A blockbuster awakens: Star Wars is back

AFP | Los Angeles: Fans cheered the highly anticipated Hollywood premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens with standing ovations, applause and screams of delight as the space epic resumes under tight security. The police cordoned off the area around the famed Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulev-ard hosting the premiere along with other nearby theaters hosting some 5,000 guests, setting up metal detectors and deploying scores of officers and sniffer dogs. As the stars of the latest inst-allment of the epic walked the red carpet, fans — some who had camped out for days in their Star Wars costumes — went into a frenzy seeking autographs and pictures of the beloved movie characters. “This is like the Academy Awa-rds or something,” Ha-rrison Ford, who plays Han Solo, said. Jeff Bock, an analyst at box office tracker Exhibitor Relations, said “this is probably the biggest opening in decades.” Disney CEO Bob Iger hailed what “could be the biggest premiere we have ever done.” Ever since 1977, when Star Wars introduced the world to the Force, Jedi knights, Darth Vader, Wookiees and clever droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, the sci-fi saga has built a devoted global fan base that spans generations. “I’ve been here since 3:00 am because I wanted to get a good spot,” said James Salazar (19) outside the Chinese Theatre. “I’ve been a fan all my life, it’s my favourite movie and my dad’s also.” The premiere on Monday will be followed by a global rollout taking in a dozen countries beginning on Wednesday before the film officially reaches US theaters on Friday. The intergalactic tale of good versus evil, friendship, loyalty and love created a defining moment in the history of popular culture and launched one of the biggest movie franchises ever. The original blockbu-ster turned Ford, Carr-ie Fisher and Mark Hamill — who play its heroes Han Solo, Prin-cess Leia and Luke Skywalker — into sta-rs overnight. Much to the delight of legions of fans, the beloved veterans return in the new installment — which picks up 30 years after the events of 1983’s Return of the Jedi.” The Force Awakens also brings a host of fresh faces like British actors John Boyega and Daisy Ridley. Source: The Asian Age

Read More........ → February 13, 2016

Chennai Express smashes more records, makes fastest 100 crore

Rohit Shetty's latest directotial venture Chennai Express is all out to smash records. The Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone-starrer has already made an average collection of Rs. 100 crore, the fastest entry to the club. Earlier, Salman Khan-starrer Ek Tha Tiger collections crossed Rs. 100  crore in six
days. Chennai Express averaged Rs. 28.05 crore on Saturday and Rs. 32.50 crore on Sunday at the ticket windows. The film earned Rs. 6.75 crore from paid previews on Thursday and collected around Rs. 33.12 crore on the opening day, making a total of Rs. 100.42 crore. The overseas earnings of the film are
estimated at a total of  Rs. 45 crore over the weekend. "We have received an overwhelming response from all quarters and the film is being loved by everyone. Though CE is playing in highest number of screens for any film, we still ran out of capacity in most locations due to this huge demand at the box office", 
says Gaurav Verma, Director - India theatrical distribution, Studios, Disney UTV. Prakhar Joshi, Head - Programming PVR Cinemas also can't stop beaming about the success. "Now CE holds the record of biggest opening day at PVR- if you add previews, this number becomes even bigger. We were always
confident of film doing well thus backed it with maximum show caning and right ticket pricing." The movie opened in at least 3500 screens across the country on August 9. The overall collection for Thursday in UK
was £ 142,220 while in Australia and New Zealand A$ 38,315 and NZ$ 8,058, respectively. The comic caper has made decent collections at foreign ticket windows as well. Source: Hindustan Times

