FEBRUARY 8, 2010

Next up, “The Wolfman”, FINALLY arriving in theaters this Friday, 2/12/10:

FEBRUARY 7, 2010

Your Super Bowl movie trailers, gettin’ you juiced up for summer. First, “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”, due in theaters 5/28/10:

FEBRUARY 6, 2010

Congrats to Jennifer Cody, who won the Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production, “The Princess and the Frog”. If you haven’t read our interview with her, please check it out here.

FEBRUARY 4, 2010

Who knows how we should handle the exploration of space? JAMES CAMERON, that’s who!!! He’s the king of the f-ing world!

Read on:
The right way forward on space exploration. By James Cameron
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FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Am I the only one who thinks “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” is a TERRIBLE title? Nevertheless, the trailer looks exciting with Oliver Stone back in familiar territory.
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JANUARY 29, 2010

This is the actress from the #1 worldwide box office movie champ of all time. Sign ‘o’ the times.
Congrats to “Avatar” – $1.85 billion and rising…
- PP

JANUARY 28, 2010

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JANUARY 27, 2010

Go towards the light. Zelda Rubenstein dead at 78.

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JANUARY 26, 2010

It’s AUSTRALIA DAY! One good way to celebrate is to watch “The Castle”, a tough-to-find-on-DVD, low budget Australian comedy that is so laid-back, the humor may fly by you, but it’s definitely a way-homer!

The Castle on imdb.com
-PP

JANUARY 25, 2010

The worst line reading ever. EVER. In one of the worst movies ever. EVER.

-PP

JANUARY 24, 2010
NUART THEATRE, SANTA MONICA, CA

I went to a midnight screening of “Black Dynamite” on Saturday night. This is one of the funniest movies in a LONG time. If it plays near you, GO SEE IT. Midnight screenings should help this movie get the cult status it deserves after being unjustly dumped into theaters in the dead of October without enough fanfare. Star/writer Michael Jai White and co-star/writer Byron Minns were at the screening and I got to tell them as much. Very cool cats, man. Can you dig it?

Read our full review here.
-PP

JANUARY 23, 2010
MADAME TUSSAUD’S WAX MUSEUM

This was the most life-like of all the wax figures. Entertaining or CREEPY? You decide.

-PP

JANUARY 22, 2010

This is my favorite frame in the “Edge of Darkness” trailer. It’s about time Martin Campbell got some credit!:

Martin Campbell directed “Casino Royale”, “The Mask of Zorro” and “Goldeneye”. “Green Lantern” is in good hands.
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JANUARY 21, 2010

Get your copy of scripts from some of the biggest movies of 2009. Here are the links, each page you’re taken to has an option to download the screenplay. Download, read, enjoy:

A Single Man
Inglourious Basterds
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Informant!
Where the Wild Things Are
Nine
The Road
The Blind Side
The Hurt Locker
Public Enemies, Funny People, It’s Complicated

The last four movies are Universal releases, whatever film you click on, you’re taken to a page with a screenplay link to all three scripts.
-PP

JANUARY 20, 2010

Didn’t think “Avatar” was long enough? Enjoy TWENTY-TWO MINUTES of behind-the-scenes footage. The making of “Avatar”:

-PP

JANUARY 14, 2010

ARCLIGHT CINEMAS, SHERMAN OAKS, CA

Arclight Sherman Oaks has changed up its lobby to one of the coolest movie poster displays in some time. The theme is black and white. There are splashes of color here and there, but mostly these posters are black and white and the resulting mish-mash of directors, genres and styles if very cool (lot’s of Eastwood, think of the “Heartbreak Ridge” and “True Crime” posters). Check it out!
- PP

JANUARY 8, 2010

The greatest title, the greatest trailer. The most-watched trailer of 2009. “Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus”
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JANUARY 5, 2010

Sam Mendes is in talks to helm the next James Bond movie. Burnham….Lester Burnham. I bet this one will have more smoking than any Bond film before it.

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DECEMBER 27, 2009

“Grinchmas” runs at Universal Studios Hollywood thru Dec. 31st. The Suessian tree is pretty impressive…

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DECEMBER 21, 2009

Really, Burbank 16? A FIVE DOLLAR charge for IMAX? I known this whole 3-D IMAX thing is your attempt to keep people going to the movies when they could rent or download, but $17 isn’t helping your cause…

-PP

DECEMBER 19, 2009

The line at the CityWalk Hollywood IMAX theater, at the SOLD OUT 9:45 AM screening of “Avatar”. Honestly, who does anything before noon…?

