The General Movie Thread - 2009 Edition

[esophagus]

Let's kick this thing off. Top 10 anticipated releases of '09 so far?

[esophagus]

In order of release:

Fanboys
This Side of the Truth
The Soloist
The Brothers Bloom
Up
Funny People
Where the Wild Things Are
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Sherlock Holmes
Nine

[sarahg42]

Watchmen
Watchmen
Watchmen
Watchmen
Watchmen
Watchmen
Watchmen
Watchmen
Watchmen
Watchmen


Did I mention Watchmen?

[paper]

The Brothers Bloom
Up
Funny People
Where the Wild Things Are
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Nine
Star Trek
Public Enemies
Harry Potter

[esophagus]

The Watchmen
The Watchmen
The Watchmen
The Watchmen
The Watchmen
The Watchmen
The Watchmen
The Watchmen
The Watchmen
The Watchmen


Did I mention The Watchmen?- The

[cenquist]

Notorious
Watchmen
Star Trek (never thought I would put that on a list like this ever)
Up
Public Enemies
Transformers Revenge of the Fallen
Where The Wild Things Are
Angels and Demons
Harry Potter (never thought this would happen either!)
Nine

[cenquist]

In order of release:

Fanboys
This Side of the Truth
The Soloist
The Brothers Bloom
Up
Funny People
Where the Wild Things Are
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Sherlock Holmes
Nine

Is Fanboys actually going to come out this time though? I remember seeing the trailer for this like what 2 years ago?

[cyberauron]

1. Harry Potter
2. The Watchmen
3. Wolverine
4. Terminator Salvation
5. Star Trek
6. Pink Panther 2
7. Night at the musuem 2
8.Angels and Demons
9. Bruno
10. Defiance

[esophagus]

Is Fanboys actually going to come out this time though? I remember seeing the trailer for this like what 2 years ago?I think so. That's actually most of the reason it's on my list. I don't expect it to be groundbreakingly funny or amazing, I just want to finally see it.

[sarahg42]

- The

You're totally right. Chalk it up to being tired and over-medicated. Ugh. *turns in her GEEK ID card*

[thenextchampion]

In order of release:

Friday the 13th (Just cause they fucked up with the remake of Halloween, gotta see how they ruin this film)

Street Fighter: Legend of Chun-Li (Even if it doesnt have JCVD, it should be better then the first)

Watchmen (Of course FOX could change all of that if they delay it....lousy bastards)

Dragonball (Oh I gotta see how they destroy my childhood with this)

Crank 2: High Voltage (Who cares how he lives out of the first film! It's Jason Statham!!!)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Anything will be better then X-3)

Bruno (Borat will remain as a classic in my eyes, here's for more comedy gold from Sacha Baron Cohen)

Terminator Salvation (What I have been waiting for, a film focusing on the actual war)

Transformer: Revenge of the Fallen (Eh....why not?)

Inglourious Bastards (Tarantino film...with Brad Pitt, Sam Jackson, and a ton of cameos)

The Wolfman (The perfect casting here; Benicio Del Toro as the Wolfman)

A Christmas Carol (I totally fell in love with this new CGI format that Robert Zemeckis has used for Polar Express and Beowulf. Plus you have Jim Carrey doing most of the voices, it should be breathtaking to see)

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (I love Terry Gilliam, he is my favorite director. His last couple of films have been medicore but there's no denying he puts alot of Imagination in his work. Plus this is offically the last Heath Ledger film so it'll be interesting to see how they handle all of these other actors taking his place for the film)

Island of the Dead (I believe it's a sequal to the sub-par Diary of the Dead. But who cares!? Anything zombie related with George Romero's name on it should be at least watchable)

The Road (One of my most favorite novels ever. Done by Cormac McCarthy, the same of No Country for Old Men, it's a brilliant apocolyptic father and son team up. I cannot wait to see how they handle this adaptation)

[Humphrey Lee]

Man, I barely want to start thinking about this year's films when I've still got Doubt, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, The Wrestler, Revolutionary Road, Rachel Getting Married and The Reader to see (sadly, only three of those are playing here so far).

Right now I'd say I'm looking forward to the standard assortment of "geek films" like Terminator: Salvation, Harry Potter, Wolverine, Watchmen, Coraline, Star Trek, and then stuff like The Soloist, The Brothers Bloom, The Road, and of course, Public Enemies (Bale and Depp in a gangster flick? Holy fuck yeah!).

In true Hollywood form though, I assume I won't know of even the existence of most of the films I want to see until two weeks before they're out in the depths of November and December. I'm still fucking dying to see The Wrestler. Brassum frassum.

[paper]

Oh, yes, add Coraline to my list. A good year for children's book adaptations.

[sodapop Ninja]

The Brothers Bloom
Up
Star Trek
Funny People
Public Enemies
Sherlock Holmes
Coraline
Where the Wild Things Are
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Terminator Salvation

[cyberauron]

Street Fighter: Legend of Chun-Li (Even if it doesnt have JCVD, it should be better then the first)

Dragonball (Oh I gotta see how they destroy my childhood with this)

Crank 2: High Voltage (Who cares how he lives out of the first film! It's Jason Statham!!!)

The Wolfman (The perfect casting here; Benicio Del Toro as the Wolfman)


Street fighter I did not here about, but the first one had blanca, note he did nonthing , but he was there
Dragonball i am with you on this, i can not wait until they try to do the gundam wing live action

crank 2, it is jason stathan
the wolfman, he is the only one in hollywood who has previous experience playing wolfman. can we say pee wee under the big top

[ConorKilpatrick]

the wolfman, he is the only one in hollywood who has previous experience playing wolfman. can we say pee wee under the big top

http://www.sineport.com/poster/eski/wolf.jpg

[hank41]

ive gotta think about my most anticipated movies. there's a lot to consider. we've got a new Scorsese, Jackson, Anderson, Tarantino, and a new Jonze!!!!

[optimus187prime]

Island of the Dead you say, NICE !!!

What is Scorsese's new project?

[thenextchampion]

Island of the Dead you say, NICE !!!

What is Scorsese's new project?

His new project is called Ashecliffe.

Synopsis: Two U.S. marshals investigate the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane on an island in Massachusetts. They run into trouble when they are deceived by others, and a hurricane and an inmate riot traps them on the island.

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo (Zodiac), Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain), Emily Mortimer (Redbelt), Max von Sydow, Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen), Patricia Clarkson (Peices of April).

Sounds good to me.

[optimus187prime]

Sounds good to me also, I am a sucker for Scorsese flicks.

[hank41]

Sounds good to me also, I am a sucker for Scorsese flicks.

aren't we all

[esophagus]

Finally got around to renting Brick. For some reason I thought I had it totally mixed up with another movie in my head. It was excellent. Best "detective" movie I've seen in a while (save The Dark Knight).

[RaceMcCloud]

"Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" has been given a PG rating by the MPAA, the first Potter movie to get a PG since "Prisoner of Azkaban". This makes sense to me, as HBP doesn't have the same heavily extreme dark elements as "Goblet of Fire" or "Order of the Phoenix" (although some of those flashbacks could be very chilling). I would imagine that the two-parts of the "Deathly Hallows" film will go back to a PG-13 rating.

Edit: On second thought, there's some creepy stuff towards the end of this book... hmmmm...

[thenextchampion]

Oh my god! PG rated Harry Potter!?

Call the FCC cause this cant be released!





Call me when it goes NC-17

[niceguyeddie]

His new project is called Ashecliffe.

Synopsis: Two U.S. marshals investigate the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane on an island in Massachusetts. They run into trouble when they are deceived by others, and a hurricane and an inmate riot traps them on the island.

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo (Zodiac), Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain), Emily Mortimer (Redbelt), Max von Sydow, Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen), Patricia Clarkson (Peices of April).

Sounds good to me.

huh, they changed the title? (Shutter Island)
it's based on another novel from Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone, some eps. of The Wire)

[cyberauron]

Edit: On second thought, there's some creepy stuff towards the end of this book... hmmmm...

Yeah there is. The whole last five chapter are a bit dark

[hank41]

Finally got around to renting Brick. For some reason I thought I had it totally mixed up with another movie in my head. It was excellent. Best "detective" movie I've seen in a while (save The Dark Knight).

word.

[esophagus]

I'm about to put in Schindler's List. Like most great movies that didn't just come out it gets shuffled around a lot and I've never actually seen it before now.

Not that I in any way doubt it will be good, but I decided to open Rotten Tomatoes, just to get an idea. It was rated at 96%, which I assumed to be good. Then I noticed that Toy Story 2 had 100% and over twice as many reviews. I think I had a stronger reaction to this than finding out Santa wasn't real. It has shaken my faith in Rotten Tomatoes to the core.

[gobo]

Why? Toy Story 2 was awesome.

Also something as powerful as the Schindler's List is BOUND to have a couple dissenters.

[esophagus]

Toy Sotry 2 was not awesome. Nowhere near it. It was a good movie, and I respect the people who say that it's the best pixar movie, but I can't possibly bring myself to believe that it is the second best movie of all time.

[hank41]

i should really re-watch the Toy Story movies

[paper]

Just saw Doubt and The Wrestler today. Both were spectacular.

[gobo]

Toy Sotry 2 was not awesome. Nowhere near it. It was a good movie, and I respect the people who say that it's the best pixar movie, but I can't possibly bring myself to believe that it is the second best movie of all time.

It doesn't mean that at all, it just means it's the second most universally LIKED movie. All it measures is a like/dislike ratio, not an actual how good is this movie.

I suspect given the option MANY of the people who like both Schindler's List and Toy Story 2 would say List is a better movie (myself included)

[thenextchampion]

http://movies.ign.com/dor/objects/14209302/crank-high-voltage/images/crank-high-voltage-20090114024748362.html

Yes.....YES......YESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!

[Humphrey Lee]

http://movies.ign.com/dor/objects/14209302/crank-high-voltage/images/crank-high-voltage-20090114024748362.html

Yes.....YES......YESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!


No no sir. If you want to be excited by some action films upcoming, I give you both:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1320253/

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6oAPRJLbnM


Oh yeah...

[thenextchampion]

No no sir. If you want to be excited by some action films upcoming, I give you both:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1320253/

It isnt Rambo.....What's the point!?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6oAPRJLbnM


Oh yeah...

That actually looks interesting. Not a huge fan of blaxpoitation films, but if this is a spoof or an homage to the genre. I can dig it.

Still....CRANK 2 IS BETTER THEN ANYTHING!

[Humphrey Lee]

It isnt Rambo.....What's the point!?




The point is the ridiculous cast. I'd pay $20 to see that with all those dudes blowing shit up together...

[thenextchampion]

The point is the ridiculous cast. I'd pay $20 to see that with all those dudes blowing shit up together...

Well I didnt see the cast list just Sly on there......Why is there something.....interes.....




Sylvester Stallone.......Jason Statham......Jet Li!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



*breathes hard* Oh my god.....Oh my god.....ohmygodohmygodogmygod.

*faints*

[Humphrey Lee]

Well I didnt see the cast list just Sly on there......Why is there something.....interes.....




Sylvester Stallone.......Jason Statham......Jet Li!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



*breathes hard* Oh my god.....Oh my god.....ohmygodohmygodogmygod.

