Saturday, August 26, 2006
Editorial: Eight Is Enough
There’s a certain sense of finality accompanying this week’s release of The Simpsons: Season 8 DVD. A sense that this is the final piece of merchandise that most Simpsons fans will ever need to buy, and that some of the greatest years of television, already long behind us, will at least never go forgotten.
Season 8 is the last season that can be characterized as good. It’s no secret the show has been literally unwatchable for nearly the past decade now, but if you’re looking for that place where the slide started, look no further. As Season 7 was a step down from Season 6, Season 8 is a step down from Season 7. Next year, we didn’t get so much of a step down, but rather a fall off a ladder that would likely require hospitalization, followed by the next year which would be the equivalent of a one-way ride on a ValuJet.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Season 8 is pretty good. It’s not the mixed bag that Season 9 is, as I would qualify most of the episodes from 8 as “funny” to “hilarious.” In fact, two of my favorite episodes come from this season; the perennial fan-favorite “You Only Move Twice,” starring Albert Brooks as Hank Scorpio, the world’s most affable megalomaniac, and “Homer vs. The 18th Amendment” which saw Homer skirting the law with the improbable return of prohibition to Springfield. Other popular episodes from this season include “El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Homer” – which has the bar-none best animated sequence in the series, along with Johnny Cash and a talking dog – and “The Springfield Files” (“Keep watching the skis!”)
There’s some fairly lame ones too. “The Old Man and the Lisa” is just the first nail in the coffin of Mr. Burns’ character, who in recent seasons has become as much of a dunderhead as Homer. “The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase,” which proves most of the series’ secondary characters should not have a second show based off them, let alone 8 minute segments, and “In Marge We Trust” which – despite the classic “Mr. Sparkle” subplot – features Reverend Lovejoy fighting baboons and for that I consider it lesser.
There’s a disturbing trend that can be found in each of this season’s episodes, good and bad – they’re all completely outrageous. “You Only Move Twice” is fucking hilarious due to Brooks’ voiceover and the simple running joke of Homer’s obliviousness – but it still features Homer working for a James Bond-esque supervillain. Other episode in this season include Moe flying in The Fan Man’s outfit, a Mary Poppins musical, Burns and Homer trapped in a rocket house, entire episodes based around references to The X-Files and Frasier, military school, Poochy, Burns’ long-lost son, and other aforementioned examples. Now again, many of these episodes remain pretty funny. But it’s easy to see that the “rubberband reality” that Groening describes in the series commentary totally fucking snaps. In the next seasons, it would snap AND take out the eye of kid in the room.
What killed The Simpsons? A lot of people point to Mike Scully’s tenure as showrunner. He did preside over some awful, awful episodes (See: Season 11-Season 12) but the answer is a lot more simple than that. It’s just time. You work on ANYTHING, be it a TV show, a book series, a comic or a job for 8 years and you’re going to start to get burnt out. The show was clearly starting to run out of ideas by Season 7, and it just got more and more noticeable until they started throwing leprechaun jockeys and celebrity cameos at us until we said “Fuck you.” and quit watching.
I might buy Season 9. There’s a handful of episodes on there I like a lot (“The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson,” “Bart Star”) but several more that I loathe (“All Singing, All Dancing,” “Simpson Tide,” “This Little Wiggy,” “King of the Hill” and a few others) and I’m just not sure that it’s worth the price that they ask for the boxed sets.
So enjoy your 8 boxed sets and buy a ticket to the movie if you absolutely have to. But for all intents and purposes, The Simpsons ended for me this past Tuesday.
Continue reading Editorial: Eight Is Enough
Friday, August 25, 2006
News Round-Up: 8/25/06
Good things come in small packages, so here's some tiny packets of news for you to swallow.
I hate it when movies try and slip by me and this one just about did. Harry over at AICN brought the poster of Children of Men to our attention and he's right, it's great. Get the trailer here for what may be one of the best science fiction movies of the year (what's the tag for Internet Hype again?). Seriously, in a nutshell it's about what happens when the women of Earth can no longer make the babies, but then the poster tells you that.Source: Black Film
As The Fake Life's resident Jesus Freak, this trailer for Jesus Camp even scares me. I worked at a much less evangelical summer camp once upon a time and I can't tell you how easy it is to get kids all worked up. In most cases it doesn't stick, but since these darlings will probably go home to parents supportive of this flavor of hyper-evangelism I think the percentage will be higher. I doubt it's as "even handed" as one pull quote suggests, but fair and balanced doesn't usually make good cinema.Source: Moviefone, AICN
This just in - Lucas hates us!
According to Collider, Lucasfilm won't be sending out screeners of the original Star Wars trilogy to the media. Here's poor Frosty venting:
"Now take a moment to realize what they are trying to do. Lucasfilm is trying to get all the people who haven’t been told not to buy the DVDs to buy them opening week. After all that is where all the money is, opening week sales. I believe that week accounts for a huge percentage of final sales, over 50% if I am correct.With this announcement they are admitting that they know what these things are. So the big question is, who made the decision to release the movies this way, and if it really was George, I say shame on you. After all the money you have made off all of the fans, after all the years of love they have shown you, this is not the way to repay it.
But don’t worry, next year is the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars. You know what that means, right? After all the people have bought and paid for these new DVDs, later this year Lucasfilm will announce that next year the original trilogy will be on the big box set that is coming, and they will be in anamorphic because the fans demanded it.
Of course, this is after they have taken all of your money."
This isn't really very surprising, but it is sad. Perhaps as he said this is the last straw but I doubt it. Keep smacking Star Wars fans around and they'll keep coming back for more. And if they stop? Well the money's still been made.
