Disney Is Turning That Movie Night Into Madness…

Posted on September 15, 2013 by geelw

Oh, hell no. Or, Come on, REALLY? Yikes. Granted, this second screen experience thing will only be at selected theaters, so there’s that. On the other hand, what the hell is Disney thinking here? This high tech mash-up of Rocky Horror Picture Show and Winky Dink is going to piss a lot of people off who go in happy and smiling with the kids thinking it’s going to be sooooo cooool. only to realize that ONE person with an iPad in a theater is a nuisance… but a few hundred with them is a whole new distracting light source and aural experience you DON’T want to sit through. That and why not just allow people who already OWN this on home video to download that app, stay at home and not have to go through hell as a lab rat for this experiment in terror. Nothing like a theater full of squealing, singing and arguing kids with their hipster doofus parental units (or anyone else with kids who buys in thinking this will be any kind of thine resembling FUN) to make your evening REALLY “special”, right? You’ve been warned… this has been a public service announcement.

Random Film of the Week(end): SCANDAL

Posted on September 14, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, NonoLoves!)

Akira Kurosawa’s SCANDAL is a brilliantly bittersweet film that works as an indictment of a celebrity-crazed public and paparazzi-fueled gossip gone wrong (as if it were ever “right”) while completely pulling you into its well-rounded characters and situations that will seem all to familiar in this era of TMZ and other “entertainment journalism” that’s merely feeding a voyeuristic “need” to pore into the private lives of people that for the most part don’t want or need this sort of intrusion.

The film is also a sentimental holiday story and seeing the Japanese takes on Christmas and New Year’s Day (circa 1950) makes for an interesting cultural shock that adds a nice layer of necessary humor to the plot. If you’re one for the weeping moment, this one’s also a great few-hanky flick that’s near flawless (meaning your strings will be yanked appropriately and at the right moments).

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Gravity TV Spot 2: Science For Dummies (As A Tease, At Least)…

Posted on September 11, 2013 by geelw

If you aced that science class in school, you’re probably a little upset that right after the words NO SOUND appear in both the Gravity trailers and TV ads, there is indeed SOUND IN SPAAAAAAACE! there in the form of a big BOOM! and the noise of stuff rattling about. Welp, kids… that’s just wrong, but it’s been confirmed that there is indeed NO sound in the final film. Yes, the trailers and other ads are made for people who need that aural bump to get those thrills. That is all. Go see this – it looks phenomenal.

Chucky… You’re Back (Again)! But You (Still) Don’t Scare Me…

Posted on September 10, 2013 by geelw

Oh, I dunno. None of the Child’s Play movies ever frightened me at all and the more violent Chucky flicks were more amusing and bizarre (and gory) than actually scary. So this recent attempt at freaking me out with a new (and sometimes CG animated) Chucky is falling on deaf eyes or something like that. Yeah, you can come over and film me while I watch this, but you’ll see what looks like a scream is act-ually a big, fat contagious yawn. Come on, you know you’re about to YAWN just by reading that word. Go on ahead. It’s supposed to work that way. Ready? One… Two… Three… Therrrre you go. See? And hey, if you didn’t yawn – read this again with the cat or dog nearby and they’ll yawn. Bet you a nickel.

Er, where was I again? Oh yeah – sorry Universal, this one didn’t do a thing for me. Yaaaaawwwwnnnn… Zzzz (and better luck next time)…

Random Film of the Week: The Honeymoon Killers

Posted on September 10, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, neondreams25!)

While it’s not a horror film, Leonard Kastle’s The Honeymoon Killers manages to be a fairly intense drama/black comedy mix that gets your attention with its true crime story, stark black and white photography and excellent performances from the two leads. This is a film that gets under your skin right away with Gustav Mahler’s intense music setting an oppressively dreary tone for the story of Ray Fernandez and Martha Beck, aka The Lonely Hearts Killers, as they go about their nasty work of lightening the landscape of too-trusting mostly elderly ladies looking for love in all the wrong places.

Kastle, in his first and only studio film, managed to make an instant classic that’s also a fantastic low-budget flick as well as a pretty grim viewing experience if you’ve never seen it before. That said, there’s also a bit of very dark humor to be found here and the movie is a pretty compelling viewing experience thanks to the near constant level of suspense tempered with a near constant sense of dread…

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More Apologies Are in Order (But At Least I Stayed Out of Trouble This Time)…

Posted on September 9, 2013 by geelw

So, yeah… here I am last week making an absolutely terrific fool of myself (whee!) next to two of the stars of the hilarious and soon to be released in Japan comedy from Toho Studios’ King of Gomen Nasai (The Apology King). I need to remind myself to not sit in the front row at these screenings so this stuff doesn’t happen, but I survived doing this hastily choreographed routine (about 90% wrong, but I got the ending part mostly OK).

