Cars 2 duo Owen Wilson and Eddie Izzard teamed up at the LA junket to chat with us about their 3D animated film, which scored the top spot at the box office this weekend. Owen shared his excitement about reuniting with director John Lasseter, and Eddie, who is new to the franchise, talked about playing an SUV and revealed his thoughts on England's monarchy. Check out the interview and catch Cars 2 in theaters now!
Every Day (out in January) stars Liev Schreiber and Helen Hunt as a long-married couple whose life has ventured into the mundane. To add excitement to his routine, Schreiber's character flirts with a female co-worker (Carla Gugino). It's yet another film about husbands facing temptation from women at the office (yawn), but I'm excited to see Hunt acting again. She's been off the Hollywood radar way too long. Give the trailer a look when you read more
Photo courtesy of Summit Entertainment
While there are a zillion World War II movies out there already, I kept an open mind going into the Tom Cruise star vehicle Valkyrie. Sure, this is a movie that has been dogged by bad press from start to finish (even due, in part, to the fact that Cruise is a Scientologist) but I can see that there is a fascinating movie to be made out of a German resistance movement involving Nazi officers in Adolf Hitler's inner circle.
High-ranking, aristocratic officers attempting to assassinate Hitler? There's so much to explore here! Were these men heroes? Or was it a desperate and calculated power grab when it was clear the Germans were losing the war? What did these men know about the mass murders of Jews that had taken place and when did they know it? Did any of them, including Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise) who led one of the most daring plots to kill Hitler, have a genuine crisis of conscience? And if so, what does that kind of moral awakening look like?
In a war that is often depicted very starkly as good vs. evil, within the German rank and file there were shades of gray and this makes for interesting psychological thriller fodder for sure. So why did Cruise and director Bryan Singer forego that kind of film in favor of a totally reductive, shallow, glossy, big-budget flick that will leave you feeling underwhelmed and a little icky because you just spent over an hour rooting for Nazis? I really don't know, but let's talk about it. Just read more
In Hollywood, despite major examples to the contrary, the general school of thought during the summer (especially when adapting fantasy stories) seems to be to rely on battle scenes and action in order to keep audiences riveted, rather than focusing on just telling a good story. This definitely appears to be the dominating mindset of the filmmakers in charge of the second installment of Disney's Narnia franchise, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Capsian. And I'm confused as to why this approach was taken with Prince Caspian when C.S. Lewis has given us a great, fantastical story to work with that even comes with nice allegorical ties to the real world, offering kids lessons in love, courage and honor.
This is my fundamental gripe about an otherwise entertaining movie. Because, sure, while there are some people who could watch giant armies storm an open field and men sweat and grunt as they battle each other for hours, there is no question the kids at my screening grew tired of all that. In fact, the girl next to me who was no older than 10 spent a good portion of the movie with her head buried in her father's shoulder, as it was just a little too violent and scary to endure (some people are even saying it's too violent for the PG rating).
To read more about why I think filmmakers missed an opportunity to tell a great story, read more
We all need to eat, right? Even his Lord Darth Vader. Well, comedian Eddie Izzard riffs on what it would be like for Darth to do something as mundane (and beneath his dignity) as go to a cafeteria (ewww, the wet trays!). Then someone Lego-izes it. On top of that, the Death Star Canteen is manned by someone who won't just hand him his Penne al Arrabiata and keeps calling him Jeff. Jeff Vader! This is almost as bad as the time 'ol Darth's brother, Chad Vader, worked at a supermarket. . .
The Riches, FX's series about a family trying to steal and swindle their way to the American dream, begins its second season tonight. The show was able to complete just seven episodes before the writers' strike shut down production, but as star Eddie Izzard said in a recent chat with reporters, that just meant this season will have a tighter, quicker pace. He and co-star Minnie Driver had quite a lot to say about the series; here are highlights from the conversation:
For more, and to watch a clip from tonight's episode, just read more
The Riches, FX's drama about a family of Irish travelers trying to swindle their way to the American Dream, returns a week from tonight for its second season — and things aren't looking so good for the Riches Malloys. The first season was spent building their lies and getting their ritzy new community to believe them; now, it appears that their precarious dream life is about to collapse.
Maybe that's not giving enough credit to Doug Rich/Wayne Malloy (Eddie Izzard), the first-class con man who's always been able to get his family out of any jam up till now. But this time around, the rest of the Malloys — especially Wayne's wife, Dahlia (Minnie Driver) — don't seem to be as on board with his scams. It looks like an interesting new dynamic for a family that's gotten where they are by working as a unit, them against the world.
The Riches will only have seven episodes this season as a result of the writers' strike, so I'd expect things to move pretty quickly from the start of the March 18 premiere. To check out a couple of clips with scenes from the season and interviews with the stars, just read more
Ever wanted to be a professional con artist? Let Doug Rich teach you how. On the first-season DVD for FX's The Riches, which comes out on Tuesday, several of the bonus features show Doug (Eddie Izzard) teaching his kids how to con.
Best Buy has a few of the clips online now — including two that are exclusive to the Web site and won't be included on the DVD. It's so great to see this dysfunctional family in action again. Season two is slated for this spring, but FX hasn't announced a premiere date yet; I'll keep you posted.
In the meantime, you can check out several of the Webisodes, plus a recap of season one, on the Best Buy site. Or, to watch my favorite video, in which a jaded Cael and Delilah brush off their dad's lessons on how to turn nothing into something, just read more
Well, the 37 of you who said "Drive" would be off the air within five episodes were right: Fox slammed the brakes on the show today, according to Variety. None of the four episodes that aired got good ratings, but this week's situation was particularly dire: The show finished fourth in its time slot, with the fewest viewers yet.
I didn't think the first episode was that bad, but it also didn't compel me to watch again. I guess it's official that Tim Minear + Nathan Fillion + Fox = early death, as I'm sure "Firefly" fans can attest. Two more episodes of "Drive" were produced, and Fox hasn't announced whether they'll be shown on TV or only online. In the meantime, reruns of "House" will be filling "Drive"'s spot.
Fans of "Dirt" and "The Riches" got better news today, though: The FX president said he expects both shows to get second seasons. While I like "The Riches" more than I liked "Dirt," I'm glad to see FX continuing its tradition of supporting unusual, edgy shows.
Photo courtesy of Fox
