‘ACT OF VALOR’ TV SPOT & FEATURETTE TAKE YOU IN THE LINE OF FIRE

Today, we have a new TV spot for Act of Valor, as well as a five-minute long featurette that offers a better look at the overall filmmaking style of the project, along with the hazardous locations, up-to-date Navy technology/vehicles, and physically-exhausting combat maneuvers on display in the movie.

Act of Valor was scripted by Kurt Johnstad (300) and is reportedly based on several real-life incidents involving Navy SEALs. Those stories were thereafter reconstructed and tied together to form the film’s central narrative, which follows the Bandito Platoon as it works in collaboration with the C.I.A. and sets out to stop a global terrorist plot that threatens to result in the coordinated killing of thousands of U.S. civilians.

GEORGE LUCAS: OTHER THAN A FIFTH ‘INDIANA JONES’, I’M DONE WITH BLOCKBUSTERS

King George is butthurt and taking his ball home with him:

Lucas seized control of his movies from the studios only to discover that the fanboys could still give him script notes. “Why would I make any more,” Lucas says of the “Star Wars” movies, “when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?”

In the interview Lucas acts all astonished that after he tinkered with three of the most beloved films ever made, fans got upset. And he apparently holds the opinion that we shouldn’t be upset because he has the “right” to tinker with his films.

Lucas can’t possibly be this stupid.

No one I know of has ever claimed Lucas doesn’t have the right to ruin his films, and even I wouldn’t complain about him doing so if he wasn’t so mercenary when it comes to releasing the original cuts on home video. If you remember, the original cuts of the first trilogy only came out on DVD after we had all purchased the revised cuts because Lucas said he would never release the originals. And we all know he’s going to gouge us again by doing the same with respect to Blu-ray — where, once again, he only released the revised cuts.

This isn’t about artistic integrity; it’s about manipulating us, and I resent being manipulated.

I can forgive the weak prequels and even the unmitigated disaster that was “Indy 4.” Storytellers lose their mojo over time. It happens. But Lucas deserves every bit of the scorn he’s receiving, and to now compare his fans to studio executives is a whole new low.

Has anyone ever squandered as much goodwill as George Lucas?

KRISTEN WIIG SAYS NO TO ‘BRIDESMAIDS’ SEQUEL

Wiig was part of a legitimately good movie that was a massive hit and is smart enough to leave well enough alone and not mar the original by going all “American Pie” with it.

If her career dips, we’ll probably hear the old, “Well, we figured out a way to make it better than the first.” But hopefully it won’t come to that. Wiig is not only a legitimate talent, but she has a real screen presence and charisma. If she continues to make good decisions — like the one to do “Bridesmaids” in the first place and to not do the sequel — there’s no reason she can’t have a long career.

If Wiig goes wobbly, someone she loves should force her to watch “Miss Congeniality 2.”

BIG HOLLYWOOD’S OWN ELLEN KARIS HAS A NEW COMEDY DVD

Ellen Karis is “The Greek Goddess of Comedy” and a huge hit in the Greek American community. She has entertained audiences throughout the U.S. and Canada as one of the very few Greek female stand-up comedians performing today. Her rants about being raised in New York City as a traditional Greek American woman in a modern world spark non-stop laughter. From your Papou to your Koumbara, Ellen delivers comedy that everyone can relate to. Ellen’s DVD “Greek Chicks Rule” is a must see for every person of Greek heritage and the Xeni that marry them!

So don’t delay and purchase today, go to: http:www/ellenkaris.com and click on the merchandise page.

GERVAIS WON’T BE PERSUADED TO DO GLOBES AGAIN

Well, if all that hype around his return brought in lower ratings, why would he?

BLU-RAY REVIEW: BELLE DE JOUR (CRITERION COLLECTION)

Perhaps this film could be viewed as a sit down with a psychiatrist as Severine is relaying her story, mixing reality with fantasy and vague recollections of the truth combined with what her heart (and loins) truly desires. At the end of such a sitting the patient could be left with an answers to their concerns that leave them satisfied or sad, but most likely they will be left with a gray area, at once satisfied, sad and content, never knowing which exactly.

