Comment On Rt On Dvd & Blu-ray: The Vow & Underworld: Awakening

Walt Disney Pictures has released a new theatrical trailer for Gore Verbinski’s “The Lone Ranger,” starring Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, James Badge Dale, Ruth Wilson, and Helena Bonham Carter. From producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski, the filmmaking team behind the blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, comes Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ “The Lone Ranger,” a thrilling adventure infused with action and humor, in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes. Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice—taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption. “The Lone Ranger” Opens July 3, 2013. Have a look at the new theatrical trailer by using the player below. Source: Apple

Actor-turned-director Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi has given us probably the worst film of the Cannes competition so far: a smug, twee confection about a family losing their houseThis is turning out to be a tricky Cannes competition for French film-makers. François Ozon's Jeune et Jolie was interestingly made, but Arnaud Desplechin's Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian was a baffling, cumbersome bore. And now performer-turned-director Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi has given us what may well turn out to be the most insidiously awful film in the entire festival: a strained jeu d'ésprit which is smug, precious, carelessly constructed, emotionally negligible, and above all fantastically annoying. It's a terrible waste of real acting talent, including that of Bruni-Tesdeschi. The director presumably intended gaiety and pathos. What she created was clunkingly misjudged strains of comedy and high drama — that is: individually misjudged and misjudged in their combination.It's a truly baffling little squib which I suspect may have been inspired by Depleschin's 2009 movie A Christmas Tale, a very richly-flavoured pudding of a French film. Bruni-Tedeschi herself stars as Louise, a fortysomething former actress from a wealthy Italian family whose money came from a now defunct factory. Her father is dead; her mother (Marisa Borini) now wishes to sell off the family heirlooms, and open up the house (whimsically here called the "castle") to the public. Louise's brother Ludovic (Filippo Timi) is dying of an Aids-related illness, and Serge (Xavier Beauvois) a childhood friend of the family is begging them for money. But for Louise, this dire situation is leavened by a new romance: handsome, brooding young actor Nathan (Louis Garrel) is in love with her, but his father (André Wilms) happens to be a director that Louise worked with long ago.From these ingredients, Bruni-Tedeschi clearly intended to make a light and philosophically bittersweet soufflé. But what we got was something tiresome and insufferably self-regarding, all too obviously a twee personal "project" which probably means a great deal to her family and friends. The moments of sadness concerning Ludovic and the fate of the house itself are entirely unearned, and the notes of comedy are wince-makingly unfunny. And what a terrible use of André Wilms, who had been so great in Aki Kaurismäki's Le Havre here two years ago. Bruni-Tedeschi herself is an excellent actor: I have especially good memories of her in Ozon's 5x2. Only a French festival would have indulged her to this extent.Rating: 1/5Cannes 2013Cannes film festivalFestivalsWorld cinemaAki KaurismakiPeter Bradshawguardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Sam Bain lifts the lid on 'painful' decision to turn down HBO series, Three Men in a Boat stars enter choppy waters – and Britain's smelliest-looking celebrityThis week's comedy newsLaughing Stock this week brings you news, not of something that's happened in the world of comedy, but something that didn't. According to an interview with Peep Show creator Sam Bain on the Stateside podcast A Bit of a Chat, Bain and his writing partner Jesse Armstrong "were about a week away from flying to LA to co-create Flight of the Conchords, and then Peep Show got recommissioned and we couldn't go".Bain and Armstrong had agreed to make the HBO series with Conchords stars Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement – "[although] we didn't know it was gonna be as good as it was," Bain told interviewer Ken Plume. (It turned out – with the Conchords' eventual co-writer James Bobin – to be very good indeed.)"[The decision] was quite painful," Bain recalls. "Obviously, it's a luxurious position to be in to choose between Peep Show and Flight of the Conchords. It wasn't like, 'Oh my God, we made the wrong decision.' The sad thing is you can't have it all."Two of Three Men in a Boat are in the news – though perhaps not in ways they would want. Rory McGrath has been arrested in Cornwall on suspicion of assaulting a man and a woman who were, according to the police, trying to assist him while "heavily in drink". Griff Rhys Jones, meanwhile, has complained about the construction of a solar farm near his home in rural Suffolk. "We've been conned into assuming that when we put in renewable, it doesn't matter that they blight the countryside," he said, "because they're saving the planet."At least Harry Enfield has had a happier time with the planners. He's had his controversial attempts to convert a Primrose Hill pub into a luxury home green-lit by Camden council.In Canada, standup Christina Walkinshaw had a forthcoming gig cancelled after she complained about sexist heckling at a casino comedy club. Walkinshaw, who was reportedly barracked by a group of eight to 10 men shouting "Show us your tits", was under orders not to respond to hecklers. Having complained to management after