The original Footloose‘s poster featured Kevin Bacon frozen in a dance move while wearing headphones. The 2011 Footloose doesn’t copy the first film and instead features newcomer Kenny Wormald in a relaxed pose.
The PG-13 dance film opens in theaters on October 14, 2011.
The Plot:
Ren MacCormack (played by newcomer Kenny Wormald) is transplanted from Boston to the small southern town of Bomont where he experiences a heavy dose of culture shock. A few years prior, the community was rocked by a tragic accident that killed five teenagers after a night out and Bomont’s local councilmen and the beloved Reverend Shaw Moore (Dennis Quaid) responded by implementing ordinances that prohibit loud music and dancing. Not one to bow to the status quo, Ren challenges the ban, revitalizing the town and falling in love with the minister’s troubled daughter Ariel (Julianne Hough) in the process.
Robert Rodriguez doesn’t care if you call his next film, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D, stinky. In fact, that’s what he’s hoping for. Rodriguez and Dimension Films plan on releasing Spy Kids 4 in 4D in Aromascope.
Per Dimension Films: Cutting-edge filmmaker and director of the highly popular Spy Kids franchise, Robert Rodriguez, was one of the first to re-introduce audiences to 3D since its inception in the 1950s. After many years away from the cultural mindset, Rodriguez brought back a whole new wave and rebirth of 3D into mainstream cinema in 2003 with Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over. The film impressed and entertained audiences and went on to gross close to $200 million.
This innovative and celebrated franchise will now be the first to introduce audiences to the new adventure of 4D where they will have eight special opportunities throughout the movie to access the action interactively through smell. The introduction of scent in the movie-going experience adds to the outrageous fun by enhancing the action, adventure, and comedy to take you where no film has gone before.
With each individual admission ticket, kids and parents will also receive an Aromascope card that is free of charge with easy-to-read numbers outlined. As the numbers flash on the movie screen, the audience will rub the corresponding number on their card. When each of the eight aromas are unleashed, you will get to experience a special moment in the film and be transported into scenes in the family adventure film. This fun added attraction takes the audience beyond sight and sound and into a symphony of scents as the movie is coming to life.
“Families are going to love the interactivity of this new addition to the movie-going experience. And best of all, you won’t have to pay extra for 4D Aromascope, which will be provided to every theater whether it be 2D or 3D,” said Robert Rodriguez.
4 times the gadgets, four times the adventure, and four times the dimension. Audiences can get a whiff of the bigger, better experience on August 19th when Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D opens in theaters nationwide.
Patrick Dempsey’s first outing with Decepticons and Autobots comes with the third Transformers film, Transformers: Dark of the Moon. And in this video interview courtesy of Paramount Pictures, Dempsey – who’s not known for starring in action films – discusses joining the franchise, his character, arriving in Chicago to film, and the precision skydivers who pull off amazing stunts in Transformers 3. He also chats about the success of the series, the film’s cars, the scale of the movie, and working with director Michael Bay.
The Plot: Shia LaBeouf returns as Sam Witwicky in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. When a mysterious event from Earth’s past erupts into the present day it threatens to bring a war to Earth so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save us.
Shia LaBeouf returns as Sam Witwicky in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the third – and according to LaBeouf, his final – film of the franchise. In this video, LaBeouf discusses his character’s journey, his new romance (remember, Megan Fox is out, model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is in), shooting in Chicago, and Michael Bay as a director. He also proclaims Dark of the Moon the best Transformers film and reveals his favorite scenes.
The Plot: When a mysterious event from Earth’s past erupts into the present day it threatens to bring a war to Earth so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save us.
DreamWorks Pictures is hoping the public’s embrace of all things vampire will extend to its 2011 remake of Fright Night. And one of the ways the studio will be promoting and trying to pump up interest in the horror film is by having a big presence at this year’s Comic-Con. DreamWorks will be throwing a Fright Night party and hosting a special sneak peek screening of the film during the July 21-24th event.
