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CASABLANCA – Love, war, intrigue… all woven into the tapestry of a movie is perhaps what makes ‘Casablanca’ stand out as one of those timeless classics. It speaks about love, marriage and infidelity. The tried and tested recipe for the perfect romance.

Casablanca (1942) is an American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in the words of one character, love and virtue. He must choose between his love for a woman and helping her and her Resistance leader husband escape from the Vichy-controlled Moroccan city of Casablanca to continue his fight against the Nazis.

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Kellvin here giving the Latino Review readers what they are accustomed to around here, some breaking news!

One of our faithful followers last night got to see the final cut of the highly anticipated film “Watchmen,” in Los Angeles.

Watchmen movie poster

I am hoping this movie is going to be huge. When I first heard about it; I have to admit I had not read the graphic novel. So like the true student of the film that I am, I went out and did my research by purchasing a copy my hard earned dinero!

The book was awesome, and he first thing I thought was “How are they going to pull this off?” its no wonder why this film could not be done 20 years ago. There just was not enough technology around that could do this story justice.

Since the studio announced that Watchmen was going to be made, the Internet has been flooded with fan boy discussion about who would direct it, and who would play The Watchmen, and would the film be faithful to the novel? Well according to our loyal follower, Bentley Mustafa, yes, yes, and YES!

Now before we dive into this, I want to warn you that there will be huge spoilers, so if you do not want to know what’s in the film, stop reading now…. otherwise, sit your ass down and get ready for some Watchmen 411!

Here’s what Bentley Mustafa has to say about the screening.

There were approximately 200 people at the screening.

1.  No Black Freighter, although we do catch glimpses of the newsstand and the kid who reads the comic, but only briefly.

2. The ending is different, no squid.  I was one of the people who never really cared about squid/no squid, but I feel the ending will work better for mainstream audiences that have never read the book.

3. They do not imply a sequel anymore than the book does…

4.  The montage covering the heroes of the past is done exceptionally well, and was longer than I expected.  Allows the audience to understand that this is an alternate version of the past and everything they know should be thrown out the window.

5. It is dark, but not the stark realism that fills the Dark Knight.  The Watchmen reality is a little more surreal in its feel, like a dream.  It really has the feel of the comic in it.

6. Look for the cameo by Snyder’s son. He also played young Leonidas in 300.

7. It was fantastically close to the book; even the framings of shots were lifted directly from the book.

8. Jackie Earl Halley is the shit in this.  He IS Rorschach.

9. This movie is gory.  I’m a gore hound and I was surprised at how graphic some scenes were.  Really had people squirming.

10. NAKED Sally Jupiter. (CORRECTION NAKED Silk Spectre)

11. Only character I didn’t like was Veidt/Ozymandias.  I thought the actor was weak.

I have to say Snyder knocked this one out of the park.  There is some gruesome, brutal stuff here that is hard to watch.  The fight scenes are awesome, and, like in 300, Snyder continues the use of ramping the frame rate to accentuate the movements of the characters. I knew there was going to be some slo-mo, but I didn’t think he overdid it. All in all, fans of the book are going to more than pleased with the film.  For a book that was for years considered un-filmable, he certainly managed to hit almost every beat and did not compromise any of the material (except for the squid).

So there you have it folks, breaking news once again brought to you by yours truly. I cannot wait for the films release; it will definitely up the ante for comic book adaptations in the future.

more Watchmen movie posters

For trailer click here

Inglourious Basterds is an upcoming ensemble war film/spaghetti western written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It has the largest cast of characters (with speaking roles) of any Tarantino film to date and is currently in production with several locations, among them Germany and France. Tarantino plans to complete production of Inglourious Basterds in time for release at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2009. Filming began in October 2008. The title (and partial premise) of the upcoming film is inspired by Italian director Enzo Castellari‘s 1978 movie Inglorious Bastards. The Weinstein Company has slated August 21, 2009 as the tentative U.S. release date.

movie poster

Entering the 21st century, director Quentin Tarantino had been penning several scripts, including one for the World War II adventure film that would eventually become Inglourious Basterds. Tarantino described the premise in October 2001, “It’s my bunch-of-guys-on-a-mission film. It’s my Dirty Dozen or Where Eagles Dare or Guns of Navarone kind of thing.” The premise had begun as a Western and evolved into a World War II version of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly set in Nazi-occupied France. The story changed to be about two maverick units from the United States Army that had “a habit of scalping Germans” before changing again.

