Thompson on Hollywood

SXSW Video: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum and Filmmakers Talk Comedy Home Run '21 Jump Street'

Festivals

Whatever question there might be about how well a smart horror parody like SXSW opener "Cabin the Woods" will do with mainstream audiences, there is none with updated buddy cop comedy "21 Jump Street," which also played well at the Paramount Theater here, and will prove a huge b.o. home run.

By Anne Thompson
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March 13, 2012 7:20 PM
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Video: Jon Stewart Solves the 'John Carter' Problem with Kony 2012

Video

Two popular news topics converge - the "John Carter" Disney disaster, and Kony 2012 vs. the media. Watch Jon Stewart solve one of the problems below:

By Sophia Savage
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March 13, 2012 5:19 PM
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Drunken Irish Alien Flick 'Grabbers' Goes to IFC Midnight

News

IFC Midnight is taking Jon Wright's "Grabbers" for North and Latin American distribution. The film, which debuted at Sundance, stars Richard Coyle, Ruth Bradley, Russell Tovey, Lalor Roddy, David Pearse, and Bronagh Gallagher. IFC Films/Sundance Selects' Jonathan Sehring calls the film "a great time at the movies and an ingenious update of the classic monster movie." Variety says it is "polished, watchable genre entertainment" and it currently has a B- on CriticWire. Check out the synopsis below:

By Sophia Savage
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March 5, 2012 1:26 PM
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Now and Then: From 'Ferris' to 'Sleepover,' Teens, and Times, Have Changed

Reviews

"The Myth of the American Sleepover," David Robert Mitchell's independent film about a group of suburban Detroit teens messing around, and messing up, on a single night near the end of summer, is a quiet reminder of the power, and price, of looking.

By Matt Brennan
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March 5, 2012 7:28 AM
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Weekend Preview: 'Act of Valor,' 'Wanderlust,' 'Hell and Back Again,' 'Forgiveness of Blood'

Box Office

While our last fave rave "Bullhead" expands, this weekend brings some fresh meat. Jennifer Aniston's "Wanderlust" is so far her best-reviewed (78% Fresh) film since 2002's "The Good Girl." Indiewire, however, finds that the film illustrates the problem with every David Wain movie.

By Anne Thompson & Sophia Savage
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February 23, 2012 1:44 PM
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Red Band Trailer Watch: 'Friends with Kids'

Video

Remember “Kissing Jessica Stein”? Maybe not – screenwriter-actor Jennifer Westfeldt’s bi-curious indie family comedy was 11 years ago after all. Now she’s back again, adding director and producer to her resume with “Friends With Kids" (March 9). The film’s tag line "Love. Happiness. Kids. Pick two" kinda says it all.

By Justin Lowe
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February 17, 2012 6:09 AM
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Trost Brothers' 'The FP' Premiering February 25 at Cinefamily; Drafthouse to Widen Release March 16

News

Alamo's Drafthouse Films will release "The FP" on March 16, following a February 25 red carpet premiere at Los Angeles' Cinefamily's Silent Movie Theater. "The FP" is a "ferocious nod to big-budget studio action fare and underdog sports dramas of the 1980s.

By Sophia Savage
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January 30, 2012 6:46 PM
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WikiLeaks' Julian Assange to Cameo on 'The Simpsons' 500th Episode

Television

Julian Assange, of WikiLeaks fame, will guest star on "The Simpsons." He will appear as himself in the long-running show's 500th episode, airing February 19.

By Sophia Savage
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January 30, 2012 4:17 PM
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Now and Then: Making Sense of Miranda July

Reviews

I am not a Miranda July hater. "Me and You and Everyone We Know" (2005) felt almost painfully fresh to me — I'd never seen anything like it. It had, in offbeat colors and patterns, a preternatural understanding that love and sex vibrate on wavelengths we can't quite see or hear, only sense.

By Matt Brennan
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January 30, 2012 12:46 PM
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Sundance Reviews: Lean Mean 'Bachelorette' Shocks Festival, Too Hard or Too Soft?

Festivals

Sundance comedy "Bachelorette" boasts an all-star girl comedy-pack: Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan, and Isla Fisher. They play a hard-drinking and drugging trio who are horrified that their pudgiest gal pal (Aussie comedienne Rebel Wilson) is the first of their high school gang to get married.