The Hitlist Movies Blog

Christian Slater Is Still Making Movies - And They're Going Straight to iTunes!

First trailer for 'Playback' doesn't quite smack of originality

By Kate Erbland Jan 18, 2012 10:38PM

If you've ever lusted for a low-budget film that plays like a weird amalgamation of "The Ring," "Stay Alive," and every cheapie found footage flick at your local multiplex, has Christian Slater got a film for you! The former eighties heartthrob is back on the big screen (relatively speaking) with indie horror film "Playback."

The film focuses on a small town (aren't they always?) that has a haunted past (again, don't they always?), thanks to a horrific crime that happened all the way back in - wait, all the way back in the mid-nineties? Way to dig back! Of course, the crimes would have to take place within the last couple of decades, because how else would they be caught on tape so that they could then be viewed by a bunch of random high school students? Seriously, did someone throw some darts at a board covered in modern horror film tropes to make this film? So, rewind - small town, terrible crimes, video tapes, teenagers. Yup, we've got a horror film.

The film's first trailer is laughably (and poorly) pun-laced: "once you get caught in his lens -- you're captured." What's most terrifying about webcams is that people are still using them, but I don't think "Playback" has a sense of humor when it comes to outdated technology. But the trailer does also hint at what could be some interesting ideas - possession by way of technology, and perhaps a crime legacy that goes back further than a time when Chumbawamba ruled the airwaves. The film also stars newbies Johnny Pacar, Ambyr Childers, Toby Hemingway, and Alessandra Torresani. It's possible one (or more!) of them will elevate what looks like pretty sub-standard material. Slater? I'm not talking to you.

"Playback" will debut on iTunes on February 3 (yes, a platform I just mocked, but one that can be frighteningly good at getting low-budget fare in front of eyeballs), with a theatrical release on March 9. Check out the film's first trailer, over at Apple.

Interview: Paul Walker and Jordana Brewster of 'Fast & Furious 6'

On cars and scars and stunts and kids ...

By James Rocchi 5 hours ago

Star-crossed lovers with big hearts on their sleeves and heavy feet on the gas pedal, Paul Walker and Jordana Brewster have been mainstays of the 'Fast and Furious" films. Walker is FBI-agent-turned-criminal Brian O'Conner, while Brewster is Mia Toretto, the little sister to Vin Diesel's bigger, badder Dom. We spoke with the two in London about real driving, real stunts and moving on without franchise director Justin Lin ...

MSN Movies: A lot of the time these well-received series, they can have a revolving door in the director's chair, but you guys have been working with Justin Lin for so long. Is that great in terms of being able to just really work on the characters and the ongoing relationships with him?

Paul Walker: Yeah, for me obviously ... I think what he's done , people realize. He's a champion. But what people don't see that we see is that he matches that with heart. He just comes from the right place, he's a team player, he wants everyone to feel valued, and he wants everyone to feel like they're important. And I respect him for that. I just think he's a really good team captain. Moving forward, we're talking about "Seven" without him...

It's going to be difficult, right?

Walker: I mean we've been there before.

Right, certainly.

Walker: We've seen this transition before, and I've had a conversation with James Wan already, and there's my read on people is pretty on point. And I think we've got a winner in him, too. So I'm excited. After that conversation it made it a little bit easier. But yeah, Justin's always going to be missed and appreciated. He's a champ.

And Ms. Brewster, in "Fast Five" it was revealed that your character's pregnant, and in this film you actually have the child. What's it like playing a mom in the classic North American action film? Is that a different set of challenges?

BING: More on Paul Walker l BING: More on Jordana Brewster

Jordana Brewster: I didn’t view it as a challenge. I thought it was sort of a very organic, natural progression in Mia and Brian's life. So when I saw (the baby scenes) I thought they were very sweet, and it's kind of like the moment where the film gets a little more grounded after, and it's all this crazy action. So it's really easy.

Is it nice being in an action film where the laws of physics get bent but not broken, in that there's nothing superhuman or science fiction-y about it? It's all extraordinary, but still relatively real.

Walker: Yeah, I want it completely real. That's just my personality. And I think a lot of people, for a lot of people it's just not enough.

Two box sets, one classic and one contemporary, of gangster movie landmarks on Blu-ray

By SeanAx 5 hours ago

Back in the thirties, as sound remade the movie industry, Warner Bros. blasted into the new decade as the studio of scrappy, snappy, street-smart movies, full of wise-cracking reporters, blue-collar hustlers, and hard-luck guys and dolls struggling to get by in the hard times of the depression. They were also the godfathers of the gangster movie, launching the genre and its two most famous icons with early sound movie landmarks "Little Caesar" (1931) with Edward G. Robinson and "The Public Enemy" (1931) with James Cagney.

Both of those films debut on Blu-ray this week in "Ultimate Gangsters Collection: Classics" (Warner), which arrives with its companion set "Ultimate Gangsters Collection: Contemporary" (Warner). Together they present nine films on Blu-ray, from 1931 to 2006, and a bonus documentary on DVD.

