Discount Movie Posters Blog

With a staggering cost of $250 million, Disney’s John Carter was trashed by critics even before it was played on screen.

The negative reviews were based on the promotional trailer and photos of the actors who played key roles, especially Taylor Kitsch (John Carter); Lynn Collins (Princess Dejah Thoris) and Willem Dafoe (Tars Tarkas).

Disney timed the release of this film on the centenary of its first publication in 1912 by Edgar Rice Burrough (who would later publish his more popular creation “Tarzan”). Director/writer Andrew Stanton (“Finding Nemo” and “Wall-E”) was given task of re-creating the Burrough’s “Barsoom” (Mars) and its inhabitants on the silver screen.

Stanton’s talent as an excellent storyteller is evident, with his ability to pack in two hours and 19 minutes the origin of JC, his initial adventures in Mars and the personal battles he engages.

Kitsch and Collins match perfectly, and both do justice to their respective characters. Kitsch, as the reluctant hero, and Collins, as the strong-willed princess, fill the big screen with tension, action and romance. While the battles bring the film to perfect crescendos, the dialogues on principles and causes are fascinating as well.

The visual effects are stunning, although the gravity-defying jumps of JC go over the top. The Mars’ green Tharks look incredibly real, and may have influenced James Cameron’s blue Na’vis in “Avatar.”

Now that Disney has officially declared the film a financial flop, one can say that John Carter, though original in 1912, came too late on screen as most of its elements have been ripped off and incorporated in such films as Star Wars, Star Trek and Avatar. Rest in Peace, JC.

Blotfree Mel authors Blotfree, inspired writings published once a week.

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While aliens, superheroes and teenage vampires might provide most of the thrills we see on screens today, just regular human drama can be pretty fascinating as well. And there’s no better place for drama than the court room. So, without further ado, here are the best movie court cases.

5. Michael Clayton – While the typical trial scene involves two lawyers arguing before a judge and jury, 2007’s thriller Michael Clayton is the story of what goes on behind the public action. In the background of the story, U-North, a giant company, is getting close to achieving a multi-billion dollar merger. But a senior litigator (Arthur Edens) representing the company in a class-action case has stopped taking his meds and begins acting bizarrely. If he loses his case or worse, reveals damaging secrets about U-North he could ruin the company’s good name and its merger.

George Clooney plays the down-on-his-luck attorney Michael Clayton assigned the task of corralling the rogue attorney. What Clayton finds, however, is a maze of corporate greed that challenges his own moral compass and ultimately threatens his life.

The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Director. Unfortunately, it only won in one of its categories, with Tilda Swinton taking home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

4. Judgment at Nuremberg – Another film involving a crisis of conscience, Judgment at Nuremberg is about a military tribunal held in Nuremberg, Germany after the Second World War. On trial are four German judges accused of committing crimes against humanity. Presiding over the courtroom is Judge Dan Haywood played by Spencer Tracy. As the film progresses, Haywood tries to understand how defendant Ernst Janning (Burt Lancaster) could have passed rulings allowing genocide and murder. Meanwhile, defense attorney Hans Rolfe (Maximilian Schell) raises a number of ethical questions about United States’ own shaky legal history.

In addition to outstanding performances by Tracy, Lancaster and Schell, the film includes famous actresses Judy Garland and Marlene Dietrich as well as an up-and-coming William Shatner. The film won Maximilian Schell an Oscar and took home another award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

3. 12 Angry Men – One of the classic courtroom dramas, this film focuses on a jury decision in a death penalty case. A teenage boy from the slums has been accused of stabbing his father to death and the jury needs to deliver a verdict. Every juror except one (Henry Fonda) comes to the quick conclusion that the boy is guilty. As Fonda points out suspicious parts of the prosecution’s case, the story quickly devolves into a character study of the jurors themselves. Through their debate, they reveal their own pasts and the biases which cloud their perspectives on the trial.

