The Travers Take

Peter Travers Video Review: "Frost/Nixon," "Cadillac Records" and "Four Christmases"

December 4, 2008 5:57 PM

There's an eclectic batch of films hitting the cinemas this weekend, including the Ron Howard-directed adaptation of the Peter Morgan play Frost/Nixon and the birth of rock and roll biopic Cadillac Records, which stars Beyoncé. Click above to see which movie Peter Travers thinks you should spend you movie money on this weekend, and stick around to drop kick Four Christmases into the scum bucket.

Movie Review: Frost/Nixon

Movie Review: Cadillac Records


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"Four Christmases" or How to Turn Stupid into Box Office Gold

December 1, 2008 2:15 PM

Photo: New Line Cinema


Is it possible to see Four Christmases and actually like it? Next week's box-office grosses will tell. Maybe word of mouth will be so bad that audiences will wise up and stay away. No knock on moviegoers for being curious. If you build a comedy—even a lousy one— with sass man Vince Vaughn and Oscar winning cutiepie Reese Witherspoon, they will come. And did they ever! The heavy-handed, holiday farce grossed a whopping $46.7 million for the Thanksgiving weekend, driving the vegan vampires of Twilight to $39 million and second place. The Twi-hards must have traded in multiple viewings for turkey and leftovers since the vamp epic declined a steep 62 percent from its opening week. Girls, get back out there—Twilight needs your help. Stupid movies, from Max Payne to Beverly Hills Chihuahua, have been topping the box-office for months with each studio claiming bragging rights. It's got to stop. No way does being No. 1 translate into being good. So fight back. I need to hear from those of you who shelled out hard cash for Four Christmases. Did you feel satisfied or scammed? Don't mince words.


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Peter Travers Video Review: "Milk," "Australia" and "Transporter 3"

November 25, 2008 1:23 PM

While Twilight will still be ruling the cinemas this weekend, there are still a few Oscar-bait films getting releases over the Thanksgiving holiday. Click above for Peter Travers' thoughts on Gus Van Sant's Milk and Baz Luhrmann's epic Australia. And if you're really into suffering, stick around to watch the Rolling Stone film critic toss Transporter 3 into the scum bucket.

Movie Review: Milk

Movie Review: Australia

Movie Review: Twilight


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Twi-hards and the Guys Who Love Them: A Big Hit's Secret Weapon

November 24, 2008 10:46 AM

Photo: Getty

It's official. Fangirls with a thing for vampires ruled the weekend. Twilight opened even better than expected, taking a staggering $70.6 million bite out of the box office. As I predicted last week, James Bond and his Quantum of Solace suffered a huge decline, nearly 60 percent (that'll happen when you don't deliver the goods). So Twilight is being celebrated as the biggest estrogen epic of the new century (Sex and the City only took in $57 million in its debut). New Moon, the first of three possible Twilight sequels if they film all of Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling book franchise, has just been given the green light. Can't have star Kristen Stewart, 18, as the high school human in love with vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), waiting two or three years between movies like Harry Potter. But you know what? I'm getting tired of Twilight being dissed as just a girl movie. OK, I know 75 percent of the get-there-first audience was female. But what about that 25 percent of testosterone that came out to watch Bella stay celibate and still be sexy. I want to hear from guys who went to Twilight with their Twi-hard girlfriends or had the guts to go on their own. Was the movie good? bad? unbearable? Would you tell other guys to see it? Tell us why. It's about time we heard from the other side. And you Twi-hard girls, how about sharing what the guys told you about the movie. Did they like it more than they let on? Maybe that will bring us closer to the truth.

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Peter Travers Video Review: "Twilight"

November 20, 2008 5:32 PM

The day has finally arrived. Twilight, the first film based on the tween vampire book series by Stephenie Meyer, gets its release this weekend. But is it worth the hype surrounding undead dreamboat Robert Pattinson? Click above for the complete review from Rolling Stone's film critic.

&#8226 Read Review: Twilight


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"Quantum of Solace" Is the Biggest Bond Opening Ever! But What's the Best Bond Movie Ever?

November 17, 2008 9:40 AM

Don't get me started about the experts who say the critics are wrong for feeling wronged by Quantum of Solace. The reasoning goes that since Quantum delivered the biggest opening of a James Bond movie ever—that's $70.4 million compared to $47.7 million for the previous record holder, 2002's Die Another Day (the one where Halle Berry joined Pierce Brosnan)—it must be the best. That kind of thinking suggests Beverly Hills Chihuahua has a good shot at a Best Picture Oscar. My theory is that audiences flocked to see Daniel Craig as 007 in Quantum because they were totally pumped by Craig's debut in 2006's Casino Royale, one of the very best Bond movies. I'm thinking their disappointment will be reflected in next week's box office. And even if I'm wrong, there's no way in hell Quantum matches Casino Royale on any level. So let Quantum take the title as best ever Bond debut and, at $200 million, the most expensive Bond movie ever to produce. I'm interested in something more lasting. Like what's the best Bond ever in terms of quality? Of the 22 Bond films, here are my three favorites.

