John Waters fans, prepare to be happy. No, unfortunately Mondo Trasho isn’t coming out on special edition DVD, but his morbid tale of suburban butchery, Serial Mom, has finally arrived in an impressive package that makes HBO Home Video’s previous release of the film look positively anemic by comparison. Go ahead and use that old fullscreen disc as a coaster, because this is the version of Serial Mom that every Waters fan is going to want for their collection.
Everyone’s favorite little green mischief makers have returned, and they’re doing what they do best in this ninety second BT spot featuring Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones.
Thanks AICN.
The duo at the center of Baby Mama - Tina Fey, as a corporate climber with a loudly ticking biological clock, and Amy Poehler, as the uneducated slob hired to be her surrogate mom — are to comedy what Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were to dancing. They trust each other, and they know each other’s rhythms so well they can trade off who gets to be the straight man and who gets to deliver the laugh lines. If the film were just the two of them, it would be worth recommending, but writer/director Michael McCullers likes to share the comedic wealth - he knows that giving the supporting characters good lines pays great rewards.
The producers of the oddball Finnish “Star Trek” fan film “Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning” are back, and this time they’ve cooked up something truly original.
The line between your computer and TV gets a whole lot blurrier today with the public launch of Hulu.com. It’s hard not to be impressed by the joint NBC/Fox venture. Full episodes of TV shows from 30 Rock to House and full-length feature films like The Usual Suspects and Ice Age are all available at no charge, streaming in high-quality. Many are even available in HD.
It’s ad-supported, and playing around a little, I saw a few different advertising models. Some movies give you the option of watching one trailer before your selection or a few commercials throughout. Others don’t give you the option and you either just watch a trailer and the movie plays without interruption or a handful of commercials play at random intervals. I also saw one not-too-intrusive overlay add at the bottom of the screen for a few seconds during one of my selections.
Beowulf: If you thought The Polar Express was great but would have been better with graphic violence and cartoon nudity, then here’s the flick for you, guy who only exists in Robert Zemeckis’s mind.
30 Days of Night: This film tells the terrifying tale of a small-town in Alaska that’s forced to spend a month in the dark with Josh Hartnett. Fortunately, a group of merciful vampires comes along to put them out of their misery.
The Darjeeling Limited: Easily among the top-nine best Darjeeling-centric movies of 2007.
Inspired by the Kung Fu Flicks series I had previously posted about and still lamenting the lack of fun choices on Detroit area movie screens, yours truly has partnered with Synapse Films and the Emagine Theaters to cook up a mondo bizarro movie series that is absolutely guaranteed to overload your cerebral cortex with some of the most outrageous cult films ever produced!
Every Thursday evening in April, Detroit area moviegoers are invited to come out to the Novi Emagine and experience the seedier side of cinema as we present a series of $7 double features featuring everything from punk rock zombies and flesh-eating schoolgirls to alien parasites, demonic heavy metal bands, debauched detectives, and gore drenched winos!
Sure it might be a time for love and romance, but a science fiction film will be the box office champ this weekend. Doug Liman’s Jumper should score big with no other film like it out there in the marketplace. For that same reason the big screen adaptation of The Spiderwick Chronicles has the kind of built-in name recognition that should drive it to within striking distance of the top spot. Step Up 2 The Streets should quietly amass solid attendance numbers thanks to the popularity of the first film. Fool’s Gold will tumble due to the increased competition, but should round out the top five along with Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins.
How It Will Look on Monday: Jumper: 30 Million The Spiderwick Chronicles: 28 Million Step Up 2 The Streets: 14 Million Fool’s Gold: 10 Million Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins: 9 Million
Gone Baby Gone: Ben Affleck directs Casey Affleck in this well-received drama that I can only assume was scored by Ulysses Affleck and catered by Geppetto Affleck.
Martian Child: If you loved K-Pax, then this one is for you, Mrs. Spacey.
We Own the Night: Probably the closest I’ll ever get to realizing my dream of watching Marky Mark of the Funky Bunch duet with Johnny Cash.