Based on the teleplay by Reginald Rose, the film is often considered one of the best courtroom dramas of all time. It was nominated for three Academy Awards including best picture but had the misfortune of losing in every one of its categories to The Bridge on the River Kwai.

2. Inherit the Wind – A film that has retained its controversial standing almost 50 years later, Inherit the Wind, centers around a young science teacher who has broken state law by teaching evolution in the classroom. On the defense is Henry Drummond, famed atheist and renowned trial lawyer. On the prosecution is Matthew Harrison Brady, a one-time presidential candidate and firm believer in the literal interpretation of the Bible. As the case progresses, the debate in the courtroom becomes less about the accused school teacher and more about the dueling theologies of the lawyers.

Based on the real 1925 Scopes “Monkey” Trial, the film hasn’t lost any of its punch almost 50 years later. It was nominated for four Academy Awards though it won in none of its categories. Led by acting giants Spencer Tracy, Fredric March and Gene Kelly, the film is a powerful and engaging look at the evolution debate and what it means for our society.

1. To Kill A Mockingbird – Seen through the eyes of six-year old Scout, To Kill a Mockingbird is a chilling look at racism and heroism in a small Alabama town. The trial in the movie revolves around an African American man accused of raping a white woman. Atticus Finch (Scout’s father) is selected to represent the man and defies the wish of the town’s people to see a speedy trial. He instead presents a compelling case that the white woman, in fact, made the advances and only invented the story of rape when she was caught.

Today, Atticus Finch is perhaps the role-model American father. He explains the world to his children with a mixture of compassion and wisdom. He leads by example, standing up for justice and the rights of all individuals despite overwhelming odds.

The film won Gregory Peck a Best Actor Oscar as well as two other awards for Set Decoration and Adapted Screenplay. It was nominated for Best Picture but lost to 1963’s other classic film Lawrence of Arabia.

About the Author: W. T. Johnson is a personal injury attorney in the Dallas area. He has been a Dallas personal injury lawyer for over 25 years and enjoys real life court cases as well as fictionalized ones.

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When we hear the staggering statistics that often get circulated in the wake of a box office hit, it’s easy to think that making a film also means making a huge profit.

However, whilst innovative blockbusters like Avatar can gross billions of dollars it’s also important to remember that they cost several hundred millions of dollars to produce and promote. So, what happens when that investment doesn’t pay off?

Here’s a look at the stories of a few productions that flopped spectacularly;

Zyzzyx Road

Having an unpronounceable name was only one of the many problems that plagued this independently made thriller. One of the actors, Joe Sizemore, who played a leading role, was arrested during filming for failing drugs tests whilst on probation. Luckily, he wasn’t jailed so could continue filming, however, his assistant did end up behind bars on charges of distributing obscene images.

After the tribulations the accompanied the films creation it was released in just one Cinema, located in Texas, where it ran for a single week. It grossed a feeble $30 from the six people who went to see it (though two of them received a refund from the producers as a thank you for having helped out on set…)

Motherhood

Whilst Zyzzx Road has a number of excuses for performing badly (super-low budget, no big names, producers focused on overseas DVD sales) the same cannot be said of Motherhood, which starred none other than Golden Globe winning actress Uma Thurman in the leading role, and cost roughly $5 million to make.

The movie, which focuses on a stressed New York mother trying to make sense of her life through her blog, fared poorly in the US. In the UK however it was an unmitigated disaster. It deliberately launched it just one cinema, in the hope that exclusivity would create a buzz. It didn’t. It was seen by about a dozen people before being dropped.

Cutthroat Island

When it comes to judging just how bad a flop is, all things are relative. On its release in 1995 Cuttthroat Island grossed $10,000,000, which doesn’t sound too bad, until you consider the fact that 10 times that amount was invested in the film.

