Movies | Journal Gazette

Cannes gives Ebert thumbs up

Jake Coyle — Fri, 24 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Film critics and festival-goers congregated on the Cannes beach to raise their thumbs to the late critic Roger Ebert.

Memories a recurring theme for Boyle

Barbara Vancheri — Fri, 24 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

After directing "Slumdog Millionaire" and "127 Hours," Danny Boyle was ready for a little fun. And darned if he didn't find it in "Trance," which seems to be an art-heist thriller until it's not.

Movie Review: 'Fast & Furious 6' is more of everything

JOCELYN NOVECK — Fri, 24 May 2013 08:21:18 EST

Ever wonder what it would feel like to suddenly wake up in another universe.

Movie Review: 'Hangover' trilogy ends on a dark note

CHRISTY LEMIRE — Thu, 23 May 2013 07:47:11 EST

"Daring" isn't a word you would use very much to describe 2011's "The Hangover Part II," the disappointingly lazy, beat-for-beat rehash of the wild and wildly successful original "Hangover" from 2009.

Gunfire tightens security; star sightings give a boost

Sara Jackson — Tue, 21 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Editor's note: Sara Jackson, an IPFW student, is working at the Cannes Film Festival and will be reporting from there occasionally. At the time of this writing, it was about midnight Friday in Cannes, France.

Pine takes the helm again

Colin Covert — Mon, 20 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

In his second voyage as "Star Trek's" Capt. James T. Kirk, Chris Pine is more at ease in the iconic role.

Bumping into celebrities all part of the festivities

Sara Jackson — Sat, 18 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Abrams feels lucky for chances

Jill Lawless — Fri, 17 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

J.J. Abrams is master of one universe - and he's about to try conquering another.

Review: Graffiti artists chase their daffy dream in 'Gimme the Loot'

COLIN COVERT — Fri, 17 May 2013 06:58:25 EST

Adam Leon's debut feature, "Gimme the Loot," is a thousand-watt jolt of mischief, a spunky, funky, ebullient indie that packs its 81 minutes with cinematic exhilaration.

Tiring but thrilling Day 1 ends with rain

Sara Jackson — Thu, 16 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Editor's note: Sara Jackson, an IPFW student, is working at the Cannes Film Festival and will be reporting occasionally. At the time of this writing, it was 1 a.m. in Cannes, France.

Review: 'Trek' goes not so boldly into rehash zone

DAVID GERMAIN — Thu, 16 May 2013 07:06:20 EST

"Star Trek Into Darkness" is like fan-boy fiction on a $185 million budget. It's reverential, it's faithful, it's steeped in "Trek" mythology.

IPFW student at center of festival action

Sara Jackson — Tue, 14 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

When I was first approached last spring about working at the Cannes Film Festival, I was a bit incredulous. Me.

Insane experience' at Cannes

Jake Coyle — Tue, 14 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

For even those most accustomed to the frenzy of celebrity, the Cannes Film Festival can be a disorienting experience.

Friends finally star in movie together

Jake Coyle — Mon, 13 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Tobey Maguire didn't have to go far when Leonardo DiCaprio called him about meeting to discuss an adaptation of "The Great Gatsby" with Baz Luhrmann.

Summer movie preview: Dark to light fare

Stephanie Merry — Sun, 12 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

The carefree days of summer are just ahead, which means warm weekends, light traffic and vacation plans. And yet, filmmakers seem to have something darker in mind: doomsday.

Women of Iron Man 3' smart, sophisticated

Alyssa Rosenberg — Sat, 11 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

There are many pleasures to be had from "Iron Man 3," the third installment in the franchise that's the tent pole of the Marvel Universe.

Movie Review: All sparkle, no soul in ' Great Gatsby'

CHRISTY LEMIRE — Fri, 10 May 2013 06:48:05 EST

If any piece of classic American literature should be depicted on film with wildly decadent and boldly inventive style, it's "The Great Gatsby." After all, who was the character of Jay Gatsby himself if not a spinner of grandiose tales and a peddler of lavish dreams?

