Jessica Barnes
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List This: The Worst Movie Songs of All Time
Filed under: Music & Musicals, Fandom, Lists, Trailers and Clips
Movie music has certainly changed over the years. What was once the domain of an orchestra and studio musicians is long gone, and now the top-40 soundtrack reigns supreme. Sometimes it works, like in the case of Martin Scorsese's use of pop music, and sometimes it really doesn't -- and that's where today's list comes in. SPIN has compiled what they say are the worst movie songs of all time, so make sure your earplugs are handy because we're about to look back at the Top 10 Worst Movie Songs, Ever!
So let's get right to the list, shall we? Grabbing the top spot for the worst of all time was P. Diddy and Jimmy Page's Kashmir update for Godzilla, Come With Me. But if you thought that song was bad, wait till you get a load of the other nominees, including Vanilla Ice's Ninja Rap, Limp Bizkit's Take a Look Around from Mission Impossible II, and Nickelback's Spider-Man song, Hero. Judging by SPIN's list it seems like 'geek' movies took most of the hits -- although how Evanescence's theme for Daredevil escaped I'll never know. But rather than complain about what wasn't included in SPIN's list, I've decided to make my very own list of great and not-so-great movie songs.
After the jump: My Top 10 Favorite (and most hated) songs from the movies...
The "Red" and "Blue" of Horror Films
Filed under: Horror, Fandom, Politics, Lists
Can a horror movie have a political agenda? Well, that was the question I asked myself after reading '15 Horror Movies Socialists Could Love''. So as I started to think back to all the hacking and slashing I'd seen over the years, I looked for some some pattern or connection between what I choose at the box-office and what I do at the polling station -- and what did I come up with? Well, I'll get to that, but first I wanted to take a moment to look back at some of the films that have gained a reputation with critics and fans alike as movies with a so-called conservative or liberal state of mind:
'Red State Horror':
Friday the 13th (1980)
Conservatives supposedly love this movie because it's all about no-good kids getting what they deserve. Sexy teens don't stand a chance in this franchise from the moment they take a drink, get high, or get naked. Plus, it's one of the few horror films with a moral about the importance of a good work ethic.
Frankenstein
It's science vs. religion in the story of a man who presumes to know more than God...and I think we all remember how that turns out.
Lost Boys
Family values are all over this one, and when a divorced mom pays more attention to a her love life than her two sons, look what happens. So even with a pot-smoking grandpa, plenty of critics agree that this film is all about Regan's America and the triumph of family over no-good, rock n' roll loving, motorcycle-driving youth gangs.
Tremors
2nd Amendment fans praise this tale of a band of locals fending off giant worms and the gun-toting survivalists that help save the day -- Take that Brady Bill!
Check out the rest at HorrorSquad!
On Sale Now: The 'Blade Runner' House
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Newsstand
If recreations aren't your thing and you've always wanted to own a genuine piece of Blade Runner history, today is your lucky day ... but it's going to cost you. Christie's Great Estates has announced that Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House (also known as The Blade Runner House), is officially up for sale. There is a $15 million price tag on the house, but the cultural landmark is still a bit of a fixer-upper, and renovation costs are estimated in the millions. Ennis House was built in 1924, but despite being one of the most famous landmarks in L.A., keeping the house standing has been proving more difficult over years.
Since it was first built, Ennis House has been crumbling thanks to earthquakes and rainstorms, but the movie landmark has been under the protection of a trust (whose members included Diane Keaton) for years. But when the expense of maintaining the house had become too much, the trust finally made the decision to sell. The trust's president was quoted as saying, "We've made a lot of progress, but a private owner with the right vision and sufficient resources can better preserve the house than we can." (Check out images of Ennis House below)
Ennis House has served as a backdrop for plenty of movies and television shows over the years, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Black Rain. Although, acting as the stand-in for the famed Replicant hunter's apartment was what put the home on the map for most movie buffs. $15 million is a little out of my price range, but I do wonder who will manage to snag the house first? Will it be a fan of architecture, or one serious sci-fi collector?
After the jump: a collection of Ennis House's greatest hits on the big screen.
Tony Scott Rides with 'Hell's Angels'
Filed under: Drama, Scripts, Newsstand
Just because Tony Scott decided to put the brakes on his A L I E N prequel, doesn't mean that he won't have plenty of projects to keep him busy in the meantime. For starters; there's his Warriors update, a sequel to his 1983 vampire flick, The Hunger, and the action flick Unstoppable with Chris Pine starting this fall. But that's not all, because now the director has been talking about an adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's non-fiction classic, Hell's Angels. In an interview with Coming Soon, Scott confirmed that Traffic's Stephen Gaghan has already been hired to write the script, and while Scott claims to own the rights to Thompson's book, there is still confusion over what Gaghan will be using for the script. According to the "motorcycle club's" legal counsel, Scott's film will be based on the book, Hell's Angels: The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club -- but my guess is that the script will be a blending of the two books.The Wild One may have brought bikers into the popular consciousness, but by the time the 60's hit, clubs like The Hell's Angels were a status symbol for the counter-culture. Thompson's book was one of the first accurate looks inside the 'gang', but was a far cry from his usual 'gonzo' work. Which isn't necessarily the best fit for the kind of flashy action movie you expect from Scott, but luckily Gaghan has a knack for making sense of complicated subject matter. There is no word yet on whether Scott will just produce, or whether he will direct the film as well. But, the Scott brothers seem to have a thing for packing their schedules, and unfortunately, they tend to bite off a little more than they can chew.
After the jump; updates on Tony Scott's other projects...
Scenes We Love: Near Dark
Filed under: Fandom, Trailers and Clips, Scenes We Love
I was a 10-year-old girl when I first stumbled across a book about a vampire rock star, but from that moment on, I have always had a thing for the plasma-challenged. I've gone on to read everything from Penny Dreadfuls to Poppy Z. Brite, and to this day I will always watch a vampire movie, no matter how bad -- and there are no shortage of those. But there are some good ones, too, and one of my favorites is Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark. I have plenty of reasons for respecting Bigelow's work (whose new -- and excellent -- film The Hurt Locker opens on June 26th), because let's face it -- there aren't very many female directors, especially female 'action' directors -- and thanks to her vampire-Western hybrid, I'm willing to give her a bit of slack for her lesser flicks. So to anyone out there who thinks girls can only do 'hearts and flowers' on the big screen, just watch the scene after the jump and tell me if you still feel the same way.
But back to vampires: ever since Dracula first stepped off the Demeter and into London society, vampires have usually been frock-coated aristocratic types, but not these guys. Bigelow's vamps are more Hell's Angels than love-starved dandies, and unlike a certain vampire who shall go unnamed, have no qualms about being the bad guy. I do like to think of myself as a connoisseur of all things 'vamp', and I have to say, this scene is a doozey. In less than 10 minutes this group manages to clean out an entire redneck bar, and it ain't pretty. But then again, that's why I love it. In the end I prefer my vampires to be a little more bloodthirsty and a little less sensitive, don't you?
After the jump: Near Dark fun facts and the Scene We (I) Love...
'Red Dawn' Rewrite and New Wolverines Join the Pack
Filed under: Action, Casting, MGM, Scripts, Remakes and Sequels
Since I'm resigned to the fact that everything is going to be remade sooner or later, the best I can hope for is that at least studios will hire people who know what they're doing. On that note, there's a ray of hope for MGM's Red Dawn remake because Latino Review reports that Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) has been hired to do a rewrite. I've got nothing against the project's original scribe, Carl Ellsworth, but if I had to choose between the two, I would much rather go with the writer of those Bourne films than the writer of Disturbia. Yesterday, it was announced that Josh Peck and Adrianne Palicki will star alongside Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek) in the tale of a group of teens turned militia men better known as the Wolverines. According to THR, Hemsworth will play the group's leader, Jed Eckert (originally played by Patrick Swayze), and Peck will be reprising Charlie Sheen's role as Jed's younger brother, with Palicki filling in for Jennifer Grey as the tough-as-nails fighter and love interest for Jed. In the original film, our heroes went up against invading Communist hoards, but for the update it has been changed from Communists to a more generic threat of Russian and Chinese military.
Now I've decided that I won't get worked up about a remake unless the movie was good in the first place, and unfortunately my love of Dawn is more about nostalgia than the film itself. But you can't deny it's become a little outdated over the years (is anyone that worried about Communist invaders anymore?) -- but Gilroy has a way with smart action films, so I'll remain optimistic that he can pull it off ... how about you?
Red Dawn is scheduled to arrive in theaters in 2010.
Quick List: Worst Musical Moments
Filed under: Music & Musicals, Fandom, Trailers and Clips
One of my favorite things in the world is a musical gone wrong. I don't know, there's just something particularly funny about watching a musical number go down in flames -- and the more awkward the better. Well, at least I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, because Over at Den of Geek they have compiled a list of the Top 10 Worst Musical Moments in Movies. Now, they didn't just limit themselves to straight musicals, but the results are a trip down memory lane for me and a nightmare for most people. Taking the number one spot was a pretty obscure moment starring Hollywood Legend Mae West and Timothy Dalton (the much-maligned Bond) in the 1978 musical, Sextette. There are plenty of cringe-worthy moments in this film, but the highlight is Geek's selection: Dalton and West singing (and I use the term loosely) Love Will Keep Us Together. There's really nothing more to say, mainly because I seem to have lost the power of comprehension after watching that clip.
