Happy Tartan Day From "Brave"

Since ancient times, stories of epic battles and mystical legends have been passed through the generations across the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland. In “Brave,” a new tale joins the lore when the courageous Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald) confronts tradition, destiny and the fiercest of beasts.

Merida is a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus (voice of Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson). Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin (voice of Kevin McKidd), surly Lord Macintosh (voice of Craig Ferguson) and cantankerous Lord Dingwall (voice of Robbie Coltrane). Merida’s actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric old Witch (voice of Julie Walters) for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to discover the meaning of true bravery in order to undo a beastly curse before it’s too late.

Directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, and produced by Katherine Sarafian, “Brave” is a grand adventure full of heart, memorable characters and the signature Pixar humor enjoyed by audiences of all ages. The film takes aim at theaters on June 22, 2012, and will be presented in Disney Digital 3D™ in select theaters.

A grand adventure full of heart, memorable characters and signature Pixar humor, “Brave” uncovers a new tale in the mysterious Highlands of Scotland where the impetuous Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald) defies an age-old custom and inadvertently unleashes chaos, forcing her to discover the meaning of true bravery before it’s too late.”

New Clip From "Hit So Hard" Featuring Private Footage Of Kurt Cobain!

When Nirvana burst onto the scene in 1991, the music they played spoke directly to an angry and disenfranchised generation. Grunge took over MTV and radio overnight… but just three years later, the drug-related deaths of several musicians and the suicide of Kurt Cobain closed the books on an all too brief era.

Patty Schemel, the acclaimed drummer for Courtney Love's seminal rock band Hole, was in the middle of all of it. The openly gay woman who always felt different never dreamed she would be in a multi-platinum band, touring with legends… or that, thanks to drug addiction, she could lose it all.

Given a video camera just before Hole's infamous Live Through This world tour, Patty filmed everything the shows, the parties, and startlingly intimate footage of Kurt and Courtney. This footage has never been seen... until now. Not just an all-access backstage pass to the music that shaped a generation, HIT SO HARD is a harrowing tale of overnight success, the cost of addiction, and ultimately, recovery and redemption.   

HIT SO HARD will open in New York City on April 13^th and Los Angeles on April 20^th, 2012. 

Freestyle Digital Media Enters VOD Deal With Feature Films For Families

Freestyle Digital Media LLC (FDM) announces today that they have entered into a partnership with Feature Films for Families to distribute their library on VOD. The agreement was brokered by Susan Jackson, CEO of Freestyle Digital Media, and Cyndi Menegaz, Director of Acquisitions and Corporate Development of Feature Films for Families.

Established in 1988, Feature Films for Families produces and distributes uplifting and entertaining movies that are suitable for all ages and strengthen positive values while containing no profanity, vulgarity, sexual content or graphic violence. Recent productions include THE VELVETEEN RABBIT with Jane Seymour, Tom Skerritt and Ellen Burstyn and SLOW MOE with Scotty Leavenworth and Amanda Michalka. 

“We are delighted to be handling Feature Films for Families’ library which has an impressive DVD sales history and contains some classic gems of quality, wholesome family entertainment,” said Jackson. “They will be a great fit for our distribution pipeline."

Freestyle Digital Media’s recent slate of releases includes DEADHEADS, the acclaimed horror-comedy from directors Brett and Drew Pierce, SWINGING WITH THE FINKELS starring Mandy Moore and directed by Jonathan Newman, and TOMORROW, WHEN THE WAR BEGAN directed by Stuart Beattie, which also marked the first feature film debut on Facebook back in February and the first of many planned Freestyle Digital Media and Freestyle Releasing theatrical/VOD day and date releases.
 

Weekend Box Office: April 6 - 8

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  The Hunger Games - $33.1 million

2.  American Reunion - $21.5 million

3.  Titanic 3D - $17.2 million

4.  Wrath of the Titans - $14.7 million

5.  Mirror Mirror - $11 million

6.  21 Jump Street - $10 million

7.  The Lorax - $5 million

8.  Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - $992,428

9.  Housefull 2 - $847,132

10.  John Carter - $830,305

On this holiday weekend, The Hunger Games fought off a wave of 90s nostalgia to hold the first place spot for the third weekend in a row with $33.1 million.  That officially puts it over the $300 million mark domestically, where it has also officially outgrossed all of the Twilight movies and six of the Harry Potter films.  It hasn't quite caught on as well overseas with a foreign total of $157.1 million...but worldwide it's already made $459 million, so Lionsgate can certainly deal with that.