Well-picked cast stuck in formula

Ann Hornaday — Fri, 10 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Craig Robinson, "The Office" co-star and Judd Apatow utility player, makes a play for leading man with uneven results in "Tyler Perry Presents Peeples," a bland, quickly disposable romantic comedy.

Worthy tale splits time between realism, whimsy

Ann Hornaday — Fri, 10 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Matthew McConaughey has been on an extraordinary run of late, turning an impressively versatile hat trick in "Bernie," "Magic Mike" and "Killer Joe" while proving that, rather than the tabloid punch line or rom-com sellout he seemed destined to be at one time, the boy with the bedroom eyes and bong-hit grin is a real actor, after all.

Stepford Wives director Bryan Forbes dies at age 86

Associated Press — Wed, 08 May 2013 18:52:53 EST

LONDON British film director Bryan Forbes, whose work includes the original 1970s horror classic "The Stepford Wives," has died at age 86 after a long illness, a family spokesman said Wednesday.

Special effects master Ray Harryhausen dies at 92

CASSANDRA VINOGRAD — Tue, 07 May 2013 18:52:36 EST

LONDON When Ray Harryhausen was 13, he was so overwhelmed by "King Kong" that he vowed he would create otherworldly creatures on film. He fulfilled his desire as an adult, thrilling audiences with skeletons in a sword fight, a gigantic octopus destroying the Golden Gate Bridge, and a six-armed dancing goddess.

Hollywood looking ahead with summer

David Germain — Sun, 05 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Hollywood is banking on the future this summer - and not just a future where Capt. Kirk orders warp speed or Tony Stark builds a better Iron Man outfit.

Movie Review: 'Iron Man 3' loaded down by heavy metal

JAKE COYLE — Fri, 03 May 2013 08:27:20 EST

In the galaxy of big-screen superheros — a rather glum lot — Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man is the snappy one.

Studios promoting direct to fans

Sandy Cohen — Fri, 03 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Sometimes you just can't wait for Comic-Con - whether you're a fan or a filmmaker.

Movie Review: 'Disconnect' an earnest cautionary tale

DAVID ROONEY — Fri, 03 May 2013 08:44:12 EST

LOS ANGELES (AP) It's a given at multiplexes these days that despite switch-off-your-cell-phone announcements and the occasional grumbling protest, whatever's onscreen will have to compete with tiny pockets of light from audience members unable to stay off their handhelds.

Downey, Paltrow have easy friendship

David Germain — Fri, 03 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

There's something of the old married couple about Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downey Jr., though they are married to other people.

Pain & Gain' actor dedicated

Barbara Vancheri — Fri, 03 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Talk about the breakfast of champions. Or gym rats.

Talent' sensation in Company' with Redford

Barbara Vancheri — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

When you're Jackie Evancho, the milestones come in waves. This month alone, Jackie turned 13, performed in Taiwan with Spanish tenor Jose Carreras in front of a rain-soaked but riveted crowd of 30,000 and, oh yes, made her movie debut.

Thug characters drew actors

Colin Covert — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

The true-crime comedy "Pain Gain," opening today, casts Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson in an entirely new light.

Review: Bay's new flick is all pain, no gain

DAVID GERMAIN — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:54:05 EST

There's a siege mentality about Michael Bay's movies, as though viewers are the enemy holed up in a bunker and he's the guy ordering heavy-metal music around-the-clock to wear down our morale and force us to surrender.

Review: Park Chan-wook's lurid melodrama 'Stoker'

JAKE COYLE — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:25:15 EST

A spider crawls up the leg of 18-year-old India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska) early in Park Chan-wook's English-language debut, "Stoker," and she regards it passively, intrigued.

Review: Redford makes welcome return in 'Company'

DAVID ROONEY — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:14:52 EST

Robert Redford does his most compelling work in some time as both actor and director in "The Company You Keep," a tense yet admirably restrained thriller about a fugitive forced out of hiding after 30 years to prove his innocence. Adapted with clarity and intelligence by Lem Dobbs from Neil Gordon's novel, and lent distinguishing heft by its roster of screen veterans, this gripping drama provides an absorbing reflection on the courage and cost of dissent.

Competing with a legend

Mark Jenkins — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

It's never easy for an actor to play a real-life character, especially one of recent vintage. But Chadwick Boseman isn't just contending with the memories of older sports fans when he plays Jackie Robinson, major league baseball's first black player.

