Even though it’s based on a popular game (yes, it’s not just a rumor), director Peter Berg attempts to take the concept further, by having ships battle at sea against an alien invasion in the blockbuster, Battleship. Sound interesting? Well, don’t get your hopes up, because even though it’s got incredible action and phenomenal special effects, the story is completely unsatisfying.
With way too much backstory about the main character, Alex Hopper (Taylor Kitsch, you know, from that John Carter movie that no one saw), the movie starts off very slow including a short few scenes of him and his brother, Stone (Alexander Skarsgård, HBO’s True Blood) that could have been cut entirely. Let me quickly point out that the brother’s name is Stone Hopper. Stone. Hopper. Seriously. Anyway, there’s a pretty blonde girl (SHOCKER) that’s the Admiral’s daughter (really?) and guess what? Yah, Alex is in love with her. The pretty blonde girl is Brooklyn Decker (Just Go With It) and Liam Neeson pops his head in now and then as the Admiral.
The Dictator follows Cohen’s next creation, General Admiral Haffaz Aladeen, a showboating and semi-retarded dictator who loves his power and would do anything to make sure democracy never comes to his state of Wadiya, an oil rich nation located in North Africa. When the United Nations begins taking a closer look at Wadiyan affairs and sees that it may be building atomic weapons, taking the advice of his Head of Secret Police and Chief of Secruity, Uncle Tamir (Sir Ben Kingsley), the Supreme Leader decides to take a trip to NY to address the UN. It is in NY where, under the orders of his uncle, he is kidnapped and his body double takes his place in order to open Wadiya to the world. With the help of an exiled Wadiyan scientist named Nadal (Jason Mantzoukas) and a feminist and owner of the Free Earth Collective, Zoey (Anna Faris), General Aladeen will do what he must in order to prevent democracy from reaching his country.
Believe it or not, nineteenth-century England is the perfect setting for Hysteria, a story surrounding the invention of the vibrator. Rooted in factual history, this fictionalization of the inventor is light-hearted and immensely entertaining. Director Tanya Wexler treads the delicate topic with ease and with delightful comedic timing.
Hugh Dancy (My Idiot Brother) plays Mortimer Granville, a young forward-thinking doctor in 1880′s London. After his dismissal from a local hospital, Mortimer finds work assisting the very busy Dr Dalrymple (Jonathan Pryce, Pirates of the Caribbean series) in his practice which specializes in the new treatment for hysteria in women. Dr Dalrymple has two daughters, Emily (Felecity Jones, Like Crazy), who helps with the practice and Charlotte (Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart), who disapproves of her father and runs a settlement house for the poor. In the middle of all this is Rupert Everett as Edmund St. John-Smythe, a wealthy, eccentric aristocrat and Mortimer’s best friend.
It has been way too long since we gave something away and so we decided it was time to change that. Thanks to Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, we have one copy of McG’s action rom-com, This Means War, on DVD to give away to one lucky Movie Buzzers reader.
The film stars Academy Award® winner Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line), Chris Pine (Star Trek) and Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises), and will be available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download May 22.
For your chance to win a copy of This Means War on DVD, simply send an email to contests@moviebuzzers.com with the subject line “THIS MEANS WAR!” In the body be sure to include your full name, phone number, mailing address and the answer to the following question:
Based on the 1960s gothic soap opera, Dark Shadows follows a man named Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp), the son of Joshua and Naomi Collins, two Englanders who built a fishing empire in a coastal Maine town which was then aptly named Collinsport. As a powerful playboy, Barnabas made the mistake of falling in love with a woman named Josette (Bella Heathcote—who also plays Victoria in the film) even though Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green) was in love with him. As a result of her broken heart and the fact that she is also a watch, she cursed Barnabas by killing his one true love, turning him into a vampire and buried him underground in a locked coffin.
Who would have thought that after police academy Bobcat Goldthwait would go on to direct some of the oddest black comedies of our generation. The guy with the funny voice has managed to revitalize his dying acting career by moving to the director’s chair and utilizing the power of the pen. Goldthwait’s latest foray into the dark comedy realm is with a ridiculously entertaining satire titled God Bless America.
