Disney Pixar “Up” Movie Trailer Video
Here is a new teaser trailer for the Disney Pixar animated movie “Up” featuring the voices of Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger and Jordan Nagai (pictures below). The movie will be released in theaters May 29, 2009. See the movie trailer here.
Movies Releasing Friday - November 7
There are three big movies coming out in theaters this weekend. The movies releasing Friday include “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”, “Role Models”, and “Soul Men”. It’s sounds like a fun weekend of movies. And with “Soul Men” being Bernie Mac’s final performance, I see the fans coming out strong to support him.
“Role Models” releases November 7
Role Models
I love Paul Rudd. Seriously, if I wasn’t married, I might become the president of the Paul Rudd Fan Club in hopes of getting to meet him one day and win him over. Instead my husband and I will be in line buying tickets to “Role Models” tomorrow. Also starring Stifler, a.k.a. Seann William Scott, “Role Models” is the story of two energy drink reps who face jail time for their raucous behavior, but can avoid the slammer if they do community service. The guys sign up to be role models at Sturdy Wings (sounds like Big Brothers Big Sisters), and their little brothers are a handful. And the McLovin is back! It doesn’t get better than this. A little disjointed,
But it’s still a funny and twisted movie from beginning to end, closing with an emotional payoff that matches the classic films of the genre. Fake some allergies before you go in, so your wingman won’t think you’re crying.
Soul Men
Bernie Mac and Samuel L. Jackson are the “Soul Men”, and just when they think their music careers have passed them by, another chance at stardom arrives. The tricky part is, they haven’t seen each other in 20 years and they’ve only got 5 days to make it work. The fun part of this movie is that Mac and Jackson do their own singing and dancing.
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
The gang is back! This time they’re trying to get off a different island, Madagascar. And they will do so on more IMAX screens than any other feature film that has come before it. But as fun as it looks in the previews, it sounds like it doesn’t live up to the hype.
“Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” is bright and colorful to look at, but the movie gets weighed down by an excessive amount of talk, talk, talk, little of which is particularly funny. A big chunk of the plot revolves around Alex lacking the jungle skills of a lion, but wasn’t the first movie about him rediscovering his killer instincts when returned to the wild? That entire notion is never once mentioned here, and it feels like lazy writing.
See the trailers for the movies below.
“Cadillac Records” Movie Trailer Video
Here is the first full-length theatrical trailer for “Cadillac Records,” starring Adrien Brody, Beyoncé Knowles and Jeffrey Wright. The movie will be released in theaters December 5, 2008. See photos and the movie trailer here.
Adrien Brody and Beyoncé Knowles star in “Cadillac Records” (2008)
The highly anticipated music biopic is based on the true story of the 1950s era Chess Records in Chicago, which Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody) founded with his brother Phil. Chess launched the careers of music legends such as Etta James (Beyoncé Knowles) Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer), Chuck Berry (Mos Def), Little Walter (Columbus Short) and Howlin’ Wolf (Eamonn Walker). The movie also stars Gabrielle Union as Geneva Wade, the girlfriend of Muddy Waters, Eric Bogosian as Alan Freed, Shiloh Fernandez as Phil Chess and Emmanuelle Chriqui as Revetta Chess.
The movie was written and directed by Darnell Martin (”Their Eyes Were Watching God” and “I Like It Like That”) and produced by Sofia Sondervan and Andy Lack for Sony BMG Films. Coincidentally, “Cadillac Records” is one of two movies produced this year which chronicle the story of Chess Records; the other movie is “”Who Do You Love,” directed by Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks and starring Alessandro Nivola as Leonard Chess, and recently screened at the Toronto Film Festival.
The real challenge for films that re-create the lives of real characters is–how true to life are they? Sony hasn’t screened “Cadillac Records” yet, but the person who knows the story best of all–Leonard’s son, Marshall Chess, who served as a technical consultant on both projects–says both movies took some dramatic liberties with many of the characters’ personal lives.
“Cadillac Records” will have a wider release and the advantage of a cast of stars.
Matt Dillon was originally cast to play Leonard Chess, but the role was given to Adrien Brody due to conflicts in Dillion’s schedule. Adrien Brody rose to fame after his memorable role in Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist” (2002) for which he won the Best Actor Academy Award, becoming, at age 29, the youngest actor ever to win the award. He was under consideration for the role of The Joker in “The Dark Knight” prior to Heath Ledger’s casting in the role.
Beyoncé Knowles has performed Etta James’ signature song, the 1961 hit, “At Last” live several times this year, notably at Condé Nast Media Group’s 5th Annual Fashion Rocks 2008 concert at Radio City Music Hall in New York City in September 2008. Etta James, now 70 years old, was present and in the front row as Beyoncé sang and James shared the ovation with her after the performance.
Etta James approved of the casting of the 27-year-old diva, despite a difference in looks.
“It’s a privilege and an honour to have somebody like that girl,” she said. “I don’t think she looks like me, but that’s all right. They can fix that up.”
Sony BMG will release the soundtrack for “Cadillac Records” on December 2, 2008.
More photos and “Cadillac Records” movie trailer video are below.
