Yesterday we learned that a bunch of Disney movies will be available for free online, each for a limited time, this summer. Now, because everyone wants in on the streaming video game, Fox Searchlight has also put up three of its own films for free. Sideways, 28 Days Later and Quills can now be watched in full on the studio's website or on Hulu, which is hosting the videos. Hulu, known best as one of the premier streaming sites to watch TV episodes, is also hosting some movies from Searchlight parent Twentieth Century Fox, as well as from Lionsgate, Universal, MGM, Salient Media and FEARnet.

To me, the interesting thing about Searchlight's three available titles is that they're each R-rated, yet neither Fox nor Hulu requires proof of age to view the videos. The same goes for a few other titles offered on Hulu, but Searchlight's crop seems particularly adult in content. When I first saw the press release, I immediately thought of it as the antithesis to Disney's offerings. Of course, I don't mind who sees these movies. I'm having more difficulty getting over the idea of watching R-rated material with "limited commercial interruption." The ads make me feel like I'm watching a movie on network television, which of course would only broadcast films reedited or a general audience. But then suddenly I realize I'm not watching network-friendly versions when suddenly I'm seeing full-frontal male nudity in Quills. It's a little disorienting.

What do you think? Should Hulu have the same kind of censored cuts that the networks have to show? Or should these videos at least come with age-restrictive blockers?

In case you weren't sure, Zombie Strippers is exactly what it sounds like: a horror comedy about zombified strippers. And like most zombie movies, it has political subtext, though you don't have to worry about it being headier than something titled Zombie Strippers should be. Sure, it claims to be based loosely on Eugène Ionesco's classic absurdist play Rhinoceros and, sure, it features allusions to a number of philosophers, including Camus and Sartre, but really it's dumb and silly and a heck of a good time. Particularly if you're anything but sober. And if you're just looking for a grindhouse sort of guilty pleasure to pass the time.

Zombie Strippers opens with a montage that sets the scene: it's sometime in the near future, and Bush has just been reelected to his fourth term. Already, we know this movie will be a complete farce, but the ludicrous exposition continues, explaining that government scientists have developed a virus that allows soldiers in Iraq to continue fighting after they're killed. Yes, these super soldiers are zombies, a minor twist on Joe Dante's anti-Bush short Homecoming, which was one of the more critically celebrated episodes of the cable series Masters of Horror, and which featured Iraq War casualties rising from the dead in order to cast their vote against Bush's reelection.

With "geek" stuff like comics, sci-fi, and horror taking over the mainstream, ComicCon has become one of the biggest film events of the year. The studios really take it seriously, and this should be an excellent week for major film announcements. Today, the fairly new studio Fox Atomic, an offshoot of Fox targeting the 17-24 demographic, announced what festival goers can expect from them this year. It looks like their biggest push is for the upcoming revenge thriller Death Sentence. There will be an online sweepstakes to win a 1969 Ford Mustang featured in the film, starting when ComicCon opens its doors tomorrow. If you can't make it to the festival you can enter at the official movie website, http://deathsentencemovie.com, up until the film is released on August 31st. Death Sentence stars Kevin Bacon as a man out to avenge his son's death, and co-stars John Goodman and Kelly Preston. James Wan (Saw) directed. Bacon, co-star Garrett Hedlund and Wan will be signing autographs at ComicCon this Saturday at 3PM.

Also, be on the lookout for a contest to win a Fender Stratocaster guitar signed by the cast of the upcoming comedy The Rocker. You can read more about that movie here and here, it tells "the story of a failed, over-the-hill drummer who is given a second chance at fame." Rainn Wilson plays the drummer and Christina Applegate will be his love interest. Only in the movies, folks! Fox Atomic is understandably putting a big focus on their graphic novel publishing arm at ComicCon as well. Signings and giveaways are scheduled for Joe Harris and Stuart Moore's The Nightmare Factory, due out on September 4th, as well as their film-based graphic novels -- 28 Days Later: The Aftermath by Steve Niles and The Hills Have Eyes: The Beginning by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. It looks like just about all of the artists and authors will be in attendance. We've got all sorts of ComicCon news, announcements, and goodness coming your way from San Diego (which, of course, is German for "whale's vagina") all this week and through the weekend, so stick around and stay classy.

The horror debate has been simmering for a while now, not just between movie bloggers and fans, but amongst bigger names in the biz. Earlier this month, Joe Carnahan threw up a big ol' rant about torture porn on his website. Then Stephen King added his two cents to the discussion, and said of a BTK Killer film*: "It makes me feel creepy just to think about it. It's almost like exploiting murder for the sake of murder." Finally, the other day, Ryan posted about Eli Roth's MySpace rant that R-rated horror was in danger. Now the simmer is becoming a full-fledged boil, and we've got news about the increasing backlash.

