5 Patriotic Movies We Love

In honor of Labor Day, we thought we’d make a little list of our fave patriotic movies that feature celeb parents–anyone up for a classic American movie marathon?

Independence Day 

 

Oh Will Smith, how can we not love you and your alien-fighting action movies? Independence Day is not at all realistic, but completely patriotic–and definitely gets the blood flowing.

Forrest Gump




If there is a soul out there who doesn’t like Forrest Gump and Tom Hanks’ amazing portrayal of the someone troubled-yet-loveable man who runs and runs…and fights for his country…well, we don’t even know how we’d react to that.

Top Gun



Back in Tom Cruise’s glory days, this dad was the ultimate heartthrob as Maverick, a swoon-worthy pilot in the US Naval Flying School. If only we could’ve frozen Cruise in 1986, and let this ultimate American classic debut in theatres over and over again.
Continue reading for more great patriotic films.


The American President

 

This movie, which stars Michael Douglas and Annette Bening totally romanticizes the US presidency and life in and around the White House–and we love it. The American President is an up-lifting, feel good movie with a good dose of American pride.

Pearl Harbor

 

Parents Kate Beckinsale and Ben Affleck captured our hearts in this, well, heart-wrenching depiction of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II. As tear-jerking as this film is, it’s a must-watch for American holidays

Tom Cruise In 'At The Mountains Of Madness' And Kevin Smith's 'Red State' In Today's Twitter Report

Rumors that Guillermo del Toro may want Tom Cruise to star in his adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness" provoked some feedback in the comics community on Twitter yesterday. There are a lot of Lovecraft readers out there making comics, and a few of them have strong opinions about what del Toro should or shouldn't do.

In other news, Kevin Smith's been making progress with the screenplay for his new political horror film "Red State." He's been fielding questions on his account and comparing what his budget looks like next to what he had for "Clerks 2." You can find out what his assessment is, as well as what comics-related site Jim Lee stumbled upon in Egypt and what Jeremy Haun thought of "The Expendables" down below.

I'm @brianwarmoth, and this is the Twitter Report for September 3, 2010.

"At the Mountains of Madness" pt. 1: @Templesmith @andydiggle I can't wait for it. ( At the Mountains of Madness ) Going to take a stab at DAGON one day, myself.
-Ben Templesmith, Writer/Artist ("30 Days of Night," "Welcome to Hoxford")

"At the Mountains of Madness" pt. 2: @andydiggle People always mention THE THING, but only now does it occur to me how much FORBIDDEN PLANET also owes to AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS.

"At the Mountains of Madness" pt. 3: @D_MacPherson Tom Cruise and madness are synonymous, true. But I REALLY hope this Mountains of Madness rumor is just that: rumor. #lovecraft
-Dwight MacPherson, Writer ("Sidewise," "The Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo")

@jimlee00 Home of Karnak of the Inhumans! http://twitpic.com/2krfqg
-Jim Lee, Artist ("Batman," "X-Men")

@ThatKevinSmith Walked through locations with a few department heads. Even lower budget than we had on CLERKS II, so we can't afford that many departments.
-Kevin Smith, Writer ("Batman: The Widening Gyre," "Green Arrow")

@jerhaun Alright, Expendables was a hell of a good time. Sh-- blew up. Brothers looked out for bothers. Exactly what it intended to be, fun.

What's next for Sandra Bullock?

This week's Entertainment Weekly cover story sniffs out the answer. Talking to agents and A-listers — but not the actress herself — the magazine maps out the Oscar winner's next move, and it looks like the Speed star is in the driver's seat.

"Every movie you hear about and every script I see, they say, 'We're going after Sandra Bullock for the woman,' " says Ben Affleck, Bullock's co-star in 1999's Forces of Nature.

A Review of Knight and Day Starring Tom Cruise

Knight and Day was recently released on the 6th August 2010 in London and is now showing in most cinemas around the United Kingdom from 20th August 2010 onwards. The movie stars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, making the movie a romantic comedy with some action packed moments and high flying stunts. Is this movie popular? Some may say it is and it isn't.

Knight and Day's Storyline

Cameron Diaz plays June Havens who is boarding a flight to get back home to her sister's wedding when Roy Miller, played by Tom Cruise bumps into her. June finds her life turned upside down when things start to go wrong and Miller turns out to be a secret agent who is fighting to protect a powerful piece of technology. June is catapulted all over the country and the world with Miller. She is literally thrown into his arms and then finds herself falling in love with him. The story is comicly romantic with a taste of foolish nonsense along the way. 

Knight and Day's Filming Locations

Knight and Day's airport scenes were filmed at Worcester Regional Airport. Most of the filming was taken in Melrose, Danvers and New Bedford, Massachusetts, but Spanish cities like Cadiz and Seville were also part of the film's location settings. Filming, also, took place in the Austrian city of Salzburg where Roy Miller (Cruise) and June Havens (Diaz) are filmed at a hotel in Salzburg. Some interesting action and stunts are seen in Knight and Day's Salzburg location, which makes it more interesting to watch.

Was Knight and Day a Success?


Knight and Day made $3.8 million in the United States and Canada, which is not a great success compared to other movies like Toy Story 3, which earned $13 million at box office on the same day as Knight and Day. Apparently, Knight and Day was the worst action film debut for Tom Cruise today.
 

