Andrew’s recent reviews of Resident Evil:Extinction and Eastern Promises got me thinking. I’m not knocking on Andrew or anything but his 3.5 out of 5 for Resident Evil and his 3 out of 5 for Eastern Promises made me go huh whats up. So I sat down and thought a bit of how I rate movies. I can not really comment on Resident Evil at all since I’ve yet to see it but I can comment on what he said and the rating for Eastern Promises.

Andrew had this to say about Resident Evil: Extinction

…the sort of popcorn fun that one can enjoy. Should you be looking for anything else, try another screen in your local multi-plex.

     Now since I haven’t seen it I’ll go right along with his opinion and truthfully from the previews I’d say thats pretty much what I expected. So it succeeded at being mindless entertainment. Not a great movie but as Andrew said there is no real attachment to the characters.

Okay now on to Eastern Promises

Having said all of the above, the movie is not a total meltdown. It definitely has its moments and the intensity of a couple of scenes really impact hard enough for some emotional craters.

     So, both movies ended up being okay for Andrew, I’m curious which movie Andrew would watch again personally but really that isn’t the point of this post.

     The point of this post is to see if anyone has a way we could rate movies that would actually be fair to the movie. Is Resident Evil: Extinction really a better movie than Eastern Promises or was it simply the subject matter plus his expectations that lowered the rating for Eastern Promises. I went into latter with lower expectations than Andrew. While I enjoyed History of Violence (Movie Patron Review), I thought the third act was rather weak and it almost ruined the movie for me. History of Violence is actually a perfect example, I had my expectations of the movie and when Cronenburg deviated I really started to dislike the movie. I found that Eastern Promises did not deviate and even though the story was not complex it told it really well. I sympathized with all the characters (even Vincent Cassel’s). If I were rating the movie I’d probably give it a 4 out of 5.

     Andrew generally likes Zombie movies. He has said this many times and therefore as long as Resident Evil: Extinction wasn’t total crap there was a good chance it would get a good rating. I’m not faulting Andrew, I’m the same way when it comes to Asian crime dramas.

     So is it basically my lower expectations and the fact that I could sympathize a bit more with the characters that allow me to enjoy the movie more. If so then perhaps I am rating movies in the wrong way. Should we (and by we mean anyone who rates a movie) take a more clinical approach. Should put a numerical value to things parts of the movie like Acting, Plot, Characters, Action and Emotional Impact to name a few. If so how do we actually come up with something that can apply to all movies. One review might find the plot of a movie distasteful while another might find it intriguing.

     Would it be a good thing to look at movies clinically or should they be looked at, studied and reviewed in an emotional way. Can we really compare movies of different genres with the same rating scale and finally is Resident Evil: Extinction really a better movie than Eastern Promises.

Just a few new posters for the highly anticipated new Coen Brothers film ‘No Country For Old Men’. Check them out below:

I prefer the first one over the other two, how ’bout you?

I just today bought the soundtrack for Quentin Tarantino’s unjustly bashed film Death Proof. And I’ve gotta say this may very well be the best soundtrack of the year (so far of course but I can’t see it being beaten). Every song is fantastic in their own way; from the “now presenting” styled “The Last Race” by Jack Nitzsche to the ever spine tingling piece of music “Paranoia Prima” by the legend himself Ennio Morricone and even to the infectious and addictive “Chick Habit” by April March. And all of the great songs that I left out - this is one hell of an amazing listen.

Track listing:

1. The Last Race - Jack Nitzsche
2. Baby, It’s You - Smith
3. Paranoia Prima - Ennio Morricone
4. Planning & Scheming - Eli Roth & Michael Bacall
5. Jeepster - T Rex
6. Stuntman Mike - Rose McGowan & Kurt Russell
7. Staggolee - Pacific Gas & Electric
8. The Love You Save (May Be Your Own) - Joe Tex
9. Good Love, Bad Love - Eddie Floyd
10. Down In Mexico - The Coasters
11. Hold Tight - Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
12. Sally and Jack (From the Motion Picture Blow Out) - Pino Donaggio
13. It’s So Easy - Willy DeVille
14. Whatever-However - Tracie Thoms & Zoe Bell
15. Riot In Thunder Alley - Eddie Beram
16. Chick Habit - April March

So if you are of the opinion that Death Proof sucks (which it most certainly does not) this soundtrack is worthwhile buying anyway. And it offers something extra for anyone who loved the film (like I do). Man, Tarantino should oversee every filmmaker’s soundtrack.

