jasonbateman Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Sometimes it feels good to get your buttons pushed. Couples Retreat shamelessly trots out a stable of tired old nags and magically transforms them into shining young thoroughbreds by the time they reach the finish line. To stir more creaky metaphors into the mix, Couples Retreat reminds me of an Old World grandmother, happily offering up the same old recipe with gentle but insistent persuasion, urging you to "eat, eat!" And you end up eating far more than you ever thought you would, because old recipes taste really good when fresh ingredients are used.

With Couples Retreat, the filmmakers gently but persistently prod, saying "Laugh, laugh!" and you end up laughing far more than expected. The set-up feels familiar: four couples, all at different stages of their relationships, go on an island retreat intending to have fun in the sun, but instead are forced to undergo counseling. In the process, they discover new truths about themselves, everyone laughs, everyone has "a moment." The End. Roll credits. Except that this time, the premise doesn't give away the major pleasures of the movie.

That's because longtime friends Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau collaborated on the sly, brutally frank, and funny script with Dana Fox, creating a solid framework that allows the performers breathing space to do their thing. Vaughn, Favreau, Jason Bateman, and Faizon Love play the men; Malin Akerman (in her best performance to date), Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, and Kali Hawk are their romantic partners. Jean Reno is a mystical "couples whisperer." Old Vaughn / Favreau accomplice Peter Billingsley makes his feature directorial debut. What really ties everything together is crack comic timing, and a willingness to embrace warmly some of the colder, less pleasant truths about relationships.

We've run numerous Arrested Development stories since the series was canceled in 2006, and you can probably file this one in the same land of "Yes, sometime soon!" But it never hurts to keep fueling the fan fire, and remind Fox that we'd really really like the Bluths to return. It might be closer than we all think as according to The Hollywood Reporter, Mitch Hurwitz and James Vallely are actively working on a script for an Arrested Development movie. Hurwitz will direct the film.

Hurwitz has said in the past that he wouldn't even begin to write a script unless all of the actors were committed, and THR notes that schedule conflicts remain one of the biggest hurdles of a big-screen Bluth reunion. But perhaps this is a sign that Hurwitz and Vallely know something we don't, and that the super careers the show spawned (notably Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, and Will Arnett) will leave enough of a gap for a movie.

When Cinematical caught up with Arnett in New Orleans, he confirmed there wasn't a script, but was optimistic that the film would begin shooting by the end of the year. "It's really just a matter of getting a script. I know that the studio is ready to go and everyone's kind of ready, but there's a lot of moving parts. There's a lot of people in the cast, a lot of schedules and stuff, but we're in that process now of figuring it all out, actively." Let's be optimistic and hope we see them start filming Arrested Development: The Movie by December or January. I just want my Bluths back!

A few weeks ago, Hancock 2 went from being some enthusiastic Will Smith talk to hiring some scriptwriters to make it a reality. It was unknown if anyone but Peter Berg and Will Smith would return for a sequel, but according to Variety, Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman will also be back for more strange super-heroics.

The news comes courtesy of Peter Berg, who let the news slip today while at the Toronto Film Festival. "Everybody's going to come back for a sequel." However, Sony stressed that none of the talent has been officially signed.

Berg also revealed some of the secret plot details -- and here we venture into spoiler territory for Hancock, so look away if you want. Theron and Smith will reprise their roles as "immortal gods," who lose their powers when they hang around each other for too long. Nevertheless, they must pair up to destroy a third "entity," which I'm guessing is either some kind of alien or another god. The movie will also explore their 3,000 year old home world which was only hinted at in the first film. Bateman will play the humble PR executive, though I wouldn't be surprised if he's revealed to have some kind of superpower at the end! No release date for Hancock 2 has been set, and the film is still in the early writing stage, but I bet you'll see this kick off just in time to compete with the next slate of Marvel films.

The latest comedy from Mike Judge, Extract, seems at first to be more conventional than his previous films, Office Space and Idiocracy. However, as the story becomes more complicated, its characters show hidden depths and the plot provides the type of bizarrely comic situations we've come to expect from the writer-director of Beavis and Butt-Head and King of the Hill.

The movie focuses on Joel (Jason Bateman), who owns a small extract factory in southern California. He and his wife Suzie (Kristen Wiig) are having trouble maintaining interest in one another, and he's considering the possibility of an affair. His potential lover is the mysterious Cindy (Mila Kunis), who has just arrived to work at the plant as a temp, but who is really a seasoned con artist with some other payoffs in mind. Joel confides in his bartender friend Dean (Ben Affleck), who tends to recommend medication for everything, legal or not. However, his suggestion about what Joel can do to not feel guilty about having an affair involves not pot or pills, but a trap for Suzie.

Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for The Invention of Lying, starring the always hilarious Ricky Gervais as a guy who lives in a world where the act of lying doesn't exist, and so one day he accidentally invents the bad habit before beginning to use it to his advantage ... big time. Jennifer Garner, Louis C.K. and Rob Lowe co-star (with appearances from Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill and several others) in this high-concept comedy that Gervais also wrote and directed along with Matthew Robinson.

This is the first feature film that Gervais has written and directed, and so while we've enjoyed watching him in other movies like Ghost Town or Night at the Museum, it'll be great for us Gervais fans to see another one of his creations up on the big screen this time -- not to mention the fact that it comes equipped with a pretty dynamite cast. You can check out the trailer for The Invention of Lying after the jump, and click on the image below to view a larger version of the poster.

The Invention of Lying hits theaters on October 2.

