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Download Brave Easily one of the most trusted names in animated filmmaking, Pixar is back with another original story for children and adults, alike. Following behind a pair of franchise sequels (Toy Story 3 and Cars 2), with Brave the studio is set to tackle its very first full-length princess fairy tale story – a staple of Disney’s hand-drawn animated classics. This round, Pixar alum and John Carter co-writer Mark Andrews is stepping into the director’s chair, after the film’s creator, Brenda Chapman (The Prince of Egypt), left the project following a series of creative differences.

After the mixed response to Cars 2, which received Pixar’s harshest critical lashing to date, has the film studio managed to produce an animated experience that successfully balances a new story, enjoyable characters and groundbreaking visuals for movie lovers of all ages – not just the juice box crowd? Following in the footsteps of films like Up and Wall-E, not to mention franchise threequel Toy Story 3, does Brave once again raise the bar for animated films?


Fortunately, Brave is a return to form for the studio and delivers plenty of fun for moviegoers from all walks of life. However, for anyone who was especially moved by the studio’s more “mature” films – namely the aforementioned Up and Wall-E - Brave could come across as somewhat less ambitious (and subsequently a little underwhelming) – as the core storyline relies on a lot of familiar fairy tale tropes. This isn’t to say that the film fails to deliver a competent narrative or charming characters – but, for some, the studio may not have provided as many memorable or thought-provoking story beats this round. But even though Brave may not soar quite as high as some of Pixar’s most celebrated efforts, the movie still offers plenty to enjoy – not to mention, a solid mix of traditional princess power coupled with the studio’s trademark charm and humor.

Since a long-long time Scotland has been experienced heroic wars and battles, it witnessed the birth of battles heroes and legends who glorified the history of the Highlands of Scotland. Children of the place know it all as the tales had taken the form of bed stories and generation over generations had become hearers of them. The land is jagged but strong and is mysterious in nature. Watch Brave online to see Merida, a young girl becoming the part of heroic anecdotes and traditional stories when she puts up a fight to ferocious of all monsters and beasts. Merida is a daughter of King Fergus and his wife Queen Elinor. She is unlike any other girl born in the mystical Highlands of Scotland. Her interests are not that of a usual princess but that of warrior prince. She is courageous, valiant, brave, and strong. She is a proficient archer and fervid and ardent at her acts. Impassioned to do something different and of bravery she defies all the traditions and conventions that a princess or any other girl of the kingdom must follow.


Download Brave to witness the brave soul facing up her destiny and going against the set code of laws of the land. When she Merida decides to take her own rout to live life the way she wants she unknowingly stands against the divine laws laid by the boisterous lords of the place. They three lords who have become the idol of worship are Lord MacGuffin, Lord Macintosh and Lord Dingwall who all are crotchety and tough. Merida’s impulsive acts and stubborn attitude unknowingly makes these gods furious and they unleash their fury on the kingdom. To seek help she meets a old woman who is suppose to be wise and she is endowed with an ill fated grant which help her learn the significance of being brave to finally extricate the monstrous curse before the time lapses.

That said, even with a number of predictable story beats and a lot of one-note male characters, Brave provides plenty of eye candy for animated film fans. The hair effects alone are incredible – not to mention the gorgeous rolling hills of the Scottish countryside. Additionally, the movie offers a solid story that, in spite of a heavy reliance on familiar archetypes, manages to put a unique stamp on the fairytale genre. Merida isn’t exceptionally different from prior Disney Princesses (who yearn to be free of their responsibilities and live a “normal” life) but the similarities won’t prevent audiences from identifying with the character or her personal journey.

Like most animated films, Brave is screening in 3D and, like most animated films, the movie looks sharp in the premium format – rarely relying on “jump out of the screen” gags. Consequently, either version of the film is recommendable – since the 3D effect is neither distracting nor essential to enjoying the onscreen action.

While it doesn’t break a lot of new ground, Brave Download is a beautiful and competent entry in Disney’s robust fairytale film pedigree – one that is sure to dazzle younger viewers. Princess Merida will, without question, have no trouble competing alongside iconic Mouse House heroines like Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, and Ariel, as one of Disney’s best animated leading ladies. Nonetheless, even though Brave is solid from beginning to end, the experience might be a little underwhelming for older viewers who expect Pixar to continue pushing the boundaries of animated film storytelling with another “mature” offering. Ultimately, it’s an easy film to recommend, but some ardent cinephiles might want to temper their lofty expectations.

The "Madagascar" franchise, with its skeletal, if somewhat clever plot mechanics (animals from the Central Park zoo are mistakenly shipped to exotic lands – first Madagascar, then Africa proper – all the while longing for their urban environments), and characters almost exclusively defined by outdated ethnic stereotypes (mostly tired New Yorkers-as-neurotic-Jews-or-loud-African-Americans stuff), is arguably the least ambitious or satisfying of DreamWorks Animation’s admittedly low-wattage carousel of animated tent poles (which now include “Shrek” and its off-shoots, “How to Train Your Dragon,” and “Kung Fu Panda&rdquo. And while “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” isn’t some kind of triumph, it is a surprisingly satisfying romp, especially when it keeps its manic pacing up. 

“Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” begins with a kind of “Previously on ‘Madagascar’…” update, which you’d be tempted to call lazy but with a series of movies as instantly forgettable as these, you’ll probably welcome the recap (especially since matters have been further complicated by the admittedly exemplary “Penguins of Madagascar” cartoon series on Nickelodeon). In short: our animal protagonists (Ben Stiller as Alex the lion, Chris Rock as Marty the zebra, David Schwimmer as Melman the giraffe and Jada Pinkett-Smith as Gloria the hippo) have been stranded in Africa (where the last film, “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” took place) after their penguin cohorts have flown off to Monte Carlo in a monkey-powered plane (don’t ask). The animals, longing for the creature comforts of Manhattan (after the other animals make a mud reproduction of the city, Alex goggles at the attention to detail: “Nine Duane Reades on the same street!&rdquo, decide to go intercept the penguins and use the plane to return to New York, once and for all!

But, of course, the subtitle is ‘Europe’s Most Wanted,’ and after an “Ocean’s Twelve”-y interlude in a Monte Carlo casino, their plane crashes and the animals are, once again, marooned on foreign soil. Further complicating matters is the fact that they’re being doggedly pursued by Captain Chantel DuBois, a kind of officious Cruella DeVil-type animal control officer voiced with relish (and a zippy French accent) by Frances McDormand. Seeking a way to travel through the country incognito (and eventually get back to New York), they team up with a group of traveling circus animals (Bryan Cranston is a Russian tiger named Vitaly, Martin Short is an Italian seal named Stefano and Jessica Chastain is some kind of cat from some country named Gia). And that’s pretty much as far as it goes concerning the movie’s actual &ldquolot.”

The first act or so of “Madagascar 3” can be defined by what the penguins would describe as “zesty exuberance” – it kind of pinballs from one joke to the next, with a smattering of smart visual gags sprinkled in for good measure. These might not make much sense (how the hell did they get to Monte Carlo in the first place? It took a plane for the penguins to get there but they just kind of show up), but there is a kind of spring-loaded rapid-fire quality to their delivery that is pretty damn enjoyable. There are also some agreeably strange divergences, like the love affair between a delusional ring-tailed lemur voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen falling in love with a giant oafish circus bear that rides a tiny bicycle.

While the series has never been known for being visually dazzling (the character designs, for the most part, remain a painfully under-stylized eyesore), there are moments of oomph in the first section of the movie, too, particularly when they’re careening around Rome (they set up their circus tent inside the coliseum). You can tell the animators visited the actual location and took really, really detailed notes. (Even though, as is in the case with every DreamWorks animated movie released in 3D, there are too many moments where shots are held for seconds too long just to show off the boring dimensionality.) The voice cast seems enlivened by the change of venue too, with Stiller in particular getting off zingers with aplomb and the rest of the cast, both new and old alike, chugging along amiably.

As the movie wears on, however, the charm fades. The picture suffers from unsightly pacing issues, sometimes rocketing along and other times pausing for inordinate amounts of time, mostly for moments of character development that require a stop-in-its-tracks halt (as is the case with Vitaly’s backstory, which involves his circus trick – squeezing through incredibly small rings). You can tell, too, that the story was conceived with Jeffrey Katzenberg, sitting in his office (paneled, it’s imagined, in solid gold) and throwing pencils into the ceiling, saying, “Let’s have the next one be set in Europe! And we’ll put in something about a circus! It’ll be like a Fellini movie! Kids love Fellini!” Except, you know, they don’t.

And the looseness of the concept, becoming, structurally at least, a series of increasingly uninteresting vignettes, eventually threatens to dismantle the whole movie, particularly when the movie  *uh, spoiler, we guess?* returns our animals to their New York home. This should be a moment of catharsis and understand, imbibed with genuine, painful emotion. Instead, the emotional stuff is quickly, poorly dispensed with, so that the filmmakers (co-directors Eric Barnell, Tom McGrath, and Conrad Vernon) can loudly indulge in a nonsensical circus performance set to Katy Perry’s “Firework” (just like “Rust & Bone!&rdquo which, lit up with rings of glowing neon, is designed like Cirque du Soleil by way of “TRON Legacy.” By this point the influence of co-screenwriter Noah Baumbach, who at least once during the film’s production was the sole credited writer, has all but dissipated, the movie seeming more like a traveling circus than a locked-down production (Cranston and Chastain, for instance, were only hired in January; usually animated movies begin with the voice tracks and take years of on-again/off-again recording to complete). You get the sense he was largely responsible for the tiger’s failed-glory backstory, and for some of the more barbed jokes about New York, but you’d think he would have given some emotion to go along with the zings.

The "Madagascar" franchise, with its skeletal, if somewhat clever plot mechanics (animals from the Central Park zoo are mistakenly shipped to exotic lands – first Madagascar, then Africa proper – all the while longing for their urban environments), and characters almost exclusively defined by outdated ethnic stereotypes (mostly tired New Yorkers-as-neurotic-Jews-or-loud-African-Americans stuff), is arguably the least ambitious or satisfying of DreamWorks Animation’s admittedly low-wattage carousel of animated tent poles (which now include “Shrek” and its off-shoots, “How to Train Your Dragon,” and “Kung Fu Panda&rdquo. And while “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” isn’t some kind of triumph, it is a surprisingly satisfying romp, especially when it keeps its manic pacing up. 

“Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” begins with a kind of “Previously on ‘Madagascar’…” update, which you’d be tempted to call lazy but with a series of movies as instantly forgettable as these, you’ll probably welcome the recap (especially since matters have been further complicated by the admittedly exemplary “Penguins of Madagascar” cartoon series on Nickelodeon). In short: our animal protagonists (Ben Stiller as Alex the lion, Chris Rock as Marty the zebra, David Schwimmer as Melman the giraffe and Jada Pinkett-Smith as Gloria the hippo) have been stranded in Africa (where the last film, “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” took place) after their penguin cohorts have flown off to Monte Carlo in a monkey-powered plane (don’t ask). The animals, longing for the creature comforts of Manhattan (after the other animals make a mud reproduction of the city, Alex goggles at the attention to detail: “Nine Duane Reades on the same street!&rdquo, decide to go intercept the penguins and use the plane to return to New York, once and for all!

But, of course, the subtitle is ‘Europe’s Most Wanted,’ and after an “Ocean’s Twelve”-y interlude in a Monte Carlo casino, their plane crashes and the animals are, once again, marooned on foreign soil. Further complicating matters is the fact that they’re being doggedly pursued by Captain Chantel DuBois, a kind of officious Cruella DeVil-type animal control officer voiced with relish (and a zippy French accent) by Frances McDormand. Seeking a way to travel through the country incognito (and eventually get back to New York), they team up with a group of traveling circus animals (Bryan Cranston is a Russian tiger named Vitaly, Martin Short is an Italian seal named Stefano and Jessica Chastain is some kind of cat from some country named Gia). And that’s pretty much as far as it goes concerning the movie’s actual &ldquolot.”

The first act or so of “Madagascar 3” can be defined by what the penguins would describe as “zesty exuberance” – it kind of pinballs from one joke to the next, with a smattering of smart visual gags sprinkled in for good measure. These might not make much sense (how the hell did they get to Monte Carlo in the first place? It took a plane for the penguins to get there but they just kind of show up), but there is a kind of spring-loaded rapid-fire quality to their delivery that is pretty damn enjoyable. There are also some agreeably strange divergences, like the love affair between a delusional ring-tailed lemur voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen falling in love with a giant oafish circus bear that rides a tiny bicycle.

While the series has never been known for being visually dazzling (the character designs, for the most part, remain a painfully under-stylized eyesore), there are moments of oomph in the first section of the movie, too, particularly when they’re careening around Rome (they set up their circus tent inside the coliseum). You can tell the animators visited the actual location and took really, really detailed notes. (Even though, as is in the case with every DreamWorks animated movie released in 3D, there are too many moments where shots are held for seconds too long just to show off the boring dimensionality.) The voice cast seems enlivened by the change of venue too, with Stiller in particular getting off zingers with aplomb and the rest of the cast, both new and old alike, chugging along amiably.

As the movie wears on, however, the charm fades. The picture suffers from unsightly pacing issues, sometimes rocketing along and other times pausing for inordinate amounts of time, mostly for moments of character development that require a stop-in-its-tracks halt (as is the case with Vitaly’s backstory, which involves his circus trick – squeezing through incredibly small rings). You can tell, too, that the story was conceived with Jeffrey Katzenberg, sitting in his office (paneled, it’s imagined, in solid gold) and throwing pencils into the ceiling, saying, “Let’s have the next one be set in Europe! And we’ll put in something about a circus! It’ll be like a Fellini movie! Kids love Fellini!” Except, you know, they don’t.

And the looseness of the concept, becoming, structurally at least, a series of increasingly uninteresting vignettes, eventually threatens to dismantle the whole movie, particularly when the movie  *uh, spoiler, we guess?* returns our animals to their New York home. This should be a moment of catharsis and understand, imbibed with genuine, painful emotion. Instead, the emotional stuff is quickly, poorly dispensed with, so that the filmmakers (co-directors Eric Barnell, Tom McGrath, and Conrad Vernon) can loudly indulge in a nonsensical circus performance set to Katy Perry’s “Firework” (just like “Rust & Bone!&rdquo which, lit up with rings of glowing neon, is designed like Cirque du Soleil by way of “TRON Legacy.” By this point the influence of co-screenwriter Noah Baumbach, who at least once during the film’s production was the sole credited writer, has all but dissipated, the movie seeming more like a traveling circus than a locked-down production (Cranston and Chastain, for instance, were only hired in January; usually animated movies begin with the voice tracks and take years of on-again/off-again recording to complete). You get the sense he was largely responsible for the tiger’s failed-glory backstory, and for some of the more barbed jokes about New York, but you’d think he would have given some emotion to go along with the zings.

"The Invisible War" is Oscar-nominated documentarian Kirby Dick's latest exploration of something terribly wrong with a venerable institution. Previous targets of Dick's camera have been the Catholic Church and its handling of child abuse cases ("Twist of Faith,") closeted politicians undermining advances in gay rights ("Outrage,") and Hollywood's incomprehensible ratings system ("This Film is Not Yet Rated.") This time he takes on the U.S. Military and its abominable record in the handling of sexual assaults on and by active duty service people.

The film consists of interviews of victims of sexual assault with cases going back to the 1960's up to the present day. The victims (both male and female) relate the horror inflicted upon them – not just by their perpetrators, but by a military justice system that fails them. Many of the victims state that the pain the went through with the assault was nothing compared to the hell that they went through in their attempts to seek justice, proper medical and psychological care for their trauma, and to return to some sort of normalcy in their lives.

Filled with damning statistics (20% of all female military personnel have dealt with sexual assault – does that not bother you?) and interviews with bureaucrats (both military and political,) it's the personal stories of those who tried to serve their country that get to you. These men and women entered to honorably serve and were driven out by a system that believes it's more important to protect one's own (usually meaning an officer) rather than support their troops.

