Good news to any Flight of the Conchords fans, they've been renewed for a new season. The season finale is this Sunday, and I'm looking forward to it. For those interested, there is a hilarious documentary available to view online called Flight of the Conchords: A Texan Odyssey. Go here to see that, but get comfortable, because it's 45 minutes.
New to theaters this weekend are Rob Zombie’s remake of “Halloween”, the comedy flick “Balls of Fury”, and the revenge thriller “Death Sentence” starring Kevin Bacon. The small indie flick, “The Nines” gets a limited release too, but isn’t coming anywhere near me unfortunately. I had mild interest in seeing “Death Sentence” originally, but not so much anymore. Rob Zombie’s version of the classic horror movie is looking less and less appealing, and “Balls of Fury” looks like Dodgeball 2. So I probably won’t be going to the movies this weekend. How about you?
Here are the trailers for this week’s big releases:
Halloween
Balls of Fury
Death Sentence
I had the opportunity recently to watch the new film Sunshine, directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later). I’m a big fan of Boyle’s work and I was especially excited to see this one. The story revolves around a group of scientists 50 years in the future on a mission to reignite the dying sun. It stars Cillian Murphy,Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, Chris Evans, Troy Garity, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong and Michelle Yeoh as the second group attempting to save the world.
Almost the entire film takes place on their ship, Icarus II, as it makes its way towards the sun, adding to the feel of isolation that is essential to the story. The characters find unique ways to pass the time to help from going insane. One uses a room in which calming holographic memories are played to act as therapy. Another uses a special room to view the sun close up while behind a giant protective filter, which allows for some impressive visuals. The shots of the sun’s powerful rays bombarding the ship and crew are quite arresting. I would have loved to have seen this film on the big screen, but since it was in such limited release, I had to settle for watching a pirated copy. I can’t wait to see it on DVD when it’s released.
Eventually, the team stumble upon a distress call from the Icarus I, which was assumed to be missing or worse. After some heated debate, the team decides it’s worth the risk to locate the missing ship. Needless to say, this is the point where the shit hits the proverbial fan. Without giving anything away, the rest of the film is a incredibly tense with only a few plot points that somewhat disappoint.
The cast does an excellent job in this film. I was already a fan of Cillian Murphy after 28 Days Later, and as the Scarecrow in Batman Begins, but this is probably his best performance I’ve seen so far. He plays the steely-eyed physicist with a subtle mix of wonderment and fear, and manages to carry a large portion of the film on his own. Which isn’t to say the rest of the cast didn’t pull their weight. The biggest surprise being Chris Evans (Fantastic Four), who is very effective as the ships hot-headed engineer. When things go south, he winds up making some not so popular decisions to ensure the missions’ success, even at the expense of the crew. Evans does a great job showing both nobility and cold-heartedness, without seeming too cliché. I’m curious what kind of films he’ll do next.
There are some very obvious comparisons to other movies like Event Horizon, and disaster flicks like Armageddon and Deep Impact. The fact that the movie doesn’t cut back to scenes on Earth, helps keep it a step above the rest. It’s defiantly one of the best Sci-Fi movies I’d seen in a long time and one of the best movies this year, it’s a shame it didn’t get a wide release. If you can, give this one a shot when it becomes available.
Watch the international trailer...
There are a lot of big movie remakes being released lately, including The Invasion with Nicole Kidman, and later this week, Rob Zombie’s take on the classic horror flick Halloween. This had me wondering, why do they always seem to remake good movies? These films were usually great to begin with, and any attempt to update it seems to fall short of the originals. Why not try and improve on an idea that wasn’t done right the first time? Maybe with a new cast, writing team, and a director with a clear vision, an otherwise inane concept could turn into an amazing piece of work. That’s why I decided to construct a list of 10 movies that should be remade, that weren’t the greatest to begin with. Feel free to comment on ones you would add to the list.
10. They Live!:
This one is probably unfair for this list because the original was actually pretty cool. I guess I just want to see it done again now... With Rowdy Roddy Piper in it again.
9. Van Helsing:
This should have been a no-brainer. A monster bounty hunter movie starring Hugh Jackman should have been the coolest movie ever. Anyone who saw it knows this isn’t what was presented. Instead we get a watered-down, CG disaster. Not to mention this version of Dracula was one of the worst ever. Bring in Gary Oldman to revisit his version of the classic vampire and you’ll be at least close to a real movie.
