Always the Last in Line

Friday Photo #10

2012-02-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

This shot of the Hoover Dam was taken from the Mike O'Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge in November '11.

Friday Photo #9

2012-02-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

Taken August 2010 at Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas.

Friday Photo #8

2012-01-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

Taken on Long Beach Island earlier this month.

Friday Photo #7

2012-01-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

Taken in Central Park on a very spring-like day earlier this month.

Friday Photo #6

2012-01-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

Another image that I have shared elsewhere. Again I liked it so much that I wanted to include it here. Taken at Bushkill Falls in Pennsylvania over Thanksgiving weekend.

Friday Photo #5

2012-01-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

I snapped this photo on South Street in Philadelphia while on the way to lunch this past Monday. I didn't have any time to explore but thanks to the internet I was able to find out that I had stumbled upon Philadelphia's Magic Gardens.

Friday Photo #4

2011-12-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

I've already posted this picture on another site but like it so much I wanted to include it here. Snapped on Assateague Island when I visited Ocean City, Maryland back in June.

Friday Photo #3

2011-12-16T09:15:00.000-05:00

"The magic hour". I snapped this photo in a Wawa parking lot on a Friday evening earlier this month.

Friday Photo #2

2011-12-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

While in Las Vegas on vacation last month I walked the entire length of the strip. I got an early start and things were pretty quiet. Today's picture was taken just before 8am outside of the Bellagio where people gather to watch the fountain show every day.

Movie Monday: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2009) & (2011)

2011-12-05T12:30:00.000-05:00

With the American version opening in theaters in a few weeks I finally decided to watch the 2009 Swedish film The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Based on the first book in Stieg Larsson's "Millennium Trilogy", The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo follows disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist and emotionally damaged computer hacker Lisbeth Salander as they try to solve the 40 year old mystery of a missing teenage girl.

I'd held off on watching this because it was in a foreign language with subtitles and nearly 2 and a 1/2 hours long. I have no opposition to either but really have to be in the mood to commit to certain movies. With a gripping, well-paced plot and interesting characters the movie turned out to be an enjoyable experience even if some of the subject matter wasn't.

Noomi Rapace's performance as Lisbeth is the real highlight here and the main reason that I would recommended seeing this movie. On paper Lisbeth is clearly a juicy role but as performed by Rapace the character is clearly defined before we even have much of a back story. I can't recall another time where I have focused so much on an actor's eyes during a movie. Rapace says so much with her eyes that it almost feels like you don't need her to speak during certain scenes.

The climax of the movie felt a bit rushed to me but by no means was it unsatisfying. As the first of a trilogy I was slightly worried that there might be a lot of plot points left unresolved. It wrapped things up nicely though while still leaving room for a sequel. I look forward to watching the follow-up at some point after I see the American version of this one.

UPDATE - 1/10/12:

So instead of doing a separate post for the American version I decided to just add to this one. That gets setup and plot explanation out of the way. You're welcome. I just saved all of us some time.

Ok, so onto the American version. Going in I was excited that David Fincher was directing. He's helmed some of the finest "dark/serial killer" movies of the past 20 years and seemed tailor made for this. He didn't disappoint. From the highly-stylized opening titles to the end credits the film was a treat to watch despite the grim subject matter.

Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist was an upgrade as in the Swedish version he seemed a bit flat. In fact while watching the Swedish version I couldn't help but think of what Craig could do with the role. In fairness the character in the American version has more depth and is a bit more developed.

The biggest issue I though I'd have was with Lisbeth. Noomi Rapace did such a wonderful job with the character that I couldn't see anyone else playing the role. Well I'm happy to report that Mara Rooney held her own quite nicely. Rooney fought for the role and fully committed to it. I still prefer Rapace's take on the character but by no means should that take away from the work that Rooney did.

There were slight story tweaks here and there but overall I enjoyed what the American adaption did. The only thing from a story-telling device that I think the Swedish version did better was the big reveal. That sequence as executed seemed to carry much more weight and I was disappointed that the American version didn't seem nearly as tense. Not comparing things I'm sure it is quite effective, but at this point it's hard for me to not compare the two sequences.

Like the Swedish version I'd recommend seeing the American adaptation. Which to see first becomes a bit harder to answer. Flipping a coin might be the best answer. I'll even flip it for you if you ask me nicely.

Friday Photo #1

2011-12-02T08:45:00.000-05:00

Terhune Orchards in Princeton produces my favorite apple cider. While picking some up for Thanksgiving last month I caught this cat enjoying the beautiful Saturday afternoon.

The Captains

2011-11-30T18:00:00.000-05:00

William Shatner's The Captains tracks down the 6 actors who have played the lead role of Star Trek "Captain" on TV and film and through a series of interviews gets to the bottom of why they chose the role and how it impacted their life and career. As a concept it sounds wonderful. In its execution it's phenomenal.

William Shatner appears first. He acts as narrator and as we find the other captains he becomes interviewer as well. The other captains are introduced in the order that they appeared in the Trek universe and we then jump back and forth as Shatner engages each. Building the piece around Shatner and framing it from his perspective is a really great idea. As captain on the original classic Star Trek Shatner is likely well aware of the challenges that the future captains faced. In turn having Shatner as the interviewer likely made his subject feel more at ease.

For those unsure the other captains are: Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew, Scott Bakula and Chris Pine. All of them seem game and ready to discuss whatever topics Shatner may bring up. The most time is spent with Patrick Stewart with Avery Brooks and Scot Bakula coming in second and receiving what seems like equal screen time. Out of all of the captains here Chris Pine is really the least seen. Maybe it's the fact that he is a relative newcomer or just didn't have much to say. Either way it is nice to see him included even if it is just for a few brief minutes.

In addition to the core participants other actors from the Star Trek universe pop up at various times to offer their comments on a particular captain or the overall experience of being a part of Trek history. We're also treated to backstage footage of Shatner at various Star Trek conventions and the occasional fan perspective.

New fans, casual fans, hardcore Trekkers and Trekkies and those who are interested in the art of acting should find The Captains to be an enjoyable experience. There are many highlights to be found with the best moments involving Patrick Stewart candidly discussing his biggest regrets and Shatner and Brooks improving a jazz tune at the piano.

The Captains is now available on DVD and Netflix streaming.

Exhumed Films' 24 Hour Horror-Thon 2011 Part 4

2011-11-03T09:00:00.000-04:00

5:30am: "Be cool. Just like this."

11th Feature: Blood Diner (1987)

7:00am: Breakfast break!

Trailer Reels #6 & #7: "Blood for Breakfast"
Trailers for: From Dusk Till Dawn, John Carpenter's Vampires, The Hunger, Nightwing, Dracula's Dog, Near Dark, The Bat People, Vampire Circus/Countess Draculadouble feature, Kiss of the Vampire, Night of Dark Shadows, House of Dark Shadows, Guess What Happened to Count Dracula, Night of the Cobra Woman, Blod Suckers/Blood Thirst double feature, The House the Dripped Blood

7:30am: "It's gonna be real scary I promise."

12th Feature: The Burning (1981)

A Friday the 13th knock off featuring Mark Ratner from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Jason Alexander, Holly Hunter and a story by Harvey Weinstein and Brad Grey. Yup, you read all of that correctly.

9:00am: Trailer Reel #8: "Stepen King on Film"
The Dead Zone, Misery, The Dark Half, Pet Sematary, The Shining, Children of the Corn, Christine, Carrie

Trailer for King Kong Lives

9:15am: "We made you!"

13th Feature: Maximum Overdrive (1986)

Killer trucks set to the music of AC/DC. Yes please!

10:45am: "Put your hands together for the fabulous Feebles variety hour."

13th Feature: Meet the Feebles (1989)

A twisted take on puppet shows from the man who would later give us the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

And with that the 5th Horror-Thon was finished. Exhumed delivered the most consistent line-up yet. I'm already counting down to next year!

You can find Exhumed Films on the web here: Exhumed Films and here: Exhumed Films on Facebook

Exhumed Films' 24 Hour Horror-Thon 2011 Part 3

2011-11-02T09:00:00.000-04:00

12:25am Trailer Reel #4: "Oddball Trailers"
Previews of coming attractions for: The Car, Mutant, The Creeper, Parasite (3-DF), The Stuff, Mill of the Stone Women, Sugar Hill, Computer Killers

12:45am: "I'm becoming dangerously amoral."

8th Feature: Frankenhooker (1990)

The first of what would be back to back "unconventional adaptations of literary horror classics". Lots of nonsense on display here and worthwhile for many reasons. Scenes of "Old" New York and Zorro the pimp were the highlights for me.

2:15:am "Where is the moonlight lounge!?"

9th Feature: Decision for Doom (1976)

AKA "Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde. Bernie Casey, a pimp doing kung fu and a King Kong inspired climax. Sign me up!

3:45am Trailer Reel#5: "Werewolves on Reels"
The Howling, Beast of the Yellow Nightr, Wolf, An American Werewolf in London, The Company of Wolves, The Beast Within, Wolfen

4:00am: "It seems we're surrounded by the occult."

7th Feature: The Legend of the Werewolf Woman (1976)
"Infamous, sleazy, and bizarre Euro-horror/sexploitation movie".

Exhumed Films' 24 Hour Horror-Thon 2011 Part 2

2011-11-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

6:40pm: Dinner Break

The Three Stooges in "You Natzy Spy!", The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977): Edge of Reality (making of), Tom and Jerry in "Yankee Doodle Mouse".

7:20pm: "This is flight engineer Lieutenant Brian Murphy..."

5th Feature: The Dead (2010)

A first for the Horror-Thon as this film was announced well before the event. This was the Philadelphia premiere of the film and it was projected digitally.

In between the diner break and The Dead there is a quick break while they make sure that everything looks and sounds good. I duck out for a quick bite. I grab a sandwich and soda at Wawa and am back in my seat for no more than 5 minutes when I lose my second pen of the event. Not wanting to create a disturbance by looking under my seat I decide to head out to buy some new ones. I hit 7-11 and although they sell them the guy behind the counter offers me one of his. I feel bad that I'm not spending money and grab a bag of Buffalo Blue Cheese Combos. Not surprisingly they turned out to be pretty tasty.

On the way back inside I run into Joe from Exhumed who offers me a Gummy Finger.

Not one to turn down such a generous offer I accept and opt to have some "blood" sauce as well. I don't realize what an appropriate snack it is for the movie that is playing until I am typing this just now.

9:00pm "This is very cool!"

Trailer for King Kong Lives

6th Feature: Trick or Treat (1986)

Skippy from "Growing Pains" stars in this "Heavy Metal" horror film. Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne cameo.

Trailer Reel #3: "Slashers!"
Previews of coming attractions for: Last House on the Left, Road Games, New Year's Evil, Trick or Treats, House, Humongous, Pshyco, Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood, Night Breed, My Bloody Valentine

11:30pm: "Fascinating."

7th Feature: Night Warning (1983)

It starts with a great bit of gore but turns into something much, much creepier. Bo Svenson steals the movie for me as an intolerant cop. Bill Paxton also appears in an early role as one of the lead's classmates.

Exhumed Films' 24 Hour Horror-Thon 2011 Part 1

2011-10-31T10:28:00.000-04:00

October 29, 2011

12:15pm: "Sometimes you scare me."

After a brief announcement and a series of giveaways we jump into the first feature. The Exhumed bumper plays (with live in theater soundtrack).

1st Feature: The Death Wheelers (1973)

AKA Psychomania. Undead bikers run amok in this fun little romp from the UK.

1:45pm: Trailer Reel #1: "Giant Monster Movies"
Godzilla '85, Godzilla 2000, Creatures the World Forgot, 1000 Million Years B.C., King Kong ('77), Gorgo, Cloverfield

2:15pm: "Guards help! There's a monster here!"

2nd Feature: Rodan (1956)

Though I have seen quite a few films featuring Rodan I'd never seen the debut film before.

Trailer Reel #2: "Horror Stars"
Previews of coming attractions for: Elvira Mistress of the Dark, Scars of Dracula/Horror of Frankenstein double feature, House of 1000 Dolls, (Italian dubbed) Re-Animator, The Oblong Box, Frankenstein Created Women/The Mummy's Shroud double feature, The Creeping Flesh.

3:40pm: "Ladies and gentlemen. A toast to me"

3rd Feature: Frightmare (1983)

A recently deceased horror icon returns from the dead.

5:10pm: "Well, let's go shopping."

4th Feature: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)

Michael Rooker and Tom Towles star in this semi-fictional account of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas. Intense and masterfully made. Glad that my first viewing of this was on film.

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi

2011-10-17T18:30:00.000-04:00

Sixth in a series of posts that will offer a review of the newly released Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray. I'll be avoiding detailed plot rundowns as I assume that most reading have seen the movies. If you haven't be warned that these reviews may contain spoilers.

Entry 1 can be found here: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Entry 2 can be found here: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Entry 3 can be found here: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Entry 4 can be found here: Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
Entry 5 can be found here: Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

When Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi was released in the spring of 1983 it captured my imagination in ways that few films before it had. Like E.T.,Superman II and the other Star Wars films before it Return of the Jedi was fuel for a 9-year old boy's mind.

The Blu-ray contains the latest Special Edition version of Return of the Jedi. This is different than the 1997 theatrical Special Edition and the 2004 DVD release. Out of all of the Special Edition changes Jedi has some of the worst. For me the first 40 minutes or so (the sequences at Jabba's palace and on his sail barge) are my favorite of the series and with some of the changes it doesn't feel as "special" as it once did. The addition of a new musical number with CGI characters is truly distracting. My main gripe is with the mixing of puppets and CGI characters. By themselves either work for me but when combined there is an incredibly inconsistent look. When the changes take you out of the movie that's a bad thing.

Visually this seemed like a slight improvement over Empire. Maybe it is the settings or the color choices but Jedi looked better to me and also seemed to be more consistent. And now for the last time I will also add that this is the best that the film has looked on home video.

Like every film in this set the special features provide a glimpse into the creation of the movie. At this point I'd say that the DVD releases of these films provided a much more in-depth look at how much effort goes into making a Star Wars movie. The initial 2004 DVD release of the original trilogy films included the excellent Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy documentary. And while that is not included here we do get some archival TV specials. Overall that gives the original trilogy a boost in terms of extras over the prequels.

Two commentary tracks are included on the main Return of the Jedi disc. The first is carried over from the original 2004 DVD release and features George Lucas, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren, and Carrie Fisher. The second is new for this Blu-ray release and is made up of archival interviews with the cast and crew. Just like the tracks on the previous movies each commentator is identified by an on-screen subtitle. I have yet to listen to any of the new tracks from this release but assume that they will provide a lot of information and possibly make up for the loss of the DVD bonus features.

The remaining special features are found on the 8th and 9th discs in the set. These discs include all of the non-commentary features for the original films. Features to a specific sequence or location are in their own section. For Return of the Jedi the locations/sequences are Tatooine, Endor, and Death Star II Space Battle.

Each sequence/location has the same layout and feature headings: Interviews, Deleted Scenes, The Collection and Concept Art Gallery.

Like the ones related to Empire I found the Interviews be pretty interesting. Hearing Dennis Muren and Phil Tippet explaining the steps they went through to execute a particular sequence is fascinating. These 2 alone could probably fill hours of time discussing their work on each film. Each interview runs about 3-5 minutes.

Jumping to the Deleted Scenes on Tatooine we get: "Vader's Arrival and Reaching out to Luke" and "Tatooine Sandstorm". Next Endor brings us: "Rebel Raid on the Bunker". And finally on Death Star II Space Battle we find: "Jerjerrod's Conflict" and "Battle of Endor: The Lost Rebels".

Notable scenes include: "Rebel Raid on Bunker" shows us the raw takes from multiple angles for a quick sequence. It isn't a particularity interesting scene but seeing the elements of a sequence before they are cut together is fascinating. Jerjerrod's Conflict" is a small sub-Plot aboard the Death Star that is worth seeing but better lost. At a little over 9 minutes "Battle of Endor: The Lost Rebels" is the longest deleted sequence yet. Again this is raw footage of several rebels on attack ships conversing with each other over com lines. Quite a few Rebels are shown and like some of the other sequences you can hear the director's instructions from off screen. As a fan of the process of building a film I quite enjoyed watching these scenes.

The Collection is made up of key costumes, characters and spacecraft. Each includes a 3D fly around feature that really gives the opportunity to check out the detail. Select pieces also include video commentary that go into the creative process behind their creation. There are lots of goodies to be found here so spend the time looking and you ill be rewarded.