Actor Michael Madsen, who appeared in Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, was originally reported to star in the movie, then called Inglorious Bastards, which had been scheduled for release in 2004. By 2002, Tarantino found Inglorious Bastards to be a bigger film than planned and saw that other directors were working on World War II films. Tarantino had produced three nearly finished scripts, saying, “It was some of the best writing I’ve ever done. But I couldn’t come up with an ending.” The director held off his planned film and moved on to direct the two-part film Kill Bill (2003-2004) with Uma Thurman in the lead role. After the completion of Kill Bill, Tarantino trimmed the length of the script, which was reportedly three films long, to 222 pages. The director eventually planned to begin production of Inglorious Bastards late in 2005. The revised premise focused on a group of soldiers who escape from their executions and embark on a mission to help the Allies. The director described the men as “not your normal hero types that are thrown into a big deal in the Second World War”.

Tarantino also sought to present the film as a Spaghetti Western set in Nazi-occupied France. He explained his intent, “I’m going to find a place that actually resembles, in one way or another, the Spanish locales they had in spaghetti Westerns—a no man’s land. With American soldiers and French peasants and the French resistance and Nazi occupiers, it was kind of a no man’s land. That will really be my spaghetti Western but with World War II iconography. But the thing is, I won’t be period specific about the movie. I’m not just gonna play a lot of Édith Piaf and Andrews Sisters. I can have rap, and I can do whatever I want. It’s about filling in the viscera.” The director described the scale of the project, “It’ll be epic and have my take of the sociological battlefield at that time with the racism and barbarism on all sides—the Nazi side, the American side, the black and Jewish soldiers and the French, because it all takes place in France.” Tarantino planned to set the film around the time of D-Day (June 6, 1944) and afterward.

In November 2004, the director decided to hold off production of Inglourious Basterds and instead film a kung fu movie entirely in Mandarin. Tarantino ultimately directed a part of the 2007 Grindhouse instead, returning to work on Inglorious Bastards after finishing promotion for Grindhouse. The director teamed with The Weinstein Company to prepare Inglorious Bastards for production. In September 2007, The Irish Times reported the film’s scheduled release for 2008, writing, “Inglorious Bastards, a war movie that may eventually resemble The Dirty Dozen merged with Cross of Iron, has been predicted more often than the second coming of the Lord.”

Several Tarantino fan sites have already begun posting reviews and excerpts from the film’s script. Since mid-October 2008 the film is in principal photography on location in Germany.

The teaser trailer will premiere on Entertainment Tonight on the 10th February, and will be in American theaters the following week attatched to Friday the 13th

The film will be released on August 19th in France, two days earlier than the US release.

Typically, the children in horror movies are either the unwilling messengers of doom or are evil themselves. Either way, the dialogue these kids have to spout is usually pretty eerie and often not something you’d want to hear coming out of the mouths of babes.

Here’s a look at 9 chilling quotes spoken by children in some of our favorite horror/thriller films.

Poltergeist

“They’re here …”

Is there any more classic moment than when Carol Anne turns away from the static TV and says to Craig T. Nelson, “They’re here”? The sing-song delivery, the creepy little toe-headed kid, everything about the scene is unnerving. The reality of what happened to Poltergeist star Heather O’Rourke only adds to the enduring scariness. The sad thing is that the scene is now being used to sell cable TV, which seems a crass and careless way to tread on someone’s memory.

The Sixth Sense

Of course, the most famous of the creepy little kids of the last decade is Haley Joel Osmet in The Sixth Sense, when he imparted those famous words to Bruce Willis, “I see dead people.” Coming at about the midway point of the film, those four little words explain what has been going on in the film, and opens the door for the much larger surprise that comes at the end. A lot of people would argue that writer/director M. Night Shyamalan has been making the same film ever since and that none of his other films have lived up to the promise of that first success, but if nothing else, he has given us one of the most memorable film experiences ever.

The Shining

While Jack Nicholson’s psychotic axe-wielding family man Jack Torrance managed to scare the crap out of us — and has one of the greatest movies lines ever with “Here’s Johnny!” — it was really Jack’s young son Danny who had the most chilling scenes of the film. In this Stanley Kubrick adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel, a writer takes a job as the winter caretaker at what turns out to be a haunted hotel. After Jack, his wife, and their young son Danny move into the hotel, it’s revealed that the young boy has “the shining,” an ability to see ghosts. Eventually, Danny begins to repeatedly chant “redrum” in a deep voice while holding a knife in one hand while writing the word in red lipstick on a door with the other — that’s creepy enough. It becomes even more chilling when we find out what “redrum” actually means.

