"Couples Retreat" - Embedded trailer for the Vince Vaughn and Jason Bateman comedy.
Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:48 AM | From MovieJungle
Check out the trailer for Universal Pictures' "Couples Retreat," starring Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Malin Ackerman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, Faizon Love, Kali Hawk and Jean Reno.
Peter Billingsley directs the comedy from the writing by Jon Favreau. The comedy sees release on October 9th, 2009 and is produced by Scott Stuber and Vince Vaughn.
PLOT: Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Malin Ackerman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell and Faizon Love star in Universal Pictures' upcoming comedy Couples Retreat. Based on an original idea of Vaughn's, the comedy follows four Midwestern couples who embark on a journey to a tropical island resort. While one of the couples is there to work on their marriage, the other three set out to jet ski, spa and enjoy some fun in the sun. They soon discover that participation in the resorts couples therapy is not optional. Suddenly, their group-rate vacation comes at a price. What follows is a hilarious look at real world problems faced by all couples. The film also stars Kali Hawk and Jean Reno.
Couples Retreat - 20 clips added from the hilarious comedy.
Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:48 AM | From MovieJungle
Catch 20 clips from Universal Pictures' hilarious comedy "Couples Retreat," starring Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Malin Ackerman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, Faizon Love, Kali Hawk and Jean Reno.
These include film clips as well as interview excerpts with Jason Bateman, Vince Vaughn, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, Kali Hawk, Faizon Love among others.
Peter Billingsley directs from the screenplay written by Jon Favreau. Scott Stuber and Vince Vaughn produce.
PLOT: Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Malin Ackerman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell and Faizon Love star in Universal Pictures' upcoming comedy Couples Retreat. Based on an original idea of Vaughn's, the comedy follows four Midwestern couples who embark on a journey to a tropical island resort. While one of the couples is there to work on their marriage, the other three set out to jet ski, spa and enjoy some fun in the sun. They soon discover that participation in the resorts couples therapy is not optional. Suddenly, their group-rate vacation comes at a price. What follows is a hilarious look at real world problems faced by all couples. The film also stars Kali Hawk and Jean Reno.
Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Malin Ackerman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, Faizon Love, Kali Hawk and Jean Reno star in the Universal Pictures release which sees theatres on October 9th.
Peter Billingsley directs from the screenplay written by Jon Favreau. Vince Vaughn produces alongside Scott Stuber.
PLOT: Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Malin Ackerman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell and Faizon Love star in Universal Pictures' upcoming comedy Couples Retreat. Based on an original idea of Vaughn's, the comedy follows four Midwestern couples who embark on a journey to a tropical island resort. While one of the couples is there to work on their marriage, the other three set out to jet ski, spa and enjoy some fun in the sun. They soon discover that participation in the resorts couples therapy is not optional. Suddenly, their group-rate vacation comes at a price. What follows is a hilarious look at real world problems faced by all couples. The film also stars Kali Hawk and Jean Reno.
Box Office Weekend Ahead - Zombieland ready to laugh in top spot. Capitalism: A Love Story set for a big per-theatre average.
Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:48 AM | From MovieJungle
Sony Pictures’ zombie horror comedy “Zombieland” unspools into 3,036 venues, the widest opening this weekend. The Ruben Fleischer film has received positive critic and viewer response with Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin starring roles.
Michael Moore’s “Capitalism: A Love Story” documentary is sent our via Overture Films and should find great support from its 962 venues, most likely turning in the biggest per-theatre average of the lot.
For those looking for a refresher prior to the third animated comedy release, the “Toy Story/Toy Story 2 Double Feature” is in 1,745 venues in 3D.
Drew Barrymore’s “Whip It" which marks her feature-length directorial debut, debuts into 1,720 theatres. “Juno” lead Ellen Page stars alongside Barrymore as well as Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, Alia Shawkat, Eve and Zoe Bell.
Warner Bros. Pictures’ sends out their “The Invention of Lying” comedy into 1,707 locations. Ricky Gervais stars as well as directing and writing with Matthew Robinson. Cast includes Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, Jonah Hill and Louis C.K.
Limited theatrical openers include Lionsgate’s “More Than a Game" documentary in 14 venues, Focus Features “A Serious Man” in just 6 theatres, IFC’s “Afterschool” in a single location, Big Pictures’ “Do Knot Disturb” in 57 theatres and UTV Motion Pictures’ “Wake Up Sid” in 79 venues.
Next weekend, Universal looks to laugh up top spot with their “Couples Retreat” comedy starring Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Malin Ackerman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, Faizon Love, Kali Hawk and Jean Reno.
Couples Retreat review (3/5) - A decent time waster
Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:48 AM | From MovieJungle
“Couples Retreat” is one of those movies that may give you a slight smile, but will be quickly forgotten in a month. There are laughs to be sure, but the movie could have been so much more.
