Nobody should go into the movie “It’s Complicated” (starring Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin) with high expectations. It’s a love story, really – the kind you watch when you want something light and easily digested and a little entertaining. It’s the film equivalent of a hotdog on a bun: a nice snack, but can get sloppy in parts.

The movie tackles the love story of a divorced couple who are friendly but get, uhm, a little too close during their child’s college graduation party. After way too many drinks they end up sleeping together (talk about a different kind of family reunion!).

It throws Jane (Meryl Streep) off balance. She’s finally over her ex, who cheated on her and impregnated his mistress (and later married her). Finally, her life’s going great — new business, more confidence, and a “kinda-sorta” dating thing going with her architect, played by Steve Martin.So, now… “it’s complicated.”

Common sense is to stay away from her ex, but no — they keep having sex (and a little marijuana). And so follows a comedy of errors, which will entertain you. What do you expect from a movie with Steve Martin and The Office’s John Krasinski? Just don’t over analyze it, which sadly, Meryl Streep sometimes does. Laugh, and pass the popcorn.

It’s a holiday tradition. Come Christmas time, Hollywood rolls out the feel-good family movie to take advantage of the “mommy crowd” eager to spend big money on a movie date and the corresponding merchandising. This year, it’s Disney’s The Princess and the Frog.

But this is no dainty princess: Tiana has dreams of her own — she’s not waiting for anyone to sweep her off her feet. Girls will like the spunky heroine, and possibly the songs. Because, oh, there are many songs. Disney went overboard with the soundtrack, which kind of slows down the story, though the variety is applaudable. Influences run from gospel to Broadway, though it’s not of the same caliber (in terms of catchiness) as Little Mermaid or Aladdin. The plot pacing is also a bit off: too much happens, too soon. Pity, because the characters are interesting. It’s cool how Disney has modernized the traditional princess, in response to a new generation of young girls who need more than a handsome prince to find a “happily ever after.”

Dr. Facilier is a cool villain and the voodoo world taps from the rich New Orleans culture. We only wish there were more of the Evil Doc. Unlike other Disney bad guys like Jafar or Mufasa, who hold their own against the hero, he doesn’t quite get the adequate air time.

The animation won’t win any awards for special effects: it’s classic 90’s Disney, and marks the studio’s nostalgic return to 2D animation — and the foolproof formula of a lovable heroine + a catchy song.

Tom Ford shifts his focus from creating expensive designer suits to directing films with Single Man.

The story draws inspiration from a short story written by Christopher Isherwood. Set in the 1960s, it centers around George (played by Colin Firth), an English professor still grieving the death of his partner. Though several years have passed, he’s still trapped in the past — or miserably trying to escape it. In his depression, he, uhm, “seeks comfort” from his best friend (played by Julianne Moore). We all know how that goes.

So George decides to kill himself. And that would be a pretty horrible way for a Christmas movie to end (although, interestingly, suicides tend to rise during the winter season — must be the combination of the dreary weather and dysfunctional family reunions). But in the spirit of another holiday classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George has a “moment” that convinces him that yes, life is meaningful.
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Colin Firth was pretty darned good in this movie, and all things considered, Tom Ford did a fantastic job, too. It is his first film, and he took creative risks, including the subtle use of color to express mood or even shift time frames (must be the designer in him). Even the placement of objects is symbolic.

It won’t win any Cannes awards but “Single Man” is a brave directorial debut that tackles a powerful topic of enduring love, triumph over tragedy, and hope. All in all, it’s a thought provoking film, and one that will have you in a suitably reflective mood when you think about the holidays “and what really matters.”

Ryan Reynolds’ star looks like it’s continuing its trajectory towards stardom. The guy has proven to be a great comic actor with the slew of well-received roles that he’s gotten of late. The writers of Wolverine may have ruined the character of Deadpool but Reynolds made the character a near-perfect interpretation of Deadpool’s deadpan, snarky character (until, of course, that atrocious reveal at the end). He has also proved that he can hold his own with superstars as evidenced by his well-loved performance opposite Sandra Bullock in The Proposal. The guy’s already beginning to reap the benefits of his Next Big Thing status by snagging another comic book based movie. He’ll officially be donning the ring of The Green Lantern for the new movie on the popular DC Comics character.

What he haven’t seen from Reynolds much though is a serious role. He’s apparently got that thing covered too with his new movie Buried. The thriller, helmed by Rodrigo Cortes, tells the story of Paul, an American contractor who’s working in Iraq. Paul gets in the middle of an attack by a group of Iraqis and finds himself buried inside a coffin. With just a lighter and a cellphone, he must find a way to escape before his time runs out.