The Exorcist

There are so many chilling and iconic moments packed into Linda Blair’s performance as the possessed Regan MacNeil that choosing just one singular moment is pretty difficult. Nearly every moment of dialogue that takes place between Father Karras and Regan during the Exorcism scenes are far beyond mere disturbing. Most of the gems concern Karras’s mother, like “Your mother’s in here, Karras. Would you like to leave a message? I’ll see that she gets it.” and the infamous “Your mother sucks cocks in Hell…”, or even parroting his Mother’s dementia-filled agony with “Why you do this to me, Dimi? Please Dimi, I’m afraid.” Yet for me the creepiest bit in the film takes place before the actual possession at her mom’s cocktail party. Amid the festivities of a piano-fueled singalong Regan pulls a true show-stopper when after being put to bed she returns to the party and sidles up to an Astronaut (we should all have one Astronaut buddy). In a monotonous deadpan Regan say “You’re gonna die up there.” followed by her letting loose a load of piss on the rug. Now, a little girl in pajamas telling a spaceman he’s gonna be orbital toast the day before his launch is eerie enough, but that piss-filled encore takes the moment beyond mere creepy and into utra-disturbing territory.

Interview With The Vampire

Little Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) is a beautiful girl perfectly dressed and coiffed, just like the numerous dolls that decorate her room. But she’ll never be truly happy, because she’s a child vampire who’ll live forever, yet never grow into a woman. This is the one thing she desires — so much so, amongst her dolls she hides the corpse of a female victim she wanted to emulate, which prompts a heated argument with her “father” and maker Lestat (Tom Cruise). Seemingly to make up for the fight, little Claudia brings Lestat twin boys to fed on, concealing that the boys are already dead — and drinking from the dead is a big vampire no-no. To coax Lestat to drink, Claudia so sweetly says “I promise I’ll get rid of the bodies.” Lestat takes the bait, which allows Claudia to finish him off. This “child” may seem innocent and look like a little angel, but underneath it all, she’s the deadliest of them all.

The Good Son

Macaulay Culkin was on a meteoric rise in the early 1990s with the success of the first two Home Alone movies, so it might not have been the best idea for the child star to headline the 1993 thriller The Good Son as the “bad son.” Culkin’s Henry goes far beyond spilling some milk. He’s an innocent-looking boy with malicious intent and no conscience. He will harm with no remorse. The film’s climatic scene is truly a cliffhanger: After trying to kill his own mother, Susan, Henry hangs from a cliff alongside his “good” cousin Mark (Elijah Wood). Holding one boy in each hand, Susan tries to pull them both to safety when Henry tells her, “Mom, I need your other hand” leaving Susan with the dilemma of who to save — her innocent nephew or her evil son?

Damien: Omen II

The 1970s loved to pair children with the devil, as we saw with The Exorcist. But with The Omen, instead of the child being possessed by the Devil, this 1976 horror film centered around the spawn of Satan — the Antichrist. While the original film was frightening enough, Satan’s son Damien was just a small child who didn’t say much. But in the 1978 sequel, Damien still doesn’t know of his true nature, until he begins to come of age and starts to feel a change. When he finds out that the AntiChrist has a 666 birthmark, he checks his scalp and discovers he has it. As horrifying as the gruesome deaths in the movie were, it’s Damien’s discovery of his true Satanic heritage — complete with an anguished “Why me?” — that’s truly bone-chilling.

Pet Semetary

For me personally, it does not get any more terrifying than adorable little Gage from Pet Semetary. If the horror of your baby son being hit by a speeding 18-wheeler isn’t enough to begin with, this little one is buried in then that wacky cemetery. A little bit of Monkey’s Paw later, well, we all know what happens there… back comes little Gage, only quite different now. That kid, with his little outfits and his knife and tiny high-pitched voice is enough to make me weep, especially when he’s bringing a knife to his mother, saying “I brought you something, Mommy” as if it will be a sweet surprise for her.

Children of the Corn

Let’s face it, the entire premise of Children of the Corn and its numerous sequels is one big creepy-children horror fest, from its brainwashed children with pitchforks chanting “KILL!” to its charismatic child leader Isaac and his eerie preaching about the evil god of corn known as “He Who Walks Behind the Rows.” While driving through Nebraska, Linda Hamilton and the guy from 30 Something have a run-in with the murderous children who sacrifice adults to the evil corn god. When Isaac has a disagreement with his right-hand man Malachai, the latter has Isaac crucified as a sacrifice to their god. As Isaac awaits death on the corn cross, he spouts off about how he is the giver of “His” word and how the children will pay for their treachery and disobedience to Isaac’s teachings. After his death, in true biblical form, Isaac is resurrected. Looking like he just put his finger in an electrical socket, the prophet Isaac returns to bring vengeance from their God to Malachai. In a possessed voice, the young Isaac tells his betrayer, “He wants you too, Malachai.”

VIA

Men might be the oft leading candidates for the bad-ass heroes in films, but women have had their share of butt-kicking screen time as well. Here are the top ten Bad Ass Women of all time.

10. Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY (1991)

Skynet, the 21st century computer waging a losing war on humans sends a second terminator back in time to destroy the leader of the human resistance while he is still a boy. His mother is the only one who knows of the existence of the Terminators, human-like robots that exist only to kill and are nearly indestructible, and she, the boy’s mother, is currently in a state mental hospital because of her ‘delusions’. A second protector is sent back to the past by the Human resistance to protect John Connor, their future leader, at all costs. All in order to protect her son, the future leader of the resistance against the machines, Sarah kicks a sizable amount of ass.

9. Lori Petty as Tank Girl (Rebecca) TANK GIRL (1995)

Tank Girl (Rebecca) and her friends are the only remaining citizens living in the wasteland that is Earth, where all the remaining water is controlled by Water and Power, the mega corporation/government that runs the territory. While incarcerated at W + P, Tank Girl and her new friend Jet Girl break out and steal… a tank and a jet. After meeting some mutant kangaroo/humans, and rescuing her little girl (adopted by her friends), the kangaroos and the girls kick Water and Powers’ ass. Based on a comic series, it tends to take a more comedic approach to the subject, but there is little doubt that Tank Girl kicks ass.

8. Michelle Yeoh & Zhang Ziyi as Yu Shu Lien & Jen Yu CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON (2000)

Wo hu cang long (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) is a timeless story that takes place in QING China when miracles were credible and spirits and gods were present in man’s world. It is not unbelievable that zen warriors float through the air, skim the water and battle in trees and on rooftops. Pain, revenge and duty are the stuff that bind us in this world and are the main plot line of the movie, but in the afterlife love and faith linger on. Along with Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat), the ladies in this movie are graceful and downright deadly.

7. Uma Thurman as Beatrix Kiddo (The Bride) KILL BILL VOL. I-II (2003-4)

The lead character, called ‘The Bride,’ was a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, lead by her lover ‘Bill.’ Upon realizing she was pregnant with Bill’s child, ‘The Bride’ decided to escape her life as a killer. She fled to Texas, met a young man, and on the day of their wedding was gunned down by an angry and jealous Bill (with the assistance of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad). Four years later, ‘The Bride’ wakes from a coma, and discovers her baby is gone. She, then, decides to seek revenge upon the five people who destroyed her life and killed her baby. Beatrix absolutely goes all out as she individually hunts and eliminates every member of the D.V.A.S., finally getting to Bill, her desired target. Kicks ass!

6. Carrie Fischer as Princess Leia THE STAR WARS TRILOGY (1977-1983)

Snide, snarky, and about as un-princess-like as one could be, Leia Organa takes charge of her rag-tag rescue band from the moment Han, Luke, and Chewie release her from the cell block. Defiant, cock-sure, and a natural leader, Leia eventually safely delivers the Death Star plans to the Rebel resistance via R2-D2 and sets into motion the utter collapse and downfall of the Galactic Empire. If there was any Imperial ass to kick, Leia was there with blaster in hand. And was there ever any doubt that she’d eventually hook up with a galactic smuggler?

5. Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft TOMB RAIDER (2001-03)

Based on the popular video game series, Tomb Raider features the adventures of Lara Croft an antiquities hunter-for-hire. She travels to exotic locales in search of treasures and artifacts in the catacombs of ancient tombs and ruins remaining from age-old empires. A female Indiana Jones, Croft’s expeditions are always chock full of action, danger, intrigue, suspense and her omnipresent knack for defying death in skin-tight outfits. Looking good and kicking ass is a winning combination.

4. Sheri Moon Zombie as Baby Firefly HOUSE OF A 1000 CORPSES & THE DEVILS REJECTS (2003-05)

The sequel to ‘House of 1000 Corpses’, ‘The Devil’s Rejects,’ takes place a few months later with the Texas State Police making a full-scale attack against the murderous Firefly family residence for the 1,000+ murders and disappearances of the past several years. But three of the family members escape, including Otis, Baby Firefly and Baby’s father Captain Spaulding. The evil trio go on a road trip, leaving dozens of mangled bodies in their wake. Evading a massive Texas Rangers dragnet as well as a group of equally murderous bounty hunters led by Ken Dwyer (the brother of a policeman Mamma Firefly killed in ‘House of…’) who’s obsessed with finding the deadly killers, the surviving Firefly clan gather at a run-down amusement park owned by Captain Spaulding’s half-brother, Charlie Altamont, who offers them shelter and a new base of operations for their killing spree as Sheriff Dwyer, the Texas Rangers, the FBI and others slowly close in. Though gruesome and sadistic, Baby kicks all kinds of ass.