Enter to win a copy of both volumes in a giveaway from MSN and Warner Home Entertainment.

"Classics" is the more exciting of the two releases, as the four landmark gangster movies from Warner Bros. all make their respective Blu-ray debuts this week (they also debut in individual volumes on Blu-ray). Along with "Little Caesar" (1931), which established the classic rise-and-fall arc of the gangster thriller, and "The Public Enemy" (1931), which unleashed dynamo Cagney in a star-making turn, is "The Petrified Forest" (1936), which gave supporting player Humphrey Bogart his breakthrough role as a mad dog of a fugitive killer, and "White Heat" (1949), with Cagney in an explosive performance as the most psychotic gangster in classic cinema: “Made it, ma. Top of the world!”

Continue reading at Videodrone and see clips of Cagney from two films

For more releases, see Hot Tips and Top Picks: DVDs, Blu-rays and streaming video for week of May 21

'V/H/S/2' green band trailer will still give you nightmares

It's blood-free, but certainly not scare-free

By Kate Erbland 6 hours ago

Kudos to whoever put together this green band trailer for the second entry in the "V/H/S" horror franchise, because they've managed to pack two minutes of marketing with enough scares and screams to ensure that the faint of heart won't even go near the film's red band trailer, let alone the finished project.

Strangely, we mean all of that as a massive compliment.

Bing: More on 'V/H/S/2'

"V/H/S/2" is the first follow-up to last year's "V/H/S," a loosely strung-together collection of horror shorts crafted by some of the genre's brightest rising stars. "V/H/S/2" continues the tradition, using a wraparound story about some (apparently haunted?) VHS tapes that all depict some truly horrific events and run the full gamut of horror tropes.

Bing: More on Adam Wingard

Do you want zombies, aliens, monsters, creepy schoolgirls, and cults? "V/H/S/2" has got all of that (and so much more), and they're all coming to you from such writers and directors as Simon Barrett, Gareth Evans, Jason Eisner, Adam Wingard, and Eduardo Sanchez (and, yes, so many more). If you're at all a horror fan or you're just looking for some fresh filmmaking talent, do yourself a favor and check out the "V/H/S" franchise. Oh, and also? Do yourself another favor and bring someone you can totally cling to during the scary parts.

Check out the green band trailer for the decidedly not green band "V/H/S/2," thanks to Bloody Disgusting, after the break.

Remakes of 'Endless Love' and 'About Last Night' set for same day release

By Kate Erbland 6 hours ago

The eighties are back and they're coming for your heart.

Deadline Hollywood reports that yet another remake of an eighties-era cult classic romance will arrive in theaters just in time to ensure that couples everywhere have something to argue about on the day of love, as "Endless Love" will join "About Last Night" when they both open on Valentine's Day of next year.

Bing: More on 'Endless Love'

The "Endless Love" remake is coming to us from director Shana Feste (of "Country Strong" fame), who will attempt to top Franco Zeffirelli's original 1981 film that starred Brooke Shields and Martin Hewitt and which was over-the-damn-top in every way possible. Teens, if your parents are cagey about you dating and you don't quite get why, give the first "Endless Love" a watch - you'll soon understand where all their worst case scenarios came from (hint: they involve fire and jail). How nutty is "Endless Love"? The first film's official tagline was "The love every parent fears." No, really.

Feste's film stars Alex Pettyfer and Gabriella Wilde. We truly hope this new version is just as bonkers as the first.

Bing: More on 'About Last Night'

For fans of the eighties and love stories, the also-releasing-on-Valentine's-Day remake of "About Last Night" may add just a touch of levity to the box office landscape. A remake of Edward Zwick's 1986 adaptation of the David Mamet play, the new "About Last Night" features an all-black leading cast to change things up a bit, including Kevin Hart, Paula Patton, Joy Bryant, and Michael Ealy. While it may not be as chuckle-heavy as "Endless Love," it should be far more traditionally funny.

Other Valentine's Day releases include "The Maze Runner" and "Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters," so young readers will also have choices when it comes to movie-going. Missing from the box office, however? A new Nicholas Sparks film, a V-Day treat we'd been starting to get with some regularity, thanks to the holiday releases of "Safe Haven," "Dear John," and "Message in a Bottle." We think we'll live without a new Sparks, though, maybe.

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'Just Like a Woman' trailer: 'Thelma & Louise,' with belly dancing

Two gals, a road trip, and some bad dudes (and, yes, belly dancing)

By Kate Erbland 7 hours ago

When Ridley Scott's "Thelma & Louise" hit theaters in 1991, it hit theaters like a damn freight train (or, alternately, like a 1996 Thunderbird convertible careening off a cliff after an ill-fated chase with a mess of cops), irrevocably changing modern feminist cinema and what a "chick flick" could be. Of course, it also spawned its fair share of imitators, but few "Thelma & Louise" wannabes look as close to the original material as Rachid Bouchareb's "Just Like a Woman," which does at least benefit from the injection of a subplot involving belly-dancing, of all things.

