Thompson on Hollywood

Now and Then: In Two Foer Adaptations, Surprises and Disappointments Abound

Reviews

I'll admit it came as a shock, near the end of "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," to find myself crying. As it turns out, movies can still surprise us, and I don't just mean that they defy the expectations set by Rotten Tomatoes. I mean they can, in the midst of things, find what they've been missing.

By Matt Brennan
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April 2, 2012 12:29 PM
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Early Reviews on Late-Breaking War Horse, Extremely Loud, Land of Blood and Honey

Reviews

Early reviews are in on Steven Spielberg's "War Horse," Stephen Daldry's "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," and Anjelina Jolie's "In the Land of Blood and Honey," three of the latest-breaking movies hitting theaters this Christmas. A sampling of reviews of all three movies are below.

By Anne Thompson
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December 19, 2011 7:30 AM
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Oscar Powers Netflix's Top Ten Most-Rented List

Netflix's ten most-rented list of all time (list below) reminds us of the long-tail Power of Oscar. And it should remind Netflix, as it splits its DVD and streaming business and alienates many of its customers who are used to relying on its deep long-tail arcania, that their solid customer base is smart adults, not the great unwashed, something they seem to be in danger of forgetting as they focus on TV and mainstream acquisitions and let smaller movies go.

By Anne Thompson
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October 3, 2011 11:09 AM
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Oscar Talk: Ides of March's Clooney vs. Gosling vs. Hoffman, Supporting Categories

Now that we've both seen George Clooney's political thriller The Ides of March, Kris Tapley and I dig into not only Oscar prospects for that film, but the list of supporting players in contention for this year. We also debate the respective box office fates of Drive and Warrior as well as how success in theaters impacts a film's awards chances. (CORRECTION: Yes, Clooney won best supporting actor for Syriana and not Good Night, and Good Luck.)

By Anne Thompson
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September 30, 2011 4:15 AM
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Trailer Watch: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Already Makes Us Teary with U2

Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock topline Stephen Daldry's Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, based on Jonathan Safran Foer's novel. Newcomer Thomas Horn looks to be making a great debut here, and the supporting cast of Max Von Sydow, Viola Davis, John Goodman, Jeffrey Wright and James Gandofini don't hurt a bit either. Yes, there's plenty of Oscar-baity heart-tugging; the film will finally arrive in theaters nationwide January 20, after a qualifying NY/LA run.

By Sophia Savage
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September 29, 2011 3:23 AM
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Oscar Talk: From The Help, Rise of the Apes and Woody to the Fall Fest Circuit and Beyond

Oscar Talk is back. The first podcast of the fall season with In Contention's Kris Tapley runs for a good hour, so gird your loins, Oscar mavens, listen and weep. We cover the Cannes films, the summer releases, the Fall Festival entries and the end-of-year possibilities. We talk Meryl and Glenn and Malick and Chastain, debate the merits of sleeper Warrior and admit that we both cried over cancer patient Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 50/50. Next week we'll post from Telluride. The award season begins.

By Anne Thompson
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August 26, 2011 4:00 AM
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Oscar Watch: War Horse, Ides of March, The Artist Lead Early Gurus 'O Gold Top Ten

In advance of the coming festival season, the Gurus 'O Gold have made their first picks of the ten top contenders for best picture nominations. Here's my top ten list--with many of the films sight unseen (the Gurus list is on the jump). 1. The Artist2. Jane Eyre3, Midnight in Paris4. The Tree of Life5. War Horse6. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close7. The Help 8. Moneyball9. The Ides of March10. Carnage

By Anne Thompson
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August 24, 2011 5:45 AM
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The Change-Up Premieres in Westwood: Bateman, Reynolds, Bullock; Early Reviews

The studios get freaked when a movie destined to be commercially mainstream plays better for adults. That's because it's in their interest to play better to dumb young males than to, say, smart older females who can't be counted on to show up on an opening weekend. That's why so many awful movies get made that leave me out of their target demo. This was one topic at Monday night's Universal premiere of The Change-Up (August 5, trailer below), which was better than I was expecting. Universal is nervous because the movie is tracking older and female. (Early reviews are trending rotten; here's Metacritic.)

By Anne Thompson
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August 2, 2011 10:57 AM
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Celebs Sell: 2010 Ten Bestseller Magazine Covers Led by Sandra Bullock, Dr. Oz and Angelina Jolie

News flash: Celebrities sell magazines. AdWeek reports the ten best-selling magazine covers last year: 1. Sandra Bullock (7.4 million copies, People)2. Dr. Oz (7m, Women's World)3. Angelina Jolie (5m, Vanity Fair)4. Bachelor Jake (3.6m, Us)5. Royal Wedding (3.2m, Life & Style)6. Lady Gaga (2.8m, Cosmopolitan)7. Teen Mom (2.75, OK)8. The Kardashians (2.7m, In Touch)9. Jennifer Aniston (2.6m, Bazaar)10. The Twilight Series, including Taylor Lautner and Kellan Lutz (2.4m, Men's Health).

By Sophia Savage and Anne Thompson
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April 25, 2011 4:20 AM
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In The Works: Bullock and Freeman May Chase Somali Pirates, Meg Ryan Directs, Medallion Adds Stars

- Sandra Bullock and Morgan Freeman are wanted for an adaptation of 2010 Somali pirate novel , by 85-year-old writer Elmore Leonard (Justified, 3:10 to Yuma, Get Shorty, Out of Sight). "We're trying to get my new book Djibouti [made as a film]," Leonard told Digital Spy. "Morgan Freeman likes it a lot. In fact, I even thought of him while I was writing it," he said. Apparently Samuel L. Jackson has already turned down a part because he wasn't the star (though Leonard insisted his character would have all the good lines) and Freeman dubbed Bullock as first choice for the female lead. The story follows an award-winning filmmaker and a 72-year old African American seafarer who pair to get footage of Somali pirates in action.