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Cowboys & Aliens Trailer: Daniel Craig Fights the Law, E.T.

Lauren Bradshaw — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:30:24 PST

You pretty much know what you're going to get when a movie has an obvious title like Cowboys & Aliens, but in case there was any confusion, the film really is all about cowboys and aliens. Working off the graphic novel of the same title, Jon Favreau's new project creates a hybrid out of western and sci-fi, which feels like a strange (albeit innovative) pairing.

Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and Olivia Wilde star as early Arizona settlers who are forced to ward off extraterrestrials when a UFO invades their town. The trailer doesn't reveal too much about the characters, but there's something fishy going on with Craig and that Iron Man-like gadget he wears. While I'm a big Favreau fan, this blend of genres definitely takes some getting used to - and I've already watched the trailer six times. The film doesn't come to theaters until July 29, but give it a look and share your thoughts when you

Jennifer Aniston Gives the 24 Hour Plays Another Go

Allie Merriam — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 07:45:00 PST

Jennifer Aniston was spotted out in NYC yesterday afternoon looking stylish in her latest piece of chic denim, and she later made a special cameo in last night's 24 Hour Plays. She joined other actors like Elizabeth Banks, Leslie Bibb, and America Ferrera for the event, which takes place annually in other cities like LA and London. Jen also took part in the dramatic event last year, though she was then accompanied by friends like Naomi Watts and Demi Moore. She returned to the stage during a break from her big-screen projects, which include her soon-to-hit-the-big-screen comedy Just Go With It.

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Conviction: A Solid Display of Sibling Loyalty

Lauren Bradshaw — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 08:30:00 PDT

Any movie that's "based on a true story" feels like old hat these days. It used to be a way to lure in the audience, but the term is so overused that it's lost effect. Conviction, which stars Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell, is the latest drama to be written from real-life events, as it advertises on its poster. But the good news is that Swank and Rockwell's excellent performances save this one from being just another run-of-the-mill sentimental movie.

Swank stars as Betty Anne Waters, divorced mother of two boys and sister to Kenny (Rockwell). Kenny has been in jail for nearly 16 years, convicted of first-degree murder of a woman whose house Betty Anne and Kenny used to break into as kids for fun. In fact, Kenny has quite the rap sheet: from young delinquent to older man with a fiery temper, he's been a regular at the police station throughout his life. Yet despite his reputation, Betty Anne has the utmost faith in her brother. The film's title doesn't just represent Kenny's sentence, it's about Betty Anne's unwavering fortitude.

To see where the movie works and where it doesn't, just

Betty Anne and Kenny are as close as two siblings can be, and they retain their friendship into adulthood after moving between foster homes as kids. It's the reason why Betty Anne is determined to free Kenny, despite his life sentence and the very strong evidence against him. She dedicates her life to him: first by finishing high school, then getting her BA, and then finally attending law school. As Kenny emotionally crumbles in jail, Betty Anne fights to keep enough optimism for both of them. It's a wonder that one woman could endure so much, especially when Kenny often doesn't deserve it. He's such a loud-mouthed, stubborn ass of a man that sometimes it's hard to see his redeeming qualities. She works incredibly hard for him, but he does seemingly nothing to help himself.

Told through a mix of events from past and present, Conviction jumps between Betty Anne's current time in law school to childhood flashbacks to Kenny's arrest. Despite the scattered structure, the story still retains fluidity, moving along at a nice pace. The film gets an added boost from Minnie Driver, whose blunt humor as Betty Anne's only friend prevents many of the scenes from getting bogged down in melodrama. But Swank and Rockwell are the ones who separate this film from just another movie on Lifetime. Both actors bring their all here, and it's difficult to tear yourself away from the scenes where they play off one another.

Unfortunately, the script doesn't quite match the talents of the lead actors. For a story that requires Swank to weep on cue (and she does often), there isn't as much as emotional payoff in Conviction as I had hoped. After witnessing Betty Anne's long, wrought journey, I expected a moment of catharsis - but that moment never came for me. It's a good story with great performances, but I wanted to be moved.