The film is a call to action to make one simple change to the current military system. The decision whether to prosecute a case is made by the site commander. Often, this commander knows or has a relationship with the accused. Does this not seem like a conflict of interest? The film highlights a group that is seeking to change that and encourages the viewer to express their outrage to those who might be able to change things. They want you to do more than slap an "I Support Our Troops" bumper sticker on your car. Will you really support your troops? Really? The facts, figures, and stories in "The Invisible War" should turn the stomach of every citizen of our nation, regardless of political affiliation. This is not a political issue. This is a criminal justice issue. This is a human rights issue.

Watch Seeking Friend for the End of the World online free streaming full movie in megavideo, videobb, videozer, putlocker, zshare, megashare, vidbuz, sockshare, movreel, vidxden filebox ovfile, download, ipad, iphone, phone, android.

Release Date: June 22, 2012
Studio: Focus Features
Director: Lorene Scafaria
Screenwriter: Lorene Scafaria
Starring: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Connie Britton, Adam Brody, Rob Corddry, Gillian Jacobs, Derek Luke, Melanie Lynskey, T.J. Miller, Mark Moses, Patton Oswalt, William Petersen
Genre: Comedy
MPAA Rating: R (for language including sexual references, some drug use and brief violence)
Official Website: SeekingaFriendmovie.com | Facebook
Review: Not Available
DVD Review: Not Available
DVD: Not Available
Movie Poster: View here
Production Stills: View here

Plot Summary: Taking audiences on a humorous, moving, and intimate journey against an epic backdrop of Earth’s final days, “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” is the feature directorial debut of screenwriter Lorene Scafaria. Set in a too-near future where time at once stands still and is slipping away forever, the writer/director explores what people will do and how they will feel when humanity’s end is near. A 70-mile-wide asteroid is en route to Earth, and the last best attempt to counter it has failed. Also failing is the marriage of soft-spoken insurance salesman Dodge (Golden Globe Award winner Steve Carell); the breaking news that the world will end in an estimated 21 days cues his wife to leave him on the spot. Dodge is a man who has always played by the rules of life, while his neighbor Penny (Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley) is an extroverted woman who hasn’t. From these opposite perspectives, both initially choose to navigate the impending end of the world with blinders on. Dodge declines joining his friends in increasingly reckless behavior, while Penny fixates on her relationship issues with a self-absorbed musician. The two misfits meet first when Penny has a rough night and then again when she belatedly delivers Dodge a lost letter. That letter could alter Dodge’s future; it’s from his high-school sweetheart Olivia, the love of his life. When a riot breaks out around their apartment building, Dodge realizes that he must seek Olivia out before it’s too late while Penny makes the decision to spend her last days with family in England. Seizing the moment, Dodge promises to help Penny reach her family if she will provide transport for the two of them in her car immediately. She agrees, and they escape. On the road together, the unlikely traveling companions’ respective personal journeys accelerate, and their outlooks – if not the world’s – brighten.

Watch Seeking a Friend for the End of the World online for free. Full movie. Download Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Steve Carell and Keira Knightley star in the comedy "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World," which marks the feature directorial debut of screenwriter Lorene Scafaria ("Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist"). Set in a too-near future, the movie explores what people will do when humanity's last days are at hand. As the respective journeys of Dodge (Carell) and Penny (Knightley) converge, the two spark to each other and their outlooks – if not the world's – brighten.An asteroid is careening towards the Earth. Efforts to stop it—which we can only imagine being of the 1998 Bruce Willis/Ben Affleck feature Armageddon variety—have failed. The end is nigh. Everybody on the planet knows they only have three weeks left to live, so what do they do with their last days? That’s more or less the set-up for Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, the upcoming disaster rom-com from Focus Features starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightley.Now taking bets on how far into the film before we hear R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” in the film. I’m betting the exact moment the Focus Features logo begins to fade from the screen, even before the cold open. And again every time anybody turns on a radio. And somebody will be whistling it in a taxi or on a bus. And once more in the end credits, just for good measure. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is written and directed by Lorene Scafaria, who wrote the adapted screenplay for Nick & Nora’s Infinite Playlist as well as… hmm… that’s about it. She co-wrote one episode of the Rob Corddry/David Wain late night black comedy Children’s Hospital with her friend Diablo Cody and one of Scafaria’s original songs was featured in Drew Barrymore’s 2009 coming-of-age film Whip It!. That’s pretty much all the internet can tell us about Lorene Scafaria. We can’t even judge her voice from the one movie under her belt because Nick & Nora was adapted from a popular novel (though, to be fair, The Social Network was an adaptation and played pretty well into Aaron Sorkin’s established screenwriting vernacular) so forgive us for being a bit skeptical about what we’re walking into with this film.According to the Mayan calendar 2012 is meant to be the year the world ends. We’ve been watching planet Earth go to poop for decades and audiences have become almost immune to concept. A twist on the genre has appeared courtesy of the new trailer for ‘Seeking a Friend for the End of the World’. It’s a light comedic take on the end of days starring Steve Carell and Kiera Knightly. Not the best comedic pairing but the trailer is great and the supporting cast boasts Patton Oswalt, Connie Britton, Gillian Jacobs and Rob Corddry. It’s written and directed by ‘Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist’ scribe Lorene Scafaria and looks like a lot of fun with a light dash of heart and a giant asteroid heading toward Earth.Who will you spend the last day Earth exists with? That’s the question Steve Carell and Keira Knightley must face in the upcoming comedy Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.

