When young Iowa-born actor Brandon Routh was cast by director Bryan Singer as Clark Kent and his alter-ego Superman in soon-to-be-released blockbuster Superman Returns, there was a fair degree of surprise in Hollywood. While Singer had suggested that he wanted an unknown actor to take Superman into the 21st century, few thought that he would opt for someone with no big screen experience, as Routh had previously only appeared in a number of TV shows such as Will & Grace.

However, Routh has taken up the mantle left by Christopher Reeve with gusto, suggesting that the role has a tremendous legacy that the young actor is proud to be a part of. And insiders feel that Routh has made the part his own with a performance of both strength and vulnerability.

Brandon Routh was born in Des Moines, Iowa on 9 October 1979. He grew up in Norwalk, Iowa and then attended the University of Iowa, starring in productions at the Norwalk Theater of Performing Arts as he began his acting career.

Brandon made the jump to professional acting in the series “Odd Man Out” (1999, ABC Television), before going on to guest star in the series “Gilmore Girls” (2000) and “Undressed” (1999).

Trivia

Aged 6, Brandon was so excited about watching “Superman”, dressed in his Superman pajamas, that he gave himself a migraine.

Brandon went to a Halloween party in 2003 as Clark Kent/Superman. He was awarded the film role one year later by Bryan Singer.

The 21st century Superman does not just care about America, even though he was raised in America, his love is American, and he works in an American newspaper. Brandon feels that Superman has to be universal.

Filmography

“Superman Returns” (2006)
“Karla” (2006)
“Oliver Beene” (2004) TV Episode
“Will & Grace” (2004) TV Episode
“Cold Case” (2003) TV Episode
“One Life to Live” (2001-2002)
“Gilmore Girls” (2001) TV Episode
“Undressed” (1999) TV Series
“Odd Man Out” (1999) TV Episode

An aspiring rock musician who manages a New Orleans eatery where the only bill of fare is breakfast cereal, Neal is a reflexively sarcastic deadbeat whose equally sour girlfriend, Pussy Katz (Zooey Deschanel), shares his bohemian dream of traveling the country in an Airstream trailer, making music and art.

The walls of the restaurant, called Flakes, are lined with cereal boxes, including rare discontinued brands. As customers slop up exotic combinations, the movie suggests a deadpan spoof of gourmet fetishism. One house specialty — chocolate-flavored grains steeped in chocolate milk — sounds particularly nauseating.

Owned by Willie (Christopher Lloyd), a decrepit hippie geezer with mad-scientist hair, Flakes limps along as a hangout for deadbeats until a bright-eyed yuppie visitor, Stuart (Keir O’Donnell), proposes turning it into a lucrative franchise. When Willie and Neal express no interest, Stuart establishes a rival Flakes across the street, and the New Orleans cereal wars begin.

Hoping to put Stuart out of business, Neal begins playing dirty tricks, the nastiest of which is the distribution of fliers to the homeless promising 10 free bowls per customer at his rival’s establishment. The prank sets off a near-riot that Stuart skillfully turns to his advantage.

Neal’s new live-in relationship with Pussy begins to curdle when she turns traitor and goes to work for the competition, hoping that the demise of the original Flakes will leave Neal with time to finish his CD. If the name of his band, Cereal Killers, is perfectly chosen, its music is a joke.

Once lawyers become involved in the dispute, the movie’s anti-establishment attitude evaporates, as does the teeny bit of levity “Flakes” has generated.

FLAKES
Opens on Wednesday in Manhattan; also on Video on Demand.
Directed by Michael Lehmann; written by Chris Poche and Karey Kirkpatrick; director of photography, Nancy Schreiber; edited by Nicholas C. Smith; music by Jason Derlatka and Jon Ehrlich; produced by Gary Winick and Jake Abraham; released by IFC First Take. At the IFC Center, 323 Avenue of the Americas, at Third Street, Greenwich Village. Running time: 1 hour 24 minutes. This film is not rated.

WITH: Aaron Stanford (Neal Downs), Zooey Deschanel (Miss Pussy Katz), Christopher Lloyd (Willie), Frank Wood (Bruce), Ryan Donowho (Skinny Larry), Izabella Miko (Strawberry) and Keir O’Donnell (Stuart).

In A Dark Place seemed like an interesting movie, solely because I based it on the DVD’s box cover. It looked like a gruesome horror movie surrounding children. Usually there is nothing creepier than evil kids.

Once I popped the movie in though, In A Dark Place, just dragged on and on, and nothing made much sense.

In the beginning Anna begins to sense that their is something deeply wrong with Flora. Only I never sensed it, or were given any examples of why she was labeled a disturbed child by Anna. So the kid doesn’t think finger paint is lady like. What’s so wrong about that?

Shortly after establishing a relationship with Flora, Anna gets a letter from some private school that Miles (Flora’s brother) is expelled from the school. When Anna goes to pick him up, she asks why he is expelled, but is not given a reason.

As a viewer you assume the reasons will be brought out to the table later on in the movie…only…the reason is never brought out.

After the children are together, I began to wonder if Miles was the evil one, he seemed to glitch in and out of a good kid, and into an evil kid. Only you just couldn’t be sure. I was left scratching my head most of the time.

By the middle of the flick, Anna then begins to have mental break downs where she thinks she is seeing ghosts of dead people who once lived in the house. Just when the movie began to get interestingly confusing, Anna goes and has a lesbian encounter with some weird broad who lives in the house. I was thrown off track. What the hell is going on?

The kids are evil? Miles is evil? The lady who sucks boobies is whack? Anna is a freak?

The movie progressed, and Anna gets more wacky, so much that you are not sure what the hell is going on. Is she the evil one?

Union plays the ex-wife of an obnoxious rapper, J. Jizzy (Charlie Murphy—Eddie’s older brother—who gets the most laughs in the film). The divorcee’s kid helps steer her to a handsome department-store Santa named Benjamin (Morris Chestnut) who also happens to be a songwriter. What’s more, he’s pitching his tunes to J. Jizzy. Much of the film involves Benjamin trying to keep Nancy and Jizzy from finding out about his romantic and business (respectively) arrangements with each of them. The problem is that there’s no logical reason why he should care—or lie to Nancy about his “true” vocation.

Much of the movie involves Nancy discussing life with her gals pals (Jill Marie Jones and Rachel True), Benjamin chumming around with his best bud, Jamal (Faizon Love); and J-Jizzy interacting with his spacey manager, Delicious (Katt Williams). This offers scenes of soul searching, self revelations and some strained comedy—but little of it is interesting.
There’s also little reason for Queen Latifah and Terrence Howard (who seems to have appeared in 95 percent of the films released in 2007) playing competing angels (or perhaps that’s angel vs. devil). Latifah breezes through her role, but Howard just seems embarrassed to be here (and who can blame him?).

One of the brightest parts of The Perfect Holiday is one of its most understated: a department store hires a black Santa and black elf helper, kids of all colors line up to visit Ol’ Saint Nick and no one questions it. It’s a sweet, hopeful set-up that offers a counterpoint to the otherwise pedestrian, plodding antics of The Perfect Holiday.
The Perfect Holiday is rated PG for brief language and some suggestive humor. Running time: 96 minutes. Macsimum rating: 4 out of 10. You can check out the film’s trailers on the QuickTime movie trailer site.

I had expected something good out of this movie, prior to entering the movie house. Perhaps it was because of the intriguing poster, or maybe even the title. I didn’t get to view it right from the start (as I came in around 20 minutes into the movie), and I was planning to stick around longer just to get to see the start. However, right when I caught a glimpse of the cinematography, I knew I made the wrong choice. It was boring. It was draggy. The cinematography was something that a student could have done. There was too much dead air. The story is too predictable (like I’ve seen this slasher type of movie a million times)and it was too shallow. Even the peaks were futile efforts in trying to tickle the audience’s “scare nerves”. The ending was worse than the rest of the movie. I’ve never regretted watching a movie and felt like I wasted my money on watching a movie until this one. To sum it all up: this is a waste of money.

