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Christmas and new year TV films
18 December 2009 5:30 AM, PST
| The Guardian - Film News
| See recent The Guardian - Film News news
»
Not sure what to watch? We can help with our comprehensive guide to the best films on TV this Christmas and new year
Choose a date
Saturday 19 December | Sunday 20 December | Monday 21 December | Tuesday 22 December | Wednesday 23 December |Christmas Eve | Christmas Day | Boxing Day | Sunday 27 December | Monday 28 December | Tuesday 29 December | Wednesday 30 December | New Year's Eve | New Year's Day
Saturday 19 December
Yes Man (Peyton Reed, 2008)
10am, 8pm, Sky Movies Premiere
Remember Jim Carrey in Liar, Liar, where he forces himself to tell the truth for 24 hours? Well, here Jim Carrey forces himself to answer yes to any request, for a year. Which is upping the ante somewhat, but doesn't make it a better film. This is a return to the manic, gurning, not-very-funny Carrey, as if The Truman Show, Eternal Sunshine etc hadn't happened. Just say no.
The Golden Compass (Chris Weitz, 2007)
11.40am, 8pm, Sky Movies Family
What with Harry Potter, Narnia, Lemony Snicket and all,
…
- Paul Howlett
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Christmas and new year TV films
18 December 2009 5:30 AM, PST
| The Guardian - TV News
| See recent The Guardian - TV News news
»
Not sure what to watch? We can help with our comprehensive guide to the best films on TV this Christmas and new year
Choose a date
Saturday 19 December | Sunday 20 December | Monday 21 December | Tuesday 22 December | Wednesday 23 December |Christmas Eve | Christmas Day | Boxing Day | Sunday 27 December | Monday 28 December | Tuesday 29 December | Wednesday 30 December | New Year's Eve | New Year's Day
Saturday 19 December
Yes Man (Peyton Reed, 2008)
10am, 8pm, Sky Movies Premiere
Remember Jim Carrey in Liar, Liar, where he forces himself to tell the truth for 24 hours? Well, here Jim Carrey forces himself to answer yes to any request, for a year. Which is upping the ante somewhat, but doesn't make it a better film. This is a return to the manic, gurning, not-very-funny Carrey, as if The Truman Show, Eternal Sunshine etc hadn't happened. Just say no.
The Golden Compass (Chris Weitz, 2007)
11.40am, 8pm, Sky Movies Family
What with Harry Potter, Narnia, Lemony Snicket and all,
…
- Paul Howlett
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A Christmas Carol enjoys second helpings as UK No 1
15 December 2009 3:18 AM, PST
| The Guardian - Film News
| See recent The Guardian - Film News news
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With new entries becalmed in the chart before Avatar is unleashed, Robert Zemeckis's animated spectacle surges back to the top in its sixth week of release to become the gift that keeps on giving to Disney
The marathon runner
For the past four weeks, the top spot has been occupied by 2012, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Paranormal Activity. But now, five weeks after it first entered the chart at No 1, Disney's A Christmas Carol returns to the summit. It's rare for a film in its sixth week of release to be finding much favour with audiences; to dominate the market at this point is an exceptional result. Box-office takings for Robert Zemeckis's animated Dickens adaptation went up on its second weekend by 31%, and has subsequently enjoyed small week-to-week declines of 11%, 13%, 14% and 7%. The film has now grossed over £16m, compared with £12m for Zemeckis's Polar Express (a figure
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- Charles Gant
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Rashid Irani s Review A Christmas Carol
11 December 2009 11:07 PM, PST
| Hindustan Times - Cinema
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A Christmas CarolCast: Jim Carrey, Gary OldmanDirection: Robert ZemeckisRating: ***
Clearly, he’s techno-friendly. Robert Zemeckis, the director of the Oscar-grabbing Forrest Gump, has obviously not rested on his laurels. On the heels of what has been termed the ‘performance-capture’ technique evidenced in The Polar Express and Beowulf, he returns with A Christmas Carol.
Although this may not be the best version of Charles Dickens’ novella, there’s plenty to marvel at: the wondrous 3-D visuals, Victorian England settings and inspired multiple performances by Jim Carrey.
The script zooms in on the fabled miser Scrooge (Carrey, almost unrecognisable under
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"Avatar" trailer previews a new world of cinema
9 December 2009 11:00 AM, PST
| AfterEllen.com
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Finally, the premier of Avatar is upon us.
