"30 Rock" scores zero rating in German debut
COLOGNE, Germany (Hollywood Reporter) "30 Rock" scored a 0.0 rating in its debut on German television Sunday night, meaning fewer than 5,000 viewers tuned in for the Emmy-winning comedy.
Making 82 million Germans laugh is never easy, but the debut was below even the lowest forecasts of broadcaster ZDFNeo. The digital niche channel, which is run by public broadcaster ZDF, had made "30 Rock" the flagship entry in a relaunch promising more cutting-edge programing for a younger demographic. But no one, young or old, tuned in Sunday.
The show is hardly a ratings hit in the United States. The series premiere on NBC drew a decent 8.1 million viewers in October 2006. Last week's episode averaged about 6.0 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.
George Jones: new country music needs a new name
NASHVILLE, Tenn. Country Music Hall of Famer George Jones isn't a big fan of where the genre has moved in recent years.
When asked about what he thought about music by today's top country stars, the 78-year-old said while they are good, "they've stolen our identity."
Jones made the comment during a recent interview when asked about music by artists like Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift.
"They had to use something that was established already, and that's traditional country music. So what they need to do really, I think, is find their own title, because they're definitely not traditional country music," he said.
"It's good to know that we still do traditional country music. Alan Jackson still does it, so does George Strait. We still have it, and there's quite a few of us that are going to hope that it comes back one of these days."
Still, his contemporaries haven't always stuck to traditional country, either. Fellow Hall of Fame member Johnny Cash was met with critical acclaim a few years ago by covering the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurt." Asked whether he'd ever branch out to a completely different genre of music, like heavy metal or rap, Jones laughed and said: "Rap? That's tacky."
"How can you call that music?" he added. "Now, I love music, too. I love all kinds. I really do. I've got Brook Benton. I like his singing. Ray Charles. I've got an open mind. But now, you can't call rap, talking stuff like that, music. No, no, no, you've got to have another name for that."
Jones recently put out a new CD, through Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, called "A Collection of My Best Recollection." It includes some of his most requested songs from throughout his career, including classics like "White Lightning" and "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair," as well as two previously unreleased ones.
"Only thing I would like to keep accomplishing is music for my fans and achieving some goals to keep them happy with what I record in the future," Jones said. "I've done just about everything else. The good Lord's been good to me ... I'm going to enjoy the rest of my life."
The Couch Potato Report - November 1st, 2009
This week The Couch Potato Report peels the latest film from a former Academy Award nominated Canadian director, and some easy riders.
There are some good films this week, and sadly some bad too...and I'll begin with a Canadian movie that is the latest release from Atom Egoyan, the writer and director of such great films as THE ADJUSTER, GROSS MISCONDUCT, EXOTICA and 1997's Academy Award nominated THE SWEET HEREAFTER.
Egoyan's latest is called ADORATION.
This film is about a high school student who is coaxed by his French teacher to write a work of fiction about his family.
He puts his parents into a news story involving terrorism, but only he and the teacher know that it isn't real.
The students friends, family, teachers and everyone in his internet chat-room have no idea what is going on, and all of this coaxing and communication from his teacher leads him to some family secrets that force him to question some things he thought he knew about his dead father.
I am a fan of Atom Egoyan, and I will watch anything he makes, no matter what it is about, and how good - or bad - it is.
And while I won't call ADORATION a bad movie, I didn't like it.
Everything he does in this film, both in the writing and direction, he has done before, and done better.
And this movie is so.........slow moving.....is moves at less than a snails pace.....slooooowwwww.
I wanted to see it, I am glad I saw it...but I can't recommend it at all, even to people who also enjoy Egoyan's work.
Atom Egoyan's next movie, due out in 2010, is currently called MOVING THE ARTS, and I am hoping for something better. My fingers are crossed for something better!!
Now, as much as I didn't like ADORATION, I didn't hate it. This next film, I did hate.
And I know "hate" is a strong word, and I usually prefer to use the word "dislike"...however I hated this next film...hated it.
It is a "suspence thriller" called ORPHAN.
The only I enjoyed about ORPHAN, was when it ended.
