Streep is her own kind of 'Iron Lady'
By Rebecca Keegan Los Angeles Times
NEW YORK — At night after she finished the day's shooting of The Iron Lady in London, Meryl Streep would undergo a kind of ritual. Makeup artists painstakingly removed the prosthetics that enabled Streep to play the former British prime minister in her senescent 80s, and the actress unbent her dowager's body and returned to her upright, lighthearted self.
'The Vow'
By ROGER MOORE McClatchy-Tribune News Service
"The Vow" is like a Nicholas Sparks novel with a dash of wit, a hint of edge and a smidgen less sap. It's a romance in "The Notebook" tradition - "inspired by true events" and scripted by committee. But as such concoctions go, it's not half bad.
Elizabeth Taylor auctions raise $183 million
The Associated Press
Paintings, jewelry and fashions belonging to the late Elizabeth Taylor have sold for more than $183 million, with all of the more than 1,800 items on offer snapped up, Christie's auction house said Thursday.
Berlin festival opens with Marie Antoinette drama
The Associated Press
A costume drama set during the French revolution and starring Diane Kruger as Marie Antoinette kicked off the annual Berlin film festival Thursday - the first of the year's major European film festivals.
'Safe House'
By ROGER MOORE McClatchy-Tribune News Service
He must have joined "The Agency" with an eye toward excitement, exotic locales and danger. But in Capetown, a backwater as far as foreign intrigue goes, agency newcomer Matt Weston is stuck - a one-man show, running a never-used "safe house" in the C.I.A.'s real-estate portfolio.
'2012 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Live Action'
By CARRIE RICKEY The Philadelphia Inquirer
Where feature films conform to the three-act structure of drama, movie short subjects are more like short stories.
'2012 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Animation'
By STEVEN REA The Philadelphia Inquirer
The moon is made of tinkling gold stars - and you can reach it by climbing a ladder.
'Journey 2: The Mysterious Island'
By ROGER MOORE McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Cast and crew err on the side of silly in "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island," the amusingly childish sequel to that unlikely 2008 hit "Journey to the Center of the Earth." They've rendered Jules Verne's novel into a jokey lark, with broad, corny wisecracks, comic sidekicks and everybody riffing on the ginormous lizards, humungous spiders and the like.
Top iTunes movie downloads
Apple Computer Inc.
Top 10 movies downloaded from the iTunes Store for Feb. 8:
Pan African film festival going strong at 20
By SUSAN KING Los Angeles Times
Ayuko Babu, cofounder and executive director of the Pan African Film & Arts Festival, which kicks off its 20th anniversary Thursday, peppers his conversation with the word "explosion."
Schwarzenegger joins Stallone in 'The Tomb'
The Associated Press
It's an action superstar reunion: Arnold Schwarzenegger is joining Sylvester Stallone for the thriller "The Tomb."
Gary Busey files for bankruptcy in Los Angeles
The Associated Press
Court records show Gary Busey has filed for bankruptcy and is listing more than $500,000 in estimated personal debts.
Lauded 'Hugo' proves costly to its producer
By PATRICK GOLDSTEIN Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES - Last weekend I hosted a panel at the Santa Barbara Film Festival that featured five producers whose films were Oscar best picture nominees.
Parents guide to new movie releases
By ROGER MOORE McClatchy-Tribune News Service
JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND
Swedish director Daniel Espinosa took an unusual approach with 'Safe House'
By JOHN HORN Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES - When Universal Pictures hired Daniel Espinosa to direct its rogue CIA agent thriller "Safe House," the studio knew it was rolling the dice. The Swedish filmmaker had never made an English-language feature, he hadn't worked with stars near the magnitude of "Safe House" leads Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds, and he was graduating from a $4-million Nordic drug drama to an $85-million production.
