It’s not a movie that anyone I’ve talked to genuinely dislikes. Aronofsky, a sizzling craftsman, keeps the thrills and the hallucinations, the mirrored twists, the whole sexy-masochistic high-maintenance kinkiness of the ballet world — or, at least, this tony pulp version of it — at full boil. Natalie Portman. (Reuters) Natalie Portman will soon be entering a new chapter of her life – motherhood. The differences between Darren Aronofsky’s kitschy horrorfest and the dark 1948 British classic are wide and deep, as Criterion’s new DVD of “The Red Shoes” makes clear. Yet if Black Swan doesn’t qualify as a love-it-or-hate it movie, I still think it’s a drama that divides people into two wildly divergent camps. I am trying to take it all in and enjoy everything. It’s been really calm and good,’ usmagazine.com quoted her as saying.

The movie has all the visual imagination of the 1950s comic book, and borrows its best material from it. But in the place of neat, perfectly-timed, well-choreographed fighting sequences we get some fantastically clumsy air punching and, inevitably, some almighty nut-crunching that resembles the sound of a bulldozer on a car bonnet. There’s a reason Marvel Comics isn’t currently printing or publishing a successful Sub-Mariner comic book. In the magical realm of writer-director Michel Gondry ‘s films, characters defy common sense and dream the impossible dream — sometimes literally — as a matter of course. They look fantastic in three-dimensions, and the cameramen are well-versed in the art of gadget porn films: linger on them. “It was amazing to watch on a daily basis,” the comic actor revealed at the film’s world premiere in LA. The reason: Nobody cares unless there’s a movie coming out. It just adds money at the box office through higher ticket prices. “As someone who just likes watching explosions – I was trying to think if there is an intelligent way to put that but no there isn’t – I just like watching explosions!” he confessed. If the people online who proclaimed to be Namor fans were actual fans, there would be an outcry for a comic. And in the filmmaker’s 2004 romantic drama “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (for which Gondry shares a best original screenplay Oscar), Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet ‘s characters don futuristic hair-dryer helmets to erase all the memories they have of each other (en route to falling in love all over again). Would you like to know why there isn’t?

Unfortunately, all Gondry has come up with here is a surprisingly generic, bombastic action movie. But there are more unimaginative car crashes, explosions and other acts of generic mayhem in this movie than bees around a sticky jelly doughnut. The fan base doesn’t exist until a movie is ready to go into production because without that… nobody cares. This misguided crime-fighting update shoots for silly laughs but only occasionally lands them. “I got a few bumps and bruises – mostly my own fault because I’m uncoordinated,” Seth admitted. Because the script comes from Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who cowrote “Superbad,” the first half of “The Green Hornet” feels as if it’s meant to play like a Judd Apatow-style bromance one with elaborate gadgetry. “Hornet” is Gondry’s first studio movie, his first stab at making what he terms in heavily accented Franglais “popular cinema” and the only film he’s directed on which he did not retain final cut. But as the film wears on, it devolves into a numbing onslaught of automatic weapon fire, shattered glass and explosions. Just as it should be reaching an engrossing climax, it grows more repellent. Rogen and writing partner Evan Goldberg are responsible for the story’s reboot, with a disjointed screenplay and jokes haphazardly thrown around in the hope that some will stick. That plan fizzled and “Hornet” switched studios, from Universal to Miramax.

The notion that Seth Rogen won’t be able to pull off an action role is ridiculous. Among the best on show are a coffee machine to rival the Large Hadron Collider, and a souped-up car ejector seat with a leather finish, a parachute, and a built in record player. Oh, the sweet irony of an LP unfolding on such a 21st century invention.

I have to admire the folks at Disney. When they want to market a movie, they market a movie. The weekend before Christmas is not the time when box-office hits are made, but it is when the early holiday flops are established. So despite their best efforts I walked into the movie fairly “cold.” My concerns going in where A) it’s in 3D and I’ve made it clear how much I loathe the format and B) Tron just has never been my thing. And in many ways, Hollywood hasn’t learned from this perfect marriage of game and film.

Bridges reprises his role in the sequel, which made $43.6m (£28.5m) in its opening weekend. The first thing you should know is the screening was on iMax 3D. At least, most of Hollywood.

In addition, two low-budget films moved from limited to nationwide release with strong performances. Disney said the opening was within its own expectations although the film reportedly cost $170 (£109m) to make. It’s extremely rare the studio screens a movie in iMax so that was a real treat. Warner Brother executives said they hoped the adaptation of the TV cartoon would pick up over the holiday period. Many people are complaining that the movie is all visuals and no story, but I would have to completely disagree. Brooks’ rom-com starring Reese Witherspoon ,  How Do You Know , fizzled at number eight with $7.6 million. I actually loved the story. It is another movie that proves my point that Artificial Intelligence is a bad, bad thing. In good news for Disney, most moviegoers liked the film, giving it an average grade of B+, and they were willing to pay extra to see it in the best quality: 82% of ticket sales revenue came from theaters playing “Tron: Legacy” in 3-D and 24% was for digital or large-format Imax.

“I think that’s a good relationship between games and films.” Tron: Evolution Battle Grids for Wii offers a different story line that is set closer to the Tron of 1982, which is a more colorful world than the darker universe of Tron: Evolution and “Tron: Legacy.” The gameplay focuses on the action that takes place on the Grid with light cycles, tanks, and other vehicles and is aimed at the more mainstream Nintendo audience. Never once when watching this movie did I feel it was distracting, it comes across as completely natural and Bridges was a completely different person. The game begins in 1990 and chronicles the progression of the computer world from the utopia that Jeff Bridges’ Kevin Flynn envisioned to the dystopia that is the setting of “Tron: Legacy.” “When you watch the movie you will see flashbacks of a young Sam Flynn around this time and the game shares a couple of those scenes,” said Jeremy Miller, character art director at Propaganda Games on Tron: Evolution. As the emotional center of the movie, he works really well and the SFX never seems to overwhelm him. I walked in with no expectations and came away falling in love with this movie and it’s unique world, Tron: Legacy in iMax 3D is a rousing success.

