He seems to have the ability to make the caricature suit their characters in the movie or the TV shows. He has successfully made them look mean, intelligent, sexy and stupid. It is amazing how he has got the eyes just right on everybody and how the distortions don’t make them unrecognizable. He has also given some thought to backgrounds by keeping it green for LOST, tiled for HOUSE, stars for Ugly Betty, etc.

When you consider who made the most money-wise, Transformer ROTF tops the list without doubt at a whooping $402,111,870. Even though Michael Bay has spent a squillion dollars making this movie, it must have felt worth every bit at the end. This number is whole hundred million ahead of the next in list, Harry Potter 6. Harry Potter 6 takes the second place by making $300, 880,041. Both the movies have been very popular among the young crowd.

Star Trek follows closely at $257,730,019 which is the eleventh film and was released in May 2009. This film is the highest earning film among the Star Trek series and has gained the best reviews so far. X-men Origins: Wolverine starring Hugh Jackman earned $179,883,157 and earned a position among the top ten money making films of 2009. This movie was a treat for Wolverine fans with its action packed scenes.

The military themed G.I. Joe made $149,643,000 and took the fifth spot. This film has action, adventure and science fiction all rolled into one. Terminator Salvation with its heavy action and violence takes the sixth place with $125,322,469. Directed by McG, it has a lot of action but the reviews have not all been good. In spite of a lot of bad reviews, it is surprising that this made it to the list of top 10 money making movies.

With a small difference in the numbers, District 9 came seventh with $114,873,680. This movie has got very good reviews and was well loved. The unpredictable nature of the film kept the audience glued to it till the end.  District 9 was followed by Watchmen which earned a good $107, 509,799. Watchmen didn’t disappoint the viewers like most films based on books do. It has exceeded most expectations and come within the top ten list.

Taking the ninth position in the top 10 best money making movies is Zombieland which earned $60,823,000. This funny horror film was liked well by the audience and moved the movie into the top 10 list. Released in the beginning of the year, Underworld 3 managed to stay on the list with $45,802,315. It was loved by all the Underworld fans as it is a prequel to the previous movies. This movie definitely puts the first two movies to shame with its excellent plot line and action.

This seems to have been a year with all action packed movies taking the top spots. When we look at the list, it is obvious that the viewers love a good plotline. All the mushy, love stories seem to have taken the back benches for this year.

Avatar’ is No. 1 again, soars past $1 billion worldwide

Thanks to astronomic word-of-mouth, inflated 3-D ticket prices, and consecutive holiday weekends that began on a Friday, Avatar continued its seemingly unstoppable climb to the Hallelujah Mountains of U.S. and global box office. According to estimates from Hollywood.com Box Office, James Cameron’s sci-fi opus grossed $68.3 million over New Years weekend, a tiny 10 percent drop from Christmas weekend for a $352.1 million domestic total — easily the biggest third weekend in the U.S. ever (2002’s Spider-Man had held the record with $45 million). Much more impressively, in just 17 days, Avatar has surpassed $1 billion in global box office. To put that in perspective, it took The Dark Knight pretty much its entire theatrical run just to make it to that milestone. (Another landmark: $66.4 million of Avatar’s worldwide total is from IMAX theaters, a record for the mega-screen format.)

]]> http://www.mynewmovies.net/twisted-disney-princesses/feed/ 1 http://www.mynewmovies.net/the-top-10-asian-movies/ http://www.mynewmovies.net/the-top-10-asian-movies/#comments Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:40:08 +0000 admin http://www.mynewmovies.net/?p=250 Hollywood is well known as a global capital of movie industry, but if you take look on Asian movies you’ll find that they are not so far away from Hollywood. movies quality. Here’s the list of some of the most popular movies made in Asia.

10. Kung-Fu Hustle or Shaolin Soccer

Kung Fu Hustle  is a 2004 Hong Kong action comedy film directed and produced by, and starring Stephen Chow. The other film producers were Po Chu Chui and Jeffrey Lau, while the screenplay was written by Xin Huo, Chan Man Keung and Kan-Cheung Tsang. Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu, Danny Chan Kwok Kwan and Bruce Leung co-starred in prominent roles.

After achieving commercial success with Shaolin Soccer, Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia began to develop Kung Fu Hustle in 2002. Although the film features the return of a number of retired actors from 1970s Hong Kong action cinema, it is in stark contrast to other martial arts films around the same time that have made the biggest impact in the West, such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero.

