John Goodman Page 6

John Goodman

John Goodman Quick Links

News Pictures Video Film Footage Press Quotes RSS

John Goodman: Kong Cast 'Aren't People You Whine In Front Of'


John Goodman

Working on a big budget blockbuster overseas when you're often more than 9,000 miles away from home has got to be pretty trying, but John Goodman wasn't going to let his homesickness get the better of him when he was shooting 'Kong: Skull Island'.

John GoodmanJohn Goodman stars in 'Kong: Skull Island'

Much of the Jordan Vogt-Roberts movie was shot in Hawaii, which is at least 4,000 miles from John's home in New Orleans, Louisiana. But often the movie took him to Queensland, Australia and even to Vietnam which is more than double the distance. Thinking about it has got to have been quite daunting, especially given that they were filming for five months, but John kept his spirits up thanks to his lively co-stars.

Continue reading: John Goodman: Kong Cast 'Aren't People You Whine In Front Of'

Transformers: The Last Knight - Teaser Trailer


With the few remaining Autobots in hiding, the world is a dark place. Galvatron is still at large and Optimus Prime has left earth to fulfil a bigger mission, having gone to seek out the Creators. Having previously helped the Autobots, Cade Yeager is still in danger and the war between man and machine is reaching ever higher levels.

The Decepticons still have a wish to invade and take over the planet Earth and now it looks like they might be in the best position to do so. Why do these machines have such a fascination with our planet and how many genuine Autobots are left to help fight alongside humans?

The soundtrack to the first trailer for Transformers: The Last Knight is a re-working of Flaming Lips single 'Do You Realize' recorded by Ursine Vulpine.

Continue: Transformers: The Last Knight - Teaser Trailer

Kong: Skull Island Trailer


It's the 1970s and Captain James Conrad and Lieutenant Colonel Packard are leading a group of soldiers and explorers to a seemingly idyllic unmapped location in the Pacific.

Unfortunately, their journey requires some serious collateral damage, as they are forced to bomb the island and unwittingly incite the treacherous ire of Kong, the King of Skull Island. He crushes them - literally. That's what happens when you bomb the habitat of a giant ape. But soon they realise that Kong isn't the only outsize creature they have to fear, because the island is home to a group of demonic monsters as well, some that resemble spiders and others that resemble reptiles. Their only hope is to enlist the help of the island's inhabitants, tribal men and women who worship the great Kong but disapprove of the Americans' willingness to attack their home.

Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts ('The Kings of Summer'), 'Kong: Skull Island' is a re-imagining of the King Kong story, following him to his home on Skull Island where he first originated. The screenplay was written by Dan Gilroy and Max Borenstein, and filming spanned locations the likes of Hawaii, Australia's Gold Coast and Vietnam. Starring Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson and John C. Reilly, the film is scheduled to be released on March 10th 2017.

Patriots Day Trailer


On the morning of April 13, 2013 the citizens of Boston city awoke in a good mood, it's Patriots' Day and also the day the Boston marathon is held on. As is usually the case, additional police are asked to put on their uniforms and help with crowd control for the event which is always popular with residents and tourists. 

Tommy Saunders was one of the officers to take to the streets and help police the event. As the race starts, the mood in the crowd is high and all are seen to be having a good time; The sergeant talks to his boss, Police Commissioner Ed Davis and then sees a familiar face in the crowd; his wife Carol be beckons Tommy over and the two begin to have a brief chat before an almighty noise and tremor is unleashed through the streets. 

The police officers on the street run into action and begin to help wounded runners and bystanders. Hundreds of people are on the streets injured and worried; first responders begin treating as many people as possible and sending the injured off to hospital.

Continue: Patriots Day Trailer

Kong: Skull Island Trailer


James Conrad is a British captain who leads an international envoy to the middle of the Pacific Ocean to charter some of Earth's most distant and mysterious lands. The captain is accompanied by a number of other members on the team including Randa, a government official who appears to know a few of the islands mysteries; a female photojournalist called Weaver who is known for her war photography; US Lieutenant Colonel Packard who is in charge of the UK troops who are also part of the mission.

As the vessel approaches the island, spirits are high and the team are ready to take choppers to the green land known as Skull Island. Soon their mission becomes disastrous as the inhabitants are far more feral than they could ever imagine. Equipped with guns, Ammunition and rocket launchers, the humans feel that they're able to overcome whatever may await them on the island but the truth is that they could never come face to face and beat the beast that awaits them.

Kong: Skull Island is the latest reboot of the King Kong story and it focusses on the start of the story originally told in 1933.

Continue: Kong: Skull Island Trailer

10 Cloverfield Lane Review

Very Good

Rather than a sequel or spin-off, this is a spiritual successor to 2008's Cloverfield, a terrifically tense thriller that builds a genuine sense of horror. Director Dan Trachtenberg deploys a range of Hitchcock-style tricks to establish characters and crank up layers of intensity, keeping everything unnervingly close to the boiling point. When everything finally erupts, the climax is exhilarating, even if it never quite finds a sense of meaning beneath the surface.

It opens as Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is packing up and leaving her flat, driving through the Louisiana countryside. Her fiance (voiced by Bradley Cooper) calls and tries to coax her into coming back, but she drives on determinedly. Then as the radio reports news of rolling unexplained blackouts, she's in a serious car crash and wakes up chained to a pipe in an unfinished room. Her host Howard (John Goodman) claims to have saved her life, bringing her to his fallout bunker just as everyone above-ground was killed by some sort of attack. And there's another guy taking refuge in the bunker, the rather goofy Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.), who like Michelle doubts Howard's story and rebels against his strict rules.

This is a rare film that manages to create thoroughly believable characters in just a few moments of back-story, then push them together in ways that continually surprise us. The snappy script uses wit and suggestion to undermine scenes with subtext as their power games escalate. So the tug of war between these three people has both subtle layers of intrigue as well as some seriously nasty conflict. Where this goes is impossible to predict, because all three actors are so good at portraying characters who are only pretending to trust each other. Goodman has never played a role like this, and is excellent as a nerdy religious nutcase who may or may not be a psychopath. Gallagher adds continual touches that undermine Howard's authority. And Winstead anchors the film as a smart, resourceful woman who refuses to accept anything at face value.

Continue reading: 10 Cloverfield Lane Review

Trumbo Review

Excellent

An entertaining film about sobering true events, this is the story of notorious screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who defied McCarthy's communist witch-hunt hearings in the late-1940s and was blacklisted by Hollywood for more than a decade. As written by John McNamara and directed by Jay Roach, the film is bright, funny and emotionally resonant, clearly simplified to make it more involving. And with such a terrific cast on board, it's both revealing and a lot of fun.

In 1947, Dalton (Bryan Cranston) is the film industry's top-paid screenwriter, so of course Senator McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Commission goes after him about his rumoured links to the communist party during the war. But he and nine fellow writers refuse to testify, so they're imprisoned for contempt, denied work by the Hollywood studios and targeted personally by the powerful gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren). To survive, Dalton begins writing under a series of pseudonyms for the B-movie producer Frank King (John Goodman), creating a script factory in his home with the help of his wife Cleo (Diane Lane) and daughter Niki (Elle Fanning). Two of these screenplays win Oscars, and it isn't until Dalton begins writing Spartacus in 1960 that actor Kirk Douglas (Dean O'Gorman) breaks the studio blacklist.

