Things sure are funny in the Great White North

4 comments July 31st, 2008

Check out these clever posters for the Canadian Film Fest that give classic Hollywood images a distinctly Canadian twist.

THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN isn’t making many stops … but we’re one of them

2 comments July 31st, 2008

According to Cinematical.com, the new horror flick THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN is only opening on 100 screens this weekend. That’s sort of strange, but even stranger is the fact that all those theaters are second-run houses. And even stranger than that is that one of those houses is our very own North Towne Theater.

Based on a story by horror writer Cliver Barker, THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN follows a photographer who explores the subways of New York City and encounters a nasty character called “The Butcher” who preys on unwitting passengers. It looks like a genuinely grim and gory movie, as the title seems to indicate. Reviews are surprisingly good — if you like this sort of movie, you’ll probably like THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN.

So this post is for you, horror movie fans — check out MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN this weekend. If it’s only playing on 100 screens nationwide, there are probably a lot of other gorehounds all over this great land of ours who wish they had a chance to see it.

What’s up with the Woodman?

Add comment July 31st, 2008

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Duane Dudek has an interesting interview with Woody Allen over at his blog. Among the revelations: Allen still uses the same Olympia portable typewriter he bought when he was 16.

“I know how it works, “Dudek quotes Woody as saying. I know its ins and outs. I don’t do the kind of typing a stenographer does. Where a computer comes in handy. And I can type fast. I’m perfectly happy with a typewriter. Only it’s getting harder and harder to find ribbons for it.”

Allen’s next movie, VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA, stars Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson, and opens in August. But I’m more interested in his next movie, which is titled WHATEVER WORKS and stars comic genius Larry David (he of SEINFELD and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM fame). Woody’s recent comedies have been so-so, but a jolt of David’s patented dark humor might be just what the Woodman ordered.

The movie’s not due out til next year, but here’s a photo of Woody and Larry on location. I like how, even talking with one the legends of film comedy, Larry still looks skeptical about the whole thing.

I’m glad someone had the guts to tackle this issue!

4 comments July 30th, 2008

The political cartoonist at THE ONION is the only one willing to address the touchy topic of DVDs replacing VHS tapes…

In all seriousness, is there a single advantage of tapes over discs? You can argue LPs are better than CDs, but DVDs seem to have it over tapes in every way: better picture, easier use, more bonus features — heck, they’re even smaller and easier to store. Whenever I actually have to put a tape into my DVD/VCR, I can’t believe I’m dealing with such archaic technology. It feels like I’m turning the crank on a Model T!

 Of course, now we have to replace them all with Blu-Rays. D’oh!

Why so serious, Mr. Taylor?

1 comment July 30th, 2008

The Associated Press reports that police in Three River, Mich., have arrested Spencer Taylor, 20. The charge? “Larceny and malicious destruction of property.” More specifically, he was stealing DARK KNIGHT movie posters from a theater lobby.

So why did this extremely minor crime make the national wire service? Probably because Taylor was dressed like this:

Wanna see that new Harry Potter trailer?

1 comment July 29th, 2008

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE doesn’t hit theaters until Nov. 21, but there’s no reason not to fire up the hype machine now. In fact, as things stand, this might be the only movie that has a chance of chasing THE DARK KNIGHT out of theaters.

Here’s a link to the trailer. (I’d try posting a You Tube version, but it’d probably just get yanked, and plus, it wouldn’t have the crisp clarity of this version. So go ahead, click. You know you want to.) Not a lot of Harry, but plenty of Dumbledore — and even more of the creepiest kid who ever lived. That’s him, up there. And he doesn’t get any better with age.

He’s back. Who cares?

3 comments July 29th, 2008

Here, in case you’re curious, is the poster for the upcoming remake of FRIDAY THE 13TH. As you can see, they spent a lot of time writing the copy…

 

I suppose the producers saw all the money those SAW movies make every year and said “Heck, how much could a new hockey mask and machete cost? We could make a fortune.” Personally, I couldn’t care less about a new FRIDAY THE 13TH movie (or, in all likelihood, series), but never underestimate the desire for teenagers to see kids their age get killed in imaginative and interesting ways. I can’t explain it, but I don’t dispute it.

