If You’re Here, You Need Something To Do. So You Get A Free Movie!

Posted on November 28, 2013 by geelw

Hey, I didn’t say it would be an Oscar-winner, now. It’s 1935’s “Scream in the Night” featuring Lon Chaney, Jr. and a bunch of other actors you probably won’t know unless you’re old or watch way too many films from the early part of the last century. I’ve never seen this one myself (or more precisely, I can’t recall seeing it, but I may have many moons back), so your guess is as good as mine as to its overall quality.

I figure not EVERYONE is passed out in front of the tube watching football or not in America celebrating Thanksgiving or Chanukah, so if you’re here, thanks for stopping by. Now go do something more interesting today than poke around here! Unless you REALLY want to. In that case, I’ll make you do the dishes or something later. Hmph – let me see what’s in the freezer now that you’re sticking around for dinner…

Mr. Peabody & Sherman Turkey Day Poster Stuffed Full Of Self-Fulfilling Prophecy…

Posted on November 27, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, I’d be canning whomever thought up this poster like a bunch of cranberries, as my cartoon nostalgia sense tells me that this one will be dead on arrival after the first weekend at best. This turkey is planning to gobble up box office dollars while neglecting the fact that the original shorts worked perfectly because they clocked in at about five minutes and weren’t padded out with needless stuff that’s only going to appeal to folks who’ve never seen an episode of the Bullwinkle cartoons they came from. Ah well… I guess I should just shut the heck up and surrender, huh?

FINE. But not without a fight:

(thanks, bullwinklecanada!)

When I saw the trailer for the new CG flick the first time, I didn’t laugh at all, and seeing it again recently made me more annoyed than ever. But whatever, right? It’ll be “fun” for the kids that don’t care at all about history and nostalgia, that’s for sure. On the other hand… when the adults in the theater are groaning at the end like the ones behind me who hadn’t seen the trailer until then, I’m gathering Dreamworks will be wishing for their very own time machine so they can go back and erase this project from their books. Yuk.

ELYSIUM Headed to Blu-Ray/DVD December 17. You Forgot ALL About This One, Right?

Posted on November 26, 2013 by geelw

Okay, okay… so I almost did, thanks to the huge flood of movies rolling into theaters this year and some other distractions major and minor (alright… it was too many games, mostly). Anyway, at least Neill Blomkamp’s sci-fi epic took longer to hit home video than other flicks that came out, disappeared faster and sprung up on discs sooner. Yeah, I liked District 9 a lot and Blomkamp’s visual stule, so I’ll be snapping this up at some point. I rarely take the reviews of others into consideration because I’m old and cranky enough to know some people who review films and games approach them from a completely incorrect perspective, but you can’t stop them from presenting their opinions no matter how wrong-headed they are. Anyway, I’m looking forward to finally checking this out without any hootin’ and a’hollerin’ from the peanut gallery as well as seeing what this very talented director has up his sleeves for a next project…

Noah Trailer: Saving Up For Those Rainy Daze…

Posted on November 23, 2013 by geelw

Somewhere, Cecil B. DeMille is stomping around in knee-length leather boots and aviator pants yelling into his megaphone at this trailer. I can see him saying something like “There needs to be a ten commandments of movie-making!” or something similarly snarky. I may catch this on cable at some point, but spending my hard earned money on a movie like this is out of the question for me. Well, it should be entertaining and thankfully, wasn’t advertised as “based on”, “inspired by” or “from the incredible” true story or anything close to that. But hey, between the action movie music in the trailer, the expensive CGI effects and a cast of actors all looking worried or pissed off or hopeful at the right moments, I guess this will rake in the bucks no matter what the biblical scholars and fundamentalists have to say. I certainly wouldn’t want to be in between that particular rock and hard place, that’s for darn sure…

Need For Speed Trailer #2: Road Rage, Revisited…

Posted on November 23, 2013 by geelw

Well, given that this one’s headed at full speed towards being either a mega-hit or a mega-bomb, it’s at least nice to see all the actors throwing themselves into their parts as much as those CGI cars are throwing themselves across the screen. Granted, I’m betting people aren’t going to be seeing this for the “acting” all that much, as it seems the car body count will be high enough to keep them more distracted than any great thespian action going on. Of course, the laws of physics are being broken to hell in this one in the same manner it’s busted up in other popular car carnage flicks. But heck, if you’re expecting total “realism” as a fan of the video games this flick is based on, you probably still have a 3DO plugged in and on top of your old analog TV. Hey, I liked that first NFS game back in the day too…

Sabotage Trailer: Nobody Gives Him (Another) Raw Deal (But Me)…

Posted on November 21, 2013 by geelw

Ah, the Ah-nuld resurgence continues, I suppose. Yeah, this upcoming (April 2014) flick looks nice and gritty and it certainly has a pretty surprising cast in some respects (Mireille Enos as an action heroine?!). But I always start up my cable countdown clock when I see one of these trailers because it’ll be the usual two to three weeks at or near the top of the box-office charts before being bumped off by the next blockbuster or surprise indie hit, then three or four months later onto Blu-Ray and a few months after that it’s popping up as a surprise early premiere (hopefully on a cable channel I can access at home).