9. House of Flying Daggers

The movie House of Flying Daggers is such a perfect wuxia film, that it is no wonder it lists among Top 10 Asia movies. There have been hundreds of wuxia films before this one, but the treatment this film receives sets it apart from the rest. The story revolves around two government officers who are seeking to destroy a house of rebels, called the House of Flying Daggers. The house is named after its weapon of choice and there are many fascinating sequences using flying daggers in the movie. The only hope they have of finding this house is a blind old lady and pretending to be rebels they coax her into taking them to the house. What follows are exciting sequences and plot twists in which all three of them turn against each other.

8. Internal Affairs

Infernal Affairs is a 2002 Hong Kong crime-thriller film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It tells the story of a police officer who infiltrates the Triads, and a police officer secretly working for the same gang. The Chinese title means “the non-stop path”, a reference to Avici, the lowest level of hell in Buddhism. The English title is a word play combining the law enforcement term ‘internal affairs’ with the adjective Infernal. Due to its commercial and critical success, Infernal Affairs was followed by a prequel, Infernal Affairs II, and a sequel, Infernal Affairs III, both released in 2003.

7. Jet Li’s Fearless

Touted as Jet Li’s last venture in martial arts movies, Fearless is the story of a real life martial arts master Huo Yuanjia (1868-1910), founder of the Jingwu Sports Federation. His true story is extremely inspiring- he fell because of his own hubris, rose from the ashes and then set an example that inspired a nation. Jet Li’s portrayal of this renowned fighting master is power packed and goes far beyond what has been required of the actor in simple martial arts movies. Huo Yuanjia, son of a fighting master is discouraged from fighting because of his frail physical condition. However, Huo masters kung fu and with dreams of fame and glory. He soon becomes a master, but his luck runs out when he challenges and kills another fighting master. In revenge, his entire family is killed and he is dishonored. Roaming the countryside in grief and shame, he is rescued by a blind girl who teaches him a lesson or two about honor and humility. After a lapse of few years, Huo is back in the fighting arena, this time to restore his family’s honor. His skills and faith are put to the most stringent tests, but he comes out smelling of flowers.

6. Hero

This Chinese wuxia movie starring Jet Li treats us to breath-taking martial arts between Jet Li who remains nameless and some deadly assassins. It is no wonder that it is one of the Top 10 Asia Movies. The assassins are out to get the King of Qin. After defeating the three assassins, Nameless (Jet Li) comes to the court to collect his reward. The entire movie plays as flashbacks to how he defeated the assassins and saved the country. There is a twist when the king discovers this is a false tale and comes up with a theory which depicts Nameless as a co-plotter. This movie keeps you on your toes and is interesting till the very end. Throughout the movie there is a continuous shift between the real and imagined tales and it keeps you guessing as to which is the truth.

5. Battle Royale

Battle Royale is one of the controversial movies of Japan about 42 ninth- graders. Reminiscent of William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’ but far more sinister, the movie is a twisted plot where the students are deceived and taken to an island and given weapons. They have to kill each other in order to survive in the island as only the last person alive gets to go home. This complex movie is naturally quite disturbing but is also equally insightful as it makes one wonder what they would do in similar situations. It is a brutal, violent film with erotic undertones. This movie has included pockets of resistance and a few moments portray female empowerment as well. Its amazing storyline will keep you rooted to the spot till it gets over.

4. The Legend of Drunken Master

Drunken Master II is a 1994 Hong Kong kung fu film directed by Lau Kar-Leung and starring Jackie Chan as Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung. It was Jackie Chan’s first traditional style martial arts film since The Young Master (1980). The film was released in North America as The Legend of Drunken Master in 2000.

The film is a follow-up to Chan’s 1978 film Drunken Master, directed by Yuen Woo-ping, but not a direct storyline sequel. Another film, Drunken Master 3 (1994, directed by Lau Kar-Leung) features little in common with either this or its predecessor, and is not considered a sequel.

3. Oldboy

Oldboy is a great cinematic experience and is a story about a man named Oh Dae-Su. It starts off with him getting kidnapped on his way home after being arrested for public drunkenness. He is put in a small room with a TV and during his captivity, his wife gets murdered and he becomes the prime suspect. He is released after 15 years feeling angry and confused. The story then deals with the torment and frustration of the protagonist trying to find out who did this to him and why. He is fuelled by this desire to exact his revenge. The acting done by Min-sik Choi who plays Oh Daesu has to be watched to be believed. At times bizarre, the movie depicts the emotions of the characters very vividly. With an end that will blow your mind, the movie is top notch with its excellent music and special effects.

