Live From The Independents Hall Anniversary Party

Me and Garrett are sitting here, free drinks in hand, at the Independents Hall Anniversary party. Basically, we're trying to get our name out there and get some face time with the local blogging community. Garrett says, "We are having a great time with some great friends.". I'm just excited about the free drinks right now. More to come later...

An Open Call to /filmcast: Week 2!

That's right, I said I'd post once a week about this, and I intend to. I want to be a guest on the /filmcast! We're huge fans of the show, we get a lot of our news from you guys, and I love to talk. Sign me up!

Also, /film's Peter Sciretta is going on a 28 day trek around the world to visit 3 film festivals - Toronto, Tulluride, and Fantastic Fest. He's blogging the whole thing through videos and posts, and on day 2, things are already exciting. Check out, at the very least, the last of these videos, featuring firstshowing's Alex Billington as the angry google hater and Peter Sciretta as the film geek with an unhealthy fear of rickety old bridges. This is a really cool idea and I'm excited to see what comes of this crazy journy. We'll be watching!

New Reitman movie!

I loved his dad, and now Jason Reitman is making a name for himself along the same lines as his father. He's got two acclaimed comedies under his belt, each with a little more brains and a little less insane than Ivan's work, and his next project sounds like a perfect fit. It's called Up in the Air, and its the story of a business man obsessed with getting a million frequent flyer miles. It's based on a book by the author of Thumbsucker, which was made into a decent little indy flick as well. Apparantly Clooney is in talks to star, which sounds great to me. He's got a very natural comedy about him, and I love seeing him play odd characters (O, brother where art thou? anyone?). This sounds like the perfect match-up for a great little comedy with a big presence. I'm excited for this one, count me in!

Note: Reitman also has a bunch of shorts that he's made as well, which I just discovered when looking at his IMDB page. Anyone know if these are available anywhere?

Nab the Tropic Thunder mockumentary!

One of cinematical's readers helped them put a link up to the free download of Rain of Madness, available only on iTunes. I'm gonna link you to the cinematical article instead of the download cause I don't wanna cut in on their traffic. But definately check this out, its a half hour documentary about the making of Tropic Thunder (but I think of the movie within the movie, not the movie itself), its free, and its funny! Peep the trailer above!

No more HBO Preacher

HBO is obviously really stupid. Mark Steven Johnson, regarding his long in-development Preacher adaptation: "the new head of HBO felt it was just too dark and too violent and too controversial." Can someone slap the new head of HBO in the face please? Wake up! You're HBO! People pay for your service because it means they can have unedited, edgy content that doesn't need to pass through some kind of censor. If you start censoring yourself, you're no different than any other TV station and there's no reason I should have to dish out extra cash to watch you.

Apparantly it was not only "a very faithful adaptation of the first few books, nearly word for word" but if I remember correctly their initial vision was to do the whole series, each issue was one episode. And now its likely that if it gets adapted at all it will be as a movie or something where things will have to be trimmed and cut. While I'll admit, there's some issues that could probably be left out or at least chopped up a bit, this is the kind of series that is just always so fun and surprising that it deserves this kind of a faitful adaptation. Hopefully another network like Showtime picks it up, but I'm doubtful. This is a sad day. Fuck you HBO.

Edgar Wright, the amazing update Wizard!

Wizarduniverse.com snagged an interview with one of my favorite writer/directors, Mr. Edgar Wright. This fella's got the goods ladies and gents. His television and film career have made him a staple of any geek collection, and his upcoming projects seem to affirm that image. In the interview, Wright talks a bit about what's going with his Scott Pilgrim adaptation, starring Michael Cera. I guess he's adapting all six books for the movie, which, although I haven't read the series, sounds like a good idea to me. I think strict adaptations are great, and for a lengthy, involved series like Preacher I think it's necessary. But Scott Pilgrim sounds to me like the kind of project that if anything, should go the route of Sin City, and do a few of the books as one movie that could stand alone, and then if its successful, do the rest of the series as another movie. As Wright points out, Pilgrim isnt Harry Potter, it doesn't seem to have the necessary elements or fan basis to warrant a film per book and all the work that would have to go into five sequals. It also sounds like the kind of story that you could tell concisely, in one film. I dunno about anyone else but that news has me kind of excited.

He also drops some knowledge on Wizard about Ant-Man. Check his quote at the end where he talks about making the uncool, cool. I think this is the perfect frame of mind for Ant-Man. As Wright says, the character is definitely considered D-list by most people. I think this is also just a great storytelling device that should get used more often.

Oh and he also says he and Pegg are hoping to at least work on the script for the final installment of the Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy over the course of the next year. Sweet.

Thank you Devin Faraci

Devin Faraci, author of The Devin's Advocate over at CHUD.com has posted an angry rant, part of which deals with Fox's suit against Watchmen. This is something I've been reserving writing about for awhile because it didn't really seem like anyone knew what was ACTUALLY going on. A lot of people think Fox is trying to shut down the movie completely, and have been writing about this. And while Fox is attempting to get an injunction, Devin assures us this is merely a business move. Please read his article for clear and excellent information on what's going on in the courts, and what this means for the movie. While I was going to write a post about how glad I am the movie will most likely make its March 6th release (just in time for my birthday!) I'd rather spread Devin's rally of encouraging a more analytical approach to film, as well as to reporting. It would prevent awful rumors like this from spreading.

So support Devin, read his article, and expect Watchmen on Marrch 6, 2009!

Red Band Trailer: Surfer, Dude

Honestly, this is the first I've heard of this movie, Surfer, Dude... ever. Don't know how I missed it seeing as it's already had a trailer out last month and all, but it's nice to see Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson back together. From watching this trailer I'm about 99% sure it was written specifically for McConaughey. Anyway, my thoughts on the trailer, a lot of boobs and the movie looks okay too. It actually just makes me think of how this whole redband trailer thing is kind of the new fad. Ever since Regal started showing them again on their R-Rated features it seems like every R rated movie out there has one. Like this movie... Yeah it's R, but the only real R-rated clips was a few quick flashes of boobs. I know this movie isn't a hard R, but seriously is there any point making a redband trailer if you don't have anything really crazy to show? But, yeah... Watch this trailer make your own opinion, at least it looks better than Fool's Gold.

