Results tagged “philipseymourhoffman”

       

In a surprisingly robust debut, 2012 took in a huge $65M to easily capture the weekend box-office crown. Despite completely sucking, the latest Roland Emmerich disaster pic easily out-distanced last week's champ, Disney's A Christmas Carol which managed to bring in a decent $22.3M in its second frame ($63.2M). Grant Heslov's hilarious The Men Who Stare at Goats grabbed third place ($6.2M | $23.3M), just ahead of indie powerhouse Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire ($6M | $8.9M). The creepy and morbid Michael Jackson's That Was It rounded out the top 5 ($5.1M | $68.2M).

       

Some critics have derided Wes Anderson as a victim of his own precious taste. His movies take place in "Andersonville" it's said -- a singular, specific world from which he needs to free himself. To that I say, "Pah!". Anderson's latest film, Fantastic Mr. Fox, takes place in the stop-motion animated version of Andersonville and it's, well, fantastic. I can't recommend it highly enough. I can't say the same for 2012. I mean, honestly, how is it really different from The Day After Tomorrow? Sure Richard Curtis is a bit schmaltzy, but I always give extra-credit to the open-hearted. Plus, Pirate Radio has Philip Seymour Hoffman in it so it's worth seeing.

If you are looking for an evening of light entertainment with the whole family, what better choice is there than Doubt? I love priest-rape dramas. Are you like me -- do you marvel at the rare ability of Adam Sandler to not ever make you laugh at anything? Ever. As far as I'm concerned, Keanu Reeves probably would have done a better job of playing the giant robot in The Day the Earth Stood Still than his human counterpart. Yes Man = another slip down the rope for Jim Carrey. The bottom is sneaking up on you, Jim! I wish my life was like Donkey Punch (eg. hot, naked babes on big yachts). Just without all the rape and murder.

Let the Right One In was a fiendishly good reimainging of the vampire story. Naturallly, it is now being re-made into what will surely be an inferior, American film. I thought Mickey Rourke gave the performance of the year in The Wrestler, but Sean Penn was almost as impressive with his rendering of the late Harvey Milk. Speaking of fine actors, Anne Hathaway stirs my drink. While I liked Synedoche, New York, I was let down by it because of my absurdly high expectations for Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut. Role Models was better than it had any right to be. I'm still amazed that Seann William Scott is the sole survivor of the American Pie crowd.

In Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood has finally fused his many previous cinema personas into something both grand and elegant. It belongs in the Oscar conversation (plus Clint sings!). Doubt was timelier when it opened onstage years back, but how do you miss anything featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep ( excepted)? The Day the Earth Stood Still might be worth watching if virtually anyone other than Keanu Reeves inhabited the central role. He's a likable schlumpf in a role that demands an actor with a quiet and menacing charisma. Michael Shannon anyone?

In the entertainment world, the leap from stage to screen can often be a tumultuous one. There are tantalizingly few Dustin Hoffman-Willie Lowman shining stars to help playwrights navigate the dark and treacherous cinema seas. There are no Angels in America lighthouses with which to shore up for a time. Which is why, sad to say, many a play-to-film adaptation simply s(t)inks.

Disney's decision to move the ($6.9M/$78.1M) which continues to perform well despite my most fervent prayers.

How can you resist a movie written and directed by Charlie Kaufman? | Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

In ten years, we'll remember this movie for introducing Olivia Thirlby | Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight

In a crowded weekend of new movies, it was zeroed in on $100 million ($4.1M/$98.3M).

One day the golden touch of Judd Apatow will fade and one of his films will bomb (--but I'll be piling into the theater along with everyone else this weekend to marvel at the daring of John C. Reilly.

, Hilary Angelo jumps off the screen as one of the girls who catches Charlie's roving eye.

Like tells a fascinating and (mostly) true story that's so improbable you wonder what's taken it so long to reach the big screen. If you don't already know, Charlie Wilson was a fairly nondescript Congressman from Texas (known more as a hedonist than a legislator) who almost single-handedly provided the money and weapons that the Afghan Mujahideen used to defeat the seemingly invincible Soviet Union. Wilson would ultimately (and secretly) funnel hundreds of millions dollars to the Afghan fighters and many credit his involvement as the turning point in the Soviet-Afghan War.

