Cinematicalhttp://www.cinematical.comCinematicalhttp://www.cinematical.com/media/feedlogo.gifCinematicalhttp://www.cinematical.comen-usCopyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Fan Rant: Simmer Down, X-Phileshttp://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/21/fan-rant-simmer-down-x-philes/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/21/fan-rant-simmer-down-x-philes/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/21/fan-rant-simmer-down-x-philes/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

This summer has been a big one for the fanboy (and girl) nation. Geeks have rejoiced as their favorite icons have come to grace the silver screen either once again or for the first time -- Tony Stark, Indiana Jones, Bruce Wayne, Bruce Banner, Kit Kittredge -- with each film accompanied by its own modest fan frenzy (yes, a $155 million opening weekend equals modest 'round these parts).

But naturally, as if so often the case with the potent combo of radical fanaticism and internet anonymity, the nastier trolls have not seen fit to shirk their responsibility of maintaining the sacred Tomatometer with a crudely constructed death threat or two (or two hundred). For them, this is personal. They can't possibly enjoy their long-awaited flick should some goateed snob decide to feel any degree of lukewarm or otherwise before the public gets their peek.

This is blood for blood, and by the comment. These are the new days, the bad days, the all-or-nothing days. They're back.

Continue reading Fan Rant: Simmer Down, X-Philes

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]]>chris carterChrisCartercinematicalx-filesx-files i want to believeX-filesIWantToBelieveWilliam GossMon, 21 Jul 2008 21:02:00 ESTFan Rant: Moviegoing Rules We Can All Agree Withhttp://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/17/fan-rant-moviegoing-rules-we-can-all-agree-with/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/17/fan-rant-moviegoing-rules-we-can-all-agree-with/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/17/fan-rant-moviegoing-rules-we-can-all-agree-with/#commentsFiled under: ,



At risk of sounding like a lame comedian circa 1985, I will now offer some very basic rules of moviegoing that I hope we can all agree with. Because really -- if we ALL agree on them, then every one of my complaints should be remedied by this time tomorrow. And that would be great.

A. Young children in movie theaters. OK, for G or PG-rated flicks we non-breeders simply have to deal with it. That's cool. (Forget that I still can't see WALL*E in peace, but OK.) For PG-13 movies, you're kind of pushing it. I seriously doubt that your four-year-old will be disappointed if he has to wait for Return of the King on DVD. So please just drop the extra $15 on a babysitter. For R-rated movies? Nothing personal, but if your child is too young to understand the phrase "Please be silent for the next 103 minutes, except if you have to pee or you rrrreally want a soda," then that child must be left at home. I've seen three-year-olds at 300, rugrats roaming The Ruins, toddlers' troubles with 28 Days Later, daughters dazed by Doomsday, sons stunned by Sunshine, minors mucking through The Mist and babies babbling In Bruges. Seriously, cut it out.

B. When dealing with "talkage" during a screening, we should of course give the talker a brief grace period. He / she could be saying something that's actually important (like the house is on fire) or maybe they just need a quick catch-up on why Spy Assassin B just turned stoolie on Government Agent C. That person gets a handful of seconds (depending on the mood of the offended party), but once a brief exchange of words becomes anything close to an actual conversation, then SHUSHING simply must occur.

Continue reading Fan Rant: Moviegoing Rules We Can All Agree With

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]]>fan rantFanRantfeaturedmoviegoing rules we can all agree withMoviegoingRulesWeCanAllAgreeWithScott WeinbergThu, 17 Jul 2008 12:02:00 ESTFan Rant: What's with the Psychopaths on Rotten Tomatoes?http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/15/fan-rant-whats-with-the-psychopaths-on-rotten-tomatoes/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/15/fan-rant-whats-with-the-psychopaths-on-rotten-tomatoes/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/15/fan-rant-whats-with-the-psychopaths-on-rotten-tomatoes/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Let's take a moment to talk about the internet and the people who use it.

As someone who writes for a fairly prominent blog and who, from time to time, gets a fact wrong or overlooks something (when you do several posts a day, it's hard to be perfect), I am familiar with the wrath that internet commenters can unleash. But I am quickly coming to realize that you, gentle readers, have indeed been gentle. If you have a moment, take a look at the Rotten Tomatoes page for The Dark Knight, and click through some of the comments that users have left for the critics who have dared give the film a negative review. Or, to save time, take a look at this piece by Hollywood Bitchslap's Rob Gonsalves, which discusses some of the worst (best?) examples. If you're not inclined to click, suffice it to say that the likes of The New Yorker's David Denby have been told that they "do not deserve to live," that they should "contract AIDS," that they "rode the short bus to school," that "I should go over to your house and beat the living ***** out of you low life son of a b!tch," and so forth.

