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Resident Evil Takes Up Residence as No. 1 at Box Office

BuzzSugar — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:30:45 PDT

In a slightly surprising turn of events, the third Resident Evil movie, Resident Evil: Extinction, took the No. 1 spot at the box office this weekend, beating out Good Luck Chuck by quite a bit. Still, Chuck did manage to make $14 million over its first weekend and came in second place. The Brave One continues to do well, holding steady at No. 3, followed by 3:10 to Yuma in fourth place and Eastern Promises rounding out the top five movies of the weekend.

Sydney White, bringing in the younger crowds, came in at No. 6 with just over $5 million. Mr. Woodcock followed behind with Superbad, The Bourne Ultimatum and Dragon Wars completing the top ten. This coming weekend we'll see if love beats evil when Feast of Love opens nationwide.

Source

Box Office: It Takes a Brave One to Be No. 1

BuzzSugar — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 07:30:00 PDT

The Jodie Foster/Terrence Howard thriller The Brave One reached the No. 1 spot at the box office over a relatively slow weekend, bringing in approximately $14 million. Variety reports that the main audience for the film was older women, and that its continued success will depend on whether men will be drawn to see it as well.

3:10 to Yuma just barely beat out Mr. Woodcock for the No. 2 spot, with the Western raking in $9.15 million while the gym teacher comedy grossed $9.10. Dragon Wars (or D-War) came in fourth place and Superbad continued to please audiences (and, consequently, studio heads), taking the No. 5 slot.

This weekend looks like it offers a little bit of something for everyone, from The Jane Austen Book Club and Resident Evil 3: Extinction, to Good Luck Chuck and Sydney White. Oh, and that other Western flick with good-looking men, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford also opens this weekend.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

The Brave One: A Flawed Superhero Saga

BuzzSugar — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 07:30:00 PDT

The trailer for Jodie Foster's latest vehicle The Brave One makes it look like a slightly tiresome tale of one woman's revenge. But the chick-power flick also has an alter ego: It's a modern-day superhero story in disguise.

Foster plays Erica Bain, who lives a blissful Boho existence hosting a public radio show about the found sounds of New York City. But her fate shifts when she and her fiance (Naveen Andrews) are beaten by punks in a park and only she survives the assault. How, a friend asks, can you come back from something like that? You can't, she answers: "You become someone else." For where she goes from there,

read more Llike Batman avenging his parents' death, Bain becomes - without entirely trying - a vigilante who trolls the streets in anonymous pursuit of justice. Along the way, she befriends Detective Mercer (Terrence Howard), the NYPD cop on the case of the headline-making vigilante. As in so many superhero sagas, the relationship between our flawed hero and her law-enforcement counterpart is marked by mutual respect and muted antagonism. It's an interesting concept, and more artful in the hands of director Neil Jordan than I expected. The performances - particularly those from Foster, Howard, and Nicky Katt as Howard's partner - prove that subtle, natural acting can be far more powerful than histrionics. Unfortunately, the movie just isn't great. Since the setting and characters are presented in a realistic way, it's tough to get past the far-fetched premise that Bain is getting away with these crimes and the complex balancing act of her life. If the movie relied more on its cool concept and less on hokey Hollywood tropes, it would be a far greater triumph. Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

Robert Downey Jr. Makes One Brave Fashion Choice

Molly — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 13:48:42 PDT

While the Toronto Film Festival rages on up north, last night in Manhattan The Brave One premiere was its own little party. The films stars - Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, and the gorgeous little Zoe Kravitz all graced the red carpet. Unfortunately for Terrence, his snappy fedora was completely upstaged by Robert Downey Jr.'s ridiculous striped one (zebra is that? nice), who was out to support his wife and the movie's producer, Susan Levin. Speaking of the awesome RDJ, check out the first trailer for next summer's Iron Man! Looks pretty awesome, right?

To see more of all the stars just read more

View 15 Photos ›

Images include Jodie Foster, Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, Heather Matarazzo, Terrence Howard, Zoe Kravitz, Naveen Andrews, Neil Jordan, Barbara Hershey, Holly Hunter and Joel Silver. Source

Fall Movie Preview: Girl Talk

BuzzSugar — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 07:15:00 PDT

Well it's September, folks, and the summertime movie season is officially over. Now we have a whole new crop of films to check out in the coming chillier months, so in preparation for that, I'm giving you little glimpses of this fall and winter's must-see movies with my Fall Movie Preview series. Today's roundup: films for and about the ladies.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age
This absolutely luscious-looking film brings together two gorgeous actors, Cate Blanchett and Clive Owen, for the follow-up to the 1998 period piece Elizabeth. This story follows the Queen Elizabeth's (Blanchett) relationship with Sir Walter Raleigh (Owen). Check out the beautiful trailer before The Golden Age hits theaters October 12.