The Brave One: Jodie Foster stars as a vigilante bent on avenging her boyfriend’s death in this film that John Hinckley Jr. gave “two thumbs way up!”
2 Days in Paris: Actor/director Julie Delpy’s indie romantic-comedy was warmly received by critics, but disappointed theatergoers who mistook it for a sequel to One Night in Paris.
The Ten Commandments: At long last, the cross-section of animated religious epic aficionados and Christian Slater fanatics has a movie to call their own.
Daddy Day Camp: If you squint, the leads in this look a lot like Eddie Murphy and Jeff Garland. And if you squint harder and plug your ears, watching it might not make you want to jump out a window.
The Comebacks: If you’re one of the people who propelled Meet the Spartans to the top of the box-office over the weekend… well, you probably aren’t able to read this, are you?
Ricco the Mean Machine: The English translation of the original Italian title for this 70s exploitation flick is Some Guy with a Strange Face is Looking for You to Kill You. And yes, the movie pays off on the promise of that title.
King of Kong - Fistful of Quarters: See the film critics have called one of the fifteen greatest documentaries about Donkey Kong released in the second-half of this decade so far.
From Twitch comes our first ever look at footage from Choke, the adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s book, which is premiering at Sundance this week. The clips of the flick are interspersed with a short interview with first-time director Clark Gregg, who’s sure to come under heavy scrutiny from devotees of the source material. Palahniuk fans looking for the grit of David Fincher’s Fight Club will be disappointed, but I think the stark look of Gregg’s movie will work really well with the story. See for yourself after the jump.
The Ten: Say what you will about David Wain’s disappointing follow-up to Wet Hot American Summer, but it’s still the best new comedy on DVD this week.
Mr. Woodcock: Say what you will about this cinematic root-canal starring Billy Bob Thornton and Stifler, but it’s not the worst new comedy on DVD this week.
Good Luck Chuck: Say what you will about this crime against humanity, but it makes Mr. Woodcock look like The Ten.
Bad movie lovers rejoice, because Mystery Science Theater 3000 creator Joel Hodgson is back in the game of riffing on flicks, and he’s brought a few familiar faces along for the voyage!
That’s right, the same crew who previously took on some of the most hilariously awful films ever to hit the silver screen in Mystery Science Theater 3000 are back doing what they do best in Cinematic Titanic, and the first film to hit the iceberg is Al Adamson’s abominable 1972 sci-fi schlock-fest The Oozing Skull. Original cast members Trace Beaulieu and J. Elvis Weinstein also have their own chairs on the deck, as do longtime MST3K writers and co-stars Frank Conniff and Mary Jo Pehl.
If this preview clip is any indicator, the gang that once blasted turkeys from the deepest depths of outer space are equally comfortable carving them up while cruising the oceans here on Earth.
Instead of airing on television, each episode will be available to purchase on DVD through the show’s official website - where fans can also find out more by reading the press release and signing up for the Cinematic Titanic e-mail club.
Did someone do you wrong? I don’t mean like a little, but really really badly. Well, fret not, revenge is at hand. Just make the guilty party watch the crime against humanity known as the Witless Protection trailer. It features Larry the Cable Guy and is pretty much the cinematic equivalent of being water-boarded. You’re welcome.
Those kooky guys from Broken Lizard are back — this time reconnecting to their roots with their newest comedic outing, The Slammin’ Salmon. After playing the Hollywood game with both Fox Searchlight and Warner Bros. with their last three films, the troupe have gone solo and independently raised the cash to bring this newest romp to the big screen. The plot follows former heavyweight champ turned restaurant owner Cleon Salmon (played by Michael Clarke Duncan) as he challenges his staff in a Glengarry Glen Ross style competition to see who can make the most tips in a single night, with the loser tapped to get in the ring with none other than Cleon himself for a big time beat down. Group member Kevin Heffernan tackles the directing duties for this one, taking over for longtime Lizard helmer Jay Chandrasekhar. Additional details and set pictures can be found on the Broken Lizard MySpace page. Let’s hope that without the heat of a big studio behind them, the Lizard gang can hit another one out of the ballpark for us comedy fans!
