Posted Nov 20th 2009 2:15PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Fandom, NSFW, Trailers and Clips
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You've read
all the reviews and
interviews, and watched all the spoof videos. Most of you reading this have probably already watched the film, too. Today, as
The Twilight Saga: New Moon finally reaches theaters, it sorta feels like the day after Christmas -- all this hype, work and constant coverage building up to the release of just one film ... and then it's over. Now the "real" fans will begin their endless geeked-out debates on their own fansites, and the rest of us will talk about the film's boffo box office while preparing for three weeks worth of nonstop promo for JAMES F*CKING CAMERON'S AVATAR! ROAR!
So while you drink the last of your blood energy drink, and begin breaking down the Bella and Edward Nativity Scene that's currently on your front lawn, why not let our good buddy
Kevin Smith have the last word on all things
Twilight. During his panel at this past San Diego Comic-Con, Smith went off for about four minutes on the Twilight Phenomenon, and took us through the experience of watching a clip from
New Moon while thousands of young girls screamed their silly little heads off. It's a very amusing clip (that's homemade, so excuse the jerky camera movements), and if it's the last thing you watch before folks begin ramping up their
Eclipse coverage, you'll find yourself a happier and more well-adjusted human being because of it.
Watch the clip after the jump, though be warned that it comes with plenty of foul language.
Continue reading The Last Word(s) on 'Twilight' Belong to Kevin Smith
Posted Nov 20th 2009 11:15AM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, 20th Century Fox, Movie Marketing, Fan Rant
I'm pretty easygoing when it comes to marketing and product placement. It's so ubiquitous that I tune it out, or laugh along when it shows up on
30 Rock. I can never really muster up the rage some viewers do when Pizza Hut, Ford, or the iPhone is prominently placed in a movie or television show. The most I'll do is roll my eyes and joke about it later on ("Did you notice that? Lame!"), because I find the big picture to be more important than some high-priced props. That is, I didn't care until Fox proudly announced that
Bones will return in two weeks with an
Avatar themed episode. (The promo is embedded below the jump for the curious and eager.)
Look, I get why Fox would think this was a slamdunk. It's on their network, and one of
Bones' recurring cast members,
Joel Moore, is actually in
Avatar. I understand that the combination makes the December 3 episode of
Bones prime advertising real estate. But come on! Can't you just run some flashy commercials, a new trailer, or "a special behind-the-scenes look" like you did with films back during the good old days? Doesn't anyone at 20th Century Fox wonder if it doesn't look a little desperate to coerce an entire show into the PR game? After all,
Avatar was supposed to sell itself purely on the photo-real effects, the world of Pandora, and the name of James Cameron. Why do they need
Bones?
Continue reading Fun or Lame: Fox's 'Bones' Becomes One Big 'Avatar' Promo
Posted Nov 19th 2009 9:15PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Fandom
The
Twilight Saga has whipped up a frantic fervor in fangirls, opening doors to female fandom while sticking incessant and neverending thorns in the folks who want Bella and Edward to go far, far away. But it's also brought up a pretty interesting argument: What makes a vampire? I teased about the notion yesterday when I wrote about
the Daybreakers PSA; however, can we really define what makes a vampire beyond sharp teeth and a thirst for blood? And if we can, what is necessary and what can be finagled?
Vampires have been around forever in some shape or form, flying through the worlds of folklore and darkness before shuffling into their modern guise of pale, 19th century blood drinkers. In 1819,
John William Polidori presented The Vampyre ushering in this idea of the mysterious man entering high society, seducing young women with vampiric charm. "In spite of the deadly hue of his face, which never gained a wanner tint, either from the blush of modesty, or from the strong emotion of passion, though its form and outline were beautiful, many of the female hunters after notoriety attempted to win his attentions, and gain, at least, some marks of what they might term affection." From then on, no lady was ever safe.
Continue reading What Makes a Real Vampire?
