The twins Danny and Oxide Pang were born in Hong Kong, directed their first movie together in Thailand and now work in English, but it’s hard to think of filmmakers for whom language is more profoundly beside the point.

Their new movie, “Bangkok Dangerous,” opening Sept. 5, is a remake of their 1999 Thai-language debut, which was about a deaf-mute hit man and was, appropriately, kind of light on dialogue. In the remake the killer, Joe, can hear and speak, presumably because the character is now played by a Hollywood star, Nicolas Cage, who expects some lines. 

(New York Times)

Director: Andrew Fleming 
Stars: Steve Coogan, Elisabeth Shue, Catherine Keener 
Studio:

The Plot: High school drama teacher Dana Marschz (Coogan) looks to bring his Shakesperian sequel to the stage despite the obstacles in his path — namely, a classroom full of disinterested students, potential budget cuts, and his own lack of talent.

READ REVIEWS OF ‘HAMLET 2‘

DEATH RACE

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson 
Stars: Jason Statham, Joan Allen, Tyrese Gibson
Studio: Universal Pictures

The Plot: Former NASCAR champ Jensen Ames (Statham) is framed for the murder of his wife, and subsequently sent to a notorious prison overseen by a warden (Allen) who has created the country’s most popular sport: a kill-or-be-killed car race in which her inmates compete for their freedom.

READ REVIEWS OF ‘DEATH RACE’

THE HOUSE BUNNY

Director: Fred Wolf 
Stars: Anna Faris 
Studio: Columbia Pictures

The Plot: A Playboy bunny (Faris) who was recently booted from the mansion winds up becoming the new house mother for a sorority in jeopardy.

READ REVIEWS OF ‘THE HOUSE BUNNY’

THE LONGSHOTS

Director: Fred Durst 
Stars: Ice Cube, Keke Palmer 
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

The Plot: Eleven-year-old Jasmine Plummer (KeKe Palmer) looks to become the first female to play in the Pop Warner football tournament in its 56-year history.

READ REVIEWS OF ‘THE LONGSHOT’

THE ROCKER

Director: Peter Cattaneo 
Stars: Rainn Wilson, Josh Gad 
Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

The Plot: Two decades after he was kicked out of his famous rock ‘n’ roll group, Robert ‘Fish’ Fishman (Wilson), an over-the-hill drummer, pounces on a second chance at coercing his way into a garage band fronted by his newphew (Gad).

READ REVIEWS OF ‘THE ROCKER’

Only a few hours before I sat down at a roundtable with Jason Statham to talk about Death Race at Comic Con, I had left the Masters of the Web party, been thrown out of a Hard Rock Hotel room (with a bunch of other people; San Diego’s Hard Rock is the weak sister of that hotel chain) and eventually had a fully insane man threaten to cut my face off before claiming to be a cop. That led to me and Devin jumping in a cab to get out of dodge while Ryan Rotten watched our back. 

Hell of a night. 

With little chance to rest, I had to meet a bunch of the same people that had been busted at the hotel earlier, in a parking lot under a pop-up tent, to talk about movies. Not the worst job, really. It’s worth mentioning that while he hadn’t been in the last suite (and he didn’t threaten me) Jason Statham had been at the same party with us, and probably drinking much harder. (It was his birthday.) 

He sat down with a handful of hungover editors, peering at us from behind massive shades, and, like a pro, gave it a shot.

(CHUD)

Taking in a screening of the film The Longshots starring Ice Cube and Keke Palmer, I was struck by its poignant portrayal of a young girl who makes it to the Pop Warner Football League’s Superbowl as the first and only female football player to ever be a part of its league. Based on the real life of Jasmine Plummer, The Longshots tackles (no pun intended) the issues of absentee fathers, single parent households, adolescence and sexual equality, all while managing to be uplifting and family friendly.

I was more struck, however, by the knowledge that Limp Bizkit lead singer Fred Durst directed this heartfelt, character driven feature film. Certain adjectives typically come to mind when one hears the name Fred Durst, or better, sees his trademark red carpet image: tattoos, backwards baseball cap, and flipping the bird while expressing some degree of generic angst. Such paparazzi shots are plentiful online, but perhaps they have all been for effect, or perhaps Fred Durst has simply moved on. Somewhere between sharing his hardcore version of George Michael’s “Faith” and belting out “Nookie,” Durst decided that he was an artistic filmmaker trapped inside the body of a rock star. And to his credit, he may be on to something.