As for the film itself, it’s great fun and pretty surprising on a few fronts, but I don’t think it’s getting a North American release any time soon. That’s too bad, as it would be nice to see more films like this pop up on cable after their theatrical runs are over and done with. Oh well – the best I can hope for is a Blu-Ray or DVD once that’s out in Japan or another territory I can import an English subtitled version from. Oh yeah, sorry for exposing you to this blackmail photo that now CAN’T be uses to blackmail me!

RoboCop Trailer: “Dead or Alive, You’re Coming With Me…” to the Multiplex!

Posted on September 5, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, CBMTrailers!)

OK, I’m (almost) sold. Granted, you can’t beat the original for what it brought to audiences back in the day (an unexpected hit, plenty of quotable lines, practical effects work galore and a story that solid, mixing drama, humor and extreme violence very well indeed), but this remake isn’t looking bad at all from this trailer. I have to say that this NOT being rated R is a bit annoying (the original film’s first cut kicked the censors in the groin and got an X rating until a few choice cuts were made. It took eleven attempts in total to get that R rating!), but I’m betting the studio thinks a PG-13 film will put more asses into seats because the tweens can walk up and buy tickets. Bleh.

Anyway, on one hand I can’t see this tanking unless there’s a big snowstorm in February that keeps people away and the film gets really awful reviews from some older cranky critics who do nothing but revere certain films and have a ZERO tolerance for anyone (no matter how skilled) touching what they grew up watching too many times. Then again… that February 7, 2014 release date scares me a bit. That and the assorted set woes I’ve occasionally read about. Well, as long as it’s better than Total Recall and Dredd and Hollywood doesn’t decide to copy Robocop 2 to even more of a T if this film does well, maybe it’ll be fine. Let’s see now… February, la, la, la… that means the Blu-Ray/DVD is out around May… Hmmmm, I think it’ll make a nice birthday present for me next year…

Gravity Main Trailer 2: Some More Weightlessly Worldy Matters…

Posted on September 5, 2013 by geelw

Amusingly enough it seems that the lonely guy/gal in a big dangerous place is turning into a sub-genre. There’s this flick from Alfonso Cuarón, that new Robert Redford flick with him on a boat at sea (I forget the title, but it’s obvious Oscar bait), and if you can stand it (well, he’s not alone, but it’s basically another big “one man” Oscar bait performance), Tom Hanks in Captain Phillips (a movie I still question the necessity of with a big, fat “Whyyyyy?”). Of all three, I’ll stick with Gravity because of Cuarón’s work on City of Men, a film that had me hooked in from that opening scene. I’m hoping this one doesn’t go the happy ending route or at least if it does, it’s an ending that’s satisfying and leaves some form of closure no matter what happens.

Apologies Are In Order (And Quite Fitting, Today, At That)…

Posted on September 4, 2013 by geelw

Ha and double ha. Apologies for the slowness of posts lately. Actually, today is just dopey because I had some computer issues that took a wee bit too long to figure out what was wrong, but that’s been taken care of. Amusingly enough, I have a film screening to attend in about 3 hours for Toho’s King of Gomen Nasai (The Apology King), and yes, it’s a comedy if you haven’t gathered by the trailer above and that goofy Ringu-inspired video below in this post. I’ll most likely whip out a review of this one afterward, as it’s too weird to ignore. Back in a bit. I may be back before Pumpkin Hour, in which case, I’ll have a new post or two up then.

Gravity TV Spot 1: Up In The Air, Too…

Posted on August 28, 2013 by geelw

Of course, only those of you out there who saw that particular George Clooney flick from a few years back will get that title, but hey, I like to test you folks every now and then. Anyway, this does look really interesting and hell, it’s an effects film with actual, um… gravity when it comes to its plot. That and hell, a film where you have the paradox of an outer space setting (you can’t get any bigger than that) forcing you to pay attention to its two main characters for probably the entire running time AND you’ve got no choice but to sit and watch Clooney and Bullock try to stay together or else (insert romantic comedy and on screen chemistry jokes here) makes this at least worth seeing once on a big screen. Hey, imagine if this did well enough to get made into a crazy Broadway show like that dopey Spider-Man yanking the tourists in by the hotel load? Someone get Taymor on the line! All we need now are Mummenschanz and a bunch of sturdy harnesses…