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Movie Review: Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)

31 October 2008 4:26 AM, PDT | From Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news

Elizabeth Banks and Seth Rogen in Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Photo: Weinstein Co. Zack and Miri Make a Porno has the Kevin Smith vibe to it, but its conceit almost seems to get in the way of itself as this over-the-top sex comedy ramps up only to see Smith overcompensate the more risque humor with a sticky sweet love story that gets quite sappy. If someone ever told me this film would be goofy amateur porn meets The Notebook I would have slapped them in the face because they were obviously crazy, but the damned thing almost reaches that level. Quite simply, there are two sides to this coin and potentially a jagged third as Smith's potty mouth humor, meets overt sweetness with doses of goofy porn thrown in for good measure. It's a comedy stew and it works when it's not overdoing itself, but can occasionally get annoying with its schmaltzy storyline.

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Brad Brevet

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Cinema release inspirations including Burn After Reading

17 October 2008 3:24 AM, PDT | From Boxwish.com | See recent BoxWish news

Hello Boxwishers and welcome to your weekend. Got any nice plans? Yeah… ahuh…ahuh…that all sounds fun – you have a good time. However, if those fall through or you fancy something a little different might we make a few teeny tiny suggestions? Of course, they all involve a cinema and sitting in the dark for a few hours but there are some exciting new flicks heading your way from today that it would be a shame to miss. There’s the much-publicised return of the Coen brothers after the Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men, a chase thriller starring Hollywood hot property Shia LeBeouf and heavy metal hijinks with Rainn Wilson from America’s version of The Office. That got your whistle well and truly whetted?

If you see… Coens favourites George Clooney and Frances McDormand joined by Brad Pitt, recent Oscar-winner Tilda Swinton and John Malkovich in a

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Emma Stone to star in ‘Paper Man’

24 September 2008 10:51 PM, PDT | From screeninglog.com | See recent screeninglog news

Emma Stone is the latest to join Jeff Daniels, Ryan Reynolds and Lisa Kudrow in “Paper Man,” according to Variety.

The film is described as a comedy that centers on a man struggling to recapture the spark that made him a successful novelist and happily married.

Michele and Kieran Mulroney wrote the script and will direct the project, which will head into principal photography later this year.

“Paper Man” marks the directorial debut of the Mulroney duo, who also wrote the “Justice League” screenplay. Kieran is the brother-in-law of Catherine Keener, while Michele is the sister-in-law of Dermont Mulroney.

As for Emma Stone, she recently starred in “The House Bunny” and “The Rocker.” She will next be seen in Mark Waters’ comedy “The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.”

Franck Tabouring

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The Rocker review

17 September 2008 11:01 AM, PDT | From The Hollywood News | See recent The Hollywood News news

I actually got a look at The Rocker way back in June at CineVegas, and while their isn't anything particularly awful about it, it isn't exactly memorable either.

The Rocker is a pleasant enough diversion but it's not as entertaining as School of Rock or Rockstar, the two pictures it clearly appears to be emulating. The Rocker is the kind of vehicle picture you might expect to see Will Ferrell or Jack Black headline, but the film makers have opted to go to Office co-star Rain Wilson.

In The Rocker, Wilson plays disgruntled ex-rocker Robert "Fish" Fishman whom, years after being kicked out of a band that would go on to have monumental success, gets a second chance to rock when his lovable, butterball nephew Matt (delightfully played by Josh Gad) offers him a drumming gig in his high school rock outfit. After a hilarious appearance on You Tube, all

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Weekend Box Office: Ben Stiller Beats Up on 'The House Bunny'

25 August 2008 11:03 AM, PDT | From Cinematical.com | See recent Cinematical news

Filed under: New Releases, Box Office

There were no big surprises at the box office this weekend. To officially ring in the fall, it was the first weekend since April when no film debuted to more than $20 million. The best opener was the tolerably-reviewed Anna Faris vehicle The House Bunny, with $15.1 million. Interchangeable Jason Statham Movie, a.k.a. Death Race, followed with an estimated $12.3 million -- among Statham's weakest showings and the worst ever for director Paul W.S. Anderson (not counting the indie Shopping, which played on one screen).

Neither The House Bunny nor Death Race could dethrone Tropic Thunder, which held up fairly well to stay on top with a $16.1 million second weekend. It looks to have better legs than Pineapple Express, and should pass that film before all is said and done. In other holdover developments: The Dark Knight fell to fourth, but should reach $500 million by

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Eugene Novikov

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'Tropic Thunder' Reigns Supreme Twice in a Row

24 August 2008 7:24 PM, PDT | From Aceshowbiz | See recent Aceshowbiz news

Ben Stiller's outrageous comedy, "Tropic Thunder", has shown its competitive side by keeping its #1 place at the box office for the second time around. Being the summer movie that dethroned "The Dark Knight" after it dominated the revenue chart for four weeks last weekend, the DreamWorks Pictures' flick collects an estimated $16.1 million to add to the total of $65.7 million.