Envision Tom Tykwer’s frantic, flame-haired heroine from Run Lola Run after inadvertently consuming a particularly potent batch of pot-laced cupcakes, and odds are the result would be something strikingly similar to Gregg Araki’s freewheeling, stream-of-conscience stoner comedy Smiley Face. While I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve never actually seen any of the films that endeared Araki to nihilistic indie hipsters in the first place (though I have recognized and admired his penchant for frequently using Curve on his soundtracks), this lightweight look at a particularly disastrous day in the life of an unrepentant pothead was ambitious, fast-paced, and lots of surreal fun. Anna Faris is pitch perfect as the lovable, perpetually stoned Jane F (whose half-eyed, gaping grin often gives the impression of a bong-packing female Butthead), Danny Masterson has his fair share of hilariously creepy moments as her potentially psychotic sci-fi fanboy roommate, and John Krasinksi was nearly unrecognizable in a substantial role as the bespectacled, greasy-haired nerd who harbors a lingering crush on our toke-happy protagonist. While only a handful of the jokes (including an internal conversation about using a photo of an ex-president to display one’s love of lasagna) truly clicked for me, the film was ultimately breezy and inventive enough to win me over in the end. There’s nothing truly groundbreaking or illuminating here, but if one happens to be in the mood for a creative little stoner comedy one could do far, far worse.
I was the first victim on the last day, and as I walked in to interview the Golden Globe-nominated duo behind the indie comedy hit Juno, they had just stepped in from the frosty Michigan morning. Jason Reitman balanced a full mug of hot chocolate, and I could see a shiver as he walked over to the coziest chair in the room, kicked off his shoes, and went for the zipper on his warm winter jacket. He must have noticed me flinch when he revealed the Ghostbusters shirt underneath, and as he let out a chuckle I joking swore not to pester him with any questions about father’s Ivan’s beloved comedy classic (I had read plenty of online interviews with Reitman in preparation for this talk, and it seemed as if every one of them invariably led back to that slime-soaked hit). As he recounted a recent Juno screening in Boston in which he made the same reveal in front of a theater-full of nostalgic comedy fans (“they went fuckin’ nuts!”), Cody joked that she should have worn her “Strippers Do It With Poles” shirt, and that any Ghostbusters questions were officially on the table given the circumstances. So we sat down in the cozy living room area of the hotel suite and began our conversation…
Here are some highlights from today’s DVD releases:
The Simpsons Movie: Finally, the big-screen spin-off of the small-screen series can be seen on the small-screen.
Stardust: The effect of the titular powder appears to be removing any recollection that this movie ever came out.
Balls of Fury: It’s just like Dodgeball, except with ping-pong instead of dodgeball, and not-funny instead of funny.
Underdog: Just in time to remind us that not every 2007 live-action adaptation of a once semi-popular cartoon starring Jason Lee is an unexpected box-office behemoth.
Fans of The Chin rejoice… the trailer for the Evil Dead icon’s long-awaited “Bruce”-versus-the Chinese God of War epic My Name is Bruce has finally dropped, and from the looks of things this one is going to be an absolute blast!
(At least it couldn’t be much worse than Alien Apocalypse, but who’s keeping score?)
Kudos to the folks who cut this giddy little trailer for seamlessly cramming together (a rip-off of?) the theme from The Terminator and House of Pain’s Jump Around before really cranking the zaniness up to eleven by utilizing one of the most manic moments from Danny Elfman’s score for Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. This one kinda looks like Army of Darkness without the time travel and with Campbell just playing an Ash-ified version of himself rather than the genuine, chainsaw-pawed article, and short of that elusive Evil Dead 4, really, what more could us loyal fans hope for?
When word came earlier this week that a big-screen A-Team movie might be in the works, it got the old brain-juice flowing around the AMG offices. So much so that they overflowed and spilled all over the carpet. It actually made quite a mess, but we were able to put together the following dream casts.
Enjoy, and be sure to share your own choices in the comments.
