plus 4, Christophe Gans Movie News - ReelzChannel.com

Christophe Gans Movie News - ReelzChannel.com
CSPI Gives Movie Popcorn Two Thumbs Down - consumer affairs.com
Movie Popcorn Plus Soda Can Equal 3 McDonald's Burgers - KGMI
Movie review: ‘The Messenger’ delivers an emotional punch - Morning Sun
Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans' - Bellingham Herald

Christophe Gans Movie News - ReelzChannel.com

Posted: 20 Nov 2009 06:47 PM PST

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I think we need to make it a little more accessible to the movie-going public. Silent Hill is not a blockbuster game like Resident Evil or the other games out there. It's a connoisseurs' game. It has its own, rabid fan base. They're not cheap, these ...

CSPI Gives Movie Popcorn Two Thumbs Down - consumer affairs.com

Posted: 20 Nov 2009 01:32 PM PST

By James Limbach
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 20, 2009

It's hard to picture someone wolfing down three McDonald's Quarter Pounders with 12 pats of butter while watching a movie.

But according to new laboratory analyses commissioned by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), that food is nutritionally comparable to what you'd find in a medium popcorn and soda combo at Regal, the country's biggest movie theater chain: 1,610 calories and three days' worth -- 60 grams -- of saturated fat.

"Regal and AMC are our nominees for Best Supporting Actor in the Obesity Epidemic," said CSPI senior nutritionist Jayne Hurley. "Who expects about 1,500 calories and three days' worth of heart-stopping fat in a popcorn and soda combo? That's the saturated fat of a stick of butter and the calories of two sticks of butter. You might think you're getting Bambi, but you're really getting Godzilla."

Regal says its medium popcorn has 720 calories and that its large has 960. But CSPI's lab tests found that those numbers were understated. Regal's medium and large sizes each had 1,200 calories and, thanks to being popped in coconut oil, 60 grams of saturated fat. (The large size looks bigger, thanks to its titanic tub, but it costs a dollar more and comes with a free refill.)

A "small" at Regal has 670 calories and 34 grams of saturated fat. That's about as many calories as a Pizza Hut Personal Pan Pepperoni Pizza -- except the popcorn has three times the saturated fat.

Even shared with another person, that size provides nearly an entire day's worth of the kind of fat that clogs arteries and promotes heart disease. And every tablespoon of "buttery" oil topping adds another 130 calories. Asking for topping is like asking for oil on French fries or potato chips, according to CSPI.

AMC, the second largest theater chain, also pops in coconut oil but has smaller serving sizes. Its large popcorn has 1,030 calories and 57 grams of saturated fat, CSPI found. That's like eating a pound of baby back ribs topped with a scoop of Häagen-Dazs ice cream -- except that the popcorn has an additional day's worth of saturated fat.

A medium has 590 calories and 33 grams of saturated fat; and a small has 370 calories and a day's worth -- 20 grams -- of saturated fat. (Like Regal, AMC reports calorie counts lower than those returned in CSPI's lab tests.)

Third-largest Cinemark pops in heart-healthy canola oil. A large has 910 calories with 4 grams of saturated fat; a medium has 760 calories and 3 grams of saturated fat; and a small has 420 calories and 2 grams of saturated fat.

Though popping in canola gives this chain's popcorn far less saturated fat than its competitors, it's almost as high in calories and has the most sodium -- about twice as much as Regal or AMC. With 1,500 milligrams of sodium -- a day's worth of sodium for most people -- a large popcorn without topping from Cinemark will be less likely to clog your arteries but more likely to elevate your blood pressure.

And while Cinemark uses a "buttery" oil topping similar to the toppings used at Regal and AMC, at some outlets, particularly in the West, it uses a topping made with real butter. That version has 9 grams -- half a day's worth -- of saturated fat per tablespoon.

CSPI also took a look at the soft drinks and candies sold at the movies. A small non-diet soda ranges from 150 calories at Cinemark to 300 calories at Regal. Mediums have 300 calories at AMC and Cinemark and 400 calories at Regal. With 33 teaspoons of sugar in nearly 2 quarts -- 54 ounces -- Regal has the most outsized large soda, with 500 calories.

The oversized boxes and bags (four to five ounces) of candy sold at movie chains are universally high in calories. A five-ounce bag of Twizzlers has 460 calories and 15 teaspoons of sugar. A 7-ounce box of Nerds has 790 calories and 46 teaspoons of sugar.

