WEIRDLAND

Saturday, March 27, 2010

A tough, tightly focused Kristen Stewart in "The Runaways"

“Girls got balls,” Joan Jett cheerfully admits to saying back in the day. “They’re just a little higher up.” Jett should know. In 1975, she was 16 when she and a 15-year-old baby-faced blond named Cherie Currie fronted the first all-girl hard-rock band, the Runaways. That’s also the title of a new hot-buzz movie written and directed by music-video artist Floria Sigismondi, who’s worked with David Bowie, Björk, the White Stripes, and others. Based on Currie’s memoir, Neon Angel, and executive produced by Jett, The Runaways isn’t perfect, fragmenting toward the end when the band does. But until then it’s rock ’n’ roll riveting, with a tough, tightly focused Kristen Stewart and a taunting jailbait Dakota Fanning nailing their vocals as Jett and Currie, and an electrifying Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road) as the manic, foul-mouthed Kim Fowley, who put the band together and ruled it with a barely metaphorical whip.Sigismondi, who could pass for Jett’s sister, knew such Runaways hits as Currie’s fierce anthem “Cherry Bomb” and the aptly named “Queens of Noise” from working at a Toronto club while she attended art school. “What drew me to the project is how young they were,” she says. “I was confident with the story because I know the music world and what it feels like to go through it as a woman.” Joan Jett, Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning and Cherie Currie.

Joan Jett and Cherie Currie onstage.

“I didn’t know how good we were until I saw some videos 10 years ago,” Currie says. “Before that it was too painful for me.” Currie took a shot at acting (starring opposite Jodie Foster in Adrian Lyne’s 1980 Foxes), then hit rehab, became a counselor of drug-addicted kids, and is now a wood sculptor. Jett found lasting stardom with the Blackhearts and still tours and produces new talent on her label.
Dakota Fanning with Cherie Currie.

“I’m happy for Joan,” Currie says. “That she made it meant that it wasn’t a pipe dream.”
Source: www.elle.com

"Brothers" Blu-ray Review + captures

Tobey Maguire & Jake Gyllenhaal, captures from "Brothers" (2009), directed by Jim Sheridan.

"Natalie Portman is given one of her more restrained adult roles here and can simply show us she can act again without being surrounded by toys, masked vigilantes and expensive CGI.Gyllenhaal has the less flashy role but excels with a character that needs to transition from an aimless troublemaker to a dependable brother-in-law and uncle with scenes between Tommy and Grace not always playing out as you expect - which makes Sam’s breakdown all the more effectively tense.
Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst as Peter Parker & Mary Jane in "Spiderman" saga.

That ‘Spider-man 4’ fell apart may not be a bad thing as I would rather see both Raimi and Maguire do other things…
Also notable is a strong performance by Shepard and particularly touching turns by the two young actresses playing the daughters. Like ‘The Hurt Locker’, ‘In the Valley of Elah’ and even this past weekend’s failure of “Green Zone’, audiences seem to inexplicably cold-shoulder great films that deal with the war assuming I guess that only one note is being played with these films.
Special Features start off with an audio commentary from director Jim Sheridan that’s a great listen and extremely informative with tidbits learned about everything from directing actors and the U2 song used to the differences between his film and the original Danish version.
Jake Gyllenhaal and Jim Sheridan: Film and Family (DVD Extra)

‘Jim Sheridan: Film and Family’ is a fifteen-minute featurette about his mostly family-driven pics and a look at how he works with actors and children. ‘Remade in the USA: How Brødre Became Brothers’ takes a look at the original film versus the remake. A high-def trailer rounds things out.

‘Brothers’ may have been overlooked this past fall, but you owe it to yourself to catch up with it. Great performances by all involved with Portman and Maguire showcasing some chops that I haven’t seen from them in years with Sheridan getting back on track after his odd 50-cent biopic misstep. Highly recommended".
Source: www.monstersandcritics.com

Ben Stiller & Greta Gerwig: unusual couple in "Greenberg"

Ben Stiller and Greta Gerwig attend the "Greenberg" Los Angeles after party at ArcLight Cinemas on March 18, 2010 in Hollywood.


CBSRedCarpet on CBS EyeMobile.com's coverage of the red carpet premiere of the dark comedy "Greenberg" starring Ben Stiller at the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood on 3/18/10. Stars Ben Stiller, Greta Gerwig, Rhys Ifans & Brie Larson stop by the CBSRedCarpet mic to talk about Stiller's "Greenberg" character and how people like him are a constant mainstay in everyday Los Angeles. "Greenberg" from Focus Features in theaters 3/26/10.

Ben Stiller talks about his role in "Greenberg".


"Stiller plays the title character, Roger Greenberg, although the movie begins by focusing on another character. Florence Marr (Gerwig) works as a personal assistant to hotel developer Philip Greenberg and his family living in suburban LA. They're traveling abroad for awhile and ask her to keep an eye on their dog Mahler and their house, even though Philip's brother Roger will be staying there while they're gone.I found myself drawn into Greenberg. At times it seems terribly personal and intimate, those small awkward moments where you can't help but feel for these people, no matter how obnoxious or off-putting they may be. Roger attempts oral sex on Florence and flings himself at her almost desperately, as if he's trying to burrow back into the womb. Greta Gerwig plays Florence Marr in "Greenberg".