Posted Nov 19th 2009 7:44PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Fandom, Contests
Thanks to the hundreds of you who submitted photos for
Cinematical's Fifth Annual Halloween Costume Contest! We're happy to finally bring you the two winners of this year's contest in the adult and child category. As seen above, to the left we have our child winner in his ridiculously hilarious Headless Harry Potter costume, and to the right we have our adult winner with his very stylish homemade Iron Man costume. Major kudos to you both for your inspired movie-loving creativity! Once again, here's what these folks won:
Grand Prize Package: Adult Winner
Insignia Blu-Ray DVD player
Collection of 5 Magnolia DVDs
(The Host, Donkey Punch, Shrooms, Splinter,
The Signal)
Grand Prize Package: Youth Winner (entrants under the age of 18)
Note: This prize package contains DVDs for both kids and adults (we figured you parents deserved something for all your hard work, too).
Peanuts 1970's Collection Volume 1
Chop Socky Chooks: Volume One
Curious George A Very Monkey Christmas
Aussie & Ted's Great adventure
Tom and Jerry Greatest Chases V3
Scare Tactics Season 3 Part 1
Turner Classic Movies: Greatest Classic Horror Films
The Hills Run Red
Trick 'R Treat
Those still itching for more can view all 20 finalists (and their costumes) after the jump. See you next year!
Continue reading Congrats to Our Halloween Costume Contest Winners!
Posted Nov 19th 2009 6:15PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, Newsstand
Retire. I am starting to hate that word in Hollywood. Most of the time it doesn't mean what it suggests. Retirement means ending work, maybe taking on a side gig if you really need to or are really bored, but for the most part, it's ending life in the workforce and enjoying a life of leisure. In cinema, however, it seems to be anyone who is taking a break from the biz. Luc Besson's "retired," as is Sean Connery. Now ...
Robert Downey Jr.?
The ever popular actor has told
Entertainment Weekly that he might quit acting. "I've never had it this good -- this is my day in the sun -- and I certainly don't want to look a gift horse in the molars. But [my wife] Susan and I want to begin to be in our lives as much as we are in our jobs. I'd love just to sit here and say, 'What movie's playing tonight?' I'd love to finish the new book about D-day I'm reading. I love painting, I love music." And if you can get through that without your gut falling out in dread: "But here's the thing: I can only be a guy on a call sheet probably, I don't know, maybe a couple more times. It's something I'm so grateful to have in my palm, and yet I already see its inevitable decay."
He does leave room for hope by saying: "If
Sherlock Holmes performs well, I could be busy for the next 5 or 7 or 10 years." But who knows whether that's just him appeasing potential fan backlash, dread at the thought of never catching a break, feeling uncertain in his career, or some other reason altogether. But if it's true and does happen, I shudder to think of Hollywood without his talent.
Posted Nov 19th 2009 3:15PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Comedy, Fandom, Home Entertainment
While the wheels on the Wagon Queen Family Truckster are still in motion with regards to a brand new
Vacation film as told through the eyes of Clark Griswold's son Rusty and his family (which
New Line is currently working on alongside David Dobkin), the original Clark and Ellen Griswold (Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo, respectively) will be making a return appearance this February on the small screen as part of a Superbowl commercial for
HomeAway vacation rentals.
Yup, Chase and D'Angelo will be reprising their characters for a commercial that
US Weekly says will pay homage to the 1983 original film,
National Lampoon's Vacation. Says Chase, "To this day, people ask me, 'When is the next Vacation movie?" So I'm sure everyone will get a kick out of seeing the Griswolds and their misadventures once again." D'Angelo adds, "Clark and Ellen have one of the most enduring marriages ever to come out of Hollywood. I am thrilled that HomeAway is reuniting Chevy and me." Aside from Chase and D'Angelo, the TV spot will also reportedly feature an exact replica of the iconic station wagon featured in first film.
Though it's not exactly a big-screen reunion for the original Griswold parents, it'll be fun to see them back together again for what I hope will be an entertaining Superbowl spot. And, hey, I guess after watching that we'll know whether or not we want them back for cameo appearances in the next
Vacation movie, too.
