Meet Me In St Louis

Vincente Minnelli's 1944 MGM musical delivered wartime uplift, but its sadness for time passing also helps nail its ‘Christmas classic’ status. Sepia scenesetting snapshots burst into Technicolor, setting a tone of romantic reflection for the 1903-04 tale of a family rocked by dad’s threat of an NYC move.
A poignant Judy Garland blazes like a bauble singing ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ in MGM’s first musical to interweave songs and plot. Meanwhile, Margaret O’Brien’s wittily morbid Tootie ‘kills’ her snowmen, adding spice to help the sugar go down in this bittersweet and beautiful hymn to homefront joy and pain.

The Adventures of Tintin: An IMAX 3D Experience

Alternate Title(s): The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures Present a 3D Motion Capture Film THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Steven Moffat and Edgar Wright & Joe Cornish. Starring Jamie Bell ("Billy Elliot," "Defiance") as Tintin, the intrepid young reporter whose relentless pursuit of a good story thrusts him into a world of high adventure, and Daniel Craig ("Quantum of Solace," "Defiance") as the nefarious Red Rackham.

Based on the series of books The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé, the film is produced by Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Kathleen Kennedy.

The Dark Knight Rises

Release Date: July 20, 2012
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Director: Christopher Nolan
Screenwriter: Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Juno Temple, Josh Pence, Daniel Sunjata, Nestor Carbonell, Matthew Modine, Tom Conti, Joey King, Brett Cullen, Chris Ellis, Josh Stewart, Christopher Judge, Adam Rodriguez, Rob Brown
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
MPAA Rating: Not Available
Official Website: TheDarkKnightRises.com
Review: Not Available
DVD Review: Not Available
DVD: Not Available


Plot Summary: Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' "The Dark Knight Rises" is the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, Leading an all-star international cast, Oscar winner Christian Bale ("The Fighter") again plays the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The film also stars Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy, as Bane; Oscar winner Marion Cotillard ("La Vie en Rose"), as Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake. Returning to the main cast, Oscar winner Michael Caine ("The Cider House Rules") plays Alfred; Gary Oldman is Commissioner Gordon; and Oscar winner Morgan Freeman ("Million Dollar Baby") reprises the role of Lucius Fox. The screenplay is written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. The film is produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven, who previously teamed on "Batman Begins" and the record-breaking blockbuster "The Dark Knight." The executive producers are Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull, with Jordan Goldberg serving as co-producer. The film is based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by Bob Kane.

Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked

Critical resistance is futile, as the Chipmunks (and the Chipettes) return for a third outing in the depressingly successful franchise. This time, hijinks aboard a cruise ship lead to the singing rodents being marooned on a desert island, with manager Dave (Jason Lee) and double-crossing rival Ian (David Cross) on rescue duties. Steel yourself for a mix of slapstick humour, highpitched cover versions – weep at the butchering of Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’ – and conservative family values: at least chipmunk Simon develops a devil-may-care alter ego.

Full The Dark Knight Rises trailer online

The first full trailer for The Dark Knight Rises has hit the net, and it’s everything you wanted and more.

We got The Dark Knight Rises teaser trailer way back in July with Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, but this trailer (which arrived with Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows) gives a much more substantial glimpse at what we can expect from the finished film.

Set eight years after The Dark Knight, Rises sees Batman face his (physically) toughest challenge yet: Tom Hardy’s Bane.

Batman may have spent the best part of a decade on the run from the law for crimes he didn’t commit but things aren’t all bad for the selfless vigilante, as Anne Hathaway’s leather-clad Catwoman has rocked up in Gotham.

So what are the highlights from the trailer then? Well, there's Anne Hathaway as a slinkily threatening Selina Kyle, the first listen to Bane's unsettlingly strangulated voice and a stadium-based action sequence that could have been lifted from a Roland Emmerich movie!

That’s enough from us, get watching the new trailer for yourself...

The Artist

THERE’S NO BETTER WAY TO END the year than by catching this delightful homage to silent cinema – a tender, witty and exceedingly clever caprice from the OSS-117 team of director Michel Hazanavicius and leading man Jean Dujardin.
Set in Hollywood at the end of the ’20s, it’s essentially Singin’ In The Rain meets A Star Is Born with some Citizen Kane thrown in. Most of all, however, it’s a great big hug of a movie guaranteed to send you out into the cold with a smile on your face.
With an adoring public behind him and a string of box-office hits under his belt, George Valentin (Dujardin) is rarely without one as the story begins. Yet that grin soon fades as the wordless extravaganzas on which his career depends are swept aside by the craze for talkies.
Unwilling or unable to make the transition, George’s star fades just as that of his protégé Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bojo) rises. The twist is that this Tinseltown yarn is told itself as a black-and-white silent, complete with intertitles, soft-focus close-ups and constant musical accompaniment.
It’s not entirely a dumb show, one hilarious dream sequence seeing George tormented by the new scourge of sound and a climactic line of spoken dialogue. For the most part, though, Hazanavicius stays faithful to his inspiration in a way that makes his film both a nostalgic throwback and a work of art in its own right.
Dujardin replicates the polished urbanity of Douglas Fairbanks, while his Argentine-born co-star is so puckishly charming that, had she been born 100 years ago, she would have given Clara Bow a run for her money. The toast of Cannes, The Artist could go all the way. Best Picture? Don’t bet against it.

Verdict:

This elegantly crafted salute to yesteryear is well worth shouting about. And we haven’t even mentioned Jack the dog.

New Year's Eve

Ah New Year’s Eve, a time for wearing silly hats, drinking too much, kissing strangers and paying too much for a taxi. According to Garry Marshall, it’s also a great night for living your dreams, following your heart and wishing upon a dozen Hollywood stars.
Following up schmooze-fest Valentine’s Day with another heart-shaped box of celebrity pick’n’mix, Marshall rings in 2012 with a sticky-sweet parade of high-gloss New York love stories. Overstuffed with A-listers (some of whom look like they only put in half a day’s work), it’s almost easier to name everyone who’s not in it.
Hilary Swank is the stressed exec in charge of the Times Square ball drop, Katherine Heigl is catering the aftershow party and Jon Bon Jovi is the headline act-slash-unwelcome-ex.
Glee’s Lea Michele is supposed to sing back-up but gets stuck in a lift with Ashton Kutcher’s grumpy hipster instead. A dying Robert De Niro wants to watch the fireworks but nurse Halle Berry won’t let him.
Pregnant Jessica Biel is trying to squeeze out the first baby of the New Year, Sarah Jessica Parker is an over-parenting mom, Josh Duhamel is stranded in the snow and Zac Efron is helping Michelle Pfeiffer tick off her bucket-list resolutions before meeting up with best bud Kutcher at Swank and Heigl’s party. Apparently, all the good-looking people know each other in New York.
Packed with meet cutes, second chances, teary dashes through snowy streets and even a sassy Latino stereotype, New Year’s Eve comes at you like a silly drunk demanding a hug.
A nice turn from Abigail Breslin as SJP’s daughter and some heart-toasting moments between Pfeiffer and Efron help a couple of stories stand out from the all the glitter and fluff.
Every emotional string is shamelessly pulled, the signposted comedy is lighter than air… it’s just adorable. Sickeningly so.

Verdict:

Another lavish helping of clichés, cameos and implausibly interweaving love stories. Fine if you’re a fan of Valentine’s Day, but Marshall’s multi-star champagne cocktail is all bubbles and no booze.