swingers Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Scenes We Love: Swingers
Filed under: Fandom », Trailers and Clips », Scenes We Love »
With Valentine's Day approaching, one can't help but recall their most embarrassing romantic moments -- if only as a reminder to relax, take a chill pill and just ... "be yourself." And when I think over my most favorite embarrassing romantic moments in movies, right at the top of the list is this scene from Swingers. Growing up, I didn't know the proper way to pick up a girl, and the one or two times my idiot shtick actually worked -- well, let's just say I still get shivers whenever I leave a message on an answering machine.
It's almost impossible to promote just one scene from this film when there are so many memorable moments, but this one just hits you where it hurts -- and hopefully some of you will watch this and remember to wait two days ... or is it three?
Two fun facts about Swingers (via IMDB)
- The movie is loosely based on the experiences writer Jon Favreau had when he first moved to LA. He had just broken up with a long term girlfriend and counted on his friends Vince Vaughn and Ron Livingston to cheer him up. The characters they play in the film are based on themselves.
- The exterior and interior of Mike Peter's apartment was the actual building and room that Jon Favreau lived in at the time the film was filmed. Favreau's downstairs neighbor was actor Adam Scott.
Bonus scene after the jump ...
Watch This: 40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes
Filed under: Fandom », Trailers and Clips »
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Admit it, we're all suckers for a finely-timed inspirational movie speech. Whether it's a war film, a sports film or a film about picking up chicks, it's often these speeches that help us remember a movie -- these are the speeches we quote over and over again until our friends either slap us or simply walk away. Cinematical reader Matthew Belinkie, who you might remember as the brains behind classic videos like The Dark Bailout, has thrown together what is perhaps his greatest achievement yet: 40 inspirational movie speeches in two minutes. I mean, we've got everything in here, and I love how the dialogue times out so that it feels like one very long speech.
Check it out below, and try to see how many movies you can name. Also, feel free to tell us which of these movie speeches is your favorite. (Honestly, the one from Swingers gets me every time.)
EXCLUSIVE: Clip from 'In Search of a Midnight Kiss'
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Independent », Romance », IFC », Fandom », Movie Marketing », Trailers and Clips »
Cinematical has just received this exclusive clip from In Search of a Midnight Kiss, which opens in two NYC theaters today (IFC Center, Clearview Cinema) before expanding to other cities. Nothing but good buzz has been following this title around for well over a year now -- so much so that a slew of my friends have been itching for this flick to hit theaters. And I have very cool friends ... who like to do very cool things ... just so you know. The film, which is set on New Year's Eve, follows around two misanthropes who meet online with each in search of something a little more fulfilling out of life. It's currently running at 90% over on Rotten Tomatoes (excellent for a small indie like this), where folks are comparing it to films like Woody Allen's Manhattan, Swingers and Before Sunrise. Seems like a great date movie, so if you're in NYC tonight and looking for that first kiss ... well, I think we know what you should be doing ...
EW Counts Down 100 Best Films of Past 25 Years
Filed under: Classics », Comedy », Fandom », Lists »
This week Entertainment Weekly is "Counting Down the New Movie Classics," listing the best films made in the past 25 years. The magazine claims that all 100 are good enough to be considered alongside the usual classics (you know, like Citizen Kane, Casablanca, etc.), but I guess that's relative. I wouldn't consider #99, The Blair Witch Project, to be equated with Poltergeist III, let alone Psycho. But isn't that the fun of these lists? They fuel our excitement about cinema while also angering us that our favorites aren't higher up, or more commonly, that the films we hate most are included on any list, ever. On the first day of the countdown, EW shows us the bottom 25, which includes such masterpieces as Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Breaking the Waves, In the Mood for Love and Full Metal Jacket. When I saw that the last of these was only at #94, I got really excited, wondering what 93 films could possibly be better. And then I was shocked to see that so-so comedies like Swingers and Waiting for Guffman and the fine but poorly aged Moonstruck placed higher. I almost didn't even see those titles, though, because I almost threw my computer when I saw that Napoleon Dynamite was just ahead of Back to the Future. Just another reason to hate Napoleon Dynamite, I guess. Even the Back to the Future sequels are better than ND, but I'm going to now assume they don't even make it on this list.
#s 75-51 will be revealed tomorrow. I wonder what kind of delights and blasphemies will meet us then.
What Are the Most Obnoxiously Over-Quoted Movies of All Time?
Filed under: Comedy », Fandom », Lists »
You know what stinks? Coming up with a fairly cool idea for a new column ... only to discover that someone even cleverer not only snagged the idea a few months ago, but also did such a bang-up job that it makes a new rendition seem pointless.But since I'm in a writing mood, here's the story: I was sharing a pithy IM convo with a good pal, and somehow we got into mocking Borat and Austin Powers for being way too over-quoted. (I call it the Stairway to Heaven Syndrome: When something of serious quality melts into near-nothingness because of endless repetition and constant over-exposure.) So I said "Hey, I could do a funny Cinematical Seven on 'the world's most annoyingly over-quoted movies'!!"