Finally Concept Art Gallery provides pre-production artwork for select characters, costumes and spacecraft. Concept art is always interesting in that many times it greatly differs from what eventually ended up on screen.

As previously mentioned you can access all of the special features for each sequence/location separately or the "Play All" feature will lump all of the interviews, deleted scenes, etc. from all of the original trilogy films together for a seamless viewing experience.

Disc 9 contains documentaries and spoofs related to the original trilogy and we get one additional Return of the Jedi features: "Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi".

"Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi" is a TV special from 1983. It runs 48 minutes. Much like "The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX" "Classic Creatures" looks at some of cinema's greatest creatures as well as the ones from Jedi. It is hosted by Carrie Fischer and Billy Dee Williams. It is something that I'll watch once but it is nice to have.

Join me next time as I look at the remainder of disc 9.

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

2011-10-12T12:00:00.000-04:00

Fifth in a series of posts that will offer a review of the newly released Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray. I'll be avoiding detailed plot rundowns as I assume that most reading have seen the movies. If you haven't be warned that these reviews may contain spoilers.

Entry 1 can be found here: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Entry 2 can be found here: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Entry 3 can be found here: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Entry 4 can be found here: Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back. I'm not sure that I really have to write anymore. Released in the spring of 1980, many fans consider Empire to be the best of the series. I definitely agree. Not tasked with establishing a universe or wrapping things up Empire is the quintessential Star Wars movie.

The Blu-ray contains the latest Special Edition version of The Empire Strikes Back. This is different than the 1997 theatrical Special Edition yet virtually identical to the 2004 Special Edition DVD release (the sole difference being a quick fix in the Wampa sequence where a puppeteer's arm was visible in one of the new shots). I actually don't mind this Special Edition of the film. Most of the changes are minor and the additions to the Wampa scene seem like they belong.

I wasn't floored with the picture quality. Don't get me wrong, it looks great, again the best this film has looked on home video, but it just didn't look consistent throughout for me.

Like every film in this set the special features provide a glimpse into the creation of the movie. At this point I'd say that the DVD releases of these films provided a much more in-depth look at how much effort goes into making a Star Wars movie. The initial 2004 DVD release of the original trilogy films included the excellent Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy documentary. And while that is not included here we do get some archival TV specials. Overall that gives the original trilogy a boost in terms of extras over the prequels.

Two commentary tracks are included on the main The Empire Strikes Back disc. The first is carried over from the original 2004 DVD release and features George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren, and Carrie Fisher. The second is new for this Blu-ray release and is made up of archival interviews with the cast and crew. Just like the tracks on the previous movies each commentator is identified by an on-screen subtitle. I have yet to listen to any of the new tracks from this release but assume that they will provide a lot of information and possibly make up for the loss of the DVD bonus features.

The remaining special features are found on the 8th and 9th discs in the set. These discs include all of the non-commentary features for the original films. Features to a specific sequence or location are in their own section. For The Empire Strikes Back the locations/sequences are Hoth, Dagobah, Pursued by the Imperial Fleet and Cloud City.

Each sequence/location has the same layout and feature headings: Interviews, Deleted Scenes, The Collection and Concept Art Gallery.

Unlike the previous Interviews I found the ones included here to be pretty interesting. George Lucas at the editing bay in 1979 explaining how he is using animatics to map out the battle scene on Hoth and Dennis Muren and Phil Tippet discussing the use of stop motion for that sequence are 2 highlights well worth the time that it takes to watch them. Each interview runs about 3-5 minutes.

Looking at the Deleted Scenes on Hoth we get: "Han and Leia: Extended Echo Base Argument", "Luke's Recovery", "Luke and Leia: Medical Center", "Deleted Wampa Scenes" and "The Fate of General Veers". On Dagobah we get: "Yoda's Test". Pursued by the Imperial Fleet gives us: "Hiding in the Asteroid" and "Alternate Han and Leia Kiss". And finally Cloud City includes: "Lobot's Capture" and "Leia Tends to Luke".

The most notable scenes here are the "Deleted Wampa Scenes". This series of scenes make up what was to be a subplot that involved a Wampa invasion on the rebel base. Watching the scenes it is easy to see why they were removed. The on-set effects here just don't look good and it seems no amount of editorial magic could fix it. These are great sequences to finally see but they are not missed in the final cut of the film.

The Collection is made up of key costumes, characters and spacecraft. Each includes a 3D fly around feature that really gives the opportunity to check out the detail. Select pieces also include video commentary that go into the creative process behind their creation. Hands down this has been the highlight of the set for me. A special note for those prone to avoiding features like this: take the time to look around and you will be rewarded with the full animated sequence from The Star Wars Holiday Special featuring Bobba Fett's fist screen appearance.

Finally Concept Art Gallery provides pre-production artwork for select characters, costumes and spacecraft. Concept art is always interesting in that many times it greatly differs from what eventually ended up on screen.

As previously mentioned you can access all of the special features for each sequence/location separately or the "Play All" feature will lump all of the interviews, deleted scenes, etc. from all of the original trilogy films together for a seamless viewing experience.

Disc 9 contains documentaries and spoofs related to the original trilogy and we get two additional The Empire Strikes Back features: "The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX" and "A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later".

"The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX" is a TV special from 1980. It runs 48 minutes. In addition to detailing the special effects creation for Empire the history of special effects in cinema is also covered. It was an interesting piece and another welcome addition.

"A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later" is from a 2010 sit down with George Lucas, Irwin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan and John Williams. It runs 25 minutes. Unfortunately the participants are not together and some of the interview pieces were actually used for other parts of the set. It's still a good inclusion but a bit of a letdown.

Join me next time for a look at Star Wars: Episode VI - The Return of the Jedi.

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

2011-10-07T15:15:00.000-04:00

Fourth in a series of posts that will offer a review of the newly released Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray. I'll be avoiding detailed plot rundowns as I assume that most reading have seen the movies. If you haven't be warned that these reviews may contain spoilers.

Entry 1 can be found here: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Entry 2 can be found here: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Entry 3 can be found here: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope changed the face of cinema when it opened in theaters in May of 1977. Of course at that time there was no "Episode IV - A New Hope" in the title. With no continuity to get lost in or prequels or sequels to worry about audiences were able to sit back and enjoy a cinematic game changer.

The Blu-ray contains the latest Special Edition version of A New Hope. This is different than the 1997 theatrical Special Edition and the 2004 Special Edition DVD release. It's kind of a bummer to not have the original theatrical version on Blu-ray but George Lucas did say that when it hit video in the mid 90s that it would be the last time that it was available. Turns out he lied though, as the 2006 Limited Edition DVD release included the unaltered original version as a bonus feature. It's likely that one day we'll get a hi-def version of A New Hope but for now we will have to make do with the Special Edition.

So what was different about this version of the Special Edition as compared to the others? Some digital rocks here, some altered sound effects there and Greedo not quite shooting first. Watching the movie I basically found myself frustrated more than anything else by the updated effects that took me out of the movie. Overall though the film is still as enjoyable as ever, and I'd say that this version of A New Hope is the best Special Edition yet. Here's wondering to what changes will be made for the next release?

Picture and sound were both fine here and minus the added effects the film still looks like a film that was made in the 1970s. Pretty much as stated in reviews for the previous movies in this set this is the best that the film has ever looked on home video.

Like the earlier films in the set the special features provide a glimpse into the creation of the movie. At this point I'd say that the DVD releases of these films provided a much more in-depth look at how much effort goes into making a Star Wars movie. The initial 2004 DVD release of the original trilogy films included the excellent Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy documentary. And while that is not included here we do get some archival TV specials. Overall that gives the original trilogy a boost in terms of extras over the prequels.

Two commentary tracks are included on the main A New Hope disc. The first is carried over from the original 2004 DVD release and features George Lucas, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren, and Carrie Fisher. The second is new for this Blu-ray release and is made up of archival interviews with the cast and crew. Just like the tracks on the prequels each commentator is identified by an on-screen subtitle. I have yet to listen to any of the new tracks from this release but assume that they will provide a lot of information and possibly make up for the loss of the DVD bonus features.

The remaining special features are found on the 8th and 9th discs in the set. These discs include all of the non-commentary features for the original films. Features to a specific sequence or location are in their own section. For A New Hope the locations/sequences are Tatooine, The Death Star and The Battle of Yavin

Each sequence/location has the same layout and feature headings: Interviews, Deleted Scenes, The Collection and Concept Art Gallery.

Once again the Interviews don't really offer anything too revelatory. As stated earlier the excellent Empire of Dreams documentary is missed. It thoroughly covered the making of the original trilogy and can't really be replaced by a series of short interviews. Each interview runs about 3-5 minutes.

Jumping to the Deleted Scenes on Tatooine we get: "Tosche Station", "Old Woman on Tatooine", "Aunt Beru's Blue Milk", "The Search for R2-D2", "Cantina Rough Cut" and "Stormtrooper Search". Aboard the Death Star we find: "Dart Vadar Widens the Search". And finally The Battle of Yavin includes: "Alternate Biggs and Luke reunion". The deleted scenes are what got lots of fans excited when the Blu-ray set was announced. Like the prequels the scenes are rough (with some in black and white) and do not contain final effects and in some cases have no sound. Most are worth watching but you can also see why they were cut. "Cantina Rough Cut is interesting as Han is with a female companion for part of the scene.

The Collection is made up of key costumes, characters and spacecraft. Each includes a 3D fly around feature that really gives the opportunity to check out the detail. Select pieces also include video commentary that go into the creative process behind their creation. So far this is my favorite feature on the set.

Finally Concept Art Gallery provides pre-production artwork for select characters, costumes and spacecraft. Concept art is always interesting in that many times it greatly differs from what eventually ended up on screen.

As previously mentioned you can access all of the special features for each sequence/location separately or the "Play All" feature will lump all of the interviews, deleted scenes, etc. from all of the original trilogy films together for a seamless viewing experience.

Disc 9 contains documentaries and spoofs related to the original trilogy and we get two additional A New Hope features: "The Making of Star Wars" and "Anatomy of a Dewback".

"The Making of Star Wars" is a TV special from 1977. It runs 48 minutes and is a lot of fun. It doesn't include any information that we don't already know but it's great to see people talk about the film before it had reached "legendary" status. Sure it was a global phenomenon but it wasn't the huge franchise that it is today.

"Anatomy of a Dewback" dates back to 1997 and runs 26 minutes. It covers one sequence from the Special Edition and details everything involved with making the new sequence a reality. Far from essential it is still cool to have.

Join me next time for a look at Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back.

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

2011-09-29T12:00:00.000-04:00
Third in a series of posts that will offer a review of the newly released Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray. I'll be avoiding detailed plot rundowns as I assume that most reading have seen the movies. If you haven't be warned that these reviews may contain spoilers.

Entry 1 can be found here: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Entry 2 can be found here: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

The anticipation level was high when Star Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith arrived in theaters in 2005. We all knew where the story was going and this would be the film that finally got us there.

Like Attack of the Clones I saw Revenge of the Sith at a midnight screening. I had high hopes for the film and it delivered. If anything Revenge of the Sith could be considered the only "essential" film of the 3 prequel films. After a series that included many pointless moment Sith is a lean and focused movie. It also carries most of the emotional weight of the entire series for me. Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen deliver moving performances in the moments leading up to and during Obi-Wan and Darth Vader's epic battle on Mustafar. We'll see how Luke and Vader's final moments together resonate with me when I get to Return of the Jedi but for now it might be the second most emotionally moving set of scenes in the entire series. (The first being Luke discovering that Vader is his father at the end of The Empire Strikes Back.)

Hands down this is the best looking of the prequels on Blu-ray. It is a stunning transfer and will be my go to disc when showing off my system. The image is sharp and well defined and some of the sequences are truly breathtaking. The Wookie home world Kashyyyk is simply stunning here and might just include some of the best imagery of the prequels.

Like the earlier films in the set the special features provide a glimpse into the creation of the movie. At this point I'd say that the DVD releases of these films provided a much more in-depth look at how much effort goes into making a Star Wars movie. The Blu-ray bonus features provide a very condensed version.

Two commentary tracks are included on the main Attack of the Clones disc. The first is carried over from the original 2002 DVD release and features George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Rob Coleman, John Knoll and Roger Guyett. The second is new for this Blu-ray release and is made up of archival interviews with the cast and crew. Just like the tracks on Menace and Clones each commentator is identified by an on-screen subtitle. I have yet to listen to any of the new tracks from this release but assume that they will provide a lot of information and possibly make up for the loss of the DVD bonus features.

The remaining special features are found on the 7th disc in the set. This disc includes all of the non-commentary features for the prequels. The special features for each of the 6 films are laid out the same way. Features to a specific planet are in there own section. For Revenge of the Sith the planets are Coruscant, Utapau, Mustafar and Kashyyyk.

Each planet has the same layout and feature headings: Interviews, Deleted Scenes, The Collection and Concept Art Gallery.

Once again the Interviews don't really offer anything too revelatory. The original DVD included multiple documentaries and a series of featurettes that provided an in depth look at the making of the film. None are included here. As stated in earlier reviews I appreciate being spared redundant features but the docs are missed. They thoroughly covered the making of the film and can't really be replaced by a series of short interviews. Each interview runs about 3-5 minutes.

The Deleted Scenes are brand new for this Blu-ray and do not include the 6 that were featured on the original DVD. Coruscant includes: "Elevator Antics", "Escape Through the Hanger and "Changes to the Constitution". Utapau includes: "Utapau Chase Animatics". Mustafar includes: "Mustafar Duel Animatics" and "Mustafar Duel/Lava River Animatics". Finally Kashyyyk includes: "Kashyyyk Attack and Order 66 Animatic", "Anakin Kills Shaak Ti", "Jedi Imposters at the Temple", "Senate Duel Animatic" and "Yoda Communes with Qui-Gon"As stated in the titles for most of these scenes we get a lot of animatics instead of actual scenes. Animatics provide a rough computer sketch of what the finished scene will look like. Of note here are: "Elevator Antics" (which might include the silliest moment from ANY Star Wars movie), "Utapau Chase Animatics" (an 8 minute sequence directed by Stevn Spielberg!) and "Anakin Kills Shaak Ti" (which is different than her death on the DVD's deleted scene). Also not to get anyone's hopes up "Yoda Communes with Qui-Gon" was deleted early on and does not feature Liam Neeson. A voice actor provides all of his dialog here.

The Collection is made up of key costumes, characters and spacecraft. Each includes a 3D fly around feature that really gives the opportunity to check out the detail. Select pieces also include video commentary that go into the creative process behind their creation. I'll stress again that this is turning out to be my favorite feature on the set.

Finally Concept Art Gallery provides pre-production artwork for select characters, costumes and spacecraft. Concept art is always interesting in that many times it greatly differs from what eventually ended up on screen.

As previously mentioned you can access all of the special features on each planet individually. A "Play All" feature lumps all of the interviews, deleted scenes, etc. from all of the planets of the entire prequel trilogy together for a seamless viewing experience.

Join me next time for a look at Star Wars: Episode 4 - A New Hope.

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones Blu-ray Review

2011-09-24T18:00:00.000-04:00
Second in a series of posts that will offer a review of the newly released Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray. I'll be avoiding detailed plot rundowns as I assume that most reading have seen the movies. If you haven't be warned that these reviews may contain spoilers.

Entry 1 can be found here: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

When Star Wars: Episode 2 - Attack of the Clones was released in 2002 I pretty much knew what to expect. The Phantom Menace had established that the prequel films would ramp up the goofy aspects of the series. In retrospect no one should have been surprised. After all Lucas had filled the original Return of the Jedi with many goofy moments, and the '97 special edition added even more nonsense. Lucas was clearly going in a different direction than anticipated and we could either jump off or buckle up and enjoy the ride. Like most fans I buckled up.

I was pretty anxious to see Attack of the Clones upon its release and even went to a midnight screening. I found it to be an enjoyable film and favored it over The Phantom Menace. It had some great moments. Obi-Wan and Anakain's high-speed pursuit of a deadly bounty hunter in the skies of Coruscant and a thrilling battle between Jango Fett and Obo-Wan (preceded by Obi-Wan doing quite a bit of detective work) on the rain-filled planet of Kamino were both "classic" Star Wars moments. I went and saw it again later that week in a theater equipped with digital projection and was blown away. Visually it served up as much eye candy as its predecessor.

As mentioned in my Phantom Menace review I had read reports that that film was the worst looking of the 3 prequel trilogies on Blu-ray. I was surprised to find though that when I watched it on Blu-ray Attack of the Clones didn't look noticeably better than The Phantom Menace. And that isn't a knock on how good this Blu-ray looks. There are a lot more "dark" shots in Attack of the Clones and at times the blacks didn't really seem that deep to me. Regardless of black levels though this is a nice transfer and it's the best that the movie has looked on home video.

