Last week’s season premiere of Season 3 of the hit AMC show, Mad Men, delivered on its promise of whetting our appetites just enough to have us waxing nostalgic about why we fell in love with the show in the first place.
Where Season 2 suffered from that second season plateau/slump that have befallen many great shows, Sunday’s exploration of Don Draper’s psyche and his relentless unyielding to rise above the multiple identities he cloaks himself in to complement his mood du jour teased us with the promise of a season where we’ll get to see more Draper, and subsequently more of Draper’s past revealed. And let’s face it. Don Draper is why we all watch this show. The man oozes self-assurance, confidence, and the know-how to navigate the treacherous waters of this world with the right balance of acumen - both in business and in people. He knows why people tick and just how to get them to yield to his agenda, whether it’s in the boardroom or in the bedroom.
Per usual, the show balances the heavy (glimpses into Don Draper’s humble beginnings and his unwanted birth and Don realizing that one of his co-workers is gay when he catches him with this pants down) with lighter fare (the hysterical pitting of 2 Account Managers against one another for title of “Head of Accounts” - when both are convinced they’ve solely snagged the title) and throws in the absurd just to make sure we’re all still watching as intently as before.
A Boxer, an Assassin and one, very funny man in this week’s movie review.
War: Jet Li and Jason Statham star in this action/ Gangster movie about an FBI agent who tries to bring down an assassin who is responsible for a war between two rival gangs.
Resurrecting The Champ: Josh Hartnett and Samuel L. Jackson star in this drama about a straggling sports reporter who encounters a homeless man, and discover he is actually a former boxing champion.
Mr. Bean’s Holiday: I remember that as a child, in a land far far away, Mr. Bean was about the funniest thing alive. That was a long time ago but Rowan Atkinson still makes me lough. And now Mr. Bean is back. This time he goes on a holiday in the French Riviera, and as usual, filled with good intentions, makes the life of the people surrounding him into a living hell.
This week’s peak is from the ne comedy Balls Of Fury
A runaway trained government agent, an amateur stuntman, and the Bible are all in this week’s new movies.
The Bourne Ultimatum: Matt Damon is back in the third movie in the Jason Bourne series. While being chased by just about every cop, FBI agent, and even the Interpol, Bourne tries to trace back to the beginning in an attempt to find out who he was before he lost his memory. He is passing Moscow, Paris and London to Tangier and New York City in search for the truth.
Hot Rod: SNL’s Andy Samberg is Rod Kimble, an unemployed live-with-mom guy who, for some reason believes he has what it takes to become a great stuntman. When Rod’s abusive stepfather gets sick,he is trying to raise $50,000 for an operation that will cure his stepfather by performing the greatest stunt ever.
The Ten: The ten Commandments in ten overlapping stories, each in a different style. Jessica Alba, Adam Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Robert Corddry and Famke Janssen, in an observation of the most basic human morals. Anyone mentioned blasphemy?This R rated comedy opens only in selected theaters.
This week’s peak is from the new movie Stardust. Enjoy the weekend.
Ladies and Gentleman, and children of all ages, let me introduce to you, what is going to be one of the busiest weekends of the year at the box office. In the next few lines you will read about a heroic family, gourmet food, and one princess that won’t make it to the ball this time.
The Simpsons Movie: Since it was announced that there is going to be a Simpsons movie, I wrote so much about it, that other then saying that the plot of the movie is about President Schwarzenegger who wants to destroy Springfield, and about how the Simpsons save their town.
No Reservations: A chef’s life changes when her sister dies and she is left to take care of her niece. Cooking, love, and all the rest of the ingredients needed for a standard love story. Starring Catherine Zeta Jones and Aaron Eckhart who is known for his memorable roll in Thank You For Smoking.
I Know Who Killed Me: An amazing psychological thriller. No I’m just kidding… Lindsay Lohan plays a girl who wakes up in a hospital, and finds out everybody thinks she is someone else. Due to her recent stupidity, Lindsay will miss the premiere and maybe she should change the name of the movie to I Know Who Killed My Career.
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This week’s peak is from the new Bourne movie: The Bourne Ultimatum. Have a great weekend!!!
One day later than usual, but here are the Movies Of The Week:
Captivity: A scary movie. A couple wakes up only to find out they are being held hostage in a cellar by a serial killer. The plot goes on and they learn about the events that led to their abduction.
Shortcut To Happiness: A writer sells his soul to the devil to become famous, but the he tries to renegotiate the terms in a supernatural trial. Alec Baldwin directed and stars this movie , together with Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Dan Akroid, Kim Cattrall and more.
