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?