It's funny: there's been a long, ongoing discussion about RT user comments in the internal forums of the RT-hosted Online Film Critics Society. Some of the critics, outraged by the insulting, often racist missives that appear on the review pages (a Brazilian critic writing in Portuguese is often informed that he should go back to Mexico, etc.), have called for comments to be deleted and for users to be disciplined or banned. I've resisted and discouraged that impulse: it's always preferable to laugh at people like this than to censor them.

Continue reading Fan Rant: What's with the Psychopaths on Rotten Tomatoes?

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]]>the dark knightTheDarkKnightEugene NovikovTue, 15 Jul 2008 21:03:00 ESTFan Rant: Let's Hear It for the 'Darker' Superhero Movieshttp://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/15/fan-rant-lets-hear-it-for-the-darker-superhero-movies/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/15/fan-rant-lets-hear-it-for-the-darker-superhero-movies/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/15/fan-rant-lets-hear-it-for-the-darker-superhero-movies/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,




I was recently enjoying a fast-food lunch with my old friend Josh, and we were discussing the film we'd just seen. (A little something called The Dark Knight.) And in the middle of my ramblings I accidentally said something slightly insightful. It went a little something like this: "The thing about superheroes is that, on the outside, what with the costumes and the nifty gizmos and all the punching, they're kids stuff, which is great. But once you scratch the surface just a little bit, you're dealing with acres of subtext that kids can barely comprehend."

And then Josh asked me what my point was. It's this: We finally have some filmmakers who aren't afraid to handle superhero movies for grown-ups. I'd hardly call Hancock a family-type flick, both of the recent Marvel movies (Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk) managed to treat their "older" audiences with respect, last weekend's Hellboy 2 is chock-full of dazzling ideas, and now this: The Dark Knight. Dang. My review will arrive later this week, but I won't be the only one calling it the Godfather 2 of superhero movies. (In a lot of ways it's also a bit like The Empire Strikes Back! Tonally, anyway.) Best of all, the movie is a big meaty DRAMA, and I don't mean "drama" as in "masterpiece theater."

Continue reading Fan Rant: Let's Hear It for the 'Darker' Superhero Movies

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]]>batman beginsBatmanBeginsdarker superhero moviesDarkerSuperheroMoviesfan rantFanRantfeaturedhancockhellboy 2Hellboy2iron manIronManthe dark knightthe incredible hulkTheDarkKnightTheIncredibleHulkScott WeinbergTue, 15 Jul 2008 15:03:00 ESTFan Rant: Apparently Not Even Eddie Murphy Can Sit Through 'Meet Dave'http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/10/fan-rant-apparently-not-even-eddie-murphy-can-sit-through-meet/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/10/fan-rant-apparently-not-even-eddie-murphy-can-sit-through-meet/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/10/fan-rant-apparently-not-even-eddie-murphy-can-sit-through-meet/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

With his notoriously prickly behavior and a streak of lowbrow, artistically bankrupt movies, Eddie Murphy isn't exactly the most beloved man in Hollywood these days. And you know what doesn't help? Not showing up to the premiere of your own damn movie.

Meet Dave, in which Murphy plays the tiny alien captain of a human-sized, Murphy-shaped spaceship, had its gala opening in Hollywood on Tuesday, and Murphy was a no-show. That's right: Murphy, who plays two characters, whose face is plastered everywhere, who is the single reason anyone would want to see the movie, didn't attend his own premiere.

One of the producers told the press that it's because he was busy shooting his next film, A Thousand Words. The only problem with that explanation is that A Thousand Words is being directed by Brian Robbins ... and Brian Robbins spent Tuesday evening at -- you guessed it -- the Meet Dave premiere. (He directed it, too.) Don't you hate when your alibi was at the same place you were supposed to be?

Maybe Murphy was off doing some extra credit homework on A Thousand Words, without the director. Or maybe that producer got it mixed up and Murphy was working on something else equally important.

Or maybe the simplest explanation is the correct one: Maybe he's an inconsiderate jerk.

Continue reading Fan Rant: Apparently Not Even Eddie Murphy Can Sit Through 'Meet Dave'

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]]>brian robbinsBrianRobbinseddie murphyEddieMurphymeet daveMeetDaveEric D. SniderThu, 10 Jul 2008 12:02:00 ESTFan Rant: Robert Rodriguez, McGowan, Dennings, and Gossiphttp://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/09/fan-rant-robert-rodriguez-mcgowan-dennings-and-gossip/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/09/fan-rant-robert-rodriguez-mcgowan-dennings-and-gossip/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/09/fan-rant-robert-rodriguez-mcgowan-dennings-and-gossip/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,



After rumors bubbled up about a possible end to Robert Rodriguez and Rose McGowan, her rep told People: "the production of all three films is moving forward with Rose to star." I'd question that since all the double R seems to be doing lately is acquiring projects that don't seem to go anywhere. Yes, there's a chance that they might be on hold while he films Shorts, but that production is where the new hub-ub is coming from (via Defamer).

I highly doubt there's any truth to the matter, but it's worth a glance into the rumor that Rodriguez is now canoodling his new young star, Kat Dennings. She's the girl who got her start on Sex and the City as the "f**king fabulous" rich girl having a bat mitzvah, and has since got a stepdad in a 40-year-old Virgin, and impressed audiences with her time with Charlie Bartlett.

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]]>BarbarellaCinematicalKat DenningsKatDenningsRobert RodriguezRobertRodriguezRose McGowanRoseMcgowanShortsMonika BartyzelWed, 09 Jul 2008 19:02:00 ESTFan Rant: Because Who Watches a Whole Movie Anyway?http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/09/fan-rant-because-who-watches-a-whole-movie-anyway/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/09/fan-rant-because-who-watches-a-whole-movie-anyway/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/09/fan-rant-because-who-watches-a-whole-movie-anyway/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Anyone who watches a considerable amount of movies has a tendency to champion the occasional gem, a title bound - nay, fated - to be overlooked by the masses. As you may have noticed, we here at Cinematical are not immune to such behavior.

On other occasions, fans of films that are being remade will find themselves violently, vocally opposed to the idea of a tainted classic or fave, whereas cooler minds step in and point out that their precious original will exist no less in its wake.

With that said, I'm about to spout off on why I think American remake Quarantine is primed to squander the considerable merits of its source material, [REC].

(Now, what nitpicks I have are about to wander off into moderate spoiler territory, which is actually my greater concern. Ergo, any of you planning to catch either film in the near future might be best served by directing their browsers elsewhere, including away from the newly released trailer for Quarantine.)

As for the twelve of you who I know have either managed to see [REC] or who just plain don't care -- come on in, the water's whine...

Continue reading Fan Rant: Because Who Watches a Whole Movie Anyway?

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]]>featuredhorrorjohn erick dowdleJohnErickDowdlequarantineremakeWilliam GossWed, 09 Jul 2008 12:02:00 ESTFan Rant: Give Sony Pictures Classics Some Credithttp://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/07/fan-rant-give-sony-pictures-classics-some-credit/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/07/fan-rant-give-sony-pictures-classics-some-credit/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/07/fan-rant-give-sony-pictures-classics-some-credit/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Back at this year's Sundance Film Festival, a bunch of folks were "losing it" over Jonathan Levine's The Wackness -- saying, to a certain extent, that it was the dopest flick of the fest. And that's cool. Support those films you love, right? Well, not long after the film premiered at Sundance, it was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics. Wonderful! A film a lot of people loved was picked up and would hit theaters at some point later in the year. Ah, but all was not well in blogger land -- see, a few bloggers were disgusted that SPC picked it up, going so far as to send an email around trying to get other people to either join their cause and/or write about it. Their reasoning was that SPC had a poor track record when it came to promoting indie films, and were afraid The Wackness would become yet another casualty. That it would disappear in limited release ... and be eaten by a Cabbage Patch Kid, or whatever.

And so it was. Some folks agreed with their cause, while others couldn't understand why they'd be upset when, in reality, their favorite film WOULD eventually hit theaters. You can't say that about every Sundance film, or festival film for that matter, and so the simple act of being picked up for distribution is, well, kind of a big deal. After a flurry of posts from a few different blogs which attacked the deal, attacked the teaser poster and then attacked the first teaser trailer, it all seemed to fizzle out. From that point on, SPC continued to poor on the Wackness marketing: We got roughly four or five different trailers, a poster, a viral campaign, a dope website, TV spots and a slick soundtrack.

Was SPC botching it all up? Hardly ... but then came the film's box office debut this past weekend ...

