Paranormal Activity has been getting a lot of buzz over the past few weeks. It's been dubbed one of the scariest movies of all time. How sweet is that?
Obviously, I was intrigued -- even more so when I found out it was a low budget independent like Blair Witch. How low of a budget? Try $15,000. The guy who made it was a video game designer who had a few non-name actors and bunch of friends in San Diego help him. It was filmed on a friggin hand-held camera.
So how did it get huge? Speilberg saw that thing and freaked out. Guy was scared and loved it so he got DreamWorks (now Paramount owned) to buy it.
They're releasing it in select college cities tomorrow and mass releasing it mid-October. I actually have screening tickets to see it tonight but have to work. Get at me if you like want those.
Here's the trailer:
--Nick
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
Sorority Row and 'Shutter' Shuttered
For all you FD4 fans out there, or in loyal reader Seth's case, FDs 1-4, I give you Hollywood's latest masterpiece, Sorority Row.
This slasher/horror film comes out next Wednesday. And yes, I expect it to be the No. 1 movie of the weekend (yes, even beating 9).
Here's your trailer:
I think White Out kind of looks interesting too. Would peep that if I wasn't so behind (still need to see GI Joe, Ingorious and the just released Extract).
-In shitty news, Shutter Island, Scorsese and Leo movie based in Boston was pushed back from an October release until February. Saaccckkks. I can't believe I have to wait this long. October was hard enough.
It also means that the movie won't contend for any Oscars this year. This, according to the NYT:
"Paramount has spent heavily already marketing its summer movie hits 'Star Trek,' 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' and 'G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra' and didn't want to shell out another $100 million on advertising and prints this year, especially when it has two other releases -- 'The Lovely Bones' and 'Up in the Air' -- that it will also be pushing for Oscar consideration. The best picture category for the Oscars has been expanded to 10 starting next year, but apparently Paramount needs one that goes to 11.
"Still, the decision is not without risk. Scorsese was told earlier this week that this was being considered and if it ends up backfiring on the studio, it could strain the director's relationship and deal with Paramount Pictures and its chairman, Brad Grey."
--Nick
This slasher/horror film comes out next Wednesday. And yes, I expect it to be the No. 1 movie of the weekend (yes, even beating 9).
Here's your trailer:
I think White Out kind of looks interesting too. Would peep that if I wasn't so behind (still need to see GI Joe, Ingorious and the just released Extract).
-In shitty news, Shutter Island, Scorsese and Leo movie based in Boston was pushed back from an October release until February. Saaccckkks. I can't believe I have to wait this long. October was hard enough.
It also means that the movie won't contend for any Oscars this year. This, according to the NYT:
"Paramount has spent heavily already marketing its summer movie hits 'Star Trek,' 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' and 'G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra' and didn't want to shell out another $100 million on advertising and prints this year, especially when it has two other releases -- 'The Lovely Bones' and 'Up in the Air' -- that it will also be pushing for Oscar consideration. The best picture category for the Oscars has been expanded to 10 starting next year, but apparently Paramount needs one that goes to 11.
"Still, the decision is not without risk. Scorsese was told earlier this week that this was being considered and if it ends up backfiring on the studio, it could strain the director's relationship and deal with Paramount Pictures and its chairman, Brad Grey."
--Nick
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Get Outta Here with FD4
Final Destination 4 was released last week. This thing should have ended about 3 movies ago. It was slated to be a straight to DVD release. Let's have a peep at the trailer:
Hoho...NASCAR tires flinging at you? Rocks from lawnmowers? Carwash out of control? C'mon dude.
Guess what though? It was the No. 1 movie in America this past weekend. What the F. It brought in $25 mill and beat Inglourious Basterds. I don't get it. Is it because of 3-D? Are people really that into this series? Or is it just so true that ANY horror movie will draw no matter what because of teenage girls and high school dates? They are making a Saw VI after all. SIX!!
Because these movies are short, gory and a little humorous, they are sweet date movies. Everyone knows you can get a girl to hold/hug/grab you during a scary movie. It's like the first or second lesson in Dating 101. And girls love it to because it gives them an excuse to hold/hug/grab you. I mean, are they really that scared?
Need a date? Well if you're under 21 there are only so many options. You can only handle going out to eat so many times, and your parents are most likely bugging the hell out of you at home, so the movies crop up quite a bit. I'm sure everyone reading this used to do this. The Ring..Scream(s)..I Know What You Did Last Summer...What Lies Beneath...these are just a few of the ones that crop up in my mind that I saw. All are dece whack, but they're horror so who cares.
Horror will always draw. Even if it's shitty, special-effect, zero-plot, funny, semi-horror like FD4.
Please if you can think of anytime you saw a shitty movie just to make out or something and be close in the theatre, do tell...
--Nick
Hoho...NASCAR tires flinging at you? Rocks from lawnmowers? Carwash out of control? C'mon dude.
Guess what though? It was the No. 1 movie in America this past weekend. What the F. It brought in $25 mill and beat Inglourious Basterds. I don't get it. Is it because of 3-D? Are people really that into this series? Or is it just so true that ANY horror movie will draw no matter what because of teenage girls and high school dates? They are making a Saw VI after all. SIX!!
Because these movies are short, gory and a little humorous, they are sweet date movies. Everyone knows you can get a girl to hold/hug/grab you during a scary movie. It's like the first or second lesson in Dating 101. And girls love it to because it gives them an excuse to hold/hug/grab you. I mean, are they really that scared?
Need a date? Well if you're under 21 there are only so many options. You can only handle going out to eat so many times, and your parents are most likely bugging the hell out of you at home, so the movies crop up quite a bit. I'm sure everyone reading this used to do this. The Ring..Scream(s)..I Know What You Did Last Summer...What Lies Beneath...these are just a few of the ones that crop up in my mind that I saw. All are dece whack, but they're horror so who cares.
Horror will always draw. Even if it's shitty, special-effect, zero-plot, funny, semi-horror like FD4.
Please if you can think of anytime you saw a shitty movie just to make out or something and be close in the theatre, do tell...
--Nick
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Avatar
The trailer for the much-anticipated Avatar came out yesterday. This movie has been in the works for forever. I'm pretty sure the budget is close to $300 mill too.
Prob won't even be good, right? It's only James Cameron's first feature film since Titanic. A sci-fi movie with Best Picture implications?? Count this man in.
Sam Worthington -- the half-machine from the last Terminator -- is the star.
Summary from IMDB: "Jake Sully (Worthington) is a a paraplegic war veteran who is brought to the planet Pandora to participate in a program designed to help him walk again. The program introduces him to his avatar, a creature whose genetics are half human and half Na'vi, a sentient humanoid race who inhabit Pandora. In time, Jake will find himself in the middle of an escalating conflict between the two races."
Prob won't even be good, right? It's only James Cameron's first feature film since Titanic. A sci-fi movie with Best Picture implications?? Count this man in.
Sam Worthington -- the half-machine from the last Terminator -- is the star.
Summary from IMDB: "Jake Sully (Worthington) is a a paraplegic war veteran who is brought to the planet Pandora to participate in a program designed to help him walk again. The program introduces him to his avatar, a creature whose genetics are half human and half Na'vi, a sentient humanoid race who inhabit Pandora. In time, Jake will find himself in the middle of an escalating conflict between the two races."
Monday, July 20, 2009
It's Back: Movie Monday
Doind these a little different, so read it, biatch. Starting with a few things you should know first then getting into a few trailers and random comments. Not as offical/boring as before (hopefully).
-True Blood’s season premiere had 3.7 million viewers, making it the most watched HBO show since the Sopranos finale.
-In addition to his role in the next X-Men movie, Ryan Reynolds has signed on to play the Green Lantern. Should be fire.
-Michael Jackson has dominated album sales since his death. He’s sold 2.3 million albums in the US and 9 million globally. The first week after he died, his albums sold 422,000 strong on iTunes alone. Wayyoo.
-Ryan Seacrest signed a FAT deal to remain with American Idol. Is 3 years, $45 mill dece? Guy got Jason Bay money. Paula Abdul is rumored to possibly be at odds over her contract. Whole crew has to re-up on deals so there’s a nice chance one won’t be back.
OK so thanks to friend and blog reader Matty D, the Blogfathers were supposed to see a screening for Judd Apatow’s Funny People tonight. Good idea, right? Too bad about 500 other people had the same thought. And that’s not even too much of an exaggeration. I’m saying if the theatre holds 200-300, there was about another 200 that were sent home, including our crew. You aren’t guaranteed a seat at these things, but usually getting to one an hour before is plenty early. Not the case here.
I didn’t realize these was such a buzz/demand for this film, but like Wolfe said, in a rather disappointing summer movie season, people must be looking for a gem from Apatow. He’ll prolly deliver. I know most of you have seen it, but I’ll throw up the longer, iller version here:
Here are a few other big movies to look forward to:
NEW District 9 Trailer:
A few weeks ago in my last movie post, I gave you a sneak trailer of District 9, Peter Jackson’s baby he’s been working on after the doomed Halo project fell through. The short trailer left a lot to the imagination, no coincidentally since the majority of the marketing for this movie has been viral (ie: Cloverfield). Picture you can hook me in with any type of mystery/sci-fi chaos and a viral marketing campaign. I’ll go 100%. And if I wanted to go before, I DEF do now after seeing this.
If you liked the mystery, then don’t watch this trailer. Although I had to re-watch it because I swore I saw like two dudes from Transformers in there:
Surrogates
Release Date: September 25
I dunno…am I like feeling this? A little sci-fci, a little chaos, a little Bruce Willis being crazy? It has all the right ingredients for a bad but awesome movie that I could enjoy. It’s like I-Robot meets Minority Report meets Sixth Sense. And, damn, I sweated all those movies.
Shutter Island
Release Date: October 2
Wow a scary movie from Scorsese? Shot in Boston? Starring Leo? Count me in for this. Can’t wait for this shit for real. I think ever since Boondock Saints, Boston became a tight setting for badass movies. It really helps your image in out-of-state settings when people who haven’t been to Mass. associate you with Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone and Departed. Sorry about Fever Pitch, though. Our bad.
Sherlock Holmes
Release Date: December 25
You’d like to stop Robert Downey Jr. a little bit. But you can’t. Between this and next spring’s Iron Man 2, Downey – much like Vince from Entourage – has completed his comeback. Add in Jude Law and a sexy as ever Rachael McAdams and this looks pretty legit. They must be pumping this hard for the full trailer to be out this early. The Christmas Day release too. Def gonna be sick of this trailer by like mid October.
--Nick
-True Blood’s season premiere had 3.7 million viewers, making it the most watched HBO show since the Sopranos finale.
-In addition to his role in the next X-Men movie, Ryan Reynolds has signed on to play the Green Lantern. Should be fire.
-Michael Jackson has dominated album sales since his death. He’s sold 2.3 million albums in the US and 9 million globally. The first week after he died, his albums sold 422,000 strong on iTunes alone. Wayyoo.
-Ryan Seacrest signed a FAT deal to remain with American Idol. Is 3 years, $45 mill dece? Guy got Jason Bay money. Paula Abdul is rumored to possibly be at odds over her contract. Whole crew has to re-up on deals so there’s a nice chance one won’t be back.
OK so thanks to friend and blog reader Matty D, the Blogfathers were supposed to see a screening for Judd Apatow’s Funny People tonight. Good idea, right? Too bad about 500 other people had the same thought. And that’s not even too much of an exaggeration. I’m saying if the theatre holds 200-300, there was about another 200 that were sent home, including our crew. You aren’t guaranteed a seat at these things, but usually getting to one an hour before is plenty early. Not the case here.