 Cinecast Episode 62 [116:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

this episode:
David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises, documentary talk, Fall/Winter preview, plus the usual fare…

Unwrap the complete Show Notes by clicking on this link…

Read the rest of this entry »

     While bored at work, I spent most of the afternoon revamping my Top 100 films list of all time. You can see the list at any time by clicking on the “Top 100″ button near the top of any page on MoviePatron. But I’m posting it on the blog today for commentary. As written on the Top 100 page, there are some preliminaries regarding this list:

     These are my personal favorite top 100 films of all time. Now first of all, I do not necessarily consider these to be the “best” films of all time. They are simply my favorites. Recently MP contributor, John, made a list of 100 films he’d want with him on a desert island. A good idea I thought. This is sort of my version of that list.
     The list was put together fairly simply. In the fall of 1999, I created a list of all the films that I could remember seeing in my lifetime using “Videohound’s Golden Movie Retriever” book. By going through that list (of about 2000 films at the time), I created a sublist of possible contenders for the all time 100 list. I came up with about 160 films, I then weeded out the extra sixty films (which included “Sixth Sense,” “E.T.,” “Blade Runner,” “Wall Street,” “Good Night and Good Luck,” “Blazing Saddles,” “The Game” and many others), and proceeded to rank the remaining 100, which is the list you see here. I try to update the list about every year and a half or so to account for new films I’ve seen and older ones that I’ve lost some interest in.
     Lastly, realize that these are my favorites of all time; therefore, there may be some films that are included in this list simply for nostalgic reasons or because they remind me of my childhood. Also realize that aside from maybe the top 20 films, the others could move up or down a few spots on any given day, depending on my mood.
     Lastly, lastly, this list does not include the Star Wars saga; which is automatic, as the greatest story ever put to film. And no, I did not forget The Godfather, I just don’t see the greatness in it; or Taxi Driver for that matter.

So, without any further ado….I give you…Andrew’s favorite 100 films…see them all!!!!

100) Natural Born killers
99) The Abyss
98) Face/Off
97) Dazed and Confused
96) Glory
95) Silence of the Lambs
94) Starship Troopers
93) Snatch
92) Desperado
91) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
90) Breakfast Club
89) Back to the Future
88) Terminator 2
87) Weird Science
86) Black Hawk Down
85) Titanic
84) Multiplicity
83) Mr. Mom
82) Fantasia 2000
81) Braveheart
80) Forrest Gump

see the rest of the list by unwrapping the text…
UNWRAP TEXT or SHOW **SPOILER**

     The Darjeeling Ltd, Wes Anderson’s new film was scheduled to be released along with the short film, Hotel Chevalier before each screening. Then recently we heard that that idea had been scrapped. Well, today, slashfilm is letting us know that Hotel Chevalier, which is sort of a prequel to The Darjeeling Ltd, will be screened at the Apple Stores in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco on Tuesday. If you’re in one of those small towns, stop in and check it out for free.

     For the rest of us, it will be available on iTunes for free on Wednesday. If Wes Anderson alone doesn’t do it for you, maybe the promise of Natalie Portman nude will keep it in your memory to check out. I know I will. Plus, it might be a good idea to check out before The Darjeeling Ltd. is released in theaters. A back story is always nice before seeing the real thing. If you remember to check it out, stop back here and leave your thoughts.

