Trailer Park: Of Snakey Hair and Moody Teens
Filed under: Trailer Trash, Trailers and Clips
Percy Jackson & the Olylmpians: The Lightning Thief
You go years without seeing Medusa and then all of a sudden we get two in one week. Percy Jackson is a descendant of both mortals and greek gods, and apparently his lineage comes with some way cool powers and some fearsome villains who want to do him in (among which is Uma Thurman as the aforementioned Medusa). Based on a series of books and directed by Chris Columbus, who helmed the first two Harry Potter films, this looks like it could be some good escapist teen fun, though not quite on the same level as Harry Potter. Watch for this on February 12.
Clash of the Titans
As for Medusa number two, she is just one of the monstrosities in this remake of the 1981 film about the adventures of Perseus from Greek mythology. Most of the original film's charm comes from the stop-motion effects by Ray Harryhausen, so it will be interesting to see how well the ideas translate to modern effects technology. The clash begins on March 26.
Remember Me
Robert Pattinson plays the tortured emo kid card once more in this drama about a young man trying to find his way. He's really got the angry young man thing down and Lost's Emile de Ravin makes for an appealing romantic interest. This will be out on March 12.
Making The (Up) Grade: Rocky
Filed under: United Artists, Fandom, 20th Century Fox, Home Entertainment
While new Blu-rays of old movies are sometimes dubious replacements for prior editions (hence the need for this column), box sets released in the high-definition format have thus far been fairly helpful, at least in terms of shelf space: many or most of them forego a lot of the frills and flourishes of their standard-definition iterations in favor of more streamlined packaging. Unfortunately, that's also sometimes extended to their extras, thanks in no small part to the legal entanglements of transferring commentaries and bonus content from one format to another.
Both Warner Brothers and Fox have faced this challenge a couple of times thanks to their ownership/ adoption of the libraries of MGM and United Artists, which until a few years ago issued their own releases. Rocky, which is one of United Artists' premier franchises, was recently released on Blu-ray in The Undisputed Collection, a set that contains all six of the films in the series, but it remains to be seen whether complete also means comprehensive in this particular case.
What's Already Available:
'Avatar' Watch: Running Time Announced and New Featurettes
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, 20th Century Fox, Newsstand
Though early rumors suggested the film was going to clock in at over three hours, 20th Century Fox claims James Cameron's Avatar will instead clock in at 150 minutes (or 2.5 hours), or about 156 minutes if you count the credits. The main reason why the film will run under three hours is because of the IMAX showings. Avatar will open in about 180 domestic IMAX theaters on December 18th, and because of the way the IMAX system is set up, the theaters that aren't converted over to digital projection can only hold about 170 minutes worth of film. But while Cameron's final edit came in significantly under 170 minutes, there's no saying whether there will be a cut on the DVD that will run over 170 minutes. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Avatar will open on a minimum of 5,500 screens, with almost half of those screens equipped to show the film in 3D.
In other Avatar news, two new featurettes were released online toward the latter part of the week. IGN UK unveiled one behind-the-scenes video focused primarily on the realistic sci-fi equipment created for the film, and Coke Zero released a video that introduces Stephen Ling's character, Col. Quaritch, and reveals a whole bunch of new footage. You can watch both videos over at SciFi Squad.
'New Moon' Smashes 'Dark Knight's' Opening Day Record!
Filed under: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Box Office, Fandom, Newsstand
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According to ERC, The Twilight Saga: New Moon sold roughly $71 million (Variety is reporting $72.7 million) worth of tickets on its opening day -- a number that, if correct, far surpasses the current opening day box office record of $67 million set by The Dark Knight back in 2008. With its $26 million take in midnight showings, that gives the second installment in the Twilight franchise two pretty giant records: Best Midnight Opening and Best Single Day Opening. Next up for the franchise is the three-day opening weekend record, also held by The Dark Knight with $158 million.