Roach directs this story in a sunny, snappy way that includes lots of smart wordplay and a clear sense of the us-or-them mentality that has defined America since the Cold War. People need a villain to hiss at, so anyone with even a passing connection to communism will do. And Mirren hisses better than most. Her performance is riotously funny and relentlessly nasty at the same time. More textured characters include Louis C.K. as a fellow writer and Michael Stuhlbarg as conflicted actor Edward G. Robinson. All of the actors are excellent, anchored by Cranston's wonderfully prickly Oscar-nominated turn as a bullheaded man who hilariously seizes every opportunity to make an inspiring speech.

Continue reading: Trumbo Review

Ratchet And Clank Trailer


Ratchet is a little Lombax with big plans for himself. The galaxy where he lives has become threatened by an evil villain Ratchet knows he must do something. When Captain Qwark announces that the galactic rangers are on the lookout for a special new recruit, Ratchet thinks he's just the guy for the job. Sure, he doesn't have any experience and is ultra-small compared to the other heroes in the rangers but that won't deter Ratchet from applying.

Turned down by his all-time hero, Captain Qwark, Ratchet decides he's not going to give up that easily. Both he and his new smart talking friend Clank must find their inner courage and become part of a battle to save the galaxy from complete inhalation.

Ratchet And Clank the movie is based on the still popular video game which originally came out in 2002 for the PS2.

Continue: Ratchet And Clank Trailer

Love The Coopers (aka Christmas With The Coopers) Review

Very Good

This may look like it's going to be a zany Christmas romp, but it's really a warm exploration of family connections, essentially an American take on Love Actually's multi-strand comedy-drama. At least it has an unusually strong cast and moments of hilarity scattered throughout the story. And while it's never very deep, the themes are strongly resonant.

The Cooper family is gathering for what Charlotte (Diane Keaton) hopes will be one last perfect Christmas together. She knows that her 40-year marriage to Sam (John Goodman) is on the brink, but is ignoring that to plan a massive dinner. Their son Hank (Ed Helms) is stinging from divorce and unemployment, while daughter Eleanor (Olivia Wilde) has picked up a hunky soldier (Jake Lacy) in the airport and asks him to pose as her boyfriend so her family will stop asking about her love life. Meanwhile, Charlotte's father Bucky (Alan Arkin) is trying to cheer up his favourite waitress (Amanda Seyfried), and Charlotte's sister Emma (Marisa Tomei) is delayed when a cop (Anthony Mackie) arrests her for shoplifting.

Narrated with wry joviality by Steve Martin, the interwoven stories are fairly simplistic, but each touches a raw nerve. And the above-average cast brings out the underlying themes without overplaying their scenes. Keaton and Goodman add subtle shades to the slightly undemanding central roles, while Arkin finds a couple of new textures to his usual twinkly grandad persona. Helms and Wilde strike the right balance in their intriguingly unlikeable roles, while Tomei gets the most complex character as a woman who feels like she's merely watched her life drift along. By contrast, the outsiders played by Seyfried, Lacy and Mackie are much less defined, but each actor brings just enough magnetic energy. The most wasted performer is June Squibb, as a ditzy old aunt who's little more than the requisite gross-out relative.

Continue reading: Love The Coopers (aka Christmas With The Coopers) Review

The Gambler Trailer


Jim Bennett is an English professor at a college and he's also always been one for taking risks. By day he is the sensible, bookish type but by night his life is a dangerous spiral of gambling huge amounts of money to dire consequences. As the gambler he is, he takes a chance in asking his bank to loan him a quarter of a million dollars in order for him to pay back a gangster so that he may stay alive, but when that fails he is forced to take on the services of a loan shark named Frank. Meanwhile, his relationship with his mother is getting tenser and tenser by the day as she wishes more than anything for her little boy to be safe. Also, it seems a student of his named Amy Phillips has discovered his secret life, but wants more than anything for him to take her out to dinner even if it will wreck his school reputation.

Continue: The Gambler Trailer

5-Star Alpha House Set For Second Season On Busy Amazon Video Service


John Goodman

The people have spoken. Alpha House, which gained thousands of 5-star reviews from users on Amazon’s instant video service, has been renewed for a second season as the company try and usurp Netflix as the go-to service for content streaming.

John GoodmanJohn Goodman at the 'Mad Men' premiere in London's Leicester Sq.

The show’s marquee star, John Goodman, along with Mark Consuelos, Clark Johnson, and Matt Malloy will return for Alpha House, which, according to Garry Trudeau, writer and producer of the show, “is a joy to work on and we’re thrilled that the show’s been renewed by Amazon. It’s fun to dance on the leading edge of streaming video, where audiences converge on server farms at all hours, besotted by John Goodman and free two-day shipping.”

Continue reading: 5-Star Alpha House Set For Second Season On Busy Amazon Video Service

The Five Most Shocking TV Deaths


John Goodman Sean Bean

MULTIPLE SPOILERS ALERT!

The shocking death of Allison Argent in last night’s Teen Wolf has got us thinking, are none of our beloved characters safe? If we look back at some of our favourite shows it turns out that no, they aren’t!

Dan Conner, Roseanne

Continue reading: The Five Most Shocking TV Deaths

The Monuments Men: Damon And Clooney Work Well Together, Or Do They?


George Clooney Matt Damon John Goodman

'The Monuments Men' is the sixth time Matt Damon and George Clooney have worked together, but it’s the first time the perennial collaborators have taken a directorial role together. And for Damon, working with an old friend made life a whole lot easier.

Monuments Men George ClooneyClooney is really at the center of the success or failure of this film

“Anytime you work with your friends it's really helpful because you can leave out all of that diplomacy," he explained. "People tend to spend a lot of energy trying not to hurt each other's feelings if they don't know each other but if you're friends, you know, George can come up to me after a scene and say, 'Well that was horrible, do it better this time,' and I won't get offended," he added at the London premiere for the movie, according to The Telegraph. 

Continue reading: The Monuments Men: Damon And Clooney Work Well Together, Or Do They?

Why Is 'The Monuments Men' Bad? It Was Supposed To Be The Best Film Ever


George Clooney John Goodman Matt Damon Cate Blanchett

George Clooney. Matt Damon. John Goodman. World War II black comedy. Cate Blanchett. Treasure Hunts. Nazis. Why the hell isn’t The Monuments Men any good? Let’s take a look.

John Goodman and George ClooneyJohn Goodman and George Clooney read the reviews...

The comedy drama sees Clooney compile an unlikely group of heroes, put them through basic training and take them over to strategic in Western Europe in a bid to perverse the very culture Hitler is attempting to destroy. It’s a fantastic premise and, needless to say, the star power attached to the movie certainly got people excited.

