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V For Vacuous
I understand the desire … I really do. I often look back at those breezy spring evenings in the early eighties, and fondly remember everyone curling up around the television to watch the newest “event” show. I remember talking to my friends about Roots the next day on the playground, or huddling with my family and friends and sharing the fear of nuclear attack while watching The Day After.
It’s easy to be wistful and nostalgic about those days gone by, and the television programs and movies that shaped the memories of an entire generation. Unfortunately, that nostalgia has overtaken present-day Hollywood, and blinded them into remaking everything from their formative years in a feeble and misguided attempt to cash in or recapture the moment.
The latest announced remake comes from SlashFilm via The Dead Bolt: A remake of the eighties miniseries V, replete with sequels. Here’s the quote:
“… since I own the motion picture rights to V, we’re in the process to do a remake of the original mini-series first as a theatrical feature, which I’m so jazzed about because it will give me an opportunity to really realize it and execute it in a way that was impossible to do back then. Then that will lead to the obvious sequel, because it is a franchise, and then we’ll get into The Second Generation and I’m hoping we’ll be able to do two movies, because there’s certainly enough material in the novel to warrant two separate sequels. That’s my goal at this point and that’s what we’re in the process of doing. I just literally came from a meeting, 15-20 minutes ago with a fellow in Beverly Hills who really says that we’re gonna do it.”
For those of you either imprisoned in a cave or unborn at the time, V was a very successful miniseries broadcast in May of 1983. It concerned a turbulent near future on Earth, when fifty giant spaceships encircle the planet and “make contact” with humans. The aliens quickly infiltrate Earth’s society by the use of propaganda and slimy politics. Series creator Kenneth Johnson intended the series to mirror the Nazi attempt at world domination during the Second World War, complete with bold red uniforms and insignias. Eventually, humans form a resistance movement (denoted by a spray-painted “V”) that finally topples the invasion. While quaint today, the series flashed impressive special effects and an epic storyline.
Of course, by 1983, we had already seen approximately 5 million “aliens invade Earth” movies; the television series took off primarily due to its “event” status on a free television station, and had little to do with any revolutionary storytelling. Since 1983, we have seen another 5 million movies and television shows with a virtually identical plot. Among this group is the definitive take on this genre: Independence Day. It may not be a great movie, but it’s hard to come up with imagery to top aliens zapping the White House.
So, after everything that’s been done with this storyline, the question remains: WHY REMAKE IT? For Johnson, it’s a chance to poke the pinata and see if there’s any more candy in it. For the studio, it’s a chance to stick a finger into the memory hole of the general public and click it on, ringing cash registers in the process. For movie lovers, though, it’s simply another bloody cough in the interminable death scene of cinema.
NOTE TO HOLLWOOD: You can’t go back. You can’t turn back the hands of time and become little kids again, no matter how much shit you recreate from your childhoods. It’s over. Grow up and make new memories for the next generation, rather than stick them with the regurgitated copies of yours.
For anyone who thinks this is a good idea - which is proof that you wouldn’t know a good idea if it fucked you in the ass - then I leave you with this lovely clip from the original miniseries:
Is CGI really going to be able to save THAT???
Stop-Loss Ray’s Review
Ugh. This is going to be a detailed review. I apologize in advance.
Let me get the politics out of the way in the opening sentence: I am an American, and completely against the American military operation in effect since September 11, 2001. In fact, I often apologize to those I meet from Europe and other parts of the world simply out of embarrassment for the so-called “war on terror” that the terrorists in the White House continue to wage in the sullied name of “democracy.”
My politics - combined with my inability to keep my mouth shut - have often set me at odds with my war-mongering fellows. One night at a bar, I had the privelege to meet a 19 year old (the brother of a female friend) who was on a one week leave from Iraq. After several beers, I began to speak quite abusively of the government’s actions in Iraq; in retrospect, I am surprised that Homeland Security agents didn’t rappel down through the windows from hovering Apache helicopters.
Anyway, the young soldier there that night grabbed me and took me into a secluded corner of the bar. With wild, piercing blue eyes, he began to methodically tell me how he shot seventeen people in Iraq. He has seen death more times than I can imagine. He told me that he never sleeps through a night; invariably, the nightmares come. And despite all of that, he wanted to go back to Iraq. When I asked him why - actually, it was more like begging him to reconsider - he told me that he felt like he HAD to go back in order to preserve the freedom that I so liberally enjoy every day. I looked into this promising young man’s face, and all I could feel is emptiness.