A wise man once said – or perhaps it was a wiseacre – that the good guy is only as good as the bad guy is bad. In adventure tales, a protagonist needs a worthy antagonist to battle, or what’s a heaven for? I write this with all due respect to director Michael Apted, his actors, the rest of his creative team and even C.S. I believe Robert Browning wrote that last bit. Written by: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, and Michael Petroni, adapted from the novel by C.S. Anyway, dramatic impact suffers when the hero-villain matchup doesn’t measure up. Try again next year, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1.” Simply embarrassing, “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole.” If only there were some correlation between title size and critical consensus: the longer the title, the better the reviews. The movie, which appears in 3D and cost around $140 million to make, arrives in theatres as part of the key holiday film season and Apted, 69, sat down with Reuters to discuss it. Was there a big clamoring for this second sequel? While it’s evil, the mist doesn’t strike much dread in your heart unless you have a vapor phobia. While “Deathly Hallows” wowed most critics, those scribes were less impressed with “Percy Jackson,” “Legend of the Guardians” and “Dawn Treader,” which arrived in theaters Friday (December 10).

Franchise-launcher “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” bowed in 2005 with $65.6 million, part of a $291.7 million domestic run. So, if you’re looking for a really good bad guy, you won’t find one in this “Narnia.” Instead, you get a brat, albeit a wretched brat, which is a good thing. Who can blame them, with their snotty younger cousin (Will Poulter) spying and snitching on them? … I liked very much the story and the tone of it and the color of it and the imagination of it. (But) it was pretty clear to me that there was no drive to it whatsoever. For the first time in a long time, Narnia is without war and is at peace. Apted, a fine director not known for his big-budget prowess, brings not a shred of freshness to the project, which boasts the sweeping vistas, tracks over water, seaborne battle and “charming” creatures one has come to expect from a standard fantasy franchise. Limited openers this weekend include Paramount’s Mark Wahlberg boxing movie “The Fighter,” with four playdates in three markets. So that was a big problem. A universe may hang in the balance, but hey, it’s only a movie.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times The Religious Subtext “There is, as anyone who has read the books knows, a powerful Christian subtext that runs throughout these tales. “It took us nearly two years to figure it out. From a special effects standpoint, this represents one of the film’s best scenes. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series was meant to represent the Christian’s walk in a fallen world, where temptation and sin permeate. Our heroes soon land on an island, where they deal with nasty slave merchants.

Viewers, see the less expensive 2-D version and send a message. Bottom line, “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” should do the trick for folks looking for family entertainment.

Just like its subject, one-time junior welterweight champion “Irish” Mickey Ward, the rousing “The Fighter” tries a number of risky maneuvers and manages to make them pay off in the end. The movie initially feels like more of a near thing than the filmmakers anticipated, but as in boxing it’s only the final decision that counts. Wahlberg was so keen to play Ward that he installed a ring on his property and engaged in early morning boxing training for nearly four years in anticipation of the movie eventually being made. While the film handles itself well in the ring, it’s brilliant in the arena of a blue-collar family that brutalizes its younger son and best hope for worldly success in the name of sustaining him.

Aside from his boxing prowess, the heart of Ward’s story and what makes it worth a film is the involvement of his intense, close-knit family, especially erratic half-brother Dicky Eklund ( Christian Bale ), who helped train him, his flinty mother Alice ( Melissa Leo ), who managed him, and Charlene ( Amy Adams ), the attractive young woman he has his eye on.

div id=”article-wrapper” data-global-auto-refresh-switch=”on” readability=”32″> Watch the trailer for Tron: Legacy, which opens in the UK in December. For fans of the cult original, it’s a pivotal moment. There are perhaps good reasons why Disney waited so long, beginning with the obvious matter that the 1982 “Tron” was an awfully lame movie. His fate depends on his skills as a video-game whizz. We’ve been under embargo not to review the movie, but someone broke the embargo, so we are no longer going to keep it secret. It’s also the “We’re not in Kansas any more, Toto” moment, when the audience becomes fully immersed in a computer-created world. But, seen today, the film is so incoherent and groaningly scripted as to be tolerable only if watched in a rude “Mystery Science Theater 3000″ frame of mind. What do you think of the House star’s latest photospread? When we meet, Sheen has yet to see the finished movie but is visibly thrilled at the prospect. “I’m going to watch it tonight for the first time and it’ll be like the ultimate movie-going experience for me. I will be able to sit there so excited about watching the new version of Tron — and I’m in it as well!” Tron: Legacy is the story of how Sam (Garrett Hedlund), the son of Bridges’s character Flynn, enters the world where the father he has never known has been trapped for 20 years. Okay, go here , but be sure to come back and discuss your thoughts in the comment section below. The well known vegetarian was asked why she wasn’t thinner (Okay really?

The biggest advance that today’s technology brings to Tron: Legacy is the fact that one of the main characters, Clu (short for Codified Likeness Utility), is fully computer-generated – in more ways than one. And as in the original Tron , he’s also played by Bridges.

In some ways we can do this now through MMORPGs etc., but we’re still aware of our real world surroundings. The other big innovation, of course, is 3D – a technology that did exist back in 1982, but was technically far inferior to the digital 3D we see today in blockbusters such as Avatar . Instead of using traditional cameras, Kosinski would often set up sensors to capture the actors’ movements. At an early screening at the Imax in London last week, the audience was left enthralled, willing prisoners of this virtual world: geek heaven. To get used to this new system, Bridges said he reverted back to a child-like imagination of pretending he was on a real set, which was a challenge for him. Of Bridges’ performance, Wilde said everyone will be blown away by his abilities. See what some sites have to say here . As producer Jeffrey Silver says: “It seemed obvious that Tron , being a groundbreaking film in the 80s, had to be followed with a film equally as groundbreaking in the 21st century. If we were going to do Tron: Legacy right, we would have to push the envelope.” Tron Legacy is in cinemas on 17 December.

New York The mansion and four-acre estate featured in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 film “The Godfather” is up for sale for a whopping $2.9 million. Owner Jim Norton said he put the eight-bedroom, five-bathroom Staten Island home on the market after his father recently passed away. NEW YORK Make them an offer they can’t refuse. Brando played fictional character Vito Corleone, the head of an organized crime family who transfers power to his reluctant son. Its grounds were used for the 1972 movie’s famous wedding scene, and interior shots of the crime dynasty eating meals and holding family meetings were filmed inside the property. His mother collected behind-the-scenes mementos from the film, including pictures and autographs from cast and crew members, he said. The Nortons’ brush with fame unfolded after the movie’s producers took some advice from one of its stars about where to house the fictional mob family. It even has a bar in the basement.

Owner James Norton says his mother kept many artifacts from the movie, including Brando’s cue cards. Owners of the eight-bedroom, four-bathroom property on Staten Island, New York are asking $2.9 million . “We went, and producer Al Ruddy fell in love with it,” Russo said. Realtor Connie Profaci says it needs some work, but the family is betting on the house’s history as a selling point. The realtor says the house needs some work, but the family is betting on the house’s history as a selling point. “The Godfather” went on to win three Oscars, including one for Brando which he notoriously refused, and is considered among the greatest American films of all time. When his father answered the door, “They told him they were from Paramount and they wanted to film a movie,” Norton, 56, recalled to Fox 5 last year. So she jumped up and ran out the door and said, ‘Wait, wait, come back!’ ” Mary Norton was so excited about the film, all she demanded in return was a slate roof. “His family lived near the home and was familiar with the English Tudor enclave connecting Todt Hill and Emerson Hill,” Profaci said. “Paramount producer Al Ruddy agreed and the rest was history.”

Sometimes Sometimes the blistering reviews for a movie are more entertaining than the film itself. Which is a far better way to consider ‘Burlesque’ than thinking of it as a movie — there, words fail.” The New York Observer’s Rex Reed says Cher fans will be disappointed by just how little they get to see of their idol , noting, “Instead of an excuse to breathe oxygen into the twilight of Cher’s career, it turns out to be a slutty pasteup constructed out of spit and chewing gum to showcase the movie debut of the caterwauling Christina Aguilera.” While most agree on the movie’s dreadfulness, critics are divided on whether “Burlesque” falls into the merely bad or the so-bad-it’s-good category. Shimmy, shake, and and try not to snore your way through Steven Antin’s latest musical extravaganza Burlesque . And then there are those rare movies that are “Showgirls” bad. For those looking for something fun to see this holiday weekend — specifically a musical with a little sugar and spice, plus Cher, Christina Aguilera and a lot of eye candy — then this is the movie for you. Aguilera plays a farm girl who comes to the big city and gets a waitress job in a burlesque club.

That’s why I was eager to see “Burlesque,” the new movie musical. PG-13: Sexuality, language, partial nudity. There’s a lot of silliness about Cher, as the old-time star who still takes an occasional turn onstage, and her dilemma about missed payments on the club’s mortgage. He can take just about any role, any line, any film and shine through it no matter how hard the film works against him. After all, any movie that opens with jazz hands, stripper heels and an ambitious ingénue walking out on her waitressing job can’t possibly be aiming for originality. Now someone cast him in something good!

Does a bear poop in the woods? The script is free of credible friction or jeopardy. Or was he really hoping to hit the big time? Aguilera has a great set of pipes, no surprise there. She’s good and gives the character a strong attempt, but her voice is the best part about her performance and it’s better on many of her albums. “That’s right,” Tucci said, opening his collar wider. A “Cabaret” and “Chicago” wannabe, this is really just a lame piece of filmmaking. You’ll also find Alan Cummin, Kristen Bell, Julianne Hough, Eric Dane, and Peter Gallagher in the wings.

When a pregnant dancer ( Julianne Hough ) retires, Ali finally gets her break, impressing the cute bartender ( Cam Gigandet ) but infuriating the club’s star ( Kristen Bell ). Writer/Director Steve Antin, who has a background is making music videos, has done exactly that. The woman comes with so much baggage and yet she’s incredibly watchable on screen. After recording a song for Disney’s “Mulan,” she signed a record deal with RCA. The bank is about to foreclose on Tess’ mortgage, and Ali’s slick new boyfriend ( Eric Dane ) plans to raze the club. Since Antin didn’t put much effort into his script, he must have counted on the concept to sell itself.

“If there had been, there would have been real disappointment,” Tucci insisted. This film teases Agulera’s voice and takes WAY too long to get to her singing once she’s in the club. Surely with all the downtime on set, he picked up a few things, like some dance moves. This is not the train wreck that “Showgirls” was, even though that has gone on to become a cult classic for camp value. We needed the songs to start 15 minutes not 45 minutes in. We then turned the conversation back to the subject at hand — “Burlesque” — and Cher’s take on what makes the film’s style of dance sexy without being all about sex. Female Empowerment : Burlesque itself is all about female empowerment, sadly our lead character is an example is reverse sexism.

Does that sort of enjoyment deserve one star? A rarely deployed zero star designation, with a massive asterisk noting its potential camp value?” “Burlesque” clearly isn’t good enough for the critics, but only time will tell whether it’s gratifyingly bad enough for the fans. Rebecca Keegan. twitter.com/thatrebecca.

