News

Our countdown of the 100 best films of the 21st century continues. This is Part 3 #50 through 26.

Click here for Part 1 (#100 - 76)!

Click here for Part 2 (#75-51)!

The first decade and a half of the 21st century has brought a lot of changes to the landscape of film. The advancement and sophistication of computers has made realistic computer generated effects a mainstay in both big-budget and small-budget films. The internet and streaming technologies have given big Hollywood new competition in films produced independently and by non-traditional means. We went from purchasing films on yards of tape to plastic disks, and now we can simply upload them to the cloud. Advertisements for films have reached a higher, more ruthless level where generating hype through trailers and teasers is crucial for a film’s commercial success. Movie attendance has fluctuated along with the economy, but that hasn’t stopped films from breaking box office records,...

Los Angeles -- This week, with the opening of the historical romance "Hyde Park on Hudson," I finally get to do a Five Most list I've been thinking about for a while now: my favorite Bill Murray performances.

His take on President Franklin Delano Roosevelt may not be some of his best work, but it's an unexpected bit of casting, and it provides a great opportunity to reflect on the fantastically eclectic career he's put together over the past three-plus decades.

So here are my picks in chronological order. Honorable mention goes to his supporting turn as trash-talking bowling champ Ernie McCracken in the underappreciated Farrelly brothers comedy "Kingpin" (1996), for the sweet hairpiece, if nothing else.

_ "Caddyshack" (1980): Murray was at the height of his "Saturday Night Live" cult stardom when he gave his enduring portrayal of oddball golf course greenskeeper Carl Spackler in this all-time-great raunchy `80s comedy. The...

One thing we love watching is an actor playing against type, be it someone known for playing serial killers taking a comic approach, or perhaps more notably, the other way around; comedians trying something a little more serious and less wacky. It’s a tough trick to pull off, and frequently falls flat, but when it works, the results can be unforgettable, and as in the examples below, they generally elevate the actor’s stature considerably.

Here are ten amazing dramatic roles from comedy actors…

1. Bill Murray – Lost in Translation (2003)

Bill Murray made a name for himself in the late 70s through to the 1980s working on Saturday Night Live, Meatballs, Caddyshack, Stripes and, of course, the Ghostbusters films. By the 90s, racking up classic comedies like Groundhog Day and fashioning a strong working relationship with Wes Anderson, Murray was cemented as a mainstay of comic cinema, and that all...

Today's round-up has a distinct superhero (and action hero) motif.

Where there are upcoming films, there is gossip and speculation and the hero genre is no exception.

Sadly, so much turns out to be fiction and fabrication so I am warning readers now to switch on their bulls**t detector and set it to maximum as we head deep into Rumourville.

Only the other day, I brought you the 'story' about Taylor Swift (the singer whose awards acceptance speech was disrupted by Kanye West storming on stage) being a top choice to star in a new Supergirl movie.

The project was allegedly called Supergirl! The Love Story. This rumour originated on Hollyscoop, the site that previously scooped poop when it told us Miley Cyrus was going to be cast as Batgirl. Is the needle on your bulls**t detector twitching yet? It should be.

Okay, so on to today's gossip.

Tobey Maguire is the latest A-list actor being rumored for the role of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, a two-part return to Middle Earth from director Guillermo del Toro and producer Peter Jackson.

At an interview recently while promoting Brothers, the Spider-Man 4 headliner said he’d like to work with Del Toro next. When asked for further comment he said, “We may have something here in the near future.”

LatinoReview followed up on the quote and has the scoop from an inside agency source that Maguire is “in talks” for the part, though nothing has been signed and no offer has been made. His publicists are denying the rumor, but that’s what they’re paid to do.

Update: Maguire has made a personal statement saying “I have not met with del Toro. We don’t have any near future plans. I don’t know if something got misconstrued...

Pajiba is reporting that Tobey Maguire is developing and planning to star in Prisoners of Trebek. The film will be an adaptation of the book, Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy! , which tells the true story of stand-up comedian Bob Harris who tried to master Jeopardy, but instead found himself and fell in love. There is no director currently attached to the project but William Wheeler (The Hoax) has written the script, which is said to have elements of a Charlie Kaufman film. I’m going to assume that this means that the film will be a little bit eccentric. However, we may not see this film anytime soon since Maguire will be busy next year filming Spider-Man 4 and there is also the rumor that he might be heading over to the Shire once he’s done web-slinging around New York.