Read More........ → August 12, 2013

Lincoln: Movie Review

Hey there Chaos fans! I know I've been away for a bit, but its because I've had a lot going on... I need a vacation! Haha! Anyways, I'll be posting this week with some pics from my emerging Khorne Bezerker force, and maybe a book review (I'm nearly done with Deliverance Lost too). However, I have a movie review for you, so without further ado: It may or may not be a secret to longtime readers of this blog, but I am a history nut (that's what my wife calls me, at any rate). I love United States history, and I have admired Lincoln for sure. The truth is, I have been dying to see  this movie, but I was also afraid. The cast sounded top notch (Lewis? Jones? Straithirn? What a cast!), and I was hoping that this movie would be smart and powerful, but I was afraid because Spielberg was the man  behind the camera. At one point, 
Spielberg would have been a no brainer- giving us Indiana Jones trilogy, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, Close Encounters, and of course, Jaws. However, he has been on a bit of a rough patch in the 21st century- I mean, he nearly ruined Indy with Crystal Skull, for heaven's sake! The war machines of War of the Worlds were fantastic, but the human element was all over the map (the audience I saw it with cheered- yes cheered- when Dakota Fanning was taken by the martians- that's how annoying she was). Minority Report was just OK, and AI was just a mess. Yes, so I had reason to fear with this- which Spielberg was going to show up?  Thankfully, there was nothing to fear here, as old Spielberg showed up and simply told a story. It is not a simple story by any stretch, but it was simply told, without schmaltz, fancy tech, or explosive action, or trickery. No, this story didn't need any of that- it just needed someone
with courage to do the story justice, allowing it to develop at its own pace, and using the actors to their fullest. And thankfully, Spielberg and company did just that with "Lincoln". In fact, the movie is beautiful, elegant, meaningful, and even occasionally humorous, while the acting is top notch all around.The true success of the movie is its choice of scope. The movie is wise to focus in on one fight that Lincoln had to go through during the last days of the Civil War- a wider biopic would have diluted the proceedings. Just about everyone knows Lincoln as the the young "rail splitter", the Illinois lawyer, the "Great Emancipator" and as the president who put the Union back together; he is also tragically known as the first president to be assassinated. His whole life could be fodder for a movie, and I'm sure the temptation to do a sweeping biopic of his life would be there for any filmmaker. Instead of looking at Lincoln's whole life

Read More........ → January 14, 2013

'Twilight,' 'Skyfall,' And 'Lincoln' Combine For Record-Breaking Box Office Weekend

Returning films Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2, Skyfall, and Lincoln combined with new movies Rise of the Guardians, Life of Pi, and Red Dawn to break 2009's Thanksgiving box office record. Movies made $290 million over the 5 day period, topping 2009's $273 million tally. The three day weekend numbers became the best as well, taking in $206.7 million and also beating 2009's mark at $175.2 million. For the three day weekend Twilight led the pack with $43 million, which is the most for a film in the series in its second weekend. Skyfall added $36 million to its total, making it far-and-away the highest-grossing Bond film with $221 million so far (Quantum of Solace, the former lead, only made $168.4 million). Lincoln, in its second weekend at full release, made $25 million. Rise of the Guardians was the big disappointment of the weekend, opening at $24 million - the worst for a Dreamworks Animated film since Flushed Away. In comparison, The Muppets made over $40 million last year as the family Thanksgiving film. Life of Pi was next with $22 million. Red Dawn, after being delayed for 3 years, finally came out with a paltry $14.6 million. Next week, The Collection and Killing Them Softly join the crowded film selection. © 2012 Starpulse.com Photo Credits: © Summit Entertainment. Source: Starpulse.com