Next Friday, Dec. 18, when the film is released, James Cameron’s vision will be realized. At least, I hope so. I’ve been looking forward to Avatar since I first heard of it — and I want it to be incredible.
Of course, Avatar already has several things going for it, as far as AfterEllen.com is concerned. Here are three.
Michelle Rodriquez
Sigourney Weaver
Zoë Saldana
Frankly, Weaver alone is enough to get me to the theater, but if Avatar works, it will be unlike anything we’ve seen so far. The film features a “new generation” of special effects and 3-D technology that promise not only to allow the viewer to see a new world, but to actually experience it. The newly released extended trailer summarizes the story.
Cameron came up with the idea of Avatar in 1995, but had to wait for technology to catch up.
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- thelinster
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How Hollywood destroyed our classical legends
3 December 2009 2:05 PM, PST
| The Guardian - Film News
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It took a millennium for western civilisation to create a canon of classical literature – but just 10 years for Hollywood to destroy it
When I think back on this decade's spate of movies based on the great legends of European history, I remember how fantastically it started – with Gladiator – and how badly things went downhill after that: with Kingdom of Heaven, Troy, 300 and Beowulf. When I saw Gladiator in 2000, I thought this was going to be just the best millennium ever. It had everything you could want in a movie: glory, gore, guts, gladiators. It was a sweeping epic with a computer-generated cast of thousands. Augustus Caesar would have been proud of it. Julius and Tiberius, too.
Yet the thing I liked most about Ridley Scott's superb film was how closely it hewed to the historical record, in its portrayal of Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) as the depraved son of Marcus Aurelius,
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- Joe Queenan
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Zombieland and Jackass set for 3D sequels
2 December 2009 9:50 AM, PST
| The Guardian - Film News
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Fresh film-makers are leaping on the 3D bandwagon as undead comedy Zombieland and stunt show Jackass both have stereoscopic spin-offs greenlit
The 3D revolution continues apace. Hollywood has greenlit new sequels to this year's well-received comedy horror Zombieland and former MTV show Jackass, both of which will be filmed in the stereoscopic format, Variety reports.
The move is part of a continuing upsurge in 3D film-making. Studios like it because they can charge more for tickets to films screened in the format, while audiences are also more likely to see a movie if it has been shot in 3D. Recent box office successes include Robert Zemeckis' Beowulf and this year's animated tale Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, while James Cameron's first feature film in 12 years, Avatar, which arrives in cinemas in December, has been shot mainly in 3D using a new type of motion capture technique.
"Everyone
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- Ben Child
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Open Forum Friday: Should There Be an Oscar Category for Motion Capture?
27 November 2009 2:52 PM, PST
| FilmJunk
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Recently we've been lamenting the fact that director Robert Zemeckis seems to be only interested in doing movies that use his patented "performance capture" technology -- that is, movies like Beowulf, The Polar Express, and A Christmas Carol, where the actors' movements and voices are recorded but then everything on screen is rendered with CG. It's not so much that the technology doesn't have potential, but the main issue is that he's so focused on the tech that the actual stories aren't necessarily compelling. Well, this week the folks over at Film Drunk [1] found an interesting article [2] where Zemeckis pushes for motion capture to be taken more seriously, particularly by the Academy Awards. The quote (translated from Spanish) is as follows:
"I'd say that the appropriate thing would be to create a new category, like when Walt Disney made the first animated movie. He got a special award since no one had ever done that.
…
- Sean
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Assorted Horror DVD & Blu-Ray News
26 November 2009 4:58 PM, PST
| Fangoria
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During our brief downtime this past week a slew of new release dates and DVDetails have emerged for some upcoming genre fare set to invade the home market. Fangoria has details and updates on the upcoming releases of Paranormal Activity, Surrogates, Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever, Rob Zombie's Halloween II, District 9, Blood Creek, She-wolf Of London, and more.
Paramount has announced that Oren Peli's runaway hit Paranormal Activity is slated for a DVD & Blu-ray release on December 29th, 2009.