The scoop from DreamWorks’ official press release:
DreamWorks Studios is pleased to present a special insider look at its upcoming 3D reimagining of the horror classic at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con International Convention. On Friday, July 22, a panel presentation will be held in Hall H of the San Diego Convention Center. On the dais will be talent from the film, including Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Imogen Poots, director Craig Gillespie and screenwriter Marti Noxon.
Activities also include a fan appreciation party as well as a screening in advance of the film’s opening in theaters on August 19th.
On Friday, June 24th, the film’s social media campaign; “The Fright Night Feeding Frenzy” kicks off with a chance to win a VIP trip for two to San Diego Comic-Con in partnership with Yahoo! Movies. The trip includes travel, accommodations, and admittance to all Fright Night scheduled events. “The Fright Night Feeding Frenzy” encourages fans to use their social feeds on Facebook, Twitter, and blogs to share movie content and check in to real-world events to collect points.
At the end of each week, the fan who has spread the frenzy the farthest wins a killer prize. Prizes are awarded weekly beginning July 1st through the film’s release on Friday, August 19th.
It’s no secret that Cameron Diaz is at the top of my ‘annoying actresses’ list. I’ve cursed The Mask on numerous occasions for both being a bad film and introducing Diaz to the mainstream. Her one-trick acting style has never won me over, and I’d consider flying a “Mission Accomplished” banner above sports stadiums nationwide if she’d stop acting altogether (and take Shia LaBeouf with her).
With my bias completely transparent, let’s get on to Diaz’s latest film, Bad Teacher. The story concerns a lazy and uninspired teacher (Diaz), with aspirations of finding a wealthy man to take care of her, whose loins are set on fire by substitute teacher Justin Timberlake (it probably happens more often than we hear about). Desperate to gain his affection, she sets out to become a model teacher and undergoes a personal transformation along the way.
HAHAHAHA, I wrote that plot synopsis from the trailer, and it was DEAD ON. Why did I have to sit through the entire thing, then? (Oh yeah, because it’s a film critic thing.)
Look, there are some good jokes now and then. The dodgeball scene dominating the trailers still retains its humor on-screen but keep in mind that I’m also one of the largest Jackass fans around; I consider people hurting themselves for my amusement one of the great joys in life. However, I don’t consider any of the comedy to be helped out by Diaz’s performance. Anyone with a pulse could make shabby, not politically correct treatment of students funny – the laughs are in the writing and not the performer.
As for the rest of the cast, it plays out as one would expect. Timberlake does a decent job, but his charisma seems to translate just about anywhere right now. Segel is well chosen as the gumpy gym teacher looking for Diaz’s love, but seeing his mug just makes me anxiously hopeful of the upcoming Muppet movie. And it’s nice to see Lucy Punch get such a big role in an American film after admiring her comedic talents in British productions like Hot Fuzz or as a smaller supporting character (and one of the few bright spots) in this year’s dreadful Take Me Home Tonight.
Obviously, an affinity for Diaz will go a long way towards liking Bad Teacher but even with my outspoken issues about her, the overall production does what it needs to, and there are enough laughs to warrant seeing it eventually. It’s not an instant classic and I don’t foresee quoting anything from the script in the future, but with its brisk 92-minute runtime and good supporting performances, you can do a lot worse when picking movies this summer (*cough* Green Lantern).
GRADE: C Bad Teacher hits theaters on June 24, 2011 and is rated R for sexual content, nudity, language and some drug use.
“How would you like to come and see the world with me?” “You mean it?!” Says race car Lighting McQueen (voiced once again by Owen Wilson) to his best friend, Mater the tow truck, as they head out to travel to Europe to race in the World Grand Prix in the animated sequel, Cars 2.
Their adventure together starts to go downhill quickly for McQueen when Mater keeps embarrassing him at the big social parties, and the cocky Italian race car Francesco Bernouilli, voiced by John Turturro, continues to slight and insult McQueen every chance he gets. Things get even more complicated for Mater when a British secret service agent, Finn McMissile (voiced by the great Michael Caine), mistakes the tow truck for an American undercover agent.