Having watched both films again I'd rank The Phantom Menace ahead of Attack of the Clones. The climax of Clones is filled with too many cartoonish looking monsters and a ridiculous amount of Jedi deflecting blaster shots with their lightsabers. The movie also includes a sequence where Yoda utilizes his Jedi powers. Yoda is quite jumpy though and we don't get a real good look at him in action. We'll have to wait for the next movie to really see Yoda do his thing. There was also a lot of story to tell in this installment and I think as a bridge between Menace and Sith it served its purpose. I could see myself watching the 2 other prequel movies independent of the others. I doubt I'll ever do that with this movie though.

Once again everything from the character design and costumes to the spacecrafts and sets have a level of detail that shows great care went into their design. The special features included in the Blu-ray set highlight much of that work.

Two commentary tracks are included on the main Attack of the Clones disc. The first is carried over from the original 2002 DVD release and features George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, Pablo Hellman, John Knoll and Ben Snow. The second is new for this Blu-ray release and is made up of archival interviews with the cast and crew. Just like the tracks on Menace each commentator is identified by an on-screen subtitle.

The remaining special features are found on the 7th disc in the set. This disc includes all of the non-commentary features for the prequels. The special features for each of the 6 films are laid out the same way. Features to a specific planet are in there own section. For Attack of the Clones the planets are Coruscant, Naboo, Tatooine and Geonosis.

Each planet has the same layout and feature headings: Interviews, Deleted Scenes, The Collection and Concept Art Gallery.

Much like The Phantom Menace the Interviews don't really offer anything too revelatory. The original DVD included multiple documentaries and a series of featurettes that provided a rather in depth look at the making of the film. None are included here. Again I appreciate being spared redundant features but the docs are missed. They thoroughly covered the making of the film and can't really be replaced by a series of short interviews. Each interview runs about 3-5 minutes.

The Deleted Scenes are brand new for this Blu-ray and do not include the 8 that were featured on the original DVD. Coruscant includes: "Extended Speeder Chase" and "The Lost Twenty". Naboo includes: "Anakin's Nightmares" and "Anakin and Ruwee". And finally Geonosis includes: "Raid on the Droid Control Ship" and "Extended Arena Fight". Like the scenes from The Phantom Menace all of the deleted scenes are brief and pretty crude looking with unfinished effects. Of most interest is "Anakin and Ruwee". This scene offers a brief exchange between Anakin and Padme's father.

The Collection is made up of key costumes, characters and spacecraft. Each includes a 3D fly around feature that really gives the opportunity to check out the detail. Select pieces also include video commentary that go into the creative process behind their creation. This is turning into my favorite extra related to the prequels. There is lots to see here. Take your time going through it and I think you'll find it quite informative.

Finally Concept Art Gallery provides pre-production artwork for select characters, costumes and spacecraft. Concept art is always interesting in that many times it greatly differs from what eventually ended up on screen.

As previously mentioned you can access all of the special features on each planet individually. I'd like to take a second here to correct my comments from my Phantom Menace review though. The "Play All" feature lumps all of the interviews, deleted scenes, etc. from all of the planets of the entire prequel trilogy together for a seamless viewing experience.

Join me next time for a look at Star Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith.

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace Blu-ray Review

2011-09-21T17:00:00.000-04:00
First in a series of posts that will offer a review of the newly released Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray. I'll be avoiding detailed plot rundowns as I assume that most reading have seen the movies. If you haven't be warned that these reviews may contain spoilers.

Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace was released in theaters 16 years after the last entry in the series, Return of the Jedi, and 2 years after the Special Edition re-releases. Needless to say many fans could not wait.

Super fans waited in line months in advance to insure that they would be the first to see what was sure to be another epic Star Wars adventure at its first public midnight screenings. I didn't see one of those midnight screenings though. I saw it later that day at a 10am screening. Like many I was underwhelmed. Busy, full of gimmick characters and questionable plot points The Phantom Menace let many people down. I was definitely disappointed but still found plenty to enjoy when I saw it again a few weeks later.

When picking up the Complete Saga Blu-ray set I decided that for the first time I would watch the movies in sequential order instead of in the order that they were released. As packaged the 6 movies are each on their own disc with 3 bonus discs holding most of the extras. For review purposes I will address the special features for each movie as part of that movie's write up.

I picked up the DVD release of The Phantom Menace in 2001 and have watched it a handful of times so this Blu-ray release wasn't my first trip back to the film since '99. In a way though it was like seeing the film for the first time. I always forget how great Blu-ray is until I am actually sitting there watching a nice Blu-ray transfer. I have read that The Phatom Menace is the weakest looking Blu-ray of the 3 prequels and if that is the case than I can not wait to see how the others look. Simply put the movie looks great on my 46" plasma. I picked up details that I likely hadn't noticed since viewing the movie in theaters in '99.

For most though seeing a movie that they don't care for in HD doesn't make it a better movie. Watching the Blu-ray though I found the movie to be quite enjoyable. The final battle between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Darth Maul stands as a top 10 Star Wars saga moment for me. Granted Darth Maul is made to look a fool in the moments before his death but everything leading up to it in that battle is spectacular.

At this point I should note that the prequels have not been excepted from George Lucas' tampering. He made small tweaks to the prequel films on DVD and the Blu-ray releases are no different. The only change that I noticed here was the addition of a digital Yoda replacing the puppet from the theatrical and DVD releases of the film. The puppet Yoda never looked right to me in The Phantom Menace and the digital version creates a consistent look for Yoda in the 3 prequels so this is a welcome change. (And don't worry folks, the puppet Yoda remains in the original trilogy... for now).

The Phantom Menace might have dropped the ball in many ways from a storytelling perspective but visually it delivers. Everything from the character design and costumes to the spacecrafts and sets have a level of detail that shows great care went into their design. And the special features included in the Blu-ray set highlight much of that work.

Two commentary tracks are included on the main Phantom Menace disc. The first is carried over from the original 2001 DVD release and features George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, John Knoll, Dennis Murren and Scott Squires. The second is new for this Blu-ray release and is made up of archival interviews with the cast and crew. I have yet to listen to the new commentary but did turn it on real quick and was happy to see that each commentator is identified by an on-screen subtitle. This makes tracking who is talking much easier when there are many participants.

The remaining special features are found on the 7th disc in the set. This disc includes all of the non-commentary features for the prequels. The special features for each of the 6 films are laid out the same way. Features to a specific planet are in there own section. For The Phantom Menace the planets are Naboo, Tatooine and Coruscant.

Each planet has the same layout and feature headings: Interviews, Deleted Scenes, The Collection and Concept Art Gallery.

I'll start by saying that the Interviews are a bit of a letdown. The original DVD included an hour long documentary and a 12 part web documentary series that gave a pretty in depth look at the making of the film. Neither is included here. I appreciate being spared redundant features but the docs are missed. They thoroughly covered the making of the film and can't really be replaced by a series of short interviews. The interviews do seem current though with the exception of a few archival pieces so I guess that makes them worthwhile. Each interview runs about 3-5 minutes.

The Deleted Scenes are brand new for this Blu-ray and do not include the 7 that were featured on the original DVD. Naboo includes: "Trash Talking Robots", "The Battle is Over" and "Anakin's Return". Tatooine includes: "Battle on the Boarding Ramp" and "Podrace Wager". Finally Coruscant includes: "Bal Organa of Alderaan". All of the deleted scenes are brief and pretty crude looking with unfinished effects. "The Battle is Over" and "Bal Organa of Alderaan" stand out because of the actors involved. Dominic West relays some redundant information that explains its deletion in "The Battle is Over" and an actor who isn't Jimmy Smits (who would later play Bal) plays Bal Organa in "Bal Organa of Alderaan".

The Collection is made up of key costumes, characters and spacecraft. Each includes a 3D fly around feature that really gives the opportunity to check out the detail. Select pieces also include video commentary that go into the creative process behind their creation.

Finally Concept Art Gallery provides pre-production artwork for select characters, costumes and spacecraft. Concept art is always interesting in that many times it greatly differs from what eventually ended up on screen.

As previously mentioned you can access all special features individually on each planet. A "Play All" feature is included and it lumps all of the interviews, deleted scenes, etc. from all 3 planets together for a seamless viewing experience.

The disc also includes an Archive Fly Through. This lasts a few minutes and is basically a camera touring a Lucas Film Warehouse that features many Star Wars props. There are lots of goodies to be found here and it was one of the highlights of the disc for me.

I doubt that anyone will really buy the Complete Saga Blu-ray set for the prequel special features, but there are quite a few here that illustrate the amazing amount of work that is required when making a Star Wars movie.

Join me next time for a look at Star Wars: Episode 2 - Attack of the Clones.

Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray

2011-09-19T09:15:00.000-04:00
This past Friday all six of the Star Wars movies were released on Blu-ray.
The movies are available in separate sets for each trilogy and a combined 9 disc set that features all 6 films and 3 discs of bonus contents. The Complete Saga includes deleted scenes, documentaries, and a slew of other goodies. All told the set includes 40 hours of (mostly) new to home video special features. For many these special features (mainly the deleted scenes) are cause enough to buy these films yet again.I'll spend the next few weeks giving an in-depth review of the set. Look for my write-up on Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace later this week.

10 Essential Apps

2011-07-09T21:00:00.011-04:00
OK, I'll admit right off the bat that none of the apps that I'll be talking about here are truly essential, but each one has made my Android smartphone experience a better one.

Since you are reading this I'll assume that you know what a smartphone is or at least know that they exist. Well if you don't let's go to Wikipedia for a quick definition: A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone that offers more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone (i.e. a modern low-end phone). A smart phone combines the functions of a personal digital assistant (PDA) and a mobile phone. Today's models typically also serve as portable media players and camera phones with high-resolution touchscreen, GPS navigation, Wi-Fi and mobile broadband access. That should be a good enough definition but if you want to learn more here is a link to the full entry: Smartphone.

With that out of the way next I'll also add that there are a few different flavors of smartphones out there, each running a different operating system or OS. One example of a smartphone OS is Apple's very popular iOS. iOS runs only on Apple products and is strictly controlled by the company. Another OS is Google's Android. Android is an open-source OS that runs on many different phones on many different carriers.

Since I own an Android (a Droid 2 Global to be specific) I will focus the rest of this post on Android based apps. OK, so what's an app? Simply put an app is a program that performs a specific task on your smartphone. Every smartphone comes with several apps right out of the box. One example would be a texting app.

For most users the apps that are provided by their phone manufacturer are good enough for everyday use. Sometimes though you realize that you'd have a better user experience if a particular app just did "this or that" as well. This is where "replacement" apps come in and I'll be addressing quite a few of these in the list below. In addition I'll be recommending unique apps that have no stock equivalent. Some of the apps are free and some are paid. I will indicate which are which in each listing.

OK, so with all of that out of the way let's get to it.

Craig's Essential Apps List:

1. GO Launcher EX: My "desert island" app. Now granted if I was stranded on a desert island my smartphone would be pretty useless after a few hours but you get my point. Go Launcher EX is a home screen replacement app that greatly reduces the amount of home screens that I use. Most useful for me is the scrolling tab at the bottom that can store up to 12 apps. This tab allows me to access the 12 assigned apps without ever leaving my main home screen.

2. Go SMS Pro: Here's a free handy replacement to the stock text app. Pop-up notifications are what make this app essential for me. Simply put when I receive a text my screen turns on and I see who just texted me in the notification area. The full text is waiting for me as soon as I unlock my screen.

3. Quick Settings: Another free app (although a more robust paid version is available) that allows you to quickly make adjustments to your phone. I mainly use this to monitor battery usage and to toggle my 3G connection on and off.

4. Notification Toggle: Yet another free app, Notification Toggle is a highly customizable pull down screen that allows you to make adjustments to your phone. I mainly use this to quickly switch to silent mode and to turn Wi-Fi on and off. This is slightly redundant with Quick Settings but it serves a different enough purpose for me.

5/6. BatteryLife and Circle Battery Widget: I've lumped these 2 apps together because they both help you see the status of your battery. BatteryLife will show you your battery's remaining charge as well as its temperature. I utilize Circle because it shows you the exact percentage of battery left in 1% increments.

7. Read it Later: The free version of this app allows you to save webpages for later reading. The great thing about this app is that it allows you to access saved content without a data connection. This makes it perfect for plane rides or for those times when 3G coverage is poor.

8. Pandora: This free ad-supported app allows you to customize your own radio station. Simply plug-in a few of your favorite artists and Pandora will stream music from them as well as similar artists that you might like. Don't like something that plays? Simply give it a "thumbs down" and you will never hear that song again.

9. Wave Launcher: The first paid app on the list, Wave Launcher allows you to access up to 120 assignable apps from anywhere on your phone with a quick swipe of your finger. This app really changed the way that I use my phone. A free alternative is SwipePad. SwipePad is similar but only offers 12 assignable slots. I'd recommend giving SwipePad a try and if you appreciate what it does for you can go ahead and upgrade to Wave Launcher.

10. SwiftKey Keyboard: Another paid app, SwiftKey is a keyboard replacement that learns as you type. Type similar phrases over and over? SwiftKey learns these words and predicts them as you start to type. After just one click you've selected a word and are on to the next. This makes for quicker typing over time and if there is one thing that we all like it is extra time.

I hope you've enjoyed my list of essential apps. As I discover more useful apps I'll add them to the list. Thanks!

Team Movie Throw Down!

2011-06-02T14:00:00.008-04:00
The summer 2010 movie season gave movie fans three different team films to choose from. Each film brought something different to the table but at the end of the summer they couldn't help but be lumped together.

So which team film was the best of the summer? Of course that's objective but not here. After all this is my site so I can give you a definitive answer.

I'll rank the 3 films using a few different criteria.

1: The Team.
2: The Plot.
3. The Action.
4. The Bad Guys

1: The Team. The Losers win this one. The group felt and acted like a unit who have been together for a long time. Each had a clear-cut specialty that contributed to the overall success of the team.

2: The Plot. The A-Team win this one. I'd explain it but I don't have enough space.

3: The Action. The Expendables win this one by a nose as all 3 films had some great sequences. The Expendables gets the win because it had the most variety. It truly had a sequence for every kind of action fan. Guns and explosions? Check. Hand to hand combat? Check? Car chases? Check. More explosions? Check!

4: The Bad Guys. This is another close call and will determine the best team film of the summer 2010 season. Jason Patric is great in the The Loser but The Expendables with the one two punch (get it?) combo of Eric Roberts and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin gives it the win.

Congrats team!

The Expendables

2011-05-27T10:00:00.000-04:00
"Only an idiot would do this job."
Trench

The Expendables:

Barney Ross: Sylvester Stallone
Lee Christmas: Jason Statham
Yin Yang: Jet Li
Gunner Jensen: Dolph Lundgren
Hale Caesar: Terry Crews
Toll Road: Randy Couture

The Expendables was originally set to be released in April '10 but was pushed to August. I'm not quite sure why but it seems fitting that it would be the last team based movie of the summer.

Top-lined by Sylvester Stallone (hot off successful returns to his Rocky and Rambo characters) and featuring a varied assortment of movie and real life tough guys The Expendables promised a return to the action movies of the 1980s. And return it did. There's something for every action fan here as there are plenty of one-liners, gunshots, explosions and tough guy posturing. The plot (which is nothing more than an excuse to start firing guns) revolves around the team's mission to overthrow a dictator in a fictional South American country.

Stallone handled the co-writing and directing duties, bringing his unmistakable (see the character names) stamp to the project. He also left his ego at the door as everyone here gets a chance to shine. Highlights include the team's opening mission involving an encounter with Somalian pirates, Statham's dismantling of a bunch of interchangeable tough guys on a basketball court, and a great brawl (actually they are all pretty great but I'm staying slightly spoiler free) between Stallone and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Exploding out of the gate and barely stopping to let the viewer catch their breathe The Expendables brought a satisfying end to the summer of team based movies.

The A-Team

2011-02-17T17:45:00.001-05:00
"They are the best, and they specialize in the ridiculous."
Capt. Sosa

The A-Team:

Hannibal: Liam Neeson
Faceman: Bradley Cooper
B.A.: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
Murdock: Sharlto Copley

Based on the 1980's television series, The A-Team was updated for modern audiences and released in theaters on June 11th, 2010. Like The Losers, The A-Team follows the exploits of a military team done wrong.

After an extended pre-credits sequence that covers the formation of the team, we jump ahead 8 years and hundreds of missions. After an unauthorized mission goes awry the the team is tried, convicted and sent to prison. But fear not friends, just like the opening narration of the TV show states the team "promptly escapes" and sets out to clear their names and catch the people who set them up.

Director and co-writer Joe Carnahan keeps things moving, delivering well executed action scenes and brief bits of comedy. The supporting cast that includes Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson and co-writer Brian Bloom elevate things even more.

Playing like a leaner, meaner, big budget older brother to The Losers, The A-Team proved to be a satisfying summer pop-corn flick.

Up Next: The Expendables

The Losers

2011-01-17T22:25:00.005-05:00
"It's like giving a handgun to a six year old, Wade. You don't know how it's gonna end, but you're pretty sure it's gonna make the papers."
Max

The Losers:

Clay: Jefferey Dean Morgan
Roque: Idris Elba
Jensen: Chris Evans
Pooch: Columbus Short
Cougar: Óscar Jaenada

Released on April 23rd, 2010, The Losers was the first team movie of 2010. Based on the 2003 comic series of the same name The Losers was an ambitious book to adapt. Filled with dozens of characters and spanning several countries, the comic reads like a movie. A very, very expensive movie. Screenwriter (and original director) Peter Berg and James Vanderbilt broke the story down to its bare essentials and crafted a script that was manageable on a budget. Stomp the Yard director Sylvain White might have seemed like an odd choice to replace Berg after he left the project but under his guidance the film wound up in good hands.

After being double-crossed and presumed dead, The Losers, a CIA Black Ops team, have to find the man who set them up in order to clear their names. With nothing more than the name Max and few resources the team finally gets a solid lead when they meet Aisha (Zoe Saldana). A mysterious woman, Aisha has the funds to finance the team's revenge mission. As the team works there way to Max (Jason Patrick) a series of exciting action set pieces follow and they slowly discover why they were betrayed.

Like the team itself The Losers is a scrappy little film. With plenty of action, nice splashes of humor and a plot with nice forward momentum, The Losers was a great start to the team movie season.

Up next: The A-Team

Go Team!

2011-01-14T08:30:00.003-05:00
If I remember the underwhelming 2010 summer movie season for anything it will be the amount of "team" films that hit theaters. Between April and August movie fans were treated to 3 team-based films. Considering that none of them were part of the Mission:Impossible franchise this is pretty remarkable.

April gave us the comic book adaption The Losers, followed by the updated A-Team in June, and Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables completed the team trifecta in August. Over the next few days I'll be posting write-ups on each film and in a final post will match them up against each other. Tune in Monday for The Losers.

My Favorite Movie Moments - Halloween (1978)

2010-12-20T08:30:00.006-05:00
Part of an ongoing series documenting some of my favorite movie moments. Be warned that just about every entry will contain spoilers.

John Carpenter's Halloween was the first film in the "Golden Age" of slasher films. Sure we had seen slashers on screen before it, but after the surprise runaway success of Halloween the slasher film would become the go to sub-genre within horror for the next dozen years.

The film finds Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) babysitting a pair of kids on Halloween night. All is going well until an unwelcome visitor comes to town with bloodshed on his mind. At the 1hr 16 minute mark Laurie discovers some of her friend's corpses. Backed against a wall and trying to process what she has seen, a figure slowly appears from the darkness. In a great movie moment Carpenter and Cinematographer Dean Cundy have made it seem like our eyes are starting to adjust to the darkness that fills the house.

My Favorite Movie Moments - Rosario Dawson in Death Proof (2007)

2010-12-07T08:30:00.066-05:00
Part of an ongoing series documenting some of my favorite movie moments. Be warned that just about every entry will contain spoilers.

Described by writer/director Quentin Tarantino as a "Slasher film at 200 miles an hour" Death Proof was originally paired up with Robert Rodriguez' Planet Terror and released as a double feature called Grindhouse. Coupled with fake genre trailers Grindhouse gave audiences a movie experience that is now pretty much extinct. For the foreign market and home video in the states the films were split up and extended. It is this version of Death Proof that I will be referencing here.

The second half of Death Proof follows a group of girls as they test drive a car not only because it looks like the one from "Vanishing Point" but because they also want to perform a crazy stunt with it. Around the 1hr 32 minute mark, during the early moments of the high-speed test drive, Abernathy (Rosario Dawson) looks worried but in an instant her expression changes from concern to that of child-like joy.

Out With the Old...

2010-12-05T12:45:00.004-05:00
Last month Wendy's revamped their french fries. Upon reading this news I was instantly disappointed that I hadn't learned about this sooner. I liked the old fries and was bummed that I didn't get one last chance to have them before the new and improved ones rolled out.

When I got to my local Wendy's I was surprised to find out that they hadn't made the switch yet. I learned that they were cycling out the old stock before they started serving the new ones. Still not thrilled that the old ones were going away, I was at least happy to enjoy them one last time.

When I finally had a chance to try the new fries a week or so later I wondered if I would have even been able to tell the difference had I not known that they were switching. To me it seemed like the only difference was the new packaging and extra salt. So while Wendy's fries are "New and Improved" I'm still pretty happy that it seems that things haven't changed all that much.

My Favorite Movie Moments - Kong in King Kong (1933)

2010-12-02T08:30:00.005-05:00
Part of an ongoing series documenting some of my favorite movie moments. Be warned that just about every entry will contain spoilers.

On an expedition to the remote Skull Island filmmaker Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) and his crew discover Kong (the creation of stop motion pioneer Willis O'Brien and a team of talented technicians), the most dangerous beast on an island full of them. The island's natives think that Denham's lead actress, the blond Ann Darrow (Faye Wray) would make a perfect sacrifice to Kong. The natives kidnap Ann and offer her to the beast. Instead of eating her Kong becomes enamored with the strange blond creature.

Starting around the 1hr 02 minute mark Kong battles a T-rex in what stands as one of the most thrilling battles in cinema history. The battle ends when Kong breaks and crushes the T-rex's jaw. After it is dead, Kong lifts the T-rex's lifeless head and moves the jaw back and forth, seemingly fascinated with the way it once worked.

My Favorite Movie Moments - Paul Giamatti in Sideways (2004)

2010-11-30T16:45:00.006-05:00
Part of an ongoing series documenting some of my favorite movie moments. Be warned that just about every entry will contain spoilers.

Sideways follows Miles (Giamatti) and Jack (Thomas Haden Church) during a bachelor party getaway to California's wine country. Still reeling from a divorce Miles learns that his ex-wife Victoria (Jessica Hecht) has remarried. The scene in question starts around the 1hr 55 minute mark right after Jack's wedding. Miles runs into Victoria and her new husband. Trying his best to stay composed you can see Miles barely hold it together after he learns that Victoria is now pregnant.

Exhumed Films' 24 Hour Horror-Thon 2010 Part 4

2010-11-02T20:00:00.003-04:00
7:30am: Breakfast Break

Mr Magoo Meets Frankenstein (1960)

Previews of Coming Attractions, Vampire People, Brain of Blood, Blood Demon, Brides of Blood, Mad Doctor of Blood Island, Curse of the Vampires

7:40am: "These kids smoke better dope than I do."

12th Feature: Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

The sequel that introduced an adult Jason. We'd still have to wait one more film for the classic hockey mask.

9:10am:

13th Feature: Bug (1975)

Nifty little critter feature that utilized the sets from the Brady Bunch. Also notable as the last film genre favorite William Castle would work on.

10:40am: "You shouldn't have come, Bob."

14th Feature: The House by the Cemetery (1981)

Lucio Fulci directed this tale where something actually lurks in the basement.

And another Horror-Thon is in the bag. As always Exhumed served up a nice variety of films. Already looking forward to next year!

Exhumend Films' 24 Hour Horror-Thon 2010 Part 3

2010-11-02T08:00:00.001-04:00
2:45am: "When you're stoned, Charles Manson is a terrific guy."

9th Feature: The Funhouse (1981)

A group of teens spend the night in the funhouse of a traveling carnival. What could go wrong? When Tobe Hooper directs, lots.

4:25am: "How do you want it, honey?"

10th Feature: The Howling (1981)

Joe Dante directed werewolf film with great transformation effects by Rob Bottin. The always great Dick Miller pops up as well.

5:55am: "What is this, a harem?"

10th Feature: Boardinghouse (1982)

Words really can't do this one justice.

Exhumed Films' 24 Hour Horror-Thon 2010 Part 2

2010-11-01T20:00:00.003-04:00
7:00pm: Dinner Break/Art Show Reception

"The History of Slashers Trailer Compilation Part III: The Neverending Sequels"
Death Valley, Visiting Hours, Wacko, Alone in the Dark, Friday the 13th Part III, Curtains, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning, Psycho III, April Fools Day, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, Halloween 4, Hallwoeen H20, Scream 3, Halloween Resurrection

7:30pm: "When there's no more room in hell the dead will walk the earth."

5th Feature: Dawn of the Dead (1978)

George Romero's second "Dead" picture remains the "high water mark" for all zombie films.

9:40pm:
Short Story Showcase The Fall of the House of Usher

10:00pm "What the fuck was that!"

6th Feature: Return of the Aliens: The Deadly Spawn (1983)

Effective low budget horror flick that was shot right here in NJ.

11:30pm: "I know drug real from real real."

7th Feature: Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

Brian De Palma wrote and directed this "Phantom of the Opera"/"Faust" hybrid. Lots of fun with some great musical numbers and awesome main titles and end credits.

1:00am: "Watch out, he's a Ninja expert."

8th Feature: Five Elements Ninjas (1982)

High flying Shaw Brothers kung-fu.

Exhumed Films' 24 Hour Horror-Thon 2010 Part 1

2010-11-01T08:00:00.033-04:00
October 30, 2010

12:00pm: What mysteries lie ahead?

After a brief announcement from Exhumed Films and a member of the International House staff we are treated to a series of trailers before the first feature.

"The History of Slashers Trailers Compilation Part 1: The Beginning"
Psycho, Blood and Black Lace, Twitch of the Death Nerve,The Town that Dreaded Sundown, Halloween, When a Stranger Calls, The Driller Killer, Friday the 13th, Dressed to Kill, Maniac, Prom Night, Terror Train.

12:30 pm: "Welcome to prime time, bitch. "
1st Feature: A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

The 3rd entry in this long running series would become the template for the next few films.

2:15pm: "I'm confident that we'll find that giant gorilla."

2nd Feature: Mighty Peking Man (1977)

AKA Goliathon. Part King Kong, part Tarzan this giant monster movie was a fun little romp.

3:45pm: "You cheated me. All three of you, and I'm going to have revenge."

3rd Feature: Tales from the Crypt II (1973)

AKA The Vault of Horror. Entertaining anthology featuring vampires, verbally abusive husbands and a bearded Tom Baker.

"The History of Slashers Trailers Compilation Part 2: The Heyday"
Friday the 13th Part 2, My Bloody Valentine, Halloween 2, The Prowler, Hell Night, Student Bodies, Happy Birthday to Me, He Knows You're Alone.

5:30pm: "No, no, take it easy."

4th Feature: It Lives Again (1973)

AKA It's Alive 2. Killer baby sequel that ups the ante by adding more killer babies!

I've seen this one a few times so I break for dinner early and head to McDonald's for some cheeseburgers.

Staten Island Film Festival

2010-05-27T10:36:00.001-04:00

"Action Junkies" screens twice during next week's Staten Island Film Festival.

Show times are on Friday at 4pm and Saturday at 2pm. We'll be screening with the award winning short "Code Name: Operation Black Thunder". Tickets for each show are $10 and can be purchased here: Action Junkies at the Staten Island Film Festival

Garden State Film Festival Screening Information

2010-02-20T17:11:00.000-05:00
Screening info for the Garden State Film Festival is in! "Action Junkies" will screen on March 27th, 2010, at the Berkeley Hotel in the Continental Ballroom between 6:30 and 8:30pm. We are one of three films for the event that night. Tickets are $ 10.00 each and can be purchased here: Action Junkies at the Garden State Film Festival.

Festival Bound

2010-02-16T15:33:00.000-05:00
Last year I co-wrote and co-directed a short film called "Action Junkies".

You can view the trailer here: Action Junkies Trailer
I'm excited to say that the short was selected to be a part of the 8th Annual Garden State Film Festival.
Stay tuned to this space for further details.

Return to Camp Blood

2009-11-13T12:30:00.004-05:00
Friday the 13th Part 2 was released a year to the month after the original film.

After wrapping up some loose ends the sequel jumps ahead 5 years and follows a group of young people who are getting ready to open up a camp on Crystal Lake. Much like in the first film they are warned to stay away. They don't listen and once again people start to turn up dead.

Although the characters were brand new in this sequel the template was very much the same. The killer is rarely seen and we are kept in the dark as to who is comitting the murders. The group of young people is actually pretty likeable (including a guy in a wheelchair with paralyzed legs) which makes some of the killings seem even more senseless then they already are.

Friday the 13th Part 2 is very much a (less satisfying) redundant take on the first movie and if we remove the great killer reveal the ending doesn't make very much sense.

Thankfully the series would go on and right itself with Part 3 the following year.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10 machetes.

This Never Happened to the Other Guy

2009-11-02T08:00:00.009-05:00
This past weekend the Hilton Hotel in beautiful Parsippany, New Jersey hosted the Chiller Theatre Toy, Model and Film Expo.

In addition to the dozens of vendor tables, the Expo also featured many celebrity guests. This year's event included appearances by Mickey Rooney,Peter Fonda, Howard Hesseman, George Lazenby, Davey Jones, Ann-Margret, and a zombie from the original Night of the Living Dead . The total guest list included nearly 70 popular figures from the world of film, television, pro-wrestling and music.

The highlight of the event for me was meeting George Lazenby. George portrayed James Bond in one 007 outing, but considering it is one of my favorites meeting him was a real honor. In addition to taking a few moments to answer some questions I had about the production he signed an 8X10 and posed for a picture.

I saw Bowzer from Sha Na Na chatting with TNA Knockout Tara, Richard Dreyfus eating a hot dog and viewed in disbelief as my buddy like some unwanted member of the paparazzi was denied when he went to snap a quick pic of Peter Fonda.

There was no such denial when I snapped this pic of living legend Mikey Rooney!

Next I hit up the vendor area where I ran into the Joe from Exhumed Films who was there with his company Diabolik DVD. After chatting about the 24 Hour Horror-Thon for a few minutes I purchased the 2-disc version of Pieces to replace the bootleg version that I had brought at Chiller a few years earlier.

On the way out I ran into Jason Vorhees. Thankfully he was in a good mood and I survived to tell the tale.

The Wise Guy Burger

2009-10-30T12:45:00.005-04:00
Recently I was made hip to Red Robin's Wise Guy Burger. In addition to the standard patty and bun the burger features mozzarella sticks, marinara sauce, pepperoni slices, banana peppers and tomato.

I'd never been to Red Robin (based mainly on the fact that the nearest location was about 40 minutes away) but after reading about this limited time burger a trip was mandatory. I went to the Red Robin website and was happy to find that a new location had opened closer to home.

I headed over for dinner one night and took a seat at the bar. With no real need to comb over the menu I went ahead and ordered the Wise Guy cooked rare. A few minutes later I was enjoying my meal.

Sadly the burger was nowhere near rare but that didn't effect my enjoyment one bit. Simply put the burger was amazing. The patty wasn't the biggest but coupled with the other ingredients the whole was definitely greater than the sum of its parts.

An added bonus was the endless seasoned fries which were better than average compared to say a Friday's or Applebee's.

If it was a tad bit closer to my house I would probably hit up Red Robin every few weeks.

Exhumed Films' 24 Hour Horror-Thon 2009 Part 4

2009-10-29T08:00:00.010-04:00
7:00am: "Four bottles of beer on the wall, four bottles of beer..."

12th Feature: The Children (1980)

AKA The Children of Ravensback. A bus full of school children are transformed into zombie-like beings who burn anyone that they touch. Incredibly effective with a great "shocking" ending.

8:30am: "They're eating the guests, sir."

13th Feature: Piranha (1978)

The second feature of the Horror-Thon featuring man eating fish (what was the first, you ask? Do you really need to ask?). Produced by Roger Corman, scripted by John Sayles and Directed by Joe Dante.

10:00am
Short film: The Music of Erich Zann

10:15am: "Don't expect it to tango; it has a broken back. "

14th Feature: Re-Animator

Like previous years the marathon ends with a zombie film. Stuart Gordon's adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's short story "Herbert West: Reanimator" is an inspired piece of lunacy and a fitting end to another great Horror-Thon.