Some Transformers 2 tidbits from the Screenwriter

Robert Orci is the screenwriter for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and /film has posted some highlights from posts he's been throwing up over on the TFW2005 forums. This film excites me man. I really liked the first one. Regardless of its flaws, it was a whole lot of fun. And I don't think I can get enough LeBeouf. He owned that movie. What they're talking about basically sounds like bigger, awesomer, and hopefully less talking robots that act like 6 year olds. And that is ok with me. It is interesting however that he says they're looking at movies like Back to the Future and Gremlins, those classics from the 80's that used the inherent humor in their plotlines to their advantage. I guess this might've been what they were trying with the first one as well, although I don't know how successful that was. At any rate, first he makes that claim, but then right at the end he turns and says that this film will be darker than the first. It's not that narrowly avoiding sleeping with your mother isn't somewhat dark, but I think attempting to make the Transformers a dark Goonies with robots is a mistake. Choose one or the other. Right?

What /film knows about Batman so far...

Peter Sciretta of /film just posted a short list of the little bits and pieces of information we have on the third Batman movie thus far. I'm super glad he did this because all of my friends who know I'm a super movie nerd have been coming up to me over the past week and acting like they know who the villains are for the new Batman. And I'm all "Oh yeah?" And they're all "Yeah!" And then I'm all "Well hit me with it playa!" And then they proceed to tell me that Johnny Depp will be playing the Riddler and Philip Seymour Hoffman will be the Penguin. And when I try to explain that those are just rumors, and are completely unconfirmed, and that Nolan hasn't even signed on to MAKE a third Batman yet, let alone begun writing it, they simply go "No, I read it online. I'm pretty sure they're all ready to do it." Well thank you Mr. Sciretta for clearing this all up by posting a list of the FACTS.

Most interesting for me is the one dated July 9th. I'm so glad Goyer is considering all the different stories they could play with and the variety of characters that exist in the Batman universe. I want to see some villains we haven't seen on the big screen before. I think this is what it will take to top the Ledger Joker: a new villain general audiences are unfamiliar with that will make the Joker look like a clown. No... wait... ugh.

Any suggestions as to what villain might fit that bill?

Trailer Alert: New York, I Love You

This just popped up over at /film.  Just like Paris, je t'aime, this movie boasts a lot of big names.  Interesting to note are Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson listed as directors.  I'd like to know why all these names appear as directors though, are any of them actually New Yorkers?  At any rate, Paris, je t'aime was a decent movie, some of the shorts were really good.  And I really like the concept behind this... is it a series now?   Yeah.  Check it out.  What do you think?

Critics be Van Dammed

I'm actually really excited about this movie.  We all remember Jean Claude, right?  Right?  Well as the plot of this film goes, we don't.  Or maybe we do, but we just don't care anymore.  That's right, in his new film JCVD, JCVD plays himself: a down on his luck action star of the past in the midst of divorce proceedings.  When he ends up in the middle of an actual bank robbery, Jean Claude makes good on his Jean Claude action name by fighting off the robbers.  This sounds exactly like the story of My Name is Bruce, in which Bruce Campbell plays himself and is forced to save a town from zombies because the residents think he is actually Ash.  However, I don't care.  I'm excited for Bruce, and I'm equally excited for JCVD.  And if the critics can be trusted, not only has Van Damme finally made an honest to goodness good movie, he's put in an honest to goodness good performance as well.  The film just sort of got a release date, which you can read more about on cinematical.

Does anyone else think Jean Claude deserves this kind of performance?

Review: Outsourced

So I just got done watching Outsourced directed by John Jeffcoat and also written by Jeffcoat and 50 First Dates writer George Wing. If there is one thing to be said about Outsourced is that it's likable, it makes you feel good. I've read reviews online that said it was innocent, and I'd have to concur this movie hits all the right notes.

Basically, Outsourced is the story of Todd (or "Toad" with an Indian accent) Anderson (played by Josh Hamilton) who's job has been outsourced to India, and it's his job to train the new guys. Todd is you're typical American, who works hard to put himself in more and more debt, and basically cannot afford to loose his job with all it's benefits. Besides from that, Todd is pretty much alone, he has no real connection with his family and just ended his last serious relationship (wisely this was all done before the film, we never see or even get to hear his ex, which keeps the film from drowning in stereotype). The first half of the film is your basic fish out of water story where Todd at first resists then finally falls in love with the new country. The second half is the romance, and I have to say the entire time I was wondering "Okay, when are we getting to love story?" (By the way, I rate romantic comedies by asking myself one question "Did this make me want to fall in love?" And I do... with a cute Indian chick) They managed to stray away from quite a few conventions, and I think a lot of the success of the romance here I have to credit to Ayesha Dharker (Who plays Asha in the film). She isn't the slamming Indian Hottie (see India De Beaufort from Run Fatboy Run, pretty much an Indian Jessica Alba) she is cute, and best of all believable. Her character is the perfect mix of head-strong and self-conscious. I have to say I am now a fan. I really enjoyed that while the romance got into the whole "arranged marriage" schtick, it still managed to be very organic and classy.

I actually expected to see more Bollywood in this film, one of it's strong points is how inciteful it was to all the Indian customs. I was surprised to learn that the writers were not of any Indian descent. However, I felt the one place where Bollywood is represented definitely felt right to the story and paid respect without being tacky (Hello, Love Guru?). I also have to give Jeffcoat some credit on crafting a well-maid film shot in another country with all no-names. The sad thing about this movie is I feel like it's destined to be one of those movies you see one copy of in the rental store, or in the $5.50 bin at Wal-Mart. It really deserves better than that.

Places where I thought the movie could use improvement? The cinematography was very simple... I think I was spoiled with the beauty I saw in The Darjeeling Limited. We can't all be Wes Anderson's though, right? But really, when you're in a place like India, you got to go all out with making it look beautiful. But, simple as it was it catered to the story just fine.

Basically, I really haven't seen a good romantic comedy yet this summer, and while I would classify the jokes in Outsourced as more "Amusing" than "hysterical" I had a really good time watching this one. So if you are in the mood to want to fall in love this should definitely be on your list.