“Couples Retreat” deals with four different couples and their varying problems with their relationships. You have Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia Smith (Kristen Bell), an anal detail-oriented couple that love to show slide shows and put up graphs about their relationship. Then you have Dave (Vince Vaughn, one of the co-writers of the film) and Ronnie (Malin Ackerman), a seemingly happy couple with a couple of kids who are going through the motions of being happy. Joey (Jon Favreau, another co-writer) and Lucy (Kristin Davis) got married out of high school and have slowly disintegrated into just tolerating each other. Shane (Faizon Love) and Trudy (Kali Hawk) is the newest couple. Shane just got out of a marriage and started dating the much younger Trudy in the past couple of weeks.
Jason and Cythia are on the brink of divorce and they convince the other three couples to go with them to an island paradise. Here they can work on their marriage and save a lot of money in the process. It is called the Eden Resort. The troubled couples are put in Eden West, while the hedonistic singles are put on Eden East. Bora-Bora does look nice on the big screen with its crystal blue water and magical waterfalls. It isn’t quite used to its full advantage however.
Marcel (Jean Reno) runs Eden with his structured program and rigid rules. Reno has some fun with this role. He is typically a tough guy in movies like “The Professional” and “Ronin”. Marcel has created a system where the couples get early morning yoga, intense therapy sessions and team building exercises. It isn’t much fun for the couples, but there are some highlights to be had.
Vaughn has some funny moments with a harmless shark. He and Favreau still share some chemistry first displayed in “Swingers”. They are both older though and the energy isn’t quite what it used to be. Carlos Ponce steals the movie as the lecherous exercise instructor. You will giggle every time he appears on screen. The little kids also have some amusing moments in a home improvement store.
The laughs are scatter shot all around. The scenes dealing with the relationships seem authentic one moment and completely unbelievable in the next. It can be infuriating enough to make your head spin. The product placement for Guitar Hero is way too obvious. “Couples Retreat” still generates enough laughs for a recommendation. The last 20 minutes or so are excruciating though. The movie basically grinds to a halt, while tying everything up in a nice ribbon. To call the conclusion predictable is an understatement.
“Couples Retreat” is a decent time waster. If you are looking for a comedy classic, look elsewhere. If you want something that won’t tax the brain too much, then this might be for you.
Couples Retreat tops the box office. Paranormal Activity impresses most.
Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:48 AM | From MovieJungle
Universal Pictures' "Couples Retreat" debuted in first spot with a big $35.3 million debut, averaging $11,780 from 3,000 theatres. The comedy written by Jon Favreau and helmed by Peter Billingsley, stars Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Malin Ackerman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, Faizon Love, Kali Hawk and Jean Reno.
Sony's "Zombieland," last weekend's top spot holder, stayed on well for second position with around $15 million posted. Total cume for the zombie comedy horror starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin is now over $47.8 million.
"Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" continues to move along nicely with $12 million grossed in its fourth weekend at play, bringing the films total gross to over $96 million thus far.
The "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" double feature finished in fifth with $7.64 million earned in its second weekend at play. Pics have added $22.6 million for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
The film impressing most with per-theatre average however was Paramount Pictures' "Paranormal Activity." The low-budget "Blair Witch" styled horror expanded its reach and clocked in a massive $7 million weekend pull from just 160 venues. That's a gargantuan $44.162.50 average per venue for the fifth placed release.
Also big in little theatres was Sony Pictures Classics "An Education." Peter Sarsgaard starrer managed $162,381 from just 4 theatres at an average of $40,595 per theatre.
Jean Reno Cast in 22 BULLETS (LIMMORTEL)
Saturday, November 7, 2009 11:12 AM | From GeekTyrant
France has stepped up its collective game in the past twenty years when it comes to action movies, thanks mainly to names like Luc Besson and Pierre Morel. The country has produced the likes of The Professional, The Transporter, La Femme Nikita, and District B13, just to name a few. So far, Jean Reno has [...]
Been a while since we were treated to Jean Reno the badass, hasn't it? Not that COUPLES RETREAT was bad, just not the kinda thing I like to see him in. And that JUST VISITING U.S. remake, not the kinda thing I like to see period. But that's just me...
Reno looks to be back in bloody glory with 22 BULLETS, based on the French novel "L'Immortel". He'll be playing a retired mafia hitman who goes after the...
Read More...
There's dark, there's bleak and then there's Javier Gutierrez' BEFORE THE FALL (Tres Dias), which is so utterly nihilistic, it makes the ending of Frank Darabont's THE MIST look like CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS! This amazing film was chosen to close L.A. Screamfest.