Chocolate candies like Butterfinger Minis, Raisinets, Sno-Caps, or M&M's have between 400 and 500 calories and at least a half day's worth of saturated fat. An 8-ounce bag of Reese's Pieces is just a cup of candy. But with 1,160 calories and 35 grams of saturated fat, it's like eating a 16-ounce T-bone steak plus a buttered baked potato.

"Sitting through a two-hour movie isn't exactly like climbing Mt. Everest," Hurley said. "Why do theaters think they need to feed us like it is?"

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Movie Popcorn Plus Soda Can Equal 3 McDonald's Burgers - KGMI

Posted: 20 Nov 2009 04:03 PM PST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) - Moviergoers who tuck into a medium popcorn and a soft drink could be eating the equivalent of three McDonald's quarter-pounder burgers topped with a dozen scoops of butter, according to a U.S. study.

A laboratory analysis of snacks sold at U.S. cinemas and commissioned by the Center for Science and Public Interest (CSPI) found a medium popcorn and soft drink contained 1,160 calories and three days' worth -- 60 grams -- of saturated fat.

"Who expects about 1,500 calories and three days' worth of heart-stopping fat in a popcorn and soda combo? That's the saturated fat of a stick of butter and the calories of two sticks of butter," said CSPI senior nutritionist Jayne Hurley in a statement.

"You might think you're getting Bambi, but you're really getting Godzilla."

She said even sharing a small portion of popcorn between two people would mean consuming a day's worth of saturated fat, the kind that clogs arteries and is linked to heart disease.

Hurley said every tablespoon of "buttery" oil topping adds another 130 calories according to the study published in Nutrition Action Healthletter.

"Asking for topping is like asking for oil on French fries or potato chips," she added.

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Movie review: ‘The Messenger’ delivers an emotional punch - Morning Sun

Posted: 20 Nov 2009 09:58 AM PST

I'm not being facetious when I say it's your patriotic duty to see "The Messenger," one of the most moving tributes I can think of to the parents, children and spouses who have lost a loved one to war.

Unlike most films inspired by the twin conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, it puts a human face on the notion that those are real people, with real lives, fighting and dying on our behalf in strange lands for a government that seems to place a higher value on the protection of oil than it does the members of its military.

Make no mistake, though: This is not – and I repeat – not, an anti-war picture. Nor is it one with a decidedly leftist slant.

Our guides are Woody Harrelson's appropriately named Stone and Ben Foster's newbie, Will Montgomery, a decorated hero assigned to the Army Casualty Notification service after being wounded in Iraq.

Like us, Will knows nothing about the procedures and protocol involved with knocking on the doors of complete strangers and delivering the grimmest news they will ever hear.

And he is about to learn, as are we, that it's a pretty cold business in which the messengers are not allowed to comfort or touch the next of kin; and only the words "killed" or "died" can be used to avoid the vagaries of terms like "passed," "gone" or "didn't make it."

At first, it seems almost inhuman, if not indignant. But by the time this well-rendered, beautifully acted drama runs its course, you find yourself filled with deep admiration for the bravery and discipline required of a job in which you must be perfect every time you ring the doorbell. And be ready for anything, because you never know if the news will be greeted with calm resignation or a violent outburst.

Harrelson and Foster allow you to feel every heart-tugging moment vicariously through haunting, Oscar-caliber performances that tap into the guilt, the pain and, yes, the pride in doing a tough job well.

Nor do they shy away from the darker elements of characters that come preloaded with personal demons exacerbated by the toll their grim work takes.

Most absorbing is the level of realism contained in a script by first-time director Oren Moverman, who draws liberally on his experiences as a member of the Israeli army.

Like Oliver Stone, another director hardened by war, Moverman knows firsthand how soldiers think, react and attempt to justify a job that seems to buck every religious and moral truth.

His only false step is to involve Will, a guy struggling with the hands-off approach to notification, in a romance with a war widow (Samantha Morton) and her young, mixed-race son.

Yet, even though their relationship feels contrived, the feelings and emotions they express always seem genuine, particularly in a long, well-acted scene in which they confront the real reasons behind their mutual attraction.

Far more believable is Will's relationship with his high school sweetheart (Jena Malone, all grown up), who he unselfishly set free when he shipped off to Iraq, but now wants, but can't have back because she's about to marry another.

Their scenes are wrenching and, on occasion, funny, as is the rest of the film, which draws much of its élan from the budding bromance between Will and his occasionally psychotic mentor, Stone. It's the type of role Harrelson has played a dozen times before but seldom with this much power – and humor.