NOTE: Holy crap I just realized the Ayesha Dharker is Queen Jamillia from Star Wars!!!! Now I really love her...

Summer is Over

And damn can you tell. Movie news is getting more and more boring by the day. Remember the days leading up to TDK? Pineapple Express even? Man... those were some good times. What's left to be excited about? The only thing I can think of that the fall has in store for us is Zack and Miri, which I'm uber-pumped for. What's on everyone's radar?

An Open Call to /film

UPDATE: I was listening to the Afterdark /filmcast last night and none other than Mr. Peter Sciretta was on. Just as I was nodding off to sleep he began to discuss Ben Button. However, I nodded off to sleep literally as I heard him begin talking about it, and I remember thinking "You should stay awake for this so you can update the blog." I recall no further information. Thus I will have to wait until Dave Chen puts it online (which usually isn't until the end of the week) to update you on whether Peter pulls through with some answers.

I've got two things I wanna say to you. And one is pretty important. I follow you guys on Twitter, and Mr. Peter Sciretta, I want you to do your job! You are a great writer, and I really respect the fact that you stand out amongst your peers by holding strong opinions and sticking to your guns, even on the /filmcast. But the other day I saw a little Twitter convo happen between you and Erik Davis over at cinematical in which you discussed "what's going on behind the scenes of Benjamin Button," David Fincher's latest film. You ask Erik why no one is willing to talk about it, and Erik responds "because if we pretend mom and dad aren't fighting, maybe it will be true," and it is left at that. Then, today on /film, you posted the TV spot for Ben Button that premiered during the Olympics. After the trailer you said "I’ve been hearing all sorts of troubling things coming out of the post production of the project. Most movie journalists are afraid to report on what is going on behid the scenes, because it’s very gossipy." But then you never man up and report on it yourself. What is going on? As a journalist I thought you guys had journalistic duties. Just like the mailman, you know? Through the rain, sleet, and snow kinda stuff? No? Dammit, c'mon man I'm dying to know what's going on! If everyone already knows about it, why don't you quit bein a pussy and man up! You finish your article with "There is a bigger story going on behind the scenes…" What the hell is that? Why even report on it in the first place if you're just gonna back down and never go anywhere with it?

I still love you.

But there's another thing. Mr. David-Peter Chen! Let me be on the /filmcast! I love the /filmcast, and I was just gonna pussyfoot around trying to find a way to get connected to you, but I'm too eager! I'm gonna put a post up once a week about being on the show until you let me on! The journey begins now!

Tom Cruise + Sam Raimi = Intruiged

They're apparantly putting together an adaptation of the DC Wildstorm universe comic Sleeper. Check this /film article for a nice rundown on the series. Sounds like a really interesting book, and I'm liking the idea of seeing Cruise step into some out of character roles in some out of character movies. Hopefully Tropic Thunder is going to usher in a new era of Cruise, one where he'll realize his age and start playing father figures and other types of roles he hasn't tackled yet. However, this would be way more exciting for me if Raimi were attatched to direct, not just produce, but we'll see what happens. No one else seems to be attatched yet so there's still that potential there.

Does this sound sweet to anyone else?

Ps. I feel like i always ask the same dumb questions down here, but I'm really just hoping someone will leave a comment. Help a brother out?

Ahh what the fuck Wes Anderson!?

Oh so you just decide to wait till NOW to release a 2-disc Criterion version of Bottle Rocket? What the hell man? What are you some kinda asshole? Jeeeeze.... Now I'll have two versions of this movie too... ya freakin jerk.

Check the cinematical link up there to see the cover art for the new DVD. It looks like all of his other Criterion DVD's, complete with artwork by his brother and all.

The good thing is it's got the original short film on there which i've never seen. So... $22 well spent?

Anyone else peev'd?

Check out these GREAT articles

The first two are from the cinematical team who do a lot of really great editorials. These guys and gals have great ideas and are fantastic writers, you should keep up with some of their weekly columns. The first, by the evil genius Eric Snider, is an excellent article breaking down and debunking the myths surrounding the changing of Harry Potter's release day. I don't know if we have any Potter fans reading, but this should lay things out pretty clearly and maybe sooth some of the pain of having to wait another 6 months for your movie. The second is from Eric Snider's evil doppleganger Erik Davis, and it is a plea to release Terry Gilliam's latest film, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, featuring the final performance of Heath Ledger. Erik makes a great case for this film, and I hope I'm not the only one that agrees with him on needing to give Gilliam another chance. He really is one of the great, creative forces from past and present cinema.

I'd also like to point you all in the direction of Mr. David Chen (or is it Peter Chen? Hmmm) the mastermind behind the /filmcast that I pimp so regularly here at filmadelphia. He wrote a great (spolier ridden) article about some of the racial issues addressed in Tropic Thunder. My hat goes off to you, Peter-David Chen, for digging deeper, especially with a movie I think most people will only remember fora fat Tom Cruise and a black Downey, Jr (which is not to say I didn't like it, I loved this movie). I enjoy the great cinematical debates, especially those that really get into the in's and out's of storytelling.

What did you think about these articles? Anything worth arguing about?

If Stephen Colbert were actually president...

It would go something like this.  The trailer of Monsters and Aliens won't be up for long I'm sure, so check it while you can.  I'm typically unimpressed by the large, star-studded voice casts they have for these movies, and Dreamworks animation usually disappoints, but I think all signs point to go on this one.  The preview is funny without trying too hard, and the cast seems like a balanced fit for once.  What do you think?

Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer is gonna be Badass!

And here's proof!  This is a short film called Still Life by Jon Knautz, director of the upcoming horror flick Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer.  I was already excited about Jack Brooks because the trailer is great.  This seems like the kind of kind of movie that only low budget filmmaking can accomplish, and it looks like it's really going to pay off.  But now, thanks to cinematical, I have even more of a reason to be excited.  Watch this movie.  It's great!  The editing is very tight with some great shots, and it plays really well.  He shows off a lot of different kinds of talent behind the camera, and that makes me even more excited.  Obviously, this guy knows how to build a visual story, and a suspenseful one at that!

