Too many romantic comedies witlessly hone in on the differences between men and women to create a heightened-stakes backdrop in which every interaction with the opposite sex is imbued with some sort of grand, gender-statement significance, which is of course then supposed to be neatly resolved and tidily put away by the time a paired-off happy ending rolls around. Co-written by Annie Mumolo and “Saturday Night Live”‘s Kristen Wiig, “Bridesmaids” instead focuses a considerable amount of its energy on female friendships, yes, but also the things women want in relationships — love, security, availability — that are the same as men. The result is the best female-fronted Hollywood comedy in years, and a  [ Read More ]

Can you feel the chill in the air? Winter’s coming! Okay, so many of you likely don’t live in the northeast and this is the Movie News Cheat Sheet, so there’s little room for TV references here, but fall is right around the corner! Even with Oscar season approaching, our Academy Awards potentials aren’t getting much love at the box office. After a weak start, Warrior took a tough fall and this weekend newcomer Drive lacked the zest to earn it the #1 spot, or even the #2 one for that matter. In other dark news, Nicolas Cage is apparently a vampire and Tim Burton’s take on Dark Shadows looks  [ Read More ]

Ready for your last Movie News Cheat Sheet of July 2011? Just as we’re heading into the home stretch of the summer season, a slew of films are priming to snag the spotlight as their big debuts are on the horizon. Not only do we have a ton of images from a selection of Toronto International Film Festival participants like the Jason Segel starrer Jeff Who Lives at Home and Francis Ford Coppola’s supernatural horror thriller Twixt, but Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and Judge Dredd, too. Entertainment Weekly also gave us our very first look at Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson all decked out in their Gale and Peeta  [ Read More ]

While the Movie News Cheat Sheet is generally geared towards brightening up your work or school week with the best in movie news, this time around, utilizing the info will be that much more fun as you’ve still got a whole day left of the weekend. When your mouth isn’t full with Memorial Day BBQ fare, you’ll have all the latest in film news to keep the conversation flowing. Of course everyone will be talking about the hottest thing in theaters this weekend, The Hangover Part II, but you can take it one step further by learning the stats in the Box Office section of the piece. And how about  [ Read More ]

The box office results for the weekend of May 13th – 15th sees “Thor” keeping a bunch of “Bridesmaids” and a “Priest” at bay. Meanwhile, the rest of the top ten are just happy to rake in whatever they could during a rare summer weekend without any major release. Or more specifically, the calm before the “Pirates” storm. Here are the studio estimates: 1. Thor ($34.5 million) 2. Bridesmaids ($24.4 million) 3. Fast Five ($19.5 million) 4. Priest ($14.5 million) 5. Rio ($8 million) 6. Jumping the Broom ($7.3 million) 7. Something Borrowed ($7 million) 8. Water for Elephants ($4.1 million) 9. Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family ($2.2 million)  [ Read More ]

ComingSoonhas uploaded video interviews they held with the director Paul Feig and stars of “Bridesmaids”. In the interview, the cast–Kristen Wiig (who was also a co-writer), Maya Rudolph, Ellie Kemper, Rose Byrne and Melissa McCarthy talk about what it was like on set, how parts of the script was written from ad-lib rehearsals, and the general chemistry between the actresses. Also discussed was how the film was taken out of standard “chick flick” territory. The video is below. “Bridesmaids” follows Annie (Wiig) who becomes the maid of honor for her best friend Lillian’s (Rudolph) wedding. Lovelorn and broke, Annie bluffs her way through the weird and expensive rituals one must  [ Read More ]

Title: Bridesmaids Directed By: Paul Feig Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Ellie Kemper, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Jon Hamm, Chris O’Dowd, Rebel Wilson, Matt Lucas As a huge Kristen Wiig fan, I was very excited for Bridesmaids. And, as a huge fan of the idea of a female Hangover, I was very excited to see a group of crazy ladies get into all sorts of shenanigans gearing up for their best friend’s big day. Bridesmaids certainly makes due on some of my expectations, but also attempts to show off a more dramatic side and while that effort isn’t a complete failure, the parts I was looking forward to  [ Read More ]

So, what’d you think of our first installment of the new weekly feature Movie News Cheat Sheet? Hopefully you found it entertaining and informative because we’re back for more! In the latest addition we bring you even more SXSW updates, a handful of new trailers, the best of the best over at the box office and much more. Keep on reading to get the perfect dose of the latest to let you confidently dive headfirst into a week packed with movie news banter. 1. SXSW: Just before the festival winds down we’ve got a few more films for you to consider. First up is Kristen Wiig’s writing debut, Bridesmaids, which  [ Read More ]

