Review: ‘Endless Love,’ starring Alex Pettyfer and Gabriella Wilde

I think Alex Pettyfer is the worst, and Endless Love doesn’t do anything to dissuade me of that notion. Sure, he’s a slab of muscular manmeat. But he’s also a horrendously inexpressive actor, the kind of guy for whom a half-smile and an eyebrow raise look like work. As the male lead you’re supposed to adore and root for in Endless Love, he simply isn’t successful—and he’s in shared company, since the rest of the movie is frustratingly mediocre, too.

The premise is this: working-class guy David (Pettyfer) has been interested in beautiful rich girl Jade (Gabriella Wilde) for years, but she’s been a social outcast since her older brother’s death from cancer two years previously. It’s only on their graduation day that David finally works up the nerve to talk to her, earning an invitation to her graduation party. He clearly doesn’t belong there—and Jade’s doctor father Hugh (Bruce Greenwood) makes that abundantly, cartoonishly obvious. So naturally, the response from David and Jade is to go make out in the dark. Duh!

With that begins the Abercrombie-advertisement portion of Endless Love, with Jade and David spending all their free time together—kissing while swimming, kissing while driving, kissing while everything—and Hugh angrily glaring and harrumphing about how Jade might be messing up her future of college and medical school with this relationship. Jade has never stuck up to Hugh before, and their family has been so broken after her brother’s death, that this relationship with David seems like a serious transgression. But, as people in the film keep parroting over and over again, “You have to fight for love!” Yeah, OK, we get it.

Eventually the film devolves into Hugh pulling crazy underhanded move after crazy underhanded move to get Jade and David to break up, and then a variety of absurd plot twists to display the “urgency” here: a car crash, a fire, a run through an airport, increasingly repetitive declarations of love. But I wrote “urgency” back there because the film never really succeeds in raising the stakes, in making the conflict here feel realized. The Notebook had the problem of Ryan Gosling’s character going to war, as so many Nicholas Sparks novels and film adaptations do, and last year’s The Vowhad Rachel McAdams’s character trying to regain her memory. But in Endless Love, the issue is … Jade’s father will be mad at her? OK, well, get over it.

Mundaneness of the story aside, there’s also the issue of Pettyfer and Wilde together; sure, they’re both pretty, but they don’t have any notable zing as a couple. Lots of kissing does not necessarily sexiness make. And in comparison with the ‘80s version of Endless Love, which had teenagers so crazily in love with each other that they left arson and homicide in their wake, this 2014 version feels especially toothless. A girl only stands up to her domineering father because of her boyfriend … and that’s it? Oh, OK. Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! Don’t spend it watching Endless Love.

Rating: 0.5 out of 5 Guttenbergs

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Jeremy Irvine, Alex Pettyfer, and Lucas Till vying for male lead in 'Divergent'

Twilight is outta here(maybe!!!), and Summit Entertainment has been none too subtle in trying to find another young adult franchise to take its place. Their best shot may be Divergent, which is based on the best-selling novel by Veronica Roth. With Shailene Woodley(The Descendants) already in place, the search for her male co-star has narrowed to just a few candidates.

Last fall we learned that Lucas Till(X-Men: First Class), Jack Reynor(newly signed for Transformers 4), Brenton Thwaites(Maleficent), and Luke Bracey(Monte Carlo) had tested for the gig, but Variety now throws Jeremy Irvine(War Horse) and Alex Pettyfer(Magic Mike) into the mix. They'll test later this week, along with Till, so it sounds like the final decision is going to come down to those three. Expect it to arrive shortly, as they need to get moving this spring so Woodley has enough time to jump into The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Divergent sounds a lot like The Hunger Games, but I think there's enough of a difference for it to stand apart. The story centers on 16-year old Beatrice Prior(Woodley), who lives in a future version of Chicago where society is divided into five factions dedication to a particular virtue: Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). Forced to choose where her allegiances lie, Beatrice makes a decision that could change everything.

Directed by Neil Burger, Divergent is expected to open on March 21st 2014.

