Who knew that thing came equipped with missiles?

1 comment October 19th, 2009

From the Register Star’s own Chris Soprych, here’s a great mash-up (as the kids say) of that balloon video from last week and a certain Tom Cruise movie that features the song “Danger Zone.” Enjoy!

Collect ‘em all!

2 comments October 5th, 2009

Links to these cards have been bouncing all over the interwebs recently, but I couldn’t resist sharing them here — they’re movie-oriented, sarcastic and just plain odd. Courtesy of the Automatic Life Dispenser, here are a few “Improbable Movie Trading Cards”….

See more cards — including a great Anton Chigurh sticker — at Automatic Life Dispenser.

Yikes!

Add comment September 22nd, 2009

Via Tim Burton JP (what appears to be a Japanese Tim Burton fan site) by way of Cinematical, here’s a horrifying glimpse of a costume test from Tim Burton’s ill-fated SUPERMAN LIVES movie that was to star Nicolas Cage.

Once you glimpse the fake Cage in the costume, you’ll be glad it was ill-fated. Very glad.

Mickey Rooney meets Twitter: ‘It’s not … wholesome!’

2 comments August 26th, 2009

Via a link on Hollywood Elsewhere, here’s a short clip of Ben Stiller explaining the concept of Twitter to Mickey Rooney.

 I have to say, I pretty much agree with the Mick on this one — except for that bizarre “don’t hit ‘er, twitter” gag at the end. What’s up with that, Mick?

The (very) dark side of SIXTEEN CANDLES

1 comment August 10th, 2009

I was out of town last week, which I why I didn’t post anything about the death of writer/director John Hughes, who had a heart attack Thursday in New York at the age of 59. But while channel surfing last night, I stumbled upon the end of Hughes’ 1984 movie SIXTEEN CANDLES, which Encore was showing as part of some thrown-together tribute to the director. (It was followed by WEIRD SCIENCE, a movie that is, let’s be honest, so bad it’s virtually unwatchable.)

But back to SIXTEEN CANDLES: I caught the last 20 minutes or so, and oddly enough, had been having a conversation over breakfast at a comic book convention about one of those scenes. If you recall, in the movie, the Geek (Anthony Michael Hall) wakes up the next morning in the back seat of the rich kid’s parents’ Rolls. Seated next to him is the rich kid’s girlfriend (Haviland Morris), and after a few minutes of awkward/comedic conversation, it’s established that they’ve, you know, “done it.” The problem is the last time we saw them, she was literally passed out drunk, having been “given” to the Geek by the rich kid, who was (a) angry about her behavior and (b) smitten with the star of the movie, Molly Ringwald.

In other words, this heartwarming, beloved, criticially acclaimed, endlessly-watched-by-generations of teens movie ends with the loveable geek raping the class beauty — and she’s grateful. At the time, no one seemed to notice. Now, watching it a quarter century later, it’s all I could notice. And it gives the movie a creepy, unnerving feeling, no matter how many hits of the ’80s are played over the end credits.

Almost the same thing happens in REVENGE OF THE NERDS, by the way. Clearly, it was a tough time to be the class beauty.

Now here’s a bit of civic statuary I wholeheartedly support

Add comment July 30th, 2009

I had this same poster hanging over my bed in college. No kidding.

Juliet Wayne wants to see a statue in Philadelphia that honors a genuine local icon, and she makes a strong case. Here’s the beginning of her impassioned argument:

Philadelphia has a problem with its statuary: we build lavish monuments to to the wrong people while letting the right ones go unmarked. We have statues of people who polarized us (Frank Rizzo), who could have cared less about us (Charles Dickens) or who never existed (Rocky Balboa). Meanwhile, we overlook people who logged real time here and did great things.

This problem has a solution: put a big-ass statue of the title character from the movie ERASERHEAD, directed by former Philadelphia resident David Lynch, at the corner of 13th and Wood.

That’s where Lynch lived for several years in the 1970s as an unhappy undergraduate at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. But if you’ve seen any of his films, particularly ERASERHEAD, it is obvious that the city deeply inspired him, which he recalls through “vivid images—plastic curtains held together with Band-Aids, rags stuffed in broken windows, walking through the morgue en-route to a hamburger joint.”