*faints*


And Dolph Lundgren! And Mickey Rourke! AND FOREST WHITAKER!!!

... you can't tell me you don't need to change your pants right now...

[esophagus]

Diary of the Dead is definitely my least favorite of the Romero movies. Didn't really like it at all.

[thenextchampion]

And Dolph Lundgren! And Mickey Rourke! AND FOREST WHITAKER!!!

... you can't tell me you don't need to change your pants right now...

Doctor: Clear!!!
(gets defilibrators work)
Michael: I'M IN HEAVEN!!!!

[thenextchampion]

Keanu Reeves will play as Spike Spiegel in the live action Cowboy Bebop film

http://www.newsarama.com/film/010916-Reeves-Bebop.html#comments




WHYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!?????

[optimus187prime]

Keanu Reeves will play as Spike Spiegel in the live action Cowboy Bebop film

http://www.newsarama.com/film/010916-Reeves-Bebop.html#comments




WHYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!?????

Man, that is not good news in my book.

[CAM!]

This:

Keanu Reeves will play as Spike Spiegel in the live action Cowboy Bebop film

http://www.newsarama.com/film/010916-Reeves-Bebop.html#comments



Doesn't bother me nearly as much as this:

Kieran Culkin cast as Wallace in Scott Pilgrim

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=51965

Don't quite know why. Guess it's cause I care about Scott Pilgrim....

[esophagus]

My new television arrived, so I figured it was about time to go rent some movies and give it a go.

Already watched:
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Rent this!!!)
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Up next:
Sweeney Todd
Control
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
28 Weeks Later
Mean Creek
Hotel Rwanda

I've got 7 days. Time to get watching.

[optimus187prime]

My new television arrived, so I figured it was about time to go rent some movies and give it a go.

Already watched:
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Rent this!!!)
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Up next:
Sweeney Todd
Control
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
28 Weeks Later
Mean Creek
Hotel Rwanda

I've got 7 days. Time to get watching.
HD TV?

If so, then Blu Ray I hope.

[gobo]

Don't quite know why. Guess it's cause I care about Scott Pilgrim....Kieran's a pretty good choice for that role I think.

[brandeezy]

I watched both "Che" movies today in one four + hour stretch and they were awesome. Definitely avoids the problem I have with biopics by avoiding back story and kind of dropping you in the middle of Che's political/military beginning and ending.

[optimus187prime]

I watched both "Che" movies today in one four + hour stretch and they were awesome. Definitely avoids the problem I have with biopics by avoiding back story and kind of dropping you in the middle of Che's political/military beginning and ending.

Im definitely looking forward to watching that.

[hank41]

Match Point was good.

Joy Division doc was great

[esophagus]

Joy Division doc was great
On a semi-related note, I watched Control last night. The movie itself wasn't that great but visually it was stunning.

[Six Gun]

Defiance was really awesome despite a few indecisive choices w/r/t theme.

Gran Torino, without Clint Eastwood, is an abysmal film. With Clint Eastwood it becomes OK. Clint singing over the credits was creepy.

[brandmed]

Has anyone seen Appaloosa? I recall hearing mixed things about it when it was first released. I've had the disc here from Netflix for the last week, but right now it just seems very unappealing to me. I'm thinking I'll probably send it back unwatched and if the mood strikes me again later I'll re-queue it. That is, unless someone tells me it's really awesome or something.

[esophagus]

Gran Torino, without Clint Eastwood, is an abysmal film. With Clint Eastwood it becomes OK. Clint singing over the credits was creepy.
I hear this a lot, but I thought the naturalistic feel of the Hmong actors was perfectly fine. It really helped to contribute to the over-the-top character that Eastwood played. The guy that growls regularly. I thought it was a really solid movie. One of my favorites of the year? Probably not, but it was still quite enjoyable. I thought.

[ConorKilpatrick]

I hear this a lot, but I thought the naturalistic feel of the Hmong actors was perfectly fine. It really helped to contribute to the over-the-top character that Eastwood played. The guy that growls regularly. I thought it was a really solid movie. One of my favorites of the year? Probably not, but it was still quite enjoyable. I thought.

I agree. I liked it more, though. Gran Torino is definitely one of my favorite films of 2008.

[Six Gun]

I agree. I liked it more, though. Gran Torino is definitely one of my favorite films of 2008.

The film beats you over the head with what's going on. I didn't need Clint Eastwood staring at a mirror saying that he felt more at home with the Hmongs than his family. I got that, I also didn't need that Hmong policeman explaining his plan. I got that when he went down.

My issue wasn't with the acting or the directing. My issue is with the script. And as Paul always says, the film begins with the script.

[crippler]

I've heard wildly different viewpoints on Gran Torino from friends that I usually agree with on movie choices. Looks like a rental for me.

What does the iFanboy movie review list look like for 09? Watchmen and.... what else?

[esophagus]

I agree. I liked it more, though. Gran Torino is definitely one of my favorite films of 2008.It might make my top ten. Not five.

[Six Gun]

What does the iFanboy movie review list look like for 09? Watchmen and.... what else?

Whiteout, Wolverine among others

[kahunablair]

What does the iFanboy movie review list look like for 09? Watchmen and.... what else?
Whiteout, Wolverine among others

So it looks like:
Watchmen
Whiteout
Wolverine
Witchblade (http://www.witchblade2009.com/)
Wolfman (http://www.thewolfmanmovie.com/)
Where the Wild Things are (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_the_Wild_Things_Are_(film))
Willis' Surrogates (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0986263/)

World's Greatest Dad (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1262981/) (I don't see the comic connection either, but I think Ron has a mancrush on Robin Williams)

[ConorKilpatrick]

So it looks like:
Watchmen
Whiteout
Wolverine
Witchblade (http://www.witchblade2009.com/)
Wolfman (http://www.thewolfmanmovie.com/)
Where the Wild Things are (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_the_Wild_Things_Are_(film))
Willis' Surrogates (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0986263/)

World's Greatest Dad (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1262981/) (I don't see the comic connection either, but I think Ron has a mancrush on Robin Williams)

Hmmm... definitely not all of those.

[kahunablair]

What else?
Which would you knock off the list?

[hank41]

Ben Button is a masterpiece

Gran Torino is good

[cyberauron]

defiance was a realy great film. everyone in it was great and the story was great. on another note do you guys notice that liev scheiber is the only one from the scream franchise to have a sucessfull movie career

[RaceMcCloud]

"The Dark Knight" did not get a Best Picture nomination.

The Academy is officially irrelevant. Whatever interest I may have had in the Oscars is completely gone. Really, it's a great film that millions of people love, but it's not going to get a nod solely because it's a superhero film? That's what happened here. What a joke.

Oh, and the nominees are...


The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Slumdog Millionaire
Milk
Frost/Nixon
Reader (Never heard of it.)


Button will win. Why bother watching?

[optimus187prime]

I really like the trailers for Push although I am not a huge Chris Evans fan. Hope it turns out good, but expectation is low.

[thenextchampion]

I'm very upset that Dark Knight is not up for Best Picture. After looking at the nominations I can tell that there is always a weak entry in the nomination:

Curious Case of Benjamin Button (No this was one of the best films of the year and I think it's the front runner to win this year)
Slumdog Millionare (Good film but a bit overrated)
Milk (Never got a chance to watch it, but I heard nothing but good things)
Frost/Nixon (Great peice on this interview but more importantly it's a great view for the legacy of Nixon)
The Reader (What is this? After looking it up at imdb not only did I never heard of it....but looking at wikipedia it was only in theaters for a limited amount of time, or just 2 weeks. So all month long I gotta hear how barely anyone has seen it cause MGM didnt have a world wide release for this)

So Curious Case and Frost/Nixon deserves the nomination. Milk I never saw but I'll give it a nomination. But Slumdog Millionare and definitely The Reader doesnt deserve the spot. Heck I can think of three better films to replace the two I dont like. The Wrestler (which everyone couldnt shut the hell up about), Revolutionary Road (again no one critic could shut up about it), and Doubt (which was pretty good). So why did Slumdog and Reader deserve the nom? Maybe it's just the angry comic book nerd in me but damnit, Dark Knight was better then three out of the five films up for Best Picture.

Not only that but what about Best Director or Best Writing? I dont know if it could be up for Original or Adapted Screenplay but I think it deserves a nod when it loses to WALLE! Fuck, WALL-E didnt even have actual diaologue until an hour into the film! How does that count!?

Other then that I am fine with the rest of the nominations, both for Dark Knight and the rest of the films involved. Although it is funny Dark Knight is up for Best Make-Up. Sure Ledger looked great as the Joker....but with that type of sloppy work to put the white makeup on....should it be up for that? :)

[Humphrey Lee]

"The Dark Knight" did not get a Best Picture nomination.

The Academy is officially irrelevant. Whatever interest I may have had in the Oscars is completely gone. Really, it's a great film that millions of people love, but it's not going to get a nod solely because it's a superhero film? That's what happened here. What a joke.


No, it's not there because it shouldn't be. It's not because it's a "superhero" film, it's because at the end of the day, it's just another action movie. One of the best made to this point, yet, but still just a big budget action movie, and not on an epic scale like a Gladiator was. It's like being pissed that "The Sinestro Corps War" got passed over in the Eisners for Maus or Pride of Baghdad etc. Claims that the Oscars aren't relevant anymore because they didn't nominate the thing with the guy in the Batsuit are laughable.

[esophagus]

My rundown of some of the Oscar nominees...

Best Picture
Personally, I don't think The Dark Knight should be in this list. I'm glad it isn't there. That said this year really lacks a standout film. There is nothing I'm really rooting for. Of the group I hope Slumdog takes it.

Actor in a Leading Role
I haven't seen Frost/Nixon to know if Langella was better, but I think this one should go to Rourke. No brainer.

Actor in a Supporting Role
This will go to Heath Ledger without a doubt. Hoffman is his only real contender, but that won't happen.

Actress in a Supporting Role
This should go to Penelope Cruz, I think. If it goes to Marisa Tomei I will shit a brick.

Animated Feature Film
If anyone thinks anything other than Wall-E wins this you are crazy.

Best Directing
I really hope Slumdog wins this.

Foreign Language Film
Really disappointed 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days isn't here. It had release dates in '08 and in '09 so it kind of got overlooked both years.

Writing - Adapted
This was a year of a lot of adaptations. Should be interesting. Doubt, FTW.

Writing - Original
Milk. I wouldn't be upset if In Bruges won (which it won't).

[jasonb35]

I like the Dark Knight as much as anyone but if you haven't heard of or seen the movie then how can you make the argument that it should be off the list. I've read several reviews of The Reader and it's supposed to be excellent. It's in plenty of mainstream mulitplex's where I live. See it before you say it shouldn't be nominated.

[esophagus]

So Curious Case and Frost/Nixon deserves the nomination.Yup.Milk I never saw but I'll give it a nomination.You should really see it. Fantastic. But Slumdog Millionare and definitely The Reader doesnt deserve the spot.If you don't like Slumdog, fine. I get it. Personally I loved it, but if you don't like it you aren't going to want it on the list. I'll concede to that.

