BLOGS
February 2009 Archives
Here's the thing about the film The Neverending Story -- the effects are completely terrible by today's standards. The scenes of Atreyu riding on Falkor are so blue-screened it is ridiculous. However, this remains one of my favorite fantasy films. The puppets and the characters are believable (despite the low-budget nature), and it's just such a sweet story. It holds a special place in my heart, and after watching it in my adulthood, it actually holds up as a touching tale. Nice job, Wolfgang Petersen! (It makes me want to erase that whole Poseidon debacle from my mind.) While the film only covers half of the ground from Michael Ende's novel, it's to be expected when trying to condense this big story into a two-hour plot. However, there's someone out there who thinks they can remake this classic film, while incorporating more of the novel. Good luck.
Are you eagerly counting down the days until next Friday's Watchmen release? Are you looking for a way to pass the time? You could gorge yourself on past superhero movies to prepare yourself for the inevitable comparisons and dissections. Or you could give these somewhat unlikely movies a gander to examine things from a slightly different perspective.
It's finally here -- Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li comes out this weekend, and we cannot imagine a more poorly put-together movie. First of all, it stars Kristin Kreuk, and we can only imagine that they chose her because she was the only actress with Asian heritage who was willing to take the role. But on top of that, it appears as if every single element of this movie was designed for failure. Yes, we realize it's a movie based on a video game, and the last time they made it into a movie it starred Jean-Claude Van Damme, but still, doesn't anybody even try to make a good movie anymore? Even Super Mario Bros. with Dennis Hopper and Jon Leguizamo had high production values. Here's our list of the seven things that will make Street Fighter a legendary failure.
OMG, you guys -- Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience is coming out this weekend, and we are soooo psyched. ...Just kidding, we aren't psyched. In fact we're trying to ignore it, because we hate their music and we hate their haircuts and we hate the fact that they seem to be the most popular band in America today. Not since Hanson mmmbopped their way into our spleens have we hated a band this much, and before you say that the Jonas Brothers are much better than Hanson, let us point out that that's like saying that Miley Cyrus is a better actress than Amanda Bynes. Since their popularity shows no sign of waning any time soon, we decided to brainstorm some ideas for Jonas Brothers 3D movies we'd actually like to see. Hopefully, the producers will take our suggestions to heart when extending the franchise.
It's official: the Arrested Development movie is happening! After months of hemming and hawing from one Michael Cera (aka George Michael Bluth), the lone player refusing to sign on to the film, homeboy has finally agreed to do the damn thing. (Mitchell Hurwitz said he wouldn't move forward on a script unless he had all of the original cast members on board.) Over the course of these last tortured months, I found myself asking what the hell was going on with young Mr. Cera. Since when do retiring milquetoast hipsters turn into demanding divas that hold up production of a movie fans have been campaigning for since the beloved show got canceled? Why would Cera, whose public persona has always been affably awkward, essentially bad-mouth the show that made him a star? And you think you know a person. I've pieced together the hellishly demanding terms of his contract in the hopes of revealing MC's true nature.
You can learn a lot by reading. But we're not talking about history books or science books -- that stuff's for squares. No, we mean you can learn a lot about movies by reading their book tie-ins before you go to see them. Not only are they packed with spoilers, they sometimes have intriguing behind-the-scenes information you wouldn't know otherwise. Such is the case with the two lavishly illustrated Watchmen movie tie-in books: Watchmen: The Art of the Film and Watchmen: The Film Companion. Read on, and check out the ten (non-spoilery) things we learned about the movie from these info-packed tomes.
Last night, the TWoP staff were busy little beavers, building damns (and other mild cuss words) to create the snarkiest coverage of the Oscars to be found on the Internet. Not only did we Liveblog the entire event, commenting on each and every moment of the show worth noting, we also have a guide to the Best and Worst Moments! Fashion your thing? Or maybe just making fun of what people are wearing? Then check out our gallery of the Best and Worst Fashions of the night! It's breathtakingly judgmental and resplendent! And, of course, to simply see who won everything without the snark, click here.
Have something better to do with the next 12 hours of your life and can't be bothered watching the Oscars? Can't say as we blame you. Keep checking here as we'll update the winners as they happen.
Winners:Best Picture - Slumdog Millionaire
Best Actor - Sean Penn in Milk
Best Actress - Kate Winslet in The Reader
Director -- Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role - Heath Ledger in Dark Knight
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role -- Penélope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Foreign Film -- Departures (Japan)
Original Song -- "Jai Ho" -- Slumdog Millionaire
Original Score -- Slumdog Millionaire
Filming Editing -- Slumdog Millionaire
Sound Mixing -- Slumdog Millionaire
Sound Editing - Dark Knight
Outstanding Visual Effects -- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Documentary Feature -- Man on Wire
Best Documentary Short Subject -- Smile Pinki
Best Short Film (Live Action) -- Spielzeugland (Toyland)
Achievement in Cinematography -- Slumdog Millionaire, Anthony Dod Mantle
Achievement in Makeup -- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Achievement in Costume Design -- The Duchess
Art Direction -- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Animated Short Film -- La Maison de Petits Cubes
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year -- WALL-E
Original Screenplay -- Milk, Written by Dustin Lance Black
Adapted Screenplay -- Slumdog Millionaire, Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy
After nearly two decades spent in B-movies, thankless roles and boxing rings, Mickey Rourke is once again being praised for his acting, and he stands on the brink of winning the most prestigious acting award in the land -- the Academy Award for Best Actor. If he wins, it's a total game-changer, and his life and career have the potential to improve dramatically. We've thought about it, and come up with a list of ways that Rourke's life will change once he's holding that little gold statue in his hands.
Watchmania is upon us! The world has reached its saturation point with three trailers, nine movie clips and 20-odd posters promoting the upcoming Watchmen film (due out March 6), and the storyline seems more confusing than ever. If you haven't read the comics the movie is based on, all you know is that there's guys in costume running around and acting all serious. Well, we decided to put together a little guide to the world and characters of Watchmen for those who just want to know what the hell it's about and who in the hell these people are. In fact, we've titled it Watchmen: Just Who in the Hell Are They, Anyway? Check it out, and let us know what you think in the comments below.
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