When Dodge’s (Carell) wife leaves in a panic after it’s announced that an asteroid will end the world in three weeks, he goes into a mid-life crisis and seeks a way to find happiness before doomsday. Penny (Knightley), his neighbor, is distraught she’ll never see her family again, and the two promise to help each other before the world ends.The film, which premieres June 22, 20212, also stars Adam Brody, Patton Oswalt and Derek Luke and is directed by Lorene Scafaria from a script she wrote. Movie IN HD After recently adding the poster for the Focus Features release helmed by Lorene Scafaria, we are pleased to give you a look at the trailer, courtesy of Yahoo Movies.The romantic dramedy scripted by Scafaria finds theaters June 22nd. With an asteroid nearing Earth a man (Steve Carell) ends up alone as his panicking wife leaves. He then takes a trip to reunite with his high school sweetheart, but is accompanied by his neighbor (Keira Knightley) who inadvertently puts a wrench in his plan.The film also stars Derek Luke, Adam Brody, Rob Corddry and Gillian Jacobs, and is rated R for language including sexual references, some drug use and brief violence. Yeah, her duty to her father and her duty to her boyfriend, because she's a real confidant for him. Their intimacy is such an incredible element, and I think that Gwen has been in control her whole life. She's the oldest daughter of a police chief, who is constantly terrified that her father is going to die everyday. She has to have an element of being smart because she has to be. She's a valedictorian because she has to be. She has to take care of things and be responsible for her family and I think that being able to let go and trust somebody who puts themselves in the face of death of everyday, too, that's like, great, now she's drawn to another person that could die at any moment and she has to keep his secret and pick and choose between her first love which is her father, of course, like every girl. That's the first man in your life and then her first boyfriend. So, it's a pretty complex situation for Gwen, and there's a lot of, I think, sadness and fear in her life combined with the fact that she's outwardly confident and strong and smart and takes no bullshit. She's soft and 17 underneath it all. There's a great source of drama, and Gwen is at the center of this in a lot of ways – there's competing ideas of what's good. These people, everybody's heart is in the right place, but they execute their plans in different ways and that goes for The Lizard and Curt Connors as well. Gwen in particular is stuck between [her father] the Captain and Peter Parker and Spider-Man who have different ways about going about finding justice in their lives. I think that's a really fun thing to explore in the movie.

Release Date: June 22, 2012 (3D/2D theaters)
Studio: Disney•Pixar
Director: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman
Screenwriter: Not Available
Starring: Kelly Macdonald, Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly, Julie Walters, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, Robbie Coltrane
Genre: Adventure, Animation, Comedy
MPAA Rating: PG (for some scary action and rude humor)
Official Website: Disney.com/Brave
Review: Not Available
DVD Review: Not Available
DVD: Not Available

Plot Summary: Since ancient times, stories of epic battles and mystical legends have been passed through the generations across the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland. In “Brave,” a new tale joins the lore when the courageous Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald) confronts tradition, destiny and the fiercest of beasts.

Merida is a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus (voice of Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson). Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin (voice of Kevin McKidd), surly Lord Macintosh (voice of Craig Ferguson) and cantankerous Lord Dingwall (voice of Robbie Coltrane). Merida’s actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric old Wise Woman (voice of Julie Walters) for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to discover the meaning of true bravery in order to undo a beastly curse before it’s too late.

Directed by Mark Andrews (“The Incredibles,” “Ratatouille,” “John Carter&rdquo and Brenda Chapman (“The Lion King,” “Prince of Egypt&rdquo, and produced by Katherine Sarafian (“Lifted,” “The Incredibles&rdquo, “Brave” is a grand adventure full of heart, memorable characters and the signature Pixar humor enjoyed by audiences of all ages. The film takes aim at theaters on June 22, 2012, and will be presented in Disney Digital 3D™ in select theaters.

Judging by the comments here and here, everyone is a bit “Prometheus”-ed out at this point, even if, like me, you came down on the positive side. It’s easy to forget the film only opened in North America last Friday, so epic is the flow of post-viewing discourse. (“Prometheus”: The “Girls”/"Mad Men" of summer cinema.)

So what more can be said? Plenty. As Titan Books’ gorgeous, hardcover “Prometheus: The Art of the Film” makes evident, we’ve only hit the tip of the Nostromo in terms of understanding everything that’s visible, or hinted at, in Ridley Scott’s divisive sci-fi epic. With startling imagery and simple, unfussy text from author Mark Salisbury, the book offers something viewers have so far lacked: A complete overview of the film’s concept and design from the filmmakers themselves. And until the Blu-ray release, this is likely the closest we’ll get to a breakdown from Sir Ridley.

Like the film itself, the text demands a familiarity with Scott’s original “Alien”; we journey quickly from the project’s initial birth as “Untitled Alien Prequel” to the Luke Scott-helmed TED viral video, which, unsurprisingly, “was conceived and designed by Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof.” We see storyboard art by the director himself — “Ridleygrams” as the book calls them — and move through the plot, beat by icky beat, to the unveiling of the climactic, Giger-y “offspring of the Trilobite’s impregnation of the Engineer, the Deacon.” (Scott’s explanation of the name is quite clever — think Catholicism.)

