Results tagged “bradpitt”

      

Quentin Tarantino roared back into prominence as his World War Two revenge flick, Inglourious Basterds, uh, roared to the top of the weekend box office, earning a way-above expectations $37.2M. Last week's champ, District 9 had a reasonable hold and earned an additional $18.9M ($73.4M). After that it was the sort of okay G.I.Joe ($12.5M | $120.5M), the weepy Time Traveler's Wife ($10M | 37.4M) and the winning Julie & Julia ($9M | $59.2M). Kids commanded the next three slots: the lame Shorts debuted to $6.6M followed by the odd G-Force ($4.2M | $107.3M) and the super Harry Potter 6: Harry Battles Voldemort! ($3.5M | $290.2M)

              

There's already been a ton of Inglourious Basterds material on LAist this weekend, so I'll only say, "Check it out. It's a helluva ride." My One and Only looks like an intriguing film. Based in part on the life of George Hamilton, it tells the story of a determined woman looking for a wealthy man to provide a nice life for her and her sons. It's been awhile since there's been a film about The Troubles, but Five Minutes of Heaven is a welcome addition to the canon. Liam Neeson stars as a man who, as a child, murdered the brother of another man (a fantastic James Nesbitt). The film tells a story of forgiveness as both try to reconcile the past.

      

Though it first aired a decade ago, most people still remember Samm Levine quite clearly from the cult TV show, Freaks and Geeks (look back at the cast and writers and marvel at the talent). Since then he has worked steadily, both in television (the best episode of Entourage ever) and film (the hilarious and underrated Not Another Teen Movie.) This Friday, Samm appears as one of Brad Pitt's basterds in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. LAist had a chance to speak with Samm recently about working on the film.

                     

The difficulty in reviewing a film like Inglourious Basterds is that it's really two films mashed up into one. One of those films concerns a young Jewish woman named Shoshanna who exacts a brilliant revenge against the Nazis who murdered her family. The other regards a group of mostly Jewish-American military assassins (the titular "Basterds") who scour the French countryside killing everyone in a German uniform. What's strangely problematic about Inglourious Basterds is that while the latter story is full of Quentin Tarantino's characteristic bluster and brio, you can't wait to get back to Shoshanna and find out what's happening with her life.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is so expertly crafted that one can't help but marvel at it from a technical viewpoint. As a story, however, the film is just so-so. Sure, it's a provocative premise, but Brad Pitt is almost lifeless as the titular character. Dustin Hoffman is one of the handful of actors whose movies I will always see. Last Chance Harvey is a poignant and wistful reminder that it's never too late to do all for love. What I said about Dustin Hoffman above, same goes for the amazing Michelle Williams. LOOK works better as an idea than an actual movie. Still, Rhys Coiro is fast becoming one of my favorite unknown actors.

While 2008 was no 1999 in terms of truly amazing films, it was better than most may think. Last year, I went with a top 10 that was headed by the wondrous and magical . Accordingly, I've put them at the very top of my list. The rest are in alphabetical order. See each one of them and I promise you will have lived a better life once you're done.

In a bit of a surprise, ($13.4M/$39M).

Making a great film is truly an act of alchemy. How else to explain how an exquisitely and sumptuously crafted film like is a bad film. There are far too many moments of true wonder to consign to that status. Rather, it is an occasionally brilliant film that is interrupted too often by structural awkwardness, strange directorial choices and performance misses. It constantly entices you only to lose you when you're ready to fall.

You know how some movies are better because of the audience in the theater with you? I think that's why I enjoyed ?)

A week ago Sunday, the London paper, Mail on Sunday, revealed "compelling evidence suggesting" the identity of the famous and anonymous street artist, Banksy, as Robin Gunningham. To date Gunningham nor Banksy's agent or spokesperson, have not confirmed this. And a note from Banksy's on his website says "anyone described as 'good at drawing' doesn't sound like Banksy to me."

Enough with the Oscar talk -- Kimmel's long-awaited response to "I'm Fuckin' Matt Damon" is here and it's chock-full of hilarity:

is a tiny, unexpected gem.

People have been asking me what's up with the Weekly lately and hell if I know. They do their thing and maybe new management has made them lose their edge, but maybe they're just getting olde. Seems to me that once upon a time if someone like Juliette Lewis was in town to play a Saturday night show at the Roxy with a decent bill like Scissors for Lefty and Suffrajett, the Weekly would...

Did anyone else catch SciFi's Tin Man last night? Definitely worth watching into Part Deux (they will repeat Part One at 7:00pm). I wish I could say the same about Comedy Central's Last Laugh '07 - I love Lewis Black, Dave Attell, and D.L. Hughley, but they crammed their acts, a lengthy animated intro, and a Q/A session into one hour. The end result left a lot to be desired. 7:00pm David Copperfield TCM -...

