Despite an ad campaign that had many film journalists reaching for their poison pens (it would have been shotguns, but writers are notoriously bad with mechanical objects), despite being stripped of its Animated Film status by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences, and despite opening next to a Will Smith flick, Twentieth Century Fox’s Alvin and the Chipmunks somehow managed to pull $44.3 million in its first weekend in theatres.

That opening is even more stunning when one realizes that this flick managed to make over two-thirds of its production costs back in the first weekend. According to Box Office Mojo’s numbers, Alvin and the Chipmunks cost Fox $60 million to make. In another comparison, Alvin pulled more cash in its first weekend than the highly-promoted The Golden Compass managed in two (it’s only earned $40 million so far).

Alvin’s Box Office Success No Thanks to Film Critics

You know a movie’s in trouble with film writers when one of its more glowing reviews describes it as “not as eye-gougingly awful as you might expect” (Jeff Vice, Deseret Morning News) and another says it’s “less painful than expected” (Gene Seymour, Newsday) and a third claimed it was “merely bad, rather than apocalyptically bad” (Eric Snider, EricSnider.com). According to Rotten Tomatoes, Alvin and the Chipmunks pulled a 25% rating with only 17 out of 67 reviewers liking the flick.

It’s hard to say how this movie will fare in subsequent weeks. It could suffer a colossal drop-off once the novelty wears off, or it could be a critic-proof blockbuster a la Shrek the Third.

Other Animated Films in Theatres

Moving down the list, Enchanted slipped to 4th position, putting away another $5.5 million. The Kevin Lima-directed flick has now made $91.8 million in its first month in theatres. Disney hasn’t admitted how much Enchanted cost to make, but it’s likely somewhere in the $150 million mark. Certainly not blockbuster status, but nothing to be ashamed of either.

Paramount’s Beowulf tumbled out of the Top 10, falling from fifth to #12. It made $1.3 million in its 5th weekend, for a grand total of $79.2 million in its 5 weeks on the silver screen. Considering it cost $150 million to make, that’s not good.

DreamWorks Animation’s Bee Movie dropped to #16, adding another $760,196 to its pile. That means the Jerry Seinfeld vehicle has pulled an impressive $122.3 million in its seven weeks in theatres. That figure becomes considerably less impressive when one factors in the fact that the flick cost DreamWorks $150 million to make, even before the film’s advertising costs.

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The movie ripped through the box office earning an estimated $76.5 million in it’s opening weekend. This breaks the record held for four years by The Return Of The King and boasted a per-screen average of $21,000.

There’s no doubt that the attached trailer for The Dark Knight had something to do with the film’s success over the weekend. The IMAX screenings of I Am Legend had an even greater pull as it showed the first six minutes of the Batman film.

It seems that Will Smith can’t put a foot wrong. He’s fast becoming a stand-out star who know deserves to be put in the same category as Tom Hanks and Johnny Depp. This movie saw a new side of Big Willie. One without the wisecracks and the jokes. I Am Legend see’s Smith as a very deep and dark character which will only propel him higher in the ranks of all-time favourite actors.

My favorite comedies:

2001 Maniacs, 3000 Miles to Graceland, 40 Days and 40 Nights, 48 Hrs., The 4th Tenor, 50 First Dates, The 51st State, About a Boy, The Accidental Spy, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, The Addams Family, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, After School Special.

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New Line Cinema’s “The Golden Compass,” which debuted at the top of box office in the North America over the weekend with an estimated 26.1 million dollars, failed to repeat the opening successes of recent Hollywood fantasy films. However, the fantasy epic based on the first book of British author Philip Pullman’s best-selling “His Dark Materials” trilogy, got a warmer welcome in international markets, taking in 55 million dollars overseas, studio officials said Monday.

“We were hoping for a little better domestically but the international numbers were solid,” said Rolf Mittweg, New Line’s president and chief operating officer of worldwide distribution and marketing.

New Line Cinema was expecting the 180-million-dollar film, starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, to do some magic at box office like past blockbusters “Lord of the Rings,” “Harry Potter” and “Chronicles of Narnia,” all based on bestselling novel series.

As of last week, the studio had been looking for a North American opening in the range of 30-40 million dollars for the PG-13 film. And other studios held on their major releases to shun “The Golden Compass,” making it the only wide release to hit the marketplace over the weekend.

Reviews have been mixed for the film, about a 12-year-old girl who journeys to a parallel universe to save her best friend and other kidnapped children from experiments conducted by a mysterious organization.

