TV & FILM

Latest news and listings

Samuel Goldwyn PicturesMadrid native PENELOPE CRUZ stars as a graduate student who has a relationship with an older (as in much older) man in the film "Elegy," now playing in Manhattan.

We did something over the weekend --- Friday afternoon and then again Sunday afternoon --- that we very rarely ever do, primarily because we usually have to see so many films and don't have the time. We went to see a movie that we had already seen just recently.

We felt a professional obligation to screen "Hamlet 2" again on Friday. We had seen the comedy, which opens this week in Manhattan, back in early June because we had a chat with its star, the British comic actor Steve Coogan, shortly thereafter. But a fight broke out in our screening then between some members of the general public and the critical community. It got ugly, and everyone in the room was so terrorized that nobody laughed for the rest of the movie.

CBSRenny from "Big Brother 10"

We think being cooped up is starting to affect all the "Big Brother" houseguests.

It all started with Jerry bashing Dan and his religion for deciding/secretly-being-forced-as-America's-Player to evict Jessie from the compound.

With Michelle as HOH, Jerry tried sucking up to her to convince her to nominate Dan, aka Judas. April, meanwhile, advised Michelle to nominate Libra, why Renny told her to put up April.

Virgin MediaCarrie Fisher does the slave thing in gold lame in 1983's "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi."

The readers took the bait! In our last blog entry we opined that movies based on novels shouldn't be judged in the context of what came before. Literature and film are two wholly different art forms, telling stories in wholly different ways with sometimes even wholly different objectives.

In our readers' defense, however, it can be exceedingly difficult to separate the two, so we'll play along. We agree that many (although certainly not all) of novelist John Irving's books have translated well to the screen, often (although not always) because he had a hand in the translation.

Photos courtesy of Overture FilmsRadha Mitchell and Luke Wilson in "Henry Poole is Here."

Go figure: A film about the power of positive thinking that doesn't get preachy

The real miracle here is that "Henry Poole is Here" ever got made. Picture this - a mainstream movie with genuine movie stars that's concerned with ... issues of faith? Call it a genre of one.

Our reservations about this movie are significant. When you write a screenplay by beginning with the themes you want to address, and then build a plot and characters around that (instead of the other way around), you inevitably end up with something that's far too didactic, and "Henry Poole" is definitely that.

But the movie doesn't try to convert you. It's not the cinematic equivalent of some sleazy holy roller trying to get you to believe in his religion so he'll feel more confident about believing in it himself. It doesn't espouse Christianity or Judaism or Islam.

All it does is make the argument that sometimes things happen in our world simply because we want them to. Put whatever label on that that you will.

Finally, the next knockout fighting game has arrived

"Soulcalibur IV"
If you've been waiting for the next really good fighting game, your patience has been rewarded. The latest addition to the "Soulcalibur" franchise not only looks great but the gameplay is smooth and seamless.

There are a couple of different single-player modes, and among them the "Tower of Lost Souls" is probably the most enjoyable. You can go up or down, but the requirements differ depending upon your choice.

Photos courtesy of The Weinstein Co.Penelope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."

After a series of misfires, Woody connects with 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona'

Just when we've written off Woody Allen as a filmmaker without much relevance anymore, he comes along and gives us his best movie in decades.

To say "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" isn't anything like a typical Woody Allen film is probably an insult to the filmmaker, but it is altogether different. And yet, it's not at the same time.

The best thing Allen could've done for his stagnanting career he did three years ago when he left Manhattan's Upper East Side to shoot his "Match Point" in London (he actually couldn't get financing anymore in this country, or so he said).

Photos courtesy of Paramount PicturesSOLDIERS OF FORTUNE: Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. look tough with more of the cast of "Tropic Thunder," including Nick Nolte, Jack Black, Brandon T. Jackson and Jay Baruchel.

All-star spoof of Hollywood's blockbuster factory is brewing a storm of controversy

There's something happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear.

"Tropic Thunder" is a very funny movie. If you don't laugh at some of its jokes because you find them offensive, well, maybe you just need to get with the 21st century.

This is what's funny now. Get on board, already.

"Tropic Thunder," the last major motion picture of this summer that's going to matter, takes the R-rated comedy to its logical extreme, or so we'd like to think.

Zin Haze ProductionsAlan Rickman in a scene from "Bottle Shock."

Character actor Alan Rickman just gets better with age

Although we told the actor Alan Rickman that we liked his new film, "Bottle Shock," we also had to admit to him that we knew less than nothing about its subject matter, the making of wine.

"But you still enjoyed it. See, that's the thing, because they're interesting people and an interesting story. You don't need to know anything about it, any more than I did, which was nothing," said Rickman.

"You have to acknowledge the fact that knowing about it takes years and years of experience," said the actor during a recent interview in Manhattan. "You can't just, for want of a better word, imbibe all that stuff and suddenly say you're a wine expert."

Getty Images

A Hollywood rebel sounds off on his two new films, being typecast as a villain & living the sober life

"Listen, I love this movie. This is one I'm really proud to be in. This is a no-brainer, I don't have to hype anything on this one."

It's Dennis Hopper's job, of course, to say nice things about the films he's worked on. Today, sitting down for an interview recently in the Regency Hotel's restaurant in Manhattan to talk about his performance in "Elegy," that comes easily.

"It's so nice to see a mature film for a change, that's not just crap," he said. "You never know about a film. You can say you do, but it's only when you go into a theater that you finally realize whether it's good or not. There are a lot of movies you work on that you think are really terrific and then the end result is like whatever."