are of equal caliber but oftentimes fail to receive the recognition they genuinely deserve.

Paul Mazursky's 1986 comedy "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" is a sharp indictment of ultra-moneyed yuppie culture, which was running rampant during the Reagan administration. Culturally speaking, the mid 1980s saw a redoubled effort to enrich the already-wealthy and encourage rich people to become obsessed with conspicuous consumption. Many, many films and TV shows about Beverly Hills were released at this time, delving deep into the cockroach nest where America's wealthy classes gathered and cannibalized each other.

Prominent among these was Mazursky's film about a rich family, the Whitemans, that recently became wealthy thanks to a wire hanger manufacturing empire. The family are all empty and unhappy. Matriarch Barbara (Bette Midler) is attempting to fill her emptiness with increasingly strange renditions of New Age spirituality, while patriarch Dave (Richard Dreyfuss) is filling his own emptiness by having an affair with the family's live-in maid, Carmen (Elizabeth Peña). Their child...

This article is part of IndieWire’s 2000s Week celebration. Click here for a whole lot more.

In medieval Europe, whole communities came together at public executions, drinking and dancing and collectively purging their sins through ceremonial bloodshed. In early 21st-century America, smaller groups gathered at multiplexes for a similar rite: Exorcizing national guilt by watching graphic torture scenes in horror movies. The latter was, of course, sanitized — the actors in these films were only pretending to be in pain, and the audience was distanced from the action by the invisible wall of a movie screen. But the psychological processes at play weren’t so different.

So-called “torture porn” — a term everyone but the critic who coined it, David Edelstein, seems to hate — developed in the 2000s alongside parallel waves of ultraviolent nihilism in French, Japanese, and South Korean cinema, not to mention the neo-grindhouse revival. But there are a...

The Saiyans are known to be warriors. Fighting is in their blood. It was a mystery for Dragon Ball fans how Goku became stronger after every fight. Dragon Ball Z cleared the doubts by revealing that he belongs to the Saiyan race. But physical prowess does not guarantee victory. Fighters always require something more to compete and win.

Son Goku seemed to possess that extra thing that helped him win fights most of the time. While fans seem to be scratching their heads to find the special ability, the late Akira Toriyama mentioned it during an interview. Control over ki is the secret to Goku winning most of his fights.

Akira Toriyama Revealed The Secret Behind Son Goku’s Multiple Victories Son Goku (Credit: Toei Animation)

Son Goku has been involved in several fights and has managed to win most of them. Every time, Goku produced something extra that gave him the win.

Krillin has died many deaths (literally) in Dragon Ball, but fans just can’t get enough of it. Being an ancillary character came with a real disadvantage in the case of Krillin. Every now he died, and every then he was born again, thanks to the dragon balls.

While he might have had some fascinating tricks like the Destructo Disc up his sleeve, they weren’t really helpful in sending the fate some other way. Out of his multiple demises, fans remember this one the most. Maybe that’s why they want to see it again.

Slight spoilers for Dragon Ball ahead:

Dragon Ball Fans Need to Have Mercy on Poor Krillin

It has to be Krillin; maybe that’s why the Dragon Ball character might’ve thought of hiding under the disguise of a fused creature. Well, that was a coincidence we saw in Elden Ring, but that would...

The importance of international comics, especially manga, has seen an unexpected rise in the West for the past few decades. While many believe that it might be the stories portrayed in the mangas that make them popular, Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama had a different opinion. He believed that the flaw lay in the American comic book publishers like Marvel and DC.

Dragon Ball By Akira Toriyama | Toei Animation

While Marvel and DC have grown in terms of digital entertainment like movies, TV series, games, etc., they have seen a tremendous decrease in their comic book popularity for some time. These publishing companies are almost centuries old, and although they might have grown with time, the content within them might still be the same.

Toriyama believed that comic books in America are mainly created for children, and when their readers grew older, they shifted their focus towards more mature and complex narratives,...

