If you live near Los Angeles and New York areas, here’s something you’ll definitely be interested in. Rama’s SCREEN is giving away tickets for certain lucky winners, to the advanced screening of CITY ISLAND (check out the trailer), the new hilarious family comedy starring Andy Garcia, Julianna Marguelis, Alan Arkin and Emily Mortimer (Check out my review)

The special sneak preview screening will take place on the following date and location

March 18th, 2010: Landmark Theater in Los Angeles, CA at 8PM
March 18th, 2010: Angelika Film Center in New York, NY at 8PM

I will randomly choose TWO winners for EACH area…. Now, no worries, each winner can bring one friend along so you won’t have to watch the movie alone.
But the winners will have to pick up the ticket at the WILL CALL booth/table at the theater on that day.

So here all you need to do…

• Submit your complete Name and your complete E-Mail Address to rama@ramasscreen.com

Easy right?! You won’t even have to answer any trivia questions…

The deadline is March 17th, at the stroke of midnight
My friend John will then send the winners further details on what time they should be in the theater and all the other important information.

Rock on!

Real quick now, according to Hollywood Reporter, two Kiwi actors have joined the cast of GREEN LANTERN which starts filming tomorrow in New Orleans, Louisiana…

One of them is Temuera Morrison who played Jango Fett in Lucas’ Star Wars lame prequels. He is set to play Abin Sur, a member of the Corps who is instrumental in Jordan becoming the superhero. He was a member of the Green Lantern Corps and recruited Hal Jordan as a Green Lantern

The other one is Kiwi filmmaker/actor Taika Waititi, Oscar-nominated for a short live action Two Cars One Night, back in 2003. Waititi is set to play Hal Jordan’s best friend, Thomas Kalmuka, a young engineer who was one of the few people who knew Hal ’s secret

GREEN LANTERN will open on scheduled, June 17th, 2011
Starring Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan. Mark Strong as Sinestro. Blake Lively as Carol Ferris, Peter Sarsgaard as the villain Dr. Hector Hammond, Martin Campbell will be directing using the script written by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Michael Green

When is George Clooney not happy? The guy has all the reason in the world to smile? O wait, he did look a bit upset during the Oscars 2010, but it was probably just an act.. I think. For an Oscar winner who’s known for being one of the most fan-friendliest stars around, Clooney is on top of the world. And now he’s in Paradise,.. that’s what we earthlings call Hawaii, filming his latest film THE DESCENDANTS, a dramedy adaptation directed by Alexander Payne (Sideways, About Schmidt). Co-starring Mary Birdsong and young actress Shailene Woodley (ABC’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager) probably set to play one of Clooney’s character’s daughters.
Hollywood Reporter said today that Judy Greer, Beau Bridges, Matthew Lillard, and Robert Forster have joined the cast as well, although their roles were not revealed.
Check couple of more set photos, via Accidentalsexiness, after this jump…

THE DESCENDANTS; is based on the book by author Kaui Hart Hemmings. Payne polished the script written by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash…
Here is the official synopsis of the book THE DESCENDANTS…
Narrated in a bold, fearless, hilarious voice and set against the lush, panoramic backdrop of Hawaii, The Descendants is a stunning debut novel about an unconventional family forced to come together and re-create its own legacy.
Matthew King was once considered one of the most fortunate men in Hawaii. His missionary ancestors were financially and culturally progressive–one even married a Hawaiian princess, making Matt a royal descendant and one of the state’s largest landowners.

Now his luck has changed. His two daughters are out of control: Ten-year-old Scottie is a smart-ass with a desperate need for attention, and seventeen-year-old Alex, a former model, is a recovering drug addict. Matt’s charismatic, thrill-seeking, high-maintenance wife, Joanie, lies in a coma after a boat-racing accident and will soon be taken off life support. The Kings can hardly picture life without her, but as they come to terms with this tragedy, their sadness is mixed with a sense of freedom that shames them–and spurs them into surprising actions.

Before honoring Joanie’s living will, Matt must gather her friends and family to say their final goodbyes, a difficult situation made worse by the sudden discovery that there is one person who hasn’t been told: the man with whom Joanie had been having an affair, quite possibly the one man she ever truly loved. Forced to examine what he owes not only to the living but to the dead, Matt takes to the road with his daughters to find his wife’s lover, a memorable journey that leads to both painful revelations and unforeseen humor and growth.