So who else managed to make the list? Well, we've got Vanilla Ice in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, Pierce Brosnan ruining ABBA songs in Mamma Mia, Neil Diamond in black face for The Jazz Singer, and my personal favorite -- a clip from Rhinestone starring Sylvester Stallone as a NYC cabbie turned country singer. But, after looking at Geek's list, I noticed a few omissions (at least in my opinion) so I decided to do a little listing of my own.
After the jump: my top 5 worst moments in Musical history...
Is Angelina Jolie Back for 'Wanted 2'?
Filed under: Action, Casting, Universal, RumorMonger, Angelina Jolie, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
You know, it's not that I think Angelina Jolie can't handle action, it's just that she's never really been given the chance to do it in a film that was...well, good. The bullet-bending comic book flick, Wanted is a perfect example. Granted, Jolie was livelier than I have seen her in a long time, but I still walked out of the theater wondering why she has never blossomed into the bad-a** heroine I desperately want her to be. Well, maybe she is going to get another chance, because Universal has been making ground with a Wanted sequel. So while most of us were pretty sure that we wouldn't be seeing Ms. Jolie again, Wanted's director Timur Bekmambetov seems to think otherwise. During an interview with the Russian news site, RIA Novosti, Bekmambetov told them that Wanted 2 will start prepping in July, and that Jolie would be returning for the sequel.Warning: Wanted spoilers ahead...
So think back to the half-baked mess that was Wanted, and you'll remember that Jolie's assassin commits 'suicide' -- on-screen, front and center. It was even rumored to be a condition of Jolie's participation in the film that she would die at the end (I guess to avoid committing to a sequel). But maybe Bekmambetov is engaging in some wishful thinking about Jolie's return, or he knows something we don't because he seemed positive that Jolie would be back. Last April, Evan Spiliotopoulos was hired to write the script, and it's a strange choice, but one thing is for sure, he is going to have to get awfully creative if they plan on bringing Jolie back from the great beyond.
After the jump; Who else could return for Wanted 2 and Jolie is still saving the world (without a gun) in her PSA for World Refugee Day...
Fans Rejoice: Live-Action 'Akira' is "Dead as a Doornail"
Filed under: Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, RumorMonger, Scripts, Remakes and Sequels
You probably remember that a little over a year ago, the news hit that Leonardo DiCaprio would be producing a live action version of the beloved anime, Akira, and as to be expected, fans were peeved. Within minutes, comment boards (including ours) were jammed with cries of white-washing, racism, and general predictions of overall crappiness. But, if you happen to have been one of those fans crying for blood; I've got some good news for you. Bloody Disgusting now reports that the live-action Akira has been pronounced "Dead as a doornail" by not one, but two inside sources -- I guess we should have seen this coming when the film was promised to be released in 2009, and there wasn't a signed cast member in sight.For those not familiar with Akira, it was the story of a teen biker gang member who is subjected to government experiments and unleashes destruction on a post-nuclear Tokyo. Ruairi Robinson had originally been slated to direct a script by Gary Whitta (Book of Eli), but DiCaprio had promised that they wouldn't be moving ahead with Akira until they had a quality script, so maybe Whitta could have been the source of the delay. Either way, I guess we can all breathe a sigh of relief that Tetsuo and the gang are safe from the monster known as 'reboot fever'...at least for now, anyway.
After the jump; status reports on other classic anime in line for a Hollywood makeover...
Signs of 'The Apocalypse' for Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel
Filed under: Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, DIY/Filmmaking, Trailers and Clips
It was almost two years ago that we got a glimpse of a trailer for Jay and Seth vs The Apocalypse, starring Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel as two guys trapped together Odd Couple-style after an apocalyptic event. As it turned out, the whole thing was a calling card for the two comedians in hopes of landing a deal for the film, and thanks to Baruchel's and Rogen's ability to work their way up the Hollywood food chain, it worked. Mandate Pictures secured the rights last year, and now Baruchel has begun to hint at a start date. During an interview with MTV Baruchel told them, "'Jay and Seth' will at the very least happen in the next year and a half for sure,"
Baruchel also went on to say that Rogen and writing partner Evan Goldberg were already at work on the script. As part of their deal with Mandate, they even have final say on the story. But before you get too excited, keep in mind that Rogen still has to complete work on The Green Hornet and then it is going to be a toss-up between Jay and Seth and Baruchel's hockey flick, The Goon. As to be expected, Baruchel was relatively non-committal about which project would go in front of the cameras first, saying, "Whichever one is closer to going, we'll do." I know which one I'm voting for, how about you?
After the jump; the trailer that started it all, and some of my favorite end of the world comedies...
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
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Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
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Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
