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Posts with tag Zooey Deschanel

Watch the First Trailer for Jim Carrey's 'Yes Man'

Filed under: Comedy », New Releases »



I know Jim Carrey's track record has a few blemishes on it, but I have a good feeling about this one. Yes Man has a simple premise -- a no-fun, take-no-chances guy decides to say yes to everything for a year -- and the trailer feels like the ol' Jim we fell in love with back in the '90s.

Plus, the director is Peyton Reed, who will always hold a place in many people's hearts for Bring It On and the under-appreciated Down with Love. Maybe he can keep Carrey's more buffoonish tendencies in check?

We'll find out when the film is released on Dec. 19. In the meantime, watch the trailer and let us know what you think. Can the premise work? Will it wind up being overly wacky or too cartoonish? Do you agree that Zooey Deschanel should appear in more movies?

Cinematical Seven: Actors Who Could Play Siblings, etc.

Filed under: Fandom », Cinematical Seven », Nicole Kidman »



Occasionally Hollywood cobbles together random members of the A-list to play family members on film, even if their genes obviously come from opposite ends of the earth. If the actors are good enough or if the chemistry is there, sometimes the combo can work, such as Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman as brothers in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead or Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor in Cassandra's Dream. Other times, it stretches credibility, such as Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman in The Darjeeling Limited. My all-time favorite oddball casting is in Sidney Lumet's Family Business (1989), with Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman and Matthew Broderick playing grandfather, father and son. (Huh?) At the same time, there are actor combos out there who just scream to be paired up in a family capacity. Remember Julia Roberts and Kyra Sedgwick in Something to Talk About? Well, neither do I, but that pairing was perfect. Here are a few others that could work:

1. Helen Hunt & Leelee Sobieski


They're so similar it's spooky, from their hair and foreheads, right down to the tonal quality of their voices. Anybody check the hospital records for mixed-up babies? (Helen is about 20 years older.) Not too long ago, both careers hit a peak: Helen won an Oscar while Leelee was working with Stanley Kubrick and playing Joan of Arc on TV. Now they're both in decline. For some reason, whenever Helen's name comes up, I hear "I HATE Helen Hunt!" And Leelee's last movie was for Uwe Boll. Now would be the perfect time for these two to team up in a mother-daughter drama. If they cooked up something along the lines of Terms of Endearment, with a good, solid writer and/or director, it could be interesting. Or better yet, how about something really strange and kooky with Spike Jonze or Harmony Korine? (Note: apparently the two once went head-to-head on "Celebrity Death Match.")


DVD Review: Flakes

Filed under: Comedy », Independent », New Releases », DVD Reviews », Home Entertainment », Cinematical Indie »



Flakes is a neighborhood breakfast fantasy -- a funky, retro shop dedicated to cereal. You walk in, pick your crunch of choice, and are instantly served a bowl of cereal that you can enjoy with the quirky members of your community. But it's not all Corn Flakes and Cheerios -- there's a large wall of selections from the new to the old, discontinued, and hard-to-find varieties. It's history in a bowl, served without the capitalist cleanliness.

In a film, there's a number of ways this can play out that could make for a memorable and lovable indie experience. However, while Flakes mixes the worlds of High Fidelity, Reality Bites, Clerks, and Empire Records, it does so without the verve and life that made each of those lovable classics.

'500 Days of Summer' is Actually a Goofball Musical

Filed under: Comedy », Music & Musicals », RumorMonger », Newsstand »

I was already all sorts of excited for 500 Days of Summer, mostly because it stars two of the coolest actors in the business: Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. Gordon-Levitt has mad talent and a pretty unbeatable taste in projects (though G.I. Joe is an eyebrow-raiser); Deschanel is just all-around wonderful and charming -- yes, even in The Happening. I'd be psyched to watch them in anything, but I'm especially psyched to watch them in an elaborate fantasy musical, which is what 500 Days of Summer has turned out to be.

