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Most Recent Movie Reviews:
review archive: 2005 • 2006 • 2007
(click a poster to purchase)
Movie Review of I Am Legend (2007) [PG-13] 101 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $14.00
Remember when action-packed, adventure or sci-fi event, Will Smith films were the lead in to 4th of July fireworks after a huge, all-you-can-eat, barbequed beef ribs dinner at a little joint off of 120th and Broadway in NYC? Well, I Am Legend would have fit rather better back in the middle of the year not surrounded so much by Oscar® contenders—not that Transformers isn't Oscar-worthy, at least technical awards and sound and such. It's just that seeing Will Smith over-act surrounded by performances that will be among some of the best of the year is practically painful, whereas, back in July it might have seemed right on. The worst part is that he takes his legendary character to some physical and mental extremes that were just that, too extreme. Had he toned them down just even a little, the movie would have been a bit better, and his fans a bit less shocked by how much they really didn't enjoy his performance. At face value, you've got a story, which if it's not blatantly obvious from the marketing campaign concerns the release of a mutated virus that kills 90% of the world's population, leaves 1% unaffected, and the sad remaining 9% into cannibalistic super humanoids of surreal strength and physical agility but with a fortunate extreme vulnerability to UV radiation from the sun.…continued…or read the spoiler points…
Movie Review of Atonement (2007) [R] 130 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $13.50
While it will certainly be compared to The English Patient, Joe Wright's Atonement based on the novel by Ian McEwan and adapted for the screen by Christopher Hampton falls somewhat short of the Academy Award®-winning film though there are some similarities. Atonement's weaknesses come from a nagging sense of contrivance that occurs early on when careless events such as a struggle to fill a priceless vase with water that ends with it in pieces and a blatantly sexual, vulgar apology note written in frustration ends up being accidentally delivered to the object of its aqueous affection. These events tragically are used to besmirch the reputation of young Robbie Turner (James McAvoy) just as he returns to his master's estate having found two lost twin cousins. Too bad, his noble recovery is for naught as he's swiftly hauled off to prison, wrongly accused of attempting to rape another of the cousins thusly dispatching his dreams of becoming a physician and of marrying his master's eldest daughter, Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightley).…continued…or read the spoiler points…
Movie Review of My Kid Could Paint That (2007) [PG-13] 82 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $13.75
There's always a danger in starting up the process of making a documentary film that the director will, like a 4H kid who names his lamb, get too close to be as objective as the 'rules' of the genre prescribe. Of course, unlike the fate of the lamb that surely, eventually, must face the slaughter, the rules of documentaries, like any area of filmmaking, are not set in absolute stone. Nonetheless, as Amir Bar-Lev learned the hard way, the complications of becoming too singularly connected with the subjects of his documentary, the Olmstead family and their 4-year old painter daughter Marla, as he notices an occasional clouding of his objective if not his objectivity. Curiously, however, this departure from conventions probably saves this film from chaotic disaster. Certainly, in the process of telling any story it is as much in the way and what is told as what is not told that makes the each one a matter of perspective. Ultimately, what happens to Amir Bar-Lev as he makes the film, including via questions he's asked and answers shyly by those he's interviewing, is as important to the film as the 'real' subjects of the film. …continued…
Movie Review of The Golden Compass (2007) [PG-13] 113 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $13.00
Amidst a storm of controversy stirred up by those who view award-winning author Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, the first book of which was called The Northern Lights and changed to The Golden Compass to be decidedly anti-Christian, the film should open to typical epic numbers in December fueled inadvertently by the controversy and by the traditional success of such during the family Holiday film season. Despite the controversy, and there have been many defensive statements released suggesting the religious overtones from the book have been toned down in the film, the story resembles, not surprisingly, so many other timeless epic stories with children as the heroes, only this time with a young girl in charge. Her name is Lyra Belacqua, and she's portrayed forcibly and convincingly by young Dakota Blue Richards. One can see shades of a dynamic and potent actress in the young girl as her character carries the fate of her world on her shoulders, so does the actress carry the weight of the picture. Both take some warming up to. She's a tad prickly at first, but as the story progresses, the character matures and the girl settles into the role. …continued…or read the spoiler points…
Movie Review of No Country for Old Men (2007) [R] 122 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $13.50
Let's start this review with the summary and say Joel and Ethan Coen's No Country for Old Men adapted from Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name has electrifying characters and performances in some of the most amazing scenes of dramatic, knuckle-clenching, foreboding tension most people will have ever seen in their lives. Reflections, however, on the first viewing led to the deduction that there must have either been a missing reel or something in the theatre ventilation system that induced a lengthy slumber causing everyone to sleep through some parts because the climax and dénouement simply weren't very rewarding. Alas, a second viewing revealed neither to be the case, effectively rendering the film a catastrophic disappointment--to get so close to perfection and then lose it? Not having read the book, maybe this is the way Cormac McCarthy wanted it. Maybe he wanted to build up all this incredible tension with three destiny-bound, classically imitable characters only to leave the story flailing in the winds of some trite social statement of good versus evil in these changing times. If so, then it seems unfair to blame the Coen Brothers for sticking to the original narrative except that they should have realized this would not make a lot of viewers of the film very happy. Or maybe it will. People who like arty, inconclusive, spectacles may bask in this one.
