Starting next week, you won’t need to have Disney Plus to purchase “Mulan” — but it will still cost $30.
Disney debuted the live-action remake of the animated original on Sept. 4, initially available only to subscribers of Disney Plus ($6.99/month).
As of next Tuesday, Oct. 6, “Mulan” will be available on multiple digital on-demand platforms, and they’re already taking pre-orders. Disney’s “Mulan” costs $29.99 and is being offered currently by digital retailers including Amazon Video, Google Play, and NBCUniversal’s Vudu and FandangoNow.
That means “Mulan” will have another two-month run as a purchase-only release before the title becomes available to all Disney Plus subscribers as of Dec. 4, 2020, for no extra charge.
Bonus content in the digital release of “Mulan” will include featurettes such as a look at actor Yifei Liu’s journey to becoming Mulan and Ming-Na Wen (who voiced the heroine in the original animated film) reflecting on her...
Disney debuted the live-action remake of the animated original on Sept. 4, initially available only to subscribers of Disney Plus ($6.99/month).
As of next Tuesday, Oct. 6, “Mulan” will be available on multiple digital on-demand platforms, and they’re already taking pre-orders. Disney’s “Mulan” costs $29.99 and is being offered currently by digital retailers including Amazon Video, Google Play, and NBCUniversal’s Vudu and FandangoNow.
That means “Mulan” will have another two-month run as a purchase-only release before the title becomes available to all Disney Plus subscribers as of Dec. 4, 2020, for no extra charge.
Bonus content in the digital release of “Mulan” will include featurettes such as a look at actor Yifei Liu’s journey to becoming Mulan and Ming-Na Wen (who voiced the heroine in the original animated film) reflecting on her...
- 10/1/2020
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
At the 11th hour, Amazon has come on board as a partner for Disney Plus’ “Mulan” $29.99 early-access movie release.
“Mulan” is available for purchase inside the Disney Plus app on Amazon Fire TV and Fire Tablet devices, an Amazon rep confirmed Friday. As previously announced, Disney Plus subs also can buy access to the live-action remake directly through disneyplus.com as well as through Apple, Google, and Roku devices for $30 in the U.S. (on top of the $6.99/month subscription price).
Those who purchase Premier Access of “Mulan” will be able to stream the film for “as long as you are an active Disney Plus subscriber,” according to Disney. In three months, “Mulan” will be available to all Disney Plus subscribers for no additional cost.
“Mulan” was originally set to get a theatrical release in March 2020. The film became available Friday (Sept. 4) after months of postponements because of the Covid pandemic.
“Mulan” is available for purchase inside the Disney Plus app on Amazon Fire TV and Fire Tablet devices, an Amazon rep confirmed Friday. As previously announced, Disney Plus subs also can buy access to the live-action remake directly through disneyplus.com as well as through Apple, Google, and Roku devices for $30 in the U.S. (on top of the $6.99/month subscription price).
Those who purchase Premier Access of “Mulan” will be able to stream the film for “as long as you are an active Disney Plus subscriber,” according to Disney. In three months, “Mulan” will be available to all Disney Plus subscribers for no additional cost.
“Mulan” was originally set to get a theatrical release in March 2020. The film became available Friday (Sept. 4) after months of postponements because of the Covid pandemic.
- 9/4/2020
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
For 100 points, what is the thread connecting the world’s oldest sports car race and Hollywood’s brightest star in the ‘60s and ‘70s? Other than possessing a near-mythical stature in their respective fields, Le Mans (1971) is Steve McQueen’s passion project, one that aims to become the definitive cinematic portrayal of racing and elevate the actor’s clout. Neither happened – the film cursed all those involved and altered the “King of Cool” forever. Documakers Gabriel Clarke and John McKenna have chosen that as the subject, and their final product absolutely deserves a spin.
If, for some reason definitely of the odd kind, the content of The Man & Le Mans isn’t captivating enough, know that Clarke and McKenna are interspersing previously unseen footage and sound bites with interviews with surviving crew members. McQueen’s son Chad, the female lead Louise Edlind, writer/confidant Alan Trustman, driver/racer David Piper,...
If, for some reason definitely of the odd kind, the content of The Man & Le Mans isn’t captivating enough, know that Clarke and McKenna are interspersing previously unseen footage and sound bites with interviews with surviving crew members. McQueen’s son Chad, the female lead Louise Edlind, writer/confidant Alan Trustman, driver/racer David Piper,...
- 8/3/2017
- by Nguyen Le
- The Cultural Post
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures has released a lineup, along with new photos and dates, of their upcoming movies for 2015.
From dinosaurs to fairy tales, super heroes to galaxies far, far away, one of the most anticipated films next year is from director Steven Spielberg.
©DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Tom Hanks (left) stars in Spielberg’s (right) Untitled Cold War spy thriller, which is the true story of James Donovan, an attorney who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on the near-impossible mission to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot.
“This is one of the more astonishing stories about the Cold War I’d ever heard. James Donovan is a hero to me and Tom made him so completely accessible. I’ve always wanted to make a spy...
From dinosaurs to fairy tales, super heroes to galaxies far, far away, one of the most anticipated films next year is from director Steven Spielberg.
©DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Tom Hanks (left) stars in Spielberg’s (right) Untitled Cold War spy thriller, which is the true story of James Donovan, an attorney who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on the near-impossible mission to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot.
