TV and Movie News (page 1551)

With the holiday season in full swing, most people find themselves run ragged and stressed out from the shopping mall stampede.  One way to deal with the holiday rush is to take a two hour pause and indulge in a film-break.  Since the holidays are all about family, though, here are a few ideas that will work for the whole gang.

Tangled – A Disney retelling of the classic Grimm Brothers fairytale, Rapunzel, “Tangled” hits theatres Thanksgiving weekend.

Why do people insist on comparing apples and oranges?  Or, more to the point, why do fans feel the need to compare the Harry Potter series to the Twilight series?  The two couldn’t be more different aside from the fact that both film series are wildly popular and the books that spawned the films were both categorized in the very broad, Young Adult area of publishing.  Past that, the similarities end.

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1” has broken records, not that it is the first movie in the franchise to do this.  Over the weekend, the film brought in $125 million.  This number includes the revenue from midnight screenings that took place across the country.  This box office performance puts “Deathly Hallows” ahead of the previous Potter topper, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” which took in $102.

Hollywood is full of greed.  Movie stars make movies strictly because someone backs up a truckload of money to their house and dumps it at their feet.  Directors sacrifice story for the sake of squeal-inducing special effects that create big revenue.  Producers seek out only those stories most likely to make over $100 million the first weekend.

But sometimes good storytelling is behind a decision and not greed.

Here are some plot points and important information that you may need to take in with you to fully appreciate the 7th film in the Harry Potter series.  Please see Harry Potter: A Synopsis (Part One) for recaps of the first three films.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire:

In this fourth film, Harry, Ron and Hermione are hitting adolescence and it's hitting back.  Hogwart's is involved in a wizarding competition known as the "Tri-Wizard Tournament".

Seven films is a lot  (and there's going to be one more).  Even the most die-hard Harry Potter fan is likely to forget a couple of the important plot points.  Here you can find some friendly little reminders of the more important points in each of the first three movies.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Or Philosopher Stone in the UK and Canada):

Here we meet the three main witches and wizards that we will follow throughout the years; Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger.

There is a bad rumor going around that Comic Book Geeks are nothing but 40 year old guys who live in their parents basements and could never get a girlfriend.  This is a vicious lie.  Pure speculation.  Just another way in which anti-intellectuals bad-mouth those with big brains.

Okay, there could be the tiniest bit of truth to those rumors.

However, some of the sweetest guys I know are comic book geeks.

I stood in line tonight with a massive crowd of die-hard Harry Potter fans for the premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.  Three theaters had been sold out for midnight showings and the line-ups began hours before the movie was to start.  The most ardent fans dressed up as their favorite characters or in clothes meant to show that they belonged to Gryffindor.

As the lights went down, the cheers went up.

Need a great idea for a girls-night party?  How about getting together with your BFFs and watching some of the best chick flicks, ever?!  Below are five possibilities you can use.

Love Actually – This film is by far one of the best romantic comedies out there.  The movie weaves together several different storylines that concentrate on many different kinds of love.  From first love to fatherly love and from unexpected love to forbidden love and many types in between, Love Actually covers them all.

Movies become classics because they stand the test of time.  Something either in the plots, or in the characters, strikes a chord with movie-goers.  As a result they stay in people’s hearts and minds long after their images have left the silver screen.  Here are only three out of hundreds of classics that have helped to shape the cinematic landscape.

Citizen Kane – This film almost always makes critics’ top ten lists for best movies of all time.