Tuesday, March 25
Frank Darabont's scary Stephen King adaptation of The Mist leads off a relatively meager DVD Tuesday. Also debuting on DVD are Marc Forster's adaptation of bestselling novel The Kite Runner and the suicide-themed black comedy Wristcutters.
Our pick for the week is David Lynch's "psychogenic fugue" Lost Highway, which finally arrives on DVD over a decade after it first opened in theaters. Pick it up today and revel in the legendary Lynchian weirdness.
Posted 3/25/2008 by reelz
Related: Lost Highway | Wristcutters: A Love Story | The Kite Runner | The Mist | Control
Friday, December 14
Will Smith's urban dystopia I Am Legend and Jason Lee's CGI/live-action family flick Alvin and the Chipmunks are this week's two major releases. Also opening are Youth Without Youth, Francis Ford Coppola's long-awaited return to the director's chair, and The Kite Runner, Marc Forster's controversial adaptation of the acclaimed novel.
A rundown of our reviews of this weekend's new releases:
I Am Legend 
"Consistently entertaining from start to finish...Smith pulls off what so few actors have, keeping audiences engaged in his character’s plight with no one to play off of." [Full Review]
Alvin and the Chipmunks 
"While entertaining in fits and inoffensive enough to serve as 90-minute Holiday diversion for the family, it's ultimately a hollow, trite, almost entirely humorless affair." [Full Review]
The Perfect Holiday
"Ho-ho-horrible." [Full Review]
The Kite Runner 
"Entirely too epic for its own good...unless you're a die-hard fan desperate to see Hosseini's story on screen, The Kite Runner is probably a pass." [Full Review]
Also opening: Nanking, Goodbye Bafana, Youth Without Youth.
Posted 12/14/2007 by reelz
Related: The Kite Runner | I Am Legend | Alvin and the Chipmunks | The Perfect Holiday
Friday, October 5
Usually, when a studio bumps a movie's release date that is a strong sign the movie isn't, how do we say, good. However, there is a curious confluence of two movies being delayed right now, and neither are for the usual causes.
The New York Times is reporting that Paramount Vantage has pushed the release date for The Kite Runner ahead six weeks--for the safety of its cast. The movie, based on Khaled Hosseini's bestselling 2003 novel of the same name, follows an unusual friendship over the course of three decades in Afghanistan. Fears of violence against the filmmakers and its three child actors due to the film's subject matter have prompted the studio to push the date to December 14 so that the boys can get out of Kabul (possibly permanently) once school is out--for their own safety.
And Universal has pushed George Clooney's period football movie, Leatherheads, to April 4. Clooney, who directs and stars in the movie, needs the additional time because of his busy schedule, says Variety. Whether or not his recent motorcycle accident prompted the date change is unknown.
Leatherheads was originally slated to open on December 7, which would have allowed it to pick up momentum from the Oscar buzz garnered by Clooney's current movie, Michael Clayton, which opens today. Now that it is opening in April, however, it would not make the deadline for this year's competition. Poor George.
Posted 10/5/2007 by reelz
Related: The Kite Runner | Leatherheads
Tuesday, October 2
The Hollywood Film Festival will honor Richard Gere with its Actor of the Year award at its 11th annual gala, reports the The Hollywood Reporter. Gere, who this year turned in acclaimed performances in two little-seen films, The Hoax and The Hunting Party, will be feted along with Director of the Year Marc Forster (The Kite Runner) at The Beverly Hills Hilton on October 22nd.
The fest, which touts itself as one of the more accurate predictors of Oscar success, will also be honoring Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody and Hairspray star John Travolta, among others.
Click here for more information on the 11th annual Hollywood Film Festival.
Posted 10/2/2007 by reelz
Related: Richard Gere | The Hoax | Marc Forster | The Hunting Party | The Kite Runner | Juno