You have to feel a bit sorry for Jason Bateman, Mike Judge, and anyone else who walked the red carpet -- or worked it, for that matter -- before the Extract world premiere in Austin on Tuesday night. It was triple-digit weather, the red carpet was outdoors, and even in the shade at 7:30 pm it was impossible not to be sweaty. Or glowing, as polite people say. Still, Bateman, who stars in the comedy, and Judge, who wrote and directed it, smiled and posed for photos and granted short interviews to any number of TV stations and news outlets.

I had interviewed Judge earlier in the day, which was a lot of fun and which I'll share with you when Extract opens in theaters on September 4. Therefore I spent my red-carpet time taking photos. I was pleased that we were able to get Bateman and Judge to pose together. Peter Martin, who attended the Dallas premiere the next night, has some great quotes from Judge's Q&A that evening, if you can't wait to hear more about the film.

Following a packed advance screening of Extract, the new comedy by Mike Judge, in Dallas, Texas last night, the writer / filmmaker / animator was asked about his previous effort, Idiocracy. He admitted his disappointment that the film was so little publicized for its limited theatrical release three years ago: "When it opened in, like eight cities, someone told me that you couldn't look it up on Moviefone under its title," he related. "[The studio] didn't even want to pay the eight bucks or whatever to get a listing, so you had to search for 'Untitled Mike Judge Film' to find out where it was playing." Our own Jette Kernion wrote about the lack of publicity at the time.

Fortunately, Judge noted that Idiocracy has sold well on DVD, and Extract should be much easier to find when it opens on Friday, September 4. If I describe it as Judge's best work so far, it's not because he's "grown up" or "become more mature"; the film features some of his darkest comedy yet. Extract is very much a part of the Mike Judge Universe, where decent men enjoy working for a living but dream of escaping some day (Jason Bateman), where good women sometimes go bad (Kristen Wiig, Mila Kunis), and where most everyone is good-hearted but dumber than a pet rock (Ben Affleck, J.K. Simmons, Clifton Collins, Jr.). In other words, Extract is another funny, unpredictable comedy featuring recognizable, everyday people, like the guy who's sleeping on your couch right now, drinking two-liter bottles of Pepsi and watching TV all day.

More tidbits from the Q&A after the jump.

Above: An exclusive image from Mike Judge's upcoming comedy Extract

Everyone loves a free movie ticket, right? Well what about a free ticket to a red carpet premiere in Los Angeles? We here at Cinematical are hella excited to be a part of this particular contest, because not only are we big Mike Judge fans, we're also really looking forward to seeing his new film, Extract, which officially hits theaters on September 4th. But why wait in line on September 4th with all the other weird, smelly locals when you can attend the red carpet premiere of the film alongside its stars on August 24th at the famed Arclight Theater in LA.

That's right, Cinematical has 10 pairs of tickets to give away for the Los Angeles premiere of Mike Judge's (Office Space) new comedy Extract, starring Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Ben Affleck, Kristen Wiig and J.K. Simmons, and, like with all our ticket contests, all you have to do is leave a comment letting us know why you'd like to attend the Extract premiere on August 24th and we'll randomly pick 10 winners to attend along with a guest of their choice.

Now, you must leave your comment by Monday, August 17th at 12pm EST, and Cinematical will not be responsible for transportation to and from the theater -- which also means you need to live in or around the Los Angeles area in order to attend.

Head after the jump to watch the film's trailer and read the official rules for this contest ... then sound off below.

Cinematical has just received these exclusive stills from Mike Judge's upcoming comedy Extract, starring Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Ben Affleck, Clifton Collins Jr., J.K. Simmons and Kristen Wiig. Similar to what Judge did with Office Space, Extract once again plops us right in the middle of the workplace; this time at an Extract plant where its owner, Joel (Bateman), is trying to balance a whole bunch of personal and professional problems, including an unfaithful wife (Wiig) and strange employees. I love Judge's random sense of humor, the first trailer for the film was pretty hilarious and it's nice to see the writer-director back on the big screen making us laugh with a studio counterpart who's willing to promote the heck out of his new flick.

Those of you heading out to Comic Con next week can get a more advanced look at some of the film at the official Extract panel on Saturday at 1:30pm in Hall H, with Mike Judge, Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis (mmmm, Mila ...) and Kristen Wiig all in attendance. The rest of you will have to wait until the film hits theaters on September 4.

Check out the four exclusive images below.

The title may be generic, but the cast is not. Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, and Faizon Love accompany their significant others -- Malin Akerman, Kristen Davis, Kristen Bell, and Tasha Smith -- on a vacation to paradise in Couples Retreat. There is a catch, however: intensive sessions of relationship therapy are mandatory and counselor Jean Reno doesn't take "no" for an answer. The first trailer is up at the Fruit Factory (AKA Apple.)

While there's a degree of over-familiarity with the basic premise, the trailer is very promising, edging into the naughty side of PG-13. (According to Erik Davis' post on the movie last year, that's the rating they're aiming for.) Bateman and Bell make for a good, edgy couple of Type A-personalities on the brink on break-up who ask three other couples to come along on their retreat to save money. Old friends Vaughn and Favreau have great chemistry, of course, and have worked with Bateman before. I'm not a huge fan of Akerman or Davis -- they're both lovely and have bright personalities but not a lot of comic snap. Seeing Reno as a buff instructor makes me giggle. Favreau wrote the script, based on an idea by Vaughn, and another old pal, Peter Billingsley, makes his directorial debut.

Couples Retreat is heading for release on October 9, a crowded date on the release schedule: The Informant (drama), Night of the Demons (horror), Whip It (comedy), and Zombieland (horror comedy) are also due out that day. Does the concept or the cast -- or the trailer -- grab you?