JOHN Cusack takes on the role of author Edgar Allan Poe in this period detective story that uses the real-life mystery surrounding his death as its jumping-off point.
Set in 19th Century Baltimore, the film begins with Poe's last moments before telling a fictional account of the last few days of his life.
We see him team up with a young detective (Luke Evans) in an attempt to solve a series of murders that are mirroring his macabre stories
While it initially appears to be heading down the route of an enjoyably grim period-piece – especially during a delightfully gruesome death scene using Poe's The Pit And The Pendulum apparatus (a giant swinging axe with a victim strapped to a table) – this soon loses its way.
Cusack, adept at the comic potential of Poe's eccentricities, never delivers much in the way of tension, even when his sweetheart Emily (Alice Eve) becomes a target for the killer.
But ultimately the problem is that James McTeigue's film inhabits a middle ground of being too morose for a crowd-pleaser in the style of Sherlock Holmes yet not dark enough for those wanting a seriously disturbing serial killer pic.
In the upcoming CBS Films feature ‘Salmon Fishing in the Yemen,’ fisheries expert (Ewan McGregor) works with a beautiful consultant (Emily Blunt) to help realize the seemingly-impossible dream of a wealthy royal who wishes to bring the unprobable sport of Fly Fishing to the Middle East.
By BAZ BAMIGBOYE
Last updated at 12:38 AM on 2nd March 2012
Oscar-winning star Colin Firth has found a new wife: Nicole Kidman.
She will take the role over from Rachel Weisz as the remarkable woman who helped her husband try to overcome nightmares caused by his horrific World War II experiences.
The Academy Award-winning actress was persuaded by Firth and producer Andy Paterson to star in The Railway Man, which is based on the true story of Eric Lomax, a second lieutenant in the Royal Corps of Signals who was captured by Japanese forces.
As a prisoner of war, he was tortured and made to work on the Burma-Siam railway, also known as the Death Railway - its construction was fictionalised in David Lean’s 1957 film The Bridge On The River Kwai.
Lomax’s second wife, Patricia Wallace, known as Patti, will be portrayed by Kidman.
Ms Weisz was all set to play her but she has to do additional shooting on two movies, The Bourne Legacy and Oz: The Great And Powerful - plus she wants to be on hand for the U.S. release of Terence Davies’s haunting film The Deep Blue Sea this month.
In the quirky comedy about finding a friend when the world is literally crashing down around you, Steve Carell and Keira Knightley make for a comedic odd couple in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.
Steve Carell and Keira Knightley are an odd couple dealing with an even odder situation. The earth will be destroyed by a meteor in three weeks, and there's nothing anyone can do to stop it.
Carell plays Dodge, an office worker who finds out -- along with the rest of the world – about the demise of the planet. Panicked, emotional and completely out of their minds, everyone else responds in stride.
Dodge on the other hand seems to have a deadpan approach to this looming disaster. He was lonely before he found out the earth was being destroyed, and he's lonely now.
Filming of a new romantic drama set among Cornwall's artistic community on the eve of the Great War began at the weekend.
The cast of Summer In February, headed by Mamma Mia star Dominic Cooper and Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens, will spend four weeks filming in the Penzance area.
Adapted from Jonathan Smith's novel, the production tells the true story of a love triangle among the Edwardian artists' colony at Lamorna Cove in 1913.
Jeremy Cowdrey, one of the three producers, said: "We could have filmed it anywhere in the world, but we were determined to do it here, where it all happened."
Shooting will take place not only at Lamorna Cove but at various other coves between 30 and 40 minutes away.
You're about to watch an exclusive clip from Liam Neeson's upcoming thriller, "The Grey." This time, he's not fighting terrorists who've kidnapped his daughter or an identity thief, but something far more immutable: the wilderness itself.
A group of men are stranded in Alaska following a plane crash, and Neeson's the leader who must bring them back to civilization. While trekking through the unknown, they're forced to use their intelligence to survive the threats of the wild: wolves, and lots of them.
In the clip, Neeson and his partner are standing over a cliff, contemplating the fall below them. "You go," Neeson says to the other man, who polishes his glasses before slipping over the edge and onto a sagging trip line connecting him to some unseen surface in the distance. While struggling to maintain position, he turns his head for a brief moment and then watches his glasses fall off into the abyss (in slow motion, of course).
