Review: A Good Old Fashioned Orgy

You know what A Good Old Fashioned Orgy reminds me of? Summer camp. Okay, clearly orgy and kids’ camp don’t really go together; it’s more of the combination of summertime and a group of friends getting together to enjoy some shenanigans. Rather than a pool party with sparklers à la Camp Nowhere, the A Good Old Fashioned Orgy characters enjoy drinking themselves into oblivion and planning a night packed with group sex. While I’ll never grow out of Camp Nowhere, there’s certainly room for more adult debauchery and A Good Old Fashioned Orgy fills that void in the best way possible.

Eric (Jason Sudeikis) is the king of parties. Every weekend, he and his friends ditch New York City and head out to the Hamptons to throw epic bashes at Eric’s family’s summerhouse. Sadly, after the white trash-themed night, Eric’s father decides it’s time to sell the place, making this the gang’s last summer of madness at the Hamptons house.

Determined to go out with a bang, Eric decides he’ll throw the party of all parties on Labor Day weekend, not for the whole town as usual, but just for his closest friends, Mike, Alison, Sue, Laura, Doug and Willow (Tyler Labine, Lake Bell, Michelle Borth, Lindsay Sloane, Martin Starr and Angela Sarafyan). The BFFs plan to end their summer with an orgy.

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Interview: The Family Tree’s Dermot Mulroney

We get our fair share of dysfunctional families on the big screen, but very few to the extent of the Burnetts in The Family Tree. Dermot Mulroney stars as the papa bear, Jack. When his wife, Bunnie (Hope Davis), gets knocked out during some naughty and unfaithful role-playing, Jack finds her at the hospital unable to remember anything that happened after they were married. While trying to bring Bunnie up-to-date, Jack also must keep an eye on his gun-loving and borderline religious fanatic of a son, Eric (Max Thieriot), and his daughter, Kelly (Britt Robertson), who’s enjoying exploring her romantic options.

In honor of The Family Tree’s August 26th release in New York and Los Angeles, Mulroney took the time to talk a bit about making the film. With dozens of titles to his name, Mulroney’s experience working on set has undoubtedly changed over the years. Sure, some things are tougher as there tend to be fewer resources to go around, but the additional pressure also keeps the cast and crew on their toes, propelling their effort to bring the audience the best possible final product.

Check out what Mulroney had to say about re-teaming with his good friend Hope Davis, overcoming his past troubles learning the lines, what he’s working on next and much more in the interview below.

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Interview: Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark’s Guillermo Del Toro And Katie Holmes

You know when you misplace something and someone tells you, “It couldn’t have just walked off on its own?” Well, thanks to Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, you’ve got a culprit to point a finger at; they may claim they just want to be your friends, but this movie’s little monsters also have their eyes on your razors, clothing and your children.

Alex (Guy Pearce) is a struggling architect trying to renovate the old Blackwood Manor to revitalize his career. With his interior decorator and live-in girlfriend, Kim (Katie Holmes), by his side, he calls the location home and works on it incessantly. Things get complicated when his ex-wife decides it’s time for their daughter, Sally (Bailee Madison), to go and live with daddy. Alex thinks he’s child-proofed the house by giving his daughter the quintessential little girl’s dream room, but with little to do, Sally resorts to exploring and winds up discovering that they’re not the only ones living in the Blackwood Manor and that those other residents are viciously desperate to be her friends.

In honor of Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’s August 26th release, writer-producer Guillermo del Toro and star Katie Holmes sat down to talk about the film at a roundtable interview. The session was packed with goods from the set including Holmes’ experience working with Madison, del Toro’s effort to bring the film’s creatures to life and much more. Check it all out for yourself in the video interview below and be sure to keep an eye out for those spoiler alerts, as they’re very much there for a reason.

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Best/Worst Movie Promos of the Week: ‘I Don’t Know How She Does It’ Kinda Does It for Us and More

I always feel a little left out when the trailer for a sequel drops and I’m not as familiar with the series as I could be. Still, there’s something good to be said about the new ones for Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Underworld: Awakening and Johnny English Reborn. It’s quite clear that Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor are having a blast with their latest feature in their intro for the Spirit of Vengeance trailer and if you’re into blazing heroes that ride motorcycles and urinate fire, you’ll likely share their enthusiasm. Even after not having seen an Underworld movie in years, there’s something about the new trailer for Awakening that reinvigorates excitement for some vampire vs. lycan vs. human action. As for Johnny English, this gets approval for packing the power to appeal to moviegoers even if they’re not familiar with the original. Sure, a number of the gags fall flat, but, as embarrassed as I am to admit it, some made me giggle.