8. Spaced Invaders:
How about instead of 14 versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, we give this little gem a second chance? I liked this movie as a kid and I think I’d like to watch some cute little aliens running around causing trouble again.
7. A Sound of Thunder:
I didn’t think a movie in this day and age could have this bad of CGI, but a Sound of Thunder managed to wow me in how horrible it was. It made Boa vs. Python look like Return of the King. That said, the main idea from the classic Ray Bradbury story could be a new Sci-Fi classic given a little effort.
6. Orgazmo:
Put simply, this movie really wasn’t that funny. It could have been. The idea of a superhero porn star is ripe with possibilities and should have no difficulty being hilarious. I like Matt Stone and Trey Parker, and South Park has always been a favorite of mine, but this didn’t deliver the laughs. I’ll even give the two another chance to get it right, after that, the idea can officially die a quick death.
5. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace:
Even though I enjoyed the latest prequel somewhat, there’s no denying that the first prequel was pretty crappy. I’m not even talking Jar-Jar, it was bad even without him. I know it may be blasphemy, but I’d like to see a reboot of Star Wars with a new director and creative team. I think George Lucas has had free reign of this series for too long, and he needs to give up control to someone who can give it a fresh outlook. Maybe that way, fans could get what they were hoping for the first time around. 
4. Die Another Day:
Now that we’ve seen Daniel Craig hardcore as 007, it would be awesome to see him in a remake of this movie. Why this particular disappointing entry into the Bond Series, you might ask? Really, not for any other reason than to watch Daniel Craig sneak up behind Halle Berry as she’s swimming in the ocean and drown her in the salty abyss. The idea of that puts a big smile on my face.
3. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen:
Sorry, but this movie sucked horribly. The special effects were weak, and Sean Connery in particular just annoyed the hell out of me. Given the strong source material in Alan Moore’s graphic novel, this movie could be great. Recast and give it to someone with some talent to direct, and you’ve got yourself a winner.
2. Ravenous:
No one else I know has seen this one, so it makes it a prime candidate for the remake treatment. It’s basically a movie about a group of men that resort to cannibalism in the wilderness and become vampire-like in the process. Sounds cool huh? It almost was, except it wasn’t. It even had Guy Pearce (Memento) and Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting), who I happen to like. The remake could even use these two again if needed. Just get rid of David Arquette and try it again.
1. Howard The Duck:
Why hasn’t this idea been resurrected? I actually kinda liked this movie and think there’s some potential in this one. Apparently George Lucas is embarrassed by this 80’s flop, and I guess I understand. But honestly now, who doesn’t want to see a midget in a duck suit again?
Entourage is lately becoming one of my favorite shows. I was slow getting into it, I recently started watching the seasons on DVD and I'm currently watching the new episodes on HBO. I have to say that I'm in love with Jeremy Piven right now. The way he plays Ari Gold with repulsive, yet fascinating personality, is nothing short of incredible. Here is a clip I found that sums him up quite nicely.
If you haven't checked out this show yet, I highly suggest giving it a shot. Season 3:Part 2 is out now...
Ok, if you haven't seen or heard "Chocolate Rain" on YouTube yet, you're probably living under a rock, and won't find this too amusing. For those who are familiar, witness the only version you'll ever need to see...
This weekend was a pretty uneventful one at the box office. The top 3 movies remained pretty much the same, with Bourne Ultimatum getting the number 2 spot back from Rush Hour 3. The only surprise this weekend was that of all the new releases, Mr. Bean's Holiday did the best. I was thinking the new movie War, with Jet Li and Jason Statham, was going to do better, but I guess not. The other new release, The Nanny Diaries, starring Scarlett Johansson, managed a mere 7.8 million. Next week should prove more exciting with Halloween, Balls of Fury, and Death Sentence opening.
Here is a rundown of the top 10:
1. Superbad - 18M
2. The Bourne Ultimatum – 12.4M
3. Rush Hour 3 – 12.3M
4. Mr. Bean’s Holiday – 10.1M
5. War - 10M
6. The Nanny Diaries – 7.8M
7. The Simpsons Movie – 4.4M
8. Stardust - 4M
9. Hairspray – 3.5M
10. The Invasion – 3.1M
Well, I’m back from my vacation in Vegas this past week. Sorry there haven’t been any updates since then, I’ll try to catch up the next few days. I'm going to try and start posting a song every week that I think is worth checking out. 
While I was at a mall in Vegas I happened to hear a song playing at Urban Outfitters that caught my attention. I couldn’t tell who it was, and I, for once was interested enough to ask someone who worked there. They asked over the walkie who it was and found out it was The Chemical Brothers. I had listened to their new CD, We are the Night, somewhat recently and wasn’t that into it. So I was surprised that I liked this song so much. My girlfriend and I speculated that the singer sounded a lot like the singer from the band Midlake. I assumed that maybe the singer was a guest on the album. Sure enough, when I got back home and looked it up that was the case. I downloaded the CD, and while I’m still not that into the rest so far, the one song is great.
Here is the song on youtube of all things. Sorry if the quality isn't great, but if you like it download it!
Also if you haven’t already, check out Midlake’s “The Trials of Van Occupanther”, it’s one of my recent favorites.
No, that's not a picture of Nicole Kidman standing in the unemployment line. Though anything is possible after the dismal numbers for her new movie, The Invasion, this weekend. The 100 million dollar flick only raked in about 6 million over the weekend, which was even less than I had thought it might. Overall buzz and early reviews were pretty negative, so I guess it's no big surprise.
The comedy Superbad, on the other hand managed to net a solid 31 Million at the box office, scoring itself the top spot. Let's see who looks happier after the weekend numbers...
Here is a rundown of the top 10:
1. Superbad - 31.2M
2. Rush Hour 3 - 21.8M
3. The Bourne Ultimatum - 19M
4. The Simpsons Movie - 6.7M
5. The Invasion - 6M
6. Stardust - 5.2M
7. Hairspray - 4.3M
8. Underdog - 3.6M
9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - 3.5M
10. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry - 3.5M
Wow, a western I might actually pay money to see. There's been a lot of info to come out recently about this remake directed by James Mangold, starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. There's a review over at Ain't it Cool that gets me pumped to see this, you can read it here. I'm not one for westerns typically, but I'll see just about anything that has Christian Bale in it. I'm still disappointed that Rescue Dawn wasn't released near me. I get Daddy Day Camp, but no Rescue Dawn.
Anyways, I recently watched a clip from the movie over here, and the trailer below and it looks to be one of the best of the genre to come out in a while. Let's hope so.
Here are the posters for the film as well.
I love this one a lot, it's different and sets a great mood.
This one, on the other hand, is horrible. As much as I like Christian Bale, this one seems lazy by comparison. 
Did I mention that Christian Bale is amazing?
Over at Movie Snobs, there's a blurb about the current Smokin' Aces prequel contest over at Joe Carnahan's website and they make mention of my Smokin' Aces poster design that won a contest this past Spring. Go here to check out the story. Thanks to Christine over at Movie Snobs for the cool story!
I was very excited to see some brand-spankin' new Dark Knight photos floating around the internet tonight. I thought I'd share the best right here. The pics show us some photos of Christian Bale as Batman of course, and also some great shots as Heath Ledger as The Joker. He looks a bit too much like The Crow to me, but I think he'll do a great job. What do you think?
If you want to see the rest of the pictures, that have a few spoilers, head over here or here. But do so quickly, as they're going away fast. I guess Warner Bros is having them taken down all over the place.
**UPDATE**
Yup, they're gone on the other sites, but mine are still up!
Ifilm has released the first 9 minutes of the John August film "The Nines", starring Ryan Reynolds, Hope Davis and Elle Fanning, which made it's debut at Sundance last year. I had watched the trailer recently for the movie and was intrigued and confused. It's very hard to tell what the movie is about and the official synopsis doesn't help much either. Read that below:
The Nines consists of three short films, each featuring the same actors in different — and sometimes overlapping — roles.
“The Prisoner” tells the story of a troubled television star (Ryan Reynolds) who finds himself under house arrest, with his chipper publicist (Melissa McCarthy) and disillusioned next-door neighbor (Hope Davis) providing his only links to the outside world. Mysterious events lead him to question whether one or both women are deceiving him about the nature of his incarceration.
“Reality Television” is a half-hour episode of “Behind the Screen,” a Project Greenlight-style documentary series tracking the process of creating a network television drama. Having shot the pilot, creator/ showrunner Gavin Taylor (also Ryan Reynolds) faces post-production with the help of his best friend (and lead actress) Melissa McCarthy and development VP Susan Howard (Hope Davis).
“Knowing” finds an acclaimed videogame designer (also Ryan Reynolds) and his wife (Melissa McCarthy) facing car trouble deep in the woods. Their daughter (Elle Fanning) uncovers information which leads to a difficult and irrevocable choice.
Together, the three stories form a single narrative that explores the relationships between author and character, actor and role, creator and creation. Alternately funny and unsettling, The Nines is like a riddle where the answer is the question: “How does it all add up?”
Well, I watched the clip and I still don't know. Hopefully after watching the whole movie, out August 31st, maybe I'll have an idea. If not, then I give up.
Over at Director Joe Carnahan's blog there's a contest going on to name the Smokin' Aces prequel that is supposedly going to start filming this year already. There is no real compensation for the winner apart from being able to brag about it to their friends. (I can relate) It's an interesting idea to allow fans to be so involved in a film like this, even though I'm not sure this movie will be any good. The short synopsis that Carnahan gives doesn't tell us much. Not even sure who from Smokin' Aces might show up. My money is on the Tremor Bros, as that seems to be who JC had been hinting at months ago. I guess we'll see. Go here to see the contest unfolding.
Here are the two big releases in theaters this weekend.
Opening Friday is Superbad, the new comedy produced by Judd Apatow (The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up), co-written by Seth Rogan (The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up), and co-starring Jonah Hill (The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up). Noticing a trend here? Anyways, I'm actually looking forward to seeing this one. I enjoyed Knocked Up quite a bit earlier this year, and the buzz on this one so far is very positive. It is currently sitting at a solid 90% on rottentomatoes.com. I'm not sure how much of the fat kid I can stand, but the skinny kid from Arrested Development is pretty damn funny. I'll be sure to post a review here once said movie has etched itself into my cerebelium. Here is the special R rated trailer complete with adult language!
The other big release this weekend is The Invasion starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. It is essentially a remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which kinda says it all. Oliver Hirschbiegel ("Downfall") was the director, but the Wachowski Brothers ("The Matrix") supposedly were brought in for some rewrites and reshoots with Director James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) to spruce it up. That doesn't sound too promising. It always seems like a bad move when a director is replaced.
I really don't have very much interest in this movie at all. In fact, the only thing this movie seems to have going for it is Daniel Craig, and a trailer with an awesome Sigur Ros song... check out that trailer and judge for yourself.
If you head on over to IWANEXSTUDIO and click on the portfolio link it will show you some interesting before/after shots of celebrities after photo retouching. It shows the lengths gone to ensure that the celebrities we see are as unnatural as possible. The one of Kelley Clarkson is especially drastic, making her look about 20 pounds lighter.
Being a graphic artist, I found out that it isn't all that difficult to alter people's appearances dramatically to make them look younger and more fit. Here are a few examples of some women's pictures I practiced on awhile back.
Here is a closeup before and after. I narrowed her jawline which alone makes her look completely different.
...and this was one I did to show what this older woman would look like 10-15 years younger.
It's all fascinating from a technology standpoint, but more nauseating when you think that people think this is what women and men do and should look like, and they strive to look as perfect when it's simply not possible.
In celebration of the new season of Dexter starting in September on Showtime, there is an awesome new viral marketing tactic they're using over at www.icetruck.tv It's a site that allows you to send a friend a cryptic video showing them as a next possible victim in a killing spree. It's incredibly inventive and it appears that this is the type of marketing were bound to see a lot more of in the future. It was already used incredibly well last month for the new Batman film, The Dark Knight. Go here to read all about that one http://www.moviesnobs.net/the-%20dark-knight-viral-marketing/
If you haven't yet checked out the best new show of last year, get the first season of Dexter on DVD August 21st
I was unhappy to hear that one of my favorite new shows, Flight of the Conchords on HBO, may not be picked up for a second season. This came with the news that another new HBO show, John from Cincinatti, was getting dropped.
I'm hoping this isn't true, as I haven't liked a show like this in quite a while. If you're unfamiliar with the show, it's a comedy that follows an indie-folk band from New Zealand as they stumble through life here in the states. Needless to say, they're quite dopey and it's hilarious watching them deal with situations like dating, being roommates, and getting gigs in the city. There are also random musical sequences thrown in for comedic effect. Here's a taste
They also just released an EP called "The Distant Future" last Tuesday which features songs from the show and will be releasing a full-length sometime in October
Check out FOC on HBO, and hopefuly they won't be MIA next season.
**UPDATE**
Today 8/17, it was announced the Flight of the Conchords will be picked up for a 2nd Season!