I didn’t realize these was such a buzz/demand for this film, but like Wolfe said, in a rather disappointing summer movie season, people must be looking for a gem from Apatow. He’ll prolly deliver. I know most of you have seen it, but I’ll throw up the longer, iller version here:
Here are a few other big movies to look forward to:
NEW District 9 Trailer:
A few weeks ago in my last movie post, I gave you a sneak trailer of District 9, Peter Jackson’s baby he’s been working on after the doomed Halo project fell through. The short trailer left a lot to the imagination, no coincidentally since the majority of the marketing for this movie has been viral (ie: Cloverfield). Picture you can hook me in with any type of mystery/sci-fi chaos and a viral marketing campaign. I’ll go 100%. And if I wanted to go before, I DEF do now after seeing this.
If you liked the mystery, then don’t watch this trailer. Although I had to re-watch it because I swore I saw like two dudes from Transformers in there:
Surrogates
Release Date: September 25
I dunno…am I like feeling this? A little sci-fci, a little chaos, a little Bruce Willis being crazy? It has all the right ingredients for a bad but awesome movie that I could enjoy. It’s like I-Robot meets Minority Report meets Sixth Sense. And, damn, I sweated all those movies.
Shutter Island
Release Date: October 2
Wow a scary movie from Scorsese? Shot in Boston? Starring Leo? Count me in for this. Can’t wait for this shit for real. I think ever since Boondock Saints, Boston became a tight setting for badass movies. It really helps your image in out-of-state settings when people who haven’t been to Mass. associate you with Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone and Departed. Sorry about Fever Pitch, though. Our bad.
Sherlock Holmes
Release Date: December 25
You’d like to stop Robert Downey Jr. a little bit. But you can’t. Between this and next spring’s Iron Man 2, Downey – much like Vince from Entourage – has completed his comeback. Add in Jude Law and a sexy as ever Rachael McAdams and this looks pretty legit. They must be pumping this hard for the full trailer to be out this early. The Christmas Day release too. Def gonna be sick of this trailer by like mid October.
--Nick
Friday, June 5, 2009
Movie Friday
Drag Me To Hell
Release Date: In theaters
Critic Reviews: FIRE…93% on RT
Fan Buzz: Dece
WKFTB Opinion: I know this movie has been out for a week or so now, but I just wanted to shed some light on it. It’s marketed as a straight horror movie – mostly to attract the young dating audience – but it’s really a horror/comedy. Have you ever seen the Evil Dead trilogy? It’s from the same dude, Sam Raimi, who also weirdly did Spiderman. The reviews are crazy good – perfect mix of scares and over-top-antics that result in laughs. I’ll end up renting this.
Land of the Lost
Release Date: Today
Critic Reviews: Bad
Fan Buzz: So-so
WKFTB Opinion: I know because it’s Will Farrell, this trailer has been blasted everywhere, but this one is a little different, so it’s worth checking out. I hate to say it because he is a legitimate comedic genius and influence an entire generation’s sense of humor, but I sort of over Will Farrell at this point, at least his movies. How does everyone feel about him? I mean, there’s a 0 chance I would see this movie. Rent it? Yes, just to check it out. But I’d never go see it. It’s a remake of an old corny Saturday morning show. I guess if you’re a little older, you probably appreciate it more.
GI Joe: The Rise of the Cobra
Release Date: August 7
Critic Reviews: Too early
Fan Buzz: Pumped
WKFTB Opinion: I dunno, I sort of hate the trailer to me honest. But, c’mon, you know I’m seeing this. Childhood memories? Yep. Sick action? Uhuh. Bigness designed to be seen in a theatre? Def. Gotta see this regardless of if it’s good or not. If it turns out to be decent, then that’s just a bonus.
District 9
Release Date: August 14
Critic Reviews: Too early
Fan Buzz: None really…too underground
WKFTB Opinion: Saw this teaser trailer last week before Terminator and was perplexed. I had never heard of this before. Since then I’ve been seeing little viral clips of it online. They are doing a viral campaign similar to another alien themes movie I loved, Cloverfield. I love this shit. Go to http://www.d-9.com/ and check it out. Secret alien stuff where we have no idea what happens in the movie. Works on me every time. I’d see this movie tomorrow. Even though it says “Peter Jackson presents” (whatever that means), the director is Neill Blomkamp, who was in charge of the much-maligned Halo movie, which fell apart after budget problems.
-None of the five big films of the year thus far is one pace to break $300 million. In fact, neither Wolverine, Terminator, Angels and Demons, Star Trek nor Night at the Museum 2 broke $90 million in the first week. Last year, three movies broke $300, including Indiana Jones ($317), Iron Man ($318) and Dark Knight ($533, woo). Critics say the only hope to break $300 lies in Harry Potter, Transformers and Avatar. The last year there wasn’t a $300+ movie? In 200, when The Grinch was tops at $260 million.
-Eminem’s album was the No. 1 seller in his first week out, selling 608,000 copies, the biggest opening week so far in 2009. Remember the days when people (Em, Brit, N’Sync, Backstreet) would go platinum or multi-platinum in the first week?
-Entourage begins July 12. Guest appearances include Tom Brady and Lil Wayne. Woo. Can’t wait.
-24 began shooting its eighth and final season last week. They did so, of course, with star Kiefer Sutherland, who at a NYC party on May 5 was charged with assault after head butting fashion designer Will McCollough. Real life Bauer? Keifer has an important court date on June 22, which will determine if he violated his probation instituted after a DUI conviction sent him to jail for 48 days in 2007.
-When Kumar (Kal Penn) is done with his gig in the White House, he’ll be teaming with Harold (John Cho) once again for a third installment in the Harold and Kumar series.
-Revolutionary Road and He’s Just Not That Into You came out this Tuesday.
Release Date: In theaters
Critic Reviews: FIRE…93% on RT
Fan Buzz: Dece
WKFTB Opinion: I know this movie has been out for a week or so now, but I just wanted to shed some light on it. It’s marketed as a straight horror movie – mostly to attract the young dating audience – but it’s really a horror/comedy. Have you ever seen the Evil Dead trilogy? It’s from the same dude, Sam Raimi, who also weirdly did Spiderman. The reviews are crazy good – perfect mix of scares and over-top-antics that result in laughs. I’ll end up renting this.
Land of the Lost
Release Date: Today
Critic Reviews: Bad
Fan Buzz: So-so
WKFTB Opinion: I know because it’s Will Farrell, this trailer has been blasted everywhere, but this one is a little different, so it’s worth checking out. I hate to say it because he is a legitimate comedic genius and influence an entire generation’s sense of humor, but I sort of over Will Farrell at this point, at least his movies. How does everyone feel about him? I mean, there’s a 0 chance I would see this movie. Rent it? Yes, just to check it out. But I’d never go see it. It’s a remake of an old corny Saturday morning show. I guess if you’re a little older, you probably appreciate it more.
GI Joe: The Rise of the Cobra
Release Date: August 7
Critic Reviews: Too early
Fan Buzz: Pumped
WKFTB Opinion: I dunno, I sort of hate the trailer to me honest. But, c’mon, you know I’m seeing this. Childhood memories? Yep. Sick action? Uhuh. Bigness designed to be seen in a theatre? Def. Gotta see this regardless of if it’s good or not. If it turns out to be decent, then that’s just a bonus.
District 9
Release Date: August 14
Critic Reviews: Too early
Fan Buzz: None really…too underground
WKFTB Opinion: Saw this teaser trailer last week before Terminator and was perplexed. I had never heard of this before. Since then I’ve been seeing little viral clips of it online. They are doing a viral campaign similar to another alien themes movie I loved, Cloverfield. I love this shit. Go to http://www.d-9.com/ and check it out. Secret alien stuff where we have no idea what happens in the movie. Works on me every time. I’d see this movie tomorrow. Even though it says “Peter Jackson presents” (whatever that means), the director is Neill Blomkamp, who was in charge of the much-maligned Halo movie, which fell apart after budget problems.
-None of the five big films of the year thus far is one pace to break $300 million. In fact, neither Wolverine, Terminator, Angels and Demons, Star Trek nor Night at the Museum 2 broke $90 million in the first week. Last year, three movies broke $300, including Indiana Jones ($317), Iron Man ($318) and Dark Knight ($533, woo). Critics say the only hope to break $300 lies in Harry Potter, Transformers and Avatar. The last year there wasn’t a $300+ movie? In 200, when The Grinch was tops at $260 million.
-Eminem’s album was the No. 1 seller in his first week out, selling 608,000 copies, the biggest opening week so far in 2009. Remember the days when people (Em, Brit, N’Sync, Backstreet) would go platinum or multi-platinum in the first week?
-Entourage begins July 12. Guest appearances include Tom Brady and Lil Wayne. Woo. Can’t wait.
-24 began shooting its eighth and final season last week. They did so, of course, with star Kiefer Sutherland, who at a NYC party on May 5 was charged with assault after head butting fashion designer Will McCollough. Real life Bauer? Keifer has an important court date on June 22, which will determine if he violated his probation instituted after a DUI conviction sent him to jail for 48 days in 2007.
-When Kumar (Kal Penn) is done with his gig in the White House, he’ll be teaming with Harold (John Cho) once again for a third installment in the Harold and Kumar series.
-Revolutionary Road and He’s Just Not That Into You came out this Tuesday.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The Taking of Pelham 123
Another Wednesday another screening. This time with the entire WKFTB troop.We went and saw The Taking of Pelham 123 in Boston yesterday (good looks, Mattyd) which comes out next Friday, June 12.
I was expecting a little more from this, maybe because of the Denzel-Travolta combo, but overall it held up enough to entertain for two hours. Nothing special here, just a standard suspense with a fast pace, chaos-(and vomit-)inducing spinning camera work and plenty of cheesy bad guy lines from Travolta.
At this point, Travolta has almost become a gimmick, a parody of himself kind of like what's happened to Christopher Walken. In this case, Travolta's psycho bag-guy shtick has been done and overdone so many times that it's almost comical to see him trying it again. The persona lost its luster a long time ago, sometime around Broken Arrow or Face Off and Travolta at times looks like he's more in an SNL skit than a drama/suspense.
Denzel, as you might expect, carries the movie as a down-on-his-luck former transportation big shot who under investigation for allegedly taking a bribe was demoted to work the train switchboard that day. And wouldn't you know, it's his train that gets hijacked by Travolta's character.
The few scenes that feature both Denzel and Travolta prove to be the most tense, most likely the reason why I enjoyed the movie more as it went along. John Turturro (Mr. Deeds, Big Labowski, Bronx is Burning) and Luis Guzman (Traffic, John from Cincinnati) have marginal but good roles in the film, however James Gandolfini is pretty unbelievable as the mayor of New York City -- by not fault of his own, I just think at this point he's too typecasted (fake word?) for me; all I can think of is Tony.
Overall I'd give this movie and B and in the continuance of my summer rankings, it now goes, in order of illness: The Hangover, Star Trek, Wolverine, Terminator, Pelham 1 2 3 then Angels and Demons. We aren't going to start reviewing every movie just the ones we get screenings for, since the screenings show early and consist of the bigger name movies.
And since my inbox has been utterly inundated with angry emails, I will return with Movie Friday tomorrow.
--Nick
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The Hangover
So I went to a screening for The Hangover (comes out June 5, next Friday) last night in Boston.
Two words: Un Real.
It was my favorite movie of the summer season thus far, surpassing, in order, Star Trek, X-Men Origins, and Angels and Demons (haven’t seen Terminator yet) and easily one of the best comedies in a long time – even better than I Love You, Man, which I thought was terrific.
The premise itself is great: three dudes take out their buddy for a bachelor blowout night in Vegas. As you’d expect, things get a little out of hand, something goes wrong, and they have to spend the rest of the movie retracing their steps from the night before. I being overly vague – you’d get way more reading a real review – but I think it’s better to not even know the whole premise. I didn’t and it was iller.
Maybe it’s because I wasn’t expecting much, or maybe it’s because we don’t have enough bad-ass comedies anymore, but I was thoroughly impressed with the pace, timing and theme of the whole thing. These days comedies are about lovable losers and wussy funnymen, with heartfelt underlying themes that usually manifest in a corny true love story (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Wedding Crashers, Knocked Up, and in terms of bromance, Superbad and I Love You Man). This movie has none of that. It’s straight bad-ass and funny, the closest sniff of anything sincere only coming when one of the guys has to make a decision with a stripper.