Such is the psychotic uselessness of it all. I wish someone would shoot Bush for carelessly turning beautiful young men and women into cheap, discarded hamburger.
Movies like Stop-Loss tend to stir such emotions based on their politics, even when their dramatic centers are off-base.
The movie stars Ryan Phillippe, Channing Tatum, and Joseph Gordon-Levittas three Texan officers coming home after a tour of duty in Iraq. The opening sequence is harrowing, as we follow these young men into the alleyways of Iraq to combat faceless snipers. After losing several men, the boys return home to a hero’s welcome. Unfortunately, all three have changed in fundamental ways due to their experiences. Their recuperation is cut short when the army exercises its stop-loss option, a controversial measure which sends dismissed officers back onto the field of battle. Brandon King, played by Phillippe, refuses to go back, setting off a chain of events that culminates in a deflating and sour ending.
Phillippe is outstanding throughout most of his performance. He was always a pretty boy, but here Phillippe allows himself to get dirty and showcase rawer, less-pleasant emotions. It’s nice to see him grow out of the “look at my abs and ass” stage of his career, and focus instead on meatier roles. Gordon-Levitt, barely recognizable from his youthful roles on Third Rock From The Sun, continues to impress. Here, he has a thankless and completely obvious role, yet he manages to salvage the character’s dignity with some powerful, silent acting. And Tatum, an imposing physical presence, has long been the heir apparent to Phillippe’s mimbo throne. But here he shows an honest depth, believably playing a man torn by friendship and duty. His speech to a grieving widow late in the film is easily his best work thus far in his career.
Other cast members acquit themselves well, in particular Victor Rasuk as Rico. He begins the film as a cocky Latino soldier, but by the end of the movie he turns the character into an inspirational one. Abbie Cornish has the best-written character in the film as Tatum’s girlfriend Michelle, and she does not disappoint. I would also add that Linda Emond, who plays Phillippe’s mother Ida, gives a look at the end of the film that is destined to break any parent’s heart. The moment ranks right up there with Maia Morgenstern’s empty grief at the end of The Passion in terms of power and helplessness.
Director Kimberley Pierce moves the film along nicely, incorporating some gritty flashbacks that allow us access to what the soldiers see in their heads. Unfortunately, the film, as written by Mark Richardand Pierce, plays out like a St. Elmo’s Fire version of the War On Terror. Much like that overblown Joel Schumacher yuppie-fest, this movie puts its cast of beautiful actors into contrived confrontations that seem a bit too Hollywood for its subject matter. The Iraq war is still a raw nerve in the public consciousness, yet the film plays out like a soap opera. It reminded me of the AIDS movie The Cure with Joseph Mazzello and Brad Renfro - well meaning and treacly at the same time.
But no matter how good the intentions, this Iraq situation - and the young people involved in it - deserve something more probing, more outraged … and ultimately, more honest.
Let’s Remake Everything!!!
Hey Hollywood! Here’s a great idea: LET’S REMAKE EVERYTHING! Every single piece of material ever produced on film or on television needs to be remade.
What about classics, you ask? FUCK IT!! We’ll remake CITIZEN KANE with Jonah Hill as Charles Foster Kane and Michael Cera as his “wacky” sidekick Jedediah Leland! We’ll not only improve the cast, but also the dramatic structure; the ending is so boring … instead of simply burning Rosebud in a fire, we’ll have the entire Xanadu complex blown up in a huge explosion. Oh … and we’ll make it in 3-D too, so when Rosebud flies out of the explosion, it’ll fly right past everyone’s face so that they know that it was the sled all along!! The kids will love it!
And let’s not forget television! That medium has produced so many great properties that we can make movies forever!!! Think about it for a second …. nobody’s ever made THE FACTS OF LIFE into a movie! We can get Lindsay Lohan to play Blair, Hillary Duff to play Jo, and Kathy Bates to play Mrs. Garrett! And we’ll add some lezbo sex in the girl’s dormitory to attract the 18-40 male demographic … but nothing featuring Natalie, ’cause she’s fat.
Or instead, maybe we can “reimagine” CHEERS with Jonah Hill as Norm, Nicholas Cage as Sam the bartender, and Amy Adams as Diane. We’ll even get someone not that attractive to play Carla - get Uma Thurman on the phone! The nostalgia-factor alone will guarantee a $30 million dollar opening weekend … toss in a cover of the theme song by Aerosmith, and we could be looking at a $31.5 million opening! Oh yeah, baby!
Thankfully, while I eagerly wait for these pointless television remakes to happen, I can tide myself over with awesome filmic experiences like this at my local mega-plex! AWESOME! Keep it coming, Hollywood!
And after we have exhausted all of the previously-created properties in movies and television, we can move on to other materials and remake them as well!! There must be thousands of Punch and Judy puppet shows that have never been adapted into films! And think of all of the cave-paintings in Europe that have yet to be reimagined!
My God, it’s a veritable cornucopia of material!! We will never, ever, ever need to use our imaginations ever again!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry about the rant, kids. It’s just that this next sentence disturbs me.
According to Hollywood Wiretap, “producer” Jerry Bruckheimer has optioned THE LONE RANGER for a new live action feature. The film will be written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, the wordsmiths responsible for some of the most cliched, squirm-in-your-seat dialogue and situations of the last twenty years.
Think about that for a second. Bruckheimer is taking a property that has absolutely no value to anyone under the age of fifty - in America or otherwise - sprucing it up with lots of heavily-filtered shots and explosions, and then marketing it with the subtlety of Hitler’s march into Russia.
This is going to be yet another $70 million dollar waste of celluloid, replete with nonsensical action sequences courtesy of our thoughtful scribes Elliot and Rossio. Can they not understand that the time of the Lone Ranger has long since passed? Are they unable to see that the Lone Ranger means nothing at all to the rest of the world? Like the current American president, they seek only to steamroll over others with their own agenda in order to make themselves a tidy profit.
Let’s face several facts about this upcoming film right now:
- They will get someone like Zac Efron to play The Lone Ranger.
- They will get someone Chinese to play Tonto so that the faithful sidekick can really sidekick some ass.
- There will be a swordfight on a rolling/moving contraption of some sort.
- Despite being set in the Old West, there will be several explosions in the film that rival Hiroshima in size and destructive power.
- There will be some sort of love interest. This will either involve Tonto (hey, that Brokeback shit is in these days!!), or some “spunky” gal that meets the Lone Ranger in a “cute” way.
- Aerosmith will provide a mid-tempo ballad for the closing credits. Ya gotta have soundtrack tie-ins!!
All in all, this is just the most extreme case of desperation. Is there absolutely nothing else in the world to produce???? There are probably several hundred thousand scripts rejected by Hollywood every single year simply because the writer does not have an agent. These are original works that have potential, yet the Hollywood elite prefers to stick to formulaic, in-house bullshit to regurgitate into theaters.
NOTE TO BRUCKHEIMER: I have a couple of scripts. They are original. They might be shit, but I guarantee you that they’re better than this.
Don’t Wanna MEET DAVE!
I am speechless.
I remember Eddie Murphy from the very beginning of his career. He erupted from one of the worst casts to ever assemble on the Saturday Night Live stage with a magnetic blend of charisma, wit, and nasty charm. He created indelible characters and skits during his brief run, including Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood, Gumby, Buckwheat, and Little Richard. However, these characters were more than merely funny; they also skewered and examined the social, sexual, and racial divisions within society at the time. Entire graduate theses could be crafted from the wealth of information contained in some of these sketches.
Murphy parlayed this television success into a series of films which continued his scathing riffs on modern society and class structure. Films like Trading Places, 48 Hours, Raw, and Beverly Hills Cop, cemented Murphy’s standing as heir apparent to Richard Pryor.
In my mind, Murphy’s nauseating descent began with the release of the disastrous misstep The Golden Child. Despite Murphy’s constant mugging, this over-produced shitbag revealed Murphy’s desperate desire to cross over into family-oriented blockbusters. This trend continued with films like Coming To America (which gave us the first taste of Murphy playing every fucking role in the movie) and Boomerang.
The first true nail in the coffin of Murphy’s career was hammered in tightly the moment he made the fateful decision to star in 1996’s The Nutty Professor. A huge blockbuster, the film made Murphy a household name, and suddenly popular with a large segment of the Wal-Mart-shopping population eager to stare, slack-jawed, at the latest dumbed-down slapstick bullshit.
Since then, we have been soaked in a steady stream of bewilderingly-bad Murphy films. Dr. Doolittle … I Spy … Daddy Day Care … Norbit. Even a monumental disaster like Pluto Nash - a cinematic justification for abortion if ever there was one - hasn’t seemed to slow down Murphy’s idiotic train at all.