It’s a great premise for a movie although it’s a tired concept. It’s been done in the Quentin Tarantino-directed episode of CSI. And the concept also reminds me of the movie Spoorloos. Will Reynold’s prove to be a versatile actor to tackle such a serious role? We’ll soon find out when the movie is released.

The Bourne series of action movies is noteworthy for being one of the few intelligent products that have come out of Hollywood. It’s a cerebral series of action movies that pay close attention to plot and acting as much as to action setpieces. After a contentious production for Bourne Identity because star Matt Damon and director Doug Liman couldn’t see eye-to-eye, which still resulted in a quality movie, the series really began to hit its stride when Paul Greengrass assumed the director’s chair for Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum.

With plans for a fourth Bourne movie underway, everything was running smoothly, until news came out that Greengrass has reportedly “walked away” from the sequel. This will put the production of the fourth movie in jeopardy because Matt Damon is extremely close to Greengrass and this could make Damon decide to leave the production as well as a show of solidarity with his friend.

The problem seems to have originated from the producers’ decision to hire another writer to work on another script when the first script by George Nolfi (who wrote Bourne Ultimatum) was not universally liked. Greengrass seems to have taken exception for not being consulted in hiring the new new writer.

With the new Bourne movie looking like it’s in limbo, it will be a few more years before we see another intelligent action movie coming out of Hollywood. Believe me, Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables, one of the hotly anticipated action movies in production, won’t win any awards for cinematic intelligence.

The Playlist does add that walking away might be a “typical Paul move” and that he possibly could be back on the project in a few months.

The planned First Blood Sequel, Rambo V, has taken a different course again. According to Sylvester Stallone, they have changed their mind about the story for the new movie.

According to him, the story about hunting “the man/beast” will now be told through another character. Rambo, in the main story, will be going “across the border” to go to a violent city and speculations are rife that he will be battling human traffickers this time.

What’s interesting about this latest development is the fact that the original sequel storyline was actually the one with the human traffickers. It was changed at some point, but it looks like its back to the original concept again. I kinda get why the original storyline was chosen. Human traffickers as the bad guys would mean the body count will be so much bigger — and that’s what action fans want.

Director Martin Scorsese is going to be the next recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award. The award is one of the most prestigious citations at the annual Golden Globe Awards. The 67th awards ceremony will be held on January 17.

I think it’s high time that Scorsese starts receiving these awards to commemorate his achievements in filmmaking. the man is a superstar and one of the most brilliant directors of our time. Many of his films can be considered as some of the most important masterpieces of our time. I’m a huge fan of Scorsese and his films transcend fads and trends and are things of beauty.

I think it is wonderful that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (whose votes the Golden Globe Awards are based on) have seen it as the appropriate time to give Scorsese a well deserved award.

The planned sequel for Meet The Parents has gained another recruit. Harvey Keitel has officially been cast for Tribeca Productions‘ sequel Little Fockers.

Keitel will be joining other new additions to the cast Jessica Alba and Laura Dern. Franchise regulars Ben Stiller, Teri Polo , Robert de Niro, Blythe Danner and Owen Wilson will be returning to reprise their roles.

Paul Weitz will be directing the movie.

Another reboot is in the offing in Hollywood.

Chris Pine is reportedly in talks with Paramount Pictures to play Jack Ryan, the popular CIA analyst character in Tom Clancy’s novels.

A script is currently being written for the planned reboot. Although the movie’s title wasn’t revealed yet, I’m guessing they’ll restart the franchise with the first novel, The Hunt for Red October.

If Pine accepts, he will be the fourth actor to assume the role of Ryan. Alec Baldwin starred in The Hunt for Red October. Then Harrison Ford assumed the role when Baldwin decided to do The Shadow instead of Patriot Games. The last actor to play Ryan was Ben Affleck.

Sir Ian McKellen recently shared some news about The Hobbit, the prequel to the Lord of The Rings trilogy, which will be helmed by Guillermo del Toro.

In an interview with Empire Magazin, McKellen said the scripts for the two films (yes, it will be divided into two movies) will be submitted very soon. The next step will be budgeting the movies and then finally casting can begin. He did reveal in a latter interview that the Lord of The Rings cast whose characters were included in The Hobbit will be returning. Of course, this includes McKellen who will reprise his role of Gandalf.

McKellen shared that Del Toro plans to shoot the movie for 383 days, which is quite a long time.