Conviction Trailer: Hilary Swank Turns on the Tears

BuzzSugar — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 08:30:58 PDT

Whenever you have a movie that touts itself as being "based on a true story," and it somehow involves Hilary Swank, you're pretty much guaranteed to weep your eyes out (unless it's Amelia; sorry, Amelia). The Oscar winner's latest is Conviction, the gut-wrenching saga of Betty Anne Waters, who put herself through law school to free her brother (Sam Rockwell) after he was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

This trailer has all of the necessary ingredients required of serious dramas: a single mom fighting the odds, courtroom scenes, and the heavy application of aging makeup. Just think of it as Erin Brockovich with a more somber tone and a lot less cleavage. Melissa Leo, Juliette Lewis, and Minnie Driver round out the ensemble, making this one to watch. Give it a look, and tell me your first impressions when you

Iron Man 2: A Solid Sequel, With a Side of Snark

Becky Kirsch — Fri, 07 May 2010 06:30:00 PDT

Riding the smash success of 2008's Iron Man is both a blessing and a curse. The film already has a wide fan base that should make it easy for the action flick to skyrocket to blockbuster status, but whether or not it will receive the same acclaim is another story. The good news is that the sequel delivers everything it needs to, even if it's not quite an improvement on its near-perfect predecessor.

The film picks up six months after we last left off. Weapons extraordinaire/billionaire/playboy Tony Stark's ego is even more inflated than it was before (if you can believe that). Thanks to the Iron Man suit he developed, Stark has managed to maintain the longest periods of uninterrupted peace between Eastern and Western civilization. Unfortunately, the government doesn't see eye-to-eye with Stark's God complex, and wants him to turn over his metal armor, his "sword with untold possibilities," in fear that terrorists may be copycatting the technology around the world. Of course, across the pond a grimy Russian convict named Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) is doing just that.

To see where the film flies and where it flops, just

The film checks off a lot of the typical sequel requirements. It introduces new characters (Sam Rockwell as Tony Stark's competitor John Hammer, Scarlett Johansson as his new assistant Natalie, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury) while keeping the other ones we've come to love intact - Happy (Director Jon Favreau), Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow), and Rhodey (Don Cheadle, replacing Terrence Howard). It packs in just as much fireworks and fanfare as the original without going over-the-top or trying too hard. In fact, one of the aspects of the film I appreciated most is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. The action sequences are fun to watch but not overly indulgent, and the witty banter is woven into every scene. Basically, we're dealing with a cast of characters made up entirely of smartasses.

My biggest issue with the film is that there are a lot of storylines packed in here. At the core, Stark is struggling with the harsh reality that wearing the Iron Man suit is slowly poisoning his blood, forcing him to face his own mortality. But then, he's also dealing with competition from Hammer. And his feelings for assistant-turned CEO, Pepper Potts. And his seemingly out of nowhere daddy issues. And pressure from Nick Fury to join the Avengers. And the Senate that wants him to turn over his suit. The problem here is that we get a peek at what makes Tony tick under all that metal and egoism, but the rest of the characters remain as cartoonish and one-dimensional as their comic book counterparts.

The good news is that Robert Downey Jr. is just so darn watchable that putting all the movie's eggs in his proverbial basket pays off. His chemistry with Gwyneth Paltrow is spot-on, and he delivers Tony's rapid-fire one-liners with comedic timing that would put even Vince Vaughn to shame. For every scene that seems to meander off the film's course, our hero is lurking around the corner waiting to reel the audience back in.

In retrospect, the film may be remembered simply as a building block between installments in the Iron Man franchise, but as far as the near future goes, it's the perfect way to triumphantly ring in another season of Summer blockbusters.

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Link Time - The New Pornographers Play With Ninjas!

BuzzSugar — Tue, 04 May 2010 13:30:00 PDT

Hiiiigh-ya! Watch The New Pornographers' video for "Your Hands (Together)" - Spinner
A secret JJ Abrams trailer?! The nerd in me is super giddy right now - HitFix
Tony nominations are out (congrats, Scarlett Johansson) - Vulture
Sam Rockwell joins Cowboys & Aliens - Cinematical
Katherine McPhee and Zachary Levi sing a duet. And it's not a joke - Music Mix
Hugo Weaving will play Red Skull in Captain America - MTV.com
The best songs to get people dancing at a wedding - Wedding Channel
Samuel L. Jackson is developing a Showtime drama with Neil LaBute - TV Squad
Decorating ideas from NBC's Parenthood - CasaSugar
Matthew Vaughn in talks to direct an X-Men prequel - Moviefone
Kids do a spot-on reenactment of Seinfeld - BuzzFeed

Lunatics Alert: Scarlett Johansson Joins Kubrick Project

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 14:15:00 PDT

In 1999, Stanley Kubrick's son-in-law found a script while archiving the late director's papers called Lunatic at Large. Today, Production Weekly is reporting that Scarlett Johansson is attached to the film, alongside actor Sam Rockwell.