Torn between helping McQueen win the high-profile race and playing spy with real British agents, Mater’s action-packed journey leads him through explosive chases all across Europe. When it looks like both the World Grand Prix and the agent’s case are connected, it may be up to Mater to save his best friend Lighting from ending up in that big garage in the sky.
PIXAR’s Cars 2 is an animated adventure that unfortunately stalls not long after it starts. First off, making Mater the lead instead of the comical sidekick is a big mistake. Instead of the character being funny and endearing like he was in the first film, he’s now incredibly dumb and annoying. The race car McQueen falls into the background, and his story is both uninteresting and empty.
One addition, and possibly the only good thing about the film, is the British spy Finn McMissile who is modeled after James Bond’s famous Aston Martin DB5 in the film Goldfinger. The opening sequence in the film showing him spying on the bad guys and trying to escape from certain doom, is probably the only truly fun, exciting scene in the film. This brings up another point about the film that some of the action scenes might be too intense for younger audience members. Yes, the film is rated G, but it should have been rated PG.
What’s really missing from the film is the heart and soul that we expect from a PIXAR movie. It’s absent. All we get on the screen is loud, noisy action, dumb jokes, and a convoluted plot that no adult will be able to follow let alone children. It feels more like a Saturday morning cartoon than an animated motion picture. I know it’s impossible for any movie studio to have a hit every time and that PIXAR was due for a Lemon. Well, that’s exactly what they have put up on the big screen here.
GRADE: D
Cars 2 hits theaters on June 24, 2011 and is rated G. Cars 2 was directed by John Lasseter.
Chris Evans in 'Captain America: The First Avenger'
The second theatrical trailer for Captain America: The First Avenger mixes a little humor along with lots of intense action. Chris Evans goes from a scrawny weakling to a beefed-up superhero in this comic book-inspired drama from director Joe Johnston.
The Plot:
It is 1941, and the world is being torn apart by war. After repeatedly trying to enlist in the military to do his part and fight alongside his brothers and sisters in the Allied Forces, the young and scrappy 98-pound Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is accepted to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super-Soldier known as Captain America.
In his muscular new incarnation, Captain America joins forces with his friend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and the confident Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), under the command of Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones), to wage war on the evil HYDRA organization—the Nazi’s deep science division—led by the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving).
Captain America: The First Avenger focuses on the early days of the Marvel Universe—later populated with such superheroes as Iron Man, the Hulk, and Thor…When wars were fought with weapons but won by men.
It is 1941, and the world is being torn apart by war. After repeatedly trying to enlist in the military to do his part and fight alongside his brothers and sisters in the Allied Forces, the young and scrappy 98 pound Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is accepted to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super-Soldier known as Captain America.
In his muscular new incarnation, Captain America joins forces with his friend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and the confident Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), under the command of Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones), to wage war on the evil HYDRA organization—the Nazi’s deep science division—led by the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving).
Captain America: The First Avenger focuses on the early days of the Marvel Universe—later populated with such superheroes as Iron Man, the Hulk and Thor…When wars were fought with weapons but won by men.
Program Pictures announced they’ve picked up the film rights to the story of the Black Mafia Family (BMF). LT Hutton and David Robinson are producing the film and are also producing the Tupac biopic, which is set to start shooting later this year.
Commenting on the announcement, Hutton said, “We have a passion and enthusiasm in bringing Big Meech’s story to the big screen. We’re working closely with Meech and Tammy Cowins to make sure every aspect of the story is done correctly. Over the upcoming months, we’ll be working on getting a script together so we can begin filming as early as next year.”
Per the press release: Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and his drug trafficking empire known as the Black Mafia Family (BMF) gave birth to and romanticized the extravagant, flamboyant lifestyle that hip-hop is known for today. Taking their mantra from the popular gangster movie Scarface, Big Meech’s life often imitated art, with multi-million dollar parties, fleets of exotic cars, and unlimited access to drugs, jewelry and weapons. During his reign, Big Meech became the highest-earning black drug lord in US history.
