The announcement ceremony of the 2013 Oscar Nominations was certainly one to remember, and not necessarily for host Seth MacFarlane and Emma Stone’s wisecracks: Once again nine nominees for Best Picture. “Argo”, “Les Miserables”, “Lincoln”, “Life of Pi”, “Silver Linings Playbook” and “Zero Dark Thirty” were expected. A lot of love for “Amour” and “Beasts […]
It’s the final stretch before Christmas – a crazy time for last minute shopping and planning. This is also one of the wildest series of days for movie releases in the entire year. Here’s a handy countdown calendar to help you keep track of what’s coming-out and when: Wednesday “The Guilt Trip” – Buddy road […]
Best Animated Feature Brave Frankenweenie Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted ParaNorman The Pirates! Band of Misfits Best Director Tim Burton – “Frankenweenie” Chris Butler and Sam Fell – “ParaNorman” Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath and Conrad Vernon – “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” Peter Lord and Jeff Newitt – “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” Peter Ramsey […]
It’s not easy for a smaller studio to break into the world of big-budget animated films. Many have tried – most have failed. The latest attempt comes, not from Hollywood, but Bollywood! “Delhi Safari” is the first feature-length 3D animated film produced in India. The original version starred the voices of major Bollywood stars. The […]
From the trailers, “Wreck-It Ralph” looked to be fun, unique, bright, and special. Unfortunately, while it is colorful, this Disney animated comedy is underwhelming. Ralph (voiced by John C. Reilly) is the villain in a 30-year-old arcade game called “Fix-It Felix, Jr.” Ralph is tired of being the bad guy and desperately wants a hero […]
When I was four years old, my mother took me to see “Finding Nemo”. It was my first animated film on the big screen. And…I cried and laughed and cheered. Even at a very young age, “Nemo” made an impression on me, as did the very talented people at Pixar. And I’ve admired the studio […]
Pixar sequels have been pretty successful at the box office and so far they’ve been very good films that stand on their own: “Toy Story 2”, “Toy Story 3” and “Cars 2”. This streak will be tested next year with the prequel – “Monsters University”. And now comes the news is that Pixar is planning […]
UPDATE: “Brave” opens with a strong $66.7M for the weekend. This marks the 5th highest-grossing open for a Pixar film behind “Toy Story 3” ($110.3M), “The Incredibles” ($70.5M), “Finding Nemo” ($70.3M) and “Up” ($68.1M). “Brave” barely beat “Cars 2″‘s open from last year ($66.1M). We’ll see if that changes once the actuals come-out. ——————————————————————————– It’s […]
Pixar’s track record for great animated movies has been close to perfect. I wasn’t a huge fan of “Wall-E”, though many think it’s the studio’s best. I liked last year’s “Cars 2” a lot, though it didn’t get the overall critical reaction it deserved. The studio’s 13th feature, “Brave”, is their first with a female […]
It’s always one of the most eagerly-anticipated movie events of the year: the release of a Pixar film. The studio’s latest, “Brave”, comes out this Friday and the promotion and publicity for the film has been heavy. But will that result in a huge box office? The average opening for a Pixar movie is $61.5M. […]