the performance, the comic later heard that her next scheduled shows at the venue had been cancelled.In the UK, meanwhile, Felicity Kendal, star of The Good Life, has told the Daily Mirror that her character Barbara Good's "aura and sweetness has got bugger all to do with my life". "I always had affairs when I wanted," said Kendal. "I don't think I've ever not had a dark side."Elsewhere in comedy, rapper P Diddy pretends to have been cast in Downton Abbey; standup Gina Yashere reprises her familiar, and still pertinent, criticisms of British comedy's "one in, one out" policy towards black performers; and Richard Herring will start charging for a video version of his hit podcast in order to raise money for more ambitious standup ventures online.Big-screen trailers have been released for the American version of Gavin and Stacey, entitled Us and Them, and for Richard Curtis's new time-travelling romcom, About Time. Paul O'Grady has announced a swansong for his alter ego Lily Savage, as a Soho prostitute in a 1950s TV drama, and Shameless creator Paul Abbott is to script a new Victorian-era police comedy for Channel 4. Oh, and Russell Brand has been voted Britain's smelliest-looking celebrity. Make of that what you will.Best of the Guardian and Observer's comedy coverage• "You may have your own favourite spreadsheet, I don't know" – The Observer interviews mathematician – and moonlighting comedian – Matt Parker.• "Arrested Development [is] the finest – in my opinion – sitcom ever produced" – No fence-sitting by Hadley Freeman in this paean to the now-revived US series.• "Sometimes Hall's talent runs away with him; as [Otis Lee] Crenshaw, he is almost too good" – Leo Benedictus on Rich Hall's jailbird alter ego in this week's Comedy Gold.• "Suddenly I'm a desirable commodity!" – The great Hi-de-Hi star Paul Shane, who died last week, remembered. You can see clips of his career here.• "If the show's not working for you, try turning it off and on again" – David Renshaw remembers C4 sitcom The IT Crowd, as a box set of DVDs is released.Controversy of the week"Here's the deal, folks. You do a commercial – you're off the artistic roll call, forever. OK? Everything you say is suspect and every word that comes out of your mouth is now like a turd falling into my drink." So said the great Bill Hicks on comedians selling their voice to the highest bidder. But that hasn't stopped US comic Michael Ian Black, who last week issued a paid-for tweet on behalf of Mexican beer brand Dos Equis. "I just turned myself into a Most Interesting Person with the new @DosEquis Legend of You app," tweeted the comic. "Check it out http://on.fb.me/166xmC6."His followers, of whom there are almost 2 million, were not amused – and made their feelings clear on Twitter. Thus provoked, Black tweeted the advert again, before defiantly telling his fans: "[Dos Equis] wrote it and paid me thousands of dollars to run it". He subsequently added, more pithily, "I just like money." This isn't the first time Black has been challenged over his surrender of online authenticity to the dark art of selling stuff. In 2010, he defended the practice as follows: "I provide a valuable service (a constant stream of dick jokes) to Twitter for free. As of today, I've written 2,655 tweets. That's a lot of free material, all of it contributing to the entertainment of the 1.5 million people who follow me, as well as the multi-billion dollar capitalisation of Twitter itself. When presented with an opportunity to get some return on my investment of time and energy, why not take it?" Answers, anybody?Best of our readers' commentsLast week's Laughing stock column, in which Alexander Armstrong kicked out at people's "tribal aversion to anyone with a posh voice", sparked a predictably caustic response. Victoriatheoldgoth picked up on Armstrong's complaint that "I'm not anticipating an offer to appear in Shameless", responding thus:Gosh, yes, because we never see Old Etonians playing Irish-American cops or double-barrelled girls playing cockney pie-makers and the like … Alexander Armstrong is described on his Wikipedia page as an "active member of the Countryside Alliance, appearing in their advertisements to promote country shooting", and his cousin is the fervent bloodsports cheerleader Clarissa Dickson-Wright. Armstrong appears to have a very successful career, judging by his Wikipedia page and the fact that he's never off the telly. If he ever does encounter some hatred – from me, for example – maybe he should consider other factors that may be contributing to it, rather than putting it down to mere "tribalism".G2's PassNotes covered Eddie Izzard's bid to become mayor of London, dividing opinion. Cormaic was among the sceptics:I think Eddie's problem is he's bored. His standup formula is a brilliant one, brilliantly executed. He's surreal, uncontroversial, inoffensive and lovable. When he's on his game he's still probably the funniest Briton alive. But it is still a formula and for the past 10 years his heart hasn't been in it. He's obviously got talent in other areas, but he doesn't excel at them like he does at standup. And in politics, I don't think he stands for anything strongly enough to be a conviction politician, while he doesn't have the hubris and lack of principles to be an empty personality politician like Boris. You can't really be be a politician if you get easily bored, because the first thing you'll get bored with is yourself.However, kimona1 disagreed:[Izzard] would be a brilliant "conviction politician". In a totally opposite way to Thatcher. He has very strong convictions about believing in the good in people, people working together, he has always spoken out against the rightwing, against racism, all throughout his career. Just because he is "positive" doesn't mean he's wishy-washy or has no