Continue reading: Why Is 'The Monuments Men' Bad? It Was Supposed To Be The Best Film Ever

Video - George Clooney Arrives At 'The Monuments Men' Premiere With His Parents - Part 1


George Clooney arrives at the world premiere of 'The Monuments Men', in which he directs and stars, at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York. He is accompanied on the red carpet by his parents Nick Clooney and Nina Bruce Clooney.

Continue: Video - George Clooney Arrives At 'The Monuments Men' Premiere With His Parents - Part 1

George Clooney Won't Jeopardize 'The Monuments Men' - Film Delayed


George Clooney Matt Damon John Goodman

'You know what, Academy Awards and film industry? Shut up.' That’s what George Clooney says. He doesn’t say that. But he won’t be forced into releasing The Monuments Men until it’s really, really ready. Clooney ready, and that means making it perfect, even it takes more time.

John Goodman George ClooneyJohn Goodman and George Clooney in The Monuments Men

The quirky World War II movie sees Clooney assemble a motley crew of conscientious art, culture, architecture and history experts with a view to entering a Nazi-infested Western Europe to preserve said facets of society. But it won’t see any of that happen until the first quarter of 2014.

Continue reading: George Clooney Won't Jeopardize 'The Monuments Men' - Film Delayed

'Inside Llewyn Davis' Stars Hit Wet, Wet, London For BFI Premiere


Coen Brothers Oscar Isaac Carey Mulligan John Goodman

Inside Llewyn Davis might not be out until January 2014 in the UK, but it debuted in the capital this week at the BFI film festival. Most of the stars – Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac and John Goodman included – joined director partners – Joel and Ethan Coen on the red carpet.

Oscar IsaacOscar Isaac in Inside Llewyn Davis

The film follows one week in the life of Llewyn Davis – a young folk singer at odds with the mundane domesticity of life, trying to live rather than exist. He’s muddling through the Greenwich Village folk scene in the harsh winter of 1961, New York. The goal: make a living from his music.

Continue reading: 'Inside Llewyn Davis' Stars Hit Wet, Wet, London For BFI Premiere

A Week In Movies: Big Films Hit Britain, New York Premieres For Hanks And The Coens, Statham Fights Back


James McAvoy Saoirse Ronan Kevin Macdonald Tom Hanks Paul Greengrass Carey Mulligan John Goodman Adam Driver Jason Statham Martin Freeman Orlando Bloom

James McAvoy in Filth

Two big British films hit UK cinemas this week. After storming the Scottish box office last weekend and garnering rave reviews across the board, Filth arrives in the rest of the country this week. Based on the novel by Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting), the Edinburgh black comedy stars  in a career-redefining role as a deeply nasty cop. Read our 'Filth' review here.

Meanwhile, Saoirse Ronan stars in the introspective thriller How I Live Now, set in a present-day Britain that's engulfed in war. Opening in the UK this weekend and in America next month, the film is directed by Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland), and the cast includes rising stars George MacKay (Hunky Dory) and Tom Holland (The Impossible). We gave the film 4/5 you can read the 'How I Live Now' review here.

Continue reading: A Week In Movies: Big Films Hit Britain, New York Premieres For Hanks And The Coens, Statham Fights Back

Oscars 2014 Predictions: The Star-Studded 'Monuments Men'


George Clooney Matt Damon Cate Blanchett Bill Murray John Goodman Bob Balaban

In the 1940s, a group of men unite to try and save history in the alternative World War II epic that is The Monuments Men. They’re not attempting to bring down the Fuhrer, infiltrate a lab to steal secrets or secure a key territory in the fight against fascism though; they’re preserving culture by protecting the architecture and history of an endangered people.

Watch the Monuments Men trailer

The film is led by a ridiculous cast, consisting of the Oscar darling George Clooney, the ever-busy Matt Damon, the irrepressible Cate Blanchett, cult comedy heros Bill Murray & John Goodman, and the multi-talented Bob Balaban.

Continue reading: Oscars 2014 Predictions: The Star-Studded 'Monuments Men'

The Monuments Men Trailer


It's the 1940s and with World War II at its most fierce, Hitler's Nazi army is threatening whole worlds of culture and history. He wants entire generations to be wiped from time but America isn't going to let it happen. The government set up a Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program, enlisting seven men - from art historians to museum curators - to march headfirst in the conflict and rescue important art masterpieces and artefacts from the thieving hands of the Nazis. Having only been given basic training and with very little time to waste, the brave men thrust themselves in the face of danger to protect mankind's history no matter what the consequences. With enemies everywhere and a terrain covered in landmines, the journey will not be a straightforward one.

Continue: The Monuments Men Trailer

Pacific Rim Now Out In Cinemas, But What Other Films Have Been Released Today?


Guillermo Del Toro Tuppence Middleton Alexandra Roach Benedict Cumberbatch Iain Softley Billy Crystal John Goodman Julian Assange Alex Gibney Ron Perlman

Friday 12th July has been quite the launchpad for a host of new and exciting films, showcasing the genre spectrum. From action blockbusters to indies, political thrillers to kids animation films, there'll be something to suit all tastes and ages as the summer of film gets hotter.

Well, we'll start off with Trap For Cinderella first because it's the underdog erotic thriller indie with an interesting premise. The Iain Softley film will star young, up-and-coming British actresses Tuppence Middleton and Alexandra Roach as vivacious Micky and shy Do: two girls who are reunited after years apart and reignite a secret passion despite the disapproval they are faced with.

Trap for Cinderella
Tuppence Middleton & Alexandra Roach In Trap For Cinderella.

Continue reading: Pacific Rim Now Out In Cinemas, But What Other Films Have Been Released Today?

John Goodman & Billy Crystal - Video Interview


Billy Crystal and John Goodman are interviewed about their new 'Monsters Inc.' prequel 'Monsters University' in which they star as Mike and Sulley. They talk about getting back into character, their characters initial relationship and why the college setting is so fitting.

Continue reading: John Goodman & Billy Crystal - Video Interview

A New Scare Record! Monsters University Defeats World War Z At Box Office


John Goodman Helen Mirren Billy Crystal Brad Pitt

Pixar's Monsters University sits atop of the North American film charts with takings of over $80 million in its first weekend of opening, beating rival Paramount Pictures' World War Z, which took $66 million (£42.74m). Man of Steel came third in the weekend's rankings at half of the Monsters University takings at $41.2 million (£27m).

Monsters University, the Dan Scanlon sequel to 2001's Monsters Inc., takes a step back in time to the days where lead monsters Mike and Sully weren't the all-star scare-powering duo they are at Monsters Incorporated. Here they're at university and there's a distinct rivalry between the little one-eyed Mike and the big fuzzy Scully as the film charts their progress as young adults.