This is from an MTV story, which has a detailed plot synopsis, and descriptions of some of the film's highlights. Those apparently include a scene with fifteen (15) Zooey Deschanel body doubles, and several choreographed dance numbers led by Gordon-Levitt. The movie is a fractured, stream-of-consciousness narrative about a guy who looks back on his long relationship with the girl who just dumped him (that would be Deschanel's Summer), his reminiscences taking on the flavor of a pop musical.

This is particularly exciting news, since Zooey Deschanel is, among other things, a dynamite singer -- if you haven't checked out She & Him, her wonderful 60's-pop collaboration with indie singer-songwriter M. Ward, you're missing out. She has a sweet, lovely voice, and the songs are killer; try "This is Not a Test." I should also note that Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel worked together before either of them was a Name, in the solid, underseen psych-ward drama Manic.

The IMDb isn't the most reliable source for this sort of information, but it has the movie as being in post-production -- which makes sense since it started shooting in early May. Might it show up at Toronto this September?

Review: The Happening

Filed under: Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Mystery & Suspense », Theatrical Reviews », New in Theaters », 20th Century Fox »



In the Hollywood variation on a classic proverb, whom the gods would destroy they first make successful. So it's been for writer director M. Night Shyamalan, where the breakout success of The Sixth Sense first suggested he could do no wrong and then his later films suggested, in dribs and drabs, that he in fact could. The minor missteps in the otherwise-watchable Unbreakable, Signs and The Village were one thing; eventually, Shyamalan's status as a unquestionable talent culminated in Lady in the Water, a textbook example of what can happen when a filmmaker becomes so used to proceeding without supervision that they go right off the steep cliffs of self-indulgence with a full head of steam.

However, it seemed that even M. Night knew this, and looked to be retrenching with The Happening, promising us R-rated chills and thrills and goosebumps. And after actually seeing The Happening, it has to be said that the film's a perfectly fine summertime chiller, one that avoids the excesses and errors in judgment that unmade Lady in the Water but also one without the vision and excellence of The Sixth Sense. It's not that The Happening is bad, as such -- although there are a few fairly off moments in it -- it's more that I found myself wishing, on more than one occasion, that Shyamalan could forget about plucking the audience's heartstrings and instead just keep going for the jugular. I wanted The Happening's tension at a higher pitch so that I wasn't puzzling over plot holes and questionable character decisions while actually sitting in the theater; The Happening simmers when you want it to boil, smolders when you want it to burn.

Interview: M. Night Shyamalan

Filed under: Independent », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », New Releases », RumorMonger », Celebrities and Controversy », Fandom », DIY/Filmmaking », Steven Spielberg », Interviews », Comic/Superhero/Geek »



He goes by "Night," but it's hard to dispute his sunny disposition. Just a few minutes into a conversation with M. Night Shyamalan in a New York City hotel room yesterday, it was obvious to me that the director has managed to occupy such a unique niche in the Hollywood landscape because he's immediately likable. Of course, a little movie released in 1999 called The Sixth Sense didn't hurt, either.

After landing two Oscar nominations and international acclaim for his masterful ghost story, Shyamalan continued to market himself as a brand. Since then, the results have been mixed. Signs was an indisputable hit. Unbreakable has its supporters. Lady in the Water? Not so much. But that failure hasn't prevented the filmmaker from dealing with audacious material: His latest movie, The Happening, finds a married couple (Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel) thrust into a world where people inexplicably become suicidal after getting struck by an ominous, unseen toxin. Forces of evil usually remain unseen in Shyamalan's films, and The Happening is no exception to that rule. I spoke to the 37-year-old Philadelphia resident about the personal philosophies guiding his career choices, the polarized reactions to his work, and what the future will bring.

'The Go-Getter' Gets a Trailer

Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Independent », Fandom », DIY/Filmmaking », Movie Marketing », Cinematical Indie », Trailers and Clips »




You could put Zooey Deschanel in a 50-minute black and white silent film about brick walls and I'd still watch that sucker 10 times. Excuse me? What's a stalker? Ahem. Above you will find the trailer for The Go-Getter, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival wayyy back in 2007, and appears to be finally seeing the light of day. I, personally, haven't seen this movie, but James wasn't crazy about the film in his review; saying "this isn't filmmaking any more than unpacking an Ikea box and busting out the Allen key is to making furniture." However, Peter from Slashfilm announced it as one of his favorites from the year; calling it "Garden State meets Into the Wild."

