Meredith Ennis, Author at StayTuned Magazine

“The Impossible” with Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor

April 23, 2013 Meredith Ennis

The Impossible is based on the true story of a Spanish family of five, the Alvarez Belons, who faced one of the worst disasters in recent history, the tsunami that struck the western coast of Thailand on Dec. 26, 2004. In the movie, the family is English, Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts portray the parents. Principal photography for The Impossible took place at a studio in Spain and at multiple locations in Thailand, many of which were where the actual events had occurred. Because the film is about real people who underwent unimaginable horror and devastation, to honor and portray […]

On Demand DVD New Releases April 22-28

April 22, 2013 Meredith Ennis

On Demand DVD New Releases April 22-28: This week’s releases tackle some true stories (The Impossible), some true-to-life stories (Promised Land, Any Day), and a ghost story of sorts, (A Haunted House). Cheech and Chong get animated, and Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling and Sean Penn take a shot at a tale of cops vs. the mob (Gangster Squad). Any Day Now In the late 1970s, when a mentally handicapped teenager is abandoned, a gay couple takes him in and becomes the family he’s never had. But once the unconventional living arrangement is discovered by authorities, the men must fight a biased […]

On Demand DVD New Releases April 15-21

April 15, 2013 Meredith Ennis

On Demand DVD New Releases April 15-21: Celebrate sending off your taxes with a movie! There’s a handful of new releases to choose from this week, including the Oscar-winning Django Unchained. If documentaries are more your speed, try Sushi: The Global Catch; for kids, consider A Monster in Paris or the animated Iron Man:Rise of Technovore. 33 Postcards A man is surprised when the young Chinese orphan he has sponsored for many years arrives in Sydney unexpectedly to thank him. Guy Pearce, Zhu Lin, Claudia Karvan (NR, 1:34) 4/15 3 Blind Saints When Sam’s latest scheme blows up, he and his cohorts Jamal and Frankie have […]

VOD Spotlight: Hyde Park on Hudson

April 9, 2013 Meredith Ennis

The events of the film Hyde Park on Hudson are seen through the eyes of Daisy Suckley (Laura Linney), neighbor to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Bill Murray) and his wife, Eleanor (Olivia Williams). In June 1939, FDR and Eleanor hosted the king and queen of England for a weekend at the Roosevelt home in Hyde Park on Hudson. It was the first visit to the U.S. by a reigning British monarch. With war between the British and Germans looming on the horizon, the king was anxious to elicit support from FDR and the United States. Daisy Suckley was a distant […]

On Demand DVD New Releases April 8-14

April 8, 2013 Meredith Ennis

On Demand DVD New Releases April 8-14 highlights include Bill Murray in a Golden Globe award-nominated role as FDR and Laura Linney as the president’s cousin Daisy in Hyde Park on Hudson, James Gandolfini and Famke Janssen in Down the Shore, Kevin Farley in the horror movie spoof Paranormal Movie, Seth Green and Katee Sackhoff in Sexy Evil Genius and Tom Sizemore in Company of Heroes. Josh Duhamel narrates Planet Ocean. Down the Shore James Gandolfini turns in a powerhouse performance as the operator of a rundown children’s amusement park whose world is upturned by the emergence of a stranger whose presence […]

On Demand DVD New Releases April 1-7

April 1, 2013 Meredith Ennis

The list of On Demand DVD New Releases April 1-7 features more documentaries than usual, with subjects ranging from Venus and Serena Williams to the survival of animals around the world to the current obesity epidemic. For those looking for something a little more escapist, Tomorrow You’re Gone, 13 Eerie or maybe Noobz might be more appealing. One Life Daniel Craig narrates this nature documentary that focuses on the survival behavior of several animals across the globe. (NR, 1:25) 4/1 The Perfect Human Diet A global quest for a solution to the current obesity epidemic. It explores modern dietary science, previous historical findings, […]

On Demand/DVD New Releases March 25-31

March 25, 2013 Meredith Ennis

On Demand/DVD New Releases March 25-31: Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance in the award-winning Lincoln is outstanding, but Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones shouldn’t be overlooked in their roles. This week also brings Killing The Softly with Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins and Ray Liotta. This film was nominated for the prestigious Palm d’Or at last years Cannes Film Festival. For more on this week’s releases: Killing Them Softly Brad Pitt stars in this gritty, New Orleans-set crime drama about a mob enforcer tracking three men who robbed a mob-protected card game. Also stars Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini (R, 1:37), 3/26 Lincoln Steven […]

VOD Spotlight: “Les Misérables” an emotional and physical commitment for its stars

March 22, 2013 Meredith Ennis

For the Oscar-nominated film Les Misérables, much has been made of the decision to have the cast sing their roles “live,” rather than recording them separately and dubbing them in later on in the film’s production. And while this unusual method of filming did present some challenges for the cast, several of the characters themselves presented even bigger hurdles for the actors to overcome. Well-known as an action star, Hugh Jackman has endured grueling training regimens to play James Howlett, better known to legions of fans as Logan/Wolverine in the X-Men movies. Still, discussing the physicality of the part of […]

VOD Spotlight: “This is 40” director Judd Apatow made his film a family affair

March 22, 2013 Meredith Ennis

This Is 40 picks up where 2007’s Knocked Up left off, though it focuses on secondary characters from the first film. Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann, who is director Judd Apatow’s wife) are now a comfortably married couple, and parents to two daughters (played by the director’s children), 8-year-old Charlotte (Iris Apatow) and 13-year-old Sadie (Maude Apatow). Both girls also appeared in Knocked Up. Whereas some people would prefer to keep their family life and work life separate, Apatow says of casting his family members, “I love them and like to see them every day. They are […]

On Demand/DVD New Releases March 18-24

March 18, 2013 Meredith Ennis

After a couple of quiet weeks, some big titles make their debuts this week. Oscar-winning films Les Misérables and Zero Dark Thirty join the much-anticipated The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (3-D) and a sequel of sorts to Knocked Up, Judd Apatow’s This Is 40. Check out the following On Demand/DVD New Releases March 18-24 The Collection This sequel to the horror shocker The Collector follows a man who escaped the mad killer’s grasp being blackmailed into rescuing a young girl from the killer’s booby-trapped lair. Josh Stewart, Emma Fitzpatrick, Lee Tergesen (R, 1:22), 3/22 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (3-D) Director Peter Jackson journeys […]