Title: Paul Director: Greg Mottola Writers: Nick Frost, Simon Pegg Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Seth Rogen Let it be known that this reviewer is an overall fan of Simon Pegg’s scripts (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Run Fatboy Run) written these last seven years. So when he penned the 104 minute stoner-alien feature that is “Paul,” perhaps he could work in the comedic magic he did with zombies, using an extraterrestrial backdrop. As an added bonus – depending how you define humor – he tapped Superbad director Greg Mottola to navigate the geeky road trip adventure. Which amounts to E.T. on some decent swag. That’s marijuana for  [ Read More ]

Title: All Good Things Director: Andrew Jarecki Starring: Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst, Frank Langella, Lily Rabe, Philip Baker Hall, Michael Esper, Kristen Wiig Flashing the words, “Based on a true story” is really an act of genius by studios. They already have moviegoers intrigued. Plus, they can pass off the blame for lackluster entertainment – if any – on the story. You know, “We just stuck to the source” excuse. With that said, the “Based on” portion of the phrase, is the keywords to dissect here. Studios will use this catch-phrase even if they altered 99% of the original story. One would like to think they refrain from this practice,  [ Read More ]

Here’s our exclusive interview with actor Jasper Cole, who recently starred in the comedy “MacGruber” from director Jorma Taccone and co-starring Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe and Val Kilmer. Jasper’s twenty plus year career has spanned television, stage and film productions. 1. Tell us about the plot of “Macgruber” and your role in the film. JC: I play Val Kilmer’s side kick ZEKE PLESHETTE. We are out to takeover a nuclear missile that could destroy the planet. Comedy ensues… naturally. My role is something out of a Tarantino Movie and was a lot of fun.. 2. Having appeared in almost 100 movies and TV shows, tell us a little  [ Read More ]

Title: Despicable Me Director: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud Starring: Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Elsie Fisher, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig Pixar may be at the top of the animated film business with DreamWorks Animation following right behind, but they better watch their backs because a new company, Illumination Entertainment, is about to get in on the game with its feature debut Despicable Me. The film can’t quite compare to the two seasoned studios most recent hits, Toy Story 3 and How To Train Your Dragon, but Despicable Me still is packed with top-notch animation, amusing characters and even a little heart, making the  [ Read More ]

The MacGruber UK poster has arrived and it’s exactly what you’d expect, our bumbling hero standing in front of a fiery mess. On May 21st, MacGruber (Will Forte) leaves Saturday Night Live behind for a stint on the big screen. It’s ten years after the passing of his wife and he’s ditched his fighting lifestyle, but when he finds out his nemesis, Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer), is threatening the country with a nuclear warhead, he knows he must report for duty. The man to MacGruber’s right is Lt. Dixon Piper (Ryan Phillippe) and you may recognize the lady to his left as Vicki St. Elmo (Kristen Wiig), his right  [ Read More ]

The creators of the late-’90s television cult favorite ‘Freaks and Geeks’ is re-teaming on an upcoming movie about planning a wedding party, Moviefone reported February 17, and ‘Saturday Night Live’ star Kristen Wiig has been cast in the lead role. Paul Feig and Judd Apatow are working on the comedy that will feature Wiig as a woman who’s in charge of planning her friend’s wedding. Feig is set to direct, and Apatow will produce the as-of-yet untitled comedy. The movie will be the first collaboration for the two since the short-lived NBC series, which helped launch the acting careers of Apatow favorites James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jason Segel. While  [ Read More ]

3 Arts Entertainment just released this brand new movie trailer featuring Mila Kunis from the upcoming comedy “Extract” by director Mike Judge (Office Space, Idiocracy, Beavis and Butthead) and starring Mila Kunis (The Book of Eli, Family Guy), Ben Affleck (The Company Men, State of Play), Jason Bateman (Arrested Development, Hancock) and Kristen Wiig (Despicable Me, Adventureland). Synopsis: Dean (Jason Bateman), the owner of a flower-extract plant, tries to contend with myriad personal and professional problems, such as his potentially unfaithful wife (Kristen Wiig) and employees who want to take advantage of him. Stay tuned to Shockya.com for the latest movie news and posters from “Extract” by Mike Judge.