Posted Nov 19th 2009 2:08PM by Jen Yamato
Filed under: Drama, Romance, Fandom, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Trailers and Clips
Ladies, I have important news: we've got another
Robert Pattinson movie to "squeee" over. The
New Moon heartthrob stars in Summit's romantic drama
Remember Me, in which RPattz apparently gets to -- dare I say it? -- act his little butt off. By which I mean, throwing punches and yelling at James Bond and being sensitive and making out with
Emilie de Ravin, all while rocking an American accent! Sigh. I can't wait.
Ok, so
Remember Me is a gimme - of course every
Twilight fan is going to run to buy tickets to watch
Edward Cullen Rob Pattinson be romantic and emo and, most importantly, have a sex scene or two or three. (I'm extrapolating from the one shot of Pattinson and de Ravin with an L sheet covering them in bed in the trailer.) And your boyfriends and husbands probably won't want to be dragged to see it any more than they did the
Twilight films. But judging from the very first trailer,
Remember Me might just offer Pattinson his first big chance to prove his acting chops in a widely seen release, following dramatic but quirky turns in indies like
Little Ashes and
How to Be.
Watch the trailer debut for Remember Me after the jump, stat! Continue reading OMG! Rob Pattinson In the 'Remember Me' Trailer!
Posted Nov 19th 2009 10:33AM by Todd Gilchrist
Filed under: Fandom, Home Entertainment, Shelf Life
This week, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released
Leon: The Professional on Blu-ray, and because I have the best job in the world, I got to watch it for this column. The truth is that this was a formative movie for me, not only augmenting my budding cinephilia in terms of attention to and interest in strongly visual filmmakers, but in understanding the technical and artistic value of widescreen cinema. Before the film was released on widescreen VHS and later, DVD, I watched the pan-and-scan version when it was first released on video and almost got sick from the cropping and scanning of director
Luc Besson's balletic camerawork.
Thankfully, I never have to watch it via that sort of butchered presentation again, and even if you don't think the movie is a masterpiece, at the very least, SPHE's new Blu-ray offers a gorgeously rich transfer that fully celebrates Besson's cinematography. But even though this is a film I've revisited several times since its original release in 1994, I was curious to see how well
The Professional would hold up some 15 years later – which brings us to this week's "Shelf Life."
Continue reading Shelf Life: The Professional
Posted Nov 18th 2009 9:45PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Casting, RumorMonger, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek
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And the list of women who may or may not appear in
Spider-Man 4 continues to grow. Now Nikki Finke over at
Deadline Hollywood reports through her sources (who, when it comes to Marvel, seem to be pretty reliable) that producers have "approached"
Anne Hathaway regarding a starring role in
Spider-Man 4. It doesn't say she's been offered the role, or that she's in negotiations to take on the role, only that she's been approached.
Finke also wasn't sure which role it would be, though all signs point to it being that of Black Cat -- who, in the past couple weeks -- has seen everyone from Julia Stiles to Rachel McAdams vying for a piece of that pus ... Spidey pie. Hathaway definitely showed off her acrobatic side in last summer's
Get Smart, and certainly has enough of that hottie-yet-down-to-earth sex appeal to draw Mr. Parker into a web of problematic romantic entanglements. Personally, I still like Stiles for the role, but that's me. The studio, however, probably figures they'll get more butts in the seats with Hathaway. So we'll see. Regardless, we're getting close to an official announcement. Who do you want?
Spider-Man 4 hits theaters on May 6, 2011.
Posted Nov 18th 2009 5:25PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Comedy, Fandom, Fan Rant
Comedies are, by definition, doomed to a certain, set existence. Quoting Oxford's Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms: "Its ending will usually be happy for the leading characters. In another sense, the term was applied in the Middle Ages to narrative poems that end happily." This was compounded by the advent of New Comedy, which "abandoned topical satire in favour of fictional plots based on contemporary life: these portrayed the tribulations of young lovers caught up among stock characters such as the miserly father and the boastful soldier."
So here we sit, doomed to repeat ourselves over and over because some dudes from way back when made laughs of a certain path. There will be an outbreak of shenanigans, some goofy stock characters along the way, and then the almost inevitable happy ending with cheek-pinching smiles, swelling music, and feel-good moments. A lot of the time, it works. We giggle, the credits roll, and we leave the theater feeling happy and refreshed.
