Sometimes movie magic isn't so magical. While filming a surf scene at Mavericks for a new flick, actor Gerard Butler was pulled under the water and over rocks by a set of dangerous waves. A popular big-wave surfing spot, Mavericks near Half Moon Bay is not for rookies. more ›

Either you enjoy the films of Noah Baumbach, or you find the whole enterprise pretentious and annoying and wonder why anyone would want to spend another moment in the presence of his characters. Greenberg may mark the apogee of this distinction. Chloe isn't nearly as good as his masterpiece, Where the Truth Lies, but it is an Atom Egoyan film and deserves watching. I hope that all the Mormons who fought to ban gay marriage -- as seen in 8: The Mormon Proposition -- will expend an equal amount of energy fighting other supposed biblical prohibitions. Like, you know, following false prophets like Joseph Smith! What a bunch of fucking weirdos. more ›

Alice in Wonderland continued its domination of the box office for a third straight weekend as it brought in a solid $34.5M ($265.8M) to easily dispatch the surprisingly strong Diary of a Wimpy Kid ($21.8M) and the underperforming Bounty Hunter ($21M). Repo Men was even more of a disappointment as it only managed to gross a pathetic $6.5M. She's Out of My League held strong in its second weekend ($6M | $19.9M) while The Green Zone cratered ($5.9M | $24.7M). more ›

For a certain sub-section of filmgoers (e.g. people who fucking rule), the arrival of a new Noah Baumbach movie is cause for celebration. By most accounts, Greenberg is as strong as The Squid and the Whale. This, folks, is a very, very good thing. I couldn't get through the book, but The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has me intrigued. Don't be scared off by the subtitles, people! I'm sort of tired of Kristen Stewart so The Runaways is low on my list. Plus, Dakota Fanning is just terrible, right? Pass. I typically hate movies with and about kids, but Diary of a Wimpy Kid has Chloe Moretz (who should kick-ass in Kick-Ass). Consider it a maybe. more ›

There's nothing particularly great about Black Dynamite (it's no I'm Gonna Git You Sucka!), but it is a hell of a lot of fun. The normally dour Michael Jai White has a great time as the titular hero, and any movie featuring the fantastic Charlotte Stokely is worth a look. Remember when Gerard Butler was an intriguing actor on the rise -- around the time as Dear Frankie? Now it looks as if he's just cashing checks to pay for big houses. Sad. There's a great story about how the Weinstein Brothers leveraged The Secret Policeman's Ball to first build Miramax. Given the precarious state of the Weinstein Company, is Private Party yet another spin-off? Few directors have had a better run at a studio than Clint Eastwood has had at Warner Brothers. Wish I had that life. Big day at Criterion today. Open your wallets! more ›

To any who haven't heard the grisly news, Artie Lange is recovering from an awful suicide attempt back east. As a longtime fan of The Howard Stern Show, I hope he gets back back to a healthier place soon. Let me get this straight -- Magnolia and Boogie Nights on Blu-ray on the same day? Can I call in sick to work? More stuff like Che, Steven. Less like this shit. How can you not love Kirby Dick? Anyone who outs self-hating conservatives is aces. I would watch Damages just to watch Rose Byrne floss her teeth. How is it that Ricky Gervais can't not make great TV shows, but can't get close to making an entertaining movie? I wish the wonderful Kate Beckinsale of Cold Comfort Farm and The Last Days of Disco would replace her current, soulless incarnation. Dorf! And they're still making Blair Witch titty-based parodies? What year is it? more ›

Spike Jonze's long-awaited Where the Wild Things Are soared to the top of the box office this weekend as it brought in an impressive $32.4M to top the charts. Law Abiding Citizen came in a surprising second despite overwhelmingly mediocre reviews ($21.2M). After that it was gimmicky horror pic Blair Witch 2: Paranormal Activity ($20.1M | $33.7M), the unfunny comedy Couples Retreat ($17.9M | $63.3M) and the unnecessary remake The Stepfather which debuted to $12.3M. more ›

I've been waiting for months and months for Where the Wild Things Are to finally reach the big screen. My exposure to the original book was negligible, but a new Spike Jonze film is always an event. Is anyone not blown away by the weirdo art direction of this film? I've been ruminating on this site for months on the quickly slipping stature of Gerard Butler. He was once always the most interesting thing in a movie, but now he appears to be doing little more than cashing checks. Law Abiding Citizen is his newest mortgage payment. more ›

The Labor Day weekend is typically a slow time for the movie business as everyone makes one final attempt to catch some elusive summer magic (e.g. sleep with unattainable lust object). As such, The Final Destination was the best of a weak bunch as it nabbed $12.4M ($47.5M) to top the weekend box office. Terrible newcomer All About Steve finished a reasonably close second ($11.2M) just ahead of the steady Inglourious Basterds ($10.8M | $91M). Gamer disappointed in its debut ($9M) as audiences showed a rare flash of sound judgment. more ›