So what does this say about us? Well, while it's not as critically acclaimed as, say, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (previous midnight opening record holder) or The Dark Knight, these numbers do show just how much of an impact the female audience can have on a box office take. Sure, when The Dark Knight broke records everyone wanted to single out the teenage male audience as having won that film its titles, but polls showed females were responsible for upwards of 50% of that film's opening box office too. And now, with New Moon breaking records attracting a younger female audience, here's hoping studios wake up and realize that, yeah, the female audience is a damn powerful force.
So kudos to all you Twi-hards for showing up to support the property you love. Is the film truly worthy of its new records? Probably not. Will another film break those records within the next year? Yeah, most likely. But dammit if the folks at Summit Entertainment aren't partying their asses off this weekend. They just won the World Series at the box office. Congrats!
Right Now on TV Squad
Our brothers and sisters over at TV Squad have busted through the boob tube and brought with them the following juicy bits of must-see eye candy.
- Gird your loins, folks, Lost finally has a premiere date!
- Check out this latest installment of the TV Squad podcast. Joel Keller answers listener mail, covers AMC's The Prisoner, and discusses James Franco's guest stint on General Hospital.
- Adult Swim's Aqua Teen Hunger Force is going to be returning with a special Christmas episode on December 13.
- Remember that contest to create the newest Simpsons character? Well, they've announced a winner.
- Brooke Shields will be guesting on ABC's The Middle playing a suburban mother of four.
- ...and finally, Aaron Sorkin will be returning to television with yet another behind the scenes style show.
Interview: Judd Apatow (Part One)
Filed under: Universal, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Interviews
Funny People was the latest in Judd Apatow's ongoing series of summer comedies, but it was anything but a typical summer comedy: following a successful comedian (played by Apatow's longtime friend Adam Sandler) who reflects on his life after discovering he's going to die, the film offered lots of humor but with decidedly heavier themes lurking beneath the yuks. The film debuts on Blu-ray in a 2-Disc Collector's Edition next week, and the contents are amazing, showing how Apatow combined lighthearted fare with more serious ideas in the service of exploring something substantive.
Cinematical was lucky enough to catch up with Apatow via telephone one recent morning to discuss the process of putting together the film's home video iteration. In addition to discussing the bonus materials, extras, featurettes, and a documentary that's the most thorough and thoughtful ever produced about a comedy production, Apatow talked about finding the right ending for his magnum opus, discovering and deconstructing the process of producing laughs, and front-loading the film's universe with outside content about the supporting characters.
Cinematical: One of the ideas highlighted in the Blu-ray bonus materials was the fact that you knew this was going in a different direction than your previous films. Even knowing that while you were making it, were you surprised by the reactions of audiences and critics when it was released? Or does it matter?
Serious Scores: 'Aguirre: The Wrath of God'
Filed under: Music & Musicals, Fandom
We're doing something crazy, and launching another little series here on Cinematical: Serious Scores. You're a smart bunch, so I imagine you've already figured out that the goal isn't to highlight our favorite bank heists, but to praise the creme de la creme of cinema's soundtracks. Hopefully, you'll find something new for your iPod, rediscover a lost favorite, or appreciate a piece along with us. Technically, Werner Herzog's Aguirre: The Wrath of God doesn't have an official soundtrack. The entire score was recorded by the German progressive band Popol Vuh (the first of many collaborations they did with Herzog), and was released as an album in 1975, with a 2004 re-release. Only two tracks were actually used in the film: Aguirre I and Aguirre II. If you disdain the rest of their Krautrock, the magic of iTunes and Amazon allows you to buy them individually. Now you can put them on a playlist, set them to repeat, and go as mad as Aguirre himself.
