The Travers Take

Peter Travers on Brad Pitt

December 15, 2008 1:29 PM

Peter Travers looks back at the career of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button star and Rolling Stone cover boy Brad Pitt. From his breakthrough role in Thelma & Louise to his career-defining turn as Tyler Durden in Fight Club to his renaissance in films like Babel and Benjamin Button, watch as Peter Travers discusses and showcases Pitt's most noteworthy roles. Plus, we reminisce about Pitt in our 1992 feature in which we named Pitt the "Hot Actor" of the year and our 1997 interview with the actor on the set of Seven Years in Tibet.

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Hot Actor: Brad Pitt

Top Dog Brad Pitt

This Issue: Brad Pitt, The Rolling Stone Interview


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The Day the Box-Office Stood Stoopid

December 15, 2008 10:19 AM

Photo:Doane Gregory
That would be three days actually—a Friday, Saturday and Sunday that amassed $31 million cash money for the inane, critically savaged Keanu Reeves remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic, The Day the Earth Stood Still. If that weren't bad enough, Fox studios and a privately owned celestial communications network came up with an even stupider publicity campaign to hype the movie about an alien (Reeves) who visits earth to destroy us for destroying the planet through global warming. They utilized equipment at Cape Canaveral to beam the movie to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system to Earth. Experts say it will take four years to receive the transmission. If there is life on Alpha Centauri, lord knows what revenge they might enact in 2012 for inflicting this crap on them. Me, I rushed home after the screening to watch the original Day the Earth Stood Still on DVD, in sparkling black-and-white, to get the bad taste out of my mouth. Am I wrong? Did you find something to like about the remake? I'm all ears.


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On The Travers Take: "The Reader," "Gran Torino" and "Doubt"

December 11, 2008 6:02 PM


This week, Peter Travers talks a trio of Golden Globe nominees: Best Drama nominee The Reader starring Kate Winslet, Clint Eastwood's Best Original Song candidate Gran Torino and the-Broadway-on-the-big screen drama Doubt, which scored Best Acting nods for Philip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Viola Davis and Amy Adams. The foreign press loved these films, but did Travers? Watch this week's reviews to find out. Plus, in the scum bucket, Nothing Like The Holidays!

Movie Review: The Reader

Movie Review: Gran Torino

Movie Review: Doubt


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Peter Travers Video Review: "Frost/Nixon," "Cadillac Records" and "Four Christmases"

December 4, 2008 5:57 PM

There's an eclectic batch of films hitting the cinemas this weekend, including the Ron Howard-directed adaptation of the Peter Morgan play Frost/Nixon and the birth of rock and roll biopic Cadillac Records, which stars Beyoncé. Click above to see which movie Peter Travers thinks you should spend you movie money on this weekend, and stick around to drop kick Four Christmases into the scum bucket.

Movie Review: Frost/Nixon

Movie Review: Cadillac Records


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"Four Christmases" or How to Turn Stupid into Box Office Gold

December 1, 2008 2:15 PM

Photo: New Line Cinema


Is it possible to see Four Christmases and actually like it? Next week's box-office grosses will tell. Maybe word of mouth will be so bad that audiences will wise up and stay away. No knock on moviegoers for being curious. If you build a comedy—even a lousy one— with sass man Vince Vaughn and Oscar winning cutiepie Reese Witherspoon, they will come. And did they ever! The heavy-handed, holiday farce grossed a whopping $46.7 million for the Thanksgiving weekend, driving the vegan vampires of Twilight to $39 million and second place. The Twi-hards must have traded in multiple viewings for turkey and leftovers since the vamp epic declined a steep 62 percent from its opening week. Girls, get back out there—Twilight needs your help. Stupid movies, from Max Payne to Beverly Hills Chihuahua, have been topping the box-office for months with each studio claiming bragging rights. It's got to stop. No way does being No. 1 translate into being good. So fight back. I need to hear from those of you who shelled out hard cash for Four Christmases. Did you feel satisfied or scammed? Don't mince words.