Source: Collider Continue reading News Round-Up: 8/25/06
Romero Makes More Zombies: Scary?
George Romero, the undisputable grandaddy of the zombie genre and one of the nicest filmmakers on Earth, has decided to write and direct another zombie movie, titled George Romero's Diary of the Dead, which will be produced through his company, Romero-Grunwald Productions. After the relative success of Land of the Dead (with the critics, if not exactly in terms of profit), it sounds like there won't be any of the issues with financing this time that kept Land on the shelf for so long. Artfire Films has stepped in to provide the funds. The story is reported to feature a group of film students making a horror movie in some woods who run into real-life zombies.
I imagine bells of excitement and buzzer or two of distress going off in many a zombie aficionado's head at this news. First, it's Romero staying active in the zombie trade. There is no downside to that. Some worry might grow from the "film within a film" idea that has been done many times in the past, but Romero's take will want to find an original angle on that. Let's hope for the best there. The more alarming question is this: will the new story exist within the universe Romero has created with his past four undead films? The premise doesn't give an indication one way or the other. It's not likely that a group of filmmakers would set out to shoot any movie in a remote setting without being aware of an ongoing zombie apocalypse, unless it's set around the time of Night of the Living Dead, or unless they are complete morons. Horror movies are probably not in high demand in a world overrun by actual, two-legged horrors. The title seems to indicate that it falls in with the other movies, but that's no guarantee. What could this mean for Romero's zombie legacy?
Take comfort, ye band of merry Deadheads. I say it's nothing to get too upset about either way. If George does break away from his past work for this film, it may indicate that there will be a little less of his previous movies' brand of social commentary, that he's doing it for the fun. Is there anyone more qualified to handle a stand-alone zombie film than a seasoned vet like Romero? He may also just be keeping his teeth sharpened, and his funding sources happy, for another authentic Dead story if this one isn't it. I'd prefer he didn't use "dead" in the title if it's not part of his ongoing mythology, because it's a bit of a cheat to do that to fans expecting the real deal, but that's a minor gripe. We'll be sure to pass on more details as they become available. For now, just enjoy the fact that Romero is getting steady work, and that more flesh will soon be torn and eaten.
Source: Variety Continue reading Romero Makes More Zombies: Scary?
Trailer: Little Children
Thanks to Mori and a scooper (a seemingly retarded one) from AICN, I was able to catch a glimpse of one of the year's better film trailers. The movie is called Little Children by Todd Field, director of 2001's In the Bedroom, who (Random Trivia Alert!) also happens to be the piano playing friend who gets himself and Tom Cruise in trouble with the masked nymphomaniacs in Eyes Wide Shut. What a small world!
The film stars a couple of women I heart - Jennifer Connelly and Kate Winslet - and deals with (from IMDb) "a group of young marrieds, whose lives intersect on the playgrounds, town pools and streets of their small community in surprising and potentially dangerous ways." That is, people be bangin' people they shouldn't be bangin'. Infidelity is fun but wrong, kids. Trust me.
Little Children opens October 6th.
Source: littlechildrenmovie.com, AICN Continue reading Trailer: Little Children
Transformerama - 8/25/06
Megatron Is A Pussy!
There has been a lot of Transformers news in the last couple of weeks, including breakdowns on characters, competitions to have lines included in the film, the designs of the transformers and leaked script reviews (bad and good).
Most of this stuff is a bit boring (I'll post it all if I get asked nicely), but I thought I should point you at the design for big baddie Megatron. The fans hate it, but they got upset about Optimus Prime having a paint job so, honestly, fuck them. They seem to have gone for a 'living bundle of razor wire' look, which I guess is quite threatening. Its complicated-ness could, possibly, give off a sense of unease just by looking at it. If animated well, it could actually be an awesome bit of design. The fans don't seem to like it because it isn't 'cool' looking so, honestly, fuck them.
I'd also like to point out the original design for Megatron, where he looks like a fat Vegas lounge singer.
Anyway back to the new Megatron's face. Look at its shape, the layers and complicated folds. It is a giant mechanical vagina from hell. Transformers is going to be so awesome and you should all watch it a thousand times.
Another aspect to this is that the face looks awfully angry and, well, evil - which begs the question of mummy and daddy Megatron. Did they build him that way? What if he wanted to be a nice transforming robot? He's been designed to be a megalomaniacal psychopath and there's nothing he can do about it, which is a bit emo really.
All of that said, the below image is a really bad pose, with no dynamism or character to it, but unless the Transformers are going to move about like the toys (wtih giant, snot covered kid-hands coming down from heaven), this probably isn't going to be a problem.
Other fun stuff recently released is this video of intense young Hollywood actor, Shia Le Bouef, getting tortured by Michael Bay.
More stuff when it is released.
Source: AICN Continue reading Transformerama - 8/25/06
Thursday, August 24, 2006
American Gangster Is Better Than You
American Gangster had a troubled past before it got to the glorious situation it seems to be in right now. Explaining it is not unlike writing the history of Middle-Earth, so bear with me until I get to the actual news story.
Originally to be directed by Antoine Fuqua, who has yet to get out of movie jail for making us all suffer with King Arthur, the film followed the exploits of a Harlem drug lord named Frank Lucas who stashed heroin in the caskets of Vietnam veterans during the 1970s. Eventually Lucas gave in to the fuzz-man Richie Roberts and helped take down other crime lords with his information. At the time Denzel Washington was interested. Of course the studio booted Fuqua (for obvious reasons) and handed it over to Terry George, the writer and director of Hotel Rwanda with Don Cheadle attached instead of Washington. Then the studio blew up the whole production. Hollywood clusterfucks like this is why Entourage is so damn good.