Bing: More on 'Just Like a Woman'

Like "Thelma & Louise," Bouchareb's ("Days of Glory," "Outside the Law") film centers on a pair of unhappy housewives, here played by Sienna Miller and Goldshifteh Farahani, who decide to hit the road after a series of personal disasters. Miller's Marilyn is running from a cheating husband and a recently lost job, while Farahani's Mona is struggling with an arranged marriage to a man she doesn't love. The dangling carrot at the end of their trip is a belly dancing competition in Santa Fe, New Mexico that Marilyn is eager to compete in.

Bing: More on Sienna Miller

Yes, it all sort of sounds like the Mad Libs of female-centric road trips movies - a little "cheating husband," a dash of "belly dancing competition," some "Santa Fe" - but even the film's first trailer can't hide the one thing that just might make "Just Like a Woman" stand out, which is a lovely chemistry between Miller and Farahani. If the film really wants to plumb the depths of female friendships, that sort of rapport is a start, and we're eager to see if it actually pans out.

After the break, check out the first trailer for "Just Like a Woman," thanks to Yahoo! Movies, after the break.

Emma Thomson and Emmy Rossum talk about the two worlds in the fantasy drama

By MSN Movies 7 hours ago

This supernatural love story set in the South, “Beautiful Creatures” is a tale of two star-crossed lovers as they uncover dark secrets about their families, their history and their town.

Bing: More on Emmy Rossum

To celebrate the release on Blu-ray and DVD we’re giving away copies of “Beautiful Creatures.” Watch this exclusive as Emma Thompson and Emmy Rossum takes you behind the scenes and enter to win a copy of the movie!

"Beautiful Creatures" is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.

Here’s how you enter the giveaway!

1. Like MSN Movies Facebook and follow MSN Movies Twitter.

2. Share the giveaway on your Facebook with friends and tweet and comment the following message: I want to win the @MSNmovies #BEAUTIFULCREATURES giveaway!

3. Email msnmovies@hotmail.com with the following message: I want to win the @MSNmovies #BEAUTIFULCREATURES

4. Stay in touch with MSN Movies Facebook to see if you've been selected as the winner.

Entries are accepted until Tuesday, May 28. Good luck, MSN Movies fans!

Final 'Man of Steel' trailer lays down the stakes

Superman must surrender or Earth pays, blah blah blah

By Corwin Neuse 8 hours ago

While the first few trailers for Zach Snyder's hotly anticipated upcoming "Man of Steel" were full of operatic bombast, weepy nostalgia, epic Kevin Costner voice over, and dreamy images of faded Americana, they weren't so much with the face punching. Or the plot. The latest clip, and presumably the last, lays down the stakes pretty clearly, however.

Bing: 'Man of Steel' | Michael Shannon

General Zod, as played by the terrifying Michael Shannon, wants Superman. For whatever reason. Earth is accused of harboring Superman. If Superman doesn't surrender or isn't brought forward, Zod will destroy Earth. Spaceships, explosions, and various super-powered men (and women!) flying through the air to annihilate each other's faces with their fists ensue. Basically, it's like everything we've always wanted from a Superman movie, but have never gotten before.

What do you think, Hitlisters? Overly excited for "Man of Steel?" What looks better, this or "The Wolverine?" Are you disturbed by the implied changes to Superman's mythology? (Krypton may or may not have been destroyed in a civil war; Kal-El is more than just Jor-El's son, but represents a paradigm shift in Kryptonian evolution, etc.) Check out the trailer, posted below, and let us know what you think in the comments, or on MSN Movies Facebook and MSN Movies Twitter.

Soderbergh's intelligent take on a familiar genre reminds us how much we'll miss his touch

By SeanAx Tue 11:39 AM

Steven Soderbergh says that "Side Effects" (Universal) is his last theatrical feature before retirement (he doesn't count his upcoming made-for-HBO film "Behind the Candelabra"). The modestly scaled but satisfying thriller reminds us just how much we'll miss his take presence on the big screen.

What begins as a medical drama of wonder drugs and pharmaceutical conspiracy turns into a sly psychological thriller, with Jude Law as a committed psychiatrist and Rooney Mara as a troubled patient with a coldly calculating soul. Law prescribes a new, experimental drug to combat her depression and anxiety attacks (recommended by fellow therapist Catherine Zeta-Jones, all very controlled and steely), Mara ends up killing her husband (Channing Tatum) in a sleepwalking nightmare, and the more he looks into the suppressed side effects of the drug, the more suspicions are raised about the whole situation. Meanwhile the film's observation on how cozy the medical profession is with the pharmaceutical industry, and how her murder trial is intertwined with big business and medical malpractice, puts a whole new angle on the stakes of the murder trial.

"Side Effects" is less twisty in retrospect than it appears as the drama unfolds moment to moment. Like so many of Soderbergh's films, it turns on human nature, perception, and expectations, which Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns play with to great effect. As Law's ambitious, seemingly sincere, and possibly paranoid psychiatrist says, the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Fittingly the entire last act rests on that simple observation.

Continue reading at Videodrone

For more releases, see Hot Tips and Top Picks: DVDs, Blu-rays and streaming video for week of May 21