The story focuses on "Johnnie Sheppard, an ex-carnival worker with serious anger-management issues, and Joyce, a nervous, attractive barfly he picks up in a Hopperesque tavern scene." Oh, and there's plenty of circus folk, including a Midget Monkey Girl - but I think it's safe to assume that Johansson is playing Joyce.

Julia Shares the Spotlight With Another Roberts

PopSugar — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:00:00 PST

Julia Roberts was in NYC last night for the LAByrinth theater company's annual benefit gala in NYC, and she kicked things off by posing for photos with the organization's artistic director, Yul Vazquez. The new Lancome ambassador stayed close to Yul, but farther down the carpet was her young niece Emma Roberts. The Roberts ladies were joined by fellow females like Julia Stiles and Padma Lakshmi, but the guys were well-represented with John Krasinski and Billy Crudup. The evening was a fundraiser featuring celebrity charades - the company posted a few preliminary webisodes online to drum up excitement.

To see more of Julia and her pals, just

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Images include: Julia Roberts, Julia Stiles, Padma Lakshmi, Kristen Wiig, Billy Crudup, John Krasinski, Sam Rockwell, Tom Colicchio, Yul Vazquez

Everybody's Fine: No They're Not

Shannon Vestal — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:30:53 PST

How cute is Robert De Niro in the trailer for Everybody's Fine? It's a rare treat to see the actor actor cuddling babies and lugging his suitcase around the country to visit his lovely but overly busy children. If only the movie were like that. It's the holidays, and I was kind of expecting to get a heartwarming family drama that reinforces how important relationships are, despite distance. That's not the case.

Everybody's Fine is a family drama, but with a series of depressing moments one after the other. De Niro plays patriarch and recent widower Frank Goode, the proud papa to kids played by Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, and Sam Rockwell. The grown children are now scattered across the country, successful in their careers but too swamped to make the trip home. On a lonely whim, Frank packs his bag and embarks on a journey to come to each of them.

The sweetness ends there, though. To see why I was disappointed by the movie, just

It's not that the movie is supposed to be a dark lesson in learning how important you aren't to your kids; the children are meant to be loving, but they're busy covering up a dilemma with the fourth brother David, in trouble offscreen. This device is supposed to make us understand the siblings' reasoning for pushing their dad away. It doesn't.

When you're already feeling terrible for Frank for being so brusquely rejected after he's traveled so far (and against doctor's orders), things get even worse. A good deed he attempts goes unrealistically awry, two of his kids make him feel guilty for pushing them to work hard in their youth, and of course, a health scare threatens him. It doesn't stop there, either. When he's hit rock bottom and your sympathies are spent, Frank endures an intensely disturbing dream sequence.

The movie's series of unfortunate events is meant to be absolved when the family is finally reunited. But as a viewer, I felt so beaten down by the time it happens that the resolution isn't uplifting or redeeming at all. I wanted more from this, but the movie is an unnecessarily depressing experience that just leaves you bummed out.

Photos courtesy of Miramax

Drew and Kate Aren't Just Fine, They're Great in NYC

PopSugar — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:45:00 PST

The cast of Everybody's Fine hit the red carpet in NYC last night for a special East Coast screening after one last month in LA. Drew Barrymore went with a bright sequined number, while Kate Beckinsale posed for photos with her decked out daughter Lily Sheen. Robert De Niro brought along his wife Grace, while the other male star of the film, Sam Rockwell, smiled alongside their director Kirk Jones. Peter Facinelli, fresh from his recent Sirius interview, turned out to chat about his family Christmas plans.

Justin Long showed up to support Drew at the afterparty, though it looks like he spent lots of his time chuckling with Sam. The movie itself looks like it will contain a few laughs, judging by an early preview, as one of the many can't-miss movies hitting the big screen this month.

To see more from the screening and afterparty, just

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Images include: Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, Robert De Niro, Peter Facinelli, Justin Long, Lily Sheen, Grace Hightower De Niro, Sam Rockwell, Kirk Jones, Mackenzie Milone