“This is one of the more astonishing stories about the Cold War I’d ever heard. James Donovan is a hero to me and Tom made him so completely accessible. I’ve always wanted to make a spy...
- 12/30/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Here’s your first look at director Niki Caro’s film McFarland, USA. The trailer stars Kevin Costner and Maria Bello.
Inspired by the 1987 true story, McFarland, USA follows novice runners from McFarland, an economically challenged town in California’s farm-rich Central Valley, as they give their all to build a cross-country team under the direction of Coach Jim White (Kevin Costner), a newcomer to their predominantly Latino high school.
Coach White and the McFarland students have a lot to learn about each other but when White starts to realize the boys’ exceptional running ability, things begin to change. Soon something beyond their physical gifts becomes apparent—the power of family relationships, their unwavering commitment to one another and their incredible work ethic.
With grit and determination, the unlikely band of runners eventually overcomes the odds to forge not only a championship cross-country team but an enduring legacy as well.
Inspired by the 1987 true story, McFarland, USA follows novice runners from McFarland, an economically challenged town in California’s farm-rich Central Valley, as they give their all to build a cross-country team under the direction of Coach Jim White (Kevin Costner), a newcomer to their predominantly Latino high school.
Coach White and the McFarland students have a lot to learn about each other but when White starts to realize the boys’ exceptional running ability, things begin to change. Soon something beyond their physical gifts becomes apparent—the power of family relationships, their unwavering commitment to one another and their incredible work ethic.
With grit and determination, the unlikely band of runners eventually overcomes the odds to forge not only a championship cross-country team but an enduring legacy as well.
- 11/3/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Chicago – This 18-image slideshow contains the available press images for Walt Disney Pictures’ “Race to Witch Mountain,” starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Carla Gugino, Anna SophiaRobb, Alexander Ludwig, Carla Gugino, Ciaran Hinds, Tom Everett Scott, Chris Marquette, and Billy Brown. The film, directed by Andy Fickman, opens on Friday, March 13th, 2009.
Synopsis: “For years, stories have circulated about a secret place in the middle of the Nevada desert known for unexplained phenomena and strange sightings. It is called Witch Mountain, and when Las Vegas cab driver Jack Bruno (Dwayne Johnson) encounters two teens with supernatural powers in his cab, he suddenly finds himself in the middle of an adventure he can’t explain. Working together, Jack and his young passengers discover that the only chance to save the world lies in unraveling the secrets of Witch Mountain, and the race begins.
Walt Disney Pictures’ “Race to Witch Mountain” marks the...
Synopsis: “For years, stories have circulated about a secret place in the middle of the Nevada desert known for unexplained phenomena and strange sightings. It is called Witch Mountain, and when Las Vegas cab driver Jack Bruno (Dwayne Johnson) encounters two teens with supernatural powers in his cab, he suddenly finds himself in the middle of an adventure he can’t explain. Working together, Jack and his young passengers discover that the only chance to save the world lies in unraveling the secrets of Witch Mountain, and the race begins.
Walt Disney Pictures’ “Race to Witch Mountain” marks the...
- 2/27/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – This 11-image slideshow contains official press images and schedule information for the recently announced slate of films to be released by Walt Disney Pictures in 2009 including new films starring Isla Fisher, Bruce Willis, Robin Williams, John Travolta, Ryan Reynolds, Josh Duhamel, and the newest Pixar film.
These 2009 Walt Disney Pictures include “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience,” “Race to Witch Mountain,” “Hannah Montana The Movie,” “earth,” “Up,” “The Proposal,” “G-Force,” “When in Rome,” “Surrogates,” “Toy Story in Disney Digital 3-D,” “Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” “Old Dogs,” and “The Princess and the Frog”. Not all films have images released, but release details and dates were announced for the entire 2009 slate.
The release dates, cast lists, and filmmaker information for these Walt Disney Pictures films can be found below in chronological order, followed by a slideshow of available images.
“Confessions of a Shopaholic”
Cast: Isla Fisher,...
These 2009 Walt Disney Pictures include “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience,” “Race to Witch Mountain,” “Hannah Montana The Movie,” “earth,” “Up,” “The Proposal,” “G-Force,” “When in Rome,” “Surrogates,” “Toy Story in Disney Digital 3-D,” “Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” “Old Dogs,” and “The Princess and the Frog”. Not all films have images released, but release details and dates were announced for the entire 2009 slate.
The release dates, cast lists, and filmmaker information for these Walt Disney Pictures films can be found below in chronological order, followed by a slideshow of available images.
“Confessions of a Shopaholic”
Cast: Isla Fisher,...
- 12/22/2008
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Walt Disney Pictures has picked up Mi Casa, Su Casa, a Latino family comedy to be written and produced by Angela Robinson and Alex Martinez Kondracke and will mark Kondracke's feature directorial debut. The story is a comedy about cultural differences set under one roof. Mario Iscovich also is producing. Louanne Brickhouse and Josh Simon are overseeing for Disney. Kondracke is the daughter of political pundit Morton Kondracke. She was in Disney's director fellowship program and is a staff writer on The L Word. Casa is loosely based on her life.
- 6/12/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sky High gets off to a slow start with half-baked jokes and a cheesy visual style. Then the jokes pick up and the characters come into sharper focus. The visual style remains pedestrian, but director Mike Mitchell (Surviving Christmas) receives spirited performances from his young actors and knowing turns from the veterans. This comedy about a special high school for teens with superpowers earns a B+, with much of the credit belong to a savvy screenplay by Paul Hernandez, Bob Schooley & Mark McCorkle, which explores the angst and travails of high school through the comic lens of a world in which superheroes are commonly known and accepted.
