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Review: 'Gangster Squad' An Aggressive, Opulent & Ultimately Wearisome Look At 1940s Los Angeles

  • By Charlie Schmidlin
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  • January 7, 2013 9:01 AM
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  • 8 Comments
Reviews
Manifest Destiny lies beside its essential hubris in the period actioner “Gangster Squad,” but beyond the swaggering idealism seen through eponymous hoodlum Mickey Cohen (played by Sean Penn), the film's saturated grab bag of glossy homage proves its final shortcoming. With his third feature, “Zombieland” director Ruben Fleischer frames 1940s Los Angeles -- morally compromised, glamorous, and a monument to protect and exploit on both sides of the law -- to adapt Paul Lieberman's true-crime articles into cinematic legend, but in lieu of any sharp insight into the period and its notorious figures, the film's brash, ultraviolent encounters instead build a showy exterior with nothing of import left standing.
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More: Gangster Squad, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Josh Brolin, Sean Penn, Review

New Photos Thaw From DreamWorks Animation's Caveman Comedy 'The Croods'

  • By Drew Taylor
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  • August 31, 2012 5:53 PM
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  • 1 Comment
News
Of the tidal wave of animated films that are on the horizon (and trust us, there are a bunch), DreamWorks Animation's "The Croods" is one that is worth getting very excited about. Originally a stop-motion movie from "Wallace and Gromit" creators Aardman (when the studio still had a deal with DreamWorks), the movie (about a family of Neanderthals) is now in the capable hands of director Chris Sanders, who directed "Lilo & Stitch" for Disney Feature Animation before being kicked out of the Magic Kingdom when John Lasseter took over control of Disney's animated slate after Pixar was absorbed by the studio. The first photos from the spring release have emerged courtesy of Entertainment Weekly and, honestly, it looks like this stone age family is going to totally rock (sorry).
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More: The Croods, Nicolas Cage, Chris Sanders, Emma Stone

Review: Chemistry Really Cooks In The Uneven, But Super Charming 'Crazy Stupid Love'

  • By Drew Taylor
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  • July 27, 2011 5:39 AM
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  • 5 Comments
Precariously mixing elements of broad comedy, bittersweet heartache, charming romance and soulful, surprisingly mature dramatic moments, "Crazy, Stupid, Love" is an endearing and winning summer comedic drama. It succeeds in spite of some messy plotting, dicey adulteration of tones, and too convenient and ridiculous sequences that threaten to unravel a well-made, mostly well-written picture about love and marital discord.
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More: Films, Actors, Actresses, Composers, Film Studios, Review, Paul Thomas Anderson, Crazy, Stupid, Love, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Kevin Bacon, Marisa Tomei, Emma Stone, Christophe Beck, Warner Bros

Emma Stone To Get Caught Between Ryan Gosling & Sean Penn In 'Gangster Squad'

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • July 26, 2011 11:54 AM
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  • 13 Comments
It looks like the sausage party of "Gangster Squad" is getting ready to add some estrogen into the mix, with another high profile bit of casting to add to the already awesomely/ridiculously stacked ensemble.
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More: Films, Actresses, Gangster Squad, Emma Stone

Terrific Lizard Footage Revealed In 3D During 'Amazing Spider-Man' At Comic-Con '11

  • By The Playlist
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  • July 23, 2011 4:08 AM
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  • 4 Comments
Andrew Garfield Says: "We’re Approaching 'Spider-Man' Like It’s Shakespeare, Or A Greek Myth"The cast of "Total Recall" were ushered off the stage while a massive title card for "The Amazing Spider-Man" was emblazoned on the screen behind them. Before Garman introduced anyone, he showed the film’s theatrical trailer, which hit the Internet just a few days ago, but was admittedly much more impressive on the big screen and in 3D. Apparently, it even knocked out star Andrew Garfield because he appeared in front of the microphone where attendees ask their questions – in a homemade Spider-Man suit, no less – and read an impassioned letter he wrote about how important the character was to him and his life, not to mention how the excitement of premiering footage at Comic-Con. “You have no idea how much this means to me,” he said, gushing. “Here I am as a fan.”
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More: Films, Actors, Actresses, Marc Webb, Super Hero Films, Emma Stone, The Amazing Spider-Man