3. Devon Aoki as Miho SIN CITY (2005)

“Sin City” is infested with criminals, crooked cops and sexy dames, some searching for vengeance, some for redemption and others, both. The film incorporates storylines from three of Miller’s graphic novels including ‘Sin City,’ which launched the long-running, critically acclaimed series, as well as ‘That Yellow Bastard’ and ‘The Big Fat Kill.’ Where Hartigan, a cop with a bum ticker and a vow to protect stripper Nancy. Marv, the outcast misanthrope, is on a mission to avenge the death of his one true love, Goldie; there’s also Dwight, the clandestine love of Shelley who spends his nights defending Gail and her Old Towne girls from Jackie Boy, a dirty cop with a penchant for violence. Miho resides in Old Towne and with one word from Gail, the appointed matriarch, Miho dispatches raiders and men alike with razor-sharp accuracy. She kicks serious ass.

2. Mila Jovovich as Alice RESIDENT EVIL, RE: APOCALYPSE, RE: EXTINCTION (2002-07)

A virus has escaped into a secret facility called “The Hive,” which chemically turns the staff (Umbrella Corporation) into man-eating zombies and releasing the mutated lab animals that they were studying. The complex computer (The Red Queen) shuts down the base to prevent further infection. The parent corporation sends in a military unit, where they meet Alice who has only a short time to remember who she is and the state of her mission, and is suffering from amnesia due to the nerve gas released into her bathroom. The military must shut down the computer (The Red Queen) and make their way back out of the Hive. Fighting their way past zombies, mutants and The Red Queen before the T-Virus escapes and effects the rest of the world. Its up to Alice to defeat the virus, if she loses, we all lose. And yes, she defeats them so thoroughly through three well-made films, kicking zombie ass all the way through.

1. Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley ALIEN, ALIENS, ALIEN 3, ALIEN RESURRECTION (1979-97)

Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the sole survivor of the alien attack on the mining ship Nostromo, awakens half a century later when she is found by a salvage ship. The welcome given to her by the “Company” officials is far from warm, since they refuse to believe her discovery of alien existence and strip her off her flight officer’s license. Ripley also discovers, much to her horror, that the planet LV-426 where her crew had encountered an alien species for the first time, is now colonized by the company. But when all contact from the planet is lost Ripley is called back into action again as an advisor to a team of tough space marines with lots of firepower. To get rid of her recurrent nightmares about the alien creature, Ripley prepares for a final battle with the monsters – and this time, there are hundreds of them out there. Going from unwitting recipient to a monsters attack, to a vicious military scourge, to a prisoner, to an alien/human hybrid, Ellen Ripley kicks ass for 200 solid years. The very best of the best.

Push is an upcoming action/thriller film set for release on February 6, 2009.

Push movie poster

This sci-fi action film involves a group of young American expatriates with telekinetic, telepathic, and clairvoyant abilities, hiding from a clandestine U.S. government agency referred to as “Division.” They try to find the only woman that ever escaped from “Division”. She is their only key to finding out how to escape the agency. They must also use their different talents and band together for a final job enabling them to escape the agency forever.

Variety writes that:

“The film reportedly focuses on a group of American ex-pats in Hong Kong. Since they’re also sheltering telekinetic and clairvoyant powers, the government is after them.”

Those with these abilities are divided into several categories:

• Movers can manipulate inanimate objects at varying distances. The actual technique is known as kinetic signature control, where the mover is trained to “hear” and identify the specific atomic frequency of any given material, and alter the gravity wave around it, usually producing the nearby air to appear “warped”. Advanced movers can work at the molecular level creating protective shields in the air around them.
• Pushers can “push” specific thoughts, memories, and even emotions into their targets. This technique can be used to gain a subject’s trust, or to have them perform any action, thinking it was their own agenda.
• Watchers are trained to self-induce visions of the future, very much like a prolonged sense of déjà vu. The technique of following the future, either of a person or object, is called subject tracking. A Watcher’s skill is primarily rated by how far they can see into the future.
• Bleeders have the ability to emit high-pitched sonic vibrations that cause ruptures in a target’s blood vessels.
• Sniffs are highly developed clairvoyants who can track the location of either people or objects over varying distances. Like psychic bloodhounds, their tracking ability is increased if they have tactile access to an object that has been in direct contact with the subject. Sniffs receive information based on images, not specific addresses, which is why identifiable landmarks help increase their effectiveness.
• Shifters can temporarily shift patterns of light on any object to create illusions to the naked eye. They work mostly on a touch basis, but once the illusion is established, it remains with the object for short periods of time. For example, a Shifter could momentarily touch a one dollar bill, altering its light pattern to appear as a one hundred dollar bill for hours, until the effect expires. The length of the shift is based on experience and ability.
• Wipers are skilled at either temporary or permanent memory erasure, an invaluable asset in espionage. Experience will dictate the accuracy of their wipes, though the danger is always present that they will eliminate a desired memory.
• Shadows are trained to block the vision of other clairvoyants such as Sniffs, making any subject within their target radius appear “dark”. Experience will enhance the size of the area they can shadow and the intensity of their shielding effect. Shadows need to be awake to perform their ability, and it is common for a detail of two Shadows to operate in shifts while protecting a person or object for extended periods.
• Stitchers are psychic surgeons trained to quickly reconstruct cells to their previous or healthy state. Using only their hands, they can heal and even “unheal” whatever they have done. For more detailed work, Stitches use a silver based cream on their hands which acts as a conductor to their ability.

