“Contraband,” starring Mark Wahlberg, is an action-thriller that seemed to falter instead of entertain. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the critics gave the film about a man who is forced to come back to a life of crime a 48% while the audience gave it a 64%. Overall, the critics thought the film was more entertaining than expected. “It’s more entertaining than your average January action thriller,” wrote Rotten Tomatoes, “but that isn’t enough to excuse ‘Contraband”s lack of originality and unnecessarily convoluted plot.” That’s what the critical consensus is; let’s see what the critics had to say individually. “Hiring the director of the film this is based on, the Icelandic…

Title: Contraband Directed By: Baltasar Kormákur Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Giovanni Ribisi, Ben Foster, J.K. Simmons, Diego Luna, Lukas Haas, Caleb Landry Jones Movies are all about making your wildest dreams come true, right? Okay, only in some instances, but when you’ve got a film about an elaborate heist, I’d like to bet the real thing, if the real thing even exists, is far less exciting than what goes down when we catch a heist movie. So, naturally, Contraband falls into quite a few ludicrous plot holes, but thanks to strong filmmaking all around, they’re generally accepted for the sake of enjoying the adventure. Chris Farraday was once into…

Everyone who has seen the 1960s film series and Tim Burton’s 2001 of “The Planet of the Apes” says the same thing–the 2001 pales in comparison to the 1960s originals. As a huge “Apes” fan, the timeline presented in Burton’s “Apes” doesn’t exist to me, even though the ending is closer in line to what happened in the book that started it all (but not by much). According to CinemaBlend, Mark Wahlberg, who starred in Burton’s version, has opened up to MTV about the film and how it sucks when compared to the originals and “Rise.” “I haven’t seen it yet, but I heard it was pretty damn good,” he…

New Regency will produce a new cop drama that will be shepherded by Director Allen Hughes, best known for his work with The Book of Eli and Dead Presidents. Aptly titled ‘Broken City’, the upcoming action flick will star Mark Wahlberg (Shooter, Date Night), Russell Crowe (Cinderella Man, The Man with the Iron Fists) and actress Catherine Zeta-Jones (Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, Rock of Ages). The story, according to Deadline, follows Wahlberg as a “detective hired by the mayor to see if his wife (Zeta-Jones) is unfaithful. When her cheating partner turns up dead, the private eye devotes himself to exposing the mayor and uncovers a self-dealing real…

Welcome to October! Even though we’re creeping closer to Halloween, the Movie News Cheat Sheet almost entirely steers clear of spooky territory. Beyond a new trailer for Paranormal Activity 3 and claims that John Travolta is a vampire, the material here is rather tame. We’ve got some exciting casting news to share including Frank or Francis‘ double dose of Kevin Kline as well as Flight‘s growing roster that now boasts names like John Goodman and Melissa Leo in addition to Denzel Washington and potentially Don Cheadle. Warner Bros. is looking to hire as well, but the studio is scouring the market for a director rather than an actor. Christopher Nolan,…

Bradley Cooper is back in talks to star in the upcoming film ‘The Silver Linings Playbook,’ Deadline is reporting. Cooper is a possible replacement for Mark Wahlberg, who had to leave due to scheduling conflicts. The Weinstein Company will release ‘The Silver Linings Playbook,’ which David O. Russell will begin directing in Fall 2011. If Cooper, who was first considered for the male lead role in 2010, is cast, he will appear alongside Jennifer Lawrence, who will play the female lead. Wahlberg left ‘The Silver Linings Playbook,’ which is based on the Matthew Quick novel of the same name, after Lawrence was cast. The actress is currently shooting ‘The Hunger…

Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games) has become the frontrunner to portray the eccentric neighbor of Mark Wahlberg’s Pat Peoples character in the upcoming film adaptation ‘The Silver Linings Playbook,’ Collider is reporting. Lawrence beat out several other A-listers who auditioned for the role, including Elizabeth Banks, Kirsten Dunst, Blake Lively, Rachel McAdams and Olivia Wilde. Lawrence’s character is also being described as having problems of her own. ‘The Silver Linings Playbook,’ which will be based on the Matthew Quick novel of the same name, is set to be David O. Russell’s directorial follow-up to his previous hit with Wahlberg, 2010′s Academy Award-winning biopic ‘The Fighter.’ In ‘The Silver Linings Playbook,’…

Sure May sort of marks the start of the summer movie season, but now that we’re past the summer solstice, June 21st, things are really starting to heat up. Not only are trailers and posters pouring in, but major updates on upcoming projects, too. Academy Award nominated director David O. Russell is loading up his next cast with famous faces as is Woody Allen and the director of Snow White and the Huntsman, Rupert Sanders. Meanwhile, 15-year-old Joel Courtney is seizing opportunities that came his way, likely courtesy of Super 8, and looks to lock in two upcoming projects. Sure, there’s an abundance of casting news this week, but as…

At the Spike Guys’ Choice Awards, Mark Whalberg won the Guy Movie of the Year Award. During his acceptance speech, Whalberg gave some hints as to what’s coming down the pike for “The Fighter 2″. He also poked fun at Mickey Ward, whom Whalberg portrayed in the first “Fighter”, and Dicky Eklund. “We left out the Arturo/Gotti fights for a reason, cause that’s for ‘Fighter 2′” said Whalberg, the actual Eklund/Ward family behind him. “We’re not gonna do ‘Fighter 4′, ’5′, ’6′, ’7′ and ’8′, but we’re going to do ’2′, we’re going to do the Ward/Gotti trilogy.” You can view the video below, and you can see his entire…

After it was previously announced that Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg would be reuniting for the upcoming comedy tentatively called ‘Three Mississippi,’ Alec Baldwin, who co-inspired the film, has also joined the cast, Collider is reporting. Baldwin’s casting in the movie, which focuses on an annual Thanksgiving neighborhood football game, came after producers Adam McKay and Owen Burke were discussing how funny they thought he was with Wahlberg in ‘The Departed.’ Even though the 2006 Oscar winner is a crime thriller, McKay said that he and Burke “could just watch them all day long.” After Ferrell heard of ‘Three Mississippi,’ he wanted to join in on the filming as well,…