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Disney’s ‘Planes’ nosedives on takeoff

???????????????????New in theaters this weekend is the film from Disney’s direct to video division that was later deemed to be worthy of a theatrical release, Disney’s follow up to Pixar’s “Cars”, “Planes”. That last point is a very poignant one, this is a Disney in house animation project NOT a Pixar project, and the script for Planes sadly makes this point all too clear.

Planes

Starring the voices of: Dane Cook, Stacey Keach, Brad Garret, Teri Hatcher, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Priyanka Chopra, John Cleese, Cedric the Entertatiner

Written by Jeffery M. Howard

Directed by Klay Hall

From above the world of “Cars” comes Disney’s “Planes,” a 3D animated comedy adventure featuring Dusty (Cook), a small-town plane with dreams of competing as a high-flying air racer. But Dusty’s not exactly built for racing—and he happens to be afraid of heights. So he turns to naval aviator Skipper (Keach), who helps Dusty qualify to take on Ripslinger, the defending champ of the race circuit. Dusty’s courage is put to the ultimate test as he aims to reach heights he never dreamed possible, giving a spellbound world the inspiration to soar.

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Brandon Darby’s actions are explored in ‘The Informant’

The-Informant-film-documentary-2012-Jamie-Meltzer-molotovStarting this weekend at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema is the documentary that strives to delve behind the controversy and motivations of one of the most infamous personalities involved in the activist movement over the last decade. Informant takes a spellbinding look at Brandon Darby, a radical activist turned FBI informant who has been both vilified and deified, but never fully understood.

Informant

Starring Brandon Darby

Directed by Jamie Meltzer

 In 2005, Brandon Darby became an overnight activist hero when he traveled to Katrina-devastated New Orleans and braved toxic floodwaters to rescue a friend stranded in the Ninth Ward. Soon after, he became a founding member of Common Ground, a hugely successful grassroots relief organization.  After two young activists were arrested at the 2008 Republican National Convention, Darby shocked close friends and activists nationwide by revealing he’d been instrumental in the indictment as an FBI informant. As the only film with access to Brandon Darby since his public confession, Informant presents his compelling journey using direct address interviews and re-enactments featuring Darby.  Darby’s story is often contradicted by commentary from acquaintances and expert commentators on various points along the political spectrum. The film invites viewers to form their own opinions about Darby’s character and actions, as well as the larger political context he operates within.

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Johnnie To delivers the goods with ‘Drug War’

Movie-Review-Drug-War-1Starting this weekend at the TIFF Bell Lightbox is the newest action opus from the brilliant director behind such classics as “Election”, “Breaking News” and “PTUJohnnie To, “Drug War”. The hard-boiled and unrelenting crime drama features some of the great gun and driving stunts that To films are infamous for, but also packs some serious performances from its leads.

Drug War

Starring: Sun Honglei, Louis Koo, Huang Yi, Michelle Ye

Written by Ryker Chan, Ka-Fai Wai, Nai-Hoi Yau, Xi Yu

Directed by Johnnie To

Drug War is an explosive new thriller, the first of Johnnie To’s action opuses to be set in Mainland China. After his narcotics factory goes up in a ball of flame, drug manufacturer Choi Tin-ming (longtime To collaborator Koo) is captured by hard-nosed cop Zhang Lei (Honglei), who is spearheading a sting operation against a massive narcotics network. Coerced by the threat of the death penalty to turn informant, Choi takes Zhang undercover into the narcotics pipeline. But as Zhang Lei gets deeper and deeper into the drug syndicate and tightens the net around the dealers, he is still unsure whether his unwilling partner has an alternate plan in place that will blow open the entire operation.

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‘Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters’ will satisfy fans of the first film

Percy-Jackson-Sea-of-Monsters-QuadNew in theaters today is the sequel to 2010’s “Percy Jackson and the Lightning Theif” which brings back most of the main cast members, minus Pierce Brosnan as Percy’s cedar (half man/half horse) mentor and protector, in another epic tale of Greek gods and their half human offspring in the modern world. This time around Percy and friends end up taking on the ‘Sea of Monsters’, know to humans as the Bermuda Triangle, as they have to save the world all over again.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

Starring Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario, Brandon T. Jackson, Levin Rambin, Douglas Smith, Jake Abel, Anthony Head, Nathan Fillion and Stanley Tucci.

