By: preme | On: 29 Jul, 2008
On the front lines of an intergalactic struggle between good and evil, fans young and old will join such favorite characters as Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padma Amidala, along with brand-new heroes like Anakin’s padawan learner, Ahsoka.
Sinister villains–led by Palpatine, Count Dooku and General Grievous–are poised to rule the galaxy. Stakes are high, and the fate of the Star Wars universe rests in the hands of the daring Jedi Knights. Their exploits lead to the action-packed battles and astonishing new revelations.
Genres:
Science Fiction/Fantasy and Animation
Release Date:
August 15, 2008
By: preme | On: 23 Jul, 2008
Adapted from the Will Eisner’s graphic novels, “The Spirit” tells the story of a man who fakes his own death and fights crime from the shadows of Central City.
The Occtopus — who kills anyone unfortunate enough to see his face — has other plans. He’s going to wipe out the entire city. The Spirit tracks this coldhearted killer from the city’s rundown warehouses, to the damp catacombs, to the windswept waterfront…all the while facing a bevy of beautiful women who either want to seduce, love or kill the masked crusader.
Genres:
Action/Adventure, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller, Crime/Gangster and Adaptation
Release Date:
December 25th, 2008 (wide)
Distributors:
Lionsgate
Production Co.:
Batfilm Productions, Odd Lot Entertainment
Financiers:
Lionsgate, Odd Lot Entertainment
Filming Locations:
Albuquerque, New Mexico USA
By: preme | On: 20 Jul, 2008
Explorer Rick O’Connell to combat the resurrected Han Emperor in an epic that races from the catacombs of ancient China high into the frigid Himalayas. Rick is joined in this all-new adventure by son Alex, wife Evelyn and her brother, Jonathan. And this time, the O’Connells must stop a mummy awoken from a 2,000-year-old curse who threatens to plunge the world into his merciless, unending service.
Doomed by a double-crossing sorceress to spend eternity in suspended animation, China’s ruthless Dragon Emperor and his 10,000 warriors have laid forgotten for eons, entombed in clay as a vast, silent terra cotta army. But when dashing adventurer Alex O’Connell is tricked into awakening the ruler from eternal slumber, the reckless young archaeologist must seek the help of the only people who know more than he does about taking down the undead: his parents. As the monarch roars back to life, our heroes find his quest for world domination has only intensified over the millennia. Striding the Far East with unimaginable supernatural powers, the Emperor Mummy will rouse his legion as an unstoppable, otherworldly force… unless the O’Connells can stop him first.
Genres:
Action/Adventure and Sequel
Release Date:
August 1st, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating:
PG-13 for adventure action and violence.
Distributors:
Universal Pictures Distribution
Production Co.:
The Sean Daniel Company, Sommers Company
Starring:
Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, Michelle Yeoh, John Hannah
Directed by:
Rob Cohen
By: preme | On: 19 Jul, 2008
Bella Swan has always been a little bit different, never caring about fitting in with the trendy girls at her Phoenix high school. When her mother remarries and sends Bella to live with her father in the rainy little town of Forks, Washington, she doesn’t expect much of anything to change. Then she meets the mysterious and dazzlingly beautiful Edward Cullen, a boy unlike any she’s ever met. Intelligent and witty, he sees straight into her soul. Soon, Bella and Edward are swept up in a passionate and decidedly unorthodox romance. Edward can run faster than a mountain lion, he can stop a moving car with his bare hands - and he hasn’t aged since 1918.
Like all vampires, he’s immortal. But he doesn’t have fangs, and he doesn’t drink human blood, as Edward and his family are unique among vampires in their lifestyle choice. To Edward, Bella is that thing he has waited 90 years for - a soul mate. But the closer they get, the more Edward must struggle to resist the primal pull of her scent, which could send him into an uncontrollable frenzy. But what will they do when Laurent and James, the Cullens’ mortal vampire enemies, come to town, looking for Bella?
Genres:
Drama, Romance, Thriller and Teen
Release Date:
December 12th, 2008 (wide)
Distributors:
Paramount Pictures
Production Co.:
Maverick Films
Studios:
Summit Entertainment, LLC, Paramount Pictures
Filming Locations:
Forks, Washington, United States
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Portland, Oregon, United States
By: preme | On: 18 Jul, 2008
Mamma Mia! is the worst-directed “good” movie ever. If it wasn’t for the effervescent charms of ABBA’s sparkling songs, and the brave earnestness of the uniformly superb cast, it would be an unbridled disaster. No matter her impressive theatrical résumé, director Phyllida Lloyd is the song and dance version of Uwe Boll. Her choices behind the lens are so shockingly bad, and her grasp of cinematic language so surprisingly weak, that you wonder how amazing this movie would have been had someone with a modicum of moviemaking skill shown up to take control.
A prime example of Lloyd’s motion picture incompetence comes toward the very end, when Streep is singing her heart out to “The Winner Takes It All.” It’s an emotional moment, the pinnacle ballad in a character’s crazed, out-of-control life. As the Oscar winner delivers a knock-out performance, her delicate gestures giving way to facial expressions racked with regret, Lloyd circles the actress, her camera constantly swirling around the action. By the fourth or fifth revolution, we want the visual merry-go-round to stop, if only to give Streep a chance to connect. But instead, the audience must endure more whirling dervish nonsense before a final shot saves everything.
Much of Mamma Mia! is like this, random moments of acting/musical brilliance boondoggled by Lloyd’s aggravating designs. A pier-side chorus line of “liberated” ladies really sells “Dancing Queen,” even if our filmmaker can’t capture the moment properly for maximum impact. Our young lovers sing “Lay All Your Love on Me” with the appropriate passion, even as their director adds goofy men in scuba gear as a Monty Python-like distraction.
And remember, this is a good movie, a film buoyed by ABBA’s undeniably infectious music. The minute one of their classic kitsch hits comes cascading across the speakers, all flaws are forgiven, carried away on puffy cotton candy clouds of pop chart charms. It’s hard to maintain a sour attitude with ’70s staples like “S.O.S.,” “Super Trouper,” or “Take a Chance on Me” bouncing in your brain. And given the fact that Streep, Brosnan, and Seyfried acquit themselves admirably, we have no real qualm with the content.
Also Known As:
Mama Mia!
Mamma Mia! The Movie
Production Status:
Released
Genres:
Comedy, Musical/Performing Arts and Adaptation
Release Date:
July 18th, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating:
PG-13 for some sex-related comments.
Distributors:
Universal Pictures Distribution