Death by explosion is a terrific (albeit PG-13) way to kill off a significant character in any action movie or thriller. A loud boom with pillars of fire and usually the right touch of slow motion in post-production makes a climactic death scene a fitting one and serves as a very visceral catharsis in any […]

I don’t think our trailer options today could get more opposite. The first is Paul W.S. Anderson’s nothing-less-than-explosive take on “The Three Musketeers” (to be presented in 3D) and Woody Allen’s film for 2011, which extends his recent European streak to Paris.

“Sucker Punch” becomes the latest geek-focused film to underperform at the box office as the PG-13 action/fantasy self-described as “‘Alice in Wonderland’ with machine guns” made just below $20 million, which is about where “Kick-Ass” landed a little less than a year ago. The film drew the ire of most critics, but so did “Diary of […]

36-year-old Amy Adams’ career continues to skyrocket as the Oscar-nominated “The Fighter” star has just been cast as Lois Lane in the Zack Snyder-directed Christopher Nolan-produced revamp of “Superman.”

March is supposed to go out like a lamb, but it just snowed in Chicago (lightly, but enough for late March) and “Sucker Punch” from “300” director Zack Snyder should be anything but a “lamb.” At the box office, however, could be another story. It will have to contend with the much more lamb-like “Diary […]

Trailer Wednesday is about to give some rare love to the romantic comedy, but I wouldn’t toss either of these films squarely under that title. “Bridesmaids” has been earning glowing festival reviews, being described as the female “The Hangover” and “Larry Crowne” stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, which is anything but typical.

20th Century Hollywood icon and two-time Oscar winner Dame Elizabeth Taylor has passed away at the age of 79. The “Cleopatra” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” star had been battling a long history of health issues including congestive heart failure, which she had been receiving treatments for since 2004.

“Limitless” surprised as the number one film this weekend with nearly $19 million, but the 2011 box office continued to wane. New films “The Lincoln Lawyer” and “Paul” also did reasonably well based on expectations, but not enough to bolster a relatively dull March. Bradley Cooper, however, is singing, as he has clearly established his […]

The weather might be warming up, but March could be in for a bit of a cool off with the new releases on tap for this weekend. Alien road trip film “Paul” benefits from an appealing cast but packs an R-rating, while “Limitless” and “The Lincoln Lawyer” test the leading man ability of Bradley Cooper […]

It’s an unlucky St. Patty’s Day if you’re a fan of big-name small-film directors working on blockbusters; Oscar-nominated director Darren Aronofsky has left “The Wolverine,” Fox’s second spin-off on the popular X-Man played by Hugh Jackman. Sadly (or thankfully) there’s no one to blame in this instance.

Nope, it’s not some cheesy ’50s rock ‘n roll band name, it’s this week’s trailer selection. Talk about polar opposites: “Super 8” brings us a supernatural sci-fi period piece from the mind of J.J. Abrams with the help of Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment, whereas “The Smurfs” so shamelessly blends CGI and live-action with hopes […]

Continuing to prove the effectiveness of low-budget alien flicks with extensive marketing, “Battle: Los Angeles” made $35.5 million this weekend, handily taking over the box office from “Rango.” Meanwhile, the other new aliens of the week made the bigger news: “Mars Needs Moms,” Disney’s motion-capture animated film made for more than twice the production budget […]

Charlotte Brontë’s seminal literary work “Jane Eyre” has been adapted countless times and prepared in a myriad of ways from the 1943 Joan Fontaine/Orson Welles version that was whittled to an hour and a half to the 1983 BBC mini-series with Zelah Clarke and Timothy Dalton that spans five-plus hours. That certainly begs the question […]

I had the opportunity to attend an advanced screening of the new “Jane Eyre” last weekend (and you can read my review here). This remake (for the umpteenth time) of the famous Charlotte Brontë novel comes from the mind of English writer Moira Buffini (“Tamara Drewe”) and director Cary Fukunaga, who made the film “Sin […]

The grittier and slightly more realistic alien invasion film “Battle: Los Angeles” poses and addresses the intriguing question of how the military would respond in the event of a full-on attack at the hands of an unknown enemy. The answer? Clichés; tons of them. Round up the troops, grab whatever clichés you can find so we […]