Written by Marc Guggenheim based on the book by Rick Riordan

Directed by Thor Freudenthal

Percy Jackson (Lerman), accompanied by his friends Annabeth Chase (Daddario), Clarisse La Rue (Rambin), Grover (Jackson) and Tyson (Smith) his half-brother, goes on a journey in the sea of monsters to retrieve the legendary Golden Fleece and save camp half-blood. The camp has been attacked and the barriers that protect the campers are down thanks to Percy’s rival Luke (Abel), another half-blood and the son of Hermes (Fillion). The adventure takes many dangerous and twisted turns and the nefarious plans of Luke could bring the end of days crashing down on earth in a heartbeat if he succeeds.

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‘Trance’ fails to mesmerize on Blu-ray

trance-bluray-cover

 

New to Blu-ray is the latest film from Academy Award winning director Danny Boyle that marks his first step back into the realm of the psychological crime thriller since his debut film “Shallow Grave”, “Trance”. The film is the feature adaptation of writer Joe Ahearne’s television film from 2001 of the same name and features a stellar trio of actors leading the small ensemble set in the high stakes world of art thievery.

Trance

Starring: James McAvoyVincent CasselRosario Dawson

Written by Joe Ahearne, John Hodge

Directed by Danny BoyleSimon (McAvoy) is a fine art auctioneer who gets mixed up with a gang led by Franck (Cassel) looking to steal a painting. After the painting goes missing, Simon and Franck, along with Franck’s crew, join forces with hypnotherapist Elizabeth (Dawson) to recover their lost spoils. As boundaries between desire, reality and hypnotic suggestion begin to blur the stakes rise faster than anyone could have anticipated. Read the rest of this page »

‘Berberian Sound Studio’ is a feast for the ears and eyes

berbsoundstudioart-1

 

Starting this weekend at the TIFF Bell Lightbox is the film that caused quite the stir at the formal TIFF 2012 festival, Berberian Sound Studio. The film features the always dependable and engaging Toby Jones as the proverbial fish out of water,  his character traveling from his home in Surrey England to work in the Italian film business during the heyday of the Italian ‘Giallo ‘ film. The film is an exercise in style, atmosphere and tone and delightfully hearkens back to the Italian thrillers it bases itself in the midst of.

Berberian Sound Studio

Starring: Toby Jones, Cosimo Fusco, Antonio Mancino, Fatma Mohamed, Salvatore Li Causi, Chiara D’Anna, Tonia Sotiropoulou

Written and Directed by Peter Strickland

Summoned to an Italian studio to record the audio effects for a bloody horror opus, meek British sound engineer Gilderoy (Jones) quickly finds his genteel disposition clashing with that of his alternately boisterous, genial and hostile Italian hosts. As Gilderoy becomes unhealthily submerged in his work, the simulated aural violence (snapping celery stalks standing in for cracking bones, pulverized watermelons for squishing craniums) starts to take on a cruel edge. As tension in the claustrophobic studio mounts, it becomes clear that the film is corrupting Gilderoy’s fragile psyche.

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CONTEST!! Win a copy of ‘The Guillotines’ on Blu-ray!!

guillotines

WIN A COPY OF THE GUILLOTINES ON BLU-RAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Director Andrew Lau (Infernal Affairs) teams up with China’s hottest rising action stars for the explosive, martial arts-filled film THE GUILLOTINES, debuting on Blu-ray and DVD August 13th from Well Go USA Entertainment. A secret brotherhood of assassins – the Guillotines – once favored by the Emperor, are now a force of terror and oppression under a new regime. Exiled to a remote village and hunted by a squad of fighters with firearms that challenge their cold steel, the Guillotines must now outwit and outfight enemies from both sides. The film stars Xiaoming Huang (Ip Man 2: Legend of the GrandmasterThe Banquet), Ethan Juan (Mongo), Zhang Wen (The Sorcerer and the White Snake), Shawn Yue (Infernal Affairs), Yuchun Li (Flying Swords of Dragon Gate), and Boran Jing (The Bullet Vanishes).