Uncomfortable as leading man

Jake Coyle — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

What's Ryan Gosling's secret to his on-screen poise, his ability to disarm and provoke merely by his laconic presence.

Movie Review: Moody 'Pines' is too self-serious

CHRISTY LEMIRE — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 08:26:15 EST

The first image you see in "The Place Beyond the Pines" is of Ryan Gosling's shirtless torso, ripped and tatted atop a skin-tight pair of leather pants.

Movie Review: Elegant if familiar, 'Oblivion' mesmerizes

JAKE COYLE — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 07:47:46 EST

Early in the sleek sci-fi thriller "Oblivion," Tom Cruise, as a flyboy repairman living a removed, Jetsons-like existence above an invaded and deserted Earth, intones his home sickness.

Film industry keeps working after blasts

Michael Cidoni Lennox — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Just hours after two bomb blasts provided a deadly conclusion to the Boston Marathon, principals from "Star Trek Into Darkness" were doing their jobs: putting on happy faces and plugging their big-budget film on the opening night of annual movie-theater convention CinemaCon.

MPAA expands film ratings

Hannah Dreier — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

The Motion Picture Association of America announced changes Tuesday to its movie rating system, saying the group wants to better inform parents about violence in films.

Tribeca creates prize for women filmmakers

Associated Press — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

The Tribeca Film Festival has created an award for women filmmakers in honor of the late Nora Ephron.

Strong personalities at Tribeca

Jake Coyle — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Big city. Big personalities.

'42' scores at home, Cruise dominates overseas

DAVID GERMAIN — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 07:09:06 EST

Baseball has scored a rare hit in Hollywood, while another American institution — Tom Cruise — has delivered his latest hit overseas.

Local filmmaker to discuss documentary

Keiara Carr — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Filmmaker and Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer David Turnley has documented the human condition in 75 countries all over the world.

Movie Review: '42' is classy but tame Robinson tale

DAVID GERMAIN — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 06:53:17 EST

Jackie Robinson was the ideal class act to break the barrier and become the first black player in Major League Baseball.

Dern enjoys revisiting Jurassic Park'

Barbara Vancheri — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

After being trapped in the same shorts and shirt for almost the entire "Jurassic Park" shoot, Laura Dern wanted to burn her wardrobe instead of saving it as a souvenir.

Inexperience made original unique, star says

Colin Covert — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Stephen King was agog after the premiere of "The Evil Dead" at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. He hailed the fast and furious occult bloodbath as "the most ferociously original horror movie I have ever seen.

Movie Review: 'Evil Dead' should please original fans

JOHN DeFORE — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 07:50:21 EST

LOS ANGELES (AP) "Blood-drenched" barely begins to describe Fede Alvarez's remake of "Evil Dead," a gore-for-broke affair that strips the flesh off Sam Raimi's cult-beloved comic-horror franchise and exposes the demons at its core.

Roger Ebert dies

Caryn Rousseau — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:44:50 EST

“I was perfectly content before I was born, and I think of death as the same state."

Ebert to scale back on reviews as cancer returns

Associated Press — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Acclaimed film critic Roger Ebert said he has been diagnosed with cancer again and that he will scale back his prolific writing of movie reviews while undergoing radiation treatment. In a blog post, the 70-year-old said he'll take a "leave of presence."

Ebert's cancer recurrence means fewer film reviews

CARYN ROUSSEAU — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 18:42:07 EST

CHICAGO Roger Ebert will be writing fewer of his famed movie reviews because a recurrence of cancer, but the movie critic promises his illness will give him other topics to write about.

Co-star Freeman a boon for Bassett

John Carucci — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

The idea of working with director Antoine Fuqua was enough for Angela Bassett to appear in the action flick "Olympus Has Fallen." But things got better for the Oscar-nominated actress when she found out she'd share most of her scenes with Morgan Freeman.

Another sequel for Johnson

Sandy Cohen — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

When your film franchise has gotten tired - the Fast aren't quite as Furious, the Mummy needs a reason to Return - Dwayne Johnson is the guy to call.