Read More........ → November 30, 2012

Ang Lee’s Life of Pi opened International Film Festival of India

Ang Lee’s Life of Pi will opend the International Film Festival of India at Goa’s Panaji on Tuesday. Adapted to the screen from Yann Martel’s 2002 Man Booker Prize winning novel, Life of Pi is a tempestuous tale of a boy whose ship is wrecked in a killer storm on high seas. The boy, Pi, loses his mother, father and kid brother along with their little zoo when the family is sailing from their hometown of Puducherry or Pondicherry (close to Chennai in India) to Canada. In the end, Pi finds himself on a lifeboat with the most unlikely of companions, a Royal Bengal Tiger. Forced to spend many, many weeks on the tiny boat drifting on the waves, Pi learns to survive against not just Nature’s fiercesome odds, but also a deadly beast. While New Delhi’s Suraj Sharma’s essays the young Pi, whose carelessness on a cyclonic night costs the life of his parents and brother, Irrfan plays the older Pi. During a recent chat with me, Irrfan said that it was an impossibly difficult book to adapt for a movie. It was extremely complex and Lee shot the first parts of the film in Puducherry where the story actually begins, later moving to his native Taiwan for the more complex scenes. He recreated the Pacific Ocean, where Pi’s family perishes on a night of killer waves, in a disused airport. A gigantic water tank was built to simulate the effects of the hurricane in the 3D movie. With the production company, Fox, pulling out all stops, the shoot seemed so easy. As Irrfan averred, money was never a problem and the challenge of getting the tiger and the boy together was not as imposing as it had appeared in the beginning. “They had got four tigers from Canada or Russia, but, of course, in the end, it was all about computer graphics.” Irrfan has only a small role to play in the film and unlike the young Pi, who had a physically punishing and dangerous part to do, the older Pi had to grapple with mental challenges. Sharma was merely 16 when he signed for Lee’s first three-dimensional adventure. "After three years, the movie is now complete and being a part of the film has been a life-changing experience," Sharma said during a recent chat. "It has really changed me and how I perceive the entire world in many ways… People say that I have grown up personally after this movie. Like I went there as a 16-year-old boy. Now, sometimes I feel like I am 40 years old." "Earlier, I used to live in my own little shell and everything was small. Now I have realised that the world is this open place with opportunities. Now I know how to deal with situations in a better way and I can work five times harder without it affecting me because I have already worked like that. I've just become more ready for things," Sharma added. Irrfan agreed with this and said in an important way, the shoot itself had been as perilous as the actual story, where the boy kept the tiger alive and the tiger kept the boy alive. For each, the other was not just a distraction, but a point of hope, a point of survival. Pi wanted to outwit and outlive the animal, while it must have probably felt the same about the boy. So, both gave each other some kind of meaning to exist. “Perhaps the tiger would not have lived had it been alone on the boat. It was the presence of the boy that probably encouraged it to continue its fight to find food and sustain itself.” Irrfan felt that it would be very difficult for an Indian director to replicate Lee’s work in Life of Pi. “We are just not prepared for that kind of complexity.” Also, Indian movie companies and helmers are quite content with what they are producing. They have little desire to reach out to an international audience. However, Irrfan hoped that the new crop of directors would learn to understand the grammar of cinema better, in a way that their own films would hold out a great promise of appealing to a world audience. “Yes, funding would still remain an issue”. Irrfan, who has done some extraordinarily interesting roles in equally fascinating films like Pan Singh Tomar, Yeh Saali Zindagi and earlier Maqbool (based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth), is now shooting for Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Sahib Bibi Aur Gangster 2. Part one did not have Irrfan in it and he is stepping into Randeep Hooda’s shoes, who played the gangster. Irrfan is also doing Nikhil Advani’s latest yet-to-be titled work. With Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, Michael Winterbottom’s A Mighty Heart, Dhulia’s Paan Singh Tomar behind him, Khan is all set to dream big. But those like Tabu who helped him evolve (Maqbool, The Namesake) continue to be in his dreams. During a recent promotional campaign for Life of Pi in Chennai, when Tabu said that she appears in Lee’s work much earlier than Irrfan does and does not share screen space with him, the actor had a wonderful rejoinder. “But you are always in my dreams.” I am sure she is, but Irrfan’s dreams must now include still greater performances than what we have already seen. Of course, I have little doubt about this. Source: Hindustan Times

Read More........ → November 22, 2012

English Vinglish doing great at box office

Sridevi’s comeback and Gauri Shinde’s directorial debut film ‘English Vinglish’ collected Rs 12.23 crore in its opening weekend. 

Last week's releases - English Vinglish and Kismet Love Paisa Dilli - have met with rather opposite fates at the box office. While Sridevi's comeback film was appreciated by the multiplex audience and even got excellent reviews, the critics panned KLPD, starring Vivek Oberoi and Mallika Sherawat. English Vinglish Breakup Collection – (Friday - Rs 2.13 cr, Saturday - Rs 4.33 cr and Sunday - Rs 5.77 cr), KLPD on the other hand collected Rs 4.38 crore (Fridays - R 1.38 cr, Saturday - Rs 1.25 cr and Sunday - Rs 1.75 cr). Source: Page3

Read More........ → October 12, 2012

Hotel Transylvania (2012)

Hotel Transylvania is a 2012 computer-animated comedy film produced by Sony Pictures Animation and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, the creator of Samurai Jack, Dexter's Laboratory, and Sym-Bionic Titan, and produced by Michelle Murdocca. The film features the voices of Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg, Kevin James, Fran Drescher, Jon Lovitz, Cee Lo Green, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon and David Spade. The film tells a story of Dracula, the owner of Hotel Transylvania, where the world's monsters can take a rest from human civilization. Dracula invites some of the most famous monsters, including Frankenstein's monster, Mummy, a Werewolf family, and the Invisible Man, to celebrate the 118th birthday of his daughter Mavis. When the hotel is unexpectedly visited by an ordinary young traveler named Jonathan, Dracula must protect Mavis from falling in love with him before it is too late. Released on September 28, 2012, the film was met with mixed critical reception, while the audience received it very favourably. Despite mixed reviews, Hotel Transylvania set a new record for the highest-grossing September opening weekend, and earned a total of $51.1 million on a budget of $85 million.Source: SAM Daily Times