My friend's response was "Hey, good idea. Just like this one." The author is the youthful-yet-not stupid Adam Quigley, whose work you just might know if you hang around JoBlo's Movienerd Blissfactory once in a while. And while I'm well aware that I'm recycling someone else's (months old) list, I just figured it was too much fun to not pass along.
Not to spoil too many of the surprises, but the movies I would have picked for my Cine Seven are ALL on Adam's list, but they were mostly the easy ones: Swingers, Austin Powers, Borat, Holy Grail, Office Space, etc. Check out the full list of the 10 Most Obnoxiously* Over-Quoted Movies of All Time. And feel free to let us know which ones we might have forgotten. For example, I love love love The Princess Bride, but I'm tired of hearing idiots scream "inconceivable" and waiting for a charitable chuckle. (Also, most of the picks are (logically) comedies, but I'd like to hear about some over-quoted non-comedies. I suppose Jaws, Star Wars, Casablanca and Scarface would make that list.)
(* See, Adam went with "obnoxiously," whereas I was going to use "annoyingly." Well played, Quigley!! And special thanks to Will Goss for the linkage and the nerdly movie conversation. )
Comic-Con: Jon Favreau Talks To Us About All Things 'Iron Man'
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Universal », Comic/Superhero/Geek », ComicCon »
Jon Favreau has really come a long way since Swingers (and thankfully, an even longer way since Made) and I'll be the first to admit that when he was attached to direct Iron Man, I breathed a sigh of ... disappointment. I mean, how could the director of Swingers and Elf possibly do a good job with a massive Hollywood summer tentpole film? My hopes were dashed. I pictured scenes of an over-the-top villain in black hat and mustache chasing Iron Man around with a can opener. Camp style, you know?
However, after seeing the footage from the movie, not once but three times, I'm totally sold on this. In my opinion, this is going to be the big movie next summer. When you first get a glimpse of that armor (both versions), it's chilling and cool at the same time. Plus, hearing Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" is just perfect. You sold me, Favreau. Go ahead and chalk up my ticket and popcorn with a medium soda, please.
Click on Jon to activate the audio, of which the highlights are below.
- On working with Vince Vaughn again: "Vince is riding high on the comedy train right now, and we have a lot of ideas that we could do. The Marshall of Revelation, which is the Western we talked about doing, is a little gritty and darker ... although we're getting a bit too old to play the roles as I wrote them."
- Is Jarvis the Butler in the movie? "Jarvis is in the movie, let's leave it at that. In some form."
- There are three different versions of the Iron Man armor in the movie. In the footage we saw, it's the Mark 1, and Mark 2 armors ... Favreau wasn't giving up the good on the other version, consarnit.
- "I'd love to do some version of Fin Fang Foom, but you can't do that in the first movie. Maybe in the second."
- On showing the footage to the Comic-Con fans: "If you have a misstep ... you could be Catwoman overnight."
- "Downey's not a guy that you cast to put asses in seats in a huge Hollywood blockbuster, he's the guy you put in the movie when you want a great actor who will bring integrity to a project like this."
Comedy Arts Fest is so money
Filed under: Comedy », Fandom », Newsstand »
The film section - rather formally known as the
Film Discovery Program - of this year's U.S. Comedy Arts Festival has a
remarkably full slate, including the screenings of 23 films (six world premieres among them), discussions with big
Hollywood cheeses and, best of all, a celebration of the 10th anniversary of a little picture called Swingers.
The latter will feature a reunion of the film's stars: Jon Favreau
(who also wrote the movie), Vince Vaughn, and Ron Livingston, and the trio will participate in a moderated discussion
on the film. Happily for those of us who can't jet off to see the event in person, the entire Festival is organized by
HBO, so there's a darn good chance the Swingers reunion will show up on TV sooner or later.On the non-Swingers front, the Program will offer a series of "fireside chats" with studio executives involved with independent comedy, including the presidents of Picturehouse and Miramax, as well as executive vice-presidents (whatever that means) from Fox, HBO Films, and New Line. In addition, there's a new, demented-but-cool sounding event in which "industry executives will meet filmmakers in 12-minute, speed dating-type meetings." Assuming the goal is here is networking rather than actually meeting ones beloved, it sounds like a great opportunity for indie filmmakers to get some facetime with people who are usually hidden behind a whole lot of doors.
This year's Festival takes place in Aspen (as always) from March 8-12.
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
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Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
Peter Jackson Says Spielberg's 'Tintin' is Done Filming, but...
Interracial Harmony: 'Ninja Assassin' vs. 'Blind Side'
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