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DECEMBER 17, 2009

Mmmmmm…..I’m full
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DECEMBER 15, 2009

The trailer is out for Ridley Scott’s “Robin Hood”. It looks both familiar and totally bad-ass:

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DECEMBER 10, 2009

A new “Iron Man 2″ poster gives us a sweet look at Whiplash! This movie will crush all comers this summer. Bring it!:

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DECEMBER 9, 2009

A first glimpse of “Tron: Legacy”. I was skeptical about this, but then I saw Jeff Bridges in the trailer. If he’s on board, I’m on board.
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DECEMBER 8, 2009

ARCLIGHT CINEMAS, SHERMAN OAKS, CA

Arclight Sherman Oaks has changed up its lobby for the holidays! It’s a strange hybrid of holiday films, animated movies and some random filler like “9″ and “Small Soldiers”. As ever, it’s super-impressive and I can end up staring at it as long as I stare at the movie I go there to see!
- PP

DECEMBER 4, 2009

I don’t know, these two things look the same, no?

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DECEMBER 3, 2009

Don’t get me wrong, the more I bag on the look of this movie, the more I want to be proven wrong.

Pop quiz. Is this the trailer for “Avatar” or “Avatar: The Game”?

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DECEMBER 1, 2009

This is a great idea! Universal has announced the creation of a disc that has Blu-Ray on one side and standard def DVD on the other. It makes Blu-Ray discs worth buying NOW. You know you’re going to get a Blu-Ray player, start buying the hybrid discs now, and enjoy the movie in both formats when you’re caught up!

Read the LA Times article here.
-PP

NOVEMBER 26, 2009

How can this not be the greatest movie of 2010? Stallone, Statham, Lundgren, Rourke, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Randy Couture, Danny Trejo with cameos by Willis and Schwarzenegger. The plot is old school:
“A team of mercenaries head to South America on a mission to overthrow a dictator.”
Throw in what looks like a high body count and I’m there.

-PP

NOVEMBER 25, 2009

Ladies and gentlemen, your movie swag of the day…

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NOVEMBER 22, 2009

This is a great, rare opportunity! Your chance to be informed come Oscar-time. All the animated shorts that have been short-listed for an Academy Award nomination have websites!

Sometimes they have the short posted online for you to see! It’s all organized by this site: Cartoon Brew.
Click. Watch. Repeat.
-PP

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

LOS ANGELES, CA

The Governor’s Awards were given out last weekend, and the celebration of winners John Calley, Roger Corman, Lauren Bacall & Gordon Willis brought out a ton of Hollywood big-timers. It wasn’t televised, but the Academy posted video here.

NOVEMBER 15, 2009

I don’t know exactly what this is, but damn straight I RSVPd right away!
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NOVEMBER 14, 2009
THE ACTOR’S GANG, CULVER CITY, CA

Have you ever seen “The Wizard Of Oz” and self-accompanied it by playing Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” to see how eerie it was that Floyd’s masterpiece aligned perfectly as a soundtrack to the legendary 1939 film?

Don’t work so hard.

As part of The Actor’s Gang’s WTF?? Festival, catch a screening of both works of art meshed together into a giant freakshow as only the Gang could bring it to you. They throw in popcorn, a magician, but you’re required to bring your own STIMULATION. Take that as you will….
November 15, 2009
8PM
$20 (’cause MONEY is the root of all evil toooday)
Check out all of the WTF?? Festival here.
-PP

NOVEMBER 6, 2009
THE WEST HOLLYWOOD HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL, 2009

As ever, amongst the hardcore gay outfits that brighten up Santa Monica Blvd. on Halloween night, there were a lot of movies represented in the hundreds of thousands of costumes in attendance. Above, three of the Movie Guys team hit the street to Catch a Predator.
My three favorite:
These folks were representing “Up”. Sure they didn’t exactly look like the young Explorer and old man, but the Doug doll with the house tied with balloons looked great everywhere it went.

There were no shortage of Ghostbusters, but I always like the ones who seem to have taken time with their proton packs. The blow-up ones don’t cut it. This guy took some time.

Willy Wonka. First of all, I’m not a fan of the new, Tim Burton version of Willy Wonka. It was a little too weird and I don’t care about Wonka’s personal life. Gene Wilder is the man, he is Wonka and always will be. This guy had the right outfit and the right attitude. Plus, his friend was dressed like a bottle of Duff beer from “The Simpsons”, and he was the one to “go through” to determine whether or not I could take Wonka’s picture. “Don’t tag him on Facebook!”, said the bottle of Duff Beer.
-PP

OCTOBER 31, 2009
Oy, vey. The world is ending, millions of people are tragically dying horrible, painful deaths. No one gets out alive as a prophecy unfolds, causing the termination of mankind.
…accompanied by the latest from American Idol Adam Lambert!

