Director Sam Raimi made a name for himself (and boyhood friend Bruce Campbell) with a series of low-budget horror films that began in 1978 with "Within the Woods," a short college project that would chart the rest of his career. While that particular movie remains little seen, it led directly to the cult classic "Evil Dead" and its two sequels, "Evil Dead II" and "Army of Darkness," and forever cemented Sam Raimi as a bonafide member of the horror club.
So it was with some regret among his fans that -- as his career progressed -- Raimi drifted into other areas of cinema, most notably the billion dollar blockbuster "Spider-Man" franchise, and seemingly left his chainsaw and boomstick behind. That was until 2009, when he came roaring out of the gate with "Drag Me to Hell," the veteran filmmaker's return to the genre that made him a legend. The film stars Alison Lohman as a young bank officer who is hexed at the decrepit hands of a vengeful gypsie. Like most of Raimi's works, it's mixed with his personal flair and imbued with a sense of humor, while remaining throughout a very scary movie. "Drag Me To Hell" arrives on Blu-ray and DVD with only one true special feature -- that the "Production Video Diaries," a half-hour look at the making of the film. It's unfortunate that Raimi couldn't be persuaded to record a commentary, as it's always a treat getting inside his head. Read more...
1. "The Hangover" ($33.4 million)
2. "Up" ($30.5 million)
3. "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" ($25 million)
4. "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" ($9.6 million)
5. "Land of the Lost" ($9.1 million)
Saturday moviegoers finally left Las Vegas, and took a ride with Denzel Washington and John Travolta, helping "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" earn a few more subway tokens. Read more...
While Friday night audiences were hungry for R-rated raunchiness, and propelled "The Hangover" to the top spot with a take of $16.5 million, box office analysts were predicting that a family-themed flick such as "Land of the Lost" -- which reviews describe as surprisingly family-unfriendly -- might overtake it with Saturday grosses. It was "Up" that triumphed over all, smacking "The Hangover" down to the #2 spot. Saturday saw Disney/Pixar's latest bring in another $44.2 million dollars at the box office, meaning it will probably end the weekend with a firm grasp on the #1 spot.
"The Hangover" may have lost out to Pixar's flying house fable, but it is enjoying a strong opening nonetheless. The Vegas escapade has now brought in $43.2 million, making it the third highest opening for an R-rated comedy, behind only last year's "Sex in the City" and "American Pie 2" in 2001. Read more...
It looks like Friday night audiences enjoy a raunchy comedy before heading out to start working on their own future hangovers. Variety reports that Warner Bros' "The Hangover" brought in $16.5 million on its first day out, making it the second-best opening take for an R-rated comedy, and a personal best for director Todd Phillips. Like any good party, it's not relying on star power, but is enjoying a solid buzz of positive reviews and enthusiastic word-of-mouth.
"The Hangover" eclipsed Will Ferrell's "Land of the Lost," which opened to only $7.2 million, placing it at #3, behind Pixar's "Up." The re-imagining of the classic '70s Sid and Marty Krofft-spawned TV show opened to mixed reviews, with many of the negative observations focused on how family unfriendly the movie really is. Parents are still bringing their chldren to "Night at the Museum" Battle of the Smithsonian" however, which is riding close to "Lost" with Friday earnings of $4.5 million. Read more...
Adventure is the name of the game at the movies this weekend. We've got "Land of the Lost," which features a plucky trio flung into a land of dinosaurs, Sleestaks and Pakunis. Then there's "Away We Go," in which a young couple expecting their first child decides to travel the country in order to find the perfect place to raise it. Finally we have the boys of "The Hangover," who are on the hunt for their friend after one wild bachelor party.
They're wildly different stories and genres, but at their heart they're all about getting away... far away. I've decided to honor this group of daredevils by running through five of Hollywood's most fantastic journeys. It's really tough to narrow it to just five, but I'm hoping that you'll share some of your favorites in the comments below. Together we can make this the list to end all lists! Yes we can! Read more...
FROM MTV.COM: Many a '70s kid thrilled to the cheesy TV series "Land of the Lost," and some of them, it appears, grew up to run movie studios. That might explain why this decrepit property has now been turned into a movie. It doesn't excuse it, though. The picture is a CGI adventure comedy with a mild line in PG-13 laughs, a surprising lack of fresh adventure (did the filmmakers chop up an early print of "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and smoke it?), and very little in the way of digital dinosaurs and whatnot that haven't been paraded past us many times before. It's worth noting that two of the movie's funniest scenes — one involving a giant mosquito and the other a confrontation with Matt Lauer on the "Today" show — can be seen for free in the trailer. Just a suggestion.
The plot is a thing of standard-issue silliness. Will Ferrell, in his familiar arrogant-dork mode, is Dr. Rick Marshall, an expert in "quantum paleontology" and inventor of a "tachyon amplifier" that allows its operator to travel "sideways in time." Rick is an idiot, of course, but he does have one champion — a pretty young English scientist named Holly Cantrell (Anna Friel), who pops up out of nowhere with the news that she has proved Rick's tachyon theory to be true.
Continue reading 'Land Of The Lost': Into The Mild, By Kurt Loder
If that headline is disturbing, good. It should be. But not as disturbing as the reason for its existence. See that little picture over there on the right? That is Will Ferrell's official Will Powered Charity sunscreen. You can buy it, and it actually goes to a good cause!
Non-profit organization Cancer for College has released three "flavors" of sunscreen, all of them bearing the mug -- and much, much more -- of your favorite "Land of the Lost" star (sorry Danny McBride, Anna Friel and Jorma Taccone... that other guy is who I mean). The sunscreen won't give you superpowers or walk your dog or anything, but the images plastered onto each container are... well... I think I'll let the packaging speak for itself. Enter at your own risk, that's all I can really say. Read more...
Handling an all-day battery of interviews with entertainment reporters is no easy thing. It's hard work, and exhausting. "Land of the Lost" star Will Ferrell has it all figured out though. He built himself a river. Yes, that's right: a river. You can see a little bit of it in the video below, situated just behind him. Between interviews, he likes to step up to the shore and take a little... uhh... bath. I'm not sure I'm allowed to use the word he uses to describe, so I'll leave it for you to find out for yourself in the video below. And remember, you can head over to MTV.com check out the full MTV Rough Cut: Will Ferrell.
If you happen to be a young filmmaker with a budding franchise under your belt, count out Will Ferrell for any sequels. When the "Land of the Lost" star sat down with MTV's Josh Horowitz for a friendly chat, things took a dark turn at the mention of Ferrell possibly returning to former roles. How dark? Watch the video and see for yourself, or head over to MTV.com where you can catch the full interview on MTV Rough Cut: Will Ferrell.
When MTV's Josh Horowitz sat down with Will Ferrell to talk about this week's release of "Land of the Lost," he asked about the funnyman's penchant for singing. His "Land of the Lost" character Rick Marshall is something of a showtunes fan, but Ferrell himself has never shied away from stretching those vocal chords for his adoring public. Here he gets to the heart of the matter, explaining exactly what compels him to break into song.
Continue watching MTV Rough Cut: Will Ferrell