We’ve got a few clips deserving of some attention as well. First up, if you’re a fan of Zoe Saldana, I’d check out the new assortment that recently went live for Colombiana. On Yahoo! Movies, the description of one is “Cataleya (Zoe Saldana) uses a rocket launcher.” Need I say more? We’ve also got a little something from Martha Marcy May Marlene that not only shows off the film’s top-notch performances, but beautifully builds off the other promotional material that’s already been released, increasing intrigue, but not giving away too much. Last up for clips is a piece from Warrior that gives you a taste of one of the brother’s predicaments during a quiet, yet profound moment.

Before we hit the best and worst of the week, we’ve got two featurettes also deserving of a watch, one for Abduction and one for Real Steel. While I still have my doubts about Taylor Lautner’s acting chops, he’s got some serious athletic skills and this piece proves it. In the one for Real Steel, Hugh Jackman may be out of the ring, but the bots going at it inside are quite mesmerizing. Check out how Adam and the gang came to be in this featurette.

The time has come — without further ado, here are your top three and bottom three promotions of the week …

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‘The Hunger Games’ Countdown: The Promo Campaign’s Future and Thoughts from ‘Hunger Games’ Shorts Director John Lyde

Minus MTV recently announcing plans for Jennifer Lawrence to sing on the soundtrack, little news has come from The Hunger Games. However, this is clearly the calm before the storm because on Sunday, August 28^th during the MTV Video Music Awards, we will all finally get to see the teaser trailer for The Hunger Games.

Coincidently, CinemaBlend.com editor-in-chief Katey Rich recently took the time to sit down with me to discuss Lionsgate’s promotional campaign for the film. Katey recently wrote a piece about how the studio’s effort thus far puts The Hunger Games on par with The Twilight Saga, basically highlighting a few prime elements: “Attractive, Young White People, Caught In A Love Triangle And Looking Somber.” No, it’s not necessarily a bad thing and clearly could have positive financial repercussions, but this is a story with so many more profound selling points — it’s a wonder why Lionsgate chose to enter the marketing ring with these images. Check out my full discussion on the topic with Katey in the video below. Keep in mind this piece was recorded on Monday, just before the announcement of the release of the teaser trailer this weekend. However, in lieu of that news, be sure to pay attention to the tail end of the video when we discuss what a teaser trailer could mean for the final product.

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To Post or Not To Post: Reports From ‘Hunger Games’ Extras

Unofficial set photos are nothing new to the movie news industry. Professional and amateur photographers hang around the set, hoping to get a quick glance at a star they admire or perhaps just a look at the costume design for a particular film. No big deal, right? Personally, I never thought so, until recently.

There’s a pretty glaring divide between the images that make their way onto websites every once in a while and the material that’s pouring out of the set of The Dark Knight Rises. The film is still about a year away yet I feel as though I’ve seen the large majority of it. Even if Christopher Nolan does have something up his sleeve, as Anne Hathaway recently suggested, does that make it okay to spoil everything else?

Luckily material hasn’t been oozing from The Hunger Games set at the same pace, but we’ve got the fan sites and Lionsgate to thank for that. Just recently, several outlets received an e-mail from an individual who claimed to have accessed the set illegally and was eager to spill the details. On a less threatening, but still debatable note, legitimate set extras are sharing their stories, too.

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Review: Our Idiot Brother

Yes, there’s the saying, “nice guys finish last,” and that’s certainly the case for <I>Our Idiot Brother</I>’s Ned (Paul Rudd) quite often, but when you’re considering movies, nice movies can get a bit of a boost even when they don’t entirely deserve it. <I>Our Idiot Brother</I> is undoubtedly flawed, but director Jesse Peretz turns up the charm with ease, bringing the best out of his talented cast and some impressively honest, humorous and heartwarming dialogue to overshadow nearly every fault.

Ned is, well, Miranda, Liz and Natalie’s (Elizabeth Banks, Emily Mortimer and Zooey Deschanel) idiot brother. Perhaps the term “idiot” is a bit harsh; Ned is just incredibly peppy and a bit too trusting. Then again, most would call a guy who opts to appease a uniformed cop looking for some weed an idiot. After serving eight months in prison, Ned is released, turned away by his girlfriend and denied ownership of his beloved dog, Willie Nelson.