Exhumed Films' 24 Hour Horror-Thon 2009 Part 3

2009-10-28T08:00:00.014-04:00
2:25am: "Yes. King for all eternity."

9th Feature: Hercules in the Haunted Underworld (1964)

AKA Hercules in the Center of the Earth. Mario Bava directs. Christopher Lee co-stars.

3:40am:
Trailers for: Deathmaster, Beware my Brethren, Three on a Meathook, Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde, Hands of the Ripper, Twins of Evil, Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter.

3:50am:

10th Feature: Trauma (1976)

AKA Exposé. Stars Udo Kier.

5:15am: "We've seen more dead bodies than you've eaten hot dogs, so shut up and eat. "

11th Feature: Lady Terminator (1988)

Even with a warning via the program nothing could prepare me for this one. This film is all sorts of awesome before it becomes a re-make of The Terminator, but things really fly once it shows its true nature. Highlight of the Horror-Thon.

6:30am:
Breakfast Break

Night Gallery: "The Pickford Model"

Like last year complementary cereal is served.

Exhumed Films' 24 Hour Horror-Thon 2009 Part 2

2009-10-27T08:00:00.013-04:00
8:05pm: "He thinks that's funny. He thinks that's a funny thing he's doing. "

5th Feature: Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

My favorite Friday the 13th film and one of my all-time favorite horror films.

I've seen this one a zillion times so I don't feel bad ducking out to grab dinner. It's raining out but the call of some McDonald's double cheeseburgers is much stronger than anything the 7-11 on the corner has to offer. I do stop at 7-11 on my way back to grab a cold bottle of water and a sugar free Red Bull to get me through the night.

9:40pm: "I'm tired of taking orders from a silly female."

6th Feature: Raw Force (1982)

My second favorite flim of the Horror-Thon. Cannibal monks and Kung-Fu Zombies are only the tip of the iceberg in this one. If you're not convinced this one is worth seeing based on that I'm not sure what to tell you.

11:05pm:
Short Film: The Boarded Window

11:20pm: "My specialty is courting ladies in the presence of their husbands. "

7th Feature: The Next Victim (1971)

AKA The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh. An Italian thriller that really picks up steam at the end.

October 25, 2009

12:25am: "The nightmare becomes reality."

8th Feature: City of the Walking Dead (1980)

AKA Nightmare City. Satisfying zombie flick that does nothing to advance the genre. The shocking twist-ending and terrible zombie make-up make this one memorable though.

Exhumed Films' 24 Hour Horror-Thon 2009 Part 1

2009-10-26T11:20:00.018-04:00
October 24, 2009

12:00pm: "I'll teach you to throw away my comic books!"

Well rested and with plenty of supplies I was in my seat about 10 minutes before the start of the event. After a brief announcement from a member of the International House staff and an introduction from Joe and Dan from Exhumed Films the 1st feature un-spooled.

12:30pm:

A very cool Exhumed Films 24 Hour Horror-Thon logo plays before the start of the 1st feature.

1st Feature: Creepshow (1982)

George A. Romero and Stephen King's homage to EC Comics. Notable actors include Ed Harris, Leslie Nielson, Ted Danson and Stephen King.

2:30pm:
Short Film: Chickamauga

3:00pm: "They're hypnotized by machinery... completely."

2nd Feature: Godzilla on Monster Island (1972)

AKA Godzilla vs. Gigan. Like the past 2 years a Godzilla film plays second. Plenty of monster mayhem and Godzilla talks!

4:20pm:
Previews of Coming Attractions, Blood From the Mummy's Tomb/Night of the Blood Monster, The Vampire Beast Craves Blood, The Blood on Satan's Claw, Blood Mania, Blood and Lace, The House that Dripped Blood.

4:35pm: "You're a fucking drag!"

3rd Feature: The Fly (1986)

David Cronenberg's updating of the 50's classic stars Jeff Goldblum and Gena Davis.

6:05pm: "There's nothing to worry about. The servants will take care of everything."

5th Feature: The Oblong Box (1969)

Vincent Price and Christopher Lee star in this Edgar Allen Poe adaptation.

6:45pm:
Dinner Break:

Previews of Coming Attractions, The Conqueror Worm, Tower of Screaming Virgins, Devil's Nightmare, The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave, Mark of the Devil Part 2, The Devil's Wedding Night.

Short: The Three Stooges in "We Want our Mummy" (1939).

Random thoughts on the new Star Trek

2009-05-17T20:54:00.004-04:00
Contains spoilers.

1. Good. Best Trek movie in a long time.
2. Eric Bana's Nero has been called a weak villain. I don't see that. He was actually one of the highlights of the film for me.
3. Uhura and Spock? WTF?
4. Green skinned girl. I know that it was a callback to the original series but it seemed forced and I kept thinking of She-Hulk.
5. Not enough Scotty.
6. Not enough McCoy.
7. Too much of Scotty's sidekick.
8. Too many convincing looking aliens.
9. Kirk was so well written. It is a shame that Chris Pine didn't attempt to bring anything from Shatner's performances to the table.
10. Kobayashi Maru. Didn't like Spock being one of the developers and I didn't like seeing "how" Kirk beat it. This is a massive part of Trek cannon and believe it was a no win situation for the filmmakers.

Camp Blood

2009-02-13T00:01:00.005-05:00
1980's Friday the 13th might not have been the first slasher film, but based on the sheer amount of imitators released after it, it is definitely the most influential.

Starting with nothing more than a title and an ad announcing its release in Variety, writer Victor Miller and director Sean S. Cunningham created a tale that would spawn 10 sequels and a reboot that opens today.

The film's premise was simple. A group of teens arrive at a summer camp a few weeks before it is due to re-open after a very long hiatus. As they go about getting the camp ready they are selectively targeted and killed.

Is the camp truly cursed as some locals believe? Are the murders in some way tied in with a double murder from 20 years earlier? The film keeps its killer a secret until the final reel (which might just be one of its greatest weaknesses), but ultimately all answers are revealed.

The series would go in another (arguably better) direction after this film (retaining little more than the memorable main title theme and the setting) but this first film stands as a true horror landmark.

Rating: 8 out of 10 machetes.

Welcome to Crystal Lake

2009-01-25T19:56:00.004-05:00
In anticipation of the Friday the 13th reboot that is hitting theaters on February 13th I have decided to sit down and watch all of the movies (including Freddy vs. Jason) again. So over the course of the next few weeks I will be writing about and ranking the movies.

Exhumed Films' 25 Hour Horror-Thon 2008 Part 4

2008-11-06T08:00:00.013-05:00
7:20am: "Dog will hunt."

12th Feature: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1985)

One of my all time favorites!

9:00am: "Where the hell did you get those god damned chickens?."

13th Feature: The Food of the Gods (1976)

Great little gem that I had never seen before.

10:30am
Trailer for: Squirm, Night of the Living Dead ('90), Cemetery Man, House by the Cemetary, Rabid, Return of the Living Dead 3, Tales from the Crypt ('72), Return of the Living Dead 2, Dead Alive

10:30am: "Brains!"

14th Feature: Return of the Living Dead

I've avoided this one for years now because of my loyalty to George Romero. Boy was I missing out! This is an all around great zombie flick!

Exhumed Films' 25 Hour Horror-Thon 2008 Part 3

2008-11-05T08:00:00.005-05:00
2:20am: "This is unbelievable."

9th Feature: The Boogeyman (1980)

Cool 80s slasher flick.

3:40am:
Short film: Disciples of the Crow

4:00am: "I can't understand this."

10th Feature: Island of the Damned (1976)

Probably the only film that ran that I shouldn't comment on. I slept through most of it and took a few laps to stay awake. The ending was pretty effective, but this still seemed like a real snoozer.

5:00am: "She's gone crazy! She's an animal!"

11th Feature: Equinox (1970)

This was a film that I had been wanting to see. A stundent short that was later expanded, the film features Herb from "WKRP in Cincinnati" and the stop motion effects work of Dennis Muren.

7:00am:
Breakfast Break
An episode of The Superfriends cartoon: The Superfriends meet Frankenstein.
I head outside and anticipate picking up one of the great breakfast burritos from the cafe. Sadly they are not serving them this year. I order a bagel with cream cheese instead and grab a bowl of free Fruity Pepples provided by the folks at Exhumed.

Exhumed Films' 25 Hour Horror-Thon 2008 Part 2

2008-11-04T08:00:00.006-05:00
7:55pm: "That's right... it's only a dream!"

5th Feature: Phantasm II (1988)

Quite a departure from its 1979 predecssor Phatasm II had a bigger budget, a recasted Mike and a tonal shift towards action. I love this flick! It also features the best on-screen chainsaw duel from a movie that doesn't include "chainsaw" in the title.

9:30pm:
Previews of coming attractions for: Frogs, Night of the Lepus, Night of Dark Shadows, The Exorcist, Friday the 13th, Friday the 13th Part 3, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3, Last House on the Left.

9:45pm: "One, two, Freddy's coming for you."

6th Feature: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

A slasher classic. Nuff' said.

11:20pm:
Classics Dark and Dangerous short film Mannikin (1977)

11:45pm: "You're so cool, Brewster!"

7th Feature: Fright Night (1985)

Proud to say that I called this as one of the films that would be shown. Fun vampire flick that features the great Roddy McDowall and a perfectly cast Chris Sarandon.

1:30am: "Welcome to Potters Bluff"

8th Feature: Dead and Buried (1981)

Featuring a script penned by Alien scribes Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, Dead and Buried might have you avoiding small towns after viewing. This incredibly effective movie really succeeds after the reveal.

2:05am (clocks turned back at 2am):
Previews of coming attractions for: Spirits of the Dead, Terror-creatures of the Dead, Black Sunday, Beyond the Door, The Ghost, Blood and Black Lace, Schizoid, Demons, Suspiria.

Exhumed Films' 25 Hour Horror-Thon 2008 Part 1

2008-11-03T12:15:00.015-05:00
November 1, 2008

12:00pm: "Are you weird?"

Unlike last year I got to the International House ten minutes before the start of the event. I didn’t get as much sleep the night before as I had hoped to and neglected to pick up any snacks to keep me going. The snacks didn't worry me as there were plenty of vending machines on site and a 7-11 right down the street, but the lack of sleep troubled me. I met up with Sweetie Guy Hutchinson who was in attendance and he handed me a bag of leftover Halloween candy. Nice!

12:25pm:

1st Feature: The Fog (1980)

This was the last film from John Carpenter's "must see" list of films that I had yet to see. Part of Carpenter’s amazing 1976 to 1986 run, The Fog is an effective little ghost story.

1:55pm:
Trailers for: The Crimson Cult, The Oblong Box, The Dunwich Horror, Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971), The Return of Count Yorga, Dr. Phibes Rises Again, Blacula, The Thing with Two Heads, Mad House.

2:15pm: "Major, let’s get busy"

2nd Feature: Destroy all Monsters (1969)

Like last year a Godzilla film plays second. Godzilla films are always welcome. And a Godzilla film with multiple monsters is even better.

3:40pm:
Short version of The Mummy (1932)

3:45pm: "We don’t need any beach freaks making out with the guests."

3rd Feature: Wicked, Wicked (1973)

Great slasher flick presented in Duo-Vision! Ok, ok, I’ll fess up. Duo-Vision isn’t nearly as exciting as it sounds. Basically the picture plays via split screen nearly the entire running time.

5:25pm:
Trailers for: Planet of the Apes, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, Jaws, Barbarella, Captain Sinbad, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, King Kong (’77), Fantastic Voyage, Forbidden Planet, Starman, Star Trek: The Motion Picture

5:35pm: "See how funny I am!"

4th Feature: The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

I love Sc-fi from the 50s and 60s. Sadly this years audience seemed a bit less forgiving of some of the films flaws and laughed a bit too much during the effects sequences on display during this one.

6:45pm:
Dinner Break:

Documentary: The Horror of it All

I stepped out and grabbed 2 double cheeseburgers at McDonalds. On the way back I stopped at 7-11 to grab supplies (Pringles, Combos, Famous Amos Cookies, Mountain Dew and a big bottle of water) to help get me through the rest of the night.

You Can't Meet the Duke! Nobody Gets to Meet the Duke.

2008-05-05T13:45:00.005-04:00
This past weekend the Hilton Hotel in beautiful Parsippany, New Jersey hosted the Chiller Theatre Toy, Model and Film Expo. In addition to the dozens of vendor tables, the Expo also featured many celebrity guests. This year's event included appearances by Ernest Borgnine, Stephen Baldwin, Joe Pantoliano, Frank Stallone, Micky Dolenz, Brigitte Nielsen, and the only guy who can say that he broke Muhammad Ali's jaw. The total guest list included nearly 100 popular figures from the world of film, TV, pro-wrestling and music.

It had been over a year since I had gone to one of these conventions, but as soon as I saw that Ernest Borgnine was on the guest list I didn't hesitate to jump in the car and take the journey to Parsippany. Upon arrival I quickly discovered that Mr. Borgnine had a line with a wait time of nearly an hour. An hour was a bit of a commitment considering that the convention only ran for 5 hours the night that I was there, so I was content to just snap a pick of this living legend.After surveying the main signing area I had a chance to chat with Frank Stallone for a few minutes. I asked some general questions about his experience filming "Tombstone" and learned that he was one of Clubber Lang's opponents during a montage in "Rocky III." Later while wandering the signing area I caught Frank chatting with Micky Dolenz from the Monkees.

After spending some time in the vendor area I decided to check on Ernest Borgnine's line one more time. Less than 10 people were in his line with only a half hour to go before closing. Perfect! While waiting on line I learned that Mr. Borgnine hadn't taken a break all night. I found this to be amazing for a man of any age. When I finally had a chance to talk to him I said, "They told me that you haven't taken a break all night." He replied, "What am I gonna take a break for! You wanna bring a break to me?" All in all he was a wonderful person and it was an honor to meet him.

Exhumed Films' 24 Hour Horror-Thon Part 4: The Final Chapter

2007-11-01T08:00:00.003-04:00
7:10am: "Hookers. They're everywhere."

12th Feature: Demons (1985)

This is another excellent print. We hit a technical glitch during it and the movie is down for a few minutes while things are fixed.

I sneak outside for a quick second breakfast. The coffee stand right outside the theater serves hot food. I get a brekfast burrito filled with egg, ham, and cheese. Yum!

Finally slept a little. Probably 25 or 30 minutes on and off.

8:40am: "Anybody younger than me is a kid."

13th Feature: Alligator (1980)

10:10am: "And that's the whole story."

14th Feature: The Gates of Hell

Great drill effect in this one.

11:45am:
The folks from Exhumed congratulate those of us that made it all the way through. He comments that after leaving for a few hours and coming back that the theater "smells like shit." I'm amazed, yet happy, that I am fairly immune to any such smell. I'm also worried that I could possibly be contributing to said smell. We're reminded of the next Exhumed event before everyone gets up and goes on their way.

I'm surprised that I am able to walk let alone drive. I was worried I would be too exhausted to drive but am fairly alert. In lieu of a nap I hit the road. I listen to The Runners Four by Deerhoof most of the way home and repeat "Wrong Time Capsule" at least a dozen times.

2:00pm:
Home. I hit the sack. I will sleep until 7:30am on the 29th.

Exhumed Films' 24 Hour Horror-Thon Part 3

2007-10-31T08:00:00.003-04:00
2:30am: "My foots caught in a trap."

9th Feature: Burial Ground (1981)

Amazing shot that seems extremely out of place in a film with pretty straight forward camera work. It starts as a POV but switches to a sort of over the shoulder angle without cutting.

3:50am: "That's what you've been showing in school!"

10th Feature: Teenage Mother (1967)

A young Fred Willard, the best dance sequence ever and a pair of forceps!

4:00am:
Still feeling good. Making a point to move around at least once during each of the past few films. One more film after this one and we are at breakfast break. Amazed that this sucker is almost 16 hours in.

5:00am: "You must open your eyes to see things."

11th Feature: Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)

5:35am:
I'm starting to feel it. Getting tired. This flick isn't helping. Gonna need some kick ass features to get me through.

5:45am:
Standing helps. Watching flick from corner of theater near entrance.

6:30am:
Breakfast Break
An episode of Rod Serling's Night Gallery
I duck outside and discover that they are serving free cereal in the lobby. I opt for a bowl of Count Chocula and head back inside to catch the rest of the episode.

6:55am:
Trailers for: Hellraiser, Dawn of the Dead (1978), Humanoids from the Deep, The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, a strange concession ad that features pot and cocaine, The Next Victim, Tales from the Crypt (1972).

Exhumed Films' 24 Hour Horror-Thon Part 2

2007-10-30T08:00:00.003-04:00
6:45pm:

Trailers (projected on video) for:
The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, Tales of Terror, The Premature Burial, Twice Told Tales, The Haunted Palace, The Terror, The Raven, The Skull, Blood of the Vampire, Psycho, Jack the Ripper, Black Sunday (quick hit), Peeping Tom, Black Sunday, Burn Witch Burn, The Birds, Werewolf in a Girls Dormitory, Horror Hotel, The Face of Fu Manchu, The Fearless Vampire Killers, The Conqueror Worm, The Crimson Cult, The Living Dead (flashes).

7:40pm:
Announcements

7:45pm: "I just don't get off on funerals, man. They give me the creeps."

5th Feature: Phantasm (1979)

8:00pm:
I break for dinner. 2 double cheeseburgers from one of the slowest McDonald's in recent memory. On the way back I stop at 7-11 again and get 2 waters, 2 bags of Peanut Butter M & Ms, 2 small cans of Pringles, a bag of Chedder Cheese Combos. These next few hours will be the toughest to get through so I want to be ready. I won't step outside again until 6:45am breakfast break.

9:15pm:
Previews of coming attractions for: Schizoid, Last House on the Left, Twitch of the Dead Nerve, Vampire Circus/Countess Dracula, The Devil's Wedding Night, The Bat People, The House of 7 Corpses, The Mutations.

9:30pm: "The most beautiful thing in the world is smoking pot and fucking on a waterbed."

6th Feature: Pieces (1982)

This slasher flick is definately in my all-time top 5 after seeing it. Creative kills with plenty of gore, ample amounts of nudity, and an awesome fucking ending! And a bowl of bad chop suey?

10:55pm:
Short version of "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" (1948).

11:05pm: "Have you ever been severely beaten about the face and neck?"

7th Feature: An American Werewolf in London (1981)

October 28th

12:40Am:
Halfway point. In good shape right now. Hopefullythe next 3 features will keep me engaged and awake.

12:45Am: "Next year we move to the suburbs."

8th Feature: Blacula (1972)

2:10am: Previews of coming attractions for: The Scars of Dracula/Horror of Frankenstein, Tower of Evil, Beast of the Yellow Night, Carnival of Blood, Curse of the Headless Horseman, Twins of Evil, Hands of the Ripper, The Creeping Flesh.

I feel lost in time. Not yet tired.

Exhumed Films' 24 Hour Horror-Thon Part 1

2007-10-29T08:00:00.003-04:00
October 27, 2007

12:15pm: "Can we watch some monster movies?"

Got lost on the way, but I'm in my seat before the first flick starts. Announced it will be 14 flicks!

Trailers for: Fright Night, Yor, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Creep Show, Army of Darkness.

12:30pm:

1st Feature: Halloween (1978)!

One of my favorite horror films. The following is from a write up that I did a few years ago: John Carpenter's 1978 film stands as one of the genre's true masterpieces. Wearing a modified William Shatner mask and wielding a butcher knife, Michael Myers AKA "The Shape," laid the groundwork for every slasher that would follow. It also has a kick ass score.

1:00pm:
I start to worry about parking. I parked at a metered spot and used all 8 of the quarters that I had with me. I leave the theater and find a garage. I do some math and decide that parking here is the best bet. I stop at 7-11 on the way back to the theater and grab two Mountain Dews, a big bag of Bar-B-Q chips and a hot dog. The hot dog doesn't make it back. The soda and chips augment the box of Poptarts that came with me. I don't plan on moving again until 6pm.

2:00pm: "Is your mouth watering?"

2nd Feature: Godzilla vs The Cosmic Monster (1974)

3:10pm:
Quick break while they switch the matting on the screen. This event is already worth the ticket price. Didn't expect 2 great movies back to back. This audience is amazing. Quiet for the most part, but enthusiastic when called for. I almost forgot how great it is to watch a film with an audience that appreciates what they are watching.

3:15pm:
Assorted raffles for posters, DVDs and T-shirts.

3:30pm:
More trailers: The Creature from the Black Lagoon. I love these old trailers! They show almost entire sequences. This might have been a shortened version of the film as it actually showed the end. Equinox, The Omega Man, Cat O'Nine Tales, Jaws, The House that Vanished, The Devil's Rain, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Son of Dracula, Dracula (1979), Death Ship, My Bloody Valentine, The Beast Within, Friday the 13th, Beyond the Door II, Deadly Blessings, Prom Night, Humanoids from the Deep, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Rosemary's Baby/The Odd Couple double feature.

3:45pm:

3rd Feature: Don't be Afraid of the Dark (1973)

This one was a bit of a clunker. The little baddies are pretty amusing though.

5:00pm:
Trailers for: War Between the Planets, Death Race 2000 (one of my all-time favorites!), Inframan, Message from Space, Dracula's Dog, Island of the Damned, They Came from Within.

5:15pm: "Well so much for the cat and mouse shit."

4th Feature: Hellraiser (1987)

5:25pm:
Overall the prints have been pretty good, but this one is gorgeous! It's been well over 10 years since I've seen Hellraiser. Belive this is only the second time and what a way to see it again!

5:30pm:
Quick bathroom break. Feels good to stretch a bit. After this feature there will be an hour long dinner break, but I don't want to leave as they will be showing trailers during the entire hour.

6:45pm:
Dinner Break

Welcome to the Grindhouse?

2007-10-26T12:45:00.002-04:00
This Saturday I'll be attending what sounds to be a very cool event. Exhumed Films is hosting a 24 hour marathon of horror films from the past 40 years at The International House in Philadelphia. The actual films won't be known in advance but based on their track record and the cheap ticket price I figured it is worth checking out

I'll be keeping a journal during the marathon, and will post my unedited results here starting Monday.

Sad Sack

2007-03-26T22:30:00.001-04:00
Before I blogged I made music. I stopped. Now I've started again. Check it all out here: http://myspace.com/njsadsack.

Hall of Shame

2007-01-08T12:15:00.002-05:00
The Inductees for the 2007 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were announced today. The list includes Van Halen, R.E.M. and Patti Smith. Without taking too much away from any of the artists listed this just goes to show how irrelavant the Hall of Fame is. Any insitutiuon that would continually overlook deserving groups like The Moody Blues and Kiss in favor of less influential artists isn't worth the attention that it gets.

Bond: Ranked

2006-11-21T12:00:00.003-05:00
In honor of the recently released Casino Royale I’ve ranked all 21 of the EON Productions produced James Bond films.

21: Live and Let Die - Roger Moore's first crack at Bond falls flat. I blame the lack of very exotic locations and obvious desire to somehow capatilize on the Blaxploitation films of the period. Thankfully Bond would see better days.

20: You Only Live Twice - 5th film to feature Sean Connery

19: Diamonds are Forever - Connery's return to the franchise after George Lazenby's entry. Connery was already showing his age in this mediocre entry.

18: The World is Not Enough - Pierce Brosnan's 3rd entry is the weakest of the four that he would star in. I blame the lack of a ruthless villian for its failure more than I blame Denise Richards.

17: Moonraker - More capatilizing on other succesful genres here. This time Bond ends up in space.

16: The Living Daylights - Timothy Dalton's first Bond film is often criticized for its toning down of the character. Somehow Dalton gets all the blame.

15: Thunderball - Connery's 4th film as Bond. Orginally scripted by Bond creator Ian Flemming and collaborators with the idea that it would be the first film.

14: Die Another Day - Brosnan's swan song is a solid flick, invisible car and all.

13: For Your Eyes Only - 5th Roger Moore entry.

12: A View to a KIll - Roger Moore's last film suffers from the fact that he was clearly too old for the role.

11: License to Kill - Dalton's 2nd and last Bond film.

10: The Spy Who Loved Me - The film that introduced the world to Jaws.

09: Tomorrow Never Dies - Brosnan's 2nd Bond film.

08: Dr. No - The one that started it all.

007: Casino Royale - This re-boot featuring Daniel Craig isn't as threatening as orginally promised. Staying true to most of the great aspects of the Bond formula the film's only real difference is a Bond that we have never seen before. Craig has been given the wonderful oportunity to portray Bond before he became BOND.

06: Octopussy - 6th Roger Moore entry

05: The Man with the Golden Gun - 2nd Roger Moore entry.

04: Goldeneye - Brosnan's 1st re-introduced the Bond that had sorely been missed during the Dalton era.

03: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service - George Lazenby's only film. If Connery had stayed on-board this would be the greatest Bond movie ever.

02: Goldfinger - For many this is the quintessential Bond film.

01: From Russia with Love - Goldfinger usually gets all of the credit, but this 2nd entry really set the template for the rest of the series.

Tokyo Drift

2006-10-06T17:00:00.002-04:00
2001's The Fast and the Furious was Hollywood's attempt to cash in on the popularity of tricked out cars and illegal street racing. The film starred Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, and the toughest girl in Hollywood, Michelle Rodriguez. The film (which for the most part was Point Break with cars instead of surf boards) was a box office success; a sequel was inevitable.

2003's 2 Fast 2 Furious followed the exploits of Paul Walker's character. The setting was changed from California to Florida and the brand new cast included Tyrese, Eva Mendes, rapper Ludacris, and Cole Hauser. The "visually stunning" film played like a buddy movie as brainstormed by a bunch of frat guys on spring break. Surprisingly the result was a serviceable pop-corn flick that delivered "the goods".

With little talk of another sequel trailers for The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift hit screens in early 2006. This third entry in the franchise introduced an entirely new cast and yet another location change. Lucas Black took the lead and was rounded out by Bow Wow, Nathalie Kelley, Sung Kang, and the legendary JJ Sony Chiba. The movie was released in mid June (out now on DVD) and delivered more of the thrilling car races that fans had come to expect. Surprisingly the story was the most fully-realized of the series. Focusing on Lucas Black's troubled teen, the story is part fish out of water, part coming of age. And for the first time in the series the story seems to occur in a world that really exists. The action is plausible and the character's actions have consequences.

Tokyo Drift may be a slightly better than average pop-corn flick, but its message of personal responsibility is a welcome one.

So how many are there?

2006-08-24T22:11:00.001-04:00
So it seems that Pluto isn't a planet anymore. Now I know that some of the world's leading astronomers voted on this, but shouldn't the common man have a say too? I mean this is Pluto that we are talking about. Sure it's small, but does that make it any less of a planet? What's next a call-in reality show where we eliminate planets until only one is left?

Not So Super Moments in Superman Cinema

2006-06-28T16:00:00.003-04:00
So today marks the release of the long awaited Superman Returns. The 5th installment of the series produced by Warner Brothers Pictures picks up roughly 5 years after the events in part 2. That's right, the filmmakers decided to disregard the continuity from parts 3 and 4. Tragic, I know.

And before I go on a tear ripping apart the third and forth sequels, I'd like to point out that all 4 of the previous films contain some not so stellar moments. So here they are, in particular order, the worst moments in Superman movie history.

5: In the first film of the series Superman flies around the planet in an effort to reverse the rotation of the Earth in hopes that he can also reverse time.

Now I'm no scientist but the logic behind this seemed ridiculous to me when I was 6 and it still seems ridiculous to me now.

4: Another moment from the fist film involves Superman visiting Lois Lane on her balcony and taking her for a little late night flight. During the scene Lois' thoughts are presented to the viewer as voice over.

Ghey.

3: After revealing his true identity to Lois during the events of Part 2 Superman uses telepathy to erase that knowledge from her mind.

Huh?

2: In attempt at some comedic relief during Part 3 Richard Pryor skis on the roof of a Manhattan high rise.

If they wanted Chevy Chase in the flick they should have just hired Chevy Chase. I know that Pryor is one of the greatest comedians ever, but the physical gags in this sequence just don't work.

1: In the 4th film Gene Hackman's Lex Luther creates a superman of his own to battle Superman. In his first scene the nuclear-powered goon speaks and has Hackman's voice.

There are many moments from Part 4 that could have made this list but hearing Hackman's voice come out of this meatball's mouth takes the cake.

Peeping Tom

2006-06-14T12:15:00.002-04:00
Last week Mike Patton's long-awaited project Peeping Tom was released.

In addition to being a pretty amazing CD, it also offers further proof (see "Sucker") that Nora Jones (the hardest working guest artist in music?) is sexy as all hell.

Musical Monogamy in an ipod Shuffle World

2006-05-11T14:00:00.002-04:00
I recently noticed that I am a bit obsessive when it comes to music. When I discover a new band or pick up the latest CD from one of my favorite artists I have a tendency to only listen to that artist. Now I'm sure that to a lot of you that makes perfect sense. You're probably thinking, "So Craig buys a new CD and he actually takes the time to listen to the whole thing. What's so obsessive about that?" Or maybe you're thinking "What am I going to have for dinner tonight?" Or perhaps you're thinking, "Wow, Craig posted 2 updates on his site in the same week!"

The thing that I've noticed though is that when I pick up a new CD I'll also go back and check out the entire back catalogue of that artist. For example when I was introduced to Black Sabbath I couldn't stop listening to their first record for at least a month. Friends would stop by the house and say "Sabbath again? Man, you are going to burn out on that."

Of course I eventually did burn out on it, and I moved onto another one of their records before finally moving onto another artist. But when I was done it felt like Ozzy era Sabbath was ingrained in my DNA.

This complete immersion ultimately gives me a better understanding of the artist, and that is what I find the most appealing about musical monogamy.

The Dirtbombs

2006-05-07T23:30:00.002-04:00
I think the biggest thrill as a music lover is discovering great music from artists that you've never heard of.

I went to see the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs the other night and Detroit's The Dirtbombs were the openers. The band's set of high energy rock and roll made for one of the most exciting live shows that I've ever experienced.

Founded in the 90s by frontman Mick Collins, The Dirtbombs have a very unique sound. Mick's guitar is backed by 2 drummers and 2 bass players (one on fuzz bass). Collectively they create a sound that has been called "Louder than a 707."

I can't argue with that discription, but here is one of my own: "The Dirtbombs sound like every naughty thought that I have ever had."

Interested? Check out the CD If You Don't Already Have a Look. The double disc compilation contains 52 of their very best tracks.

Nerds!

2006-05-01T23:15:00.002-04:00
CNN is reporting that a remake of the 1984 comedy classic "Revenge of the Nerds" is in pre-production. Now I am usually all for remakes or re-imaginings as people like to call them, and I am usually the first to jump to the defense of these new projects, but with this one I am not too sure.

And it's not that I think that this comedy classic isn't worthy of a remake. It's just that I'm not sure what the benefit of a remake is. Something just doesn't feel right about this one.

Who knows? This time next year I might be singing its praises. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

"I Smoked Kools"

2006-04-23T19:15:00.002-04:00
Thank You for Smoking is the funniest movie of the year. Now I know it is only April and the year has quite a few more comedies to deliver, but I can't see any of them being anywhere near as witty as Smoking.

Aaron Eckhart's Nick Naylor is a perfectly written and well executed "bad guy" who we can't help but root for. The supporting cast which includes Maria Bello, William H. Macy and Robert Duvall is the best in recent memory.

The film is solid from start to finish and destined to be one of my all time favorites.

A New Classic

2006-03-05T22:30:00.001-05:00
New Line's recent release Running Scared is one of the most ridiculous movies to grace the big screen in quite some time.

With that said I loved every ridiculous minute of it.

Stranger than David Lynch

2006-02-28T16:16:00.000-05:00

You are What You Dig

2006-02-14T15:30:00.001-05:00
Inspired by some of my favorite bloggers' recent lists I've decided to share my top ten favorite CDs. I avoided including the same artist more than once in order to keep things interesting. Over the next few weeks I'll start to do a write up for each pick, but I figured it might be fun to just list all of the the discs first.

10: Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous
09: Black Sabbath - Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath
08: The Band - Northern Lights-Southern Cross
07: Faith No More - Angel Dust
06: Frank Zappa: - Joe's Garage Acts 1,2,3 (Ok, actually multiple discs, but they really act as one complete piece)
05: The Postal Service - Give Up
04: AC/DC- Back in Black
03: Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks
02: Television - Marquee Moon
01: The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

"Save it for the French"

2006-01-10T13:45:00.002-05:00
There are few joys in life greater than one of your favorite movies being released on DVD. And no I don't mean one of your favorite movies coming out on DVD; I mean one of my favorite movies. Seriously what joy would I find in one of your favorite movies coming to DVD? What's that? Your favorite movie is Death Race 2000? Wow, that's just the movie that I was going to talk about. What are the odds?