Notorious is a 2009 biopic film about the life of hip hop star Christopher Wallace / Biggie Smalls / The Notorious B.I.G., who is played by Jamal Woolard. The film co-stars Angela Bassett as his mother Voletta Wallace, Derek Luke as Sean Combs, and Anthony Mackie as Tupac Shakur. Other roles include Naturi Naughton as Lil’ Kim and Antonique Smith as Faith Evans.

Notorious Movie poster

The film was released in American theaters on January 16, 2009. A teaser trailer was released in late September 2008. An exclusive trailer was played during the BET Hip Hop Awards, showing more of what Biggie does and more of Tupac’s part. The film has been rated R by the MPAA for “pervasive language, some strong sexuality including dialogue, nudity, violence and for drug content.”

The film begins in March 1997 in Los Angeles with a party playing the song “Hypnotize”. Biggie is seen sitting at his chair smoking a cigar, as dancers, including Faith Evans and Sean Combs, move to the music on the dance floor. Moments later, Biggie, Combs, and friends are driving. They stop at a red light, while Lil’ Cease is flirting with the girls outside. A black Chevrolet Impala pulls up, suddenly, and someone inside fires a single shot at Biggie. The shot freezes with a look at Biggie.

The film then flashes back through many scenes all the way to the 1980s showing Biggie as a kid. Biggie writes several songs as he’s made fun of by some school girls. Soon Biggie’s mother, Voletta Wallace, comes back to face with Biggie’s father, who left when he was a child. There’s a fight that Biggie witnesses and continues to listen to his music. Biggie soon starts “hustling” and being involved with drugs.

Then in 1990, when Biggie is seventeen, he and his friend D-Roc (Dennis L.A. White) start to hustle with Lil’ Cease. Biggie wins a rap competition on the streets and meets Lil’ Kim. After leaving the battle Voletta becomes aware of Biggie’s drug dealing and kicks him out onto the street, where he finds his own place and starts getting money.

Biggie soon finds himself in prison for 2 years. He is then released from prison and he goes to see Jan, his girlfriend and their new daughter. Biggie’s mom has forgiven him for what he has done. After making up with his mother he goes to find D-Roc and Lil’ Cease and other friends and records a demo called “Microphone Murder.”

Biggie soon meets Combs, an ambitious producer for Uptown Records. Combs promises Biggie that he’ll become a millionaire by the time he’s 21 and that a record deal is right around the corner for him. Although, Combs will only accept Biggie if he gives up the drug dealing game. Biggie agrees with Combs, and then leaves. After he leaves he begins a relationship with Lil’ Kim after he meets her walking home from work.

A few days later Biggie meets up with D-Roc and is caught with drugs by a nearby cop. Two police cars chase after Biggie and D-Roc. As they run Biggie throws his pistol into a nearby bush. Eventually they both get caught and are interviewed by a cop, who says that one of them must go away for carrying an illegal firearm. D-Roc takes the fall saying that Biggie has a chance in the rap game and if someone like him can make it then they can all make it.

Combs soon reveals to Biggie that he got fired from Uptown, but tells Biggie that some time soon he’ll get a record deal. Biggie, frustrated and upset, leaves Combs and goes back home only to discover that his mother has breast cancer. Biggie goes into a state of sadness and depression, but this turns around when Combs begins his own record label, Bad Boy Records and Biggie gets his first gift inside of a Big Mac box, which had the words ‘B.I.G. Mack’ on them, symbolizing The Notorious B.I.G. and Craig Mack. Biggie’s sadness starts to turn around.

Biggie starts recording songs for his first album, Ready To Die. Biggie records for his first album and enjoys time with Combs, Lil’ Cease and other friends. He gets down his supposed first single, but Combs refuses saying there’s another track that Biggie can record. The track is called “Juicy”. Biggie’s friends laugh at it, but Biggie eventually records the first single and everyone enjoys it.

At a photoshoot Biggie meets Faith. They begin a relationship, even though Faith has an infant named Chyna. Then they get married several days later. Meanwhile, Biggie continues to ignore his relationship with Jan and their child together.