When I was a kit I watched the re-runs of the old Mission Impossible series, both the 60s and the 80s versions, starring Peter Graves as the leader James Phelps. I know most of us will remember him as the pilot Captain Oveur in David Zucker’s classic spoof movie Airplane! And now sadly we have to refer Peter Graves in past tense because today the screen actor passed away of a heart attack, he was 83 years old.

Thank you for your contribution to the world of cinema, Mr. Graves
Rest In Peace

Can’t wait to see Forest Whitaker battle it out with Jude Law in the upcoming REPO MEN (watch the restricted trailer) looks like one of those bloody pop corn fun action flick. But Whitaker is a versatile actor, so much so that he’d go halfway across the world just for a gig…

According to Variety, Whitaker is in talks to star in indie drama LITTLE TREASURE.. it says ‘Indie’ but the report doesn’t state the budget.
Filming will take place on location in Shanghai and the story is about an American couple who returns to the wife’s homeland of China. It “focuses on the couple dealing with prejudices, humor, cultural differences and self-discovery while meeting a Shanghai street kid who changes their lives.”
Yup, there’s nothing like an epiphany that comes from encountering a street Shanghai Kid.. Ha!
I take it Whitaker will play the husband, no word yet who will play the Chinese hottie.. ehm… I meant wifey.
Written by scribe Josh Goldstein (Disney’s Jungle Cruise, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Jamie Foxx Show).
Financed by Belltower Entertainment and Amalgamation Entertainment, Michael D. Olmos (Splinter) is attached to direct.

It went through test shooting, pre-production prep, and last we heard, GREEN LANTERN will be in 3D, although it’s unclear if it’s going to be shot in 3D or it’ll be getting a 3D conversion later on. My money is on the latter. So after all the search for the cast, after all the months of talk and buzz, according to onlocationvacations, the filming for GREEN LANTERN will finally officially start tomorrow in New Orleans, Louisiana….

The first thing they’ll shoot is a a bar scene at the Old Point Bar, 545 Patterson Drive, New Orleans during the day. So if you’re in that area, you might be able to snap some spy photos and send it to Rama’s SCREEN. Just a thought.

DC Entertainment CCO Geoff Johns recently tweeted and praised the actors, “Back from an amazing trip to Green Lantern town a.k.a. New Orleans!! Ryan IS Hal. And Mark Strong is going to be a brilliant Sinestro.”
ok there, cowboy!.. We hear ya..

GREEN LANTERN will open on scheduled, June 17th, 2011
Starring Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan. Mark Strong as Sinestro. Blake Lively as Carol Ferris, Peter Sarsgaard as the villain Dr. Hector Hammond, Martin Campbell will be directing using the script written by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Michael Green

Those of you who’ve seen Vantage Point, Traitor, last season of the series Lost, would recognize the man in the image above, Said Taghmaoui. He’s the dude who played Breaker in G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra. Wasn’t really a memorable part for him, the movie didn’t allow him to do more, he got overshadowed by all the other characters, including Ripcord played by Marlon Wayans..

According to HollywoodReporter, Taghmaoui, has been in cast in CONAN reboot for Nu Image/Millenium, directed by Marcus Nispel (Friday the 13th remake) starring Jason Momoa as the new Barbarian warrior.
Taghmaoui will play the best friend.. “a leader of thieves who is saved by Conan (Jason Momoa) and later offers him aid”

Here’s what’s weird.. the trades confirmed that Mickey Rourke will no longer play Conan’s father, Corin but it also said the role is still open, it’s as if it didn’t recognize that other info about Ron Perlman replacing Rourke… This raises some questions indeed. Jason Momoa as the new Cimmerian fighter, Rachel Nichols as Tamara, Stephen Lang as the villain Khalar Singh, Bob Sapp as Ukafa and Leo Howard as young Conan.
Sean Hood was hired to rewrite the script, the story will have Conan embark on a quest to avenge the slaughter of his people including his father