Filmed in and around Toronto, ORPHAN is about a husband and wife who adopt a 9-year-old girl who is not nearly as innocent as she claims to be.
ORPHAN started off okay, it had several storylines that were teased, but not explained, and some interesting suspence filled scenes...it was all going along well, until the story switches to where the orphan, Esther, becomes the focus.
She is an utterly unlikeable character, and the young actress playing her does a bad job, plus...the filmmakers have given her a Russian accent like Natasha from Rocky and Bullwinkle!!
Let me be blunt...ORPHAN is an awful, awful movie and I hated it!! I'm done talking about it, because I have another DOA DVD to tell you about.
A DOA DVD is a film that appears on the shelves at our local video store, and looks like it might be good.
Plus, it has actors in it that we all like, and so you might think about picking it up.
But a DOA DVD is a complete waste of your time, and worthy only of mention so you make a note to skip it.
And you really should make a note to skip THE ASSASSINATION OF A HIGH SCHOOL PRESIDENT!!
THE ASSASSINATION OF A HIGH SCHOOL PRESIDENT co-stars Bruce Willis, Mischa Barton and a whole bunch of young actors that you will probably recognize on the DVD sleeve, but don't let that sleeve, or the synopsis of the film on the back of it sway you...this movie is dead on arrival.
With the lesser of this week's releases behind us, let me spend the rest of this edition of The Report being positive, starting with the made-in-Vancouver film BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - THE PLAN.
Okay, what I am about to say will only make sense to people who watched the re-make of the Battlestar Galactica series when it ran from 2003 to earlier this year. If that isn't you, please excuse us for a minute.
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - THE PLAN is set just after the destruction of the Twelve Colonies. The story follows multiple versions of the Cylon models One and Six who have infiltrated the remaining humans, both on the planets, and those who have escaped into space.
From there, the events of the series are shown from a Cylon perspective, and their underlying plan is revealed.
Okay, and I will say this to everyone now...BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - THE PLAN is a very good film, but it is for fans of the series only. I have recommened this series several times before, even for those who normally don't like science fiction shows, and I will happily do that again now.
It is great stuff!!
ICE AGE - DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS is the next movie that I'll speak positive about. And yes, Manny, Scrat, Diego, Ellie, Crash, Eddie and Sid all all back!!
This third film in the enetrtaining family series is about Sid's attempt to adopt three dinosaur eggs. When their real mother takes him to an underground lost world, his friends attempt to rescue him.
I like the caharcters in these films, and so I liked ICE AGE - DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS. I don't know how many more of them they can do, but I'll watch them all.
And I will always also watch any animated films that are released by the National Film Board.
Twenty-six animated films made by filmmakers all across the country, and supported and released by the NFB, are available now in the spectacular two-disc collection ANIMATION EXPRESS.
ANIMATION EXPRESS is a fun and entertaining collection of recent work from the National Film Board's animation unit and it includes the Genie-winning Sleeping Betty and the Oscar nominee Madame Tutli Putli along with many others!!
If you like animated short films, this is a must own!!
And finally this week...when it first came out in the summer of 1969, EASY RIDER was simply a film about two hippy bikers traveling from Los Angeles to New Orleans.
However, in the last forty years, it has come to mean so much more than that, it was the start of a new wave of filmmaking!
And now a new 40th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray not only allows us to see the film in High Definition, but it includes an insightful retrospective documentary as well.
This week, the BLU RAY BEACON shines on EASY RIDER.
EASY RIDER, ANIMATION EXPRESS, ICE AGE - DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - THE PLAN, ORPHAN and ADORATION are available now on Blu-ray and DVD.
THE ASSASSINATION OF A HIGH SCHOOL PRESIDENT is available now only on DVD.
Coming up on the next Saturday morning inside Couch Potato Report
We will celebrate 100 years of Canadian aviation with the series CANADA - ABOVE AND BEYOND, re-visit THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1,2,3, enjoy THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON of SPIN CITY, head to PASSCHENDAELE once again, and I will also tell you about a new documentary about some filmmakers looking for John Hughes...it is called DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME.