Continue reading Fan Rant: Give Sony Pictures Classics Some Credit

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]]>cinematicalfeaturedhancocksony pictures classicsSonyPicturesClassicsspcthe wacknessTheWacknessErik DavisMon, 07 Jul 2008 16:02:00 ESTFan Rant: Movies Are Not Funhttp://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/04/fan-rant-movies-are-not-fun/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/04/fan-rant-movies-are-not-fun/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/04/fan-rant-movies-are-not-fun/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,



"If you don't make it yourself, it isn't fun. It's entertainment."

I apologize to my colleagues and readers, because most film critics, reviewers and cinephiles have been known, at least at one point in his or her life, to call a movie "fun." I certainly am guilty of it somewhere, in some review or blog post or whatever. But I'm here to finally set the record straight, even though David Mamet clearly already informed us via the quote above, which is spoken by his wife, actress Rebecca Pidgeon, in his 2000 film State and Main. A movie can not be fun, it can only be entertaining. That is, if we're merely watching it on the screen and had no involvement in its production. Actually, even if we make a film ourself, watching it afterwards should technically still be considered entertaining rather than fun.

Of course, a movie experience can be fun. I have fun at a lot of movies I attend, but not because of the movie I'm watching. Like in the case of my recent experience with The Strangers, the movie was not what was fun, not even my observance of the audience was officially fun. But for me, the ticket buying, the popcorn eating, the sitting in the dark is all fun. And the movie was entertaining, as was the crowd. I guess that the experience of watching a movie at home or on your iPod can also be fun, but still in any scenario, the actual movie itself is never fun; it's only entertaining.

Continue reading Fan Rant: Movies Are Not Fun

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]]>hancockthe strangersTheStrangersChristopher CampbellFri, 04 Jul 2008 18:32:00 ESTFan Rant: No One Can Hear You Screenhttp://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/03/fan-rant-no-one-can-hear-you-screen/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/03/fan-rant-no-one-can-hear-you-screen/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/03/fan-rant-no-one-can-hear-you-screen/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

"If a film fell in the multiplex, and no one was there to see it..."

Limited release: such a simple phrase, and yet two words that all but indicate to a majority of moviegoers that whatever it is they want to see may or may not escape the confines of a NY/LA run before the film in question comes to them by way of Netflix mere months later.

Meanwhile, screens upon screens across the nation are filled by the likes of the same stars and the same stories, with the same special effects and the same happy endings, leaving the smaller films, the different films, the better films to slip through the distribution cracks, as it were.

Among their number falls The Promotion, a film which we've admittedly supported ad nauseum to the oh-so-ironic tune of $365,928 on a grand total of 81 screens. It opened just this past weekend in my market, Orlando, Fla., on a single screen, for a whopping four days, with a grand total of eight showings, before being shuffled off to make room for that other Jason Bateman co-starring comedy-drama hybrid.

It was the first day of July, and the last night for the film. Having enjoyed it twice before and driven by - I don't know - a sense of romantic futility, I turned out for that final showing. Lo and behold, I wasn't alone...

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]]>bagheadcinematicaldistributionfan rantFanRantfeaturedindie filmIndieFilmkablueythe promotionThePromotionWilliam GossThu, 03 Jul 2008 12:02:00 ESTFan Rant: Do We Really Need 'Friends: The Movie'?http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/02/fan-rant-do-we-really-need-friends-the-movie/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/02/fan-rant-do-we-really-need-friends-the-movie/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/02/fan-rant-do-we-really-need-friends-the-movie/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



Here's a stat that may or may not blow your mind: According to Box Office Mojo, Sex and the City has grossed $312 million worldwide. Yup. $312,533,654 to be exact -- for a movie based on a hit HBO show that went off the air a few years ago. Since we all know what happens when Hollywood gets a look at those kinds of numbers, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to predict what the future holds: plenty more TV-to-movie adaptations. We're practically guaranteed another Sex and the City flick, and earlier today Monika brought us news that the long-rumored Friends movie might be moving forward.

Honestly, why wouldn't it move forward? You're telling me Matt Leblanc, whose last credit on IMDb is Joey, is holding out for a massive paycheck? Same goes for Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston, with the latter being the only one getting decent big-screen work (though, truth be told, she's about two movies away from becoming yesterday's news). The others are all showing up in bit parts, directing films that don't go anywhere and/or trying desperately to make the TV thing work again. Fact is, together they're a pot of gold. Apart and, well, we don't really care, do we?

But could a re-emergence on the big screen revive these careers? Could they somehow find a way to take the cutesy sitcom and turn it into a feature film people would actually want to see? Could Friends: The Movie make more money at the box office than Sex and the City? And should we care?

Continue reading Fan Rant: Do We Really Need 'Friends: The Movie'?