…continued…or read the spoiler points…
Other Recent Reviews:
Awake (2007) [R] 78 minutes WIP™ Scale: $13.00
I'm Not There (2007) [R] 135 minutes WIP™ Scale: $11.50
Lust, Caution (2007) [NC-17] 157 minutes WIP™ Scale: $14.25
The Mist (2007) [R] 127 minutes WIP™ Scale: $11.75
Enchanted (2007) [PG] 107 minutes WIP™ Scale: $12.25
August Rush (2007) [PG] 104 minutes WIP™ Scale: $12.50
This Christmas (2007) [PG-13] 117 minutes WIP™ Scale: $9.00
Hitman (2007) [R] 100 minutes WIP™ Scale: $14.00
Crazy Eights (2007) [R] 80 minutes WIP™ Scale: $9.50
Nightmare Man (2007) [R] 94 minutes WIP™ Scale: $4.25
Love in the time of Cholera (2007) [R] 138 minutes WIP™ Scale: $14.25
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007) [G] 93 minutes WIP™ Scale: $11.00
Beowulf (2007) [PG-13] 113 minutes WIP™ Scale: $13.25
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) [R] 117 minutes WIP™ Scale: $12.75
The Deaths of Ian Stone (2007) [R] 88 minutes WIP™ Scale: $11.75
Juno (2007) [PG-13] 96 minutes WIP™ Scale: $12.75
Lions for Lambs (2007) [R] 88 minutes WIP™ Scale: $14.50
P2 (2007) [R] 98 minutes WIP™ Scale: $7.25
Fred Claus (2007) [PG] 116 minutes WIP™ Scale: $9.00
Martian Child (2007) [PG] 108 minutes WIP™ Scale: $13.25
Bee Movie (2007) [PG] 90 minutes WIP™ Scale: $11.75
Film Premiere and Award Photo Sets
archive: 2007
Listed in Order of Publication in the mEd database not necessarily chronologically...