In second place was American Reunion, which opened with $21.5 million.  That's lower than the previous American Pie sequels, but a decent opening nonetheless - and certainly a better addition to the series than those awful direct-to-video American Pie spinoffs.  For what it's worth, it's also the best opening weekend for a R-rated film on Easter weekend.  Yes, apparently there's a record for that.

Titanic 3D took third place with $17.2 million, although that movie opened on Wednesday, so the re-release has actually earned $25.6 million so far.  That is the lowest opening weekend of the recent 3D re-release phenomenon...however, keep in mind that Titanic is well over three hours long, which means fewer shows per day than say, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.

Wrath of the Titans continues to not do nearly as well as its predecessor, as it dropped 56% to earn $14.7 million.  Mirror Mirror held up better with just a 39% drop, but that family film has earned just $36 million domestically so far.  21 Jump Street managed to cross the $100 mark this weekend with another $10 million, which The Lorax inched that much closer to $200 million with $5 million over the holiday.

In limited release, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen continued to do well with $992,448 in just 524 theaters, while the Indian action comedy Housefull 2 earned $847,132 at just 121 theaters.  By comparison, both films fared better than John Carter - which earned a meager $830,305 at 1015 theaters. 

Next weekend sees a handful of new releases:  the big screen version of The Three Stooges, the long delayed but already well-reviewed horror film The Cabin in the Woods, and the sci-fi action thriller Lockout.  Sounds like the horror movie's got the best shot at beating The Hunger Games next weekend.

Iron Man 3 Villain Is One Sexy Beast

Ben Kingsley's baddie-duties in Iron Man 3 as scooped by Variety, doesn't imply a quality script by Drew Pearce and helmer Shane Black. Nor does it suggest we're in for an upgrade after the sighs heard run the world walking out of Iron Man 2 two years ago. Not at face value, it doesn't - though we're confident in the long overdue Kiss Kiss Bang Bang reunion of Black and Robert Downey Jr.

I only say this because of Kingsley himself. Great an actor he is, if you look at his filmography, there's the Schindler's Lists, Gandhis, Bugsys, Daves and it wasn't even a year ago he was wonderful in Hugo. He has plenty of accolades taking up space in his mansions too. But the stinkers, the "Take the money and run" gigs, outweigh the good. By a lot. So much so you wonder the last time, he sat down and took a good look at whatever script his agent told him he was doing next.

The real intrigue here is who he'll play. The trades say it ain't the Mandarin. All we know for sure is the threequel is based on Warren Ellis' Extremis story-arc, an item Latino Review broke last month, involving a virus originating from an ill-attempt to recreate Captain America's Super Solider Serum.

Don't know where that puts Kingsley though. Is he another Justin Hammer (a suit)? Or maybe another wacky-eccentric wearing armor twice the size at Tony's Mark VII? Both are plausible and Kingsley could play either well. Hoping it's all misdirection and he is in fact the Mandarin. At least that would offer us something different this time out. Even if it is "politically incorrect."

'The Dark Knight Rises' Rated PG-13

In case you hadn't heard, The Dark Knight Rises has been given a PG-13 rating according Warner Bros. Exhibtor website for "intense sequences of violence and action, some sensuality and language.”

This shouldn't shock many as the first two films in the series - Batman Begins and The Dark Knight - were both rated PG-13 as well.

There are a few tidbits to take from this news - as first mentioned by The Hollywood Reporter - that I will review here, starting off with the fact that the film has even been rated in the first place.