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]]>cinematicalcourteney coxCourteneyCoxdavid schwimmerDavidSchwimmerfeaturedfriendsfriends movieFriendsMoviejennifer anistonJenniferAnistonlisa kudrowLisaKudrowmatt leblancMattLeblancErik DavisWed, 02 Jul 2008 18:02:00 ESTFan Rant: Superhero Satires Get No Respecthttp://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/01/fan-rant-superhero-satires-get-no-respect/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/01/fan-rant-superhero-satires-get-no-respect/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/01/fan-rant-superhero-satires-get-no-respect/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



Although Will Smith plays an emotionally fragile superhero in Hancock, as a movie star he's practically invincible. By industry standards, the last genuine Smith dud was The Legend of Bagger Vance, but the actor's standing among many audiences has remained decidedly rocky. As a result, he occupies a unique corner of the Hollywood marketplace where quality and taste don't necessarily match up. Unlike, say, The Dark Knight, not many people eagerly await the latest Smith offering -- which currently has a 32% rating on Rotten Tomatoes -- but they'll see it anyway. Hancock is tracking well, thanks to a poster exclusively dominated by Smith's unshaven mug, and that pretty much seals its potent box office fate. Just as Smith's slapdash onscreen persona is bullet-proof, Smith himself is steadfastly critic-proof.

Which places movie in an interesting quagmire: After pulling in waves of cash, it will probably get relegated to the void of forgettable Smith fare, where spectacles offer passing amusement before scampering off forever. Hancock, however, deserves better than a fleeting moment in the limelight and a crash landing in the bargain bin. It's part of a genre that speaks directly to the modern state of blockbuster cinema: The superhero satire.

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]]>bad santaBadSantablankmanbrad birdBradBirdcharlize theronCharlizeTheroncriterioncriterion collectionCriterionCollectiondavid denbyDavidDenbyfeaturedfriday night lightsFridayNightLightsgenrehancockjason batemanJasonBatemanmeteor manMeteorManmr freedomMrFreedomnew yorkerNewYorkerpeter bergPeterBergrotten tomatoesRottenTomatoessuperhero moviesuperhero moviessuperhero satiresuperhero satire genreSuperheroMovieSuperheroMoviesSuperheroSatireSuperheroSatireGenrethe incrediblesthe legend of bagger vanceTheIncrediblesTheLegendOfBaggerVancewayans brothersWayansBrotherswill smithwill smith hancockwilliam kleinWilliamKleinWillSmithWillSmithHancockEric KohnTue, 01 Jul 2008 20:02:00 ESTFan Rant: Why 'Wall-E' Isn't "Hypocritical"http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/30/fan-rant-why-wall-e-isnt-hypocritical/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/30/fan-rant-why-wall-e-isnt-hypocritical/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/30/fan-rant-why-wall-e-isnt-hypocritical/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,



The media is playing two pointless games of "gotcha" with Pixar's wonderful Wall-E at the moment. Eric Kohn addressed the first -- conservative critics griping about the film's "left-wing" message -- over here. The other, best articulated in this post by CHUD's Devin Faraci and this mind-boggling missive from the New York Post's Kyle Smith, but also showing up in Todd McCarthy's Variety review, is that Wall-E's supposed anti-consumerist bent is "hypocrisy" on account of it's released by Disney. I think that's a stupid and dishonest argument, and here's why.

In its latter half, Wall-E presents a vision of the future in which humanity is fat, lazy, basically immobile but for their hoverchairs, and in thrall to a mega-corporation called Buy 'N Large that tells everyone what to do, what to think, and what to buy. The rest of the film is dedicated to Wall-E, EVE, and the spaceship Axiom's human population defying the corporation and returning back to Earth to recolonize. This is disingenuous, the thinking goes, because the Disney empire bears more than a few similarities to Buy 'N Large and, in fact, cynically counts on unthinking, overweight masses, to see its movies, buy its merchandise, and ride the rides at Disney World.

What you'll notice from the folks making this argument is a coy ambiguity about who exactly is being hypocritical here. If the claim is that Disney is being hypocritical by releasing Wall-E, then that may well be right -- but it's also not surprising, newsworthy, or even worth mentioning. Is anyone really shocked that a large, profit-seeking corporation is being opportunistic and ideologically inconsistent? Where is all the outrage about Disney flicks that push the individuality and non-conformism message, when the Walt Disney Company is dependent on a herd mentality among its consumers?

