Special effects artist Tim Miller has signed on to direct Legendary Pictures’ film adaptation of the graphic novel ‘Gravel,’ Collider is reporting. Miller has signed onto the project after his planned directorial debut, the film adaptation of another graphic novel, ‘Deadpool,’ has been stuck in development. ‘Gravel,’ which was written by Warren Ellis, follows the title character, William Gravel, a British soldier. He is also a magic-wielding mercenary, battling the forces of darkness to pay off his personal debts. Ellis will serve as one of the executive producers on the film, which will be released by Warner Bros. Stephen Cornwell and Oliver Butcher will write the script. After last summer’s  [ Read More ]

Happy Oscar day, Shockya.com readers! We’re just hours away from the telecast and while I’d like to bet the large majority of your film talk this week will be about the big winners, just in case you feel the need to branch out, the industry is still oozing with juicy news. The Weinstein Company just lost its battle with the MPAA, either forcing the company to accept Bully‘s R-rating or to a leave from the MPAA. Other rather controversial subject matter includes Lou Dobbs branding The Lorax as Hollywood fair that’s indoctrinating children. On the tamer side, we’ve got casting updates for Turbo and Kathryn Bigelow’s Osama bin Laden movie,  [ Read More ]

“Safe House,” starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds, is a film that felt like there was going to be a misstep somewhere, and according to the critics, there was. The critics gave the film a 53% on Rotten Tomatoes, however, audiences seemed to like it, if not love it, giving the film a 70% fresh rating. According to the site, the critics felt that “[t]hough Safe House is anchored by strong performances from Washington and Reynolds, they’re let down by a thin script and choppily edited action sequences that betray the film’s unfortunate lack of imagination.” Most of the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are positive in the most tepid manner,  [ Read More ]

Title: Safe House Directed By: Daniel Espinosa Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Denzel Washington, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard, Joel Kinnaman, Nora Arnezeder, Robert Patrick, Fares Fares Proper pacing is a wonderful thing, especially when you’ve got a movie about a hyper intelligent rogue CIA agent wreaking havoc with some potentially devastating information. Move too slowly and you run the risk of bogging moviegoers down with details that could ultimately become too cumbersome to sort out. Then again, move too quickly and you might not leave enough time for an audience to absorb all the necessary details. No, Safe House doesn’t nestle itself near the happy medium, rather veers towards the  [ Read More ]

A discussion and review the week’s new movie release from your favorite entertainment and celebrity website. Hello everyone, this is episode 29 of the Movie Night Podcast. This week Rudie Obias is joined by Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TheFilmStage.com, Dan Mecca, to discuss the new movie from director Daniel Espinosa, “Safe House,” starring Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson and Sam Shepard. Subscribe on iTunes or Download and Listen. We hope you enjoy the show, please let us know what you think of the new podcast at ShockyaMovieNight@gmail.com. Or follow us @ShockYa. Leave a voicemail @ 347-878-3430. by @Rudie_Obias

According to Ryan Reynolds, “Daniel’s a guy you want to buy stock in,” and after seeing Safe House, I’d have to agree. Safe House is director Daniel Espinosa’s fourth feature, but his very first American film. It stars Reynolds as Matt Weston, a young CIA agent assigned to a Cape Town safe house, which basically equates to a glorified babysitting job. He reports to his post, listens to some music, throws a ball against a wall and goes home. Sounds like a relaxing day, but not for a guy who’s itching to become a CIA case agent. No experience? No case agent gig. Matt’s luck changes, for better or worse,  [ Read More ]

Actress Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Reynolds will team up to headline Tim Burton’s art drama entitled “Big Eyes”. While Burton is producing through his company Screwed, helmers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski will both co-direct the picture that chronicles the lives of artist Margaret Keanes and her husband Walter, who passed off his wife’s work as his own until the two eventually divorced. Issuing a joint statement, both directors were excited over working with Witherspoon and Reynolds on the coming art drama. “We are ecstatic to have this dream cast for our dream project. Walter is a larger-than-life antihero — charming, funny, dangerous, and a little crazy. Ryan will knock  [ Read More ]

We’re going into high-profile overdrive this week. We’ve got some major casting news regarding a number of highly anticipated productions including Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, Spike Lee’s Oldboy, Stephenie Meyer’s next book-to-film adaptation The Host and more. In non-casting news, of course, we’ve got the details on the Academy Awards producer/host shuffle and an update on the upcoming Justice League movie from Warner Bros. as well as a little sneak peek at the xnew Toy Story short film set to play ahead of the November 23rd release, The Muppets. So, want the goods? They’re all right here in your weekly Movie News Cheat Sheet. 1. Sacha Baron Cohen May Join  [ Read More ]