Which segues nicely into this trailer for Murphy’s latest film, which many feared would become another Pluto Nash. Previously known as Starship Dave, the newly-monikered Meet Dave stars Murphy as an alien who commands a starship in the form of a robot that looks just like Eddie Murphy.
How meta. Yawn.
The trailer makes the film look less appealing than having a Klendathu ant-creature rip open your anus and lay eggs up inside your small intestine. The only way I would ever buy a ticket to this projected bloodfart is if the ticket came with a free shot at Eddie Murphy with a shotgun. Watching him here makes me want to bore my thumbs into his googly eyes for what he’s done to himself.
Anyway, here’s the fucking trailer for the film guaranteed to make you despise the medium:
P.S. Using the song Staying Alive doesn’t make your movie cool, Ed. It’s become a cliche … stop using it.
Get LOST, BOYS!!
Most creatures in this world serve some sort of purpose. Some are truly inspirational (like dolphins, or Ghandi), some are ingenious (like spiders, or Madonna), and some even unite others due to their own pure wickedness (like Hitler, or Rosie O’Donnell). Hell, even the lowly maggot serves a noble purpose in the glorious chain of life.
And just below that maggot is Corey Feldman.
When your single greatest achievement in life (besides marrying a model) is contributing the character of Mouth in THE GOONIES, then it’s time to reassess the direction of that life.
And reassess it he apparently has. Not content to rest his laurels upon his misguided and very much dead career, the Talented Corey has decided to revisit one of his more-fondly remembered roles and completely destroy it as well. Fortunately for Mr. Feldman, Hollywood producers rank just underneath him on the food chain, and they are eager to make a sleazy buck to help him do it.
Enter LOST BOYS: THE TRIBE. Although missing Rehab Corey, the production managed to soldier on thanks to Talented Corey’s guiding light. To flesh out the whisker-thin storyline, the “producers” wisely incorporated lots of twentysomething mannequins in various states of undress. BRILLIANT!!
One problem, though: the original LOST BOYS was a ridiculously fun guilty-pleasure, filled to the brim with winning performances by a large group of talented young actors. Although rated R, it still felt lightweight and harmlessly fun. This new version looks like something assembled by a craigslist casting call and a scriptwriting monkey, and bolstered by a three minute cameo by Mr. Feldman.
Now, on the eve of the direct to DVD release of the “film,” the producers have released a trailer in order to whet the appetites of dozens of film lovers with titillating shots of vapid models showering together. And here it is:
Watching this stuns me into coma-like incredulity. It makes me renounce a belief in God. It makes me want to go into regression therapy until I forget what my pee-pee does. It makes me want to have a shotgun custom-fitted for my mouth.
NOTE TO HOLLYWOOD: You have all of the money and talent to make perfect works of art. STOP MAKING THIS SHIT!!!
Full SPEED Ahead!!
After the Wachowski Siblings released the first trailers for their upcoming live action version of the seventies cartoon classic SPEED RACER, many movie fanboys spent far too many hours bashing the kaleidescopic visuals. Nevermind that most of these fanboys were yet to make an appearance as anything other than watery ejaculate when the cartoon was at its peak.
I, on the other hand, was a five year old boy during this time - thank goodness LOGAN’s RUN never came true! - and I know as well as anyone what made the cartoon work: THE CAR, THE CAR, THE CAR.
The characters were basically non-existent, the animation barely moved, and very little of the weekly story made any sort of sense. Yet, that damned car fueled the imaginations of an entire generation of boys in America. “What could you do if you had Speed Racer’s Mach Five?” we would ask ourselves. The answer was, as always, “anything we damn well pleased.”
And yeah, we used the word “damn” at five years old. When Mom wasn’t around, that is.
As a long-term/ancient fan of the cartoon, I was filled with apprehension after watching the trailers. It seemed to me that the Wachowski Siblings spent too much time trying to emulate the crappy animation of the series - something that nobody fondly remembers or ever wanted to see again. Additionally, the Mach Five never really made much of an impression in any of the trailers … and as I’ve made clear, that’s the whole point.
Well, I am happy to report that they have fixed this little glitch with the new domestic trailer for the movie. Not only do we get to see the Mach Five in its full glory - complete with that “yawnk yawnk yawnk” sound we love so much - but we also get to see the characters interact on a personal level.
Here is the brand new trailer for SPEED RACER:
Here it is in HIGH DEF!
I think Susan Sarandon looks much better in the Mom role than I had feared. I also thought the action scenes made much more sense visually than I had seen them represented previously. While the plot still sounds like limp catshit, the Wachowski Siblings appear to be on the right track in capturing the feel of racing with this movie.
FULL SPEED AHEAD INDEED!!!
All Is Right In Hollywood
For once, Hollywood has gotten it right.
In recent years, movie fans have crawled like hopeful lemmings to their television sets on Oscar night, only to be crushed and broken by a series of bizarre winning choices. Bloggers like Piper over at Lazy Eye Theatre have gone on and on about the many terrible choices among the winners. I mean, CRASH??? Seriously?
But, on this night, Oscar got it right … and movie fans can regain a little hope.
OLD COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN was the best film of 2007, and it won. All of the major awards went to the right winner for the first time that I can remember. Hell … even TRANSFORMERS lost the special effects Oscar.
Thank you, Hollywood!
Odds on Favorites
Tomorrow is the 80th annual Academy Award ceremonies. Unlike the last several years, this year promises to be much more exciting and competitive than previous years. If you still have to email in you picks for you office pool take a look at what the gamblers have to say about tomorrow night’s favorites.
According to 1800-sports.com (click to see the live odds) the favorites haven’t changed. A bet against Javier Bardem and Daniel Day Lewisis a sucker bet. But there is also zero pay out in taking these favorites. Same goes for Best Picture favorite No Country For Old Men.
However, if you wanted to get creative and your going to be betting in more than your office pool, these are the non favorites I might take a look at, given the cost/reward ratio.
Best Picture - Juno 11/2
This film has a lot of steam. There is the possibility that the fight between No Country and its closest competition, There Will Be Blood, may cancel each other out. Opening the way for the little comedy that could.
Best Director - Paul Thomas Anderson - 7/2
This is not a very far of a stretch. However, body of work says this is the Coens’ award.
Best Actor - Johny Depp - 10/1
I suppose this is possible, people do like him. But I wouldn’t even bother.
Best Actress - Ellen Paige - 11/2
Remember the momentum. This should be Christie’s statue, but Ellen is quickly turning into the Hollywood “it” girl.
Best Supporting Actor - Casey Affleck - 10/1
This is another where I wouldn’t even bother. However, the Academy does like to honor body of work, and Affleck’s was huge this year.
Best Supporting Actress - Ruby Dee - 5/2
I wouldn’t touch this one either. The odds certainly don’t justify it. Though Blanchette is the favorite, this could easily be a five horse race. My only thinking is the academy likes to have an upset, and many times that upset goes to a last chance aging actor. Remember Alan Arkin last year?
Remember I am no guru. If you bet on the Oscars then you probably have a problem. Don’t blame it on me when you lose.
Can Spielberg Be Topped?
No, I don’t mean sexually.
Chris and I recently discussed Steven Spielberg’s extensive legacy. At one point, Chris said, “Spielberg is to movies what the Beatles are to music. You can follow in his footsteps, but you cannot top him.”
Much depends on how you rate Spielberg among the greatest directors of all time … and how you view the new crop of up-and-coming directors.
Both Chris and I agree that Spielberg is the greatest film director of all time (I can almost hear a bowel-loosening moan from Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere over that one). While there have certainly been better individual directing jobs by other directors, no director has ever put together a body of work as diverse, riveting, adventurous, and passionate as the Bearded One.
Not Ridley Scott. Not Stanley Kubrick. Not Alfred Hitchcock. Not John Ford. Not even Michael Bay.
What are your favorite Spielberg films and moments?
I tend to break down Spielberg’s career into three “periods.” The first runs from 1974-1989, and of course includes some of the greatest hits in motion picture history: JAWS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, and ET THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL. The second period runs from 1989-1999, and features more thematic diversity in films like JURASSIC PARK, SCHINDLER’S LIST, and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. His third period runs from 1999 to the present, and reveals a growing maturity and cynicism in films like MINORITY REPORT, A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, and MUNICH.
I am personally much more of a fan of Spielberg’s early period with a few exceptions, primarily because I grew up during this time and learned to love films along with the images and thrills concocted by him.