My Best Friend: I’ve always liked French movies. I also like Daniel Auteuil, who plays an arrogant business man who finds out he has no real friends, and accepts his partner’s bet to prove he has a best friend. He meets a Parisian cab driver who shows him the way to make friends.
And now for the Peak Of The Week…. Oh… I think I forgot something… Oh yeah, the new Harry Potter movie is on. I tried once to watch one of them and fell asleep so i guess i’m not the person to recommend this movie.
Anyway, the peak of the week is from the movie Cashback
Not to be a show off… but… last week’s predictions came true, when the Pixar\Disney Ratatouille opened strong making over $47,000,000 last weekend and leaving Die Hard behind with only $33,000,000 weekend gross. Since Transformers was already released a couple of days ago for the 4th of July, it took some of this weekend’s buzz. But still there are a couple of movies to keep the fire going.
License To Wed: OK, so the critics are killing this movie big time, and I know it’s probably one of those movies that you wait for the DVD, but, every Robin Williams movie is a movie worth watching (excluding RV). A couple decides to get married but before they do, they have to get the approval of Reverend Frank (Williams). Also starring John Krasinski AKA Jim from The Office.
Joshua: A scary movie. The life of a New York family changes when the older kid, Joshua turns bad after a new baby brother is brought in.
Introducing The Dwights: When a guy brings his new girlfriend home, a war starts between her and his mother, played by Brenda Blethyn, who is also known for her amazing role in Saving Grace (TV show Weeds is based on this movie.)
Today’s peak, is from next week’s scary movie Captivity. Enjoy the weekend!!!
In the last few weeks, it was very easy to tell which movie is going to be in No.1 If it was Even Almighty last week, or Fantastic Four, Ocean’s 13 or Shrek the Third in previous weeks. This week I’m not sure, Die hard is definitely the favorite horse to Win, but not the only one. I wouldn’t count Ratatouille out of the race.
So here are this weekend’s new movies:
Ratatouille:Remy the rat, wants to become a chef, and finds himself under a French restaurant, where he can watch his hero, the famous chef Auguste Gusteau. Animationmovie, by Pixar.
Live Free or Die Hard: He’s back, almost 20 years after the first Die Heard movie came out, John McClane is back. I don’t think there is a reason to write what this movie is about, if you have seen any Die Hard movie before you know what it’s about, and if you haven’t, I’m sure one of them is playing on one of the movie channels on your TV right now. Let’s just say that Bruce Willis stars, and we can also see Justin Long, who is known to most as Hi, I’m a Mac…
Sicko: John McClane is not alone, Michael Moore is also back, this time he goes against the American health-care system. Don’t worry, as always he is loud, vulgar and in your face.
Hey, don’t forget to watch Ilana Donna’s Mighty Heart review on Amaldo.com.
We waited and waited for so long and finally it’s here!!!
Even Almighty: Steve Carell is Even Baxter, a congressman who meets his maker, but not in order to die but to build an Ark so he can prepare for the flood. Morgan Freeman plays God in this movie, as he did in the wonderful Bruce Almighty.
A Mighty Heart: Based on a true story. Angelina Jolie plays the wife of Daniel Pearl, a reporter who was kidnapped and then murdered in Pakistan.
1408: A horror novelist (John Cusack) checks into a hunted hotel room, and that’s when the fun starts. Based on a Stephen King short story.
You Kill Me: A drunk Hit-man (Ben Kingsley) finds himself in AA. Things get more complicated when he meets a woman who is related to his next hit.
This week’s peak is Live Free Or Die Hard trailer, enjoy and have a great weekend.
In Hollywood, like in politics, you sometimes wonder if there is a big plan lurking behind everything. And while in politics it’s a good thing to have a big plan, in Hollywood, which in my opinion should always represent the liberated opposition, you should always expect variety. Those deep (…) thoughts have nothing to do with anything really important that goes on in the world right now, just the fact that when I came to write my weekly gig about the weekend’s movies I found that most of the movies have one common denominator.
Eagle Vs. Shark: New Zealand brings us some interesting stuff lately. This movie is the one who is different in this Adventure\Superhero\Zombie bunch. It’s a love story between a fast food waitress and a store clerk.
This week’s peak is from the movie Eagle Vs. Shark:
When I set down to write this week’s movie reviews, I found out that it is impossible not to join the party. After watching Jay Leno doing everything he can but actually kissing George Clooney’s ass in The Tonight Show, I realized that this week belongs to Ocean’s Thirteen.
Ocean’s Thirteen- The plot: Danny Ocean and his crew plan another casino heist. More important, the cast: Brad Pitt, Al Pachino, Andy Garcia, Don Chidle, Matt Damon, Elliot Gould, Bernie Mac and many more…
Hostel: Part 2- Three American college students travel to east Europe and find themselves in a Slovakian Hostel, where their worst nightmares come through. Eli Roth wrote and directed the movie, Quentin Tarantino is one of the producers.