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]]>andrew stantonAndrewStantonDisneyfeaturedpixarwall-eEugene NovikovMon, 30 Jun 2008 13:02:00 ESTFan Rant: Steve Carell's Maxwell Smart and "The Principle of the Brick"http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/24/fan-rant-steve-carells-maxwell-smart-and-the-principle-of-the/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/24/fan-rant-steve-carells-maxwell-smart-and-the-principle-of-the/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/24/fan-rant-steve-carells-maxwell-smart-and-the-principle-of-the/#commentsFiled under: ,

As a long time fan of the original TV show, and as a grown up version of the kid who used to memorize William Johnston's paperbacks ... as a former elementary school student who went in for as many tedious "Would you believe?" jokes as the legions of film critics writing about this week's box office success ... as all of these things, I'm not expecting anything more heart-breaking this summer than Get Smart. From the under-performing villain (the usually savory Terence Stamp) to the dull direction by Peter Segal, the film was a complete tick-off.

Richard Schickel spelled out his own disappointment in the opening paragraph of his review in Time Magazine:

"A schlemiel may be, must be, grievously acted upon by the always malevolent world. But he can never be permitted to act effectively against that world. At the end of his adventures he must, somehow, triumph over the forces of darkness that surround him - but only accidentally so...In that spirit of genial fantasy, we permit out surrogate that utter self-confidence, that sublime sangfroid, with which with he cheerfully motors his way around and through disaster."

Continue reading Fan Rant: Steve Carell's Maxwell Smart and "The Principle of the Brick"

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]]>Don AdamsDonAdamsFrank CapraFrankCapraGet SmartGetSmartHarry LangdonHarryLangdonJames AgeeJamesAgeeJean DujardinJeanDujardinoss 117 cairo nest o...OSS 117 Cairo Nest of SpiesOss117CairoNestO...Oss117CairoNestOfSpiesRichard SchickelRichardSchickelTime MagazineTimeMagazineWilliam JohnstonWilliamJohnstonRichard von BusackTue, 24 Jun 2008 19:02:00 ESTFan Rant: Latin American Cinema's New Classicshttp://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/23/fan-rant-latin-american-cinemas-new-classics/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/23/fan-rant-latin-american-cinemas-new-classics/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/23/fan-rant-latin-american-cinemas-new-classics/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,



In case you don't read Entertainment Weekly and didn't see this week's double issue on "The New Classics," or you didn't see my post last week about their list of the best movies from the last 25 years, here's a sad fact: only six foreign-language films made the list. They are: Wings of Desire (#28); Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (#49); The Lives of Others (#56); All About My Mother (#69); Y Tu Mamá También (#86); and In the Mood for Love (#95). OK, so 6% is not terrible for a mainstream entertainment magazine, but EW had to add insult to injury with an accompanying map labeled "Movies: Breaking Down the List," which points to a number of locations around the globe in which some of these new classics are set. The only continent on the map without any love is South America (Antarctica was not included in the visual aid).

Now, before I get into my love letter to new Latin American cinema, I have to note that no film produced in Africa made the list either. However, on the map the continent was at least given some minuscule bit of love via the filming locations for Casino Royale and Gladiator. Yet despite the fact that South America was definitely used as a location in a few of the 100 films, it's shown no respect. And on top of that, Central America isn't even included on the map. For some strange reason there's just a gap between Mexico and South America. Meanwhile, Latin America's sole representative on EW's list, Mexico's Y Tu Mamá También, is left off the map so that no location from this area of the world, from the Mexican-U.S. border to Cape Horn, receives any recognition.

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]]>alejandro gonzalez innarituAlejandroGonzalezInnaritualfonso cuaronAlfonsoCuaronamores perrosAmoresPerrosargentine cinemaArgentineCinemabrazilian cinemaBrazilianCinemabus 174Bus174cao hamburgerCaoHamburgercarlos reygadasCarlosReygadascentral stationCentralStationchildren of menChildrenOfMencity of godCityOfGodfeaturedguillermo del toroGuillermoDelTorolatin american cinemaLatinAmericanCinemamexican cinemaMexicanCinemanine queensNineQueenspans labyrinthPansLabyrinthsilent lightSilentLightsouth american cinemaSouthAmericanCinemathe official storyTheOfficialStorywalter sallesWalterSallesChristopher CampbellMon, 23 Jun 2008 23:02:00 ESTFan Rant: Damn, I Miss Carlin Alreadyhttp://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/23/fan-rant-damn-i-miss-carlin-already/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/23/fan-rant-damn-i-miss-carlin-already/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/23/fan-rant-damn-i-miss-carlin-already/#commentsFiled under: , ,

To call the late George Carlin a comedian -- even an undeniably brilliant one -- would be a serious understatement. Most comedians hop up on the stage and deliver gags about sex, politics, drugs and airline food, and some of 'em are seriously funny people. But Carlin wouldn't bother with such slight efforts. This was a man who wanted to address the ills of our society (all of 'em!), but he knew that the best way to get his points across was through the powers of wit, cleverness and intelligence. Comedians (even good ones) are a dime a dozen ... but there will never be another monologue master on par with George Carlin.

