WAS THAT CARIBOU KILLED IN HANNA?

Even though it does not bear the American Humane Society’s “no animal was harmed” seal, distributor Focus Features maintains that the caribou that appears to be the victim of Saoirse Ronan’s title character in Hanna was not injured during the production. In the opening sequence of the film, Ronan is seen tracking the animal, bringing […]

HANNA STRONGER THAN EXPECTED; ARTHUR WEAKER

Hold on! Russell Brand pictures did not finish in first and second place at the weekend box office as Sunday estimates had indicated. Final figures did indeed put the animated Hop, for which Brand provided the voice of the lead character, in first place with $21.3 million, but “lovable drunk” flick Arthur, which also starred […]

RUSSELL BUILDS HIS OWN BRAND

It’s certainly not often that one actor stars in the top two films at the box office (researchers are probably scrambling to see whether such a finish has ever occurred before), but Russell Brand nabbed that honor this weekend. [Update: Final figures released on Monday put Arthur in third place, not second; see below.] He […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: HANNA

To paraphrase the common cliché: You reads your critics and you takes your choice. Either Hanna is an intelligent top-of-the-line thriller, or its a pretentious over-the-top deceit — the critics are divided almost equally. Among those praising it is Roger Ebert, who writes in the Chicago Sun-Times: “Hanna is good, sound filmmaking. It depends on […]

BOX OFFICE TO DISPLAY BRAND NAME PRODUCTS

Russell Brand is just about guaranteed a first-place finish at the weekend box office. He’s the voice behind the animated character in Hop, the top ticket-seller last weekend, and he’s also the star of Arthur, the remake of the 1981 comedy that starred the late Dudley Moore. Analysts predict that Hop will remain in the […]