Ocean's 13 hits Dubai

Shrek 3 kicks out on the 7th of June

Being king isn't for everyone, especially if you're an ornery ogre who smells like the shallow end of a swamp. When Shrek married Fiona, the last thing he wanted was to rule Far Far Away, but when his father-in-law, King Harold, suddenly croaks, Shrek is quickly fitted for the crown. Now, unless the reluctant would-be king can find a suitable replacement, he'll be royally screwed for the rest of his days. As if Shrek didn't have enough on his plate, Princess Fiona has another little surprise on the way. Reeling from the duties of running a kingdom and impending fatherhood, Shrek sets off on a quest to find the only other possible heir to the throne, Fiona's long-lost cousin Artie, a medieval high school outcast. While the ogre is away, his old nemesis Prince Charming rears his handsome head and returns to the kingdom of Far Far Away with redemption on his shallow little mind. Even with Donkey and the ever-so-suave Puss In Boots by their side, it's going to take an ogre-sized effort – and a whole lot of help from Fiona and her band of princesses – for Shrek and Artie to save the day and find their own "Happily Ever Afters."

Directed by Chris Miller, the film features the voice talents of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Rupert Everett, Justin Timberlake, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Cheri Oteri, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Amy Sedaris, John Krasinski and Ian McShane. This film is rated PG for some crude humor, suggestive content and swashbuckling action.

Movie Review: Spider-Man 3

Spidey is back!
The film has some really interesting storylines, and the opening credits gives viewers a quick catch up on what’s been happening with the previous two films in the trilogy. This time around Peter Parker is a well established hero in New York and his girlfriend Mary-Jane Watson is starting her career on Broadway - but as all things go up, they must come down. Peter is still dealing with the demons of being caught up in the Osborn murder and faces new challenges with new villains Sandman and Venom. A mysterious entity falls from the sky and bonds with human genes and amplifies their emotions and feelings to the fullest. And if all this isn’t enough, Peter Parker is struggling to keep his personal and professional life under control, including popping the big question to the love of his life.

Harry Potter’s Final Act Is Set for July 21

J. K. Rowling, the author of the record-setting Harry Potter books, announced yesterday that the seventh — and last — installment in the series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” (Link) will be published on July 21.

That will be just eight days after the release of the film version of the fifth book in the series, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” promising a huge summer for fans of the young wizard.

Millions of fans around the world are fiercely anticipating the final installment. But the end of the series, in which Ms. Rowling has hinted she may kill off one of the main characters, comes as a bittersweet finale not only for readers but also for the publishing companies, booksellers and licensees that have cashed in on the international phenomenon since it began more than nine years ago with “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”

It is hard to imagine how the publishing industry will ever replace the sensation that spawned midnight parties and all-night lines to get the books the moment they went on sale. When “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” the sixth in the series, was published in July 2005, it sold 6.9 million copies in the first 24 hours.
For this final installment the cover price will rise to $34.99, from $29.99 for the previous volume. Hopefully will be available at the bookshops across Dubai at the middle of July.

Men Love Romantic Movies Too

As Valentine's Day (Link) approaches, I have got romantic movies on my mind. Apparently so do many men! According to recent U.S. study, men are more fond of romantic movies than originally suspected (Link). Kansas State University psychology professor Richard Harris surveyed 250 men and women, having them watch a romantic film together and rate it from 0 to 7, 7 being the highest. The average score from women was about 6, while men rated the film 4.8 - much higher than expected. Reuters article say
"Everyone thinks that women like romantic movies and that they drag guys along with them", Harris told Reuters.He said movies studio executives should put aside stereotypes about "chick flicks" and recognize the fact that there is a moderate interest among men in romantic movies.
"There are a lot of men who go to these romantic movies and enjoy them. I wouldn't write off the male audience just because it is a romantic film. I would suggest marketing to the men in the audience."
The label like "chick flick" is an automatic deterrent when couples are trying to choose a movie the will both enjoy. Also, nowadays "chick flick" implies something insubstantial and silly, which seems to become a comment on women and kinds of things we find interesting and relevant. Ultimately, movies don't have to have a gender assigned to them. Romantic film is just a romantic film.