Too often comedies fall apart after they come out swinging in the first 30-45 minutes. Hangover comes out throwing haymakers, but like Mike Tyson in his prime, doesn’t stop there. It goes for the full-blown knockout at the end with one of the best ending sequences of ALL-TIME. Seriously, we may have seen the unedited version (wayyy too many penises) but the way they end it is perfect. I can’t even hint at it without giving anything away. It’s not that you will be surprised or anything, just extremely fulfilled – it’s exactly what you want.
It was written by two unknowns, John Lucas and Scott Moore, but it could have easily been written by anyone of my friends. The jokes are my type of humor.
Jokes like: “Counting cards is foolproof.”
“Yea, and it’s also illegal.”
“It’s not illegal! It’s frowned upon, like…like…masturbating on a plane.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s illegal.”
“Yea, maybe after 9/11, with everybody is so sensitive and shit.
…Thanks, Bin Laden.”
The director is Todd Phillips, who produced Old School, and he delivers a little treat that will take you back to that movie. My lips are sealed. I was a little concerned with Bradley Cooper (The Sack from Wedding Crashers) in the lead, but he murders it. I hope this opens some more doors for him ‘cause he’s a beast in this movie. Ed Helms is secret ill too and Heather Graham is, well, hot, but it’s Zach Galifianakis (??) who steals the movie. I’d say it’s a breakout role, but he’s already 40.
I def recommend seeing this movie. Maybe party a little before too. You’ll pretty much want to immediately head to Vegas with your crew right after. I was gonna post the trailer, but it ruins too mnay jokes. Don't even watch that thing.
Two words: Un Real.
It was my favorite movie of the summer season thus far, surpassing, in order, Star Trek, X-Men Origins, and Angels and Demons (haven’t seen Terminator yet) and easily one of the best comedies in a long time – even better than I Love You, Man, which I thought was terrific.
The premise itself is great: three dudes take out their buddy for a bachelor blowout night in Vegas. As you’d expect, things get a little out of hand, something goes wrong, and they have to spend the rest of the movie retracing their steps from the night before. I being overly vague – you’d get way more reading a real review – but I think it’s better to not even know the whole premise. I didn’t and it was iller.
Maybe it’s because I wasn’t expecting much, or maybe it’s because we don’t have enough bad-ass comedies anymore, but I was thoroughly impressed with the pace, timing and theme of the whole thing. These days comedies are about lovable losers and wussy funnymen, with heartfelt underlying themes that usually manifest in a corny true love story (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Wedding Crashers, Knocked Up, and in terms of bromance, Superbad and I Love You Man). This movie has none of that. It’s straight bad-ass and funny, the closest sniff of anything sincere only coming when one of the guys has to make a decision with a stripper.
Too often comedies fall apart after they come out swinging in the first 30-45 minutes. Hangover comes out throwing haymakers, but like Mike Tyson in his prime, doesn’t stop there. It goes for the full-blown knockout at the end with one of the best ending sequences of ALL-TIME. Seriously, we may have seen the unedited version (wayyy too many penises) but the way they end it is perfect. I can’t even hint at it without giving anything away. It’s not that you will be surprised or anything, just extremely fulfilled – it’s exactly what you want.
It was written by two unknowns, John Lucas and Scott Moore, but it could have easily been written by anyone of my friends. The jokes are my type of humor.
Jokes like: “Counting cards is foolproof.”
“Yea, and it’s also illegal.”
“It’s not illegal! It’s frowned upon, like…like…masturbating on a plane.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s illegal.”
“Yea, maybe after 9/11, with everybody is so sensitive and shit.
…Thanks, Bin Laden.”
The director is Todd Phillips, who produced Old School, and he delivers a little treat that will take you back to that movie. My lips are sealed. I was a little concerned with Bradley Cooper (The Sack from Wedding Crashers) in the lead, but he murders it. I hope this opens some more doors for him ‘cause he’s a beast in this movie. Ed Helms is secret ill too and Heather Graham is, well, hot, but it’s Zach Galifianakis (??) who steals the movie. I’d say it’s a breakout role, but he’s already 40.
I def recommend seeing this movie. Maybe party a little before too. You’ll pretty much want to immediately head to Vegas with your crew right after. I was gonna post the trailer, but it ruins too mnay jokes. Don't even watch that thing.
-Nick
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Movie Thursday
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Release Date: Friday
Fan Buzz: Pretty Good
Critic Reviews: Terrible
WKFTB Opinion: Alright, alright….a little Matthew McConaughey. How could critics hate on my boy?? McConaughey is as handsome as he is cocky, and maybe that’s why there are some haters. Ha, seriously though, this looks decent enough. I like these ones for date movies, ‘cause you can pull it off as a chick flick although you know there will be some dece dude laughs and def some sexy chicks and maybe a lil skin if you’re lucky. Ever see How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days? Firrrre.
Next Day Air
Release Date: May 8
Fan Buzz: Carless? http://www.fandango.com/nextdayair_119100/readuserreviews
Critic Reviews: Not screened yet
WKFTB Opinion: Donald Faison (Scrubs) is the man. Very funny ever since Clueless. I’m a fan. I also like Avon from The Wire, Mike Epps and Mos Def. This probably isn’t one you spend 10 bucks on, but def would rent it. This would have been a nice winter release when not much else is out there. I bet there’s a few laughs in this. Plus the story is kind of cool.
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Release Date: May 22
Fan Buzz: Pumped
Critic Reviews: Too early
WKFTB Opinion: Like it or not, the first one drew $251 million at the box office!!! Seriously, I’m not making that number up. I didn’t get it when I first saw a preview. Was it a kids’ movie? A comedy with some thrills? Some sort of fluff, I assumed. It looked mega chooch, but maybe I’ll have to rent it now that they bothered to make a sequel. Looks like some cool cameos from Jonas Hill and what looks to be Robin Williams. Negative chance of seeing it in the theatres with all the ill ish that is scheduled to come out, but maybe a double rent is in order at some point.
Bruno
Release Date: July 10
Fan Buzz: You know they love it.
Critic Reviews: Too early
WKFTB Opinion: Sacha Baron Cohen is at it again. Before it was Borat, which like it or not grossed $123 million on a very small budget. This time Cohen is playing Bruno, the gay Australian, and another character from Da Ali G Show. People didn’t think he could dupe people again. Well, look at the trailer…he has. They are guarding this movie like gold. This is the only trailer out for it. Right now it’s been slapped with an NC-17 rating, so they’re trying to get it down to R by the summer. Either way, this is going to be unreal. Enjoy the trailer.
Pop Culture:
-24 will be set next season (its final one) in New York for the first time. The gameshow hot from Slumdog Millionaire will be the main terrorist adversary and CTU will be brought back as the headquarters of it all.
-Asher Roth and Rick Ross came out last week. Most of what I’ve heard of Asher’s CD is surprisingly fire.
-The Wrestler, Notorious and Frost/Nixon all came out last week. I can’t speak for the last one, but the first two are must-rent in my mind, even Notorious – trust me, it’s better than you think, Gravy is BIG.
Release Date: Friday
Fan Buzz: Pretty Good
Critic Reviews: Terrible
WKFTB Opinion: Alright, alright….a little Matthew McConaughey. How could critics hate on my boy?? McConaughey is as handsome as he is cocky, and maybe that’s why there are some haters. Ha, seriously though, this looks decent enough. I like these ones for date movies, ‘cause you can pull it off as a chick flick although you know there will be some dece dude laughs and def some sexy chicks and maybe a lil skin if you’re lucky. Ever see How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days? Firrrre.
Next Day Air
Release Date: May 8
Fan Buzz: Carless? http://www.fandango.com/nextdayair_119100/readuserreviews
Critic Reviews: Not screened yet
WKFTB Opinion: Donald Faison (Scrubs) is the man. Very funny ever since Clueless. I’m a fan. I also like Avon from The Wire, Mike Epps and Mos Def. This probably isn’t one you spend 10 bucks on, but def would rent it. This would have been a nice winter release when not much else is out there. I bet there’s a few laughs in this. Plus the story is kind of cool.
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Release Date: May 22
Fan Buzz: Pumped
Critic Reviews: Too early
WKFTB Opinion: Like it or not, the first one drew $251 million at the box office!!! Seriously, I’m not making that number up. I didn’t get it when I first saw a preview. Was it a kids’ movie? A comedy with some thrills? Some sort of fluff, I assumed. It looked mega chooch, but maybe I’ll have to rent it now that they bothered to make a sequel. Looks like some cool cameos from Jonas Hill and what looks to be Robin Williams. Negative chance of seeing it in the theatres with all the ill ish that is scheduled to come out, but maybe a double rent is in order at some point.
Bruno
Release Date: July 10
Fan Buzz: You know they love it.
Critic Reviews: Too early
WKFTB Opinion: Sacha Baron Cohen is at it again. Before it was Borat, which like it or not grossed $123 million on a very small budget. This time Cohen is playing Bruno, the gay Australian, and another character from Da Ali G Show. People didn’t think he could dupe people again. Well, look at the trailer…he has. They are guarding this movie like gold. This is the only trailer out for it. Right now it’s been slapped with an NC-17 rating, so they’re trying to get it down to R by the summer. Either way, this is going to be unreal. Enjoy the trailer.
Pop Culture:
-24 will be set next season (its final one) in New York for the first time. The gameshow hot from Slumdog Millionaire will be the main terrorist adversary and CTU will be brought back as the headquarters of it all.
-Asher Roth and Rick Ross came out last week. Most of what I’ve heard of Asher’s CD is surprisingly fire.
-The Wrestler, Notorious and Frost/Nixon all came out last week. I can’t speak for the last one, but the first two are must-rent in my mind, even Notorious – trust me, it’s better than you think, Gravy is BIG.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Movie Wednesday
Sunshine Cleaning
Release Date: In theatres
Fan Buzz: So-so
Critic Reviews: Fresh
WKFTB Opinion: I dunno. With Emily Blunt and Amy Adams, the producers of Little Miss Sunshine (what’s with them and the sun?) and being a hit at Sundance, this has all the makings of a movie I wouldn’t like. I really just put it in here because A) we do have some female readers and B) we’ve covered most of the ill movies out right now (Observe and Report, Adventureland, I Love You Man, Fast & Furious, etc.). If anything, it’s guaranteed to be well-made, so see at your own risk.
Obsessed
Release Date: April 24
Fan Buzz: People seem to be interested
Critic Reviews: None yet, which is concerning
WKFTB Opinion: Idris Elba and Beyonce star in this one. Fans of The Wire know Elba, aka Stringer Bell (more on him below). The trailer is pretty good. I have to say I’m mildly intrigued by this movie. At the absolute least, you can count on Beyonce being a smokeshow and Elba delivering a solid performance. I’d say this would be a perfect date movie – enough action and suspense to keep the dudes into it, but with a storyline that hits home with the ladies.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Release Date: June 24
Fan Buzz: Pumped
Critic Reviews: Too early
WKFTB Opinion: Can we really take another movie watching taking, walking, righting animations? And Shia LeBeouf? Cue the Pepsi cans and Dorito bag insignia because this thing is gonna be everywhere in a few weeks. That’s how you can pick the blockbuster of the summer, BTW, by checking to see if it made it on the Pepsi can for June/July. Picture drinking green Hulk Mountain Dews and Hancock Pepsis and shit. Haha love it kinda. Typical summer blockbuster so I might have to see it just because of the hugeness. I hate missing huge things, and this, no doubt, will be enourm.
Pop Culture:
-Fast & Furious set the all-time record for the biggest Opening Weekend in the month of April. The fourth installment of the series copped a whopping $71 million last weekend. Vin and Paul are baaackkk.
-Idris Elba, aka Stringer Bell from The Wire, is not only set to appear next to Beyonce in Obsessed, he also is playing an exec on TV’s The Office. Underrated is that he is British. How weird is that?