More lady stuff if you

read more Jane Austen Book Club This upcoming dramedy is exciting to me for these reasons: 1) The Jane Austen theme, and 2) the stellar cast which includes Emily Blunt, Kathy Baker, Maria Bello, Maggie Grace and Hugh Dancy. I read the book on which this is based and was only mildly impressed, so perhaps the story will be more intriguing when brought to life on film. The narrative follows - you guessed it! - a book club in which the reading material is only Jane Austen books. With Austen's stories as a backdrop, we follow along with the real womens' lives - their joys, friendships and heartaches. The Jane Austen Book Club opens September 21, so check out the trailer and see what you think. The Brave One Opening this Friday September 14, The Brave One has Jodie Foster playing radio host Erica Bain who falls victim to a horrific beating that her fiance (Naveen Andrews) does not survive. She purchases a gun and becomes obsessed with finding her attackers. Yet now armed with the gun, she starts to use it on various violent perpetrators she encounters in the city. Terrence Howard plays the official on the hunt for this "vigilante." I'm curious about movies like this that explore the relationship women have with personal violence - and revenge - so I look forward to seeing The Brave One. Margot at the Wedding I've watched the trailer for Margot at the Wedding many times, and somehow I'm still not sick of it. It just looks so real and quirky and touching, and it stars some interesting folks, like Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jack Black. Bonus: it was directed by The Squid and the Whale director Noah Baumbach. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kidman play sisters: one is the know-it-all with a son (Kidman) while the other is about to marry a schlubby dude. And know-it-all sister can't seem to keep her mouth shut about what she sees as an ill-advised marriage. I look forward to the familial roller coaster when Margot at the Wedding opens October 19. The Brave One image courtesy of Warner Bros. Jane Austen Book Club image source All others source

Movie Preview: The Brave One

BuzzSugar — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 08:30:00 PDT

I saw the trailer for The Brave One before seeing The Invasion recently and was instantly intrigued. Not only do I appreciate that Jodie Foster is at the center of this drama, but it also stars Terrence Howard who always turns in compelling performances (his role in Crash moved me to tears, for one). Naveen Andrews from "Lost" also stars. Most of all, however, I'm curious about the subject matter.

Foster plays radio host Erica Bain who falls victim to a horrific beating that her fiance (Andrews) does not survive. She purchases a gun and becomes obsessed with finding her attackers. Yet now armed with the gun, she starts to use it on various violent perpetrators she encounters in the city. Howard plays the official on the hunt for this "vigilante," unaware that she's right in front of him. I'm fascinated by this story mostly because any woman who lives in a city - especially anyone who has been attacked in some way - can relate to the sense of powerlessness and the desire for revenge, or at the very least the desire to never feel powerless again. Variety has a really great interview with Jodie Foster all about these issues her character faces in the movie.

The film opens on September 14, so to check out the trailer,

Shop It Out: Covetable Shoes From The Hunger Games

Lucky — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:33:48 PST

Lucky magazine is one of our favorite sources for great shopping tips. We're thrilled to share this fabulous story on The Hunger Games costumes from our friends at Lucky!

When I first read The Hunger Games trilogy, I preferred to compare myself to story's brave heroine, Katniss Everdeen. But as much as I admire the resourceful tribute of District 12, I have way more in common with the image obsessed Capitol citizens. Let's be honest here: if similar events happened in New York City, you bet I'd be watching it go down on E! and loving every second of it.

It seems that the Panem masses and I also share another passion-a love of amazing shoes. Capital Couture, a fashion and gossip forum for the residents of the fictitious city, has a section dedicated to the footwear of well-heeled locals.

Although none of the shots provide shopping credits, I couldn't resist searching for these dreamy shoes in the real world. Some of the exact pieces are available online now and the ones that aren't have similar options available. Click through the slideshow below to get the looks for yourself.
Hot pink is an apt choice for attracting attention in the trend-obsessed Capital or, you know, next month's Fashion Week.

B Brian Atwood sandals, $325, shopbop.com

Click over to Lucky to see and shop the full story.

For more fashion and style from Lucky, here are more Lucky stories.

The Oscar Nominations: Snap Judgments

Shannon Vestal — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:24:33 PST

The Oscar nominations were announced this morning, and now that we've had time to digest the news, we have a few reactions to share. From the positive and excited to the slightly disappointed, check out our thoughts on the 2012 Academy Award nominations, and be sure to share yours too.

It's rare for a comedy to be able to compete with all of the heavy dramas of award season, especially an R-rated comedy, but Bridesmaids impressed us by not just nabbing a supporting actress nomination for Melissa McCarthy, but for best original screenplay for Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo. Nice work, ladies!
We were happy to see acting nominations for Nick Nolte in Warrior and Gary Oldman for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Both men have been left off a lot of lists (like the Golden Globes), but we're so glad that they pulled in Oscar nominations since these were two performances we felt strongly about.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo may have been passed over in most major categories, but its lead actress, Rooney Mara, was still recognized. The Academy seems to love its ingénues, and we're glad they chose Rooney for her brave breakout role.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close has suffered from some bad reviews, but not from the Academy: it scored a best picture nomination and a nod for supporting actor Max von Sydow. We liked him in the role, but it's still a surprise to see the movie come up so strongly.
The Tree of Life was a similar surprise, since the Summer release had polarized reviewers and audiences and didn't seem to have much award season steam. But the movie still managed to join the race with nods for best picture and best director for Terrence Malick.