Late last month, Deadline Hollywood reported that Tobey Maguire, will be producing and starring in PAWN SACRIFICE as the legendary chess master Bobby Fischer when he beat Boris Spassky in the 70s. Variety said David Fincher (Fight Club, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button) is attached to direct but their report didn’t say anything about Maguire starring so perhaps that part hasn’t been confirmed yet.
This project will bring Fincher back again with Columbia Pictures which is said to have been quite satisfied with Fincher’s work on the upcoming Facebook biopic THE SOCIAL NETWORK. And as we learned earlier today, the studio and Fincher are also eyeing the remake of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. Fincher is one busy director and I hope Maguire will get to play Bobby Fischer, he could use an Oscar worthy gig now that he’s not playing Spider-Man anymore.

One great legend wants to make an exit and the other is making an entrance. Back in December, we heard that Mel Gibson wants to film his long time passion project, a movie about vikings with Oscar winner William Monahan in charge of the story and Leonardo DiCaprio attached to star,, Graham King producing. He recently said, via Hero Complex, that this movie will be his goodbye…

“It was the first movie I ever thought about making,”
“I saw it in my mind back when I was teenager. Seriously, it’s the first movie I wanted to make. And I think it will be the last film I direct. It’s the thing I have been going toward, in a way, since I was young, and I think when it’s done I may be finished.”

Way to go out in a blaze of glory I suppose. I’ve always considered Mel to be one of Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers alive, despite the incident that happened in 2006, no one can doubt his creativity, ambition or even his acting chops, as seen a couple of months ago in Edge Of Darkness.
For now, I’m not gonna take his exit wish seriously because many actors and filmmakers out there have said the same thing and yet they’re still in the game.
Perhaps Mel is haunted by 2006 guilt, compelled to perhaps try to clear up his reputation one last time with his Viking movie so people would remember him for this achievement, who knows, but I think it’s too early for Mel to be talking about retiring as a director. Sure he’s seen the mountaintop with the multiple Oscar winning Braveheart but even climbers who reached the summit would find themselves thinking about conquering it again and again. That and if old man Clint Eastwood is willing to direct movies until the day he dies, it shouldn’t be a problem for 54 year old Mel to keep going. He’s still got some more ammo left in him.

Mel Gibson will direct an untitled period drama set in the ancient, violent, Viking world, starring Leonardo DiCaprio with William Monahan writing the script. .
Details on the plot is kept under wraps for now. The tie that binds all these three prominent figures is Oscar winning producer Graham King. He worked with DiCaprio and Monahan for The Departed and he worked with Gibson and Monahan for Edge Of Darkness.
Graham will produce this Viking action adventure movie with Gibson and Tim Headington in a co-production between King’s GK Films and Gibson’s Icon Productions. Production is expected to start in fall 2010, there is no distributor at the moment,Gibson and King will make this film outside the studio system and secure distribution later.

Gibson spoke about the biggest challenge of this story…

“We’re going hammer and tongs on the script right now,”
“When I was 16, learning about the history of the English language I became fascinated with Vikings. And I imagined what they would sound like, how would they talk and that’s what I will be going for in this film. It’s a challenge though. There’s never been a good Viking film, not that I’ve seen. I think I have found the right way to get into it, though, but I don’t want to say too much. The real problem is making those guys sympathetic. They were monsters.”

I take it Leonardo DiCaprio might play the viking hero of noble deeds living among brute and monstrous vikings. If that’s the case, then DiCaprio needs to bulk up unless that perception about Vikings being all gigantic is just a myth.

On another note, according to Deadline Hollywood, 72 year old legendary actor Dustin Hoffman will be making his directorial debut for BBC Films. He’s replaced Richard Loncraine as the director of QUARTET, about retired opera singers, based on a 1999 stage comedy by Ronald Harwood, the Oscar winning scribe of The Pianist. Attached to star are Maggie Smith, Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay.

