Transformers and 300
So you have a list of people to buy for and no idea what to get them, right? Been there, suffered through that. And children, I can only offer you two options: piss off a bunch of friends over Thanksgiving so you don't have to get them anything, or head to the DVD section. Because nothing says "I put more thought into this than you deserve" than a movie starring some of their fave TV faces. And they're so easy to wrap!
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Cloverfield courtesy Paramount Pictures
OK, I loved Cloverfield. Lovedlovedloved it. Granted, the shaky-cam monster-takes-Manhattan movie gave me a bit of vertigo and yes, there were moments in the theater where I wasn’t sure if the popcorn was gonna stay down. But aside from that, good times. Even better on DVD, truth be told. The perspective is easier on the equilibrium, the extras explain some murky parts and you can freeze-frame to see if the final scene really does show the beast crashing into the water off Coney Island. It’s also one of those flicks so filled with actors you think you’ve seen before that I have decided to dedicate this column to my favorite movie game ever: “Where Do I Know Them From?” And we’ll start with…Executive-producer J.J. Abrams – Shame on you for now knowing this one. Alias. Lost. Felicity. All available on DVD.Michael Stahl-David — Rob, the lead dude whose surprise bon-voyage party is kiboshed by the rampaging goliath, who refuses to leave the ...
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Odette Yustman and Michael Stahl-David in Cloverfield courtesy Paramount Pictures
What new and scarier ways can we taunt the Big Apple — and scare the bejesus out of Manhattanites? Paramount wants to know. They've given director Matt Reeves a green light for a sequel to Cloverfield, the little monster movie that scared up $46 million over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, setting a new box-office record. They'll also reward Reeves' appetite for destruction by letting him direct another movie he wrote, The Invisible Woman, a Hitchcockian thriller about a former beauty queen who turns to crime to protect her family (as former beauty queens are wont to do). — Mickey O'ConnorPoll: Do you like the idea of a sequel? Vote here.
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Converting on months of Internet hype in the way Snakes on a Plane couldn't, Cloverfield topped the weekend box office with $41 million, besting Star Wars: Special Edition's 11-year-old record for a January debut. (Watch the Cloverfield trailer here.)Katherine Heigl's 27 Dresses was not a bride but a bridesmaid, coming in second with $22.4 mil.Rounding out the top five were The Bucket List ($15.2 mil), Juno ($10.3 mil) and National Treasure 2 ($8.1 mil).Mad Money reaped anything but, stealing just $7.7 mil to land at No. 7.What's your take on any of the new releases? Already we've had at least one reader email us about needing to step out for an "illness" break during Cloverfield, thanks to the jittery camerawork. And while 27 Dresses was stood up by many critics, filmgoers really seemed to RSVP.
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After what seemed like a covert operation to keep all the secrets of Cloverfield under wraps, tonight’s the night we’ll finally get some answers. Like, what in the hell kind of monster would rip off the Statue of Liberty’s head and chuck it into Midtown? Not cool! Better start ordering those tickets in advance because we’re sensing a sold-out opening weekend. Your take: Think this movie is going to live up to the hype?
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Michael Stahl-David, Lizzy Caplan and Jessica Lucas in Cloverfield by Sam Emerson/Paramount Pictures
Looking for clues about Cloverfield, Lost executive producer J.J. Abrams' latest hush-hush project, which hits theaters Jan. 18? You're not alone. TV Guide spoke with director Matt Reeves — who collaborated with childhood buddy Abrams on TV's Felicity — and he coughed up a few details about the movie. For one, unlike Lost, the film will present a clear look at its creature. "It pays off. At the end of the day, you see everything," Reeves promises of the New York City-smashing beast. "It's a new monster, and it's enormous." Audiences should also be on the lookout for an in-joke reference to Slusho, a drink first referred to on Abrams' Alias. But perhaps the biggest twist is the decision to use all relative unknowns in the cast (including CSI newbie Jessica Lucas), which ruled out a rumored cameo by Heroes' Greg Grunberg, who has appeared in many of longtime pal Abrams' previous projects. "I wish I could tell you that Greg was in the movie, but unfortunately, he's not," Reev...
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