Film-Related Awards, Galas, and Celebrity Event Photo Sets
• Disney High School Musical Family Night • Ein Herz fuer Kinder Gala • UPI Entertainment Photos of the Year • 4th Dubai International Film Festival • 65th annual Golden Globe Awards Nominations • 13th Annual Critics' Choice Award Nominations • Will Smith Cement Ceremony at Grauman's Chinese Theatre • Jules Verne Adventure Film Festival Special Awards Presentation (2007) • Five Women in Film and Television Awards (2007) • Theatregoers' Choice Awards (2007) • AFI Awards (2007) • AFI Industry Awards (2007) • Hollywood Reporter's 16th Annual Women in Entertainment Breakfast • 6th Annual Korea Film Awards • Teddy Bear Ball (2007)
Film Premiere Photo Sets
• Great Debaters, The (Premiere) • Juno (Premiere) • National Treasure: Book of Secrets (Premiere) • Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (Premiere) • Charlie Wilson's War (Premiere) • I Am Legend (Premiere) • In the Land of Women (Premiere) • My Kid Could Paint That (Premiere) • St. Trinian's (Premiere) • Superbad (Premiere) • There Will Be Blood (Premiere) • Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, The (Premiere) • P.S. I Love You (Premiere) • Control (Premiere) • Jumper Trailer (Premiere) • Youth Without Youth (Premiere) • Kite Runner, The (Premiere) • Atonement (Premiere) • Blade Runner - The Final Cut (Premiere) • Sweeney Todd (Premiere)
Brand New Movie Posters Just In:
New Movie Poster Archive: 2007 | TV Posters: 2006 / 2007
New as of 11-December-07
(click any poster to purchase)
Recent Movie Star Birthdays:
birthdays: last month / this month / next month / by month / alphabetically
| 16-Dec | 15-Dec | 14-Dec | ||||||||||||
| Benjamin Bratt | Adam Brody | Patty Duke | ||||||||||||
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| Also: Liv Ullmann | Also: Don Johnson Michael Shanks Helen Slater Stuart Townsend | Also: Dee Wallace | ||||||||||||
| 13-Dec | 12-Dec | 11-Dec | ||||||||||||
| Jamie Foxx | Jennifer Connelly | Mos Def | ||||||||||||
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| Also: Steve Buscemi | Also: Bill Nighy | Also: Ben Browder Teri Garr Rider Strong | ||||||||||||
| 10-Dec | ||||||||||||||
| Kenneth Branagh | Related DVDs | Related DVDs | ||||||||||||
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| Also: Michael Clarke Duncan Patrick Flueger Michael Schoeffling |  |  |
Movies Now on DVD and Download:
DVD releases: Archive / This Week / Next Week
(click poster to purchase)
Movie Review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) [PG-13] -- W.I.P. Scale™ Rating: $12.00
Review-lite: Nearly twice as dark and half as magical, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix fails to live up to the reputation of the previous films. Largely, this seems due to a new director that doesn't seem to handle the dynamics as well and the screenplay which was based on the longest of the books so far, but given the least amount of screen time. Overall, the three leads: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint are coming on strong as real forces in the field, it's too bad the running time has forced them to water things down a bit. The story, overall, lacks the climatic punch, as well, of its predecessors. Still, it's a better than average film. Ardent fans will have to decide how much compromises sacrificed the true impact of the novel.(click for full details and complete review) • (click to purchase Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)
Also This Week:
The Bourne Ultimatum • December Boys
Previously Announced Available for Pre-Order:
3:10 to Yuma • Balls of Fury • Brothers Solomon, The • Eastern Promises • Halloween (2007) •Hatchet •Illegal Tender • Last Legion, The •Once • Resident Evil: Extinction • Rush Hour 3 • Shoot 'Em Up • Simpsons Movie, The • Stardust • Underdog • War
Movies Coming Soon:
Dynamic Calendar Jan 07 - Jun 09 with links to official sites, trailers, and reviews
Plain Calendars: 2006 / 2007 / 2008-09
Friday, 14 December
Alvin and the Chipmunks • I Am Legend • The Perfect Holiday (12/12)
in limited release only: Juno, The Kite Runner, The Perfect Holiday, Youth without Youth
Friday, 21 December
Charlie Wilson's War • National Treasure: Book of Secrets • P.S. I Love You • Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street • Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
in limited release only: Flakes
Top 10 Hottest-Selling Movie Posters:
source: our friends at
| #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 |
| American Gangster | Rambo | The Golden Compass | Bee Movie |
| #5 | #6 | #7 | #8 |
| Across the Universe | Enchanted | Beowolf | Harold and Kumar 2 |
| #9 | #10 | ||
| Alien Vs. Predator 2 | I Am Legend |
Movie Poster Extravaganzas:
archive
Saw fans can rejoice in celebrating the film franchise status for their beloved horror films about malevolent traps being sprung on people with a devious purpose. Here, as is tradition, the franchise is honored with its own movie poster extravaganza.
movieEVERYday.com Record:
On 5 November 2007 1:59 pm MT 23 people were visiting mEd.com at the same time!
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