The Hitlist Movies Blog

'Rush Hour 4' A Thing That Is Happening

But why?

By Corwin Neuse Jul 31, 2012 8:28AM

When "Rush Hour 3" came out in 2007, it appropriately felt like that franchise's swan song. The jokes were stale and unfunny, Jackie Chan could barely bend his knees, and Chris Tucker seemed to overcompensate for everything by loudly bleating his lines like a badly injured goat. The only positive thing that came out of the movie was that it—combined with the poor reception of 2006's "X-Men: The Last Stand"—momentarily derailed Brett Ratner's career. Caught in a tailspin of turgid plots and ever-dwindling profits, Ratner somehow didn't stain Hollywood's good name or erode our cultural currency with another "film" until 2011's semi-disastrous "Tower Heist."

Still, despite all of the above, certain malevolent forces seem intent on making "Rush Hour 4" a reality. Or at least series producer Arthur Sarkissian, who revealed as much in an interview with Crave Online. His plan? To introduce two younger characters who could keep the franchise going indefinitely, but have Tucker and Chan around at least for one more installment to sort of "pass the torch," as it were? Maybe. But Sarkissian also envisions Chan getting married to "The Help's" Oscar-winning Octavia Spencer, because: funny.

The one saving grace of Sarkissian's seemingly sad little plan? That Ratner, mercifully, would not be involved, unless he agreed to do it "the right way," whatever that is. Taking cues from the original "Rush Hour" and also "Fast Five," Sarkissian sees this next sequel as both grittier and more down-to-earth, while also possibly introducing Tucker and Chan to a new, heretofore unseen world. At least for them. Does that mean they'll be fired from their jobs, and subsequently forced to break into INTERPOL headquarters to retrieve the evidence that will exonerate them for the attempted murder of the Micronesian ambassador? Only time will tell. More details as they become available!

Valentine's Day 2014 shaping up to be eighties-tastic, possibly also romantic

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

By Kate Erbland 15 minutes 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 44 minutes 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 46 minutes 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 1 hour 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 22 hours ago

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

Jean Grey returns in the latest trailer for 'The Wolverine'

Okay, why can't this come out already?

By Corwin Neuse Tue 9:45 AM

Any remaining confusion about where "The Wolverine" would fall in the "X-Men" saga's chronology—is it a straight sequel to "X-Men Origins: Wolverine?" Is it a standalone film?—has seemingly been cleared up by its latest trailer, posted below. In it, Wolverine/Logan is haunted by dreams (or are they?) of the ostensibly late Jean Grey, as played by Famke Jannsen. The last time we saw Jean Grey, if you'll remember, was as she was being murdered/mercy killed by ol' Mega Sideburns at the end of the otherwise execrable "X-Men: The Last Stand."

Bing: 'The Wolverine' | Famke Jannsen

What else does the clip reveal? It seems Wolvie is still struggling with his conscience—you know, all those thousands of people he's killed—and the spectre of his own, er, immortality. The seemingly benevolent (or is he?) Ken Watanabe offers a solution/cure, and then... Ninjas! Oh, and what's that? Wolverine fighting the Silver Samurai? We get our first look at the giant baddie, along with quick peeks at two additional adversaries; Viper, with her green snake tongue, and the quick-moving, blade-weilding Yukio.

What do you think, Hitlisters? Glad to see Jackman back in bad-ass mode, instead of prancing about Napoleonic France belting show tunes? Think this looks better than "Iron Man 3" or "Man of Steel?" What will be the best comic book movie of 2013? Check out the trailer below, and let us know in the comments, or tell us on MSN Movies Facebook or MSN Movies Twitter.

Jeremy Saulnier's follow-up to 'Murder Party' is a tense, twisty triumph

By William Goss Tue 9:43 AM

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Jeremy Saulnier's 2007 directorial debut, "Murder Party," was a scrappy, clever horror-comedy about a loner who unwittingly makes himself the target of a high-minded, kill-happy get-together on Halloween. His long-awaited follow-up, "Blue Ruin," ostensibly posits a similar scenario -- a loner inadvertently makes himself the target of a close-knit, gun-toting clan -- but it strikes out with a straight-faced tone, a heartbreaking lead performance and the apparent evolution of Saulnier's talents behind the camera. "Blue Ruin" isn't just a much stronger film than "Murder Party" was; it easily ranks among the best films playing at Cannes so far this year.

We reveal one of the witches to you so you can partake in the hunt

By MSN Movies Tue 9:04 AM

Stars Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton are the brother and sister team seeking to avenge their parents’ deaths as they face evil greater than anything they’ve seen before. The digital release of the unrated cut of “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” is now available so you can watch the adventure unfold before your eyes! To celebrate MSN Movies is partnering with Paramount Pictures so you can be a part of the witch hunt.

Bing: More on Jeremy Renner

The first person to find all six witch images and uncover the secret URL will win an iPad mini with digital versions of the theatrical and unrated cut of “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.” You also have a chance to win a trip to the premiere of “World War Z” the latest film starring Brad Pitt.

Follow and take part in the official “Hansel & Gretel” witch hunt by going to this Twitter and Facebook handle.

"Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" digital release is available now and the Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack is available starting June 11.

For all you hunters out there, here is the first of six witches that will be revealed!