I'm Dan Reynish. I'll have more on those, and some other releases, in six days.
For now, that's THE COUCH POTATO REPORT.
Enjoy the movies and I'll see you back here next time on The Couch!
Canadian movies increase box office take: Telefilm report
Telefilm Canada's annual report contained a good news-bad news scenario, with Canadian films increasing their take at the box office but at the same time, experiencing less of a share of the total market.
The government-funded agency, which develops and promotes Canadian film and online projects, released its 2008/2009 report on Friday.
It revealed that Canadian movies raked in a total of $919.6 million at the box office compared to $857.4 million from the previous fiscal year. However, their share of the market dropped from 3.3 per cent to 2.9 per cent.
The report said the agency sought more collaborations overseas, resulting in bigger sales.
"We are placing a great deal of importance on forging alliances with foreign partners and promoting co-production activities which help to build industry capacity and ensure its long-term viability," stated Michel Roy, chair of Telefilm's board of directors.
"In terms of results for our international activities, it's worth noting that in 2008, each dollar Telefilm invested in markets generated close to $12 worth of foreign sales."
In total, the organization produced 21 films in French and 20 films in English.
Its top three earners were:
- Passchendaele ($4.4 million).
- Cruising Bar 2 ($3.5 million).
- Babine ($2.2 million).
Over in the interactive section, the news wasn't good. The report says page views slid from 5.5 million in 2007 to 4.4 million in 2008. The agency said the slide was a consequence of fewer online projects being supported this time around through its Canada New Media Fund.
Wayne Clarkson, Telefilm's executive director, pointed out that "Telefilm-supported productions received a total of 119 awards while a number of films achieved impressive commercial success."
New CD Releases, November 3rd: Carrie Underwood, Weezer, Slayer, Foo Fighters, Andrea Bocelli and more!!
Carrie Underwood "Play On" (Sony)
The multiplatinum country star, who came to fame by besting the competition during the fourth season of "American Idol" in 2004, releases her third studio effort. "Play On" follows 2007's "Carnival Ride," which debuted atop The Billboard 200 and has sold some three million copies.
The first single from "Play On" is the track "Cowboy Casanova," which was released to radio in mid-September and immediately raced into the country Top 10.
The 26-year-old vocalist will support the album with a variety of high-profile television appearances. Most notably, Underwood will headline her own two-hour variety special Dec. 7 on the Fox television network.
* * *
Weezer "Raditude" (Geffen)
The pop-rockers are ready to give their fans some major "Raditude." The disc, the band's seventh studio effort, follows last year's self-titled effort, also known as "The Red Album." That previous set peaked at No. 4 on The Billboard 200 and spawned the modern-rock chart-topper "Pork and Beans."
"Raditude" features ample co-production credits, including Jacknife Lee (U2, R.E.M.) and Butch Walker (Saosin, Katy Perry), along with the band's own Rivers Cuomo. The album's first single, "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To," hit radio waves in August, eventually peaking at No. 2 on Alternative Songs charts.
Weezer will support the album with a brief tour next month. The six-city outing kicks off Dec. 1 in Chicago and concludes on Dec. 10 in Philadelphia.
* * *
Slayer "World Painted Blood" (Sony)
The speed-metal titans return with their 10th studio album, which follows 2006's "Christ Illusion." "War Painted Blood" was produced by Greg Fidelman, who has worked with Metallica and Slipknot in the past, and executive produced by Rick Rubin, who has worked with basically everybody.
"War Painted Blood" will be available in three different configurations: a limited-edition CD with multiple CD covers, a deluxe-edition CD/DVD, and a high-quality, 180-gram vinyl edition.
* * *
Foo Fighters "Greatest Hits" (RCA)
Vocalist/guitarist Dave Grohl and company provide the perfect holiday gift for fans: a best-of compilation. The Foo Fighters' "Greatest Hits" will include such popular singles as "Everlong" and "Times Like These," as well as two newly recorded songs, "Wheels" and "Word Forward."
The package will be available as a 16-track standard edition and as a deluxe version that will include a DVD containing a select videography of the band's classic clips, as well as live performances from Wembley Stadium, Hyde Park and the intimate Skin + Bones theater tour, according to a press release. The set will also be issued as a collectors' 180 gram vinyl edition.