Now you can win a copy of this re-imaging of the classic Master of the Flying Guillotine by following these easy steps! WE HAVE 3 COPIES TO GIVE AWAY!

Like the Movie Junkie TO Facebook Page HERE

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Like and Share the contest link on the top of the Movie Junkie TO Facebook Page. 

Winners will be picked and notified via message on Facebook after the contest closing date of August 12th!

Hurry up and enter! Good Luck to all

Movie Junkie TO

‘Computer Chess’ looks great but fails to get the audience in checkmate

computer chess posterThe TIFF Bell Lightbox takes a step back to the low fi days of computer programming starting this weekend with the underwhelming “Computer Chess”. The surreal and subdued comedy strives to obtain the levels of classic Christopher Guest productions in its quirkiness of world building, but the question becomes is it witty and engaging enough to earn that comparison?

Computer Chess

Starring: Wiley Wiggins, Patrick Riester, Freddy Martinez, Myles Paige

Written and Directed by Andrew Bujalski

Set over the course of a weekend tournament for chess software programmers thirty-some years ago, Computer Chess transports viewers to a nostalgic moment when the contest between technology and the human spirit seemed a little more up for grabs.  Read the rest of this page »

Spring Breakers is a must own on Blu-ray

spring breakers bluNew on Blu-ray from VVS Films is the tantalizing and titillating new film from “Kids” scribe Harmony Korine, the heavily buzzed about “Spring Breakers”. Starring a pair of former Disney child stars, a ‘Pretty Little Liar’ and Harmony’s own wife as bikini-clad bandits who desperately want to leave behind their humdrum college lives for sun, drugs and the allure of Spring Break. Spring Breakers has grown with infamy over the explicit nature of its subject matter and its stars as well as the nature of where Franco’s character truly came from, but the film succeeds on its own merits and is one of 2013’s best offerings so far.

Spring Breakers Blu-Ray Review

Starring Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine, Selena Gomez, Gucci Mane and James Franco

Written and Directed by Harmony Korine

Four sexy college girls, Faith (Gomez) Candy (Hudgens) Brit (Benson) and Cotty (Korine), plan to fund their spring break getaway by burglarizing a popular fast food shack. But that’s only the beginning. At a motel room rager, fun reaches its legal limit and the girls are arrested and taken to jail. Hungover and clad only in bikinis, the girls appear before a judge but are bailed out unexpectedly by Alien (Franco) An infamous local thug and rapper, Alien takes them under his wing and leads them on the wildest Spring Break trip in history. Rough on the outside but with a soft spot inside, Alien wins over the hearts of the young Spring Breakers, and leads them on a Spring Break they never could have imagined.

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‘The Newsroom’ crackles with life on Blu-ray

the-newsroomTV veteran Aaron Sorkin returns with a new show, his first since the ill-fated yet excellently written Saturday Night Live take off “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”, and this time he has taken his take on the inner workings of a network TV newsroom to the friendly confines of HBO with “The Newsroom”. The hit HBO show recently returned with its second season on the cable giant, so let`s delve in to the first season set to see if it`s worth your hard earned dollars.

The Newsroom Season 1

Starring: Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, John Gallagher Jr., Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Dev Patel, Olivia Munn with Terry Crews, Jane Fonda and Sam Waterston

Created by Aaron Sorkin

Aaron Sorkin’s latest drama is set at a fictional cable news channel where anchor Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) leads a group of reporters and staff striving to make a hard-hitting news program. After a recent blow up at a college lecture, anchor McAvoy returns to work to find that his support team, minus a handful of devotees, are all fleeing to the late night news program. McAvoy also inherits a new producer, his former flame MacKenzie McHale (Mortimer) and number one Jim Harper (Gallagher Jr), who is immediately smitten with Maggie Jordan (Pill). Also in the newsroom is Neal Sampat (Patel), late night producer Don Keefer (Sadoski), gorgeous and brilliant business reporter Sloan Sabbith (Munn) and the man over seeing it all Charlie Skinner (Waterston).

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