Enchanted joined the small circle of films that have topped the box office over consecutive weekends this year. It brought in 17 million dollars, raising its cume to a healthy $70.6M. This Christmas was second to Enchanted once again. It made an extra $8.4M and--considering its meager $13M budget--is now a bona fide hit with a gross of $36.9M. Beowulf was third in its third week, adding $7.9M to its $68.6M worth of treasure....

With the big Christmas season movies still a week away (The Golden Compass, Atonement), it's a rather soft schedule of new releases. That's not to say there aren't any quality films coming out, though. At the top of the list is The Savages. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney and Philip Bosco star in Tamara Jenkin's acerbic drama about two siblings forced to care for their not altogether pleasant father as he slips further into...

I'm ashamed to admit how long it took me to finally catch Sidney Lumet's latest film, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. After all, Lumet is one of the true grandmasters of the craft (he directed his first significant film, 12 Angry Men, over fifty years ago!). What's more, the cast he brought together for Devil is absolutely top-notch: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, Albert Finney and Rosemary Harris. Worst of all,...

Let's face it, 2007 was a mediocre year for movies. Although there are still a couple months left for 2007 to prove it's cinema value, overall it was a disappointing year. Sure Hollywood gave us "300", "Zodiac", and "Once", but we also got "The Number 23", "Norbit", and "Code Name: The Cleaner". So I have my eyes set on 2008, which seems to have a wonderful slate of features for us to see at...

After an extensive 7-year study by LAist about how celebrities choose to fly, we have come to conclusion that the superstars choose Southwest Airlines and the the stars of a past day or just the weird ones take United Airlines. Over the past 7-years, we have flown with: - Vince Vaughn on Southwest Airlines from LAX to Chicago Midway (boarded with the disabled and children/familes) - Philip Seymour Hoffman on Southwest Airlines from Burbank to...

During the Academy Awards some boring guy always comes out and explains how they voted and who guarded the results and we never pay attention. But the upshot is that people that are in The Academy get to vote on the nominees.

It's nearly zero hour for the industry love fest -- better known as the Academy Awards -- and many Oscar get-togethers, soirees and partaaays are just revving up. To help dull the pain of spending three hours plus in front of the boob tube, LAist highly recommends the use of alchohol (responsibly, of course). So without further ado, here are some rules to add to your homemade Oscar telecast drinking game:

Yep, that's Felicity Huffman, and yes, she wins Best Actress at the Independent Spirit Awards. Think she's got a shot at the Oscar?

9:40 Jake and Heath stumble and laugh over the sappy script written for their Brokeback Mountain intro. They look darling, don't they?

More SAG Awards liveblogging. Watch out, Dakota is coming.

Decapitated antiheroes, suicide bombers and 12-year-old soldiers round out
this weekend's indie and limited release picks.


• A
  History of Violence - Drama starring Viggo Mortensen,
  directed by David Cronenberg. In this screen adaptation of a graphic
  novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke, Cronenberg explores how an act
  of heroism unexpectedly changes a man's life. [trailer | local
  showtimes]


• Capote - Drama
  starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, directed by Bennett Miller. Truman
  Capote believed fact could be as fascinating as fiction. While researching
  his book In Cold Blood, the author becomes friends with one
  of the killers. [trailer | local
  showtimes]


• The Chumscrubber - Dark
  comedy starring Jamie Bell and Glenn Close, directed by Arie
  Posin. Dean (Jamie Bell) is a quiet teenager living in a beautiful (but emotionally
  vacant) suburb of California. The death of a troubled teen throws a suburban neighborhood
  into chaos, causing the adults to implode emotionally. Similar to the
  demonic-looking rabbit in Donnie Darko, the "Chumscrubber"
  is a post-apocalyptic icon that pops up when things take a turn for the
  worse. [trailer | local
  showtimes]