     I hope you got the sense of sarcasm and resentment towards to the guy who searched my bag, and the title of this post. Now I know it is the guy’s job, and he was a manager from the looks of it. Piracy is the film industry’s biggest problem at the moment and the people who work at the cinemas have to enforce the law. And to add to that it was an advanced screening where according to the guy is where/when a lot of the piracy happens, at least round these parts. So ultimately I can see why they did it and agree with them. But it just shocked me, as it had never happened to me before. It was embarrassing for me to be seen in front of a queue of people being searched, as if I was some sort of criminal. At least we know that the measures that cinemas take to curb piracy are actually working!

     So my question to you is this - has anything like this ever happened to you before and if so did you think it was justified?

     After the disaster that was AvP, I had little hope or desire to see the sequel. Well, that feeling is still there, but the red band trailer and this new poster do look slightly cool and do pique a little interest. Well, the trailer has been out for a while, but this new poster is sort of a cool idea. Not ultra-clever, but groovy none the less. You can check out the violent as hell red band after the unwrap.

click for larger

see the trailer beneath this link
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     Kurt mentioned this short in the most recent Cinecast so I went over to Twitch found the link and here it is embedded for your viewing.

     I‘ve put up a new poll over on the sidebar. The results for the old question were not all that surprising. If forced sit and watch a Michael Bay film again, which would you choose. The majority of folks (47%) said “The Rock,” while closely following in second was Transformers with 29% of respondants saying they’d like to watch robots beat each other up again.

     The new question: Of the five films that will be nominated for best picture at next year’s Oscars, how many of them will open in wide release between Sept 1st and Dec 31st? 1, 2, 3, 4 or all 5 of them? I’m tending to think 5. But we’ll see. Vote yourself and then come next March, I’ll re-release the results and see how close we were.

     I can pretty much guarantee that both Andrew, and I will be at the theatre watching Like Moles, Like Rats as soon as we get a chance. Both of us were pretty big fans of Behind the Mask (Movie Patron Review) and we all thought Nathan Baesel did an excellent job in the lead role. Quiet Earth via Todd over at Twitch just posted up a link to the official site for the movie.

     Everything that could go wrong did go wrong: War, Terrorism, Natural Disasters. Evacuees were ushered from the cities to refugee camps in rural areas. In-fighting, famine and disease took their toll on the survivors. Now, twenty years after the bombs fell and the plagues ran their course the few that remain live in fear and without hope.

     This is a post apocalyptic fairy tale about a young woman’s journey to deliver the first child born in 15 years. Sarah’s refusal to give up is inspired by a lone voice on her radio. Michael broadcasts distant messages of hope mixed with the music he scavenges from the dead. Forced from her basement home by drought and relentlessly pursued by those who want her baby, Sarah crosses paths with Michael in a strange and enchanting refuge of disparate survivors. Together Sarah and Michael will begin a journey that will take them beyond the desolate Southern Corridor and into the unknown future.

     It looks like the trailer is only available from the official site although I’m sure someone will put it up over at youTube shortly. After watching the trailer and reading the full synopsis I really like the look of this. I love how the radio (as shown in the trailer and also focussed on over at the site) is being used to bring the characters together. The thing that really draws me in though, is that this doesn’t just seem to be a zombie flick or anything of the sort but a post apocalyptic movie about fear and hope.

     I was browsing around over on the American Film Institute site and I discovered that they are having a 40th anniversary film festival. They are showing 11 movies and each of those movies is being presented by someone famous associated with the film. Tickets are only $25.00 for a movie and it would be really cool to check out a few of the movies. Unfortunately the festival is sold out.

     When I was first reading about it I thought the movies were being shown sequentially which would have been really cool, but they are actually all being shown in one even. It still would be cool to be there just to hear Clint Eastwood talk about Unforgiven or Jack Nicholson about One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

 Cinecast Episode 61 [156:24m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

this episode:
TIFF report, SPOILERIFIC review of 3:10 to Yuma, Shoot ‘em Up, DVD picks for the week and some other random thoughts…

Unwrap the complete Show Notes by clicking on this link…

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     I have been doing a bit of traveling for work this past week and I brought along my laptop with some DVDs to watch. One of the movies that I brought with me was Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter. I threw the DVD in and I made it to the opening scene and I had to shut it off. Somehow I have managed to turn this movie into something more than it probably is. There is just something about the subject matter that has made it impossible for me to watch. I know it is going to be a good movie but ever since I became a father I have found it harder to watch shows where bad things happen to kids. This is really the only subject that I’m squeamish about. I can watch gory horror movies, realistic war dramas, and depressing movies about death but soon as you bring children into the situation I have trouble watching it.