Looking forward to seeing Walk Hard, but don’t want to shell out the dough? Lucky for you, Sony has posted like a million clips on the movie’s official YouTube page. I’m particularly fond of this one featuring The Beatles:
Here’s a taste of what’s hitting home-video today:
The Bourne Ultimatum: The third outing cements the Bourne saga as one of the most satisfying and consistent trilogies in recent history. There’s also a four-disc Safe Deposit Gift Box out, so grab a case of Red Bull and see if you can watch all three back-to-back-to-back.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: After five installments, I’m starting to lose track of the plots of these movies. I’m pretty sure this is the one with all the magic and whatnot. There’s also a 12-disc box-set being released today featuring all five Potter flicks.
December Boys: If that aforementioned dozen-discer somehow doesn’t quench your thirst for Daniel Radcliffe, then you’ll be interested in this Australian coming-of-age flick starring the billion-dollar kid. You might also be served with a restraining order by Radcliffe’s reps.
Everything’s Cool: Taking the message of An Inconvenient Truth and adding a spoonful of sugar, this documentary out of Sundance is billed as a global-warming comedy.
Hot on the heels of announcing that John C. Reilly will be going on a concert tour in character to promote the upcoming biopic spoof Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Sony has just put the flick’s first ten minutes up on the official site. It’s an interesting move, but as hilarious as the clip is, it makes a lot of sense. I already wanted to see Walk Hard, but if I didn’t before, I definitely would now.
Take a gander and see for yourself. It’s rated R, so it should be considered slightly NSFW.
While the cineplexes are beginning to fill with some of the year’s better films, it’s pretty slim pickings on home video this week. Here are some highlights of what’s hitting stores today:
Bratz: Yes, it was universally panned and tanked at the box-office, but at least they didn’t try to give the live-action versions of the characters those giant heads.
Waitress: If you missed the late Adrienne Shelly’s final film in theaters, now’s your chance to catch one of the year’s best-reviewed romantic comedies.
Hot Rod: To call it one of the best SNL-fueled movies in years isn’t saying much, but Andy Samberg’s admittedly uneven starring debut is funny more often than it isn’t. Think of it as a more coherent Freddy Got Fingered. I’ll let you decide if that’s good or bad.
Who’s Your Caddy?: This movie got a wide theatrical release. You’re likely laughing more now than you will throughout all of Who’s Your Caddy’s 93 minutes.
It seems like just yesterday that Chris “Ludacris” Bridges was starring in critically acclaimed films like Hustle and Flow and Crash. But these days, he’s reduced to playing an eighth-billed elf in a movie that lost out at the box-office to the second week of Bee Movie. Perhaps if Bridges had decided to drop some lyrics on a theme song for the flick, it would’ve improved its showing. Actually, probably not, but judging by the reviews for Fred Claus, this parody music video is surely funnier than the move that inspired it. Lyrics NSFW.
John Waters fans, prepare to be happy. No, unfortunately Mondo Trasho isn’t coming out on special edition DVD, but his morbid tale of suburban butchery, Serial Mom, has finally arrived in an impressive package that makes HBO Home Video’s previous release of the film look positively anemic by comparison. Go ahead and use that old fullscreen disc as a coaster, because this is the version of Serial Mom that every Waters fan is going to want for their collection.
Everyone’s favorite little green mischief makers have returned, and they’re doing what they do best in this ninety second 
The duo at the center of 
The line between your computer and TV gets a whole lot blurrier today with the public launch of 
Inspired by the 
Sure it might be a time for love and romance, but a science fiction film will be the box office champ this weekend. Doug Liman’s 
Here’s a sampling of the new titles hitting DVD shelves today:
Those kooky guys from Broken Lizard are back — this time reconnecting to their roots with their newest comedic outing, 
I was the first victim on the last day, and as I walked in to interview the Golden Globe-nominated duo behind the indie comedy hit 
Here are some highlights from today’s DVD releases:
When word came earlier this week that 
Here’s a taste of what’s hitting home-video today:
Hot on the heels of announcing that John C. Reilly will be going on a concert tour in character to promote the upcoming biopic spoof 
While the cineplexes are beginning to fill with some of the year’s better films, it’s pretty slim pickings on home video this week. Here are some highlights of what’s hitting stores today: