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Disney giving free rides on MARTA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment hopes to ease the pinch on your wallet from all the holiday shopping.
On Tuesday, Dec. 2, Disney will give out out MARTA cards good for one free trip. The cards will be given out to commuters at the Five Points station from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. It’s part of a promotion surrounding the DVD release of “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.”
The DVD is in stores on Tuesday.
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Jackman offers “Australia” travel tips
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Going to Australia? We asked actor Hugh Jackman, costar of “Australia” (in theaters Wednesday) and People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive, for his itinerary for Americans who have only two weeks to visit his country:
Explore the east: “If you had just a couple of weeks, I’d stick to the east coast. The west coast, Perth, is beautiful but you’d need more time. It’s the same as going from L.A. to New York.”
Start in Sydney: “If you land in Sydney, I’d say spend three or four days. It’s an amazing city, my hometown.
Then head north, by car: “I’d go to the barrier reefs. It’s one of the seven natural wonders of the world. I’d go diving, even if you’d have to learn. It’s astonishing. I’d even drive up that way. It’d take two days but it’s an amazing drive. You’d discover some of the best beaches in the world and nobody’s on them!
From the movie set: Then I’d go to Darwin [where “Australia” was primarily shot.]. I went there for the first time for the movie, and it’s fascinating. It’s literally the closest point to Asia. It’s a cross-pollination of culture. There’s a huge Aboriginal element.”
Try the outback: “I’d get on a horse, go on some sort of trail for three or four days and sleep under the stars. I’d also spend some time in Melbourne, but you may not have the time. That’s a whole another slice of Australia, a whole different flavor.”
Have you visited Austraila? Agree with Hugh? If not, where would you tell folks to go?
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We’ve seen “Twilight.” Here’s the scoop!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Stephenie Meyer’s swoony saga of vampires and young love — a Gothic romance for the age of Google — has grown from OMG word-of-mouth phenomenon among teen girls to mass popularity among teens, and increasingly their mothers and teachers.
The movie, which opens Friday, has been anticipated by fans — the so-called Twi-hards — who have been eager to see their beloved characters come to life, but fearful that Hollywood would somehow screw it up.
Tuesday night, at the only Atlanta screening before the opening, a packed house shrieked en masse and nearly levitated in unison when the movie began. As millions more pour into theaters this weekend, here’s what they will be talking about.
Edward Cullen. And his hair. Cullen is the beautiful, noble, darned-near-perfect vampire who falls hard for young Bella, a 17-year-old mortal. Heartthrob Robert Pattinson (Cedric Diggory in the Harry Potter movies) plays him as soft and afraid of his own urges at first, then increasingly stronger. His magnificently teased, poufed and highlighted hairstyle — James Dean taken to extremes — has so much talk already there’s even a Facebook group just for Pattinson’s hair.
Bella. Publicity shots of actress Kristen Stewart made her look too glam, and an earlier (discarded) script turned her into an action heroine. So fans were worried the movie might ruin Bella, whose awkwardness, introspection and sheer normalcy is a big factor in the story’s appeal. But the movie Bella is very close to the book Bella, even nibbling her nails in one scene. Pretty, but no supermodel.
Following the novel. The movie sticks pretty close to the book, both in letter and in spirit. Fan-fave dialogue like “You’re like my own personal brand of heroin” survives intact.
The atmosphere. Gloomy and gloomier — this is the Pacific Northwest. Is that a whiff of “Twin Peaks” blowing on the breeze? Still, it helps anchor “Twilight” in a reasonably believable locale.
A quick cameo. Blink and you’ll miss her, but in a scene with Bella and her dad in a diner a little over halfway through the movie, that’s author Meyer sitting at the counter, pulling a Hitchcock.
I’m not allowed to review the movie — the deal with getting to see the screening — but those are the highlights and you can read between the lines.
So who’s going to see “Twilight” this weekend? Are you concerned or just excited?
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‘Quantum’ or ‘Twilight’?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Quantum of Solace,” the new James Bond movie starring Daniel Craig, raked in a whopping $70 million this weekend. Up this Friday is “Twilight,” based on Stephenie Meyer’s blockbuster novel about a teenage girl (played by Kristin Stewart in the movie) who falls in love with a vampire. Did you see “Quantum” this past weekend, or are you holding out for “Twilight” this coming weekend? Think “Twilight” will surpass “Quantum” at the box office?
