Movie News

Capsule reviews of films opening this week:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Final box office figures for "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" showed the movie's ticket sales rising to $142.8 million from an estimated $140.7 million last weekend, the studio behind the film said on Monday.

TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) - Asian films, led by Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul's "Syndromes and a Century," dominated the Toronto International Film Festival's best-of-the-decade poll results released Monday.

When considering the meager merits of the bone-snapping, blood-splattered "Ninja Assassin," it's best to remember the words of John Goodman's PC-challenged character in "The Big Lebowski": "The man in the black pajamas, Dude. Worthy ... adversary."

LOS ANGELES - The vampire romance "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" put the box office into orbit with a $142.8 million opening weekend. The sequel took in twice as much as "Twilight" in its first three days a year ago.

ATHENS (Reuters) - 20th Century Fox will make a profit with James Cameron's 3D sci-fi epic "Avatar," Fox Filmed Entertainment chairman Jim Gianopulos said in an interview, and dismissed reports the movie cost $500 million as "ridiculous."

ATHENS, Greece - The chief executive of Fox Filmed Entertainment said Monday the U.S. should join France in cutting off the Internet connection of users who repeatedly download copyright-protected films.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Dark Void" will yield movie development matter.

In Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic novel "The Road," no word is repeated so often and with such steady emphasis as "ash."

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Marc Shaiman has been named music director of the 82nd Academy Awards.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - The "Twilight" vampire romance sequel "New Moon" took a record-breaking bite out of the North American box office this weekend, final figures showed Monday.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The "Twilight" sequel scored the third-biggest opening weekend of all time at the North American box office on Sunday, as millions of young women swooned over the complex love triangle involving a high school girl, a vampire and a werewolf.

LOS ANGELES - The King of Pop is still winning awards and setting records doing it.

"Pirate Latitudes" (HarperCollins, 320 pages. $27.99), by Michael Crichton: It's pointless to complain about the cardboard characters, dreadful action-movie dialogue and wildly improbable plot points in Michael Crichton's latest — and last — book, published posthumously.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Warner Bros. is going to the dogs, signing on to acquire and develop "Nubs," a feel-good story of a pooch and a U.S. Marine based on a publishing sensation.

HONG KONG - How do you say school's out in Chinese?

PHILADELPHIA - A surprisingly strong weekend opening for the second movie in the Twilight vampire series, "New Moon," led analysts to raise their box office forecasts and support a more upbeat outlook for theater chains.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Idris Elba has joined the cast of "Thor," Marvel Studios' film centering on the Norse god of thunder.

MADRID - Seven bulls being used on the set of a film starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz have broken free in Spain and slightly injured two people.

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Staten Island is regarded as New York's bastard stepchild of a borough, and unfortunately, this film is unlikely to enhance its reputation. A Tarantino-influenced crime drama featuring a tripartite story line that is far too precious for its own good, "Staten Island" will do nonexistent business in theaters after it opens Friday (November 20), but should garner video and television exposure thanks to its reasonably well-known cast.

LOS ANGELES - Vampires and werewolves have vanquished a dark knight. "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" took in $72.7 million in its first day to break the single day domestic box office record previously held by "The Dark Knight," which had a $67.2 million opening day last year.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The moon may be new, and the director may be different (Chris Weitz takes over the reins from Catherine Hardwicke), but otherwise, the second installment of the "Twilight" saga remains, for better or worse, exceptionally faithful to its 2008 beginnings.

OCALA, Fla. - John Travolta and his family made their first public appearance in their adopted Florida hometown since his son's death, helping raise thousands of dollars for charity at a screening of the actor's new comedy Friday night.

HAVANA - Fidel Castro was 32 and building his new government on the fly.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Uma Thurman soon will be making time with Rob Pattinson.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio - The jury in the trial of an Ohio police chief accused of breaking into the home of a woman who carried twins for Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick ended five hours of deliberations Friday without a verdict.

BERLIN (Reuters) - German director Werner Herzog will head the jury at the 2010 Berlin film festival, organizers said on Thursday.

NEW YORK - "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" has set a box-office record for midnight screenings.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The simple yet powerful story of the Prodigal Son was given a vigorous new interpretation in the 2004 Danish film "Brothers," directed by Susanne Bier.