Though its sales dropped about 37.6%, the hilarious film about a group of actors stuck in a real war-like situation when filming a Vietnam War movie is still left untouched by its two new competitors, "The House Bunny" and "Death Race". Commenting on the success, Media By Numbers' president Paul Dergarabedian says, "It's a really funny film. The word of mouth has been incredibly strong. It has maintained its momentum and headed into the weekend with really strong midweek box-office numbers."

In the meantime, placing second and third respectively are "House

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AceShowbiz.com

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Tropic Thunder Still On Top After Box Office Battle

24 August 2008 6:26 PM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

War comedy Tropic Thunder has kept its grip on the top of the U.S. box office, after earning an impressive $16.1 million (GBP8.05 million) during its second week of release.

The Ben Stiller-directed film, which stars Stiller, as well as Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black, beat The House Bunny into second place.

The Anna Faris-starring comedy still managed an impressive haul of $15.1 million (GBP7.55 million) in its first week, forcing another new opener, Death Race, into third place, with takings of $12.3 million (GBP6.15 million),

The Dark Knight kept its place in the top four, now boasting total U.S. takings of $489 million (GBP244.5 million). Animation Star Wars: The Clone Wars finished fifth with $5.7 million (GBP2.85 million).

The Longshots, directed by Fred Durst and starring Ice Cube, and The Rocker, starring Rainn Wilson, were the flops of the week; earning just $4.3 million (GBP2.15 million) and $2.8 million (GBP1.4 million) respectively.

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Box-Office Wrap-Up: Aug. 22 - Aug. 24, 2008

24 August 2008 3:48 PM, PDT | From Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news

Hey folks, Brad her to fill in for Laremy as he is off doing whatever people named Laremy do. So, you will have to get your box-office results, witty quips and comments from me this afternoon. Let's get started as it looks like Laremy's predictions missed just about every slot. #1 movie predicted correctly: 0 Week In A Row 1. Tropic Thunder Can't say I am sad to see this at the top, but I am a bit surprised. I actually thought, like Laremy, Death Race would take this top spot, but it seems fun comedy was the order for the weekend. Result: 16.5 million (Laremy'prediction: #3, $3.1m off) 2. The House Bunny The House Bunny is a tough one to gauge, how old and how young does this one skew? Laremy had it damn near spot on with his prediction for this one, which is impressive considering he got pretty much everything else wrong. Result:

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Brad Brevet

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Box Office - 'Tropic Thunder' Repeats, 'House Bunny' Outmuscles 'Death Race'

24 August 2008 10:39 AM, PDT | From GetTheBigPicture.net | See recent Get The Big Picture news

We thought it would be a pretty good race for the top spot at the U.S. box office this weekend, but we didn't expect The House Bunny to crash the party. As it is, the new comedy nearly overtook Tropic Thunder for the crown but wound up in second place overall.

The big disappointments this weekend were clearly Death Race, the Jason Statham vehicle that was a fairly distant third place, and The Rocker, the new comedy starring Rainn Wilson that finished out of the top ten and wouldn't have made that list even if you counted its totals from Wednesday and Thursday.

Tropic Thunder only slipped 37%, according to Box Office Mojo, which means in all likelihood that it was competition with The Olympics last weekend and not widespread disinterest in the movie that reduced its debut audience. The film will most likely make its money back, but you

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Colin Boyd

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'Tropic Thunder' Eyeing Second #1, but 'House Bunny' Lurks in the Bushes

23 August 2008 7:30 PM, PDT | From Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news

She's right behind you Speedman!

Photo: DreamWorks Pictures and Sony Pictures Early Friday box-office estimates are in and while The House Bunny manages to take the Friday box-office #1 slot, Steve Mason at Fantasy Moguls believes Tropic Thunder will slide back to #1 by the end of the weekend setting up a box-office battle at the top as Universal's Death Race seems to have secured the #3 spot. Our very own box-office Oracle, Laremy Legel, appears to have given Death Race too much credit while giving Tropic Thunder not enough, but his House Bunny number may turn out pretty close. First, The House Bunny is the film the majority of prognosticators picked to finish first and it has started out that way with a $5.6 million Friday, besting Tropic Thunder's $4.9 million and Death Race pulled up third with $4.3 million. However, the opinion appears to be that R-rated auds will turn out for Tropic Thunder

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Brad Brevet

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Stars in Rewind: Rainn Wilson in 'Galaxy Quest'

22 August 2008 4:03 PM, PDT | From Cinematical.com | See recent Cinematical news

Filed under: Trailers and Clips, Stars in Rewind

Yesterday, movie theaters everywhere were greeted with the ultimate sight in rockin' sexiness -- Rainn Wilson. Yes folks, The Rocker opened yesterday, and now you can see Robert "Fish" Fishman get kicked out of hard-core band Vesuvius, lose all hope, and then find a new future with his nephew's high school rock band twenty years later.