Is it just me or is there a surprising lack of public excitement about the release of Extract? I mean, Mike Judge and Jason Bateman working together on a film? Either one of these guys pulls me into a theater, but both together-- that's nirvana. On the other hand, is anyone looking forward to Gamer? Gerard Butler is rapidly squandering the capital he earned back when he was just a working actor. If you don't know what I mean, watch how great he was in Dear Frankie. Hell, he was even good in Timeline and that movie blew! more ›

Other than The Cove, I didn't see a better film this year at the Sundance Film Festival than Humpday (review here). It's inventive; it's challenging; it's odd but, most of all, it's funny. Very, very funny. The premise may scare some away -- two straight friends decide to have gay sex for a porn film festival -- but the treatment of the material is so perfect that I can't imagine anyone not loving it. While not quite as laugh-out-loud funny as Humpday, In the Loop is as smart a comedy as you will ever see (review here). A barely-veiled satire of the run-up to the 2003 Iraq War, In the Loop features at least a half-dozen brilliantly venal performances, especially Peter Capaldi as Malcolm Tucker (nee the Prince of Fucking Darkness!) See these two movies!! more ›

After several lean years (anyone care to remember Deconstructing Harry or the laughless Hollywood Ending), Woody Allen is on a pretty good roll lately. Vicky Cristina Barcelona may be his best film since the fantastic Bullets Over Broadway. Kirk Cameron. Christian Action Star. Pride and Glory wasn't great, but it hit all the right notes of your standard cop corruption film. Colin Farrell is really back with a vengeance, though, huh? Speaking of being back, Guy Ritchie certainly seems to be right on track again with RockNRolla. more ›

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I was excited about Body of Lies until I started to see some very middling reviews. Still, Russell Crowe is always worth the price of admission. As for Leo...eh. Word is that Guy Ritchie returns to form with RocknRolla. As with Crowe, Gerard Butler is always rock-solid (literally!). Ernie Davis had a great story, but I'm guessing that The Express will be a stark and hammy version of it. I'd watch Jennifer Carpenter read the phonebook to herself in the dark so obviously I'll go see Quarantine (show boobs please). more ›

I wasn't completely sold on the idea of having so many different actors portray Bob Dylan in makes much more sense. more ›

Though the stumble by opened to a less-than-expected $7.8M. more ›

5:30 - I can hear the press people and the MTV handlers trying to corral Jack Nicholson in the next tent over, which apparently isn't easy to do. We here in the Blogghetto have been promised by MTV that they will try to get as many celebs as possible in here. You know you're low on the totem pole when even Shia LaBeouf is too big to talk to you. 5:26 - Dane Cook... more ›

A Word or 73: LA, get ready for your dirty underbelly to be nauseatingly exploited as the sixth season of The Shield gets underway tonight. There's a bit more room on the dial after, thank god, the following shows got the ax last week: The Wedding Bells (Fox) which was truly awful, Six Degrees (ABC) another bad one, 7th Heaven (the CW) which I don't even know about and The Black Donnellys which was... more ›

I've been on hiatus a few days this week because my other job, the one that pays the bills, was superdemanding but this weekend the TV Junkie is in New York on assignment to cover the dress rehearsal of SNL - the one with Peyton Manning and American Idol winner Carrie Underwood. I've only been here a couple hours and I (think) I got some really bad pics of Gerard Butler (300) going into... more ›

The Host - Korean director Joon-ho Bong has created one of the scarier horror films of the year not to mention Korea's most successful domestic release ever. A mutant beast created by U.S. military negligence emerges from Seoul's Han River and snatches the daughter of a vendor who runs a small snack bar on the river's banks. The film is riddled with a sense of urgent dread but Bong also manages to poke fun... more ›

A Word Or 62: I hope to get a hold of at least a couple pints of this new Ben & Jerry's flavor. I am perennially pissed that I can never make it to the local B&J store to get the Pumpkin flavor so I know that this is all a conspiracy. Hopefully this will make red staters boycott B&J which just means - more for me!!! [Note that a lot of late night... more ›

A Word Or 30: A wall of repeats ends a fairly good week of new TV. They had to pull celebrity commentators off of Anna Nicole's coffin today, leaving nail marks on the lid. Tonight - Friday - March 2nd, 2007 Sharks @ Ducks (PRIME, 7:00 p.m.) Kings @ Lakers (Fox Sports, 7:30 p.m.) 38th NAACP Image Awards (Fox, 8:00 p.m.) Hosted by LL Cool J Las Vegas (NBC, 9:00 p.m.) Ed thinks about... more ›