Lame.
-PP

OCTOBER 29, 2009

Actually, it’s Steve Martin, then Meryl Streep, then Alec Baldwin…
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OCTOBER 27, 2009
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD

The Movie Guys made it to Halloween Horror Nights last weekend. In Orlando, Halloween Horror Nights is the granddaddy of terror-themed parks. But in SoCal, it’s Knott’s Halloween Haunt. HHN has been on the rise in the last few years, and you can imagine we get excited because it’s all movie-themed! Here’s what we saw:

The center of the park was decked out like a town overrun by hell! There were flames shooting in the air, a crazy preacher spouting the word and perhaps our favorite attraction in the entire park, scantily-clad chicks dripping in blood and dancing in cages.

The biggest flaw of HHN is its success! SO many people populated the park, that it made for MASSIVE lines, ninety minutes at times to wait to go into a horror maze. There’s less to do here than at other parks (all the rides are not open), and less of a chance to see it all.

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show: A Tribute” was a high-energy revue of the great Richard O’Brien songs, mixed with film footage. The performers were all excellent, but sometimes over-sang the songs (again, they were too good!). The show seemed so at home it was hard to believe they normally do a Terminator 2 show in that space.
This was the first year the dancing completely overshadowed the laughs in the “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure” show. A nerd character steals pop culture figures from movies, TV, etc., but the nerd’s just annoying, not so much funny. The cast were killer dancers, but I wanted more death and comedy, less night club.

The horror mazes were themed on “Saw”, “Halloween”, “Child’s Play” and “My Bloody Valentine”. The tram was also themed to “Saw”, it let us off to walk through the “Psycho” and “War of the Worlds” sets. A video setting up the horror that awaits you played on the tram and was quite well done. Very creepy and makes me wish the tram host didn’t interrupt it with dopey jokes.

Get in early to avoid the crowds! (it might be too late…)
-PP

OCTOBER 26, 2009

ARCLIGHT CINEMAS, SHERMAN OAKS, CA

Arclight Sherman Oaks has changed up its lobby again, and this time they’re honoring horror movies of all kinds. Some B-movies, some current, some blockbusters. The result is a very cool display that’ll get you staring and maybe make you late for the film you came to see!
- PP

OCTOBER 25, 2009
ARCLIGHT CINEMAS, SHERMAN OAKS, CA

Remember when movie posters had a ton of writing on them? As if you had time to hang out and READ on your way to a movie? Couldn’t you just get the book of “Christine” if this much reading was really involved? Also note, at the bottom, “Christine” was a Christmas release. Nothing says ‘Happy Holidays’ like a killer car…
-PP

OCTOBER 21, 2009
GALAXY OF COMICS, VAN NUYS, CA

This week, Z-BLADE XX hit the comic book scene. Hip, funny, edgy and fun, Z-Blade is a superhero who apparently has acquired powers from an alien source, and issue #1 involves the setup of what seems will be a long rivalry with THE INSOMNIAC. The Insomniac is cool ’cause he doesn’t sleep, he just sits around and thinks of horrible atrocities and ways to destroy the city. My kind of villain. I went to an in-person appearance at Galaxy of Comics in Van Nuys, CA that involved character creators Guy Lemay, Marc Joseph and Reed Greenfield, and writer Steve J. Palmer. Z-Blade XX HIMSELF was even there to greet new fans:

The comic is action-packed as Z-Blade XX (The Xs refer to the 20th incarnation of Z-Blade’s superhero outfit) throws Z-shaped blades at bank robbers, he busts up robots with hand-to-hand combat, and dismantles a van with an electronic pulse emanating from his hand, an effect I tried here with no effect…

Congrats to the whole creative team on the launch of a new superhero. You may ask, how does this relate to a website about movies? LL Cool J, you’re not aligned with any particular superhero franchise right now, correct? Just sayin’.
-PP

OCTOBER 10, 2009

According to today’s Variety, movie theaters have finally come up with a way to foil people bringing camcorders into movie theatres.

In other news, camcorders were invented in 1982.

According to the report, theaters in 2010 will finally take a bold step to eliminating camcorder piracy by emitting an infrared signal from behind the movie screen, blotting out any images recorded by camcorders.

