December 2007 News Archive (Page 3)

With the holidays upon us, the Reel Movie News staff has decided to present readers with the following Christmas gift:

A thoroughly updated movie quotes section!

Browse through the following recent releases now:

• Juno quotes
• Dewey Cox quotes
• Enchanted quotes
• No Country for Old Men quotes

Of course, we have a series of quotations from classic films, as well, such as Superbad, Knocked Up an Borat. Don't see your favorite film on there?

Let us know today!

Smallville star Kristin Kreuk will portray Chun-Li in the upcoming Street Fighter: Legend of Chun-Li.

Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak, the action flick starts filming in Thailand in March, 2008. It's focus is on on female fighter Chun-Li and her journey for justice.

Sweeney Todd is an unusual movie - a demonic barber sings and murders people?!? - but is this Johnny Depp film a good movie?

Critics around the nation weigh in:

- [Sweeney Todd] is mighty entertainment that makes you feel sorry for the poor saps in the next theater at the multiplex. -- The New York Post

- Most of the jokes fall flat in this joyless version. It's a movie for people who'd like to hear Depp do another British accent and wear a Bride of Frankenstein wig. -- Charlotte Observer

- An invigorating experience that ranks among the best stage-to-screen translations ever filmed. -- Orlando Weekly

- Sweeney Todd is as much a horror film as a musical. It is also something close to a masterpiece. - The New York Times

Jumper stars Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson. Therefore, it ought to appeal to both genders.

Here's the plot description for the movie, which opens February 14:

A genetic anomaly Hayden Christensen to teleport himself anywhere, including the Great Pyramids of Egypt. He finds himself in a war that has been raging for thousands of years between "Jumpers" and the deadly Paladins, a secret sect sworn to destroy him and his kind.

Bilson learns the truth behind Hayden's teleporting abilities… and they fall madly in love.

Karl Urban, who plays Dr. McCoy in J.J. Abrams' upcoming Star Trek movie, was recently asked by TV Guide.com: about how closely this new version will mirror the classic films:

"The movie is very, very faithful to the spirit of the original series and the characters that were created in the '60s," Urban said.

For example, Urban's Bones "is the lovable, irascible humanist that he has always been [and] a good friend of Jim Kirk."

That said, the actor believes "J.J. is going to reinvigorate this franchise in a fresh and exciting way."

So, can Star Trek fans look forward to young Bones delivering one of his trademark "I'm a doctor, not a [blank]" lines?

"I can't say!" Urban replied with a laugh. "I would love to tell you, but... I'm not allowed to say."

St. Trinian's is a critically acclaimed British comedy. It stars a few well-known actors - such as Colin Firth and Mischa Barton - but two of its main stars are receiving a bulk of the film's attention:

Gemma Arterton and Talulah Riley. The pair recently spoke with IGN about the movie and their careers:

IGN: Would you have wanted to go to St. Trinian's yourselves?
Talulah Riley: I would because you get to be an individual and have individual expression, but on the other hand they're criminals, so it might have been a bit wild in there.
Gemma Arterton: Yeah I agree, I think I would have loved the craziness of it, and being able to do what you want, but I would have gone a bit off the rails! I would have gone the wrong way...

IGN: Were you both worried about the more salacious elements of film?
Talulah Riley: If you know Oliver (Parker) and Barnaby (Thompson); the directors, then you'll know they're the nicest guys and they're just family men and you know it's not going to be anything dreadful.
Gemma Arterton: And I think the way that it's directed, it's been really skilfully done. They've not allowed it to become like that, they've worked really hard and I think they've succeeded in not making it smutty.

IGN: What's next?
Talulah Riley: I don't know yet!
Gemma Arterton: I've got a couple of films coming up next year, I've just finished doing a black comedy called Three and Out, with McKenzie Crook. I'm also in Guy Ritchie's new film Rocknrolla â€" it's a gangster film and I have a really small part in it as a ditzy secretary. It's got influences from the music industry and it's quite dark and that comes out early next year.

In addition to the casting of Rachel Nichols as Scarlett two more actors have come aboard Paramount's live-action G.I. Joe movie.

The Hollywood Reporter stars that Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje - pictured below, best known as Mr. Eko on Lost - will play ordinance expert Heavy Duty, while Sleeper Cell's Said Taghmaoui has been cast as communications specialist Breaker.

Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars, Heroes) plays the title character in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. The movie was written by How I Met Your Mother star, Jason Segel, who portrays Bell's ex-boyfriend in the comedy.

Here's a synopsis of the film, followed by a pair of pictures from it:

After a tough break-up with his girlfriend, TV sitcom star Sarah Marshall (Bell), Peter (Segel) heads to Hawaii for a vacation meant to help fim forget every detail of his relationship with Sarah.

But Sarah is vacationing in the same exclusive resort as Peter, along with her new boyfriend. Laughter and awkwardness ensue.

Judd Apatow recently penned a guest column for MTV. In it, the writer/director talks about how he came up with the concept for Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

Here are a few highlights from the article:

- On Casting John C. Reilly: In order to write this film, we needed a star in mind to play the lead role, and we immediately knew that John C. Reilly was the only guy who could do it. John is a brilliant actor, but he is also ridiculously funny and, strangely enough, has this gorgeous Roy Orbison-type singing voice.

- On Writing the Movie: [Director Jake Kasdan] and I wrote much of the movie over the phone. We would stay up till all hours talking about the many music biopics we had seen. In the morning my wife would say, "Did you have fun giggling with your girlfriend last night?"

- The Film's Inspiration: We also talked a lot about the mythology of rock and roll. Many hours were spent kicking around all the legends: Keith Richards supposedly having all his blood replaced, Elvis being high when speaking to Nixon, etc.

Apatow then goes on to list his favorite, personal musical experiences. It's a solid read.

John Hurt is a veteran actor who portrays Abner Ravenwood, Indiana Jones' mentor in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

He recently talked about the movie with Premiere.com:

What keeps you interested in working in films? It seems you're busier now than you've ever been.
Thank god. I love working, so I'm very pleased about that. I always try to stay true to my reasons for doing a film, which are basically that it should stand the chance of succeeding on the level that is intended to succeed on.

How did you get involved in the new Indiana Jones movie?
I was invited to do it. I'd never met Steven Spielberg before, and he called me out of the blue. I almost felt like saying, "Oh yeah, Steven Spielberg… uh-huh." Anyway, we had a chat and he said, "Do you want to come make a film for me?" I said, "Well, that sounds very inviting." "In Peru…" I said, "In Peru! Yes, that sounds extremely inviting."

We looked into it and there were various things about it â€" like the time I had to be on set â€" where I thought, "No, this isn't going to work out." But then I was advised by everybody that it'd be a good thing to do. And I did enjoy it. I mean, look, talk about standing the chance of succeeding on the level that it's intended to succeed…

Not many actors would have thought twice, as it sounds like you did, about accepting a role in an Indiana Jones adventure…
I want to be careful here, because I don't want to make it sound as if I'm anti- the film â€" I'm not at all. But if I was asked what I would choose to do, it would be lightweight for me, at least for that sort of time commitment. But having accepted it, I enjoyed working with Steven hugely, and we had a great cast. I just wish we'd had something of fabulous interest between each other to act!

Read the full interview with Hurt now.