This Disney film is a likable mix of laughs and wacky action sequences so the studio can anticipate above-average business from family audiences and teens on dates.
Will (Michael Angarano) is the son of two superheroes, Commander Stronghold (Kurt Russell) and Josie Jetstream (Kelly Preston), who must save the world on a regular basis. His first day at his Dad's alma mater, Sky High -- a campus whose antigravity device keeps it suspended above the clouds -- Will must confront his worst fear: He has no apparent powers of his own.
The school is divided into a demeaning class system among heroes, kids with extraordinary power, and sidekicks -- youngsters who act as support for the heroes of the future. So for Will, his first day becomes a bad news/good news situation. The bad news is that he, along with his best friend and girl next door, Layla (Danielle Panabaker), whose beauty Will fails to notice, get lumped with the sidekicks. The good news is that the hottest girl on campus, senior class president Gwen Grayson Mary Elizabeth Winstead), seems to have a thing for him. Which is bad news for Layla, who has a major crush on Will.
Will also discovers he has an arch enemy in Warren Peace (Steven Strait) -- as in War and Peace because the guy's a bit schizophrenic -- whose dad was put in jail by Will's dad. Eventually, Will must confess to Dad and Mom about his lack of powers, a conversation he no sooner has then he discovers he does have superpowers. (Something to do with late-blooming puberty, no doubt.) When Will transfers from sidekick to hero studies, the whole class issue becomes ensnared in the romantic triangle among Will, Layla and Gwen. Of course, Gwen has ulterior motives in her relationship with Will.
Adult figures on campus include Principal Powers, played by Wonder Woman herself, Lynda Carter; Bruce Campbell's Coach Boomer, his voice a sonic boom; Kevin Heffernan's bus driver, whose gung-ho spirit belies his lack of powers; and Cloris Leachman's amusing cameo as a school nurse with X-ray vision.
Sky High wins few marks for originality. A school for superheroes sounds suspiciously like the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. And a family of superheroes does remind you of The Incredibles. But the way in which the script mixes campus melodramas -- from cafeteria fights and detention to school dances and problematic romances -- with a world of superheroism becomes more amusing with each passing minute.
Angarano delivers just the right blend of earnestness, insecurity and moral indignation. Panabaker has a beguiling, intelligent presence on screen, while Winstead nicely suggests a cool femme fatale. Russell and Preston play their roles with nonchalant preening. Strait is allowed to develop the movie's most complex character, a sullen antihero with the makings of an actual hero.
The effects, sets and action is clumsy at times, but then you wouldn't want the movie to be slicker; the filmmakers could have overproduced this little comedy. By keeping things modest and relying on the ingenuity of the script, the movie stays enjoyable rather than becoming silly.
SKY HIGH
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Credits:
Director: Mike Mitchell
Screenwriters: Paul Hernandez, Bob Schooley & Mark McCorkle
Producer: Andrew Gunn
Executive producers: Mario Iscovich, Ann Marie Sanderlin
Director of photography: Shelly Johnson
Production designer: Bruce Robert Hill
Music: Michael Giacchino
Costumes: Michael Wilkinson
Editor: Peter Amundson
Cast:
Josie Jetstream: Kelly Preston
Will Stronghold: Michael Angarano
Layla
Danielle Panabaker
Gwen Grayson: Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Commander Stronghold: Kurt Russell
Warren Peace: Steven Straight
Coach Boomer: Bruce Campbell
Principal Powers: Lynda Carter
MPAA rating PG
Running time -- 99 minutes...
This Disney film is a likable mix of laughs and wacky action sequences so the studio can anticipate above-average business from family audiences and teens on dates.
Will (Michael Angarano) is the son of two superheroes, Commander Stronghold (Kurt Russell) and Josie Jetstream (Kelly Preston), who must save the world on a regular basis. His first day at his Dad's alma mater, Sky High -- a campus whose antigravity device keeps it suspended above the clouds -- Will must confront his worst fear: He has no apparent powers of his own.
The school is divided into a demeaning class system among heroes, kids with extraordinary power, and sidekicks -- youngsters who act as support for the heroes of the future. So for Will, his first day becomes a bad news/good news situation. The bad news is that he, along with his best friend and girl next door, Layla (Danielle Panabaker), whose beauty Will fails to notice, get lumped with the sidekicks. The good news is that the hottest girl on campus, senior class president Gwen Grayson Mary Elizabeth Winstead), seems to have a thing for him. Which is bad news for Layla, who has a major crush on Will.
Will also discovers he has an arch enemy in Warren Peace (Steven Strait) -- as in War and Peace because the guy's a bit schizophrenic -- whose dad was put in jail by Will's dad. Eventually, Will must confess to Dad and Mom about his lack of powers, a conversation he no sooner has then he discovers he does have superpowers. (Something to do with late-blooming puberty, no doubt.) When Will transfers from sidekick to hero studies, the whole class issue becomes ensnared in the romantic triangle among Will, Layla and Gwen. Of course, Gwen has ulterior motives in her relationship with Will.