And I thought David Fincher was going to make HEAVY METAL his definite next project because the thought of collaboration of famous directors helming different segments of the anthology is so damn irresistible but since they’re still looking for financier and distributor, surely Fincher won’t say no to another project that might come along. According to Vulture, Fincher is very interested in directing the adaptation of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, developed by Sony Pictures which apparently is quite fond and satisfied with Fincher’s work on the Facebook biopic, THE SOCIAL NETWORK…

Back in December, Sony Pictures optioned the English-language film rights to MILLENNIUM TRILOGY based on the work of the late author Stieg Larsson. This Europe’s best-selling phenomenon was already adapted in Sweden by filmmakers Niels Arden Oplev and Daniel Alfredson, but Sony’s version is to stay faithful to the novels instead of straight up remaking the Danish-Swedish films…
Oscar winning producer Scott Rudin (No Country For Old Men) who secured the rights, is set to produce this project along with Ole Sondberg and Søren Stærmose of Swedish production company Yellow Bird Films with Mikael Wallen and Anni Fernandez as executive producers.

Oscar winning Steve Zaillian (Schindler’s List, American Gangster) is adapting the first book titled THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO.
If Fincher gets to direct that installment, there’ s a possibility he might stick around much longer because it is after meant to be a potential franchise, the other two books are THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE and THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST

Not too long ago, we saw the UK trailer for the Swedish version of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO a.k.a Män som hatar kvinnor (strangely enough translated into ‘Men Who Hate Women’)
Right now word has it that Oscar nominee/hottie Carey Mulligan (An Education) is Sony Pictures’ current top choice to play the genius computer hacker Lisbeth Salander in the remake.

Here’s the official synopsis of the book…
“A sensation across Europe—millions of copies sold
A spellbinding amalgam of murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue.
It’s about the disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden . . . and about her octogenarian uncle, determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder.

It’s about Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently at the wrong end of a libel case, hired to get to the bottom of Harriet’s disappearance . . . and about Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four-year-old pierced and tattooed genius hacker possessed of the hard-earned wisdom of someone twice her age—and a terrifying capacity for ruthlessness to go with it—who assists Blomkvist with the investigation. This unlikely team discovers a vein of nearly unfathomable iniquity running through the Vanger family, astonishing corruption in the highest echelons of Swedish industrialism—and an unexpected connection between themselves.

It’s a contagiously exciting, stunningly intelligent novel about society at its most hidden, and about the intimate lives of a brilliantly realized cast of characters, all of them forced to face the darker aspects of their world and of their own lives.”

The other day we saw two new SXSW character posters for KICK-ASS that show Kick-Ass and Red Mist in Uncle Sam wants you patriotic retro artwork and now MTV has yet another one of Hit Girl in a pose reminiscent of World War II-era vintage Rosie the Riveter
You can check out the entire image below. While the rest of us may have to wait til April to finally see this KICK-ASS movie, comingsoon was lucky enough to watch it at the recent SXSW festival. Stars of the movie Aaron Johnson and Christopher Mintz Plasse were there and they said graphic novelist Mark Millar’s idea is to take the story for the sequel to go even darker..

Mintz-Plasse gave us a little hint where they might be taking the second volume and hopefully a second movie. “I met up with Mark actually a few months ago and we had a couple drinks and he told me it was going to be great, and he wants it to be very, very dark is what he’s thinking.”
“If you could get any more dark than ‘Kick-Ass’ is right now, then Mark had even darker ideas,” Johnson confirmed. “Matthew went with absolutely everything but there were some things that were impossible to film. No one’s going to see it because it’s too disgusting.”
“It’s way too much yeah,” Chris concluded.

KICK-ASS Hits Theaters April 16, 2010!

New Official Synopsis:

“How come nobody’s ever tried to be a superhero?” When Dave Lizewski – ordinary New York teenager and rabid comic-book geek dons a green-and-yellow internet-bought wetsuit to become the no-nonsense vigilante, Kick-Ass, he soon finds an answer to his own question: because it hurts. But, overcoming all the odds, the eager yet inexperienced Dave quickly becomes a phenomenon, capturing the imagination of the public. However, he’s not the only superhero out there – the fearless and highly-trained father-daughter crime-fighting duo, Big Daddy and Hit-Girl have been slowly but surely taking down the criminal empire of local Mafioso, Frank D’Amico. And, as Kick-Ass gets drawn into their no-holds-barred world of bullets and bloodletting with Frank’s son, Chris, now reborn as Kick-Ass’s arch-nemesis, Red Mist – the stage is set for a final showdown between the forces of good and evil – in which the DIY hero will have to live up to his name. Or die trying…

Directed by Matthew Vaughn, from a screenplay by Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn, and based on the comic written by Mark Millar and John S. Romita Jr.  Lionsgate and MARV present a MARV Films / Plan B production.

