Thursday, September 29, 2011 4:00PM - By Damon Houx
The story of how 2011′s Margaret was made and eventually released may make a more compelling tale than the theatrical version. The film was shot in 2005 (as evinced by the theater marquees), but then entered into a lengthy editing process to which director Kenneth Lonergan found it nearly impossible to get the film into manageable shape. He could have his cut up to 150 minutes, but reports have the film running as long as (and possibly over) four hours. In the process, two of the film’s producers (Sydney Pollack, Anthony Minghella) passed away, and film has been stamped with a 2008 copyright, and it now runs a choppy 149 minutes. In this version it’s a mess, but a fascinating one. Perhaps if the longer cut emerges we’ll know for sure if it just needed to be long, or if the film got away from Lonergan in a classic example of a “sophomore slump.”
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Wednesday, September 14, 2011 12:01PM - By Damon Houx
Getting Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson for his follow up to Elizabethtown was not a bad idea for Cameron Crowe. We Bought a Zoo is his first feature since that 2005 fiasco, and it’s coming just in time for award season. Damon plays a widower who buys a zoo, and probably figures out how to deal with grief and new love in this Dramedy. Check out the trailer…
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Friday, September 9, 2011 12:19PM - By Damon Houx
Contagion, the new disease thriller from Steven Soderbergh is a rare smart and entertaing disaster movie. So it’s no surprise that it attracted performers like Matt Damon and Laurence Fishburne. We were at the junket, and they were obviously happy with the movie they made, but the material, it’s easy to see how they got such a great cast. Check it out…
Thursday, September 8, 2011 2:00PM - By Damon Houx
Fall is off to a great start with Steven Soderbergh‘s Contagion kicking off the September releases. With an all star cast – including Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet and Jude Law among others – the film follows a new disease from Day 2 on as it infects the population, and scientists and doctors attempt to control and cure it. Soderbergh deftly avoids most of the genre’s pitfalls by keeping the film in a “you are there” approach that grounds the material, and will have most audiences reaching for the Purell when the film ends.
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Thursday, September 1, 2011 10:58AM - By Damon Houx
Matt Damon and Anna Paquin are as hot as they’ve ever been, and Mark Ruffalo (now an Avenger) is coming close to being a full blown star. So what’s so fascinating about Kenneth Lonergan’s Margaret is that the film has been mired in controversy for six years. They finished shooting in 2005. Supposedly the hold up was that Lonergran had final cut but he couldn’t get it down to a manageable shape (it was declared a masterpiece by Martin Scorsese in one of those longer cuts), which led to two lengthy lawsuits. During this prolonged post-production two of its producers (Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack) have passed away. And now, finally, there’s a trailer. Check it out….
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Thursday, March 3, 2011 5:00PM - By Mali Elfman
The Adjustment Bureau, AKA a little something for everyone. Much like what I predicted when they released some clips for this film, this is very much a story with a lot of running around, a lot of “I love you, come back!”, and some cool special effects. It’s kind of like the Bourne films mixed with some Romeo and Juliet, with a sprinkle of Inception and a pinch of religion — like I said a little something for everyone. But, the real reason to see this film for more than that, check out why below…
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Tuesday, February 15, 2011 12:06PM - By Mali Elfman
Some new clips from George Nolfi‘s upcoming thriller, The Adjustment Bureau have just been released and have confirmed that Matt Damon’s character is in fact in love. Just to prove it, EVERY scene seems to be about his character being in love, with a bit of mind-reading and world-swapping in the midst of his love story. My fear, too much pining and not enough psychedelic mind-blowing.
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Friday, February 11, 2011 8:46AM - By Joseph Oliveto
“30 Rock” may not be as consistently entertaining as “Arrested Development” was, but it fills the gap that show left by providing viewers with a source of strong comedic writing. While this season has been somewhat uneven, last night’s episode was a well-rounded example of high-quality humor that did what it is meant to do: keep us interested for half an hour.
Read our review to get our full thoughts…
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Friday, January 21, 2011 5:09PM - By Krystal Clark
Matt Damon is on the run again and this time it has nothing to do with Jason Bourne. The actor’s next film The Adjustment Bureau will have him fighting for his destiny thanks to a group of “adjusters” and their pre-determined mumbo jumbo. Universal has just released a behind the scenes featurette with the stars of the movie, and it’s a little eerie. Check it out…
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