I couldn’t agree more. In fact, if such a statue were erected, I would make a pilgrimage to Philadelphia to see it. Right there, that’s a couple of hundred tourist dollars in the city coffers.

Here’s the rest of Wayne’s essay, which has the straightforward title “David Lynch Must Be Honored in Philadelphia with a Giant Monument to the Guy From Eraserhead. For Real.

That guy, incidentally, was named “Henry.” He was played by the late Jack Nance, who also had roles in other Lynch projects, including TWIN PEAKS and BLUE VELVET.

Sometimes, movie fans can be a little too dedicated

Add comment July 15th, 2009

Police investigate the scene of an explosion outside a Starbucks coffee shop May 25 on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The explosion damaged windows and a chair, but there were no injuries. (Stan Honda /AFP-Getty Images)

After the movie FIGHT CLUB opened in 1999, there were occasional reports of actual fight clubs, where fans would pummel each other senseless in an obvious attempt to miss the entire point of the movie. Now, 10 years later, someone has been inspired by another scene in the film. From an Associated Press story at MSNBC.com…

A 17-year-old mimicking Brad Pitt’s FIGHT CLUB character, who plans attacks on corporate America, masterminded a blast outside a Starbucks Coffee shop on Memorial Day, police said Wednesday.

And why did he try to blow up a Starbucks on New York’s Upper East Side? Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly explains:

Shaw apparently told at least one friend to “watch the news over Memorial Day” because he was about to launch his own version of “project mayhem,” Kelly said. … Police say the suspect picked the site because a Starbucks was a target in the movie. It wasn’t clear why the specific coffee shop was chosen. There are dozens around the city.

Technically speaking, Starbucks was not a target in the movie — it was just a very Starbucks-looking coffee establishment, and the Project Mayhem members rolled a giant piece of public art through the front door; they didn’t blow it up. They did, however, blow up several skyscrapers at the end of the movie. So let’s hope Shaw isn’t that dedicated a FIGHT CLUB fan.

And speaking of FIGHT CLUB fans, does anyone remember this guy? Seems like he was taking the scene in the movie where the Project Mayhem crew burns a smiley face on a skyscraper and enlarging it to a national scale.

Great Fight Scenes: Bollywood

Add comment July 14th, 2009

If you’ve seen SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE and think you’ve seen a Bollywood movie, think again. These wildly popular Indian films have an over-the-top style that combines wild action, bold emotions and elaborate musical numbers. Here, to give you the briefest taste, is a clip from a movie that I don’t know the name of — but will nevertheless never forget.

Be sure to stick around for the big finish…

Courtesy of Nik Dirga’s Spatula Forum

The craziest STAR WARS news you’ll hear all day

Add comment July 13th, 2009

From Sci Fi Squad.com….

 In an effort to do something unexpected and pretty cool, tech-geek Casey Pugh has assembled a project that will allow hundreds of fans to take part in a giant fan-made Star Wars remake, DIY style. Pugh has broken up Star STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE into 15-second clips, and asked folks to claim up to three clips per person. Once fans have selected their clips, it’s off to the races — with each person (or group) responsible for re-creating their 15-second clip in any way they see fit. Once all the clips are done and sent to Pugh, he’ll piece them together into one final (and probably hilarious) finished film.

It’s too late to claim a clip — they’ve all been taken – but Pugh says he’s working out a way to get everyone involved who wants to be. Sure, this could be a fan-fueled mishmash of bad sci-fi filmmaking, or it could be the greatest movie ever made. Just like the original one was, 32 years ago.

Remember, today’s date is July 6. Not — I repeat NOT — April 1

Add comment July 6th, 2009

TJ HOOKER is becoming a movie.

 It’s true. Variety has the scoop.

Chuck Russell  (THE SCORPION KING, THE MASK) is in talks to direct. The writing team of Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson will script the story, which focuses on the relationship between the title character and his father.

According to the story, “No actors have been cast yet for the feature,” but I think it’s safe to assume that original star William Shatner (along with co-stars Adrian Zmed and Heather Locklear) will not be squeezing back into the police uniforms for this movie. Though I’m sure they’ll be used in some sort of “ironic” cameo.

Personally, the only way I’d see this movie is if Shatner played both himself and his own father. Now there’s a concept huge enough for the big screen!