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POSTED BY: RamZeX on 11/23/2006 16:27:35

Deja Vu [11/22]
Director: Tony Scott
Stars: Denzel Washington, Paula Patton, James Caviezel (Full Cast)
Studio: Buena Vista Pictures

The Plot: ATF agent Doug Carlin (Washington) is introduced to a secret government agency in order to prevent the crime he's working on - an explosion aboard a New Orleans ferry - from ever happening.

THE BUZZ: Say, this does feel familiar to us ... has Denzel stumbled into a remake of Timecop? Deja's romance angle might be just what Denzel and director Tony Scott need to achieve blockbuster status, something they haven't been able to do in their past two outings (you'd have to adjust Crimson Tide's gross for inflation). The buzzworthy Paula Patton (she cozied up to Andre 3000 in Idlewild) plays DW's much-younger love interest, which must look great on paper, but when you consider the careers of his past on-screen loves ... not so much, really.

Message Boards: why the hell did they rip-off the saw theme? | uhm...Saw theme anyone?

For Your Consideration [limited]
Director: Christopher Guest
Stars: Catherine O'Hara, Harry Shearer, Parker Posey (Full Cast)
Studio: Warner Independent Pictures

The Plot: Three actors (O'Hara, Posey, and Shearer) learn their respective performances in the film "Home for Purim," a drama set in the mid-1940s American South, are generating award-season buzz. A documentary crew captures all the excitement.

THE BUZZ: I guess Guest was just duping us with the announcement from back in 2005 that he was done making mockumentaries. With FYC, he returns with his usual crew, plus Ricky Gervais (!!), for an awards-show skewering that isn't generating as many laughs as you might expect. Described as exceedingly meta by many, we're just hoping there's no folk music this time around.

Message Boards: Christopher Guest Movies Suck | does anyone know when this will get released?

The Fountain [11/22]
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Sean Patrick Thomas (Full Cast)
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

The Plot: As a 16th-century conquistador, Tom (Jackman) discovers the Tree of Life. He spends the next 1,000 years searching for a way to save his love, Izzi (Weisz), as he begins to develop an understanding of the mysteries that have plagued him for centuries.

THE BUZZ: This production rose and crashed around writer-director Darren Aronofsky so many times, we still feel as though we'll never be sitting in a theater, moments from the flicker of the first reel. After months with only a teaser poster, a couple stills, and an information-less official site, Venice announced they'd host the world premiere (Aronfsky turned down a non-competition slot at Cannes, saying it was full-on Palme d'Or eligibility or nothing). And then came the boos ... Or the reports of people booing the film, which bloated into prognostications of criticial and commercial failure. So much pressure on the man we've been calling the next Kubrick since ... the year 2000, come to think of it.

For what it's worth, we do believe this won't be the most-discussed multi-layered story of the year; that honor will belong to Babel, whose stars, Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, were originally set to make this film together.

Message Boards: R version vs. PG-13 version | CONTACT EVERYONE

Bobby [11/22]
Director: Emilio Estevez
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone (Full Cast)
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

The Plot: Part fact and part fiction, the story of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy's assassination is told via the intertwining lives of people who were present at Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel in the hours leading up to the event.

THE BUZZ: Trying swishing this phrase around in your mouth: "Academy Award nominated director Emilio Estevez." We're just kidding; this is actually just Emilio's politically aware home movie, starring his famous friends.

Message Boards: Limited Release or Flop? | What is Actors minimum wage?

Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny [11/22]
Director: Liam Lynch
Stars: Jack Black, Kyle Gass (Full Cast)
Studio: New Line Cinema

The Plot: In Venice Beach, naive Midwesterner JB (Black) bonds with local slacker KG (Glass) and they form the rock band Tenacious D. Trying to become the world's greatest band is no easy feat, so they scheme to steal what could be the answer to their prayers -- a magical guitar pick housed in a rock-and-roll museum some 300 miles away.

THE BUZZ: America's cultiest rock band ascends to the big screen, thanks to New Line Cinema, director Liam Lynch (Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic), and, naturally, the Devil. Production was delayed for a while due to script difficulty, but reports from JB and KG indicate that New Line was nothing but the best when it came to on-set decisions. Lynch promises plenty "awesome rock cameos," such as Meat Loaf (who plays Jack's father). Really, though, isn't JB kinda tired?

Message Boards: Is this a movie to see on a date? (nm) | new dvd

Deck the Halls [11/22]
Director: John Whitesell
Stars: Matthew Broderick, Danny DeVito, Kristin Chenoweth (Full Cast)
Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

The Plot: Near Christmas, a friendly neighborhood dad (Broderick) goes beserk after the new guy on the block (DeVito) decorates his family's house so outrageously that it can be seen from space.

THE BUZZ: All we have is questions ... We know this is harmless family entertainment, but can't kids and adults alike be treated to something remotely original? And does Kristin Davis feel she has to atone for her "Sex and the City" ways? Couldn't SJP get her mister and her former co-star in a better project? You know Charlotte has her fingers crossed for that "SatC" movie.

Message Boards: This year's 'Christmas With The Kranks'? | Already better than the past few Christmas Movies.

The History Boys [11/21 -- limited]
Director: Nicholas Hytner
Stars: Richard Griffiths, Frances de la Tour, Clive Merrison (Full Cast)
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures

The Plot: During the 1980s, at a boys' grammar school in the north of England, bright, unruly students pursue sex, sport, and college degrees, guided all along by a pair of teachers with contrasting styles.

THE BUZZ: Based on Alan Bennett's play, which performed equally well in the UK and the US, a transatlantic coalition brings the screen version to the States with all the major talent aboard. Art house devotees love their tragedy with a little comedy, as does the Academy, but this import hasn't been able to fend off the bad word-of-mouth, and Fox Searchlight has put its awards season muscle behind Notes on a Scandal, The Last King of Scotland, and perhaps even Little Miss Sunshine.

Message Boards: This film was terrible. | gay characters

Unconscious [limited]
Director: Joaquín Oristrell
Stars: Leonor Watling, Luis Tosar, Alex Brendemühl (Full Cast)
Studio: Regent Releasing

The Plot: Danger, love, and hypnosis await Alma (Watling) as she enlists her brother-in-law, Salvador (Tosar), to help find her missing husband.

THE BUZZ: I love me some Leonor Watling, and alongside Luis Tosar (recently on screen as the nemesis of Crockett and Tubbs), this pair is only out-prettied by Children of Men's Julianne Moore and Clive Owen. Anyway, popular Spanish writer-director Joaquín Oristrell saw his other movie, the gay wedding comedy Queens, come and go this past summer. His latest, a Sherlock Holmes-styled mystery, won the Best Foreign Language Film at this year's HBO Comedy Arts Festival.

Message Boards:

Select: Happy Feet Casino Royale Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause Stranger Than Fiction Flushed Away Saw III Babel The Departed

Happy Feet
Director: George Miller
Stars: Elijah Wood, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman (Full Cast)
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

The Plot: Into the world of the Emperor Penguins, who find their soul mates through song, a penguin named Mumble (Wood) is ashamed by the fact that he cannot sing. However, he can tap dance something fierce, but how does this fit into his society?

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THE BUZZ: Warner Bros. bets that their formula of Madagascar meets March of the Penguins meets boy band choreography will yield one of the biggest animated hits of the year. We have to imagine that George Miller, who hasn't directed a film since Babe: Pig in the City isn't sleeping much these days. Meanwhile, Hugh Jackman transmogrifies from a rat to a penguin in the same month. He's so versatile! Okay, getting back to this title ... a reminder: your best friend can't prevent you from calling him/her "Happy Feet."

Message Boards: Now that the movie is actually out... | People who shouldn't see this film

Casino Royale
Director: Martin Campbell
Stars: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Judi Dench (Full Cast)
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment

The Plot: After earning his license to kill, MI6 dispatches James Bond (Craig) to Madagascar to track a terrorist. The spy soon expands his search to include an entire terrorist cell, tipping off an adventure that leads him into a Montenegro casino, where his organization backs him in a marathon game against Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a banker to international terrorist organizations.

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THE BUZZ: After an exhaustive, dramatic, bordering-on-annoying search for the new Bond, the announcement of Daniel Craig as the successor to Pierce Brosnan was rather ... anticlimactic. Craig of course made matters worse for himself by arriving for the movie's worldwide press day via military boat ... wearing a life preserver. However, his smoldering physicality seems to be winning over disgruntled fans one-by-one as opening day draws near, so maybe it's not solely up to director Martin Campbell to re-engage the franchise yet again. Regarding the casting of Royale's Bond girl, Vesper Lynd -- Eva Green wasn't on any fan's mind as the potential pick (Charlize Theron and Angelina Jolie reportedly vied for the role), and that's just the kind of surprise we're hoping the movie itself offers.

Message Boards: Reactions?(Spoilers )*** | Darker Bond (SPOILERS!!!!!!)

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Director: Larry Charles
Stars: Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian (Full Cast)
Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

The Plot: Kazakhstani TV personality Borat (Cohen) is dispatched by his country's Ministry of Information to make a documentary about the greatest country in the world, the "U S and A."

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THE BUZZ: The mockumentary that (a) scared off director Todd Phillips, (b) enraged the president of Kazakhstan, and (c) has become the first post-Snakes movie championed by the Internet obsessed is grabbing more real news headlines than any other movie this year. Borat first got big laughs at Comic-Con, and the buzz followed him to the Toronto Film Festival, where even a disastrous first screening couldn't kill the hype. And all Fox has done to the original print is add some strategically placed black bars to a scene between Borat and his producer (played by Ken Davitian). The national release has been trimmed from a planned 2,000 screens to 800, though we expect that number to go up in the second week. Meanwhile, Universal will shell out over $40 million for Cohen's next film, a comedy centered on his character Bruno, a gay Austrian fashionista, which the comedian hopes to make next summer.

Message Boards: real Kazakhstan Fight against bad stereotype | US of A has best economy

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
Director: Michael Lembeck
Stars: Tim Allen, Martin Short (Full Cast)
Studio: Buena Vista Pictures

The Plot: Santa (Allen), aka Scott Calvin, is faced with double-duty: how to keep his new family happy, and how to stop Jack Frost (Short) from taking over Christmas.

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THE BUZZ: Apologies to Martin Short, Judge Reinhold, et al., but why is this franchise relying on the 80s for laughs? And if Bernard the Arch-Elf (David Krumholtz) isn't in this, what's the point, really? The only thing that holds our interest is knowing Little Miss Sunshine's Alan Arkin and Abigail Breslin have bit parts.

Message Boards: Worst movie title pun ever? | Did Bernard DIE?!

Stranger Than Fiction
Director: Marc Forster
Stars: Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman (Full Cast)
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment

The Plot: IRS auditor Harold Crick (Ferrell) suddenly finds his every thought and action narrated by a voice in his head. He comes to realize the voice belongs to a famous author (Thompson) who decides to deal with her writer's block by setting into motion events which will cause the death of her character ... who's also named Harold Crick.

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THE BUZZ: Like Jim Carrey and Michel Gondry before them, Ferrell bonds to Foster (Finding Neverland) for a left field drama intended to explore the recesses of its star's head and its director's talent. It's the first screenplay from Zach Helm (who, aside from having a great filmmakery name, has Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium on deck), and will hopefully give Ferrell the creative reboot he desperately needs. Does the release date suggest Sony's going for award nominations? Perhaps, but certainly not that the project has been dismissed as woefully flawed; even Foster and Helm have gone on the record to state they haven't clearly expressed whether or not Ferrell's Harold Crick exists.

Message Boards: Much Ado about Nothing | WTF???

Flushed Away
Director: David Bowers Sam Fell
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen (Full Cast)
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC

The Plot: A tony rat (Jackman) is flushed down the toilet of his penthouse apartment and winds up in the sewers of London, where he has to learn a whole new way of life.

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THE BUZZ: Aardman Animations (the studio behind Wallace & Grommit) handles their first CGI film, which was born out of their inability to get the Tortoise vs. Hare project off the ground. Reports indicate the CGI looks like classic Aardman stuff, but we think audiences are tired of computer generated animal adventures. And the Brit-friendly cast could result in a Valiant reception at the box office.

Message Boards: am i the only one | Flushed Away Elimination Game

Saw III
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Stars: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Angus Macfadyen (Full Cast)
Studio: Lionsgate

The Plot: Jigsaw, the torture-friendly serial killer, uses a doctor (Soomekh) to help keep him alive while his new apprentice puts a second victim (Macfayden) through a vicious test.

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THE BUZZ: Yahoo! has the first look at the second trailer ... The third installment to the Saw fable was greenlit as soon as Saw II opened to $37 million last October. Donnie Wahlberg is so in love with Jigsaw that he offered to direct the second sequel. Uh, thanks, Donnie! The sad part of the story is the fact that Gregg Hoffman, the producer who nutured the franchise from infancy, passed away soon after Saw II opened. Rest in peace, Mr. Hoffman. And it seems like the right time to bring this legacy to an end, too.

Message Boards: Something I've thought about (SPOILERS) | eyes???

Babel
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael García Bernal (Full Cast)
Studio: Paramount Vantage

The Plot: Two children curious about just how far a bullet will travel set into a motion a tragedy that ripples across six families around the world.

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THE BUZZ: In this year of big projects pulling up lame at the major film festivals, one potential winner has emerged. Our Oscar Watch is focused director Iñárritu, who should get his first nomination (Cannes bestowed him with this honor back in May). Long overdue, we say. In ascending order, root for Mr. Bernal (his first nomination), Mr. Pitt (his second), and Ms. Blanchett (her third).

Message Boards: Babel vs. El Laberinto del Fauno | To all the haters...

The Departed
Director: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson (Full Cast)
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

The Plot: Two men (DiCaprio and Damon) from opposite sides of the law are undercover within the Boston State Police department and the Irish mafia, and as discoveries are made on both sides that compromise their positions, the moles are dispatched to find out their enemy's identities.

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THE BUZZ: One of the more non-linear crime stories in recent memory in the hands of a fumbly veteran, The Depahhhted promises to be the spectacle of awards season (next to Dreamgirls?). Per usual, Scorsese's gunning for Oscar, and rumor has it if it weren't for his film's ultraviolent third act, he might've finally nabbed the Best Picture statue. Although perhaps we're editorializing just a tiny bit there. So now the focus has turned on Jack Nicholson, who's bloodied performance is set to introduce him, and Scorsese, to the younger generation. Where does this leave Matt and Leo? In a lurch, a situation just like what their character have to face.

Message Boards: Damon was gay, and DiCaprio was the ...? (minor SPOILER) | the duck thing!

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Z� Oan

11/21/2008