Melissa Peterman Is Dirty Politics
Meet Melissa Peterman, the “Reba” actress making the transition to the big screen in the upcoming film “Dirty Politics”. See her biography, photos, and video here.
Melissa Peterman
Melissa Peterman can next be seen in “Dirty Politics”. The movie should release in 2009.
Melissa Peterman Biography
As a biography, Melissa Peterman was born on July 1, 1970 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, so her age is 38. Her measurements are 5′10″. She graduated from Burnsville High School, where she is a member of the Hall of Fame, and then Minnesota State University-Mankato as a theater major. She currently lives in Los Angeles.
Melissa began acting in Minneapolis and landed her first big role in the play “Tony and Tina’s Wedding”. From there she tried improv comedy with the Brave New Workshop and the Big Stink Comedy Festival in Austin, Texas. Her first movie was “Fargo”, in which she played Hooker #2. After a few television appearances here and there, she landed a consistent role on the sitcom “Reba”, where she appeared from 2001 to 2007.
Melissa’s latest project is the movie “Dirty Politics”. A comedy based on a Louisiana senator’s run for president, “Dirty Politics” tells the story of a man who thinks he’s unbeatable and then watches the floor fall out from under him after he takes a blond woman back to his hotel room. The tagline reads, “The only thing that can stop us now is a live boy or a dead girl.” The movie co-stars Beau Bridges.
On June 5, 1999, Melissa married fellow actor John Brady. Together they have a son, Riley David, born October 20, 2005. She received a lot of positive attention after losing the baby weight.
See more photos of Melissa Peterman and a video from “Reba” below.
Russell Brand in Pirates of the Caribbean 4
Johnny Depp has long been the star of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise. However, it looks like he’s getting a co-star of equal loopiness and fun. Apparently Russell Brand (previously seen in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”) has been tapped to play Depp’s brother.
Russell Brand
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer recently discussed the making of the upcoming “Pirates of the Caribbean 4″. He says the script is in the works and hopes to have the film in theaters by 2012. It’s a struggle because he’s also working on “National Treasure 3″ and a “Lone Ranger” movie.
And it sounds like we’ll have a new character in “Pirates of the Caribbean 4″. Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow has a brother, as it turns out, and they’ve found the perfect person to play him. British comedian Russell Brand has been tapped for the role. A source says,
‘There couldn’t be a role more perfectly suited. There’s a lot of Jack Sparrow in his mannerisms and behaviour. Johnny’s accent isn’t a million miles away from Russell’s either.’
But Brand will have to overcome his recent BBC Radio scandal before cashing in on the $10 million “Pirates” payday. He recently resigned from his radio hosting gig after making a prank phone call to Andrew Sachs and discussing his sexual relations with Sachs’ granddaughter Georgina Baillie.
See more photos of Russell Brand and a video from “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”’s sex wars below.
Movie Links - November 5
DVDs Releasing Tuesday November 4
It’s a pretty family friendly DVD week. The DVDs releasing Tuesday include “Kung Fu Panda” and “Get Smart”.
Kung Fu Panda releases Tuesday on DVD
Kung Fu Panda
There are lots of celebrity voices in the latest Dream Works animated feature to hit DVD. In “Kung Fu Panda” we have Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu, and Jackie Chan all supplying the distinctive sounds of the characters. The film tells the story of a panda who dreams of greatness among the kung fu community. When the great Shifu announces that he will name the next chosen one, Po the panda gets caught up in the mix and must learn that he really does have what it takes to kung fu. The film succeeds in drawing in kids and adults alike, and it’s likely that it sticks to its roots. As one reviewer says,
In the end, what charms the most about “Kung Fu Panda” is that it doesn’t feel as if it’s trying to be a live-action film. It’s an animation through and through, starting with the stunningly beautiful opening dream sequence, a graphically bold hand-drawn interlude rendered by James Baxter that looks like an animated woodblock print with slashes of black and swaths of oxblood red. This opener is so striking and so visually different from most mainstream American animations that it takes a while to settle into the more visually familiar look of the rest of the movie. And while nothing that comes afterward really compares to it, a volley of arrows that falls down like red rain and a delicate swirl of pink petals come delightfully close.
Get Smart
Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway star in this present day take on the 1960s television series about a clumsy spy who happens to get it right. Carell plays Maxwell Smart, a top analyst in CONTROL who has dreams of becoming a field agent. He gets his chance when KAOS attacks and kills most of the other agents. It’s up to Smart and Agent 99 (Hathaway) to save the day, and they do just that, if clumsily and with a few laughs along the way. Unfortunately for the film, it falls a little flat. Sometimes television series are better left on the small screen. Critics’ statements include,
We sit back and wait for the laughs. Which come pretty slow and infrequent, though Carell does his straight-faced best to act out the A-Z of Hilarious.
See the trailers for the movies below.
“The Reader” Movie Trailer Video
Here is the first trailer for “The Reader” starring Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes, based on German author Bernhard Schlink’s international bestselling novel about a young man whose affair with an older woman in post-World War II Germany shapes his life forever. The movie will be released in theaters December 12, 2008. See photos and the movie trailer here.