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Bad timing? Alex Pettyfer is Kristen Stewart's boyfriend in 'Cali'

Awesome publicity alert! With Kristen Stewart mounting her apology tour today after getting caught cheating on R-Patz with R-Sands(aka Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders), casting news for her latest flick is probably furthest from her mind. But it's fun for us anyway, because the role is as her boyfriend in the indie crime flick, Cali.

Alex Pettyfer, last seen workin' it in Magic Mike, has joined the film, based on a script by Michael Diliberti and directed by Nick Cassavetes(The Notebook). Stewart and Pettyfer play a couple who make a ton of cash selling a fake snuff film, then beat it out of the San Fernando Valley. When she's forced to return home years later to attend to family issues, they must contend with the people they screwed, including angry former business partners, stoner vet techs, homicidal porn stars, and an unstoppable  killing machine in a cowboy hat. Somehow they'll have to overcome the odds and and manage to keep their relationship intact.

This was always going to draw a lot of tabloid attention simply with Stewart on board, but with the sexy Pettyfer close by, you can bet the press will be watching the set like a bunch of greedy hawks. Production begins later this summer.

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Review: 'Magic Mike', starring Channing Tatum and Alex Pettyfer

With the exception of a very few, no actor ever started out at the top of their profession. Many began their careers at a lowly place, doing things they probably wish nobody would ever find out about. In today's TMZ fueled society, keeping a humble beginning secret is impossible, so why not just embrace it? That's exactly what Channing Tatum has done with his excellent, crowd pleasing semi-autobiographical stripper film, Magic Mike.
Yes, Tatum's early career saw him working the pole for ladies carrying wads of wrinkled up $1 bills. While many would see that as an embarrassment, one thing Tatum has never lacked is confidence, and one can only imagine dancing half naked in a room full of strangers is a good way to build plenty of it. Half the women in the country probably bought their tickets months ago, enraptured by still photos and TV spots of the cast's glistening abs and tantalizing, rhythmic dance routines. For everyone else, Magic Mike has to have been a curiosity. What reason would any guy have for wanting to see this movie? The answer is pretty simple: Steven Soderbergh.

Soderbergh, a visionary director with small scale sensibilities, he's the absolute perfect choice to steer what is a fairly common story about a simple guy just trying to make his way and stand on his own two feet. Tatum plays Mike Martingano, the top male act at club Xquisite, which is run by Dallas(Matthew McConaughey), who has dreams of moving their popular joint to Miami for bigger fame and larger profits. Essentially, the film is all about dreams and the terrible hardships the common man has to endure in order to see those dreams fulfilled. In Mike's case, he doesn't want to be a middle-aged man still ripping off his clothes on a sweaty stage. He fancies himself an entrepreneur, with a passion for building custom furniture. Dallas may run the club, but Mike is the meal ticket, and when the move to Miami gets made, it's supposedly a 10% equity share all around.

That's right. Equity. Beefcake is what's going to get people in the door, but does anyone expect that Soderbergh would make a movie that's simply about bare chests and Step Up dance moves?  It's almost like the start of a bad joke: "A bunch of male bimbos walk into a bank", as Mike and his chiseled chums discuss fair market values and equity stakes...and penis pumps. Can't forget those. Nobody navigates the world of selling sex with as much insight as Soderbergh does, and he sees some of the ridiculousness of their job, while also noting the camaraderie and insular fame that comes with it.  Soderbergh mined similar territory with 2009's The Girlfriend Experience, and much like Sasha Grey's character in that film, Mike is trying desperately to not have others define him by his work.

Of course that's exactly what happens when he meets Paige(the stiff as wood Cody Horn), the straight-laced sister of Adam(a scruffy Alex Pettyfer). Meeting Adam at a construction job, Mike quickly takes the scraggly layabout under his wing, getting him a job at Xquisite, and showing him the ropes. But Mike sees a potential future with Paige, yet she sees him only as a stripper and nothing more. The film, which is pretty light most of the way, gets really dark when the pitfalls of drugs, booze, sex, and celebrity become too much for Adam to handle.