Your argument for The Reader, however, makes no sense. It was an absolutely fantastic movie that I have no qualms with putting on that list. You haven't seen it, so I guess you wouldn't know it was amazing. But wait... If you haven't seen it or HEARD OF IT, why are you dismissing it? Because it wasn't in theaters everywhere? That's entirely irrelavant to being the best picture. That's just silly. Heck I can think of three better films to replace the two I dont like. The Wrestler (which everyone couldnt shut the hell up about), Revolutionary Road (again no one critic could shut up about it), and Doubt (which was pretty good).I wouldn't be upset if The Wrestler or Doubt made it up there. Especially Doubt. Revolutionary Road was an okay movie, but I don't think it's even in the same strata as the other movies we're discussing. So why did Slumdog and Reader deserve the nom? Maybe it's just the angry comic book nerd in me but damnit, Dark Knight was better then three out of the five films up for Best Picture.It is just the comic reader in you. The Dark Knight was the best Batman ever brought to the screen, and it did the best job of any Batman in any media of making the characters intriguing and worthwhile to a mass audience. It made a great power story out of a great character. I would rank it above any other action or superhero movie I've seen, especially because I have such a relation to the character. That said, it wasn't one of the best pictures of the year. It was certainly one of the most enjoyable, though.
Not only that but what about Best Director or Best Writing? I dont know if it could be up for Original or Adapted Screenplay but I think it deserves a nod when it loses to WALLE! Fuck, WALL-E didnt even have actual diaologue until an hour into the film! How does that count!?Want in on a little secret? When you write a movie you write whaat happens between the dialogue too. I don't know if I'd put Wall-E on the list but that's because I didn't enjoy it as much as a lot of people did. I don't think the lack of dialogue is in anyway relevant. If anything it makes it a better contender. They managed to write a good movie with a character we couldn't verbally relate to. I definitely would have been content seeing The Dark Knight in either of these categories, though.
Other then that I am fine with the rest of the nominations, both for Dark Knight and the rest of the films involved. Although it is funny Dark Knight is up for Best Make-Up. Sure Ledger looked great as the Joker....but with that type of sloppy work to put the white makeup on....should it be up for that? :)Yes. It's like giving best costumes to a movie about homeless people. Yes their clothes were ragged but they were SUPPOSED to be. The Joker's make-up was excellent. Everyone in the movies was.

[esophagus]

"The Dark Knight" did not get a Best Picture nomination.

The Academy is officially irrelevant. Whatever interest I may have had in the Oscars is completely gone. Really, it's a great film that millions of people love, but it's not going to get a nod solely because it's a superhero film? That's what happened here. What a joke.Did I miss the press release that said this had anything to do with it having superheroes in it?

[paper]

Slumdog is my pick for best picture and I think it has a real shot. It won the Globes, so it's possible. I'm not at all angry that Dark Knight didn't get a nod but I am sort of pissed that Doubt and The Wrestler didn't.

In Bruges for best original screenplay and Doubt for best adapted (Slumdog being my second choice).

I like Rourke or Penn for best actor, Hoffman or Brolin for supporting. I guess Meryl for best actress and maybe Amy Adams for best supporting. The actress categories are a toss-up this year. I still need to see The Reader.

[enfuego]

Apparently, our snooty friends at the Academy didn't think that The Dark Knight was worthy of any Oscar nominations. I think it is ridiculous that a film that has captured the imaginations of people around the globe was ignored. Even if one were to look past the critical accolades, the movie has grossed nearly a BILLION DOLLARS! How did it get completely shut out from the Academy Award nominations? The silver lining in all this is that Ledger did get nominated for the Best Supporting Actor role.

I thought that if any "comic book movie" had a chance to win Best Picture, this would be the one. Nolan, the cast and crew have created two fantastic films that can stand alone as great pieces of American cinema. The fact that the mythology and plot is pulled from comics is irrelevant at this point. They are fabulous movies, no pretense should be necessary to thoroughly enjoy them.

[Neb]

I'm not too upset about the Best Picture thing (although it was the best picture I saw last year). As Eso points out, popularity doesn't directly correlate to Oscars (they look more for technical and artistic merits). I can understand the argument for or against that.

I think its a shame that Nolan was shafted out of a Best Director nod though. He created this excellently paced and layered film, and all of the action was done with very little CG. In this age, that's pretty impressive. That should get some props.

[thenextchampion]

At the end of the day, you gotta remember what the Oscars is all about.

It's not about the best action film, or about the highest grossing film ever deserving awards. It's about the artistic talent that each person provided to make a breathtaking film. So yes the comic book fan in me is raging that it didnt get a best picture nomination; but when you think about it....it probably shouldnt get it. I mean other then Joker's monologues and possibly the ending of the film; it is basically an action film. It does have good writing, acting, editing, script, and all that other jazz. But that's because it is different from most superhero/comic book films and that's why we think it's the greatest thing ever.

This is by no means detracting from what a great peice of film Dark Knight is. It is a great film and it will always be the high standard for every comic book film to come out til the end of days. Although I had more fun with Dark Knight, I can see why a film like Slumdog Millionare got the nomination. Cause it's a fantastic love story that isnt about successful Americans living in a good area of the country. It's about the lives of poor people in India and how a poor man from the slums of the country raises the hopes of many people. Plus it is a fantastic love story as well so artistically.....yes Slumdog deserves the nomination.

I've never seen Reader but it had to have done something impressive to get the nominations. We just all have to remember there is a difference between what we like, and what is considered art. So sorry I acted like a child before, The Dark Knight might be one of the best comic book films ever made; but it doesnt deserve a best picture nod.



Although depressing religious stories are always Oscar gold....So I'm still shocked Doubt didnt get the nomination.

[esophagus]

Doubt definitely deserves a nod.

The should-be nominations:
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
Doubt
The Wrestler

Not necessarily my five favorite films this year, but I think they are the ones that should be in competition.

Edit: In semi-related news, I thought it was odd that Springsteen's Wrestler song didn't get a music nomination.

[optimus187prime]

Edit: In semi-related news, I thought it was odd that Springsteen's Wrestler song didn't get a music nomination.

The one-legged dog shuffle?

[oh_caroline]

Edit: In semi-related news, I thought it was odd that Springsteen's Wrestler song didn't get a music nomination.

The Academy has a conservative bias and were turned off by Bruce's vocal pro-Obama stand.

I'm sure it was that.

[thenextchampion]

The one-legged dog shuffle?

Not to be off-topic, but do you listen to Preston and Steve on the radio? God they did such a great parody/joke on that part of the song.

But yeah that isnt Oscar worthy material, it could be the worst Springsteen song I've ever heard.

[phoenix-torn]

Out of the movies nominated for best Picture the only one I've seen is The Reader. It's been getting a little slack on this thread and I have to say, it really was a good movie. It makes you think. You find yourself feeling bad for characters in other contexts you never would and then question yourself for it. Kate Winslet was good in it and I really do think she is a great actress.

Another note Robert Downey Jr for Tropic Thunder? I know he has no chance of winning but this is not a role/movie that screams oscar nomination... I loved the movie but that nomination surprised me a whole lot more than Dark Knight not being nominated lol

[Humphrey Lee]

The Academy has a conservative bias and were turned off by Bruce's vocal pro-Obama stand.

I'm sure it was that.


Conservative bias? You mean the establishment that nominated the Gay Cowboy movie for the most awards the year it came out right? (at least, I think it had the most noms).

[mttskates]

Dont know if this is the right area to post, but seems like it.

Just watched a bio-doc on Ray Bradbury and then went to IMDB to see what he was working on now.

This is what I found (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1094667/)

Make sure to look at who is directing.

pretty cool huh?

[optimus187prime]

Watchmen
Sherlock Holmes
Public Enemies
Wolverine
Bruno
Terminator
Drag Me to Hell
Inglorious Bastards
Where The Wild things are
Wolfman

[ConorKilpatrick]

Conservative bias? You mean the establishment that nominated the Gay Cowboy movie for the most awards the year it came out right? (at least, I think it had the most noms).

And then gave the Best Picture award to Crash. The Academy has a well known conservative streak among the older members. It's an open secret.

[thenextchampion]

Crash was a pretty good film. A great inside look at how racism is still in our lives and how extreme or calm racism can be.

But yeah Brokeback Mountain was miles better then Crash so although Crash deserved the nom....it should've been Brokeback for that award.

Overall I agree with most of the Academy's picks for Best Picture. Is there really that many controversy's on their picks?

[ConorKilpatrick]

Overall I agree with most of the Academy's picks for Best Picture. Is there really that many controversy's on their picks?

Sometimes, yes. Last week's Entertainment Weekly has an interesting article on Oscar controversies.

[Humphrey Lee]

And then gave the Best Picture award to Crash. The Academy has a well known conservative streak among the older members. It's an open secret.

Okay, sure, one conglomerate that probably makes up a not inconsiderable percentage of the overall has a conservative streak... welcome to pretty much every break down of anything ever. Those sneaky bastards, popping up in our award committees!

[thenextchampion]

Sometimes, yes. Last week's Entertainment Weekly has an interesting article on Oscar controversies.

Well I'll look at the article at work tomorrow but when I see all the winners of Best Picture, I only get a few films I disagree of winning it:

1941 (How Green Was My Valley beat out Citizen Kane and The Maltese Falcon! Now that first film mention is a great non-western by John Ford....but it's no where near as good as quality as Citizen Kane or Maltese Falcon)

1952 (Greatest Show on Earth beat out The Quiet Man. Maybe it's because I love it that Quiet Man has one of the longest and most entertaining fight scenes in film....But I know a lot of people thought Greatest Show was just giving Cecil B. Demille his kudos....sort of like Martin Scoresse in the future)

1976 (Rocky beats All The President's Men, Network, and Taxi Driver. Again Rocky was a great film; but Network beats out all of the other films mentioned)

1998 (Shakespeare in Love beats Saving Private Ryan. Totally hated the Shakespeare film....how can you not let the most epic WWII film ever made win?)

2005 (Crash beats Brokeback Mountain. Again Crash was a wonderful film and I had no problems of it being nominated. But Brokeback was clearly the best overall film and how it lost still puzzles me today.)

So only 5 times in the eighty year history of the awards do I disagree with their decisions of best film. That's not as bad as I think anyone is making this out to be.

[oh_caroline]

Oops, umm, the conservative bias comment was a joke? Because people are always saying Hollywood has a liberal bias, and obviously they wouldn't disqualify somebody for supporting Obama?

Also, don't make fun of Bruce. Silvio from the 'Sopranos' is in his band, and he'll come after you.* It's not pretty.

*This is also a joke.

[gobo]

Oops, umm, the conservative bias comment was a joke? Because people are always saying Hollywood has a liberal bias, and obviously they wouldn't disqualify somebody for supporting Obama?

Also, don't make fun of Bruce. Silvio from the 'Sopranos' is in his band, and he'll come after you.* It's not pretty.

*This is also a joke.

No it's not, how do you think I got this limp?

[Humphrey Lee]

No it's not, how do you think I got this limp?

Walked in on your mom in the shower??


... wait, wrong kind of limp.

[thenextchampion]

Walked in on your mom in the shower??


... wait, wrong kind of limp.

(Takes Trophy away from WadeWilson and hands it to Humphrey)

Congrads! You have now won the 'Sickest Joke ever award for 2009!'

[niceguyeddie]

saw slumdog millionaire...
it was a damn good movie.

not as depressing as I thought it'd be.

[RaceMcCloud]

You know, last year around Academy Awards time, my dad asked me if I had seen the Best Picture nominees. I had to admit that I hadn't. It was at that moment that I decided to stop pretending I was any sort of movie buff. I said to my dad, "Look at my DVD collection. It's superhero movies, cartoons, 'Kevin Smith', 'Star Wars', 'Harry Potter' and musicals. Oh, and the entire runs of 'Friends' and 'Sex in the City'. I'm just not a fan of the typical 'Oscar-bait' type of movie." In fact, I just glanced over the list of Best Picture winners, and I'd have to say that my all-time favorites on that list are "Shakespeare in Love" and "Chicago". (And "Pulp Fiction" and "Moulin Rouge" got robbed.)

My wife and I don't get out much to the movies with a 2 year old; when a free evening comes our way are far more likely to opt for the theatre. However, last weekend we decided to try and see an Oscar movie and went to see "Revolutionary Road". I figured it was shoo-in for a Best Picture nom because it made me want to shoot myself. Ultimately, although I still wish "The Dark Knight" was on the short list, I'm glad "Revolutionary Road" wasn't. Although I will say that Michael Shannon's nomination as best supporting actor was highly deserved. He was fantastic, and gave an otherwise dreary story some much needed electricity.

[oh_caroline]

However, last weekend we decided to try and see an Oscar movie and went to see "Revolutionary Road". I figured it was shoo-in for a Best Picture nom because it made me want to shoot myself.

Whereas 'Dark Knight' was totally life-affirming?

[cenquist]

My Frost/Nixon (http://storiesinmedium.blogspot.com/) review

[RaceMcCloud]

Whereas 'Dark Knight' was totally life-affirming?

Two different movies. "The Dark Knight" was thrilling, though dark. "Revolutionary Road" was depressing. "Death of a Salesman" and "The Graduate" both did that story better, anyway. (Leo's character being somewhere between Willy Loman and Ben Braddock in age, but right in line with their struggle with life's meaninglessness.)

[oh_caroline]

Two different movies. "The Dark Knight" was thrilling, though dark. "Revolutionary Road" was depressing. "Death of a Salesman" and "The Graduate" both did that story better, anyway. (Leo's character being somewhere between Willy Loman and Ben Braddock in age, but right in line with their struggle with life's meaninglessness.)

It's not remotely the same story. I find it kind of mind-boggling that 'struggle with life's meaninglessness' would be seen as an outmoded and used up theme. If it didn't appeal to you, that's fine, but just because you find something depressing doesn't make a bad.

I'm not sure I thought RR was a great movie -- it pushed too many personal buttons for me to be able to talk about it with any objectivity -- but I think it did a good job of dramatizing a genuinely great novel.

[mrmister]

Saw The Wrestler over the weekend, and it was AWESOME.

Saw Slumdog about 2 or 3 weekends ago, good but not great.

Milk and Wall-E were probably my top 2 of the past year/early 2009.

Still need to see Frost/Nixon

[RaceMcCloud]

It's not remotely the same story. I find it kind of mind-boggling that 'struggle with life's meaninglessness' would be seen as an outmoded and used up theme. If it didn't appeal to you, that's fine, but just because you find something depressing doesn't make a bad.

I'm not sure I thought RR was a great movie -- it pushed too many personal buttons for me to be able to talk about it with any objectivity -- but I think it did a good job of dramatizing a genuinely great novel.

"Revolutionary Road", "The Graduate", and "Death of a Salesman" all deal with a very similar theme, that of the despair of being faced with a life that is ordinary. Ben Braddock is looking at his future, Leo and Kate (forget the character names) are stuck in the middle of it, and Willy Loman realizes this at the end. And I don't think the theme is outmoded OR used up. I'm about to begin directing a production of the stage version of "The Graduate". I just think "Salesman" and "Graduate" did it better than "Revolutionary Road".

I didn't even realize "Revolutionary Road" was a novel first. Based on the movie, I have no intention of reading it. You know what? I would have like it better if it had ended ten minutes earlier than it did. It went one step too far. Not that those last ten minutes were too depressing, they just were too much. I won't go further into details for fear of risking spoilers, but I felt that way very strongly, and so did everyone I saw the movie with. End of the day, the dude who got nominated was great, Leo and Kate were great... didn't much care for the movie.

But don't take it personally. It's just a movie.

[RaceMcCloud]

And I haven't seen all of Kate Winslet's films, but my favorite performance of hers by far is in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". Great, GREAT movie.

[oh_caroline]

"Revolutionary Road", "The Graduate", and "Death of a Salesman" all deal with a very similar theme, that of the despair of being faced with a life that is ordinary. Ben Braddock is looking at his future, Leo and Kate (forget the character names) are stuck in the middle of it, and Willy Loman realizes this at the end. And I don't think the theme is outmoded OR used up. I'm about to begin directing a production of the stage version of "The Graduate". I just think "Salesman" and "Graduate" did it better than "Revolutionary Road".

I didn't even realize "Revolutionary Road" was a novel first. Based on the movie, I have no intention of reading it. You know what? I would have like it better if it had ended ten minutes earlier than it did. It went one step too far. Not that those last ten minutes were too depressing, they just were too much. I won't go further into details for fear of risking spoilers, but I felt that way very strongly, and so did everyone I saw the movie with. End of the day, the dude who got nominated was great, Leo and Kate were great... didn't much care for the movie.

But don't take it personally. It's just a movie.

I didn't mean I was taking the comment personally, just that the movie has a lot of personal resonance for me, so it's hard for me to know how someone else would see it.

"Revolutionary Road" was a novel written by Richard Yates in the early 60s; it's a critique of mid-century American society and also somewhat of a reaction to a lot of the novels that had already been written about suburban angst ("Man in the Grey Flannel Suit", etc); it's different from those other stories because April actually calls Frank on his big talk and gives him the chance to find another kind of life, but he chickens out. The ending is a bit over the top, but it doesn't completely mar the rest of the story. The movie isn't the book -- the book is truly unfilmable as it's mostly interior monologues -- but in light of that, I think the movie does a really good job of bringing out the drama in the material.

And, really, if you're a fan of "The Graduate," I recommend Yates' fiction because it deals with some of the same issues a couple decades earlier. (I also love "The Graduate" and wouldn't dispute that it's a better film than RR; I just think RR was interesting and well done and shouldn't be dismissed because it had some depressing elements.

ETA: I think "Eternal Sunshine" is also my favorite Winslet performance, but I always like her.

[Neb]

I watched Death Race the other day. While it is dumb, I was also wholly entertained. It was like Twisted Metal come to life.

[Six Gun]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyzhdE6AJes
I know that I'm the token Ed Brubaker fanboy, but still... this looks awesome.

[mindstep666]

My most anticipated film for this year is Red Sonja - Robert Rodriguez is producing and Rose McGowan plays the protagonist - nothing could be better?... Except - Conan is next!!!

By Crom, this will be a good year!

[thenextchampion]

You ever had one of those nights where you cant sleep? So you put on the TV and try and sleep whatever is on? But then you actually get interested in the show or film you put on and watch it no matter how terrible it is?


Well I had that last night.....and the film was 'The Condemned'. You know the one starring Stone Cold Steve Austin.....Yeah....I want my two hours back Vince McMahon!!

[cyberauron]

u have to watch this trailer. hellboy and punisher trying to save the world from mutants

http://cybertrailerpark.tumblr.com/

[kahunablair]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyzhdE6AJes
I know that I'm the token Ed Brubaker fanboy, but still... this looks awesome.

Looks interesting to say the least.

[optimus187prime]

u have to watch this trailer. hellboy and punisher trying to save the world from mutants

http://cybertrailerpark.tumblr.com/

Looks interesting to say the least. I hope its not too cheesy though.

[hank41]

Frost/Nixon was great


anyone?

[ConorKilpatrick]

Frost/Nixon was great


anyone?

Josh agrees (http://www.murmur.com/tv_film/frostnixon_blew_my_face_off.html).

[Humphrey Lee]

Frost/Nixon was great


anyone?

Best I've seen of the past year, but I haven't seen The Wrestler or Revolutionary Road yet.

[thenextchampion]

Bold (Dare I say random?) Statement:

God forbid when Morgan Freeman dies; Liam Neelson will be the next big voiceover actor for Hollywood. I've seen that trailer for Taken so many times now, which normally is a bad thing but I love the speech he does for the trailer; that I've grown accustomed to his voice. I can totally see him as a guy who does a lot of v/o work for documentaries or films and then go out into the sunset doing random films.

[hank41]

Josh agrees (http://www.murmur.com/tv_film/frostnixon_blew_my_face_off.html).

yeah, i read that. i agree with him on most points. great review

[esophagus]

I fucking heart I Heart Huckabees.

[gobo]

Hell. Yes.

[Humphrey Lee]

Bold (Dare I say random?) Statement:

God forbid when Morgan Freeman dies; Liam Neelson will be the next big voiceover actor for Hollywood. I've seen that trailer for Taken so many times now, which normally is a bad thing but I love the speech he does for the trailer; that I've grown accustomed to his voice. I can totally see him as a guy who does a lot of v/o work for documentaries or films and then go out into the sunset doing random films.


After watching this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HD5yh8ar2I) I now believe everything should be narrated by Neil Gaiman. Everything...

[thenextchampion]

After watching this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HD5yh8ar2I) I now believe everything should be narrated by Neil Gaiman. Everything...

He does have a great voice....but still not as good as Neelsen.

I know it's not for Benjamin Button but for a second I thought it was.

[hank41]

I fucking heart I Heart Huckabees.

ive always wanted to see that but it just kinda looks like a wes anderson rip off to me. just sayin. but i guess i'll see it

[paper]

It's not even a little like a Wes Anderson movie. And it's still good.

[Neb]

Yeah, I Heart Huckabees is a great movie. Dustin Hoffman is so awesome in that movie.

[hank41]

It's not even a little like a Wes Anderson movie. And it's still good.

good to hear. ill rush!

[esophagus]

It is the reason I refuse to give up on Mark Wahlberg.

Some parts of it kind of annoy me, but the basic premise and all of the great performances make it well worth while.

Nobody sits like this rock sits,
You rock, Rock,
The rock just sits, and is,
You show us how to just sit here,
And that's what we need.

[esophagus]

I have been informed this is a controversial opinion for me to hold:

Zack and Miri Make a Porno is my favorite of Kevin Smith's movies (I haven't seen Chasing Amy yet, so I'm also told my feelings may change).

[hank41]

I have been informed this is a controversial opinion for me to hold:

Zack and Miri Make a Porno is my favorite of Kevin Smith's movies (I haven't seen Chasing Amy yet, so I'm also told my feelings may change).

a lot of people that loved Chasing Amy loved Zack and Miri as well. its the same Kevin Smith

[paper]

Chasing Amy is my favorite of his films. Haven't seen Zack and Miri.

[hank41]

Z & M (man, do i hate typing that title) came out on dvd this week

[CAM!]

But with no "make a porno" at Wal-mart.

K-Smith makes a valid point about this actually, saying something to the effect of "at least with 'make a porno' in the title people know it's got some lewd stuff in there, this way they could think it's just a romantic comedy and get even more offended"

[thenextchampion]

Here's an advice to all of you guys if your having trouble sleeping.