The picture is often credited with the demise of Carolco Films, the studio that produced it and went bankrupt shortly after its release. The Guiness Book of World Records even named it as the biggest cinematic flop of all time. Still, that was before the following films hit the screens…

Mars Needs Moms

Comparing the all time worst box office flops is made tricky by the changing value of money over the decades, however, if you do not make allowances for inflation, the biggest loss ever endured at the box office was suffered by Disney’s Mars Needs Moms in 2011.

The animated tale of a boy attempting save his mother from alien abduction has to date grossed only about $14,000,000 despite opening in over 3,000 theatres and benefitting from a budget in excess $150,000,000. Luckily, Disney can probably take the hit…

The Alamo

Until the above mentioned flop took its crown, The Alamo had the honour of making the biggest ever loss at the box office (unadjusted for inflation).

The film, which retells the familiar story of Texan bravery in the face of the Mexican army’s overwhelming numbers, tried to be less simplistically rousing and one sided than most audiences and critics were probably expecting. This may explain why it ended its theatrical run having grossed only $26,000,000.

Considering that the film featured a specially built 51 acre set (the most expensive ever built in North America) it’s little surprise these paltry takings ended up constituting a loss of more than $130,000,000.

John Kline is a television and film critic who regularly dissects offerings from both the box office and the TV guide.

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If you’re settling in for a movie night with your crew then one thing’s for sure: you need some snacks. But which snacks are best, and could choosing one in particular unintentionally alienate somebody in your friend group (getting that meat feast pizza might not be the best plan if you have a vegetarian or two among you, for example)? Fortunately for you, below you’ll find a mouth-watering menu of cinematic snacks for every occasion; just be sure to choose wisely.

Popcorn

The classic – and some would say ultimate – movie snack. Sold at cinemas across the globe (often for incredibly extortionate prices of course), you can easily replicate the taste sensation by popping some corn of your own at home. Although you can cook popcorn in a pan, generally it’s an easier – and often safer – bet to simply microwave it. Whether you go for sweet or savoury popcorn is up to you, but do remember that salted popcorn is going to make you incredibly thirsty (so make sure to have something good to drink to hand).

Pizza

Pizza is a snacking staple, and also counts as a full meal for the less gastronomically demanding. If you definitely want to indulge in a bit of pizza (“indulge” as it’s not necessarily known as the best thing for you), the healthier option is to make your own from the base up. However, many a good movie night has been had with takeaway pizza, so this option should never be knocked (even if it is a little unhealthy). As previously mentioned, you should always be careful what flavours of pizza you get if you’re sharing; you don’t want anyone going hungry due to preferences (or maybe even medical or religious reasons).

Fruit & vegetables

Although not necessarily the most obvious snacking choice, fruit and vegetables with a selection of dips can make a great film night accompaniment. Vegetable-wise, carrots and celery cut into handy sticks tend to be popular choices. Fruit can be apples, grapes or indeed anything you want; indeed, such choices can even open up the option of turning your movie night victuals into those of a classy wine and cheese party.

Candy

Throwing any real attempts at being healthy out of the window, sweets and chocolate are always a welcome movie accompaniment. With plenty of options available, you’re bound to be able to find a combination that everyone can enjoy (and additionally it’s way cheaper than buying them at an actual cinema).

Carol Brown is currently perusing a number of LCD TV deals; once she actually picks one, movie nights can be hosted at her place for a change!

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Action, comedy, drama, suspense – everyone has their favorite movies and genre of movies, but what about the wonderful world of green films? The apocalypse movies that say the world ends from too much pollution and this is what happens when we have to rebuild, the cutesy cartoons that teach kids not to pollute, the dramas about people living in a polluted world and having to destroy the main source of pollutants.

I’m aware that people have their own lists of their top 5 movies, but here are my top 5 picks for the best green movies of all-time (or at least my personal favorites!).

Finding Nemo

Call it what you will, but I consider Finding Nemo to be a green movie. We all know the story of the little fish that gets taken far away from home and has to find a way to adjust to domestic life while his father frantically scours the ends of the ocean to find him.

