Pop Culture Buzz

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: Based on the critically acclaimed best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, and directed by Oscar winner Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Jackson, “The Lovely Bones” centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family and her killer from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal. Oscar nominee Mark Wahlberg and Oscar winners Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon star along with Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli and Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan.

This trailer is absolutely breathtaking! By the looks of the amazing special effects in this preview it appears that Jackson is revisiting his dramatic roots from his masterpiece “Heavenly Creatures”. This film has all the makings of a box office hit and an Oscar contender! Check out the movie trailer with an introduction by Peter Jackson below:

“Tron Legacy” is a sequel to the 1982 classic sci-fi Disney film “Tron” based on the popular 80’s video arcade game. Jeff Bridges will reprise his role as Kevin Flynn. The other cast members include Bruce Boxleitner (also in the original film) and John Hurt. According to the teaser the film will be presented in Disney Digital 3-D and IMAX 3D. Bad-ass electronic music duo Daft Punk has been composing the film’s score for a few months now. Just recently it was revealed at Comic.con that they have composed 24 tracks for the film already. Daft Punk + Tron = MOVIE GEEK HEAVEN!! Watch the trailer below and let me know what you think!

The trailer for “I Love You Phillip Morris” starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor is sure to shock many people. Right off the bat you’ll get to see exactly what this is all about. It looks like it is quirky, in your face and very gay but that’s why it could be so great! This obviously isn’t going to be a movie for everyone, which is why it’s being labeled as an “Indie” film. After original difficulty finding a U.S. distributor, likely due to its homosexual content, the film was re-edited.

The movie is based on the real life events of con artist, impostor, and multiple prison escapee Steven Jay Russell (Jim Carrey). While incarcerated, Russell falls in love with his cell mate, Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). After Morris is released from prison, Russell escapes from prison four times in order to be reunited with Morris. This movie could be cheesy and over the top or it could easily become Oscar bait, what do you think?

A Perfect Getaway is the thriller film by director David Twohy (”Pitch Black”, “Below”, “The Arrival” and “The Chronicles of Riddick”), starring Milla Jovovich, Timothy Olyphant and Steve Zahn. The story is based on a couple of honeymooners (Zahn and Jovovich) in Hawaii where soon they discovered that their guides are much more than just hippie tourists. The film was shot in Puerto Rico and Hawaii, and is scheduled to be released on August 12th, but I will be seeing a sneak preview on August 2nd! Check back into Pop CUlture Buzz for my movie review!

“Whip It,” the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore, stars Ellen Page (”Juno”) as Bliss, a rebellious Texas teen who throws in her small town beauty pageant crown for the rowdy world of roller derby. Marcia Gay Harden (”Mystic River,” “Pollock”) plays Bliss’ disapproving mother, while Kristen Wiig (”Saturday Night Live”) and Juliette Lewis (”Old School”) play roller-derby stars. The movie also stars Eve, Jimmy Fallon, and Zoe Bell.

Yahoo! Movies has your first look at the new trailer for director Neill Blomkamp’s sci-fi film “District 9″, which is presented by Peter Jackson. “District 9″ is based on “Alive in Joburg“, a short film produced by Neill Blomkamp, Sharlto Copley, Simon Hansen and Shanon Worley. The film was directed and co-written by Blomkamp.

Opening August 14, the movie depicts a fictional world where extraterrestrials have become refugees in South Africa. In the movie an alien race arrives on planet Earth and are rounded up and shipped to live as refugees at a site in South Africa named District 9.

A corporation is given the task of figuring out their weapon systems and discover that the technology requires alien DNA to work. When a human is infected with this alien DNA, all hell breaks loose and he becomes the most wanted man on the planet. And the only place for him to hide is District 9.

This movie trailer has had movie geeks all over the world foaming at the mouth for months, this one included! Each time more footage is released it makes me want to see it more and more. Hopefully this film won’t be a loud clunker like “Transformers 2″.

“Ponyo” (titled “Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea” in it’s native Japan when it was release in 2008) is a 2009 animated film by the Japanese anime studio Studio Ghibli, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The film did well in Japan grossing over $150 million. It is Miyazaki’s tenth film for Ghibli, his others being the Academy Award winning animated classic “Spirited Away”, “Princess Mononoke” and “Howl’s Moving Castle” among others.

The plot centers on a juvenile fish named Ponyo who wants to become a human girl. In pursuing her goal, she befriends a five-year-old human boy, Sosuke. The film releases in theaters in the US on August 14, 2009. The movie is Produced by Frank Marshall, Hayao Miyazaki & John Lasseter.

Miley Cyrus’s younger sister, Noah Cyrus, will voice Ponyo, while The Jonas Brothers little brother, Frankie Jonas will voice Sosuke. The film is rated G by the MPAA, being Hayao Miyazaki’s first film to be rated G by the MPAA since the 1998 direct-to-video release “Kiki’s Delivery Service”.