Set in a quaint fishing community on the outskirts of New York City, City Island is a hilarious and touching tale about a family whose comfortable co-existence is upended by surprising revelations of past secrets and present day lies. Vince Rizzo (Andy Garcia) is a lifelong resident of the tiny, tradition-steeped Bronx enclave of City Island. A family man who makes his living as a corrections officer, Vince longs to become an actor. Ashamed to admit his aspirations to his family, Vince would rather let his fiery wife Joyce (Julianna Margulies) believe his weekly poker games are a cover for an extramarital affair than admit he’s secretly taking acting classes in Manhattan. When Vince is asked to reveal his biggest secret in class, he inadvertently sets off a chaotic chain of events that turns his mundane suburban life upside down. Inspired by the exercise, he decides to bring his long-lost ex-con son Tony (Steven Strait) home to meet the family, and it soon becomes clear that everyone—including his college student daughter (Dominik García-Lorido), teenaged son Vinnie, Jr. (Ezra Miller), charismatic acting partner (Emily Mortimer) and drama coach (Alan Arkin)— has something to hide. A perfect storm of deception, half truths and confusion makes Vince and his family members realize that the truth may not set them free, but it is easier to keep track of than all their well-intentioned white lies.

If you’re a big fan of the series Everybody Loves Raymond like me, I’m sure you will love the Rizzo family in CITY ISLAND. Italian, all the yelling and the argument, raising your voices over little things like balloons, they’re on the brink of not being able to stand each other anymore. What’s genius about about CITY ISLAND are the ridiculous secrets that each character holds and the silly lies they’d come up with to keep those secrets from ever being revealed, even the reasons for starting and keeping those secrets in the first place are not that life threatening and yet the fear of embarrassment and fear of disappointment are far too great for them to let the truth out in the open.

De Felitta puts one character, a stranger, a convict in the middle of the Rizzo family. Tony, played by Steven Strait is supposed to be the long lost son of Vince’s (Garcia) and so Vince takes him home without letting him know why he’s there at all. And so here we see Tony being the one person who knows the truth about each of Rizzo’s family members, De Felitta leads his interaction with the mom, the daughter, the son, even Vince to the point where for some reason they can confide in Tony, a responsibility that Tony eventually doesn’t want to carry anymore, even he is confused as to why he has to be the glue that’s forced to try to hold this family together.

CITY ISLAND is about one misunderstanding after another and just when you think it’s going to turn into a clusterf*ck, writer/director De Felitta keeps it constrained within the family.
You gotta settle family problems within the family even when it becomes a spectacle for the neighborhood. Vince the father wants to do acting, the wife is bored out of her mind and wants to get back at Vince because she thinks he’s cheating on her, the daughter gets kicked out is now stripping for money, the only subplot that I think is a bit unrelated is the son’s obsession with fat girls. It seems like a separate story, clearly from the final scene that the movie could practically do without it but De Felitta probably just feels that even the son needs to have some depth, so he gives him a secret as well.

The humor lies within the fact that each of these people is not genuinely happy with how they’re doing, even the acting coach, well-played by the great Alan Arkin, still finds himself auditioning, looking for that big break. De Felitta’s sense of humor is spot on. You’ll laugh at the dinner conversation, the long line, and the rude awakening, there’s not a dull moment in CITY ISLAND.

Andy Garcia gives his finest performance in years. One particular scene involving him auditioning for the camera that just goes to remind us that Garcia was once an Oscar worthy actor, rightfully so. And I didn’t expect Julianna Marguelis be this bold, fierce, and emotional, what an incredible actress who deserves recognition. De Felitta finally demands the Rizzos to show all their cards on the table in the last scene. When they can finally be who they are instead of who they pretend to be and start the process of becoming a family again.