But think toward the middle/end of the movie when little Nemo and his bum fin find a way out of the tank in the little boy’s bedroom and back into the ocean. He fakes his own death so that he’ll get flushed down the toilet and end up back in the ocean. The moral of the story to all the little youngins: whatever you flush may end up polluting the ocean floor.

Happy Feet

In keeping with the kids’ movie theme here to start, Happy Feet is another great green movie for all ages. First of all, the main “characters” (the penguins, of course) are so isanely cute that you’d be crazy not to like the movie for that reason alone.

The big penguin that sits on top of a mound of snow and has his penguin friends bring him gifts, Lovelace (voiced by Robin Williams), has a soda can ring stuck around his neck that eventually ends up choking him. This is a very real environmental issues. Many people throw away the plastic rings that hold soda cans and bottles together for purchasing directly into the trash, when they should be cut so that animals in the wild where the trash is dumped (another environmental no-no) don’t get caught in the rings like that.

And, of course, the end of the movie is just a blatant, screaming environmental message if I’ve ever seen one. Mumble, the main character, sees all of the equipment that humans use to fish and run their businesses in those climates and he gets scared and almost dies. The moral of the story is that humans are getting too much in the way of so many animals’ natural climates and it’s disrupting the way these creatures live in their own home habitats.

The Day After Tomorrow

Moving away from the kids’ theme a bit is The Day After Tomorrow. This entire movie is advocating greener practices to save the world! No, really.

The main character, Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) takes a trip to Antarctica only to find that a large piece of a polar ice sheet has been sheared off, which he later discovers triggers extreme climate changes around the world.

Jack’s son, Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal), is in New York in the meantime, where it rains for 3 weeks straight while there are other climate disasters happening all over the world. Sam (and everyone else) figures out that there is going to be a new ice age and people start scurrying to points south for their warmth. Daddy to the rescue, though, Jack goes against the rest of the world flocking south and heads back to New York to help save his son.

The entire movie is basically a prediction for what will happen to the world if the greenhouse effect and global warming continue, so it makes a pretty valid point about the advantages of thinking about going green. Hey, you could save the world!

Erin Brockovich

The classic true story of a single mother (played by Julia Roberts) looking for a job and ending up taking on the world. She loses a lawsuit against a doctor who she was involved in a car accident with and finally convinces her lawyer to let her work in his office as replacement for the loss.

She wears somewhat trashy clothing and is a bit hippy-ish, so of course no one takes her seriously at first, until she starts uncovering a questionable real estate case involving a multi-billion dollar corporation. She finds out that the company is covering up the fact that they’re buying land that is polluted with a deadly toxin that is poisoning the residents that live on it. They’re trying to buy the land because they’re the ones illegally polluting and dumping the toxins into it.

Erin Brockovich becomes an integral part in her law firm’s case against the company that’s polluting and then buying the land and they end up winning. Hooray, Erin, for saving the environment!

The Lorax

A classic Dr. Seuss book, the original Lorax, made for TV, is a great environmental lesson to kids and adults alike. In true Dr. Seuss fashion, the main characters are a Once-ler (a businessman, basically), a Lorax (a small and irritable creature that lives in the trees) and a little boy. The Once-ler tells the little boy a story about the land that used to be in the exact place where they sit.

The Once-ler invaded the area with an idea to make a useless fashion piece out of the trees on the land. One by one, he cut down the trees (truffula trees) and used them to make his products, even against the Lorax’s warnings. Soon, all of the animals in the area are forced to leave because they needed the truffula trees to survive, but the Once-ler’s business is booming, so he decides to continue chopping them down.

Eventually there are no truffula trees left to cut, so the Once-ler is forced out of business, and the Lorax has to leave his home for good. He leaves the Once-ler with a truffula tree seed, though, that the Once-ler gives to the little boy to encourage bringing back the forest that all of the animals lived in before he cut down all of their trees.