* * *
Andrea Bocelli "My Christmas" (Philips)
The pop-opera king brightens up the holiday season with "My Christmas." The 16-track CD includes a number of guest artists, including Mary J. Blige, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and we kind you not the Muppets. The disc features such holiday favorites as "White Christmas" and "Silent Night."
* * *
More new releases:
Bee Gees, "Ultimate Bee Gees" (Rhino)
Julian Casablancas, "Phrazes for the Young" (RCA)
Steven Curtis Chapman, "Beauty Will Rise" (Sparrow)
Epica, "Design Your Universe" (Nuclear Blast)
Halford, "Halford III: Winter Songs" (Metal God)
Vera Lynn, "We'll Meet Again: Very Best of Vera Lynn" (Decca)
Nirvana, "Bleach (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)" (Sub Pop)
Nirvana, "Live at Reading" (Geffen)
The Rolling Stones, "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert" (Abkco)
Frank Sinatra, "Sinatra: New York" (Rhino) (4 CD/1 DVD) [BOX SET]
Straight No Chaser, "Christmas Cheers" (Warner Bros.)
Various Artists, "Now That's What I Call Music, Vol. 32" (Sony)
Soundtracks and scores:
"Glee: The Music, Season One" (Sony)
"NCIS: The Official TV Soundtrack, Vol. 2" (CBS)
For Underwood, there's no holding back on 'Play On'
NASHVILLE This time, Carrie Underwood feels as if she has some room to play.
She has a healthy string of chart-topping singles under her belt since winning American Idol in 2005. Her latest, the almost-urban Cowboy Casanova, is in the top five on the country singles airplay chart and climbing. Her first two albums have sold well enough that a good first week for her third Play On, out Tuesday could push her past the 10 million mark.
"I wanted to get out of my comfort zone," Underwood says. So she took familiar Nashville co-writers and added outside influences such as Idol judge Kara DioGuardi, fellow Oklahoman Zac Maloy (who once fronted the rock band The Nixons), Canadian singer/songwriter Chantal Kreziazuk and her husband, Our Lady Peace frontman Raine Maida.
"I'd take some other small element and bring it into our world to see what we could do with it," Underwood says. "Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but I think it ended up being different and progressive."
The pressure to match previous successes, she says, came with her second album, 2007's Carnival Ride. "Everybody was cautious," she says. "We took a step forward, but we weren't trying anything crazy, right?"
Underwood doesn't get too crazy on Play On, though she did cut a remarkably country-sounding track with Swedish producer Max Martin, known for his work with pop divas Britney Spears, Pink and Kelly Clarkson.
Underwood, who will co-host the 43rd Country Music Association Awards next week and have her own variety special on Fox in December, is careful with the new album's pacing: For every danceable track like Cowboy Casanova or Songs Like This, there's a sentimental ballad like Mama's Song or inspirational message like Temporary Home.
"There's got to be good balance," she says. "That's something people do know me for, especially the bigger ballads like Change, things like that. We got some money notes. I can't not throw those in."
Carrey's Scrooge rings in Hollywood holiday spirit
LOS ANGELES Hollywood loves money. So does Ebenezer Scrooge. So what better way to launch the holiday season than putting the old money-grubber at the head of the line to separate movie-goers from their cash?
The latest version of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" features Jim Carrey as Scrooge. Coming on Ebenezer's coattails will be everything from vampire romance ("The Twilight Saga: New Moon") and end-of-the-world stories ("2012," "The Road") to epic science fiction ("Avatar") and a new incarnation of the world's greatest detective ("Sherlock Holmes").
Presented in 3-D, "Disney's A Christmas Carol" is the latest from Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis ("Forrest Gump"), who presents Dickens' London with the same performance-capture technology he used on "The Polar Express" and "Beowulf."
Carrey and such co-stars as Gary Oldman, Robin Wright Penn, Colin Firth and Bob Hoskins worked on a bare soundstage, their bodies covered with sensors so digital cameras could record their performances in 360 degrees. Sets, costumes and other details were filled in later by computer animation.