Adult figures on campus include Principal Powers, played by Wonder Woman herself, Lynda Carter; Bruce Campbell's Coach Boomer, his voice a sonic boom; Kevin Heffernan's bus driver, whose gung-ho spirit belies his lack of powers; and Cloris Leachman's amusing cameo as a school nurse with X-ray vision.
Sky High wins few marks for originality. A school for superheroes sounds suspiciously like the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. And a family of superheroes does remind you of The Incredibles. But the way in which the script mixes campus melodramas -- from cafeteria fights and detention to school dances and problematic romances -- with a world of superheroism becomes more amusing with each passing minute.
Angarano delivers just the right blend of earnestness, insecurity and moral indignation. Panabaker has a beguiling, intelligent presence on screen, while Winstead nicely suggests a cool femme fatale. Russell and Preston play their roles with nonchalant preening. Strait is allowed to develop the movie's most complex character, a sullen antihero with the makings of an actual hero.
The effects, sets and action is clumsy at times, but then you wouldn't want the movie to be slicker; the filmmakers could have overproduced this little comedy. By keeping things modest and relying on the ingenuity of the script, the movie stays enjoyable rather than becoming silly.
SKY HIGH
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Credits:
Director: Mike Mitchell
Screenwriters: Paul Hernandez, Bob Schooley & Mark McCorkle
Producer: Andrew Gunn
Executive producers: Mario Iscovich, Ann Marie Sanderlin
Director of photography: Shelly Johnson
Production designer: Bruce Robert Hill
Music: Michael Giacchino
Costumes: Michael Wilkinson
Editor: Peter Amundson
Cast:
Josie Jetstream: Kelly Preston
Will Stronghold: Michael Angarano
Layla
Danielle Panabaker
Gwen Grayson: Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Commander Stronghold: Kurt Russell
Warren Peace: Steven Straight
Coach Boomer: Bruce Campbell
Principal Powers: Lynda Carter
MPAA rating PG
Running time -- 99 minutes...
- 8/16/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Kate Hudson has yet to find a role to match her eye-opening turn in "Almost Famous", which allowed her to play at both ends of the scale, the lowdown and the ephemeral. Since then, she's chosen insistently mainstream films designed to turn her into a romantic-comedy superstar, with less than dazzling results. Playing a party girl-turned-parent in "Raising Helen", she'll find more of an audience -- especially among females -- than with disappointments like "Alex & Emma." While its characters occupy an unconvincing emotional middle ground, "Helen" -- which the Walt Disney Co. sneaked on Mother's Day -- appears destined to climb well above the boxoffice midrange after it opens this month.
The script by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler puts a mild new-millennium update on the motherhood-meets-yuppiedom premise of "Baby Boom". Hudson's Helen Harris is a happily hardworking New Yorker who, as assistant to the owner of a glitzy modeling agency, is on the fast track to becoming an agent. When the elder of her two sisters (Felicity Huffman) dies in a car crash with her husband (Sean O'Bryan), Helen is astounded to learn that their will places their three children in her custody.
Even more surprised is Helen's other sister, Jenny (Joan Cusack), a supermom with her third kid on the way. For Jenny, motherhood is a kind of religion -- believing in wasting no time, she's already disciplining her unborn child when it kicks at inopportune moments. She seems to be waiting for the universe to come to its senses and release her nieces and nephews from Helen's inexpert care.
But the kids are more than willing to give it a shot with their young aunt. Teenage Audrey (Hayden Panettiere), for whom Helen has been a confidante, talks her into moving them from suburban New Jersey to a new life in the big city. Overcoming her disdain for the outer boroughs, Helen gives up her small working-girl pad, along with instant entree to every hotspot in Manhattan, and rents an affordable family-size apartment in -- gasp! -- Queens. Then she miraculously finds a nice Lutheran school with no waiting list and a dreamy principal (John Corbett). Tuition for the three kids is "no problem," but she soon finds that balancing motherhood and a career, not to mention the pastor's attentions, is not so simple.
Helen soothes the dark fears of the two younger kids -- played by real-life sibs Spencer Breslin (one of the only bright spots in "Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat") and Abigail Breslin -- but struggles to play the disciplinarian with rebellious Audrey. Through it all, the conflicts between Helen's two demanding roles play as cute rather than trying. To punctuate the temperate proceedings, director Garry Marshall stages big scenes -- in which Helen lets someone have it or is on the receiving end of another character's outburst -- most of which ring untrue.
Marshall's predilection for romantic fairy tales is much in evidence, though the comedy registers in a lower key than it did in such hits as "Pretty Woman" and "Runaway Bride". The story's emotional fallout is presented with far too much transparency, and Marshall keeps the performances within a narrow range that might be called over-the-top lite: cheery-through-the-tears, with every complication spelled out and quickly resolved.
The likable Hudson is hampered, her character's transition denied oomph, by having to be so reassuring throughout. Her best moments are with Cusack because something messier, in the form of sisterly jealousy and resentment, emerges. It's good to see the always original Cusack in a more substantial role after the scant screen time she received in "School of Rock".
Corbett follows his good-guy turn in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" with another impossibly bland Mr. Right. Helen Mirren, in a silver pageboy and oversize accessories, walks through the brief, obvious part of Helen's tough, child-phobic boss. Hector Elizondo has an uncredited role as an honest car dealer, and Paris Hilton cameos as a wordless variation on her fabulous self. Marshall and DP Charles Minsky make good use of New York locations in the polished production.
