Neatly balancing brightly sentimental comedy with slightly edgier funny business, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone pulls off the impressive trick of generating laughs on a consistent basis while spinning a clever scenario about rival magicians waging a Las Vegas turf war with a wide multi-demographic appeal. And while it may fall short of working B.O. magic when it hits theaters March 15, the pic — which played well with the opening-night crowd at the SXSW Film Festival — could wind up generating steady biz on a long-term basis rather than pulling a quick vanishing act. more »
The world premiere of comedy The Incredible Burt Wonderstone will open the 2013 South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival. The festival, which launches its 20th anniversary event March 8th, also unveiled a number of other films and highlights Tuesday.
more »
If the world were ending imminently — say, in three weeks — would you throw off the shackles of social confines and indulge in every crazy impulse the moment inspired? Would you seek out your loved ones in order to spend your last days in their company? Would you just stay put and continue on as normal right up until the final moment? Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, the directorial debut of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist writer Lorene Scafaria, combines a deviously tragicomic take on the approaching annihilation of mankind with a irritatingly unconvincing and unnecessary love story.
more »
I'll admit it: I groaned a bit when word first broke that Steve Carell and Keira Knightley were set to play opposite each other in a romantic comedy set against the end of the world. Knightley, I dreaded, would be reduced to playing May-December arm candy to Carell in her first non-heavy project since Bend it Like Beckham. But as the first trailer for Lorene Scafaria's Seeking a Friend for the End of the World demonstrates, maybe I shouldn't have worried so much. Maybe.
more »
Part of the wave of initiatives in Elvis Mitchell's rebooted Film Independent at LACMA programming is a series of live script reads directed by Jason Reitman (Up in the Air, Juno), who kicked things off last month with a star-studded rendition of The Breakfast Club. Last night's second script read of the 1960 multiple Oscar-winner The Apartment, with Natalie Portman and Steve Carell in the Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemmon roles, respectively, demonstrated how the marriage of cherished movie memories, live theater, and fresh talent is such an inspired idea to begin with.
more »
Another still from Simon Curtis's drama My Week with Marilyn has surfaced, this time showing Michelle Williams swimming as the iconic bombshell. Click through to see the latest, semi-scandalous photo and hang around for more Buzz Break.
more »