A conservative Catholic organization has urged a boycott of the film, accusing author Pullman’s source material of being anti-God and anti-Catholic. This in sharp contrast to the 2005 Disney film Narnia, which was embraced by Christian groups.

New Line officials said that by selling off foreign distribution rights and counting the eventual revenue from the DVD and television markets, the studio in the end could turn a profit on the film, which is considered the most expensive one ever made by New Line.

But the film will soon face fierce competition for broad audiences, as several big Christmas holiday season movies, including Will Smith thriller “I Am Legend” and Nicolas Cage’s “National Treasure” sequel, are to hit the theaters in coming weeks.

Other interesting movies in my last week collection: Arctic Tale, Angels Fall, The Dudesons Movie, Kokoda, I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, Death Ride aka Haunted Highway - nice horror movie, The Marksman, Waiting, Evil Bong, The Ultimate Gift, The Moguls, The Exorcism of Emily Rose - cool thriller, Four Brothers - 2005 year crime drama, The Scalphunters - western 1968 year.

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‘The Golden Compass’
Director: Chris Weitz
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards, Eva Green, Daniel Craig
Genre: Action/Fantasy/Adventure
A 12-year-old girl ventures through a fantasy world filled with magical creatures. She is fighting to protect a special compass and save her best friend from a mysterious force called the Magisterium.
It’s a quality film, with great visuals and subject matter, but it’s hard to follow. It doesn’t fully explain all the details of the story, and its overly serious tone could use a dose of sunshine.

‘Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead’
Director: Sidney Lumet
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Aleksa Palladino
Genre: Crime/Drama
Two brothers with money troubles hatch a plan to rob their parents’ jewelry store. When the plan spirals out of control, lots of other things do also.
Critics love the director, industry vet Lumet, whose style meshes very well with screenwriter Kelly Masterson’s. The acting is superb. The cast, which is full of rotten characters, contains underlying philosophical statements that might take a while to register.

‘Love in the Time of Cholera’

Director: Mike Newell
Starring: Javier Bardem, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Benjamin Bratt, Catalina Sandino Moreno, John Leguizamo
Genre: Drama/Romance/Adaptation
In Cartagena, Colombia, a lovestruck man (Bardem), pines for his estranged crush (Mezzogiorno), for more than 50 years.
The film doesn’t translate well from book to screen. Much of the appeal of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novel is lost in translation as relevant details are mismanaged and the timeline stumbles. Some critics express suspicions that the movie just a cheesy stab at cashing in on the Latin market.

‘Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium’

Director: Zach Helm
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Jason Bateman, Zachary Mills, Ted Ludzik
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Fantasy
When a young pianist (Portman) inherits a magical toy store from her eccentric boss (Hoffman), she doubts she’s fit to take over, as the store throws a tantrum. She soon learns, however, to tap into the magic within herself.
For a film about a magical toy store, the film produces very little magic. The Willy Wonka-esque story line tries to step into big shoes, but the result is a misfire. Critics wonder what the director was looking for exactly.

‘Fred Claus’
Director: David Dobkin
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Kevin Spacey, John Michael Higgins, Elizabeth Banks
Genre: Comedy/Holiday
When Santa’s no-good older brother runs into financial problems, St. Nick agrees to invite him to the North Pole to earn the money he needs by working in Santa’s toy shop.
High-caliber characters seem overstuffed into lightweight roles. The idea behind the film isn’t terrible, but the Christmas flick schtick has been done and redone. So has Vaughn’s as a loveable slacker. Other details, such as the method used to turn actors like rapper Ludacris into elves, further drag down the film.

‘American Gangster’
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Russell Crowe, Denzel Washington, Josh Brolin, Common, Ted Levine
Genre: Crime/Thriller/Drama
Based on the true story of Harlem drug dealer Frank Lucas (Washington) and police officer Richie Roberts (Crow), who helped to finally bring him to justice. Lucas built a hugely successful drug empire, and at one time shipped heroin from Asia to the U.S. in the coffins of soldiers killed in Vietnam.
All form and no substance, “Gangster” is smart, well paced and well photographed, but it’s detached, lengthy and fails to elicit a real emotional response. Crowe and Washington don’t share a scene until very late in the movie. In an effort to paint Lucas as a heroic character, some of the negative details of his personality are avoided, which costs the film additional depth.

‘Bee Movie’
Director: Stephen Hickner, Simon J. Smith
Starring: Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger, Chris Rock, Ray Liotta, Mark Moseley
Genre: Comedy/Animation
A bee (Seinfeld) makes his way to the city and falls in love with a New York florist named Vanessa (Zellweger). He soon discovers that people collect and sell honey for profit and decides to sue the human race for stealing it.
Critics are abuzz over the film. Seinfeld’s influence is all over it. Great pacing and cute visual and verbal humor are some of the positives. The look of the film has been described as a visual version of Seinfeld’s comedy style.