Film talk for a second: the muted colors look beautiful, and the whole interaction is nicely underscored by the wind, which obscures the dialogue with a relentless whoosh. It feels like you're in Alaska, basically. At the very least, "The Grey" will definitely be more than just an easy punch line about "that movie where Liam Neeson fights a wolf." (Though he does fight a wolf, never forget that.)
The movie arrives in theaters on January 27.
What do you think of the exclusive clip from "The Grey"? Tell us in the comments section and on Twitter!
Get ready to fall under Snow White's spell. The beautiful Lily Collins and Julia Roberts are front and center of Relativity's Mirror Mirror. Naughty meets nice in the latest poster for the fable-inspired comedy.
Who's the fairest of them all? With leading ladies like Julia Roberts and Lily Collins, it's hard to choose! Relativity Media has released a new poster for their upcoming Snow White adaptation, Mirror Mirror.
The film is a fantastical comedy that tackles inner versus outer beauty. In Mirror Mirror, Collins stars as Princess Snow White, while Roberts plays her nemesis the Evil Queen. The devious matriarch forces the princess into exile, and seizes control of their magical kingdom.
While on her own, Snow White gets a helping hand from seven dwarf rebels. The group devises a plan to expose the Queen and her deeds once and for all. With new friends by her side, Snow White quickly goes from meek maiden to independent woman.
Mirror Mirror co-stars Armie Hammer as the charming Prince Alcott, Nathan Lane as Brighton, the Queen's spineless servant and Sean Bean as the regal King. The film is directed by Tarsem Singh, who previously shot the November blockbuster Immortals.
Before landing the coveted role of Snow White, Lily Collins appeared alongside Taylor Lautner in the thriller Abduction and Sandra Bullock in the acclaimed drama, The Blind Side. Oscar-winner Julia Roberts recently starred in the comedy Larry Crowne, and last year's Eat Pray Love.
She's also attached to Scott Charles Stewart's The Mortal Instruments, where she'll play a teen who discovers a dark secret about her family's past. Miss Collins is a very busy girl! Mirror Mirror opens in theaters nationwide March 16.
TWO tantalizing words at the close of the first Sherlock Holmes film in 2009 promised audiences that more adventures lie ahead.
This December, the release of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows fulfills that promise, bringing the legendary detective back to the big screen in a new action-packed mystery that reunites the stars and filmmakers behind that worldwide hit.
“I was very keen to return to Sherlock Holmes’ world because the experience of making the first movie was so positive, both personally and creatively," said Ritchie. "There were a myriad of story possibilities in revisiting this character because he has so many interesting facets. His idiosyncrasies almost transcend description, so I wanted the opportunity to explore that more, while giving audiences something they hadn’t seen.”
Ritchie’s version of Holmes redefined Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic character for a new generation with Robert Downey Jr. creating his own unique incarnation of the role, alongside Jude Law as Dr. John Watson.
“First and foremost, we wanted to maintain the visceral tone that was part of Guy’s original vision, while presenting Holmes with an even more difficult case, one that would challenge his considerable skills,” explained Downey Jr.
That challenge arises out of the threat from a redoubtable adversary, one whose name is familiar to anyone with even a passing knowledge of the Sherlock Holmes canon: Professor James Moriarty – the greatest criminal mastermind in the world.
“Because they are intellectual equals to a degree, there is the sense that this is a game that is stimulating to them both,” said Ritchie. “In this way, they actually need each other, and that idea is authentic to the books. Holmes needs Moriarty as much as Moriarty needs Holmes.”
Just as the hero in this film needed his villian, he also relied very much on his partner in crime, Watson.
“I was thrilled that the connection between Holmes and Watson, as we had developed it, was still very much the heart and soul of the story,” said Law.
Apart from Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows introduces film audiences to another character well known to readers of the original stories – Sherlock’s older and far more urbane brother, Mycroft Holmes, played by Stephen Fry.