Anyone familiar with the MPAA ratings board knows a film can not be rated unless it is finished, which basically means Christopher Nolan has completed his final Batman film with just over three months to go until its release.  Something like this is nearly unheard of as many films - especially summer blockbusters - go down to the wire in post-production, mere days before a film's release date.  This only solidifies the fact that Warner Bros. must be very happy with the film to give Nolan such an early OK to final cut it as well as prove his efficiency as a filmmaker.

Next, with the film finished, expect the marketing campaign to get going as a third trailer should be coming in the next few weeks (likely with The Avengers) as well as TV spots, early screenings for critics, and pretty much everything else that comes along with a huge summer blockbuster (though I doubt many have ever been as big as this).

Finally, the details of the film's rating, specifically "some sensuality."  This pretty much confirms there will be some kind of love story going on between Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) with Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) and/or Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard).  The real question is: how far has Nolan gone with this?  Sex scene maybe?  Hey common, you saw how far The Dark Knight was pushed in terms of a PG-13 rating, so it would pretty much shock me if Nolan wasn't pushing the envelope again in for both violence and language (of course) as well as, well, sex.

We all shall know in about three months so get ready Batman fans, because The Dark Knight Rises will be here sooner than you think.

New Total Recall Image

The awesome trailer dropped last week and today The Lebanese Cinema Movie Guide have gotten hold of a cool new action image from the August 3rd release.

The image features Quaid (Farrell) and Melina (Biel) In what I believe is a shot from the action sequence that has them using a futuristic elevator that connects Euromerica to New Shanghai.

Think McFly Think Now Has a Game of Thrones Podcast

Regular listeners to the Movie Moan podcast may have realised that Phil Gee and Queen Kristina are crazy about 'Game Of Thrones' and rather than spend our entire week sending emails back and forth about the latest episode, why don't we try a podcast about it.

So welcome to the first episode of 'Game Of Moans'.

In this first episode, Phil and Kristina desperately try to cover everything that happened in the first episode of Season 2, 'The North Remembers'; is Daenerys already screwed?  Is Joffrey done with his mother for good?  What the hell was Littlefinger thinking?  What is Sansa's plan for survival?  Has the show's budget for prosthetic dead babies already gone through the roof?

As we say on the show, this is a no-frills, test pilot for this podcast.  Whether we turn this into a regular weekly podcast is entirely up to you guys.  Please give us a listen and let us know in the comments section whether we are worthy to join the ranks of great Thronecasts already out there.

After all, when you play the game of podcasts you win or you die.  There is no middle ground.

Game of Moans Podcast - Episode 1

Looper Poster

Things are really going to start kicking into gear next week for this one with vignettes on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then the teaser trailer debut on Thursday. The film is coming off the back of a great reception at the recent WonderCon and may be this generations Terminator.

Time travel will be invented, but it will be illegal and only available on the black market. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they send their target 30 years into the past, where a “looper”—a hired gun, like Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)—is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good. . . until the day the mob decides to “close the loop,” sending back Joe’s future self (Bruce Willis) for assassination. the film is written and directed by Rian Johnson and also stars Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, and Jeff Daniels. Ram Bergman and James D. Stern produce.

slashfilm

Gary Ross Will Not Be Catching Fire

Everyone was optimistic a deal between director Gary Ross and Lionsgate would transpire amid issues of salary disputes, as THR leaked earlier this week. This morning as news broke the studio settled their differences with Fox over star Jennifer Lawrence is word on where things stand for Ross.

Namely he won't be back for Catching Fire, reports The Playlist.

The reasoning, their spies say, had less to do with money but focused on his affinity for not repeating himself and a lack of desire nailed down to that franchise for so many years with no side projects in between. Not to play the "NU-UH!" card on their sources, but come on, it's always about money. Throw enough cash up-front and back-end points, and we'd have never heard of Ross and studio-heads clashing.

The shaky-cam flaws notwithstanding (and even that can be excused as his way of getting The Hunger Games to its lucrative PG-13 rating), Ross performed the thankless task of creating that world, setting up the characters and their dynamics, all the while telling a compelling three-act story. And he did a great job. We all would have liked to see Ross get his hands dirty, letting the story loose with Catching Fire with all the traditional "First Movie" constraints gone. An unfortunate turn of events indeed.