From DreamWorks Animation, makers of global hit franchise films such as “Shrek,” Madagascar” and “How to Train Your Dragon” comes another high-flying adventure film “Mr. Peabody and Sherman” (3D) – an endearing story about a man’s best friend and his adopted boy.
“Mr. Peabody and Sherman” is about to take the world in a wild ride through history as the world’s smartest dog, Mr. Peabody and his adopted human son, Sherman embark on an outrageous iconic adventure of all time. Aboard the WABAC (pronounced “way back”) machine that Mr. Peabody invented, the father and son tandem go around the world back and forth in time when the natural course of history is about to be altered. Emmy Award Winner Ty Burrell (“Modern Family”) voices Mr. Peabody and Max Charles who recently appeared in “The Amazing Spiderman” lends voice to Sherman. Mr. Peabody is a business titan, inventor, scientist, Nobel Laureate, gourmand, two-time Olympic medalist and genius…who also happens to be a dog and faces his biggest challenge yet – being a parent since this is the first time that he will have to deal with outside influences, including girls. Taking a modern twist for the new generation, the movie takes us to temple runs across Egypt where Sherman’s friend Penny (voiced by Ariel Winter) decides to stay forever in Egypt that forces Mr. Peabody to save the day and history as well. Directed by Rob Minkoff (“The Lion King,” “Stuart Little”), “Mr. Peabody and Sherman’s” voice cast also includes Stephen Colbert, Leslie Mann, Patrick Warburton, Stanley Tucci, Allison Janney, Mel Brooks, Lake Bell, Zach Callison and Dennis Haysbert. A DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox presentation, “Mr. Peabody and Sherman” will open worldwide March 2014 in cinemas (3D and 2D).
The First Estate: Clergy/Government. The Second Estate: Nobility/Wealthy Elite. The Third Estate: Commoners/Workers. The Fourth Estate: Press/Media. The Fifth Estate: Those who aim to keep the other estates in check, recently defined as whistleblowers, watchdogs, citizen journalists . . . and WikiLeaks.
In 2010, a website dedicated to protecting whistleblowers released an avalanche of classified US documents that triggered a new age of high-stakes secrecy and explosive news leaks. Now, in a dramatic thriller based on real events, DreamWorks Pictures’ “The Fifth Estate” reveals the quest to expose the deceptions and corruptions of power that turned this Internet upstart into the 21st century’s most fiercely debated organization. The story begins as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his colleague Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Daniel Brühl) team up to become underground watchdogs of the privileged and powerful. On a shoestring, they create an online platform that allows whistleblowers to anonymously leak covert data, shining a light on the dark recesses of government secrets and corporate crimes. Soon, they are breaking more hard news than the world’s most legendary media organizations.
But when Assange and Berg gain access to the biggest trove of confidential intelligence documents in U.S. history, they find themselves at odds as they struggle with a defining question of our time: what are the costs of keeping secrets in a free society—and what are the costs of exposing them? “The Fifth Estate” is presented by DreamWorks Pictures and Reliance Entertainment in association with Participant Media and is produced by Steve Golin and Michael Sugar, with Bill Condon (“Dreamgirls,” “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn”) directing. “It may be decades before we understand the full impact of WikiLeaks and how it revolutionized the spread of information,” believes director Bill Condon. “With events still unfolding, this film does not aim to be the conclusive statement on the topic. Instead, we set out to create a drama that explores the challenges of transparency and that, we hope, enlivens and enriches the conversations WikiLeaks has provoked.” The screenplay is by Josh Singer (“Fringe,” “The West Wing”), based on the book “Inside WikiLeaks” by Daniel Domscheit-Berg, and the Guardian book “WikiLeaks” by David Leigh and Luke Harding. “The Fifth Estate” also stars Anthony Mackie, David Thewlis, Alicia Vikander, with Stanley Tucci and Laura Linney. Opening soon across the Philippines, “The Fifth Estate” is a DreamWorks Picture distributed by Walt Disney Studios International.
My take on PERCY JACKSON: SEA OF MONSTERS from 20th Century Fox. Stars Logan Lerman as the titular Percy Jackson.