The Paranormal Activity DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround (theatrical version only) and English, French and Spanish subtitles. The two-disc Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-hd Master Audio and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital (theatrical version only) and English, English Sdh, French and Spanish subtitles. Special features include:
Unrated version with alternate ending not seen in theaters
…
- no-reply@fangoria.com (James Zahn)
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Zemeckis demands new Oscar category
26 November 2009 2:24 AM, PST
| digitalspy
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Robert Zemeckis has said that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) should introduce a new Oscar category for performance capture films. The director, who has pioneered the filmmaking technique with The Polar Express, Beowulf and A Christmas Carol, told latercera that the Academy Awards should recognise the new form of animation. "I'd say that the appropriate thing would be to create a new category, like (more)
…
- By Simon Reynolds
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Robert Zemeckis Thinks Performance Capture Should Get Its Own Oscar
25 November 2009 6:46 PM, PST
| Slash Film
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Should a performance capture computer animated film production be considered for Best Animated Picture? Best Picture? Or should the Academy create a new category for this new emerging hybrid? Robert Zemeckis thinks the Academy should do just that, of course! The director of performance capture films such as Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol told latercera that "the appropriate thing would be to create a new category, like when Walt Disney made the first animated movie. He got a special award since no one had ever done that."
Zemeckis is referring to the honorary Academy Award that Walt Disney was presented with in 1939 for "a significant screen innovation which has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field." But does Zemeckis just want an Oscar for his contributions to this filmmaking innovation, or is he looking for a new category to be created specificly for these types of
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- Peter Sciretta
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'Avatar,' Woody Allen And A Tweet From Prison In Today's Twitter-Wood
24 November 2009 3:00 PM, PST
| MTV Movies Blog
| See recent MTV Movies Blog news
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If you read Twitter-Wood for the pictures, you picked a good day to stop by, because I've got a veritable Twitter slideshow set up for you today, starting with a Woody Allen jazz performance and including but not limited to Emmy Rossum in a turkey hat and Shakira hobnobbing with Larry King.
You may or may not have known that "Pulp Fiction" writer Roger Avary was currently serving time at Ventura County Jail in California. His tweets from inside recently came to my attention, such today's where he introduces a new neighbor. Check those posts out after the jump along with Richard Kelly's question about "Avatar," Dane Cook's problem with Adam Lambert and Michael Showalter's feelings about "Bad Lieutenant." It's all in the Twitter Report for November 24, 2009.
Twitter Pic of the Day:
@gregmottola just a monday night in nyc (or bourbon street) http://yfrog.com/1dg2pj
-Greg Mottola,
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- Brian Warmoth
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Pulp Fiction writer tweets on life in prison
24 November 2009 9:56 AM, PST
| The Guardian - Film News
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In 140-character takes, Roger Avary has built up a vivid portrait of life in Ventura county jail where he is being held
When Roger Avary, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Pulp Fiction, was last month sentenced to a year behind bars for his role in a fatal car crash, it seemed that a promising writing career had come to an abrupt end.
But a string of posts on social networking site Twitter has revealed that he is apparently still chronicling the underbelly of American culture.
In a series of 140-character takes, Avary has built up a vivid portrait of life in Ventura county jail where he is currently being held. "Sickness spreads throughout the facility like brush fires," he writes in his latest tweet from November 22, "and #34 [his identification number in prison] is helpless to avoid the outbreak and inevitable infection."
Though there has been no official confirmation that the Twitter feed is Avary's, there are various clues to its authenticity,
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- Ed Pilkington
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The Donner Party Opens at the Porta Vallarta Film Festival
21 November 2009 10:38 AM, PST
| 28 Days Later Analysis
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The Donner Party will show at the Porta Vallarta Film Festival beginning December 2nd and run until December 4th. A film that tackles the real life story of the Donner Party and cannibalism in the Sierra Nevada, The Donner Party stars Crispin Glover (Beowulf), William Foster, and Clayne Crawford. The full synopsis for this harrowing tale is below until a trailer can be found for The Donner Party at a future date.
A synopsis for The Donner Party here:
"The Donner Party is based on the true story of a group of westward bound settlers stranded in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in 1846. They must reach California for salvation, but without food and a guide, the group becomes disillusioned and decisions must be made so that others can stay alive. Inspired by the infamous Donner Party tragedy, the film is a harrowing look at survival and how far some will go
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- Michael Ross Allen
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She-Wolf of London Hitting DVD
19 November 2009 12:38 PM, PST
| DreadCentral.com
| See recent Dread Central news
»
Remember the show "She-Wolf of London" from 1990? Anyone? Hello? Well, don't worry, you're gonna get your chance to rediscover it when the complete series hits DVD courtesy of Universal Home Entertainment.
Synopsis
Beautiful American grad student Randi Wallace (Kate Hodge, "Fringe") never suspected that traveling to England to study with handsome mythology professor Ian Matheson (Neil Dickson, Beowulf) would change her life forever. While conducting research on the misty and mysterious English moors, Randi is attacked and bitten by a werewolf. Now cursed to transform into a bloodthirsty werewolf during every full moon, the two must find a way to save her. Follow their adventures from London to L.A. as they search for a cure, battle supernatural forces and the romantic feelings they have for one another.