-Someone stole the new Wolverine movie from Fox and posted it on the internet. Fox was heated and the FBI is looking into it. This happened before with Hulk in 2003 and Universal claims they lost $100 mill because of it.
-Kind of went under the radar, but T.I. will report to federal prison on may 19 to begin serving his one year and one day sentence on felony weapons charges. Actually a good break for the rapper, who received the reduced sentence on March 27 in exchange for 1,000 hours of community service which he filmed for an MTV show, T.I.’s Road to Redemption.
-DVDs: Doubt and Yes Man came out last week. The Reader and The Day the Earth Stood Still came out yesterday.
-CDs: Jadakiss and MIMS released new albums last week. Jada is fire. Haven’t listened to my boy MIMS yet, but I’m hearing good things.
Release Date: In theatres
Fan Buzz: So-so
Critic Reviews: Fresh
WKFTB Opinion: I dunno. With Emily Blunt and Amy Adams, the producers of Little Miss Sunshine (what’s with them and the sun?) and being a hit at Sundance, this has all the makings of a movie I wouldn’t like. I really just put it in here because A) we do have some female readers and B) we’ve covered most of the ill movies out right now (Observe and Report, Adventureland, I Love You Man, Fast & Furious, etc.). If anything, it’s guaranteed to be well-made, so see at your own risk.
Obsessed
Release Date: April 24
Fan Buzz: People seem to be interested
Critic Reviews: None yet, which is concerning
WKFTB Opinion: Idris Elba and Beyonce star in this one. Fans of The Wire know Elba, aka Stringer Bell (more on him below). The trailer is pretty good. I have to say I’m mildly intrigued by this movie. At the absolute least, you can count on Beyonce being a smokeshow and Elba delivering a solid performance. I’d say this would be a perfect date movie – enough action and suspense to keep the dudes into it, but with a storyline that hits home with the ladies.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Release Date: June 24
Fan Buzz: Pumped
Critic Reviews: Too early
WKFTB Opinion: Can we really take another movie watching taking, walking, righting animations? And Shia LeBeouf? Cue the Pepsi cans and Dorito bag insignia because this thing is gonna be everywhere in a few weeks. That’s how you can pick the blockbuster of the summer, BTW, by checking to see if it made it on the Pepsi can for June/July. Picture drinking green Hulk Mountain Dews and Hancock Pepsis and shit. Haha love it kinda. Typical summer blockbuster so I might have to see it just because of the hugeness. I hate missing huge things, and this, no doubt, will be enourm.
Pop Culture:
-Fast & Furious set the all-time record for the biggest Opening Weekend in the month of April. The fourth installment of the series copped a whopping $71 million last weekend. Vin and Paul are baaackkk.
-Idris Elba, aka Stringer Bell from The Wire, is not only set to appear next to Beyonce in Obsessed, he also is playing an exec on TV’s The Office. Underrated is that he is British. How weird is that?
-Someone stole the new Wolverine movie from Fox and posted it on the internet. Fox was heated and the FBI is looking into it. This happened before with Hulk in 2003 and Universal claims they lost $100 mill because of it.
-Kind of went under the radar, but T.I. will report to federal prison on may 19 to begin serving his one year and one day sentence on felony weapons charges. Actually a good break for the rapper, who received the reduced sentence on March 27 in exchange for 1,000 hours of community service which he filmed for an MTV show, T.I.’s Road to Redemption.
-DVDs: Doubt and Yes Man came out last week. The Reader and The Day the Earth Stood Still came out yesterday.
-CDs: Jadakiss and MIMS released new albums last week. Jada is fire. Haven’t listened to my boy MIMS yet, but I’m hearing good things.
The Room
OK, so I saw this link in Simmons' column today and I just can't get over it. It's a trailer of some movie made in 2003 called The Room. I don't know why but I've watched it 3 times and i boggles my mind. The shitty trailer, horrible music, scenes that look like an SNL skit. Oh man, just give this a shot. You'll be hooked the instant you hear the weird accent guy. Also, the rooftop scenes with the ultra-fake backgrounds is outta control. Please peep this for me. I thought it was a joke, but looked it up. Nope, thing's serious: 4.1 on IMDB.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Movie Friday
Haven't done one of these in awhile. Not even sure if people read em, cause no one comments on these. But I know wolfie sweats it. Anyway, I've done so many I've pretty much covered every ill movie until June. Here are three popular ones though:
Monsters vs. Aliens
Release Date: In theatres
Fan Buzz: Very ill
Critic Opinion: Loved it
WKFTB Opinion: It’s an animated film, so of course critics love it. I don’t know what it is with these things. They’re made for all ages. The jokes range from corny to witty. Why can’t all movies be made with this type of poignant, tactful, dialogue? This is no WALL-E or even Shrek or Toy Story, but you know it’s good. Plus they always grab sweet voices for these type of movies. This one is no different: Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogan, Hugh Laurie, Paul Rudd and Stephen Colbert. Can’t argue with that. If any one of our readers has seen this, please comment. I’m not sure if anyone has, but you never know.
Adventureland
Release Date: Today
Fan Buzz: Dece
Critic Opinion: 89%, higher than I Love You Man. Wow.
WKFTB Opinion: The trailer wasn’t anything special so I almost overlooked this potential gem. The Rotten Tomatoes score boggles my mind. Is this movie that good? Most of the reviews just said it was funny, well-made, and clever. Really nothing to complain about I guess. Since I already saw I Love You Man (A) and Knowing (C+), this is probably my text target. From Greg Mottola (Superbad) with Jesse Eisenberg and Kelsey Ford, who are both real fake to me. I bet Bill Hader and Ryan Reynolds are secret fire in this.
The Soloist
Release Date: April 24
Fan Buzz: They’ve screened it already and seems like people were OK with it
Critic Opinion: Too early, bra
WKFTB Opinion: Normally Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx would be enough to get me to go to damn near anything. Plus it’s a story about a journalist. Stillll, it looks a little risky/boring. I could this as something I would have to watch in journalism class. But then again, I could picture it being something I was forced to watch then ended up sweating. Eh, who am kiddin, I’ll probably see it.
Little Pop Culture illness for ya:
-Slumdog’s Freida Pinto is rumored to be the next Bond Girl.
-WKFTB fav Jason Segal credits Kobe Bryant for getting him the part in his upcoming movie, Gulliver’s Travels:
“The producer got us courtside seats to the Lakers game, invited the head of the studio and didn’t tell him I was also invited; my job was to buddy up to the executive. Immediately the guy knew what was going on, and it was really awkward – like a blind date. All of a sudden Kobe Bryant walked over, gave me a high five and said, ‘You’re a funny motherfucker.’ The offer came the next day.”
-After the tragic death of wife Natasha Richardson in a skiing accident two weeks ago, Liam Neeson’s project with Steven Spielberg is on hold. The movie, a biopic of Abraham Lincoln, should shoot later this year.
-Twilight and Quantum of Solace were released last week and Slumdog Millionaire, Marley and Me and Seven Pounds came out Tuesday.
Monsters vs. Aliens
Release Date: In theatres
Fan Buzz: Very ill
Critic Opinion: Loved it
WKFTB Opinion: It’s an animated film, so of course critics love it. I don’t know what it is with these things. They’re made for all ages. The jokes range from corny to witty. Why can’t all movies be made with this type of poignant, tactful, dialogue? This is no WALL-E or even Shrek or Toy Story, but you know it’s good. Plus they always grab sweet voices for these type of movies. This one is no different: Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogan, Hugh Laurie, Paul Rudd and Stephen Colbert. Can’t argue with that. If any one of our readers has seen this, please comment. I’m not sure if anyone has, but you never know.
Adventureland
Release Date: Today
Fan Buzz: Dece
Critic Opinion: 89%, higher than I Love You Man. Wow.
WKFTB Opinion: The trailer wasn’t anything special so I almost overlooked this potential gem. The Rotten Tomatoes score boggles my mind. Is this movie that good? Most of the reviews just said it was funny, well-made, and clever. Really nothing to complain about I guess. Since I already saw I Love You Man (A) and Knowing (C+), this is probably my text target. From Greg Mottola (Superbad) with Jesse Eisenberg and Kelsey Ford, who are both real fake to me. I bet Bill Hader and Ryan Reynolds are secret fire in this.
The Soloist
Release Date: April 24
Fan Buzz: They’ve screened it already and seems like people were OK with it
Critic Opinion: Too early, bra
WKFTB Opinion: Normally Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx would be enough to get me to go to damn near anything. Plus it’s a story about a journalist. Stillll, it looks a little risky/boring. I could this as something I would have to watch in journalism class. But then again, I could picture it being something I was forced to watch then ended up sweating. Eh, who am kiddin, I’ll probably see it.
Little Pop Culture illness for ya:
-Slumdog’s Freida Pinto is rumored to be the next Bond Girl.
-WKFTB fav Jason Segal credits Kobe Bryant for getting him the part in his upcoming movie, Gulliver’s Travels:
“The producer got us courtside seats to the Lakers game, invited the head of the studio and didn’t tell him I was also invited; my job was to buddy up to the executive. Immediately the guy knew what was going on, and it was really awkward – like a blind date. All of a sudden Kobe Bryant walked over, gave me a high five and said, ‘You’re a funny motherfucker.’ The offer came the next day.”
-After the tragic death of wife Natasha Richardson in a skiing accident two weeks ago, Liam Neeson’s project with Steven Spielberg is on hold. The movie, a biopic of Abraham Lincoln, should shoot later this year.
-Twilight and Quantum of Solace were released last week and Slumdog Millionaire, Marley and Me and Seven Pounds came out Tuesday.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Movie Friday
Last House on the Left
Release Date: Today
Fan Buzz: So-so
Critic Reviews: 43%..better than I thought
WKFTB Opinion: This is a remake of the 1970s film that launched Wes Craven’s career. He wrote and directed the old on, but he’s just on as a producer here. This trailer is much better than the one on television (love the song at the end too). That coupled with the better-than-I-though reviews might swing me into seeing this.
Miss March
Release Date: Today
Fan Buzz: Dece
Critic Reviews: Rotten, although it looks like it hasn’t been screened much
WKFTB Opinion: The only reason I would even consider seeing this is because it stars two of The Whitest Kids U Know. I posted a few vids on these guys in my old blog a few years ago after Tevlin introduced me to them. Definitely a specific sense of humor, but you can have a good time browsing through their YouTubes. I’ll probably just wait for the rental, though.
Angels and Demons
Release Date: May 15
Fan Buzz: Awesome
Critic Reviews: Too early
WKFTB Opinion: Ask anyone who has read the book (I haven’t), and you come to the conclusion that this should be legit. I actually haven’t even read the DaVinci Code . Yikes, probably need to get on both em. I enjoyed the first movie and I know I’ll like this. From director Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon, Da Vinci Code, Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Cinderella Man) and starring Tom Hanks, this looks like a must-see thriller, although I’m sure it won’t live up to the book.
Remember like 6 movie posts ago when we told you about Johnny Depp and Christian Bale’s movie coming out this July, Public Enemies? Well, there’s finally a trailer out for it:
Pop Culture:
-Adam Sandler joins up with Paul Rudd, Eric Bana and Lesile Mann in Judd Apatow’s new movie, “Funny People,” which comes out in July. It’s about a comedian with a terminal illness, which sounds depressing, but should be funny.
-Slumdog Millionaire’s main women, Freida Pinto will join Josh Brolin in Woody Allen’s new movie.
-Eminem’s new Album, “Relapse” will release May 16, the same day as Lil Wayne’s new rock album, which is undoubtedly not a coincidence.
-WKFTB saw Watchmen during a midnight showing last Thursday. UFC fighter, EB native and WKFTB follower (and new commenter) Joe Lauzon was also in attendance. We left a little undecided about the film, mostly because it was so F’n long, especially ay 2:30 a.m. Ultimately, I felt like it didn’t live up to my expectations and got a little too preachy. The violence and effects were sweet, but it seemed too jammed with stories.