RAISING HELEN
Buena Vista Pictures
A Touchstone Pictures/Beacon Pictures presentation
A Mandeville Films/Ashok Amritraj production
Credits: Director: Garry Marshall
Writers: Jack Amiel, Michael Begler
Producers: David Hoberman, Ashok Amritraj
Executive producers: Mario Iscovich, Ellen H. Schwartz
Director of photography: Charles Minsky
Production designer: Steven Jordan
Music: John Debney
Co-producers: Todd Lieberman, Karen Stirgwolt
Costume designer: Gary Jones
Editors: Bruce Green, Tara Timpone
Cast:
Helen Harris: Kate Hudson
Pastor Dan Parker: John Corbett
Jenny Portman: Joan Cusack
Audrey Davis: Hayden Panettiere
Henry Davis: Spencer Breslin
Sarah Davis: Abigail Breslin
Dominique: Helen Mirren
Nilma: Sakina Jaffrey
Ed Portman: Kevin Kilner
Lindsay Davis: Felicity Huffman
Paul Davis: Sean O'Bryan
Running time -- 119 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
The script by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler puts a mild new-millennium update on the motherhood-meets-yuppiedom premise of "Baby Boom". Hudson's Helen Harris is a happily hardworking New Yorker who, as assistant to the owner of a glitzy modeling agency, is on the fast track to becoming an agent. When the elder of her two sisters (Felicity Huffman) dies in a car crash with her husband (Sean O'Bryan), Helen is astounded to learn that their will places their three children in her custody.
Even more surprised is Helen's other sister, Jenny (Joan Cusack), a supermom with her third kid on the way. For Jenny, motherhood is a kind of religion -- believing in wasting no time, she's already disciplining her unborn child when it kicks at inopportune moments. She seems to be waiting for the universe to come to its senses and release her nieces and nephews from Helen's inexpert care.
But the kids are more than willing to give it a shot with their young aunt. Teenage Audrey (Hayden Panettiere), for whom Helen has been a confidante, talks her into moving them from suburban New Jersey to a new life in the big city. Overcoming her disdain for the outer boroughs, Helen gives up her small working-girl pad, along with instant entree to every hotspot in Manhattan, and rents an affordable family-size apartment in -- gasp! -- Queens. Then she miraculously finds a nice Lutheran school with no waiting list and a dreamy principal (John Corbett). Tuition for the three kids is "no problem," but she soon finds that balancing motherhood and a career, not to mention the pastor's attentions, is not so simple.
Helen soothes the dark fears of the two younger kids -- played by real-life sibs Spencer Breslin (one of the only bright spots in "Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat") and Abigail Breslin -- but struggles to play the disciplinarian with rebellious Audrey. Through it all, the conflicts between Helen's two demanding roles play as cute rather than trying. To punctuate the temperate proceedings, director Garry Marshall stages big scenes -- in which Helen lets someone have it or is on the receiving end of another character's outburst -- most of which ring untrue.
Marshall's predilection for romantic fairy tales is much in evidence, though the comedy registers in a lower key than it did in such hits as "Pretty Woman" and "Runaway Bride". The story's emotional fallout is presented with far too much transparency, and Marshall keeps the performances within a narrow range that might be called over-the-top lite: cheery-through-the-tears, with every complication spelled out and quickly resolved.
The likable Hudson is hampered, her character's transition denied oomph, by having to be so reassuring throughout. Her best moments are with Cusack because something messier, in the form of sisterly jealousy and resentment, emerges. It's good to see the always original Cusack in a more substantial role after the scant screen time she received in "School of Rock".
Corbett follows his good-guy turn in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" with another impossibly bland Mr. Right. Helen Mirren, in a silver pageboy and oversize accessories, walks through the brief, obvious part of Helen's tough, child-phobic boss. Hector Elizondo has an uncredited role as an honest car dealer, and Paris Hilton cameos as a wordless variation on her fabulous self. Marshall and DP Charles Minsky make good use of New York locations in the polished production.
RAISING HELEN
Buena Vista Pictures
A Touchstone Pictures/Beacon Pictures presentation
A Mandeville Films/Ashok Amritraj production
Credits: Director: Garry Marshall
Writers: Jack Amiel, Michael Begler
Producers: David Hoberman, Ashok Amritraj
Executive producers: Mario Iscovich, Ellen H. Schwartz
Director of photography: Charles Minsky
Production designer: Steven Jordan
Music: John Debney
Co-producers: Todd Lieberman, Karen Stirgwolt
Costume designer: Gary Jones
Editors: Bruce Green, Tara Timpone
Cast:
Helen Harris: Kate Hudson
Pastor Dan Parker: John Corbett
Jenny Portman: Joan Cusack
Audrey Davis: Hayden Panettiere
Henry Davis: Spencer Breslin
Sarah Davis: Abigail Breslin
Dominique: Helen Mirren
Nilma: Sakina Jaffrey
Ed Portman: Kevin Kilner
Lindsay Davis: Felicity Huffman
Paul Davis: Sean O'Bryan
Running time -- 119 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Kate Hudson has yet to find a role to match her eye-opening turn in "Almost Famous", which allowed her to play at both ends of the scale, the lowdown and the ephemeral. Since then, she's chosen insistently mainstream films designed to turn her into a romantic-comedy superstar, with less than dazzling results. Playing a party girl-turned-parent in "Raising Helen", she'll find more of an audience -- especially among females -- than with disappointments like "Alex & Emma." While its characters occupy an unconvincing emotional middle ground, "Helen" -- which the Walt Disney Co. sneaked on Mother's Day -- appears destined to climb well above the boxoffice midrange after it opens this month.