It wasn't long before Ridley Scott started it again, however, and roped in Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe (if you say Virtuosity three times in the mirror Russell Crowe will show up and punch you in the mouth). I know all this because my eye has been sorely fixed upon its process to celluloid, constantly scanning about IMDb like an obsessive and hungry vulture hoping the film would get made in the right hands. Each time the hands got better, and now it’s set to shoot pretty soon and starting to sport an incredible cast.
The Hollywood Reporter is saying that a whole host of talent is signing on to what was once a wayward film, and most of them seem like they'll make the film a quality one just by their presence. Probably the biggest addition is that of Chiwetel Ejiofor, who ever since Serenity has had an enormous amount of geek cred (which is unfair, because Ejiofor was great far before that, just watch Dirty Pretty Things). Ejiofor is one of those actors that just makes a film feel sophisticated by his presence, and since he is playing Denzel Washington's brother we might get to see more of them playing off each other, an element that was amusing but somewhat lacking in Inside Man.Along with Ejiofor American Gangster has plucked two cast members from the rather great Miami Vice. John Ortiz and John Hawkes (go watch Deadwood) are both great actors, especially Ortiz who probably had the most vocal role in Miami Vice and pulled it off with an appropriate amount of menace and indignation. Along for the ride are rappers Common, T.I., and RZA. Common is the one I'm most interested in since he seems to have a fair bit of charisma just by default. All together you can see the film is already brimming with talent, and it's hard to think in the situation it has been set up it won't be one of the best crime flicks that have ever come to fruition.
The actors aren't the only interesting thing about the film. What intrigues me the most is the time period the film takes place in. The 70s is probably one of the most stylized periods of any culture, over flowing with an abundance of tensions and social evolutions. And the crime and heist films of the 70s drip with perfection of the hard-boiled and clever nature synonymous with the genre. Dirty Harry, Dog Day Afternoon, Chinatown, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, and of course The Godfather. The 70s were arguably one the best eras of crime flicks. It's possible and hopeful that Ridley Scott might try and give us that same feeling of slimy characterizations and plot twists that snap your neck that many of us have come to adore with crime centric film. Lord knows Michael Mann and Joe Carnahan need some company.
Another thing is that Ridley Scott is a master of this genre when he really wants to be. When Scott tackles crime the right way it really is pretty incredible. We're all going to die remembering Blade Runner and even though it's easily forgettable Black Rain plays the crime tune rather well. The worst you can say about Scott is that he never fumbles the ball horribly in his crime flicks. He always has glimmers here and there of some truly wonderful cinematic moments. And if you should expect anything from American Gangster it will probably be an appropriately thick and immersive environment. Blade Runner wrote the book on dynamic environments and his recent forays with swords and shields in Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven blend all the elements of cinema to create a living breathing world that captivates as much as it compels. What Clint Eastwood has done with drama, Tony Scott has done with editing, and Peter Jackson has done with effects, Ridley Scott has done with environments and tone.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter Continue reading American Gangster Is Better Than You
Paramount: "Bon Voyage, Maverick!"
It's a he said/she said. Cruise's people saying he quit, Paramount says they fired him. All of it leads back to Tom being as crazy as... well as crazy as any Scientologist I suppose.
Used to be that stars could do almost anything and still have a studio to call home. With profits going into the crapper (to hear the studios talk) I guess they're getting a little more sensitive to such things.
“As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal,” Mr. Redstone CEO of Pramount told The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the studio’s decision on its Web site. “His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount.”
Vs.
But Paula Wagner, Mr. Cruise’s partner in Cruise-Wagner Productions, said in an interview Tuesday that she and Mr. Cruise had, sometime “in the last few days,” told their agents at Creative Artists Agency to inform Paramount that they were terminating the contract talks.
Ms. Wagner said that she and Mr. Cruise had already obtained commitments from two hedge funds, one in New York and one in Los Angeles, for $100 million in revolving credit to make movies, and that they had begun looking for a new distribution deal.
Combine this with the fact that Mel has had shaky dealings with his distribution channels since his drunken tirade and it leads me to believe that stars will need to watch their Ps and Qs or at least be more discrete about molesting children, denying the holocaust, or attacking talk show hosts.
Editor's Note: It's funny because this really is a Hollywood power struggle more than anything else. Who's actually in control of the business here? The studios or the stars? Considering how much money Tom Cruise has made for Paramount during the course of their 14-year union, this bit of news naturally comes as a "more than meets the eye" sorta deal.
Of course, Cruise's inflated salary versus his film's profits could be putting a crimp in any overall numbers, as our man Scott mentions, but how's that any different from other actors? The issue of inflated salary isn't exclusive to Cruise. What about the rest of the $20 million+ club?
And let's not forget Mel Gibson's latest "Hey, everyone... I hate Jews!" shenanigans, Haley Joel Osment drunk crashing into a mailbox in Glendale (near where I live, actually), and countless other celebrity "fuck ups" that really are just par for the course in any given year. Cruise jumped on a couch and said some dumb shit about psychiatry.Oh. And M:I-3, Paramount's summer tentpole, was a failure... possibly because Cruise jumped on a couch and said some dumb shit about psychiatry.
Whether this is just one of those things, or if this will really cause something to stir in the pot among the Hollywood elite, remains to be seen. -- George
Source: NY Times Continue reading Paramount: "Bon Voyage, Maverick!"