Biggie begins a friendship with Tupac Shakur, who is already a major rapper and film star. Biggie celebrates for his album Ready To Die with Tupac and actually looks up to him. Ready To Die is amazing with fans. As this goes on Jan visits Faith and tells her that Biggie needs to see his daughter once in a while. Faith calls Biggie and gets slightly suspicious of what he is doing. Driven by this Faith goes to check on Biggie and sees him with another woman. Faith gets into a physical fight with the girl and leaves in tears and disgust.

Biggie goes to the studio to find Combs and Faith recording. Faith forgives Biggie and they make up. As this continues, tensions between Biggie, Faith and Lil’ Kim continue to grow, while recording songs.

Things change suddenly when Tupac is shot in Quad Studios and blames it on Combs, Biggie and Bad Boy Records. At The Source Awards in 1995, Death Row Records’ Suge Knight makes a speech dissing Combs and Bad Boy Records, claiming Death Row is the place to be. Soon the disagreement has escalated into an East Coast-West Coast beef and attacks are made on both sides. The friendship between Biggie and Tupac is crushed. Tupac meets up with Biggie and verbally fights him, but decides to leave when Biggie’s security pulls out a pistol. This whole thing is bringing down Biggie and making him clueless about what to do next.

A track is leaked called “Who Shot Ya?” which claims to diss Tupac. The streets heat up and continue to pick sides. Biggie and Combs claim that Who Shot Ya? was recorded before any of this happened, but Suge and Tupac claim otherwise.

Biggie is walking out of his house one day to see Lil’ Cease with a magazine with Tupac and Faith hugging each other. Biggie becomes enraged as he interrupts an interview with Faith and a local news station and starts to run after Faith, until she hides from Biggie and Biggie is forced to go away by one of his managers, Mark Pitts.

Biggie soon meets up with Faith, who is packing up and ready to leave. Faith says that Tupac and her met at the House of Blues and simply took a picture. Biggie tries to make Faith laugh and renew the relationship, but it isn’t enough and tensions grow between them.

Fights continue, until in September 1996 Tupac is shot in Las Vegas with Suge in the car with him. Tupac dies and is seen in the papers by Biggie and Lil’ Cease. Biggie calls his mother, Voletta, to consult. Voletta claims that Tupac’s mother is brave and says that he probably died because of their arguments.

Biggie has trouble handling with Tupac’s death. He didn’t expect it and no one did. On top of everything he has relationship problems with Faith, Janet and Lil’ Kim. Biggie starts to clean everything up by meeting with Jan and his first kid more and more often.

Biggie and Lil Cease are driving one day when they crash in the car, forcing Biggie to have a cane for the rest of his life. While in the hospital, Biggie is met by D-Roc, who has just been released from prison. Biggie, D-Roc and Lil’ Cease all reunite as Biggie decides to go to Los Angeles to promote for his upcoming album Life After Death.

Biggie, Lil’ Cease, D-Roc, Combs and Faith all go to Los Angeles to promote the album. Biggie gets death threats on Lil Cease’s phone several times. That night Biggie is in the back of an award show and complains about the size of his shoes. Combs calms him down. Biggie reveals that Faith is pregnant with a boy, CJ.

Before leaving Biggie calls Lil’ Kim and apologizes and tells her he would like to talk when he gets back, Biggie then leaves the award show in an SUV, with Combs in the other van. At an intersection another car pulls up and fires into their vehicle. Biggie is shot several times and dies. A few days later Voletta, Combs, Lil’ Cease, D-Roc, Lil’ Kim, Faith and others all grieve over the death of Biggie at the funeral. In a black limo Voletta leaves. Fans everywhere are shouting. As Voletta leaves she hears her son’s voice; overwhelmed with the bittersweet moment she hears B.I.G.’s single “Hypnotize”. The film closes with a message about the aftermath of his passing and reminding the viewers that no dream is too big. The sky is the limit. During the end credits, a curtain call shows clips of the actors who portray real people.

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The 81st Annual Academy Award nominations have been announced with a few surprises and some glaring omissions.

‘Best Film’ played it safe – though four (Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, Slumdog) were pretty much locked, that fifth slot many were hoping the Academy would go for something acclaimed but more risky or mainstream than they usually go for like “The Wrestler” “Revolutionary Road” or “The Dark Knight”. Instead they opted for the little seen but very Academy-friendly Weinstein-produced vehicle “The Reader”.

In fact that trio of films (Wrestler, Road, Knight) were awkwardly missing in some other key areas like director and screenplay, though all got acting noms and ‘Knight’ in particular scored a lot of technical nods.

In sheer number of nominations “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” lead the way with thirteen; followed by “Slumdog Millionaire” with ten; “The Dark Knight” and “Milk” with eight; “Wall-E” with six; “Frost/Nixon”, “Doubt” and “The Reader” with five.

