test screening Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Ever since I was a small boy knocking over convenience stores in order to supply my imaginary pet dragon with enough food for it to survive at least one more day, I've been a fan of The Simpsons. I became addicted during those Tracey Ullman days -- trying to find ways to shoot those mini episodes straight into my veins -- and still continue to enjoy The Simpsons till this day (even though Fox decided to start airing back-to-back Scrubs episodes, wiping out the ever-so-precious 11:30PM viewing of my favorite animated cartoon). That said, I do feel a Simpsons movie is arriving a bit too late. A bit too past its prime. Then again, if they can somehow find a way to tap into the soul of those classic episodes, we could be in store for a major Simpsons revival -- the likes of which we have never seen before. Ever!

And now we have our first test screening review. Apparently, The Simpsons Movie recently screened in Portland, Oregon (because series creator Matt Groening either went to college there or is a huge, overly-obsessive Blazers fan ... or both) and -- whaddya know -- one of the people in attendance decided to write in and tell AICN all about it. According to said scooper, the film is far from done -- with only about 30% of the animation in tip top shape. Though all the voice acting was complete, the score (provided by Danny, er, Hanz Zimmer???) was not. But is it good? Here's a juicy quote for ya: "It's funny, charming, exciting, familiar and is peppered with delightfully loving references to all our favorite events in the Simpsons family history (one in particular will have you whooping with joy in your seat if you're a Simpsons fan)."

The largest problem this scooper had was that the film was too short, and that a lot of our favorite secondary characters were given very little screen time. He said he felt like he was watching back-to-back-to-back episodes, with the first giving us comedy, the second giving us plot and the third giving us an ending ... which he calls "exciting, clever and extremely satisfying." All in all it seems like a pretty positive review, coming from someone who says they're a "pretty big" Simpsons fan. Keep in mind, the powers that be still have some time to whip this puppy into shape; The Simpsons Movie doesn't arrive in theaters until July 27.

As per usual, AICN is the destination for the latest test screening reviews written by folks plucked off the street, shown a free flick and asked not to say anything about it. But in the case of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, did you really expect these test screening viewers to keep their mouths shut longer than, say, 10 minutes? Yeah, I didn't think so. Set to hit theaters on July 13, it seems Potter landed in Chicago last week where a few people were lucky enough to be the third audience to check out the latest big-screen installment in the Harry Potter franchise. Is it good? Is it bad? And, does Harry order his Phoenix rare or well done?

According to one viewer --who asked to go by the name 'Rosncranz' -- the film " is a success in many, in fact most, aspects." While the writer doesn't ruin the entire film, there are some mild spoilers included within ... so beware. Right now (and keep in mind there's probably still some editing to be done), pic's biggest problem seems to be its pace and running time (which currently clocks in at 2 hours and 30 minutes). Says 'Rosncranz', "The movie moves along at a good pace until about halfway through and then gets bogged down a bit for most of the rest of the film." Bonus points were awarded for the acting, with Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood) and Gary Oldman (Sirius Black) being the "standouts."

Another problem Rosncranz had with the film was that, while he/she certainly enjoyed it as a whole, they felt the story was a little too weak -- almost to a point where it could have been stuffed into one of the other films. Since I'm not exactly a Harry Potter pro here, I'll ask you: Is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix one of the weaker books out there? Where would you rank it?

Though I never put together a top ten list for 2006, if I had Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep would have slid into the number one or two spot. Combined with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the man is responsible for two of my favorite films from the past few years -- and, needless to say, I'm now eagerly anticipating his next film Be Kind, Rewind. Since it's pretty standard these days for early test screening reviews to eventually make their way over to AICN, one of their beloved readers sent in the scoop on Gondry's latest following a recent test screening in Pasadena. And is it any good?

Well, according to the scooper (who goes by the name Plant! Plant!) it seems Rewind is a bit more commercial than Gondry's previous films, though his trademark quirkiness is certainly apparent throughout. In the pic, Jack Black and Mos Def play two guys who run a tiny video rental store and, when all their vhs tapes accidentally get ruined after being exposed to magnetism, the boys attempt to recreate some of our favorite classic films (Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, etc ...) in order to keep the store's one loyal customer happy. Plant! Plant! says the meat of the film rests in the relationship between Black and Def, saying it is "reminiscent of the best on screen duos we've seen in the past." Another interesting aspect (which leads more toward the commercial front) is the heavy dose of physical comedy included within.

Plant! says it reminded him (or her?) of those old Laurel & Hardy shorts, and I'm not sure yet whether that's good or bad. Regardless, it's a risk for Gondry and one I sincerely hope pays off. The review itself is fairly free of spoilers, so head on over to AICN for the rest of it. Plant! notes the film looked pretty complete, and so I expect the film to be released at some point over the summer (possibly August?).

While I'm not the biggest James Bond fan, I've watched a ton of the films and often enjoy the suave, stylized action sequences (complete with cool, sexy dialogue) found in a good amount of the twenty Bond flicks currently available. After listening to all those Daniel Craig haters over the course of the past year, I was pumped to find the latest Casino Royale trailer to be, well, fantastic.

Add to that this very promising test screening review over at AICN, and folks -- we could be in store for one heck of a fun ride. According to the scooper, Casino Royale was recently screened in London under the top-secret title, Alkazan. (Remember that name folks, just in case you're asked to attend a similar screening.) Producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli were on hand to ask the audience (roughly 40 people) some questions afterward. What did they think? Says the scooper, "There was a huge round of applause after. And, believe me folks, this is London, you won't get a huge round of applause if you walked inside a toy shop and purchased a board-game called 'Huge Round Of Applause'. Our reviewer goes to on to call the film "fantastic" and even compares its setting to that of a Quentin Tarantino flick. What? Tarantino? You may have to just read it for yourself ...