“Everyone knows amnesia is bollocks,” snarls one of the thugs in Trance. Hypnotism, on the other hand, is fair game in this brash, beyond-belief psychothriller from director Danny Boyle, who seizes on a script co-written by Joe Ahearne and longtime Boyle collaborator John Hodge as a chance to play elaborate mind games with fans of his early work. A trippy variation on the dream-within-a-dream movie, Boyle’s return-to-form crimer constantly challenges what auds think they know, but neglects to establish why they should care. The pic’s flashy style, plus its stark violence and nudity, ought to transfix male genre auds. more »
Awesome; Danny Boyle is back with his first new film since 2010, and what it lacks in James Franco amputations, his latest, Trance more than makes up for in James McAvoy, and a reunion with writer John Hodge for the first time since 2000's The Beach.
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Also in Monday's early round-up of news briefs: Cloud Atlas may have had a slow start in North America, but it is possibly proving to be a big hit overseas; The Weinstein Company is grabbing a thriller starring Chris Evans, Jamie Bell and Octavia Spencer for theaters; And Chasing Ice tops out the Specialty Box Office over the weekend.
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Also in Wednesday afternoon's round-up of news briefs, Amy Adams re-teams with David O. Russell on a pic; the Academy ups exec in newly-created post; Sundance Institute adds 10 titles to new initiative; And Bollywood's first superstar dies.
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With $6.4 million at stake for UNICEF, some of the world's best footballers faced off in England over the weekend with some of the sport's most enthusiastic celebrity hobbyists. The good news: Charity won big! The bad news: Celebrities did not, with one even landing in the hospital.
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Also in Tuesday morning's news round up: Icon will produce Lee Daniels' next project, James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain team for a double-feature, Zac Efron and Seth Rogen will pair for a new project, and more...
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How did Rose Byrne become the most unexpected comedic actress of her generation? After 15 years of acting, the Aussie native broke out of her dramatic shell with a fearless turn as Aldous Snow's pop star ex in Get Him to the Greek, and this week's Bridesmaids continues the streak: Byrne plays Helen, the rich and beautiful new BFF who tries to steal Maya Rudolph away from maid of honor Kristen Wiig. As director Paul Feig insisted to Movieline, "That woman should always be doing comedy."
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Everyone seems to love the retro '60s vibe of Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class. But do we really want to see Professor Xavier, Magneto, and Co. slogging through the not-quite-as-fashionable 1970s and 1980s in potential sequel story lines? (Think hard about this. On the one hand: Magneto in bellbottoms doing lines with Emma Frost at Studio 54. On the other: Dazzler.)
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