Even as a kid -- long before I should have been allowed to enjoy his rants -- I knew Carlin was something special. Unlike many of his contemporaries (Robin Williams, Steve Martin, Richard Pryor, etc.), Carlin did not see The Movie Biz as the big brass ring, one to be snatched and hoarded forever at the expense of the stand-up stage. The simple truth is, and I mean this with nothing but affection and respect, George Carlin was not much of an actor. For the most part, producers saw the man as a crotchety little supporting player: Car Wash (1976), Americathon (1979), Outrageous Fortune (1987), Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991) represent the most that filmmakers could do with George Carlin. (He also had a small part in Barbra Streisand's The Prince of Tides, which of course I've never seen.)

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]]>frickin geniusFrickinGeniusgeorge carlinGeorgeCarlinScott WeinbergMon, 23 Jun 2008 16:02:00 ESTFan Rant: School Blames 'Juno' for Rise in Teen Pregnancieshttp://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/20/fan-rant-school-blames-juno-for-rise-in-teen-pregnancies/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/20/fan-rant-school-blames-juno-for-rise-in-teen-pregnancies/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/20/fan-rant-school-blames-juno-for-rise-in-teen-pregnancies/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Here's the set up: Folks have been a bit puzzled over the alarming rise in teen pregnancies at North Shore High School in Gloucester, Massachusetts. In the past year alone, 17 girls have tested positive for a little bun in the oven, and officials (as well as school administrators) were baffled as to why, all of a sudden, the girls in Gloucester were all sorts of knocked up. Crazy, right? And weird. I'll fully admit that to wind up with 17 girls pregnant in one high school at the same time seems a bit strange, especially when it's four times the level from the year before. Four times!

Completely baffled, officials turned to the only feasible explanation: Blame the movies. And when they looked around at popular movies within the past year -- whaddya know -- there was an Oscar winner with teen pregnancy scribbled all over it. Juno ... written by that teen pregnancy supporter Diablo Cody, and directed by a pregnant teen himself, Jason Reitman. Of course! The ridiculous rise in pregnancies had to do with Juno -- a film that made teen pregnancy look about as comfortable and enjoyable as stuffing yourself in a piece of old luggage and rolling down a mountain. There's the answer!

But should we talk to the girls? Maybe see if there's another explanation for all this? Nah. Leave it all on Juno ... after all, Fox Searchlight didn't hand out condoms outside movie theaters screening Juno (I sure as heck never got any condoms!), so, really, it's their fault for not paying closer attention. Right?

Ahem, and that's when the twist comes in ...

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]]>cinematicaldiablo codyDiabloCodyfeaturedgloucesterjason reitmanJasonReitmanjunonorth shore high schoolNorthShoreHighSchoolErik DavisFri, 20 Jun 2008 15:02:00 ESTFan Rant: The Big Screen Needs More Gore Vidalhttp://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/19/fan-rant-the-big-screen-needs-more-gore-vidal/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/19/fan-rant-the-big-screen-needs-more-gore-vidal/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/19/fan-rant-the-big-screen-needs-more-gore-vidal/#commentsFiled under: ,



I am Myra Breckinridge whom no man will ever possess. Clad only in garter belt and one dress shield, I held off the entire elite of the Trobriand Islanders, a race who possess no words for "why" or "because." Wielding a stone axe, I broke the arms, the limbs, the balls of their finest warriors, my beauty blinding them, as it does all men, unmanning them in the way that King Kong was reduced to mere simian whimper by beauteous Fay Wray whom I resemble left three-quarter profile if the key light is no more than five feet high during the close shot.

The above is the opening to Myra Breckinridge, which instantly sucked me into the world of Gore Vidal. I was a teen bored with the literature at school, as well as the fluff young-adult horror I was reading in my spare time, when I somehow stumbled on his book. Vidal's words were a beacon of light. Sure, there is more to Myra than rabid, powerful, and Amazonian femininity, but that was irrelevant because Vidal's novel was a gateway into the world beyond rural suburban life -- women with power, intelligence mixed with pulp, a crumbling gender barrier, Hollywood, and the vast world beyond cows and K-Mart.

