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The Day The Earth Stood Still

January 15, 2011 by · Comments Off on The Day The Earth Stood Still 

The Day The Earth Stood Still, AMC on Friday night will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the sci-fi The Day the Earth Stood by broadcasting in high definition for the first time.

This is according to an article by Examiner.com. The film, which will air at 8 pm on Friday (January 14) AND, focuses on a spaceship that lands on the Washington DC Mall to the height of the Cold War. While the aliens came in peace, the Terrans are confused how to react to the landing and two crew of the ship.

Many film critics have said the film was an allegory of the conflict era of the 1950s between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

British actor Michael Rennie head the cast as the alien-sounding curiously British who invaded Washington, DC But the film is also filled with priceless but hammy performances, Billy Gray (who later starred as the son of Father Knows Best), an almost unrecognizable young Patricia Neal, Sam Jaffe and Frances Bavier! (Better known as Aunt Bee from The Andy Griffith Show.)

AMC says it will broadcast The Day the Earth Stood Still with limited commercial interruptions.

Source: http://www.dvdactive.com/images/news/screenshot/2009/2/daytheearthstoodstillr1art1.jpg

Green Hornet Review

January 14, 2011 by · Comments Off on Green Hornet Review 

Green Hornet Review, (CP) – One day – one day soon, hopefully – 3-D will be exposed for the sham that is. We are all aware that for the vast majority of movies, shooting or conversion into 3 – D offers anything from a narrative point of view, very few visual gimmicks that add any real money at the box office for ticket prices. And, perhaps, the sanctity of the art form can be restored once more.

It’s probably wishful thinking, of course. But until that blessed day arrives, we will continue to be bombarded by images of mediocre action as “The Green Hornet.”

He did not have to be this way. There were reasons for hope.

“The Green Hornet” comes from director Michel Gondry, who is known for telling imaginative stories with visuals inspired. Gondry’s previous films include “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “The Science of Sleep”, and – like so many feature filmmakers today – he made his name with music videos suppression. (Her work with The White Stripes is one legendary.)

Hearing his name associated with a great superhero movie studio – with Seth Rogen, of all people – perhaps sounded incongruous, but at least it was fascinating, and it held the promise of ingenuity and talent. We could be in something fresh and bold. Instead, Gondry came up with a surprisingly generic, bombastic action film. Except for a few sequences that have a little sense, it could have been made by anyone.

This script has been reported by Rogen and Evan Goldberg – who also co-wrote the raunchy-but-sweet “Superbad”, inspired by their long friendship – has also suggested a different kind of superhero. And indeed, the first half seems as if it was meant to play like a bromance Judd Apatow-style gadgets that developed. But as the film is about, it turns into an attack blunting of automatic weapons fire, explosions and Shattered Glass. Just as it takes to reach a climax exciting, it becomes more repulsive.

Based on the radio in the 1930s, “The Green Hornet” stars Rogen as Britt Reid, the heir of the Play boy empire in Los Angeles edition built by his father (Tom Wilkinson, relegated to a role of a note only some scenes). But when his father dies suddenly, Britt realizes he has a chance to use his fortune for good, and makes the rash decision to become a vigilante crime fighter by night. With the help of his engineer father, Kato soft voice, but always inventive (Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou), Britt imagines a character, costumes, and a whole secret, adventurous life.

Indeed, Kato arrives with all this stuff, even if Britt claims repeatedly, he is the star of the transaction and dismissed as a mere sidekick Kato. The dynamic between the two must be giddily infectious, endearing or at least, we should be itching to go on an adventure in their tricked-out cars many. Instead, a lighter Rogen is just playing a version of good humor, joking lazy, he plays everything, never feels like a comfortable fit alongside the coldly efficient Chou. Having a player with a certain depth and scope – as, for example, Robert Downey Jr. in “Iron Man” movies – can raise that kind of play materials. Rogen simply did not have, which also highlights the fragility of the script.

Cameron Diaz once again plays a ditzy blonde who apparently was found to have a brain as Secretary Britt, Lenore Case. And Christoph Waltz, who won an Oscar for his performance in support of cooling in “Inglourious Basterds” has some amusing moments as suffering from a nasty mid-life crisis, it is better to participate in the scene film, which occurs right up and features a cameo from an old friend Rogen. But the majority of the awkward coming here seems to be beneath him.

For those of 3-D effects, which were shot in 2-D and then converted? All the usual stuff: the fragments of glass and bullet casings and flames flying at the screen, but nothing that never pierces the heart or mind.

“The Green Hornet,” a Columbia Pictures release, is rated PG-13 for sequences of action violence, language, sensuality and drug content. Length: 118 minutes. A million and a half stars out of four.

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Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions:

G – General audiences. All ages admitted.

PG – Parental guidance suggested. Some scenes may be unsuitable for children.

PG-13 – Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children fewer than 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children.

R – Restricted. Under 17 accompanied by a parent or adult guardian.

NC-17 – Not fewer than 17 admitted.

Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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