Released in 1975, DR2K tells the story of an annual, government sponsored cross country road race in which the participants score extra points by running down pedestrians. The cast includes David Carradine, Sylvester Stallone, Mary Woronov, and the guy who played Sensei in The Karate Kid.

It also clocks in at under 80 minutes.

Presented on DVD in widescreen for the first time the disc also includes a 10 minute featurette and a commentary track featuring the film's producer Roger Corman and Woronov...

You're still here? Hmmmm, this is awkward. I honestly thought that anybody reading this would have motored off to their favorite retailer to pick up there very own copy by now. Hence the complete lack of a satisfying ending to this piece.

Wait! What's that over there!

Whew, that was close.

How to Watch a Remake

2005-12-15T14:45:00.002-05:00
Every now and then we here at "Always the Last in Line" aspire to be more than a site where CRAIG rambles on about his love of Poker, Taco Bell and Rosario Dawson. We aspire to share meaningful, thought-provoking information with the citizens of cyberspace. Now we (who are "WE" kidding here; we should just say "I" as in "CRAIG" and end the charade that this site is somehow bigger than it really is right now) could insert a joke about how Poker, Taco Bell and a slight obsession with Rosario Dawson is as meaningful and thought-provoking as CRAIG can get but we won't. (Please feel free to insert your own joke though. In fact it'll probably be funnier than anything CRAIG could come up with). Instead we'll (Gordan) jump straight to the point of this post: How to watch a remake.

Now plenty of you are wondering how any one could present instructions on how to watch a remake, but (Yogi) bear with us and by the end of this piece you'll be able to enjoy Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Gus Van Sant's Psycho, and any other remake that you can think of much more than you used to.

The first thing to consider when viewing a remake is understanding why the remake is being made. Accept the fact that like 99.9 percent of everything that is done in this world the remake is being made so that a studio can make money off of it. Accept this and you'll be well on your way to enjoying the flick that you are about to watch. If you'd like to (and by no means is this bit of advice advisable) go ahead and accept the fact that the original film was also made so a studio could make money off of it and in addition to becoming sad and depressed you'll also be able to enjoy junk like Wild Wild West much more than you ever thought possible.

The second thing to do when sitting down to watch a remake is to completely dismiss the original. Now this might be hard to do, especially if a classic movie is being remade, but if you forget that you are watching a remake it is a lot easier to enjoy the movie that is unfolding. You'll always have time to compare the two films later on so why not just sit back and enjoy the ride.

The final thing to do when watching a remake is to approach it with low expectations. This actually works for any movie, but works incredibly well for remakes. If you decide going in that you are most likely going to see a mediocre movie your chance for enjoyment increase.

So there you have it folks, instructions on how to view a remake without feeling like you are cheating on the original.

Tune in next time for a return to the inane and utterly useless chatter that usually occupies this space.

Even Money

2005-12-07T12:45:00.001-05:00
I caught a Royal Flush in poker on Sunday and hit my first split in league bowling last night. I guess the only thing that could make this week any more memorable would be if I had a "meet cut" encounter with Rosario Dawson. Stranger things have happened...

Ten Years After

2005-11-28T21:15:00.001-05:00
A full eleven years since they were eligible Black Sabbath will finally be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this winter. Despite Ozzy's protests and an intense critical hatred the band that nearly invented a genre is deservedly being recognized for their contribution to rock and roll. I can't imagine what heavy music would be like today had they not paved the way. Congrats, mates!

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

2005-11-22T10:00:00.002-05:00
I promised myself that I wouldn’t do it again. I promised myself and here I am about to do it. Ok it wasn’t actually a promise; it was more of a decision. But come to think of it this is my space anyway so I’m just gonna go ahead and babble about how great of an actor I think Val Kilmer is. Actually come to think of it I’m gonna babble about how great I think his new movie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is instead.

I could tell you that Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is worth seeing for Val’s performance alone but that would be doing the movie a disservice. It would underscore Robert Downey Jr’s inspired performance and Shane Black’s tight script and precise directing. It would sidestep the wonderful supporting performances and witty, self-referential nature of the film.

I could sit here and tell you a million reasons why I think Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is worth seeing but that would take the fun out of it when you do go and see it.

25 Reasons to go see The Weather Man

2005-11-13T21:45:00.001-05:00
Number 2: Nic Cage calls the guy who played Grama in Rounders a dildo.

NaNoWrimo

2005-11-01T22:30:00.001-05:00
I am once again participating in the National Novel Writing Month Challenge. The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November.

Last year I failed. Didn't even come close. This year I came up with an idea that I thought I might be able to use for Nano. You can track my daily word count and read excerpts from the novel at my Nano Profile Page.

If succesful I'll publish the entire thing on the web for any one who wishes to read it.

Wish me luck.

It's in There!

2005-10-31T14:45:00.002-05:00
This past weekend the Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel in beautiful East Rutherford, New Jersey hosted the 15th Annual Chiller Theatre Toy, Model and Film Expo. In addition to dozens of vendor tables, the Expo also featured many celebrity guests and panel discussions. This year's event included appearances by Adam West, Burt Ward, Larry Hagman, Barbara Eden, Pete Best, George Romero, Kevin Sorbo, The Iron Sheik, and the guy who played "Bud Bundy" on Married with Children. The total guest list included well over 100 popular figures from the world of film, TV, pro-wrestling and music. It also featured a guy wandering around the parking lot dressed up like Jason Voorhees.

Quite impressive, eh? At first glance though I wasn't too excited about anyone, and after being ripped off by Tom Savini a few years earlier I wasn't really interested in going again. I decided to go after seeing that Eugene Clark, "Big Daddy" from George Romero's latest Land of the Dead was going to be in attendance. "Big Daddy" was my favorite character in Dead, and it was a thrill to meet the actor that played him.

I also met a few other people during the two days that I spent at the Expo. I was excited to meet Geoffery Lewis and Kate Norby from Rob Zombie's The Devils Rejects. Geoff didn't have much to say, but Kate answered a bunch of questions that I had about the making of Zombie's very intense film.

I was nearly floored when I saw a guest that I hadn't noticed on the list: Eddie Mekka, "The Big effing Ragu" from Laverne and Shirley. I've used Eddie's character, "Carmine Ragusa" as the punch line to many a joke and couldn't believe that I would be able to meet him. Eddie turned out to be a really nice guy and the highlight of a very memorable event.

For a more detailed account of the Chiller Theatre experience check out THIS article over at Bunch O Junk.

New Look...

2005-10-26T17:30:00.001-04:00
Same great taste! Um, make that same old content.
As some of my more astute readers will notice the site currently has a new look. Many thanks to Sweetie Guy Hutchinson of Bunch O Junk.com for the cool logo! If you aren't already checking out "Bunch O Junk" on a daily basis then you should be. Not only is it a great site with interesting and insightful topics, it's also updated a heck of a lot more than this site is. Sweetie also provides free cheeseburgers to the first dozen visitors to his site each day. If that isn't reason enough than I don't know what is.

Bond for Glory

2005-10-14T13:30:00.002-04:00
Sony Pictures finally announced today that Daniel Craig will be playing the role of James Bond in the 21st entry of the ultra-successful franchise, Casino Royale. As a Bond fan this news doesn’t excite me very much. I still believe that former Bond Pierce Brosnan could have handled the role for another couple of years, and I would have loved to see him star in this adaptation of Ian Fleming’s first Bond novel. Brosnan had several qualities that proved him to be the best Bond ever: good looks, sophistication, and a general sense that if he had to he could be very, very mean. And although every actor that has played Bond has brought a unique take on the character to the table, Brosnan was the ideal man for the job. For him to not be playing the part while he is still physically able to is a pretty big let down.

My main problem with Daniel Craig is that he appears to me to be the type that makes for a very good villain. Whether he can do suave and sophisticated in addition to menacing will be the main selling point for me. Of course another huge issue is that Craig has blonde hair. Now this may seem like a small detail, but it really isn’t. Bond has dark hair, plain and simple. If you change that you may as well change the fact that he prefers his martinis shaken not stirred.

With that said, I’ve been optimistic about every new entry in the Bond franchise and have high hopes that Sony delivers a classic film that can stand side by side with From Russia with Love, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The Man with the Golden Gun, and Tomorrow Never Dies.

Sequels Stink

2005-10-07T08:00:00.002-04:00
In a conversation about movies CRAIG is joined by Sweetie Guy Hutchinson of bunchojunk.com.

Sweetie: You know, I love movies. I really do! There are few joys in life that can match the feeling of sitting in a movie theater seeing a quality film. Still, there are some things I could do without.

For example, why does EVERY film seem to have at least one scene that takes place in a men’s bathroom? There are always a couple of characters having long winded conversations at the urinal with sound effects and occasional strained facial expressions. I don't even wanna discuss the times we see actors SITTING down in the bathroom. ICK! This isn't just in comedies either. In the past few years ACADEMY AWARD WINNING PERFORMANCES have been given to actors for using the potty. ENOUGH!!!

I know, we all use the bathroom. We all cut our toe nails and pick our noses sometimes too. I don't see Tom Hanks do THAT in every other movie, either.

CRAIG: "Long WINDED conversations." Love it. I pretty much agree with you, but I should add that there are several memorable bathroom scenes that I've instantly thought of. There is a great scene in Robocop where the corporate punks are talking smack about Dick Jones while at the urinal unaware that he is in one of the stalls doing the deuce. I found Tom Arnold's cameo in the first Austin Powers flick to be very funny, and Alec Baldwin's touchy-feely character in Along Came Polly was one of the highlights of that otherwise forgettable movie.

Didn't The Terminal feature Tom Hanks' character grooming himself in one of JFK's public bathrooms? And since I mentioned it, what were Hanks and Spielberg thinking when they made that movie? It seems way beyond what either one of them should find interesting. Nothing frustrates me more than when a filmmaker I really enjoy makes a film that really lets me down.

Sweetie: Sure, I know that there are memorable bathroom scenes, but I am talking about the overwhelming amount. It’s the quantity that bothers me, not the specifics. Thinking back to the last few movies I watched (in theaters and on video): The Man, The Island, Jersey Girl and Dunston Checks In all had bathroom scenes. I bet if you look for it, you will find that two-thirds of the movies you watch have 'em.

On to a much more pleasant conversation, I actually LIKED The Terminal.
I like any movie that features someone with a goofy accent.
However, it (sort of) suffered from one of the things that bother me the most in movies: films that have no ending.
The Terminal had enough of an ending to satisfy me, but I have seen a handful of flicks that have NO CONCIEVABLE ENDING.

I recently saw Broken Flowers and here is a SPOILER for ya, NO ONE CAN SPOIL THE END OF IT. It just doesn't have one. Great movie, but are they going to make a Broken Flowers 2 so I can get some closure?

Let me ask you a question, what is the worst film you remember watching? But, don't say something like Plan 9 From Outer Space. I mean a movie that was supposed to be good and disappointed you.

CRAIG: I love Plan 9! Actually it seems that I end up hating most of the movies that win the Oscar for Best Picture. I really, really disliked last year's Million Dollar Baby. Now I understand your point about movies with no endings, but Million Dollar Baby just seemed pointless to me. What's worse? An ending that doesn't satisfy or explain itself, or one that just really makes you angry? I remember initially really disliking The Sixth Sense because I felt like M. Night really manipulated me (and also because I couldn't properly pronounce his last name). Of course the movie holds up after repeat viewings, but my initial reaction was not good. I also think that The Sixth Sense brought about this trend in Hollywood that I hate: Calling horror films suspense films or thrillers as a way to validate them. I had an argument with someone the other day about whether or not The Silence of the Lambs is a horror movie. Of course it is!

Sweetie: Wow. I agree 100%. Perhaps I should just go play golf and you can wrap this whole thing up.

I was irritated by Million Dollar Baby, too. Plus, I thought that The Sixth Sense started another trend that, thankfully, seems to have died down. But, for a few years every freakin' film had some wacky surprise ending. The less sense it made, the better.

As for horror, it is amazing how many people feel the need to justify going to a horror movie. I prefer to classify my horror films as such:
Silence of the Lambs=horror film
A Nightmare on Elm Street=shasher film
By the way, I prefer the slasher film.

Speaking of death and destruction, let me tell you the worst film I have ever seen: The March of the Penguins. I am sure just WRITING that enraged people, but I absolutely hated this film.

I went into it with a little trepidation, because I am not a huge documentary fan and frankly, I hate nature.

But, Nickelodeon kept running cute promos with waddling baby penguins and friends kept telling me how "amazing" the penguins were so I bought a ticket.

Let me sum up the film as quickly as possible. For 90 minutes we watch penguins die. We see babies freeze to death. We watch penguins starve and get attacked by predators. Long, lingering close ups of dead baby penguins.

Plus, the film tries as hard as possible to make you feel some sense of awe and wonder because of what penguins do. THEY DO WHAT THEY WERE PUT ON EARTH TO DO!

They live in cold weather because they are FREAKIN' PENGIUNS. I am no more amazed at their ability to be penguins as I am of a dog's ability to have a tail or a fish's ability to smell rotten after being left on a counter.

CRAIG: Ughhhh. Nothing is worse than the twist ending that defies logic. Wild Things had one of the most absurd twists ever. People who had private conversations with each other in the movie about being skeptical of each other turn out to be in cahoots the whole time. It also featured Kevin Bacon in a nude scene where he showed his bits. That bit of nudity among other things secured that flick an R rating, and that is another thing that has really bugged me lately. A horror film or seemingly adult-themed film comes out and is rated PG-13. Now I understand that studios want as many people to see their films as possible and R ratings make that hard, but don't release an Unrated cut when it ends up on DVD. This just seems like another way to sucker consumers into buying multiple versions of a movie on DVD. As much as I love DVD I think it has held directors back from fighting for content that they want. Why fight if you are promised your preferred cut on DVD?

Sweetie: I hate when the cast of a film breaks into song (like in Armageddon.) I also hate ANY movie with the word "American" in the title. I hate movies that star Will Smith and I hate when they make characters overtly religious to justify them being villains.

I also can't stand when a character is "good" for the whole film and then makes a racist or sexist joke in the third act to set up their eventual doom. I have seen movies where someone says "women belong in the kitchen" and in the next scene he's trampled by a herd of caribou. I know prejudice is wrong, but shouldn't the justice be a little more in line with the crime?

I also hate when YOU use foul descriptive terms like "doing the deuce" and "showed his bits." Don't you realize the bunchojunk.com target audience is eleven year olds? Stop writing things that will warp their little minds!

CRAIG: Someone has to corrupt the young minds, no? My biggest peeves lately have been these horror films with the female lead played by a big star. It seems to me like this is yet another attempt to validate these pictures. The best horror flick I saw this year was House of Wax and I'm sure I liked it just a bit more than I should have because its biggest star was Paris Hilton. In the past months we've had Dark Water (Jennifer Connelly) and The Skeleton Key (Kate Hudson). Now I wish I could tell you if these movies were good, but after seeing the trailers for both of these movies back to back before every movie I saw for the period of 3 months made me NOT want to see them. Another trailer that I've been seeing for months is Flight Plan with Jodie Foster, and the concept behind this film seems to be one that Hollywood loves and I for the most part hate: The seemingly sane person who everyone else thinks is crazy. Man, are these movies frustrating. I think maybe the only film that really pulled this off quite well was 12 Monkeys. I suddenly have the strange desire to break into song. Care to join me, Sweetie?

Sweetie: Maybe later.

The "everyone thinks the main character is crazy" plot is very popular. I think that was the plot of The Jacket as well.

I didn't see The Skeleton Key or Dark Water because I had a strange feeling that I had already seen these films. Also, Dark Water seemed to be a horror film about leaky pipes. I would rather see a horror film about an overdue mortgage.

You know what I found silly? The Santa Clause. During the whole movie everyone thinks Tim Allen is a fool because "there is no Santa Claus." Then at the end they all realize there always has been a Santa Claus. Huh?

There are only two possible ways to portray the story of Santa Claus in a movie:
A) He is real and everyone believes
or
B) He is fake

How can you do a little of both? If you lived in a world where Santa EXISTED you would know it because of the presents that APPEAR under the tree on the 25th of December. Plus, I am sure they would cover him all the time on "Access Hollywood."

You would have no other choice than to believe. Otherwise it would be like not believing in "Ringo" or "Gene Hackman."

CRAIG: I know that we are supposed to be hating here, but I loved the title The Santa Clause. Get it? The Santa CLAUSE. Man that still cracks me up. As in there was a clause in the contract that forces him to be Santa. Biggest joke in the movie if you ask me. The elves being little kids creeped me out a little bit though. The only thing that I find creepier is the thought of not believing in Ringo or Gene Hackman. Actually, I think that might be the concept for a great movie: Hackman wakes up one morning and no one believes him. Not even Ringo.

