Film
Five Reasons ‘Piranha 3D’ is Better than the Original… And Five More Why It’s Not
by admin on Aug.23, 2010, under FEARnet, Film, Posts
After months of hype, viral videos and endless quotes from director Alex Aja referring to the Spring Breakers as “meat,” Piranha 3D finally hit screens this past weekend. And while no one was expecting high art from a movie about killer fish, reactions were largely positive, scoring an impressive 81 percent on Rotten Tomatoes (read our Piranha review here). Piranha 3D follows the B-movie tradition in terms of storyline (or lack thereof) and gratuitous titillation. But unlike the shoestring budget of the 1978 Roger Corman production directed by a young Joe Dante, Weinstein Company did spend some dollars on the production, marketing and 3D conversion, albeit still on a relatively low budget scale by studio standards.
So how do these new, enhanced killer fish stack up against the Corman cult classic? Will Aja’s re-imagining have the midnight movie staying power or will it be yet another barely remembered remake blip? Here are five reasons we liked Piranha 3D more than the original and five more why we still prefer the original Piranha (1978).
Visiting the Blood-Drenched Set of Walking Dead
by admin on Jul.08, 2010, under Bloody-Disgusting, Film
Oh yes, there will be blood. AMC has made some pretty impressive headway in the television world in recent years, going from primarily broadcasting old movies to competing with the cutting edge of dramatic television on channels like HBO, Showtime and FX. And while “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad” broke ground in terms of language and sex, their next series The Walking Dead promises to bring the gore in a big, big way. And from what we saw during our recent visit to the Atlanta set, this may well be the bloodiest show ever seen on television.
Read the whole story on Bloody-Disgusting!
Fandango’s 10th Anniversary: Ten Movie Trends
by admin on Jun.22, 2010, under Fandango, Film
Fandango turns ten this month and we’re celebrating by taking a look back at happenings in the movie world over the past decade.
Today we discuss the trends that have shaped the past decade of the moviegoing experience. There’s the cool (improved digital effects, better 3D, IMAX, reserved seating), the not so cool (cell phones ringing in the middle of the movie, piracy) and the somewhere in between (remakes, sequels and the dominance of comic book movies).
# 3: Cell Phones Give New Meaning to the Talkie
By now, we’ve all dealt with it. Having a phone ringing in the middle of the show is annoying enough, taking you out of the experience until the culprit fishes their phone out of a purse or pocket to mercifully silence it. But even worse are those that dare to answer the phone and even have a conversation like they’re sitting at home on the couch. “Uh, hey dude, what’s up? Nah, I can talk. I’m just watching a movie.” It’s enough to make you wanna waterboard the guy with your popcorn bucket and that 72 oz. Diet Coke.
Check out the entire list at Fandango
Green Hornet Trailer Debut with Seth Rogen
by admin on Jun.21, 2010, under Fandango, Film
After years of speculation, a few starts and stops, a change in release date and finally the announcement that it will be released in 3D, The Green Hornet is finally set for release January 14, 2011. This gives the post-production team a little more time to work on the visual effects and also ensure that the post 3D process, which has drawn criticism in recent transitions of Alice in Wonderland and Clash of the Titans, looks as close to a movie shot in 3D as possible. It also gives Sony a little more time to gear up their PR machine, a process which began earlier today with the release of the first images from the film featuring Rogen as Britt Reid (aka The Green Hornet), Jay Chou as Kato and Christophe Waltz as the villain, Chudnofsky.
Tonight the first trailer for Green Hornet is set to debut on The Jimmy Kimmel Show and then online at 12:45 a.m. EST. Fandango was part of a select group of journalists invited to an early screening of the trailer in Hollywood followed by an evening backstage at Kimmel with Rogen, Gondry, Green Hornet co-writer Evan Goldberg and producer Neil Moritz.
E3 Coverage Wrap-Up
by admin on Jun.21, 2010, under Bloody-Disgusting, Tech
I spent most of last week in downtown Los Angeles covering all the craziness that is the E3 Video Game Convention. I was covering for Bloody-Disgusting/Dead Pixels and you can check out all of my horror-related coverage in the Day 1, 2 and 3 Wrap-Ups below. You can also check out a wide selection of videos from E3 on my YouTube page. Anything from E3 got you excited?