The best news of all about The Lorax is that a new, full-length version will be out this year! It’s a classic environmental movie that everyone should see.

Jackie Ryan is a freelance writer for various lifestyle publications. She’s a big movie buff and a big believer in going green – so throw your trash in your Rubbermaid garbage cans and get the recycling out every day to at least try to limit your impact on our beautiful environment!

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Disney was aware interest for the film “Mars Needs Moms” was low, but nothing could have prepared them for its disastrous release. The animated film, which used motion-capture technology, cost Disney $150 million to make, but only earned $6.9 million (a record-low for Disney) at the box offices on opening weekend. This puts the film at the 12^th worst opening of all time for a movie of its caliber.

Box office observers attribute the film’s flop to several different factors, the first being that viewers simply don’t like motion-capture technology. The style, which was also used in the movie “Avatar,” can look a bit frightening. It requires actors to wear mini inertial sensors, which translates their movements to software. The animation ends up looking too human to be cartoon.

Some critics go as far as asserting that animation works better when the subjects aren’t human. Films that have been successful in the past few years have featured animals, lawn gnomes, and other creatures. Aside from that, the subject matter itself was scary for children as well. The plot deals with a mom that is kidnapped by aliens, leaving her son abandoned, which caused uneasy feelings among children.

Another issue was the simple fact that the word “mom” was used in the title. Many feel this title dissuaded boys from being interested in the film. Boys believed the film was targeted for females, which resulted in them choosing to attend action flicks instead.  Statistics showed that viewers of “Mars Needs Moms” were predominantly female.

Disney realized the film was up against some great odds when they screened an early cut. In fact, the studio chose to terminate their collaboration with ImageMovers shortly after the viewing.  But, by that point, it was too late to halt work on the film altogether because doing so would require them to eat significant costs.  Producers decided to press forward with the film and give it their best shot.

Fortunately for Disney, they experienced a sustained successful streak at the box office in 2010, which helps mitigate the damage done last year. “Toy Story 3” and “Alice and Wonderland” were the top two releases worldwide that year. “Tangled” was a great success as well, grossing an incredible $551.5 million globally. For the time being, however, Disney must deal with moving forward and detangling itself from the mess left by “Mars.”

“Mars Needs Moms” wasn’t the only hiccup for Disney this past year. In fact, the corporation had a rough 2011 all around, which leaves many wondering what lies ahead for the family entertainment supergiant. There was hope that when Disney acquired Pixar, the brand would be pulled out of the trenches and resurrected it to its former glory. It appears that the damage to the brand may be irreparable though. Too many years have gone by with direct-to-DVD sequel releases, and box office releases that don’t quite meet the mark.

Disney has extensive plans to refresh its identity. It plans to add a “Cars” themed land to California Adventure this year, in hopes that the addition will keep consumers from growing bored of the parks aging attractions. In Disneyworld, an expansion will be added to Fantasyland over 2012 and 2013. Planning even further ahead, Disney is working on an “Avatar” attraction for Animal Kingdom, which is expected to be debuted in 2015.

It seems Disney’s magic may be wearing off and in order to save the enormous franchise, it’s going to require more than one fairy godmother. Here’s to hoping the iconic brand pulls through because, let’s face it, childhood without Disney would be pretty bleak.

About the author: Jaime is an avid hiker and movie enthusiast who enjoys writing in her spare time for U.S. Bundles – home of USbundles.com.

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One of the most difficult tasks in this world which one can face is to review a David Lynch film like “Lost Highway”. When you walk out of theater you would have several questions in your mind what the hell is happening over there. The movie “Lost Highway” will give you a totally new transpired experience of cinema movie watching.

The movie “Lost Highway” is a combined creation of David Lynch and Barry Gifford which is known to be a surreal and twisted movie in which you can come across with different sudden characters at any time and people of the movie seem to be disappeared and reappear at any unexpected moment. The characters seem to be occupying different areas of space and time.

