Results tagged “samuelljackson”

       

Back in June I wrote, "Movies open every week in Los Angeles, and LAist always tries to let you know about as many of them as possible. Some films, though -- at least I think so -- deserve a special mention because a) they don't have a huge marketing budget supporting them; b) they are the kinds of provocative films that more people should see and c) they are the kinds of films that the worst toadies in corporate America don't want you to see." The film I was referring to was Food, Inc., and it is available today on DVD. It changed the way I eat. It may just do the same for you. On to lighter fare: G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra was a horrible, horrible film, but at least it wasn't as bad as Transformers 2. That's got to count for something, right? Proof that studios can still make big-budget films that are actually good: The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.

Does Stephen Daldry have the goods on a large majority of Academy Award voters? I mean seriously, how else does a fine, but limited movie like The Reader get nominated for an Oscar instead of more thrilling work like, say, The Wrestler? (I could say the same thing about The Hours a few years ago -- something is rotten here.) As a devout non-fan of Sin City, I was glad to see that the visually identical The Spirit died a quick critical and box-office death. I like comic book/graphic novel movies, but maybe it's time to take a break from it all. How is it that a relatively mediocre TV show like Wings featured four dynamite actors? Amazing.

I could talk for hours about it, but I'll simply say that Amadeus is the finest movie I have ever seen. From the amazing performances by F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce to the script by Peter Schaeffer (a superior revision of his stage play) to the direction by Milos Forman (who never again came close to this level of artistry) right down to the ballet choreography by Twyla Tharp and the imposing score by Sir Neville Marriner, Amadeus is the purest, most perfect synthesis of all the wonder that is possible with cinema. If you have never seen this wonderful film, rectify that mistake immediately and pick up this Blu-Ray disc.

After several lean years (anyone care to remember Deconstructing Harry or the laughless Hollywood Ending), Woody Allen is on a pretty good roll lately. Vicky Cristina Barcelona may be his best film since the fantastic Bullets Over Broadway. Kirk Cameron. Christian Action Star. Pride and Glory wasn't great, but it hit all the right notes of your standard cop corruption film. Colin Farrell is really back with a vengeance, though, huh? Speaking of being back, Guy Ritchie certainly seems to be right on track again with RockNRolla.

       

Samuel L. Jackson may have chosen a few questionable roles in recent years (we're looking at you, Snakes and Jumper), but there's no denying his involvement in the latest anime-inspired project Afro Samurai is downright awesome. Upon receiving immediate praise after its first season aired in 2007, the follow up full-length feature (Afro Samurai: Resurrection) is finally slated to release this week, alongside a highly anticipated video game of the same caliber. LAist was invited to sit down with Jackson at a blogger roundtable in Beverly Hills, where the celebrated actor piqued our interest about the tales of the New Number 2.

CARS: The LA Auto Show begins today at Staples Center and runs through Dec. 30. It's one of the biggest car shows in the world. The show closes at 10 pm tonight. Tickets are $10.

finished fifth with a decent take of $6.5M ($20.9M).

I doubt that Soul Men will be very good, but I'll watch it just to see the late Bernie Mac. His untimely death teaches all of us not to do tomorrow (or months from now) what you can do today! I know the perfect girl to take to the ghoulish Repo! The Genetic Opera, but she's so darn unavailable! Were there unresolved plot points from the original that required a Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa? Does anyone not like Paul Rudd? The great David Wain (watch this!) directed Role Models so I will definitely check it out.

Samuel L. Jackson continues to prove he's at least a decent box-office draw as his presence lifted the rote thriller was expected to do just okay business which is pretty much what it did ($8M).

Lakeview Terrace looks like such a rote, phony thriller that it's hard to imagine a decent (albeit declining) director like Neil LaBute being able to do much with it. Then again, it's probably Oscar-worthy compared to tripe like My Best Friend's Girl. Is there still an audience for Dane Cook? The Duchess looks like just another wan costume drama after the fiery and robust . Keira Knightly really needs to stop doing these things. Anyone else getting an overpowering TNT vibe from Appaloosa?

If you somehow missed both had top-drawer casts and the imprimatur of quality. Both were also awfully dull. Tom Cruise takes another step down from his previous perch of box office invincibility.

The term B-movie has to many persons the connotation of a movie of substandard quality. Traditionally, it meant a low-budget movie with lesser stars meant primarily to entertain. Now an appropriate definition would probably be a genre film that has little to no serious artistic intent: entertainment, not enlightenment.* Doug Liman's Jumper is a B-movie.** I certainly wasn't enlightened by the time it was over.

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

If you've missed Ken Burns' latest sprawling effort on PBS, you can catch it today when it drops on DVD. Silver Surfer was better than the original Fantastic Four, but that's not really saying much. Got to love Doug Jones, though. 1408 was a surprise summer hit. I think it'll work even better when you're watching it alone at home with the lights turned off. Entourage was never the same after the Aquaman arc,...