* Place the cursor on the image below to check my grade for this film

“Our marriage, their wedding.” It’s lesson number one for any newly engaged couple, and Lucia (America Ferrera) and Marcus (Lance Gross) are no exception. In Fox Searchlight Pictures’ “Our Family Wedding,” they learn the hard way that the path to saying “I do” can be rife with familial strife. When they return from college and too suddenly announce their marriage plans, they soon discover that their fathers – two highly competitive over-the-top egos – can wreak a major amount of havoc on their special day.
With insults flying and tempers running high, it’s anyone’s guess if the alpha dads (Forest Whitaker and Carlos Mencia) will survive to make it down the aisle in one piece. Lucia’s mother (Diana Maria Riva) is busy planning the wedding of “her” dreams and the only levelheaded one in the bunch is Angela (Regina King), the groom’s father’s best friend and lawyer, who manages to keep her cool when the madness reaches a crescendo.
With only weeks to plan their wedding, Lucia and Marcus soon discover the true meaning of love and find there is truth to the saying – that when you marry someone, you marry their entire family.

All the myths and the mindset are being made fun of in this movie, clearly the screenwriters want to lay it all out so that the audiences could feel a bit embarrassed that they too have hold such suspicion and misunderstanding about each culture at one point or another.What they say about black guys, how parents think their goody two shoes Catholic daughter would stay a virgin and many more would confront and rattle your comfort zone in a light and humorous manner. Nothing that would push the rating envelope, just enough for a topic of conversation. What I appreciate about OUR FAMILY WEDDING is that the story doesn’t just make fun of the differences between two families, it also covers the problems within those families and how this one wedding effects the outcome whether they’d like to admit it or not.

I don’t like Carlos Mencia’s comedy, many thought the role of Miguel the father should’ve gone to either George Lopez or Pablo Rodriguez instead.. but I give you this much, Mencia does quite well in OUR FAMILY WEDDING. He holds his ground and go to to toe with Golden Globe caliber actress like America Ferrera, whose talent goes beyond any actress her age. Ferrera gives an excellent performance as the Bride to be, afraid of telling revealing the whole truth to her family. I can’t say enough to praise Forest Whitaker and Regina King, they are what I’d call rare gems in the world of acting.

But the movie, as entertaining as it may be, is not without its flaws. At times, the story can really drag. The runtime is only 90 minutes but for some reason because of the structure of the plot, it kinda feels longer than that. Movies with this method carry the risk of running out ideas or jokes to spare, they got a good start, each character has his/her own dilemma, you see various hilarity and situations come and go but it takes a while for OUR FAMILY WEDDING to come to its resolution. So they just have to throw in the baseball scene or the goat incident because somehow they’re forced to inject comedy for every dramatic moments that come along, when it’s not really necessary to do so. I understand that there needs to be a scene that finally unites both families in laughter, the ability to laugh each other’s jokes, which is a potent ingredient in a lasting relationship, but I think the effort is a bit cheap and mindless.

But OUR FAMILY WEDDING will find home in audiences that see family as a vital part of life, those who see Las Vegas runaway wedding as something disrespectful and those are still stubborn thinking love can only happen between two people of the same ethnic background. They will find OUR FAMILY WEDDING’s lessons to be valuable, its jokes hilarious, and its demand to ignite old feelings as precious as breathing air.

* Place the cursor on the image below to check my grade for this film

It’s weekend so I figured we could chill a while. Here’s a 2009 short film titled THE BUTTEFLY CIRCUS that’s a must-see. Directed by Joshua Weigel starring Doug Jones (Hellboy, Legion) and the Life Without Limbs evangelist Nick Vujicic. This reminds me of that HBO short lived series Carnivale but THE BUTTERFLY CIRCUS story is more hopeful and beautifully shot. Watch the entire thing after the jump…

At the height of the Great Depression, the showman of a renowned circus leads his troupe through the devastated American landscape, lifting the spirits of audiences along the way. During their travels they discover a man without limbs at a carnival sideshow. However, after an intriguing encounter with the showman he becomes driven to hope against everything he has ever believed.

Kirk (Jay Baruchel, “Knocked Up,” “Tropic Thunder”), an average Joe, can’t believe his luck. Though he’s stuck in a seemingly dead-end job as an airport security agent, against all odds Molly (Alice Eve), a successful and outrageously gorgeous babe falls for him. Kirk is stunned. So are his friends, his family and even his ex-girlfriend. Now he has to figure out how to make the relationship work, even though he’s the first to admit “She’s Out of My League.”

