Archive for October, 2008
October 22nd, 2008
Via Cinematical, here’s a You Tube clip of the segment from Spike TV’s “Scream Awards” where director Zack Snyder and members of the cast of WATCHMEN shared a few more scenes from the movie. If you’re familiar with the original comic book, you should recognize plenty of moments (the tank coming apart, the giant hand coming through the ceiling and, of course, the smiley face badge falling to Earth)…
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/o5EXW2-Fj9Q" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
October 21st, 2008
With the new James Bond movie, QUANTUM OF SOLACE, opening in a few weeks, the interwebs are full of Bond-related articles. Here’s a good one from (appropriately) the Times Online, with Bond fan Nigel Kendall listing some of the worst moments in Bond movie history. And he nails my favorite Bad Bond Moment, which occurs in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE:
“How do you turn a strapping 6ft Scot and former Mr Universe contestant into a convincing Japanese citizen for YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE? Easy. With a local wife, two plastic oriental eyepieces and one of Bruce Forsyth’s old wigs, Bond can now blend unnoticed into his new life as a humble Japanese fisherman.”
Otherwise, it’s a good movie. But Sean Connery pretending to be Japanese? Oh, James!
October 21st, 2008
Over at his thoughtful Cinema Styles blog, Jonathan Lapper reveals why zombie movies are so scary, and it has nothing to do with the fact that they want to eat you. He asks what’s scarier, the single monster or the pack?
“I vote for the pack. A single panther on the hunt is scary, like the hunter of the PREDATOR movies, but can be defeated with a plan. A wolf pack however must be outlasted. There is no plan other than destroy, destroy some more, and keep destroying. Hopefully, before you die of exhaustion you will have destroyed them all. If not, you’re dead.”
That’s why people who think the slow-moving zombies in the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (the movie Lapper is discussing) and DAWN OF THE DEAD aren’t a threat are wrong. (Dead wrong, har har har.) It’s not their speed that makes them a threat, it’s their sheer numbers. Sure, you might be able to outrun one, or two, or even a dozen. But what happens when you’re surrounded by a hundred zombies? A thousand? A million?
I’ll tell you what happens: Their number, whatever it is, is about to increase by one. And that, my friends, is what’s scary about slow-moving zombies. They don’t have to run.
They have all the time in the world.
October 20th, 2008
 [kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/vfDXlgmKFyU" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
There’s a fascinating article about this bit of moviegoing lore over at the Movie Morlocks blog. Did you know it was produced down the road at Chicago-based Filmack studios? It’s true!
It does my heart proud to know that, in 2000, this short film was inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry, where it sits alongside such classics as CITIZEN KANE, GONE WITH THE WIND and DR. STRANGELOVE.
October 20th, 2008
… the 1989 obscurity THINGS! Here’s the video review (with selected clips!)…
[flashvideo filename=”http://www.rrstar.com/multimedia/x270972469/Movie-Man-Whats-the-worst-movie-ever/@@download.flv” /]
And here’s the write-up.
Feel free to try and top it, but I don’t think it’s possible. At least, I hope it’s not.
October 17th, 2008
ISLAND OF LOST SOULS is one of the great horror movies of the 1930s, with a startling starring performance by Charles Laughton and a genuinely creepy premise: the not-so-good doctor is creating his own army of beast men by giving the animals on his island a boost up the evolutionary ladder.
Trouble is, the movie’s not available on DVD, and it only shows up rarely on Turner Classic Movies or Fox Movie Classics. But here, just to whet your appetite, is the original trailer…
[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/sHRqhEPQFkA” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
October 16th, 2008
Yes, really.
Here’s the (bloody, rusty, serrated) scoop from Leonard Pierce over at Nerve.com:
“No, we’re not kidding: there really is going to be such a thing as SAW: The Ride. Based on the depressingly popular torture-porn horror series, it’s set to open at Surrey’s Thorpe Park in Britain in March of 2009. Alleged to be the first roller-coaster to be based on a horror movie, the ride features a 100-foot vertical drop in free fall, which is so scary that it induced SAW producers Lionsgate to release a suicide-inducing press release claiming that ” SAW: The Ride is a reflection of how thoroughly the Saw franchise has crossed over into pop culture at large.” The rides will evoke the nausea-inspiring horror caused by serial killer Jigsaw as he systematically murders people for your amusement. Bring the kids!”