Starring Joel Murray and Tara Lynne Barr, God Bless America is about an honest and frustrated middle aged man named Frank. Frank, a good man at heart, has become fed up with his life and all the bullshit that encompass the world in which he lives. He is divorced and his entitled daughter doesn’t like to see him because there is nothing to do at his house. Additionally, he gets fired from his job because he sent flowers to a sick co-worker and, to top it all off, he is told he only has a few months to live due to a brain tumor.
There are very few blockbusters that manage to truly captivate an entire audience; to lift every member out of their seats for a truly magical and exciting experience that will leave a lasting impression which then drives you back to the theater for round two. The Avengersis one of those films and for a variety of reasons.
When Loki (Tom Hiddleston) comes to earth and steals the tesseract aka cosmic cube from S.H.I.E.L.D.’s headquarters and threatens the earth with an extraterrestrial army, Nick fury calls upon Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson), Captain America (Chris Evans) and Hawk Eye (Jeremy Renner), the only heroes who can help him prevent the world from being conquered.
Kicking off the blockbuster season is The Avengers, which brings together Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and the only one without a major movie role to date, Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). Writer/director Joss Whedon is known mostly for his creation of TV shows: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly and Angel, and the cult sci-fi film, Serenity, which he also directed, and his gift for character development is put to the test with The Avengers, as it has to appeal to newcomers as well as fans of all the previous films. The result is a really fun film that’s is jam-packed with action and a story that is believable enough to get by.
Check out Alex and Melissa’s review of The Five-Year Engagement starring Emily Blunt and Jason Segal. Both agree it’s hilarious and should be seen this weekend.
In the latest attempt to turn historical persons into action figures, director James McTeigue (V for Vendetta, Ninja Assassin) show us just how right you were when you first thought, “That sounds like a bad idea.” Leading the cast (in the role of Edgar Allen Poe) is the legendary John Cusack who is well known for his other action thrillers like Being John Malcovich and High Fidelity. Other cast members include Luke Evans (The Immortals), Alice Eve (She’s Out of My League), and Brendan Gleeson (28 Days Later)
Check out Brett and Alex’s reviews of Sound of My Voice.
Over the past few weeks, there have been rumors and actual casting announcements for the upcoming Fast Six film which will bring back Fast Five director Justin Lin. We know that Gina Carano will have a role in the upcoming film, but whether it will be a villain role...
I’ve loved movies about sports ever since I saw Rocky when I was a kid. So I’m naturally interested in any new sports movie coming up. But I’m not so sure about this one. Deadline is reporting that Mad Men‘s Jon Hamm will star as real-life sports agent J.B....
With 2012 being the year of the Super Heroes, it’s easy to forget that there are other films coming out that have the potential to blow our socks off. One of those films is Ruben Fleischer‘s Gangster Squad which is based on the true story of a squad of...
Today has been such a great day for news regarding Asian films. First we get word on the status of Ip Man 3, and then later in the day, via their Facebook page, the New York Asian Film Festival had three big announcements for anxiously waiting fans. The first was the...
VOD Overdose is Movie Buzzers’ coverage of video-on-demand developments and upcoming films premiering on video-on-demand. With an increasing number of studios embracing VOD as a way to premiere and distribute films, this column covers movies that might be worth a look even though they aren’t playing at your local...
Oh what joyous news has been brought forth on this glorious ninth day of May. Not only is producer Raymond Wong, writer Edmond Wong and director Wilson Yip returning for IP Man 3 but it has been confirmed that Donnie Yen will be returning to reprise his role as...
Directed by Robert Lieberman, The Tortured follows Craig (Jesse Metcalfe) and Elisa Landry (Erika Christensen), a happily married couple whose lives are destroyed due to their son being kidnapped and brutally murdered. When the murderer manages to avoid life in prison through a plea bargain, the Landry’s decide that...
With The Avengers rapidly approaching the billion dollar mark, it should come to no surprise that a second Avengers film would get the thumbs up from Disney. Today that is exactly what happened, but it may be much more complicated than people are expecting. Today, during the shareholders meeting,...
Takashi Shimizu (The Grudge) and Japan’s first full-length live-action 3D feature, Shock Labyrinth 3D, is set to hit the home entertainment shelves here in the states, and it’s not one I’d recommend picking up on your next buying spree. Set in the largest haunted house ride in the world,...