Watch The Monsters University Trailer:

Continue reading: A New Scare Record! Monsters University Defeats World War Z At Box Office

Summer Blockbuster Season Is Open, As Monsters And Zombies Dominate The Weekend Box Office


John Goodman Billy Crystal Brad Pitt Zack Snyder Henry Cavill Seth Rogen

It’s been a tense weekend at the box office, with contenders for a summer blockbuster out in full force. Unsurprisingly, the top spot over the weekend went to Monsters University with estimated $82 million earnings (all data courtesy of Hollywood.com), proving that even when the critics disagree, the folks over at the Emeryville studio know what they’re doing. For those keeping score at home, Pixar’s perfect streak of 14 out of 14 films debuting at number one on their first weekend remains unbroken.

Zombies came second to monsters, as Brad Pitt’s crack at the contagion genre, World War Z, followed closely with $66 million; having debuted this weekend at 3607 theatres across the US. The film was based on the eponymous Max Brooks novel and helmed by Marc Foster. It’s no secret that the zombie genre is having its Renaissance in recent years and the Pitt production apparently manages to tap into the Zeitgeist. It turns out to be Brad Pitt’s best opening weekend, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Smith with $50.3 million.

The second runner-up again comes as no surprise, as Warner Bros’s Man of Steel continues to perform, despite the second weekend drop of 65%. With estimated weekend earnings of $41,2 million, Man of Steel is still going strong. Note: it isn’t matching the box office success of this year’s Iron Man 3 though, which, if reports of Warner Bros. modeling a Justice League franchise after The Avengers are true, would be the studio’s goal.

Continue reading: Summer Blockbuster Season Is Open, As Monsters And Zombies Dominate The Weekend Box Office

Monsters University - A Solid Effort But Not Pixar's Best


John Goodman Billy Crystal

The prequel to Monsters Inc. seems to have captured most of the magic of the first picture, but with mixed reviews, it won’t go down as one of Pixar’s finest moments. We take a look at some of the reviews ahead of the film’s release.

The good: “Execution matters. Verve, and energy, and inventiveness matter. And Monsters University is funny, fast, and likable, with occasional moments of real visual surprise and laugh-out-loud offhand gags,” say Vulture. “The result,” of Monsters University, says The Washington Post, “is a charming addition to the Monsters canon."

Check out the Monsters University trailer here

Continue reading: Monsters University - A Solid Effort But Not Pixar's Best

Pixar Goes Back To Its Roots With "Monsters University"


Billy Crystal John Goodman

After months in the pipeline and predictions ranging from a return to form for Pixar to a complete disaster, the studio’s Monsters University is finally in theatres today (June 21). The Pixar team certainly have a lot to prove with this one. After the studio shaped the animated feature landscape with films like Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Wall-E and, of course Monsters Inc., its recent productions haven’t exactly been receiving glowing praise.

Everyone is aware that Cars 2 is no Up and even Brave, which was admittedly better received that Cars 2, didn’t exactly win glowing praise. Perhaps it would make sense then, that, nearly twelve years on, when a franchise would normally be gone and forgotten, Pixar are returning to their roots.

Not only is Monsters University hitting a very specific demographic – the kids who ooh-ed and aah-ed at Boo’s adventures in the first one are now right around college age or a bit older - but the inspiration has finally hit. And the folks at Pixar have a very important philosophy – only make the film when there’s a story to tell (once again, we’ll turn a blind eye on the Cars franchise.)

Continue reading: Pixar Goes Back To Its Roots With "Monsters University"

Mike And Sulley Return To Our Screens As Students At The Monsters University (Pictures)


Billy Crystal John Goodman Pete Docter Andrew Stanton

Mike and Sulley return in the long-awaited Monsters University trailer, the Monsters Inc. prequel set to hit movie theatres globally in summer 2013 with a cast of brand new Monsters University characters.

It's been more than 10 years since the Oscar winning animation Monsters Inc. hit our screens in 2001, but even though those who were young enough to enjoy it then have probably grown out of it by now (or, at least, say they have), there's no question that this hilarious prequel will still be a must-see for all you Mike and Sulley lovers out there. It sees the two beastly individuals (voiced by Billy Crystal and John Goodman) in their college years, majoring in 'scaring' and victimising each other in an array of schoolboy pranks as they compete against each other to be the scariest monster around. Funnily enough, plenty of the kids who watched Monsters Inc. when it first came out will quite possibly be going through similar experiences in their own lives as students, which makes the timing of Monsters University charmingly apt.

The movie sees a brand new director, Dan Scanlon, who is likely to breathe fresh life into this memorable CGI flick though the previous director, Pete Docter, has made his return in the role of screenwriter alongside previous co-writer Andrew Stanton. Monsters University is soon to be released on UK cinema screens on July 12th 2013.

Continue reading: Mike And Sulley Return To Our Screens As Students At The Monsters University (Pictures)

The Hangover Part III - Teaser Trailer


Stu, Phil, Alan and Doug return to Las Vegas in the hilarious third instalment of 'The Hangover' movie series. Nobody's getting married this time, but if you think the absence of a bachelor party will calm this lot down, you are so wrong. Following the events of 'The Hangover' which saw them get attacked by gangsters, mauled by a tiger, tasered by cops and inadvertently married, and of course the events of 'The Hangover Part II' which took them to Thailand where they got tattooed, shot by Russian mobsters and had sex with transgender hookers, the conclusion to this trilogy doesn't look to fare much better as these wild boys set out for one last mayhem-fuelled weekend in Sin City.

Continue: The Hangover Part III - Teaser Trailer

The Internship Trailer


Billy and Nick thought they were the perfect sales team, but their careers hit rock bottom when the owner of their company shut up shop due to the ever increasing internet preference among consumers. However, Billy soon manages to find a way for them to pick up a new, more stable job in the world of technological advancement and lands them an interview for an internship with global internet giant Google. As interns, they are made to compete for a full time job with an army of young, genius students who way out-geek Billy and Nick and whose expertise in technology is formidable. As much as they try and fit in with them, the students just can't help themselves and find every opportunity to take advantage of their computer naivety.

Continue: The Internship Trailer

A Week In Movies: Beautiful Creatures Opens, Tom Cruise Visits A Post-apocalyptic Earth And Billy Crystal And John Goodman Reunite In Monsters University


Judd Apatow Nicholas Sparks Bruce Willis Gerard Butler Aaron Eckhart Tom Cruise Keri Russell Billy Crystal John Goodman

Jeremy Irons & Alice Englert in Beautiful Creatures

Being Valentine's Day week, cinemas are flooded with romantic movies like the new teen franchise-launcher Beautiful Creatures. US audiences can also weep their way through the new Nicholas Sparks drama Safe Haven, while in the UK couples instead can laugh at Judd Apatow's epic rom-com This Is 40 and the clunky British farce Run For Your Wife. And for alternative viewing, there's the ultimate date movie A Good Day to Die Hard, Bruce Willis' fifth instalment in the crashing, exploding franchise.

And this kind of action dominates the week's new selection of trailers, starting with the very explosive-looking Olympus Has Fallen, starring Gerard Butler as a Secret Service agent trying to retake the White House after a terrorist invasion. The muscly cast includes Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart, Angela Bassett and Melissa Leo. It opens in March.