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Peter Travers Video Review: "Milk," "Australia" and "Transporter 3"

November 25, 2008 1:23 PM

While Twilight will still be ruling the cinemas this weekend, there are still a few Oscar-bait films getting releases over the Thanksgiving holiday. Click above for Peter Travers' thoughts on Gus Van Sant's Milk and Baz Luhrmann's epic Australia. And if you're really into suffering, stick around to watch the Rolling Stone film critic toss Transporter 3 into the scum bucket.

Movie Review: Milk

Movie Review: Australia

Movie Review: Twilight


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Twi-hards and the Guys Who Love Them: A Big Hit's Secret Weapon

November 24, 2008 10:46 AM

Photo: Getty

It's official. Fangirls with a thing for vampires ruled the weekend. Twilight opened even better than expected, taking a staggering $70.6 million bite out of the box office. As I predicted last week, James Bond and his Quantum of Solace suffered a huge decline, nearly 60 percent (that'll happen when you don't deliver the goods). So Twilight is being celebrated as the biggest estrogen epic of the new century (Sex and the City only took in $57 million in its debut). New Moon, the first of three possible Twilight sequels if they film all of Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling book franchise, has just been given the green light. Can't have star Kristen Stewart, 18, as the high school human in love with vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), waiting two or three years between movies like Harry Potter. But you know what? I'm getting tired of Twilight being dissed as just a girl movie. OK, I know 75 percent of the get-there-first audience was female. But what about that 25 percent of testosterone that came out to watch Bella stay celibate and still be sexy. I want to hear from guys who went to Twilight with their Twi-hard girlfriends or had the guts to go on their own. Was the movie good? bad? unbearable? Would you tell other guys to see it? Tell us why. It's about time we heard from the other side. And you Twi-hard girls, how about sharing what the guys told you about the movie. Did they like it more than they let on? Maybe that will bring us closer to the truth.

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Peter Travers Video Review: "Twilight"

November 20, 2008 5:32 PM

The day has finally arrived. Twilight, the first film based on the tween vampire book series by Stephenie Meyer, gets its release this weekend. But is it worth the hype surrounding undead dreamboat Robert Pattinson? Click above for the complete review from Rolling Stone's film critic.

&#8226 Read Review: Twilight


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"Quantum of Solace" Is the Biggest Bond Opening Ever! But What's the Best Bond Movie Ever?

November 17, 2008 9:40 AM

Don't get me started about the experts who say the critics are wrong for feeling wronged by Quantum of Solace. The reasoning goes that since Quantum delivered the biggest opening of a James Bond movie ever—that's $70.4 million compared to $47.7 million for the previous record holder, 2002's Die Another Day (the one where Halle Berry joined Pierce Brosnan)—it must be the best. That kind of thinking suggests Beverly Hills Chihuahua has a good shot at a Best Picture Oscar. My theory is that audiences flocked to see Daniel Craig as 007 in Quantum because they were totally pumped by Craig's debut in 2006's Casino Royale, one of the very best Bond movies. I'm thinking their disappointment will be reflected in next week's box office. And even if I'm wrong, there's no way in hell Quantum matches Casino Royale on any level. So let Quantum take the title as best ever Bond debut and, at $200 million, the most expensive Bond movie ever to produce. I'm interested in something more lasting. Like what's the best Bond ever in terms of quality? Of the 22 Bond films, here are my three favorites.

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Peter Travers Video Review: "Quantum of Solace," "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Filth and Wisdom"

November 13, 2008 2:28 PM

One of the most hotly anticipated movies of the season makes its way to cinemas this weekend, as the latest James Bond film Quantum of Solace enters the ring. But how does it hold up against the rest of the Bond flicks — and more importantly, against the weekend's other major releases Slumdog Millionaire and Filth and Wisdom? Click above for Peter Travers' weekend picks.

Movie Review: Quantum of Solace

Movie Review: Slumdog Millionaire

Movie Review: Filth and Wisdom


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