Perhaps most intriguingly, the book spells out some of the film’s most WTF? moments in the most direct detail we’ve seen yet. An example is the already controversial opening. While it’s not overly difficult to interpret its meaning in light of all that takes place over the 120 minutes that follow, seeing it spelled out in black and white is, at the very least, helpful: “A young Engineer drinks from a ceremonial cup, then begins to disintegrate, his remains blowing into the sea and, eventually, mankind itself.” This is a rather explicit explanation, at the very least.

We learn the cockamamie names for such elements as the holographic navigation system discovered by David (the orrery) and just what the inspirations were for the Engineers’ appearance (Michelangelo’s David, The Statue Of Liberty, and, ahem, Elvis Presley). In fact, the textual analysis is often more enticing than the admittedly stunning artwork. Even throwaway lines greatly add to one’s understanding of Scott’s modus operandi. Example: While it’s a bit confusing onscreen, Prometheus is most assuredly “not set on LV-426 (‘That’s another planet,’ confirms Scott).”

Interestingly, Titan has also rereleased 1979’s “Book of Alien,” a dated but fascinating behind-the-scenes look at Scott’s immortal original. In light of the discoveries in “Prometheus,” it is especially fascinating to read author Paul Scanlon and Michael Gross’s analysis of the Space Jockey: “While the Alien is a terrifying, nightmarish creature, the jockey — while certainly inhuman — is not. Sitting in repose in its doomed derelict ship, the jockey somehow appears to have been a benign creature. People involved in the film tend to agree on this. But they can’t explain why.”

The included unused art is also of interest, especially an apparently un-filmed (we’ll see about that when the end sequence in which the Deacon exits the lifeboat and seemingly makes its way to the downed ship. And production anecdotes certainly entertain, especially one that recalls one of the most infamous startling sequences: “When the Hammerpede attacks Millburn, his arm is broken. … Filming the scene, much like in ‘Alien’ where not every cast member knew what was about to happen with John Hurt and the chestburster, Scott didn’t tell Kate Dickie, who plays Ford, the ship’s doctor, everything. ‘Ridley had indicated something was going to happen, recalls [creature and special makeup effects supervisor Neal] Scanlon. ‘We had the Hammerpede on the end of a monofilament wire, loaded into a dummy of Milburn that was rolled over. As we pulled it out, it was clearly an enormous shock to her. The screams are real.”

Anecdotes are all well and good, but a truly strong book on film design must enhance the experience of re-watching (consider 2009’s “A.I. Artificial Intelligence: From Stanley Kubrick to Steven Spielberg: The Vision Behind the Film&rdquo. “Prometheus: The Art of the Film” certainly achieves that, and for those who still find themselves pondering this eccentric creation days after exiting the cinema, it might just be an essential read, even at 40 bucks. Of course, it leaves many, many questions unanswered: Are we really supposed to buy the “Jersey Shore”-esque Logan Marshall-Green as a wildly intelligent scientist? Why not cast an actual older person as Weyland, rather than saddling Guy Pearce with the worst old-aged make-up since Charles Foster Kane wandered Xanadu? A Stephen Stills reference? Really? But in the end, it does what a great visual analysis should -- it makes us want to dive back into this world again.

So leave it to Ridley “King of Development” Scott to end the book with an even more obvious appeal for a sequel than the film itself did: “I thought ‘Prometheus’ was so enjoyable — returning to the world of science fiction was so fun — I’m thinking about what the hell I might do for a ‘Prometheus 2’ ...”

In 2010, performance artist Marina Abramović had the attention of everybody, from snobby Manhattanites to Fox News. Her work (which includes a nude couple standing in a busy doorway, which is exactly what sent Fox News into a rage) was to be recreated by a number of assistants selected by the artist herself while, at the same time, she put on a new piece: “The Artist is Present.” The idea was simple -- Abramović would be seated in a large room, mute and still, with a patron perched across from her -- yet it proved to be intensely powerful for many (some were even moved to tears) and incredibly exhausting for the performer herself. With “Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present,” Matthew Akers attempts to give an informative overview of her oeuvre, while detailing the extensive and strenuous Museum Of Modern Art retrospective of her work and the strangely ethereal titular performance.

After a brief appetizer showing her glorious ‘Present’ exhibit, Akers begins a rundown of her history, such as her upbringing in Yugoslavia (explaining how her anti-Fascist partisan parents may have influenced her no-frills, dedicated mindset) and lengthy collaboration with best friend/soulmate Ulay (aka Uwe Laysiepen), a relationship that culminated in a journey across the Great Wall of China in 1988. Interviewees (critics, museum directors, etc.) describe her method of working, noting she uses her body as a medium to boldly challenge an audience -- and maybe the best example of this would be "Rhythm 0," done in 1974, which involved audience members picking from a buffet of objects (including a gun) to use on a dormant Abramović. Those that don’t buy into any kind of non-traditional art (aka art not on a canvas) will still likely be charmed by the down-to-earth Abramović, a passionate, cheerful individual who offers zero pretension or obliqueness when speaking.

Once the bio section concludes and we get a good feel for her CV, the filmmaker moves on to the laborious training sessions for the gallery retrospective. The chosen are brought to the artist’s country home and given various exercises, including a tireless task of separating various types of beans from a mixed pile. Along with running a stern regiment for the new recruits, Abramović must also discipline herself for “The Artist Is Present,” as sitting for hours at a time without a break for nourishment or relief will prove to be quite challenging. Unfortunately this period of time is a tad glossed over, seemingly in order to get to the MOMA exhibit quicker -- everyone mentions the endurance the work requires but we never feel it; what should be an intense prep session feels minimized by get-to-the-point editing. Sure, the resulting piece is fascinating, but few know the trials and tribulations of such work -- all of which are compelling in their own right.

