Bug (2007)

Release Date: May 25, 2007
Studio: Lionsgate
Director: William Friedkin
Screenwriter: Tracy Letts
Starring: Ashley Judd, Harry Connick, Jr., Lynn Collins, Brían O'Byrne, Michael Shannon
Genre: Psychological Thriller
MPAA Rating: R (for some strong violence, sexuality, nudity, language and drug use)
Official Website: Lionsgate.com/Bug


A lonely waitress with a tragic past, Agnes rooms in a run-down motel, living in fear of her abusive, recently paroled ex-husband. But when Agnes begins a tentative romance with Peter, an eccentric, nervous drifter, she starts to feel hopeful again - until the first bugs arrive...

Probing the blurry lines between paranoia and nightmarish reality, Liongate's "Bug" is an intense, mind-bending psychological thriller in which nothing is quite as it seems. Directed by Academy Award® winner William Friedkin ("The French Connection," "The Exorcist") and adapted by Tracy Letts from his hit off-Broadway play, "Bug" stars Golden Globe nominee Ashley Judd, Harry Connick, Jr., Lynn Collins, Brían O'Byrne and Michael Shannon.— More here

• video review • visual review • news • trailers • clips • 76 photos (gallery) • main photos • credits • cast • filmmakers • notes, interviews & articles •

Why Priates, Spider-Man and Shrek are so Popular

Pop Culture News
with David Bruce


These 3 film were cultural events on their opening week ends. In the video I explain why I think this happened.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

Release Date: May 24, 2007 (8 pm)
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Director: Gore Verbinski
Screenwriter: Terry Rossio, Ted Elliott
Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Bill Nighy, Chow Yun-Fat, Stellan Skarsgård, Jack Davenport, Kevin R. McNally, Lee Arenberg, Mackenzie Crook, Andy Beckwith, Reggie Lee
Genre: Action, Adventure
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of action/adventure violence and some frightening images)
Official Website: Disney.com | MySpace.com/AtWorldsEnd

In the follow-up to the record-breaking smash 2006 hit Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, we find our heroes Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) allied with Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) in a desperate quest to free Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from his mind-bending trap in Davy Jones' locker – while the terrifying ghost ship, The Flying Dutchman and Davy Jones, under the control of the East India Trading Company, wreaks havoc across the Seven Seas. Navigating through treachery, betrayal and wild waters, they must forge their way to exotic Singapore and confront the cunning Chinese Pirate Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat). Now headed beyond the very ends of the earth, each must ultimately choose a side in a final, titanic battle – as not only their lives and fortunes, but the entire future of the freedom-loving Pirate way, hangs in the balance.— More here

• video review • visual review • news • trailers • clips • credits • cast • filmmakers • 180 photos (gallery) • small main photos: 1, 2, • 47 red carpet premiere photos (gallery) • small red carpet photos • synopsis, notes, interviews & articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, •

Shrek the Third (2007)

Release Date: May 18, 2007
Studio: DreamWorks Animation
Director: Chris Miller, Raman Hui
Screenwriter: Peter Seaman, Jeffrey Price
Starring: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Rupert Everett, Justin Timberlake, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Cheri Oteri, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Amy Sedaris, John Krasinski, Ian McShane
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Fantasy
MPAA Rating: PG (for some crude humor, suggestive content and swashbuckling action)
Official Website: Shrek.com


When Shrek married Princess Fiona, becoming the next King and Queen of Far, Far Away wasn't part of the plan. So when his father-in-law, King Harold, falls ill, it is up to Shrek to find a suitable heir or he will be forced to give up his beloved swamp for the throne. Recruiting Donkey and Puss In Boots for a new quest, Shrek sets out to bring back the rightful heir to the throne, Fiona's rebellious cousin Artie. Back in Far, Far Away, Fiona's jilted Prince Charming storms the city with an army of fairy tale villains to seize the throne. But they have a surprise in store because Fiona, together with her mother, Queen Lillian, has drafted her fellow fairy tale heroines to defend their "happily ever afters." As Shrek, Donkey and Puss work on changing Artie from a royal pain in the you-know-what into a future king, Fiona and her band of princesses must stop Prince Charming to ensure there will be a kingdom left to rule.— More here

