January calls for an exciting film-a-thon with 11 new movies being released this month, some of which have already been released :
January 6

Stars: Fernanda Andrade, Simon Quarterman and Evan Helmuth
A horror genre film, The Devil Inside screams of exorcism, as Isabella goes through a series of illegal exorcism to help her possessed mother recover but later discovers about her very own mother murdering three others during her own exorcism.
(The Devil Inside is top on the Box Office with a weekend gross of $34.5 million and $34.5 million to date, to tepid critical response. )

Stars: Dennis Quaid
Beneath the Darkness unfolds the mystery behind a mortician, Ely Vaughn, as a group of high-school goers expose the secret behind Vaughn’s roommate: a woman’s corpse.
January 12

Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Giovanni Ribisi and Mark Wahlberg
Contraband depicts a thriller-action sequence of events when a former smuggler Chris Farrady makes his way to Panama to pay off his brother-in-law’s debt to a drug lord by investing in counterfeit bills.
(Box Office updates on Contraband hitting first place with $8.7 million on Friday.)

Stars: Paige O’Hara and Robby Benson
This animated 1991 re-release takes audience back into the olden days as the studious book-loving inventor’s daughter, Belle, and the handsome man turned ugly monster, Beast, returns to the big screen with amazingly performed chords and set pieces like the “Busby Berkeley-style dancing-kitchenware spectacular, ”Be Our Guest,” and the romantic ballroom centerpiece”.
January 13

Stars: Peter Facinelli, Jaimie Alexander and Michael Madsen
Loosies follows Bobby through his professional pick-pocket business in New York’s subway, only ending up leaving a woman, Lucy, three-month pregnant after a one-night stand.

Stars: Jessica Brown-Findlay, Felicity Jones and Sebastian Koch
Albatross is a drama and comedy film of an intellectual, Beth, as her family’s quite existence is ruined after the affair unfolds between Emilia, the new housekeeper, and Jonathan, Beth’s father.

Stars: Queen Latifah, Keke Palmer and Dolly Parton
Joyful noise takes on the musical genre with catchy and feet-tapping numbers, heading straight to The National Joyful Competition as Vi Rose Hill takes the directions on her hands in G.G. Sparrows choir ensemble.
(Beauty and the Beast 3D takes the second place after Contraband, taking $5.6 million on Friday.)
———————————
Upcoming Movies:
January 20

Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Michael Ealy and India Eisley
Another vampire-thrilled installment, Underworld: Awakening takes on the war by both humans and vampires as they fight to eradicate both species. Vampire Selene takes on the battle to fight for her humankind after escaping 12 years of imprisonment.

Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrence Howard
A WWII centric film, Red Tails is a story about an African-American pilot team in a Tuskegee training program. As the Africans take the backseat to the Americans when airpower is needed despite their ample flying skills, they risk their lives and own the skies to combat their enemy counterparts when a sudden dangerous mission arises.

Stars: Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Channing Tatum, Michael Douglas and Gina Carano
An action-packed thriller film, Haywire takes the role of a former marine, Mallory Kane, into prominence as she sets on kick-ass revenge when she is betrayed by whom she always reports her worldwide underground missions to.
January 27

Stars: Katherine Heigl and Jason O’Mara
Divorcee Stephanie Plum, unemployed and penniless, is hired as a recovery agent at a cousin’s company. She brings in a murder suspect, Joe Morellia, who turns out to be a former sweetheart from her high school days. As One for the Money goes on, Morellia’s fall for Plum takes on.

Stars: Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney and Frank Grillo
The Grey follows an oil-rig crew, with leader Ottway, in the bleak Alaskan wilderness after their plane crashes. With only a few days left to seek shelter as the freezing temperatures and treacherous terrains start to hamper their efforts, they are in a dead zone with a pack of wolves preying on them as they get weaker.

