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Vol. 9
No. 47
Pick Hits
At The Movies
Gothika
Miranda Grey,
is a dedicated and successful criminal psychologist who awakens to find herself
a patient in her own mental institution with no memory of the murder she's
apparently committed. She soon learns that her husband was brutally murdered
three days earlier, and the bloody evidence points directly at her. With no
memory of that night except for a cryptic encounter with a mysterious young
girl, the doctor's behavior becomes increasingly erratic. Her friends,
colleagues and former patients see her claims of innocence as the beginnings of
a deep descent into madness. As Miranda struggles to reclaim her sanity she soon
realizes she's become the pawn of a vengeful spirit. Now she must quickly
determine if she is being led further from her sanity or closer to the truth.
On DVD
Lara Croft
Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
Angelina Jolie
reprises her role as Lara Croft, the celebrated action heroine who jumped from
video game fame to the big screen. This time out she travels the world on a
spectacular adventure that takes her to such exotic places as Hong Kong, Kenya,
Tanzania, Greece and the Great Wall of China. Demonstrating her physical
prowess, Lara proves that she will stop at nothing to save the world from
destruction. Pandora's Box, said to house the most unspeakable evil ever known,
is hidden on the continent of Africa in an area known as The Cradle of Life.
It's up to Croft to find the infamous box before it falls into the hands of the
maniacal scientist Dr. Jonathan Reiss (Ciaran Hinds). Intent on harnessing the
evil power, Reiss must be stopped at all costs, and it is only Croft who stands
between preserving life as we know it or allowing the malevolent Reiss to
achieve his ultimate goal of world domination.
Off The Record
The Rapture
- Echoes
New York has
been coughing up gobs of electro-punk bands lately, but none as great, goofy and
gargantuan as the Rapture. Mixing attitude with ragged guitars, squealing vocals
and trashy drumming, the Rapture are like the world's best stripper's band. The
Rapture's local hit House Of Jealous Lovers made them an overnight sensation,
but everyone wondered if the song's volcanic energy and white trash verve could
translate into an entire album. Echoes drags the club scene and the street into
its sound. Echoes is all about funky bass and enough guitar riffs to make Keith
Richards collapse in amazement. House Of Jealous Lovers put them on the map, and
unlike most of the out-of-tune post-punk brigade, the Rapture has a second act.
The Buzz...
Disney is halting production on its
forever-in-development animated feature A Few Good Ghosts. The shutdown
could also spell doom for the Mouse House's Orlando animation studios.
Halle Berry says she's over the broken arm she suffered while
filming Gothika and is recovering from the pain of recently separating from
husband Eric Benet.
Ambush Makeover, the reality lifestyle show that has been testing
in a limited syndication run since the summer, is set to get a national
clearance push for fall 2004.
Kelly
Clarkson is out to claim the global title in an
international Idol showdown. Fox has announced it will
broadcast a two-part World Idol special. Belting out the
hits alongside Clarkson will be contenders from the
U.K., South Africa, Poland, Netherlands, Germany,
Norway, Lebanon, Belgium, Canada and Australia.
Soccer star David Beckham
and his wife, former Spice Girl Victoria, denied
new tabloid allegations that their marriage is strained.
A spokeswoman for the couple said that the story, in
early editions of the Sunday Mirror, was rubbish and
that a lawyer was looking at the story for possible
legal action.
Will Ferrell's Elf sank Russell
Crowe's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the
World to finish as the weekend's No. 1 movie. Elf took
in $27.2 million, off just 12 percent from its
second-place debut the previous weekend.
Bachelorette Trista Rehn and soon-to-be
husband Ryan Sutter's wedding will be
broadcast on ABC in December, the finale of three
episodes dealing with the preparations and their
bachelor and bachelorette parties.
Rick Solomon, Paris Hilton's
infamous ex-boyfriend and amateur porn costar, filed the
first salvos in the sex tape scandal this week, suing
the Hilton family for slander and Seattle Internet porn
company Marvad Corp. for distributing the video
illegally. Solomon is seeking damages of $10 million
from the Hiltons, claiming "devastating effects" from
their "shady behind the scenes maneuvers." Solomon is
sore over claims that Hilton was an unwilling
participant in the duo's frolic.
Cameron Diaz has taken on the role of a
Playboy centerfold that competes in one of the most
grueling adventure race reality shows on television.
X-Girls, from 20th Century Fox, will feature a trio of
bunnies who compete in the Eco-Challenge. The script,
being penned by Mark Steilen, is described as a
female-empowerment comedy, following the women as they
overcome seemingly impossible odds and challenge
people's preconceptions.
While Industry watchers had predicted this to be the
swan-song season for the Frasier, reports of its demise
could be premature. Star Kelsey Grammer
hinted interest in returning as Dr. Frasier Crane for a
12th season. "If someone called and said, 'We really
want you back for another year.' I'd probably figure out
some way to make that happen," according to Grammer.
Ron Howard, the actor turned Oscar-winning
filmmaker picked up a National Medal of Arts from
President Bush.
Robert Downey Jr. is readying
himself for a walk down the aisle with girlfriend Susan
Levin.
Jennifer Lopez and her Sweetface Fashion
Company have announced a deal to launch a new line of
lingerie. The JLO by Jennifer Lopez collection will
debut on at fashion shows in March and is expected to
hit department stores in fall 2004.
Nielsen Media Research's claim that prime-time viewing
among men aged 18-to-34 has dropped by 7 percent this
season is hotly disputed by TV networks, where overall
viewership is down this season.
The world's most famous boy wizard has set a new record.
Sales of the Harry Potter books have hit a
quarter of a billion units. And avid young Potter fans
can rest easy, J.K. Rowling has started work on the
sixth book in the saga set in Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Buffy star Anthony Head was voted in a
poll of Radio Times readers as their favorite to play
the next Dr Who.
ABC is doing the midseason shuffle, putting struggling
freshman drama Karen Sisco on hiatus to
make room for Celebrity Mole Yucatan and
Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital.
Boris Karloff's 1931 Universal Pictures
contract to play the role of Frankenstein's monster sold
for $12,925, a dinosaur model from the 1933 film classic
King Kong fetched $41,125, and a bow tie worn by Bela
Lugosi in a stage production of Dracula grabbed
$7,050 at a weekend auction.
Richard Donner revealed that he'd like to
do a Lethal Weapon 5 based on the last 24 hours of the
lives of Riggs and Murtaugh. Donner revealed, "I have
the story in my head for a fifth and final Lethal
Weapon, but it's all up to Mel Gibson. The
last couple of times I talked to Mel, it really seemed
he was interested in doing one more."
Demi Moore is looking
to star in another Charlie's Angels film where she would
reprise her role as Madison Lee in a prequel. Currently,
Drew Barrymore's production company owns the rights to
the film franchise but Moore would seek to purchase the
rights for her own production company, Moving Pictures.
Due to the disappointing box office numbers from Full
Throttle, it is unlikely that the three stars (Cameron
Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy
Liu) would return for another movie.
A fifth Child's Play movie is finally
moving forward. The long-rumored Seed of Chucky will
reportedly begin filming with creator Don Macini writing
and directing the picture. A release date of Halloween
2004 is being projected.
Gary Cole (Lumbergh from Office Space) and
Jason Bateman is set to join Ben
Stiller's untitled comedy about the game of
dodgeball. The movie will star Stiller, Vince
Vaughn, and Christine Taylor in a
comedy about a group of misfits who must defeat a giant
fitness center in the World Dodgeball Championships in
order to save their small gym from shutting down. |