The film, though, belongs to Foster. Best known for his portrayal of Russell Crowe's loyal and deranged partner in "3:10 to Yuma," Foster finally finds a part that allows him to be at his most human and most feral.

He creates a constant air of suppressed volatility that has you on the edge of your seat, as you anticipate Will losing it at just about any minute. And when he does, watch out. But the moments that stand out are when he goes against expectations by expressing empathy and emotion for both his partner and the people whose hearts he is about to break.

It's a scintillating turn in a harrowing, but ultimately rewarding picture that refreshingly has no agenda, plays no sides and offers no solutions; just devastating truths about the collateral damage a soldier's death leaves behind.

THE MESSENGER (R for language and some sexual content/nudity.) Cast includes Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone and Steve Buschemi. At Kendall Square, Cambridge. 3 stars out of 4.

Contact Patriot Ledger writer Al Alexander at aalexander@ledger.com.

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Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans' - Bellingham Herald

Posted: 21 Nov 2009 12:02 AM PST

Herzog is obsessed with obsessives, and Cage's character will work best with those who have a natural antipathy for the rabble-rousing cliches of the vigilante cop genre. The script by William Finkelstein provides the groundwork, but Herzog keeps repaving that groundwork for the better.

Some scenes, such as an encounter between Cage and Alvin "Xzibit" Joiner (as a gangster behind a murder), could be taken from any crime movie. Other scenes belong to this film and no other. In one of his cocaine-induced hallucinations, at a stakeout, McDonagh suddenly sees a pair of iguanas on his coffee table, leading to the natural question: "What are these iguanas doing on my coffee table?" The other cops dismiss the non sequitur, casually - with McDonagh, even the most chemically induced behavior is treated as just another day on the job post-Katrina. It's one of the comic strengths of the picture: Even when he's showing things from an imaginary, metaphoric lizard's point of view, Herzog's film never tries to out-crazy the man in the middle of it all.

Herzog gives the story a melancholy and naturalistic backdrop, which makes the hallucinations all the stranger. McDonagh's father (Tom Bower), whose new wife (Jennifer Coolidge) is a beer lush, struggles to stay sober with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous, and just when you think Herzog and company are going to play the family-crises scenes for laughs, they don't - or rather they do and they don't.

Cage can be tiresomely crazy in some films, but here, the minute he starts trashing a pharmacy out of sheer impatience to get his next fix, you know you're in the company of the right actor in the right role. Early on, we're told McDonagh has a bad back; by the time the picture has zigzagged to its midpoint, Cage is bent over and snarling like Richard III, with a badge. Then, for a while, Cage tries a new cocaine, marijuana- and Vicodin-ravaged vocal delivery, alarmingly close to his adenoidal mole in "G-Force."

"Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans," which co-stars Eva Mendes as the coked-up call-girl lover of the anti-hero, reminded me of Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil." Neither film really cares about who killed whom, or why. Their mixture of tones, from anguish to irony to grotesque slapstick to pathos, borders on the sociopathic or, at their peaks, the ecstatic.

Herzog's achievement is far more modest than Welles', but both swan dives into the cesspool ask the question: What happens when the enforcer becomes the exploiter? Without cheapening the memory of Katrina, Herzog sends McDonagh into a downward spiral, in a city struggling to pull itself out of the drain. Ferrara's '92 "Bad Lieutenant" is steeped in Catholic guilt; Herzog's is steeped in nondenominational hypocrisy. Cage is a gas; the movie's a variation on the themes of corruption and addiction. Herzog has made a film to join his "Grizzly Man" and "Encounters at the End of the World" as obsessional portraits.

"Vampires are lucky," says one junkie to another in the original "Bad Lieutenant." "They can feed on others. We gotta eat away at ourselves." Cage's itchy portrayal, a more stimulating creation than his Oscar-winning portrait of a self-destructor in "Leaving Las Vegas," sells that notion in every fiber - real and synthetic - of its being.

BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS

3 1/2 stars

MPAA rating: R (for drug use and language throughout, some violence and sexuality).

Cast: Nicolas Cage (Terence McDonagh); Eva Mendes (Frankie); Val Kilmer (Stevie Pruit); Alvin "Xzibit" Joiner (Big Fate); Jennifer Coolidge (Genevieve); Tom Bower (Pat McDonagh) Credits: Directed by: Werner Herzog; written by William Finkelstein; produced by Stephen Belafonte, Alan Polsky, Gabe Polsky, John Thompson, Randall Emmett and Edward R. Pressman. A First Look Studios release. Running time: 2:01.

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