Oh yeah,  and that's Robert Englund.  Hell yeah.

Do you think this guy is gonna prove to be the next Peter Jackson or just a low rate Shyamalan?

Tarantino's Frenzied Week of Casting

This dude has been all over the place this past week, making tons of casting announcements for his fast-tracked Inglorious Bastards. I get more and more excited about this movie everytime I hear about it. But there have been some bumps that i'm a little bit disappointed about. On the good news side of things we've got Brad Pitt, Samm Levine, and BJ Novak. I'm a huge Pitt supporter as I've said before, and I love seeing him play outlandish characters. I think he's gonna give one of his best performances with Tarantino behind him. And I mean, c'mon, Neal from Freaks and Geeks as a Nazi killer? That's totally fuckin genius. Novak I'm actually a little uncertain about because I don't really like his acting on The Office. He's a great writer, but I think his acting and his timing is pretty lacking. However, I put this on the good news side of things because this is the kind of casting I like, where someone is given the chance to really prove themselves and prove guys like me wrong. I hope Novak does that.

But then there's the not-so-bad-but-still-kind-of-disapointing news of the non-casting of Simon Pegg, and the non-casting of Adam Sandler in favor of Mike Myers. First off, the Simon Pegg news is not too upsetting because while it would have been awesome to see him get the Tarantino treatment, his scheduling conflict is with his new movie Paul, which is apparantly being directed by Superbad's Dave Motolla. This excites me to no end. What really made Superbad work for me was that it was filmed like an indie drama, which I think could work very well for this comic book nerd-road trip comedy. Also, apparantly Pegg and co-star Nick Frost will switch hero-sidekick roles, which I think may be quite rewarding and possibly give Frost the star power he deserves.

The Sandler news is good news in the same way the Pegg news is good news in that his scheduling conflict is with Apatow's new movie Funny People. The cast for that movie is shaping up to be great as well, and it sounds like it will be a nice balance for Sandler, weighing in with comedic and dramatic moments, hopefully much like Big Daddy (in my mind, his most successful movie). However, what the fuck man!? We know he can do some great dramatic work (thank you PT Anderson), so how awesome would it have been to see him really go balls out for a crazy Tarantino character!? And instead they cast Mike Myers (or at least are in talks to)? I mean, yeah it would be great to see Mike Myers come back to the movies and actually do something worthwhile, but 1. I'm less confident in Myers ability to do a great Tarantino role, and 2. I'm just much more interested in seeing Sandler do the Tarantino role. He just seems like he'd fit in for some reason. I dunno.

Oh and in Ummm...Really?-casting we have Eli Roth. What?

Anyone got any opinions about all this casting? Anyone feel as strongly as I do about the Sandler/Myers thing?

Slow Friday

Nothing much interesting to talk about today.  Except that Kevin Smith, perhaps my favorite filmmaker, saw Watchmen, the son of a bitch.  And what say Silent Bob?  "It's fucking astounding."  And more importantly "Even Alan Moore might be surprised at how close the movie is to the book.  March can't come soon enough."  You said it man.  Does anyone really think this will turn Moore though?  I have this feeling that even if it were perfect, Moore would still stubbornly stand by his belief that it only works as a book.  It'd be fucking mind-blowing if he did turn and support the movie though.  I think I'd blow Snyder.

If I wasn't excited enough for this fuckin movie, Kev's gotta go and get me real hyped.  Thanks a lot, friend.  Oh yeah, and it comes out the day before my birthday.  It's like Zach Snyder's personal gift to me.  Thanks a lot, friend.

Anyone else pumped?

The Dark Knight Returns! Nooch.

Check out this fanmade poster for the third installment in the Nolan Batman series. No, this is not the official poster, or title, as there is no official third installment yet. And no, neither the Riddler nor Catwoman have been confirmed as villains yet (can you spot the Catwoman reference?) But it's still pretty fuckin awesome! I never considered The Dark Knight Returns a possible title until seeing this, which makes me feel totally dumb.

What do you think? I'd pay to see the movie based on this poster alone.

Pryor shoots first! Vader Thrills!

This is just plane awesome. Check cinematical for a nice write-up about The Richard Pryor Show. And yes, "You look just like a nigga from Detroit I know" ruined my keyboard with soda from my nose too.

Also, check out this great Vader and company Thriller video from over at cinematical as well. This Vader seems to be much more akin with Hayden Christensen's teenaged-pussy Vader than James Earl Jones' bad-ass-mutha-fucka Vader, so enjoy!

Two Stupid Trailers

One seems like it might be funny-stupid though. There were at least a couple lines that made me laugh. The other just looks stupid (but I don't generally like movies of its kind).

The first is the red band trailer for My Best Friend's Girl. Now while I generally dislike Dane Cook, I don't hate him and think he has the potential to be funny. And while his previous films have been, at their best, shameful, this looks like it might be a better fit for him, if only because he gets Jason Biggs as his foil, who I still really love (if you need evidence of why, check out The Glitch).

There was a big hullabulloo about this on the net today because of the promotional posters. I'll let cinematical tackle that one, but i'll let you know I agree with them, this is a terrible marketing strategy.

The other trailer (also from cinematical) is for Ridley Scott's new movie Body of Lies, and while I like Scott, I generally don't enjoy realistic spy thrillers (The Good Shepherd was physically painful). Also, this just looks bad. Neither Dicaprio or Crowe is doing a believable accent which always pisses me the hell off, and really, whatever is going on in this trailer, it seems flat and boring. I don't even know if i'll rent this one.

What do you think, do either of these look appealing?

Watchmen Poster Comparison

I'd like to point you all in the direction of an awesome article by Plasmic Studios in which they put Dave Gibbons posters for the original books overtop the new posters that Snyder released for the film at comic-con. As Monika over at cinematical points out, Snyder has nailed these things, they're almost identical. I'd like to point out that this is most likely Snyder subtley trying to put all of our collective fanboy minds at ease about the direction he's going with this. He's all "C'mon guys, seriously! Get behind me on this! Look, i'm not even messing with original posters! That's how fucking faithful i'm gonna be for you guys! Stop worrying!" And then we're all "Yeah, yeah, but Ozymandius doesn't look egyptian anymore you asshole!" And then he cries himself to sleep at night with a shotgun in his mouth.

