Archive for June, 2010
ROLLING THUNDER (1977) Theatrical trailer We watched this movie…
ROLLING THUNDER (1977) Theatrical trailer
We watched this movie on 16mm in the backyard thanks to our buddy, Josh. It’s interesting what people would do for $2500 in 1977, how many of them it took to do it (which raises the question of how they split the money), and how easy it was to find a buddy who would so readily help you exact revenge. Now I have to ask myself, who is my Tommy Lee Jones?
(video via TeenageStrangler)
DVD New Releases – 6/22/2010
These are my DVD and Blu-Ray picks that are getting released this week.
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The Good Guy
– Alexis Bledel has limited range, but she’s well suited for this movie. It’s neither rom-com, mumblecore, nor straight-forward drama. It is an odd relationship story unlike most of the relationship driven movies out there. I enjoyed it and it provided good discussion topics.
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The Last Station
-Two Oscar nominations (Christopher Plummer, supporting actor; Helen Mirren, best actress) and James McAvoy bolster this movie about Russian author Tolstoy. How did my wife let us miss seeing this in the theater?
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Remember Me
– I list this for my wife’s benefit, and to point out the fact that it has a 28% freshness rating at Rotten Tomatoes with 114 reviews, but is rated 4 ½ stars on Amazon with 29 customer reviews. Something tells me the Twihards really want R-Pats to be a good actor.
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Thirst
– I, on the other hand, am a sucker for starlets, so when the description says “…Lacey Chabert… two young couples venture into the desert for a sexy photo shoot…”, I am hooked. This appears to be the poorly made desert companion to Frozen.
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A Star Is Born
– This is the second of three versions (with a rumored fourth version “in development”) and while the 1976 Kristofferson/Streisand interpretation gets most of the attention, I’m more interested in seeing this 1954 one starring Judy Garland.
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Death Race 2000 (Roger Corman’s Cult Classics) [Blu-ray]
– I don’t believe that a high def version was necessary, but I bet I know a few Corman fans who feel their purchase of a Blu-ray player is finally justified.
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Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Blu-ray 3D)
– I won’t be buying into the home theater 3D technology until they have readily available passive 3D that works the same as RealD, but I’m glad to see someone is willing to take that cutting-edge plunge.
“…there is no reason to feel shame for the MASSIVE PROBLEM that I have with the story…”
“…there is no reason to feel shame for the MASSIVE PROBLEM that I have with the story…” - TOY STORY 3 review from Harry Knowles (AintItCool.com) – SPOILER WARNING! SPOILER WARNING CONTINUED: Don’t read this until you’ve seen Toy Story 3. I know where Harry’s coming from on this one, but I want to argue — and not just to be contrary. I’ve had the same teddy bear since I was two years old, which is before I can remember, so Teddy has been with me virtually my whole life. He slept in the same bed with me (including the one I share with my wife) until about three years ago. In October of 2006 I finally caved to Becky’s pressure to get a dog. During the first few months of this two-year-old mutt adjusting to our home, the most contentious moment between me and the dog (Miss Hannigan) was not the time she bit me hard enough to break the skin. That honor goes to the time I came into the bedroom to find Teddy in Miss H’s lap with one of his eyes dangling from its socket covered in her drool. Teddy was already worse-for-wear, as most deeply loved teddy bears are, but he had never come directly in harm’s way like that before. Becky talked me down from taking Miss H back to the used pet store — but these days I wouldn’t dream of letting Miss H go — and I had to make the hard decision to put Teddy in a closet for the rest of his life. I spent a lot of time thinking about my obsession with Teddy, and it became clear to me that my attachment to the bear was not healthy. I’m not going to give Teddy away, and I have no plans to deal with my teddy bear attachment in therapy or otherwise, but I know that the right thing for boys to do is to let go of their toys when they become men. Andy is a better man than I, for letting go of Woody and moving on. So, I see Harry’s point and I will follow it in action but I don’t think it’s the best choice. If that seems duplicitous, it’s the same way I feel about vegetarianism. It’s the smart thing to do, and (if I ever have kids) I will encourage them to practice it but it is too late for me to give up my meat eating ways. That is what having kids is about, right? Each generation should be smarter and healthier than the previous.
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World Cup 2010 Twitter replay
World Cup 2010 Twitter replay:
I’m not a soccer fan (at all) but I LOVE good infographics — which are very rare — and this tool is amazing. It charts the use of appropriate key words on twitter during recent World Cup games, animated to match the (sped-up) game time.