Just one day after being touted on national television as a "success story" out of the series "The Bachelor", Mary Delgado a former professional cheerleader and fiance of Season 5's Byron Velvick was arrested for domestic violence after punching him in a drunken argument - Defamer Hulk Hogan's wife, Linda Bollea, has filed for divorce from her husband Terry, aka "Hulk Hogan" this weekend - Pink is the New Blog Also Linda seems to have...

Two of the four big summer three-quels hit DVD shelves today. Neither is worth your money. Better to spend it on La Vie en Rose, featuring one of the best performances in years by the amazing Marion Cotillard. Better yet, make it a French double-feature and pick up Paris Je T'Aime, too. If you haven't yet, invest a weekend watching Berlin Alexanderplatz. And, yes, it will take the whole weekend. Christmas and South Park...

Brangelina are going into business together- the two have signed a deal with HBO to produce a drama series about, what else, international aid workers - Hollywood Reporter Iggygate isn't even close to being over - sources say Iggy wasn't the only pup Ellen Degeneres has passed along to staff members over the years - Page Six Soap star Nathaniel Marston was hospitalized after attacking three people with a crate, breaking one's leg this weekend...

With a title almost as long as its 160-minute running time, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is one of those movies that just seems destined to fail at the box office which is too bad really because if you make the time to see this movie you will be treated to a somber, revisionist Western that is both tender and violent in its portrayal of an era that is...

The fall tradition of releasing prestige films continues tomorrow as Resident Evil: Extinction opens wide. Milla Jovovich stars as the beneficent Alice, a latter-day Tess of the d'Urbervilles who is charged with the stygian task of killing armies of the undead--and the joke is now over. Anyone dumb enough to see the latest chapter of this awful series probably didn't notice anyway. At least there's nudity. But not from Ali Larter. Dang! Into the...

Nicole Kidman reveals details about her previous miscarriages and subsequent adoptions- Metro More Anna Nicole baby daddy drama - Explosive accusations in Rita Cosby's new tell all book of Larry Birkhead and Howard K Stern being lovers is setting off defamation lawsuits...I personally can't wait to read it - NY Post Jerry Lewis pulls an Isaiah Washington, using the "F" word during his live annual telethon for muscular dystrophy - TMZ Bill Murray explains his...

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt, who has completely covered her house in mosaic tiles.

LAist believes that jury duty can actually be a worthwhile and interesting insight into the workings of this country's judicial system. LAist also believes that Brad Pitt is a worthwhile and interesting insight into the workings of this country's ability to produce magnificent manflesh. Lucky for us the two have finally come together: TMZ is reporting that Brad Pitt has shown up for jury duty today in Los Angeles: Brad arrived to court in...

Last night I attended a screening of the 2006 Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award winning documentary God Grew Tired of Us, directed by Christopher Quinn. Fine, maybe I went because Brad Pitt was listed as one of the producers and I thought he and Angie might show, which they didn’t, but it was still worth the trafficky drive up the 405 freeway to where the screening and a panel discussion were scheduled at American Jewish University.

The new models for Frank Gehry's massive $900 million Grand Avenue project downtown have been unveiled. We're not sure that we dig them completely, but we're not sure that we don't. What do you think? Certainly more interesting than the bland FBI-ish towers he presented in the first round of design. While the project is progressing rather quickly since that announcement made two years ago by city officials, Gehry, and architect wanna-be Brad Pitt, there...

Believe it or not, Ocean's Thirteen actually out-Grindhouses Grindhouse. Not in violence or cursing or explosives per se, (it does have a PG-13 rating), but in hearkening back to the good ol' days when movies were fun, dagnabit, Clooney and co. have Tarantino beat. Of course, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Thirteen is the most kinetic and most fun of the Ocean series, and there are far worse ways you could spend two hours...

After a week without a sequel, we're back at it with the lovable scoundrels of "Ocean's 13". Sure, watching the same group of guys we've seen plunder Vegas and steal a Faberge egg plan another elaborate heist is rehashing already trodden ground, but I'll be damned if it isn't a good time. Add to that a torture-porn and another insufferable CG toon about penguins and we're in for an interesting weekend.

- Barack Obama says that blacks are pissed and there's a "quiet riot" brewing in LA and the rest of the country. Does that mean that the real trouble won't come for another 20 years when folks begin to finally "rage against the machine"? - AP - Although the adult video world generates about $12 billion nationally, Vivid Video co-partner David James says, "Very few people make over $150,000 in this industry" - Daily...

Today is the day folks! Paris Hilton goes to jail, and word on the street is her fellow inmates are eagerly awaiting her arrival - Associated Press

A New World War: 14 Scenes from a Possible Future is another study in dystopia, with playwright Rita Valencia taking cues from Aldous Huxley, George Orwell and Ray Bradbury. While we've seen all this doom and gloom before, it's Valencia's take on the futuristic parable that saves us from cliché hell. The play focuses the Antar (Niamh McCormally), a woman who's signed a long, long-term contract with a company that provides cyborg companionship. But...

Valentines Day is in just mere hours and for those of us who want to celebrate the holiday in true love fashion here is a short list of love or anti-love movies, perfect or the occasion. No Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts here.