What do you think? Are you as impressed as I am that Snyder is going to these lengths to reassure fans?

Someone fly me to Toronto!

Cause their festival is gonnabe kick-ass this year! They're getting Synecdoche, New York, The Brothers Bloom, The Wrestler, AND Zach and Miri Make a Porno.

Let's go through the list (in the order mentioned above). You've got Charlie Kaufmann's directorial debut starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener, so um, fuckin duh. Then you've got Rian Johnson's follow-up to Brick, which as I said the other day was one of my favorite films of 2005, and if you haven't seen the trailer for this, you've got to check it out. It's got an interesting cast and could be a real winner.

Then there's Aranofsky's latest, and while I said the other day that the new photos that dropped really didn't leave me yearning to get to the theater, he hasn't disappointed me yet, and I really love his visual sense. I suppose I'm kind of excited to see how that translates with this kind of material. And then there's the movie I'm probably most excited to see this year, and it's only cause I'm a fucking huge Kevin Smith fanboy. Oh and also cause I'm a huge Rogen fanboy, and I think working of a Smith script is going to be like the perfect comedy storm.

Also of note are Danny Boyle and Richard Linklater's latest, Slumdog Millionare and Me and Orsen Welles respectively. I know nothing about either of these, but both are exciting filmmakers who I really enjoy, so I'm gonna include them anyhow. If you have any info, send it our way! Anyone else excited about any of these?

That's the Spirit!

UPDATE: FOOTAGE WAS REMOVED

So Frank Miller is making The Spirit. And that's pretty cool. I know nothing of Will Eisner's original comic, but I like the Sin City books, I like the way the movie's were done, I love The Dark Knight Returns, etc. So I was pretty excited about this project when it was announced, as I think most of the geek world was. Then the trailer dropped, and everyone was confused, myself included. However, I don't think I felt as everyone else did. I thought the visuals were pretty cool, kind of a moving comic book in a way, which I really like. The characters and scenes didn't really grab me necessarily, but it is just a trailer, and I am completely unfamiliar with the souce material.

But then news dropped from comic-con that Miller premeired a fight scene from the film that was not only underwhelming but completely stupid. Well that footage has finally leaked online, and I've gotta say, I don't know what everyone is complaining about. I think yes, there's quite a bit of cheese here, but there's also a lot to like. I think the look of it is pretty awesome. The fight itself is rather entertaining, even though yes, it's got some B-movie stuff. Ok so maybe that's not a lot, but I wasn't completely disgusted with the whole thing. The thing I think we all need to remember, is this is only 1:20 of the film. Maybe the rest is just as cheesy, maybe not, and if it is, maybe that will end up being ok. I think only time is gonna tell on this one, I'm not ready to count it out just yet. What did you think of this footage?

Billy Bob's Nightmare

Apparantly Robert Englund has said that Billy Bob Thornton is up for the role that he made famous in the remake of Nightmare on Elm Street. I'm not a big fan of this remake kick everyone's on, especially since, like Halloween and Friday the 13th, it seems like they ran out of ideas for the franchise (which in all cases was looking pretty grim by the 3rd installment yet somehow went on to at least 8) so they just decided to go back and make the original idea over again. Dumb.

But I dunno, I'm not terribly familiar with Thonton's work, but what I've seen him in I've liked, and I don't think he's ever played a monster before (unless you count Monster's Ball). This could turn out to be very interesting, and really, whoever they get to play him, should stir up the kind of reaction Thornton is. If they get someone to play Krueger who is kind of an A list, high profile dramatic actor to take on the monster in a horror remake, I think more people will pay to see it. That's sort of what happened with The Dark Knight, and I know I'd surely pay to see Thornton play Krueger, how about you?

Cruisin for a Bruisin

Tom Cruise wants to do a movie where he plays a fish-out-of-water, professional forced to work with/for kids!? Sounds like someone's having a babbbyyyyyy. That's right, Mr. Holmes wants to do what sounds to me like a kids movie, just like every other actor who has kids and wants to make a movie his kid can see. I hate these movies. The article on cinematical about this makes it sound like this is Cruise trying to dip his pen in comedy's ink once more after his cameo in Tropic Thunder (which I am so excited to see), but this sounds like absolute junk.

The movie is called Food Fight, and its about a chef who is forced to work in a school cafeteria. This is not the kind of premise that makes comedy gold, and I'd be really, really surprised if Cruise is able to turn a genuinely funny performance for something like this. That's not to say it would be his fault, I just can't see a script like this being much different than It Takes Two, or any other Olsen Twin movie (I only mention it because it's got a food fight sandwiched into its cheesy kids teaching adults lessons storyline). I was about to say the only thing that gives me hope is that Steven Brill was originally attatched to direct, and he made Heavyweights, one of my all time favorite kids movies. But then I remembered he went on to make Little Nicky and Without a Paddle. So, I guess it's good news he's no longer attatched?

I mean does anyone really want to see Cruise do something for kid? I think he's a great actor and have really enjoyed some of his performances. But he's just not the kind of guy I see in a movie like this. And really, how often are these movies that actors do for their kids any good? Can anyone think of any examples? Share em on the comments!

Newsmania!

Well I didn't get to a computer in time to do a bunch of updates, so I'm going to do one big news update that I'm gonna call Newsmania! I'm just gonna rant about what I'm excited about and point you in the direction of the original articles. Beginning with...

Rian Johnson, writer/director of Brick is gearing up to do a sci-fi film called Looper. He says its gonna be in the vein of the first Terminator (ie, character driven, time-travel plot device) which made me drool all over the keyboard here at work. Brick was definately one of my favorite films from 2005. It is overwhelmingly impressive. He seems to know exactly what story he wants to tell and exactly how he wants to tell it. And some new sci-fi from a new director with that kind of vision which he is calling similar to Terminator? Save me a seat, please.

Aranofsky's The Wrestler (pictured above) finally got some stills online, and they're... underwhelming. I want to be really excited about this movie, but if it wasn't for Aranofsky's name being attatched, I really would not give two shits about this movie. However, the fact that his name is attatched gives me hope that this will be the kind of edgy, dark fare that has made Aranofsky an essential part of my DVD collection. It's just that a story about a wrestler... I dunno... didn't David Arquette try that once?

