The International

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to my selections below you can also add Nobel Son, The Shield: Season Seven, and Crossing Over.

Gran Torino
If you didn't catch what might be Clint Eastwood's last big screen appearance (and his most recent directorial venture) in Gran Torino, you're in for a DVD treat. I really enjoyed the screen legend's crotchety performance, and the film tells an interesting and heart-wrenching story.

Eastwood plays a cranky, rather bigoted old Korean War veteran who isn't happy about the Hmong immigrant population that surrounds him. Over time, however, he bonds with his young neighbors, learning about the gang violence these kids face on the street and how limited their opportunities are, and he becomes protective of them.

Special features include featurettes titled "Manning the Wheel: The meaning of manhood as reflected by the American car culture," and "Gran Torino: More Than a Car."

80%

One more up next, so read more

The International, starring Clive Owen as an Interpol operative tracking the shady dealings of a large bank, has as much going for it as it does working against it. It's not a bad movie, sprinkled as it is with scenes that are visually extraordinary, not to mention insanely entertaining. But it's not a good movie either, thanks to half-baked characterization and dialogue that had my audience howling with laughter (which I'm sure was unintended).

To see what I think works in this action-thriller and what fails miserably, read more

The economy may be on shaky ground but you wouldn't know it by looking at the box office totals from this weekend. The Friday the 13th remake actually set records and had "the best opening ever for a horror movie in grossing an estimated $42.2 million from 3,105 theaters through Sunday." Meanwhile He's Just Not That Into You exceeded expectations by snagging the No. 2 spot over the weekend, while Liam Neeson's Taken continued to do strong box office business and came in third place. Confessions of a Shopaholic had a disappointing debut at No. 4.

Coraline rounded out the top five while Paul Blart: Mall Cop, at No. 6, became the first original January release to reach $100 million. Dang!

Finally, Clive Owen and Naomi Watts weren't enough star power to save The International from a lackluster debut. The thriller managed seventh place.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

This weekend the Clive Owen movie The International will debut in theaters. Aside from some key differences, this movie looks a bit like another Clive Owen movie that will be out in March titled Duplicity. Both appear to deal with large international corporations and potentially involve espionage. Both also see Clive in many suits without ties, and both pair Clive with an A-list female costar. But which Clive movie is which? Should you see both? After the jump I have a pretty little chart that breaks down some of the differences between both upcoming Clive movies so you'll be able to make an educated decision. To see my "separated at birth" chart, just read more

In the trailer for Clive Owen's new movie The International, there's lots of heart-pounding music and stressed out characters, and yet I failed to feel the excitement while viewing it. There's a lot going on and everyone's saying cryptic things about a bank, and I'm just not totally intrigued.

On the other hand: Yay, Clive Owen! He's so handsome and Naomi Watts is a great costar for him. Also, trailers can sometimes muck things up when trying to convey genuine suspense in think-y, talk-y, action-y movies like this so in the end, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

To check it out for yourself, just read more

Naomi Watts and Clive Owen posed at the afterparty following a screening of The International in NYC last night. Naomi stopped by The Late Show yesterday and talked to Dave about raising two babies under the age of 2 with the help of wonderful Liev Schreiber. She also joked that she recently worried that Liev was cheating on her since he was gone so much, but in the end he was throwing her a surprise 40th birthday party, aww. Clive similarly gushed about his family to USA Today. Here's more:

• On his daughters loving Friends: "Weirdly, they've become obsessed by Friends. My oldest daughter is obsessed, and she knows I worked with Jennifer Aniston [in 2005's Derailed], so she's like, 'Call her up, call her up.' I'm not calling her up. What are you going to say to her? They hit me up for weird things like that."
• On his family: "I've been traveling so much that I want to hang at home. We used to take the family on holidays and adventures, but more and more, I want to go home and stay at home. I love getting up in the morning and taking them to school and picking them up and hanging with them. In the last year or two, if I go away for a certain amount of time to make a film, I make sure I have down time at home to keep the balance right."
• On whether he'd give a Christian Bale-like rant: "That could be just around the corner. You'd probably just hear me laughing. I enjoy making movies, so even when it's tiring and tough, I still have a good time."

To see more pictures of Clive and Naomi, plus Naomi's interview with Dave, just read more

Clive Owen was up bright and early to open the Berlin Film Festival today. He joined The International's director at a photo call this morning, before taking questions in front of a red, white, and blue background at a press conference for their film. When night rolled around, Clive put on yet another suit to walk the red carpet at his film's premiere with his wife Sarah Jane Fenton on his arm. It's a rare public outing for the publicity-shy duo, but Sarah Jane looks rightfully thrilled to be out supporting her hot husband.

To see more of Clive's day in Deutschland, just read more

Listen guys, we really do not see enough of Clive Owen. Last time we saw Clive he was making a movie in Milan and that was all the way back in November. Lucky for us, Clive's in the USA at the moment filming The International, so hopefully, this means we'll be seeing more of him running around town. I didn't absolutely love Shoot Em Up, but no worries Clive always gets another chance. So smoldering, buddy.

Splash News Online

It's been a long time since we last saw Clive Owen's wonderful face (at the Toronto Film Festival in September, to be exact), but thankfully he's back and looking so joyous! He's with Naomi Watts in Milan on the set of The International, an action-thriller in which the two try and take down a bank accused of arms brokering. You know, typical light-hearted Clive Owen fare. As for Naomi, she just scored a big role opposite Tom Hanks in Angels and Demons, the prequel to The Da Vinci Code, although production on that film has been delayed due to the writers' strike. Hopefully that just means more of little Alexander in the meantime.

Bauer-Griffin

Clive Owen will put his dashing good looks to further use in his first star turn in an action-thriller, The International. According to Variety, the story revolves around an "Interpol agent who investigates corruption at powerful banking institutions."

Rounding out the film's team is director Tom Tykwer (pronounced "Tick-ver"), who is responsible for Perfume, as well as the frenetic flick Run Lola Run.

Dreamy Clive Owen is already a solid actor, and if Tykwer brings back his cool Run Lola Run style, this action film has the potential to have a very low cheese factor. Because really, there are already too many Die Hards and Mission Impossible IIs out there.


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