• video review • visual review • news • trailers • clips • 142 photos (gallery) • main photos • credits • cast • filmmakers • notes, interviews & articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, •

Georgia Rule (2007)

Release Date: May 11, 2007
Studio: Universal Pictures
Director: Garry Marshall
Screenwriter: Mark Andrus
Starring: Jane Fonda, Lindsay Lohan, Felicity Huffman, Dermot Mulroney, Cary Elwes, Garrett Hedlund
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R (for sexual content and some language)
Official Website: GeorgiaRulemovie.net

Three generations of top actresses unite in a film from director Garry Marshall about the power of redemption, freedom in forgiveness and unbreakable bonds of motherhood--'Georgia Rule.' Rebellious teenager Rachel (Lohan) screams, swears, drinks and is--in a word--uncontrollable. With her latest car crash, Rachel has broken the final rule in mom Lily's (Huffman) San Francisco home. With nowhere else to take the impulsive and rambunctious girl, Lily hauls her daughter to the one place she swore she'd never return...her own mother's Idaho farm. Matriarch Georgia (Fonda) is not your typical sweet and doting grandmother.

She lives her life by a number of unbreakable rules, demanding anyone who shares her home do the same--God comes first and hard work comes a very close second. Now saddled with raising the young woman, it will require each patient breath she takes to understand Rachel's fury. But as Rachel succumbs to her summer of misery and shakes up the tiny Mormon town, Georgia notices something is changing within her granddaughter. Given structure and responsibilities, Rachel is letting her guard down and learning compassion...especially for her mother. Her journey will lead all three women to revelations of buried family secrets and an understanding that--regardless what happens--the ties that bind can never be broken. — More here

• video review • visual review • news • trailers • clips • 138 photos (gallery) • main photos • creditscast • filmmakers • notes, interviews & articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, • •

Lucky You (2007)

Release Date: May 4, 2007
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Director: Curtis Hanson
Screenwriter: Eric Roth, Curtis Hanson
Starring: Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, Robert Duvall, Debra Messing
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for some language and sexual humor)
Official Website: LuckyYoumovie.com

In the world of high-stakes poker, Huck Cheever (Eric Bana) is a blaster—a player who goes all out, all the time. But in his personal relationships, Huck plays it tight, expertly avoiding emotional commitments and long-term expectations. When Huck sets out to win the main event of the 2003 World Series of Poker—and the affections of Billie Offer (Drew Barrymore), a young singer from Bakersfield—there is one significant obstacle in his path: his anger toward his father, L.C. Cheever (Robert Duvall), the poker legend who abandoned Huck's mother years ago. As these two rivals progress toward a final showdown at the poker table, Huck learns that to win in the games of life and poker, he must try to play cards the way he has been living his life and live his life the way he has been playing cards. — More here

• video review • visual review • news • trailers • clips • 101 photos (gallery) • main photos • credits • cast • filmmakers • notes, interviews & articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, •

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Release Date: May 4, 2007 (conventional theaters and IMAX)
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Director: Sam Raimi
Screenwriter: Alvin Sargent
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, James Cromwell, Rosemary Harris
Genre: Action, Adventure
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for sequences of intense action violence)
Official Website: Spiderman3.SonyPictures.com

In "Spider-Man 3," based on the legendary Marvel Comics series, Peter Parker has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to M.J. and his duties as a superhero. But there is a storm brewing on the horizon. When his suit suddenly changes, turning jet-black and enhancing his powers, it transforms Peter as well, bringing out the dark, vengeful side of his personality that he is struggling to control. Under the influence of the suit, Peter becomes overconfident and starts to neglect the people who care about him most. Forced to choose between the seductive power of the new suit and the compassionate hero he used to be, Peter must overcome his personal demons as two of the most-feared villains yet, Sandman and Venom, gather unparalleled power and a thirst for retribution to threaten Peter and everyone he loves. — More here

• video review • visual review
• news: behind the scenes video
• trailers: 1, final trailer, 2, uk trailer, 3, 1st trailer, 4, teaser,
• clips: 1st 7 minutes
• 343 photos (gallery)
• main photos
• credits
• cast
• filmmakers
• notes, interviews & articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, •
(bonus spider-man 1 trailers: 1, sm1 revised, 2, sm1 w/wtc, 3, sm1 teaser )