“I´ll start shooting my next flick, “Extraterrestrial”, a global alien invasion from the…”
“I´ll start shooting my next flick, “Extraterrestrial”, a global alien invasion from the ultra-low budget perspective!” Nacho is the director of Timecrimes (2007) — one of the best movies to premiere at Fantastic Fest — and “7:35 de la Mañana” (2003) which was nominated for an Oscar. He’s one of the few contemporary directors that (someday) I think could be discussed with Hitchcock. I’ve been waiting almost three years for an announcement about his next feature, so this is very exciting news.
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“Party Down” seasons 1 and 2 are available on…
“Party Down” seasons 1 and 2 are available on Netflix is all I’m sayin’.
Lizzy Caplan was on Kimmel last night, where she talked about Party Down’s bad ratings (“Our awareness points, that means have you heard of the show, went down. So people had heard of it, and then forgot about it”) and does an Andy Rooney impression.
Just to be clear, every time I say I have a “crush” on Lizzy Caplan, I’m not talking about a “girl crush.” I don’t want to go shopping with her or borrow her shoes or talk about boys, understand? Get it? Just so there’s no confusion.
(Ok, I’ll also say that I’ve had the same crush on her forever…and now I blame Lindsay for adding a new dimension to that.)
YouTube represent! Now put your hands up! Why do I like these…
YouTube represent! Now put your hands up!
Why do I like these nerd parodies more than the originals? Seriously, I wouldn’t listen to the original of this song other than to see Katy Perry ski pole with the whip cream bikini*, and I didn’t care for Owl City’s “Fireflies” until that Harry Potter parody from All Caps.
(video from California Dorks (Parody of Katy Perry’s California Gurls) by Skyway Flyer (via jasonmundaymusic))
* …well, that, the side boob, and partial nudity.
“Waitress got a $100 tip.”
“Waitress got a $100 tip.”
– @HeadGeek666 told this story on formspring early this a.m. It is equal parts hilarious and creepy. Rated PG-13 for alcohol abuse and the effects of said alcohol abuse. Quote from “have you ever had any creepy fan encounters?”.
The director of Les triplettes de Belleville has created another…
The director of Les triplettes de Belleville has created another beautiful movie, L’illusionniste. Now I have to wait impatiently for this to make it to the U.S.
(The Illusionist.mp4 via patheuk)
(Yes, it seems today is a movie trailer kind of day.)
If Sophia Coppola’s new movie is about the dichotomy of…
If Sophia Coppola’s new movie is about the dichotomy of daughters and dancers, that’s a discussion I’m interested in having.
(Somewhere Trailer (2010) HD via cheer9087)
Happy Feet was hit-and-miss for me, but the trailer for this…
Happy Feet was hit-and-miss for me, but the trailer for this movie reminds me of the moments in Happy Feet that had me feeling all emotional.
Legend of the Guardians The Owls of Ga’Hoole
Carey Mulligan should have won the Oscar for best actress last…
Carey Mulligan should have won the Oscar for best actress last year*, and if this trailer is even partially accurate she’ll have another chance this year. Watch this trailer for Never Let Me Go, and I’m sure you’ll be looking forward to October 1st, too.
* Sandra Bullock is great — I’ve watched The Blind Side at least 6 times — and I don’t agree that you should give the Oscar based on “life work” which I know is why they gave it to her, but she was not the Best Actress of the year.
“The Congress Avenue Bridge was cool back when there were, like, two or three bats under it, but now…”
“The Congress Avenue Bridge was cool back when there were, like, two or three bats under it, but now that it’s become gentrified I’m totally over it.” I’m only posting this for that one joke. It’s that good. (quote from: Bike Snob NYC: BSNYC Road Dairy: Getting There is Half the Pun)
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It does not bode well for high tax states with nasty fiscal…
It does not bode well for high tax states with nasty fiscal problems (talking to you California and New York). There is only so much you can tax your way out of.
What happened to Austin’s reinvented slogan “Don’t Move Here”? I know it’s selfish because I moved here 18 years ago (and I stopped going to Eeyore’s Birthday 10 years ago) but I sort of wish Austin wasn’t so popular sometimes.
(via Migration: Texas, here we come | The Economist)
“While Gotham is at the science fair, I’m banging the prom queen behind the woodshop. … I…”
“While Gotham is at the science fair, I’m banging the prom queen behind the woodshop. … I am on every major operating system since Microsoft f—-ing Bob.”
– Ok, maybe it’s time to lay off Comic Sans. He seems a little angry. (quote from the NSFW Timothy McSweeney’s Internet Tendency: I’m Comic Sans, Asshole.)