This weekend's new theatrical offerings include a massive array for any taste. In the studio realm,
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter marks the 16th Prez as a savior from Vampires, Pixar's
Brave centers on a Princess who must save her kingdom. Focus'
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World pits a mismatched man and woman on an unlikely road trip, while doc
The Invisible War is a fascinating but sad exposé on the sad truth about sexual assault in the U.S. military. Fellow doc
Kumaré, meanwhile follows a man posing as an Eastern guru who builds his own following in Arizona.
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Before last year’s wistfully joyous Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen’s movies had gotten so self-conscious and sour-spirited — alleged “returns to form” Match Point, Cassandra’s Dream and Vicky Cristina Barcelona included — that it was hard to have any hope for his future. Do older filmmakers really need a future, especially if, as Allen has, they’ve already banked more than a career’s worth of fine work amid the failures? If they really enjoy working, as Allen seems to, I think they do — a future to shoot for, even if it’s just tomorrow as opposed to next year, might be the very thing that makes them feel alive.
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The famed Spanish director known for discovering the likes of Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas is returning with a new comedy, currently titled I'm So Excited, which the two will also take part in. The ensemble comedy is written and directed by Almodóvar and will begin production in July for release next summer. The filmmaker's longtime American distributor Sony Pictures Classics will release the film in North America.
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Woody Allen continues his cinematic Eurotrip with To Rome With Love, which aims to repeat the formula of pitting navel-gazing privileged Americans against Old World locales with charming results. While it doesn't go for the transformative magic of Midnight in Paris, will Woody's Rome outing capture something special in Italy? Watch the first trailer below.
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Since last week's Tree of Life giveaway event was such a success, we're staging another 10-word review contest -- this time, in celebration of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the Johnny Depp/Penélope Cruz pirate adventure epic that gets it home release this week. So find your black pearl pen, channel your inner Captain Jack Sparrow, mix your best mermaid tear cocktail and click ahead for details. [UPDATE: The contest is now closed! Thank you to everyone who participated. We will now sort through your submissions and notify you of a winner shortly.]
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In this summer's swashbuckling sequel Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, British newcomer Sam Claflin goes toe to toe with Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and a much more fearsome pirate: Blackbeard (Ian McShane), the legendary captain of a zombie ship on a quest to find the Fountain of Youth. But while Claflin holds his own as idealistic young Philip Swift, the missionary who falls for a mermaid (Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey) and defies Blackbeard on pain of death, in real life he owes a debt of gratitude to the erstwhile Al Swearengen.
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Speaking to journalists Thursday in Beverly Hills, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides superproducer Jerry Bruckheimer was guarded as ever where details of a fifth Pirates were concerned. But at least he was honest about what it'll take for Disney to officially give the green light. "If it makes them a lot of money, it's a success. And hopefully it makes them a lot of money." Something tells us the radical idea Johnny Depp shared for filming Pirates 5 and 6 won't exactly fly.
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Over at Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides website there are a LOT of nifty features for the Pirates-obsessed to fritter the morning away on. And if you spend just enough time frolicking in the trailers, behind-the-scenes videos, and character features you'll be rewarded with four new pieces of Pirates art, including lifelike sketches of Ian McShane as Blackbeard and Penelope Cruz as Blackbeard's swashbuckling daughter.
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Looks like Woody Allen is taking advice from our very own Louis Virtel, who just last week suggested the prolific director cast Ellen Page in one of his next projects. Page will join Jesse Eisenberg, Alec Baldwin, and Penelope Cruz in Allen's untitled Rome-set film, to begin production this summer. The film will be Allen's 42nd feature film. Will Page play a Mariel Hemingway-type, as Louis suggests, with Eisenberg as Allen's neurotic onscreen stand-in? Cast your own speculations below.[Variety]