I’m not sure what I consider his best overall film, but I think I consider E.T. The Extraterrestrial his best overall directing performance in his early years. In that, not only did he manage to sell another rubber puppet to massive audiences (JAWS was, of course, the first), but he also managed to coax perfect performances from three relatively inexperienced child actors. Sure, the movie is blatantly manipulative - ALL of Spielberg’s films can be labeled that way - but, unlike other films of this sort, the manipulation is in service of something deeply-felt and honest.
However, it’s hard not to give love to some of these amazing moments:
In the second period of his career, I think SCHINDLER’S LIST is his best directing performance overall, although both JURASSIC PARK and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN have amazing sequences in them.
In the third period of his career, my favorite Spielberg film is MINORITY REPORT because it combines his gift for populist adventure with a newfound sense of dread and gloom.
However, WAR OF THE WORLDS and MUNICH, though flawed, had bravura sequences in them:
Even A.I., which might be the worst Spielberg film since HOOK, had some magnificent moments in it until the last fifteen minutes:
I think the evidence is overwhelming in support of Spielberg’s directorial dominance. So the question becomes: Can Spielberg’s career be topped?
Out of the current crop of wannabe inheritors of his throne, none yet show the power and breadth of Spielberg’s work. Of them, I think M.Night Shyamalan has the visual instincts to match Spielberg, but his ego and his creative inflexibility have thus far stifled his ability. Directors like Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez have the creative energy, but neither the visual power nor the dramatic seriousness to equal Spielberg; they both seem to be too immersed in gimmicks. Guillermo Del Toro might eventually show himself to be a Spielberg, but most of his career has been based on junk thus far, capped by one true work of art in PAN’S LABYRINTH.
At this point in time, the only true heir to Spielberg are the Coen Brothers. They have amassed an impressive body of work over the years which combines the visual pizzaz of Spielberg’s best work with a deeply moralistic thoughtfulness.
What do you think? Can Spielberg EVER be topped? Do we have anyone who can challenge him? Ever?
Paranormal Activity
Several years ago, Chris, Eric, and myself planned out a BLAIR WITCH-style film that would (supposedly) document an actual haunting/possession.
Now it’s been done. Watch the trailer for PARANORMAL ACTIVITY:
The Fuck You Song
Jonah Hill is seriously one of the funniest comedians of the last two decades. Blessed with superb comic timing, a goofy look, and several ounces of awkward cool, Hill is rapidly becoming one of America’s new faves.
Opening February 1st is his new film, STRANGE WILDERNESS. A new clip from the film has been released which highlights a scene in which Hill sings a little ditty called The Fuck You Song. It has to be seen to be believed.
And The Nominees Are . . .
With last year’s debacle of nominations, not to mention awards, could the Academy finally get it right in a year flooded with really good films?
Heath Ledger Is Dead
What the fuck is going on in Hollywood? Another top actor has died of an apparent accidental drug overdose. Which is not a surprise after his last interview.
The Best Of Black Entertainment
In honor of Martin Luther King day, I thought I would take a look at some of the best moments in the history of black entertainment.
Not So Scary Remakes
The horror remakes just keep coming. One will be headed to theaters and one will be straight-to-DVD. Do these trailer makes you want to see either.
Cloverfield - Ray’s Review
The hype machine has been mercifully turned off; it’s now time to see if producer J.J. Abrams managed to pull off a first-person giant monster movie with the eagerly anticipated Cloverfield.
Cloverfield Monster Spoiled
Everyone has been wondering for months what the monster at the center of Cloverfield looks like.
I must give credit to Abrams and company for concealing it so well for so long. However, on the eve of the film’s nationwide premiere, a gif has emerged that reveals the monster in all of its glory.
All Scared Out
The recent double-whammy of watching The Orphanage and the release of a trailer for Doomsday has me lamenting the sad state of horror films these days. What exactly are the problems plaguing this least-respected but beloved movie genre?
Death Of A Young Star
Actor Brad Renfro was found dead in his Los Angeles home this morning. He cause isn’t known yet, but his history of drug abuse is more than likely a factor.
There Will Be Blood - Ray’s Review
Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest, There Will Be Blood, has been receiving accolades for a solid month - hell, it just won star Daniel Day Lewis a Golden Globe - yet it hasn’t been shown theatrically to most of the country. If you don’t live on the coasts, you might as well be dead.
And while no film can live up to the monumental hype surrounding this film, it still manages to disappoint due to a misguided second half.
