Backporch Beer » movie

American Remakes Rant? (Let the Right One In)

etrigan — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:28:02 +0000

At GeekTyrant.com, MRBLACK posted about the American remake of Let The Right One In, and he’s being a bit of an ass about it. Let The Right One In was one of the best movies of 2008, and it received as much support in the US as you can reasonably expect from a subtitled Swedish vampire movie. It was overwhelmingly accepted on the festival circuit, raved over by critics and genre fans alike — even receiving an almost unheard of 96% from 26 critics in the Cream of the Crop ratings at RottenTomatoes.com — and it played in general release at sixteen theaters in the U.S. (That list doesn’t count festival shows, or even the weeks it played at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin.) For what it is, grossing $2M in the U.S. was a good show. Good enough to get the attention of U.S. studios.

MRBLACK wants you to be upset about the remake, and he refuses to support it in any fashion (beyond inflammatory blog posts which will only drive more interest in the film…) You can’t expect American audiences to suddenly become hyper-cinema-literate and start watching foreign genre films. If the remake is notable (whether it is extremely good or bad) it will attract attention to the original, just like the American remake of Japanese horror films (like The Ring) caused a rush at Blockbuster for the originals. An American remake also puts money into the pocket of the foreign studio (and writer) who owns the rights to LtROI so they can go make another great film.

Hold your judgment on the U.S. remake of LtROI until there are more details. Until then, use this opportunity to encourage the less informed to rent the movie from NetFlix. (Tell them how easy it is to stream it!)

p.s. I may just be arguing the point to argue, but MRBLACK’s attitude rubbed me wrong.

Seriously, July Can Not Get Here Any Quicker

etrigan — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:51:00 +0000

Here’s the new video thingy about the Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince being released in July.

Mistake in “Juno”

etrigan — Wed, 13 May 2009 18:13:57 +0000

I hate to be that guy — no, I don’t — but, after seeing Juno over a dozen times, I feel I must draw attention to a “glaring” set of errors in the script and hence the movie, all in one phrase. I’ve repeated this quote several times with an admitted ignorance to the object:

…and she always smells like methylmethacrylate…

It is two words, methyl methacrylate.
Methyl methacrylate is actually a compound used to make plastics like plexiglas and PVC pipe. (It would make more sense for her dad, Mac, to smell like methyl methacrylate.)
The word she should have used is methyl acrylate which is “present in nail lacquer”.
Juno pronounces it “methyl methacralyte”. My chemistry knowledge is limited, but I don’t think there is such a thing. (Any chemist who wants to correct me, please do.)

IMDb avenger to the rescue!

Now that my world is shattered, I have to decide if I should quote the movie directly or corrected for the sake of science.

Dear Diablo Cody- Shame, shame.

David Cross and H Jon Benjamin, at “The Room” NYC April 24th

etrigan — Thu, 07 May 2009 02:50:02 +0000

For those of you who have seen “The Room” including a Q&A with Tommy Wiseau…as I did with several people at Alamo Drafthouse tonight.

New “9″ Clip

etrigan — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:18:39 +0000

9, the feature film (based on the short film “9”,) has a new clip out. This is a movie that has me rocking in anticipation like a 10 year old after a Super Big Gulp Slushee.

NSFW: One Eyed Monster – official trailer with Amber Benson

etrigan — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:28:31 +0000

I have crushes on every female that had any connection to BtVS. (No, I am not twitter-stalking Felicia Day!) Amber Benson even makes my top 3 BtVS loves, and now she’s doing a movie based on Ron Jeremy’s…ahem…member getting loose and going on a crime spree — think Idle Hands (where Seth Green and Jessica Alba are chased by a disembodied hand) only more profane.

Trailer after the fold.

DVD New Releases – 4/21/2009

etrigan — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:05:21 +0000

Every week I make a list of notable discs being released so I can figure out what I “need” to buy. ;)

Frost/Nixon – Five Oscar noms including Best Picture, starring Michael Sheen and Frank Langella, this tells the based-on-the-truth story of the post-Watergate interview by David Frost of Richard Nixon.
Hellraiser – The classic 80s horror flick is released in High Def, including a special edition DVD only box set called Puzzle Box.
Sin City – If this was only the theatrical release then I would not recommend it but, since it includes a second disc with the recut version, I’m picking up a copy. The second cut basically divides the film into 3 coherent short stories that make sense of the mishmash we saw in the theater.
The X-Men Trilogy (X-Men, X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand) – There is nothing to recommend re-buying these movies if you already have the DVDs, and only fan boys will enjoy the sequels. If you don’t have the first one already in your collection then you should pick it up now on Blu-Ray to get ready for X-Men Origins: Wolverine which gets released this weekend.
The Wrestler – I haven’t seen this, yet, but there is complete concensus that Mickey Rourke is a tour-de-force. It seems that if you like the “gritty sports come-back” genre then you’ll really like the rest of the movie, too.
Notorious – If you’re into Biggie Smalls or the rap scene of early 90s then I hear this is a fun film. It is on my rental list since I haven’t seen it and I’m very intrigued. If you haven’t committed to Blu-Ray and want the full experience then you can buy the 3-disc special edition on DVD.
The Burrowers – Featured at Fantastic Fest, this horror western combines The Hills Have Eyes and Tremors. I missed it but I heard it was scary/creepy. (That review comes from Becky, btw.)

Blu-Ray:

DVD:

Merchant Ivory Does Vampires?

etrigan — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 23:29:13 +0000

William Hurt costars in a movie starring and directed by Julie Delpy that was shown at the Berlin International Film Festival. It isn’t exactly Merchant Ivory but a costume drama with blood sucking restorative power is intriguing.

(Fantastic Fest programmers should take note. :)