Well, for those of you who were actually following the WGA strike, we have good news. No, IHOP will not be extending Free Pancake Day for the entire week; THE STRIKE IS OVER. Well, not completely. See, the WGA West and East members still have to vote and work out any little discrepancies they may still have. Most are confident though that this new agreement should suffice any and all issues between the WGA and the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers). Many writers and producers are returning to some kind of work this week starting Monday.
What does this mean for you all? Well, for one, you won't have to watch any more re-runs of "Ghost Whisperer," if you don't want to.
If you are interested, give a quick run through of the summary of the agreement here.
Variety also has incredible coverage of all strike details and information so be sure to check them out.
Is it just me or...does anyone else love Shawn Ryan? I want to be his brain.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
WGA strike nearing its end
Friday, February 8, 2008
Review: The Spiderwick Chronicles
I'm going to be honest with you, I was not looking forward to this film. That said, I just want to clarify that I really was not looking forward to this film. Don't get me wrong, I love young adult fiction as much as the next chap, but many film studios are ruining beloved books in the name of entertainment. I could rant on about the need for films to entertain as well as stay faithful to the books, but they are two very different mediums and they both have their strengths and ahem...weaknesses. (One example of this was 2007's The Seeker:The Dark is Rising. To take such a thrilling book and turn it into...bollocks; just as the WGA, we movie watchers need to go on strike). What were we talking about, oh right, The Spiderwick Chronicles. These books were written almost five years ago and so it is interesting to see which writers borrowed from who. As vast as a genre like fantasy is, there aren't many books that can build upon the world of phantasm. I'm glad I could find something different here in this film. On a side note, I wonder if Paramount thought to make this into a trilogy or a series?
The film picks as good a spot to begin as any with a quick overview of why the film is called what it is. I'm telling you, I did like the pacing of the film, quick and constant. We then are introduced to our mother character moving into an old house with her three kids, twins Simon and Jared and daughter Mallory. All you need to know about the characters will be known within the first four minutes of dialogue, how convenient. Again, the film doesn't waste any time breaking us into the story.
The cinematics and CG elements were fairly well done and I especially enjoyed the two whole minute chase scene featuring the Troll (seriously though, one of the coolest monsters and he's in 1/39th of the film). There was something about this that reminded me of Jumanji, which is a good thing. Martin Short and Nick Notlte are also great additions to the voice work. Hogsqueal, a hobgoblin who helps the protagonists is voiced by Knocked Up's Seth Rogen. David Strathairn plays a pivotal character but brings nothing exciting unlike The Bourne Ultimatum; I think I would've enjoyed someone like Gary Oldman or even Hugo Weaving much more in the role of Arthur Spiderwick though their other fantasy film work might not make them viable choices. Then we have more story and more CG and finally we arrive at the ending which resembled more than anything else the Megatron chase at the end of Transformers with the Nick Nolte Ogre chasing Simon around the roof of his home. When you watch it, tell me it doesn't remind of you of Transformers? I almost said it out loud.
Overall, it's a fun film to watch if your little cousins come into town, but go ahead and wait until HBO runs it then feel free to curl up with your significant other and ogle at the nice graphics.
Is it just me or...is Seth Rogen's laugh contagious?
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Movies that were books first, but now are movies because people do not like to read
You read correctly, you are not losing it, unless you are losing it, in which case I will not judge you (I prefer to keep those thoughts to myself and then blog about them later). Believe or not, the Lord of the Rings books were not the first to bring novel adaptations in vogue. No, I believe it was Jurassic Park. Of course, I kid.
Recently though, studios have been grabbing up those book rights and are shelling out bringing to the silver screen a number of well regarded books, many of which I read in the sixth grade. These juvenile jewels have the potential of being Harry Potter caliber films but seem to only be half of The Hardy Boys. I know they haven't made a Hardy Boys film yet, but believe me when they do...I'll be the third person in line after Frank and Joe Hardy. Now, not just a few novels come to mind. I'm talking about Forbidden Kingdom, Inkheart, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Kit Kittredge and not to mention films like the Eragon, The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising and the Golden Compass which they've already made.
I'm not saying that all of these are bad or will be bad, I'm actually not saying any of them will be bad at all. What I am saying though is that I want studios to not appeal to the Shrek crowd. Kids aren't as unintelligible as they used to be and studios know that, but let's have the final product match our mental capacity.