An enormous meteor, 10 times bigger than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs, is going to hit Earth in three days. In the Spanish town of Laguna, near-do-well Ale (an impressive Victor Clavijo) plans to spend his final days drinking and listening to music.
His plans are interrupted when his Mother requests his help--Thomas, Ale's successful brother, has four children home alone in a remote hilltop and she wants to look after them before the End comes.
Once there, they find the children unaware of the impending doom and the Mother decides not to tell them. Because Ale's brother captured a notorious child killer years earlier, his mother believes the killer will return seeking revenge in his final days (the prisons empty after guards flee to be with their families). When Lucio (Eduard Fernandez) arrives claiming to be a friend of the parents, Ale has to protect his young nieces and nephews and determine if Lucio is a friend or the murderer.
Director Javier Gutierrez sets up an enormous premise--the end of the world--and then tells an intensely personal story where it's only a peripheral part of it. Imagine watching ARMAGEDDON, but following one man and his family in Spain instead of Bruce Willis!
BEFORE THE FALL is like MIRACLE MILE meets NIGHT OF THE HUNTER, as Ale becomes a protective father figure to the kids in his own blunt way. When he has to go into town, he has the kids wear blindfolds as 'a game'. While they guess at what banal sights he's seeing, Ale is actually staring at bodies in the streets as he drives them through.
He's trying to protect their innocence from both The End and the child killer. Because of this, we only catch brief glimpses of the trouble to come--food rotting on a table, a refrigerator leaking it's contents and The Pope on TV doing Mass--that hint at the impending cataclysm. Victor Clavijo is sympathetic as Ale and is filmed like a Spanish Jean Reno.
Gutierrez pulls you into this family's story, as the presence of the meteor grows ever closer. He hits you with interesting, haunting images--an abandoned town, a suicide in a chair and a small child's body dangling in a filthy sewer. A scene where the child killer comes across a little girl playing with her doll in an abandoned street is gut-wrenching. Co-writer/Director Javier Gutierrez is clearly someone to watch, after this dark masterpiece.
Review: Couples Retreat
Friday, October 9, 2009 7:14 AM | From Cinematical
Sometimes it feels good to get your buttons pushed. Couples Retreat shamelessly trots out a stable of tired old nags and magically transforms them into shining young thoroughbreds by the time they reach the finish line. To stir more creaky metaphors into the mix, Couples Retreat reminds me of an Old World grandmother, happily offering up the same old recipe with gentle but insistent persuasion, urging you to "eat, eat!" And you end up eating far more than you ever thought you would, because old recipes taste really good when fresh ingredients are used.
With Couples Retreat, the filmmakers gently but persistently prod, saying "Laugh, laugh!" and you end up laughing far more than expected. The set-up feels familiar: four couples, all at different stages of their relationships, go on an island retreat intending to have fun in the sun, but instead are forced to undergo counseling. In the process, they discover new truths about themselves, everyone laughs, everyone has "a moment." The End. Roll credits. Except that this time, the premise doesn't give away the major pleasures of the movie.
That's because longtime friends Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau collaborated on the sly, brutally frank, and funny script with Dana Fox, creating a solid framework that allows the performers breathing space to do their thing. Vaughn, Favreau, Jason Bateman, and Faizon Love play the men; Malin Akerman (in her best performance to date), Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, and Kali Hawk are their romantic partners. Jean Reno is a mystical "couples whisperer." Old Vaughn / Favreau accomplice Peter Billingsley makes his feature directorial debut. What really ties everything together is crack comic timing, and a willingness to embrace warmly some of the colder, less pleasant truths about relationships.
“Couples Retreat” is one of those movies that may give you a slight smile, but will be quickly forgotten in a month. There are laughs to be sure, but the movie could have been so much more.
Universal Pictures' "Couples Retreat" debuted in first spot with a big $35.3 million debut, averaging $11,780 from 3,000 theatres. The comedy written by Jon Favreau and helmed by Peter Billingsley, stars Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Malin Ackerman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, Faizon Love, Kali Hawk and Jean Reno. 
Been a while since we were treated to Jean Reno the badass, hasn't it? Not that COUPLES RETREAT was bad, just not the kinda thing I like to see him in. And that JUST VISITING U.S. remake, not the kinda thing I like to see period. But that's just me...
Reno looks to be back in bloody glory with 22 BULLETS, based on the French novel "L'Immortel". He'll be playing a retired mafia hitman who goes after the...
Read More...
There's dark, there's bleak and then there's Javier Gutierrez' BEFORE THE FALL (Tres Dias), which is so utterly nihilistic, it makes the ending of Frank Darabont's THE MIST look like CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS! This amazing film was chosen to close L.A. Screamfest.