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First Look at the film “Bolt”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“The Incredibles.” “Toy Story.” “Finding Nemo.”
These films are all packed with humor, heart and soul. They were all huge box office hits. They’re visually stunning. And all came from Pixar Studios, considered the kings of animation.
So Disney purchased Pixar two years ago and is now hoping the Pixar magical formula can juice up its upcoming animated feature “Bolt,” out next Friday.
The premise is simple: Bolt (voiced by John Travolta) is a dog who thinks he’s got special powers that enable him to stop cars in their tracks, burn through metal via laser eyes and knock over tanks with his “super bark.”
But he’s actually in a TV show he thinks is real life. When he accidentally ends up thousands of miles away from his cocoon of a TV studio, he discovers he’s not so special after all.
Here are some notable things you’ll see in the film:
— Adults will enjoy the pretentious director (voiced appropriately by James Lipton) who thinks he can get a better performance out of Bolt by sequestering him in a world in which he believes his owner Penny is perpetually in danger from an evil green-eyed man.
— The efforts to hide the truth from Bolt evokes Truman in the Jim Carrey film “The Truman Show.”
— While human characters are left deliberately cartoonish, the super-realistic animation means you can see the grit on city grates, the shimmer of light off glass buildings, the smudges on the lightning bolt on Bolt’s fur.
— Miley Cyrus, who voices the actress-kid Penny, sings a key song “I Thought I Lost You” in a country lilt that renders her vocally unrecognizable compared to her pop-rock hits such as “See You Again.”
— The characters explore serious themes of loyalty and abandonment, but viewers young and old will also appreciate the humor. Many of the best lines come from Rhino, a roly-poly, ever-excitable hamster who worships Bolt and loves uttering “Awesome!” And Susie Essman’s jaded black cat Mittens is suitably sarcastic — for a cat.
— Every dog owner will see elements of their own dog in the sweet, loving Bolt.
— Though Travolta is his voice, Bolt does no dancing whatsoever.
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What scary movie scares you most?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I have to admit, I’m a big chicken when it comes to scary movies. Nowadays, I usually avoid them altogether. But I reluctantly agreed to watch “The Strangers,” which is now out on DVD on Tuesday. I thought it was pretty scary, but my 20-something nephew and niece had one word for it: “lame.” They didn’t see it on the big screen, but both predicted every “scary” turn from start to finish as we watched it on TV.
Now there are some classics I will watch — “Rosemary’s Baby,” “Amityville of Horror,” “Pyscho.” And others with seriously sharp or deadly instruments — “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “The Shining,” “Nightmare on Elm Street,” — that I could never be talked into watching. Nor anything with snakes — “Anaconda” or “Snakes on a Plane” (I know the latter is not a horror movie, but the title alone send chills up my spine.)
With Halloween next week, there are a lot of DVD releases this month — old and new titles — that will scare or entertain you. In addition to “The Strangers” and “Psycho,” here are a few others:
“The Happening,” “Touch of Evil: 50th Anniversary Edition,” “The Omen,” “Young Frankenstein,” “The Omen” (Blu Ray), “Hellboy,” “The Ray Harryhausen Collection: “It Came from Beneath the Sea,” “Earth vs. the Flying Saucers” and “20 Million Miles to Earth”)
So, what’s your all-time favorite scary movie?
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Alec Baldwin hosting TCM’s “The Essentials” in 2009 with Robert Osborne
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last year, TCM took a bit of a left turn by bringing in cult figure and actress Rose McGowan as co-host of “The Essentials,” a heralded series in which McGowan and movie guru Robert Osborne would gab about a particular film. McGowan showed impressive knowledge of old flicks for a gal her age and the chemistry between the two of them was wonderful.
But this year, TCM managed to get hot A list actor Alec Baldwin, currently starring in NBC’s “30 Rock,” to work with Osborne.
As the press release notes:
Baldwin, who possesses a deep love and understanding of classic films, will join TCM host Robert Osborne in introducing “must see” movies each week, with an eye toward helping viewers better understand why these films are important and the impact they had on audiences and the culture at large.