 Anyone interested in another round with Jason?

Will the Bat sink the Titanic?

3 comments July 28th, 2008

It’s possible, according to a story that made the AP wire today.

THE DARK KNIGHT earned a whopping $75.6 million over its second weekend, giving it an even more whopping $314.2 million for its first 10 days, setting a record for the fastest film ever to top the $300 million mark.

Warner Bros. predicts THE DARK KNIGHT will top the $400 million mark in 18 days, and the AP story quotes Warner exec Dan Fellman  as saying, “I don’t know how far beyond that we can go, but certainly $500 million seems within reach.”

That, my friends, is big money, even in this era of $100 million-plus opening weekends. It tops the second highest-grossing movie of all time (my beloved STAR WARS, which stands at the $461 million mark) and puts THE DARK KNIGHT in sight of the all-time champ, TITANIC, which stands on top with $601 million.

Coming up in the next few weeks are that MUMMY sequel, Kevin Costner’s SWING VOTE, the war movie spoof TROPIC THUNDER and the dopey action comedy PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. Some of them look pretty good (especially TROPIC THUNDER), but none of them look like the sort of movie that’s likely to knock Batman off his perch. All the other comic book and big adventure-type movies — IRON MAN, THE HULK, HELLBOY, INDIANA JONES, etc — have already arrived in theaters, and the only one people seem to be talking about is THE DARK KNIGHT.

Heck, I finally saw it Saturday night, and I wouldn’t mind seeing it again.

Whatever happened to Senator Blutarsky anyway?

Add comment July 28th, 2008

It was 30 years ago today — today exactly, in fact — that NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ANIMAL HOUSE arrived in theaters. It’s success led to decades of dumb, dopey, crude, crass comedies, but ANIMAL HOUSE was — and remains — a razor sharp satire not just of college life, but of life in general. And it’s damned funny, too.

ANIMAL HOUSE had perfect timing, hitting movie screens just when the youngest boomers were looking for a comedy to call their own, and the oldest Gen-Xers (yours truly included) were just starting to consider the concept of sneaking into R-rated movies. ANIMAL HOUSE was also lucky enough to be written by some budding comic geniuses (Doug Kenney and Chris Miller of NATIONAL LAMPOON magazine, plus Harold Ramis), directed by a young goofball willing to try anything (John Landis) and starring SNL’s John Belushi and a cast of young talents, including Kevin Bacon, Tom Hulce, Tim Matheson and Bruce McGill (who seems to be in every movie made these days).

It also was lucky enough to have John Vernon as Dean Vernon Wormer, one of the all-time great movie villains. Most comedies — especially the dumb, dopey, crude, crass comedies that followed in ANIMAL HOUSE’s wake — make their villains silly straw men, too dumb or weak to pose any real threat, but Wormer is different. He’s as clever as our heroes and twice as nasty. When he smiles and tells them that he’s notified their draft boards of their impending expulsions, it’s a great villainous moment.

So here, in honor of the 30th anniversary of the time our beloved Delta Tau Delta laid waste to the streets of Faber, is Otter’s defense of his brothers before the student court. I’d say it ranks among the all-time classic courtroom scenes:

And here, for further reading courtesy of the excellent movie blog Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule, is a link to a series of columns Mark Metcalf — aka Douglas C. Neidermeyer — wrote, interviewing his ANIMAL HOUSE co-stars. Surprisingly, he remains close to his old onscreen tormentee, Stephen Furst (aka Flounder).

Friday morning movies: TRON in cardboard

Add comment July 25th, 2008

According to a report from this week’s San Diego Comicon, the long-awaited (like, say, for 26 years) sequel to TRON is finally in the works, and some “surprise footage” was screened for fans at the show. If you ask me, the biggest surprise is that star Jeff Bridges is returning. Otherwise, that footage hasn’t found its way to the Web yet. (Come one, cell phone pirates — you’re letting me down!) So, instead of film from TRON 2, here’s a homemade clip inspired by the original TRON — the famous lightcycle chase, re-enacted via cardboard.