It is always a great risk taking a popular play from the stage and transferring it onto the silver screen. If you can endure the criticism from theater purists and dumb it down enough for mainstream America to be entertained, then there is room for a bit of success. Rob Marshall found great mainstream success with Chicago, infusing it with Hollywood talent that blew audiences away. Other stage to screen adaptations, such as Joel Shumacher’s The Phantom of the Opera have been well received by critics, but shunned by the American audience in that they were too difficult to follow on the silver screen. In cases like these, and many others, it often rests on the vision of the director and how he or she decides to interpret the small world of screen into the vast realm of film. With The History Boys, director Nicholas Hynter shows plenty of vision in making a film that does the play justice, he just may not capture the minds and hearts of the American moviegoer.

With Christmas out of the way, we are all anticipating the new year for one reason or another. Here at Film School Rejects we are anticipating what looks like a great year for movies. Here is a sneak peak of what Paramount Studios has in store for us in 2007, and if we think the film will make our 2007 Honor Roll, slip to the Merit Roll or be put on Academic Probation…

Here at FSR we already did a best Christmas films list, so why not a New Years list as well? The following flicks feature New Years celebrations and often come to my mind during the holiday. However, New Years is usually a plot used more often in TV shows where a characters night hinges on a successful New Years or its demise, IE Friends, Mad About You, How I Met Your Mother, etc. For films it was a lot harder to pinpoint good ones. Sure in Forrest Gump Jennie tries to kill herself on New Years, but does that count as a New Year’s film? I asked several of my friends to think of some and they could either come up with zilch or just the ones that I have listed below.

With Christmas out of the way, we are all anticipating the new year for one reason or another. Here at Film School Rejects we are anticipating what looks like a great year for movies. Here is a sneak peak of what Warner Brothers Studios has in store for us in 2007, and if we think the film will make the honor roll.

The last hurrah for 2006 is upon us and what do the local theaters have to show for it? Nothing. At least, nothing in my area. There is not a single new release arriving locally for me to see. That means one thing, time to catch up on a couple that I have missed. It is also a time to recommend a few movies that are on the big screen and well worth the visit. There are a few major films that are not playing in my area, most notably Dreamgirls and Children of Men.

Every year it is the same thing. Rushing around to greet grumpy relatives, opening gifts, feigning gratitude, piles of meat and cheese trays and ultimately a long, long nap – which is subsequently interrupted by a whiny child who needs batteries for their new gizmo that cost you an arm and a leg. Are we glad that it is over? Absolutely. Can we relax? Of course not! This is the movie business – time to rock and roll on into the New Year!

This is easily one of the more pleasant surprises that I have encountered on the big screen for awhile. I was among those who scoffed at the very idea of a new Rocky movie. I remember really liking the original, and having a childhood enjoyment for IV (loved Ivan Drago), but I really don’t have any solid memories of any of them, and I know I skipped the fifth one. My interest in the character is quite low, and I was not impressed with the trailers I saw, but I dutifully made my way to the cinema to take in this sixth, and hopefully final, story of the perennial underdog. What I found was a movie that was heartfelt and genuine, a movie that was well worth my time and made me care for the battered pugilist.