The main theme of the movie is based upon the deadly sin and the retribution that is known to be paid by those who commit it. The movie reflects the same idea as given in the movie “Double Indemnity” by Dante Inferno which is known to leave several questions in the mind of the audience at the end. The movie has been created after getting some inspirations from the film Noir School of the thirties and forties including its dialogues and soundtrack.

The movie seems to be giving a reflection of what is going on here crime stories instead of focusing on a whodunit. In fact the film contains everything that has to do with the main ideas that the author is trying to explain to the viewers. In this film and according to the Lynch and his company, the life has been compared with a bizarre which is full of unexpected and sudden absurd moments that you have to pass through day after day. Not only Lynch has been succeeded in bringing these things to our attention but is expert to jam them in the faces of audience. The outcome is a movie which is a bit startling and disturbing. However, the latest Lynching is now considering as the mixture of disparate elements that are combined together to make for a smart romp.

The movie contains three main characters- Bill Pullman as Fred, Patricia Arquette as Renee Madison and Balthazar Getty as Pete. These three main characters are always seem to question the insane moments and enters the film with a tournedo spinning around them all the times. At the end of the movie a character prison guard tells the audience that some pretty spooky shit is happening throughout the movie which forces the audience to laugh at the modest quality of the remarks.

Robert Blake appears in the film as the strangest cast who already performed well in the movie Mystery Man. He is an additional character of the film which has been used to make sense about the actor’s eccentric disposition. Blake has done a fantastic job in this film and makes the hairs of the necks of the audience stand with a bit help of the pancake makeup. The movie also shows some other important characters as well like Gary Busey, Robert Loggia and a small performance given by Richard Pryor.

Written by Frederic Longreen a freelance writer who covers webmaster topics, pc tools antivirus social medias, android apps, registry cleaner review and other reviews.

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Each year the Chicago International Film Festival presents a fall review of the best work in independent film making. This year the film festival celebrated its 46th festival. Like previous years this event summoned movie entries from filmmakers around the globe. These films depicted storylines that represent contemporary concerns about the economy, culture and politics. These films also presented interesting demonstrations of the latest technology fads in entertainment media. One of the leading technology fads in movie entertainment this year was 3D films.

According to the Score Card Review one of this year’s most popular attractions to the Chicago International Film Festival was the “Film on Film” series, which was sponsored by DePaul University. This internationally acclaimed film series had a number of international and domestic screening, with the CIFF being just one of them.

Yelp and other blog sites provided numerous personal reviews of this year’s festival. Most of the reviews seemed to indicate that there was a great selection of genre films to choose between, and that those films that were shown were of high quality. Quality and variety are two very common characteristics that the CIFF has maintained since its first event in 1964. The quality and variety that is offered makes this event a must attend for film students, independent movie makers and movie lovers.

Now down to the best part of the CIFF, the movies. This year the display of movie posters varied from foreign language films to dramas to comedies. Some of the most popular films presented included Wasteland, Abacus and Sword and Problema. These films brougth viewers through a wide range of emotions and told stories that the general American puiblic most likely have not heard before, but stories that they can connect to as these storylines are timeless and universal in their appeal. I cannot wait until next year’s festival and I hope to see some of you there!

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Get Low is an outstanding movie driven by two seasoned actors, Robert Duval and Sissey Spacek. A movie spun out of equal parts folk tale, fable and real-life legend about the mysterious, 1930s Tennessee hermit who famously threw his own rollicking funeral party while he was still alive.

Bill Murray, Lucas Black, Gerald McRaney, Bill Cobbs, Scott Cooper and Lori Beth E each add depth to movie.

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After enjoying the book I was enthusiastically looked forward to see the movie. The best word to described my experimence is disappointed.

It took me time to figure out what was missing. It was the a fine thread that held the different parts of the movie together. There was no spiritual or emotional connection between the main character (played by Julia Roberts) and her journey. And that was the purpose of the story! This was a very shallow experience.

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