     So my question to all of you is there any subject where you just can not bring yourself to watch simply because of the emotional impact it would have on you?

     Over at AICN, they are reporting that the trailer for the long awaited fourth installment in the “Indiana Jones” franchise will appear in front of Paramount Pictures’ “Beowulf” on November 16th.

     The site adds that this should be taken as a rumor, but in addition to the tip that they received, there are other clues. “Beowulf” will likely be the biggest film for the studio, making it the ideal movie to premier the trailer in front of. In addition, George Lucas himself has said that he expects for the first trailer to hit around Thanksgiving.

     Finally, rumor has it that John Williams, who is responsible for the famous “Indiana Jones” theme song, is currently working on the music for the trailer. Whether he will update his original work or create something completely different is still unknown.

source: worstpreviews

     I went to something similar to this a few years ago where they had the actual filming models of various ships: Star Destroyers, Millenium Falcon, X-Wings and TIE Fighters. I also saw the real Boba-Fett costume. This one though sounds to be much grander.

From the Star Trib article:

     The 12,000-square-foot exhibit features more than 80 costumes, models, and props from all six Star Wars films, including Princess Leia’s famous white dress, Luke Skywalker’s landspeeder from episode IV, a full-size R2-D2, Han Solo’s rogue outfit, and a Yoda puppet.

     Exhibit visitors will be able to climb aboard a full-size replica of the cockpit from Episode IV’s Millennium Falcon and “journey” to a land far away. Guests also can sit inside a real-world hovercraft similar to Saga’s landspeeders and step into a lab where they can build and program robots and engineer droids.

     Apparently this tour has been going on for quite some time already and will have travelled through 8 US cities before heading overseas. Kicking off in Oregon over two years ago, it is actually nearing the end of its journey. Currently in Chicago until Decmeber, it has two more stops: Fort Worth Museum of Science & History, Fort Worth, TX, (February - April 2008) and the The Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, (June - October 2008).

     Admission will be $17 for adults and $14.50 for ages 4 to 12 and 60 and older. Personally, climbing aboard The Falcon will be worth the price of admission alone

related links:
Official release from StarWars.com
Wikipedia profile

     Stumbled across this little clip today and thought it worth posting for several reasons…

1) Naked chicks getting it on.
2) I like Robert Forster
3) The last 5 seconds of the clip intrigues me and gets me to want to see what happens next (much like the hockey puck scene in the surprisingly decent Paul Walker film, “Running Scared.”
4) Kevin Wheatley is in the movie and I got to meet him last year at Toronto After Dark. He’s a super cool guy who wrote, directed and starred in a potentially great movie that unfortunately fell a little flat, Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell (MP review)

     Anyway, here’s the clip. Rise (aka Rise: Blood Hunter) will be released on DVD October 9th.

     It’s nice to see Jon Stewart confirmed to host the Oscars again. I always feel that every host should get two cracks at being there. First time hosts never really get comfortable until about the last 30 minutes of the show, so let em try again next year I say.

     Two years ago, Stewart did a fine job hosting I thought. He was bright, witty, improvisational and not too politically controversial. He definitely was a little stale at first but really started to get into during the second half. I think that now he knows what to expect, he’ll be much crisper from the get-go. I hope he’s allowed more improv than scripted stuff as this seemed to definitely be his forte last time.