'Batman' In Headline Makes People Read Story
The endless grind of rumour, official/unofficial leaks, speculation, outright lies and cockteasing press releases that will squeeze any enthusiasm we have for the actual film long before it is ever released has started to pick up for Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Knight. Director Christopher Nolan, doing press for his new film The Prestige (starring Mr Batman Christian Bale, so look for more obfuscationary statements from him too) said some things about the still very far away movie. Read!
"It’s about things having to get worse before they get better."
"The title has been chosen very specifically. It’s quite important to the film."
"Yes. I would certainly point to The Killing Joke but I also would point very much to the first two appearances of the Joker in the comic. If you look at where the Joker comes from there’s a very clear direction that fits what we’re doing very well."
Take all of that exactly how you will. There's really not much actual information there, not that that will ever stop online movie sites from writing about it anyway. 'Things getting worse' points to the idea of 'escalation' hinted at the end of the first film, where the criminals (specifically a murderer who leaves a joker playing card on his victims) start getting gothically psychotic in response to Batman's appearance. Referencing the comic The Killing Joke, written by hairy god Alan Moore, about the Joker trying to send Commissioner Gordon mental by shooting his daughter, suggests that they are not suddenly going to go towards the day-glo camp of the 60's Joker or the 'I'm Jack, bitch' grandstanding of the '89 film.
Everything else is still up for grabs by attention seeking nerds making up rumours about Katie Holmes getting raped to death by Harley Quinn, the film being 'R' rated for realz and the return of the boingy fingers. The film is still two years away.
Source: Better Than Fudge Continue reading 'Batman' In Headline Makes People Read Story
Tits In PG Movies
Life is no fun anymore. The thrill is gone. Now that we're adults, the main reason for watching films - to see what we are not allowed to - has been cruelly taken from us and the world is hollow and grey. Well, we've found a way to get the thrill back: Tits in PG movies.
Needless to say, the following is NSFW.
King Kong: This was before the days of the MPAA and so something of a cheat, but its a classic, it's been played countlessly on saturday afternoon tv and it contains Fay Wray's tit coming out while swimming away from Skull Island. The black and white film-stock lowers the thrill, but the wetness compensates. (Thanks to Hammerhead at www.chud.com for the image. Positive rep for you!)
The Rescuers: The artists at Disney had to do something fun while animating rodents 20 hours a day and, as the chains made masturbation difficult, they put some tits into the background of this half forgotten cartoon.
Return of the Jedi: I know everyone is supposed to have turned heterosexual becuase of Leia's gold bikini, but the pan&scan videos most of us grew up with actually denied us the one genuinely sexy shot - of her sleeping on Jabba's belly - in favour of the muppet on the right hand side of the screen. What could not be denied us, however, is the nip-slip of the green dancing girl just before she is dropped down into the Rancor pit. The boob is green and the nipple possibly obscured by a pastie, but then who is to say what alien nipples look like? Either way, it makes the godawful musical number actually worth watching. Who says Lucas isn't a genius?
And the close up:
Diamonds are Forever: The Bond franchise's opening sequences are infamous cockteasers of naked ladies hiding their bits behind guns and blue filters, but the opening shot of Diamonds are Forever has Bond whipping the bra off a woman and trying to strangle her with it. Sex and violence together as God intended.
And the close up:
Logan's Run: Jenny Agutter was introduced to the movie world in The Railway Children, playing a very nice, plummy-voiced girl with a big hat. She then spent the next twenty years playing very nice, plummy-voiced girls who got their tits out (Walkabout, An American Werewolf in London), giving a generation of sweaty young men a fetish for recieved pronunciation. She even got them out in silly (yes it is) sci-fi movie Logan's Run. I am amazed Bryan Singer turned out gay.
The Outlaw Josey Wales: This is also kind of a cheat as everywhere else in the world gave the rape'n'death filled Josey a restrictive certificate. Not America though. America knew Clint meant it all in good fun and gave it a nice rough and tumble PG rating, ensuring it played on afternoon tv all through the 80's so parents, dismissing it as just another cowboys and indians flick, could let it babysit their kids while they popped valium.
Sheena: Here's the motherlode though. Sheena was the female Tarzan and, what with being one with nature and everything, bathed in the nude. Maybe the monkeys did her boob job.
DVD Invasion - Week Of 8/22/06
The Digital Versatile Disc has infiltrated and seized control of our world, much like the stealthy attack from extraterrestrials some have been anticipating for the past 60 years. The human race has been defeated by vastly superior technology and some keen marketing. How did we succumb to this new video menace so quickly and quietly? We didn't ask you to come here, you evil sons of bitches! Leave our hard-earned cash alone and go back where you came from!
Or stay. We've actually grown close to you and don't know what life would be like without you. We need you. You need us too, right? Please don't go Daddy! We'll die without you! Oh please, DON'T GO!
Lights fade. Curtain closes.
This concludes our hastily written one-act play, "Stockholm Syndrome in the Home Theater - Learning to Love Your DVD Masters Even Though They Won't Love You Back." Now on to the main feature...
Silent HillIf you've never played a video game before (Grandma, are you reading the site yet?) you probably won't want to start with any of the Silent Hill games. Speaking as a slightly older gamer, I missed out on every game and game system between the Super Nintendo and the PS2, the latter of which I only bought when I turned 30. My skills are not of the advanced sort, therefore Silent Hill 2 kicked my ass all over the living room. I was stumped and frustrated early and often, but I was also fairly scared to keep playing. Silent Hill 1-4 are absolutely horrifying games with progressively shocking visuals and terrific sound design. The storylines of any of the games would seem to translate easily to the silver screen. So why does the movie based on the game series fail to be even mildly scary? The creatures look menacing at times, and the gore is first rate in a few scenes. Why doesn't it work? My first reaction is that the linear nature of the games, which follows the pattern of "enter building", "be menaced/attacked by something", "escape/defeat the something", "find important clue" and "move to another building" does not provide the same visceral experience when repeated over and over in a movie. Without a game pad in my hands, that cyclical process couldn't maintain my interest. The muddled story and its timely but heavy-handed attack on religious fundamentalism don't help matters either. Radha Mitchell is pretty to look at and I suppose, to avoid a gender bias, Sean Bean is too. I just wanted to be able to joystick them off a cliff when I became bored, but I couldn't. Give it a rent. See if you hate my opinion.