-Role Models came out on DVD. South Park was back this Wednesday at 10 on Comedy Central. Catch Demetri Martin’s show right after and have an hour laugh fest. How’s Your News is on Sunday’s at 10:30 on MTV. Should be a must watch, although it goes against HBO’s Flight of the Conchords. Looks like comedy has made a renaissance.
-Nick "aKa ThE kId" is back
Release Date: Today
Fan Buzz: So-so
Critic Reviews: 43%..better than I thought
WKFTB Opinion: This is a remake of the 1970s film that launched Wes Craven’s career. He wrote and directed the old on, but he’s just on as a producer here. This trailer is much better than the one on television (love the song at the end too). That coupled with the better-than-I-though reviews might swing me into seeing this.
Miss March
Release Date: Today
Fan Buzz: Dece
Critic Reviews: Rotten, although it looks like it hasn’t been screened much
WKFTB Opinion: The only reason I would even consider seeing this is because it stars two of The Whitest Kids U Know. I posted a few vids on these guys in my old blog a few years ago after Tevlin introduced me to them. Definitely a specific sense of humor, but you can have a good time browsing through their YouTubes. I’ll probably just wait for the rental, though.
Angels and Demons
Release Date: May 15
Fan Buzz: Awesome
Critic Reviews: Too early
WKFTB Opinion: Ask anyone who has read the book (I haven’t), and you come to the conclusion that this should be legit. I actually haven’t even read the DaVinci Code . Yikes, probably need to get on both em. I enjoyed the first movie and I know I’ll like this. From director Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon, Da Vinci Code, Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Cinderella Man) and starring Tom Hanks, this looks like a must-see thriller, although I’m sure it won’t live up to the book.
Remember like 6 movie posts ago when we told you about Johnny Depp and Christian Bale’s movie coming out this July, Public Enemies? Well, there’s finally a trailer out for it:
Pop Culture:
-Adam Sandler joins up with Paul Rudd, Eric Bana and Lesile Mann in Judd Apatow’s new movie, “Funny People,” which comes out in July. It’s about a comedian with a terminal illness, which sounds depressing, but should be funny.
-Slumdog Millionaire’s main women, Freida Pinto will join Josh Brolin in Woody Allen’s new movie.
-Eminem’s new Album, “Relapse” will release May 16, the same day as Lil Wayne’s new rock album, which is undoubtedly not a coincidence.
-WKFTB saw Watchmen during a midnight showing last Thursday. UFC fighter, EB native and WKFTB follower (and new commenter) Joe Lauzon was also in attendance. We left a little undecided about the film, mostly because it was so F’n long, especially ay 2:30 a.m. Ultimately, I felt like it didn’t live up to my expectations and got a little too preachy. The violence and effects were sweet, but it seemed too jammed with stories.
-Role Models came out on DVD. South Park was back this Wednesday at 10 on Comedy Central. Catch Demetri Martin’s show right after and have an hour laugh fest. How’s Your News is on Sunday’s at 10:30 on MTV. Should be a must watch, although it goes against HBO’s Flight of the Conchords. Looks like comedy has made a renaissance.
-Nick "aKa ThE kId" is back
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Movie Thursday
Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail
Release Date: In Theatres
Fan Buzz: Good
Critic Reviews: Rotten
WKFTB Opinion: LOL c’mon. What’s the world coming to when this was the No. 1 movie in America last week? And on the heels of my boy, Paul Blart. Damn. I guess what’s underated though is that Tyler Perry is pretty universally respected by critics as a comedic genius and visionary. I haven’t given him a chance, but might need to look into him a bit.
Duplicity
Release Date: March 20
Fan Buzz: So-so
Critic Reviews: Too early
WKFTB Opinion: Clive Owen and Julia Roberts return together for the first time since Closer (sweat that movie, btw, maybe because of Natalie Portman?). Director is Tony Gilroy who did Michael Clayton and this is supposed to be similar, just way more upbeat, witty and funnier. Trailer dece blows to be honest, but I might F around with this. Sort of reminds me of Burn After Reading, which only certain people enjoy.
Observe and Report
Release Date: April 10
Fan Buzz: Too early
Critic Reviews: None yet
WKFTB Opinion: Seth Rogan = ill. Anna Faris = hot and a legit funny female. Ray Liotta = crispy in everything. I like the formula for this. I don’t know what the deal is with mall cops these days, but this is more my style. And I can’t tell exactly from the angle, but it looks like the flasher in the trailer could be Jonah Hill. Prob is. Comedy is so awesome like that. Seems like the hot people at the moment are all boys and hook each other up. The Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Norm MacDonald crew ran shit for a while. Then it was Will Farrell, Ben Stiller, the Wilson brothers and Vince Vaughn. Then they gave way to Hill, Rogan, Paul Rudd and Jason Segal. I want to write a paper about this. Maybe a post will do.
State of Play
Release Date: April 17
Fan Buzz: Not good, maybe because of Ben?
Critic Reviews: Not yet
WKFTB Opinion: Don’t mean to pimp Tony Gilroy. He didn’t direct this, but he did write it. Another political thriller, I think the only bad thing people could say about it is that Ben Affleck is in it. Don’t get why everyone hates him so much. I love Ben. He’s ill to me. Sorry I was banging J-Lo and thought I was so tight I put myself in her video. Then just did maddd movies, even horrible ones but still was secret funny in every Kevin Smith movie. I like him like I like Ryan Seacrest, A-Rod, etc. Just ill bros who I like because it’s funny to. This may turn into its own post some day.
Pop Culture tidbits:
-Starting March 11, American Idol is moving its Wednesday results show to 9 p.m. head-to-head with Lost. ABC considered moving it, but decided they’d get enough people with DVR and the internet who will eventually tune in. Crazy how much of a powerhouse Idol is. You do not want that show going against yours. Thing will take down anything.
-Suge Knight got bundled in a scuffle with an associate of Akon’s at a Scottsdale, AZ hotel. Consider that dude DEAD.
-Uhoh…this probably should have been its own post and probably will be at some point. But the very first trailer for Inglorious Basterds was released recently. Words cannot describe how pumped I am for this one. Basterds is Quentin Tarantino’s latest project and doesn’t come out until August. Tarantino supposedly wrote this forever ago and Tevlin told me it’s different than anything he’s done before. It’s a story of Jewish soldiers set out to kill Nazis during WWII. Should be lighter than most Holocaust era movies, as you can see in the trailer. Stars Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, Mike Myers, Samuel L. Jackson and Jula Dreyfus. Gonna be firrreee.
Release Date: In Theatres
Fan Buzz: Good
Critic Reviews: Rotten
WKFTB Opinion: LOL c’mon. What’s the world coming to when this was the No. 1 movie in America last week? And on the heels of my boy, Paul Blart. Damn. I guess what’s underated though is that Tyler Perry is pretty universally respected by critics as a comedic genius and visionary. I haven’t given him a chance, but might need to look into him a bit.
Duplicity
Release Date: March 20
Fan Buzz: So-so
Critic Reviews: Too early
WKFTB Opinion: Clive Owen and Julia Roberts return together for the first time since Closer (sweat that movie, btw, maybe because of Natalie Portman?). Director is Tony Gilroy who did Michael Clayton and this is supposed to be similar, just way more upbeat, witty and funnier. Trailer dece blows to be honest, but I might F around with this. Sort of reminds me of Burn After Reading, which only certain people enjoy.
Observe and Report
Release Date: April 10
Fan Buzz: Too early
Critic Reviews: None yet
WKFTB Opinion: Seth Rogan = ill. Anna Faris = hot and a legit funny female. Ray Liotta = crispy in everything. I like the formula for this. I don’t know what the deal is with mall cops these days, but this is more my style. And I can’t tell exactly from the angle, but it looks like the flasher in the trailer could be Jonah Hill. Prob is. Comedy is so awesome like that. Seems like the hot people at the moment are all boys and hook each other up. The Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Norm MacDonald crew ran shit for a while. Then it was Will Farrell, Ben Stiller, the Wilson brothers and Vince Vaughn. Then they gave way to Hill, Rogan, Paul Rudd and Jason Segal. I want to write a paper about this. Maybe a post will do.
State of Play
Release Date: April 17
Fan Buzz: Not good, maybe because of Ben?
Critic Reviews: Not yet
WKFTB Opinion: Don’t mean to pimp Tony Gilroy. He didn’t direct this, but he did write it. Another political thriller, I think the only bad thing people could say about it is that Ben Affleck is in it. Don’t get why everyone hates him so much. I love Ben. He’s ill to me. Sorry I was banging J-Lo and thought I was so tight I put myself in her video. Then just did maddd movies, even horrible ones but still was secret funny in every Kevin Smith movie. I like him like I like Ryan Seacrest, A-Rod, etc. Just ill bros who I like because it’s funny to. This may turn into its own post some day.
Pop Culture tidbits:
-Starting March 11, American Idol is moving its Wednesday results show to 9 p.m. head-to-head with Lost. ABC considered moving it, but decided they’d get enough people with DVR and the internet who will eventually tune in. Crazy how much of a powerhouse Idol is. You do not want that show going against yours. Thing will take down anything.
-Suge Knight got bundled in a scuffle with an associate of Akon’s at a Scottsdale, AZ hotel. Consider that dude DEAD.
-Uhoh…this probably should have been its own post and probably will be at some point. But the very first trailer for Inglorious Basterds was released recently. Words cannot describe how pumped I am for this one. Basterds is Quentin Tarantino’s latest project and doesn’t come out until August. Tarantino supposedly wrote this forever ago and Tevlin told me it’s different than anything he’s done before. It’s a story of Jewish soldiers set out to kill Nazis during WWII. Should be lighter than most Holocaust era movies, as you can see in the trailer. Stars Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, Mike Myers, Samuel L. Jackson and Jula Dreyfus. Gonna be firrreee.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Running With the Oscars
Running diary of last night's 2009 Academy Awards:
8:33: Critics said Hugh Jackman would jump at the chance to sing during this broadcast – he won a Tony Award in 2004 for “The Boy from Oz,” a play on Broadway. He wastes
no time here, opening the show with a solid performance.
8:36: Anne Hathaway – love her for some reason – is dragged out of the audience by Hugh. I think it is spur of the moment for about 0.27 seconds.
8:40: Hugh acknowledges Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Everyone on earth crosses their fingers for a shot of a psycho Jennifer Aniston. No dice.
8:45: OMG, such a boring little piece with a bunch of former Best Supporting Actress winners. Best part is the shot of Marisa Tomei. Wow, she is beautiful. Penelope Cruz wins here in the night’s most wide-open category. Seriously no one knew who was going to win this.
8:54: Nice appearance from Steve Martin and Sarah Pal..uh Tina Fey. Tina once again looking nice. Did any entertainer make a bigger leap than Tina Fey last year? Her 2008 was like Dustin Pedroia’s MVP season. We liked her as is, a bit player with a little niche who was easy to like. But she blew up and exceeded anyone’s wildest expectations. In comparison Steve Martin was Julio Lugo.
9:03: Jennifer Aniston and Jack Black out together. Aniston looks awful. What happened to her hair? Did she stick it out the limo window on the way over? The two lead us into an animation bit. I don’t know why, but I am very anti-animation. I would NEVER see an animated movie in the theatre. Whenever I watch one I’m always entertained too.
9:09: LOL. The animated short film award. You’ve got a better chance of me actually making one and accepting my own nomination then you do of me watching one of those.
9:16: Sarah Jessica Parker has huge boobs. They are real as well. I think Maxim was a little hard when it dubbed SJP the Unsexiest Women Alive in 2007.
9:23: Actually, the more I see her, SJP is pretty sucky…
9:30: The Oscars were revamped this year with two main goals:
1) To have more of a storytelling and historic feel, hence all the props and sets for each category and
2) To celebrate the entire year’s most popular pictures (not just the nominees). The first montage, on 2008 romance, is awesome.
9:32: YES! Natalie Portman! If it were up to me she’d be on that poll to the right. And Ben Stiller with a spot-on impression of a delusional Joaquin Phoenix. Just unreal.
9:43: James Franco and Seth Rogan just killed it with a Pineapple Express short of them watching a bunch of this year’s most popular films. I RLOL’d 3-4 times. Picture Judd Apatow. Guy’s a baller. He’d so big he can just write a short for the Academy Awards now. Meanwhile as I’m writing this, James Franco butchers the name of the foreign guy who wins Best Cinematographer and Rogan dies laughing. Not sure if that was part of the skit or not but don’t think so.
9:59: Damn, what a huge performance by Jackman and Beyonce. When you see performances like this it make sense why those two are famous. Just tons of talent.
10:04: Here we go. What most of us have been waiting for: Best Supporting Actor. Jared just IM’d me and is wondering the same things: how are they going to do this for Ledger? Who accepts?
10:07: Just got goosebumps has Kevin Klein described my favorite scene in Dark Knight: when Ledger sticks his head out of the cop car and licks his lips as the movie goes silent. They just announced Heath won, becoming the second posthumous actor to win an Oscar. His family is accepting it. Nice gesture, much better than to have someone who worked on the film up there. Standing ‘O’ of course. All in all: classy. There should be another crazy applause when they do the montage of all the people in the film industry who passed away.
10:16: Man on Wire wins for Best Documentary. Mark Cuban was a producer on this. The Oscar will be the only hardware he wins this season.
10:27: After a sweet action movie montage, Benjamin Button wins for Best Visual Effects. I’m not sure if people realize how advanced the technology is that they used here. It’s a system called Contour which can create digital reproductions of the human body that are as accurate as photographs. So in the scenes where Brad Pitt is an old man, it is his face on an old man’s body. It’s breakthrough stuff and something you are going to see a lot more of. I guess the video game market is all over this too.
10:44: Nice tribute to Jerry Lewis. I feel like I don’t appreciate his career as much as I should. Might be a Google/YouTube of him in my future. Eddie Murphy presented the award. He looks old.
10:59: Strange music performance by the music guy from Slumdog Millionaire and John Legend. Sorry for the vagueness, but I’m hating this right now. Bored outta my tree. Mostly just F’n around with my laptop. This reminds me that South Park the movie had a nomination for Best Song for “Blame Canada” and Robin Williams performed it at the Oscars.
11:11: I was wondering why Queen Latifa had a front-row seat out of all the possible stars and celebs. Turns out she’s singing to accompany the “passed away” montage. I forgot about Bernie Mac. Still weird to me that he died. He was fantastic. Sydney Pollack and Paul Newman too. Wow Hollywood lost some legends.
11:20: Danny Boyle brings home the hardware for Best Director, keeping this night a Slumdog affair. Best Picture is a mere formality at this point.
11:26: Time for Best Actress. Nicole Kidman and Halle Berry are stunning. I’m thinking Kate Winslet (The Reader) here. After being denied five other times this should be a career reward for her. Meanwhile, Anne Hathaway is crying for like 5th time tonight. She should do spots for Kleenex. And the winner is…Winslet. I’m a genius. Now that I’m on her Wiki page, how did she not win for Titanic? What a good speech too. It’s nice to see multi-millionaire superstars humbled and grateful.
11:40: You can tell the awards are going over time (big surprise) when there’s no commercial between Best Actress and Best Actor. Adrien Brody, Michael Douglas, Robert Dinero, Ben Kingsley, and Anthony Hopkins are here to introduce this one. I can’t decide between Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke
here. I haven’t seen Milk, so that’s probably why I’m rooting for Rourke.
11:43: Damn it, Sean Penn wins. After Kingsley’s unreal intro for Rourke (the last nominee introduced) it was almost a letdown when Penn won. “Thank you, you Commy, homo-loving sons of guns.” That was sweet.
11:52: Finalllllyyy it’s time for Best Picture. Zero surprise here. Slumdog caps off its historic night with the evening’s top honor. Just think, this movie almost went straight to DVD. It was bought by Warner for $5 million before they sold half of it to FOX Searchlight. Yea, it only grossed $150 million and won Best Picture. Would love to be the exec who pitched that idea.
Finally I can put the comp down. Great, past-paced start to the night that eventually got too long and boring. Overall I give the night a B. I liked the new set up, but maybe a few more clips of the movies next time?
8:33: Critics said Hugh Jackman would jump at the chance to sing during this broadcast – he won a Tony Award in 2004 for “The Boy from Oz,” a play on Broadway. He wastes
no time here, opening the show with a solid performance.8:36: Anne Hathaway – love her for some reason – is dragged out of the audience by Hugh. I think it is spur of the moment for about 0.27 seconds.
8:40: Hugh acknowledges Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Everyone on earth crosses their fingers for a shot of a psycho Jennifer Aniston. No dice.
8:45: OMG, such a boring little piece with a bunch of former Best Supporting Actress winners. Best part is the shot of Marisa Tomei. Wow, she is beautiful. Penelope Cruz wins here in the night’s most wide-open category. Seriously no one knew who was going to win this.
8:54: Nice appearance from Steve Martin and Sarah Pal..uh Tina Fey. Tina once again looking nice. Did any entertainer make a bigger leap than Tina Fey last year? Her 2008 was like Dustin Pedroia’s MVP season. We liked her as is, a bit player with a little niche who was easy to like. But she blew up and exceeded anyone’s wildest expectations. In comparison Steve Martin was Julio Lugo.
9:03: Jennifer Aniston and Jack Black out together. Aniston looks awful. What happened to her hair? Did she stick it out the limo window on the way over? The two lead us into an animation bit. I don’t know why, but I am very anti-animation. I would NEVER see an animated movie in the theatre. Whenever I watch one I’m always entertained too.
9:09: LOL. The animated short film award. You’ve got a better chance of me actually making one and accepting my own nomination then you do of me watching one of those.
9:16: Sarah Jessica Parker has huge boobs. They are real as well. I think Maxim was a little hard when it dubbed SJP the Unsexiest Women Alive in 2007.
9:23: Actually, the more I see her, SJP is pretty sucky…
9:30: The Oscars were revamped this year with two main goals:
1) To have more of a storytelling and historic feel, hence all the props and sets for each category and
2) To celebrate the entire year’s most popular pictures (not just the nominees). The first montage, on 2008 romance, is awesome.
9:32: YES! Natalie Portman! If it were up to me she’d be on that poll to the right. And Ben Stiller with a spot-on impression of a delusional Joaquin Phoenix. Just unreal.
9:43: James Franco and Seth Rogan just killed it with a Pineapple Express short of them watching a bunch of this year’s most popular films. I RLOL’d 3-4 times. Picture Judd Apatow. Guy’s a baller. He’d so big he can just write a short for the Academy Awards now. Meanwhile as I’m writing this, James Franco butchers the name of the foreign guy who wins Best Cinematographer and Rogan dies laughing. Not sure if that was part of the skit or not but don’t think so.
9:59: Damn, what a huge performance by Jackman and Beyonce. When you see performances like this it make sense why those two are famous. Just tons of talent.
10:04: Here we go. What most of us have been waiting for: Best Supporting Actor. Jared just IM’d me and is wondering the same things: how are they going to do this for Ledger? Who accepts?
10:07: Just got goosebumps has Kevin Klein described my favorite scene in Dark Knight: when Ledger sticks his head out of the cop car and licks his lips as the movie goes silent. They just announced Heath won, becoming the second posthumous actor to win an Oscar. His family is accepting it. Nice gesture, much better than to have someone who worked on the film up there. Standing ‘O’ of course. All in all: classy. There should be another crazy applause when they do the montage of all the people in the film industry who passed away.
10:16: Man on Wire wins for Best Documentary. Mark Cuban was a producer on this. The Oscar will be the only hardware he wins this season.
10:27: After a sweet action movie montage, Benjamin Button wins for Best Visual Effects. I’m not sure if people realize how advanced the technology is that they used here. It’s a system called Contour which can create digital reproductions of the human body that are as accurate as photographs. So in the scenes where Brad Pitt is an old man, it is his face on an old man’s body. It’s breakthrough stuff and something you are going to see a lot more of. I guess the video game market is all over this too.
10:44: Nice tribute to Jerry Lewis. I feel like I don’t appreciate his career as much as I should. Might be a Google/YouTube of him in my future. Eddie Murphy presented the award. He looks old.
10:59: Strange music performance by the music guy from Slumdog Millionaire and John Legend. Sorry for the vagueness, but I’m hating this right now. Bored outta my tree. Mostly just F’n around with my laptop. This reminds me that South Park the movie had a nomination for Best Song for “Blame Canada” and Robin Williams performed it at the Oscars.
11:11: I was wondering why Queen Latifa had a front-row seat out of all the possible stars and celebs. Turns out she’s singing to accompany the “passed away” montage. I forgot about Bernie Mac. Still weird to me that he died. He was fantastic. Sydney Pollack and Paul Newman too. Wow Hollywood lost some legends.
11:20: Danny Boyle brings home the hardware for Best Director, keeping this night a Slumdog affair. Best Picture is a mere formality at this point.
11:26: Time for Best Actress. Nicole Kidman and Halle Berry are stunning. I’m thinking Kate Winslet (The Reader) here. After being denied five other times this should be a career reward for her. Meanwhile, Anne Hathaway is crying for like 5th time tonight. She should do spots for Kleenex. And the winner is…Winslet. I’m a genius. Now that I’m on her Wiki page, how did she not win for Titanic? What a good speech too. It’s nice to see multi-millionaire superstars humbled and grateful.11:40: You can tell the awards are going over time (big surprise) when there’s no commercial between Best Actress and Best Actor. Adrien Brody, Michael Douglas, Robert Dinero, Ben Kingsley, and Anthony Hopkins are here to introduce this one. I can’t decide between Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke
here. I haven’t seen Milk, so that’s probably why I’m rooting for Rourke.11:43: Damn it, Sean Penn wins. After Kingsley’s unreal intro for Rourke (the last nominee introduced) it was almost a letdown when Penn won. “Thank you, you Commy, homo-loving sons of guns.” That was sweet.
11:52: Finalllllyyy it’s time for Best Picture. Zero surprise here. Slumdog caps off its historic night with the evening’s top honor. Just think, this movie almost went straight to DVD. It was bought by Warner for $5 million before they sold half of it to FOX Searchlight. Yea, it only grossed $150 million and won Best Picture. Would love to be the exec who pitched that idea.
Finally I can put the comp down. Great, past-paced start to the night that eventually got too long and boring. Overall I give the night a B. I liked the new set up, but maybe a few more clips of the movies next time?
--Nick
Friday, February 20, 2009
Movie Friday
The International
Release Date: In Theatres
Fan Buzz: So-so
Critic Reviews: Mixed
WKFTB Opinion: Saw this with high hopes last week and was a little disappointed. It was just too slow and anti-climatic for me. Average at best to be honest. Naomi Watts was a nobody in it and Clive Owen obviously was good, but he just played the same brood he always does. It did have one AMAZING gunfight in a museum though, which really got me jacked up halfway through the movie. Ultimately though, wait for the rental.
Fired Up
Release Date: Today
Fan Buzz: So-so
Critic Reviews: Rotten
WKFTB Opinion: I looked it up and was surprised to find out that this movie has nothing to do with the Bring It On series. A straight rip-off with a twist, Fired Up is what it is: a chooch teen comedy that will draw in some people aged 12-17. Zero chance of any of the WKFTBs ever seeing this, but honestly I bet in like a year when it’s on USA in the middle of the afternoon, it’ll get a few laughs. Trailer is decent, especially Dr. Rick.
Knowing
Release Date: March 20
Fan Buzz: Excited
Critic Reviews: Little early
WKFTB Opinion: Don’t let the God awful title fool you, this movie could be badass. Nic Cage is an action movie beast and the kid is the same kid from Benjamin Button. You know I have a soft spot for disaster movies, especially ones that could potentially blow the doors off on the big screen. Director Alex Proyas hasn’t done much, but he did direct I Robot, another fast-moving, aesthetically pleasing adventure. The trailer is outstanding, def seeing this.