There's a lot of great things noteworthy for SEA OF MONSTERS. It's a new PERCY JACKSON adaptation which is always fun. We have to thank of course Rick Riordan and his YA book series for the source material and plot. There's also the great screenplay by Marc Guggenheim together with a fresh new vision from director Thor Freudenthal. Most if not all of the cast members from the first movie have also reprised their roles. There are also a lot of fresh faces for the series like Stanley Tucci who plays the role of Dionysus. There's also a brief but sweet nonetheless appearance by Captain Mal himself, Nathan Fillion who plays Hermes, series antagonist's father. Oh and there's Douglas Smith who really looks like Brendan Fraser, as Percy's cyclopean, half brother Tyson.
Gotta hand it to the visual effects team for creating astoundingly great looking mythical creatures. We've all seen the Hippocamp from the trailer as well as Charybdis and that mean looking Colchis Bull (yeah, singular, while the book had Colchis BULLS). Let's admit it, the first Percy Jackson though fun, was a letdown. It didn't know what it was frankly because it was released around the time when the Harry Potter films where hitting the climax point. So it was quite possible that it was trying to follow the HP formula while trying to look hip and modern and different. SEA OF MONSTERS took a different approach. It took the title of a Riordan book, gathered most of the characters, created a fresh take on the story without sacrificing the real plot of the series and took risks and certain liberties as well and made something out of it.
Just to set expectations, Percy Jackson felt and looked like it was designed for tweens and teens. Don't expect an Oscar winning performance from lead Logan Lerman as you'd definitely be disappointed. Expect a bit of grimness and darker themes here though. Action is another thing you get in droves here as the first 20 minutes you'll already see Percy bruised and bloodied. Which is good actually since it raises the odds. Another great thing here was the animation effects that they used for introducing viewers to the mythical world of gods and demigods. We've seen it before in movies like HARRY POTTER and HELLBOY: GOLDEN ARMY but it works here. It's also practical since it saves much time.
Mind you though, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters if far from perfect. There's actually quite a few gripes here and there such as the amount of liberties they've taken from the book. There's a lot of plot holes here and there that never gets resolved (or is brushed under the rug, maybe as part of the next movie adaptation). Also the acting can be a bit dry once in awhile.
Regardless, I really think that this is an enjoyable flick. It's got this something that will mystify (no pun intended) Pinoy audience which I'm going to say is one of the easiest people to please when it comes to movies (I'm a testament to that). PERCY JACKSON: SEA OF MONSTERS is Now Showing in all theaters nationwide. It's also distributed by 20TH CENTURY FOX. Like their Facebook Fanpage to get the last trailers, news and tidbits (LIKE HERE)
New photos from the set of Michael Bay's TRANSFORMERS 4 features lead star Mark Wahlberg running around the set with a Cybertronian looking sword. Other photos features Stanley Tucci and Nicola Peltz.
Check out the other photos below:
I'd like to know more about this mysterious sword and why it's so important that Wahlberg's character needs to lug it around while going through the Michael Bay patented run-across-a-field-of-explosions set piece?
Raking my brain for anything and so far the only thing that relates to a sword AND the Autobot-Decepticon war is the Star Saber from Transformers: Armada.
The description for this new photo depicts the heroic Transformer's vehicle mode as "completely upgraded, custom-built Optimus Prime from Western Star (a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America)." Check out what it looks like after the cut.
Talented teen heartthrob Logan Lerman returns as demi-god Percy Jackson, the son of the powerful sea-god Poseidon and sails the most dangerous of seas in the upcoming “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters” along with returning cast Alexandra Daddario, Brandon T. Jackson, Jake Abel and Sean Bean.
Based on the bestselling “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” book series written by Rick Riordan, “The Sea of Monsters” reunites Percy (Lerman) and Annabeth (Daddario) at Camp Half-Blood along with Tyson (Douglas Smith), Percy’s half-brother who is a Cyclops. Their journey takes them to uncharted dangerous seas to recover the Golden Fleece that can save the camp and eventually save their best friend Grover (Jackson) who is half-man/half-goat from a very mean Cyclops, Polyphemus.
