Christian Toto - Page 59

Every year, a new Clint Eastwood film hits theaters along with a wave of insta-Oscar buzz. It doesn’t matter if a single soul has yet to see the film in question. Its Oscar chances are stated as fact. Will “J.

The hapless hero in “The Human Resources Manager” keeps trying to do the right thing. But what’s really appropriate in the wake of a suicide bombing, and what are the best ways to honor the dead at a time when

The King of All Media is really better off sticking to one format – radio. Howard Stern briefly conquered books and music thanks to his best-selling autobiography “Private Parts” (and its sequel, “Miss America”) and the soundtrack to its big-screen

But … but … where are the shirtless young men and white-faced heartthrobs? “The Hunger Games,” Hollywood’s latest attempt to turn a young adult book series into a franchise, won’t hit theaters until March 2012. But the film’s new trailer

Michael Reilly will always remember the sight of a headless Big Bird. Reilly grew up in a theatrical family, and one day his mother invited him to the set of “Sesame Street” where he met the actor playing the yellow-feathered

The folks at TLC weren’t looking for the usual reality show fireworks when they commissioned “All-American Muslim.” A genre that too often feeds on divisiveness takes a gentler approach on the new show, debuting at 10 p.m. EST tonight (Nov.

It’s Oscar season, the time of year when oh, so serious films line up for our approval. That means somber biographies – “J. Edgar,” “The Iron Lady,” and “My Week with Marilyn” – will compete with Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse”

Filmmaker Brian Malone ran into some trouble when trying to interview Congressmen for his documentary “Patriocracy.” They feared he was another Michael Moore. Malone eventually earned the trust of politicos on both sides of the aisle to complete his new

Consider “Immortals” a cinematic snack while we wait … and wait … for the promised sequel to “300.” The new swords and six-pack abs flick dabbles in the elements that made “300” such a guilty pleasure. Merciless fight sequences. Monosyllabic

There’s something great about sitting down to a see an oh, so serious film and laughing at its ineptness. Sure, you lost a good $10 on the ticket, but it’s cathartic to laugh through the pain. Consider M. Night Shyamalan’s

The first draft of Evan Glodell’s directorial debut didn’t feature the muscle cars or flamethrowers found in the finished film. It was just another boy meets girl, girl dumps boy story. Glodell insists “Bellflower” is “exactly the same movie” as

Elizabeth Olsen is ready for stardom should her new film “Martha Marcy May Marlene” yield an Oscar nomination on top of the rave reviews it’s already earned her. But it’s not because she’s the younger sister of Mary Kate and

Disney’s animated wonder “The Lion King” proved it could survive the transition to 3D earlier this year. The celebrated musical of the same name is equally nimble in bringing its magical puppetry to stages across the country. “The Lion King,”

The upcoming Oscar telecast has lost its host, its producer and probably a whole lot more still to be determined in the last 24 hours over a spoken word. One. Single. Word. Don’t buy the argument that show producer Brett

Had Oliver Stone directed the life and times of J. Edgar Hoover, there’s no telling how many conspiracies would have marched across the screen. Clint Eastwood is a different brand of director. He’s more nuanced, more reasonable, and he won’t

Ex-supermodel Carre Otis has been mostly silent about her high-profile marriage – and divorce – to Oscar-nominated actor Mickey Rourke. But when Rourke started bringing up their marriage again in the wake of his recent career resurgence, Otis refused to

When was the last time Denzel Washington made a bad movie? Sure, “The Book of Eli” had its flaws, and “The Manchurian Candidate” couldn’t live up to its source material, but few actors churn out as many consistently watchable movies

You didn’t have to watch more than the opening sequence of 2009’s “Inglourious Basterds” to know Christoph Waltz had the Best Supporting Actor Oscar all but wrapped up. The actor’s post-Oscar career remains a head scratcher. Yes, it’s too soon

Actress Judy Greer calls it pure luck that she keeps landing smack dab in the middle of pop culture events. First, Greer scored a recurring role on the beloved Fox comedy “Arrested Development.” More recently, she snared a gig on

The faces of cult survivors inspired director Sean Durkin’s remarkable film debut, “Martha Marcy May Marlene.” Durkin knew he wanted to write a movie about cults, but when the young auteur started researching the subject it was the people staring

When you think about AMC’s exemplary originals, your mind runs to each show’s lead actor. “Mad Men’s” Jon Hamm. “Breaking Bad’s” Bryan Cranston. “The Walking Dead’s” Andrew Lincoln. —– It’s precisely what’s missing from “Hell on Wheels,” the channel’s new

The stars of two recent films mirroring elements of the Occupy Wall Street movement, “In Time” and “Tower Heist,” couldn’t be happier to throw their arms around the alleged 99 percent. “The movie is a comment on the inequalities that

The most frightening screen villains often don’t raise their voice above a whisper, like the cult leader at the very dark heart of “Martha Marcy May Marlene.” Oscar-nominee John Hawkes (“Winter’s Bone”) gives the film’s charismatic Patrick a rattling intensity,

If it weren’t for the latest 3D craze we’d never see marijuana smoke wafting off the big screen. That’s one of the few bright spots to be found in “A Very Harold & Kumar3D Christmas,” the third chapter in the

You can call back the search parties; the funny Eddie Murphy has been found and is alive, well and part of the crack ensemble comedy “Tower Heist.” No fat suits, kiddie co-stars or superfluous sequels. Just Murphy being Murphy –

Leave it to Cartman to give Occupy Wall Street a much needed dose of reality. Cartman, the foul-mouthed lad from Comedy Central’s “South Park,” savaged the nascent movement during last night’s new episode. —– The story involved Cartman’s girth throwing

Some entertainment scribes are giddy that two new films echo themes from the Occupy Wall Street movement. “In Time” depicts a future version of America where the rich can pay to extend their lives indefinitely while the poor live paycheck

The beguiling Baya Benmahmoud sees the world through fascist-covered glasses. Baya, the main character in the new French comedy ‘The Names of Love,’ is obsessed with her far-left politics. How obsessed? She uses her feminine wiles, and they are considerable,

Are we allowed to have nostalgic feelings for the ‘American Pie’ films yet? After all, the original is only 12 years old, and not only did we get two theatrical sequels but a gaggle of straight-to-DVD ones we’re better off

It’s been 14 years since ‘Cop Land’ first hit movie theaters, but director James Mangold distinctly remembers his first reaction to casting Sylvester Stallone as the film’s heroic sheriff. “I was dead set against it. I was horrified by the

An actor can put on makeup, a wig or a costume to get into character, but the performance ultimately comes down to the person underneath. The same holds true for singing, says actor turned singer Robert Davi. “I was either

The 1993 smash ‘Jurassic Park’ represented a quantum leap in how dinosaurs are depicted on the big screen. Instead of shooting actual lizards or resorting to stop-motion magic, director Steven Spielberg’s team used CGI to render the most dynamic dinosaurs

Irish rockers U2 stood astride the music world as the 1980s gave way to a new decade. What casual fans couldn’t know was how close the band was from becoming, in the words of lead singer Bono, one of music’s

Johnny Depp’s blinding affection for late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson convinced him to play the writer’s alter ego – again – in ‘The Rum Diary.’ That casting made sense for 1998’s ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,’ a Thompson-inspired