Known for their strength, violence, and pride, the Saiyans are probably the strongest race in the Dragon Ball universe. Their ability to increase their power and go berserk in times of crisis makes them adaptive and fierce to the strongest of attacks. Additionally, until a few years ago, it was believed that the Saiyans did not have many weaknesses in battle.

Broly in Dragon Ball Super: Broly | Toei Animation

But all this changed when Dragon Ball Super: Broly came out. Broly was the epitome of the Saiyan race, and he was deemed a Legendary Super Saiyan who appeared every one thousand years. However, even the Legendary Super Saiyan was shown to be weak against electric shocks given to him by his father Paragus.

This led to fans believing that maybe the Saiyan race has some kind of vulnerability to electricity or electric shocks. But according to a Reddit post, the Saiyans,...

It's no secret that a film's opening weekend dictates its future in Hollywood. Make a big splash on opening weekend, and talk suddenly turns to sequels, franchises, and Happy Meal toys. Sink on opening weekend, and you've written your own death warrant. Sink spectacularly, and you become the stuff of legend. A bad, horrific legend, but a legend nonetheless. But what if you were told that the movie Box Office Mojo cites as the worst theatrical wide opening ever bombed so badly that you likely have never even heard of it? Even Doa films like Battlefield Earth and Gigli have notoriety, but The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure doesn't even register as that. And if that means that a child is spared the horror of actually watching it, then count your blessings. I wasn't.

PlayStation’s most recent State of Play finally revealed Concord as a Moba PvP Fps experience. This will be the first game from Firewalk Studios, a recently founded company. The confirmed price for this game is $40, in contrast to the recent additions to Game Pass.

The success of this title could be in trouble; the competition is fearless. Valorant, like Call of Duty Black Ops 6, will be part of the Xbox service, which means that creating a new live service title that costs this much is a very complex product to sell. Additionally, players are very selective about this kind of game.

Concord Is Facing Some Serious Competition With Call of Duty Black Ops 6 and Valorant Being on Xbox Game Pass Concord could be losing the battle before the release thanks to the new additions of Xbox Game Pass like Valorant.

Concord, a game that bears a striking resemblance to titles such as Overwatch,...

Get ready for another thrilling episode of “The Equalizer” airing this Sunday, April 21, 2024, at 8:00 Pm on CBS. In Season 4 Episode 6, titled “Doa,” viewers will be drawn into the world of an enigmatic woman with a mysterious background who possesses extraordinary skills.

As the protagonist navigates the complexities of her own past, she channels her unique abilities to assist those who have nowhere else to turn. In this episode, viewers can expect high-stakes action, gripping suspense, and unexpected twists as the protagonist takes on a new case.

With each episode, “The Equalizer” continues to captivate audiences with its compelling storytelling and dynamic characters. Whether she’s outsmarting adversaries or unraveling complex mysteries, the enigmatic woman at the heart of the series proves time and again that she is a force to be reckoned with.

Don’t miss “Doa,” airing this Sunday on CBS, as “The Equalizer” once again proves why it’s must-watch television.

The Equalizer fans, we’ve got a fresh off the press preview for the new Season 4 Episode 6 episode titled Doa!

Find out everything you need to know about the Doa episode of The Equalizer, including a full preview, videos, release date, cast information and how to watch!

The Equalizer Doa Season 4 Episode 6 Preview

Get ready for an action-packed episode of “The Equalizer” titled “Doa,” airing on CBS at 8:00 Pm on April 21, 2024. In this thrilling installment, viewers will be on the edge of their seats as the enigmatic woman with a mysterious background, played by Queen Latifah, utilizes her extensive skills to assist those in dire situations, who have nowhere else to turn.

In “Doa,” viewers will be drawn into a high-stakes case as the team races against time to unravel a complex web of deceit and danger. With heart-pounding action and intense suspense, this episode of “The Equalizer” promises...

It looks like the perennially photogenic staff at Seattle General won't be hanging up their scrubs anytime soon.

ABC announced today that Grey's Anatomy has been renewed for a 21st season.