2.  New Police Story

New Police Story is a 2004 Hong Kong crime-action film starring Jackie Chan and directed by Benny Chan..The film begins with a highly intoxicated police Inspector Chan Kwok Wing  drinking one whiskey after another. Later, he collapses in an alley, and is found by a stranger, played by Nicholas Tse.

The timeline then moves back a year, to show the heroics of Inspector Chan, as he disguises himself as a news cameraman in order to subdue a man holding a woman hostage in Central.

Soon after that incident, a group of rich, rebellious youths rob a bank. They explicitly ask a bank worker to call the police, and are confronted by the police outside the Legislative Council building. They play a sadistic game, in which they are awarded money for shooting police officers with machineguns, before making their escape.

1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is definitely a masterpiece. All the characters have performed excellently and this epic story has been told in a very creative way. This movie created history with its action scenes, the kind which were never seen before either in the West or amongst Asian films. The movie also has the eastern culture embedded throughout its narrative, wonderfully showcased for the viewer.  There are parts of the movie where certain philosophies are questioned, especially by one of the main characters Jen.  Jen abuses the powers given to her which includes the magical sword, the Green Destiny. Her rebellion is a very strong one and one will wonder if the love she finds in the desert will save her. With top notch cinematography, direction, plotline and acting, this is truly one of the best movies ever made..

This movies didn’t make on list, but deserve honorable mention:

• Ringu

• Gwoemul

• Ong Bak

• The Killer

• Better Tomorrow

]]> http://www.mynewmovies.net/the-top-10-asian-movies/feed/ 3 http://www.mynewmovies.net/russian-mafia-movies/ http://www.mynewmovies.net/russian-mafia-movies/#comments Sun, 29 Nov 2009 01:59:41 +0000 admin http://www.mynewmovies.net/?p=241 Though not as prominent as their Italian-American counterparts, Russian or FSU mobsters have appeared in a number of Hollywood movies usually as villains or antagonists. These include:

10. We Own the Night

The film is set in Brooklyn, New York from November 1988 through early April 1989. Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix) is the manager of a successful El Caribe nightclub in Brighton Beach that is frequented by Russian gangster and drug lord Vadim Nezhinski (Alex Veadov).

Bobby has distanced himself from his police chief father Burt Grusinsky (Robert Duvall) and his police captain brother Joseph Grusinsky (Mark Wahlberg), preferring to remain on the sidelines and enjoy a hedonistic life with his girlfriend Amada (Eva Mendes). When police forces led by Joseph make a raid on Bobby’s nightclub, hoping to net Vadim, Bobby refuses to cooperate. The incident strains his relationship with his father and brother even more, to the point that he and Joseph exchange blows.

9. Police Story 4: First Strike

Police Story 4: First Strike, released in English-speaking markets as Jackie Chan’s First Strike, is a 1996 action-adventure film made in the typical humorous style of Jackie Chan.Jackie reprises his role as Chan Ka-Kui (also known in some versions as Jackie) yet again as a Hong Kong cop who works with Interpol to track down and arrest an illegal weapons dealer. Later Jackie realizes that things are not as simple as they appear and soon find himself a pawn of an organisation posing as Russian intelligence.The movie was shot partially inBrisbane in Queensland, Australia, where the last half of the movie is based. Chinatown, Brisbane in Fortitude Valley and Underwater World on the Sunshine Coast were used. The movie was shot in the months between August and November 1996.

8.  In Hell

Kyle LeBlanc(Van Damme) is an American working overseas in Russia. When he hears his wife being attacked over the phone, Kyle rushes home to find that he’s too late. The man who killed his wife is found not guilty on lack of evidence. So Kyle takes the law into his own hands, and kills the man to avenge his wife’s death. He is sentenced to life in prison without parole. The Russian prison he is sent to is tough, and the warden amuses himself by putting on fights where he fills his pockets with money by betting on the fights. Kyle begins to break and go crazy, so he is forced into these fights because the warden knows he is a sure thing. Kyle’s cellmate 451 begins to make him think of what he is fighting for. With that, Kyle knows now he must fight another battle: the fight for inner peace. It is the only way he can become the man he once was.

7. Bad Boys II

Eight years after the events of the first film, Detective Mike Lowrey and Detective Marcus Burnett are investigating the flow of ecstasy into Miami. Their intel and surveillance of boats coming in from Cuba leads them to a KKK meeting/drug drop in a swamp, Mike accidentally shoots Marcus in the buttocks which leads Marcus to further question if he still wants to partner with Mike.

