BLOGS
September 2008 Archives
Blade Runner is one of the coolest movies ever, so it was with some trepidation that I read /Film's report about the possibility of a sequel. On the up side, at least my instantaneous reflexes of fear and empathy for other fans of the movie prove I'm not a replicant. On the down side, it means I'll probably never get my hair to look all retro-futuristic like Rachael's. But on to the much more important matter at hand: It appears that one of the Eagle Eye co-writers is penning a script for a follow-up to the 1982 movie adaptation of Philip K. Dick's novel about a man who hunts rogue androids, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? At this point, /Film is careful to note that Travis Wright is not writing this with any studio's involvement at this point. One might even say Wright being something of a rogue himself.
As Odie Henderson pointed out recently, Spike Lee seems to have a thing for getting into fights. According to Variety, Lee's Miracle at St. Anna is being derided "as mispresentation of the facts" by Italian veteran organizations after a press screening yesterday in Rome. Lee didn't really start the latest skirmish, but he's not exactly being Mr. Diplomat about things, either. He responded by telling those critical of his film: "I am not apologizing for anything. I think these questions are evidence that there is still a lot about your history during the war that you [Italians] have got to come to grips with." Pretty much the best way to make sure people don't come to grips with something is by telling them to come to grips with something. It's like telling an angry person to calm down. Does that ever work?
Just in case you're not reading our DVDs Unwrapped blog, we thought we'd clue you in on the latest DVDs we've gotten the chance to review. They're not all the greatest movies, but some of the extras actually make the DVD worth renting. (Note: If you're looking for Blu-ray reviews, go to a Website with deeper pockets. What are we, made out of money?)
Earlier this month, Das Gamer posted an interview in which director John Moore bemoaned the fact that the Motion Picture Association of America gave his Max Payne an R rating. Normally, this wouldn't be surprising, as the video games on which the movie is based earned "Mature" ratings from the ESRB, the gaming world's equivalent of an R movie. But the news did surprise Moore, who not only aimed for a tamer rating while filming, but saw The Dark Knight's PG-13 and expected to earn the same for his own movie. The association's reasoning, according to Moore, was that it "felt dark." Well, what a difference a few weeks makes. Game Daily is now reporting that Moore has won his battle with the MPAA and gotten Payne its PG-13.
Now that The Dark Knight has dropped out of the Top Ten at the box office (after 11 weeks!), it's probably on its way out of the theaters -- not counting, of course, Warner Brothers' plans to re-release it during Oscar season next year. But for those who just want to be able to play it on a constant loop in their homes, the DVD and Blu-Ray will both be out on December 9th, just in time for you to buy it for yourself for Christmas, thereby putting to rest the annual question of what you'll get yourself instead of buying something for your Aunt Selma.
There have been many rumors about who would play Robin Hood in Ridley Scott's upcoming Nottingham. Scott needed someone who could match wits with Russell Crowe as the Sheriff of Nottingham, and the latest rumor is that Scott finally found someone who fits the bill: Russell Crowe. [I haven't seen casting that inspired since Jean-Claude Van Damme played twins in Double Impact! - Zach]
Scarlett Johansson, 23, and Ryan Reynolds, 31, wed secretly over the weekend in British Columbia (Reynolds is from Vancouver). Apparently, Johansson decided to define "not rushing into it" as a little more than a month, since she said in early August that she's only 23 and "There's no reason to rush into it," adding that "we're just taking it easy. And no big plan yet." Then again, it was a SECRET wedding (there has been no confirmation of the actual wedding location, for instance), so maybe that was part of her diversion tactic.
When you think of the upcoming Thor movie from Marvel, the first director that comes to mind is probably not someone best known for his Shakespeare adaptations, right? But that's exactly who might end up with the job, since Kenneth Branagh is in talks to direct the movie. Not that Shakespeare can't be a big-old action film (after all, Branagh's own Henry V was plenty action-packed and bloody) and big-old action films can't be Shakespearean. But it's not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of part of the Avengers, of which Iron Man is a part. And Iron Man is awesome and everything, but definitely not Shakespearean. He's too futuristic, and he's a superhero in a suit and all of that. Not exactly Shakespeare's specialty.