But just as often, I find myself dreading the second half and that inevitable tonal shift. The film will begin to swell into a picture-perfect happy ending, characters softening and getting just what they need for the desired conclusion, whether that be saccharine sweetness, uncharacteristic responsibility, or
Meet the Parents type chaos. The personalities and paths of the characters become second-fiddle to the need to wrap up the story. Rather than simply enjoying the world that's been set up, soon we must watch it wrap into a pretty bow.
Continue reading Discuss: Are You Tired of the Happy Comedic Ending?
Posted Nov 18th 2009 4:45PM by Peter Hall
Filed under: Action, Fandom, War
I'm already a big
Kevin McKidd fan from his work on television shows like
Rome and the woefully under-seen
Journeyman, as well as his turns in Ridley Scott's
Kingdom of Heaven and Neil Marshall's
Dog Soldiers, but his comments on the increasing possibility of a
Call of Duty film have made me love the actor even more. For those who weren't in line at midnight for the recent launch of the latest CoD entry,
Modern Warfare 2, you should know that
Call of Duty is a first-person-shooter video game series that started off during World War II but has since spread its settings throughout the last hundred or so years of combat.
A few months ago Activision, the game's publisher, filed for a
Call of Duty movie-related trademark, hinting that they were planning on kick-starting a film franchise as well. After the
$550 millon success of
Modern Warfare 2, the
New York Post caught up with Kevin McKidd, who lends his voice to Soap, one of the games' staple characters, about his involvement with the project and if there was any progress on the film front. His response is golden:
"They were looking for a rough, Scottish actor in Hollywood they probably couldn't get Gerard Butler, so they got the No. 2 Gerard Butler, me. I had no idea it would be so huge, and now there are talks of a feature film," ... "if the script is good, and Gerard isn't available [laughs], then absolutely."
Continue reading 'Call of Duty' Movie Talk Highlights Kevin McKidd's Sense of Humor
Posted Nov 18th 2009 4:02PM by Jessica Barnes
Filed under: Romance, Fandom, Trailers and Clips
Teen icon
Miley Cyrus can't do anything these days without causing a stir of some kind. The only thing I can't figure out is if she does it on purpose or just has a bad case of her mouth running away with her. During a recent backstage interview with the singer/actress, Cyrus was asked the defining question of our generation: "Team Edward or Team Jacob?" Well, it turns out the answer is neither, and she told journalists, "I've never seen [Twilight], nor will I. I don't believe in it. I don't like vampires, I don't like the wolf that pops out of the screen when I'm watching TV at night, I don't want anything to do with it." (Oh snap! There's going to be a tween-off. Just think, it will be like
West Side Story but with glitter and blond wigs!) Personally, I think she was trying to make a joke, and if she was, her comedy skills definitely need a little work.
Now, the cynic in me would mark the fact that this latest headline to spring from the tween sensation is just in time for the release of the trailer of her new romantic weepie,
The Last Song. So what better way to get teen girls' attention than to bad-mouth their hunk(s) of the moment?
Last Song stars Cyrus as a piano prodigy reconnecting with her father (played by
Greg Kinnear) and falling in love, but this is a
Nicholas Sparks story, so I can only assume somebody is going to die or get a horrible disease before the flick is through. The film is Cyrus' latest attempt to shed her
Hannah Montana image and was the next step in becoming a serious actress. But now we'll have to see if she lives long enough to avoid a Cullen-inspired vendetta.
After the jump: the trailer for The Last Song and Cyrus' take on Twilight...Continue reading Miley Cyrus Hates Twilight, Debuts New Trailer
Posted Nov 18th 2009 2:18PM by Peter Hall
Filed under: Fandom, Home Entertainment
One of the first big information breaks on the secrets of James Cameron's
Avatar came back in June when the director himself took the stage at E3 during Ubisoft's press conference to talk about the upcoming video game based on the film. In his now notorious talk, Cameron drained the energy out of the room by going on and on about the plot of the game, which mirrors the movie's, revealing so much information that
Joystiq remarked "we no longer feel obligated to see it when it hits theaters." What they were shown of the game, however, was stunning. Ubisoft had been plugging away at it for over two years and it showed in the lush, player-interactive world of Pandora.