As the former Benjamin Barker, Depp is magnificent as Todd. His voice may lack the thunder that would be expected on stage, but on the big screen it’s more than suitable. Purists may find it a little ragged and flat at times–Michael Crawford needn’t worry about Depp–but it’s an ideal manifestation of the corrupting anger and rotting vengeance that fill Todd’s soul. The same can be said for Helena Bonham Carter as the fiendish Mrs. Lovett. Sure she will occasionally descend into something approaching a hectoring screech, but consider for a moment that she’s a baker who grinds people into meat and serves them up in piping hot pies!

Voices aside, both actors deliver rich, complex performances. The focus and intensity that Depp brings to his role is riveting. Within minutes of the film’s opening there is no doubt that Depp will have his revenge and have it with gusto. Taking a step back from the film, realize that Todd is a thoroughly despicable character. He often kills indiscriminately, but Depp is so powerful as Todd that you eventually begin to relish his countless murders. Carter’s Mrs. Lovett is, perhaps, even more of a psychopath. Slicing a throat is one thing. Butchering a man and then serving him up for dinner is quite another. Nevertheless, you delight in her, too.

As for the killings, Burton stages them in spectacularly gory fashion. The phrase ‘geysers of blood’ is often used casually when describing a violent film. In Sweeney Todd the phrase is explicitly correct. Depp is often obscured under the high-powered jets of plasma that repeatedly erupt from his customer’s necks. Amazingly, these scenes aren’t even the most disturbing. Once Todd finishes giving a ’shave’, he dumps the corpse down a hole where it cracks loudly at the bottom as the skull splinters and the neck breaks cleanly. It’s all completely over the top and, of course, wonderful, hilarious, inspired.

The same can be said for the film as a whole. In Sweeney Todd, Tim Burton has found material that meshes perfectly with his artistic sense. You could call it a horror film or a screwball comedy and you’d be right both times. The design is, as would be expected from a Burton picture, lavish and spectacular. The supporting cast, especially Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall, are superb. Only the love story between Johanna and Anthony falls a little flat. It’s a minor quibble, though, in an otherwise outstanding film. Sweeney Todd joins Ed Wood and Edward Scissorhands as Burton’s finest work. It may eventually even be considered his best.

Like the first Death Wish, the movie sets itself in New York City where we meet radio personality Erica Bain (Jodie Foster) who happily lives with her fianc

But the film doesn’t try and pander to the type of audience who want to see a flash of tits. Actually, it doesn’t pander to anyone. It is by far and away the most experimental film to come out of Hollywood recently, if you discount David Lynch.

First of all, the film version of Southland Tales is actually chapters four, five and six. Hey if Star Wars did it… The first three chapters are found in the Southland Tales graphic novel, which actually makes more sense in itself and of the film as a whole, explaining the various theories behind the film, whereas the film itself drops the audience in the middle of a world that is far removed from the one we live in.

There is wi-fi energy known as Fluid Karma, a screenplay written while under the influence of drugs that foretells the End Of Days, and some freaky time travelling. So, everything you would expect from the brains behind Donnie Darko.

The film is a mess, but an interesting one. Part of the disconnected plot is concerned with the enigma that is the Book Of Revelations found in the Bible, and you could view this as its modern cinematic counterpart. Some view Revelations as a puzzle to be solved, containing a code to be dissected. Richard Kelly’s film is trying to push this, using the graphic novel and the film’s website to further the story and the puzzling plotlines within, quite literally forcing the audience to actively seek it out, or, as most people did, walk out of the cinema.

While this cross-media, story/puzzle thing is a bold move, the film should stand on its own legs, which, sadly, it does not. It’s weird and wonderful, annoying and infuriating, littered with great performances and godawful ones. It will no doubt follow Darko in becoming a cult film, especially on DVD.

We do not recommend seeing this film, but you need to see it. It is the road less travelled.

The inspirational tale will become even larger than life with the theatrical release of “The Polar Express.” The movie, from Warner Bros. Pictures, stars the Academy Award-winning team of Tom Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis. And now, fans of “The Polar Express” can take home a little bit of the story’s magic with exclusive gifts from Hallmark Gold Crown stores.