Read More........ → October 02, 2012

Barfi! is India's entry for Oscars in Foreign Film category

The magic of Anurag Basu's Barfi! has worked. The heartwarming movie, about love between a deaf and mute boy and an autistic girl, has been chosen as India's official entry for the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. The decision was taken at a Film Federation of India (FFI) meeting in Hyderabad Saturday night. "Barfi! has indeed been chosen as the country's official entry this year," FFI secretary general Suparn Sen said. The movie, starring Ranbir Kapoor as Murphy aka Barfi, and Priyanka Chopra as Jhilmil, has been lauded in film circles for its simplistic and moving narrative that has managed to tug at the heartstrings of audiences which equally enjoy commercial potboilers. The makers are joyous about the news. "We are honoured that Barfi! has been selected to represent India as its official entry tothe Academy Awards 2013. 'Barfi!' is very close to the hearts of all of us at UTV, and it gives us great satisfaction that a film we have developed and nurtured from its inception has met with so much love from audiences and critics worldwide," Siddharth Roy Kapur, managing director - Studios, Disney UTV, said in a statement. "An added source of pride is that this is the fourth UTV film in the last seven years to have been selected to represent India at the Academy awards; our earlier selections being Rang De Basanti (2006), Harishchandrachi Factory (2009) and Peepli Live (2010)," he added. Barfi! released September 14, and is still drawing full houses in theatres. Barfi! is a moving tale of love beyond words - between a deaf and mute boy Murphy, played by Ranbir Kapoor, and an autistic girl Jhilmil, essayed effortlessly by the National award-winning Priyanka Chopra. Southern actress Ileana D'Cruz, who has made her Bollywood debut with the movie, has also left a strong impact with her performance. The film has been hailed in cinematic circles for its simplistic, yet heartwarming treatment. The viewers are expected to understand the nearly mute narrative through sign language and the beauty is that they do. Filmmakers like Karan Johar and celebrities like megastar Amitabh Bachchan have praised the "masterpiece" and Basu is thankful to them all. Johar said he felt "talentless" after watching "Barfi!" "It is really overwhelming when people praise your film. For me, Karan Johar's comment means a lot. Karan Johar's message was very humbling. It takes courage and you need a big heart to praise any other director. I also received some great messages, one from Big B as well. It feels great when people admire you," he said. Source: Hindustan Times

Read More........ → September 23, 2012

Why The Great Gatsby Could Be A Perfect Summer Movie

From the moment Baz Luhrmann announced he was putting together a film based on The Great Gatsby, it was already obvious this wouldn't be your typical literary adaptation. The famously flashy and ambitious Luhrmann has never done movies the way anybody else did, creating a drag queen Mercutio who danced to disco in Romeo + Juliet, setting up a Madonna sing-along in 1899 Paris in Moulin Rouge, and injecting goofy humor and magical realism into the classic epic with Australia. But now that The Great Gatsby's release date has been pushed back to next summer, we are only truly getting a sense of how flashy and over the top the movie might be-- and how it might be much better suited to a summer release than a prestige-y Christmas one anyway. If you remember the first trailer, of course, this seems obvious-- it's a trailer for a film set in the 1920s that uses Jay-Z and Kanye West, for God's sake. Actually, let's take a look at that trailer again before we keep going. The giant CGI shots of cityscapes, the camera panning over the crowd, the tracking shot in on the hero standing in a glass frame-- these are all hallmarks of the summer blockbuster, and Luhrmann certainly seems to be shooting The Great Gatsby with the kind of budget and penchant for spectacle that usually comes with a superhero in tow. According to The Los Angeles Times, Luhrmann pushed for the six-month delay to give him more time to finish the extensive 3D effects-- yes, F. Scott Fitzgerald is going 3D-- and to secure pop artists to contribute to his all-star soundtrack, likely similar to the one from Moulin Rouge that included songs from David Bowie, Elton John, Christina Aguilera, Rufus Wainwright, and of course Madonna. Luhrmann is already making the movie as if it's bigger than The Avengers-- why not toss him in the deep end of summer movie season and let him prove it? After all, when Australia was released in the thick of prestige season in 2008, it was easily drowned out both by more serious films (Quantum of Solace beat it in it second weekend, while Milk was opening in limited release) and the more obviously family friendly stuff that's usually released around Thanksgiving (Four Christmases and Bolt were big hits). HadAustralia been released in the summer, without the pressure of giant Oscar expectations, people might have been able to tune in better to its weird humor and strong performances from Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman that were great, just not awards bait. Though summer movie season is high pressure, of course, it leaves a lot more room for quirky successes than the fall-- just look at this summer's Magic Mike, or even Luhrmann's own Moulin Rouge!, which opened in mid-May in 2001-- opposite Shrek! I have no idea if The Great Gatsby will be any good, and as someone who loves Fitzgerald's novel as much as anyone, I'm good and nervous about how Luhrmann's candy-coated lens will treat the material. But I'm really excited about the film's potential as a summer movie. It's thrilling every summer to see the films that don't take the usual path to success, when something like Magic Mike or, on smaller scales, Moonrise Kingdom andBeasts of the Southern Wild, get embraced by audiences who want something different. Warner Bros. is releasing Gatsby along their much more traditional blockbusters next summer-- the Superman movie Man of Steel, Guillermo del Toro's monster movie Pacific Rim and The Hangover IIIare all due. This is the studio that made hits of both Magic Mike and The Dark Knight Rises this summer. Let's see if their counter programming wisdom can work twice. Source: CinemaBlend.com