Dont, under any circumstances, but a film channel on where it plays both 'The Wicker Man' (original) and 'Videodrome' back to back. You will most likely get nightmares and will be so engrossed with both films, you'll never be able to sleep.

The original Wicker Man might have one of the greatest endings to any film period. Just the song the inhabitants sing at the end with the cop praying out to God....man that gave me chills.

[esophagus]

But with no "make a porno" at Wal-mart.

K-Smith makes a valid point about this actually, saying something to the effect of "at least with 'make a porno' in the title people know it's got some lewd stuff in there, this way they could think it's just a romantic comedy and get even more offended"He did an interview a while back, I can't remember where I read it. I guess as soon as he told the Weinsteins the title to the movie they signed on without hearing any more, but halfway through production they asked him to change it to "Zack and Miri Make a Movie". He said no, blah blah blah, you get it.

[jasonb35]

I watched Zack and Miri this weekend and didn't dig it as much as some other Kevin Smith movies. I think a lot of it having to do with being sick of Seth Rogan playing the same character over and over. I have to say that Clerks II and Dogma are my favorites of his with Chasing Amy a close third.

[RaceMcCloud]

But with no "make a porno" at Wal-mart.


I almost bought this yesterday at Target, but then I realized that the box was sans "Make a Porno", and just read "Zack and Miri". I refuse to buy that on general principle. I understand that companies have standards and such, so it doesn't really bother me that much... but they won't get my cha-ching for it.

[thenextchampion]

Coraline is probably the best film I've seen so far this year.

It was a gorgeous looking film, with or without the 3D. The film is just so detailed; I can believe it took over 400 people just to do the film. Plus the 3D is used not just for the 'hey here's a knife or a pencil coming at you' technique. It makes the film feel more fantasy-like and they use it more of a set peice then anything else.

I'd definitely agree it's the best animated film of the year.....even if it is just Feburary....but it's gonna be tough to beat this that's for sure.

[optimus187prime]

Watched Nick and Norah on Valentines day with my fiance, and I would have to say that was a great choice. We both really enjoyed the movie. It was funny but sweet, without retreading too much of the over done romantic comedy genre.

[esophagus]

Watched Nick and Norah on Valentines day with my fiance, and I would have to say that was a great choice. We both really enjoyed the movie. It was funny but sweet, without retreading too much of the over done romantic comedy genre.I didn't love this movie while I was watching it because it didn't live up to what I had pictured it as in my head. Since then I've really come around.

They really overmarketed the role the music plays in it, I think. Going into it I was really excited for a movie that revolved around music and I didn't get that. It was really just a vessel to take the story to a few new settings, but overall it didn't mean as much as I wanted it to. Definitely a problem with my expectations rather than the movie itself. Really solid overall.

[optimus187prime]

I try not to expect much from most movies, saves the disappointment.

[tomanderson]

Watched Nick and Norah on Valentines day with my fiance, and I would have to say that was a great choice. We both really enjoyed the movie. It was funny but sweet, without retreading too much of the over done romantic comedy genre.
Ah, I was looking forward to watching that over the summer but I never saw it. Good to hear you guys liked it, I'll check it out sometime soon.

Watched Pineapple Express on Friday and that was everything that people said it was, freaking hilarious.

[niceguyeddie]

After watching this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HD5yh8ar2I) I now believe everything should be narrated by Neil Gaiman. Everything...

i listened to his stardust audiobook. it was really good. i liked his reading.

[CammyKnoxville]

Friday The 13th - 9/10

It was great! Extremely faithful to the original series. No ridiculous new plots, just teenagers fucking, Jason killing, and everyone dies. I was very pleased with this remake.

[Valoharth]

There was this move that came out about a year ago (maybe less) that I've been skittish about watching, don't know why. Every time I seen in on XBL I was "You know that movie is right up your ally" yet never rented. Finally I renewed my Netflix account and saw it was an Instant Play... I had no excuses so I decided it was time to watch, I'm Reed Fish. I wasn't dissapointed, nor was I wow'd. It was a solid movie.

[esophagus]

There was this move that came out about a year ago (maybe less) that I've been skittish about watching, don't know why. Every time I seen in on XBL I was "You know that movie is right up your ally" yet never rented. Finally I renewed my Netflix account and saw it was an Instant Play... I had no excuses so I decided it was time to watch, I'm Reed Fish. I wasn't dissapointed, nor was I wow'd. It was a solid movie.
I loved that movie.

[RaceMcCloud]

Just saw the trailer for Judd Apatow's "Funny People". Looks very good.

[thenextchampion]

I have a feeling more people are talking about this on twitter and what not but....no oscar buzz on this forum at all!


My thoughts on the whole thing though.....it was predictable and mediocre as well.

-Hugh Jackman should never, ever....EVER....be allowed to host anything ever again. That beginning musical number is up there with Jude Law singing with Snow White as one of the worst moments in Oscar history. He brought nothing to the table, no laughs, nothing. Why the fuck Jon Stewart couldnt do this again (hell I would've taken an aging Billy Crystal over him!) I will never know.

-Something the Academy should never do again, is have those 5 actors/actresses go out and address the nominees. Not only did that make the show go way over on time, but it was just pointless. I'm not saying you shouldnt mix things up after 80 years....but this wasnt something to do over. Sort of on the same vein of the circular stage from the Emmy's two years ago. Plus for the average viewer, how are we suppose to know if these actors are good if we dont see any clips?

-Everything else, again was predictable. From Best Film, to most of the acting awards it was pretty much you know what was gonna win. Maybe it's because we live in an internet world now....But still all the actors, writers, and directors deserve all the awards. Especially Sean Penn, that was the only surprise for me. Mickey Rourke was suppose to be a shoe-in this year and instead it was Penn? Shocking. Plus it's also shocking to know that your allowed to say 'homo' on stage without being censored.

-My only regret? Not seeing most of the documentaries, short films, and foreign films nominated and won. I'm usually at the top of my game seeing most of those before the awards. Gonna need to ask for some DVD's for my B-Day.

Overall it was a very long and boring night. It wasnt the worst thing ever, but let's hope we go back to the basics next year.

[esophagus]

-Hugh Jackman should never, ever....EVER....be allowed to host anything ever again. That beginning musical number is up there with Jude Law singing with Snow White as one of the worst moments in Oscar history. He brought nothing to the table, no laughs, nothing. Why the fuck Jon Stewart couldnt do this again (hell I would've taken an aging Billy Crystal over him!) I will never know.I loved his musical numbers. My complaint was the only thing he did was sing, he never talked at all.
-Something the Academy should never do again, is have those 5 actors/actresses go out and address the nominees. Not only did that make the show go way over on time, but it was just pointless. I'm not saying you shouldnt mix things up after 80 years....but this wasnt something to do over. Sort of on the same vein of the circular stage from the Emmy's two years ago. Plus for the average viewer, how are we suppose to know if these actors are good if we dont see any clips?[/quote]I agree, they should have stuck to clips rather than talking, but the Oscars didn't go over on time. They finished right when they were supposed to.
-Everything else, again was predictable. From Best Film, to most of the acting awards it was pretty much you know what was gonna win. Maybe it's because we live in an internet world now....But still all the actors, writers, and directors deserve all the awards. Especially Sean Penn, that was the only surprise for me. Mickey Rourke was suppose to be a shoe-in this year and instead it was Penn? Shocking. Plus it's also shocking to know that your allowed to say 'homo' on stage without being censored.
Why would they censor the word homo?

[gobo]

Hugh was great

[thenextchampion]

I loved his musical numbers. My complaint was the only thing he did was sing, he never talked at all.
-Something the Academy should never do again, is have those 5 actors/actresses go out and address the nominees. Not only did that make the show go way over on time, but it was just pointless. I'm not saying you shouldnt mix things up after 80 years....but this wasnt something to do over. Sort of on the same vein of the circular stage from the Emmy's two years ago. Plus for the average viewer, how are we suppose to know if these actors are good if we dont see any clips?

I agree, they should have stuck to clips rather than talking, but the Oscars didn't go over on time. They finished right when they were supposed to.
Why would they censor the word homo?

I thought 'homo' was one of those hate words or something....Usually when you hear that it's never a good thing. Maybe it isnt as hateful as other slurs but...didnt know you could say that.

Maybe it was Verizon playing tricks with me, but it said it was suppose to be over at 11:30pm. So for my case it was 30mins over. EDIT: Yeah and on ABC.com it states the Oscar starts at 8:30 and ends at 11:30. So yes this was on overtime for sure.

[gobo]

If homo wasn't bleeped and it should have been then congratulations to the censors for having a lick of sense in their heads for once in their lives.

[ConorKilpatrick]

Despite a few head scratchingly dumb moves on the part of the producers, that was the most fun the Oscars have been in years. They should have Hugh Jackman host every year. The opening number was inspired.

[thenextchampion]

Hugh was great

Dont wanna sound snarky, I am just curious....

Why do you think Hugh was great?

They should have Hugh Jackman host every year. The opening number was inspired.

If you could see my face right now. It's on a weird mix of horror, laughter, and sheer 'what!?' type of look. lol

[cyberauron]

i though hugh did a ok job. idk if this year the oscars are getting any higher rating because of it though. what i do miss is the really dramatic clips they shoq for actor and actress. you know the ones that say this is why i was nominated

[gobo]

Dont wanna sound snarky, I am just curious....

Why do you think Hugh was great?

Great opening number, every time he was on screen he was awesome. He just wasn't on screen enough.

[thenextchampion]

Great opening number, every time he was on screen he was awesome. He just wasn't on screen enough.

You see....you use the word 'great'...and I.....(this is where I get snarky I guess)

I just.....let me just put it this way:

Anne Hathaway was a better singer then Jackman. Considering Jackman is a Broadway singer, I would imagine he would be a pro at that musical number. Not only (and again I should say that this is my opinion and I dont want to say your opinion doesnt matter) did Hathaway outsang him, who has very little singing experience let me remind you, but the singing by Jackson was so bad....the backup singers were doing better then him!

To me....and again it's my opinion and I dont wanna say it's the only opinion....that doesnt make it a great number...

[CammyKnoxville]

As much as I liked Slumdog Millionaire, I didn't think it should have won Best Picture. I would have rather seen Milk or Benjamin Button win it instead.

Good for Kate Winslet, good for Sean Penn (and I loathe him! But I have to agree; he killed in that film. Totally deserved it).

I liked Maher's comments before giving the nominees. Very ballsy, and great publicity for his own DVD.

And finally, I loved Hugh Jackman's hosting. All the musical numbers were so much fun, and I'm sure a few people watching thought they flipped to the Tonys by mistake (which he also did a great job hosting a few years ago. Do yourself a favor and YouTube his Boy From Oz performance).

Overall, I had a fun time watching this year.

[CammyKnoxville]

Also, when Sophia Loren was shown my first thought was "Eddie Murphy, your Tranny is ready for you on stage!".

[thenextchampion]

And finally, I loved Hugh Jackman's hosting. All the musical numbers were so much fun, and I'm sure a few people watching thought they flipped to the Tonys by mistake (which he also did a great job hosting a few years ago. Do yourself a favor and YouTube his Boy From Oz performance).