“‘The Polar Express’ is such a classic Christmas story, it seemed appropriate that Hallmark Gold Crown stores, a traditional holiday destination, serve as ‘The Polar Express’ headquarters,” said Greg Raymond, vice president of license acquisitions at Hallmark. “The one-of-a-kind Hallmark collection truly brings the classic story to life.”

In the movie, a young boy who wants to believe in Santa, no matter what the doubters say, is given an unexpected train ride to the North Pole. When the train reaches its destination, Santa himself materializes and offers the boy whatever his heart desires. In the end, the boy learns that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.

Fans can feel the excitement of the movie with items from Hallmark’s collection, such as an authentic reproduction of the bell Santa gives the boy as the “first gift of Christmas.”

Also available in the collection are copies of “The Polar Express” book, Keepsake Ornaments, photo frames, gift-wrap, a tea-light holder, stocking holders, greeting cards and partyware. The variety of gifts in the collection will delight even those not so familiar with “The Polar Express” story.

“Hallmark has a long history of celebrating warm holiday traditions and these traditions are perfectly in sync with what ‘The Polar Express’ symbolizes,” said Karen McTier, executive vice president of domestic licensing for Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “Now filmgoers can take a bit of the movie magic and enchantment home with them.”

This doesn’t set well with Bart (Nancy Cartwright) who finds that Mr. Flanders (Harry Shearer) is a more caring father than his pig loving one.  Homer’s new oinking child does what pig’s do and Homer puts the results in a huge silo in the backyard (well, Homer did put a little of himself into the job).  His wife Marge (Julie Kavner) tells him to get rid of the silo of pig waste.

Homer does of course, by dumping it on Lake Springfield.  This infusion of pollution causes the Environmental Protection Agency to become alerted to the situation.  They react in their usual restrained manner – the director Russ Cargill (Albert Brooks) orders that a huge glass dome cover the town.
The Simpsons eventually find themselves outside the dome and Homer decides to take off rather than help his neighbors (especially since they formed an angry mob against him when they found out that it was his silo that pushed the lake over the limit).  He takes the family to Alaska and start over again, but the rest of the family thinks they should return and save Springfield.

The Simpsons have been a television hit since they started airing in 1989.  There’s always been talk that creator Matt Groening should bring his jaundiced creations to the big screen.  He’s seemingly been happy on the small screen but it has finally come to pass and the results are hilarious.
The film does play like a bigger and extended episode of the television show.  It has some hilarious commentary on society as well as just outright wacky comedy.  One bit of commentary has the church folk running to Moe’s bar and the bar patrons running to church as the giant dome of doom is placed over the town.

We also have an extended Bart dare as he skateboards in the buff down to the Krusty Burger.  Not to mention the “Spider Pig” song that my kids would sing during the theatrical trailer.

Where this disc lets down a little is not in the content of the film but in the special feature department.  It feels really rather light and you keep thinking that a more expansive special edition will be in the works somewhere down the line – doh!.

The Simpsons is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16×9 televisions.  A fullscreen version is available separately.  Special features include two commentary tracks.

The first one features writer/creator Matt Groening, writer/producer James L. Brooks, writer/producer Al Jean, writer/producer Mike Scully, director David Silverman, Yeardley Smith, and Dan Castellaneta, and the second one includes director Silverman, and sequence directors Mike B. Anderson, Steven Dean Moore and Rich Moore.

There are 5 minutes of deleted scenes introduced by Al Jean.  The “Special Stuff” section has 3 minutes of Simpsons appearances on the Tonight Show, American Idol, and a parody of the “Let’s go to the Lobby” concession stand spiel.  That’s it.  Seems pretty light to me.

The movie is hilarious, but the extra features feel like a bit of a letdown as far as deleted scenes go, the commentaries are top notch.  It’s well worth it for the film.  I must knock it down a bit because it could’ve been a bigger set (and I suspect will be somewhere down the line).