Those Sexy Twilight Stars, Live and in Person
by admin on Jun.14, 2010, under Film, Film Features, Posts
You can only resist a phenomenon so long in this business without having to partake in some fashion. At this point, it’s less about whether the Twilight movies are good or bad and more about keeping up with this pop cultural phenomenon that has, like it or not, become a yearly event.
The third film in the Mormon Vamp series, Twilight Eclipse, hits screens June 30th and, as such, I was on hand to speak with the cast live and in person this past weekend. I was even able to shoot some amateur video from the press conferences, which you’ll find the first few of below. You can check out the full interviews with Stewart, Pattinson and Lautner by clicking over to my YouTube Page.
Review: The A-Team
by admin on Jun.10, 2010, under Film, Quickie Review
After about 15 years in development hell, an A-TEAM movie finally hits screens this Friday. Having gone through the hands of just about every writer in Tinseltown and more than a few directors, the execs at Fox finally found whatever it was they were looking for to give this incarnation a green light. And considering other green lit Fox projects of the past few years (WOLVERINE, HITMAN, DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION, MAX PAYNE), take that for what you will.
Read the entire review on IESB.net
Fandango 10th Anniversary: 10 Top Sellers of the Decade
by admin on Jun.03, 2010, under Fandango, Film
Fandango turns 10 this month and we’re celebrating by taking a look back at happenings in the movie world over the past decade, first by looking at Fandango’s Top 10 Sellers of the aughts—interestingly, they don’t necessarily correspond with the top 10 box office earners of the decade. We’ve got superheroes, vampires, wizards, Jedis, hobbits, pirates, a biblical epic and, of course, those new blue kings of the world.
See the whole list on Fandango!
Visiting the New Orleans Set of Jonah Hex
by admin on May.23, 2010, under Bloody-Disgusting, Dark Horizons, Film, Posts
In the sweltering heat of a typical Louisiana summer, we walk down a dirt road to get a better look at the action. On the edge of a big, muddy swamp, surrounded by the ever-present bugs, a giant Civil War ship sits docked, looking very out of place. The look of the sets and costumes is part Civil War, part old west. In the buggy, sweltering June heat in a remote area outside of New Orleans, Jimmy Hayward (HORTON HEARS A WHO!) directs John Malkovich, who as the deadly Turnbull, commands his troops with a rebel rousing speech full of fiery bluster.
“This is Turnbull’s boat and he’s going to take it to Washington to blow up the White House,” an enthusiastic Hayward tells a group of press.
Read the full story on Bloody-Disgusting.com
Additional Jonah Hex Set Report on Dark Horizons
Who Gives a Shit Story of the Day: Megan Fox Leaves Transformers
by admin on May.21, 2010, under Film, Posts
Seriously, is this really news? Will anyone even notice Megan Fox isn’t in Transformers 3? Aren’t there plenty of equally hot innocuous women wandering around Tinseltown ready to jump into that role? Or blow whichever executive makes that decision? Perhaps there are even a few with some shred of actual acting talent. And besides, we’re talking about Transformers here. She’s the fucking girl, no more, no less. Insert any other hot chick amongst Michael Bay’s mindless parade of big explosions and giant clinking robots and that should do the trick just fine. Hell, replace Shia while you’re at it. Humans are just background in a movie like that anyway.
And in a semi-related story, Megan Fox has reportedly threatened physical harm to whoever distributed the latest batch of nudie photos of her on the interweb. Um, physical harm? Riiiiggghhhttt. Really Megan? Now that I’d love to see. You’re in the public eye and you’ve made a career out of selling your body. This is a surprise. Really? She goes on to try to defend herself as a serious actress just trying to do her job. That may be, but we aren’t exactly talking about Oscar material here, honey. Transformers, Jennifer’s Body, Jonah Hex… These are geek movies populated by an audience that drools over you and rarely gets laid. Of course they are looking for naked pictures of you. They’re looking for naked pictures of everybody. They’re also smarter than you and good with computers. Either get over it or stop profiting off them.
