PH BLOG ➹

F resh from the commercial and critical success of his first-ever romantic comedy “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” Ryan Gosling now returns to the psychological thriller genre with the Cannes Film Festival winner, “Drive.” Winner of the Best Director award at this year's Cannes, “Drive” will be shown soon exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas (Glorietta 4, Greenbelt 3 & Trinoma). The film is directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and adapted from James Sallis's 2005 novel of the same name.

D reamWorks and Disney have just released the latest trailers of their upcoming 2012 offerings, specifically Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse” (http://youtu.be/disvgM4biS4) and the Amy Adams-led family fare “The Muppets” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EP98bZZnOE). “War Horse,” director Steven Spielberg’s epic adventure, is a tale of loyalty, hope and tenacity set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War. “War Horse” begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets—British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter—before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man’s Land.

D reamWorks Pictures' robot-boxing action ride “Real Steel” punched up a no. 1 opening in the country, grossing a knockout P48.28-million nationwide opening weekend for the Oct. 12-18 frame. This was announced today by Victor R. Cabrera, managing director of Walt Disney Studios Philippines, the film's local distributor. With that spectacular opening, “Real Steel” broke the record for all-time biggest October weekend, beating 2008’s “High School Musical: Senior Year” at P31.6-M and 2009’s “Michael Jackson's This Is It” with P26.2M.

A Alexander Skarsgard isn't the first acting hunk to be compared to Brad Pitt. But the Swede might be one of the few who's up to the task. Known as “True Blood's” icy-hot Viking vampire, Eric, he is preparing to take a bite out of the box office with Columbia Pictures' new suspense thriller “Straw Dogs.” The film transplants the chilling 1971 Dustin Hoffman-led movie into the sweaty, close-knit Deep South. Skarsgard, 35, plays local football hero Charlie, whose lust for actress ex-girlfriend Amy (Kate Bosworth) turns violent once she returns home with writer husband David (James Marsden).

W arner Bros. debuts the international character posters of its upcoming action-adventure “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” the follow-up to the 2010 smash hit “Sherlock Holmes.” The one-sheets feature the individual characters of bestfriends Holmes and Watson, played respectively by Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. The sequel reunites director Guy Ritchie with stars Downey and Law, as well as producers Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin.

C Columbia Pictures presents the frightening suspense thriller “Straw Dogs” starring James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Alexander Skarsgård, Dominic Purcell and James Woods. Directed by and screenplay by Rod Lurie, the film is based on the 1971 movie of the same title written by David Zelag Goodman and Sam Peckinpah who adapted the novel “The Siege of Trencher’s Farm” by Gordon Williams.

H e’s a bear of very little brain. She’s half of the acclaimed band She & Him and the star of the hit new sitcom, “New Girl.” Now, Winnie and Zooey Deschanel come together on the big screen in Walt Disney Animation Studios' all-new adventure “Winnie the Pooh,” which opens exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas (Glorietta 4 & Greenbelt 3) starting October 19. Deschanel (“(500) Days of Summer”) joins Winnie the Pooh and all of his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood, performing three songs for the film, including her own take on the classic “Winnie the Pooh” theme song, “A Very Important Thing to Do” and the original end-credit song “So Long,” which was written by Deschanel and performed with She & Him bandmate M. Ward. “This has been one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had,” says Deschanel. “And I’ve just been thanking my lucky stars that I was able to work on this movie, because it’s delightful.”

R ecent news reports that 6 tons of satellite debris fell within 300 miles of Christmas Island may in fact be a part of a large-scale cover-up, according to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. Authorities have long suspected that Santa Claus and his elves may be running an ultra high-tech operation from a remote region in the North Pole. Intelligence sources believe that Santa and his team engage in yearly, secretive trial runs in preparation for Christmas Eve's worldwide toy-delivery marathon.

A Almost in the nu de in the upcoming romantic quirky comedy “ What’s Your Number? ,” Chris Evans keeps mum about his number on women when asked in line with his upcoming sexy romcom opposite Anna Faris. Evans plays Colin who willingly helps Ally Darling (Faris) in her quest to track past lovers who might happen to be her ideal one. Fun and sexy, Ally dismisses Colin as a potential lover because she sees him as a womanizing lothario rather than marriage material. The movie opens up a lot of questions on adult relationships in the most absurd way possible and Evans shares in the following q&a his thoughts on some of those questions.

W arner Bros. has just unveiled the one-sheet and banner artworks for its upcoming animated spectacle, “Happy Feet 2”! The sequel to “Happy Feet,” the Academy Award®-winning animated smash hit, “Happy Feet Two” returns audiences to the magnificent landscape of Antarctica in superb 3D. In the film, Mumble, The Master of Tap, has a problem because his tiny son, Erik, is choreo-phobic. Reluctant to dance, Erik runs away and encounters The Mighty Sven—a penguin who can fly! Mumble has no hope of competing with this charismatic new role model.

H e was most recently seen as Young Thor opposite Anthony Hopkins in the Marvel Studios hit “Thor,” directed by Kenneth Branagh. Now, 11-year-old actor Dakota Goyo stars in DreamWorks Pictures' action-adventure “Real Steel” as Hugh Jackman's precocious son, Max. “Real Steel” revolves around Charlie Kenton (Jackman), a washed-up boxer in the near-future who, because his sport has been taken over by 8-foot steel robots, now lives in a world where he doesn’t fit in. With no fights and no prospects, he is forced to hustle as a small-time robot fight promoter. He earns just enough money to survive by piecing together low-end “bots” and traveling from one seamy underground boxing venue to the next for whatever prizefight he can wrangle for his automatons. Just when things can’t become any more desperate and complicated, his estranged 10-year-old son Max suddenly and unwillingly comes back into his life.

J oining the cast of Columbia Pictures' new action-comedy “ 30 Minutes or Less ” is acclaimed character actor Michael Peña (“Crash,” “World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles”) who plays the professional hit man, Chango. In the film, Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) is a small town pizza delivery guy whose mundane life collides with the big plans of two wannabe criminal masterminds Dwayne and Travis (Danny McBride and Nick Swardson). The lowlifes kidnap Nick and strap a time bomb to him – with the promise that they’ll blow him up unless he robs a bank. With only a few hours to pull off the impossible task, Nick enlists the help of his ex-best friend, Chet (Aziz Ansari). As the clock ticks, the two must deal with the police, hired assassins, flamethrowers, and their own tumultuous relationship.

Action superstar Hugh Jackman stars in DreamWorks Pictures' “ Real Steel ” as Charlie, a washed-up boxer in the near-future who, because his sport has been taken over by 8-foot steel robots, now lives in a world where he doesn’t fit in. With no fights and no prospects, he is forced to hustle as a small-time robot fight promoter. He earns just enough money to survive by piecing together low-end “bots” and traveling from one seamy underground boxing venue to the next for whatever prizefight he can wrangle for his automatons. Just when things can’t become any more desperate and complicated, his estranged 10-year-old son Max (Dakota Goyo) suddenly and unwillingly comes back into his life.

D reamWorks Pictures has just revealed the first poster of Steven Spielberg’s new epic adventure “War Horse,” a tale of loyalty, hope and tenacity set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War. “ War Horse ” begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets—British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter—before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man’s Land.