With Christmas out of the way, we are all anticipating the new year for one reason or another. Here at Film School Rejects we are anticipating what looks like a great year for movies. Here is a sneak peak of what Lions Gate and New Line Cinema has in store for us in 2007, and if we think the film will make the 2007 Honor Roll, slide to the Merit Roll or be sentenced to Academic Probation. Hostel 2 Starring: Bijou Phillips, Jay Hernandez, Jordan Ladd Director: Eli Roth Synopsis: Last January, writer/director Eli Roth terrified moviegoers with the blood-drenched HOSTEL, which catapulted to the top of the box office charts and became the first Number One film of 2006. One year later, Roth takes us back to where it all began, and deeper into the darkest recesses of the human mind. In HOSTEL: PART II, three young Americans studying in set off for a weekend trip when they run into a beautiful model from one of their art classes. Also on her way to an exotic destination, the gorgeous European invites the coeds to come along, assuring them they will be able to relax and rejuvenate. Will the girls find the oasis they are looking for? Or are they poised to become victims for hire, pawns in the fantasies of the sick and privileged from around the world who secretly travel here to savor more grisly pursuits? With Hostel, Eli Roth cemented the cutting-edge credentials he earned with his debut [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Granted the plot to Dreamgirls is nothing new, we’ve all seen the pop band trying to make it story. This one features a black female pop band, the Dreamettes (later the Dreams), who are on the verge of stardom in the early 1960s and the consequences of their fame. You can pretty much predict what is coming before entering the theater, one singer in the tight knit group ends up overshadowing the rest, they break-up and go solo, someone will turn to drugs and ruin their career, etc. It doesn’t help that the narrative also mirrors Diana Ross and The Supremes’ true life story. However, the energetic songs, brilliant costumes and sets, and solid performances keep Dreamgirls from being routine or dull. The original trailer for Dreamgirls, which started appearing at cinemas as early as last year, was so vague it only featured a single catchy tune from the musical and the cast’s names but no clips–as a result I haven’t felt such buildup and anticipation for a film in sometime. Plus I also grew up knowing several of the show tunes from the original Broadway show, which debuted in 1981 at the Imperial Theatre, New York City. Add in the fact that there hasn’t been a film musical since Chicago in 2002–which one best picture—I very was excited to see this Broadway film adaptation. Luckily, I wasn’t disappointed and the buildup was worth it and well deserved.

Talk about a week of teasing from the studios… First we get great looks at 300 and Transformers – and now this! After a few days of forcing fanboys everywhere to sift through a blurred bootleg, Fox finally released a trailer for Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer in glorious HD Quicktime and other versions. It releases on June 15, 2007 and the trailer can be seen by clicking the Surfer’s silver mug above. Enjoy!

I hope that Christmas sees all of you doing well. Today is the final week of new releases for the 2006 campaign, and the pickings are slim. The lack of a large number of worthy new releases makes this week the perfect time to use all of those gift cards you got to catch up on the older releases that you never got around to picking up. There are titles like Forbidden Planet, A Scanner Darkly, Little Miss Sunshine, World Trade Center, and the James Bond collections just waiting to be added to your shelf. Sure, there are others worthy, whatever you choose will be sure to be the right choice. This does not mean that there aren’t noteworthy titles this week, read on.

We here at Film School Rejects would like to wish all of our readers a Safe and Happy Holiday Season, and a Merry Christmas! We will be taking a break for the next few days so that we can spend time with our families, answering questions like “What movies have you seen lately?”, “What’s out that’s good?” and the ever popular “So, explain to me again why you want to be a film critic and not a doctor?” So no matter where you are or how annoying your family is, we wish you season’s greetings. But don’t forget about us… We will be back in full force on December 26th with reviews for the latest releases like Dreamgirls, The Good Shepherd, The History Boys and others. We will also have loads of contests, continue our coverage of this year’s march towards Oscar night and just maybe bring on some new writers – just in time for the new year. Happy Holidays! – The Film School Rejects Staff

No holiday can compare to Halloween when it comes to the silver screen. Even if a movie is not specifically made with Halloween in mind, any horror movie can easily be incorporated into the celebration. Christmas is a little different. Though there may be more movies which are explicitly Christmas, there really is no genre that can automatically be attributed to it. Furthermore, most Christmas movies wind up as trite and offensively humorless little comedies starring Tim Allen. In picking the best Christmas movies of all time, a critic has very little to wade through. However, this is counterbalanced by the difficulty one has in coming up with Christmas movies in the first place. My own list does not exceed three*.

A second request for an online film review was sent to us, and here at film school rejects we were more than happy to take a look and give our opinion. This time the short clip is Belated Introduction, which can be seen here at youtube. The clip does not try to tell a story; rather it is an introduction to a real person set to music and in the style of a music video. Only 2:01 minutes in length, it features several different shots of the young woman, each of which reveals a different aspect of her personality.