Meanwhile, a neurotic Cuban kingpin named Johnny Tapia (Jordi Molla), who supplies Miami’s drug traffic, wonders why his boats are picked up by the cops and tells his men to change the schedules once again. Two members of the Russian Mob, Alexei and Josef, receive drugs from Tapia to run their nightclub businesses, but end up giving nearly half of their profits to Tapia. Alexei and Josef go to negotiate with Tapia to recoup some of their profits, but this ends in Josef’s murder by Tapia’s men and Alexei’s forced surrender of his Russian nightclubs after his wife and son are threatened by Tapia.

6. Be Cool

Chili Palmer (John Travolta) helps Edie Athens (Uma Thurman), the widow of an executed friend, Tommy Athens (James Woods), to resurrect a record company using the talents of young and talented female vocalist and songwriter, Linda Moon (Christina Milian). The plot is complicated by several facts:

• A loan-shark subplot from Get Shorty of “who owns who”, Chili makes deals and owns all the players as a “producer”.
• The Russian Mafia are trying to kill Chili because he witnessed the execution of Athens.
• Chili takes Moon despite her contractual obligations to Nick Carr and Raji.
• Athens’ record company owes money to a gangster-type producer, Sin LaSalle (Cedric the Entertainer).

5. The Boondock Saints

The Boondock Saints is a 1999 crime thriller film written and directed by Troy Duffy. The film stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus as Catholic Irish American fraternal twins, Conner and Murphy MacManus, who become vigilantes after killing two members of the Russian Mafia in self-defense. After a “message from God”, the brothers, together with their friend David Della Rocco, set out to rid their home city of Boston, Massachusetts of crime and evil; all the while being pursued by Special Agent Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe).

4. The Jackal

A joint mission of the American FBI and the Russian MVD leads to the death of the younger brother of a Russian mobster. In retaliation, the mobster hires an enigmatic assassin known only by the pseudonym “The Jackal” (Bruce Willis) to carry out the killing of an unknown-to-the-viewer target. Meanwhile, the Russian MVD capture one of the mobster’s henchman. On interrogation he reveals information about the Jackal. This coupled with the documents recovered from the henchman’s briefcase lead the FBI and MVD to assume the target for the retaliatory hit is FBI Director Donald Brown.

3. RocknRolla

Lenny Cole (Tom Wilkinson) is a crime boss who calls the shots in London’s underworld and real estate market. We learn all about Lenny from Archy (Mark Strong)—his second in command—who serves as the film’s narrator. When a wealthy Russian real estate tycoon and organized crime figure by the name of Yuri Omovich (Karel Roden) looks to Lenny for help on a major new deal, Lenny is eager to assist (for a very large fee, of course). Yuri agrees to pay, and as a show of faith, he insists that Lenny borrow his “lucky” painting.

2. GoldenEye

In 1986, MI6 agents 007 (James Bond, played by Pierce Brosnan) and 006 (Alec Trevelyan, played by Sean Bean), infiltrate an illicit Soviet chemical weapons facility at ArkhangelskColonel Arkady Ourumov (Gottfried John), but Bond steals an airplane and escapes from the facility as it explodes. and plant explosive charges. Trevelyan is apparently captured and shot dead by

Nine years later (1995), Bond arrives in Monte Carlo to follow Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen), a suspected member of the Janus crime syndicate, who has formed a suspicious relationship with a Canadian Navy admiral. She murders the admiral to allow Ourumov (now a General) to steal his identity. The next day, they steal a prototype French Tiger helicopter that can withstand an electromagnetic pulse, despite Bond’s efforts to stop them. They fly it to a bunker in Severnaya, where they massacre the staff and steal the control disk for the dual GoldenEye satellite weapons. The two program one of the GoldenEye satellites to destroy the complex with an electromagnetic pulse, and escape with traitorous programmer Boris Grishenko (Alan Cumming). The pulse also destroys three Russian MiG-29 aircraft dispatched to check on the facility; causing one to crash into the complex, utterly devastating it. Natalya Simonova (Izabella Scorupco), the lone survivor, contacts Grishenko and arranges to meet him in St. Petersburg, where he betrays her to Janus.

1. Lord Of War

Lord of War is a 2005 political crime thriller written and directed by Andrew Niccol which stars Nicolas Cage. It was released in the United States on September 16, 2005, with the DVD following on January 17, 2006 and the Blu-ray Disc on July 27, 2006. Cage plays an illegal arms dealer with similarities to Russian arms dealers Viktor Bout and Leonid Minin. The film was officially endorsed by the human rights group Amnesty International for highlighting the trafficking of weapons by the international arms industry.