(PR)

A movie boss at Warner Bros studios has apologised to fans for delaying the much-anticipated release of the next film in the popular series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

The film was scheduled to be released in November this year, but Warner Bros rescheduled it to July 17, 2008, an eight-month delay that dismayed many Potter fans.

In a statement released today, Warner Bros CEO Alan Horn apologised to fans for the decision, and said there was a silver lining.

(The Stuff NZ)

Anna Faris wants to make one thing clear: She did not have a fling with Hugh Hefner during the filming of House Bunny.

Yes, she does play a fluff-headed Playboy Bunny in the movie opening this week.

Yes, she filmed a fair number of scenes in the famed Playboy Mansion, some of them with Hef himself. And yes, the filmmakers definitely needed his co-operation to get the project off the ground. But that’s as far as it went.

(Globe and Mail)

He has cornered the market on schemers, revenge-seekers, windbags and hasslers, the characters everyone likes in fiction because no one likes them in reality.

(USA Today)

Director: Dave Filoni
Stars: Matt Lanter, Nika Futterman, Tom Kane
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

The Plot: Filling the gap between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, this animated tale chronicles the on-going intragalactic battle involving the Jedis of the Republic and the battle droids of the Trade Federation.

READ THE REVIEWS FOR ‘THE CLONE WARS’

TROPIC THUNDER

Director: Ben Stiller
Stars: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr.
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution

The Plot: While shooting a big-budget war movie, a group of actors (Stiller, Black, Downey Jr., and others) are forced to become soldiers in a real-life conflict.

READ REVIEWS FOR ‘TROPIC THUNDER’

MIRRORS

Director: Alexandre Aja
Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton, Amy Smart
Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

The Plot: An ex-cop (Sutherland) and his family are the target of a evil force that is using mirrors as a gateway into their home.

READ THE REVIEWS FOR ‘MIRRORS’

VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA

Director: Woody Allen
Stars: Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

The Plot: Two girlfriends (Hall and Johansson) on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter (Bardem), fully unaware that his ex-wife (Cruz), with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture.

READ THE REVIEWS FOR ‘VICKY CRISTINA’

HENRY POOLE IS HERE

Director: Mark Pellington
Stars: Luke Wilson, , George Lopez
Studio: Overture Films

The Plot: Henry Poole (Wilson) abandons his fiancée and family business to spend what he believes are his remaining days alone … until the discovery of a “miracle” by a nosy neighbor ruptures his solitude and restores his faith in life.

READ THE REVIEWS FOR ‘HENRY POOLE’

According to Dane Cook, his upcoming flick, My Best Friend’s Girl, is “an edgy comedy with a dash of romance,” and it’s the  “best / funniest film” he’s done yet.

His only real complaint? The movie’s poster, which the comedian has taken to task on his own blog. Read a few of the (very true and very funny) points he makes.

(EW)

At the press day for Tropic Thunder we snagged Ben Stiller with our Kung Fu grip and made him talk Tropic Thunder! Ben Stiller directed Tropic Thunder from a screenplay he co-wrote with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen. Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr. and Jack Black lead an ensemble cast in this hilarious action comedy about a group of self-absorbed actors who set out to make the biggest war film ever.

After escalating costs and the out of control egos of the cast threaten to shut down the top-heavy Hollywood production, the frustrated director (Steve Coogan) refuses to stop shooting and takes his cast deep into the jungles of Southeast Asia to shoot the film guerilla style for “increased realism.” This is when the unlikely group of self-absorbed prima donnas who came together to film an epic war movie unwittingly wind up in a real battle with the real bad guys.

Stiller plays Tugg Speedman, a pampered action superstar on the wane. His “Scorcher” series of post-apocalyptic action epics have played out, and after a desperate attempt for an Oscar nod backfires, Speedman is counting on “Tropic Thunder” to put him back on top.

(Movies Online)