October 16th, 2008
The new issue of ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY offers the first glimpse of the upcoming STAR TREK movie, directed and produced by J.J. Abrams. I’ve enjoyed the TREK movies, but never watched the TV show much — and yes, I realize that severly diminishes any geek cred I may have. See, I’ve always been a STAR WARS fan first and foremost … and so, it turns out, has Abrams:
“I preferred a more visceral experience,” he tells Entertainment Weekly in its latest issue, on newsstands Friday. Abrams took on the “Star Trek” project in hopes of creating a film “that grabbed me the way ‘Star Wars’ did,” he says.
Though the movie (due in 2009) focuses on the Enterprise crew during their early days, Leonard Nimoy will make a cameo as an older Spock. William Shatner, however, will not appear as Kirk. Abrams said the scene they wrote didn’t feel right, and Shatner nixed the idea of a mere cameo. Oh well.
Here’s the cover of the issue, with Zachary Quinto as Spock and Chris Pine as Kirk. I’m not sure if it’s the makeup, the printing or some behind-the-scenes Photoshopping, but don’t they look way too smooth?
October 16th, 2008
With Oliver Stone’s Bush biopic W. opening in theaters this weekend, a number of Web sites have Stone-related content. The Onion AV Club has an interview with the man himself, and the Museum of the Moving Image site has thoughtful essays on three of his films: BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY, JFK and NIXON.
As someone who considers JFK one of the very best films of the 1990s but doesn’t necessarily agree with the conspiracy thesis at its heart, I especially enjoyed this point made my Kevin B. Lee and Matt Zoller Seitz in their piece:
From the opening newsreel Stone presents a myth, one that pervades this stage of his career: government as oppressive patriarch, motivated largely by military and capitalistic interests and operating largely out of view of a public blinkered by patriotic propaganda. This government, Stone asserts, treats its subjects like children. But JFK goes further to reach a darker conclusion concerning the effects of a nation denied access to reality. When the government hides the true story and treats its citizenry like children, the children are bound to make up their own stories.
People who dismiss JFK because they think Stone’s conspiracy theory is the bunk are missing the point: The movie is a collection of theories, with Costner’s character descending deeper and deeper into the dark side of modern American history. He’s like a classic film noir detective character who keeps learning things he’d be better off knowing as he tries to solve a crime (in this case, a very big crime.) As directed by Stone, JFK is a brilliant collage of images that creates a nightmarish funhouse full of mirror images, hidden passages and dead ends.
Is it true? Probably not. But then again, neither is the Warren Commission report.
October 15th, 2008
Apparently, director Guy Ritchie and ’80s singer Madonna are getting a divorce after nearly eight years of marriage. According to reports, the couple is worth more than $500 million, and most of that comes from Madonna’s side of the bank account.
Before they hooked up, Ritchie was best known as the director of such cult hits (but not blockbusters) as LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS and SNATCH. Since their marriage, Ritchie has released 2005’s REVOLVER (which got terrible reviews and died at the box office) this year’s ROCKNROLLA (slightly better reviews, still dead at the B.O) and, of course, the 2002 “comedy” SWEPT AWAY which (a) starred his wife, (b) died at the box office, and (c) got a whopping FIVE PERCENT score over at Rotten Tomatoes. (To put this in perspective, that’s the exact same score the Paris Hilton movie THE HOTTIE & THE NOTTIE received.
So what’s my point? My point is this: Now that Ritchie and Madonna are headed for splitsville, maybe Ritchie can go back to making movies people — and by that I mean me, specifically — want to see. He’s currently filming a Sherlock Holmes movie with Robert Downey Jr., so maybe this’ll be something interesting, something that showcases his distinct talents. I’m not saying LOCK, STOCK and SNATCH are great art, but they are imaginative crime movies that put some invigorating twists on the old genre.Â
Just check out this card game from LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS, where our hero realizes he’s made a horrible mistake and The Stooges’ song “I Wanna Be Your Dog” kicks in on the soundtrack. The feeling of the world slipping out from under his feet is palpable, and the music is the perfect accompaniment. It’s one of the best uses of a pop song I’ve ever seen in a movie…
[kml_flashembed movie="http://uk.youtube.com/v/tyASsU1Wg4Y" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
… and I want to see more stuff like that. C’mon, Guy — time to get back to work.Â
Next Posts
Previous Posts