Continue reading: A Week In Movies: Beautiful Creatures Opens, Tom Cruise Visits A Post-apocalyptic Earth And Billy Crystal And John Goodman Reunite In Monsters University

Scare Tactics: Monsters University Trailer Hits The Net (Video)


John Goodman Billy Crystal Steve Buscemi Pixar

At last, that animation we’ve all been waiting for: Monsters University. This is the prequel to the 2001 movie Monsters Inc. (yes, it has been that long…) and with Pixar mainstay Dan Scanlon in the director’s seat, the movie also stars John Goodman, Billy Crystal and Steve Buscemi, providing some of the main characters’ voices.

Watch the video for Monsters' University

Continue reading: Scare Tactics: Monsters University Trailer Hits The Net (Video)

Monsters University Trailer


Mike and Sulley haven't always been the best of friends that we know they were working at Monsters Inc. When they were amateurs and roommates both majoring in 'scaring' at the Monsters University, there was constant competition between the pair as Mike struggled to keep up with Sulley's natural big, hairy monster persona; Mike and his small physique and rather unscary retainer made him the favourite subject of mockery by Sulley and his friends despite their being in the same fraternity. It soon becomes clear, however, that they are better off together than alone while Mike has the brains and Sulley has the brawn. 

Continue: Monsters University Trailer

'Flight' Expected To Take Off At UK Box Office This Weekend


Denzel Washington Don Cheadle John Goodman Kelly Reilly Bruce Greenwood

Oscar hopeful Flight has it's long-awaited box office unveiling today (Feb 1) in the UK and if critical reception and US box office takings is enough to go by then Paramount shouldn't have too much to worry about when it comes to audience numbers.

The film's star, Denzel Washington, delivers yet another powerhouse of a performance that makes his entry into the Best Actor category at the Oscars totally justified as he takes on the role of a veteran commercial pilot who fills his days with women, alcohol and drugs. Supporting Denzel in the flick is Don Cheadle, Kelly Reilly, Bruce Greenwood and Melissa Leo, as well as John Goodman who both delivers a scene-stealing performance - as he so often does.

Whilst Contact Music's own review of the film isn't wholeheartedly positive, the singling out of Denzel's performance is a mainstay among contemporary reviews, such as Rolling Stone and The Guardian, who single out the performance for being "detailed, depth-charged, bruisingly true" and maintaining Washington's "natural gravitas" respectively.

Continue reading: 'Flight' Expected To Take Off At UK Box Office This Weekend

Flight Review


Good

With another deeply committed performance, Washington brings badly needed complexity to what is otherwise a contrived, overstated drama about addiction. It helps that the film is directed by Zemeckis as a kind of companion piece to his last live-action movie, 2000's Cast Away, another film about a man whose life is dramatically changed by a plane crash. Although here he's lost in a wilderness of substance abuse.

Washington plays Whip, a veteran commercial pilot who fills his days with women, alcohol and drugs. Even when he's flying a plane full of passengers. On a routine flight from Orlando to Atlanta, a catastrophic malfunction sends his airliner hurtling toward the ground, prompting an outrageously inventive reaction that saves 96 of the 102 lives on board. Then the investigators discover that he had both alcohol and cocaine in his system at the time. His union rep (Greenwood) hires a high-powered lawyer (Cheadle) to represent him, but Whip doesn't even try to straighten up until he meets young junkie Nicole (Reilly), who's serious about cleaning up her life.

The main problem here is that Gatins' script completely misses the point of his own story, never remotely touching on the central theme of a flawed hero who has no real moral compass. So drugs are the villain; it has nothing to do with Whip's personal failings. Instead, the script just uses a variety of contrived characters to confront him with his drug problems until he finally cracks under all this pressure. Fortunately, Washington is excellent as the high-functioning addict, and the supporting cast is solid in providing whatever element Gatins needs at the moment: Cheadle's straight-arrow efficiency, Reilly's hopeful anguish and Greenwood's steadfast friendship, plus scene-stealer Goodman as Whip's hilariously honest dealer-buddy and Leo as a ruthlessly tenacious investigator.

Continue reading: Flight Review

First Look: Coen Brothers' New York Folk Movie 'Inside Llewyn Davis'


Coen Brothers Oscar Isaac Carey Mulligan Adam Driver Justin Timberlake John Goodman

The first trailer for Joel and Ethan Coen's new movie 'Inside Llewyn Davis' has been released, with Oscar Isaac playing a New York City folk musician who played a prominent role in the Greenwich Village music scene during the early 1960s. Joining Isaac (Drive) in the film is Carey Mulligan (The Great Gatsby), Garrett Hedlund (On The Road), John Goodman (Argo), Adam Driver (Girls) and Justin Timberlake.

The trailer features Bob Dylan's 'Farewell' and sees Davis getting turned away from various Manhattan music venues as he attempts to forge a career in the folk music business. The movie is loosely based on Dave Von Ronk's posthumously published memoir The Mayor of MacDouglal Street. Production began in New York in February 2012, and actor Isaac spoke to the Hollywood Reporter about putting his musical skills to the test. "I've been playing for 20 years, so it was kind of the perfect storm of things that came together for me to be a part of it.We did all the music live, no playback; it's like a concert movie. There's like six or seven songs in it."

Sure we could do with a wood-chipper death, but the Coen Brothers don't appear to be mellowing. The trailer features their usual sharp dialogue and humour - at one point, Llewyn's wife (Mulligan) advises him, "You should be wearing condom on condom and then wrap it in electrical tape."

Continue reading: First Look: Coen Brothers' New York Folk Movie 'Inside Llewyn Davis'

10 Of The Best Big Budget Film Trailers For 2013


Leonardo Dicaprio Carey Mulligan Baz Luhrmann The Great Gatsby Brad Pitt James Franco Amanda Seyfried Colin Farrell Beyonce Knowles Superman Henry Cavill Lily Collins Jamie Campbell Bower Johnny Depp Armie Hammer John Goodman Billy Crystal Robert Downey Jr Gwyneth Paltrow Bruce Willis

Next year looks set to be a seminal year for movies. Forget sequels and the so-called impending apocalypse; 2013 is all about beginnings as we discover the dubious past of 'The Wizard of Oz' in upcoming sequel 'Oz: The Great and Powerful' and how loveable 'Monsters, Inc.' protagonists Sulley and Mike got qualified to become scarers. Move over 'Breaking Dawn', 'The Dark Knight Rises' and 'Skyfall', and let's see what 2013 has in store! There have been plenty of dodgy trailers come out for 2013 releases, but here are ten of the trailers we consider worthy of your time! 

 The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby Poster

Continue reading: 10 Of The Best Big Budget Film Trailers For 2013

Argo Review


Extraordinary

Ben Affleck leaps on to the A-list of directors with this relentlessly entertaining thriller, combining comedy and nerve-jangling suspense to maximum effect. Based on a declassified story that's unbelievable but true, the film is also clear-eyed about politics without ever getting lost in the big issues. Instead, it keeps us engaged through terrific characters who are beautifully played by a lively cast.