And some another interesting movies from last week collection: Believers, Angel, Trailer Park Boys: The Movie, Outsourced, Another Perfect Stranger, Vacancy - cool thriller, Ratatouille - funny family animation, Who’s Your Caddy?, Christmas in South Park - Merry Cristmas , A Dennis the Menace Christmas, The Nanny Diaries, Air Buddies - 2006 year, Aquamarine - a fish-out-of-water comedy, Asterix and the Vikings - Asterix and Abelix new adventure, Bridge to Terabithia

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Heroes star Eric Roberts has apparently confessed that he is not a fan of the Hollywood party scene as many may have been to led to think.

The actor and brother of actress Julia Roberts told The Independent that his reputation for being a “party boy” was just another common misperception.

The 51-year-old admitted to the paper: “I haven’t had a drink since 1995 and I go to sleep around 7pm.”

The star of films such as Runaway Train, for which he received an Oscar nomination, also said that his ideal night out was a night in.

But the actor proved that he has inherited some characteristics associated with the Hollywood elite.

He confessed: “I am good at complaining. I’m working on getting a little less good at that.”

Eric, who has a penchant for the quirkier cameo roles, has appeared in the videos of the Killers, Akon’s Smack That, a one-off South Park episode and a round of Celebrity Death Match.

Eric Roberts filmography (with my rating 10*) :

1. DOA: Dead or Alive - 2006 Rating 7*
2. Intoxicating - 2003 Rating 6*
3. National Security - 2003 Rating 7*
4. Spun - 2003 Rating 6*
5. The Alibi

Last movies from my collection. Some of them are old, some - new.

Crank 2007 Crime Drama, In the Land of Women 2007 Drama, Evening 2007 Drams, Captivity 2007 Triller, Breach 2007 Triller, Hairspray 2007 Comedy, Wind Chill 2007 Horror, The Tiger’s Tail 2006 Drama, The Lookout 2007 Crime, The Invisible 2007 - Nice Fantasy movie, Shredderman Rules 2007 Family comedy, Magicians 2007 Comedy, Live Free or Die Hard 2007 Action.

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Will Smith has spoken out to defend pal Tom Cruise and Scientology.

The Men In Black actor said he had studied the religion - branded a “cult” by some critics - with Cruise.

Smith said Scientology was just like other religions, and he said that the Top Gun superstar pushed him to improve his life.

He said: “We push one another to be better.

“There’s a comprehension of what each of us through that everybody else can’t understand.

“I’ve studied Buddhism and Hinduism and I’ve studied Scientology through Tom.

“And nobody’s saying anything different!”

He went on: “I don’t think that because the word someone uses for ’spirit’ is ‘thetan’ that the definition becomes any different.”

Smith, 39, made his comments in the new issue of US magazine, Men’s Vogue. His new movie, I Am Legend, opens in cinemas in the States next month.

The Official Scientology Glossary defines ‘thetan’ as “the person himself - not his body or his name, the physical universe, his mind, or anything else”.

Yohohho! Lets start! Tom Cruise vs Will Smith

Tom Cruis Filmography:

Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible II, Mission: Impossible III, - cool movies trilogy, Collateral - nice movie, The Last Samurai, Minority Report - i like this action very nuch, nice movie, Vanilla Sky - interesting intrigue, Magnolia, Eyes Wide Shut - must see!, Jerry Maguire, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, A Few Good Men - old but interesting film, Rain Man by Barry Levinson.

Will Smith Filmography:

The Pursuit of Happyness, The Legend of Bagger Vance by Robert Redford, Hitch - nice comedy, animation Shark Tale - voice, I, Robot - i don’t like it , Bad Boys, Bad Boys II - “ Whatcha gonna do? ” , Men in Black, Men in Black II - Protecting the earth from the scum of the universe, must see movie, Ali - “Forget What You Think You Know”, Wild Wild West - “It’s a whole new west”, Enemy of the State - “It’s not paranoia if they’re really after you” no famous but well-made film, Independence Day.

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The couple was recently spotted entering London s classy sex shop Coco De Mer.

According to sources, the Tomb Raider star, who was in the capital to promote her new movie, Beowulf, asked to be dropped off at the Covent Garden store, which is owned by the late Anita Roddick’s daughter, Sam.

They said that the couples visit to the shop was not accidental, as they specifically requested to be taken there.