The Taking of Pelham 123
Release Date: June 20
Fan Buzz: None yet
Critic Reviews: Too early
WKFTB Opinion: Oh man, can’t wait for this one. Stars like Denzel and John Travolta and secrets like Luis Guzman, John Turturro, and James Gandolfini make this an anticipated one. Great story with what looks like a good amount of action and surely some plot twists. Director Tony Scott (Man on Fire, Hostage) hasn’t done much, but he always has an interesting take on things.
Pop Culture tidbits:
-Repercussions from Chris Brown’s incident with Rihanna:
-His Wrigley gum commercial was suspended from TV.
-His “Got Milk” print ad came to an end.
-The 2007 Sesame Street episode with Brown was pulled.
-NBC and TLC are considering a reality TV show starring the Octuplet mom and her family (6 kids under the age of 7 PLUS the 8 babies). People will be heated if this happens, but let’s face it, there will be a book and probably a TV show no matter what. I’m surprised we haven’t covered this lady more in this space.
-Body of Lies and Quarantine released on DVD this week. The Oscars air this Sunday night. I’m sure one of the WKFTB will have something for you on here. Stay tuned.
Release Date: In Theatres
Fan Buzz: So-so
Critic Reviews: Mixed
WKFTB Opinion: Saw this with high hopes last week and was a little disappointed. It was just too slow and anti-climatic for me. Average at best to be honest. Naomi Watts was a nobody in it and Clive Owen obviously was good, but he just played the same brood he always does. It did have one AMAZING gunfight in a museum though, which really got me jacked up halfway through the movie. Ultimately though, wait for the rental.
Fired Up
Release Date: Today
Fan Buzz: So-so
Critic Reviews: Rotten
WKFTB Opinion: I looked it up and was surprised to find out that this movie has nothing to do with the Bring It On series. A straight rip-off with a twist, Fired Up is what it is: a chooch teen comedy that will draw in some people aged 12-17. Zero chance of any of the WKFTBs ever seeing this, but honestly I bet in like a year when it’s on USA in the middle of the afternoon, it’ll get a few laughs. Trailer is decent, especially Dr. Rick.
Knowing
Release Date: March 20
Fan Buzz: Excited
Critic Reviews: Little early
WKFTB Opinion: Don’t let the God awful title fool you, this movie could be badass. Nic Cage is an action movie beast and the kid is the same kid from Benjamin Button. You know I have a soft spot for disaster movies, especially ones that could potentially blow the doors off on the big screen. Director Alex Proyas hasn’t done much, but he did direct I Robot, another fast-moving, aesthetically pleasing adventure. The trailer is outstanding, def seeing this.
The Taking of Pelham 123
Release Date: June 20
Fan Buzz: None yet
Critic Reviews: Too early
WKFTB Opinion: Oh man, can’t wait for this one. Stars like Denzel and John Travolta and secrets like Luis Guzman, John Turturro, and James Gandolfini make this an anticipated one. Great story with what looks like a good amount of action and surely some plot twists. Director Tony Scott (Man on Fire, Hostage) hasn’t done much, but he always has an interesting take on things.
Pop Culture tidbits:
-Repercussions from Chris Brown’s incident with Rihanna:
-His Wrigley gum commercial was suspended from TV.
-His “Got Milk” print ad came to an end.
-The 2007 Sesame Street episode with Brown was pulled.
-NBC and TLC are considering a reality TV show starring the Octuplet mom and her family (6 kids under the age of 7 PLUS the 8 babies). People will be heated if this happens, but let’s face it, there will be a book and probably a TV show no matter what. I’m surprised we haven’t covered this lady more in this space.
-Body of Lies and Quarantine released on DVD this week. The Oscars air this Sunday night. I’m sure one of the WKFTB will have something for you on here. Stay tuned.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Parting Shots
TUSCON, AZ – Checking in from across the nation. Don’t think I’d leave you hanging just ‘cause I’m a stone’s throw away from Mexico (btw the Border Patrol is hiring).
First thing’s first: Pleassse check out Joaquin Phoenix on Letterman a few posts down. Unreal. Also, I love the influx of comments the past few days. Was sweet to go through everything today.
In the spirit of tomorrow’s mega female holiday, here’s a little tidbit from one of my old profiles:
“I figured out that the Super Bowl is the male Valentine’s Day. Think about it. Both are in February. Both are a big thing in relationships. If your man lets you watch the game with him that means you’re game worthy, which is a big step. And if you’re a guy and you don’t ace Valentine’s Day, you're screwed, you blew it. And each sex knows that the other is gonna be preoccupied all that day and all throughout the two week buildup for both. Plus you gotta prepare for both, cause if you don’t plan VDay, you'll be hosed and if you don’t plan the super bowl you’re looking at a situation where you could possibly run out of food and that’s unacceptable. Like if your girl doesn’t treat you right on the Super Bowl, she's gotta go. It's like being a dick on Valentine’s Day. You just can’t do it.”
-When do you think it’s time to just forget reminding people where they can’t smoke? I think the first place you could start is on airplanes. “Oh, wait. I can’t smoke up here? Are you kiddin me? I swore I could.” I mean, really? We can’t bring 4 oz hair gels or a bottle of water, I think we get we can’t smoke. Also, if you are addicted to cigs, a long flight must be torture. Must have to plow through Nicorette gum.
-If you’re not an On Demand or Netflix person, I recommend the Redbox at grocery stores. It’s only a buck, and they usually have some solid new options. Only 20-40 total but a decent variety. You have to return the movie the next day, but just get it the night you feel like watching it. I can’t imagine going to a video store to rent a movie anymore. About has practical as a VCR.
-Speaking of practical, it’s about time we got rid of the fax machine. People at work will be like “yea, fax a copy of the invoice over.” Um, what…I don’t have one of those. How bout I just email you the .pdf attachment in 1.5 seconds? Would that work?
--Nick
First thing’s first: Pleassse check out Joaquin Phoenix on Letterman a few posts down. Unreal. Also, I love the influx of comments the past few days. Was sweet to go through everything today.
In the spirit of tomorrow’s mega female holiday, here’s a little tidbit from one of my old profiles:
“I figured out that the Super Bowl is the male Valentine’s Day. Think about it. Both are in February. Both are a big thing in relationships. If your man lets you watch the game with him that means you’re game worthy, which is a big step. And if you’re a guy and you don’t ace Valentine’s Day, you're screwed, you blew it. And each sex knows that the other is gonna be preoccupied all that day and all throughout the two week buildup for both. Plus you gotta prepare for both, cause if you don’t plan VDay, you'll be hosed and if you don’t plan the super bowl you’re looking at a situation where you could possibly run out of food and that’s unacceptable. Like if your girl doesn’t treat you right on the Super Bowl, she's gotta go. It's like being a dick on Valentine’s Day. You just can’t do it.”
-When do you think it’s time to just forget reminding people where they can’t smoke? I think the first place you could start is on airplanes. “Oh, wait. I can’t smoke up here? Are you kiddin me? I swore I could.” I mean, really? We can’t bring 4 oz hair gels or a bottle of water, I think we get we can’t smoke. Also, if you are addicted to cigs, a long flight must be torture. Must have to plow through Nicorette gum.
-If you’re not an On Demand or Netflix person, I recommend the Redbox at grocery stores. It’s only a buck, and they usually have some solid new options. Only 20-40 total but a decent variety. You have to return the movie the next day, but just get it the night you feel like watching it. I can’t imagine going to a video store to rent a movie anymore. About has practical as a VCR.
-Speaking of practical, it’s about time we got rid of the fax machine. People at work will be like “yea, fax a copy of the invoice over.” Um, what…I don’t have one of those. How bout I just email you the .pdf attachment in 1.5 seconds? Would that work?
--Nick
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Movie Saturday & Christian Bale
Pink Panther 2
Release Date: Yesterday
Fan Buzz: So-so
Critic Reviews: Terrbs
WKFTB Opinion: What, you don’t think mispronouncing “Hamburger” is funny? Cmon! Didn’t you hear how he said it??? He said Hambuggaah. HAHAHAH. Steve Martin is like 15 years past his prime. When’s the last time he’s made a funny movie? Guy just makes corny family movies now. It’s a shame. He had legit talent. Now he’s just cashing checks. Go see this…if you’re on massive, massive drugs.
I Love You, Man
Release Date: March 20
Fan Buzz: Pretty Bad
Critic Reviews: Too Early
WKFTB Opinion: Saw a screening for this in Boston the other day (special thanks, Matty D) and laughed my ass off despite sitting in between two annoying foreign couples who insisted on talking and yelling stupid shit the whole time. The British guy kept saying “awww” and laughing at not funny scenes and the Indian guy kept saying “oh my god” in the most homo way possible. In fact, maybe they weren’t couples. Anyway, Paul Rudd and Jason Segal are always awesome. Much funnier than Michael Cera or Jonah Hill. Definitely a must-see, although with comedies, you can always wait for the DVD.
Crank 2
Release Date: April 17
Fan Buzz: So-So..maybe because he fell out of a helicopter at the end of the last movie?
Critic Reviews: Too early
WKFTB Opinion: The original Crank was awesome. A high-octane, nonstop action killfest, Crank was an adrenaline rush in every way. Outside of the obvious (the ridiculous notion that this man is still alive, helicopter fall notwithstanding, the theme of the movie was that he only had a few minutes to live) it will be hard to duplicate the fast-paced originality of the first one. I just don’t know if it will hold up a second time. That said, still seeing it.
Star Trek
Release Date: May 8
Fan Buzz: You kiddin? Trekies are pumped.
Critic Reviews: Too early, bra
WKFTB Opinion: I’m no Trekie, but JJ Abrams (Lost, Cloverfield, MI: III) usually delivers something badass. I hope you don’t need to have a clue about Star Trek because I literally have none and still wouldn’t mind seeing this. Probably a big screen or bust with all the graphics and sci-fi stuff. Think there’s a Shatner cameo?
Pop Culture tidbits:
Devoting this to one person and one person only – Christian Bale. I’m sure you’ve heard it by now, Bale’s intense obscenity-laced tirade aimed at the director of photography who walked by while Bale was shooting a scene. But if you haven’t, my god, please listen. He goes on for so long and he’s SO MAD. I used to sweat Christian Bale, but between this and his lockup for verbally assaulting his mother and sister, guy might just be a huge douche.
Release Date: Yesterday
Fan Buzz: So-so
Critic Reviews: Terrbs
WKFTB Opinion: What, you don’t think mispronouncing “Hamburger” is funny? Cmon! Didn’t you hear how he said it??? He said Hambuggaah. HAHAHAH. Steve Martin is like 15 years past his prime. When’s the last time he’s made a funny movie? Guy just makes corny family movies now. It’s a shame. He had legit talent. Now he’s just cashing checks. Go see this…if you’re on massive, massive drugs.
I Love You, Man
Release Date: March 20
Fan Buzz: Pretty Bad
Critic Reviews: Too Early
WKFTB Opinion: Saw a screening for this in Boston the other day (special thanks, Matty D) and laughed my ass off despite sitting in between two annoying foreign couples who insisted on talking and yelling stupid shit the whole time. The British guy kept saying “awww” and laughing at not funny scenes and the Indian guy kept saying “oh my god” in the most homo way possible. In fact, maybe they weren’t couples. Anyway, Paul Rudd and Jason Segal are always awesome. Much funnier than Michael Cera or Jonah Hill. Definitely a must-see, although with comedies, you can always wait for the DVD.
Crank 2
Release Date: April 17
Fan Buzz: So-So..maybe because he fell out of a helicopter at the end of the last movie?
Critic Reviews: Too early
WKFTB Opinion: The original Crank was awesome. A high-octane, nonstop action killfest, Crank was an adrenaline rush in every way. Outside of the obvious (the ridiculous notion that this man is still alive, helicopter fall notwithstanding, the theme of the movie was that he only had a few minutes to live) it will be hard to duplicate the fast-paced originality of the first one. I just don’t know if it will hold up a second time. That said, still seeing it.
