While many directors are all too content to mine a seam, German-born filmmaker Wim Wenders (“Wings of Desire,” “The Buena Vista Social Club,” “Paris, Texas,” the ambitious “Until the End of the World”) has enjoyed a delightfully diverse career, jumping back and forth between narrative and nonfiction works. His latest film, the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar-nominated documentary “Pina,” taps into his decades-long friendship with the late, lauded choreographer Pina Bausch, imaginatively exploring her work in 3-D by utilizing the dancers of her Tanztheater Wuppertal ensemble. In a wide-ranging, half-hour chat — with Dave Matthews Band, the Yeah Yeahs and other light rock tunes unfolding at a remove in the background of the lush…

In an admission that will come as a considerable disappointment to a former coworker (who, for the record, is decidedly not Goth), my initial memories of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” were somewhat fuzzy. My first viewing of producer Tim Burton and director Henry Selick’s stop-motion animated film, not too long after its original home video release, was marred with, umm, distractions. So I hadn’t the concrete impressions one might have with a more focused viewing — just an impression of the hand-crafted feel, and a lingering sense of disappointment in relation to the movie’s songs, from Danny Elfman. A re-visiting of the somewhat seminal work — which scored a visual effects…

Title: Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy Director: Christopher Sun Starring: Hiro Hayama, Leni Lan, Saori Hara, Yukiko Suho, Vonnie Lui, Tony Ho A hit in its native Hong Kong, and sure to be trimmed heavily or banned outright in mainland China, “Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy” is getting a boutique release across the rest of the world, including major metropolitan areas of the United States. And why not, really? Screening in both 3-D and 2-D, the slickly produced film is a lurid, wild and weird attempt to reboot the 1990s’ “Sex and Zen” softcore franchise, in which outlandish sex and borderline gnarly-cartoonish violence were commingled. The end product lives up to…

Walt Disney Pictures rolled the dice with producer Robert Zemeckis’ “Mars Needs Moms”, which was trotted out in 3-D to great fanfare earlier this year, and took a critical and commercial beating, to the tune of a meager $39 million worldwide gross. The film — produced by the same team behind “A Christmas Carol” and “The Polar Express” — isn’t quite as much of a stinker as that dismissal might indicate, but neither is it a wonderful romp or, as Boxoffice Magazine’s Pete Hammond claims on the cover, “the perfect family film in every way.” The storyline — in which nine-year-old Earthling Milo (Seth Green, but also voiced by another,…

Julian Schnabel’s background as a painter and artist lends his films an undeniable quality lacking in not only many Hollywood studio films but most modern films in general — the ability to summon emotional connection through a sort of dreamlike, non-pandering visual subjectivity. He puts that same evocative stamp on his latest film, Miral, a look at the generations-old Israeli/Palestinian conflict, but it isn’t enough to save what is an inert, self-important script. Based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Rula Jebreal, Miral opens in 1948, with Hind Husseini (Hiam Abbas) coming across and rescuing more than four dozen orphaned kids in East Jerusalem. In the midst of…

Universal City, California–King Kong, among the screen’s most powerful and enduring icons, will re-emerge in Summer 2010 as a new signature attraction created under the direction of Peter Jackson on the famed Universal Studios Hollywood Studio Tour. “King Kong 360 3-D” Created by Peter Jackson will be the world’s largest most intense 3D experience on the planet, combining thrilling visceral effects to create a next-generation theme park experience. Peter Jackson, director of the Oscar-winning 2005 Universal Pictures film upon which the attraction is based, said: “The new King Kong at Universal Studios Hollywood will be an incredible amount of fun and a chance to really push film and theme park…

David R. Ellis (“Snakes On A Plane”) has been tapped by Mark Ordesky to direct the 3-D “Humpy Dumpty,” Variety.com is reporting. The sci-fi horror project is about a half-human, half-alien creature who embarks on a bloodthirsty rampage after his alien mother is abused by two Southern rednecks. Ordesky, a former New Line exec, is producing through his recently launched shingle Amber Entertainment alongside Suzanne de Passe and Madison Jones of the iDream Company and Darry Welch from Instinctive Film, from a script from Billy Majestic. Fabienne Villette is co-producing. The film is set to start production this September. No casting news has been announced yet. Stay tuned to Shockya.com…

Slashfilm.com recently got a chance to talk to actress Michelle Rodriguez about a few of her upcoming projects, including her role of James Cameron’s ultra-secret science fiction 3-D epic “Avatar”. Rodriguez spills that her character Trudy Chacon, and ex-marine pilot, ends up dying by the end of the film. “Me? I die in every film that I’m in this year” she told the site. “Avatar” is due to be released December 18th, 2009 and stars Rodriguez, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang. It is about humanity in space utilizing alien technology that allows them to remotely operate “avatars”, or biological machine bodies that can appear either human or alien….

The Top Cow/Image Comics title “Aphrodite IX”, along with help from Threshold Entertainment and Platinum Studios, will be adapting the title into a 3-D feature film, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter. Producers are looking for the female lead for the film to portray the title character, which centers on an amnesiac cyborg assassin whose memory would be wiped after each mission, who begins a search for her former life when she finally starts to become self-aware. In her search she deals with various threats, including a cyborg conspiracy to conquer Earth. “Aphrodite IX”, which first debuted in 1996 during the 90′s comic-book boom, was created by writer…

On February 3, 2009 Paramount Home Entertainment will release “Friday the 13th Part III” in glorious 3-D. Here’s the complete DVD details. Actors: Dana Kimmell, Richard Brooker, Catherine Parks, Paul Kratka, Jeffrey Rogers, Larry Zerner, Tracie Savage, Rachel Howard, David Katims, Nick Savage, Gloria Charles Director: Steve Miner Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller Synopsis: An idyllic summer turns into a nightmare of unspeakable terror for yet another group of naive counselors. Ignoring Camp Crystal Lake’s bloody legacy, one by one they fall victim to the maniacal Jason who stalks them at every turn… “Friday the 13th, Part 3″ will have you frozen with fear, as Jason finds his way into your…