Lou Taylor Pucci stars as a dude who steals a car and heads out on a road trip to find his brother following his mother's death. According to the trailer, along the way he meets up with Jena Malone, meets up with Maura Tierney, and all the while continues to build a phone relationship with the girl whose car he stole (played by my gal Zooey). The Go-Getter does look to have a bangin' soundtrack and some interesting cinematography, so it seems worth checking out. For you. Me? I was sold on starring Zooey Deschanel. (But I'm easy like that.)

New Red Band Trailer for 'The Happening'

Filed under: Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », 20th Century Fox », Movie Marketing », Trailers and Clips »



IGN has the new Red Band trailer for The Happening (following on the heels of that other red band trailer posted over at JoBlo last week), released as negative buzz is beginning to build up. There is plenty of creepiness and gore here, but I am beginning to believe those whispers of a bad performance or three. There is something very goofy about Mark Wahlberg's wide-eyed panic -- and that's hard for me to say, because he's a good actor and I've enjoyed him in a good amount of films.

I want to believe this is a return to form for M.Night Shyamalan, I really do. There is certainly potential here, but frankly, the last time I was all spooked out by one of his trailers, I ended up wasting two hours with The Village. That said, I'll be holding out for the reviews here before throwing money to the box office hounds. What about you? Are you sufficiently creeped out to trust him with your film dollar, or is there just too much else to see? It opens June 13th, so Shyamalan has a bit of time to convince us skeptics.





A Spooky New Trailer for M. Night Shyamalan's 'The Happening'

Filed under: Horror », Thrillers », 20th Century Fox », Movie Marketing », Trailers and Clips »




Despite having one of the worst reputations in Hollywood, it would appear that things are starting to look up for M. Night Shyamalan. You can check out the latest trailer Shyamalan's The Happening above, and it already has me sold on the apocalyptic thriller. Even though I was relatively impressed with the first trailer, this one has definitely amped up the creep factor (caused some serious heebie-jeebies when I saw it in front of Iron Man last weekend).

Mark Wahlberg stars as a meek and mild high school science teacher who lands smack dab in the middle of an end of days scenario. And might I add that it will be nice to see Wahlberg play something other than his usual tough guy role -- I mean, it's been too long since he's really had to act. Zooey Deschanel co-stars as his estranged wife and the criminally underused John Leguizamo, Spencer Breslin (brother to Abigail) and Ashlyn Sanchez play fellow survivors.

The Happening is scheduled for release on Friday June 13th, which will put the thriller in direct competition with The Incredible Hulk for opening weekend supremacy. Between the critics who call Shyamalan a one-trick pony, and the bad buzz for the big green guy, it's going to be a tough call for audiences. I know which film I'm going to see first -- how about you?

More Images from M. Night Shyamalan's 'The Happening'

Filed under: Drama », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », 20th Century Fox », Movie Marketing », Images »

What I'm about to say might shock you ... ready? I still think M. Night Shyamalan is a pretty good director. Okay, so he may have gone off the rails with Lady in the Water, but everyone is allowed a few stinkers, right? Hopefully things will start to turn around for him with The Happening. JoBlo now has new stills from his M. Night's 'end of the world' drama, and for those of you who like to be surprised, don't worry, they're spoiler-free. In fact, most of them look like they came straight from the trailer.

Most of the details have been kept under lock and key, but we did get some spoilers back in August (read at your own risk). What we do know for sure is that the story centers on an estranged couple (Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel) who band together to save their family during an environmental crisis (remember the news story about the disappearing bees?). That old chestnut even makes an appearance in the narrative. Joining Wahlberg and Deschanel in the cast are John Leguizamo and Spencer Breslin (star of The Shaggy Dog and brother to Abigail) as fellow survivors.

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