Rating: Two and a half stars out of five. Check out photos from Burlesque and the premiere after-party here. Which holiday movie do you plan on seeing?

If you go to “Burlesque” expecting a campy hoot on the order of “Showgirls,” you may be in for a disappointment.

I had no idea burlesque could be used as a verb. And then there are those rare movies that are “Showgirls” bad. For those looking for something fun to see this holiday weekend — specifically a musical with a little sugar and spice, plus Cher, Christina Aguilera and a lot of eye candy — then this is the movie for you. We’ve seen this reduction before, in Paul Verhoeven’s brilliantly subversive and entirely misunderstood ode to plastic culture, Showgirls. Add “Burlesque” to that lofty – or more accurately, lowly – company. Now, with her divorce in the works, she’s moving on — quickly! — and has officially been dating Matthew since September. “Christina is completely taken with Matthew,” an insider tells Star . “But he’s a wild rocker type with a reputation as a ladies’ man.” And Matthew has been soaking up the benefits of having a famous girlfriend! “He networks like crazy with all the big names she introduces him to.

The ostensbile star is Christina Aguilera, playing an Iowa waitress who becomes the club’s prime hootchy-kootchy attraction. When we caught up with the legendary star recently and sly, quick-witted co-star Stanley Tucci, they gave us a rundown on what sexy is all about: chest hair. And, Dwayne Johnson flexes his considerable muscles in the action-packed Faster . He’s a major operator,” adds the insider. “And everything is on her dime, because he’s broke. To better set up this scenario, it should be noted that when MTV News walked into the interview room, Cher and Tucci were involved in a playful exchange about whether Tucci should button more buttons on his shirt. Will she lose the club? Does a bear poop in the woods? That would be sad,” he quipped. “Also, the hair is pushing the shirt away, so you’ve got to let it out,” Cher shot back. “That’s right,” Tucci said, opening his collar wider. “That’s right, baby.” “It’s gotta be free, it’s gotta run wild,” Cher added. It’s entirely cheesy and predictable, and easy to dismiss as baseline fluff, yet because Antin does burlesque his way through this clichéd exercise, he finds some tongue-in-cheek redemption.

“If there had been, there would have been real disappointment,” Tucci insisted. The movie also has the biggest voice in the biz, thanks to Aguilera, who proves she’s got lots of spunk — in addition to her other obvious assets — which makes her roundly sympathetic and compelling. If only the music had been memorable, or even a worthy showcase for Aguilera’s talents, Burlesque could have been a sparkling nod to nostalgia with tongue-in-cheek sophistication.

He seems to have met his match, though, in a free-spirited artist played by Anne Hathaway. While the film has its laughs, it’s also a tear-jerker, so get your Kleenex ready. Is it a sex romp?  A romcom?  A medical melodrama?  A sentimental misstep?  Love and Other Drugs needs help, it suffers from acute schizophrenia, having been unable to define itself, instead co-opting every genre in the Hollywood playbook.  Its excruciatingly at times, telling the story of an up and coming pharmaceutical sales rep (Jake Gyllenhaal) is it a social ladder jumping story? – who sleeps with every nurse and receptionists he can find.  He begins a one-sided affair with a gorgeous woman in the early stages of Parkinsons disease (Anne Hathaway) who needs the pills he can give her.  It tries to be profound, emotional, funny, witty, and outrageous but winds up as an exercise in unedited self indulgence.

If you’ve seen this trailer for ” Love and Other Drugs ” (and you should, because it’s the better—though less frequently shown—of the two), then you’ve already seen the moment in which Jake Gyllenhaal ‘s character Jamie says “I love you” to Anne Hathaway ‘s Maggie. Sponsored post: If you’re looking for a great date movie for the holidays, look no further! “He (Zwick) now tries to coat it over a bit, but yeah, at first, he had seen me be vulnerable in movies, but never seen me not be vulnerable. It’s actually even better in the context of the movie than it is in the trailer, and the build-up and proceeding scenes are quite hilarious—for a reason. That wasn’t that hard,” he laughed. Maggie is a beautiful young woman and artist of some sort with Parkinson’s, a lifelong degenerative disease with no cure. Visit the movie database for more information. I could probably sell him I could do this part and I got in the room with him and I said pretty much like the character, I said, ‘You wrote this movie for me, you just don’t know it,”‘ he explained. Needless to say, before we get to the happy ending, we travel with Jamie and Maggie as move through their bumps. At that point, Anne Hathaway, his former “Brokeback Mountain” co-star, wasn’t involved yet, but Gyllenhaal worked that out, as well, and he and the director talked her into it. “We’re very much into authenticity, and the issue of women and their appetite, I think, it’s still something that the culture says that they are okay with and understand, but I think is still in some question. And I think to have it presented like this is new and probably important for women to see,” Ed said. Twelve schmaltzy montages and 110 pages of phony movie banter later, you’re either in love with this movie (not me) or wondering how embarrassing it must be to fake simultaneous orgasms in front of a film crew (me).

It’s two people who don’t want to commit, who hate commitment, and can’t keep their hands off each other. Jamie’s good looks may be Bruce’s ticket. “Yes, they like sex, but not intimacy,” Gyllenhaal said.

It might have worked if the leads had more chemistry. The charmer has a way with the office girls, and we spend a significant portion of the movie watching Jamie learn the ropes of his trade, using his seductive skills to get into doctors’ office supply rooms (and receptionists’ pants). Spending a lot of time onscreen with your clothes off requires a serious amount of confidence, but the humble actor says he turns it up for the job. Then he meets Maggie, a wonderful one-night stand that turns into a two, three, and four night stand, and then a full-fledged relationship, before Maggie finally pushes him away. “And so, I think I look at it in a whole new light and I’m definitely up for that. That’s what I’d like in my life.” “Love and Other Drugs” is out in theaters today.