Great opening number, every time he was on screen he was awesome. He just wasn't on screen enough.

that was the most fun the Oscars have been in years. They should have Hugh Jackman host every year. The opening number was inspired.

The rage.....just the rage I am experiencing right now is extraordinary. It's 1:51am at night and this is the most angry I have ever been. But if I continue with this rant I will be looked on as a hater or troll....so I'll just stop right there.

All I know is I am going to be angry...heh heh....I am going to bed angry, and hopefully after a good night's sleep....this will all be a considered a dream.

[gobo]

Aside from some weird production choices, especially during the memorial montage my main complaint was that the oscars seems to be celebrating themselves more than the actual movies that were nominated.

That and no George Carlin in the memorial, he'd done enough movies that I think he should have at least got SOMETHING.

[Dave Carr]

Loved Hugh Jackman. Thought he did a fine job singing. This Academy Awards show made me yearn for a Mel Brooks produced special (assuming that hasn't already happened.)

Was charmed by Sean Penn, especially his tip of the hat to Mickey.

What makes me most upset about the five Aluminis and the lack of clips is that the audience (many of whom may not have seen or heard of the winners let alone the nominess) didn't get to experience a taste of the craft. Also, while I appreciated the expalnations of roles etc, this could have neen done ib a less condescending manner. I thought Will Smith did some excellent work for example, with his script.

Might I also add that DeNiiro's send up of Sean was a standout among the celebrity presenters. Charming, with a perfect sense of comic timing.

I was livid over the lack of a George Carlin spot in the memorial. This was an odd sequence to me; I wanted clips, however short, of the masters at work in their craft; Queen Latifah did a fine job singing but that moment fell flat for me.

[thenextchampion]

I'm sorry, I cant hold my rage any longer.....


Hugh Jackman was a good singer!? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!!?? (and it begins....)

If anything Jackman has made me hate musical theater even more so. My sister, god bless her, is a broadway major and wants to get into the industry....literally booed at the TV screen and was wondering what the fuck that musical number with Beyonce was all about. That number more then anything else was embarrassing because, once again, Jackman got outsung by Beyonce and the back up singers. Now she was good, I liked her performance, but Jackman is suppose to be this great broadway singer....and he sounded like shit. I'm sorry, you liked the man guys that's fine....but I have to voice this out I just have too.

Hugh Jackman sounded like a peice of shit last night. You know who sang better then him? Conan O'Brien at the 2006 Emmy's (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHv8IACWSpM) and fictional cartoon characters at the 2007 Emmy's (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4AL5weuhFs&feature=related). Yes I am serious with this statement, it's a different award show but damnit; they did a better job singing then Jackman. I'm going to hell for this statement (cause I am praising a HSM member) but....Zac Efron, who has limited singing ability to being with, out sang Jackman.

Then you get the biggest kick to the balls by having the first number end with 'I AM WOLVERINE!!!!'.....What.....the....FUCK!!!???

[gobo]

I disagree with everything you said, surprise surprise.

[thenextchampion]

I disagree with everything you said, surprise surprise.

I'm sorry, I really am....I hate sounding like I have to be the person with the right answers. It's opinion, I understand that. We have to assume everyone is right and not make it steer into one direction. Having said all of that:


You, Cammy, and conor must've been drunk when you were typing those comments. You just cant be serious he was a good singer last night....you just cant be. It's against the rules of the universe I believe.

[esophagus]

Don't forget my love of the musical numbers.

He did great. They just should have let him talk more aside from his two numbers.

[gobo]

Nope, sober. I thought he was a good singer, it actually made me want to go watch his Tony hosting gig to see more.

[thenextchampion]

Well I'm not gonna let this go. You could let me go on other topics, or be the overwhelming majority to shut me up but that isnt gonna happen here.

There is no way on God's green Earth that this was a good hosting job by Jackman. No....Fucking....Way....It was. It was terrible, uninspiried, and bogged the whole show down. Then again a lot of the show last night was terrible, but he was the real kick in the nuts.

[gobo]

Well I'll let it go.

[CammyKnoxville]

Jackman was obviously having a fun time hosting, and the audience I think were enjoying him for it. I never said he was the best singer in the world, but he certainly does have stage presence, charm, and charisma. And if you're able to posses those qualities, and be a triple-threat, people are able to look past the little things like the singing (if it bothers you so much).

I thought he did a wonderful job, and would love to see him host again next year.

[esophagus]

For someone who "just shares opinions" you sure seem to be adamant. We feel differently. So it goes. I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you're going to stress like this over differences of opinion you're going to have a really tough time getting through life.

[hank41]

i would like to say that the lady "made me" see He's Just Not That Into You, but i wanted to see it too.

i have to say that it was very enjoyable. the best a movie of this genre can be

[hank41]

for the record, Hugh Jackman was amazing as a host

[Doc Samson]

+1 for Hugh Jackman being great. But I've heard a lot of comments from "young" people who don't like that musical stuff. Sucks to be them I guess.

[esophagus]

Kids these days. I tell ya...

[hank41]

or you guys could NOT be dicks....but whatever. to each his own

[thenextchampion]

or you guys could NOT be dicks....but whatever. to each his own

Well that's what I have been saying! :)

[RaceMcCloud]

Hey, TNC, you're certainly entitled to your opinion (which I disagree with, but that's fine)... Hugh Jackman was, I thought, a fine (not sensational) host. The man CAN sing, he wasn't as good on the Oscars as he can be in a Broadway house Now, when you win your Tony for "Best Actor in a Musical" as Hugh has done, you can rant as much as you've been ranting. To say "I didn't like it" is one thing, dude; to say "I'm angrier than I've ever been in my life about this" leads me to believe that, perhaps, you care a bit too much about it.

I'm not saying you're wrong or that you're not entitled to your opinion, but I AM saying that you're making waaaay too big a deal about it.

That said, I loved the opening number, thought Hugh Jackman was classy and entertaining, but I didn't see the Beyonce number. (Anyone have a link to it?)

[hank41]

thank you race

[RaceMcCloud]

thank you race

No worries. ;)

[hank41]

saw The Reader last weekend. it was good. really well directed. Kate Winslet was just 'really good' tho. she wasn't amazing. she should have won for Eternal Sunshine. where was the talk about Ralph Fiennes. he was sooooo good. he's such an underrated actor. one of my favorites

[JurassicAlien]

saw The Reader last weekend. it was good. really well directed. Kate Winslet was just 'really good' tho. she wasn't amazing. she should have won for Eternal Sunshine. where was the talk about Ralph Fiennes. he was sooooo good. he's such an underrated actor. one of my favorites

Yeha Fiennes was amazing in the movie. The directing was really good, that guy is going to win an oscar at some point, or at least should. And I agree Winslet should have won for Eternal...but I'm glad she won one finally, she's my favorite actress working today.

It's funny cause as a movie it was like two films, one of which was excellent, and one of which was really good. The excellent one stared Mr. Fiennes, the really good one the young man. but maybe that's just me.

As for the Oscar top, I won't lie, it does bother me the number of people I read going "Wolverine as a dancer!?!?" As if comic fans are all homo-phobes. Which is obviously not true. And it's possible to be way into theater and way into comics, I know I'm someone who was.

[hank41]

Yeha Fiennes was amazing in the movie. The directing was really good, that guy is going to win an oscar at some point, or at least should. And I agree Winslet should have won for Eternal...but I'm glad she won one finally, she's my favorite actress working today.

It's funny cause as a movie it was like two films, one of which was excellent, and one of which was really good. The excellent one stared Mr. Fiennes, the really good one the young man. but maybe that's just me.

agreed on both points sir

[RaceMcCloud]

Talking about Ralph Fiennes...

... every new trailer for "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" is better than the one before. There's a new one here (http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/hdtrailers.html) at Yahoo HD trailers. It'll probably roll before "Watchmen", I guess.

Creepy, creepy, serious, creepy, great. HBP is, like, my sixth favorite book in the series, but the trailers are selling the movie like none of the others to me. (I am not hugely satisfied with most of the "Harry Potter" films; "Order of the Phoenix" was probably the best one IMO.)

But if the trailer are too be believed... HBP will be awesome.

[hank41]

Talking about Ralph Fiennes...

... every new trailer for "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" is better than the one before. There's a new one here (http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/hdtrailers.html) at Yahoo HD trailers. It'll probably roll before "Watchmen", I guess.

Creepy, creepy, serious, creepy, great. HBP is, like, my sixth favorite book in the series, but the trailers are selling the movie like none of the others to me. (I am not hugely satisfied with most of the "Harry Potter" films; "Order of the Phoenix" was probably the best one IMO.)

But if the trailer are too be believed... HBP will be awesome.

yeah, the one i saw before the watchmen in imax was pretty rad, and im not a harry potter guy

[strawberry22]

This is a bummer... Marvel Entertainment has pushed back both Thor and The Avengers to be released in in 2011 and 2012.

Hopefully all the waiting is worth it!! 2011 is going to be a big year for superhero films!

http://www.hollywood.com/news/Comic_Book_Movies_Delayed/5411310

[voodoomama]

Has anyone heard anything about a live action Ninja Scroll movie? I know that dream works plans to roll out a live action Akira and GITS ( I have scary mixed feelings about this). But I saw on the net Ninja Scroll is supposed to be made into a liveaction. This doesnt seem like a film that woulb make a good transiton. Anyone else think this?

[thenextchampion]

Still getting a bit used to my new blog but if anyone is interested:

My review of 'Stanley Kubrick's: Boxes'
http://www.xanga.com/TheNextChampion

[hank41]

Still getting a bit used to my new blog but if anyone is interested:

My review of 'Stanley Kubrick's: Boxes'
http://www.xanga.com/TheNextChampion

great review Jon Ronson (that's right, now i know your secret identity!)


im gonna watch this. i consider myself a Kubrick fan, ive read some books about him, and i had never heard of these boxes. Netflix Queue!!!

[cenquist]

Anyone reading Freedom Formula from Radical Press? Is it any good? Bryan Singer wants to adapt it onto the big screen.

[naveenm]

I just watched 'Be Kind, Rewind' this weekend. I thought it was hilarious while still keeping an "indie" feel to it. Watching it reminded me that Michel Gondry is supposed to be doing the Green Hornet, which could be amazing based on some of his visuals.

[thenextchampion]

great review Jon Ronson (that's right, now i know your secret identity!)


im gonna watch this. i consider myself a Kubrick fan, ive read some books about him, and i had never heard of these boxes. Netflix Queue!!!

Curses! You've found me out!

Watching it reminded me that Michel Gondry is supposed to be doing the Green Hornet, which could be amazing based on some of his visuals.

Seriously? Wow I knew Seth Rogan and Stephen Chow is doing this....but I didnt realize Michael Gondry, arguably my favorite director, is doing this. That is now like the perfect film with those three guys involved.

[naveenm]

Wow I knew Seth Rogan and Stephen Chow is doing this....but I didnt realize Michael Gondry, arguably my favorite director, is doing this. That is now like the perfect film with those three guys involved.