Stars: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks and Jamie Bell
Man on a Ledge takes on the crime-thriller genre as it explores the root cause of Nick Cassidy’s crime after being accused of a $40 million jewel theft by a corrupt businessman David Englander. The ex-con grabs the attention by planting himself on a ledge of a high-rise hotel, in the hope to clear his name.
Entertainment Weekly — Coming Soon ( Header pic courtesy of Paper-Leaf )
The Dark Knight Rises continues to be the most anticipated film of the year as Entertainment weekly reveals three new images of the film.
The images unveil Bane’s evil disposition in Gotham yet again, whilst not forgetting the Gotham’s distinguished heroes, Commissioner Gordon and undoubtedly, Batman.
They sure don’t reveal any part of storyline but it is just as worthwhile awaiting the characters to go live on the big screen.
Three new Dark Knight Rises images online — EW.com (via– TotalFilm)
As Daniel craig makes his anticipating reprisal of James Bond in Skyfall, the film series also celebrates 50 years of undoubted full-on entertainment this year!
In celebration of Bond’s 50th anniversary, Bond 50 was brought to light by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studios and Twenteith Century Fox at the Computer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. This collectible box-set consists of 22 James Bond films on Blu-ray. This is indeed, the first ever package of films to be offered in such a composition.
Bond 50, as described by the official press release, “showcases fifty years of Bond neatly packaged into one cool, sleek collectable box-set featuring all six iconic James Bond actors”. From Dr. No to Quantum of Solace, this package contains all 22 James Bond feature films, along with 130 hours of bonus features which include new and exclusive content.
“With all 22 feature films available on Blu-ray in one collection for the first time this is a great way for fans to catch up on 007’s epic journey before Skyfall hits theaters next Fall,” said Michael Brown, Senior Vice President, MGM Home Entertainment.
I’d say, a fully-fledged home entertainment package indeed.
However, Bond 50 is just the tip of the iceberg. Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Eon Productions informs of exciting activities in store to commemorate Bond’s 50 years of undefined entertainment.
“We are also delighted that Fox has unveiled a specially designed anniversary poster which we hope the fans will love as much as we do. Our website, 007.com will be regularly updated with all the latest anniversary news and events.”
Bond 50 will be released on 1st October 2012 but pre-order services are available at various online outlets.
All 22 James Bond films are coming to Blu-ray-Total Film
Whether escaping an alien invasion, or future cops, or antagonistic helicopters, Tom Cruise could always rely on his trusty legs to take him far.
Cribbed off the good folks at screened.com , who might have noticed Tom’s single-minded determination to ‘book-the-hell-out-of-here’.
‘Catch Cruise If You Can’ — Screened.com
Featuring Kristen Dunst and Jim Sturgess, the French-made; Romance Mind-bender is set for release sometime 2012.
Stylish and sleek as hell, I am personally stoked to watch this one.
Another sneak peak into the most anticipating film yet: The Dark Knight Rises.
Anna Hathaway updates on what we could expect from the film, the LA Times reports.
“Gotham City is full of grace,” as Hathaway describes.
She emphasises on how Joker, played by Heath Ledger from the 2008 instalment, was portrayed with great madness, yet, exhibiting grace and a code. Hathaway admits her role in the film being one with “beliefs and codes” as what the characters in Gotham exemplify. “A lot of the way she moves and interacts with people is informed by her worldview,” she says.
Crediting Chris Nolan for his admiring directorial style, Hathaway says that Nolan has made the characters so “complex, defined and sophisticated” that the cast themselves have to understand the character very well in order to perform the roles. It is just the matter of believing that they are the characters themselves and it is left to them to decide how they can exhibit the personalities of such characters.
Moving on, Hathaway also admitted showing great interest in the comics after she became part of the cast. She personally admires her entry to the film as she meets Batman, played by Christian Bale. She says “‘Let go of me or I’ll claw your eyes out,’ and he says, ‘Careful, claws in or papa spank.’” Hathaway has been pleased with the progress of the Batman characters since then.
As we can see, Hathaway’s character, has indeed, mesmerized her after all and she has well been inspired by Hedy Lamarr who was, herself, the key inspiration to Catwoman. It is Lamarr’s extraordinary breathing that captivates Hathaway, as she describes, “[s]he takes these long, deep, languid breaths and exhales slowly.” Since then, Hathaway has been working on her breathing, in the hope to achieve a similar sensation Lamarr creates in her films.
And of course not forgetting, as Catwoman, Hathaway stands in line with Halle Berry, Michelle Pfeiffer, Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt and Lee Meriwether who have played the character in films and television productions. With Julie Newmar welcoming Hathaway as the newest member of the feline role, Hathaway is determined to execute well on her behalf and is not concerned of being compared by those in the past.
“What’s come before doesn’t limit or even affect this new version,” she says. “It doesn’t affect me because each Catwoman – and this is true in the comics as well – she is defined by the context of the Gotham City created around her.”
She shared that till now, Catwoman’s character is greatly influenced by Gotham City as well as the creater of the city at the time. With Tim Burton’s Gotham creating the persona of Pfeiffer’s Catwoman and Adam West’s Gotham creating that of Kitt’s, she reiterates that “[y]ou have to live in whatever the reality of the world is and whatever Gotham is.” In this case, Hathaway’s Catwoman is the result of Nolan’s idea of what Gotham is.
Nevertheless, Catwoman seems to have a seemingly enthralling persona and with Anna Hathaway’s excitement and dedication in giving justice to the character, I must say, Catwoman’s charisma and charm in the film would make it one of the greatest watch of the century.
LA Times had also reported on a description of the scene, preceding the interview:
“Gotham City is a war zone,” begins the description. “A ruthless madman named Bane has ripped away any sense of security and the citizens, haggard and clutching suitcases with refugee anxiety, sit behind barbed wire waiting to see what will blow up next. A hooded prisoner is dragged in – it’s Bruce Wayne, one of Gotham’s most famous faces – but the eyes of the crowd go instead to the woman in black standing at the top of the staircase.”
‘Dark Knight Rises’ star Anne Hathaway: ‘Gotham City is full of grace’ — Los Angeles Times
From all at SgNewWave,
We wish you a Happy Hanukkah, a Merry Christmas, and an excellent Saturnalia!
Also, stay safe, and buckle down for the coming 2012 Ragnarök… Happy Holidays everyone!
Christmas In The Stars: Star Wars Christmas Album - Amazon.com