Florence is so self-effacing that she can't even remind Philip to pay her, and tries to downplay it when he realizes he's forgotten, despite the fact that she's obviously low on funds.
At a party Philip's teenage daughter throws at the house, Roger is the middle-aged guy trying to talk to the kids and coming off in a "you kids get off my lawn" way.
Ben Stiller is perfect for this role -- oddly enough, he looks like an

Ben Stiller - Poster of "Greenberg"Jesse Eisenberg in "Adventureland"

older Jesse Eisenberg at some angles, making me wonder if this is what would happen to Eisenberg's character in The Squid and the Whale as he started to approach middle age. Gerwig's character is more complex and mature than the Manic Pixie Dream Girl characters she's played in the films I mentioned above -- Florence is no rocket scientist, but she seems like a real person".
Source: www.slackerwood.com

Actress Greta Gerwig appears at the Apple Store Soho - Meet the Actors series on March 23, 2010 in New York City.

"Florence is 25 and adrift in her life; she semi-aspires to be a singer, but she's terrible at it, and her love life consists of impromptu sex with any guy who won't run away. ("I'm wearing kind of an ugly bra," she warns, when Roger inevitably takes his shot.) She's a schlumpy, disheveled mess, and Gerwig — the mumblecore queen, here radiating a unique star quality — makes her enormously endearing. Although Roger is a complete misanthrope ("Life is wasted on people"), some of his many peculiarities are inventively amusing. His attempt to throw a house party is predictably disastrous, in part because the finger foods he chooses to serve are Creamsicles and guacamole. And we know his attendance at another party — this one filled with 20-something drug enthusiasts — is doomed to go downhill when he inquires, "Is it okay to mix coke and Zoloft?"
Source: www.mtv.com

Cell phones, sexy calls, Scream 4

Jake Gyllenhaal gabs away on his cell phone outside the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on 20th June 2007.Anne Hathaway.Alicia Silverstone.Bijou Phillips.Amanda Seyfried.

Kristen Stewart leaving her home in Sherman Oaks, CA, on 23rd March 2010."Kristen Stewart left her home in Sherman Oaks, Calif. yesterday looking particularly happy, smiling as she chatted on the phone. The Runaways star fueled up her car and then reportedly made her way to Beverly Hills to check out some homes that are on the market with a friend! Maybe the Twilight starlet wants to invest in some new property with the large paychecks rolling in? However, Kristen told photogs that she, in fact, is not on the market for a new home". Source: celebritydaddy.com
The Twilight star gets into a car while distracted and on the phone which she mistook for her Mini Cooper.

Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart in "Panic Room".Lady Gaga in "Telephone video".Ellen Page as Hayley Stark in "Hard Candy" (2005).Emile Hirsch in "The Girl next door" (2004).Jesse Eisenberg in "Cursed" (2005).Alison Lohman in "Drag me to Hell" (2009).
Drew Barrymore in the opening scene of "Scream" (1996).
"Sydney has a lot more at stake. She begins getting terrorizing phone calls, and it would seem that she is the killers next target. After being attacked by the killer and trapping herself in her room, she calls 911. While waiting, her boyfriend Billy climbs through her window, like he did the night prior. This time a cell phone falls out of his jacket, and Sydney rushes away from him. Dewey was waiting just outside the front door, along with a few other members of the local police. He is placed in custody until Sydney receives another phone call, proving Billy's innocence". Source: www.moviesmademe.com

"Somebody get Captain Obvious on the phone, because today's "Scream 4" news has his name all over it. It all started last year, with the news that series creator Kevin Williamson would be returning to his script-flipping horror series with an all-new trilogy set after the events of the original three movies (i.e. not a reboot). Things moved quickly from there, as the Arquettes committed to reprise their roles, as did Neve Campbell (following some uncertainty), and Williamson revealed some of his plans for the follow-up". moviesblog.mtv.com

"Being released back in 1996 the film is of course quite dated these days and some aspects of the film are laughable, Courtney Cox's mobile phone for one! Yet this film over the years has never lost any credibility with audiences, so much so that they've even done a revival of it 10 years after Scream 3 which goes to show just how much of an impact this film left on audiences around the world". Source: www.dooyoo.co.uk

According to cnn.com: Video rental companies made big moves this week in the race to deliver movies to phones. All of them believe that owning mobile is a ticket to winning the other three screens -- computers, televisions and tablets -- because viewers want to pick up on one screen where they left off on another, just as they do when reading an Amazon Kindle e-book.

Lag Time: Streaming or downloading? Streaming clearly wins in terms of the amount of time you'll have to wait before a movie starts playing on your phone. If you are looking for a
cell phone plan just compare its advantages and drawbacks.

Video Quality: Although cell phone screens are too small for the HD formats used by larger screens, their screens are improving, and some phones ship with optional projectors for displaying a movie on a wall. In order to avoid dropouts, streaming services vary their bit rates, which is why they generally keep up to 20 versions of a given movie on file, each encoded at a different bit rate. Mobile movie-download services require a higher degree of customization for each device because the movies have to be stored on the phone, and various models handle that differently.

Personalized recommendations for services such as cell phone plans and credit cards:
business credit card.

Reviews and advice on mobile phones, cell phone accessories, Bluetooth headsets, and more:
Cell Phone reviews

Friday, March 26, 2010

New Moon DVD: "extended scene: meeting Laurent"

Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE Set.

New Moon DVD: "extended scene: meeting laurent" starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson.