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Holiday Preview: Anywhere But a Movie Theater

4 November 2009 11:14 AM, PST | ifc.com | See recent IFC news »

More Holiday Preview: [Theatrical Calendar]

[Repertory Calendar] [Anywhere But a Movie Theater]

On Demand

IFC Films (with whom, full disclosure, we obviously share a parent company) will be delivering new films all holiday season to homes across the country through their Festival Direct and Sundance Selects labels. These include the cross-cultural romantic dramedy "I'll Come Running" (Nov. 4), Josiane Balasko's farce "A French Gigolo" (Nov. 6), the Inuit tribal drama "Necessities of Life" (Nov. 11), the Brit crime thriller "Adulthood" (Nov. 18), the Indian love story "Return to Rajapur" (Nov. 25), the Christopher Masterson-Bijou Phillips celibacy satire "Made for Each Other" (Dec. 2), "Harry Potter" helmer David Yates' gritty two-part drama "Sex Traffic" (Dec. 2 and 9), the Korean comedy "Night and Day" (Dec. 23) and "The Ghost" (Dec. 30).

Meanwhile, in the newly launched Sundance Selects series, there's a pair of harrowing documentaries VOD premieres: Kief Davidson's coming-of-age boxing doc "Kassim the Dream" (Nov. 27) and the unvarnished biopic "Nick Nolte: No Exit" (Dec. »

- Stephen Saito

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Back Catalogue #4: Vci Entertainment

26 October 2009 4:34 AM, PDT | Fangoria | See recent Fangoria news »

One of the real joys of Back Catalogue is getting to sift through movies I actually want to watch instead of whatever happens across my desk. This look at the older titles available through Vci Entertainment offered a little bit of everything. Mario Bava, made for TV fare, cult classics, exploitation and even documentary. Needless to say this was quite a viewing party.

Kiss Of The Tarantula was a definite first into the DVD player for me as I loves me some campy spider action. The film follows the mold of other movies like Willard, and Stanley, leaving out the supernatural element. Poor misunderstood, constantly picked on Susan isn't able to control spiders, she just raises them in the family mortuary. And when the locals (and her lecherous uncle) get a little too aggressive poor Susan pops a few of her eight legged friends in for visit.

Death by spider »

- no-reply@fangoria.com (David Canfield)

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What are Your Favorite Winter Holiday Themed Movies?

26 October 2009 2:39 AM, PDT | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »

I wasn't quite sure how to properly word the headline for this post considering I want to make sure you understand I am talking about the season pretty much running from Thanksgiving to Christmas, but I also want to make sure you know the film itself doesn't have to necessarily be about the holidays.

Take Die Hard for instance, it's set during Christmas time, but it isn't a Christmas film. However, it fits in with what I am looking for here. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, Eyes Wide Shut, Fanny and Alexander, Batman Returns, Gremlins, The Thin Man and When Harry Met Sally are other examples. Hell, I would even say Rocky IV and Lethal Weapon count. As a matter of fact, I would say the non-Christmas, Christmas movies are the more interesting additions. How about The Shining or even Psycho?

Then, of course, I personally love films such as Love, »

- Brad Brevet

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This Week In DVD: October 13th

13 October 2009 11:56 AM, PDT | FilmSchoolRejects.com | See recent FilmSchoolRejects news »

Rob Hunter loves movies.  He also loves working as a delivery driver for Planet Express. These two joys come together in the form of cash money payments that he receives every week and immediately uses to buy more DVDs.  So join us each week as he takes a look at new DVD releases and gives his highly unqualified opinion as to which titles are worth BUYing, which are better off as RENTals, and which should be AVOIDed at all costs. Click on any of the titles below to magically head over to Amazon.com and pick up the DVD.  And don't forget to check out Neil Miller's hilariously titled This Week In Blu-ray column for reviews on the latest high definition Blu-ray releases! Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas Pitch: Jim Henson does Gift of the Magi... Why Buy? I know it's only October, but this is a Christmas classic up there with the animated How the Grinch Stole Christmas and »

- Rob Hunter

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Universal's Weekend in the Sun with Couples Retreat

12 October 2009 11:52 AM, PDT | Vanity Fair | See recent Vanity Fair news »

After a tough year at the box office, Universal has finally caught a break, raking in a weekend-topping $35.3 million with Couples Retreat despite dismal reviews. Here’s their winning formula: take one (1) mediocre Vince Vaughn comedy; secure positive coverage by organizing extravagant press junkets to Bora Bora; have your movie be the only one to open nationwide that weekend. Indeed, the film’s success has little to do with the film itself, a generic ensemble comedy about four couples splashing around in French Polynesia. The movie seemed destined to fail from the outset—to believe Nikki Finke, the project’s raison d’être was as an excuse for Vaughn, who produced and co-wrote, to hang out in paradise with his buddies: he shared acting and writing duties with Jon Favreau and let his other pal, Peter Billingsley, attempt to outgrow his image as Ralphie from A Christmas Story by trying his hand at directing. »

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DVD Review – Trick ‘R Treat

11 October 2009 8:01 PM, PDT | Atomic Popcorn | See recent Atomic Popcorn news »

Every so often, good word of mouth can save a film from oblivion — which was undoubtedly the direction Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘R Treat was headed, pushed into distribution limbo for two entire years. The downside of this tactic is that a hype machine can be built that quickly grows out of control.

People have called Trick ‘R Treat the best Halloween film since, well, Halloween. Did it live up to the hype for me?

Yes, it absolutely did.

Not for the reasons I expected, either, which was part of the surprise of the film — this is a film about constant surprises, and rabbits being pulled out of hats at every corner.

When I heard the praise, I immediately thought the film would be scary. And while it does have some good scares strewn about, it’s much more fun than scary. Dougherty celebrates the holiday in a way that »

- John Cooper

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'Couples Retreat' Wins & 'Paranormal Activity' Cracks The Top Five In The Saturday Box Office Report

10 October 2009 12:18 PM, PDT | MTV Movies Blog | See recent MTV Movies Blog news »

1. "Couples Retreat" ($12.3 million)

2. "Zombieland" ($4.75 million)

3. "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" ($3.1 million)

4. "Toy Story" & "Toy Story 2" (3-D Double Feature) ($2.54 million)

5. "Paranormal Activity" ($2 million)

The cheese stands alone as the Vince Vaughn-starring "Couples Retreat," the weekend's only new wide release, debuted on Friday in an expected first place finish at the box office. "Couples Retreat" marks the directorial debut of Peter Billingsley, who is most famous for his childhood portrayal of Ralphie in the classic "A Christmas Story" — apparently, Billingsley didn't shoot his eye out, because his directorial vision resulted in an $11.5 million Friday opening according to the numbers from Deadline Hollywood Daily.

Still, "Couples Retreat" will have to fight to maintain this top spot in the weeks to come, thanks to poor word of mouth on the film. The reviews have been mediocre at best despite the all-star comedy team of Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau and more. »

- Josh Wigler

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Review: ‘Couples Retreat’

9 October 2009 9:15 AM, PDT | The Flickcast | See recent The Flickcast news »

Looking for some highbrow comedy? Keep on looking. If you loved the trailer for this movie, go watch it again. There, now you know the entire plot and you have seen all the funny parts of the film. I  just saved you an hour and 47 minutes and at least ten bucks. You’re welcome.

It’s not that this is a terrible film, it just doesn’t bring anything new to the table. Couple’s Retreat tries to be the rom-com version of  The Hangover, and fails. The laughs are there, but they are anemic at best and spread too thin over a far too long running time.

Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell) are a tightly wound yuppie couple who pull their friends aside at a child’s birthday party and ask them to attend a quick presentation. Believing that they are going to see another power point presentation about testicular cancer prevention, »

- Shannon Hood

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Plus1’s “Couples Retreat” review

9 October 2009 3:20 AM, PDT | Atomic Popcorn | See recent Atomic Popcorn news »

I’m going to do something I usually don’t do for my reviews… I’m going to start with my rating: 5 stars!  That’s right, this movie written by John Favreau, Vince Vaughn, and Dana Fox and directed by Peter Billingsley (long-time friend and business partner of Vince Vaughn but better known as Ralphie in A Christmas Story) had me Rotflol with a big ol’ Simpsons grin all over my face. Produced by Vaughn’s Wild West Picture Show, Couples Retreat doesn’t go overboard with crude, rude, or lewd humor. It delivers on humor gained from life and doesn’t take itself too seriously about marriage and long-lasting relationships. What Couples Retreat manages to do is present a caricature of four types of couples we all know well, and lets us look at life from their perspective.

After an opening montage of marriages from the 50’s through 2009, we »

- Plus1

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"Couples Retreat" Movie Review! Should You Take This Comedy Journey?

8 October 2009 10:37 PM, PDT | Manny the Movie Guy | See recent Manny the Movie Guy news »

Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau teamed up once again for "Couples Retreat." They co-wrote the script as well! And the director? Peter Billingsley aka Ralphie from "A Christmas Story."

The cast looked like they had fun making the film, but will you enjoy watching the movie?

Take a look at my review:

Four Midwestern couples embark on a journey to a tropical island resort. While one of the couples is there to work on their marriage, the other three set out to jet ski, spa and enjoy some fun in the sun. They soon discover that participation in the resort's couples therapy is not optional. Suddenly, their group-rate vacation comes at a price. What follows is a hilarious look at real world problems faced by all couples.

Genres: Comedy

Running Time: 1 hr. 47 min.

Release Date: October 9th, 2009 (wide)

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sexual content and language.

Distributors: Universal Pictures

Production Co. »

- Manny

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Couples Retreat | Review

8 October 2009 10:22 AM, PDT | SmellsLikeScreenSpirit | See recent SmellsLikeScreenSpirit news »

Director: Peter Billingsley Writer(s): Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Dana Fox Starring: Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Faizon Love, Kristen Bell, Malin Akerman, Kristin Davis, Kali Hawk, Tasha Smith, Peter Serafinowicz, Jean Reno Couples Retreat follows the story of four couples in a circle of friends. We start off with video game sales director Dave (Vince Vaughn) and kitchen tile shopping housewife Ronnie (Malin Akerman), an average couple with two young boys. Our next couple, Joey (Jon Favreau) and Lucy (Kristin Davis) have been married since they became pregnant in high school, and now have become distant and uninvolved with one another. Shane (Faizon Love) aka the token African-American friend, has recently divorced and is now involved with a 20-year-old retail employee named Trudy (Kali Hawk) who calls him "Daddy", as in Sugar Daddy. Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell), are the tightly wound, uber organized, PowerPoint »

- Dave Campbell

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Remembering Arcade, Peter Billingsley's B-Movie Springboard to Couples Retreat

7 October 2009 7:40 AM, PDT | Movieline | See recent Movieline news »

When the combined star power of Couples Retreat rolls over the box office this week, what's also taking place is the second act of an American life. While the film's stars, producers and writers are indelibly Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau (enthusiastically abetted by Kristen Bell, Jason Bateman, Malin Akerman and others), the man behind the camera is Peter Billingsley, best known to America as Ralphie Parker from 1983's A Christmas Story -- which in the quarter-century since its release has become the definitive yuletide classic.

That Billingsley has called the shots on such an A-list project as Couples Retreat comes down to his ability to transcend a childhood spent as a star and his enduring friendship with the film's drawcards. But an important factor is also Billingsley's barely known sci-fi horror film from 1993. »

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Peter Billingsley on Couples Retreat

6 October 2009 11:18 AM, PDT | www.canmag.com | See recent CanMag news »

No matter how many hit films he produces, Peter Billingsley will always be remembered as Ralphie from A Christmas Story. .You.ll shoot your eye out. still echoes in our minds today. Now add directing to his credits, as he makes his debut with Couples Retreat.

Billingsley Directs Couples Retreat

.The transition for me was a lot easier than I think maybe for most making that leap because I was never the guy that did five movies a year,. Billingsley said. .As a producer, I would really work for a long time on each film. So I was very fortunate as a first timer to really inherit that type of a partnership. There.s really no one smarter and funnier that I.ve ever met than Vince. I.ve really been fortunate to have collaborated with Vince for a long time and with John as well. I.ve known Vince »

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Exclusive: Michael Dougherty talks Trick 'r Treat

6 October 2009 1:41 AM, PDT | HugAZombie | See recent HugAZombie news »

Trick 'r Treat's long road to a release ends today with the arrival of the Trick 'r Treat DVD/Blu-Ray. Originally shot in 2006, with a scheduled release date of October 5, 2007, which was eventually un-scheduled. When the film had its West Coast premiere at the 2008 ScreamFest (read our review here), the cast attending were seeing for the first time. At long last, Warner Bros. is releasing the movie, but not in theaters.

Last night, Trick 'r Treat screened at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles, CA, and writer/director Michael Dougherty was on hand to discuss his fantastic horror anthology that weaves together 4 different horror stories over one Halloween night in Ohio. While it's no surprise that Trick 'r Treat was inspired by  Creepshow and Halloween (Dougherty said "the whole movie is like me giving John Carpenter a hand job"), Dougherty explained he had another, more unusual influence as well. »

- (Fulci)

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C'mon, Get Unhappy

5 October 2009 9:28 AM, PDT | ifc.com | See recent IFC news »

This week's releases arrive draped in a pervasive air of dissatisfaction -- Chris Rock's daughter is unhappy with her hair, a '70s feminist movement is unhappy with their options, and Jason Ritter and Jess Weixler are unhappy with each other. Elsewhere, British cultural icons are talked up while global corporate interests are torn down.