But before the days of rockers, or fastidiousness on The Office, or even pent-up sexual attraction on Six Feet Under, Rainn Wilson was a space man. Above you can see him as Lahnk, in a deleted scene from Galaxy Quest. As a member of the reactor staff, he has a question for the fish-out-of-water Fred (Tony Shalhoub), and wants a little advisement. Oh yeah, and the guy who introduces him -- Enrico Colantoni.

Whoever would've thought that the Spock-esque dude would hop onto Almost Famous, star in a hit television show,

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Monika Bartyzel

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Box-Office Plunge Predicted

22 August 2008 10:34 AM, PDT | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

This weekend, the box office becomes a dumping ground for movies the studios had low hopes for when they developed their schedules. The end of August and the beginning of September are typically the most lackluster time of the year for ticket sales, and this year should prove to be no exception. Despite the fact that four new films are opening wide (one of them, The Rocker, opened on Wednesday), not one is expected to crack $20 million. Most analysts expect Focus Features' thriller Death Race to win the weekend race with about $14-17 million. Its primary competition will come from Sony's comedy The House Bunny, which will likely end up in second place with $12-16 million. But both 20th Century Fox's The Rocker and MGM/Dimension Films' The Longshots will struggle to make it into the top ten, forecasters say. Each is expected to earn only $5-7 million. Many analysts are keeping an eye on Focus Features' Hamlet 2, which is opening in only about 100 theaters this weekend with hopes of building word-of-mouth excitement for its wider opening next Wednesday at about 1,500 theaters. The film received much praise from critics earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. (Full reviews of the movie will appear here on Wednesday)

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Review: "The Rocker"

22 August 2008 9:24 AM, PDT | From screeninglog.com | See recent screeninglog news

Seen on: August 21, 2008

The players: Director: Peter Cattaneo, Writers: Maya Forbes, Wallace Wolodarsky, Cast: Rainn Wilson, Christina Applegate, Jeff Garlin, Josh Gad, Emma Stone, Jason Sudeikis

Facts of interest: Cattaneo also directed "The Full Monty."

The plot: A failed drummer gets a second chance at fame when he's asked to join his nephew's high school band.

Our quick thoughts: Who ever thought Dwight Schrute had it in him to rock the stage? In Peter Cattaneo’s mildly entertaining comedy “The Rocker,” Rainn Wilson from NBC’s hit series “The Office” cuts loose in the role of Robert “Fish” Fishman, an enthusiastic drummer who slips into a deep crisis when he’s kicked out of his own rock band.

Franck Tabouring

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What's New In Theaters - August 22, 2008

22 August 2008 1:44 AM, PDT | From GetTheBigPicture.net | See recent Get The Big Picture news

In Death Race, a remake of the 1970s camp classic produced by Roger Corman, convict Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) is forced by his hard-as-nails warden (Joan Allen) to compete in our world's most popular sport: The Tour de France!

Not really. Although there's so much criminal behavior in that race they might as well hold it in a prison.

Shelley Darlington (Anna Faris) has lived at the Playboy Mansion for years. Too many years, apparently. Booted out because she's (gasp) 27, Shelley must find a new place to call home. She winds up being the house mother for the most unpopular sorority on campus, hence the title The House Bunny. More than likely, she'll teach them to put out.

Fish (Rainn Wilson from The Office) gave up his drums and gave up on his dream of being a rock god when his old band, Vesuvius, kicked him out on their way to the top.

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Colin Boyd

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The Big Picture Interview with Emma Stone

21 August 2008 3:31 PM, PDT | From GetTheBigPicture.net | See recent Get The Big Picture news

She grew up just down the road from The Big Picture here in Phoenix, and now Emma Stone has two movies in theaters this weekend, with The House Bunny and The Rocker with Rainn Wilson. She's just 19, but Stone has already carved out a little niche for herself with her new flicks and her turn last summer in Superbad. Stone recently returned home for a couple of days, where we had a chance to catch up with her and talk shop.

Is Amelia in The Rocker a lot like Emma?