As Iran's 1979 revolution boiled over into street protests over America's assistance to the deposed Shah, rioters stormed the US embassy and took 52 Americans hostage. In the chaos, six staffers snuck out the back door and took refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador (Garber). With the Iranians on their trail, the CIA chief (Cranston) decides to try to get them out, and Agent Tony Mendez (Affleck) comes up with a wild idea: he creates a fake sci-fi movie called Argo with the help of a veteran producer (Arkin) and an Oscar-winning make-up artist (Goodman), so the six escapees can pose as a Canadian location-scouting crew and leave the country.

Yes, this plan sounds utterly ridiculous, but the fake Argo is exactly the kind of cheesy Star Wars rip-off everyone was trying to make at the time, so the idea of scouting colourful Iranian locations isn't as far-fetched as it seems. And screenwriter Terrio keeps us laughing as Mendez and his Hollywood cohorts concoct this elaborate scam. These scenes are so good that Arkin and Goodman walk off with the whole movie, giving loose, witty supporting turns that are likely to be remembered in awards season. Affleck gets in on the fun as well, then also effortlessly takes on the more intense action scenes to hold the whole film together.

Continue reading: Argo Review

George Clooney Signs Up Daniel Craig For WW2 Flick 'The Monuments Men'


George Clooney Daniel Craig Hugh Bonneville John Goodman Bill Murray Cate Blanchett Jean Dujardin Grant Heslov

George Clooney has signed up British actors Daniel Craig and Hugh Bonneville for his new World War 2 movie The Monuments Men. The Bond and Downton Abbey stars will join established Hollywood actors John Goodman, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett and Oscar winner Jean Dujardin, according to Deadline.

The movie, written by Clooney and Grant Heslov, tells the story of a group of art experts chosen by the US government to retrieve works stolen by the Nazis, before Hitler destroys them. It's based on Robert M Edsel's book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, And The Greatest Treasure Hunt In History. "I'm excited about it," Clooney told industry website TheWrap. "It's a fun movie because it could be big entertainment. It's big budget - you can't do it small - it's landing in Normandy". Hitler's forces swept through the museums and private collections of Europe during World War II, though 'The Monuments Men' were the directors, curators and art historians who risked their lives to retrieve the masterpieces. "I'm not opposed to doing a commercial film, I'm just opposed to doing a commercial film that doesn't feel organic to me," Clooney said of the subject matter, adding, "So if we're going to do a commercial film we thought 'let's do something that seems fun and actually have something to say."

The movie is due to begin production in March 2013, with a release date likely to be set for 2014.

Continue reading: George Clooney Signs Up Daniel Craig For WW2 Flick 'The Monuments Men'

Awards Already Rolling In For Ben Affleck's Argo


Ben Affleck Bryan Cranston John Goodman

It might not be Oscar season yet but Argo has already started filling up the trophy cabinet. At the 16th Annual Hollywood Film Awards Gala, the cast of Argo – which includes Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston and John Goodman – were honored with the Hollywood Ensemble Acting Award. The event was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, yesterday (October 22, 2012), Examiner.com reports.

Ben Affleck leads the ensemble cast in this dramatic thriller, based on the true events of November 1979, when militants stormed the US embassy in Tehran, during the height of the Iranian revolution. 52 Americans were taken hostage but in the chaos, six Americans managed to escape. They sought refuge in the home of the Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor and the CIA are asked to intervene.

The movie has received high praise since it debuted at the Telluride Film Festival in August 2012 and already, Oscar nods are being bandied about, with many claiming that this is Ben Affleck’s finest work to date. It’s received a 95% score rating on the Rotten Tomatoes site and such glowing reviews will surely serve Argo well when it comes to awards season at the start of next year. Peter Travers, writing for Rolling Stone, seemed to sum up the general attitude towards Argo, pretty succinctly: “Ben Affleck doesn't merely direct Argo, he directs the hell out of it, nailing the quickening pace, the wayward humor, the nerve-frying suspense. There's no doubt he's crafted one of the best movies of the year.”


Argo - Trailer Trailer


When the Iranian Revolution protests began to take place in 1979, their main target was the US embassy in Tehran. It didn't take long for an army of militant Islamic extremists to infiltrate the building and seize 52 American citizens as hostages with only six victims managing to escape and take refuge inside the Canadian ambassador's home. It is decided that the six escapees must be found and smuggled out of Tehran before they are killed. Tony Mendez is a CIA officer specialising in covert government operations who is enlisted by the government to conceive a plan of exfiltration. His plan involves him and his team travelling to Iran under the guise of a film crew preparing to shoot a pretend movie called 'Argo'. However, as is expected, not everyone is confident in this less than risk free operation.

'Argo' is loosely based on a true story depicted in the real Tony Mendez' account of the events that took place during the hostage crisis as well as an article written in Wired in 2007 called 'How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran' by Joshuah Bearman. It has been directed and starred in by Ben Affleck ('Good Will Hunting', 'Pearl Harbor') and written by Chris Terrio ('Heights') and will be released in US theaters on October 12th 2012.

Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Tate Donovan, Scoot McNairy, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham, Kerry Bishe, Kyle Chandler, Chris Messina, Zeljko Ivanek & Titus Welliver.

ParaNorman Review


Excellent
The most surprising thing about this lively 3D stop-motion adventure is the way it never talks down to children. It recognises that kids like to be scared at the movies, and that they have a more sophisticated understanding of adults and relationships than we give them credit for. As a result, it's a movie that's both hilariously silly and genuinely creepy. And the superbly written and voiced characters will appeal to young and old viewers alike.

It's set in the sleepy town of Blithe Hollow, a tourist village cashing in on its grisly history of 18th century witch trials. This is where Norman (Smit-McPhee) lives, which is a bit annoying since he can speak to the ghosts which are lurking everywhere. His parents (Mann and Garlin) dismiss this as a childhood fantasy, while his boy-obsessed teen sister (Kendrick) just ignores him. At school, the class bully (Mintz-Plasse) makes his life miserable, and just when Norman thinks things can't get worse, his vagabond uncle (Goodman) tells him that he's the next in line to make sure the town's legendary witch doesn't enact her curse on the 300th anniversary of her death.

Continue reading: ParaNorman Review

Flight Trailer


When airplane pilot Whit makes an extraordinary landing following an engine failure which saves the lives of his passengers, he becomes a national hero mobbed by the press. It is only when he is introduced to an attorney that he discovers that he the one person he didn't manage to save was himself. The lawyer informs him that a blood test taken on the night of the crash revealed alcohol in system; an offence which is punishable by life imprisonment. An investigation follows and Whit reveals that he did drink the night before he was due for the flight, however, an experiment involving ten pilots in aircraft simulators with recreated circumstances from the crash revealed that, were any other pilot to land the plane in the way that Whit did, they would've killed every soul on board. Was Whit's risky landing a result of drunken recklessness, or was his decision made by the years of experience and general confidence in his area of expertise? This is the judgement the jury must make.