Here's what Seth Rogan apparently said about Gondry and the Hornet:

“To convince the studio to let him do it, he filmed a fight scene on his own,” Rogen told us. “He just hired stunt men and did it by himself! Just to show some of the stuff he could do, some of the weird filming techniques he has and some of the stuff he can pull off. I mean, this is something he did in two days and it was instantly unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.”

I was skeptical at first, but getting psyched.

[thenextchampion]

I dont see Michael Gondry as a action/marital artist type of guy. He's more of an artsy, surrealist type of director. But if his action stuff was as good as Rogan states it is; he could definitely bring some revival to a dying genre.

[hank41]

oooooo.....Michel Gondry. that's interesting. but to me, anyone would be a disappointment after hearing Chow was gonna direct it and then pulled out

[naveenm]

If it's Gondry, I assume it won't be a conventional Iron Man or Spider-man style film.

[thenextchampion]

If it's Gondry, I assume it won't be a conventional Iron Man or Spider-man style film.

Oh I'm sure he'll make 'The Green Hornet' in his vision. Maybe the fighting will be revolutionary, cause Rogan seemed to be surprised when he saw the test footage. I just dont see Gondry being a martial artist director....But if Chow is a part of this film in any way (even just as an actor) he'll give some pointers for Gondry.

[hank41]

the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are is amazing. this is gonna be a fantastic film

[thenextchampion]

For all 3 Stooges fans

'CASTING FOR 2010 THREE STOOGES FILM'

The cast is set for the new Three Stooges film by the Farrelly Brothers (Dumb and Dumber, There's Something About Mary'. This is not going to be a bio-pic of the trio but an actual new slapstick comedy with new actors but the heart of the 1930's classic short films. The cast will be:

Benico Del Toro as Moe Howard
Sean Penn as Larry Fine
Jim Carrey as Curley

http://indiefilm.movies.yahoo.com/article-9-/
=======================================


Personally I am torned by this. I am a huge Three Stooges fan....but do we need a reboot of the franchise? Like anything else Hollywood is doing I guess so. Plus if the casting is to be believed, they got it all mixed up. Carrey as Curley might be the best choice ever; but Del Toro and Penn should be switched up. Especially for Penn should be Moe; he's got anger issues for god sakes!

You guys on board for this?

[gobo]

When I saw the headline about this I just saw Penn, Carrey, not first names. I assumed it had to be Kal Penn because Sean Penn doing it is just too absurd to be believed.

[thenextchampion]

When I saw the headline about this I just saw Penn, Carrey, not first names. I assumed it had to be Kal Penn because Sean Penn doing it is just too absurd to be believed.

I can see Sean Penn doing this....just again not as Larry, he should be Moe.
He's got a temper and as humorous side to him, it could totally work.

[esophagus]

the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are is amazing. this is gonna be a fantastic filmAaaaaagreed.

[tomanderson]

Trailer looks pretty sweet but the book never was my thing. I'm obvously going to watch it though and it looks like something you take the youngins too.

[hank41]

Trailer looks pretty sweet but the book never was my thing. I'm obvously going to watch it though and it looks like something you take the youngins too.

i dont think the book needs to be your thing. this is rumored to be upwards up 2.5 hours long and the book is like, two sentences long. so it they might pull a Ben Button and just take the main ideas and themes. but then again, what the fuck do i know?

[thenextchampion]

i dont think the book needs to be your thing. this is rumored to be upwards up 2.5 hours long and the book is like, two sentences long. so it they might pull a Ben Button and just take the main ideas and themes. but then again, what the fuck do i know?

Two and a half hours!?

What is this an Alan Moore adaptation?

[paper]

No, you're right.

It makes more sense to adapt something shorter than to adapt a novel. It's also more worthwhile.

[naveenm]

Watched Pineapple Express last night. Funny, but unexpectedly violent. That movie was bloodbath!

[Six Gun]

You know what movie is awesome? Australia. It's the prototypical romance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanticism), very much a throw-back to the 1960's-70's epics that we just don't get enough of.

[naveenm]

For all 3 Stooges fans

'CASTING FOR 2010 THREE STOOGES FILM'

Benico Del Toro as Moe Howard
Sean Penn as Larry Fine
Jim Carrey as Curley



Well I've been wondering for a while now why Sean Penn doesn't do any comedy. We got Fast Times at Ridgemont High and that's it...and he was great in it! So this should be interesting...to say the least.

Del Toro is a great actor, but even then this would be quite a feat.

All that said, I could never stand the Stooges. I'll go based on word of mouth.

[thenextchampion]

All that said, I could never stand the Stooges. I'll go based on word of mouth.

Word of mouth is overrated.....so my next sentence would be irrelevent then?....

Either way go find some of their stuff on youtube. If you dont laugh at any of it then your not a man!

[naveenm]

I meant word of mouth about the movie. I've seen plenty (too much) of the original Stooges.

[thenextchampion]

I meant word of mouth about the movie. I've seen plenty (too much) of the original Stooges.

My mistake then, sorry bout that.
I wonder if any of the other stooges will be in the film? I mean I know they came after Curley passed away, but I would love to see Shemp, Joe Besser, and Curley Joe in this as well.

Shemp is my 2nd favorite Stooge.

[thenextchampion]

A little late but joining the Oldboy bandwagon

My Review of Oldboy (http://thenextchampion.xanga.com/697897532/oldboy-review/#)

[niceguyeddie]

went to see Fast & Furious 3... hoping that the return of the Vinster would make things more interesting.
It was ok. Nothing special. Maybe you have to be into cars.
I thought the first one was pretty good.
I guess sometimes you can't go home again.
Also, of course they left it open to revisit.
And Vin looks aged some.
If he's going to do another Riddick movie, which I'd love he needs to get that done.

[gobo]

Actualy F&F 4 :)

Saw Adventureland, really well casted and well done indie-style coming of age flick. I was hoping for more laughs, and it seemed to be pointlessly set in 1987 but still a good movie.

I've also decided I think I'm pretty much done with these kinds of movies, I think I'm either too old for them or have just seen too many of them.

[esophagus]

Actualy F&F 4 :)

Saw Adventureland, really well casted and well done indie-style coming of age flick. I was hoping for more laughs, and it seemed to be pointlessly set in 1987 but still a good movie.

I've also decided I think I'm pretty much done with these kinds of movies, I think I'm either too old for them or have just seen too many of them.
On one hand I love Apatow, on the other I hate Kristen Stewart. Can't decide if I want to see this.

[gobo]

Apatow isn't involved in any way as far as I know, it doesn't feel like an Apatow movie at all.

I have no experience with Kristen Stewart aside from this, she was fine

[esophagus]

Did I make that up? I thought I remembered it from the trailer. I don't know. I haven't been following the movie much. Not very interested.

[optimus187prime]

Anyone seen I Love You, Man the trailers always have me in stitches? Paul Rudd and Jason Segel have excellent delivery, some of the lines that crack me up are just so juvenile but they still hit. Havent seen it yet but I am exited for it, I loved both of those guys in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

[gobo]

Saw it at a few weeks ago, totally loved it.

[esophagus]

My favorite movie so far this year.

[optimus187prime]

Great to hear guys, now I am more excited to see it.

[TimmyWood!]

Saw two movies the past couple weeks.

I Love You Man: I know I am going to get flamed for this. I already have by friends but I didn't like this movie. Yes I love all the actors in it but for some reason a lot of the humor fell flat for me. It just did. I wanted to like it. Sorry.

Adventureland: I did like this movie. I didn't love it. I felt, and this is especially for the beggining, that it was a movie I had seen before only just set in the 80's. It wasn't until about the midway point of the movie when some drama happens that I got really invested in it. All in all I liked it. But did I like it because it was a good story or did I like it because it was a story that is done often just set in a time period I enjoy? I don't know. Bill Hader makes me laugh a lot as did that one kid Frego(?).

Thats all. Now everyone call me crazy for not liking I Love You Man

[gobo]

I think the ads for Adventureland are somewhat misleading and I think it's going to make a lot of people disappointed in it when they go see it.

It really is sold as another Superbad when really it's another Nick & Norah (but FAR better than N&N)

[Neb]

I just got done watching Serenity for the 19 billionth time. That movie is just so great. I wish they would make 13 sequels of that instead of Fast and Furious. For realz.

[thenextchampion]

I just got done watching Serenity for the 19 billionth time. That movie is just so great. I wish they would make 13 sequels of that instead of Fast and Furious. For realz.

How about:

Chronicles of Fast and the Furious: Escape from Serenity?

[Neb]

How about:

Chronicles of Fast and the Furious: Escape from Serenity?

That sounds like the type of movie that you just want to look away from but can't...

[comicbookchris]

I'm in a huge Shaw Bros. mood, and I'm trying to find alot of those movies on DVD. I recently picked up The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, which Ive seen before and it never fails to be exciting! I also picked up one called The Lizard, which I haven't seen before, but it stars the amazing Lo Lieh, who never fails to dissapoint.

The ones i really wanna find are Five Deadly Venoms, One Armed Boxer, and The Master of the Flying Guillotine.

Anyone else in a kung-fu frenzy mood?

[ConorKilpatrick]

I just got done watching Serenity for the 19 billionth time. That movie is just so great. I wish they would make 13 sequels of that instead of Fast and Furious. For realz.

As much as it pains me to say it, I think that Serenity is decidedly average.

[Six Gun]

As much as it pains me to say it, I think that Serenity is decidedly average.

seconded

[Neb]

As much as it pains me to say it, I think that Serenity is decidedly average.

Gasp! And after all the Nathan Fillion love on the podcast... :)

To each his own, but that movie just pulls on my awesome strings as so few movies do.

[ConorKilpatrick]

Gasp! And after all the Nathan Fillion love on the podcast... :)

To each his own, but that movie just pulls on my awesome strings as so few movies do.

The first time I saw Serenity was about four years ago on a plane back from London and I wasn't that impressed. Then this past Christmas I was given the complete Firefly set and I watched it all in one glorious week. I decided to give Serenity another chance and it suffered even worse after having just watched Firefly. The characterizations and relationships are all over the place, and in some cases radically changed from the show. The balance was way off in terms of screen time, and the plot was kind of humdrum.

And the worst thing was that the crew was split up. The heart of the show was the family that was borne from the crew, and in Serenity that was totally lost in having some of the crew totally absent or pointlessly mad at each other.

I have very little desire to ever watch it again, though I will gladly watch Firefly over and over. That's the best thing Whedon has ever done.

[Neb]

The first time I saw Serenity was about four years ago on a plane back from London and I wasn't that impressed. Then this past Christmas I was given the complete Firefly set and I watched it all in one glorious week. I decided to give Serenity another chance and it suffered even worse after having just watched Firefly. The characterizations and relationships are all over the place, and in some cases radically changed from the show. The balance was way off in terms of screen time, and the plot was kind of humdrum.

And the worst thing was that the crew was split up. The heart of the show was the family that was borne from the crew, and in Serenity that was totally lost in having some of the crew totally absent or pointlessly mad at each other.

I have very little desire to ever watch it again, though I will gladly watch Firefly over and over. That's the best thing Whedon has ever done.

I agree with you about the show. It's one of my all time favorite things I have on DVD.

The things that you dislike about the movie seem to be the things that I like. I look at this movie as the "dark period" and I thought the arc of the movie was about the redemption of the relationships and the individuals (particularly Mal). The movie is definitely a different tone than the show, but I still find it to be completely awesome.