It's historic news for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that Grey's has once again cemented its place as the longest-running scripted series in ABC history.

It's also the longest-running medical drama in TV history, and only a few other dramas of any category have it beat.

With its 21st season, Grey's will take the number three spot away from Gunsmoke, and only two Law & Order series (the original and Svu) have enjoyed longer tenures.

So yeah, Meredith and company have been with us for a very long time.

And with Grey's Anatomy Season 20 earning positive reviews for new showrunner Meg Marinis, there's no telling how much longer the series may stick around.

“The...

If someone wanted a gateway introduction to Takashi Miike, a seasoned fan would likely direct that person's attention toward ‘Audition,' or ‘Ichi the Killer.' The caveat here is that these are full-length films: Neither of them get their point across instantly, and traces of that characteristic Miike calamity come and go.

The beginning of Miike's ‘Dead or Alive' is such an effective taste test because it showcases the sheer zaniness of the prolific director's mind, all within a mere few minutes. The opening shot features the dynamic duo of protagonists, Detective Jojima and Yakuza member Ryuuichi as they pop a squat, crane their necks to look backwards towards the camera and count to four in English.

It is like the two are theme park conductors about to lead their viewers on a rollercoaster ride: Once they reach four, the iconic ‘Doa' logo pops up against a black backdrop,...

Meg Ryan's new movie What Happens Later receives negative reviews, continuing her 25-year streak of poorly-reviewed films. Critics find the plot and construction of the movie problematic, with reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes stating that it lacks humor and has more serious overtones than expected. Although Meg Ryan's comedic timing and conversational style shine in the film, David Duchovny's performance falls short in matching her charisma.

Once thought of as "America's Sweetheart" because of her endearing roles in a series of romantic comedies and heartwarming films, Meg Ryan's new movie What Happens Later continues a 25-year Rotten Tomatoes streak of negative reviews. Ryan became one of the most beloved actresses in the world after moves like You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, and When Harry Met Sally. Since the early 2000s, however, her career has been more defined by a long run of flops and poorly reviewed films. After taking a break from acting,...

Numbers have begun rolling in for this second to last weekend of September 2023 and to be brutally honest: they are pretty terrible. Expend4bles is looking to come in severely under where even the most modest of tracking had it with what is looking like an $8-$10 million opening. In our Thursday predictions I saw that the fourthquel was tracking to a mid teens opening and thought it could get to around $17 million. It seems audiences decided to go the other way with this one and let it die a quiet death, the way many members of the Expendable team seem to have, as the film only features a handful of returning stars.

In his 5/10 review for the film, our Editor in Chief Chris Bumbray said that the film was neither as bad as most critics had written, yet still not very good. I would say I agree with that assessment,...

Vanity projects can be divisive, with audiences often feeling deceived when the hype doesn't match the execution. Filmmakers who refuse to compromise and have full control over their projects can be seen as interesting and admirable, even if their films are not critically acclaimed. While some vanity projects flop, others, like Sylvester Stallone's Rocky and Billy Bob Thornton's Slingblade, go on to find success and critical acclaim, challenging the notion that all vanity projects are bad.

Cringe is in the eye of the beholder. Indeed, everyone thinks they are star-worthy. Modern social media is founded on the promise anyone can quit their dreary day-job. Isn’t every new director/writer/star guilty of this crime? Rudy Ray Moore’s body of work was only possible through his delusion he could act and knew karate. Today, his films are considered cult classics. Quentin Tarantino cast himself in his own movies,...

At one point, Meg Ryan was one of Hollywood's most bankable names. With classics such as When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in Seattle, the actor garnered wide critical acclaim for her performances and a significant fan base. From the 1980s until the early 2000s, the decades in which the popularity of romantic comedies was at its peak, Meg Ryan was one of the many actors who at one time reigned as the queen of the genre.

Update May 4, 2023: This article has been updated with further information regarding Meg Ryan, including details on her upcoming film What Happens Later.