Hints of madness aside, Aguirre I and II are pretty incredible pieces of music and were raved about in the 1970s. I think the music is just as powerful today, even if Moog synthesizers seem to have fallen out of favor. It's hypnotic and eerie, and so very evocative of that torpid jungle journey. Never have native panpipes sounded as frantic and terrified. I've embedded Aguirre I below the jump, but I highly recommend spending the $0.99 so you can download it to something hand-held and listen to it in the dark.
Review: Planet 51
Filed under: Action, Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sony, Theatrical Reviews
As voiced by Dwayne "the artist formerly known as The Rock" Johnson, astronaut Chuck Baker is the paragon of all-American achievement -- that is, until he conquers a far off world with an unexpected population, one inexplicably steeped in our '50s-era culture and terrified by the prospect of an alien invader in human form. More unfortunately for us, Chuck has landed smack-dab in the middle of Planet 51, a short-sighted assembly of sci-fi references and scatalogical humor that should nonetheless placate undemanding tots and, by extension, their undiscerning parents for ninety minutes or so.
Free Flick of the Day: The Doom Generation
Filed under: Home Entertainment
The '90s were a good time to be a teen -- especially if you were itching for more than just the mainstream. Nestled between the John Hughes '80s and the bubbly Disney '00s, the '90s were a time when teen films thrived in tunes-led rebellion. It wasn't all about spunky mainstream music marketing and bubbly personalities. Scores and strangeness got to go a little wild, and Gregg Araki ran with that idea when he made The Doom Generation. Dubbed Araki's "heterosexual movie," the film starred then-newcomer Rose McGowan as Amy Blue, a tough-as-nails, filthy-mouthed, self-proclaimed virgin in love with one Jordan White (James Duval). Their rather mundane lives are thrown through the ringer when they help out a strange boy named Xavier (Johnathan Schaech), who leads them through an insane road trip of unintended violence. A trip, mind you, that showcases a slew of names from all walks of life -- Skinny Puppy (band), Margaret Cho, Dustin Nguyen (21 Jump Street), Heidi Fleiss (the Hollywood madam), Perry Farrell (Janes Addiction), Parker Posey, Nicky Katt (Dazed and Confused), Zak Spears and Rex Chandler (gay adult film stars), Christopher Knight (Brady Bunch), Lauren Tewes (The Love Boat)...
It is, however, a film spliced in tone. The first three quarters are violent, black comedy, while the last third makes the violence personal as the trio faces off against Neo-Nazis -- a rather apt juxtaposition between pulpy imaginary thrills and violence laced with a sense of reality.
Get dark with The Doom Generation now on SlashControl!
Mike White Starts a Santa Claus Civil War
Filed under: Comedy, Deals, Scripts
Not pleased with the likes of our latest serving of A Christmas Carol? Want a little more originality served with your ho-ho-ho's? This might be the answer: Variety reports that Paramount Pictures has tapped Mike White to write the script for a new comedy called Santa Wars. Oh yes, it's just like you'd imagine.This project will follow the story of two rival factions that emerged within a group of professional Kris Kringles, and how they "became arch enemies during a Santa Claus civil war." And I should probably point out -- this concept is based on a true story. It all stems from a segment on Ira Glass' radio show This American Life, which aired last December and talked about how two professional Santas formed the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas, only to become bitter rivals.
Talk about picking the perfect pen. White is the writer of all things weird, whether that be with creepy stalkers, transcript trouble, discontent with mundane life, rock 'n' roll classes, strange wrasslers, or dog obsession. Furthermore, he's jumped back and forth between mainstream and edgy indies, which means the potential for a film that will appeal to more than just the casual, family fare moviegoer. Let's just hope Paramount ignores this year's strange release schedules (Valentine's Day in the summer, Christmas before Thanskgiving) and serves this puppy up during the right season.
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'New Moon' Smashes 'Dark Knight's' Opening Day Record!
Black Friday Movie Deals: Best Buy
Sex and Nudity Don't Draw You to the Movies?
What Makes a Real Vampire?
Robert Downey Jr. Wants to Retire?
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