Cinema Verdict

Review: Star Wars: Clone Wars

Mac McEntire — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 08:21:09 +0000

Star Wars: Clone Wars: Opening Date: 08/15/2008; STUDIO: Warner Bros.; TRAILER: Trailer; ACCOMPLICES: Official Site

The Charge
A long time ago in a galaxy not nearly far enough away…

Opening Statement
It made me long for the subtle yet complex master craftsmanship of The Star Wars Holiday Special.

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Review: Man on Wire

Christopher Kulik — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 06:27:43 +0000

Man on Wire: OPENING DATE: 07/25/2008; STUDIO: Magnolia Pictures; TRAILER: Trailer; ACCOMPLICES: Official Site

The Charge
Incredibly risky. Highly illegal. Definitely crazy.

Opening Statement
Chances are you haven’t heard of Man On Wire or what it’s about. The critics are virtually unanimous about its greatness, with Rotten Tomatoes currently holding a score of 100% based on ninety-two reviews! This is a film which is not only screaming to be seen, but its impact will be appreciated more on the big screen.

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TIFF: Complete Film List announced

adam arseneau — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:45:37 +0000

Earlier this week we saw the release of the Toronto International Film Festival film list, a whopping 312 titles playing over a ten-day period. Next week we’ll see full film synoposes, but for now, we just have the title list.

A quick scan of the list and we see quite a few recognizable names pop out, with films from Joel & Ethan Coen (Burn After Reading), Jonathan Demme (Rachel Getting Married), Takeshi Kitano (Achilles and the Tortoise), Paul Schrader (Adam Resurrected), Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Tokyo Sonata), Atom Egoyan (Adoration), Wong Kar-wai (Ashes of Time Redux), Fernando Meirelles (Blindness), Steven Soderbergh (Che), Richard Linklater (Me and Orson Welles), Spike Lee (Miracle at St. Anna), Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), Charlie Kaufman (Synecdoche, New York) and Kevin Smith (Zack and Miri Make a Porno) to name a few.

Oh yeah, plus about 298 other films I didn’t mention yet.

Yeah, that should keep me pretty busy right there. Next week we’ll run through some of the standout selections. In the meantime, let us know in the comments below what films are looking good to you — who knows? We might be able to sneak a review in.

You can check out the complete film list here. Definitely getting excited now.

(via TIFF)

Tag Team: An interview with Scorpion King 2’s Karen David and Michael Copon

Michael Stailey — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:08:45 +0000

Prior to its release on DVD, Chief Justice Michael Stailey had the pleasure of sitting down with Scorpion King 2’s co-stars Michael Copon and Karen David about their training for the film, the experience of shooting in South Africa, working with Randy Couture (Redbelt) and director Russell Mulcahy (Highlander), and just how many scars they picked up from this project.

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Review: Swing Vote

Michael Stailey — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 01:56:11 +0000

Swing Vote: Opening Date: 08/01/2008; STUDIO: Touchstone; TRAILER: Trailer; ACCOMPLICES: Official Site

The Charge
One ordinary guy is giving the candidates a reason to run.

Opening Statement
To be honest, I don’t understand where all the critical hostility for this film is coming from. Having read and heard everything from “toothless political satire” and “woefully unfunny” to “one of the most idiotic movies about American politics ever made,” I wasn’t expecting much at all from Swing Vote. So imagine my surprise when what I found was a sweet, heartfelt father/daughter tale, set against the backdrop of American society’s rampant inability to think for itself.

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Comic actor Bernie Mac dies

adam arseneau — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 14:04:57 +0000

CNN is reporting that comedian Bernie Mac (Ocean’s Eleven, Transformers) has passed away due to complications from pneumonia. He had been in the hospital for the last week or two, but this is quite an unexpected and sad development. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.

(via CNN)

Review: American Teen

Randy Ma — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:18:45 +0000

American Teen: OPENING DATE: 07/25/2008; STUDIO: Paramount Vantage; TRAILER: Trailer; ACCOMPLICES: Official Site

The Charge
A tale of teen angst.

Opening Statement
American Teen was one of the most talked about films at Sundance, winning the Best Direction: Documentary prize at the festival. Imagine if The Hills or Laguna Beach were turned into a documentary. Imagine if reality television became the new direction for documentaries. This is not hard to imagine while watching American Teen.

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Review: Pineapple Express

Randy Ma — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:33:31 +0000

Pineapple Express: Opening Date: 08/06/2008; STUDIO: Columbia Pictures; TRAILER: Trailer; ACCOMPLICES: Official Site

The Charge
Put this in your pipe and smoke it.

Opening Statement
Following up on the success of Knocked Up and Superbad, the Apatow troupe returns with yet another script that was once on the back burner. Originally written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the Judd Apatow touch of box office gold has placed Pineapple Express on the fast track to the silver screen.

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One Night Only: Hollywood’s Drive-In Cemetery

Michael Stailey — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 07:50:43 +0000

If you happen to be in the Los Angeles area next week and are looking for a unique summer movie experience, you might want to check out the special screening of the new film Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The full details, after the jump.

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Zack and Miri dodge NC-17 rating

adam arseneau — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:56:54 +0000

Good news for Kevin Smith fans! Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Smith’s upcoming film starring Seth Rogan and Elizabeth Banks managed to land itself a crowd-pleasing R rating from the MPAA.

Kevin Smith has successfully appealed the Motion Picture Association of America’s initial NC-17 rating for his upcoming salacious-sounding comedy, which stars Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks as financially strapped roommates who try to dig themselves out of debt by making a homemade skin flick.

Smith reedited the film twice, each time receiving another NC-17, the box-office kiss of death that means no one under 17 is allowed in the theater.

If the director had lost his appeal, he still would have been contractually obligated to deliver an R-rated film to the Weinstein Co., which is releasing the picture. “I’ve gone as far as I can go, [but] my R would be a little better” than the studio’s, Smith said at Comic-Con last month.

But this time around, the MPAA’s appeals board gave the movie, which had undergone no further cuts, another look. It then slapped it with an R and called it a day.

Little has been released on the film so far, but mature audiences can check out this internet-only teaser trailer (warning: not safe for work or little children) to get a strong sense of what the film is shaping up to be.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno is expected in theaters October 2008.

(via E!online)