"The Artist Is Present" performance takes up roughly the latter half of the film’s duration, and despite being separated from the in-the-moment experience, Abramović’s uncritical gaze at various participants still retains immense strength. Adults, the elderly, and even children step up to the plate to look into her eyes, and one admirer notes that "she slows everybody's brain down,” commenting that “everyone's attention span is so small, we don't really get a chance to think like this anymore." Some familiar faces pop up to sit opposite Abramovic, such as Orlando Bloom and (big surprise, he’s everywhere) James Franco, while other notable appearances attempt to put a different spin on the show -- a man wearing a mirror-mask is quickly whisked away by security, as is actress Josephine Decker (“Uncle Kent,” “Saturday Morning Massacre&rdquo for stripping down before taking a seat. But maybe the most touching instance is when previous lover/partner Ulay sits across from her and the two share a smile -- though it’s pointlessly accompanied by a sweepingly dramatic score, it still hits a veritably tender note.

The film is ably put together, the career synopsis is extremely digestible and the MOMA section moves well, though at the expense of more insight into the development of the production. However, considering how unquestionably interesting Abramović is, the documentary suffers from its anonymous, by-the-books directing. The movie is done in a very uncomplicated manner, maybe even reflecting the warm persona of the subject herself -- but still, there’s a brilliant, creative side to her, and it doesn’t feel right to have such a conventional documentary done on such an unconventional artist. Its straightforward manner will open plenty of new people up to her work, but it’s this same attitude (bereft of even the littlest flourish or experimentation) that waters down the subject, sometimes to the point of minor detriment. To reiterate, the directorial style is by no means disastrous -- and you can’t really make Abramović dull -- but something like the superfluous emotionally pushy music leads to frustration.

When all is said and done, Matthew Akers’s “Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present” is an illuminating documentary on a gifted, inventive visual performer. No, the film doesn’t take the kind of risks the artist is known for, but it's by and large an enjoyable time despite its somewhat meek delivery.

Sometimes you just get stuck with some leading men. The rakishly handsome Ethan Hawke, currently starring in “The Woman In The Fifth,” has retained that youthful insouciance despite his mature action star frame. He’s compelling when in motion, clearly a thoughtful actor who can convey several conflicting emotions. In conversation, however, he’s still got that inward intellectual curiosity, as if he’s wondering, what am I, and what is happening around me? No current actor quite clearly portrays dead-serious befuddlement quite like Hawke, who seems equally at home (which is to say perplexed) contemplating the secrets of the universe as he does programming the DVR.

As Tom, Hawke is appropriately vexed as a visiting American trying to re-connect with his ex-wife and their six year old daughter in France. While minimal details are revealed, it’s clear that there was a very good reason they fled, as Tom forcefully enters their new home, prompting a police call. It’s also striking how quickly he departs upon the arrival of law enforcement, busting into a full run as their sirens blare.

It’s revealed that Tom is a college professor stateside, though the suggestion is he’s exited this position, and not necessarily on good terms. Where his journey takes him afterwards, however, feels considerably removed from reality. Despite all his money and luggage being stolen, he manages to secure boarding in a run-down motel, answering to a curt, French-Algerian landlord with a fairly shifty posse. It first seems peculiar that this man would allow Tom to stay without paying rent just yet (while also withholding his passport), until he gives Tom a job. Tom now spends his nights walking crosstown to a small isolated room, where he looks into a surveillance camera observing a single door, which he opens only for those asking for a specific gentleman. Tasked with ritualistically pressing buttons with absolutely no human interaction for hours, Tom’s existential ennui is effectively writ large. Hawke’s brow, not surprisingly, gets quite the workout.

With the revelation that he has written a book, Tom also finds himself participating in a small literary world where he meets Margit (Kristen Scott-Thomas). Beautiful, mature, but coiled like a snake, the boyish Tom nonetheless craves her acceptance immediately, pursuing her as his new muse. Despite her worldly seductiveness, she speaks in banal backstory and literary bromides. She wines and dines his ego, challenges his creative reservoirs, then bathes and seduces him (Hawke’s hysterical “o-face” might be this film’s lasting legacy), and it all seems so carefully removed from the narrative that it’s impossible to put any weight behind these interactions.

Whether the goal of this film is to place the viewer in Tom’s mind is uncertain, though either approach yields questionable results. To assume we’re knee-deep in Tom’s psyche as soon as his bagga- uh, luggage disappears, we’d have to give pause. Of course his dark-skinned landlord will do him a favor in exchange for assisting in possibly illegal activities. Of course his neighbor, a heavy-set black man who blares cacophonous rap music at ungodly hours, doesn’t flush when using their shared toilet. Of course his only ally in the “real” world appears to be a young, blond, buxom Polish bartender. Because “civilized” people flirt by discussing literature not, y’know, listening to rap music. If we’re to assume there’s nothing imaginary about this world, well… that’s also a bit off-putting, no?