I’m still not too crazy about Jay Baruchel prepped as the new lead comedy movie star but it’s inevitable, because if you’ve worked or had an association with Judd Apatow, you’re bound to have your own movie sooner or later, it’s the blessing and the curse of being part of the apatow gang. But this is the movie that Baruchel is made for, even Baruchel’s love for Hockey is put on display. That geek, nice guy image, somewhat of a loser, the kind that probably gets bullied back in high school but luckily he has 3 friends that think he’s cool enough. In a way this is like another version of Knocked Up minus the pregnancy deal because SHE’S OUT OF MY LEAGUE is the unlikely pairing of a hottie with a dorky guy, plus all the R-rated humor.

So it’s not something you’ve never seen in the past. The plot is quite familiar, even the characters of the best friends are formulaic. You have the one that always keeps giving advice even nobody asks it, there’s the romantic one that believes in fairy tales, and there’s one that seems a bit out of place because he may have been a jock at one point in time but now he’s part of the underachievers. The screenplay by Sean Anders and John Morris is not completely fail because some of the filthy jokes do have their charms, may not be as effective as American Pie movies but the movie delivers a few chuckles once in a while, it certainly will tickle the easily amused.

For the record, Alice Eve is one extraordinary hottie, that girl can stop traffic.
So as I said earlier, the one big thing that keeps me from giving this movie a low rating is the one scene where the argument about perfection is brought out into the open by both Eve and Baruchel’s character after an awkward start to a possible sex scene.
I don’t want to spoil the details but Anders and Morris’ attempt to tell the audience that you must first appreciate yourself and not put somebody on a pedestal is familiar but strangely profound. One that I wouldn’t expect from a comedy like this. That pretty much turns everything 180 degees, shedding some good light on what otherwise could’ve been a straight to DVD quality movie.

* Place the cursor on the image below to check my grade for this film

During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert. Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission.
Spun by operatives with intersecting agendas, Miller must hunt through covert and faulty intelligence hidden on foreign soil for answers that will either clear a rogue regime or escalate a war in an unstable region. And at this blistering time and in this combustible place, he will find the most elusive weapon of all is the truth.

If there’s one complaint that I have is that the stunt choreography isn’t quite that creative or impressive enough but you can’t expect too much of that when dealing with military men with fire power. The movie does have its own dirty politic games that will keep you engaged. The power struggle over highly classified information between Kinnear’s’ and Gleeson’s team is one that helps the audience easily pinpoint who the bad guy is from the beginning. Jason Isaacs is a great talent but it saddens me to see his talent go to waste playing nothing but an a-hole soldier working for the opposing team.

Even within Miller’s (Damon) team, there’s a division as to the direction they should be heading. Whether a soldier should just do what he’s told and let the questions be taken care of those wearing suits is the fundamental matter in GREEN ZONE. But apparently Miller is the type of character with high moral ground and stubborn curiosity, the type that Damon has played very well in numerous gigs.
Bourne wants to find out the answers about him and doesn’t care too much about the rest, Miller wants to find out the answers about the sh*tstorm that his team keeps finding themselves in only to come up empty every time and cares a bit too much about the truth.

Is this an anti-war movie? To a certain extent, I’d have to say yes. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hear Miller’s Iraqi translator telling him that what happens in that country is not for the U.S. to decide.
It’s placing judgment down on the whole WMD mess that occupied media and most of the nation during the first years of the war in Iraq. The obsession over some Intel and the difference between doing a job and doing it for a reason you’re fully aware of. Those are the thought provoking themes that GREEN ZONE has to offer.
Brian Helgeland’s screenplay deals with Government deception and cover up and the impact of journalism, a plot which I appreciate, I wouldn’t consider the twists to be original but once again, those elements are merely connecting frames because the rest of the movie is about Greengrasss taking Damon on a rouge trip, chase scenes, in fast paced chaotic situations, the only style Greengrass knows how.

* Place the cursor on the image below to check my grade for this film

Yesterday Walt Disney Studios announced that they will close operations at ImageMovers Digital’s Marin County Facility after production is completed on MARS NEEDS MOMS!, the adaptation is set to open on March 11th, 2011. The IMD place will be closed by January 2011..

Started as ImageMovers in 11997, run by Robert Zemeckis, owned by the mouse house, it’s a state of the art digital film studio that released Cast Away, Matchstick Men, Monster House, What Lies Beneath, and fed Zemeckis’ performance capture CG addiction with The Polar Express, and Beowulf. In 2007, Disney bought the studio and the name changed into ImageMovers Digital and last year it released A Christmas Carol which I thought was a visually stunning movie but perhaps it was a bit too scary for kids and it tanked at the box office, earning only $137 Million, considering the budget was about $200 Million

“Bob and the entire IMD team successfully built a state of the art studio and produced an amazing film, ‘A Christmas Carol,’ at a time when the dynamics of the industry are rapidly changing,” said Alan Bergman, President of The Walt Disney Studios. “But, given today’s economic realities, we need to find alternative ways to bring creative content to audiences and IMD no longer fits into our business model.”

Disney wants to create a new long term production deal with Zemeckis and his IMD partners which will include the continued development of the YELLOW SUBMARINE performance capture reboot which is set to open in 2012
I was sad when Miramax got closed by IMD.. eh.. I could care less.. maybe because after 10 years of its existence, IMD didn’t produce many that can be considered timeless classic

I’m a hardcore Lady Gaga fan.. I’m a die hard Quentin Tarantino fan. so the following vibrant video is simply awesome. In her latest music video with Beyonce, for the song ‘Telephone’, you can see guest appearance by none other than the Kill Bill PUSSY WAGON owned by QT himself. Gaga said, via EOnline…
“There certainly is a Tarantino-inspired quality in the video,”
“I mostly love the way he uses different forms to create something new. His direct involvement in the video came from him lending me the Pussy Wagon. We were having lunch one day in Los Angeles and I was telling him about my concept for the video and he loved it so much he said, ‘You gotta use the Pussy Wagon.’”. So just dance, put on your poker face and experience some bad romance as you answer the telephone, after this jump…

Last month when Angelina Jolie decided to exit WANTED 2, the assumption was that it because she wanted to do GRAVITY to be directed by Alfonso Cuaron (Y Tu Mama Tambien, Children Of Men). But then a couple of days after that info came in that said Jolie was not doing GRAVITY either. Now Deadline New York reported Robert Downey Jr. is in final talks to star…

I don’t know how much of the storyline had to be adjusted now that RDJ is involved instead of Jolie because previously we were informed that GRAVITY was more or less like Moon starring Sam Rockwell, which would have Jolie carry the movie most of the time all by herself, “playing the sole surviving human member of a space mission, desperately trying to return home to Earth and her daughter.” Previously housed at Universal, GRAVITY was once put in a turnaround because they think it was “artistically challenging”. GRAVITY will Now Warner Bros. and producer David Heyman (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) and Legendary Pictures are developing the project.

Written by Cuaron and his son Jonas, the storyline now goes like this..”Downey will play the leader of a team posted at a remote space station. While he and a female colleague are traveling outside the space station, the other team members are decimated by debris from an exploded satellite.”
No word yet on who will play that female colleague. RDJ agreed to this for the opportunity to work with Cuaron. GRAVITY will start filming in London this summer before RDJ works on SHERLOCK HOLMES 2.

And just like that, according to Vulture, Mickey Rourke got replaced by Ron Perlman (Hellboy, SEASON OF THE WITCH) in the upcoming CONAN reboot directed by Marcus Nispel. I guess we know now which project Rourke might want to do because he was also circling King Hyperion in Tarsem Singh’s WAR OF THE GODS which is expected to start shooting in April while CONAN will be filmed in Bulgaria later this month.
Perlman will play Corin and he’s a single dad.
Perlman joins the cast that includes Jason Momoa as the new Cimmerian fighter, Rachel Nichols as Tamara, Stephen Lang as the villain Khalar Singh, Bob Sapp as Ukafa and Leo Howard as young Conan.
Sean Hood was hired to rewrite the script, he story will have Conan embark on a quest to avenge the slaughter of his people including his father