While her name is primarily still synonymous with romantic comedies, her body of work encompasses a wide range of projects that exhibit her capacity as an actor. Regardless, her career has somewhat faded into a relative lull, at least by the measure of online buzz and discussion. Does this reflect...

Exclusive: Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns) is in advanced talks and Ron Perlman (Hellboy) and Lin Shaye (Insidious) are attached to star in action director Renny Harlin’s (Cliffhanger) horror-thriller Carrier, scripted by the 10 Cloverfield Lane writing team of Josh Campbell and Matt Stuecken.

In Carrier, when a mysterious phenomenon leads to mass chaos, a splintering family escapes to a small island…but their troubles are only beginning.

The movie is among the first projects for Renee Tab and Christopher Tuffin’s recently minted sales firm Sentient Pictures International, which is handling world rights at the virtual EFM, which wraps this week.

Principal photography is slated to commence in fall 2022 in Europe and will be produced by Extraordinary Entertainment’s Harlin and Daljit DJ Parmar, alongside Spi’s Pierre Morel, Renee Tab and Tuffin.

Executive producers will be Michael Yeates, Campbell, Stuecken, Dimiter Nikolov, Andrew Marcus, Andy Schefter and Rob Van Norden.

Netflix's "Kate" doesn't hide its influences -- it wears them loudly and proudly. For director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, those references aren't the films the trailer suggests. It's certainly no "Crank" or an excellent old-school noir, "D.O.A.," but was inspired by the anime Nicolas-Troyan consumed as a kid in France, long before his days as a soldier and visual effects supervisor.

Nicolas-Troyan worked on "One Hour Photo," "The Ring," and "The Weatherman" before he finally took a seat in the director's chair. His feature debut was "The Huntsman: Winter's War," but "Kate" is perhaps closer to his personal taste and style. It's a hitman...

The post Kate Director Reveals The Anime That Influenced His 'Rock and Roll' Action Movie [Interview] appeared first on /Film.

Editor’s note: Like much of the world, Madrid is currently engaged in social distancing practices and self-isolation. That includes the city’s most celebrated filmmaker, Pedro Almodovar, who been writing essays documenting his experiences and the memories that have come up as a result. This is the first installment, provided to IndieWire by the filmmaker and translated into English by Mar Diestro-Dópido.

The Long Journey to the Night

More from IndieWireSpike Lee and Pedro Almodóvar Tapped to Curate Exhibits for Academy MuseumPedro Almodóvar Reveals Post-Oscar Plans for New Short Film Starring Tilda Swinton -- Exclusive

I had refused to write till now. I didn’t want to leave written proof of the feelings that these first few days of isolation are provoking in me. Perhaps the reason is because the first thing that I’ve discovered is that the situation is not so different to my daily routine – I...

Genesis P-Orridge, founding member of the pioneering industrial music group Throbbing Gristle and experimental unit Psychic TV, has died at the age of 70, P-Orridge’s manager Ryan Martin confirmed to Rolling Stone.

P-Orridge, who identified as “s/he” and “he/r,” died early Saturday after battling leukemia for over two years, he/r daughters said in a statement; in October 2017, P-Orridge revealed a chronic myelomonocytic leukemia diagnosis that forced the cancellation a planned European tour.

“It is with very heavy hearts that we announce thee passing of our beloved father,...

The taglines for the 1966 overstuffed turkey “The Oscar give viewers a preview of the machinations of this camp delight- “The Dreams and the Schemers… the Hustlers and the Hopefuls…All Fight for the Highest Award!”

And you thought there was a lot of campaigning now for the Academy Award!

Kino Lorber has unleashed “The Oscar” just in time for the Academy Awards Sunday on Blu-ray with a brand new 4K restoration and two audio commentaries- one with film historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson and a much more funny and caustic one with comic/actor Patton Oswalt, Oscar-nominated screenwriter Josh Olson (“A History of Violence”) and producer/writer/director Erik Nelson.

