LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- After only two weeks in theaters,"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" has sparked $261 million in North American box office receipts to roll into the number one film spot for 2011.The sequel raked in $47 million in expected sales over the weekend and bypassed "The Hangover Part II," to become the highest-grossing film of the year to date. Michael Bay's big budget action film star

Point Blank (France)Opening July 13.Thriller. Directed by Fred Cavaye. Samuel (Gilles Lellouche) is a nurse living in Paris who is happily married to his wife, Nadia (Elena Anaya). One night, however, two unknown men break into Samuel’s apartment and kidnap his seven-months-pregnant wife. The only way to have his wife back is to get one of the wounded patients out of his hospital and deliver him t

Seth Gordon knows from bad bosses. He once worked as a dishwasher in an old folks home, where his micromanaging supervisor told him everything he did was wrong ― whether it was stacking the plates, cleaning things in the right order or moving fast enough. “It was really about her need to be in charge,” Gordon says, “and I’ve seen versions of that ever since in different forms.”Which makes Gordon t

(Left to right) Actor Daniel Radcliffe, author J.K. Rowling, actress Emma Watson and actor Rupert Grint pose during the global premiere of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the last film of the series, at Trafalgar Square in London, Britain, July 7, 2011. (Xinhua-Yonhap News)LONDON (AP) -- Harry Potter's saga is ending, but his magic spell remains.Thousands of fans from around the worl

    LOS ANGELES (AP) _ ``Transformers'' robots have lost some of their money-making power but delivered the biggest opening weekend domestically so far this year.   Distributor Paramount Pictures said Sunday that ``Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' took in $97.4 million domestically in its first weekend. That beat the $90.2 million debut of Disney's ``Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.'' 

EMERYVILLE, California (AFP) ― Pixar, a pioneer of computer animation that has made a dozen profitable feature films and become one of the most successful studios on the planet, is celebrating its 25th birthday.Born in the early 1980s as George Lucas’s computer graphics division, the company took off after it was purchased by Apple founder Steve Jobs in 1986 and christened “Pixar.”That year, the h

The Hairdresser (Germany)Opening July 14Comedy. Directed by Doris Dorrie. Kathi (Gabriela Maria Schmeide) is a mid-aged, big-sized unemployed hairdresser who has just returned to her hometown, Berlin, with her daughter, Julia. She’d left her husband, who often cheated on her, in order to start afresh. She is very excited when she finally gets a call for an interview at a hair salon in a large shop

Andrei Yevgrafov remembers it vividly, the way an American kid might recall the moment he realized there is no Santa Claus. Except this was Russia, not the United States, and Andrei was no kid.He serving in the Soviet army and had just applied for membership in the Communist Party. Regretfully, the membership committee turned him down. Andrei’s record was spotless, an officer told him, but who cou

The 13th Seoul International Youth Film Festival to feature 141 films and diverse programsA special film festival dedicated to children and teenagers, with some 140 films from 37 different countries, will be held in Seoul next week.The 13th Seoul International Youth Film Festival will open on July 7 in several locations in Seoul, bringing both film screenings and educational opportunities for aspi

YANGON (AP) ― The military-backed government of Myanmar has deported Hollywood actress Michelle Yeoh, who stars as pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in an upcoming movie, officials said Tuesday.The Malaysian actress arrived in the country’s main city, Yangon, on June 22 and was deported the same day because she was on a blacklist, a government official said.The official, who declined to be ide

Popular smartphone game app Angry Birds is to be made into a movie, according to reports.Produced by Helsinki-based animation studio Rovio, the game has been downloaded 250 million times worldwide. Enjoyed by iPhone users, Angry Birds can also be seen on toys or even in cookbooks.David Maisel, who is former executive for Marvel Studio, is to participate in the new movie. Marvel Studio has produced

The Cat (Korea) Opening July 7.Horror. Directed by Byeon Seung-wook. So-yeon (Park Min-young), a young woman who works at a pet shop, suffers from claustrophobia stemming from a traumatic childhood experience. One day, the owner of a beautiful cat named Bi-dan, who often visits So-yeon’s shop, is found dead in an elevator. So-yeon takes Bi-dan, found next to her dead owner’s body, to her place and