The process allowed actors to take on multiple roles, with Carrey playing Scrooge and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come that teach him the meaning of the season.
While Zemeckis loves Alastair Sim's 1951 "A Christmas Carol," he said previous adaptations never captured the full impact of Dickens' surreal images. As he made "Beowulf," Zemeckis realized he now had the tools to bring "A Christmas Carol" to the screen the way he imagined it on the page.
"It was the idea of being able to actually recreate London and not have any limitations whatsoever. Anything that existed at the time we could present," Zemeckis said. "Then the idea that Jim could play Scrooge in all the different ages, and the ghosts, they could be his alter-ego, and he could play those. Everything just fell into place."
With "Sherlock Holmes," Robert Downey Jr. and director Guy Ritchie also recreate old London while reinventing Arthur Conan Doyle's brainy, monkish detective as an action hero, verbal quipster and even a bit of a lover.
Downey's Holmes fights with fists, clubs, pistols and hammers, trades odd-couple banter with best buddy and roommate Watson (Jude Law), and shares romantic moments with the one woman (Rachel McAdams) who never got the better of him.
It was a nice change of pace for Downey after he leaped to the box-office A-list with last year's comic-book blockbuster "Iron Man."
"It was such a radical departure," Downey said. "A period piece. A very, very established kind of iconic image comes to mind when you think of Sherlock Holmes. Whereas Iron Man was a relatively unknown quote-unquote second tier superhero ... until last year."
Another series that jumped to blockbuster status last year was Hollywood's take on author Stephenie Meyer's love story between a sensitive schoolgirl (Kristen Stewart) and her immortal vampire boy toy (Robert Pattinson).
The second installment, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," is a lesson in teen heartache as Pattinson's Edward dumps Stewart's Bella, realizing the danger he represents to his human girlfriend.
The brooding Bella finds solace with a school chum (Taylor Lautner) and his werewolf gang and eventually winds up pulling Edward out of a jam.
"Edward breaks up with Bella for her own protection, but Bella believes it's because he doesn't love her any more, and she goes into a terrible depression," said "New Moon" director Chris Weitz. "In the end, there's kind of a lovely turnaround whereby Bella has to go and save Edward, having been saved by him throughout their past."
Also in the fantasy realm, James Cameron is back with his first fictional film since 1997's "Titanic" swamped Hollywood to become king of the Oscars and the biggest modern blockbuster. "Avatar" also marks Cameron's return to his science-fiction roots and a reunion with "Aliens" star Sigourney Weaver, who joins Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana among the cast of the filmmaker's 3-D epic about humans taking on the form of extraterrestrials as they explore a distant world.
"What we have on the screen right now is 150 percent of what I imagined. The other 50 percent is the part I could not have imagined without having the actors there, without working with a team of artists who come up with all these amazing, outlandish designs," Cameron said. "My job was really kind of herding the cats, getting the artists to kind of be cohesive about the aesthetic decision, so it was all one world, so it seemed like part of an evolutionary or ecological system."
Hollywood has dozens of other films, big and small, coming before year's end. Here's the lowdown on some highlights:
HUSBANDS, WIVES AND LOVERS:
"Chicago" director Rob Marshall orchestrates his latest musical with "Nine," based on the Broadway adaptation of Federico Fellini's foreign-language classic "8 1/2."
It's the story of a filmmaker (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his many, many women: His wife (Marion Cotillard), his mistress (Penelope Cruz), his mom (Sophia Loren), his film star (Nicole Kidman), his costume designer (Judi Dench), a lover from his youth (Stacy Ferguson), and a fashion journalist (Kate Hudson).
Singing in a recording studio was a new challenge for some of the cast, including Cruz.
"You feel very vulnerable, because you can't hide anything," Cruz said at this year's Cannes Film Festival. "But it was so much fun. After you are there and you start singing and everything starts to come together, if you can really be in the moment and enjoy it, it's an amazing experience."
Also in the mood for love:
"Did You Hear About the Morgans?" A Manhattan couple (Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant) in a rocky marriage find new twists in their relationship after they see a murder and are hustled into witness protection.