Take two parts Star Wars, two parts Lord of the Rings, one part Dragonheart, and a dash of Harry Potter, mix well, servers as many as will pay. That seems to have been the formula for the genesis of Eragon, the latest attempt to create a fantasy film franchise based on a popular novel. Sadly, it doesn’t have enough verve and vigor to inspire much passion. Eragon is, essentially, a 95 minute trailer for the second film. By the time the end rolls around, it doesn’t feel like we got anywhere, it is just beginning to pick up steam and it’s over. Before you ask, no, I have not read the novel, and no, I have no real intention of ever doing so. It isn’t that I don’t read or anything like that, I just don’t care for fantasy novels. Films are a different beast. I do give much credit to author Christopher Paolini, who wrote the novel, the first of a trilogy, when he was 15 or 16, and published at 17.

Based partly on the life of one of the founding fathers of the CIA, James “Jesus” Angelton, The Good Shepherd follows Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) through a thick fog of deception and suspicion. When a man who loves and serves his country with pride is forced to make a decision that would effect the fate of his personal life and the fate of his country, he must decide where his loyalty resides. The Good Shepherd is not only good, it is one of the year’s best films. When a film has a cast that can fill seats, a good story and a director that can put the pieces together, you get a film like this. Just looking at the film’s roster makes you want to see it, but whether or not it is good or not is another story. Earlier this year there was another film All The King’s Men that had a cast that just screamed Oscar, but thankfully there have been a few other films since that have cast a very large shadow over the undeserved hype that the afore mentioned film may have received. This film may not win everything, or even anything for that matter, but deserves to be in the ranks of the year’s 5 best films.

In We Are Marshall, the dubious tandem of Director McG (Charlie’s Angels) and actor Matthew McConaughey team up to relive the story of the 1970 Marshall University football team that was lost in a plane crash coming home from a game against Eastern Carolina. The deaths of 75 players, coaches and boosters was a devastating blow to the University and the community around it, leaving many to wonder whether there would ever be football again at Marshall. The result is a poorly managed, severely miscast walking sports clich©. Enter McConaughey as coach Jack Lengyel, a man who sought out the opportunity to help Marshall get back on the field and teach an entire community to keep on living. Full of inspiration and annoying quirks, Lengyel reassembles the program with the help of Red Dawson (Matthew Fox), the lone coach left after the tragic crash.

This last weekend before Christmas features a lot of new movies hitting theaters around the nation. Some are seeking to bring out families for the holiday vacation, some are looking for Oscar consideration, and still others are looking to spill a little blood in the name of good taste. All I hope for is something that is worth watching (not that I have ever regretted any of my choices). Read on to see all of the weekend’s fine choices.

‘Tis the season for some Box Office battles, eh? Along with the painfully long Awards season that has been upon us for weeks now, it is also time for Hollywood to shell out some Holiday blockbusters – something to give the kiddies something to do while they are off school. For the most part, moms and dads are invited as well. Last year’s Christmas weekend box office saw King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia dominate a few new releases that were less than worthy (Fun with Dick and Jane did make $21 million, though.)

Welcome to this week’s Top 5 movies about Christmas, brought to you by RankAMovie.com. Yes, it’s that time of year again. I hope you’ve all bought your presents, stocked up on egg-nog, and pulled out the Bing Crosby records. Below are some of the best Christmas movies, as ranked by the visitors of RankAMovie. If you would like to add a movie to the list, or cast a vote for the ranking order, visit RankAMovie and make your opinion heard. Elf This is a relatively recent addition to the category of holiday films, but it is clearly a highly regarded film. We get to follow an Elf’s adventures away from the North Pole. A Christmas Story If you’ve heard the phrase “You’ll shoot your eye out!” and thought it was a silly phrase, then this is the movie for you. So go grab your Red Ryder BB gun (if you have one), hit your furnace a few times, and turn off the sexy lamp in the living room so that you can enjoy this classic holiday film. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation The Griswold family shares with us the joys and fun of the Christmas spririt! The good intentions of the father lead to some interesting situations. Grab some egg-nog and enjoy 97 minutes of laughter. How the Grinch Stole Christmas Dr. Seuss’s tale of how the Grinch stole Christmas. Having read the book many times, it’s a pleasure to watch it on the big screen. Jim Carrey does a wonderful [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]