La Via en Rose- The story of Edith Piaf, one of France’s biggest singers of all time. The movie follows Piaf’s life from her childhood as a poor girl in Paris, and throughout her singing career and her encounter with the famous people of that era like Yves Montand, Marlene Dietrich and others.
How can we not start with what seems to be Kevin Costner’s big Renaissance.
Mr. Brooks: He is a businessman, a family man, well known and respected. But Mr. Brooks is also a serial killer. Sounds interesting. Kevin Costner, William Hurt and Demi Moore.
Knocked Up: one of those will never happen in real life movies. A hot and successful girl gets pregnant after a one night stand with some lame dude, and decides to try to get to know the future father. Guess how it ends… But there is definitely a comic potential. Good cast that includes Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd and Leslie mann.
Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman: A large, somewhat awkward man of simple manners, Albert Pierrepoint is like just any other decent, working-class fellow when we first encounter him. Then he goes for an interview at the local prison to become a hangman. According to Pierrepoint’s mother, the same job had turned his father into an alcoholic and hustled him into an early grave, yet Pierrepoint feels he has the unique skills to succeed…. (Yahoo! Movies)
This week was all about endings with all of the bombastic season finales on all networks. So why don’t we try something fresh, and see which movies are premiering this weekend.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End: It seems that there has to be at least one huge box office hit every week. It’s good for the business. This one is the third part of the adventure. Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) will save the world.
Bug: Ashley Judd is a waitress who lives in fear of her violent and abusive ex-husband.
The Golden Door: The turn-of-the-century voyage of a poor family from rural Sicily through the “golden door” of Ellis Island and into America.(Yahoo! Movies)
Truthfully I never watched “Shrek 2,” but I liked the first one and if Eddie Murphy’s Donkey didn’t annoy me so damn much, maybe I would have made it thru another installment. Instead, I tabled the movie as a “kid’s flic” and something I’d watch if my nephew happened to rent it when I was in town for the weekend.
Shrek’s strength has always been its ability (like all truly great children’s films) to attract and entertain adults (ie parents) equally, if not more than children thru it’s offbeat, if sometimes inappropriate and misplaced humor.
But what happens when Shrek gets real? And our once endearing ogre starts to mirror the bored, anxious husband/father-to-be from “Little Children”/reality in affluent suburbia just a little too much? And Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Snow White mimic all the bored housewives with nannies that take their kids to the playground and gossip about other familes?
Critics start booing. And what was once amusing for adults becomes a little too much of an exploitative insight into the parts of their lives that they work so hard to conceal.
Finally, after a couple of dry and boring weekends in theaters, the movies that will open this weekend hold some promise. With a combination of Alec, Kim, and an ogre, what could go wrong?
Brooklyn Rules:Mafia movie. Alec Baldwin, Freddie Prinze Jr., Scott Caan in a story about three childhood friends who are in danger after one of them wants to become a gangster.
Even Money: Danny DeVito, Kim Basinger and Forest Whitaker star in three intertwining stories of lives shattered by gambling and addiction.(Yahoo).
Shrek The Third: Last but not least, the movie that will rule the box office for the next couple of weeks. This time, Shrek and his buddies are on a quest to find a new king for the land of far far away. Let us not forget Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, and Rupert Everett, who contribute their celebrity voices to the movie. I really really want to watch this movie, but I think I’ll just wait for the DVD.
What movies are opening up this weekend in mainstream theaters around the nation?
28 Weeks Later-Follow-up to “28 Days Later” which sources tell me was a killer horror movie. The sequel has elicited the same rave reviews from critics, but will movie-goers also go mad for viral infected zombies the second time around?
Delta Farce-A wartime comedy which pokes fun at the war in Iraq. Could translate to fun amusement for our troops. Most likely won’t be a laugh and a hollar for any sober crowd based in the U.S.
The Ex-This light-hearted comedy marks a departure for“Scrubs” star Zach Braff in that he’s no longer doing the existential, brooding, neurotic thing. Hey, it might just get Braff a little closer to the object of his affection, Jessica Simpson. It worked for Dane Cook.
Georgia Rule- Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman, Lindsay Lohan star in the movie of butting female matriarchs. Too much of a chick flick to resonate with dudes or women who like dudes. However, I will say this once and only once. Linday Lohan is a talented singer and actress and ya’ll need to shut your traps about her partying ways.
