Alan Arkin Page 3

Morgan Freeman was joined by his 'Going In Style' co-stars Michael Caine and Alan Arkin for a legendary edition of the autocomplete interview, where they divulged some little known facts about themselves based on the most searched questions on the internet.

Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Alan Arkin and Zach Braff at the world premiere of 'Going In Style'

Google browsers sure do have some strange queries about these veteran stars, but the stories that they have regarding them are even weirder. The trio star in a new comedy from Zach Braff, which is in theatres this week.

Continue reading: Beekeeping, Tattoos And Brasseries: Morgan Freeman And Co-Stars Answer The Internet's Top Questions

Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone are no strangers to putting on their boxing gloves for the sake of the movies and in their latest film, Grudge Match, the two screen icons are putting their respective ages aside to step into the ring once again. The film comes with a lot of promise, starring Alan Arkin, Kevin Hart and Kim Basinger alongside the two screen titans, yet sadly the overall response to the film from critics has been very underwhelming.

Stallone, Arkin, Hart and De Niro miss the mark with their latest film

The film stars Stallone and De Niro as two retired boxers, both well past their best, who ended their career with a long-standing and unresolved feud some years earlier. After meeting each other for the first time in years in a chance encounter, their feud returns and boils into a confrontation that ends in a melee of sorts, one that almost instantly goes viral and reignites interest in the former fighters. Soon they are receiving offers to return to the ring and settle their feud once and for all, but they can only make it into the ring if they can actually regain their fitness in time for the big fight.

Continue reading: Stallone And De Niro Miss The Punch In 'Grudge Match' - Review Round-Up

We’re going to ease in to our round-up of this week’s movie releases, by starting with the ‘above average’ and moving gently down the quality scale, to the truly awful. We already know, by the fact that Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is riding high at the top of the box office, that there is literally no accounting for taste, so we will no longer try to influence your movie-going habits. We will simply present you with the facts and leave you to queue for your popcorn.

First up, Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer star in Warm Bodies, a zombie comedy that gets the laughs from Hoult’s slightly unusual zombie character who decides to save a living human, rather than chomp down on her arteries for a nice snack. Of course, that living human happens to be an attractive young female, in the form of Teresa Palmer (who, for the record, looks a lot like Kristen Stewart in this movie). John Malkovich also stars in this zom-com, which is a little bit ‘Shaun of the Dead,’ (pretending to be a zombie? Been there, done that) but looks like an entertaining way to pass a couple of hours.

Richard Roper of Chicago Sun-Times came up trumps with the most enthusiastic review so far, writing “I kinda love this movie. "Warm Bodies" is a well-paced, nicely directed, post-apocalyptic love story with a terrific sense of humor and the, um, guts to be unabashedly romantic and unapologetically optimistic.” 

Continue reading: Hot Tickets! US Movie Releases: Nicholas Hoult Stars In Zom Com 'Warm Bodies,' Stellar Cast Can't Save 'Stand Up Guys,' Another Stallone Doozy In 'Bullet To The Head'

A Proud Ben Affleck At The SAG Awards

The Iranian hostage drama Argo won the top prize at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards on Saturday evening (January 27, 2013), with Ben Affleck telling the audience, “There was absolutely no way I thought we would win this award.” The critically acclaimed movie – starring Affleck, Alan Arkin, John Goodman and others – has picked up a slew of prizes during awards’ season, making Ben Affleck’s omission from the Best Director category at the Oscars all the more confusing.

The complete list of winners at the SAG’s made for familiar reading, with Argo winning the top prize and Daniel Day-Lewis and Jennifer Lawrence picking up lead acting honors for Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook respectively. Despite Argo’s success, the bookmakers remain convinced that it will be Steven Spielberg’s historical epic that will pick up the Best Picture at the Oscars, with the director almost certain to pick up Best Director in the absence of Affleck. “I don't know what's going to happen, nothing may happen, but it's a wonderful opportunity to be on the ride,” said the Argo filmmaker when quizzed on his movie’s Oscar chances.

Continue reading: SAG Awards: Argo’s Success Continues To Make Academy Look Red Faced

Ben Affleck Had Every Reason To Smile At The Critics' Choice Awards

Ben Affleck jokingly thanked the Academy as he accepted Best Director at the Critics' Choice Awards in Santa Monica, California, last night. The 40-year-old was rewarded for his work behind the camera on hostage drama Argo, just hours after he was snubbed in the Oscar nominations.