Rachel McAdams’ Irene Adler is also back to tempt and torment Sherlock, while a new woman has entered the fray: a Gypsy named Sim, played by Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, who could provide the link to the final piece of the puzzle, completing the picture of Moriarty’s sinister plot.
As the vastness of Moriarty’s conspiracy unfolds, it broadens the scope of the action beyond the confines of London, to France, Germany and on to Switzerland.
Ritchie said: “Our narrative enabled us to spread our wings across Europe to expand the topography and tapestry of the story.”
The titular character created by Robert Downey Jr. in Sherlock Holmes had defied convention. Gone were the once-emblematic deerstalker hat, curved pipe and posh British decorum, replaced by a streetwise, bare-knuckled brawler, whose physical prowess was equal to his superlative mind and preternatural powers of perception.
“One of the most important things about the first movie was to get away from the somewhat dustier, if you will, impression of the character that I think many people were expecting," explained Richie.
"In keeping with Conan Doyle’s original creation, we wanted to access the physicality of Holmes while conveying his intelligence and wit, and Robert brought all that and more to the equation. There were a lot of little nuances going on that added so much to the role. I find it impossible now to imagine anyone else as Sherlock Holmes.”
Downey added: “I love working with Guy; it’s such a collaborative process and he has a terrific sense of humour that really comes into play here. On this film, there was an element of rediscovering Sherlock Holmes all over again. We wanted to maintain that sense of fun but with even more gravitas.”
In the time that has elapsed since the end of the first film, Holmes has been bent on a singular mission, triggered by the revelation that, while he had taken down the evil Lord Blackwood, he had somehow missed an even greater threat. Shrouded in secrecy, Professor Moriarty had been patiently lying in wait to capitalize on Blackwood’s handiwork.
“Months later, we see the after-effects of Holmes having been consumed with Moriarty, to the point that he’s clearly kind of ‘nutting up.’ He’s focused on him to the exclusion of everything else, including, quite possibly, his own sanity,” Downey revealed.
That is the state in which Dr. Watson discovers his old friend when he returns to Baker Street on the eve of his wedding to Mary.
Law explained: “Watson arrives looking forward to the stag party that his best man was supposed to arrange. Instead, he finds he has reason to be concerned with Holmes’ obsessive behavior regarding Professor Moriarty. I don’t think he doubts that Holmes is right, and there’s still a bit of the old soldier in Watson who feels a responsibility to see justice done. But he does suspect it will result in the dilemma he always faces: a secure life with his wife or the thrill of the chase. He undoubtedly has great times when he’s on a case with Holmes and wants to help his friend out of the scrapes he gets himself into, so it’s a constant struggle for the poor chap.”
The connection between Holmes and Watson was reflected in the off-screen friendship between the two actors playing them, as Downey shares: “I feel about Jude the way Sherlock feels about John: I love the guy like a brother. I couldn’t ask for a better partner.”
Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows is in cinemas now, certificate 12A.
Dustin Hoffman was reduced to tears on the set of his directorial debut Quartet when he heard his leading actors singing opera.
The Rain Man star recruited Brits including Harry Potter actor Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Scottish comedian Billy Connolly and Tom Courtenay for the film, based on Ronald Harwood's play about four ageing opera stars who are living in a retirement home.
Hoffman originally wanted the four lead actors to mime the quartet from Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto, but after hearing them sing the track themselves, he broke down in tears.
Connolly, who started out in showbiz as a folk singer, tells Britain's Daily Record, "It was the best we'd ever done it and Dustin started to cry."
Featuring the kind of explosions that make Transformers director Michael Bay look like a quiet indie artist, the new trailer for Battleship sure does blow stuff up real good.
Drawing heavily on the set pieces and sound design of everyone's favourite robots in disguise, Battleship is actually a $200m summer 2012 epic based on the old board game 'Battleship Command'.
Honestly, Universal have spent close to a billion dollars on a board game movie, although after the success of toymaker Hasbro's other aforementioned franchise, you can hardly blame them.
Featuring the unlikely trio of Liam Neeson, Rihanna and its star Taylor Kitsch (who has a lot banking on him next year with Disney's $250m John Carter set for release in March), the film tells of a sea battle between US Navy destroyers and a mysterious alien force.