I remember watching “28 Days Later” for the first time. I remember thinking about how good the story is, how simple and well done the movie was. So naturally, a sequel is produced. Ray Bennett of Reuters describes “28 Weeks Later” as a ferociously entertaining thriller with sympathetic characters, stunning set pieces and pulsating excitement. The plot (not unlike the first movie) is about a virus that turns people into raging zombies, only now it happens six months after Britain is declared infection free. Danny Boyle who directed “28 Days Later,” and Alex Garland who wrote the 2002 thriller are the executive producers of “28 Weeks later” which was directed by Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. The movie will be in theatres on May 11.
As we are getting closer to the weekend, here are some of the movies that are opening this week:
“Hot Fuzz”- A top London cop is transferred to a less threatening rural town, but the seemingly peaceful village is soon rocked by a tough case.
“The Valet”- To cover his sneaky infidelities, a billionaire industrialist asks his mistress to pose as the sweetheart of a valet parking attendant (I am not so much into French things, but they sure know how to make movies.)
“Vacancy”- Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale check into a motel and discover hidden cameras watching them to be victims in a snuff film.
And the peek of the week is the trailer for the movie “28 Weeks Later”.
The first movie this week will be ” Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters“. I don’t think I’m going to like this animated comedy, but it is on my list only because of the marketing trick that caught an entire city in a rush of hysteria and a time-for-a-lynch state of mind.
2. Perfect Stranger- Halle Berry goes undercover to investigate a powerful man (Bruce Willis) who might be responsible for a friend’s mysterious murder.
3. Slow Burn- Ray Liotta is a district attorney untangling the truth between a beautiful assistant D.A., a gang lord, and a mysterious stranger.
4. Lonely Hearts- Two detectives are on the hunt for the “Lonely Hearts Killers,” who entrap their victims by answering personal ads in the newspaper. With John Travolta, Salma Hayek, and James Gandolfini.
The full list of opening for this week can be found here.
The Trailer this week is from the movie “Evan Almighty“ kind of a sequel to “Bruce Almighty” only with the great Steve Carell.
So, enjoy the weekend and be entertained for a change will you?
I really wanted to write about movies that opning in wide release this week, but other then maybe Tarantino/Rodriguez Grindhouse, it’s all (and pardon my French) crap.
So, here are some movies that are opening in selected theaters only:
1. Black Book- A German-Jewish girl narrowly survives the war in Holland and shortly after the liberation, seeks revenge for her family’s murders.
2. The Hoax- Richard Gere stars as Clifford Irving, whose “autobiography” of Howard Hughes was one of the greatest media scams in history.
3. The TV Set- A writer sells his TV pilot to a network, and must navigate the hazardous path from script to production to prime time scheduling (See poster at Amaldo.com)
As we are getting closer (some may say not fast enough) to the weekend, here is a list of movies if you decide to do some passive activity, such as going to the cinema. So here are the movies and what Yahoo movies had to say about them.
1. Blades Of Glory- Will Ferrell and Jon Heder star as rival figure skaters, banned and disgraced from the sport, who team together as pairs’ skaters.
2. Peaceful Warrior- A mysterious stranger leads an arrogant, talented college gymnast on a spiritual journey that will change his life forever.
3. Meet The Robinsons- A boy genius creates a machine to recover the lost memory of the past and embarks on an amazing adventure with his future family.
Last week’s season premiere of Season 3 of the hit AMC show, Mad Men, delivered on its promise of whetting our appetites just enough to have us waxing nostalgic about why we fell in love with the show in the first place.
License To Wed
Joshua
Introducing The Dwights
Ratatouille
Live Free or Die Hard
Sicko
Even Almighty
A Mighty Heart
1408
You Kill Me
In Hollywood, like in politics, you sometimes wonder if there is a big plan lurking behind everything. And while in politics it’s a good thing to have a big plan, in Hollywood, which in my opinion should always represent the liberated opposition, you should always expect variety. Those deep (…) thoughts have nothing to do with anything really important that goes on in the world right now, just the fact that when I came to write my weekly gig about the weekend’s movies I found that most of the movies have one common denominator. 
How can we not start with what seems to be Kevin Costner’s big Renaissance.
Truthfully I never watched “Shrek 2,” but I liked the first one and if Eddie Murphy’s Donkey didn’t annoy me so damn much, maybe I would have made it thru another installment. Instead, I tabled the movie as a “kid’s flic” and something I’d watch if my nephew happened to rent it when I was in town for the weekend.
Finally, after a couple of dry and boring weekends in theaters, the movies that will open this weekend hold some promise. With a combination of Alec, Kim, and an ogre, what could go wrong? 
What movies are opening up this weekend in mainstream theaters around the nation?
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As we are getting closer to the weekend, here are some of the movies that are 
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