Paul Newman died on Friday, and the whole world mourned. There isn't much to say about Paul Newman that hasn't been said already, and better. Well, there is actually probably a great deal more to say, but it's hard to find the words, or the means, to sum up the man. I use the word "man" here because he was so much more than an actor, even though he was one of the best of his time. But "actor" is too small -- and, frankly, unimportant -- compared with what he did with his life. He was a family man, a race car driver, and a philanthropist.
Shia LaBeouf and Eagle Eye helped pull the movies out of the blues they've been in for a number of weeks (remember three weeks ago, when the No. 1 movie made $7.8 million?) with a $29.2 million opening weekend. It was not only good enough for the top spot at the box office, but also good enough to make it the No. 4 September opening of all time. That's mildly impressive -- though only mildly, considering one of the movies ahead of it is The Exorcism of Emily Rose, not exactly a masterpiece.
Blog Categories
A Festival for the Rest...ival
25 Entries
Accidents Do Happen
46 Entries
Adventures in Fakery
77 Entries
Animation Desensitization
80 Entries
Awards Schmawards
17 Entries
Box Office Tally
79 Entries
Burning Questions
6 Entries
Coming Soonish
9 Entries
Cool Nerds Guide
6 Entries
Director? I Hardly Knew Her!
156 Entries
DVDs Unwrapped
25 Entries
For Your Amusement (Park)
10 Entries
Foreign Relations
54 Entries
Galleries (and Other Picture Postcards)
23 Entries
Gangster's Paradise
5 Entries
Getting Dramatic
5 Entries
Girls on Film
80 Entries
Happy Anniversary
10 Entries
Hollywood To TWoP: Hello There!
40 Entries
I Voted for GORE!
103 Entries
I Want My DVD
236 Entries
I Want My VOD
24 Entries
I've Got Two Tickets to Merchandise
33 Entries
IMDb Fun Times
6 Entries
Indie Snapshot
57 Entries
Indie, Indie, Come Back Home
40 Entries
It Came From New York
7 Entries
It Came From San Diego
14 Entries
It's a Major Award!
75 Entries
Legal Eaglese
21 Entries
Let's Blame the Media!
49 Entries
Let's Go To The Video!
29 Entries
Letterbox of Recommendations
22 Entries
Lights, Camera... Action Jackson!
184 Entries
Little TV Shows That Done Hit the Big Time
71 Entries
Martial Artistry
11 Entries
Momentous Occasions
25 Entries
More On Movies
38 Entries
Movie Merchandise
4 Entries
Musicalifornication
48 Entries
Obituaries Without Pity
23 Entries
Oscars and Grouchery
11 Entries
Pros and Controversy
26 Entries
Read All About It
5 Entries
Real People, Fake Movies
25 Entries
Remakes R Us
8 Entries
Reviews of Movies We Haven't Seen Yet
43 Entries
Reviews of Movies We've Actually Seen
517 Entries
Scary Monsters & Super Creeps
105 Entries
Sci-Fidelity
151 Entries
Script From the Headlines!
56 Entries
Separate but Sequel
249 Entries
Sequelitis
24 Entries
Shameless Self-Promotion
27 Entries
Sports in Our Shorts
7 Entries
Strike Watch
14 Entries
Stupid Cinematic Celebrity Sayings
34 Entries
Sundance Sundance Revolution
13 Entries
Taste the Reading Rainbow
94 Entries
The Biz
122 Entries
The Casting Conch
192 Entries
The History, Booooyyyyy!
80 Entries
The Kongs of Comedy
206 Entries
Theatre With an "R" and an "E"
11 Entries
Trailer Trashing
73 Entries
Trailers Without Pity
37 Entries
Video Games Killed the Movie Star
23 Entries
We Call Do-Over
177 Entries
We Watches the Watchmen
33 Entries
What's Up, Documentary?
17 Entries
When Animal Movies Attack
14 Entries
You Got Comic Book in My Movie
251 Entries
You Know, For Kids!
132 Entries