Sweetie: When The Santa Clause was released my local theater called it "Santa Claus" on their phone machine. I was hoping it was the Dudley Moore movie.

Speaking of titles, one of the theaters I go to has a digital board that lists the show times. Unfortunately it only lists a few letters so I have found it difficult to decipher what they are showing. The other day the board read:
March of
Just Like
The Thing
THE THING?!?!?!?!?!?
At first I was excited because I thought it was a revival of the John Carpenter film, but then I found out it was a Paul Reiser film called The Thing About my Folks. I bet the 'thing' is that they are ashamed to tell people that he's their son.

CRAIG: Paul Reiser has a new movie out? Man, they'll give anyone a movie nowadays. Seriously, Reiser gets to make a movie but talents like Carrot Top and Yahoo Serious can't get arrested. Now I'm really getting angry. You know what calms me down when I am angry though? Saying Steve Guttenberg. Ah, I feel better already. Come on say it, with me...

Sweetie: Guttenberg! That's a German swear word, isn't it? You're going to offend my eleven year old German readers.

CRAIG: Germans? You mean you have more than 1 eleven year old German reader? If I had know you had this much exposer I would have dressed nicer or at least combed my hair.

Like a Record

2005-09-29T21:00:00.001-04:00
Someone asked me today if I considered myself shy.http://www.alibabarestaurant.us/

"Nah," I replied. "I'm just not overtly outgoing."

They laughed and said, "You sound like a politician."

As much as I've joked about it in the past, maybe I do have a future in Washington.

...and they're fabulous

2005-09-23T17:30:00.001-04:00
So it seems like the debate as to whether or not Tyra Banks' ample breasts are real can finally be put to rest. LINK

Now I'm sure that Dr. Fischer has the credentials to be an expert on the subject, but I can't take his word and some sonogram as the be all end all of this debate. I think the only way to end this in a manner that is close to satisfying would be if Ms. Banks allowed any and all comers the opportunity to perform the same evaluation that Dr. Fischer did.

Then, and only then, will I be convinced and able to sleep peacefully at night.

Titanic Musings

2005-09-16T10:00:00.001-04:00
In an attempt to unravel the mysteries (and create some new ones) surrounding the box office gross of Titanic, CRAIG is joined by Sweetie Guy Hutchinson of bunchojunk.com.

Sweetie: Titanic is the highest grossing film of all time and I can’t figure out why. Take a look at the numbers. The film grossed over 600 MILLION dollars in the US! The next biggest gross is that of Star Wars (only 420 million). Plus, those Star Wars numbers are inflated by a re-release that contained new footage. That isn’t quite fair.
Still, if Titanic was re-released today with (or without) additional footage of Leo shooting first, I doubt it would make any money.
For such a successful flick, it seems to have been forgotten. I haven’t even seen it on network TV in the past 5 or 6 years!

CRAIG: What amazes me most about Titanic is that the movie consistently made 20 million or more each weekend for the majority of the winter of '97/'98. If I'm not mistaken Spice World finally bested it to take the # 1 slot after almost 20 consecutive weeks. Now I didn't see Titanic when it was in theaters (I was busy watching movies like Tomorrow Never Dies ((which I lost a bet on opening weekend when it fell short of first place behind Titanic for the weekend)) and the aforementioned ((and dare I say highly underrated)) Spice World), but I can't imagine that audiences were consistently lining up to see this flick. I've always been a bit skeptical of how box office grosses are calculated and Titanic's obscene run did little to convince me that something wasn't rotten in Denmark. It almost seems like the weekly 20 million dollar figure was arbitrary. I think one of the funniest things to consider is that had Titanic opened that summer as was originally planned it would have gotten crushed. Obviously someone made the right call moving it to a less competitive time of year.

Sweetie: That's right! It was supposed to be a summer release but then it got bumped to the winter! James Cameron was amazing with his ability to spin the public into believing that going over budget is a good thing. All I kept hearing from people was "hey, if I have to spend $8 on a movie, I am glad the movie cost 300 gazillion dollars!"
Suddenly people believed it was a good thing to waste absurd amounts of money to make a movie that Steven Spielberg could have made for fewer than 50 million.
Another thing I remember about this was that Celine Dion song. I'm not a fan, but I must admit that was a catchy song! I think a considerable amount of people were drawn to the theater just to hear that song. I also believe SHE went over budget by 200 million dollars on the song by singing into a solid gold and diamond encrusted microphone.
Spice World on the other hand BARELY went over budget (having Sporty and Posh in some of the same scenes was expensive).
By the way, I like your use of parenthesis within parenthesis. What were we talking about?

CRAIG: What can I say? I'm a parenthetical fiend. I think that we were talking about over budget water movies from the '90s that had box office results that confuse movie folks to this day. So, as I believe I was about to say before we got sidetracked, why did Kevin Costner's character need to have gills?

Sweetie: Kevin Costner was the bomb in Dragonfly, yo.
Anyway, I think you may be on to something about the box office being artificially inflated. It seems that every year some mini controversy arrives where a studio claims that another studio inflated the gross of their film. If I remember, Scream was accused of this. It's not too far of a stretch to imagine that Titanic's grosses are inflated.
Also, Titanic really lucked out when it came to competition. Take a look at some of the other films that played against it:

12/19 (Titanic opening weekend): Mouse Hunt, Tomorrow Never Dies
12/26: An American Werewolf in Paris, Jackie Brown, Mr. Magoo, The Postman, As Good as It Gets, Wag the Dog
12/31: Oscar and Lucinda
1/9: Firestorm
1/16: Fallen, Half Baked, Hard Rain
1/23: Phantoms, Spice World
1/30: Deep Rising, Desperate Measures
2/6: Blues Brothers 2000, The Replacement Killers
2/13: The Borrowers, Sphere, The Wedding Singer
2/20: Palmetto, Senseless
2/27: Caught Up, Dark City, Kissing a Fool, Krippendorf's Tribe

There are definitely some great films on that list (Dark City, Caught Up) and some hits (The Wedding Singer, Tomorrow Never Dies) but no real mega-hit films. Also, look at how many flops there were during that time. Many of these films were SUPPOSED to be mega-hits (Sphere, Deep Rising, Blues Brothers 2000) but fell well short of any real box office cash.

CRAIG: We see the box office disputes all the time. What happens is that the studio releases an estimate for what they think the movie will make and in turn on Sunday the movie houses (are they still called movie houses?) release figures based on what the film has done on Friday and Saturday. These estimates are usually a bit off mark by the time the final box office results are calculated on Monday. Either way, there definitely had to be some creative book cooking in the case of Titanic. Just look at the performance of every Leo movie since (and most look to Leo when they mention the film's success). I can't imagine that all of the teenie boppers that flooded the cinemas to see Leo in Titanic wouldn't have showed their loyalty to him a scant few months later when The Man in the Iron Mask was released. What I can't understand is that if there was some sort of conspiracy surrounding Titanic, why did Hollywood so easily drink from James Cameron's "Kool Aid"? I mean I don't think that anyone who considers themselves any kind of serious movie person would dispute that LA Confidential should have won best picture instead of Titanic. And speaking of Sphere, didn't it seem like Dustin Hoffman had a new movie coming out every week around that time?

Sweetie: Try this on for a conspiracy: virtually all of the all time box office champs at the time were made by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. What if the book cooking was the part of a collective feeling amongst the major studios and media that these two guys were far too powerful and perhaps a target of professional jealousy? Maybe everyone was so glad to see a monster hit without either of them attached that they jumped on board. Looking back, I don't think Titanic ever had any "backlash." Most super successful films do. This film seemed to escape it. I don't recall Letterman or Leno making negative jokes about. When it was released it seemed to skate by with no criticism at all. On the other hand, when it was supposed to come out in the summer there was a whole lot of criticism and people talked about what a flop it would be. This may be one of the only hit films in history that was delayed by so long. Often a delay is certain doom for a flick.

CRAIG: Wow, now you really have me thinking. I just can't believe that Titanic was able to set such a dominant record. I mean, I was certain that one of the Lord of the Rings movies would out gross it. How could one of them have not with all of the repeat business that those flicks did. Another weird thing to wonder about is why Cameron hasn't made a film since? He was putting out films on a fairly consistent basis right up until Titanic came out.

Sweetie: Yeah, the fact that Cameron has stayed away from making films for almost 10 years is certainly strange. I guess part of that has to be fear that no matter what you do next it will be a disappointment.
Also, while it is certainly not a scientific survey, the IMDB's top 250 films DOES NOT include Titanic. The list is based on user ratings. Titanic has a rating of 6.9 out of 10. Certainly not something to be embarrassed by, but isn’t this supposed to be the most popular film of all time?
A quick search of Google did not turn up ANY Titanic fan sites! On the other hand titles like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Jurassic Park turn up tons of fan sites and fan clubs.
Even much lesser films like Natural Born Killers have sections of cyberspace maintained by devotees. Isn’t it odd that no one seems to have any passion about the most popular film of all time?
I asked a friend (she loved this film) "When was the last time you watched Titanic?" She said, "Probably just after it came out on tape."

CRAIG: Now that is really interesting. How could the highest grossing film of all time not have made the IMDB top 250 list? Every other film in the top 20 has surely made the list. Something doesn't smell right. Oh wait a minute that might be me.

Late Arrival

2005-09-12T20:15:00.001-04:00
Geddy Lee: Best bass player ever.
I apologize to anyone that I may have argued this fact with in the past.

Country Bluegrass Blues & Other Music for Uplifting Gormandizers

2005-09-02T17:35:00.001-04:00
So it looks like another historic piece of New York is about to disappear. What a sad state of affairs.

Now I'm no legal expert and regardless of who actually owns the building it's my belief that CBGB should be considered a historical landmark and at the very least be preserved as it is. In its over 30 year history the NYC club introduced more groups that went on to alter the face of popular music than any other club in the country.

Imagine a music industry where The Ramones, Blondie and Talking Heads had never existed due to lack of venues that had the guts to let them play. Imagine what bands the music scene might miss out on if CBGB weren't around and its impending closure is even more of a shame.

Here's to hoping that some creative legal maneuvering will allow the club to remain open for many years to come.

Coincidence?

2005-08-22T17:45:00.001-04:00
Jenny McCarthy and her husband of six years announced today that they were divorcing. In completely unrelated news I was compelled to do sit-ups this morning for the first time in years.

This Just In

2005-08-18T17:30:00.000-04:00

From the Who Gives a Fuck File: Sean (Puffy, Puff Daddy, P. Diddy) Combs now wants to be known simply as "Diddy."

Apparently he will also be referring to himself in the third person. LINK

The Blame Game

2005-08-13T20:45:00.001-04:00
A movie called The Island came out last month. It was directed by Michael Bay, starred Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson and it should have been one of the biggest movies of the year. Instead the big budget, summer popcorn flick tanked and Bay reluctantly took the blame. Now say what you want about Bay as a filmmaker, but stepping up and claiming responsibility for the film's failure was a stand-up thing to do.

Now the film's producers Walter and Laurie Parkes have gone on record (via their website) and placed the blame on the film's stars. They claim that McGregor's and Johansson's "half-hearted efforts" resulted in the film's poor box-office showing. They further state that a television actress could have done a more professional job than Johansson. "Listen those are superstars of the future, not superstars of the present. Even lesser television actresses, quite honestly would have more connection to that audience."

The Parkes' are way out of line here. I'm sure big-budget failures are hard for any producer to take, but to lash out at the stars of the picture is just plain wrong. I've seen actors phone in performances before and I felt that both McGregor and Johannson did a wonderful job in their respective roles. Sadly neither one of them put asses in seats (based on their output it doesn't seem to be either one of their intentions). So if neither star has the resume to headline a movie like The Island then why the heck were they cast? The last thing a professional should do is play Monday morning quarterback, which is exactly what the Parkes' have done.

They could have blamed audiences, critics, the competition, or the piss-poor marketing campaign. They could have blamed the movie's failure on lots of things, but instead they blamed the talent. It's a cheap shot and one that they should have had the decency not to make.

50 Reasons to go see Wedding Crashers

2005-07-30T18:30:00.001-04:00
Number 12: "The proper girl in the hat just eye-fucked the shit out of me."

Fantastic Four

2005-07-18T18:10:00.002-04:00
I've learned many things since I've started to play poker on a regular basis. One of the most important things that I've learned is the value of trusting your initial instinct or read of a particular situation. Simply put, your gut is usually right. The more you think through a situation that you are faced with, the better the chance that you are going to make a bad decision.

And although this seems like logical advice, I wish I could say that I follow it.

A few months ago I caught the trailer for the Fantastic Four. My initial reaction was that it looked like utter dog shit. Ben Grimm looked like a burn victim, Reed Richards and Sue Storm seemed horribly miscast, and Doctor Doom seemed way too American. It seemed like Johnny Storm, The Human Torch, was the only character that they had gotten right.

My initial read of the situation told me that I would be better off spending my 6 bucks on something else. I seemed content to pass it by when it opened and was able to sleep at night having not seen the Fantastic Four.

This past Saturday though something happened. I woke up and with nothing planned for the day and my last trip to the theatre two weeks in my rear view, I decided to go see the Fantastic Four. After all why shouldn't I see it? Who cares if my initial gut reaction said to stay away. Being the big comic book fan that I am though, I felt that I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn't see it. Plus it was an excuse to get some Nathan's fries.

From the get go I cursed myself for not trusting my read. The movie stunk. Like most comic book movies it suffered from having to get the origin story out of the way. Unlike good comic book movies though (Spider-Man, Hellboy) the Fantastic Four never got past this part of the story. I guess that I was frustrated knowing the characters already and what there powers were. Beyond that though the plot of the evil Doctor Doom didn't seem grand enough. He only seemed out to off the Fantastic Four and that just doesn't seem interesting enough to me.

I also thought that the movie suffered from poor editing with apparent gaps in the story popping up at an alarming rate. The special effects came off as cartoony at points. Never was this more obvious than in the stretching abilities of Mr. Fantastic. His skin tone didn't look natural and appeared to be very "digital."

With all that said, I'm sure that based on the box office that a sequel is inevitable, and if the filmakers can make certain adjustments they might have a winner on their hand next time. I guess in movies, like in poker, you can't win them all.

Tagged!

2005-07-03T22:06:00.001-04:00
I've been tagged by the lovely Stella. I'm no longer a meme virgin.

The Rules:

Remove the blog at #1 from the following list and bump every one up one place; add your blog's name in the #5 spot; link to each of the other blogs

The List...

The Babbling Brooke
Cannot Be Trusted
Every Passing Moment
Sixty Seconds
Always the last in Line

The five things I miss from my childhood:

1. The Atari 2600. I know that it's possible to get all of the classic Atari 2600 games for your PC or Playstion but the experience isn't the same. I'm still hard pressed to find games that excite or entertain me more than Pitfall! 2 or Adventure.
2. My old house in Pittsfield, MA.
3. Playing Kick the Can and Manhunt with my buddies.
4. Sliegh riding at Clapp Park in the winter.
5. The local theatre in Pittsfield that showed E.T. for the entire year.

I tag:

Keith
T-_Bone
Sweetie

Land of the Dead

2005-06-30T23:00:00.002-04:00
Today's entry was supposed to be occupied by a review of George A Romero's Land of the Dead. Instead I'll say that I just got back from seeing it for a third time. I suppose that can either act as a review of the film or as a commentary on the current state of my life.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

2005-06-23T20:45:00.000-04:00
Is it just me or does anyone else find it strange that the big yellow school bus hasn't gone through any significant changes in decades?

TheFutureEmbrace

2005-06-21T21:00:00.002-04:00
Billy Corgan's TheFutureEmbrace arrived in stores today. The 12 song collection is the first solo release from the former leader/mastermind of The Smashing Pumpkins and Zwan.

TheFutureEmbrace is an exciting aural experience. Corgan working with producers Bjorn Thorsrud and Bon Harris has created music beds that are heavy on guitar (guitars that don't always sound like guitars mind you) and are lush and atmospheric. And although the sounds are definitely modern, the collection has a definite New Wave feel to it.

As exciting as the music tracks are though, it's the vocals that define this collection. Corgan's voice is stronger and more confident than ever, and as always the words and ideas are deep and full of meaning.

Look (listen?) for former Pumpkin Jimmy Chamberlin on "DIA" and Robert Smith's guitar and backing vocal on a cover version of the Bee Gee's "To Love Somebody."

TheFutureEmbrace is a fine solo debut for Corgan and hopefully the first of many more.