On the evidence of the above clip, Peter Berg (Hancock, The Kingdom) is attempting to out-do director Michael Bay in his signature level of 'Bayhem' with stunning special effects, zero subtlety and eye-opening set pieces.
While we're a little worried as to the fate of Neeson's character (the line "The Captain's dead" sounds more than a little ominous), we're also delighted to see him in one of Hollywood's biggest bets in years.
Time will tell if Universal's risky big-budget wager will pay off at the box office; April 20, 2012 to be more precise. That's when this noisy blend of Transformers and Independence Day hits Irish cinemas. Enjoy the trailer above.
Downton Abbey star Dan Stevens has revealed he is hoping to launch his movie career on the back of his fame from the hit TV drama.
The 29-year-old actor - who plays the show's romantic lead Matthew Crawley - is producing and starring in a film which he's finally got off the ground thanks to Downton-mania.
Dan said of the ITV1 show's success: "Well it's led to me being an executive producer on a film I've been trying to make for about five or six years, a film called Summer In February. We start shooting in Cornwall in January, which is very, very exciting."
Dan will also act in the film and has managed to sign up other big stars to appear in it with him.
He teased: "We can't officially announce the cast yet, but it's looking very cool and it's a beautiful script and we're very excited about it."
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In The Grey, an Alaskan oil drilling team is on a flight home when their plane suddenly crashes, stranding them in the wild. Smelling blood, the wild wolves are ready to start feasting on the unsuspecting crew. There’s just one problem: the drilling team has got Liam Neeson with them. .
The reference to '3 Foot 7' - Jackson's production company - is a bit of a giveaway. Photo / ODT
One of the biggest things to happen in the Strath Taieri and Maniototo areas of Otago in recent years has tongues wagging - but only those of outsiders.
Six helicopters, a giant marquee, security guards and dozens of trailers have been parked in a paddock east of Hyde for the past four days.
But ask the locals why the trailers are there, and most reply "can't say" or "don't know".
However, use the words "hobbit", "film set" and "Sir Peter Jackson", and sly, knowing smiles cross their faces.
Filming for Sir Peter's two-part Hobbit series started in Wellington in March and, while other locations have been closely guarded, they include areas around the Strath Taieri and Queenstown.
Otago Central Hotel owner Ngaire Sutherland, of Hyde, said she was "sworn to secrecy" about the filming but that some of those involved were staying at her establishment.
"We do have some people staying here, but we don't have the top brass. We've still got more cyclists than hobbits," she said.
Cast and crew were scattered "all round the place" providing a "boost for the area in total".
"We are bending over backwards to help them, but we don't get into much conversation because they are working ... they are doing some long hours."
Strath Taieri Community Board chairman Barry Williams said that while the filming was meant to be a secret, it was "pretty well known [as] they are all over the show".
A "base camp" had been set up on private land near Hyde, with crew arriving in the area from last Thursday.
Security was tight around the camp with signs requesting "three foot seven ID be worn at all times".
Filming had been delayed due to rain, but the cast and crew were expected to leave today.
Middlemarch business owner Dave Thompson said the whole thing had been "quite amazing", but people could not say anything about it because of a confidentiality agreement.
When asked if a contract had been signed, or it was a verbal agreement, he said: "Can't say".
He was also not sure when people would be able to start talking about the filming.
Northern Irish actor James Nesbitt, who plays dwarf Bofur in the films, is staying in Naseby.
Kirsty Sloan, of the Royal Hotel, said he was the "biggest name" staying in the town.
"We had a lot of them eating and drinking with us," she said.
She did not know where other stars, such as Martin Freeman, who plays Bilbo Baggins, and Sir Peter were staying.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is scheduled for release on December 14 next year.
The second film, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, is due to be released on December 13, 2013. By Ellie Constantine of the Otago Daily Times NZ Herald.co
Watch as Ellen Barkin talks with Jay about tweeting and her twitter friends, her relationship with ex-husbands and her new movie, “Another Happy Day.” Later, Henry Cavill takes the “Tonight Show” couch and talks about playing Superman in the upcoming movie and the super hero’s new look. Cirque du Soleil performs their new act, “Iris.”
Who's the fairest of them all? With leading ladies like