Honorable Mention:

Eastern Promises

25th Hour

Training Day

Red Heat

The Dark Knight.

Edge Of Darkness 2010 Movie Poster

Production

In 2002, Martin Campbell announced that he was planning to adapt Edge of Darkness for the cinema. Active development began in early 2007 when Campbell met with producer Graham King, who first enlisted Australian playwright Andrew Bovell to write, and then William Monahan (fresh from winning an Academy Award for King’s The Departed) to re-write the screenplay. Michael Wearing and the BBC are also co-producing the film. Filming began on August 18, 2008 in Boston, Massachusetts. A scene where Craven scatters his daughter’s ashes at a beach was filmed at Rockport on September 25 and 26.They shot some scenes in Merrimac, Massachusetts from September 15, 2008 to September 18, 2008.

Additionally, Gibson and his crew set up shop for filming in western Massachusetts, reportedly staying in Northampton. They shot in various locations in the Pioneer Valley, including Tully O’Reilly’s Pub and the Northampton Athletic Club, both in Northampton. Also, Sugarloaf Mountain was shut down for a few days while they rented it out. They also filmed at the Notch Visitor Center, Rt. 116, Amherst.

]]> http://www.mynewmovies.net/edge-darkness-2010/feed/ 0 http://www.mynewmovies.net/robin-hood-2010/ http://www.mynewmovies.net/robin-hood-2010/#comments Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:24:50 +0000 admin http://www.mynewmovies.net/?p=201 Robin Hood is an upcoming epic film based on the Robin Hood legend, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe. It is due for release on May 14, 2010. The film began development in 2007 when Universal acquired a script entitled Nottingham, depicting a heroic Sheriff of Nottingham to be played by Crowe. Scott’s dissatisfaction with the script led him to delay filming, and during 2008 it was rewritten into a story about Robin Hood becoming an outlaw, with the position of being Sheriff as part of the story. Scott dropped the latter notion and Nottingham was retitled to reflect the more traditional angle.

Robin Hood Movie Poster

It is late 12th century England and Sir Robin of Loxley, Earl of Huntington, (Russell Crowe) has returned to his North English village after fighting in the Third Crusade. Upon arrival, the nobleman and his servant discover the oppression caused by the new Sheriff of Nottingham (Matthew Macfadyen). Sir Robin uses his intelligence and military skills to free his home village from tyranny and corruption in England, by taking back what is rightfully his, and by taking back what rightfully is theirs, to restore justice and happiness to England. Robin must also win the affection of the recently widowed Lady Marion (Cate Blanchett) while leading his Merry Men of Sherwood Forest to victory and fairness.

]]> http://www.mynewmovies.net/robin-hood-2010/feed/ 0 http://www.mynewmovies.net/are-some-actors-guilty-of-boring-screen-costumes/ http://www.mynewmovies.net/are-some-actors-guilty-of-boring-screen-costumes/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:12:52 +0000 admin http://www.mynewmovies.net/?p=197 Earlier this year we conducted a survey into the most celebrated fashions from films and named as the most iconic dresser in cinematic history was Audrey Hepburn. Okay, so this isn’t surprising. Miss Hepburn was a respected trendsetter (we’ve discussed many of her most popular onscreen styles from the ballet flats/ polo neck/ cropped trousers ensemble in Funny Face to the little black dress in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and though she became synonymous with some of these looks, it was more her general spirit of elfin sophistication that established her reputation as a style queen. And we think more stars should follow in her fashionable footsteps…

Matt McAllister, Total Sci-Fi editor, says: “With his score for Star Wars, John Williams created one of the most iconic and unforgettable soundtracks of all time. Most people could identify the movie from just a few bars of the main title music, and Williams’ work across all of the Star Wars movies really does create a palpable sense of intergalactic space battles and galaxy-spanning adventures. For many moviegoers, this is now the definitive sound of science fiction.” Coming second with a following of trekkies is Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan composed by James Horner, and third is the synthesised sounds of Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack. Star Trek the Motion Picture came in fourth and Queens score for Flash Gordon fifth. Also in the top ten are 1951s The Day the Earth Stood Still, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (another John Williams creation), Aliens and the 1986 animation Transformers the Movie.

It seems Star Wars is one of those films never to be forgotten, especially since Star Wars: The Concert will be opening in California on 1st October!