Download this in audio form (MP3: 19:59 minutes, 18.3 Mb)

Subscribe to the In Theaters podcast: [Xml] [iTunes]

"After The Storm"

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Oscar-winning filmmaker and activist James Lecesne's decision to bring a production of the Off-Broadway musical "Once on This Island" to the storm-ravaged city of New Orleans was both obvious and inspired, with an extra layer of resonance provided in the casting of local kids affected firsthand by the disaster. Captured by director Hilla Medalia, this documentary takes us behind the scenes of the production to follow 12 young actors »

- Neil Pedley

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trailer break: ‘Couples Retreat’

29 September 2009 8:47 AM, PDT | www.flickfilosopher.com | See recent FlickFilosopher news »

At first glance -- and frankly, at second and third glances, too -- this looks like something I’m really, really gonna hate. But it’s written by Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn, who I do really like on the other side of the camera as well, generally, and it’s directed by Peter Billingsley, who isn’t merely that kid from A Christmas Story but is also part of Vaughn’s and Favreau’s posse. So maybe this trailer will turn out to be an inaccurate representation of the film. I can hope, anyway. Couples Retreat opens in the U.S. on October 9, and in the U.K. on October 16. »

- MaryAnn Johanson

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Couples Retreat clips

25 September 2009 5:31 PM, PDT | JoBlo.com | See recent JoBlo news »

The comedy Couples Retreat seems to have a lot going for it. Jason Bateman, Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau together again. Kristen Bell in a bikini. Probably some other stuff, if that's not enough to get your attention. Will it be the sum of its parts? Here are five clips from the flick (directed by Fav friend and A Christmas Story star Peter Billingsly), about four married pairs who discover their island vacation was a good deal for a reason. Check out a couple below or the whole group Right Here. »

- Dave Davis

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Vince Vaughn: I'm Ready for Kids - Really!

25 September 2009 4:20 AM, PDT | PEOPLE.com | See recent PEOPLE.com news »

Vince Vaughn swings no more. Now engaged to Canadian real estate agent Kyla Weber, Vaughn, 39, says he wants to start a family and settle down. The funny guy even says he's ready for diaper duty. "It's the first time that I really want to have kids," he told People while promoting his new comedy Couples Retreat. Related: Jon Favreau Impressed By Vince's Life Choices"I've been very fortunate in my career, and my life has been about that for so long that you get bored of it. You're ready for your life to be about other people and other things, »

- Scott Huver

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New Trailer For Trick 'R Treat! Coming Finally On October 6th!

10 September 2009 11:17 PM, PDT | iconsoffright.com | See recent Icons of Fright news »

I can not wait until October 6th! Because the DVD and Blu-Ray of Michael Dougherty's Trick 'R Treat finally comes out and I plan on watching it every day until Halloween night! Yahoo has debuted another brand new trailer for the much praised Halloween anthology, and this one by far best represents the tone of the movie itself. This is out 'A Christmas Story' for Halloween! Check it out embedded below!

Check out the official website at: http://trickrtreat-movie.warnerbros.com

Trick 'R Treat was written & directed by Michael Dougherty (X-men 2, Superman Returns), produced by Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-men) and stars Quinn Lord, Brian Cox (Red, Manhunter, X-men 2), Leslie Bibb (Midnight Meat Train, Iron Man), Dylan Baker (Spider-man 2, Happiness), Rochelle Aytes, Anna Paquin (from HBO's True Blood), Moneca Delain, Lauren Lee Smith, Tahmoh Penikett, Lauren Lee Smith, Britt McKillip, Isabelle Deluce, Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Alberto Ghisi & Samm Todd. »

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MovieWeb's 2009 Fall Movie Guide!

1 September 2009 7:54 AM, PDT | MovieWeb | See recent MovieWeb news »

Labor Day weekend is coming up, and it's a holiday that marks the end of the summer movie season along with summer itself. All the kids are heading back to the classroom for another dreaded year of school and (for those in L.A. like myself) the weather starts to cool... hopefully. While fall usually isn't seen as a cinematic hotbed, with the blockbuster summer season over, there are still plenty of quality films to check out at the box office. This year we have Megan Fox's possessed body, a sensational animated film and a new zombie adventure. There's a lot more that I'm looking forward to this fall, so here is a comphrehensive look at what you can expect from this fall movie season.

September

Gamer - September 4th

Starring: Gerard Butler, Kyra Sedgwick, Michael C. Hall, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, John Leguizamo, Amber Valletta, Terry Crews, Logan Lerman, »

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2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2003

1-20 of 25 articles from 2009   « Prev | Next »

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