October, 2011 Archive

A (not so) long time ago, in a galaxy (not so) far, far away…

REEL RUMBLES

Episode XXXIX

PAUL vs. FANBOYS

It is a period of intergalactically-themed humor. A group of friends, striking at George Lucas‘s fortified base, have launched an attempt to steal a copy of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace before its 1999 release date.

Meanwhile, two British nerds, fresh from attending their first ComicCon, attempt to help a drug-addled alien with the voice of Seth Rogen escape our planet.

They are loving and raucous odes to science fiction fandom, locked in deadly combat. Two films will enter, one will leave. Even now, the first bell rings, and the epic battle of Paul vs. Fanboys is under way…  Read the rest of this entry »

Random Acts of Dancing is an ongoing exploration of the weird, wild and obscure world of cinematic dance scenes.

Back when I wrote those “Getting Emotional with Movies” articles, I wasn’t consciously aware of any pattern to the films I chose.  If an identifiable pattern did emerge, I figure the most obvious would be my predilection toward female characters who know how to move it like they mean it.  (Check out the posts on Joy, Desire and Exhilaration for further information.)  I have noticed, though, that often when I come across a dance number that tickles my fancy, it’s in a film that I didn’t necessarily expect one to pop up.  Like Christina Ricci‘s tap dance in Buffalo ’66, or this scene from The GoodTimesKid:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6b2GbsS5lY[/youtube]

In the interest of helping others discover the lesser-known instances of cinematic shaking and shimmying, I put together this random list of some films with female dancing that you may not be aware of.  Read the rest of this entry »

dvd release calendar header image, blu-ray release schedule header image

Rank the week of October 18th’s Blu-ray and DVD new releases against the best films of all-time:

NEW RELEASES

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES

(Blu-ray & DVD | PG13 | 2011)
Flickchart Ranking: #1487
Win Percentage: 47%
Times Ranked: 8433
Top-20 Rankings: 50

Directed By: Rob Marshall
Starring: Johnny DeppPenélope CruzIan McShaneKevin McNallyGeoffrey Rush
Genres: ActionAdventureCostume AdventureFantasySea AdventureSwashbuckler


Rank This Movie

Read the rest of this entry »

Aaron Eckhart has signed on to play Dennis Wilson, drummer and songwriter for The Beach Boys, in a new biopic entitled The Drummer, for director Randall Miller (Bottle Shock).

Eckhart is busy training for the role, learning to play the drums and piano. He will also be singing on screen for the role. The Drummer will chart the last six years of Dennis Wilson’s life, before he drowned in 1983 in Marina Del Rey. This was shortly after he finished his solo album, Pacific Ocean Blue, an album that was re-released in 2008 to rave reviews.

Eckhart is currently shooting the CIA thriller The Expatriate, and has also recently signed on to play the lead in I, Frankenstein, a comic book adaptation being directed by Stuart Beattie.

(via Deadline)

by

new movies on netflix instant watch - October 18th 2011

Netflix is having some issues lately and their API seems to be suffering, making it difficult to highlight the upcoming week’s releases with any accuracy. So now, we’ll start taking a look back at the previous week, while still letting you know if anything awesome is expiring this week…

Here’s the Top Movies That Became Available to Stream on Netflix Over the Past Week:

The Ward (R | 2010)

Flickchart Ranking: #7711
Times Ranked: 844
Win Percentage: 42%
How Many Top-20′: 3 Users

add The Ward to my Netflix instant queue

The Ward reviews and rankings

________________________________________________

Directed By: John Carpenter

Starring: Lyndsy Fonseca  •  Amber Heard  •  Danielle Panabaker

Genres: Horror  •  Supernatural Horror  •  Supernatural Thriller  •  Thriller

• • • • • • • •

Read the rest of this entry »