For all the raving and frenzied fans the men at the Xquisite have, Soderbergh and writer Reid Carolin spend much of the film taking the mystique out of the business. We spend nearly as much time with Mike as he and the others engage in the less glamorous part of their jobs. We see them practicing their routines, buying new outfits, and in the case of Big D**k Richie(Joe Manganiello) that also means employing the occasional penis pump.

But enough of all this plot stuff. How much skin do we really get to see? Well, in the first 2 minutes of the film you will see Tatum's naked rear end. In a nice twist, though, we also get to see Olivia Munn topless, so there's a little something for everybody. It's almost like Soderbergh wanted to get that stuff out of the way, give the people what they came for, and then hook them with a surprisingly well constructed, "boy makes good" love story. Tatum has never been more charismatic and engaging than he is here, and it's no wonder he's become such a Soderbergh favorite.  Pettyfer still can't act, but his job is really just to look pretty. McConaughey gets to indulge a little in the pretty boy cowboy persona he's had all of his career, but he also manages to show a little depth as Dallas quickly slips from showman when on stage, to slick businessman as soon as the curtain drops. Dallas is basically who all of the other dancers aspires to be in some way. He's a stripper who now has his own thing, a business to call his own. 

Perhaps more than any of his other films, Magic Mike has Soderbergh straddling the divide between the mainstream and the art house. On the surface, the film is a tantalizing, escapist blast with visual flair and some nifty dance routines. But strip down a few layers and there's a surprisingly weighty story about making your own way and grasping hard for the American dream.

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Crotch shots galore in new 'Magic Mike' red band trailer

For a movie that is basically about a bunch of really hunky dudes stripping down to their skivvies, the spots we've seen for Magic Mike have been pretty tame. Channing Tatum's moves have been more reminiscent of his pop lockin' in Step Up, and that's basically been it. Bare chests? Pfft! Even Twilight has bare chests. Just how dirty is this moving going to get, anyhow?

A new, 1-minute long red band trailer has the answer, and it's....well, you might want to leave the kids at home. It's a virtual parade of six-pack abs, thongs, and foot-long prosthetic schlongs. Yeah, I'm a poet.

Directed by Steven Soderbergh(!!!!), the film is based in part on Tatum's early career as a male stripper. He plays Mike, a stripper at club Xquisite, who teaches a hungry protege the ropes on how to work the ladies for big dollars. Matthew McConaughey, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Alex Pettyfer, Olivia Munn, Cody Horn, Kevin Nash, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Kevin Nash co-star. Magic Mike opens on June 29th. Check out the trailer below from the comfort of your own home...

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New 'Magic Mike' poster and clip works it all night

If there's going to be a film that comes out of nowhere and sucker punches those bigger, more expensive summer movies it might just be Magic Mike. While it doesn't feature any mutants or armored space Gods or anything, it does feature the superhuman power of Channing Tatum's sweaty abs and unnatural dancing ability. Test audiences have described the film as a definite crowd pleaser, and those sorts of movies tend to work well even in the thick of the summer crush. You can count on a pretty sizable female audience for this one, but is that enough to push Magic Mike into sleeper hit status? The difference maker might be Steven Soderbergh, whose presence as director all but guarantees this will be more than the "home town stripper makes good" story it appears to be.

The latest clip is sure to get a few people all hot 'n bothered, as Tatum, Matt Bomer, Adam Rodriguez, Joe Manganiello, and Kevin Nash(!!!) hump the floor to a steamy rendition of The Weather Girls' 'It's Raining Men'. You just can't have a respectable male stripper film without 'It's Raining Men' somewhere in it.  The story was developed by Tatum and writer Reid Carolyn, and based in part on Tatum's experience as a dancer in the early part of his career. Matthew McConaughey, Riley Keough, and Olivia Munn co-star.

Tatum has already scored two $100M+ hit with The Vow and 21 Jump Street. Could Magic Mike be number three? We'll find out on June 29th...[MTV]

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New 'Magic Mike' trailer with Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey

Of all of us hanging around the Punch Drunk Critics water cooler, only Rocky Hadadi can lay claim to being the target demo for Magic Mike, Steven Soderbergh's male stripper film starring slabs of beefcake like Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey, Matt Bomer, and Joe Manganiello. The trailer was actually pretty good, though, showing all of Soderbergh's signature touches while presenting a rather simple "hometown stripper makes good" fairy tale. The story is based on Tatum's early career as an exotic dancer, and in an interview in this week's Entertainment Weekly, he and the others dish about his attempts to introduce them into the stripper world. We also hear a little about Manganiello's casting process and his familiarity with being half naked as part of his role on HBO's True Blood. You can find the story and a behind-the-scenes glimpse here...

Also, a new UK trailer for the film has been released, and while it's not wildly different from the previous one, it does provide a better look at the mentor relationship between Tatum and Pettyfer's characters. Check that out below, then save up your singles for when Magic Mike opens on June 29th...

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Trailer Time: 'Magic Mike', starring Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey

"I think I see a lot of lawbreakers up in this house". Yes, ladies, the trailer for Magic Mike is here and it's got all the sweaty, chiseled beefcake you could ever ask for. But you know what? Dudes might get into this, too, as the film looks like more of a crowd pleaser than we're used to seeing from Steven Soderbergh.

Based on his early beginnings as a male dancer, Channing Tatum produces and stars as Magic Mike, a high money stripper who takes a younger dancer(Alex Pettyfer) under his wing and teaches him the ropes. Like bouncing his wang for dollar bills on stage, or ruling the bachelorette parties for big bucks off stage. Of course he's a stripper with a heart of gold and lofty dreams of starting his own furniture design business. Matthew McConaughey runs the Xquisite night club where Mike does his business.

If this was directed by any body other than Steven Soderbergh would we have nearly as much confidence in this film? Eh, probably not. But this is a Soderbergh film, and even though this is quite the departure for him, it still bears all of his trademarks. One thing that surprised me was the near top billing status given to Olivia Munn. Are we finally starting to accept her as a legit actress and not just some video game babe?

Magic Mike opens on June 29th. Check out the trailer below....

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More skin! Two new photos from 'Magic Mike' featuring Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey!

Aw hell, I guess it's only fair. If the earlier photos of a skanky Emma Watson were for old perverts like yours truly, then it's only right we do something for the ladies and present a pair of new shots of the hunky stars of Magic Mike.

Looking like the dudes version of Striptease, Magic Mike is directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Adam Rodriguez, and Kevin Nash all in various states of undress. Based on Tatum's early career as a male dancer(seriously), the story has him as a veteran stripper teaching a new guy the ropes. "The ropes" means shaking your wiener in hopes some lady will stuff dollar bills down your leather chaps. Speaking of ladies, Olivia Munn, Cody Horn, Riley Keough, and Wendi McLendon-Covey co-star.

Magic Mike is set to disrobe on June 29th. [JustJared]

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Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, and Matt Bomer show off their abs in new 'Magic Mike' pics

All Steven Soderbergh wants to do this year is make both genders happy. He's got two movies coming out this year, and both should appeal to two very different audiences. The first is Haywire, his fast paced espionage flick with a sexy, physical actress in Gina Carano for guys to drool over. And then in June he's got a little something for the ladies. Ok, a lot of something for the ladies. Magic Mike features Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Matthew McConaughey, and pro wrestler Kevin Nash in various states of undress.  That's basically the plot. Hot dudes, bear chests.

Actually, it's based in part on Tatum's early career shakin' his groove thang for stripper singles, and follows an experienced dancer who takes a younger one under his wing. EW has released a pair of new photos from the film, with Tatum, Pettyfer, and Bomer flexing their washboard abs. You can see the 7-foot Nash in the background, as well. How come ties don't look that good on me?