Holy fanboy meltdown Batman! I've only recently been turned onto the genius of Joss Whedon (and by recently I mean Dr. Horrible recently) and I am rapidly becoming an avid fan. I am so damn excited to watch Firefly, as well as Buffy. Apparantly, Whedon was developing his own idea for a Batman reboot at the same time Batman Begins was being developed. It would've dealt with a villain that he created. While I love the villains in the Batman universe, I think it would be super awesome to see what Whedon had in mind for a villain. And we may get that oppertunity, as he drops a hint to the comic industry at the end of his quote "Maybe I'll get to do it as a comic one day." Please call him tonight DC! Interrupt his family dinner and get you some Whedonized Batmanliness!






Speaking of awesome people working on awesome stories, how about Henry Selick (Nightmare before Christmas!) adapting Neil Gaiman's (Sandman!) Coraline? (see the orininal article here) How fuckin awesome is that? They posted a production video from the set today, and it looks fantastic. I'm not familiar with the source material here at all, but Selick has yet to disapoint for me, and Gaiman knows exactly how to tell a fairytale. I love getting new fairytells, and i'd venture to say there's no one better than Gaiman when it comes to that.

So is anyone as excited as I am for this stuff? Huh? Anyone!?

Pineapple Knights

This weekend, it's been reported, is the fourth weekend in a row that The Dark Knight has enjoyed the numer one spot, coming in this weekend with an estimated $26 mil. This is fantastic news, and all us geeks should cheer. Yayyy.

But Pineapple Express was surely meant for some of us geeks as well wasn't it? Of course it was, and the weekend numbers reflect this, putting it at number two with $22.5 mil. But is this really an accurate representation of Pineapple's numbers? I mean, it opened wednesday, so shouldnt its opening weekend either be considered wednesday to sunday, or its first three days in release? According to cinematical, the film had actually pulled $40.5 mil for the full 5 days, meaning its techincal opening weekend was much larger than TDK's take this weekend. I know this means all of the info about other movies that weekend would be inaccurate (you'd have to look at the 5-day cume for all of them, or something) But I think this movie should be given a fair chance.

Maybe what I should be arguing for is no more wednesday releases. If they're not going to tally wed and thurs into your opening numbers, what the hell is the point of opening a few days earlier?

What do you think? Is it fair to say that TDK actually held the number one spot again this weekend? Do you think movies should be allowed to open on Wednesdays?

What the hell, Kevin James?

Why can't you ever make a decent movie? The closest you ever came was when you were in Hitch, and c'mon man, you're better than that. You're Comedy Central stand-up is one of my favorites, and you carried a lot of that material, pretty successfully, to your sit-com (the support of Simple Jack's dad didn't hurt either). You voiced a cop in Monster House, which was a great little film, and you really made me laugh there. But I want to see some live-action goodness from you buddy. Teaming up with your old pal Ray didn't pay off, I don't even think teaming up with one of the world's biggest comedians paid off for you (if you need evidence that Chuck and Larry was unsuccessful, please watch the above trailer again). Please choose to do something where you get to play a lovable bafoon who can't seem to get anything right no matter how hard he tries (I have no delusions, this is obviously how you will be cast for the rest of your life, and the only character you're probably any good at) in a story that has you surrounded by smarter people who can deliver some dramatic moments here and there. I think you will play better in this sort of fare than in broad comedies like what this pile crap (it's called Mall Cop, by the way) looks like its shaping up to be.

Trailer: The Lucky Ones

So I just watched the trailer for The Lucky Ones (Starring Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins, and Michael Peña) and while at first I was a little disappointed that Neil Burger's next film after The Illusionist was an Iraqi War drama (which all seem to be bombing... no pun intended). After watching the trailer I have a very different opinion and while I've never been interested to see any of those previous Iraqi Wars drams (In the Valley Of Elah, Stop-Loss, Redacted, etc.) this film seems to be very different.

First off, even though I am a "weekend Warrior" who hasn't been deployed yet or seen any action I can tell that this film has gotten some things right about what it's like to be in the military. Case-in-point, being told by strangers you're doing a good job. I have had this happen to me several times and each time it is incredibly awkward. I've even have a dude go as far as to pay for my food at Wawa because I was in uniform. From the trailer it really seems like they got that awkwardness right. Mostly because when people are saying it you can tell they have some sort of political opinion lurking behind their compliment, whether it be the stark conservative wanting to let it be know while those other hippies don't understand what you people are doing I do, and the liberal guy who wants it to be known he supports the troops but not the war.

I am happy this film is made because what it looks to have done is take three different people on separate journeys that somehow end up in the same place. Coming back from something like that is hard to relate to other people and you can feel like an alien. This is a risky choice for Burger, but this is the guy the managed to make an indie magician movie that actually ended up being able to rival Christopher Nolan's The Prestige. So maybe he'll be able to work his magic agian and turn this already dying genre into something that people may actually want to watch.

Trailers abound

So I found some suhweet trailers that were posted this morning, all thanks to cinematical. There are two, character centric trailers for the Coen Brothers new comedy Burn After Reading. The funnier of the two is definately Clooney's, I love seeing him play a buffoon.


While I love Brad Pitt, especially when he plays whacky, outlandish characters, he looks.... I dunno... like he's trying too hard in this or something. Although I'm just going to assume there's a lot of great scenes from him that the trailer is simply lacking. The rest of the cast is superd (both female leads always make me laugh) especially Mr. Malkovich. He is a force to be reckoned with on the screen. I think it's gonna be great to see this great cast interract with each other under the pen and direction of the incomparable Coen Brothers.

So on a completely different note, Scott Weinberg over at cinematical has been raving (and ranting) about this new zombie-comedy called Dance of the Dead (I couldn't embed the trailer, age restricted, hit up IGN for it). While I admit I had reservations about this at first (I've still only seen Shaun of the Dead, no Fido yet) because I thought these were just a slew of bad copy-cat direct to dvd type films (although, as Weinberg ranted, this is a direct to video release) now, having seen the trailer, I'm very excited. When those kids come marching down the hall, and especially when one responds "We're the Sci-Fi club, we're here to rescue you" I almost cheered, and I was only watching the trailer. This seems like the perfect combination of every nerds high school fantasy (saving all the wretched assholes that made their life a living hell from actual living hell) and actual zombie thrills.

Let us know what you think about these upcoming films. Are you excited, not at all... I mean the Coen Brothers, come on!

A Bro's Film Analysis: Pineapple Express

So tonight I went to a party at some people I don't know's house. I don't know why I keep going out to these parties, I think deep down it's in hope that a.) either I'll meet a gorgeous girl and fall in love or b.) that I will meet some like minded life-long friends. Usually what occurs is the much more frequent c.) I sit bored out of my mind on the couch trying to make eye contact with the 3 other people that I know and wait for them to give me the much awaited "Are you ready to go?" line. I find that each party I go to leans towards one extreme. Reciently either the more creative types (where they have heavy opinions on everything and I get intimidated to jump in with my opinion) are having a party or on the oppisite side of the spectrum to put it simply, bros. I'd much rather be uncomfortable at an elitist artsy party than a bro party. Tonight, I was at a bro party. There's just something so phoney about the whole needing to be macho thing that pisses me off. I get it, you can drink more beer than a camel can drink water, awesome. I am a man confident enough in my own manhood to be able to let loose and not care if I seem feminine ever. And what I hate more than anything is how for some reason I get talked to as if I am in some way... less? I guess you could say that... You know like you're just their "pal" or "buddy." And for some reason since this is the image being given of me, I tend to perpetuate it with acting more meek and small. It just happens.

Anyway, as I was sitting there on the couch watching the bros play beer pong they started to talk about Pineapple Express (it also upsets me that bros like all the Judd Apatow movies, seeing as they all seem to be from the nerds perspective, ah well). As they proceeded to discuss the film the only real analysis they could come up with was to relate the film to other movies. One bro said it was "A mix between Shaun of the Dead and Grandma's Boy" while the other bro felt it more akin to "Cheech and Chong and Air Force One." First off... Cheech and Chong... Okay, I'll accept that. Freaking Shawn of the Dead, Grandma's Boy, and Air Force One? Really? As far as I can remember there were no zombies or hijackers involved in Pineapple Express.

I think what is really upsetting me here is that I go to a party in hopes I will meet interesting people, for a chance to interact, to not do what I would ordinarily being doing: watching movies at home. When I finally get out I get stuck with people that actually feel that in some way Air Force One and Pineapple Express are somehow similar other than the fact that to some capacity both movies have action and some guns. Where are all you people that I do want to meet and talk to? You are all sitting at home doing what I would be doing if I wasn't at the party! People, we need to get out of our homes for a little bit and interact, maybe throw some of our own party where ridiculous people need not come. It's not even about having poor taste in movies really. You can have the complete opposite taste in films as me, just have some intelligence and don't be a duesche bag (or a bro). So my challenge to all you other interesting worthwhile people is to get out more so I can meet you and be your friend and we can have our own party's where it's cool to just throw in a movie and actually pay attention to it.

Rumors are like STD's...

Only dicks spread them. Or something like that. MTV interviewed James Franco the other day about a possible Pineapple Express sequal (which Seth Rogen has said, given the right budget, he'd be interested in doing) which I actually think could be a great sequal. Just like the 80's action movies they're taking from, they could franchise Dale and Saul (and hopefully Red too). However, in the interview, Franco muses about a sequal in which the kids from Superbad buy weed from Dale and Saul and have to go on the run together. While this actually sounds like it could also be a hilarious concept (here's hoping Rogen's Officer Michaels is sent after them so that we can get a Rogen vs. Rogen chase scene, on foot) and the characters could actually come together in a logical way, I don't think Franco was being serious. I feel as though I saw an interview with Rogen not too long ago where he mused about the same concept, but he definately sounded like he was kidding. Even the way Franco phrases most of what he says indicates to me that he's just thinking off the top of his head.

The only reason I'm even posting about this is because I feel as though this happens far too often, especially now in the blogosphere (do they still call it that?). Reporters choose specific quotes from interviews they do and then pull them out of context and say "A Pineapple/Superbad crossover! Could it be true?" And then they give a bunch of conjecture about what Apatow might be thinking, and suddenly people are talking about this like it's actual news, when really Franco was just having a laugh with the reporter. This is made worse by the blogs who then pull even smaller quotes out of the already small quotes in the original article and ask, are these rumors true? It's dumb. Why not report that Franco had a hilarious little idea that perhaps Rogen should consider writing. Because that's really what you mean MTV. That Franco made you laugh with his little idea, and now you think it would be funny to see it come to fruition.

Does anyone else notice this, and does it bother you as much as me? Or are you just satisfied knowing that you know better, and you can filter out the bullshit yourself?

What's the big friggin deal?

This morning, every blog I read was flooded with images from The Art of The Dark Knight that Peter at /film posted last night. Everyone seems to think they're way creepier than the actual version Ledger helped create in the film. And I have no freakin clue why. It looks like a torn Michael Myers mask. Which, yes, that mask is creepy, but no, that's not nearly as creepy as what I saw in TDK. As geekadelphia was quick to point out, it's Ledger's facial expressions that really bring the Joker to life. And for me, it's those expressions that really make him creepy. They make the slightly more subtle makeup used in the movie creppier than this flat looking mask type deal.

What do you think? Are these concepts creepier than the Joker we actually saw on screen? Do you prefer these to the Joker you saw on screen? Let us know in the comments!

If I were ruler of the world...

I would make this guy let me take one, glorious roof-top ride over the mean streets of philly with this amazing DIY replica of the Tumbler from Christopher Nolan's new Batman series. Apparantly this dude also wants to build a Batpod, but as /film points out, its design made it nearly unridable.

This thing's been all over the internet today, so i'd like to point to geekadelphia, my favorite philly blog, where I first discovered this gem. And also to /film, where I rediscovered it not 30 mintues later.

Who else wants one? Perhaps if there are enough "Me!" comments at the bottom of this post we could get the guy to build us one. I got dibs on keeping it for the first week.

