By virtually any Hollywood standard, even if another film featuring Jessica Chastain weren’t released in 2011 after this week, she’d have already had a pretty phenomenally successful rookie year in the business.
First came the house that inspired the Fredricksen residence in Up , and now it appears there’s the house inspired by the balloon-lifted domicile. A builder in Herriman, Utah, has constructed a home designed inside and out with the colors, features and dimensions of the one from the 2009 Pixar film. It can be yours for $400,000.
Much of director Olivier Megaton’s female assassin pic Colombiana coasts on a certain popcorn movie badass factor — lithe star Zoe Saldana as stone-cold killer hell-bent on vengeance for the murder of her family, slinking through missions in skintight catsuits (or less) and gracefully blasting away bad guys with beautifully cold precision in the grand tradition of producer Luc Besson’s most famous female killers. But Saldana feels a more weighty responsibility when it comes to her action heroine debut and how its success might affect opportunities for women in film to follow.
Back in 2007, Sam Riley burst on the scene with a starmaking performance in the critically acclaimed film Control . Poised to be the latest hot British import to invade U.S. shores, Riley followed Control up with two intriguing-on-paper titles — Franklyn with Ryan Phillippe and Eva Green and 13 opposite Ray Winstone, Mickey Rourke, Jason Statham, Michael Shannon and Alexander Skarsgaard. The rest, as they say, is history — though maybe not the kind Riley initially envisioned.
In Lone Scherfig’s One Day , adapted by David Nicholls from his own novel, young Brits Emma ( Anne Hathaway ) and Dexter ( Jim Sturgess ) meet cute on the last day of college and spend the ’80s and ’90s flitting in and out of each other’s lives. As the pair grows into adulthood, they begin to realize the love that existed between them from the start — even if neither can fully see it. The film — which occurs on a single day of each year throughout the relationship — is not just about romance, however; it’s about maturing, making mistakes and the memories we hold on to from precious moments spent with the ones we love.
Rachel Weisz delivers an extraordinary performance in this week’s The Whistleblower , which features the Oscar-winner as a Nebraska cop whose stint as a UN peacekeeper in Bosnia unravels when she discovers her coalition’s complicity in an international sex-slavery ring. Based on true events involving Weisz’s character Kathryn Bolkovac, the film charts a downswing of humanity salvaged only by Bolkovac’s struggle to expose it and, in turn, Weisz’s sensitive handling of a woman coming to terms with a world beyond compassion.
Nearly a quarter century of The Simpsons alone have made Hank Azaria one of the more inveterate voice actors in the industry. But what’s the flesh-and-blood Azaria — no slouch himself onscreen over the years — to do when playing a cartoon come to life? That’s one of the dynamics factoring into this week’s live-action/CGI adaptation of The Smurfs , featuring Azaria as the tiny blue title creatures’ arch-nemesis Gargamel.
Nearly a quarter century of The Simpsons alone have made Hank Azaria one of the more inveterate voice actors in the industry. But what’s the flesh-and-blood Azaria — no slouch himself onscreen over the years — to do when playing a cartoon come to life? That’s one of the dynamics factoring into this week’s live-action/CGI adaptation of The Smurfs , featuring Azaria as the tiny blue title creatures’ arch-nemesis Gargamel.
With his nice guy looks and demeanor, Colin Hanks has played a lot of, well, nice guys over the years. But in Gil Cates, Jr.’s Lucky , in limited release this week, the 33-year-old actor and neophyte documentarian throws that image for a loop as Ben, a meek Midwesterner who wins a $36 million lottery jackpot, marries his dream girl ( Ari Graynor )… and just so happens to be a serial killer.
With his nice guy looks and demeanor, Colin Hanks has played a lot of, well, nice guys over the years. But in Gil Cates, Jr.’s Lucky , in limited release this week, the 33-year-old actor and neophyte documentarian throws that image for a loop as Ben, a meek Midwesterner who wins a $36 million lottery jackpot, marries his dream girl ( Ari Graynor )… and just so happens to be a serial killer.