– 23 minutes ago Emma Watson is not a fan of celebrity perfumes. The 20-year-old star, best known for playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, doesn’t understand why people would want to buy scents that are created by celebrities. l “It’s a very fast movie, but there are also times that are slower and you can think about what’s happening, when you can relax from one big thrill.” Simon O’Sullivan, 11, Washington. l “I think that ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ was spectacular, with lots of different locations, like mountains and forests.” Madeleine Wenger, 8, Bethesda. l “I especially liked Dobby the elf . . . and the way he stood up for himself.” Kayla Wenger, 10, Bethesda. l “There were some very nice moments. The only thing missing from the exceedingly bleak massacre is a chainsaw. Emma added: “I’ve always had a strong sense of self and my convictions… Yet “Deathly Hallows” succeeds as a self-contained work, mainly because Yates and Kloves have done such an effective job creating and sustaining the grim mood. Movie website Fandango reports the movie is accounting for 95 percent of its daily ticket sales, with more than 2,000 sold-out show times as of Tuesday. The film begins, appropriately enough, in almost complete darkness – indeed, for much of the first 30 minutes, cinematographer Eduardo Serra turns down the light so low that you sometimes need to squint to make out what’s happening. The movie is showing on all 20 screens for its midnight screenings, and employees will be in full costume performing skits based on the movie to entertain those in line. They believe it could pass the $100m(£62.7m) mark in North America in its first three days and take more than $1bn (£627.5m) in global ticket sales.

Other theaters and stores are getting into the act. Saturday. ? Keith’s Comics hosts an early screening at 7 tonight at the Studio Movie Grill at Royal and U.S. 75. Buy your tickets at Keith’s Comics (5400 E. Spirited chases with Death Eaters and Snatchers, cut like a real action film, break up Harry, Hermione and Ron’s search for Horcruxes, the evil talismans they must destroy on Harry’s way to his date with destiny a battle with Voldemort. For all the story’s plot and far-ranging scale, though, the marvel of Deathly Hallows is that it maintains such careful focus on the three central characters, who must figure out how to destroy the remaining pieces of Voldemort’s soul that are scattered around the wizarding world. Yates has stripped away all last vestiges of kid’s stuff that adorned the earlier pictures. MORE ONLINE: Get a daily dose of Potter in the Screening Room. dallasnews.com/moviesblog I never thought it would be something I would really get into, but it has become a real passion of mine.” She added: “I love it, and I will continue to work in the fashion industry. I am interested in ethical fashion, I want to make a difference and it’s nice to contribute.” :: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 opens in cinemas on November 19.

These aren’t moviemakers who live even in other movies, let alone the world. They live in hard drives. Skyline is most definitely one of the worst movies I’ve have ever seen. And so, as you might expect, the effects aren’t bad. They scream and bicker vacantly, but nobody’s buying a ticket to this movie to stare at a bunch of humans. The real stars are the descending swarm of tentacled brain-eaters that look like they were spawned at a cyborg seafood farm alongside the Cloverfield monster and District 9 ‘s prawns. Still, if you could get past the vomit-inducing hand-held camera work, the situation made for fairly engaging fun, courtesy of Matt Reeves, a director who knows a thing or two about pacing and staging. Directors Colin and Greg Strause, a pair of visual effects veterans (their company, Hydraulx, has worked on films from “Iron Man 2” to “Avatar“), know nothing. In that sense the movie feels like a trade-show demo for what nifty visual tricks the Strauses can supply for your blockbuster — and cheaply. With just a modicum of money (reportedly around $10 million), the Strauses used their tech savvy to make a marvel of logistics that looks every bit as slick as a studio tentpole. It’s finally here: The most boring alien-invasion movie ever. It’s just a shame they haven’t figured out a way to CG a decent story. Predator: Requiem” or their latest, “Skyline,” a Los Angeles-set alien invasion cheapie that would feel right at home on the Syfy channel, were it not for the above-average effects work. (Stick with your day job, boys.) Like “Cloverfield,” “Skyline” unleashes rampaging beasties on the streets, only this time they’ve arrived in massive spaceships – and they’re here to collect human brains.

The ships — and the various monsters they unleash — emit a blue light that renders victims helpless. TV cast = well… not to much acting potential here. It even makes sure each and every character is unsympathetic and dull for good measure. Low budget yet high visual effects potential = District 9 did splendidly with this. The aliens, who feature an endless array of gooey, predatory body parts, are seamlessly integrated into the live action. Well, actually, not just as they get to town; first we have unbearably boring party scenes, some “Bro did done good” dialogue, catty chat between Terry’s wife and his sexy assistant, and an early revelation that Elaine is shock! There was little plot development in the beginning and the quality of it was very poor. It’s an upscale abode (the “Invaders from Mars” poster on his bedroom wall is both unsubtle and out-of-place), and it’s about to get destroyed, along with the rest of the planet. (We see smoldering views of London and Manhattan.) Faced with PG-13-friendly death from above and beyond, Terry arms himself with a pistol; Jarrod, a camera. The Strauses might take that as a compliment. But only in other hands would it be money well spent.

“They wanted her to eat a lot of fried chicken ,” Anderson told PEOPLE at the movie’s premiere Monday in Nashville. “It was frustrating for me, but they wanted her to gain.” Anderson has been working with Paltrow, 38, for years, and says this was the first time the scales began to tip in the wrong direction. – 2 hours ago Gwyneth Paltrow revealed how she couldn’t help falling in love with Nashville at the US premiere of her latest movie, Country Strong. The Iron Man 2 actress filmed the country music drama in the Tennessee capital, where she learned to play the guitar and immersed herself in the tunes so her portrayal of a superstar singer was as authentic as possible. At the world premiere of “Country Strong” on Monday night in Nashville, Tenn., Paltrow said it was important to get her character right. “I really got so into the culture, the stores and the food, it was just great – I mean, I think it’s a really special city and I feel really lucky that I got to come and be here,” she told US network Channel 5 at the film’s premiere in Nashville.