And now you too can get a first hand look at the
Avatar game without having to hear Cameron spoil the movie. That is if you have a PC that meets the minimum system requirements which are, not unsurprisingly, quite beefy.
ShackNews picked up on the PC demo for the game, which will be available in full for the 360, PS3 and Wii on December 1st, from the German Coca-Cola Zero site of all places, and now they're
hosting it for nerds the world over to try out. Being a worldly nerd, I grabbed the 1.6gig demo and gave it a play through. It was fun, but more surprising was how much context it gave the images we've seen so far from the mega-budget production.
Read the rest of our preview over at SciFi SquadPosted Nov 18th 2009 12:02PM by Jeffrey M. Anderson
Filed under: Romance, Fandom
Welcome to a new series here on Cinematical where we select an actor or actress and the role we think is their all time best.
Last August, "Meryl Streep" wrote an op-ed piece for
The Onion called "Name One Masterpiece Of Cinema That I've Starred In." It was really written by the
Onion staff, of course, but they (and Streep) made a good point. For a woman who is very possibly the finest living actor of any sex, she has made very few truly unforgettable films. Her resume doesn't contain anything quite like
Rear Window,
The Godfather,
Chinatown or
Pulp Fiction. Case in point: the article brings up
Kramer vs. Kramer. "Streep" says "I'd watch it if it were on," but it isn't really a masterpiece. Also, it's more Dustin Hoffman's movie than Streep's movie, and if you look at it that way, it ranks pretty far down on Hoffman's list of classics.
Streep's two best bona-fide classics are without a doubt Woody Allen's
Manhattan (1979) and Michael Cimino's
The Deer Hunter (1978), but she has only tiny roles in both. Despite Streep's excellence, films like
The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981),
Sophie's Choice (1982),
Silkwood (1983),
Out of Africa (1985),
Plenty (1985),
Ironweed (1987),
A Cry in the Dark (1988),
Marvin's Room (1996),
One True Thing (1998),
Music of the Heart (1999) or
The Hours (2002) aren't exactly compulsively watchable, nor do they turn up on very many lists of favorite films. You could also eliminate her comedies like
She-Devil (1989),
Postcards from the Edge (1990) and
Death Becomes Her (1992), and her recent string of lightweight hits like
The Manchurian Candidate (2004),
The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and
Mamma Mia! (2008).
Continue reading Their Best Role: Meryl Streep
Posted Nov 18th 2009 11:15AM by Elisabeth Rappe
Filed under: New Releases, Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, Newsstand, Fan Rant
On the heels of speculation that
Twilight was
making abstinence fashionable comes a very amusing bit of hand-wringing from
Details magazine. Reporting from the Ground Zero of Forks, Washington during Stephanie Meyer Day,
Details discovered that it wasn't just impressionable teenagers pinning their hopes on Edward,
married women were also carrying a torch for the eternal teenager: "Gentlemen, your wives have something they want to tell you. The polite way to put it is that the pressures and demands of running a home in the 21st century have a way of siphoning off the platelets from even the most red-blooded of romantic unions. To be blunt: Life is a grind, and our wives are bored sh*tless. Edward Cullen has, for millions of passion-starved better halves worldwide, become the undead embodiment of everything the contemporary schlub seems to have shed: danger, poetry, strength, speed, eternal devotion, and an insatiable hunger for the jugular."
The modern man is finding it impossible to compete with Edward, and
Details worries about the erotic dreams he's spawning in married women. The magazine listens dutifully to female confessions that range from enthusiastic to cagey, and lends sympathy to the wives whose husbands "don't get"
Twilight or what it provides. "But with life so crazy, this is my escape -
Twilight. Edward. Men get into that comfortable rut once the relationship is there. Life gets so busy ... Men and women both, they lose that need to impress each other."
Continue reading Does Pattinson's Edward Cullen Make Men Feel Inadequate?
Next Page >
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?
Jaycee Dugard's Horrific Story to Get a Sleazy Adaptation
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