First, the Hills Have Eyes' studio Fox Atomic is apparently taking a step back from the horror biz. B-D says that the only horror flick that is currently being made by the company is a PG-13 remake of The Entity -- an interesting choice for youth-friendly fare, as it's a supposed-to-be-true story about a woman tormented and sexually molested by an invisible demon. BD speculates that no one should hold their breath to see the next 28 Days Later installment, which was planned to work up to 28 Years Later.

But that's not all: B-D also points to a recent chat between MTV and Brittany Snow, the Hairspray actress who just shot a remake to Prom Night -- or rather, a re-invention: "It's just taking the same name as Prom Night the original, but it's a different script. It's actually more in the vein of Fear, with Reese Witherspoon and Mark Wahlberg." Yeah, yeah. But here is the kicker: "It's more of a thriller. There's no blood, guts or gore." On the one hand, I could ask why they'd bother to refer to it as a remake of the 80's slasher film, when there's no blood and an entirely different script. On the other -- is this backlash going overboard? And what does this mean? Will the victims fall all old-school cowboy style, with a grimace and an exaggerated collapse?

I'm all for a radical shakeup and rethinking of horror -- in a way where women aren't tortured captives, and with blood and guts that's a little more subdued. Or heck, revive the heyday of fake blood and guts. Instead of insisting everything looks completely real, there's something fun about the Kill Bill 'geysers of blood' style of gore.

*Thanks to Anthony for the correction. The quote wasn't directly about Captivity.

Almost all of the films directed by Danny Boyle deal with some kind of get rich scheme. Sometimes, as in Shallow Grave and Millions, the money comes by accident. Other times, like in The Beach and A Life Less Ordinary, they involve failed attempts to illegally make some dough. It's been awhile since I've seen it, so I really can't remember how the robbery in Trainspotting goes, but it's there even if the main deal of that movie is getting high, not rich. As for 28 Days Later, and I'm guessing the upcoming Sunshine, there is no wealth to be had, but Boyle's next film, Slum Dog Millionaire, which has been scripted by The Full Monty writer Simon Beaufoy, will again be dealing with a large sum of money.

As we told you a few weeks ago, Boyle is already in pre-production on Slum Dog, which we only knew involves a true story about a boy from the slums of Mumbai who wins big on India's version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. But instead of the boy being really smart, as we had thought, it now turns out the film's protagonist is illiterate and not well-educated. We learn this from Time Out's movie blog, which got a good deal of the plot synopsis out of Boyle for a recent podcast. The director says the film will show how the boy luckily knew all the answers because they all related to experiences in his life. His win was apparently a big shock to the show's producers, who suspected the boy of cheating. The best part of the story, though, is that the boy didn't mean to do so well; he only wanted to go on television in the hopes it would help him find his love, a girl who he'd lost connection with. Sounds like another fairy tale perfectly suited for Boyle.

If there's one thing that's more inevitable than a PG-13 remake of a classic horror flick, it's a sequel to an "out of nowhere" horror hit. And yes, I most definitely consider Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later to be (at least partially) a horror flick, although I have a few geek friends who love to argue about that. And we all know the drill by now: We hear that something called 28 Weeks Later is in production and we get really conflicted. On one hand, another dose of infected terror could be a real hoot; on the other, we really hate it when we see lame-o sequels spawned from really solid genre flicks.

The good news is that, based on what I've seen and heard regarding 28 Weeks Later, we just might be in for a gruesome good time. And if you'd like a nifty little taste of what's in store for a post-apocalyptic London, then by all means check out this brand-new trailer for the sequel. (Before yesterday you could only see this clip if you went to see The Hills Have Eyes 2, and while it's a pretty good trailer, I don't really consider that a fair trade-off.) Helmed by Intacto director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, the follow-up stars folks like Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau and Catherine McCormack and it opens wide on May 11.

Fox Atomic decided to torture us by inviting us over the the swanky Fox lot to view the first 28 minutes of the in-progress flick, 28 Weeks Later (we parked in "The Sound of Music," and let me tell you ... those hills were most definitely not alive. They didn't have eyes either, thankfully). I can say with absolute conviction, if you liked the first one, you're going to like this one as well. It's also safe to say (according to Fox Atomic) that you don't have to have seen the first film in order to enjoy this one. That's definitely true from what I was treated to.

