Articles by Meredith Ennis

With the benefit of hindsight, all of the drama involved in getting World War Z to the big screen probably was worth it. As of mid August, the film had grossed nearly $200 million in the U.S. Rumor has it, the sequel to the film (which was always intended to be the first in a trilogy) is likely to be produced by Brad Pitt and Paramount Pictures. The film, based on a 2006 novel of the same name by Max Brooks, tells the story of U.N. investigator Gerry Lane (played by Pitt), who is called back into service after a […]

On Demand DVD New Releases Sept. 16-22 A mid-month set of releases that offers some big names and some smaller titles … let’s see what this week has in store! Bless Me, Ultima Rudolfo Anaya’s controversial novel comes to life in this adaptation set in World War II-era New Mexico, where a young boy’s life is drastically affected by an elderly medicine woman who comes to stay with his family. Miriam Colon, Luke Ganalon, Dolores Heredia (PG-13, 1:46) 9/17 [Same as DVD] The Bling Ring (pictured above) Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation) directs this examination of celebrity culture based on a true […]

Star Trek Into Darkness is not, to use a cliché, your father’s Star Trek. Unless you were born between 2009 — when J.J. Abrams first took the helm of the franchise and offered up a cinematic “reboot” of the beloved TV/film series — and now, the new film may not exactly be “your” Star Trek either. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, audience members with no real ties to previous versions of the Enterprise’s crew and history can enjoy Star Trek Into Darkness for what it is: an entertaining sci-fi/action film that doesn’t require prior knowledge of […]

On Demand DVD New Releases Sept. 9-15 It’s a light week for premieres, unless you count yourself among the legions of Star Trek fans/J.J. Abrams fans/Benedict Cumberbatch fans (Hands raised? Good!) who have been waiting for the Star Trek Into Darkness release. (You know what? There’s something for all of the above in this film, so if you haven’t seen it, go ahead — check it out). Premiering this week: Love Is All You Need After she discovers her husband is having an affair, a hairdresser gets into a car accident with a man she learns is her daughter’s soon-to-be […]

On Demand DVD New Releases Sept. 2-8: Now You See Me A team of illusionists use their trickery to pull off bank heists during their performances, giving the money to the audiences in attendance. Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman (PG-13, 1:55) 9/3 [Same as DVD] Stories We Tell Sarah Polley (Away From Her, Take This Waltz) directs this intimate documentary in which she interviews members of her own family in order to not only uncover her own truth, but also examine the way we tell stories about our lives. (PG-13, 1:48) 9/3 [Same as DVD] Additional On Demand/DVD new releases this […]

On Demand DVD New Releases Aug. 26-Sept. 1 Among Friends A group of friends get together for a murder mystery party, but things take a dark turn when one hijacks the evening and is out for blood. Christopher Backus, Jennifer Blanc, AJ Bowen (R, 1:27) 8/27  Same day as theatrical release At Any Price A farming family’s business is threatened by an unexpected crisis, further testing the relationship between a father and his rebellious son. Dennis Quaid, Kim Dickens, Zac Efron (R, 1:45) 8/27 The Hollow Crown Adaptations of Shakespeare’s history plays: Richard II, Henry IV Parts One and Two, and Henry V. […]

On Demand DVD New Releases Aug. 12-18 This week, there’s lots of familiar faces gracing the big screen: The Big Wedding alone features Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon, Katherine Heigl, Amanda Seyfried and Robin Williams! In addition to Robert Redford, The Company You Keep includes Julie Christie, Susan Sarandon, Nock Nolte, Stanley Tucci, Chris Cooper and Terrence Howard. Angela Bassett and Morgan Freeman are in Olympus Has Fallen, and Julianne Moore is in What Maisie Knew. The Big Wedding Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton play a long-divorced couple who must fake being married at the wedding of their adopted son […]

You wouldn’t be entirely off base if you thought Ryan Gosling was fated to play the role of Luke in director Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond the Pines. The two had worked together on 2010’s Blue Valentine with Gosling starring alongside Michelle Williams in the film about the evolution of a marriage. In fact, it was during the preparation for Blue Valentine that Gosling and Cianfrance discovered a common idea they had each had individually. Cianfrance says he asked Gosling what was something he had always wanted to do in his life, but hadn’t. “It came up that there was […]

In 2005, five years before Joseph Kosinski directed his first feature, TRON: Legacy, he wrote a 12-page story titled Oblivion. In his sci-fi adventure set in 2077 — six decades after an alien invasion irradiates Earth — readers follow the missions of Jack, a repairman on a nearly destroyed planet who is uncertain of his place in the universe. The Bubbleship is Jack’s (Tom Cruise) primary form of transportation as he travels to and from Earth’s surface. Kosinski was thrilled to see the vehicle he imagined several years ago — a hybrid of a jet fighter and a Bell 47 […]

On Demand DVD New Releases Aug. 5-11: A busy week for big-name stars, including Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon (Mud), Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman (Oblivion), Kristen Stewart and Garret Hedlund (On the Road), Bradley Cooper , Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes (Place Beyond the Pines), Chris O’Dowd (The Sapphires), and Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Javier Bardem (To the Wonder) Mud Two teenage boys in Mississippi encounter a mysterious man on the run from bounty hunters and agree to help him while also trying to reunite him with his lost love. Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Tye Sheridan (PG-13, 2:11) 8/6  Same as […]