Controller-throwing features include a six-part documentary called "Path of Darkness" that explores many aspects of the film, from the early conception through casting and creature design. And that's it. A commentary track might have been nice, but then it's probably a good thing that French Director Christophe Gans didn't torture our eardrums with his garbled English for two hours.
PoseidonHaha. This movie exists. Did it fool you? I hope not, but I know some of you go to movies without fully realizing the potentially ruinous encouragement you give to the studios to fund many more of these useless remakes. It's not your fault. You've been conditioned over many years to accept inferior entertainment choices, and some of the more dedicated souls among you still march faithfully to a theater once every week or so to watch whatever new movie looks the best. But let's get back to the movie at hand. I'll admit that I get a bit steamed at the idea of remaking a film just to update the special effects. After seeing the new, sparkly scene where the boat gets knocked over by a big wave, the need for a fresh take on this story goes bye-bye. Besides, the original was more about the power of teamwork in a crisis than flashy effects. You'd think Wolfgang Petersen would have learned his lesson about killer waves with his last shipwreck film, The Perfect Storm. I'm not even going to defend him by bringing up Das Boot. That was a long time ago, and no, it doesn't need to be remade.
The single disc edition pictured above comes with no special features. If you feel the need to look behind the scenes a little, there is also a two-disc edition available (take a look here) with a few featurettes and a History Channel documentary called "Rogue Waves" on the second disc. My advice would be to save a few dollars and buy the no-frills edition. Do you really need a featurette explaining how they built a bunch of upside-down sets?
Double Indemnity: Special EditionJust when I started developing a real appreciation for Director Billy Wilder and his bold filmography, this movie went out of print on DVD. I'm always unlucky like that. Now it's back in a more robust package, and thank the tree gods for that! Noir amateurs will do themselves no harm by starting here. Fred MacMurray stars as an insurance salesman who falls in lust with Barbara Stanwyck, a lonely married woman who just needs to find the right man. To help her kill her husband for the insurance money. Luckily, MacMurray sells insurance, hence his job title. I'm not really doing the film justice here. It is considered by many people to be the definitive suspense thriller, and was the direct inspiration for the overtly smutty 1981 Lawrence Kasdan film Body Heat, starring William Hurt and Kathleen Turner. Double Indemnity is absolutely worth your time.
Boiled pot features for this 2-disc set include two commentary tracks, one with film historian Richard Schickel and another with film historian/screenwriter Lem Dobbs and film historian Nick Redman (buy two film history certifications, get the third free), a "Shadows of Suspense" documentary and the 1973 Double Indemnity TV movie starring Richard Crenna.
Film GeekIs it still cool to brazenly compare your film to Napoleon Dynamite on the cover of your DVD? Was it ever? Besides a desperate attempt to move units, such a comparison instantly tells your audience that the film's main character is an unrepentant slave to his personality defects. Similarly, the term "geek" generally indicates the same type of aberrant behavior, for which the only known cure is the imposition of a female on one's geek lifestyle. The main character of Film Geek, Scotty Pelk, finds out as much when he is fired from his job at a video store. Scotty took one too many opportunities to tell his customers what movies they should be watching. How could he know that they just wanted a bit of cheap entertainment, not a life-altering experience? It's called basic socialization, you geek bastard. Most likely filled with lots of snappy film references and uncomfortable social situations, Film Geek is an award-winning (Independent Vision Award at the Sarasota Film Festival, bitches!) look at one dedicated film fan's life and loves. Okay, just that one love that he was lucky to get.
Peckinpah is SO the man features include outtakes, the short film "The Auteur", a behind-the-scenes featurette, a photo gallery, a theatrical trailer, some film notes and cast & crew bios.
Tromeo and Juliet: 10th Anniversary EditionThis is the probably the best film ever directed by Troma Studios' incorrigible sleaze merchant Lloyd Kaufman. In terms of objective quality, that's not saying much at all. But if you like tacky scenes filled with bad actors, bloody special effects and women with pierced mams, you'll find everything you need in this 2-disc anniversary edition. Troma's take on the well-worn Shakespearian love story is nowhere near a faithful adaptation, but the main points are adhered to in a basic way. I'll have to dig out my dusty copy of the original play, but I don't really remember Juliet engaging in hot lesbian love or being held naked in a cage to prevent her from hooking up with Romeo. Shakespeare was a total prude. The movie was co-written by James Gunn, director of the Dawn of the Dead remake and the recent splatterfest, Slither.