The script by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler puts a mild new-millennium update on the motherhood-meets-yuppiedom premise of "Baby Boom". Hudson's Helen Harris is a happily hardworking New Yorker who, as assistant to the owner of a glitzy modeling agency, is on the fast track to becoming an agent. When the elder of her two sisters (Felicity Huffman) dies in a car crash with her husband (Sean O'Bryan), Helen is astounded to learn that their will places their three children in her custody.
Even more surprised is Helen's other sister, Jenny (Joan Cusack), a supermom with her third kid on the way. For Jenny, motherhood is a kind of religion -- believing in wasting no time, she's already disciplining her unborn child when it kicks at inopportune moments. She seems to be waiting for the universe to come to its senses and release her nieces and nephews from Helen's inexpert care.
But the kids are more than willing to give it a shot with their young aunt. Teenage Audrey (Hayden Panettiere), for whom Helen has been a confidante, talks her into moving them from suburban New Jersey to a new life in the big city. Overcoming her disdain for the outer boroughs, Helen gives up her small working-girl pad, along with instant entree to every hotspot in Manhattan, and rents an affordable family-size apartment in -- gasp! -- Queens. Then she miraculously finds a nice Lutheran school with no waiting list and a dreamy principal (John Corbett). Tuition for the three kids is "no problem," but she soon finds that balancing motherhood and a career, not to mention the pastor's attentions, is not so simple.
Helen soothes the dark fears of the two younger kids -- played by real-life sibs Spencer Breslin (one of the only bright spots in "Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat") and Abigail Breslin -- but struggles to play the disciplinarian with rebellious Audrey. Through it all, the conflicts between Helen's two demanding roles play as cute rather than trying. To punctuate the temperate proceedings, director Garry Marshall stages big scenes -- in which Helen lets someone have it or is on the receiving end of another character's outburst -- most of which ring untrue.
Marshall's predilection for romantic fairy tales is much in evidence, though the comedy registers in a lower key than it did in such hits as "Pretty Woman" and "Runaway Bride". The story's emotional fallout is presented with far too much transparency, and Marshall keeps the performances within a narrow range that might be called over-the-top lite: cheery-through-the-tears, with every complication spelled out and quickly resolved.
The likable Hudson is hampered, her character's transition denied oomph, by having to be so reassuring throughout. Her best moments are with Cusack because something messier, in the form of sisterly jealousy and resentment, emerges. It's good to see the always original Cusack in a more substantial role after the scant screen time she received in "School of Rock".
Corbett follows his good-guy turn in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" with another impossibly bland Mr. Right. Helen Mirren, in a silver pageboy and oversize accessories, walks through the brief, obvious part of Helen's tough, child-phobic boss. Hector Elizondo has an uncredited role as an honest car dealer, and Paris Hilton cameos as a wordless variation on her fabulous self. Marshall and DP Charles Minsky make good use of New York locations in the polished production.
RAISING HELEN
Buena Vista Pictures
A Touchstone Pictures/Beacon Pictures presentation
A Mandeville Films/Ashok Amritraj production
Credits: Director: Garry Marshall
Writers: Jack Amiel, Michael Begler
Producers: David Hoberman, Ashok Amritraj
Executive producers: Mario Iscovich, Ellen H. Schwartz
Director of photography: Charles Minsky
Production designer: Steven Jordan
Music: John Debney
Co-producers: Todd Lieberman, Karen Stirgwolt
Costume designer: Gary Jones
Editors: Bruce Green, Tara Timpone
Cast:
Helen Harris: Kate Hudson
Pastor Dan Parker: John Corbett
Jenny Portman: Joan Cusack
Audrey Davis: Hayden Panettiere
Henry Davis: Spencer Breslin
Sarah Davis: Abigail Breslin
Dominique: Helen Mirren
Nilma: Sakina Jaffrey
Ed Portman: Kevin Kilner
Lindsay Davis: Felicity Huffman
Paul Davis: Sean O'Bryan
Running time -- 119 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
The script by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler puts a mild new-millennium update on the motherhood-meets-yuppiedom premise of "Baby Boom". Hudson's Helen Harris is a happily hardworking New Yorker who, as assistant to the owner of a glitzy modeling agency, is on the fast track to becoming an agent. When the elder of her two sisters (Felicity Huffman) dies in a car crash with her husband (Sean O'Bryan), Helen is astounded to learn that their will places their three children in her custody.
Even more surprised is Helen's other sister, Jenny (Joan Cusack), a supermom with her third kid on the way. For Jenny, motherhood is a kind of religion -- believing in wasting no time, she's already disciplining her unborn child when it kicks at inopportune moments. She seems to be waiting for the universe to come to its senses and release her nieces and nephews from Helen's inexpert care.
But the kids are more than willing to give it a shot with their young aunt. Teenage Audrey (Hayden Panettiere), for whom Helen has been a confidante, talks her into moving them from suburban New Jersey to a new life in the big city. Overcoming her disdain for the outer boroughs, Helen gives up her small working-girl pad, along with instant entree to every hotspot in Manhattan, and rents an affordable family-size apartment in -- gasp! -- Queens. Then she miraculously finds a nice Lutheran school with no waiting list and a dreamy principal (John Corbett). Tuition for the three kids is "no problem," but she soon finds that balancing motherhood and a career, not to mention the pastor's attentions, is not so simple.