Title: Fireflies in the Garden Directed by: Dennis Lee Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, Carrie-Anne Moss and Julia Roberts The question of whether a family will allow their bonds to fall apart or do whatever they can to preserve their relationships is a common one many families experience on a day-to-day basis. First-time feature film director and screenwriter Dennis Lee successfully draws on his own life experiences to present a natural, honest and real story that aims to answer that question in the drama ‘Fireflies in the Garden.’ The director also successfully captures the conflicts parents and children face, and the hard work they put into saving their  [ Read More ]

“A Good Old Fashioned Orgy” and “Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil” costar Tyler Labine has the physicality, wit and jester’s eyes that mark him as the latest garrulous inheritor to the comedy scepter wielded previously by the likes of Chris Farley, Dan Fogelman and Zach Galifianakis — which is to say a big guy with a bigger personality. In person, however, the thoughtful, soft-spoken Labine hardly seems a performer, let alone the likes of one who’s already carved out an impressive comedic presence in a relatively short period of time. ShockYa recently had the opportunity to chat one-on-one with the actor and burgeoning producer, about “Orgy,” sexual swinging spanning the last several decades, the correct quotable line  [ Read More ]

With filming currently underway in Bean town, some new set photos of officer Ryan Reynolds and the villainous Kevin Bacon working on R.I.P.D. have been released. Photos of the crime/comedy (being directed by Robert Schwentke) shows Reynolds and Bacon along with a red hot Dodge Challenger on the Boston set with production now fully underway. With the duo mainly dressed in black, the pics of the two looked as though they were under friendly terms, even though they are enemies, as MTV has pointed out. Also appearing in the Dark Horse comic adaption originally from creator Peter M. Lenkov, is Weed’s star Mary-Louise Parker, and Jeff Bridges on board as  [ Read More ]

‘The Proposal’ co-stars Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock are reportedly reuniting for the upcoming FOX animated comedy ‘And Then There Was Gordon,’ Deadline is reporting. The two stars will lead the voice cast of the show, which is being produced by Reynold’s recently launched TV company, DarkFire, with Allan Loeb. Reynolds and Loeb are co-writing the script together, which has received a presentation order from FOX. ‘And Then There Was Gordon’ will be the first writing effort for the actor, but Loeb is known for scripting such movies as ‘Just Go With It’ and ‘Wall Street 2.’ ‘And Then There Was Gordon’ follows an ordinary child surrounded by his prodigy  [ Read More ]

The upcoming sitcom ‘Guidance,’ the first project from Ryan Reynolds and Allan Loeb’s recently launched TV company DarkFire, has been bought by Fox, Deadline is reporting. DarkFire had a first-look deal for the show, which is being penned by ‘Role Models’ screenwriter Tim Dowling, with 20th TV. With the deal in place, Tyler Labine has been cast in the lead role for ‘Guidance,’ which he’ll also produce. The sitcom brings Labine back to FOX after he lead the short-lived comedy series ‘Sons of Tucson’ in Spring 2010. The ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ actor has also appeared on The CW’s ‘Reaper’ and CBS’ ‘Mad Love.’ Reynolds has been  [ Read More ]

Title: The Change Up Director: David Dobkin Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman, Leslie Mann, Olivia Wilde People often envy their friends’ lifestyles, naively believing that whatever job and family relationships other people have are better than their own. Despite all their wishing, no once can change their life with their friends, and don’t always realize that what they have may be the best option for them. But in the new comedy ‘The Change Up,’ best friends Mitch Planko and Dave Lockwood, who lead completely different lifestyles, accidentally switch places, and realize that they shouldn’t take what they have for granted. ‘The Change Up’ follows Mitch (played by Ryan Reynolds) and  [ Read More ]

Title: The Change-Up Studio: Universal Pictures Directed By: David Dobkin Written By: Joe Lucas, Scott Moor Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman, Leslie Mann, Olivia Wilde, Alan Arkin, Mircea Monroe Screened at: Lincoln Square, NYC, 8/1/11 Opens: August 5, 2011 If by now you do not see the error of thinking that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, David Dobkin will supply a lesson. With “Change-Up,” whose writers Joe Lucas and Scott Moor offer up quite a number of one-line zingers to match no small amount of visual and vocal vulgarity, two best friends in their thirties learn that the grass can indeed be greener  [ Read More ]