HaroldAndKumarEscapeFromGuantanamoBay Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Cinematical Seven: Movies to Watch While Stuck in an Airport
Filed under: Action », Classics », Comedy », Cinematical Seven »
Can everyone guess where I am right now, and what I'm doing? I'm very thankful that the New Orleans airport has free wireless available while I wait for an airplane crew to show up for my flight, so I can return to sunny Austin. In the meantime, I have a laptop and Internet access and a stack of DVDs to watch. I am prepared. I can watch movies indefinitely if necessary, especially if I can get Hulu or Netflix's Watch Instantly cranked up.
I have a few suggestions for packing / purchasing / (legally) downloading movies to watch on your laptop or other device in an airport or on a plane. Pick at least one or two movies that are old familiar favorites. Sometimes when you're stuck in a terminal with poor food choices, a "comfort movie" can be your very best friend. In addition, I find it difficult to listen clearly to movies on an airplane or even in a noisy terminal (you don't want the sound too loud, so you can hear updates on your flight's delay), so it's best to pick something where you already know what's going on and don't need to catch every last nuance of dialogue. Big goofy action films and physical comedies have an advantage over talkier films where you have to pay attention.
In compiling this list of specific recommendations, I tried to avoid the overwhelmingly obvious choices for watching movies in airports -- personally, I don't want to watch disaster films at times like this, or even spoofs of disaster films like that timeless comedy Airplane. The Terminal and Snakes on a Plane also a little too close for comfort. I thought instead of lighter fare, with scenes that emphasized the fantasy world of airline travel, good or bad, and the magic of escapism. Next time, I'm tucking a few of these in my laptop bag myself.
400 Screens, 400 Blows - Cross-Culture Club
Filed under: Foreign Language », Columns », 400 Screens, 400 Blows »
Over the course of my time in this job I have acquired a reputation as someone who reviews and appreciates lots of foreign films. Of course, at the same time I have occasionally been accused of not understanding these films at all, which is partially true. It's not technically possible for one person to fully absorb and comprehend every facet of every industrialized culture in the world. For one thing, subtitles never accurately translate what's being spoken, and then there are little cultural things, certain behaviors, for example, that may not translate either. Conversely, it's impossible for any one person -- filmmakers included -- to represent a culture. It gets even more complex than that, if you want to boil it down. For example, I could say that I identify with the characters in High Fidelity (2000), but if you consider that I've never been to Chicago, and consider further that the book was originally set in London, then it creates a cultural divide. That movie has levels that will forever be out of my grasp.
You do your best. You keep an open mind. Although, I admit I'm usually disappointed when I see too many Western filmmaking elements slavishly copied in Eastern films (Mongol, The Counterfeiters, etc.); it shows the overwhelming influence of Hollywood on other parts of the world. I'm sure more people in Portugal saw Transformers than saw Manoel de Oliveira or Pedro Costa's latest films.
Choose Your Own 'Harold and Kumar' Adventure
Filed under: Comedy », Fandom », Home Entertainment »
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New Line has released info on the DVD for Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (which hits streets on July 29th), and apparently there will be some sorta Choose Your Own Adventure device worked in. The folks over at DVD Active don't mention this aspect of the DVD, but they do give us some specs (on both the DVD and Blu-ray disc): "Extras on the 2-disc will include a commentary with the director and stars, a second commentary with the director, the real "Harold Lee" and the guy who plays George W. Bush, a World of Harold and Kumar featurette, 27 Additional Scenes, and a Bush PSA."Notice those additional 27 scenes? Yeah, well Slashfilm tells us another feature listed is one called "Dude, Change the Movie!" They say we'll be able "to select from new and alternate scenes to change the course of the film." One can only imagine how many people will get [some] baked [goods] and have a blast messing with the film, swapping scenes out, etc ...
I had a good time with Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay when a bunch of us caught it back at SXSW. Of course, at the time, we saw it at the Alamo (a great theater for munchies) and were all high on excitement. Ya know ... we were excited about being in Austin. Very excited. DVD hits on July 29.
SXSW Review: Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
Filed under: Comedy », SXSW », Theatrical Reviews », Festival Reports », Fandom »
(We're re-posting our SXSW review of Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay to coincide with the film's theatrical release this weekend.)
"Is it as good as the first one?" That's the question I've been asked most since watching Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay last night. Short answer: Yes ... and no. The HIGHly-anticipated sequel to 2004's Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle comes just how you'd expect it: raunchy, wild, disgusting and completely absurd. This isn't -- and has never been -- a real-life comedy (all that went out the window after the boys rode a cheetah in the first installment); it's a fantasy/comedy, the kind you'd dream up while stoned out of your mind on a Saturday night. I tend to think that's how writer-directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg came up with this idea in the first place.
The Harold and Kumar films have always been about three things: drugs, sex and racial differences. Like with any sequel, all three of those are upped significantly. Instead of traveling across the state of New Jersey, Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) are now traveling across the United States. The stakes are also higher; this time, the boys are mistaken for terrorists while on a plane heading for Amsterdam after Kumar rigs up a bong that holds in the smoke -- a bong that looks and sounds like "bomb." After they're taken down to Guantanamo Bay, the first ridiculous homosexual joke plays itself out and the boys manage to escape. But where do they go and how do they clear their name? And, most importantly, will we care ... at all?
Box Office: Deception at Guantanamo Bay
Filed under: Comedy », Thrillers », Box Office », Box Office Predictions »
1. The Forbidden Kingdom: $20.9 million
2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall: $17.3 million
3. Prom Night: $9.1 million
4. 88 Minutes: $6.8 million
5. Nim's Island: $5.7 million
Opening this week, we have:
What's It All About: Tina Fey plays an executive dying to be a mother, and when she finds out she's unable to conceive, she must turn to a flaky but fertile Amy Poehler
Why It Might Do Well: Fey is awesome on 30 Rock, and though I usually get flack for saying this, I thought the Fey/Poehler Weekend Update team on SNL was one of the best in the show's history. And with a supporting cast that includes Sigourney Weaver, Steve Martin and Maura Tierney, I am so there. The 88% fresh rating from Rottentomatoes.com is icing on the cake.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The poster is so darn zany I could just puke.
Number of Theaters: 2,500
Prediction: $18 million
Live from SXSW: Film Festival Madness
Filed under: SXSW », Festival Reports », Cinematical Indie »
Saturday was a very busy day here at SXSW. We were up absurdly late on Friday night, and then awakened at 8AM by a car alarm going off outside our window, followed by all four of my kids' soccer coaches calling me from OKC to let me know that today's games were canceled due to cold weather. Thanks, guys, but I'm in Austin. After the panel this morning, I grabbed lunch with filmmaker AJ Schnack (Kurt Cobain: About a Son), who also writes a very excellent blog called All These Wonderful Things.
We gabbed about documentaries, traveling for film fests, balancing work and family, and lots of other stuff; he's a supremely nice guy and it's always fun chatting with someone who's as big a dork for documentary films as I am. Our lunch ran long due to crowds at all the area restaurants, so I missed the screening of We Are Wizards and had to bump it out to a later day in the fest.
Peter Jackson Says Spielberg's 'Tintin' is Done Filming, but...
Interracial Harmony: 'Ninja Assassin' vs. 'Blind Side'
Spin-ematical: New on DVD for 11/24_thumbnail.jpg)
Exclusive 'Nine' Poster Premiere!
Exclusive: Title Track for 'The Road' Soundtrack
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