[thenextchampion]

Ever since I've watched 'Oldboy' I have had this scene imbeded to my brain. Let me ask you guys:

Best scene ever, or greatest scene ever?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxZenU-R84U&feature=channel_page

[niceguyeddie]

Ever since I've watched 'Oldboy' I have had this scene imbeded to my brain. Let me ask you guys:

Best scene ever, or greatest scene ever?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxZenU-R84U&feature=channel_page

neither, really.
but the movie was pretty good.

also...

Mark Bomback is getting out his parasol for "The Umbrella Academy."

The scribe has been tapped to adapt the Dark Horse comic created by My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way and set up at Universal. Dark Horse's Mike Richardson is producing.

The Umbrella Academy is a group of disbanded superheroes who reunite after the death of their adoptive father, Sir Reginald Hargreeves, a wealthy entrepreneur. Hargreeves collected the members of the group shortly after their birth and trained them to save the world, and after his death, they carry on his plan.

The comic first came out as a six-issue miniseries in 2007, winning an Eisner Award to the surprise of many. A second miniseries is being published.

Bomback's writing credits include the DC Comics adaptation "Constantine," "Live Free or Die Hard" and "Race to Witch Mountain." Repped by Endeavor and Anonymous Content, the scribe is working on "Jack the Giant Killer" at New Line.

and...
Bizarro Superman movie???
http://latinoreview.com/news/exclusive-first-look-at-bizarro-superman-6522

and for kicks...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4pYLziorhU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqucjCvu5uQ

[hank41]

Doubt was fantastic. gripping and enthralling. gerat performances all around...except for Amy Adams. sorry

one of the best written movies ive seen in a while

[paper]

Doubt was one of my favorite films of 2008. Pitch perfect. Amy Adams gets some flack for overselling the naivety, but I disagree. There really are people like that. Seriously, watch about 15 minutes of one of those Dugger family shows on TLC. I thought she did fine.

[paper]

Also, major recommendation. Happy-Go-Lucky is one of the hidden gems of 2008. Watched it last night and was blown away. This isn't so much a film about plot as it is a character study of an eternal optimist in the modern world. It is filled with wonderful performances and slice of life moments. I was smiling like an idiot throughout. No writer/director captures human interaction better than Mike Leigh. I saw his (much darker, cynical) film Naked a few years ago in a film class and was taken by how quickly and fully he renders character.

My highest possible recommendation for both films.

[hank41]

Doubt was one of my favorite films of 2008. Pitch perfect. Amy Adams gets some flack for overselling the naivety, but I disagree. There really are people like that. Seriously, watch about 15 minutes of one of those Dugger family shows on TLC. I thought she did fine.

i thought she did fine, but not oscar great. fantastic movie though. im showing it at my school's film club today. we'll see how they like it

[hank41]

Also, major recommendation. Happy-Go-Lucky is one of the hidden gems of 2008. Watched it last night and was blown away. This isn't so much a film about plot as it is a character study of an eternal optimist in the modern world. It is filled with wonderful performances and slice of life moments. I was smiling like an idiot throughout. No writer/director captures human interaction better than Mike Leigh. I saw his (much darker, cynical) film Naked a few years ago in a film class and was taken by how quickly and fully he renders character.

My highest possible recommendation for both films.

im gonna check this out as asoon as apossible

[paper]

i thought she did fine, but not oscar great. fantastic movie though. im showing it at my school's film club today. we'll see how they like it

I'd be interested to hear their reaction. If you have time to discuss it, look at the film as a modern day answer to Hitchcock. It's a suspense film without guns. If I owned a cool little hole-in-the-wall theater, I'd run it as a double feature with Shadow of a Doubt.

[esophagus]

Observe and Report was hugely disappointing. I guess we all knew Rogen had to fuck up eventually.

[comicbookchris]

Observe and Report was hugely disappointing. I guess we all knew Rogen had to fuck up eventually.

I thought Zack & Miri was pretty disapointing as well.

I was looking forward to Observe & Report :(

[hank41]

I'd be interested to hear their reaction. If you have time to discuss it, look at the film as a modern day answer to Hitchcock. It's a suspense film without guns. If I owned a cool little hole-in-the-wall theater, I'd run it as a double feature with Shadow of a Doubt.

this has been the best reaction to a film yet. everybody loved it. we basically saw the film as a series of confrontations finalizing with the last one. the tension is built so slowly, steadily, and hauntingly. i love it even more now

[paper]

this has been the best reaction to a film yet. everybody loved it. we basically saw the film as a series of confrontations finalizing with the last one. the tension is built so slowly, steadily, and hauntingly. i love it even more now

That's great, man. I almost, kind of, miss film school now.

Great flick. Let me know if you check out Happy Go Lucky.

[Neb]

I just finished watching Punisher: War Zone on DVD. It wasn't all that bad. I mean, from an artistic perspective its a complete piece of garbage. And yes, the tone is all over the place, Jigsaw just looks ridiculous (and his brother is just as bad), but I loved the over the top violence, Stevenson as Punisher (he was awesome), and the complete ridiculousness of the plot.

If they would have picked a more serious tone, taken the violence down a notch and made a more realistic villain with a story that focused on the grittiness of the characters and the world it probably wouldn't have been half bad.

[optimus187prime]

I just finished watching Punisher: War Zone on DVD. It wasn't all that bad. I mean, from an artistic perspective its a complete piece of garbage. And yes, the tone is all over the place, Jigsaw just looks ridiculous (and his brother is just as bad), but I loved the over the top violence, Stevenson as Punisher (he was awesome), and the complete ridiculousness of the plot.

If they would have picked a more serious tone, taken the violence down a notch and made a more realistic villain with a story that focused on the grittiness of the characters and the world it probably wouldn't have been half bad.

Horus was the worst in that movie. I thought it was a funny movie though. I laughed my ass off when he jumped off the roof on that guy who was impaled by the fence.

[esophagus]

The Great Buck Howard was completely mediocre save for John Malkovich. He makes for an excellent magician.

[paper]

Was just talking about Let the Right One In with Kahunablair. I saw it about a month or so ago and LOVED it. But today when Blair asked me my opinion about a few points he discovered in reading about the film, it really solidified my love for it. You can really dig into this movie and end up asking some pretty profound questions. It's not just about uncovering what's hidden between the lines, but filling in some blanks of your own. Remember when Shyamalan made good movies? This is like that, but a little bit better.

Hank, you want to talk about great movies to discuss in a group...

[thenextchampion]

Review

Crank: High Voltage

Taking place exactley after the first film; Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) survived the most action packed day of his life. But now his second adventure is a race to get back what was stolen from him: His heart. After getting an artificial heart, he's on a race against time to get his real heart back so Doc Miles (Dwight Yoakam) can put it back in him. But with low battery and in need of constant recharge, can he survive the day?

Let's not beat around the bush here. Crank: High Voltage might be the most ridiculous and most over the top film in history. The first Crank film pales in comparison on where this film takes us. The first Crank looks like an average, everyday action film compared to this. This film is so over the top, the video game parallels are shown even more so. In fact this film decides to tell the audience, especially towards the beginning, on how much B.S. is presented on screen. I cant even begin to explain how extreme this film gets, cause quite frankly I couldnt believe what I was seeing.

But what I did see, was a fantastic and original action film. Just like the first Crank film, the film tries to desensitize us with a ton of images. Lots of nudity, lots of sex (oh boy more on that in a sex), and more blood and guts. You thought the sex scene in Watchmen was uncomfortable? Try watching this film's just as long sex scene. Cant believe this film got away with a R rating. But again what I love about the film is it's desire to do as much on screen as possible. The fight scenes, for the most part, were very entertaining. Plus the set peices are used pretty creatively. Never before have I seen a gun fight in a strip club....and seeing a dude get shot after a bullet goes threw a strippers plastic breasts.

Also what I love about this film is how it references everything back to the original film. All of the characters, and I mean ALL of the characters return. Even the ones (without spoiling) that died.....But there were also a ton of cameos too from random celebrities (random is the keyword for this franchise).

But there are some problems with this film, and it pains me to say so. Unlike the original film (which I would give an A+ too for a review) just drags at points. This is because some jokes or fight sequences arent done effectively. It only happens maybe 2-3 times in the picture, but man you can tell they tried to drag this to the barely 90min end of the film. Plus some of the characters are just plain pointless or are acted terribly (then again acting is probably the last thing concerned on this film). But people like Ria (Ling Bai) and Venus (Efren Ramirez) are used waay too much considering they add little to the end. Finally, and this is without spoilers, the end was just plain uneventful and boring. Obviously there is no way to recreate or beat the first film's ending....but it was actually pretty dull and the post credit sequence just felt forced.

This is just plain fucking bizarre. Again I cant really pinpoint what was weird in what scene; pretty much from the first second this film starts it's all a fantasy. But that's the point of this film; to entertain us and not to try and give a realistic explaination that so many other action films try to do. There are a few hiccups in here; like some badly timed jokes or useless characters....But this is just as entertaining as the first film. If there is a third film, and how can there not be? I'm sure it'll be just as fun as the first two. The better question for the third film is: How will it top High Voltage?

B+

(Oh and my pitch for the title for the 3rd film is Crank 3: Burn, Baby Burn)

[comicbookchris]

The better question for the third film is: How will it top High Voltage?

His heart is gonna be replaced with a small diesel engine, and has to repeatedly refill it with gas. It will be the first Crank film to tackle economic issues pertaining to the price of gas :p

Just saw Observe and Report...very funny, though I can see why people don't like it, it has sort of a harsh and almost obnoxious style to humor to it, kind of like Eastbound & Down. This, of course, can be a selling point to the movie, as it was to me.

I was also pleasantly surprised that Seth Rogan's character wasn't just "movie goofy". He had a bad bipolar disorder, and the humor to this character was an exaggeration of these symptoms. He seemed more real and sympathetic this way.

[hank41]

Was just talking about Let the Right One In with Kahunablair. I saw it about a month or so ago and LOVED it. But today when Blair asked me my opinion about a few points he discovered in reading about the film, it really solidified my love for it. You can really dig into this movie and end up asking some pretty profound questions. It's not just about uncovering what's hidden between the lines, but filling in some blanks of your own. Remember when Shyamalan made good movies? This is like that, but a little bit better.

Hank, you want to talk about great movies to discuss in a group...

i REALLY wanna see that. like...really really. if i enjoy it, which i am pretty confident that i will, i'll show it in club and let you know what they think.

thanks a lot

[comicbookchris]

Watched Casshern on DVD last night...from a technical standpoint the movie is amazing. It has fun effects and CGI, the cinematography is beautiful, and I loved how the shots are filmed with an anime style. In that respect, it's the best anime adaptation I've seen yet.
The story drags a bit sometimes however, especially one of the B-stories involving the Chairman and his son. For some, the entire story may be a bit dizzying to follow, but everything ties up pretty nicely at the end, so I'm guessing most people reading this won't have a problem (we've all read our fair share of dizzying and hard-to-follow storylines before.)

[Neb]

I watched Hulk Vs. tonight on DVD. The Thor part of the movie was so very crappy and uninteresting, but the Wolverine part was very good. All I know is that Marvel has a long way to match DC's animated movies.