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Matthew McConaughey strips down in 1st look at 'Magic Mike'

Christmas may be over, but for a lot of women out there I'm betting that the above image is like Santa dropping off one final amazing gift down the chimney. THR has provided the first look at Magic Mike, from director Steven Soderbergh and featuring a beefcake heavy cast of Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey, Joe Manganiello(True Blood), Matt Bomer, and a bunch of people less buffed and oiled. In the above image we get a look at the majority of the cast, including McConaughey in his default shirtless, looking like they're about to perform a patriotic rendition of YMCA. The story, which sounds like a male version of Showgirls, follows a veteran stripper(Tatum) who takes a young upstart(Pettyfer) under his wing and shows him how to shake his wang for crisp $1 bills. Olivia Munn, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Cody Horn co-star. Ladies, commence swooning. Magic Mike teases it's way into theaters on June 29th! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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Julianne Moore gears up for The Wardstone Chronicles

Julianne Moore has signed on to The Seventh Son, an adaptation of the first book in the popular young-adult(aren't they all young adult and popular at this point?) book series, The Wardstone Chronicles. So far the only confirmed actor for the film is Jeff Bridges, with rumors having Alex Pettyfer(Beastly) and Jennifer Lawrence(X-men: First Class) being up for it as well.  Don't go counting on Lawrence signing on, though, since she's already locked in for The Hunger Games. Pettyfer appears to still be a possibility.

The Seventh Son is based on The Spook's Apprentice, the first in Joseph Delaney's 8-book The Wardstone Chronicles series. It follows teenage farmboy Thomas J. Ward, the seventh son of a seventh son, and gifted with unique talents giving him the ability to see dark things others can't. He becomes an apprentice, training to be a "Spook" in order to deal with his newfound powers.

Sergei Bodrov, who last helmed the awesome epic, Mongol, is on board to direct. Shooting is set to begin in Septmeber of this year. Moore is expected to play the villain, Mother Malkin, who sucks the blood from others in order to maintain her youth.

Thanks to BloodyDisgusting for the info!

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Blu-Ray Deal of the Day: Orphan for only $9.49

You don't have a lot of movie options this week, so chances are if you're heading out to the theaters you'll be checking out Unknown, the very Taken-esque thriller starring Liam Neeson. It might surprise you to know that flick was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, director of the under appreciated(even by me at the time) 2009 horror,Orphan. Starring Vera Farmiga(again as the put upon mommy) and Peter Sarsgaard, it's a movie that will make you think twice the next time you're considering adopting that cute foreign kid you found on the internet.

Now on Amazon.com you can get the superior Blu-Ray edition of Orphan for the low price of only $9.49. That's 37% off the regular retail price and worth every penny.  Pick up your copy today by clicking right here!

While you're at it, all you fans of Alex Pettyfer who are itchin' to see I Am Number Four this weekend might want to pick up the film that launched him into teen-romance leading man status, Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker. It's also available right now for only $5.99!

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Jeff Bridges, Alex Pettyfer, and Jennifer Lawrence to star in adaptation of The Last Apprentice?

The glut of teen-centric adaptations continues, and if you look closely at most of them they all have one name in common: Alex Pettyfer.  The actor, who probably first landed on people's radars as the star of Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker(itself an adaptation) will be featured in the DJ Caruso directed I Am Number 4 next week, and now it looks like he's in line for yet another possible franchise starter. Vulture reports that he, Jeff Bridges, and Jennifer Lawrence(Best Actress nominee for Winter's Bone) are circling roles in The Last Apprentice, based on James Delaney's series of young adult novels about a young man's apprenticeship to become a "spook" or exorcist in the 1700s.

Jeff Bridges would play the mentor who trains him in the ways of dealing with darker forces, while Lawrence could be a witch. The film will be helmed by Russian director Sergei Bodrov. If you haven't seen his excellent Mongol, based on the rise of Ghengis Khan, then you need to make that a priority.

Between this film, Alex Rider, I Am Number Four, and Beastly(based on another young adult novel) Pettyfer is the go to guy for this type of flick and has been all over the place lately. He'll be seen later this year in Andrew Nicchol's Now, formerly titled I'm.mortal.

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