Star Trek
Release Date: May 8
Fan Buzz: You kiddin? Trekies are pumped.
Critic Reviews: Too early, bra
WKFTB Opinion: I’m no Trekie, but JJ Abrams (Lost, Cloverfield, MI: III) usually delivers something badass. I hope you don’t need to have a clue about Star Trek because I literally have none and still wouldn’t mind seeing this. Probably a big screen or bust with all the graphics and sci-fi stuff. Think there’s a Shatner cameo?
Pop Culture tidbits:
Devoting this to one person and one person only – Christian Bale. I’m sure you’ve heard it by now, Bale’s intense obscenity-laced tirade aimed at the director of photography who walked by while Bale was shooting a scene. But if you haven’t, my god, please listen. He goes on for so long and he’s SO MAD. I used to sweat Christian Bale, but between this and his lockup for verbally assaulting his mother and sister, guy might just be a huge douche.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Movie Thursday
Slumdog Millionaire
Release Date: In theatres
Fan Buzz: Great
Critic Reviews: Outstanding
WKFTB Opinion: A movie about an Indian man one question away from winning his country’s version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Sweet. This was released forever ago, but it’s still doing strong at the box office, despite being shown in 2, 500 less sites than Paul Blart. Going toe-to-toe with Benjamin Button for Best Picture. And to be honest, with the buzz it has been generating lately, this might take it.
Taken
Release Date: Friday
Fan Buzz: Mixed
Critic Reviews: 50/50
WKFTB Opinion: We love Liam Neeson. And how couldn’t you? He’s pretty much the man. This movie looks pretty badass, but at the same time it definitely has potential to be unbelievable corny and predicable. The trailer is reminiscent of pseudo-thrillers like Cellular and The Interpreter, both of which saccccked. Proceed with caution.
Push
Release Date: Feb. 6
Fan Buzz: So-so
Critic Reviews: None yet
WKFTB Opinion: Dakota Fanning was on Leno last night. Looks nothing like I picture her. Can’t believe she’s been around forever and she’s only 15. Some of the previews on TV look just awful. But this short little one below makes it look dece. On the fence about this one. Probably would see it with movie cash or something.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Release Date: May 1
Fan Buzz: Pumped
Critic Reviews: Too early
WKFTB Opinion: Oh man, pumped for this one. X-Men movies always kick ass and especially blow the doors off on the big screen. Wolverine snared the first ‘Origins” because A) he’s obviously the illest character and B) the producers love Hugh Jackman in that role. He is Wolverine.
Pop Culture Tidbits:
-Remember Wolfie posting the video with Joaquin Phoenix rapping? Wow. I thought it was a joke. Nope – not one bit. Guy is dead real with it…well, we think. He claims he is going into rap and that Diddy is producing his album (although Diddy hasn’t confirmed) and some people are wondering if he’s just joking around or if the once-alcoholic has fallen off the wagon again. Casey Affleck is apparently filming everything Phoenix is doing for a possible documentary. I guess everyone at this Vegas show below had zero clue what he was saying/doing at this performance. Video below:
-50 Cent says that Nic Cage will start with him in the first movie 50 produces.
-George Clooney will make a secret appearance in one of the last ER episodes ever this spring. Clooney, of course, starred on the show in the early stages of its 15-year run on air.
-Jennifer Hudson’s singing of the National Anthem at the Super Bowl this Sunday will be her first performance since her mother, brother and nephew were unmercifully murdered in Chicago. I’m rooting for her.
--Nick
Release Date: In theatres
Fan Buzz: Great
Critic Reviews: Outstanding
WKFTB Opinion: A movie about an Indian man one question away from winning his country’s version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Sweet. This was released forever ago, but it’s still doing strong at the box office, despite being shown in 2, 500 less sites than Paul Blart. Going toe-to-toe with Benjamin Button for Best Picture. And to be honest, with the buzz it has been generating lately, this might take it.
Taken
Release Date: Friday
Fan Buzz: Mixed
Critic Reviews: 50/50
WKFTB Opinion: We love Liam Neeson. And how couldn’t you? He’s pretty much the man. This movie looks pretty badass, but at the same time it definitely has potential to be unbelievable corny and predicable. The trailer is reminiscent of pseudo-thrillers like Cellular and The Interpreter, both of which saccccked. Proceed with caution.
Push
Release Date: Feb. 6
Fan Buzz: So-so
Critic Reviews: None yet
WKFTB Opinion: Dakota Fanning was on Leno last night. Looks nothing like I picture her. Can’t believe she’s been around forever and she’s only 15. Some of the previews on TV look just awful. But this short little one below makes it look dece. On the fence about this one. Probably would see it with movie cash or something.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Release Date: May 1
Fan Buzz: Pumped
Critic Reviews: Too early
WKFTB Opinion: Oh man, pumped for this one. X-Men movies always kick ass and especially blow the doors off on the big screen. Wolverine snared the first ‘Origins” because A) he’s obviously the illest character and B) the producers love Hugh Jackman in that role. He is Wolverine.
Pop Culture Tidbits:
-Remember Wolfie posting the video with Joaquin Phoenix rapping? Wow. I thought it was a joke. Nope – not one bit. Guy is dead real with it…well, we think. He claims he is going into rap and that Diddy is producing his album (although Diddy hasn’t confirmed) and some people are wondering if he’s just joking around or if the once-alcoholic has fallen off the wagon again. Casey Affleck is apparently filming everything Phoenix is doing for a possible documentary. I guess everyone at this Vegas show below had zero clue what he was saying/doing at this performance. Video below:
-50 Cent says that Nic Cage will start with him in the first movie 50 produces.
-George Clooney will make a secret appearance in one of the last ER episodes ever this spring. Clooney, of course, starred on the show in the early stages of its 15-year run on air.
-Jennifer Hudson’s singing of the National Anthem at the Super Bowl this Sunday will be her first performance since her mother, brother and nephew were unmercifully murdered in Chicago. I’m rooting for her.
--Nick
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Movie Wednesday
Gran Torino
Release Date: In Theatres
Fan Buzz: Great
Critic Reviews: Great
WKFTB Opinion: It sort of sailed under the radar with most people because of the release of Notorious, Defiance, and The Wrestler around the same time. Clint Eastwood is getting Oscar buzz (as usual) for his performance and let’s be honest, does he ever make a bad movie? This gritty movie about race, aging and displacement of an ex-military man is a must-see.
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
Release Date: Friday
Fan Buzz: People are pumped..nerds?
Critic Reviews: None yet. Uhoh.
WKFTB Opinion: Hey, like Sci-Fi (Cloverfield, LOTR) and we don’t mind creatures (I Am Legend, Hellboy) but this is definitely risky. Seems more like a genre film where you either love the genre or hate it. If werewolves and vampires are your thing, then hey, maybe you’ll like it. But this is twilight without the sex appeal. Go see it..if you’re a freak.
Fast & Furious
Release Date: April 3
Fan Buzz: 74% can’t wait
Critic Reviews: None yet
WKFTB Opinion: I know what you’re thinking: Another Fast and the Furious? And: They made a third one? Outside of the much-maligned Tokyo Drift, the first two F&F were like dece. Why are they making another one? Who cares. But the original cast is back for this one, there will be tons of smoking broads and probably a few sweet Paul Walker-Vin Diesel exchanges that make you giggle and excited at the same time. Honestly – and don’t laugh, because it sounds weird – this may be one you need to see on the premier night. Seriously, we grew up in the Fast and Furious generation where all your friends bought Civics and Jettas and slapped em with body kits, weird lights and systems. The generation where you make NOS jokes when you pass someone on the highway always have the perfect response to anyone who says to you “I almost had you.”
Terminator: Salvation
Release Date: May 22
Fan Buzz: Obviously unreal
Critic Reviews: Too early
WKFTB Opinion: Look out, Christian Bale might be taking over. After he owned the summer of 2008 with The Dark Knight, he opens the May movie season with this blockbuster, then comes back in July with Public Enemies with Johnny Depp (see last week’s movie post). Weird that it’s directed by Joseph McGinty, who’s best known for Charlie’s Angels, but he supposedly got solid feedback from all the sci-fi geeks, who can make or break a film.
Pop Culture:
-Like it or not, “Paul Blart” is the No. 1 movie in America. What theeeeee
-“Flight of the Concords” debuted its second season last Sunday on HBO and I have to say, it looks like they haven’t missed a beat. I re-watched the last episode of Season 1 and laughed out loud at least five times. That’s rare.
-This will be the last season of “Prison Break.” About time? They’ve been escaping prison for like 4 years now.
-Execs for “Iron Man 2” are eyeing comeback kid Mickey Rourke for a role as the top villain. However, Rourke is supposed to do Sly Stallone’s “The Expendables” at around the same time and may not be able to do both.
-Watch to watch for this week: “Lost” debuts tonight, HBO has some sweet Obama documentaries On Demand and “Max Payne” comes out on DVD.
-Oscar nominees will be announced tomorrow morning. Look for a post on WKFTB.
-Nick
Release Date: In Theatres
Fan Buzz: Great
Critic Reviews: Great
WKFTB Opinion: It sort of sailed under the radar with most people because of the release of Notorious, Defiance, and The Wrestler around the same time. Clint Eastwood is getting Oscar buzz (as usual) for his performance and let’s be honest, does he ever make a bad movie? This gritty movie about race, aging and displacement of an ex-military man is a must-see.
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
Release Date: Friday
Fan Buzz: People are pumped..nerds?
Critic Reviews: None yet. Uhoh.
WKFTB Opinion: Hey, like Sci-Fi (Cloverfield, LOTR) and we don’t mind creatures (I Am Legend, Hellboy) but this is definitely risky. Seems more like a genre film where you either love the genre or hate it. If werewolves and vampires are your thing, then hey, maybe you’ll like it. But this is twilight without the sex appeal. Go see it..if you’re a freak.
Fast & Furious
Release Date: April 3
Fan Buzz: 74% can’t wait
Critic Reviews: None yet
WKFTB Opinion: I know what you’re thinking: Another Fast and the Furious? And: They made a third one? Outside of the much-maligned Tokyo Drift, the first two F&F were like dece. Why are they making another one? Who cares. But the original cast is back for this one, there will be tons of smoking broads and probably a few sweet Paul Walker-Vin Diesel exchanges that make you giggle and excited at the same time. Honestly – and don’t laugh, because it sounds weird – this may be one you need to see on the premier night. Seriously, we grew up in the Fast and Furious generation where all your friends bought Civics and Jettas and slapped em with body kits, weird lights and systems. The generation where you make NOS jokes when you pass someone on the highway always have the perfect response to anyone who says to you “I almost had you.”
Terminator: Salvation
Release Date: May 22
Fan Buzz: Obviously unreal
Critic Reviews: Too early
WKFTB Opinion: Look out, Christian Bale might be taking over. After he owned the summer of 2008 with The Dark Knight, he opens the May movie season with this blockbuster, then comes back in July with Public Enemies with Johnny Depp (see last week’s movie post). Weird that it’s directed by Joseph McGinty, who’s best known for Charlie’s Angels, but he supposedly got solid feedback from all the sci-fi geeks, who can make or break a film.
Pop Culture:
-Like it or not, “Paul Blart” is the No. 1 movie in America. What theeeeee
-“Flight of the Concords” debuted its second season last Sunday on HBO and I have to say, it looks like they haven’t missed a beat. I re-watched the last episode of Season 1 and laughed out loud at least five times. That’s rare.
-This will be the last season of “Prison Break.” About time? They’ve been escaping prison for like 4 years now.
-Execs for “Iron Man 2” are eyeing comeback kid Mickey Rourke for a role as the top villain. However, Rourke is supposed to do Sly Stallone’s “The Expendables” at around the same time and may not be able to do both.
-Watch to watch for this week: “Lost” debuts tonight, HBO has some sweet Obama documentaries On Demand and “Max Payne” comes out on DVD.
-Oscar nominees will be announced tomorrow morning. Look for a post on WKFTB.
-Nick
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