Continue: Flight Trailer

Monsters University Trailer


Professional 'scarers' at Monsters Inc., Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan (nicknamed Mike and Sulley) haven't always been so scary. 'Monsters University' tells the story of the duo's time at the University of Fear, about ten years previous, where they took their education in scaring children and often practised on each other with various college pranks that obviously united them in the end.

Continue: Monsters University Trailer

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Review


Good

Based on the Jonathan Safran Foer novel, this film holds its heavy emotional weight in check right up to a rather overwrought conclusion. But along the way, its characters worm their way under our skin.

Oskar (Horn) is the son of a jeweller (Hanks) who died in the World Trade Center on 9/11. A year later, he's still struggling to make sense of what he calls "the worst day", worrying that his sense of his father is fading away. So when he finds a key in his father's things, Oskar embarks on a quest to find the lock. His mother (Bullock) is lost in her own grief, but Oskar finds companionship in the mute stranger (von Sydow) who rents a room from his granny (Caldwell).

With a dense Alexandre Desplat score, textured Chris Menges cinematography and fluid editing by Claire Simpson, this film feels almost like a wave that engulfs us right from the eerily effective opening shot. Daldry has done this before (see The Hours), although this film also has a more manipulative plot in which each character and situation seem to be packed with deeper meaning.
Fortunately, Oskar's sense of yearning helps undermine the sentiment.

Horn is terrific in every scene, beautifully bringing out Oskar's autistic quirks without letting us feel any pity. The way he so brutally dismisses his mother is heartbreaking because it's so honest, and his growing bond with von Sydow's enigmatic, engagingly cheeky renter is fascinating to watch. Bullock gets her most complex role since Crash, and Davis gives yet another terrific supporting turn as one of the first people Oskar encounters on his journey.

Where the film wobbles is in its over-reverent treatment of 9/11 itself, as if Oskar's grief is any more intense because his father died in such a public way.
It's the quieter, more personal aspects of the story that are far more moving, especially as the plot takes some lovely twists in the final act. But Daldry and screenwriter Roth seem even more obsessed with finding a cathartic resolution than Oskar himself, leading to final scenes that feel tidy and a bit sappy. Even so, the film leaves us emotionally stirred in all the right ways.

The Artist Trailer


George Valentin is a silent movie star in 1920's Hollywood. His latest film, A Russian Affair, opens to rave reviews and it seems that George has hit the big time. As he walks the red carpet, someone knocks into him.

Continue: The Artist Trailer

The Artist Review


Essential
Made as a 1920s-style silent movie, this hugely enjoyable film is already a classic. And while it's far from mainstream, it's also packed with more wit, passion and invention than all of the films in any given multiplex combined.

In 1927, George (Dujardin) is Hollywood's top star, swashbuckling through adventure blockbusters with his faithful sidekick dog Uggy. At one of his premieres he meets Peppy (Bejo), a mystery girl who gets her own shot at stardom as a dancing extra in one of George's films. His grumpy wife (Miller) isn't happy about this. And there's more trouble when the studio boss (Goodman) decides to switch to talkies. So George walks out to make his own silent film, while Peppy becomes a sound-movie star. But she doesn't forget that he gave her a break.

Continue reading: The Artist Review

Paranorman Trailer


Norman Babcock is an unpopular kid who has a strange ability: he can talk to the dead. Normally, this unusual talent wouldn't come in useful in everyday life but Norman lives in a town that has a centuries old curse put on it.

Continue: Paranorman Trailer

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Trailer


Oskar Schell is an eleven year old genius who views the world differently to others. He is also a Francophile, an amateur inventor and a pacifist. He's very close to his father and together they make it their mission to find something from every decade of the twentieth century in what he called a 'reconnaissance mission.'

Continue: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Trailer

In The Electric Mist Review


Excellent
French filmmaker Tavernier captures Louisiana with a remarkable eye. Even though the film meanders a bit, the skilful direction and camerawork combine with strong acting to create an engaging, insinuating thriller.

Dave (Jones) is a detective looking into the violent murder of a prostitute when movie star Elrod (Sarsgaard), filming nearby in a swamp, stumbles across the decades-old skeleton of a chained-up black man. In Dave's mind, the murders are linked, and as he questions a local mobster (Goodman), a partying investor (Beatty) and the film's director (Sayles), both cases get increasingly haunting. Dave also imagines that he sees a Confederate general (Helm) roaming the bayou around his house. And within this swirling mist, things start to make sense.

Continue reading: In The Electric Mist Review

Confessions Of A Shopaholic Review


Good
Hollywood has found a new cash cow, though the use of the latter term might get more than a few supposedly chauvinistic critics in trouble. The modern woman, sick of the same old sloppy rom-com rationalizations, has decided to go gourmand. Like Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, she wants it all and she wants it now. Oh course, back in the '70s, said little girl was considered a brat. Today, she is the reigning glamour queen of conspicuous consumption.

A perfect example of this ideal is Rebecca Bloomwood. The heroine of P.J. Hogan's adaptation of Sophia Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic, this spunky career gal wants a cushy job, a suave boyfriend, an understanding best bud, and an unlimited credit line... and that's just for starters. Only problem is, Rebecca (played with real drive by Isla Fisher) is neck-deep in debt. She just can't stop spending. When her job as a writer for a gardening rag falls through, she applies at the nation's number one fashion magazine. Named after its editor, Alette Naylor (Kristin Scott Thomas), the job represents the completion of all our heroine's career goals. Sadly, she has to settle for a gig writing at Successful Saving, a financial magazine. Oh, irony! Luckily, it's managed by the humble British hunk Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy).

Continue reading: Confessions Of A Shopaholic Review

Revenge Of The Nerds Review


Good
History has been good to Revenge of the Nerds. Uncommonly good, really. Impossibly good.

In many ways, it's hard to figure out exactly why. It's not, on the surface, particularly well made. It doesn't feature an exceptional amount of skin. Nor is it even really all that funny. It even has Ted McGinley in it. But it's about nerds, and for better or worse, that's a subculture that doesn't easily let go of its icons. Especially pioneering ones, like this film.

Continue reading: Revenge Of The Nerds Review

Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School Review


OK
So here's the scoop: In 1990, a novice director named Randall Miller made a 30-minute short film called Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School, about the titular academy for young children who learn to dance and be polite, etc. An amazing 15 years later, after paying his dues on films like Houseguest and H-E Double Hockey Sticks and TV shows like Popular, he figured he'd take that short, add an hour to it (which takes place 40 years later), and mix it up into a film called Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School. (You see, he lost an apostrophe and an "and" but gained an ampersand.)

That's some dedication to your story, but it turns out that neither the original Hotchkiss nor the updated one merit that much consideration. The short is your expected coming-of-age tale: A kid named Steve hates girls, but over time (and thanks to Hotchkiss) he comes to love them, particularly a gal named Lisa.

Continue reading: Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School Review

The Flintstones Review


Weak
As asinine as Hollywood gets, only destined to see at least one sequel. Goodman gets Fred right, all the way down to the tiptoe bowling approach... but to what end? A silly plot about fraud at "The Quarry"? A fitting denoument to Liz Taylor's career...