Like several other Troma releases, this set is packed tightly with extras, including:
* 4 audio commentaries featuring Writer James Gunn (SLITHER), Director Lloyd Kaufman, Actor Sean Gunn (GILMORE GIRLS), Editor Frank Reynolds, and Troma Staff Editor Gabriel Friedman
* 2 hours of brand-new interviews with crew and cast members, including Debbie Rochon (Ness), Tiffany Shepis (Peter), Sean Gunn (Sammy), Stephen Blackehart (Benny), Valentine Miele (Murray), and Lemmy (from Motorhead)
* Deleted scenes, including Ron Jeremy’s missing scene and a new featurette of James and Lloyd commenting on the missing scenes
* Recently unearthed rehearsal footage of Jane Jensen and Debbie Rochon
* "Getting Hostel With Hollywood" - James Gunn and Lloyd Kaufman visit Eli Roth’s birthday party
* "Slithering Through Hollywood: Extended Version" - A new longer version of Lloyd’s visit to the set of James Gunn’s SLITHER
* Fan reenactments of scenes from the film
* Classic Troma movie introductions and Troma’s Edge TV clips featuring the cast of TROMEO AND JULIET (including intros for SURF NAZIS MUST DIE, REDNECK ZOMBIES, and CANNIBAL! THE MUSICAL)
* "Where For Art Thou Now?" - A special update on what the surviving characters from the film are up to 10 years later.
Other probing engagements:
Continue reading DVD Invasion - Week Of 8/22/06
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Trailer: Bug
This is the trailer for a new psychological thriller, Bug. It's pretty boring and forgettable, which is horrid for a movie that purports itself to be "one of the most disturbing horror movies imaginable".
Considering that it's directed by William Friedkin (The Exorcist), I hope there's more to it than this. It stars Lynn Collins, Harry "I should stick to singing and Suncom commercials." Connick Jr., and Ashley Judd. We get it in December in a limited release.
Source: Yahoo Movies Continue reading Trailer: Bug
Eragon One Sheet
So here's the one sheet from one of the latest fantasy adaptations. One of our guys looked at it and pronounced it "gay". I do think that there's waaaay to much going on, but I like the look and the red sword being held by Eragon (Edward Speleers) is pretty cool.
The plot is your basic young boy finds dragon and uses it to defeat evil king (so sayeth IMDB). The book has gotten a lot of flak for being derivative, but it's a first fanatasy novel and was written by a 15 year old so that doesn't shock me. I love the look of the dragon that I see here and on the book cover, sort of east meets west. Just the poster alone doesn't sell it to me, but it does make me want to see more.
Pictured left to right (near as I can tell); Durza (Robert Carlyle), Ajihad (Djimon Hounsou), Brom (Jeremy Irons), Eragon (Edward Speleers), Arya (Sienna Guillory), Murtagh (Garrett Hedlund) and King Galbatorix (John Malkovich). That's a good mix of fresh faces and experience, but then Dungeons & Dragons had that too.
Source: ComingSoon Continue reading Eragon One Sheet
Out With It, Outhwaite!
I'm not sure what kind of name "Tamzin Outhwaite" is, but after feasting my eyes on those golden stems, I don't think I care. Woody Allen must've noticed too since Outhwaite has been cast in the writer/director's latest, currently shooting film.
Tamzin - who's starred in a bunch of stuff I've never seen or heard of - will join the likes of Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell as the "brassy blonde" in the yet to be titled comedy thriller. McGregor and Farrell play "feuding brothers forced to turn to crime to pay gambling debts."
Match Point was a wonderful little film, no question. It was a return to form of sorts for Allen and a reason for Allenites to give a collective sigh of relief that the once brilliant filmmaker still had some great left in him. And though I hear Scoop wasn't all that great, I also hear that it wasn't bad enough to make Match Point seem like a fluke. Thank goodness.
Source: Ananova, Dark Horizons Continue reading Out With It, Outhwaite!
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Dixie Chicks Doc
I love these ladies. They bring a heart to country that has been sorely lacking for the last couple of decades. And this is one person that lives in a red state that's hating the fallout from their statement about President Bush. A documentary about that has been picked up by the Weinstein Company. Shut Up and Sing will be released in the US this fall.
"Shut Up and Sing" will be the first doc in 14 years to screen as a Gala Presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival where it will have its world premiere next month. Produced by Kopple and Peck, the film is a presentation of Cabin Creek Films, and Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily Robison of The Dixie Chicks.
"At a time when Americans are divided between red and blue, rich and poor, immigrant and citizen, the Dixie Chicks and their music cross over many lines," said Kopple in a statement. "They are contemporary but rooted in tradition, strong yet vulnerable-- career women who are deeply connected to family. This film tells the story of these all-American women who refused to back down and in the process became even stronger."
This is just a hunch but I have a feeling that I'll have to hit the road to see it. Much like their concert venues I think this will be limited in scope due to how rednecks feel about them. It's a shame that in our country you can't say "George Bush sucks!" without being labeled as an America hater.
Source: IndieWire Continue reading Dixie Chicks Doc
Parker And Stone To Work With Real People
I'm not real big on the South Park thing, but some of the episodes I've seen have a second or two of the funny. Well its creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, will be bringing that sensibility to two live action films some time in 2008.
My All-American, written by Jeff Roda, will be a comedy taking place in a high school. Sounds riveting. What really does interest me is their second choice, Giant Monsters Attack Japan!. I love me a good rubber suited monster pic and by all accounts there won't be any CGI in sight. J.F. Lawton, writer of classics like Under Siege and Pretty Woman, will be putting fingers to keys for this.
Source: Variety Continue reading Parker And Stone To Work With Real People
Indy IV Talk
As a part of the celebration of Indy's 25th Anniversary (why does that make me feel my age?), Empire got a chance to talk to George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford about the new sequel. They don't really spin out anything useful, but it may be of interest to you.
"We're basically going to do The Phantom Menace", says Lucas (stay with him here, he's making a point). "People's expectations are way higher than you can deliver. You could just get killed for the whole thing...We would do it for fun and just take the hit with the critics and the fans...But nobody wants to get into it unless they are really happy with it."
The 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' situation has freed up an idea for a plot that was originally deemed too incendiary.