Taping will occur in December with Baldwin’s episodes starting in March, 2009.
Baldwin was a guest programmer in the past for TCM and interviewed Gene Wilder for a special earlier this year.
Over the years, he’s won an Emmy, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild award.
His credits include: Beetlejuice, The Good Shepherd, The Hunt for Red October, Miami Blues, Prelude to a Kiss, Malice, The Shadow, Glengarry Glen Ross, Heaven’s Prisoners, Ghosts of Mississippi, The Edge, Pearl Harbor and The Cat in the Hat.
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The ultimate Bruce Lee: In 50 parts
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bruce Lee is getting his due in China. The country’s state-run broadcaster plans to air a 50-part (yes, 50) prime time series on Bruce Lee, the late kung fu film star.
Lee’s popularity soared in the early 1970s with a number of films, but his influence was not felt immediately in mainland China, which had a closed society. His films did not do well in China until they began arriving on video in the 1980, according to AP.
The highly detailed megaseries was filmed over nine months in the U.S., Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Italy. The character of Lee, who died in 1973 at age 32, will be played by Chan Kwok Kwan.
As a child, my brother loved Bruce Lee’s movies. He even made a pair of nunchucks for his play fights. Were you a Bruce Lee fan? What are your favorite Bruce Lee or martial arts movies?
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Found Footage film festival, a collection of bizarro videos, at Plaza Theatre Oct. 12
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Check out the Found Footage Festival, the national touring showcase of odd and hilarious found videos. It h as a one-night-only engagement at the Plaza Theatre (1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE) on Sunday, Oct. 12th at 7:30 pm. Tix are $10.
Nick Prueher and fellow curator Joe Pickett, whose credits include The Onion, “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “The Colbert Report,” have spent the last four years traveling the country, scouring thrift stores and garage sales for bizarre videos.
[Here’s a link to the trailer]*http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=3648214.)
And here’s the press release:
The Found Footage Festival is a one-of-a-kind event compiles more than an hour’s worth of footage from videos that were found at garage sales and thrift stores and in warehouses and dumpsters throughout the country. Curators Pickett and Prueher host each screening in-person and provide their unique observations and commentary on these found video obscurities. From the curiously-produced industrial training video to the forsaken home movie donated to Goodwill, the Found Footage Festival resurrects these forgotten treasures and serves them up in a lively celebration of all things found.
Among the new video clips to be featured in the show:
— Highlights from a cable access talent show called “Stairway to Stardom”
— An all-new collection of exercise videos featuring Marky Mark Wahlberg, O.J. Simpson and a group of rapping pregnant ladies.
— An instructional video for a cosmetic device so frightening that it will forever haunt you
The Found Footage Festival was founded in New York in 2004 and has gone on to sell out hundreds of shows across the U.S. and Canada, including the HBO Comedy Festival at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal. .
For more information, call the venue’s box office at 404-873-1939 or visit [www.plazaatlanta.com.][(http://www.plazaatlanta.com)
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24 hours of Paul Newman
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Turner Classic Movies will pay tribute to legendary actor Paul Newman, who died this weekend at age 83. On Sunday, Oct. 12, TCM will dedicate its entire 24-hour schedule to movies by the Oscar-winning actor. The lineup (which only includes films Newman made from 1956 to 1968) will include the iconic “Cool Hand Luke,” the Alfred Hitchcock thriller “Torn Curtain,” and my personal favorite “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” with actress Elizabeth Taylor. Are any of the films in the lineup below one of your favorite Newman films?
TCM’s Oct. 12 schedule
6 a.m.: The Rack (1956)
8 a.m.: “Until They Sail (1957)
10 a.m.: “Torn Curtain (1966)
12:15 p.m.: “Exodus (1960)
3:45 p.m.: “Sweet Bird of Youth” (1962)
6 p.m.: “Hud” (1963)
8 p.m.: “Somebody up There Likes Me” (1956)
10 p.m.: “Cool Hand Luke” (1967)
12:15 a.m.: “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958)
2:15 a.m.: “Rachel, Rachel” (1968)
4 a.m.: “The Outrage” (1964)
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