Comic Riffs: The Holly Word


Posted at 01:37 PM ET, 01/19/2011

QUICK POST: Anne Hathaway is the new 'Catwoman' for 'The Dark Knight Rises' [UPDATED]
By Michael Cavna
Images: Anne Hathaway and Tom Hardy, below (Getty Images) Every key move of Christopher Nolan's newest Batman project has stirred speculation and scrutiny. So Comic Riffs eagerly awaits "fanboy" reaction to this fresh news: Anne Hathaway has now been...

By Michael Cavna  |  01:37 PM ET, 01/19/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word, The Holly Word, The Holly Word | Tags:  Anne Hathaway, Batman, Christian Bale, Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises, Tom Hardy

Posted at 01:15 PM ET, 01/16/2011

BOX OFFICE: 'Hornet' brings in the green to win weekend at $34M
By Michael Cavna
THE GREEN HORNET: Yet another former "Freaks and Geeks" trouper is turning his recent filmwork to gold -- and green. Slimmed-down Seth Rogen's comic take as Britt Reid powered "The Green Hornet" to a $34-million take at the domestic...

By Michael Cavna  |  01:15 PM ET, 01/16/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word | Tags:  James Franco, Jay Chou, Seth Rogen, The Green Hornet

Posted at 07:43 PM ET, 12/12/2010

The case for Oscar: 'TOY STORY 3' named among AFI's TOP 10 for 2010
By Michael Cavna
"Toy Story 3" continues to strengthen its case for an Oscar bid as Best Picture. The American Film Institute on Sunday named the Disney/Pixar 3-D feature as one of its best 10 movies of 2010 -- the sole animation...

By Michael Cavna  |  07:43 PM ET, 12/12/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word, The Holly Word | Tags:  AFI Top 10, Beauty and the Beast, Disney/Pixar, Pixar's Up, Toy Story 3

Posted at 08:01 PM ET, 12/10/2010

TRAILER OF THE WEEK: 'Thor' hammers home its presence
By Michael Cavna
As Darren Aronofsky's anguished-ballerina film "Black Swan" moves into wider release, Marvel Studios oh-so-coincidentally leaps into theaters with another Natalie Portman role: The full trailer for "Thor" -- in which Portman's Jane Foster comforts the tortured Thor -- hits...

By Michael Cavna  |  08:01 PM ET, 12/10/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word, The Holly Word | Tags:  Marvel Studios, Thor

Posted at 03:00 PM ET, 11/14/2010

BOX OFFICE: Reigning champ 'Megamind' (and 'SNL' parody) derails 'Unstoppable'
By Michael Cavna
Blunted by the power of an animated Will Ferrell, the debut of "Unstoppable" proved, well, stoppable. "Megamind" -- featuring the voice of Ferrell as the blue-headed recidivistic villain -- grossed $30-million to win the top spot at the domestic...

By Michael Cavna  |  03:00 PM ET, 11/14/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word, The Holly Word | Tags:  DreamWorks Animation, Megamind, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell

Posted at 02:45 PM ET, 11/07/2010

Box Office: 'MEGAMIND' wins record-setting holiday kickoff weekend
By Michael Cavna
UPDATE: Megamind became the biggest blue character to hit the screen since the Na'vi, pacing a record-setting weekend. DreamWorks Animation's "Megamind" won the weekend by grossing $47.7-million at the domestic box office -- making it DWA's third film this...

By Michael Cavna  |  02:45 PM ET, 11/07/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word | Tags:  Despicable Me, Dreamworks Animation, How to Train Your Dragon, Megamind, Shrek Forever After

Posted at 12:01 PM ET, 10/19/2010

MOVIE POSTER OF THE DAY: Berkeley Breathed talks 'Mars Needs Moms'
By Michael Cavna
The new poster for the Disney film "Mars Needs Moms" has that certain Berkeley Breathed charm. The "Opus" cartoonist, however, tells Comic Riffs that the movie art is entirely the handiwork of Disney -- complete with spaceship designed by...

By Michael Cavna  |  12:01 PM ET, 10/19/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word, The Holly Word | Tags:  Berkeley Breathed, Mars Needs Moms, Robert Zemeckis, Simon Wells

Posted at 01:45 PM ET, 10/17/2010

BOX OFFICE: 'RED' bucks Pilgrim's fate with $22M debut; 'JACKASS' wins weekend
By Michael Cavna
Splinter-limbed Scott Pilgrim would have killed for an opening like "Red's." But then, in 2010, a wiry Michael Cera can't mobilize Operation: Box Office the way a wily veteran like Bruce Willis does. It's the Year of the Dependable...

By Michael Cavna  |  01:45 PM ET, 10/17/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word | Tags:  Bruce Willis, Cully Hamner, DC Comics, Warren Ellis, WildStorm

Posted at 08:00 PM ET, 10/04/2010

6 Things We Can Safely Say About Director Zack Snyder's 'SUPERMAN'...
By Michael Cavna
ZACK SNYDER (Photo by Dayna Smith for The Washington Post) The hunt is over: Zack Snyder will direct Superman. Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures's announcement Monday about the next Man of Steel film comes after weeks of talks with...

By Michael Cavna  |  08:00 PM ET, 10/04/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word, The Holly Word | Tags:  Christopher Nolan, DC Entertainment, David Goyer, Emma Thomas, Superman, Zack Snyder

Posted at 05:17 PM ET, 09/26/2010

BOX OFFICE: 'Legend of the Guardians' debuts with disappointing $16.3M; 'Wall Street' wins weekend
By Michael Cavna
Warner Bros. has migrated from penguins to owls, but its latest avian effort didn't get much lift. "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole," the studio's first animated follow-up to the 2006 hit "Happy Feet," disappointed in its...

By Michael Cavna  |  05:17 PM ET, 09/26/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word | Tags:  Alpha and Omega, Happy Feet, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, Warner Bros., Yogi Bear

Posted at 09:15 PM ET, 09/21/2010

BATMAN GOES BICOASTAL: DC Comics multimedia heads to Hollywood! (*DC publishing to stay in Gotham)
By Michael Cavna
After months of swirling relocation rumors, DC Comics on Tuesday clarified the big picture for us all: DC the comics media empire will geographically divide its operations and go bicoastal. It will also shutter its WildStorm imprint. DC Entertainment,...

By Michael Cavna  |  09:15 PM ET, 09/21/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word, The Holly Word, The Holly Word | Tags:  DC Entertainment, Dan DiDio, Dean Haspiel, Diane Nelson, Geoff Johns, Jeff Robinov, Jim Lee, Joe Kubert, Ryan Reynolds

Posted at 01:30 PM ET, 08/29/2010

BOX OFFICE: 'Toy Story 3' tops $1-billion; 'Avatar' extends record
By Michael Cavna
"To one billion -- and beyond!" "Toy Story 3" has officially done it: By earning millions more this weekend, the Disney/Pixar film has surpassed the billion-dollar mark in worldwide gross -- the first animated film to do so. The...

By Michael Cavna  |  01:30 PM ET, 08/29/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word, The Holly Word

Posted at 09:00 PM ET, 08/24/2010

AMC's new 'Walking Dead' trailer: Is it better than the animation?
By Michael Cavna
Comic Riffs is not so quick to question the direction of any series from AMC. When a channel's recent track record for original programming includes such stellar award-magnets as "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad" -- well, suffice to say...

By Michael Cavna  |  09:00 PM ET, 08/24/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word, The Holly Word, The Holly Word | Tags:  Frank Darabont, Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead

Posted at 02:45 PM ET, 08/22/2010

BOX OFFICE: Bombing 'Scott Pilgrim' plummets; 'Expendables' rolls on
By Michael Cavna
"Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" can now look at the box-office pecking order and realize its biggest mistake: Apparently the film should have written in an eighth villain -- say, Ramona's butt-kicking father -- and that final baddie should...

By Michael Cavna  |  02:45 PM ET, 08/22/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word | Tags:  Bryan Lee O'Malley, Edgar Wright

Posted at 07:15 PM ET, 08/16/2010

BOX OFFICE: 'Toy Story 3' now Disney's biggest non-Depp film ever
By Michael Cavna
With the weekend's final box-office numbers out this afternoon, it's official: "Toy Story 3" is now the most successful Disney film not to star Johnny Depp. Pixar/Disney's "Toy Story 3" has now grossed $940.1-million globally, according to boxofficemojo; the...

By Michael Cavna  |  07:15 PM ET, 08/16/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word | Tags:  Shrek 2, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Toy Story 3

Posted at 05:31 PM ET, 08/15/2010

BOX OFFICE: Scott Pilgrim can't defeat the ultimate 'evil' ex: The Ex-pendables
By Michael Cavna
For its debut weekend, at least, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" has "bob-ombed" at the box office. Edgar Wright's inventive film based on the Bryan Lee O'Malley graphic-novel series has a great pedigree and a passionate fanbase and much...

By Michael Cavna  |  05:31 PM ET, 08/15/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word, The Holly Word | Tags:  Bryan Lee O'Malley, Edgar Wright, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Posted at 07:01 PM ET, 08/14/2010

THE 'GLEE' CARTOON: Gleeks to get their own comic book from Bluewater
By Michael Cavna
(Courtesy of Bluewater Comics) Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber have already been awarded the comic book treatment. Now, Bluewater Productions announces that the cast of "Glee" will join the Vancouver comic company's "Fame Biography" series. The 32-page book, "Fame:...

By Michael Cavna  |  07:01 PM ET, 08/14/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word, The Holly Word | Tags:  Bluewater Comics, Glee

Posted at 12:18 PM ET, 07/11/2010

BOX OFFICE: 'Despicable Me' wins weekend with 'surprisingly' strong debut
By Michael Cavna
About halfway into viewing the new "Despicable Me" -- and it's at the midpoint that the film really begins to gain entertainment traction as it grows a heart -- I realized to whose lineage the animated hit properly belongs....

By Michael Cavna  |  12:18 PM ET, 07/11/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word, The Holly Word | Tags:  Despicable Me, Shrek Forever After, The Last Airbender, Toy Story 3

Posted at 01:30 PM ET, 05/23/2010

BOX OFFICE: 'Shrek' 4 opens a little less green with $71M debut [UPDATED]
By Michael Cavna
DreamWorks Animation UPDATE: "Shrek Forever After" was tops at the domestic box office this weekend by earning $71.3-million, according to studio estimates -- but not even new villain Rumpelstiltskin could spin the franchise's first 3-D film into record gold....

By Michael Cavna  |  01:30 PM ET, 05/23/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word, The Holly Word | Tags:  DreamWorks Animation SKG, Iron Man 2, Marvel/Paramount, Shrek Forever After

Posted at 04:45 PM ET, 04/19/2010

BOX OFFICE: Weak 'Kick-Ass' barely kicks 'Dragon' tail [UPDATED]
By Michael Cavna
Note: This post originally published at 10:30 a.m. today and updated at 4:45 p.m. UPDATE: As Comic Riffs suggested this morning might happen, "Kick-Ass" has benefited from a day of adjusted box-office numbers. (Ah, the "magic" of Hollywood.) According...

By Michael Cavna  |  04:45 PM ET, 04/19/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word | Tags:  How to Train Your Dragon, Kick-Ass the Movie

Posted at 06:01 PM ET, 03/06/2010

VIDEO: 'Alice in Wonderland': Falling for this special clip
By Michael Cavna
THE META-POST: Through history's looking-glass... As Comic Riffs finally catches Tim Burton's full "Alice in Wonderland" today -- in all its CGI-rich glory -- we can't help but note that the first "Alice in Wonderland" was made more than...

By Michael Cavna  |  06:01 PM ET, 03/06/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word | Tags:  Alice in Wonderland

Posted at 11:10 AM ET, 03/05/2010

OSCARS 2010: Best Animated Film: 'And the winner is...'
By Michael Cavna
NOTE: Some weeks back, we handicapped the animation nominees for the Golden Globes. Today, we update our picks for the Academy Awards... tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; Foxes and frogs, 2-D wolf-girls and 3-D robo-dogs. The Oscars race for feature film...

By Michael Cavna  |  11:10 AM ET, 03/05/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word, The Holly Word | Tags:  Academy Awards, Bob Peterson, Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, John Musker, Neil Gaiman, Oscars, Princess and the Frog, Ron Clements, Secret of Kells, Tomm Moore, Up, Wes Anderson

Posted at 09:35 AM ET, 03/01/2010

THE OSCARS RANT: Sure, 'Avatar' is art -- but is it animation?
By Michael Cavna
It's a distinction you will little find elsewhere -- but perhaps one that will soon force rule changes for the assorted Hollywood awardgasms. With the Oscars less than a week away -- and with "Avatar" and "Up" both poised...

By Michael Cavna  |  09:35 AM ET, 03/01/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word, The Holly Word | Tags:  Academy Awards, Avatar, Disney/Pixar's Up, James Cameron, Jon Landau, Visual Effect Society honors

Posted at 02:00 PM ET, 02/19/2010

Meta-Post: The Muppets near another million-view viral success
By Michael Cavna
This month, the Muppets Studio posted its latest song-based video on YouTube. This weekend, the official video, "Beaker's Ballad," is likely to cross the platinum standard of viral-video popularity with 1 million views. Comic Riffs recently caught up with...

By Michael Cavna  |  02:00 PM ET, 02/19/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word

Posted at 09:10 AM ET, 09/15/2009

Love 'Em to Death: Which of These New Films Tops Your Wish List?
By Michael Cavna
After viewing footage of so many vampires and zombies and wounded surrogates (oh my) -- much of it at San Diego Comic-Con -- only two words come to mind when surveying the upcoming slate of fanboy-courting flicks: Bloody hell....

By Michael Cavna  |  09:10 AM ET, 09/15/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word

Posted at 02:20 PM ET, 09/04/2009

The Riffs Interview: Mila Kunis ('Extract' & 'Family Guy') Succeeds Through Genre-Hopping
By Michael Cavna
Before getting to the Q&A portion of this post, there are Twelve Things you should know in advance about starlet/actress/voice actor MILA MARKOVNA KUNIS. In no particular order: 1. She is quick. A verbal Federer, she often anticipates with...

By Michael Cavna  |  02:20 PM ET, 09/04/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word, The Holly Word, The Holly Word

Posted at 11:05 AM ET, 08/14/2009

Handicapping: Just How Well With 'District 9' Do This Weekend?
By Michael Cavna
Incredible buzz at San Diego Comic-Con. Mostly glowing reviews since Comic-Con. And the serious-clout imprint of Peter Jackson as producer. It would be hard for the sci-fi social satire "District 9" to have much more going for it, as...

By Michael Cavna  |  11:05 AM ET, 08/14/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 08/14/2009

'Family Guy': Scenes From an Off-Color 'Table Read'
By Michael Cavna
'Family Guy': Peter, Lois (with Stewie), Meg (on ground), Chris & Brian. (AP Photo/FOX) Wednesday night in Hollywood, the much-ballyhooed event was the "table read" of a "Family Guy" episode -- which shall remain unaired -- that deals with...

By Michael Cavna  |  06:00 AM ET, 08/14/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word, The Holly Word

Posted at 12:05 PM ET, 08/13/2009

Will Hollywood Players Get Addicted to the 'Year of the Toy'?
By Michael Cavna
This is more than a tin-soldiered skirmish. Hollywood has committed a bold and clear act of regression. "Transformers." "G.I. Joe." And now, this week, perhaps, the wee and humble LEGO. The producers who bankroll many of our blockbusters have...

By Michael Cavna  |  12:05 PM ET, 08/13/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word, The Holly Word

Posted at 07:30 AM ET, 08/13/2009

Coming Online: Free Tickets to 'Avatar's' IMAX Trailer
By Michael Cavna
GEEK BUZZING... News from across the transom of comics culture... At San Diego Comic-Con, James Cameron excitedly shouted to the 6,000-some fanboys in cavernous Hall H that Aug. 21 would be an "Avatar" Day -- on which footage from his...

By Michael Cavna  |  07:30 AM ET, 08/13/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word

Posted at 10:05 AM ET, 08/12/2009

'District 9' to 'Ponyo': What New Film Will You Catch First?
By Michael Cavna
Apartheid extraterrestrials? Shape-shifting goldfish? Suddenly, the notion of a mere time-travelin' hubby sounds relatively plausible given the other mind-bending film offerings this Friday -- one of the year's more crowded weekends for fans of fantasy. The South African-set "DISTRICT...

By Michael Cavna  |  10:05 AM ET, 08/12/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word, The Holly Word

Posted at 10:00 AM ET, 08/04/2009

Quick Hit: Robert Downey Jr. Talks 'Iron Man 2'
By Michael Cavna
THE HOLLY WORD: Today's featured quote from the Hollywood vine... In San Diego, I got the chance to ask ROBERT DOWNEY Jr. what his working relationship with director Jon Favreau was like on the set of the recently wrapped...

By Michael Cavna  |  10:00 AM ET, 08/04/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  The Holly Word, The Holly Word, The Holly Word