Showing Out

Hollywood has churned out an unfathomable amount of romantic comedies over the past few years, all of them drawing from the same well in terms of plot, character type and circumstance. But never before has a rom-com covered the bases that Adam does. The film, which hits select theaters today, explores what would happen if a man afflicted with a form of autism enters into a relationship with a woman. The results are rocky and seldom heartwarming, and while the premise of the film is enough to put a smile on your face, watching the film might turn that smile into a firm grimace.

Read the rest of this entry »

Add another notch to Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs‘ already heavy belt. Variety reports that while the film was overshadowed by the arrival of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, it was doing it way big overseas, the animated sequel has been doing just as well. Ice Age 2 has already netted $514.7 million in the foreign box office, and is on track to replace Finding Nemo, which made $528 million overseas, as the record-holder for highest grossing animated film with an international release. And on top of that, these sort of numbers make IA2 the 17th film to pass the half-billion dollar mark in foreign ticket sales, making it one of the most successful international releases of all time. The sick thing is that the movie still has some fuel left in the tank, and it’s only a matter of time until we’re posting again about how the film has taken over the world.

Consider this the rich man’s version of Yes Man. Instead of consciously agreeing to say “yes” to everything, The Invention of Lying creates a world where people are only capable of telling the truth, regardless of whether they want to or not. That is, of course, until a writer named Mark (Ricky Gervais) suddenly discovers his ability to lie. And when he does, he decides to milk his newfound skill to wield unimaginable power, convincing women to sleep with him, getting money handed to him - the whole nine yards. But after a while, it seems that everyone starts to figure out his secret, leading to a forever changed world and, hopefully, happiness for all. The film, hitting theaters September 25, also stars Jennifer Garner, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, Rob Lowe, Christopher Guest and more, and for the first time in a while, we can honestly say that this seems like a brilliant idea for a comedy. Let’s see if they can pull it off.

Just when we were getting used to making our international calls for chump change, eBay, who owns the service, announces that it’s treading on thin ice. Joltid, which created the software that Skype uses, claims that Skype has broken the licensing agreement to use the technology, prompting the eBay service to file suit against Joltid over in Britain. The suit claimed that they couldn’t terminate the licensing agreement, to which Joltid filed countersuit laying out their complaints. The trial is set to go to court in June 2010, but things aren’t looking so good for Skype. In a recent quarterly filing, the communications service declared that they would be unable to continue operations unless they found an alternative, leaving the 480 million Skype users high and dry. And as much as we feel for Skype right now, they’d best find another piece of software to use or they’re going to piss off a lot of people.

How have we not heard about this? Filmed after Forest Whitaker and Jennifer Hudson won their Oscars back in 2006, Fragments, originally titled Winged Creatures, has been put on the shelf for nearly a year, finally seeing release today after patiently waiting for its turn to grace the big screen. Starring Kate Beckinsdale, Dakota Fanning, Josh Hutcherson, Guy Pearce and more, Fragments follows the aftermath of a shooting in a restaurant that affects the lives of those who witnessed it. The characters go through various stages of grief, coping with the trauma in their own unique way: some turn to religion, others turn to gambling, resulting in emotional turmoil for everyone touched by the tragedy. The film, which is coming out in limited release, will also be out on DVD next week, so in case this one isn’t coming to a theater near you, you’ll be able to feast your eyes on it in no time.

Taking a break from filming and producing the upcoming features The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Pirates of the Caribbean 4 and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, producer Jerry Bruckheimer is already plotting his next move. Variety reports that he just picked up the rights to adapt the graphic novel World War Robot for the big screen, a deal that was finalized during last week’s Comic-Con in San Diego. World War Robot, written by Ashley Wood, centers on an epic battle between humans and robots that takes place on Earth, the Moon and even Mars, which we’re pretty sure Bruckheimer will fully embellish on the silver screen. Though we already saw a film like this in the form of I, Robot, we’re curious as to see how he can tackle the original without compromising its integrity. Best of luck to you, sir.

Each week, Showing Out will keep you up-to-date with a post giving the rundown of all the freshly released films. Some, you might have already known about, while others - well, not so much. So without further ado, here’s a look at some of the movies that might convince you enough to brave the outside world and head to the theater.

Read the rest of this entry »

More BET News - they’re staying on their PR grind. Following yesterday’s announcement that Tyrese will narrate a new docu-drama and Mo’Nique is getting her own late night talk show, BET has issued a press release unveiling details on the forthcoming docu-reality series Inside DTP, starring none other than Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges, Chaka Zulu and Jeff Dixon. The show will focus on the three owners of DTP Records and offer a behind-the-scenes look at the Atlanta music scene, inviting viewers to witness the journey of how an album goes from the studio to your stereo. The series will premiere on October 27 at 10:30 PM, and we can guess that they’ll probably turn the cameras on Shawnna and Luda who have nearly wrapped up recording on their forthcoming album Battle of the Sexes, one of the many projects Disturbing Tha Peace has in store.

Larry David is more than just good for laughs on Curb Your Enthusiasm: he also knows how to give the people what they want. Ever since the Seinfeld cast called it quits back in 1998, fans of the hit comedy have been fiending for an on-screen reunion between the four stars of the show. And now, their dreams will come true. David announced that the Seinfeld cast will reunite on the seventh season of his hit HBO comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm, appearing in five episodes involving a plotline where David actually tries to reunite the Seinfeld cast (the show-within-a-show concept is brilliant, here). David made the announcement during a meeting at the Television Critics Association, though he stated that an actual Seinfeld reunion was unlikely. Either way, a baby step is a step in the right direction, especially with these four loved neurotic characters.

In his sitcom, that is. A few days ago, The Hollywood Reporter stated that Drake would be returning to television to star in a new series called Us and Them. Turns out, they were wrong. Instead of starring on the show, Drizzy will be working behind the scenes, helping to develop the show as one of its producers instead of starring in the jawn. What would convince him to return to acting, you ask? Drake stated that he would happily put down the mic if Judd Apatow allowed him to take part in one of his films, which have all been box office smashes over the past few years. We knew that something sounded fishy, considering that he’d be stupid to turn his back on the music game after developing one of the biggest buzzes of the new millennium. But as long as he doesn’t ever revive his role as Jimmy on Degrassi, we’ll be happy.