Read More........ → September 05, 2012

The recipient of five Academy Awards, THE ARTIST

Reliance Home Video and Games is all set to release the critically acclaimed and enchanting film ‘THE ARTIST’ on home video. The recipient of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Musical Score and Best Costume Design, the movie releases today on DVD and VCD in India. Declared "a love letter to the movies" by The Los Angeles Times, The Artist is the recipient of three Golden Globe Awards -- more than any other picture -- including Best Comedy, Best Actor and Best Score. The film also took home the top prize for Achievement in Directing in a Theatrical Release from the Directors Guild of America, and Oscar Winning Best Actor (Jean Dujardin) won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor. Uggie, the film's surprise breakout star and 10-year-old Jack Russell terrier, also took home the top honor from the first annual "Golden Collar Awards." Set in 1927, The Artist tells the story of film superstar George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) who is about to be banished from the movie business by the advent of talking pictures. With the introduction of "The Talkies," as movies with sound were known at their onset, came the abrupt end to the careers of many silent film stars, including George's screen persona, which soon falls into oblivion. For young, movie extra Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), the sky's the limit, and major movie stardom awaits. Starring Jean Dujardin (George Valentin) and Bérénice Bejo (Peppy Miller), The Artist also features dynamic performances by: John Goodman (Al Zimmer); James Cromwell (Clifton); Penelope Ann Miller (Doris); Malcolm McDowell (the Butler); and 10-year-old Uggie the dog, most recently featured in Water for Elephants, barking opposite Robert Pattinson. The film also includes an all-star lineup of filmmakers, including: writer/director Michel Hazanavicius; producer Thomas Langmann; director of photography Guillaume Schiffman; and production designer Laurence Bennett. Reliance Home Video and Games is all set to release the critically acclaimed and enchanting film ‘THE ARTIST’ on home video. The recipient of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Musical Score and Best Costume Design, the movie releases today on DVD and VCD in India. Declared "a love letter to the movies" by The Los Angeles Times, The Artist is the recipient of three Golden Globe Awards -- more than any other picture -- including Best Comedy, Best Actor and Best Score. The film also took home the top prize for Achievement in Directing in a Theatrical Release from the Directors Guild of America, and Oscar Winning Best Actor (Jean Dujardin) won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor. Uggie, the film's surprise breakout star and 10-year-old Jack Russell terrier, also took home the top honor from the first annual "Golden Collar Awards." Set in 1927, The Artist tells the story of film superstar George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) who is about to be banished from the movie business by the advent of talking pictures. With the introduction of "The Talkies," as movies with sound were known at their onset, came the abrupt end to the careers of many silent film stars, including George's screen persona, which soon falls into oblivion. For young, movie extra Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), the sky's the limit, and major movie stardom awaits. Starring Jean Dujardin (George Valentin) and Bérénice Bejo (Peppy Miller), The Artist also features dynamic performances by: John Goodman (Al Zimmer); James Cromwell (Clifton); Penelope Ann Miller (Doris); Malcolm McDowell (the Butler); and 10-year-old Uggie the dog, most recently featured in Water for Elephants, barking opposite Robert Pattinson. The film also includes an all-star lineup of filmmakers, including: writer/director Michel Hazanavicius; producer Thomas Langmann; director of photography Guillaume Schiffman; and production designer Laurence Bennett. Source: Page3

Read More........ → August 31, 2012