Helen soothes the dark fears of the two younger kids -- played by real-life sibs Spencer Breslin (one of the only bright spots in "Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat") and Abigail Breslin -- but struggles to play the disciplinarian with rebellious Audrey. Through it all, the conflicts between Helen's two demanding roles play as cute rather than trying. To punctuate the temperate proceedings, director Garry Marshall stages big scenes -- in which Helen lets someone have it or is on the receiving end of another character's outburst -- most of which ring untrue.
Marshall's predilection for romantic fairy tales is much in evidence, though the comedy registers in a lower key than it did in such hits as "Pretty Woman" and "Runaway Bride". The story's emotional fallout is presented with far too much transparency, and Marshall keeps the performances within a narrow range that might be called over-the-top lite: cheery-through-the-tears, with every complication spelled out and quickly resolved.
The likable Hudson is hampered, her character's transition denied oomph, by having to be so reassuring throughout. Her best moments are with Cusack because something messier, in the form of sisterly jealousy and resentment, emerges. It's good to see the always original Cusack in a more substantial role after the scant screen time she received in "School of Rock".
Corbett follows his good-guy turn in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" with another impossibly bland Mr. Right. Helen Mirren, in a silver pageboy and oversize accessories, walks through the brief, obvious part of Helen's tough, child-phobic boss. Hector Elizondo has an uncredited role as an honest car dealer, and Paris Hilton cameos as a wordless variation on her fabulous self. Marshall and DP Charles Minsky make good use of New York locations in the polished production.
RAISING HELEN
Buena Vista Pictures
A Touchstone Pictures/Beacon Pictures presentation
A Mandeville Films/Ashok Amritraj production
Credits: Director: Garry Marshall
Writers: Jack Amiel, Michael Begler
Producers: David Hoberman, Ashok Amritraj
Executive producers: Mario Iscovich, Ellen H. Schwartz
Director of photography: Charles Minsky
Production designer: Steven Jordan
Music: John Debney
Co-producers: Todd Lieberman, Karen Stirgwolt
Costume designer: Gary Jones
Editors: Bruce Green, Tara Timpone
Cast:
Helen Harris: Kate Hudson
Pastor Dan Parker: John Corbett
Jenny Portman: Joan Cusack
Audrey Davis: Hayden Panettiere
Henry Davis: Spencer Breslin
Sarah Davis: Abigail Breslin
Dominique: Helen Mirren
Nilma: Sakina Jaffrey
Ed Portman: Kevin Kilner
Lindsay Davis: Felicity Huffman
Paul Davis: Sean O'Bryan
Running time -- 119 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 5/11/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
At first glance, "The Other Sister" would appear to be a TV movie with loftier ambitions.
Fortunately, looks can occasionally be deceiving. A romantic comedy about love among the intellectually challenged, this potential crowd-pleaser earns its big-screen stripes thanks to its energetic, highly capable cast and some zesty direction by Garry Marshall that undercuts the soapier aspects with liberal jabs of unexpected humor.
Speaking of challenged, Touchstone's marketing staff certainly has their work cut out for themselves given the picture's tricky subject matter. But if they succeed in getting initial audiences through the door, enthusiastic word-of-mouth could translate into some respectable returns.
In a comeback of sorts, Juliette Lewis gives one of the most grounded, accomplished performances of her young career as the spirited Carla Tate, a somewhat mentally challenged 24-year-old determined to emerge from under the overprotective wing of her controlling mother, Elizabeth (Diane Keaton).
Having overcome many of her previous problems during her years away at a Special Ed boarding school, Carla returns home to her family a capable young woman despite a pronounced speech impediment and the occasional emotional outburst.
Eager to assert her newfound confidence, Carla enrolls herself in a regular tech college much to the protests of Elizabeth, who doesn't want to see her get hurt. There, Carla meets Danny (Giovanni Ribisi), a similarly challenged young man.
Living in his own apartment but under the supportive, watchful eye of neighbor Ernie (Hector Elizondo), Danny falls in love with Carla, and her resulting feeling of unconditional acceptance goes even further to fan the flames in a battle of wills between herself and her mother.
Lewis is wonderful in the role, breathing life into a character who is alternately compassionate and humorously endearing. Her quest for and ultimate achievement of her independence is registered in a series of personal awakenings that are reflected across her face like warm rays of sunshine.
Ribisi, recently seen in "Saving Private Ryan" and coming up as a member of the big-screen "Mod Squad", is equally adept at never pandering to what could have been a cloying character. Keaton, meanwhile, does a finely balanced job in portraying a person whose stubborn hardness is betrayed by her own admitted insecurities about her perception as an effective mother.
Also good are Tom Skerritt as Lewis' understanding, former alcoholic father and Poppy Montgomery and Sarah Paulson as her supportive sisters. And Juliet Mills, in a nod toward her "Nanny and the Professor" days, puts in a welcome appearance as the equally sympathetic Winnie, the family nanny.
Marshall, who also co-wrote the script with longtime collaborator Bob Brunner, accomplishes the not-so-easy feat of averting much of the potential pathos by mixing some well-paced comedy into all the confrontation. Occasionally, some of the material's more virtuously squishy aspects poke through, but for the most part, things are disarmingly upbeat.