Comic-Con '11: The Team Behind 'The Amazing Spider-Man' On Why The Reboot Was Necessary

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • July 22, 2011 12:56 PM
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  • 9 Comments
Judging by the reaction to the first teaser trailer for "The Amazing Spider-Man," Sony has a fair amount of work to do in the next year before they can convince fans that the film is more than a cash-grab designed to keep the franchise alive: the clip's reworking of the origin tale and an emo-leaning that goes even further than the much-derided "Spider-Man 3," were generally poorly received in the blogosphere earlier in the week.
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More: Films, Actors, Actresses, Marc Webb, Super Hero Films, Emma Stone, The Amazing Spider-Man

Emma Stone Won't Face Zombies Again, Actress Turns Down Role In 'Pride And Prejudice And Zombies'

  • By Matthew Newlin
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  • June 23, 2011 1:46 AM
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  • 1 Comment
Update: Deadline reports that Emma Stone has unsurprisingly turned down the role of "Pride And Prejudice And Zombies." Watch for Deadline's shortlist story coming in 3...2...1...
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More: Films, Actresses, David O. Russell, Craig Gillespie, The Help, Pride And Prejudice And Zombies, Fright Night, Emma Stone

Poster For 'Crazy, Stupid, Love' Reveals It Stars Steve Carell's Crotch & A High-Heeled Shoe

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • June 20, 2011 1:35 AM
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  • 1 Comment
We know it's pretty much the heart of the summer, but if you have plans to spend the last weekend of July doing anything other than sit in a movie theater, you might want to consider rearranging them. On one of the busiest release dates in recent memory, there seems to be something for everyone: blockbuster fans get "Cowboys & Aliens," lovers of cult films get "Attack the Block," those who like "Scarface"-esque dramas with breakout lead performances get Dominic Cooper in "The Devil's Double," indie types get Miranda July's "The Future" or Brendan Gleeson in sweary Irish action-comedy "The Guard," subtitle-philes get French thriller "Point Blank," documentary fans get "El Bulli" and "Life in a Day," and people who hate their kids get "The Smurfs."
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More: Films, Actors, Actresses, Glenn Ficarra & John Requa, Crazy, Stupid, Love, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Emma Stone, Dan Fogelman

New Trailer & Photos Of 'The Help' Starring Emma Stone, Viola Davis & Bryce Dallas Howard

  • By Edward Davis
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  • April 18, 2011 12:45 PM
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  • 4 Comments
There's sort of two ways to look at DreamWorks' upcoming civil rights drama, "The Help." Set in the 1960s during the civil rights movement, the picture is either (or probably) a) an Oscar contender, b) a literate-minded chick flick (this is a starved audience and Oprah will be endorsing this, you can be sure of it) or c) an interesting mix of the two that may have some worthwhile elements such as, say, "Julie & Julia." August isn't much of an Oscar month so we're leaning away from a), however, the respectable "Julie & Julia" came out in August of 2009 and it earned Meryl Streep a much-earned 16th Oscar nomination (she didn't win, but she's won Best Actress twice) so there is that.
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More: Films, Actresses, The Help, Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard

First Look At Andrew Garfield With Emma Stone In 'Spider-Man'

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • January 5, 2011 2:54 AM
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  • 3 Comments
Granted, it's not much but we figure it will be a while before Sony releases any official shots from the movie so until then we'll have to take what we can get. So some fresh set snaps of Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone in "Spider-Man" have landed and it's our first real look at the duo in the film.
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More: Films, Actors, Actresses, Super Hero Films, Emma Stone

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