Some critics say that Knight and Day was not an overall success, because of the way the film was made. It had scenes in the film where June was being put to sleep by Miller, because she couldn't handle the stress and then waking up in different locations wearing different clothes each time, which is said to be very silly. The New York Post rated Knight and Day with one and half stars out of four. Lou Lumenick wrote "....this is a big, dumb summer movie with no apparent ambition other than plugging a hole in a studio's schedule because its faded star happened to be available for a few weeks." Entertainment Weekly gave Knight and Day a C+ and compared it to the 2010 film Killers. Of course not all critics were bad, as the Chicago Sun-Times rated the movie 3 stars out of 4 and said, "Knight and Day aspires to the light charm of a romantic action comedy like Charade or Romancing the Stone, but would come closer if it dialed down the relentless action." The filmed needed more romancing moments in it rather than action.
The Guardian in London gave the film 2 stars out of 5. Peter Bradshaw wrote in his article and said, "the movie begins to run very low on gas, and it demonstrates, inadvertently, that an action caper like this really does need high-quality gags, and real human interest between the leads, if it is going to hold its own, and Knight and Day is light on both." It seems the film had a problem with romantic interaction between the characters.
So, Knight and Day was an average success for some viewers both in London and the United States, but still it will still be viewed by many of Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz fans no matter what critics will say.

Tom Cruise: He is a “student of film”

The 47-year-old actor admits he always puts storytelling at the forefront of his priorities when choosing a film role, and is delighted with the results of his latest effort, ‘Knight and Day’, in which he stars opposite Cameron Diaz.

Speaking at the movie’s Spanish premiere in Seville last night (16.06.10), he said: “It’s a real kind of wish fulfilment film. It’s got a very unique tone. It was something I was really looking to do next.

“The most important thing to me is entertaining the audience, and it always has been. I’ve worked since I was eight years old and I saved money to go to the movies, so to have that opportunity… I just consider myself a student of film, of storytelling. The film itself is the most important.”

Much of the action movie was shot in Spain and Tom – who was accompanied to the premiere by wife Katie Holmes – was glad to be able to share his free time in the country with his spouse and their four-year-old daughter Suri.

He added: “What we do is just hang out. In between, when we had the break, we just hang out. We like to walk around the city. Suri loves it here also, so we just played around.”

The actor was also thrilled to work with his “great friend” Cameron – who he previously starred in 2002’s ‘Vanilla Sky’ with – again.

He said: “I haven’t worked with her since ‘Vanilla Sky’, she’s just wonderful to work with, an incredible comedian.”

BBC wins request for Stig case to be held in secret

The costumed Top Gear stunt driver had planned to unmask himself in a candid new autobiography, but his employers are seeking an injunction to prevent HarperCollins from publishing the book.

Mr Justice Morgan yesterday granted the Corporation's request for the case to be heard in private, ruling that a public hearing “would defeat the object”.

HarperCollins had applied for the public to be allowed to sit in on the case, arguing that it wanted to defend its reputation openly against perceived criticism in the press.
The Stig races a variety of cars on the Top Gear programme clad in white overalls and a blacked-out visa, and only about six people - including the programme’s presenters, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond - know his identity for certain.
The secrecy has elevated him to cult status and spawned t-shirts with slogans such as "My Dad is the Stig", but he is said to be unhappy that other presenters are able to earn considerable sums from book deals and promotional products.
The BBC claims that the mystery driver signed a confidentiality agreement and argues that blowing his cover would spoil viewers’ enjoyment of the flagship BBC 2 show.
HarperCollins has criticised the Corporation for spending license payers’ money on the attempt to block the book.
The publisher said in a statement: "We will vigorously defend the perfectly legitimate right of this individual to tell his story".
Top Gear’s executive producer, Andy Wilman, responded by accusing HarperCollins of being “a bunch of chancers” who were trying to “cash in” after contributing “absolutely bugger all” to the show’s eight-year creation.
Writing on the Top Gear blog, he also made a sideswip at the Stig, writing: "It's an issue of trust. Everyone who's ever worked on Top Gear has kept the Stig thing a secret, and the person who wears the suit has signed confidentiality agreements to do the same…Your word is supposed to mean something."
Speculation that the Stig could be Ben Collins, a racing driver and stuntman from Bristol, intensified earlier this month after the accounts of his company, Collins Autosport, were found to list “driving services provided for the BBC, mainly in the Top Gear programme”.
The 35-year-old, who has performed as a James Bond stunt double, was also “outed” as the Stig in 2009, when a builder, Jason Goody, claimed to have come across his famous white suit and gloves on display in a cabinet while working in his home.
Simon Whitehead, a Bristol gallery owner, later claimed that Mr Collins had identified himself as the mystery driver and asked if an artist could help produce a limited-edition print of him in action.
The current “white” Stig took on the role in 2003 after the original “black” Stig, the racing driver Perry McCarthy, outed himself in an autobiography called Flat Out, Flat Broke.

Zac Efron Gets Some Tips from Tom Cruise

An unlikely bromance has bloomed between Tom Cruise and Zac Efron, who recently became friends after bonding over their love of motorcycles. The two men apparently talk all the time, and Tom has even become Zac's so-called "professional and personal guru."

A source said: "Tom and Zac clicked the minute they met. Now, when Zac gets a script to consider, his first call is to Tom. Tom warned Zac to diversify and not get pigeon-holed in one type of role.”

Tom Cruise and his wife Katie Holmes (Bauer Griffin) In addition to giving the High School Musical actor professional advice, Tom, who is married to Katie Holmes, advises his young friend in personal matters too.

The source explained to the National Enquirer: "Zac is extremely shrewd, but he considers Tom a personal and professional guru.

“Tom also warned Zac how to conduct himself in public."

The pair are enjoying their bonding sessions so much, they're even considering working on a new movie together.

The source added: "They've even talked about teaming up on a film together -- the way Tom did with Paul Newman in the 1986 film The Color of Money."