sandwichjohnfilms

First look at   Sharlto Copley in  Neill ‘District 9’ Blomkamp's upcoming dystopian epic Elysium .  Copley will be playing the film’s villain Kruger. Elysium is set in the year 2159, and pits the oppressed people of the ruined planet Earth against the privileged elite aboard the Elysium space station. Matt Damon is ex-convict man-on-a-mission Max, fighting with the Terrans for equality, and Jodie Foster is the dastardly government official intent on enforcing anti-immigration laws and keeping Elysium for the Elysians; Kruger is her relentless attack dog. Reports over the summer seemed to suggest that Copley, who of course starred for Blomkamp in District 9, had one eye on Heath Ledger's Joker for the role of the black-ops military nutbag, but Copley tells Empire this was a misunderstanding. "The Joker was a mistaken reference," he says. "I was really just saying that that was the last time I saw a villain that inspired me: somebody that set the bar. T

Parental Guidance Review By: MattInRC The inoffensive but bland Parental Guidance is a nice throwback for families. And that's the problem. There was a time when nice live-action family comedies ruled the movie theaters. Forget about well-made, Oscar nominated-fare - we're talking about films you could sit your kids in front of for a good laugh while still appealing to mom and dad with hidden sexual innuendos. Parenthood, Father of the Bride, Christmas Vacation, and Home Alone became instant classics that extended the careers of Steve Martin, Chevy Chase , and other mid-aged actors desperately looking for paychecks. Today, many of these films feel antiquated and down-right tedious with their gags falling flat and the cuteness factor reminding us of cheesy schmaltz. I'm not sure what has caused us to look so negatively at these used-to-be classics, but they've certainly not held up. Parental Guidance finds itself a potential victim of the times in wh

DREAMWORKS’ HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON LIVE SPECTACULAR TICKETS TO SACRAMENTO STOP DATES ON SALE NOW! Visit www.dreamworksdragonslive.com to purchase tickets. Following critically acclaimed engagements in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States,   DREAMWORKS’ HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON LIVE SPECTACULAR continues to wow audiences across the US, setting a new standard for live entertainment. Here’s what critic Michael Grossberg of the Columbus Dispatch wrote about the show, which just played the Schottenstein Center this past weekend: “Leavened with comedy and consistent thrills, the two-act production expertly adapts the popular 2010 3D DreamWorks Animation film based on the 2003 book. In some ways, the more dramatic fight, flight and chase sequences seem even more effective onstage because of the nearly seamless way the creative team blends the live action with giant cinematic projections on a large rear screen and larger football-field floor.” “Impressive effects a

Win your tickets to see an advance screening for ZERO DARK THIRTY ! The screening is on January 9, 2013 - 7:00 PM at Regal Natomas Stadium 16 in Sacramento. Oscar-winner and action goddess Kathryn Bigelow is back on our screens very soon with  ZERO DARK THIRTY , a story about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, and a new poster and new images for the film are live.   Jessica Chastain stars as a member of the small CIA team dedicated to tracking down the terrorist leader in a hunt that spanned a decade, with support from Joel Edgerton, Mark Strong, Frank Grillo, Chris Pratt, Harold Perrineau, Kyle Chandler, Mark Duplass, Scott Adkins, James Gandolfini, Jennifer Ehle and Jason Clarke . Yes: turns out you can attract quite the cast when your previous film won all the Oscars. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY   Make sure to LIKE SandwichJohnFilms on Facebook and why not come and follow me on Twitter also.  Official Website - See how to win tickets after the Jump... Ple

Jack Reacher Review By: MattInRC Jack Reacher is a fun, action-packed movie that's a little too smart for its own good. But we're OK with that. Considering the violent and mind-numbing December we've been forced to endure, it seemed like Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher could have become a victim of circumstance. The events of Sandy Hook have shocked us all, and the studios, ever worried about public opinion, actually considered postponing the film due to its violent opening. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed, resulting in a well-acted and solidly shot effort, even if some of the comedy is definitely out of place. Based on the series of books by Lee Child , Jack Reacher is a detective thriller. Don't let some of the trailers suggest it's a yuck-fest: it's a little smart, a lot violent, and very disturbing in other places. Cruise plays the titular Reacher, an ex-military MP and sniper turned drifter who's entirely off the digital grid. He

Les Miserables Review By: MattInRC Les Miserables is a solid, thought-provoking, and powerful musical that deserves some Oscar street cred. Growing up in a home where musicals mixed with opera, classical music, and even Scott Joplin to create the soundtrack of my early youth, it's no wonder why I'm such a film and music diva. When you're surrounded by Pavarotti and Arthur Fiedler, and your Spring Saturdays are spent enjoying live productions of Madame Butterfly, your expectations will undoubtedly morph into a discerning eye that can smell a ratty director or musician of the modern era a mile away. Les Miserables is definitely not one of those kinds of films; it's defiant, utterly shameless in its bombasity, and filled to the gills with some of the best singing performances by Hollywood actors in a long while. Based on the 1862 book by Victor Hugo, our central hero Jean Valjean ( Hugh Jackman , X-Men series) is at first an emaciated figure fresh out

This is 40 Review By: MattInRC The funny but unnecessarily-long This is 40 has its moments, just not enough of them to recommend it. For a film starring the director's wife and kids and consisting of the same creative team that made 40-Year-Old Virgin, one would think the rom-com This is 40 would have everything it needed to tell the funniest personal love story in recent memory. Set up not as a sequel but a spinoff, This is 40 picks up several years after the events of Knocked Up , following the couple Pete ( Paul Rudd , I Love You, Man) and Debbie ( Leslie Mann , Last Man Standing) as they deal with the doldrums of marriage and family. Slowly, the couple has grown distant towards each other, as Pete has started his own record label, while Debbie runs an independent clothing store. Meanwhile, their two girls (Apatow's real-life daughters) are connected to the digital world, content to answer Facebook posts rather than speak to each other. But underneath the s

It might've ended up as one of the biggest hits of the year, but director Joss Whedon and company had some big decisions to make during the development of The Avengers . How should the new characters look? What about the massive battle in downtown New York? Now, thanks to some early concept art, we know how Marvel's magnum opus evolved. Several pieces of concept art generated by artist Andy Park have been released online, many of which were featured in the recent book The Art of Marvel's The Avengers , and they reveal some of the earliest designs for characters like Hawkeye and Agent Maria Hill. It's interesting to see the tweaks made to the classic comic looks compared to how it ended up on screen. Some of the cooler pics are the designs for Thanos in space and the alien attack on Manhattan, both of which look fairly similar to what made it into the finished product. Park has released dozens of images on his official website , which is well worth a lo