“I think any time you do any role you want to be as authentic as possible, but obviously in this case with it being around the world of country music, you have a whole culture to really respect and portray properly. “She’s never been a dieter, she loves to eat,” Anderson says. So, it was some pressure,” she said. Chris Martin, the frontman with British rock band Coldplay, was not present at Paltrow’s big night. To play faded country star Kelly Canter, Paltrow had to learn to strum a guitar, sing in stadiums full of extras, and drawl like a Southerner (despite now living in London). She said she relied on advice from girlfriends who are singers more than from husband Chris Martin, lead singer of Coldplay. “It was a lot of work, but it was really fun. On the screen, Paltrow plays McGraw’s wife. Paltrow plays a singer fresh out of rehab who’s trying to pull her life, her career and her marriage together.

“I actually feel better this week about singing the song on the awards show,” Paltrow said. Gwyneth plays a faded star who is battling an alcohol addiction in the drama, and is set to release her first country song on the film’s soundtrack. “Lots of people are wondering, ‘Can she sing? If I can keep my nerves under control I can survive it.” Paltrow previously sang in the movie “Duets,” teaming with Huey Lewis on a cover of “Cruisin.’” She took both guitar and vocal lessons for her new role. I think that’s what it’s all about.” Leighton Meester plays pageant queen-turned-country star character Chiles Stanton. She paired with Huey Lewis in “Duets,” a 2000 karaoke movie directed by her father, Bruce Paltrow, and she played a Peggy Lee -esque lounge singer in the 2006 Truman Capote biopic “Infamous.” Next week, she’ll guest star as a substitute teacher on “Glee,” delivering renditions of “Singing in the Rain,” Rihanna ‘s “Umbrella” and a PG -rated version of an expletive-filled Cee-Lo Green song. It certainly made me a better actor, being there with her.

Other mainstream actors have delivered credible performances as country stars — for instance, Reese Witherspoon in “Walk the Line” and Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart.” Paltrow’s to-the-manner-born image, though, makes her an odd choice for a movie set in the blue-collar world of country music. “Country Strong” writer-director Shana Feste said the chance to pivot professionally was a large part of why the role appealed to Paltrow.

Anderson worked out with Paltrow for a gruelling hour and a half on Monday, in preparation for the Oscar winner’s live performance at Wednesday’s CMA Awards. “I made her sweat,” Anderson said.

“I think pressure is always a good thing,” director Todd Phillips told us a few months ago. “A lot of guys make a big hit movie on the size of ‘The Hangover’ and they get gun-shy. Hollywood’s top comedy director talks to Marlow Stern about his failed attempt to cast Mel Gibson in The Hangover Part II: “There’s no truth to it being any singular person,” said Phillips about Zach Galifianakis’ alleged revolt. With a meager ratio of jokes-to-laughs, “Due Date” winds up being only half a funny movie. “The truth is, if it was one person it wouldn’t have gone down that way, and I can promise you that.” He also talked about his muse, Galifianakis, and whether there will ever be a sequel to “Old School”: “I think there’s a term limit on sequels in a weird way,” he said. “Before we started shooting, I was down in Venice and some weird guy walks by and goes, ‘Hi, I think I’m doing a movie with you and Todd Phillips.’ “I thought, ‘I might have to punch this guy.’ And then I realized, ‘Oh my God. “The Hangover” opened to $45 million in June 2009 on its way to becoming the #1 R-rated comedy of all time. Downey plays Peter, a tightly wrapped architect whose wife is back in California, about to give birth to their first child. Galifianakis is Ethan, the Hollywood-bound would-be actor he meets curbside at the Atlanta airport – and winds up sitting in front of on the airplane.

- Moviegoers were kind (or bloodthirsty) enough to provide the “Saw” franchise one last hurrah. That’s up from the last Saw movie, “Saw VI,” which opened to a dull $14.1 million a year ago. The seventh installment of the horror movie franchise knocks off ‘Paranormal Activity 2′ in its first week. Saw may not have gone out with a bang, but it did close out its seven-year run with a #1 opening at the box office. But the actress, 28, admits it’s her own work that gives her a case of the heebie-jeebies. The movie gets about 92% of the revenue from 3-D screenings. “I can not watch either of the Paranormal films alone.” Recalling a particular experience with her films, Featherston still freaks herself out. That’s miles ahead of recent efforts from supposed capital “M,” capital “S” movie stars like Ben Affleck ( The Town ), Matt Damon ( Hereafter ), Hillary Swank ( Conviction ), and Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman ( Red ). CinemaScore audiences gave the flick a mediocre “B-” grade. However, as hard and fast as this one may fall, with a budget of just $3 million, Paranormal Activity 2 is already a big performer for Paramount. Last weekend’s winner, “Paranormal Activity 2,” plunged 59 percent for $16.5 million. I was like, ‘No, no, no, no, no.

I can’t do this.’” Read More But it appears the film may run out of steam before reaching the original movie’s final gross of $107.9 million. The fact that we’re going out with such a huge win is a great way to close the chapter,” he states. Meanwhile, in specialty film, astonishing results from beyond the grave from Stieg Larrson. The ploy worked: Saw 3D earned 92% of its weekend largesse from viewers paying extra for the goggles. In fourth place, “Jackass 3D” plummeted 61 percent for a weekend grab of $8.4 million.