Storytelling Review


Excellent
Writer-director Todd Solondz has a knack for making us feel downright uncomfortable. He did it in his twisted debut, Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995), with a young Brendan Sexton III announcing his intentions to rape an even younger Heather Matarazzo. He did it in Happiness (1998), in nearly every scene. And he's providing more squirm-inducing moments in Storytelling, a film with less intensity than Happiness, but with a continuing streak of intellectually challenging dialogue and unforgiving subject matter.

Aside from Solondz's decidedly risky topics, his format in Storytelling takes chances. It presents two separate shorts, entitled "Fiction" and "Non-fiction," with no obvious connection between the two. The only true thread is that both comment on the telling of tales, the shifting of points of view, and the way most people in Solondz's suburban landscapes constantly paddle their painful lives upstream.

Continue reading: Storytelling Review

Coyote Ugly Review


Weak
To understand the horror of Coyote Ugly is to understand how it was made.

It's 1993. Some Hollywood bigshot reads an article in GQ magazine about a nutty bar called the Coyote Ugly in Manhattan. They only have women bartenders, see, and they, like, dance on the bar with fire and stuff! And they don't serve water. If someone orders water they hose down the crowd! Holy mackerel, what a nutty place!

Continue reading: Coyote Ugly Review

Masked & Anonymous Review


Bad
Masked & Anonymous, as a title, comes across as a vague, artsy moniker as inaccessible as the film it represents. But look closer at the name of this movie about revolution and despair, and you'll discover a clear reference to the film's writers; credited as Rene Fontaine and Sergei Petrov, the screenwriters have been unmasked, as it were, revealed to be the film's iconic star, Bob Dylan, and director Larry Charles (HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm).

The result of this combination is an overly ambitious film that's as muddled and cryptic as a mumble-filled Dylan vocal. Dylan stars as the symbolically named Jack Fate, an apparent musical legend, jailed in the midst of a brutally downtrodden America where the government has taken over, war is rampant, and even the counter-revolutionaries have counter-revolutionaries.

Continue reading: Masked & Anonymous Review

Blues Brothers 2000 Review


Terrible
Belushi is rolling in his grave, can't you feel it?

Unreedemable schlock, Blues Brothers 2000 is a blatant ripoff of the original. The script is virtually stolen verbatim, only perverted and twisted to seem different, while simultaneously robbing the film of all its originality, humor, wit, fire, and anything else that would make it watchable.

Continue reading: Blues Brothers 2000 Review

Monsters, Inc. Review


Excellent
The Pixar boys are at again with Monsters, Inc. taking their computer-animation talents from toys and insects to the magical world of monsters.

Magical indeed -- the way it works is that all those monsters that hide in the closet and scare little kids only do so because they have to -- they use the screams as energy to power Monstropolis, which exists just on the other side of every kid's bedroom closet door in the world.

Continue reading: Monsters, Inc. Review

What Planet Are You From? Review


Bad

A comedian whose schtick has always been his acute social-sexual dysfunction, in "What Planet Are You From?" Garry Shandling is nothing if not well-cast as an alien packed off to Earth by his neutered, all-male race to impregnate an earth female as a prelude to invasion.

Given a crash course in inept pick-up lines and fitted with a motorized prosthetic penis that hums when he's aroused, Shandling is transported to the privy of a passenger jet and emerges to piggishly proposition stewardesses and every other female in sight, in what has to be the most awkwardly sexist comedy since the 1960s.

Populated by fundamentally unlikable, abusive men and pathetically needy, bitchy women, the drudging, deadpan farce tracks Shandling's libidinous frustration as he fails to pick up chicks and is chased by FAA investigator John Goodman (his arrival caused an air traffic incident), who figures out his secret with the flimsiest of suppositions.

Continue reading: What Planet Are You From? Review

Beyond The Sea Review


Good

This Bobby Darin biopic reportedly spent about 20 years going through various drafts by many different screenwriters -- including James Toback and Paul Schrader -- before Kevin Spacey grabbed it and made it all his own.

Borrowing more than just a little from Bob Fosse's "All That Jazz," the co-writer, director and star sets his film in a kind of flashback/dream structure in which Darin (Spacey) talks with himself as a little kid. This non-reality also allows for the 45 year-old actor to play Darin, who died at age 37, throughout his career.

Spacey's Darin thinks very highly of himself; when he snatches up teen heartthrob Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth) as his wife, it feels more like trophy gathering than romance. Yet Spacey's own gigantic hubris fits the part perfectly, and when Darin grouses about not winning the Oscar for "Captain Newman, M.D.," you can feel Spacey going through the same thing. When Spacey sings in Darin's voice, it's an act of supreme ego; he's as sure of his Darin impersonation as he is of his own greatness, and it works.

Continue reading: Beyond The Sea Review

John Goodman

John Goodman Quick Links

News Pictures Video Film Footage Press Quotes RSS

John Goodman

Date of birth

20th June, 1952

Occupation

Actor

Sex

Male

Height

1.88


Advertisement
Advertisement

John Goodman Movies

Atomic Blonde Movie Review

Atomic Blonde Movie Review

From the co-director of John Wick, this similarly styled action romp puts Charlize Theron front...

Transformers: The Last Knight Trailer

Transformers: The Last Knight Trailer

Where is Optimus Prime when we need him most? Despite the fact that Earth is...

Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets Trailer

Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets Trailer

Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are partners. Skilled government agents whose job it...

Atomic Blonde Trailer

Atomic Blonde Trailer

Lorraine Broughton is an experienced MI6 agent who, in 1989, is assigned on a mission...

Kong: Skull Island Movie Review

Kong: Skull Island Movie Review

After the success of 2014's Godzilla reboot, the Warner Bros monsters get their own franchise,...

Patriots Day Movie Review

Patriots Day Movie Review

The third time's a charm for Mark Wahlberg and director Peter Berg, who previously teamed...

Advertisement
Transformers: The Last Knight - Teaser Trailer

Transformers: The Last Knight - Teaser Trailer

With the few remaining Autobots in hiding, the world is a dark place. Galvatron is...

Kong: Skull Island Trailer

Kong: Skull Island Trailer

It's the 1970s and Captain James Conrad and Lieutenant Colonel Packard are leading a group...

Patriots Day Trailer

Patriots Day Trailer

On the morning of April 13, 2013 the citizens of Boston city awoke in a...

Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets Trailer

Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets Trailer

For Luc Besson's latest foray into the sci-fi stratosphere, he has decided to bring the...

Kong: Skull Island Trailer

Kong: Skull Island Trailer

James Conrad is a British captain who leads an international envoy to the middle of...

10 Cloverfield Lane Movie Review

10 Cloverfield Lane Movie Review

Rather than a sequel or spin-off, this is a spiritual successor to 2008's Cloverfield, a...

Trumbo Movie Review

Trumbo Movie Review

An entertaining film about sobering true events, this is the story of notorious screenwriter Dalton...

Advertisement
Artists
Actors
    Filmmakers
      Artists
      Bands
        Musicians
          Artists
          Celebrities
             
              Artists
              Interviews