“The Oscar” was penned by Harlan Ellison, yes Harlan Ellison of “A Boy and His Dog,” “The Outer Limits” and “The Twilight Zone” fame and the team of Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene, who penned the 1949 classic noir “D.O.A.,...

Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep.

Warner Bros cast the usually reliable Ewan McGregor and Rebecca Ferguson as the leads in Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep and pitched the film to fans of Stephen King’s 1977 novel and Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 classic The Shining.

So what could go wrong? Almost everything, as Mike Flanagan’s $50 million horror movie adapted from King’s 2013 novel was D.O.A. in Australia, the Us and the rest of the world last weekend.

It was a blah weekend in Oz despite a lively launch for Chinese drama Better Days and solid starts by Bollywood comedy Bala and Pedro Almodóvar’s Cannes Film Festival hit Pain and Glory.

Martin Scorsese’s $150 million Netflix-financed The Irishman opened at about a dozen independent cinemas. There were reports of sold-out sessions at some locations but as exhibitors are obliged to sign NDAs, we will never know the grosses.

The top 20 titles generated $10.2 million,...

‘Aquaman’ (Photo: Warner Bros)

Warner Bros’ Aquaman now ranks as the studio’s third highest grosser of all time after crossing the $US1 billion threshold worldwide last week the weekend.

The James Wan-directed blockbuster has amassed $1.02 billion – $257.8 million in the Us and $732.4 million internationally – trailing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2’s $1.3 billion and The Dark Knight Rises‘ $1.08 billion.

So what does that say about the torrent of negativity, with more than one third of the critics polled by Rotten Tomatoes giving the DC Entertainment superhero adventure rotten ratings?

Either that those critics based their reviews purely on their assessment of the film’s entertainment value/artistic merits, willfully ignoring its obvious commercial appeal – or they are lousy judges of audiences’ tastes.

On Twitter, Wan thanked everyone who has “supported this underdog. For making this non-mainstream character (and yes — with leading Poc individuals in front and behind the camera!

‘Hey Blondie!’ Dagwood, Blondie, Mr. Dithers and a victimized postman return for a stab at a TV revival of the 1940s series from Chic Young’s never-ending comic strip. It’s not bad, with Arthur Lake clowning up a storm and Pamela Britton a charming new embodiment of a character who began as ‘Blondie Boopadoop.’ It’s the entire one-season series.

Blondie The Complete 1957 Television Series

DVD

ClassicFlix

1957 / B&W / 1:33 TV aperture / 26 x 30 min. / Street Date September 25, 2018 / 39.99

Starring: Arthur Lake, Pamela Britton, Stuffy Singer, Florenz Ames, Ann Barnes, Harold Peary, Hollis Irving, Elvia Allman, Lucien Littlefield.

Cinematography: Lothrop B. Wort

Original Music: Mahlon Merrick

Written by John L. Greene, George Beck, George Carleton Brown, Jo Conway, Frank Gill Jr., Gordon T. Hughes, Don Nelson, Jay Sommers, Warren Spector from characters created by Chic Young

Produced by William Harmon

Directed by Hal Yates, Paul Landres, Gerald Freedman

Chic Young’s...

Dennis Quaid is opening up about his marriage to Meg Ryan. Former co-stars Quaid and Ryan tied the knot on Valentine's Day in 1991 after falling in love on the set of the movie D.O.A. The duo went on to have a child together, a son named Jack Quaid, born in 1992. In 2000, eight years after welcoming their son, the couple announced their separation. Their divorce was finalized in the summer of 2001. Now Quaid is sharing his thoughts on his relationship with Ryan in an interview with Today's Megyn Kelly. During the interview, Quaid was asked to talk about a number of his former co-stars. When asked about Ryan, Quaid said his romance with her was the "most successful relationship" of his life. ...