“The Box” is an upcoming horror film based on the 1970 short story “Button, Button” by author Richard Matheson. The film is written and directed by Richard Kelly (”Donnie Darko”) and stars Cameron Diaz and James Marsden as a couple who receive a box with a mysterious power. Kelly described his intent for the film, “My hope is to make a film that is incredibly suspenseful and broadly commercial, while still retaining my artistic sensibility”. “The Box” is scheduled for release on October 30, 2009 just in time to creep you out this Halloween.

“Zombieland,” a zombie comedy, has a release date of October 9th of this year and stars Woody Harrelson as “Tallahassee,” a man who looks to be quite skilled at killing zombies. The film revolves around a mismatched pair of survivors who find friendship and redemption in a world overrun by zombies. Judging from the trailer, it looks like it’s going to be loads of fun! It also stars super-cute Emma Stone, and … Bill Murray as a zombie??? Check out the kick ass trailer below!

“The Princess and the Frog” will be the 49th animated feature film by Walt Disney Animated Classics and the first 2D-animated film by Disney since 2004’s “Home on the Range”. The film, which began production under the working title “The Frog Princess”, will be an American fairy tale, Broadway-style musical set in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Disney executives said the company wanted to show its support for New Orleans by setting its newest animated film in the city.

“The Princess and the Frog” will feature the Walt Disney Studio’s first black princess named “Maddy”. Disney introduced its first non-white animated heroine in 1992’s “Aladdin”: a Middle Eastern character named Jasmine. Three years later an American Indian princess appeared in “Pocahontas” and then in 1998 a Chinese heroine starred in “Mulan”. Maddy joins eight other Disney princess characters, who have generated $3 billion in global retail sales since 1999.

“The Princess and the Frog” is set to be released on December 11th of this year, just in time for the holidays with plenty of merchandise tie ins. I love classic Disney animated films and even though the last few “Princess” animated movies have been financially succesful, none have had the same impact as “The Little Mermaid” or “Beauty & the Beast”. The trailer for this new film gives me hope that the studio still has some life in them yet! Watch it below:

Guy Ritchies next film “Sherlock Holmes” is of course based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective “Sherlock Holmes”, but by the looks of this fantastic trailer the film version will also be a zany buddy pick with tons of action. The movie stars Robert Downey, Jr. as Holmes, Jude Law as Watson and Rachel McAdams as the female lead. Set in 1891, the film revolves around Holmes and Watson stopping a conspiracy to destroy Britain. The film began shooting in October 2008 and will be released on Christmas Day 2009. I am calling it now, this will be one of the biggest films of 2009.

“Julie & Julia” centers on a frustrated temp secretary who embarks on a yearlong culinary quest to cook all 524 recipes in Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” She chronicles her trials and tribulations in a blog that catches on with the food crowd. Up front and center are the performances by the incredible Meryl Streep and the sweet as pie Amy Adams.

Director Nora Ephron (”Sleepless in Seattle” and “You’ve Got Mail”) adapted the screenplay from Julie Powell’s book “Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen”. The film is actually an adaptation of two bestselling memoirs: Julie Powell’s “Julie & Julia” and “My Life in France”, by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme (for all the foodies out there).

Check out the trailer and leave your thoughts in the comments below!

“The Road” is a post-apocalyptic tale of a journey taken by a father and his young son over a period of several months, across a landscape blasted by an unnamed cataclysm that destroyed all civilization and, apparently, most life on earth. The film stars Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron. The novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction so there is a lot riding on this film to be a masterpiece of sorts. The look, feel and over all impression I got from the trailer below is that this film may be the “it” movie of 2009.

The Weinstein’s have finally released the first movie trailer for Rob Marshall’s “Nine”. Marshall, who directed “Chicago”, is the winner of six Academy Awards including Best Picture. The story for “Nine” is inspired by the classic Fellini film “8 1/2″. The original 1982 Broadway production was nominated for twelve Tony Awards and winning five, including Best Musical.

The musical tells the story of world famous film director Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) as he prepares his latest picture and balances the numerous women in his life including his wife (Marion Cotillard), a producer, a mistress (Penelope Cruz), a film star muse (Nicole Kidman), an American fashion journalist (Kate Hudson), the whore from his youth (Fergie), his confidant and costume designer (Judi Dench), and his deceased mother (Sophia Loren).

The trailer for “Nine” is an absolute visual and aural delight, but did we expect anything less from Marshall? It definitely looks every bit like Oscar bait with its stunning cinematography, exquisite musical sequences and choreography and, of course, all the immense talent involved. Check it out for yourself below!

“H2″ will pick up at the exact moment the first movie stopped and follow the aftermath of Michael Myers’ murderous rampage through the eyes of heroine Laurie Strode. The sequel will continue writer/director Rob Zombie’s reboot that electrified the Myers mythos with his unique rocker/director brand of fiery violence. As a fan of Zombie’s earlier film work, and as someone who hated his “Halloween” remake, I can only hope this new film is as terifying and original as his horrific classic “The Devils Rejects”, I guess we’ll see.