“I’m thrilled to be asked to host the Academy Awards for the second time because, as they say, the third time’s a charm,” Stewart joked. However, some jokes bombed [in 2006] and he got mixed reviews. The 44-year-old Stewart noted the split decision on his own cable TV show the night after the Oscars, saying he had a great time but didn’t know how he did until he saw the reviews. “I sucked and was great!” he said. “I was a painfully smug and unfunny heir to Johnny Carson.”

     Oscar show producer, Gil Cates, has always done a pretty good job of choosing the host I think. His previous choices were Steve Martin, Chris Rock, Billy Crystal and ‘06 Stewart. I still like Crystal the best - I wish he would come back.

     At the press release, The Academy didn’t state why DeGeneres wasn’t asked back. She wasn’t the greatest, but she definitely had her moments and I thought she was decent overall, though clearly not one of the best in the last five years.

     Cormac McCarthy seems to be a really hot author right now for film adaptations. First, there was All the Pretty Horses (which I can’t believe I haven’t seen - my future wife, Penelope Cruz is in it for God’s sake!), No Country for Old Men has just hit the festival scene and will be released wide later this year, Ridley Scott will be directing Blood Meridian for a 2009 release and later that same year, if everything goes to plan, The Road will be getting a silver screen adaptation.

     As one of the few books I’ve actually had time to sit down and read in the past six months, I can say that The Road will likely be a difficult story to put to film. But having said that, the best movies are the ones that are challenge to put together in my opinion. They may fall flat, but if they succeed, they usually work really well.

     The story of The Road is that of a man and his young son travelling across a post-apocalyptic world, struggling to stay alive. Along the way, they must battle hunger, cold, the elements and of course the most dangerous of all: other humans.

     Now I’m no critic of novels, but I have to say, the book seems fairly pointless. That’s not to say it’s boring, because it’s not. It has some strange sort of attraction that encourages you to keep reading, even though nothing terribly exciting is happening. It has one or two moments of legitamate tension and emotion; but for the most part, it explains nothing and has very little to actually say. However it is well written and again, for some strange reason that I can’t put my finger on, it’s compelling.

     Anyway, Entertainment Weekly is reporting today that Viggo Mortensen is in talks to star as the father. If he officially signs on, the producers will start their search for a studio and distributor. But the best news of all is that John Hillcoat, director of last year’s MoviePatron top 10 list inductee, The Proposition is slated to direct. Here is what EW had to say…

     …the producers, Nick Wechsler and Steve and Paula Mae Schwartz, were waiting to cast a star in the role of the father before seeking a distributor. But signing Mortensen may require some tricky scheduling since the actor, who currently stars in David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises and is next set to head to New Mexico to shoot the Ed Harris-directed Appaloosa, recently told EW, ”I’m a busy person.”

     So yeah, I think this is a do-able film with the right director. And since the film is 90% only two characters, the cast has to be just right as well. Viggo is a great start for that cast in my opinion. He is exactly the guy I can picture in this role… borderline perfect for it actually.

     There has been talk lately of there possibly being a sequel to Verhoeven’s, 1990 movie Total Recall. This has just been sort of a rumor that I’ve heard smatterings of here and there. but this news I couldn’t not post. MovieHole is reporting that the new picture is likely going to be…. get ready for a surprise!… a remake!

     Now, I generally enjoy Recall for what it is and find myself watching it again when I flip past it every damn weekend on one cable channel or another, but I don’t think it’s a cinematic classic by any stretch.

     So since Arnie is obviously not going to be reprising the role of Quaid and now that The Weinsteins have total control of the rights and it seems that the movie public loves to pay for remakes, this sort of makes sense.

     Surprisingly, I don’t totally hate the idea. I don’t necessarily think it’s a good idea either, but it could be an interesting idea with today’s newer effects and some big name stars and a competent director. I remember not completely understanding the entire premise of the film until about the third or fourth viewing (much like Vanilla Sky), so this means the script and plot thread are intelligent enough. If they somehow manage to keep the intrigue and psychological implications in a fascist future along with the action and gun play, it might actually turn out to be a fun time in the theater…. agreeably, it also has just as much potential to be a total train wreck.

they should remake this scene with Penelope Cruz