Hawke is an attractive lead, and Scott-Thomas brings a smoky maturity to her performance, but the final act of “The Woman In The Fifth” dissolves into a tired what-is-reality refraction of the storyline that stunts any potential character drama originating from this premise organically. At times it recalls Fritz Lang’s fine, forgotten “Scarlet Street” in its dreamscape seductions and bewildered, urbane protagonist. But while that film successfully toyed with noir tropes, this one flits from magic realism, to inner-city domestic drama, to Dostoyevsky-ish moral conundrums without any confidence or conviction. It’s not a reflection of narrative restlessness, but rather storytelling timidity.

"Rock of Ages" will make you want to raise your arms...and then immediately plunge your fingers into your eyeballs for salvation (you can go back for seconds to rescue your ears). "Hairspray" helmer Adam Shankman directs this movie that will finally kill the '80s nostalgia that continues to plague us if we're lucky and will further root karaoke performances and bar jukeboxes in that hairspray-choked decade if we're not. We've had a sub-par version of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin' " stuck in our head since we saw it, and we wouldn't wish this fate on anyone, except perhaps the development heads at Warner Bros. As much as everyone keeps trying to make Julianne Hough a star, Steve Perry she is not (though admittedly she is cuter).

Based on the hit Broadway musical, "Rock of Ages" follows small-town girl Sherrie Christian (Hough) as she leaves Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the bright lights of the Sunset Strip. You see, Sherrie wants to be a singer, and she hopes for her big break in the big city. Instead, she gets mugged the second she walks off the bus in Los Angeles (or whatever stand-in city is supposed to look like Los Angeles), and she meets fellow aspiring musician – and city boy – Drew (Diego Boneta) after he halfheartedly attempts to save her stuff. He's a barback at legendary rock venue The Bourbon Room, and he helps her get a job as a waitress there, too. Coincidentally, her favorite band EVER, Arsenal, is about to play the club for its final show with legendary lead singer – commence high-pitched screaming! – Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise). The sure-to-be epic show comes at the perfect time for club owner Dennis Dupree (Alec Baldwin), whose beloved business is on the verge of collapse. But will the whiskey soaked star be able to make the gig and sing "Pour Some Sugar on Me"? What will become of his interview with a Rolling Stone reporter (Malin Akerman)? And will the club be closed by the efforts of the uber-conservative Mayor Whitmore (a criminally wasted Bryan Cranston) and his equally straight-laced wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) in an effort to win re-election? And will Drew and Sherrie find fame and love in the City of Angels? So many questions (and so many unnecessary plotlines)!

To be fair, the point of a musical is rarely its story, and we'd be willing to forgive "Rock of Ages" if its worst sin were simply lifting its central plotline directly from "Don't Stop Believin' " and cramming in a dozen superfluous characters beyond the small-town girl and the city boy. In an act of charity, we might even overlook all the poorly written non-musical moments, which seem to go on forever in the poorly paced, terribly unfunny script. Characters are haphazardly introduced, with one waitress given a single, seemingly important speaking line where she warms Sherrie of the dangers of the spotlight and then disappears. A monkey named "Hey Man" has more to do than Paul Giamatti does as a smarmy manager. The internal logic of the film at once posits that real classic '80s bands exist within the universe of the film, but somehow Stacee Jaxx's Arsenal and other performers in the movie are responsible for hits from those same bands.

However, even focusing on the songs (of which there are approximately 729) reveals that they aren't of the caliber that we've come to hope for in solid Hollywood musicals. Most songs are either mashups or endless medleys: for example, Night Ranger's "Sister Christian" slams into David Lee Roth's "Just Like Paradise," which then hate fucks Poison's "Nothing But a Good Time." Pat Benatar's "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" gets the solo treatment from Zeta-Jones, but in the fear that the audience might get bored of watching the woman who killed it in "Chicago," shots of her suit-clad conservative first lady are intercut with another character getting spanked. Dancing is nearly non-existent in the film, which is particularly odd given Shankman's experience in choreography and the true arena of "Dancing with the Stars" alum Hough. In comparison, "Mamma Mia!" should be given a place in the National Film Registry.

The singing talent of most of the stars becomes an issue as well. Certainly not hired for her acting, Hough can belt out the sometimes challenging songs with gusto and hit all the notes, but her insipid voice wouldn't make it past the first Hollywood week of "American Idol." Starring in his first feature, Boneta sings better, but perhaps we we were just happy that he wasn't speaking. With puppy dog eyes perfect for Tiger Beat, he looks as attractive as he could with the '80s haircut, but that is as far as his charm goes. We're also happy that Baldwin seems content to stick to acting and running for New York mayor because his singing is enjoyably terrible. The best we can say about Russell Brand as an employee at The Bourbon Room is that we didn't want to punch him in the face, and Mary J. Blige's incredible voice seems to exist only to show how lacking everyone else is in singing talent.

However, Cruise goes for it and emerges a believable rock star in the vein of the decade's biggest legends in moments with music and without. We half expected him to slide into "The Serpentine" as he gives '80s-era Axl Rose a run for his money for on-stage talent and off-stage debauchery. He's able to make some the script's attempts at comedy almost funny, and we buy that women are embarrassing themselves in his sex-oozing presence.

With its two-plus-hour running time, "Rock of Ages" is a celebration of excess that only a passed-out, nearly deaf groupie would love. With Shankman in the director's chair, the tone is all over the place, with it never deciding whether it's a genuine effort or pure camp. Journey was right when they sang, "Oh the movie never ends. It goes on and on and on and on." Or maybe it just feels like it.