Notable omissions and strangeness – “Gran Torino” “Che” “I’ve Loved You So Long” not getting any major nominations. “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” only scoring a nom for Cruz, “Happy-Go-Lucky” scoring a best script but not a best actress nomination, “In Bruges” only getting a screenplay nom, and “Gomorra” missing out on Best Foreign Language Film.

One very welcome surprise was Michael Shannon, the actor who has essentially been ignored by most of the other critics and guilds getting a nomination for his brilliant supporting turn in “Revolutionary Road”

Here’s the complete list:

BEST PICTURE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Richard Jenkins (”The Visitor”)
Frank Langella (”Frost/Nixon”)
Sean Penn (”Milk”)
Brad Pitt (”The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”)
Mickey Rourke (”The Wrestler”)

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Anne Hathaway (”Rachel Getting Married”)
Angelina Jolie (”Changeling”)
Melissa Leo (”Frozen River”)
Meryl Streep (”Doubt”)
Kate Winslet (”The Reader”)

DIRECTING
David Fincher (”The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”)
Ron Howard (”Frost/Nixon”)
Gus Van Sant (”Milk”)
Stephen Daldry (”The Reader”)
Danny Boyle (”Slumdog Millionaire)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Josh Brolin (”Milk”)
Robert Downey Jr. (”Tropic Thunder”)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (”Doubt”)
Heath Ledger (”The Dark Knight”)
Michael Shannon (”Revolutionary Road”)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams (”Doubt”)
Penelope Cruz (”Vicky Cristina Barcelona”)
Viola Davis (”Doubt”)
Taraji P. Henson (”The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”)
Marisa Tomei (”The Wrestler”)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Baader Meinhoff Complex
Class
Departures
Revanche
Waltz With Bashir

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“Bolt”
“Kung Fu Panda”
“Wall-E”

SCREENPLAY (Adapted)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Doubt”
“Frost/Nixon”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire””

SCREENPLAY (Original)
“Frozen River”
“Happy-Go-Lucky”
“In Bruges”
“Milk”
“Wall-E”

ART DIRECTION
“Changeling”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“The Duchess”
“Revolutionary Road”

CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Changeling”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

COSTUME DESIGN
“Australia”
”The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
”The Duchess”
”Milk”
”Revolutionary Road”

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)”
”Encounters at the End of the World”
”The Garden”
”Man on Wire”
”Trouble the Water”

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
“The Conscience of Nhem En”
”The Final Inch”
”Smile Pinki
”The Witness — From the Balcony of Room 306?

FILM EDITING
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

MAKEUP
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
”The Dark Knight”
”Hellboy II: The Golden Army”

MUSIC (SCORE)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Alexandre Desplat
“Defiance” James Newton Howard
“Milk” Danny Elfman
“Slumdog Millionaire” A.R. Rahman
“WALL-E” Thomas Newman”

MUSIC (SONG)
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E”
“Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire”
“O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire”

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
“La Maison en Petits Cubes”
”Lavatory — Lovestory”
”Oktapodi”
”Presto”
”This Way Up”

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
“Auf der Strecke (On the Line)”
”Manon on the Asphalt”
”New Boy”
”The Pig”
”Spielzeugland (Toyland)”

SOUND EDITING
“The Dark Knight”
“Iron Man”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”
“Wanted”

SOUND MIXING
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“‘WALL-E”
“Wanted”

VISUAL EFFECTS
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
The Dark Knight”
“Iron Man”

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Coraline is a horror novella by British author Neil Gaiman, published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and Harper Collins. It was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for Best Novella, the 2003 Nebula Award for Best Novella, and the 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers. It has been compared to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland because of its surrealism and plot based in an alternate-reality.

For Coraline Editor’s note see here

Coraline movie poster

Having recently moved into a new apartment with her loving but distracted and preoccupied parents, Coraline finds herself bored one rainy day and, upon her father’s suggestion, decides to explore the flat. She finds a locked door in the drawing room, which her mother opens and explains once led to the flat next door but was bricked up when the building (which was once a single house) was separated into apartments. That night, Coraline hears a strange noise and the door, which was previously closed by her mother, is slightly open. Read More

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is an upcoming science fiction film due for release on June 26, 2009. It is the sequel to 2007’s Transformers, which was the first live action Transformers film.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen movie poster

Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg return respectively as director and executive producer, while Shia LaBeouf reprises the role of Sam Witwicky, the human caught in the war between Autobots and Decepticons. The film introduces many more robots and the scope has been expanded to numerous countries, the most important of which is Egypt.

The main hurdle in getting the film produced was overcoming the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, as well as possible strikes by the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild. Bay met his shooting date with the help of previsualization and a scriptment by his writers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and series newcomer Ehren Kruger. Shooting from May to November 2008 predominantly took place in the United States, including the majority of scenes set in outside countries, a minimum of which was conducted in those actual nations.