“Brad and Angelina ordered a car to take them directly to the sex shop. It wasn’t as if they were walking around and just bumped into it. They specifically asked to go there, the Daily Mail quoted a source, as saying.

The pair left with a bag full of goodies after spending an hour inside the store.

My favorite Brad Pitt movies:

1991 Thelma & Louise - one of the first Brad’s movies

1995 Se7en - example of a nice Thriller.

1999 year Fight Club - i like it evry much. my recomendations.

2001 year The Mexican - Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts staring. No bad.

2004 Troy - Nice movie. Brad is a cool solderAhilles.

2005 Mr. & Mrs. Smith - Brad Pitt and his wife Angelina Jolie staring. Ganre - Comedy Action

My favorite Angelina Jolie movies:

The Bone Collector , Gone in Sixty Seconds - if you driver - it’s your film, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider i think that Angelina Jolie=Lara Croft!!!! , Original Sin - i don’t like this triller, Beyond Borders - Martin Campbell director, Shark Tale - animation (voice), Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow - by comics, Alexander - alexander the King of Macedonia life, The Good Shepherd - Lewin Webb director, fresh movie - A Mighty Heart -

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Fabio:“I had dinner with six women and a photographer woman and we were just having fun, having dinner and taking pictures. All of a sudden one of the ladies said to me, ‘There is this gentleman a few tables behind you that keeps insulting me, keeps giving me the finger.’ She’s like, ‘This gentleman behind you called me a fat cow.’”That so-called gentleman turned out to be George! “He was drunk and thought people were taking pictures of him,” Fabio continued. “So I went to the table and explained to him that we were having a charity dinner and I said, ‘You’re more than welcome to come to my table and see if there was a picture of you.’ I apologized and he started being rude so I put him in his place. After I put him in his place — you know I’m three times his size — he got a little scared. I went back to my table and as soon as I sit down he paid his bill, got up and he started insulting the girls. He called the women names. At that point I lost my temper. I went after him and he ran out of the restaurant.”

So, what i want to say:

Cool and unexceptionable bandit in Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Thirteen movie, brave solder in Three Kings, Officer saving the word in The Peacemaker movie, star of Syriana and The Perfect Storm movies, actor of best-seller From Dusk Till Dawn - coolest movie 1996 year (old good years ), director of Good Night, and Good Luck - also nice film. George, you are a movie symbol of Strong Man. So it’s time to be a strong man in a real live!

Source: MSN News

Real truth about Spanish MACHO!!!

Spanish hunk and Hollywood star Antonio Banderas, who is in Bulgaria with Morgan Freeman to shoot the movie “The Code”, sensationally shared with local journalists his dream to be a woman for one day.

Morgan Freeman, however, said he is just fine because he has enough problems the way he is now.
“I did not have the time to tour Bulgaria because we are shooting all the time,” Antonio Banderas said at the first joint press conference of the movie crew in Sofia.
The movie star said he liked the local cuisine, but admitted he failed to remember the names of the dishes.
“I love my job and I love to be in front of the camera. If you are a real actor and love what you are doing, you will never stop,” Banderas said.

He shared he prefers to do low-budget movies because less money “means more freedom”.
In “The Code” Banderas and Freeman play two artful jewellery thieves, who have set their sight on Faberge eggs, owned by a NY collector of Russian origin.

“We are working with excellent professionals in Bulgaria,” Banderas said.

The shooting of the crime drama, which is production of the US moviemaker Nu Image, started two months ago in New York. The movie is being directed by Mimi Leder (”The Peacemaker”, “Pilot”, The Tunnel”).
A total of 12 Bulgarian actors play together with the two Hollywood stars, Deyan Donkov, Zahari Baharov and Velizar Binev among them.
Banderas will stay in Bulgaria until the end of the shooting in December.
My favorite films with Banderas:
Assassin - Nice old 1995 yaer Action. My rating 8 from 10
Bordertown - Crime drama. 7 from 10
Desperado - Movie with Jennifer Lopez and Antonio Banderas. 7 from 10
The Legend of Zorro - I like this film. Best Zorro! 9 from 10
Original Sin - I don’t like this monotonous movie. 5 from 10
Shrek 2 - Subtle and coll cat voice - Banderas voice. 8 from 10
Take the Lead - Music drama based on a true story. 7 from 10

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My favorite ZombiE movies:
Dawn of the Dead - my rating 7 from 10
The Devil’s Rejects - my rating 7 from 10
Evil Dead II - my rating 5 from 10
Resident Evil: Apocalypse - my rating 9 from 10. Nice horror and action movie. My choise.
Vampires vs. Zombies - 6 from
10 rating

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