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]]>CinematicalEugene VidalEugeneVidalGore VidalGoreVidalJimmie TrimbleJimmieTrimbleJoanna WoodwardJoannaWoodwardwriter biopicsWriterBiopicsMonika BartyzelThu, 19 Jun 2008 17:02:00 ESTFan Rant: Charlie Chaplin's Talkies Deserve More Respecthttp://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/17/fan-rant-charlie-chaplins-talkies-deserve-more-respect/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/17/fan-rant-charlie-chaplins-talkies-deserve-more-respect/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/17/fan-rant-charlie-chaplins-talkies-deserve-more-respect/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



As a fresh 35mm print of Charlie Chaplin's quintessential 1947 thriller Monsieur Verdoux begins circulating through revival houses around the country, it seems like a good time to remind people that while the late actor is mainly known as a star of the silent screen, he definitely didn't die with it. Although the greatest slapstick artist of all time initially rejected the development of sound film, mocking it with hilariously exaggerated voices in City Lights, he eventually adopted it after realizing that resistance was futile. However, he refused to simply throw in a few lines of dialogue to accompany his beloved tramp shtick, choosing instead to take his career in a fresh direction. While Chaplin made many sound films over the course of several decades, only two of them really qualify as classic talkies (except for Limelight, which deserves a category of its own). Late flops like A King of New York don't really hold together, but Chaplin's initial forays into the world of sound film display his talent as a composer of distinctive prose.

His first work of this era, The Great Dictator, remains a masterpiece that broadened the potential of his tramp character with a modified Prince and the Pauper tale applied to World War II, and Chaplin doing double duty playing both a Jewish barber and an exaggerated Adolf Hitler (or "Hinkel," rather). Monsieur Verdoux, in which he plays a frustrated man whose losses during the Great Depression lead to a twisted scheme where he marries, murders and robs rich women, represented something else altogether: Chaplin's only brooding melodrama, the occasional laughs are almost incidental.

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]]>adolf hinkeladolf hitlerAdolfHinkelAdolfHitlercharles chaplinCharlesChaplincharlie chaplinCharlieChaplincity lightsCityLightsdespair is a narcoticDespairIsANarcoticfeaturedfilm forumFilmForumgreat depressionGreatDepressionkillerking of new yorkKingOfNewYorkmodern timesModernTimesmonsieur verdouxmonsieurverdouxmurdererpauline kaelPaulineKaelpsychopathrevivalsrichard pryorRichardPryorsilent filmSilentFilmsound filmSoundFilmtalkiesthe great dictatorthe trampTheGreatDictatorTheTramptrampEric KohnTue, 17 Jun 2008 20:02:00 ESTFan Rant: In Defense of Ang Lee's 'Hulk'http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/10/fan-rant-in-defense-of-ang-lees-hulk/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/10/fan-rant-in-defense-of-ang-lees-hulk/http://www.cinematical.com/2008/06/10/fan-rant-in-defense-of-ang-lees-hulk/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

I thought the horror geeks were a pretty demanding lot, but they've got nothing on the comic book stalwarts. Give these guys safe, obvious, conventional superhero flicks like Elektra, Daredevil, Ghost Rider, and The Punisher -- and they complain. Rightly so, in my opinion. But then a filmmaker comes along and tries to buck that trend -- by bringing a decidedly untraditional approach to such an oft-told tale -- and those fans still find a way to get angry. I'm speaking of Ang Lee's Hulk, of course, a film that seems destined to be considered a "failure" for all eternity. And I think that's just lame. People talk about Hulk like its one step above Catwoman, for crying out loud!

Yes, the movie most definitely has its flaws, its missteps, and its slow spots (and really, who thought "mutant poodles" were a good idea?) -- but I'm of the opinion that Mr. Lee struck a very engaging balance between his affection for the source material and his intent to try something ... different. So while Hulk does offer your standard "origin story" and requisite battle scenes (most of which are pretty spectacular), it seems pretty obvious that the director was shooting for something both playful and "artsy" at the same time. Perhaps I'm just being a little bit charitable, given that The Hulk is my all-time favorite Marvel character -- but I tend to think that would make me a little more critical, all things considered. And since I've seen Hulk at least four times now, I'm well aware of what I consider to be its flaws and its assets. Clearly I think the latter outweigh the former. (Plus it stars Jennifer Connelly, don't forget, and she's my Kryptonite. Seriously.)

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]]>ang leeAngLeefan rantFanRanthulkScott WeinbergTue, 10 Jun 2008 11:02:00 EST