Not as impressive as the first two Larrson adaptations, which made more on fewer screens, but still buzz-worthy. (And with Red , Secretariat , and The Social Network losing barely a third of their audiences this weekend, we have to wonder: Why are films for grown-ups doing so well? It turns out their great-grandmother made a deal with a demon to get rich quick, but in exchange she must give up the first male child born to her family. But each of these films cost two or three times as much to make as any of the Jackass, Paranormal or Saw pictures. Top Ten Movies at Box Office for October 29-31: ” Saw 3D ” – $22.5 million ” Paranormal Activity 2 ” – $16.5 million ” Red ” – $10.8 million ” Jackass 3D ” – $8.4 million ” Hereafter (2010) ” – $6.3 million ” Secretariat ” – $5.1 million ” The Social Network ” – $4.7 million ” Life as We Know It ” – $4 million ” The Town ” – $2 million ” Conviction ” – $1.8 million But despite being reincarnated at Samuel Goldwyn Films, it never quite came back to life, and grossed only $45,000. Of the lot, Megamind is hitting the most theaters and in 3D, so it’s got the best chances of being the highest earner. It grossed only $45,000 from 10 sites. Check back next weekend as three new films the Robert Downey Jr. comedy “Due Date,” Tyler Perry’s drama “For Colored Girls” and DreamWorks’ animated ” “Megamind” will battle for your money.

The new North American champ was also the top draw in Australia ($2.7 million), Mexico ($1.9 million) and Russia ($1.8 million). Last weekend’s champ, “Despicable Me,” slipped to No. 2 with $19.8 million from 39 territories. This movie is the sequel to the 2007 documentary-style horror movie “Paranormal Activity.” This sequel follows the sister of the main character from the first movie, Katie.

After 16 weeks, its international total stands at $198.1 million. Greenlighting a sequel so quickly — and then hurrying it into production just seven months after the first movie hit theaters — felt like a classic case of trying to get lightning to strike in the same place twice. The early overseas total for director David Fincher’s Facebook drama rose to $32.2 million. After all, we all know how the Blair Witch sequel, Book of Shadows, turned out: it bombed big time, making less than a tenth of what the original film did at the domestic box office, dashing any hopes of a  Blair Witch 3 . According to Paramount, 61 percent of the audience was less than 25 years old, and the exit pollster Cinemascore had moviegoers giving the film an OK but not super grade of “B.” Those two elements combined, plus the arrival of ” Saw 3D ,” suggest “Paranormal 2″ will probably suffer a significant drop next weekend. In addition, almost every startling scene that is actually in the movie is shown in the movie previews. When you think about it, how many really worthwhile horror movie sequels have there been anyway? But considering the film’s $3 million budget, we doubt Paramount will be complaining.

The first movie used hardly any special effects and the scare factor came from the single camera, home-video style perspective. It wasn’t until about one week before “Paranormal 2″ debuted, for instance, that Paramount leaked a clip revealing that Katie Featherston, who starred in the original, would appear in the sequel. While the second movie also maintains the same simple style of cinematography and lacks other major production effects, there are notable differences between the two movies. Third place went to Summit’s action comedy ” Red ,” which fell only 31 percent for $15 million. And in fifth place was the best-reviewed film of the year so far, Sony’s ” The Social Network ,” which dipped 29 percent for a $7.3 million weekend. Several of the scenes shot with the camcorder are dizzying and uncomfortable to watch, especially in the beginning. The David Fincher drama has grossed $72.9 million, but it’s looking like the Oscar hopeful may ultimately fall a tad short of the $100 million finish line. It’s not clear yet whether “Paranormal” will reach the $107 million total of last year’s original “Paranormal Activity.” Regardless, it’s sure to be very profitable for Paramount, which spent just $3 million on production and had a relatively inexpensive marketing campaign.

There is a dead body in a mobile home, its rooms eerily quiet after a bloody struggle. They also have a lot of fun, albeit of an antisocial variety — stealing candy from the supermarket and sneaking into empty houses to eat it, for example — and their youthful outlaw bond goes a long way toward explaining the intensity of Betty Anne’s loyalty later on. – Hilary Swank has a jaw built for gumption, and all her best characters boxer, teacher, suffragette, transgendered teen make use of that interesting stubbornness. In the new movie ” Conviction ,” two-time Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank portrays real-life Betty Anne Waters, whose brother Kenny was convicted of murdering a Massachusetts woman, Katharina Brow, in 1980. T he children of the slain Ayer woman central to the movie “Conviction” today demanded a meeting with actress Hilary Swank, who they say snubbed them during the film’s 10-year production period.

Convinced that her beloved brother, Kenny, was innocent of the murder charge for which he received a life sentence in 1983 (behold the double meaning of the title), Betty Anne worked for 18 years to free him. This afternoon at a press conference streamed live on TMZ.com, feminist lawyer Gloria Allred claimed that neither Swank – an executive producer for the movie – nor the film company ever contacted Brow’s children.

The story has a hook that’s hard to resist. Kenny is horsing around on the dance floor with his young daughter, who is just a toddler. Allred said that the children – Melrose and Charles, who were also at the news conference – “want to express their disappointment and anger about what they believe is a failure by the producers of the new movie ‘Conviction’ to show respect and compassion for their family, when it was the brutal murder of their mother that triggered events which are the basis for this feature film which will be released tomorrow.” Allred described Katharina Brow as a loving mother and grandmother, and victim of “a cold, heartless and brutal murder.” Kenneth Waters spent 18 years in prison while his sister, who did not have a college degree, put herself through law school so that she could fight for his freedom. He seems to be the clownish life of the party until somebody says the wrong thing.

Hilary and Sam recently revealed to MTV News that they’d never met until signing up to make the film — opening Friday — about a real-life working mother, Betty Anne Waters, who pursues a law degree after her brother is wrongfully convicted. Although the movie, said Allred, had reportedly been in development for about 10 years – and that the events in the movie would never have occurred had it not been for Brow’s murder – “the film’s producers, including Ms. Swank, have never bothered to contact the victim’s family” during that time. Because the Waters family couldn’t afford good legal assistance, Betty Anne, a working-class Massachusetts mother and dropout, stepped up to graduate from high school, then college, and then put herself through law school, all so she could represent the despondent and sometimes suicidal Kenny. “Yeah, but we hit it off right away,” Rockwell added. Swank plays the role with economy, a style that fits the no-nonsense look of the production. “The release of ‘Conviction’ and the press tour that accompanies it does not make them feel good, the fact that their mother is mentioned in it does not make them feel good and the fact that neither Ms. Swank nor anyone else connected to the film has had the decency to contact the family about the terrible tragedy they have suffered does not make them feel good,” said Allred.

And Ms. Swank’s performance shrinks in scope as her character’s monomaniacal devotion to freeing Kenny takes over the movie. Her family life suffers, and her marriage falls apart, as often happens to movie heroes who embrace a long-shot, righteous cause.

I recently watched the movie “The Social Network,” and a few days later spent some time with the real Mark Zuckerberg. I was on the Facebook campus for a press announcement of some new products, including a “dashboard” to better manage applications and “Groups,” which enables Facebook users to interact with subgroups of their friends rather than their entire friends’ list. – With all three new releases under-performing, “The Social Network” from director David Fincher landed in first place for a second weekend in a row with a $15.5 million opening. After the announcement, I sat down with Zuckerberg and a couple of other people for an informal chat and, later that night, saw him again at a screening of “Waiting for Superman” that he co-hosted at a Palo Alto theater. This wasn’t the first time I’ve met the Facebook CEO, but it was my first encounter with him since watching Jesse Eisenberg play him on the big screen. He looks you in the eye, listens to what you say and responds accordingly. And veteran horror director Wes Craven’s latest work, “My Soul to Take,” flopped with just $6.9 million. With nothing new generating enthusiasm, it was a slow overall weekend at movie theaters. And despite whatever mistakes he may have made in his late teens or very early twenties, he is emerging as a leader not just because of his wealth and success at Facebook but because of his vision, tenacity. and the way he interacts with people around him, including Facebook employees. Total receipts were down 15 percent from the weekend before Columbus Day last year, according to Hollywood.com.

It also scored very well with those female, over-25 moviegoers, who gave it an A, according to the exit pollster. Like the movie character, he has a strong desire to use technology to make social connections. Spot five marked the poorest-received release of the new crop of films. But in addition to building a business that’s already made him into a billionaire, he’s also focused on trying to find ways to enable people to use technology to tap into and thoughtfully expand their “social graph” in ways that make them want to share information with people who matter to them. Instead, “Life As We Know It” and “Secretariat” competed for the adult female demographic, which are historically tougher to attract. Although most of the lunchtime conversation was informal, I did get Zuckerberg’s permission to bring out a voice recorder to capture one sound bite for my daily CBS News radio feature. However, some in Hollywood had questioned whether the picture would show any strength beyond the audiences in big cities who made up most of the opening crowd. But now that people have tools to do that very easily, we expect that a lot of people will use Facebook as their tool to communicate and stay in touch with these groups of people that are really important to them.” He also spoke about the very social and human approach Facebook is using to help people identify whom they ought to include in their Facebook Groups. It could be called “Waiting for Zuckerberg.” Disclosure: Larry Magid is co-director of Connectsafely.org , which receives funding from Facebook and other companies. Listen for his technology chats on KCBS-AM (740) weekdays at 3:50 p.m.

After facing heat about its trailer for Ron Howard’s “The Dilemma,” Universal released a new promo for the film Saturday morning. There are number of different scenes in this new spot, most prominently, of course, a revamped opening. The Vince Vaughn vehicle “The Dilemma” is already running into problems of its own after promotion of the film recently kicked off. Cooper addressed a clip he’d seen in a the previously released trailer for The Dilemma in which Vaughn’s character denigrates an electric car, saying, “It’s gay.” Cooper felt the comment was insulting to gays saying, “I just find those words, those terms — we’ve got to do something to make those words unacceptable ’cause those words are hurting kids.” The line in question does not appear in the new trailer as GLAAD also weighed in on the issue. The CNN anchor visited ” The Ellen Degeneres Show ” this week to condemn teen bullying. “The teaser trailer for ‘The Dilemma’ was not intended to cause anyone discomfort,” the studio said in a statement released Friday (October 8).

“In light of growing claims that the introduction to the trailer is insensitive, it is being replaced. “There was a preview of a movie, and in it, the actor said, ‘That’s so gay,’ and I was shocked that not only that they put it in the movie, but that they put that in the preview,” Cooper said. A full trailer, which has been in the works for some time, will post online later today.” The comedy has drawn high-profile criticism from the likes of CNN anchor Anderson Cooper and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres for the use of the word “gay” in a joke in the movie’s trailer. “Someone else I talked to recently said that the words people use and the things people say about other kids online, it enters into their internal dialogue. I mean, not ‘homosexual’ gay but ‘my parents are chaperoning the dance’ gay.” “I was sitting … in a movie theater over the weekend, and there was a preview of a movie, and in it the actor said, ‘That’s so gay.’ And I was shocked … not only that they put that in the movie, but that they put that in the preview, they thought that was okay to put it in the preview to the movie to get people to go and see it,” Cooper said on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” on Wednesday. Check out the trailer below, the film is set to hit theaters on January 14, 2011.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, not only on the trailer, but on the issue at hand. I think we need to really focus on what language we’re using and how we’re treating these kids.” Universal, the studio putting out “The Dilemma,” heard Cooper loud and clear. Still, critics of the first trailer will be satisfied; the new trailer is certainly less offensive. Whether it’s any funnier is another question. Steven Zeitchik twitter.com/ZeitchikLAT