convictions. It's too early to know what his policies are yet, but I'd vote for him today …ComedyComedyComedyComedyEddie IzzardBrian Loganguardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Director Steven Soderbergh says Hollywood studios refused to finance Liberace movie, thinking only gay people would watch itBehind the Candelabra – a lavishly rhinestone-encrusted story about the pianist and entertainer Liberace – has charmed and delighted audiences at the Cannes film festival, just as its central character did so effervescently before he lost his life to an Aids-related illness in 1987. And, with its mesmerising central performances from Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, the film has a good shout at the Palme D'Or, with Douglas himself a strong contender for a Cannes best actor award.But the film, and its actors, will never win an Oscar. The Hollywood studios refused to finance it, said director Steven Soderbergh, because they believed the film would find no audience "except for people who are gay". Instead, it was made by the TV company HBO and, though it will receive theatrical release in the UK on 7 June, it will be seen on the small screen in the US, making it ineligible for the Academy Awards. Soderbergh was, he said, sanguine. "Our attitude was: 'More people are going to see it this way anyway.'"The film centres on the relationship of Liberace, played by Douglas, with his partner Scott Thorson, played by Damon – a virtual marriage that was kept secret from the musician's fans. Liberace is kind and loving, but Thorson finds his individuality seeping away under his dependence on Liberace (which involved even undergoing cosmetic surgery, at Liberace's request, to make him resemble the star).Neither actor hesitated to play a gay character in what is frequently a (lavishly set) domestic drama, the pair quibbling about the minutiae of life with Liberace's legion of tiny dogs snapping around their heels. "These two roles were really phenomenal. It was not the kind of thing I would hesitate about at all," said Damon. He added: "In terms of being in bed with Michael Douglas I now have things in common with Sharon Stone, Glenn Close, Demi Moore; we can all go out and trade stories." The film also includes a scene of the two sharing a hot tub, but there are no explicit sex scenes and no nudity apart from a glimpse of Damon's behind as he sports a fine Brazilian tan mark acquired for the role. (It was his idea, he said, to include the shot – the tan line was "the wrongest thing you'll ever see", he joked.)The film resonates with current debates about gay marriage, said Soderbergh. "It certainly seems that we were connected with a cultural sequence of events that is very timely and relevant," he said."With social issues like this, I always try to think: 'Fifty years from now, what are we going to think of our attitudes right now?' Fifty years ago we didn't even have the civil rights act in the US. Now of course it's part of our DNA, so when this issue comes up of equal rights for gays I am hoping that in 50 years we will look back on this and think: 'Why was this even a debate, and what took so long?'"The film had a lengthy gestation – not least because of the four years during which its producer Jerry Weintraub attempted to find Hollywood financing. But it was also delayed because of Douglas's diagnosis with throat cancer, for which he underwent extensive treatment and is currently receiving six-monthly check-ups. Douglas paid emotional homage to Soderbergh for his "beautiful gift" and to both the director and his co-star for "waiting for me".According to the film's scriptwriter, Richard LaGravenese, who wrote The Fisher King and The Bridges of Madison County, American TV is currently "more exciting creatively" than film. Soderbergh added that it was "a golden age of TV … In terms of cultural real estate, TV is really taking control of a certain kind of conversation that used to be the exclusive domain of movies. It's an interesting new model if you're someone who likes your stories to go narrow and deep; it can be a novel on screen."LaGravenese added: "You can have ambiguity in television that you are not allowed in film. Television is expanding and film seems to be constricting – this is Hollywood studio films. TV is where a writer, as Steven said, can write a novel. You can have episodes that are purely character-driven without plot that are just about nuances and shades of the human condition." According to Douglas, the emerging model of TV scriptwriters doubling up as producers in the US (as with Vince Gilligan, creator of the critically acclaimed series Breaking Bad) was "economically more advantageous as well as more autonomous" for writers.Douglas added that TV was becoming more and more attractive to independent filmmakers and actors alike. "It's a difficult time for smaller independent movies. Studios still seem to be wed to gambling on films with very large budgets and very large marketing budgets … Therefore cable television is becoming an access point. Many of us have become involved with small independent pictures that have no marketing budget. It's very frustrating: you work for nothing and the only advertising is you going on talk shows and all of that. [Making the film with HBO] was a wonderful combination of the two."Cannes 2013Cannes film festivalSteven SoderberghLiberaceCharlotte Higginsguardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock. We’ve all come to know and love him. And how could you not? Rising to fame in the WWE, Johnson made the leap to feature films, hitting some high and low notes, before finally settling into the chiseled visage of badassery that he is now. After a string of hits in some franchise and standalone films, Johnson is hitting his stride, having paid his dues with some Read More