I was eagerly perusing today’s monster movie listing on TCM, and I realized that, on a day which features greats like King Kong (1933) and Gojira (1954), they were also showing The Green Slime (1968). I started laughing, because I had just seen The Green Slime on the same channel and I wouldn’t have figured they’d go for a second helping of a rare dish: A movie that’s so bad it stands out in a series of bad movies. ...
These two men had more of an effect on my life than you’d think. [youtube ] [youtube ]
What…What was…I don’t…Who’s that…What happened? Now, for post-Crank thoughts, here are my reasons why Crank should have been nominated in several Oscar categories. Best Screenplay: I didn’t understand half of the words Jason Statham was saying, and there were so many characters I had no idea what most of them were doing in the movie. This is similar to my past experiences with Shakespeare. Best Actor: Chev Chelios needs to keep moving and keep his adrenaline pumping to survive. Bringing this character to life is an impressive achievement, largely due to the fact that actor Jason Statham normally never seems to get more excited than, say, Clint Eastwood. One assumes, given the fast pace of the movie and what people would normally call “dialogue,” that Statham actually took some sort of drug to speed up his metabolism and risk his life, and one has to admire that sort of commitment to the craft. ...
No, those three words are not from a spam promoting the way to greater girth…no, that would make too much sense. They are, however, the main plot device from movie #1 on the Cracked.com list The 10 Best Animated Movies for (Traumatizing) Kids. And here I was thinking Watership Down, which still bothers me, would be the freakiest movie on the list. (A commenter on the article points out the characters are not Raccoons, but Tanuki, otherwise known as Raccoon Dogs. I’m thinking adding the word Dog does not improve the idea.) ...
Looks like Warner Bros. wants another $8.50 from me. Jonah Hex – hard to explain if you don’t already know – may get his own movie soon. I wonder if it will end with him running across his own stuffed body? While growing up, I was always a big costumed hero fan, reading a lot of Superman, Batman, and the Legion of Super-Heroes. However, I also really liked the “real-world” comics DC was putting out at the time, usually dealing with various modern wars or the American West. Jonah Hex was one of my favorite characters, along with Hans von Hammer (Enemy Ace), largely due to the moral complexity of the stories. ...
We went to see Knocked Up the other day. I didn’t think it was the instant classic A. O. Scott called it, but it was funny. (I liked The 40 Year Old Virgin a bit more, partially because the lead was a lot more charming and the story had more focus, but in both cases I kind of like Judd Apatow’s approach to romantic comedy: If two flawed people get together, romance isn’t going to suddenly make them better. As a result, in both films don’t end with “Happily Ever After”…more like “We’ll Give It A Good Try!”) ...
So far, I’ve seen one news outlet after another talk about the disappointing opening weekend for Evan Almighty: $32.1 million. That return might not be so bad for a comedy, except this one cost anywhere between $175 million and $220 million to make, according to the same outlets. Now, personally, I have almost as little interest in seeing Evan Almighty as I did Bruce Almighty. The only difference? I’ll see most things with Steve Carell in them, but I avoid movies with Jim Carrey in them. So, for me, spending that much money on the movie doesn’t seem like a good decision. However, maybe that’s just me? ...
We went to see Nancy Drew last weekend, partly because we were curious what Hollywood might do with the character, and partially because we weren’t quite in the mood for seeing another comedy or comic-book action blockbuster on opening weekend in a crowded theater. You know what? It was good. Not one of the best movies of the year – well, I shouldn’t say that, the year’s been moving a little slow so far – but a good story that conveyed what’s appealing about the novels. It also would have been a good movie for parents to take their kids…as opposed to Ocean’s Thirteen, where we saw several children getting dragged. ...
Hmm, looks like Maxim came out with its Hot 100 (supposedly straight), and AfterEllen.com responded with a lesbian version. Let’s see how they match up with a…uh… “random” list of five women. List**Maxim rank****AfterEllen rank**Alyson Hannigann/a74Jenna Fischern/an/aKristen Bell4656Sarah McLachlann/an/aShakira38n/a Yep, looks like my interests aren’t well-represented on either list, but more closely on the Maxim side based on the numbers. However, I was surprised at how much easier it would be to pick a second five from the AfterEllen list. C’mon, Maxim, you seriously listed Lindsay Lohan (#1, no less), Fergie (#10), and Shanna Moakler (I’m not going to bother looking that up) in your top 100? Combine that with Second Life avatars, and it’s just wasted space. ...
The Buck Rogers pilot was released in theaters before its TV debut, and X-Ray Spex has the movie’s far different take on the opening credits. While it would be hard to complain about Erin Gray in a silver suit, I wonder why Buck appears to be making out with Tootsie? (Those are some huge glasses/goggles/whatever.) :)