"It's Complicated" A messy love triangle develops among a bakery and restaurant owner (Meryl Streep), her ex-hubby (Alec Baldwin) and an architect (Steve Martin) in the latest from director Nancy Meyers ("Something's Gotta Give").
FOXES, FROGS AND RODENTS:
Meryl Streep also joins George Clooney and Bill Murray among the voice cast of Wes Anderson's animated comedy "Fantastic Mr. Fox," the tale of a wily fox waging war with human farmers.
Anderson gave his voice actors a taste of rustic life by taking them to a real farm to record the vocals.
"It was like going to camp," Clooney said at October's London Film Festival, where "Fantastic Mr. Fox" was the opening-night movie. "We were out in the middle of nowhere on people's farms, doing sound effects and rolling around in the fields."
Also among the menagerie:
"Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" The followup to the family hit about critter crooners Alvin, Simon and Theodore has the threesome finding their hearts and singing talents tested in a battle of the bands against a trio of female chipmunks.
"The Princess and the Frog" Disney animation goes old-school as the studio releases its first hand-drawn cartoon in five years with this update of "The Frog Prince" fairy tale, set on the jazzy Louisiana bayou.
THE END OF THE WORLD:
The Mayan calendar predicted an end of days in 2012.
Director Roland Emmerich makes good on that prophecy with his latest doomsday story "2012," featuring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton and Danny Glover in a tale of a world devastated by cataclysm and struggling with a terrible quandary: Who do you choose when you can save only a fraction of humanity?
"It's like a Noah's Ark story in a way," Cusack said. "It mirrors a few of the ethical dilemmas that are posed by asking the question of who gets to go and who doesn't."
Also on the apocalypse front:
"The Road" Author Cormac McCarthy's starkly poetic vision of doom comes to the screen in this adaptation starring Viggo Mortensen as a father on a desperate road trip across the wreckage of America, seeking some hope of a future for his young son.
INSPIRATION ON THE PLAYING FIELD:
Clint Eastwood taps "Million Dollar Baby" and "Unforgiven" co-star Morgan Freeman to play Nelson Mandela in "Invictus," a post-apartheid drama about the South African president rallying black and white behind his country's rugby team during an underdog run in the 1995 World Cup.
Matt Damon, who co-stars as the captain of South Africa's rugby squad, said Freeman was the only choice to play Mandela.
"Someone would have been keelhauled if he hadn't played that role," Damon said.
Also from the wide world of sports:
"The Blind Side" Just in time for his rookie season with the Baltimore Ravens comes this real-life drama about Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a black youth surviving on his own who gets a shot at a better life after he's adopted by a white couple (Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw).
FAMILY AFFAIRS:
"Lord of the Rings" mastermind Peter Jackson turns to the homefront while keeping a foot in otherworldly realms with "The Lovely Bones," an adaptation of Alice Sebold's novel about a slain girl (Saoirse Ronan) watching over her family from heaven.
The cast includes Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg, Susan Sarandon and Stanley Tucci.
Jackson said he cried when he read the novel.
"If the things that I was imagining that made me cry could be put on screen, I thought this would be really amazing," Jackson said. "Because I think the book is an incredible book, but it's very personal. And I think what you get out of that book depends a lot on what experience you've had in your life and what experience of death that you've had, and losing loved ones."
Also in a family way:
"Up in the Air" Happily living life without connections, a corporate hatchet man (George Clooney) travels the country aiming for a 10 million-mile frequent-flyer milestone only to discover that family bonds might be the greater value, after all.
"Old Dogs" A divorced guy (Robin Williams) enlists his womanizing best buddy and business partner (John Travolta) to help care for the twin kids he never knew he had.
"Brothers" Jim Sheridan directs this reversal-of-roles drama about siblings (Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal), one a Marine presumed dead in Afghanistan, the other a black sheep who becomes man of the house for his brother's wife (Natalie Portman).
"Everybody's Fine" Robert De Niro co-stars with Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell in the story of a widower who sets off to reconnect with his grown kids in this remake of the Italian original from Giuseppe Tornatore.