In a marked departure from his previous, politically-charged directorial efforts, Rod Lurie delivers a thoughtful, often poignant film about family and morality in tells the story of Erik Kernan (Josh Hartnett), a sportswriter living in the shadow of his late father, a legendary broadcaster. Erik is your classic hustler--quick with a lie and unwilling to do the hard work necessary to make something significant out of himself.

To conservatives in the media, Rod Lurie may be the ultimate bête noire of Hollywood filmmakers (he would compete with Oliver Stone and Aaron Sorkin). His two highest-profile projects, , fully reflected his Democratic politics and were both harshly labeled by Republican commentators as little more than sops to the (then) presumptive presidential candidacy of Hillary Clinton.

Mark Wahlberg lights up TV screens this week as Shooter reaches the DVD shelves. I don't know about you, but this tale of double-crosses and revenge had a distinct late 80s/early 90s vibe to it for me. Did Sly pass on this script 20 years ago or was it Steve in '95?

Get this, there's another sequel coming out today. You're surprised, I know, I was too. Alas, in a summer of recycled story lines, the comedy genre takes center stage today with "Evan Almighty. With "The Office" on hiatus, I'm itching for some Steve Carell. He arrives, riding an ark, in time for your weekend.

Today marks the first day that 76 book titles will be available for your cell phones via Moka. Yet, we wonder if this books on phone thing isn't similar to Snakes on a Plane -- good idea in theory (might be cool, might inspire a cultish following), but a disaster in reality. As with the film, we're betting that such a lofty idea - who ever heard of books on phones (or, for that matter, snakes on a plane) - will come down to the execution. Will they be easy to read? Which books can you get? How much does it cost? Is Samuel L. Jackson going to botch the whole thing and take it all way too seriously? And so on...

5. Airbus was actually going to dis LAX until a few weeks ago because the airport was so far behind on the infamous ~$50 million modifications needed to accommodate the 8-story tall village-in-the-sky. So while 550 Lufthansa passengers will arrive simultaneously (9:30 a.m. PDT Monday) at New York's JFK, the LAX-bound A380 is practically a test flight, with only handful of Airbus techs and some heavy equipment (although it's rumored that Samuel L. Jackson...

A Word Or 71: Hey, thanks for calling me on my BS mistakes yesterday, it pleases me that some people have been reading my little list of shows and snarky comments. Have a great weekend - the only thing that will get me through Oscar night is alcohol, here's a link to an Oscar's Drinking Game but there's got to be better ones, please post your own or links to better ones in the comments....

This is LAist’s mutherfuckin’ Snakes on a Plane review. This should have happened months ago, but like every other person we neglected to cough up the bucks at the box office and opted instead to wait for its DVD release. To make the case for SOAP, it doesn’t live up to the internet hype but it does however manage to pull off death by snakebite to the penis quite gracefully. The sickeningly twisted snake...

The long drought is over my friends -- regular programming is back, we have new shows and new series coming on every day. My life has some purpose again. My thumb was blistered from almost 2 weeks of endlessly scrolling through channel after channel of repeats and other unwatchable TV - I had almost depleted my tin of Bag Balm. Thank you TV, thank you networks, I may have said some harsh things last week but it was the blackberry brandy talkin', I swear.

Tonight - Monday TV Junkie is desperate, there ain't crap for new stuff on tonight other than late night talk - and the (free) movie channels have nothing inspiring on AND I have no new DVDs to look at, somebody help me for effssake! Monday Night Football: Bengals @ Colts (ESPN, 5:30 p.m.) Flames @ Ducks (PRIME, 7:00 p.m.) "Identity" (NBC, 9 p.m. EST) A new game show with Penn Jillette, let the magic...

Snakes on a Plane starring Samuel L. Jackson, Julianna Margulies, snakes as themselves directed by David R. Ellis, 105 min, rated R There are moments in history, great moments, when the people of their time rise to meet the technology of their age. Planets align. Messiahs are born. Civilizations prosper. And snakes get their asses handed to them by Samuel L. Jackson. You might not have been alive for Woodstock. Or perhaps you missed...

Two killed, two injured when a Metro Blue Line train smashed into a car yesterday morning - CBS-2

Grim news about a Southern California staple: Chris Morris, a 103.1 dj, says in the Hollywood Reporter that the nation's largest free-standing record store chain, Tower Records, is in huge financial debt and may not last another year: The amount of money that Tower owes evidently is staggering. One confidential source familiar with Tower's balance sheet put the company's debt to Warner Music Group's distributor WEA Corp. at $20 million. The same source said...

Don't be alarmed at the loud title above. This is just a primer to get you in the mood for all the festivities, mayhem and otherwise cool stuff that will be happening at the Comic-Con in San Diego next week. If you don't already know, the San Diego Comic-Con is one of those events with humble roots that is now one of the premier happenings of the year, at least on this coast. However, it's not just comics and manga and people dressed in weird costumes (although there will be people dressed in weird costumes, no doubt). No, its about much more than comic books these days.

More SAG Awards liveblogging. Watch out, Dakota is coming.

The Daily News tunes in to Howard Stern's premiere satellite radio broadcast, counts the number of times he uses the f-word.