Principal photography is just getting underway in Scotland on the Annabel Jankel-directed Tell It To The Bees with Anna Paquin boarding to star opposite Holliday Grainger. The period romance is based on British author Fiona Shaw’s novel that Jankel (Max Headroom, D.O.A.) calls “an unholy mash-up of 1950s social and magical realism.” Paquin plays Doctor Jean Markham who returns to her hometown to take over her late father’s practice. When a school-yard scuffle lands young…...

'The Godfather' actor Abe Vigoda. 'The Godfather' actor Abe Vigoda dead at 94; reports of his death in the early 1980s were greatly exaggerated Actor Abe Vigoda, little-known internationally – despite a supporting role in The Godfather – but popular in the U.S. as a result of the 1970s television series Barney Miller and of an erroneous 1982 People magazine obit, died in his sleep at his daughter's home in Woodland Park, New Jersey, on Tuesday, Jan. 26, '15. The cause of death seems to have been old age. Vigoda (born on Feb. 24, 1921, in New York City) was 94. 'The Godfather' Following a long stint on the stage – on Broadway (The Man in the Glass Booth, Marat/Sade) and elsewhere – Vigoda landed the role of Don Corleone (Marlon Brando) ally-turned-traitor Salvatore Tessio in Francis Ford Coppola's multiple Oscar-winning 1972 adaptation of Mario Puzo's bestseller The Godfather. “I'm really not a Mafia person,...

There have been so many movies called The Caretakers that it's really easy to get confused which one is actually which. However, there's something that this latest one has that truly sets it apart from the pack as it stars Bill Johnson, who gave a much beloved performance as Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.

Johnson stars alongside Nick Faust, Michael Coon, Joe Estevez, Brittney Saylor, Pj Woodside, and Steve Hudgins, who also directs.

From the Press Release

Recently named the Kentucky Filmmakers of the Year, Big Biting Pig Productions has announced the release of their eighth feature film: The Caretakers.

The Caretakers was written and directed by Steve Hudgins and features Bill Johnson (Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2, D.O.A.) and Joe Estevez (Apocalypse Now, Soultaker).

The movie was filmed in Madisonville, Dawson Springs, and Princeton, Kentucky, as well as Nashville, Tennessee.

The World Premiere of The Caretakers will take place on June 28th,...

Had the stylish thriller D.O.A. been more plausible, it might be more than a footnote in the history of Austin film.

Released in 1988, the murder mystery had much promise. After all, it was a loose remake of an iconic Fifties whodunit of the same title. Its leads were Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, two sexy Hollywood darlings on the verge of megastardom. At the helm were Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton, co-directors of the innovative, critically acclaimed and quintessentially Eighties TV series The Max Headroom Show.

But for all its potential, the movie D.O.A. is mostly forgettable mix of crime thriller clichés and farfetched plotting. It's a watchable bit of neo-noir, but nothing more.

read more...

It hardly seems possible that a big-budget action movie based on a comic book, starring Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds, would sneak into theaters under the radar. But that's the case with director Robert Schwentke's supernatural flick "R.I.P.D."

Bridges and Reynolds play a pair of dead cops recruited by Higher Powers to track down also-deceased bad guys who've managed to stick around Earth instead of facing Judgement Day. The duo discovers a bigger, more sinister plot by several "deados" to take over the world.

Of course, a lack of marketing and early reviews usually indicate a movie is bad news. So, is "R.I.P.D." D.O.A.? Read on to find out.

1. "R.I.P.D." = "Men in Black" + "Ghostbusters" + "Cowboys vs. Aliens"

Based on a comic book by Peter M. Lenkov, "R.I.P.D." is going for that blend of action, humor, and special effects that made "Men in Black" and "Ghostbusters" hits in their days.

Hollywood producer who helped break the male stranglehold

Laura Ziskin, who has died aged 61 from breast cancer, was an influential and widely liked Hollywood producer who presided over the breakthrough films of stars including Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts and Kevin Costner. She demonstrated an aptitude for shaping commercial hits, such as the Spider-Man movies, alongside riskier projects.

As a producer with a contract at Sony and the former president of Fox 2000 (a specialist division of 20th Century-Fox), she was one of the first generation of women, along with Sherry Lansing and Amy Pascal, to occupy positions of power in a male-dominated industry. "There are a good dozen women producers consistently working in features, making movies," she said in 1998. "Not one-offs, not one movie every 10 years, but consistently making movies. This is quite a change, a revolution."

Ziskin was born in the San Fernando Valley, California, and graduated in 1973 from the...

Los Angeles - Laura Ziskin, producer of popular films like Pretty Woman and Spider-Man, died at age 61, entertainment newspaper Variety reported Monday. Ziskin died Sunday at her home in Santa Monica, California. She had suffered from breast cancer for seven years, although she remained to the last as a producer. She only recently dropped out of work on the fourth film in the Spider-Man saga, The Amazing Spider-Man. Ziskin was responsible for hits like As Good as It Gets, Hero and To Die For. D.O.A., with Dennis Quaid, and No Way Out, starring Kevin Costner, were among her first films, in the 1980s. In 2002 she became the first woman to produce the Academy Awards ceremony alone, and...

Leading Hollywood producer Laura Ziskin has sadly passed away at the age of 61.

Ziskin – who was famous for producing the Spider-Man trilogy and upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man – lost her seven year battle with breast cancer on Sunday 12 June.

In response to her condition, Ziskin set up the Stand Up 2 Cancer charity. The SU2C telecast fundraisers received support from the likes of Michael Douglas, Halle Berry, Morgan Freeman, Meryl Streep, Forest Whitaker, Sidney Poitier, and George Clooney, among others.

In 1984, Ziskin established Fogwood Films with Sally Field where they produced No Way Out, D.O.A. and Pretty Woman.

She was the first woman to produce the Oscars telecast in 2002, and again in 2007, when she also produced the Oscars’ first Green ceremony.

In 1994, she was named president of Fox 2000 Pictures, and released such films as Courage Under Fire, Never Been Kissed, Fight Club and The Thin Red Line.

In an industry...

Mel Gibson got sloppy drunk in a bar and when he got arrested for a D.U.I. he started making inappropriate comments. That incident was made public and all the bad things suspected about Gibson were confirmed. He had had a crazy man beard, hadn’t acted since 2002, and made anti-Semitic and sexist comments. By that point he was nowhere near The Passion of the Christ or Lethal Weapon. So he did what anyone in Hollywood does when that happens: he disappeared for a while and came back doing a variation on what people loved him for, with a mix of pathos in there for good measure. In Martin Campbell’s Edge of Darkness Gibson plays a cop whose daughter is killed in front of him, and so he goes on the hunt for revenge, and unravels a conspiracy. My review of Edge of Darkness on Blu-ray after the jump.

(S02E16) "Like clothes. And killing people." - Jane, after the victim's husband said they had a marriage that didn't go by social standards

I like mystery stories where the murder victim not only knows they have just been murdered but they actually have time to call the police and help solve the crime. We saw it in the 1950 classic 'D.O.A.' and the lesser remake in 1988 with Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan.

Tonight's episode of 'The Mentalist' was like that, only the victim wasn't around long enough to see the killer come to justice.

Continue reading 'The Mentalist' - 'Code Red' Recap

 

Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, The Mentalist

Permalink | Email this | | Comments...

The director of Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Scooby Doo has been hired to call the shots on the Smurfs movie. Raja Gosnell will immediately begin work on the production to get it ready for a December 17, 2010 release.

The movie will blend computer generated Smurfs together with live-action actors. No cast members have been announced for the project so far. Not even a Smurf-sized nugget of information has leaked about what the film's story will be about.

Gosnell began his Hollywood career working as an editor on such films as Teen Wolf Too, D.O.A. and Home Alone. He made the leap to directing on 1997's Home Alone 3 and then followed it up with Never Been Kissed, Big Momma's House, the two Scooby-Doo movies and the remake of Yours, Mine and Ours. Sony Pictures is likely hoping that the worldwide fanbase for the Smurfs will translate into box office success like...