Who's watching the Watchmen production videos?

That's right, Zach Snyder has posted another Watchmen production video, and this has to be the best one yet.



Doesn't Archie look fuckin awesome? I'm so glad Snyder has decided to use as many practical effects as he has. It's always a huge disapointment to me when movies only employ CGI. There is a great charm to practical effects that I think many filmmakers over look (I'm lookin at you Lucas, you were the king of this back in the day, and then you unintentionally parodied yourself with a new trilogy full of CGI aliens that looked more ridiculous than their costumed counterparts from the originals). If you look at some of the other production videos or photos, you can see that they built a few blocks of NYC as sets to reproduce one of the main settings from the comic. They apparantly also built Veidts Antarctic hideout, complete with the monstrous statues at the entrance of his office.

Week after week, Snyder is proving himself worthy of faithfully adapting one of the most complex comics ever written. If you haven't read Watchmen yet, please go buy it now! (And if you're from philly, hit up either Atomic City Comics or Brave New Worlds to get your copy!)

The Matrix: Bingloaded

This is an update to yesterday's post about Stephen Tobolowsky's hilarious reenactment of The Matrix: Reloaded on Monday's /filmcast.

Today, /film provided a five-minute snippet of just this segment for those of you who don't feel like listening to the whole podcast (and shame on you, it's extremely entertaining) or can't figure out how to scroll 14 minutes into the podcast (and shame on you for being just too damn lazy to do so).

Let us know how you feel about Stephen's take on Reloaded in the comments.

An Introduction To Me: Tommy

Hey this is Tommy,

Seeing as this is my first blog, I feel it necessary to tell a little something about myself so in the future if you read anything else from me you'll have some background on where I am coming from. First of all, Garrett and I have been friends since 6th grade and the only reason we are friends is because of Star Wars (I noticed he was reading the Star Wars Bounty Hunters book and decided to talk to him). It is very fitting that we should have our own blog to comment on films, seeing as it consumes most of our conversations.

A little more about me... I saw Jurassic Park when I was 6 and then decided I wanted to make movies like Steven Spielberg. I guess that's not too exciting of a story, I didn't get my first camcorder until I was 13. At that point Garrett, our friends Carl, Josh, Bezik, And I started making the most horrendously bad movies this planet has ever seen (And you can see most of them on my Youtube account). We also started doing theater in 7th grade, which I enjoyed throughly until I got to High School and didn't like being spanked by a very frisky metrosexual dance instructor. When I got to High School my church decided to put money towards a Canon GL2 and Apple G4, so I started to teach myself some things and by my senior year I was on the school news. Less than a week after graduating high school I went off to basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. The next year I spent between training or in training. When I returned to my beloved hometown of Nazareth, Pa I had an abundance of money from my signing Bonus and decided that instead of blowing it all on a new car I would purchase my very own Canon XL2 and Macbook Pro. That would be the moment that Filmmaking got a little more real for me. I started shooting weddings on the side to make extra cash while I attended Northampton Community College. It was in my two years there that I felt the need to start my own projects. With the assistance of some friends, (James Taylor Jr., Paul Zingone, Courtney Hieserman) we began production on a series of short films entitled "Month And A Half" under the production company I started, Good Quip Films.

Today I am living in Philly awaiting the start of my first semester at Temple University as a film student. I have finished production on the third installment of the Month And A Half Saga and am taking a bit of a breather between writing the fourth and final film. Now, I have quite a few ideas in my head for future short films I would like to write and I am probably going to keep everyone updated on my own projects as I work on things. Of course, I will be focusing mainly on ranting on whatever entertainment news or film that is passing through my brain, but I think it could be neat to talk a little bit about projects while they are in production from the beginning phases to the ending.

Other things you should know about me... I'm incredibly easy going, it's easier to understand what I'm writing if you can envision me saying it (sometimes sarcasm doesn't come through in print), I am a real man because I don't care about looking manly, and I am growing increasingly more cynical as each day passes.

Tommy

Video Portfolio Site
Good Quip Myspace
Good Quip Facebook

Bing: Reloaded

I mentioned it already in my first post, but I can't give enough love to the /Filmcast. On Monday nights they broadcast live at 10pm, and these guys have a really entertaining show that I recommend jumping in the live chat for. It's a lot of fun. Just this past Monday they had "Bing!" Ned Ryerson, Stephen Tobolowsky on as a guest (some of you may know him better as Bob Bishop on NBC's Heroes). If you're not familiar with this guys work, hit his imdb and make some random selections, this guy is great in just about everything.

The point of all this ass kissing is to point you 14:30 into the podcast where Stephen acts out the Matrix: Reloaded. It is hilarious and made me want to go back and rewatch the movie, using my incredible imaginative powers to envision Stephen Tobolowsky as Neo (Wachowski's, you can both thank me later when The Matrix: Revisions puts your careers back on track). I actually happen not to hate Reloaded. I thought it was at least watchable, although I suppose it didn't do too much for me as I never saw the third (although I still plan to).

Let me know what you think of Tobolowsky's take on the film, and please do drop by /film to check out their podcast. They had Kevin Smith on as a guest a couple weeks ago to review The Dark Knight, and it was great.

Welcome!

Filmadelphia is finally up and running! Filmadelphia is an idea my friend Tom and I had to create a place for our bemoanings about hollywood. We hope to provide daily opinion pieces about the latest film news and movies coming out, as well as links to interesting movie related websites and news articles. We're also in the process of figuring out how to publish our own weekendly podcast. If anyone has any information on this (I'm a little iffy on this RSS feed thing) please e-mail us at filmadelphiablog@gmail.com. We need all the help we can get!

Speaking of the podcast, we plan on doing a weekendly podcast called "Weakends" because movie blogs never update over the weekends, so they end up being pretty weak news wise. We figured we'd get something up on saturdays in which we'll take a nod from /film's /filmcast and talk about what we've been watching over the week, review any new films we may have seen, and discuss the weeks biggest film news. We're hoping to have guests from around Philadelphia's geek community, as well as others from the internet film community.

That's all from me for now, but keep up with us, we promise to be an exciting and up-to-date blog with interesting things to say.