

Columns By Kim VoynarVoynar@moviecitynews.com
Defending Jennifer’s Body
Spoiler Warning: This column contains spoilers about the film Jennifer’s Body. Consider yourself forewarned and forearmed. Is Jennifer’s Body really as bad as some critics say, or are some folks just lime-green Jell-O over anything that has Diablo Cody‘s name attached? I thoroughly enjoyed this film from start to finish, in part because I thought I was…
Read the full article »Wilmington on DVDs: The Wizard of Oz, Monsters vs. Aliens and more…
PICK OF THE WEEK: CLASSIC The Wizard of Oz (Four Stars) U. S.; Victor Fleming, King Vidor (Unc.), 1939 (Warner) Some movies appeal to just about everybody — like the heart-stoppingly entertaining and wonderful 1939 musical that MGM made out of L. Frank Baum’s American fairy tale, The Wizard of Oz (now released in a…
Read the full article »Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Observe and Report
2009 turned out to be the year of the ‘shopping mall security person’ comedy, and it shows you how fast trends turn over these days that there were only three months between the theatrical release dates separating the point where the genre was established, with Paul Blart: Mall Cop, a Sony Pictures Home Entertainment release,…
Read the full article »Why the Hate for Megan Fox (and Diablo Cody)?
Why all the hate for Megan Fox? Where does it come from? With the arrival of the inane and mediocre Jennifer’s Body in theaters, I’ve been seeing and hearing a lot of vitriol spewed about the film’s star Megan Fox as well as the film’s screenwriter Diablo Cody. I have no problem if folks can be civil and discuss…
Read the full article »I Want to Live ’til Monday
A trio of new titles couldn’t catch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs for the weekend box office crown. Cloudy was hardly overcast as it dipped a modest 20% in its sophomore session to gross an estimated $24.4 million. But it was disappointing returns for the freshman class. The science-fiction thriller Surrogatesranked second with $14.7…
Read the full article »We Live in Public

What follows is an extremely brief history of the Internet. Once upon a time in America, computers couldn’t talk to each other, instantly or otherwise. Then, they could. Once upon a time in America, e-mail didn’t exist. Then, it did. Once upon a time in America, commercial use of the Internet was forbidden. Then, it…
Read the full article »Cloudy with a Chance of Mediocrity
I realize I’m in the critical minority on this, but I wasn’t all that crazy about Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Yes, yes, the animation was bright! And colorful! And the cheeseburgers and scoops of ice cream and giant pancakes and meatballs practically popped off the screen. It was all very exciting, I suppose. I…
Read the full article »Wilmington on DVDs: X-Men Origins: Wolverine, That Hamilton Woman, O’Horten and more…
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Two-and-a-Half Stars) U. S.; Gavin Hood (2009) The question of the day, in a world beset with war, pandemics, economic collapse, crazed cable news-slingers and
Read the full article »X-Men Origins: Wolverine
A superficial but watchable comic book action film, X-Men Origins Wolverine, a summer of 2009 blockbuster hopeful that came up a hair or two short because of that superficiality, has been released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Since such films go down easier on home video, it probably won’t seem so bad and it really…
Read the full article »TV > Movies
Lately I’ve been watching more and more television and fewer movies which, as a professional film columnist, makes me feel like I’m not doing my job. I have a stack of screeners, a Fassbinder and a Bunuel from Netflix, and there are a few films in theaters that I still need to get to; however,…
Read the full article »Whether Report
Kid-lit fave Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs claimed bragging rights in the weekend box office race with an estimated $30.3 million debut. The frame was rife with new entries including three other national releases that bowed to tepid commercial response. The black comic The Informant!ranked second with $10.5 million trailed by the darkly romantic…
Read the full article »The Weekend of Tears
The Gridiron Gang ascended, comparatively speaking, to weekend prominence with an estimated opening gross of $14.7 million. Three other films made their national debuts and followed in the rankings with the period whodunit The Black Dahlia bowing to $10.5 million; the animated baseball pic Everybody’s Hero was next with $6 million and the thirtysomething comedy-drama…
Read the full article »Crude

Documentaries aren’t like other movies. Facts, like disobedient children, don’t always come when they’re called. Too often, stories that appear to be no-brainers crumble like a house of cards, leaving filmmakers with nothing to show for their work, except a stack full of outstanding AmEx bills. Joe Berlinger understands how certain virtues – patience and…
Read the full article »Wilmington on DVDs: Easy Virtue, The Country Teacher, Wagon Master and more…
Easy Virtue (Three Stars) U. K.; Stephan Elliott, 2009 (Sony) Noel Coward’s blithe, spirited, sexy ’20s play, Easy Virtue, is not new to
Read the full article »Michael Sucsy Director of Grey Gardens

This week Noah talks with Grey Gardens director Michael Sucsy about the Maysles Brothers original film, how silly it is to doubt Drew Barrymore and his next project, The Goree Girls. Listen to Noah Forrest Podcast with Michael Sucsy
Read the full article »The Weekend Report: September 13, 2009
Title Distributor Gross (avg) % change Theaters Cume I Can Do Bad By Myself Lions Gate 24.0 (10,650) New 2255 24 9 Focus 10.4 (6,280) New 1661 14.8 Inglourious Basterds Weinstein Co. 6.5 (2,010) -44% 3215 104.2 All About Steve Fox 5.7 (2,530) -49% 2265 16.01 The Final Destination WB 5.5 (2,020) -55% 2732 58.3…
Read the full article »To Absent Friends
Today I’m thinking a lot about 1984 — the year, not the Orwell novel. September 8, 1984 was a life-altering day that altered the course of my life; on September 8, 1984, my best friend, Monica, committed suicide at the age of 16. I can still recall, with achingly perfect clarity, where I was when…
Read the full article »John Malkovich Star of Disgrace

This week Noah chats with the legendary John Malkovich about his new film Disgrace, working with the Coen Brothers and his affection for Napoleon Dynamite. Listen to Noah Forrest Podcast with John Malkovich
Read the full article »125 Days of Summer
The Labor Day holiday session saw a slight dip from 2008 revenues but, regardless of how one slices the pie, the final season tally experienced a box office upturn. Initial summer returns add up to approximately $4.36 billion for an improvement of 4.8%. The last gasp of summer had a trio of new national releases…
Read the full article »The Weekend Report: September 6, 2009
Weekend Estimates: September 4-6, 2009 Title Distributor Gross (averag % change Theaters Cume The Final Destination WB 12.5 (3,990) -55% 3121 47.7 Inglourious Basterds Weinstein Co. 11.1 (3,310) -42% 3358 91.3 All About Steve Fox 10.8 (4,810) – 2251 10.8 Gamer Lionsgate 8.9 (3,560) – 2502 8.9 District 9 Sony 6.8 (2,160) -34% 3139 101.1…
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