Affleck's lauded drama - starring himself, John Goodman, Alan Arkin and Bryan Cranston - also picked up the award for Best Picture. "This is the one that counts," said Affleck after accepting the evening's main prize. Argo could yet walk away with the Oscar for Best Picture though it looks unlikely given Lincoln and Les Miserables are already stepping up their marketing campaigns. Elsewhere, Oscar favorite Daniel Day Lewis won Best Actor, while Jessica Chastain won Best Actress for Zero Dark Thirty. In a separate comedy category, David O'Russell's Silver Linings Playbook won pretty much everything, including Best Film, Best Comedy Actor and Actress for Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence and Best Ensemble Cast (including Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver.) Director O'Russell dedicated his award to his son who - like the film's main character - has bipolar disorder. "I made it to give him hope.That's my silver lining."

Continue reading: Who Needs The Oscars? Ben Affleck Wins Best Director At Critics' Choice Awards (Pictures)

Steve Carell is probably still funny to 14 year olds, and that's great. He's still got a market and he's still making plenty of movies, and plenty of money from them, so good on him. Once again however, his latest role looks abysmal. He's playing the eponymous magician of The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.

Having been enamoured as a child by television magicians he, along with his best friend Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi), makes it his career. Making it to be Las Vegas stars, eventually their act slowly goes down the pan, facing fierce competition from a long haired, dip-dyed street magician named Steve Gray, played by Jim Carrey (recently said to be the planet's funniest person by Judd Appatow). As the latest trailer shows, their gradually competing acts are something of a parody of the likes of David Blaine. However, Burt Wonderstone manages to enlist the help of the man that inspired him in the first place: Rance Holloway, played by the brilliant Alan Arkin. 

Despite having an impressive cast (Olivia Wilde and James Gandolfini also appear), from initial views of the trailer, it looks pretty terrible. We might be eating our words come March 15, 2013, and we'll happily do so, but it looks unlikely. Take a look at the trailer to decide for yourself: 

Continue reading: Steve Carrell, Jim Carrey And Alan Arkin's New Trailer For The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

This week’s movie releases are an even-handed mix of big budget blockbuster, gentle rom-com and moving documentary.

Obviously, the big chatter is all about Peter Jackson’s latest movie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which has arrived to a great fanfare but received a mixed response, thus far. Thanks to the legions of fans hooked on the very thought of a Tolkein adaptation, The Hobbit will undoubtedly attract enough over-excited cinemagoers to bump it up the box office ratings and we will most likely see Skyfall slipping down the ratings chart.

Despite reports of movie fans vomiting in the aisles of their local movie theatres, with their stomachs unsettled by Jackson’s decision to film The Hobbit at 48 frames per second as opposed to the standard 24 frames per second, the film has just about escaped the wrath of the critics. Although the response to The Hobbit has hardly been a case of anyone shouting from the rooftops, bursting with praise, Martin Freeman has been widely praised for his performance as Bilbo Baggins, balancing the fine line that his character must tread between comedic and heroic.

Continue reading: Hot Tickets - US Movie Releases - The Hobbit Bound For Box Office Success, Save The Date Is A Rom-Com Let Down, Pacino And Walken Save Stand-Up Guys

Ben Affleck stood on the red carpet with a smile on his face spreading from ear to ear last night as his new film, Argo, was given it’s premiere in Los Angeles to a rapturous reception.

The film, for which Affleck stars and directs, follows a true story of how a CIA 'exfiltration' specialist comes up with a daring rescue mission to free six Americans who have found shelter at the home of the Canadian ambassador during the Iranian revolution in 1979. Affleck stars as CIA operate Tony Mendez (the real Mendez even attended the premiere), who comes up with the idea of posing as a Hollywood producer on a location scout in Iran in order to safely extract the hostages from the country. With a strong acting ensemble including Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin and John Goodman in tow, the film received a standing ovation after it aired at the Toronto Film Festival last month and is already being tipped for an Oscar nomination or two.

The film marks not only Affleck’s return behind the camera, but also Affleck leaving behind Boston to film in somewhere completely new. Speaking to reporters on the red carpet before the film, he said, “I was really worried if I did one more of those [Boston-set film], I'd kind of be stuck there. I have other stories I want to tell. I went from Boston to Tehran."

Continue reading: Ben Affleck Debuts New Film ‘Argo’