Here's the setting: it's 28 weeks since the outbreak of the Rage infection that decimated London in the first film, 28 Days Later (hence 28 Weeks Later ... both movies are timed from the infection outbreak, which is day zero.) If you haven't seen the first film, the Rage virus/infection isn't pretty. One bite (or even a single drop of blood) from someone who is infected will put you instantly into a "state of irreversible hyperactivity and murderousness," according to Wikipedia. It's almost like being turned into a familiar horror movie staple (we aren't using the zed word here), except with the extreme hyperactivity.

Last time we covered the new-fangled Special Editions of Spider-Man 2, That Thing You Do!, Alexander, Payback and The Full Monty. This time we got a Robert Redford baseball classic, Steve Carrell's leading man coming-out party and a British horror flick that's got a sequel very close on the horizon. Oh, and Porky's. Because who doesn't need a Porky's audio commentary?

28 Days Later -- Just in time for 28 Weeks Later comes a second platter that only the hardcore fans will need to own. Apparently all the extras from the first Fox DVD will be included; new goodies include a behind-the-scenes peek at the sequel, an animated short that'll bridge the two flicks and one free ticket to 28 Weeks Later. Since I adore this movie, I must give in and purchase it. Studios love people like me. May 1 is the DVD release date; May 11 marks the sequel's arrival in theaters.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin -- The original DVD came packed with a good deal of supplemental features, but with Steve Carell's Evan Almighty and Judd Apatow's Knocked Up right around the corner, now seems like a pretty clever time for the ol' double-dip. The new 2-discer arrives on May 22, but we don't have any information on the extras just yet. (Incidentally, I just re-watched this flick last night and damn if it doesn't hold up really well.)

The Natural -- You can have your Field of Dreams and your Bull Durham. Fine films to be sure, but to me the Baseball Movie begins and ends with The Natural (OK, The Natural and Eight Men Out). Streeting on April 3rd is an extended director's cut of The Natural, which will run about 144 minutes, as opposed to the theatrical cut's ... 134. So that's ten more minutes of footage, but you'll also get a whole bunch of awesome new goodies, including what seems to be a feature-length behind-the-scenes documentary. Coooool!

Porky's -- One of Canada's most successful cinematic exports (by far) hits DVD in this full-bore "One Size Fits All" Special Edition. Hooray. In addition to the (admittedly very influential) sill sex comedy, fans will also get a Bob Clark audio commentary, three new featurettes, theatrical trailers and random silliness. On May 8 you can pick this one up -- or you can opt for the "Porky's Ultimate Collection," which features Porky's 2: The Next Day and (for the first time ever on DVD) the really lame Porky's Revenge.

(Oh, just so you know: Two of last year's most excellent films, Children of Men and Pan's Labyrinth, have just received digital release dates. March 27 and May 15, respectively.)


[Thanks to DavisDVD.com and DVDActive.com.]

For those of you looking to hire Alan Hedgcock to work on your film, you might notice his websites are down (bandwith exceeded). This is either because all of Hollywood is trying to access the pages, or because the authorities have taken them down due to the fact that he has just been found guilty of conspiring to rape two children. Hedgcock, along with two other men, were sentenced to a total of 27 years in prison (Hedgcock's sentence is 8 years) for their plot to kidnap and rape two teenage sisters, as well as for possession of child pornography.

Hedgcock's special effects makeup work can be seen in 28 Days Later ..., Kingdom of Heaven, First Knight, Black Hawk Down and The Upside of Anger, among other films. He also apparently co-wrote the book Behind the Mask: The Secrets of Hollywood's Monster Makers. Evidence introduced at trial showed that it was Hedgcock who first suggested the plan -- to abduct the two girls, aged 13 and 14 -- to his partner. Together with this partner, he then detailed a plan to rape the girls in a nearby woods. Hedgcock's partner broke down and alerted police of the plans before they could be carried out. The two men were cleared on charges of conspiracy to commit murder.

I know it's generally considered cool to trash whatever horror movies were popular / well-reviewed a few years back, but I still hold a rather strong affection for Danny Boyle's hardcore horror/sci-fi flick 28 Days Later. And that means that I'm cautiously optimistic (and a little bit psyched) for next year's sequel, the somewhat cleverly-titled 28 Weeks Later. Those who share my enthusiasm for this project will undoubtedly want to venture over to the official Fox Atomic site and check out the "work-in-progress" trailer that the studio is sharing with us. Based on what's in the clip (in addition to what I saw during a set visit), the sequel looks to be pretty darn nasty. And I mean nasty in an ironic way -- like "dope" or "phat."

28 Weeks Later stars Robert Carlyle, Catherine McCormack, Jeremy Renner and Harold Perrineau, is directed by Intacto helmer Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and has as its producers the original 28 team of Boyle, Macdonald and Garland. The flick doesn't open until next May, but hey, it's always nice when we have a few new horror flicks out there on the horizon. Even if they're sequels.