"I discovered a McGuffin," continues Lucas, still reluctant to name said McGuffin. "I told the guys about it and they were a little dubious about it, but it's the best one we've ever found... Unfortunately, it was a little too 'connected' for the others. They were afraid of what the critics would think. They said, 'Can't we do it with a different McGuffin? Can't we do this?' and I said 'No'. So we pottered around with that for a couple of years. And then Harrison really wanted to do it and Steve said, 'Okay'. I said, 'We'll have to go back to that original MacGuffin and take out the offending parts of it and we'll still use that area of the supernatural do deal with it'.
"Hopefully it will be different in all the right ways and the same in all the familiar ways," adds Spielberg.
As for timing, Lucas says that filming is scheduled for mid-2007, for a 2008 release but getting the gang back together is a tricky proposition. "Before I was just working with Steven and Harrison. Now everybody's a superstar, so it's a little bit more difficult than it was then". "But there's a good chance it will happen," assures Ford. "There are things left for this character to do".
Personally I think they need to let this franchise go. I mean we've seen what kind of Hell they unleashed with the PT. I don't want to go throught that again. I may have to give up the internet if they do. Maybe there are things for Indy to do, maybe not. If there were it should have been done years ago while these men still had juice.
Source: EmpireOnline Continue reading Indy IV Talk
The Big Screen: 8/22/06
Did you have fun this weekend, getting together a group of friends and going out to the theater to watch Snakes on a Plane? Did you lose yourself for a couple of hours in the communal experience of seeing a film on the big screen with a group of people who were really into the idea? Do you think it might be even more fun if you were all watching a good movie? Let's see what our options are for such an event in your town.
Los Angeles:
The American Cinematheque presents B-Movie mogul Roger Corman in person for three nights of triple features at The Egyptian Theater in Hollywood! Favorites like Little Shop of Horrors, Bucket of Blood, Not of This Earth, Attack of the Crab Monsters and my wife's favorite, The Wasp Woman, will screen alongside obscurities like The Intruder (aka I Hate Your Guts), a 1962 drama starring William Shatner "as a racist agitator going from town to town in the South to foment tension against newly-court-ordered school desegregation."Meanwhile, at The Aero in Santa Monica, rock documentaries covering everyone from Bob Dylan (both the D.A. Pennebaker doc Don't Look Back and Scorsese's No Direction Home) to Harry Nillson.
At The New Beverly Cinema, you can catch Joss Whedon's Serenity tonight in a double feature with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Come on, Serenity just needs to make another $15 million to justify a sequel! THERE'S STILL HOPE! Wednesday and Thursday, it's a gooey, squishy double feature of David Cronenberg, with Crash and Videodrome. Friday and Saturday, Carol Reed's The Fallen Idol plays with Michael Powell's Peeping Tom, and Sunday through Tuesday, everyone's favorite emo pain-boy, James Dean, does his thing in Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden.
On Saturday night, Cinespia will be screening the L.A. classic Chinatown at Hollywood Forever Cemetary, an evening of film "above and below the stars."
The Nuart's midnight show this Friday will be a collection of interesting short films from around the world. And Saturday at midnight, check out A Clockwork Orange for the 10 billionth time at The Rialto in South Pasadena (where Tim Robbins killed that dude in The Player!).
Down in El Segundo, The Old Town Music Hall has Rudolph Valentino all week, accompanied by their vintage Wurlitzer pipe organ. Just don't leave your wallet!
And in Long Beach, you can see the original Poseidon Adventure on The Queen Mary as part of the Rolling Roadshow Tour. Well, you can if you manage to win tickets from KRTH-101, anyway.
New York City:
MoMA continues its tribute to The Huston Clan with 14 more films involving John, Walter, Danny and Anjelica, including The Grifters, The Maltese Falcon, the ultra-rare Freud, and one of my personal favorites, Night of the Iguana, featuring Richard Burton and Ava Gardner (Ava wearing a cajun accent) spitting Tennessee Williams dialogue at each other in a remote Mexican hotel.
Friday and Saturday at the Museum of the Moving Image, it's your chance to see the original 1954 Godzilla as it was shown in Japan, with more horror and less Raymond Burr. New 35mm print, newly translated subtitles. They have lots of other interesting, artsy, foreign films playing, too. Go get yourself cultured.
Philedelphia:
At The International House on Friday there's a screening of Kill Your Idols, a documentary about the New York Lower East Side No Wave Noise Rock Scene. And on Saturday, Exhumed Films presents an Italian Giallo double feature, with Dario Argento's Four Flies on Grey Velvet and Sergio Martino's They're Coming to Get You.
San Francisco:
Tonight at The Castro, one of my favorite films of all time, Jacques Tati's almost-silent comic masterpiece Playtime, in a restored 70mm print! I can't describe the beauty of this balletic comedy. It's one of the most purely cinematic films you'll ever experience. GO SEE IT! The 70mm festival continues through the week with It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and Titanic. And Friday, an unspeakably masochistic midnight movie TRIPLE FEATURE of bad, 80's computer/robot sex comedies: Heartbeeps, Weird Science and Joysticks. The rest of the weekend is taken up with some sort of Beatles event.On Saturday night, The Netflix Rolling Roadshow rolls into the Bay, with a screening of Clint Eastwood in Escape from Alcatraz, in the very cellblock from which Eastwood's character escaped. Unfortunately, you can't buy tickets for this event. You have to try to win them from the radio station, KFRC.
Cleveland:
The Cleveland Institute of Art hosts an ongoing series of screenings. This weekend's programs include Andre Tarkovsky's metaphysical scifi flim Stalker, Jean Renoir's satire Boudo Saved From Drowning, and visual artist Matthew Barney's follow-up to his insane Cremaster cycle, Drawing Restraint (a collaboration with Icelandic weirdo Bjork).