Blood Diamond

Diamonds are forever” the ads say, but they don’t say that some of these precious stones are used to fund rebellion and terror. Taken from his family, Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) is forced to work the diamond mines in Sierra Leone and finds a large, rough stone of incredible value and buries it. Soldier of fortune and pro smuggler Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio link) learns of the valuable rock and wants it for himself. Circumstance and war throw the two together and they team to recover the hidden stone in “Blood Diamond” (Link).
The movie covers old ground but with a current twist as it deals with modern issues of terrorism, political upheaval and armed conflict. But there is also the personal story of familial lover, father and son, friendship and the hint of romance. It is a nice package, well done.
It has been released last August after several months worth of controversy. Leonardo DiCaprio has been nominated at the category Best Actor earlier this month by the Oscar Academy Awards (Link).
Hopefully the movie will be screened across the cinemas in Dubai before 25th of February when the award will be announced.

The Black Dahlia

One of the movies screened at the cinemas in Dubai is "The Black Dahlia", which was released by Universal Studio on September 15th 2006.
"The Black Dahlia" weaves a fictionalized tale of obsession, love, corruption, greed and depravity around the true story of the brutal murder of a fledgling Hollywood starlet that shocked and fascinated the nation in 1947 and remains unsolved today. Two ex-pugilist cops, Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart) and Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett), are called to investigate the homicide of ambitious silver-screen B-lister Betty Ann Short (Mia Kirshner) A.K.A. "The Black Dahlia"-an attack so grisly that images of the killing were kept from the public.
While Blanchard's growing preoccupation with the sensational murder threatens his marriage to Kay (Scarlett Johansson), his partner Bleichert finds himself attracted to the enigmatic Madeleine Linscott (two-time Oscar® winner Hilary Swank), the daughter of one of the city's most prominent families-who just happens to have an unsavory connection to the murder victim.

Harry Potter's final secret: The Deathly Hallows

Few days before Christmas (Link), the British author JK Rowling (Link) has revealed the title of the final Harry Potter book - 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'.

Fans of the schoolboy wizard series discovered the title of the highly anticipated seventh book after finding and solving a hidden puzzle posted by the British author on her website (Link).

Rowling's publishing house, Bloomsbury (Link), has confirmed the title but refused to reveal when the next instalment will hit shelves.
The 41-year-old author has not yet finished the manuscript, which will take about six months to edit, so the earliest publication date is being touted as next summer.
Rowling recently revealed that she has mixed feelings about finishing the final chapter of the Potter saga.
She said: "I am now writing scenes I have planned for a dozen years.
"I feel alternately elated and overwrought. I both want, and don't want, to finish this book. But don't worry - I will."

Bobby

Starts with the night Robert F. Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in 1968 and then show how the lives of those at the hotel that evening intersected.
The movie is set against the cultural background of the time...with racism and class issues dominating the day. Al those didn't make it to The Golden Globes Awards (Link), received a warm response in Dubai during the Dubai International Film Festival (Link).

Bobby Kennedy was 42 when he captured the California Democratic primary in 1968. It looked as if he was on a trajectory to the presidency when a disturbed 24-year-old Palestinian named Sirhan Sirhan shot him while the candidate was walking through the hotel kitchen.
The cast of the film is impressive:.
Anthony Hopkins is a retired doorman who returns every afternoon to the hotel lobby for a game of chess with his long time friend, Harry Belafonte.
Demi Moore effectively plays an alcoholic singer whose career is in decline but is still able to headline the nightly show at the hotel.
Sharon Stone, who has strikingly aged and coarsened herself, is a hairdresser married to hotel manager William H. Macy. He is having an affair with lonely phone operator, Heather Graham.
Christian Slater is his kitchen manager. Macy has just fired him for his racist attitude.
Helen Hunt is the insecure wife of Martin Sheen, a well-heeled businessman and Democratic supporter, who suffers from depression.
Lindsay Lohan, who keeps piling up impressive performances while keeping her party girl image secure in the tabloids, is a troubled teen who is marrying Elijah Woods just to keep him from being posted to Vietnam.
Aston Kucher is unrecognizable but cool as the in-house drug dealer who turns two young Kennedy campaign workers onto LSD in the movie’s only real attempt at humor.

The film ends with a recorded speech by Kennedy read over scenes showing him as a charismatic, caring leader.

Bobby is currently showing at Cinestar Cinemas Deira City Center (Link) and

The 64th Golden Globe Winners

The 64th Golden Globe (Link) awards were broadcasted on air last night by NBC (Link). And the winners are:

Best Motion Picture - Drama
Babel (Link)
Anonymous Content Production/Una Producción De Zeta Film/Central Films Production; Paramount Pictures/Paramount Vantage

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Helen Mirren – The Queen

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Forest Whitaker – The Last King Of Scotland

Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy
DreamgirlsDreamWorks Pictures/Paramount Pictures

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Meryl Streep – The Devil Wears Prada

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy
Sacha Cohen – Borat:
Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Jennifer Hudson – Dreamgirls