To read some more of my Oscar snap judgments, just keep reading.

Keira Knightley Compares and Contrasts Costars Jude Law and Michael Fassbender

Allie Merriam — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 01:12:00 PST

Keira Knightley stars as patient-turned-psychiatrist Sabina Spielrein in David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method, which expands into theaters across the country this week. The film came out in limited release last Fall, and quickly earned notoriety for the racy sex scenes Keira shares with her hot costar Michael Fassbender, who plays Carl Jung.

Yesterday, Keira spoke about working with both Michael and David. Keira shared excitement for the critical acclaim Michael's earned for another daring performance in Shame, a movie she liked quite a bit. She also spoke about her other upcoming projects, Seeking a Friend at the End of the World, the directorial debut from Lorene Scafaria featuring Steve Carell, and a remake of Anna Karenina. The later film sees Keira paired up with director Joe Wright for the third time, after Atonement and Pride & Prejudice, as well as leading man Jude Law. Keira said:

On having reservations about the spanking scenes in DM: "I was 95% going to say yes as soon as my agent said, 'Look, David Cronenberg is going to offer you a film.' . . . I did have reservations about the masochistic scenes. I actually spoke to him about it and said, 'I love the script, but I'm not sure I can do this because of these scenes. I'm not quite sure I want to go there.' And he said, 'If that stops you playing the part, that would be a tragedy so let's just take them out.' And I thought that was an amazing thing for him offer. We just talked and talked, and once he's made it clear he didn't want it to be voyeuristic and sexy, he wanted them to be kind of more clinical, I thought I might as well go for it."
On similarities between Jude and Michael: "No! No. Jude's a proper actor - he's wonderful to work with. He's a proper actor, I mean they all are . . . Michael works in a much more muscular way. Everything turns into muscle memory. He works a script, and works a script. Jude does a lot of theater so he comes from the preparation side - like a rehearsal room. He's really open to it, and he asks a lot of questions on that day. He's just phenomenal. So no there aren't any similarities, but they're all very good actors."
On first-time director Lorene: "She's just fab - she's great. She's completely the reason I think everybody signed up to do the movie. The script was wonderful. It was one of the best scripts I've ever read. The dialogue was brilliant, and the concept behind it was amazing. I haven't seen the finished article yet. I'm seeing it [today] so that's really exciting. She's an amazing woman, an amazing talent. On set, to think it was her first film - you'd never have guessed it. She was so cool, she knew exactly what she wanted, she was unbelievably fast, she was completely amazing. So hopefully it will work!"
On what she's excited to see succeed during award season: "I was really excited about Shame, because given the nature of it and the subject matter of it, quite often those ones get passed by. I think Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady. That performance was amazing. That was very good. I haven't seen The Artist yet, but I'm really looking forward to seeing that."

To read Keira's thoughts on Michael in Shame, working with the "lovely" Steve Carell, and wrapping Anna Karenina, just keep reading.

Charlize Snaps Up Another Award and Thanks Her "Sexy" Young Adult Costar Patton

Lindsay Miller — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:10:16 PST

Charlize Theron was presented with her second award of the weekend yesterday at Variety's annual brunch during the Palm Springs International Film Festival. The Young Adult star looked lovely in a bold Reed Krakoff dress as she accepted her Indie Impact Award. Her leading man in the film, Patton Oswalt, was on hand to present her with the honor and gushed about the time he spent working with her. When Charlize tried to hide behind her napkin, he joked, "Don't hide that beautiful face. It's keeping the bees alive with its beautiful sunshine!"

The duo formed a close friendship on the set of their Diablo Cody-penned film. Charlize, Diablo, and Patton all joined director Jason Reitman on Saturday night to accept their shared accolade for best creative ensemble at the Palm Springs annual gala. Yesterday, Charlize took the podium alone to pick up her individual honor, and gave a thoughtful and funny speech from the podium. Here are some highlights:

On being humbled by her Indie Impact Award: "I know I've had an impact on donuts, wine, and vodka - and designer handbags - but I know that indie world has definitely had an impact on me, and so maybe I can talk a little bit about that. I think my career could have been very different, and I feel 100 percent sure that I have the career I have today because of independent film making . . . And I'm pointing at all of you who are here today who had the balls to believe in me. I'm speaking particularly of Patty Jenkins who wrote and directed Monster."
On being addicted to great producers: "When you work with a good producer it's, I guess, like that first hit of crystal meth. I don't know, I haven't done that one yet. But you chase it."
On taking chances: "I want to thank all of those filmmakers - even the bad ones - for giving me jobs and for letting me fall on my face. But mostly just letting me be brave to do things that I don't think naturally would have come my way. I'm not naïve to think that those things would have been handed to me, and so I'm very grateful that I've had those opportunities.
On her costar Patton Oswalt: "I've been naked with [Patton]. There's a sexy man under that suit."