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Peter Travers Video Review: "Quantum of Solace," "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Filth and Wisdom"

November 13, 2008 2:28 PM

One of the most hotly anticipated movies of the season makes its way to cinemas this weekend, as the latest James Bond film Quantum of Solace enters the ring. But how does it hold up against the rest of the Bond flicks — and more importantly, against the weekend's other major releases Slumdog Millionaire and Filth and Wisdom? Click above for Peter Travers' weekend picks.

Movie Review: Quantum of Solace

Movie Review: Slumdog Millionaire

Movie Review: Filth and Wisdom


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"Twilight"—Are You Dying to See the Movie or Dreading the Damn Thing?

November 12, 2008 2:51 PM

It's unofficial poll time. I want to know whether your blood is up for Twilight, the Stephenie Meyer bestseller of near Harry Potter proportions that hits the multiplex as a movie on Nov. 21st. I won't see it until three days before the opening, which is usually a sign that something sucks. I mean, if it's good why does a studio have to hide it? Most guys I know say they haven't read the book because the girly story about a teen virgin, Bella Swan, in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen, is an offense to their macho sensibilities. Despite the guy aversion to Twilight and its three bestselling sequels (New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn), these manly men seem to know an awful lot about what happens in the saga of the ever-youthful Cullen family and their civilized decision to hunt animal predators for blood instead of humans. They know enough to say that the book's lack of hardcore sex is a turnoff. They prefer HBO's True Blood where vampires get it on with humans every 20 seconds or so. Women are more honest about the book's romantic appeal. They can see beyond Meyer's breathless overwriting to discover the book's hidden power: the fears it raises about aging. Bella is eager for Edward to bite her since that will make her a vampire and freeze her for centuries at the primo age of seventeen. But what will she have to give up? So obviously there's more to Twilight than vapid vamping. Which leads me to ask these biting questions:

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Bond Buzzkill: "Quantum of Solace" is a Letdown, but there is an Upper — "Casino Royale" on DVD

November 11, 2008 9:54 AM

Forget the DVD crap out today. Like you really need the unwatchable *Star Wars: The Clone Wars*. What you really need is *Casino Royale* from 2006, the first James Bond movie starring Daniel Craig. And you need it on Blu-ray with all the extras. Here's why. *Casino Royale* is a great Bond movie, up there with the best of them. *Quantum of Solace*, the followup which opens this weekend, is not great. In fact, it's a major letdown. But you are all going to see it. You know you will. For a few days you will pretend to love it. You will do this because you actually were jazzed by *Casino Royale* with Craig reinventing James Bond for the new century. But Craig's followup as 007 in *Quantum of Silly Titles* just doesn't cut it. Craig is still a primo hardass and the best Bond since Sean Connery. But the sizzle is gone from the movie. All you have to do is make some camparisons to *Casino Royale* and you'll see my point. So let us begin:

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The Box-Office Smash of "Role Models" Makes You Ask: Why Isn't Paul Rudd a Bigger Star?

November 10, 2008 10:54 AM

Paul Rudd, whose artful way with a comic line makes bad movies bearable and good ones way better, just moved closer to the stardom he so richly deserves. *Role Models*, the raunchy, R-rated comedy in which Rudd steals every scene he's in, nearly doubled box-office projections and grossed $19 million in what Variety termed, "the biggest surprise of the weekend." OK, *Role Models* didn't beat the animated kiddie sequel *Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa*, which took in a gargantuan $63 million as America again narcotized itself in family blather. Chihuahuas, high school musical and now this! But Rudd, who's hosting *Saturday Night Live* this weekend, scored big time in a role that suited his deadpan comic wizardry to a tee. Rudd and co“star Sean William Scott play two losers who are forced to do 150 hours of kid-mentoring community service after destroying public property with their monster truck. Rudd is assigned to mentor McLovin' (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), but gets huge laughs just by ragging on life's idiocies like Starbucks using "venti" to describe a large coffee. So it's time to praise Paul Rudd, a supporting actor who is ready for the star spot. Here are my top picks for Rudd at his best. Chime in with yours.

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