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Eddie Murphy – Dreamgirls

Best Animated Feature Film (First time this has been awarded)
Cars
Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studio; Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Best Foreign Language Film
Letters From Iwo Jima (Japan, United States)
Warner Bros. Pictures/DreamWorks Pictures; Warner Bros. Pictures

Best Director - Motion Picture
Martin Scorsese – The Departed

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
The QueenWritten by Peter Morgan

Best Original Score - Motion Picture
The Painted Veil (Desplat)Composed by Alexandre Desplat

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
"The Song Of The Heart" – Happy Feet
Music & Lyrics By: Prince Rogers Nelson

Best Television Series - Drama
Grey's Anatomy (ABC)Touchstone Television; ABC

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama
Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer (TNT)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama
Hugh Laurie – House (FOX)

Best Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
Ugly Betty (ABC)Touchstone Television; ABC

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
America Ferrera – Ugly Betty (ABC)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock (NBC)

Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for Television
Elizabeth I (HBO)Company Pictures/channel 4/HBO Films; HBO

Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Helen Mirren – Elizabeth I (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Bill Nighy – Gideon's Daughter (BBC)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Emily Blunt – Gideon's Daughter (BBC)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Jeremy Irons – Elizabeth I (HBO)

Elf

Don't miss It!

It will be shown tomorrow evening on ONE TV.

I guess the timing is a bit wrong as Christmas (Link) was 2 weeks ago, but still the movie is great and worth seeing it. A hilariously funny and absolutely precious family film, ELF (Link) is lots of fun even if you don't have any kids to take along. The movie has got what it takes to be a memorable Christmas film you'll wanna watch again each year.

Will Ferrell stars as Buddy, a human raised in the North Pole to be an elf. After wreaking havoc in the elf community due to his size, Buddy heads to New York City to find his place in the world, and track down his father. But life in the big city is not all sugarplums and candy canes. His father is a "Scrooge" and his eight-year-old stepbrother doesn't believe in Santa.

Babel

The other big name at the Box offices across the Emirates for few weeks in a row is Babel. It was nominated for a Golden Globe award earlier this month and was the final curtain screening at the Dubai International Film Festival (Link) that ended on 17th of December.

This picture is from the Sydney's Premiere, where Cate looked stunning according the press (but not me). Brad Pitt, her co-star missed out the event as was busy with Angelina & Co.

In all cases the movie is successful and well worth seeing it.

Casino Royale : Why The New Bond Is Better

5 weeks at the TOP of the US Boxoffice and as many at the Dubai cinemas and it's still going strong!
To be frank, I never truly got into the James Bond movies of yesterday. To me, they were silly, predictable, and in many ways, laughable. Sure, it's interesting to see a young, dashing Sean Connery, a kindly old uncle type. But the only other Bond I know is a Pierce Brosnan, who is a little prissy and who made for flimsy 007.
My feelings towards Bond changed when I saw the new movie, Casino Royale. The film tells the story of James Bond's origins and how he came to be involved in this continuous string of spy adventures. Daniel Craig's Bond is interesting in that he's less suave, less debonair, and more coarse than most of the other Bonds before him. He bumbles missions, makes mistakes, loses his footing, and lets his pride get in the way. He is smart and funny, but not all the time.
Particularly interesting is the interplay between Bond and his "handler" M, played but he ever- fantastic Judi Densch, which basically dismisses Bond's letter of resignation. I enjoyed relating to this Bond and feeling like it's a triumph for the "everyman'' when he does succeed. He is just like us, he falls in love and does dumb things and every once in a while throws out a zinger.

According to Entertainment Weekly (Link), the author of the Bond books, Ian Fleming, "never meant for Bond to be a hero. Said the author: "I intended him to be a sort of blunt instrument wielded by a government department". In this movie, you definitely get a sense of that.

The movie it self has a few flaws: It's rather on the longish side and a little more complicated than seems necessary. But the majority of the film is really interesting and enjoyable. It has a great balance of explosion-gunfire-beat-them-up scenes and quieter, calmer, or tension-filled scenes. The female characters are as usual either villains or victims. Having said that, however, the main Bond girl, Vesper Lynd ( Eva Green), is allowed a surprising degree of cleverness, wit sass, and sensitivity. She is neither utterly ruthless nor a nincompoop nor simple eye candy. In fact, as far as appearance go, she is in some ways an unlikely choice: pale and freckled, seemingly only a few years out of Britain's finest school for girls. I was consistently impressed with her ability to be sharp one moment and deeply vulnerable the next, and it's refreshing to see the writers/directors of a Bond movie allowing such trails in a GIRL!