Among the technical attributes, cinematographer Dante Spinotti, who received an Oscar nomination for his work on "L.A. Confidential", keeps it fairly bright and simple here, as does Stephen J. Lineweaver's production design and Rachel Portman's syrup-lite score.
On the tunes' end, the Pretenders' performance of the Diane Warren-penned "Loving You Is All I Know" sounds like a winner.
THE OTHER SISTER
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Touchstone Pictures
Director: Garry Marshall
Screenwriters: Garry Marshall & Bob Brunner
Story: Alexandra Rose & Blair Richwood and Garry Marshall & Bob Brunner
Producers: Mario Iscovich, Alexandra Rose
Executive producer: David Hoberman
Director of photography: Dante Spinotti
Production designer: Stephen J. Lineweaver
Editor: Bruce Green
Costume designer: Gary Jones
Music supervisor: Kathy Nelson
Music: Rachel Portman
Casting: Gretchen Rennell Court
Color/stereo
Cast:
Carla Tate: Juliette Lewis
Elizabeth Tate: Diane Keaton
Radley Tate: Tom Skerritt
Danny McMahon: Giovanni Ribisi
Caroline Tate: Poppy Montgomery
Heather Tate: Sarah Paulson
Drew: Linda Thorson
Jeff: Joe Flanigan
Winnie: Juliet Mills
Ernie: Hector Elizondo
Running time -- 124 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Fortunately, looks can occasionally be deceiving. A romantic comedy about love among the intellectually challenged, this potential crowd-pleaser earns its big-screen stripes thanks to its energetic, highly capable cast and some zesty direction by Garry Marshall that undercuts the soapier aspects with liberal jabs of unexpected humor.
Speaking of challenged, Touchstone's marketing staff certainly has their work cut out for themselves given the picture's tricky subject matter. But if they succeed in getting initial audiences through the door, enthusiastic word-of-mouth could translate into some respectable returns.
In a comeback of sorts, Juliette Lewis gives one of the most grounded, accomplished performances of her young career as the spirited Carla Tate, a somewhat mentally challenged 24-year-old determined to emerge from under the overprotective wing of her controlling mother, Elizabeth (Diane Keaton).
Having overcome many of her previous problems during her years away at a Special Ed boarding school, Carla returns home to her family a capable young woman despite a pronounced speech impediment and the occasional emotional outburst.
Eager to assert her newfound confidence, Carla enrolls herself in a regular tech college much to the protests of Elizabeth, who doesn't want to see her get hurt. There, Carla meets Danny (Giovanni Ribisi), a similarly challenged young man.
Living in his own apartment but under the supportive, watchful eye of neighbor Ernie (Hector Elizondo), Danny falls in love with Carla, and her resulting feeling of unconditional acceptance goes even further to fan the flames in a battle of wills between herself and her mother.
Lewis is wonderful in the role, breathing life into a character who is alternately compassionate and humorously endearing. Her quest for and ultimate achievement of her independence is registered in a series of personal awakenings that are reflected across her face like warm rays of sunshine.
Ribisi, recently seen in "Saving Private Ryan" and coming up as a member of the big-screen "Mod Squad", is equally adept at never pandering to what could have been a cloying character. Keaton, meanwhile, does a finely balanced job in portraying a person whose stubborn hardness is betrayed by her own admitted insecurities about her perception as an effective mother.
Also good are Tom Skerritt as Lewis' understanding, former alcoholic father and Poppy Montgomery and Sarah Paulson as her supportive sisters. And Juliet Mills, in a nod toward her "Nanny and the Professor" days, puts in a welcome appearance as the equally sympathetic Winnie, the family nanny.
Marshall, who also co-wrote the script with longtime collaborator Bob Brunner, accomplishes the not-so-easy feat of averting much of the potential pathos by mixing some well-paced comedy into all the confrontation. Occasionally, some of the material's more virtuously squishy aspects poke through, but for the most part, things are disarmingly upbeat.
Among the technical attributes, cinematographer Dante Spinotti, who received an Oscar nomination for his work on "L.A. Confidential", keeps it fairly bright and simple here, as does Stephen J. Lineweaver's production design and Rachel Portman's syrup-lite score.
On the tunes' end, the Pretenders' performance of the Diane Warren-penned "Loving You Is All I Know" sounds like a winner.
THE OTHER SISTER
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Touchstone Pictures
Director: Garry Marshall
Screenwriters: Garry Marshall & Bob Brunner
Story: Alexandra Rose & Blair Richwood and Garry Marshall & Bob Brunner
Producers: Mario Iscovich, Alexandra Rose
Executive producer: David Hoberman
Director of photography: Dante Spinotti
Production designer: Stephen J. Lineweaver
Editor: Bruce Green
Costume designer: Gary Jones
Music supervisor: Kathy Nelson
Music: Rachel Portman
Casting: Gretchen Rennell Court
Color/stereo
Cast:
Carla Tate: Juliette Lewis
Elizabeth Tate: Diane Keaton
Radley Tate: Tom Skerritt
Danny McMahon: Giovanni Ribisi
Caroline Tate: Poppy Montgomery
Heather Tate: Sarah Paulson
Drew: Linda Thorson
Jeff: Joe Flanigan
Winnie: Juliet Mills
Ernie: Hector Elizondo
Running time -- 124 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 2/22/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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