With no job, no home and a criminal record, Ned turns to his family for support. Everyone welcomes him with open arms, beginning with his mother. However, Ned’s happy-go-lucky ways have the tendency to get him in trouble, forcing each of his sisters to eventually kick him to the curb and send him onto the next.

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Review: Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

Haunted house films are back in full force. In April we got the beautifully modest and wildly enjoyable Insidious from James Wan and now Guillermo del Toro and Co. are giving the subgenre a go with Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. While the two are rooted in entirely different core concepts, they do have quite a bit in common, namely child stars vs. evil entities, eerily warm yet threatening tones, fantastic visuals and the fact that they’re both incredibly frightening, exhilarating and entertaining all in one. Haunted house films are officially two for two in 2011.

When Sally’s (Bailee Madison) mother decides it’s time to hand her over to her father, Alex (Guy Pearce), she’s sent from Los Angeles to Rhode Island where she’ll call the old Blackwood Manor home. Alex, an architect desperately in need of a career comeback, and his girlfriend, Kim (Katie Holms), an interior decorator, are calling the place home for the time being, as they’re working to restore the house and sell it for a pretty penny and ego boost.

In the midst of a snooping session, Sally discovers a room in the Blackwood Manor, a basement her father never knew existed. After knocking down a wall and finding the basement door, Sally, Alex and Kim investigate and discover the famous artist Emerson Blackwood’s studio. Alex is fascinated with the new space and Kim with the work Mr. Blackwood left behind, but Sally winds up enraptured with something else, something connected to Emerson Blackwood’s disappearance over a hundred years ago.

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Interview: Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’s Bailee Madison (Roundtable)

At just 9-years-old, actress Bailee Madison went head-to-head with what many kids consider their worst nightmare, things that go bump in the night. Clearly Madison had no trouble separating fact from fiction because now, at 11-years-old, she’s hitting the press circuit for Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark and well, she might be one of the most poised and professional actresses out there, regardless of her age.

Madison leads as Sally. When her mother decides she’s had enough, Sally is sent to Rhode Island to live with her father, Alex (Guy Pearce). Struggling to revive his architecture career, Alex’s latest project is the old Blackwood Manor, the renovation of which he’s sure will put him back on the map. Helping him with the venture is his interior decorator and girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes). As the job is a top priority, Alex calls the Blackwood Manor home for the time being and, therefore, Sally must do the same. However, they’re not the only ones who dwell in this not-so-humble abode and those other residents have their eye on Sally.

Sure, she isn’t allowed to watch R-rated movies, but Madison’s already got a ton of big screen experience under her belt, has an impressive amount of on-set knowledge and has some acting tricks courtesy of writer-producer Guillermo del Toro up her sleeve. Watch as Madison talks about all of that and much more in the video interview below and be sure to catch her in action when Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark opens on August 26th.

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Interview: Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’s Bailee Madison

Having grown up watching horror films far beyond my years, it’s tough to imagine an 11-year-old actually being in one. But actress Bailee Madison was just 9 years old when she stepped in front of the lens for director Troy Nixey in his big screen remake of the 1973 made-for-TV film Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. Even at such a young age she says she had no trouble separating fact from fiction, a good thing since this film is one that can keep you up and checking under the bed at night.

Madison leads as Sally Hirst, a little girl sent cross-country to live with her father, Alex, (Guy Pearce) in Rhode Island. Rather than shack up in a humble abode in a suburban neighborhood, Sally is stuck living at the creepy old Blackwood Manor, as that’s the location her father is sure will put his architecture career back on track. By Alex’s side is interior decorator and live-in girlfriend, Kim (Katie Holmes), who makes noble albeit unsuccessful attempts at earning Sally’s affection. Desperate for a friend, when strange voices call out to Sally from the basement, she’s compelled to investigate the option.

Within minutes of meeting Madison, it’s quite clear she’s not your average 11 year old. Not only is she incredibly poised and professional, but she’s particularly knowledgeable when it comes to technical jargon and methods for improving her own craft. At the same time when she’s not in front of the camera or behind a voice recorder, Madison’s a kid at heart, sticking close to the junket buffet table, which was packed with Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark cupcakes. Then again, so was I.

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