AMY ADAMS & MATTHEW LILLARD JOIN CLINT EASTWOOD IN ‘TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE’

Gran Torino was supposed to have been Clint Eastwood’s swansong, as an actor. However, in the latter months of 2011, news got out that the 81-year-old Hollywood icon would work in front of the camera one more time on Trouble with the Curve, the directorial debut of his frequent assistant director/producer, Robert Lorenz. …

Trouble with the Curve tells the tale of a nearly-blind baseball scout (Eastwood) who sets out with his adult daughter (Adams) for one final recruiting mission to check out a promising up-and-coming player in Atlanta (Massingill?). Lillard, should he sign on, would portray a rival scout.

‘THE DEVIL INSIDE’ DIRECTOR DEFENDS THE MOVIE’S ENDING

I won’t spoil this for those of you who haven’t seen Hollywood’s latest found-footage exorcism flick, but the criticism the ending is receiving is a little overblown. The overall story has much bigger issues that, I think, hurt the final scene. Had the climax been backfilled a little with a better story, it could’ve worked.

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LAST NIGHT’S SCREENING

Frailty (2001) — One thing I love about Bill Paxton’s feature directing debut is how it plays upon the audience’s knowledge of Hollywood’s bigotry as a way to deliver a twist ending that really does surprise. Because we all know how much Tinseltown hates people from the South and their deeply held religious beliefs, not for a moment do you expect things to end up the way they do. And it’s not a cheap twist, either. It’s a twist that slowly creeps up on you over the last 15 minutes or so as you pick up on the hints being dropped and start to rewind the film in your head.

Paxton’s direction is first-rate. The pacing is perfect, the reveals are handled beautifully, and the performances are flawless. The most impressive piece of the puzzle, though, is Brent Hanley’s tight, logical screenplay. His only credits since have been an episode of television and a short film. DVD talk interviewed him. Sounds like he has something going on.

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SCOTTDS’ EPIC LINKTACULAR

SCOTTDS ATTEMPTS TO DEFEND ‘STAR TREK V: THE FINAL FRONTIER‘

‘JUSTIFIED’: TIMOTHY OLYPHANT TALKS SEASON 3’S BIG BAD, WHY THE SHOW’S WRITING IS THAT GOOD

BAZ LUHRMANN AND WB REALLY STRETCHING THE 3-D EVANGELISM WITH ‘THE GREAT GATSBY‘

20 BEST JOB-QUITTING SCENES OF ALL TIME (WITH VIDEO)

WERNER HERZOG’S ‘INTO THE ABYSS’ TO CONTINUE AS LIMITED TV SERIES ‘ON DEATH ROW‘

SEE A SERIES OF MOVIE POSTERS THAT ADVERTISE FAMOUSLY SHORT CAMEOS

FIRST PHOTO OF ADAM SANDLER IN ‘DONNY’S BOY‘

‘HUNGER GAMES’ SEQUEL IN DEVELOPMENT WITH SCREENWRITER SIMON BEAUFOY

A BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT ‘ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER‘

10 GREAT SILENT SEQUENCES IN SOUND MOVIES

11 REASONS WHY LIAM NEESON IS A BADASS

A LOOK BACK AT JAWS: THE RIDE…

…AND 20 FACTS ABOUT ‘JAWS’ (THE MOVIE)

COOL VIDEO: LIBRARIES ON TV AND IN THE MOVIES

A LOOK BACK AT ‘REALITY BITES’… AN INDIE SELLOUT?

11 CHEESY MOVIE WORKOUT MONTAGES

A LOOK AT 2 NEW TITLES FROM THE WARNER ARCHIVE

FOR YOU SCREENWRITERS: USING A WIKI TO OUTLINE YOUR SCRIPT

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CLASSIC PICK FOR THURSDAY, JANUARY 18

TCM:

5:30 PM Train, The (1965) — French resistance fighters try to stop the Nazis from taking a trainload of art treasures to Germany. Dir: John Frankenheimer Cast: Burt Lancaster, Paul Scofield, Jeanne Moreau. BW-133 mins, TV-PG, Letterbox Format.

I consider this the first “Die Hard” film.

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