Check out the artwork below, and look for more including the release date soon.
- Uncle Creepy
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news?
…
- Uncle Creepy
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Universal DVD Courts She-Wolf of London
19 November 2009
| shocktillyoudrop.com
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Just in time for Universal's February release of The Wolfman , the studio's DVD division is prepping the release of the complete season of She-Wolf of London which ran in 1990.
Beautiful American grad student Randi Wallace (Kate Hodge, "Fringe") never suspected that traveling to England to study with handsome mythology professor Ian Matheson (Neil Dickson, Beowulf ) would change her life forever. While conducting research on the misty and mysterious English moors, Randi is attacked and bitten by a werewolf. Now cursed to transform into a bloodthirsty werewolf during every full moon, the two must find a way to save her. Follow their adventures from London to L.A. as they search for a cure, battle supernatural forces and the romantic feelings they have for one another.
…
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Zemeckis Directing Motion Capture Nutcracker?
12 November 2009 8:21 PM, PST
| newsinfilm.com
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Not content with taking three beloved books and turning them into expensive, glass-eyed renderings, Robert Zemeckis is planning yet another Christmas-themed motion capture movie.
The director of The Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol is considering a 3-D animated adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s original novel, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.” According to Pajiba’s source, it will not be a re-creation of the Tchaikovsky ballet, so at least the creepy cartoons won’t be in tights.
Instead it will be a period piece set in 19th century Russia about the origins of the Nutcracker and the battle between the dolls and the mice.
I know I have been hammering Zemeckis the last few weeks for his obsession with performance capture technology, but I can’t be the only one tiring of this gimmick. Does the Nutcracker really need the performance of a high-profile actor when his jaw just goes up and down?
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- Jeff Leins
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Robert Zemeckis Planning on Directing an Adaptation of The Nutcracker
12 November 2009 7:09 AM, PST
| Reelzchannel.com
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According to Pajiba, Robert Zemeckis plans to follow up his take on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol with an adaptation of another classic Christmas story: E.T.A. Hoffman's 1816 novel The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.
Apparently, Zemeckis has plans to stick to the novel, rather than draw from the Tchiakovsky ballet performed to millions every year around Holiday time. The movie will be a period piece that tells the story of the Nutcracker's origins, including his relationship with the young girl Marie and his his battle with the seven-headed Mouse King.
Zemeckis has gone a little overboard with 3-D animation as of late, and The Nutcracker will be no exception. After hit-or-miss efforts with The Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol (which opened last week), we can only take a guess as to the quality of this next effort.
Still, we have to admit that the idea of a darker,
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- Rich Z Zwelling
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With 20 Movies Submitted, This Year’s Best Animated Feature Race Will Have Five Nominees Instead of Three
11 November 2009 2:18 PM, PST
| Collider.com
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For only the second time since the category’s creation in 2001, Best Animated Feature will have five nominees competing for the award instead of three. This is because this is the first time more than 16 films have been submitted. Maybe another year this would mean the category would have greater competition rather than a clear winner in years past (although there have been a couple upsets, i.e. years where Pixar released a film and didn’t win). Unfortunately for the four other also-rans, Pixar released Up. Hit the jump for more details.
It’s great that there will be five nominees this year but it could have had ten and it wouldn’t change the outcome. Oscar watchers are always saying that Up is a near-lock for a Best Picture nomination now that the category for Oscar’s highest honor has opened up from five slots to ten. I
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- Matt Goldberg
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Zemeckis To Take On The Nutcracker
11 November 2009 1:21 PM, PST
| cinemablend.com
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I miss the old Robert Zemeckis. You know, the one that directed Back to the Future, Forrest Gump and Castaway; those broad, fantastic stories with actual people. That is not to say that Beowulf and A Christmas Carol don't have their merits and place, but the whole "dead behind the eyes" thing is still rather unnerving. The director recently said that he will use motion capture for for the Roger Rabbit sequel, which, in a way, makes it seem that he is more in love with the technology than the story (unless they somehow work it into the plot.) Despite the uncanny valley factor, though, the computer-generated films have been bringing in the dough, and now Zemeckis has said that he will be tackling his third Christmas-themed film with The Nutcracker.
Reported first by Pajiba, the film will not be an adaptation of the Tchaikovsky ballet, but rather the original
…
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