I'm actually going to watch The Spiderwick Chronicles tomorrow evening so check back for my pseudo-review of that. For now enjoy a few of these trailers.
Inkheart
Is it just me or...is anyone else excited for Son of Rambow?
Ledger's cause of death determined
It was confirmed Wednesday morning that Heath Ledger's actual cause of death was in fact an accidental drug overdose. In a statement released this morning by the New York Medical examiner, spokesperson Ellen Borakove explained that Ledger death was the cause of "acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine."
This ruling comes two weeks after the actor's death in his New York apartment. Ledger's publicist did release a statement on Wednesday itterating that the prescription medications were not taken in excess but rather it was the combination of prescribed medications proved fatal. Ledger's family will be conducting a private funeral in Heath Ledger's hometown of Perth, Australia. For a more detailed release, head over to APP.com.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Forgetting Judd Apatow? Probably never
I'm getting somewhere with this Apatow praising and that is...more Apatow praising. He has some big productions coming out both this year and the next and one of those is Forgetting Sarah Marshall. The trailer was released a little over a month ago I believe and Apatow's production company just released a red band trailer a little while ago. The film stars Jason Segel who played the obnoxiously hilarious friend in Knocked Up and plenty of other roles in earlier films as well as Freaks and Geeks.
One thing I'm loving is all the work Apatow's helping his friends get. Segel was Mike from SLC Punk ! He's come a long way to where he is now writing his own feature length film and we're proud of him. Like I said before, Apatow has a few films coming out including Drillbit Taylor with Owen Wilson, and Pineapple Express with Seth Rogen and James Franco.
Again, look forward to Forgetting Sarah Marshall opening wide April 18, 2008. Like I never promised, here's the red band trailer for all you kiddies. Enjoy.
Update: Iron Man screenshots and trailer
IRON MAN thinking he's SUPERMAN
IROM MAN falling like Shaq when he was STEEL
Tony Stark rebuilding broken SUPERMAN suit
IRON MAN flying
Is it just me or...would anyone else like to see Jeff Bridges play The Dude in every movie?
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Proof: Iron Man likes the color orange
I knew it !! Marvel pronounced to the world today via their website that a brand spankin' new IRON MAN trailer will be debuting during Super Bowl XLII. Along with that, they also released a telling screenshot of Robert Downey Jr./Tony Stark/Iron Man/that bad US Marshall that killed that good US Marshall in U.S. Marshalls. Other spots that'll be airing during the bowl are Wanted and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.
Is it just me or...did anyone else think that IRON MAN was a black dude. I swear, that's what I thought when I was a kid. Weird.
Friday, February 1, 2008
TDK marketing to feature Two Face
I'm still upset about the recent passing of Heath Ledger as are millions of others, but life happens. Warner Bros. is dealing with a lot right now with having to deal with this situation as are the crew of The Dark Knight(TDK).
One thing that annoys me is when people insist that Warner Bros. will take total advantage of Ledger's death and milk it into little bobbly Joker heads that snap onto pencil erasers and whisper "Why so serious?" when you shake them. Well, not exactly, but you get my point. Slate's source provides plenty of info but also insists that "You don't want people to think you're exploiting his death. But his character is part of the movie, and he was on board with wanting to (mass advertise) with his character." Of course, the source is referring to all kinds of Batman-related products such as toys, t-shirts, etc.
I must admit, I am very tempted to buy one of the new Joker shirts featuring Ledger's menacing mug. But speaking of taking advantage, just the other day I saw some moron wearing a black t-shirt with Heath Ledger's face on the front with the words "Why Not Britney?" Now, although I don't approve of wishing death upon anyone, sadly it's a question I also would like answered, or even "Why Not Coked-Up Rockstars Who Have Ridiculous TV Shows On VH1?"
Is it just me or...would Adrien Brody have made a great Joker, too.
Dear Internet,
Welcome everybody to the site. Thank you for stopping by even if you accidentally got here. You know that drill, movie as well as television show reviews and occassionally video game updates. Other than just reviews I want to post important updates and news about films and those responsible for making them. Aside from this blog, I'm also working on a podcast with a couple friends of mine, so stay tuned. Oh, and also when you visit the site, don't forget to check the the right side for polls and links. There's always something new, but I'll try to provide you all with anything and everything I think you should know.
Is it just me or... does anybody else hate movie theater employees who don't watch any movies?
