Weekend Movie Planner: Fright Night, Conan the Barbarian, One Day, Spy Kids

The dog days of summer roll on, and there’s not much respite at the movie theaters, unless you count the ice-cold air (I do). Opening wide this weekend: Remakes of two ’80s hits, along with a certifiable chick flick, and a kids-oriented franchise movie that wasn’t screened for critics (you know what that means, don’t [...]

“Conan the Barbarian”: Destined to Become the Year’s Worst-Reviewed Action Movie?

Is the new Conan the Barbarian, with Jason Momoa in the title role played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the ’80s, about to be mercilessly slammed by film critics? Will it become the year’s worst-reviewed action movie? And, if so, will that blunt its opening-weekend performance at the box office? So far, the forecast calls for [...]

The ’80s: They’re Baaaack (& Kid Cudi meets “Fright Night”)

Hey, ’80s, how can I miss you if you won’t go away? The decade is in full reboot mode in Hollywood, with this weekend’s remakes of Fright Night and Conan the Barbarian, and new versions of Footloose and The Thing due this fall. The beginning of One Day, also opening Friday, is set in 1988, [...]

Final Destination 5: Post-Mortem

So maybe it was a fluke that 2009′s The Final Destination (emphasis on “the”), the fourth and most commercially successful movie in the series, generated a whopping box-office take of $186.2 million, worldwide. The latest installment, Final Destination 5, notched just $18 million over the weekend, for a film with a budget of more than [...]

New DVD Releases (8/16): Jane Eyre, The Big Lebowski, Hoodwinked Too! The Killing

Jane Eyre (Universal, 2011) — The affecting, seamless performance by Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) as the titular lost girl found is reason enough to see the latest adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel, directed by Cary Fukunage (Sin Nombre). The story of love, loss, and some really mean people in 19th-century England is beautifully [...]

The Truth About Glee?

The most truthful line in press coverage of Glee: The 3D Concert Movie comes courtesy of USA Today‘s two-star review. “And never has a movie had less need for 3-D other than to jack up prices,” Scott Bowles wrote in a piece published Friday. At least critics and other viewers aren’t being snookered: Glee, a [...]

Will “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” Become a Monkey Movie Favorite?

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is poised to score $26 million at the box office this weekend, thus landing at No. 1 for the second consecutive weekend. So will the latest film inspired by Pierre Boulle‘s 1963 novel swing its way into a prominent place in the hearts of monkey movie lovers? Time [...]

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Warrior — First Blush: You’ve Got to Be Cruel to Be Kind

The new adaptation of Conan the Barbarian is due next Friday. Meanwhile, Warrior, the season’s other he-man fighting hero movie, a contemporary tale of bloodsport, is being shown to critics well in advance of its Sept. 9 opening date; positive word of mouth is expected to be key to the film’s success. The audience at [...]

Ford, Capra Honored with U.S. Postal Stamps Available Next Year

Two more Hollywood greats are getting an extra measure of post-mortem glory via the U.S. mail: Western master John Ford (Stagecoach, The Searchers) and Frank Capra (It Happened One Night, It’s a Wonderful Life) are the next honorees in a series that also includes tributes to Gregory Peck, James Dean, and Katherine Hepburn. The Ford [...]