Austin:
As always, insane happenings at The Alamo Drafthouse: Strange Brew with free beer, Point Break with live commentary by The Sinus Show, Prayer of the Roller Boys with live heckling by the audience, and the event that I, as a garlic lover, find most interesting, a five-course, garlic-soaked meal accompanying a documentary about garlic. I've never been to The Alamo, but you know, it would actually be worth living in Texas to go to some of these shows.
A Clockwork Orange Trading Card courtesy of: Bubblegum Fink Continue reading The Big Screen: 8/22/06
Monday, August 21, 2006
Truth In Advertising
Marlon Wayans will be directing, producing, developing, starring in and providing craft service for Pretty Ugly. DreamWorks who has no sense of smell, but knows dollar signs when it sees it, has given this the go ahead.
The story of "a handsome lifestyle mogul who wakes up hideously ugly because of a curse. As a result he must discover his inner beauty to save his company and win over the woman he loves. The project originated at DreamWorks and then was picked up by Walt Disney Pictures. It went into turnaround and recently returned to DreamWorks where studio execs warmed to Wayans fresh take. Wayans and DreamWorks creative exec John Fox had met on the set of Eddie Murphy's upcoming "Norbit," in which Wayans has a cameo. The two discussed the project which was the basis of "Pretty Ugly's" re-emergence at DreamWorks."
Sounds like a big old yawner to me, but probably light years ahead of Little Man. If I cared at all I'd probably be concerned by the table tennis that's occurred with it, but I don't so I'm not.
Source: Hollywood Reporter Continue reading Truth In Advertising
Karl Urban To Become Synonymous With Vikings
Karl Urban played Eomer, a character of somewhat Nordic influence in Lord of the Rings. He will also be playing a Viking raised by Indians in next year's Pathfinder.
And now, Urban is in talks to topline Outlander, "an adventure about a man from another galaxy who crash-lands on Earth at the time of the Vikings, bringing with him an alien predator."
So... what's with the car model names for film titles?
I love Urban. I think the man has a certain look (kinda like a Brad Pitt) and a kind of intensity (similar to a Christian Bale) that's cobbled together with some pretty decent acting chops that really make him an actor to look at. And apparently he is being looked at, what with his attachments to some conceivably large budget films with him as a topliner. Good for him."Howard McCain is helming from his own screenplay, which he co-wrote with Dirk Blackman. Patrick Tatopoulos (I, Robot, Godzilla) will serve as creature creator."
I would hope for a name change, and that might happen still, especially after Pathfinder either tanks or blows up (of which I think the former is probably more likely). But in any event, this flick is being called the Weinstein's "epic sci-fi creature feature". Until we get more info down the pike, all I can say is that I don't mind looking forward to more Predatoresque shenanigans, provided this Howard McCain (of No Dessert, Dad, Till You Mow the Lawn fame) can deliver the goods.
Outlander begins principal photography in Canada on October 9th. The Mitsubishi Outlander is available in car dealerships right now.
Source: Dark Horizons, Production Weekly Continue reading Karl Urban To Become Synonymous With Vikings
Weekend Box Office: $nakes On A Plane?
Not if Will Ferrell had anything to do with it...
The Top Ten:
1.) Talladega Nights - $14,100,000 (Weekend), $114,686,000 (Total)
2.) Snakes on a Plane - $13,850,000 (Weekend), $15,250,000 (Total)
3.) World Trade Center - $10,800,000 (Weekend), $45,005,000 (Total)
4.) Accepted - $10,112,000 (Weekend), $10,112,000 (Total)
5.) Step Up - $9,867,000 (Weekend), $39,448,000 (Total)
6.) Barnyard - $7,489,000 (Weekend), $45,995,000 (Total)
7.) Little Miss Sunshine - $5,675,000 (Weekend), $12,756,000 (Total)
8.) POTC: Dead Man's Chest - $5,012,000 (Weekend), $401,053,000 (Total)
9.) Material Girls - $4,620,000 (Weekend), $4,620,000 (Total)
10.) Pulse - $3,528,000 (Weekend), $14,704,000 (Total)
Well, for one, you know you're in the dregs of the Summer season when your number one film wins with only $14 million. Now, if you're New Line Cinema on Snakes on a Plane's second place outing, you're wondering, "But but, we GOT the joke! Didn't we???". No, my New Line peeps, you didn't really. But don't fret. Neither did most of the internet.
What does this mean for eagerly anticipated sequels/prequels such as Snakes on the Moon, Snakes in a Lighthouse, or Snakes on Stacy Keach? DIRECT. TO. VIDEO. No one's really asking for more. Really.
I wanted to make a lame joke about how Accepted wasn't really, but I guess it did do somewhat moderate business. Oh well. Lame jokes for another time. Expect it to vanish soon with very little whimpers from the peanut gallery. Lame jokes for another time.
Material Girls did a whole lot of nothing except confirm to me that I'm not really a Duff man.
And Pirates of the Carribean finally crosses the $400 million barrier, meaning all involved probably own small to large islands in places much nicer than my own.
Next week continues the onslaught of mediocre and/or "Which movie is that?" movies with the Mark Wahlberg footballer Invincible, drunken tomfoolery and German jokes in Beerfest, the one-two hottness punch of Elisha Cuthbert and Camilla Belle in The Quiet, and the eating of fried worms in How to Eat Fried Worms. Also, the musical Idlewild, which I actually think looks kinda interesting.
Source: Various Continue reading Weekend Box Office: $nakes On A Plane?