Annnnd of course, Arnold is now pissed off at me for this post, as I found out sooner than I’d liked (as in as I was typing):

Hey, Mister Angry Dude, you’ll live. TO quote Mister Freeze: “Chillllll…” Now get back to counting your money or something. You certainly don’t need my seal of approval at all. I’ll see your escapist flick soon enough (well, on my own schedule)…

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes Gets Slightly Nostalgic for 1998…

Posted on November 20, 2013 by geelw

I actually got another mighty chuckle going when Hideo Kojima showed that trailer above at the PlayStation 4 launch in NYC last week. I’d been thinking for a few months now it would be wonderful if any developer or publisher who had a key launch or other title for the original PlayStation did something like a remake with all-new visuals, but of course, Kojima goes and has his team get retro in the weirdest manner possible. Hey, it works for me, being a fan of Metal Gear Solid and all. But I know that some younger gamers saw this trailer and nearly spit up their Red Bull because they’ve yet to experience the glory that was (and is) the original MGS. Granted, that Fox Engine is pretty mighty at doing outstandingly realistic visuals on the PS3, PC and other platforms, so there’s no doubt that Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes will do well when it lands in a few places (retail and digital) at some point OK< Spring 2014). Yeah, yeah… David HAyter has been replaced by Keifer Sutherland as the voice (and face) of Snake, but I think I'm one of the few who shed a tear and moved on quickly. I have more urgent things to think about besides who's being paid to portray an iconic character – I just want the game to be memorable and really well written.

And here’s about 13 minutes of the game with no chunky Snake to ogle. enjoy!

Random Film of the Week: The Man in the White Suit

Posted on November 20, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, thecinelady!)

I recall seeing Alexander Mackendrick’s 1951 film The Man in the White Suit listed as both a comedy and a science fiction film in two separate movie books and as I hadn’t seen it at that time, I was a bit perplexed. Of course, I think I was also about twelve years old, so I was perplexed about a great many things. And in a constant state of perplexed about those great many things believe you me.

Thankfully, once I finally saw this classic a few years later, all my questions were answered – it’s a comedy AND a science fiction film (and a bit of social commentary, to boot). And of course, it’s an Ealing Studios film so it’s just about perfect in every aspect and yes indeed, comes very highly recommended…
Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week: Athens, GA: Inside/Out

Posted on November 19, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, thurna!)

Still one of the best “music scene” documentaries and a must-see if you’re a “scholar” of 80’s alternative music (translation: someone who likes some mighty fine and varied music), Tony Gayton’s 1987 film Athens, GA: Inside/Out is a quirky and fun blast of great music featuring famous up and coming and obscure bands strutting their stuff in a free form style that makes the film quite compelling even to this day.

Amusingly enough, I have extended family in Macon and Savannah and while I’ve not been down that way in decades, watching this documentary sometime around 1990 on tape made me want to buy a bus ticket and head down to Athens just to check out a few clubs. I didn’t, however (my loss), as I had more real life things to take care of and had this film on tape and a copy of the soundtrack on cassette to time me over and keep my eyes and ears very happy… Continue reading →

The Chaney Blogathon Day Four: The finale!

Posted on November 18, 2013 by geelw

Oops! I’ve been SO busy that I forgot to plug my own work elsewhere. Well, it’s HERE you’ll bounce back to when you click my reviews of Indestructible Man and The Defiant Ones, but you beans and banes can do with some other reading on the two Chaneys and their fine bodies of work, I say. Enjoy!

The Last Drive In

Well, it’s the forth and final day of our celebration of the great CHANEYS! And it’s been quite a turn out.

I’ll be taking it from here as host but my brilliant & witty co-host will be lurking around helping to showcase all the fantastic contributions. We’re so pleased with how the event has gone and grateful to all of you who either contributed, helped tout or chimed in to show love to two memorable men and support us… unflinching Blogathon mistresses’ who pulled this all together!

I want to especially thank Fritzi of Movies Silently for quietly asking me months ago if I’d like to help co-host this event. I was flattered and honored and as excited as Quasimodo hanging from a gargoyle on the side of that Cathedral! Although my hump is much smaller.

So without any further asides from yours truly- Please stay seated as here’s the…

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