No, and that's what I liked about it. She felt different than me. She's not a smiler and she looks at the dark side of things more often than the light side of things. I'm a little more silver lining in my life. That's what drew me to her, especially in a comedy, finding a character like that that is

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Colin Boyd

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The Rocker

21 August 2008 1:03 PM, PDT | From avclub.com | See recent The AV Club news

In The Rocker, a long-in-the-tooth, generally clueless rock 'n' roll never-was takes up with an outfit of kids half his age, after getting kicked out of a band with corporate-rock ambitions. Though some of the particulars have changed, the film is essentially School Of Rock II, and the comparison does The Rocker no favors. Rainn Wilson, though eager and fitfully amusing, still seems like Jack Black's understudy, the kids aren't as charming or talented, the music isn't nearly as good, and the comedy careens from grounded to crazy and cartoonish. It's a slave to formula, and it hits its marks satisfyingly enough to make for a pleasant time-passer, but Wilson and a loaded supporting cast are never as funny as they should be. With his '80s hair-metal band Vesuvius on the cusp of a big break, raggedy drummer Wilson gets booted for not conforming to the glammed-up image favored.

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Scott Tobias

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Ew's 22 classic rock flicks

20 August 2008 9:43 PM, PDT | From screeninglog.com | See recent screeninglog news

The folks over at Entertainment Weekly have gathered their list of 22 classic rock and roll movies to salute the release of Peter Cattaneo's "The Rocker," in which Rainn Wilson plays a failed rocker who gets another shot at fame when he joins his nephew's high school band.

Ew's list includes flicks such as "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster," "Woodstock" and "School of Rock," of course. Some of their choices also go back in time quite a bit.

Click right here to discover the rest of the selection. Rock on!

Franck Tabouring

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'The Rocker' web reviews

20 August 2008 6:39 PM, PDT | From screeninglog.com | See recent screeninglog news

I have to admit I almost totally forgot about the Wednesday release of Peter Cattaneo's comedy "The Rocker," but I will post my review sometime tomorrow afternoon. In the film, Rainn Wilson stars as a failed rocker who gets a second shot at fame when his nephew asks him to join his high school band. Let's take a look at what the Web's critics have to say about it:

• Mariana McConnell at CinemaBlend: "Relying mostly on sentiment to fill the gaps, 'The Rocker' takes a Keith Moon approach to narrative: big start, big finish, middle doesn’t matter."

• Cinematical's Eric D. Snider: "It's modestly entertaining, occasionally funny, and generally agreeable."

• Matt Goldberg at Collider: "A good portion of it is juvenile and Wilson, bless him, throws himself into every humiliation possible while still being lovable enough (barely) that we understand why his bandmates grow to respect him.

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Franck Tabouring

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Interview: Rainn Wilson

20 August 2008 1:02 PM, PDT | From Cinematical.com | See recent Cinematical news

Filed under: Comedy, Casting, New Releases, Fandom, Diy/Filmmaking, Interviews

Above: Rainn Wilson lets his hair down for The Rocker.

Fans of Rainn Wilson's offbeat, hilarious and strangely endearing performance as Dwight Schrute on NBC's The Office might expect him to transition into film work with straightforward comedy, and The Rocker confirms that suspicion. However, they might not realize the serious professional motives behind his choice. In the movie, directed by Peter Cattaneo (The Full Grown Monty), Wilson plays a grown-up dolt named Fish with a scary fixation on classic rock. Abandoned by the band Vesuvius in his teens -- before they became a commercial phenomenon -- Fish spends the next twenty years working deadbeat jobs and wishing things happened differently. Naturally, he gets a second chance: When the opportunity rolls around to drum for his nephew's high school, Fish goes for it. Ageism and slapstick humor ensue.

While not exactly a classic,

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Eric Kohn

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Movie Reviews: The Rocker

20 August 2008 10:39 AM, PDT | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Another Wednesday, another movie opening. Only The Rocker apparently has little chance of lifting the box office out of its usual end-of-August doldrums. Indeed David Wiegand observes in his review in the San Francisco Chronicle: "The opening date of the film was shifted around like the planchette on a Ouija board, a sure sign that the studio knew it had one of those 'Hollywood, we have a problem' movies that needed to arrive in theaters in a relatively quiet part of the summer season." The movie, which stars Rainn Wilson, a co-star of NBC's The Office, as an over-the-hill ex-drummer who returns from obscurity to push a young band into the limelight, is receiving some mighty discordant reviews from critics. "Leaden and unfunny" is the way Claudia Puig describes it in USA Today. Elizabeth Weitzman's review in the New York Daily News is headlined: "Rainn Wilson is off his 'Rocker' to take this role." Comments Stephen Holden in the New York Times: "Everything is secondhand and done by rote." Several critics suggest that the Rainn Wilson role was probably written for Jack Black and that Black turned it down. (There is no evidence that any such thing happened.) Writes Wesley Morris in the Boston Globe: "The Rocker is a grubby little redemption comedy that in every way feels like a consignment-shop Jack Black vehicle." The film does receive a few positive reviews. Michael Phillips in the Chicago Tribune writes: "It's a lot of fun. Its spirit is genuine and, even with the odd vomit gag, fundamentally sweet."

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