LEE DANIELS' "THE PAPERBOY" OFFICIAL TRAILER

Still from The Paperboy

Perhaps the most intriguing TIFF 2012 Film which still has yet to be announced. Zac Efron Fans, scroll to the 1:39 mark. That is all.

This already is looking like my favourite Film of 2012. It's got sizzling Drama, real Transformations and burning Intensity. Kidman. McConaughey. Cusack. Efron. Delicious.

Check out this just-released Trailer for Lee Daniels' (Precious) The Paperboy:

NICOLE KIDMAN IN "THE PAPERBOY"

Still from The Paperboy

This Still of Nicole Kidman from The Paperboy looking pretty much like a Hooker is why I am a devout Fan of hers for life.  She lives, breathes and emanates everything that it means to be a real Star and despite a few missteps following Moulin Rouge, The Hours and maybe even Fur, her Oscar-nominated performance in 2010's Rabbit Hole has ours attentions once again.

My Inside Sources are telling me pretty much that the Film will be at TIFF 2012 come September and for those who don't know, Lee Daniels (Precious) directs this Drama about a Reporter named Ward (Matthew McConaughey) and his younger Brother Jack (Zac Efron) who investigate a Murder in hopes of exonerating a Man on Death Row (John Cusack).  If that list of Notables doesn't excite you, then I truly don't know what will.  Although Reviews are somewhat mixed at this point, it did receive a Standing Ovation at Cannes in May.

Although this little Teaser doesn't reveal much, here's a taste of The Paperboy:

DISNEY ANNOUNCES "NEW TO BLU" 2012 SUMMER LINE-UP

Official Artwork for Romy and Michele's High School Reunion - 15th Anniversary Edition

Disney has just announced a whole whack of Blu-ray releases to surface this Summer and there's actually a few exciting ones in the mix, including my personal Faves - Romy and Michele's High School Reunion and Toronto-shot Adventures in Babysitting!  John Cusack Fans also will be thrilled that High Fidelity and Grosse Point Blank finally will see a Blu-ray release too.  Epic.

Check out the list below to see what might interest you:

HOME ON THE RANGE - July 3

THE HORSE WHISPERER - July 3

PHENOMENON - July 3

STEP UP - July 3

TREASURE PLANET - July 3

UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN - July 3

ROMY AND MICHELE'S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION 15th Anniversary Edition - August 7

ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING 25th Anniversary Edition - August 7

GROSSE POINT BLANK 15th Anniversary Edition - August 7

HIGH FIDELITY - August 7

THE PREACHER'S WIFE - August 7

ARACHNOPHOBIA - September 4

COLD CREEK MANOR - September 4

THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE 20th Anniversary Edition - September 4

HOCUS POCUS - September 4

GHOSTS OF THE ABYSS - September 11

(Photo credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada)

SHANGHAI - MOVIE REVIEW

Still from Shanghai

Although The Weinstein Co. had Oscar hopes for 1940s Period Piece Shanghai this Awards season, it looks as though it will be shelved for the rounds later this year with a set-release date of October 28, 2011 in North America.

Set in a Japanese-occupied Shanghai prior to Japan's devastating attacks on Pearl Harbour during World War II, its Story follows Paul Soames (John Cusack), an American Spy who visits to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of his Friend Conner (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), also a Spy.

Paul is drawn to the alluring Anna Lan-Ting (Gong Li), Wife of Chinese Mobster Anthony (Chow Yun-Fat), who has underhanded dealings with Japanese Security Chief, Captain Tanaka (Ken Watanabe).  As the Plot thickens, secrets are unraveled and none of the characters we learn, are without one.  We learn that Captain Tanaka and Conner in fact shared a Lover in Sumiko (Rinko Kikuchi), in ways paralleling the jeopardous Love Triangle between Anthony, Anna and Paul.

Times are dangerous in Shanghai with Mobsters possessing almost as much power as the Government, taking matters of Justice in their own hands.  Set against the backdrop of the War, there is an imminent sense of danger and we wonder if Paul will be able to escape Shanghai alive and unnoticed as a Spy, or whether he will suffer a similar fate to Conner.

WHERE THE HELL IS SHANGHAI?

Can anyone tell me what ever happened to this movie?  Mikael Hafstrom's Period-Romance Shanghai from The Weinstein Co. seems to have fallen off the radar with no set domestic release date still.  From the get-go, the film has been marred by controversy, including China barring production of the film in the city where it is set.  I hope the Cast and Crew enjoyed the sunny beaches of Bangkok and their fabulous Pad Thai though anyhow.  Everything about Shanghai's pedigree is gold. It stars John Cusack, Yun-Fat Chow, Ken Watanabe, Rinko Kikuchi and personal favourite Gong Li. 

Upon delving into things further, it screened in June to mixed reviews at the Shanghai International Film Festival.  Hollywood Reporter's Elizabeth Kerr claims, the "WWII romantic thriller bites off far more than it can chew and chokes on its own ambitions."  Ouch.  New York Post which likened the film to Casablanca, stated point blank that "the Epic will likely not get strong enough reviews to find much of an audience in North America despite a high-powered cast..."

REVIEW: HOT TUB TIME MACHINE

It's completely absurd but I cannot deny that it gave me some great laughs.  Relatively new director Steve Pinks' Hot Tub Time Machine has a nonsensical premise, but it works because it doesn't aim to be something that it isn't.  The story centers around three good friends Adam (John Cusack), Lou (Robert Corddry) and Nick (Craig Robinson) who recall some great times they had in their youth at a party called Winterfest held at a ski lodge in Kodiak Valley back in 1986.  The guys decide to  head back to the lodge to relive some of their wild times and Adam brings his nephew Jacob (Clark Duke) along, in an effort to put some adventure into his video-game run life.  

Upon arriving at the lodge, they rent the exact same room they had shared back previously with Hot Tub still present, deciding to put it to use.  After a drunken night of fun and booze, a switch on the tub is doused in a spilled energy drunk called Chernobyl which magically results in all four of the men being transported back to 1986.  Completely ridiculous, right?  Hot Tub Time Machine's silly tone is established from the get-go and we would expect things to continue spiraling out of control from here.  And they do.

Adam, who only recently divorced his wife is working under the assumption of The Butterfly Effect, afraid of veering too far from his past this second time around out of fear that it may alter his series of life events dramatically.  Outspoken and aggressive Lou is pretty much on the verge of suicide when the story starts, but in revisiting his past again, he must face some bullies he encountered previously all over.  Like Adam, he too is afraid of doing this allover again.  Nick is a failed singer who suspects his wife is cheating on him and in going back in time, he winds up trying to persuade his then-nine year-old wife to not stray, while at the same time rediscovering his love of performing once again.  Josh is afraid to alter any series of events in seeing his mother Kelly (Collette Wolfe) who was a wild girl back in the day, as he realizes that this may lead to him never having been born.  Brewing in the background though is the necessity of convincing the Repair Man (Chevy Chase) to fix the Hot Tub so that the four men can return back to present day once more.