In other news, the technology for emitting infrared beams were invented in 1955.
- AW

OCTOBER 12, 2009
PAVILION’S, NEWPORT BEACH, CA

Your main Movie Guy Paul went out to Pavilion’s in Newport Beach last weekend for the chance to meet Dan Aykroyd! Dan has started a label of wines, including a chardonnay and a cabernet sauvignon. He also has a vodka served in a crysal skull (finally, good use of a crystal skull)

Follow Dan Aykroyd Wines on Twitter to find out where he’ll be doing a bottle signing next!
-PP

OCTOBER 7, 2009
KNOTT’S BERRY FARM, BUENA PARK, CA

This year’s Knott’s Scary Farm Halloween Haunt in Buena Park, CA is great. The Hanging is a trip, as ever, with every pop culture icon of the day getting KILLED, complete with funny one-liners and good stuntwork. That’s what puts the Hanging atop the seasonal show list. Bill & Ted’s at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal too easily de-evolves into a dance party. I’d much rather see the celebs get hacked to bits! Jury’s out on how good the new “Rocky Horror” show is at HHN.

But since we’re The Movie Guys, we were looking for movie tie-ins. Where past years have had horror mazes dedicated to the latest films (“The Grudge” and even “Beowulf”), this year, not so much. The upcoming “The Stepfather” has a horribly lame ’scare zone’, which is a small room with two scares and dialogue from the film while the preview plays to the cue line. IT SUCKS. Skip it. And really, is whoever plays the Stepfather going to be better than Terry O’Quinn? HELL NO.

The “Quarantine” maze is still in effect, long after the movie has evaporated from film goer’s memories. It’s a pretty creepy maze, with some good sound design and the people inhabiting it aren’t masked, so they’re actually a little scarier. There’s one room where a lady is just pacing and freaking out, the accompanying sound effects amp up her insanity. But “Quarantine”? Really? It’s old and DONE. Next year, here’s hoping they jump on another big movie tie-in. There will be a new “Resident Evil” film. I think that would be nice. I mean, EEEEEEVIL!!
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OCTOBER 5, 2009
FUDDRUCKER’S, SHERMAN OAKS, CA

Still there…
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SEPTEMBER 29, 2009
AAMPAS, BEVERY HILLS, CA

SWEET event coming to the Motion Picture Academy. If you’re in LA, it seems like a don’t-miss!:
Visit the website here.

Mark Mangini, three-time Oscar® nominee for sound effects editing, will take the audience behind the scenes to learn how sound effects were created for “Poltergeist” (1982), a film that elevated horror sound from B-movie status to full-scale modern multi-channel presentation.

Thursday, October 29, at 7:30 p.m.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Samuel Goldwyn Theater
8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
$5
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SEPTEMBER 28, 2009
WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL, LOS ANGELES, CA

I don’t know how often they do this, but there’s a cool celebration of Disney movie music coming up at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in L.A. The skinny:
The Disney Symphonic Legacy Featuring John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Experience the music from Disney’s classic films and legendary composers as never before, including the world premiere concert performance of Walt Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” featuring a full cast of singers and actors.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009, 8:00 PM
Walt Disney Concert Hall
111 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
323.850.2000
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SEPTEMBER 11, 2009

From the archives, on September 11th:

UNITED 93 (****) – Director Paul Greengrass’ “United 93” is a magnificent film, both in it’s artistic accomplishment, and it’s success in creating an emotional experience that should quell critics who believe the story’s telling is coming “too soon”. It takes a filmmaker of brazen courage and extraordinary skill to tell the story of the passengers, terrorists and air-traffic and military personnel that held us transfixed on September 11, 2001, given how socially relevant the events of that day still are in our daily lives. Greengrass has crafted a film that honors the real-life people of 9/11 without an ounce of exploitation. I am a huge fan of an earlier film of Greengrass’s called “Bloody Sunday”, which depicted the ciivil rights march massacre in Ireland that bolstered the IRA’s political presence. It was called “documentary-style” filmmaking by many critics, with a roving camera, presumably never weighed down by a tripod, wonderfully realistic acting, and a script with overlapping dialogue that never once rang false. All of these aspects are used to eerie effect in “United 93”, as the film never condescends to present you with pedestrian movie gimmicks to force a feeling on you. Greengrass is much smarter, as his cinema verite style percolates in the extreme ordinariness of the first few hours of that fateful day. Pilots arrive at the terminal, chatting unimportant banter, passengers check phone messages, the FAA operations manager trudges into his first day on the job. The inevitability of our knowledge of the fate of these people simmers underneath it all. Greengrass’ fly-on-the-wall style doesn’t announce “Great moment of the film coming!” or pander to labeling the passengers from Standard Disaster Film Catalogue #1. The material demanded more.

“United 93” achieves much more by immersing you in the chaos and confusion in the flight towers and military bases of the east coast, and strapping you in as a passenger of the doomed flight. Much has been made of the fact that the film boasts no stars. This is a great asset, as no baggage marred my ability to get to know the characters just as they got to know each other. In fact, many of the roles in the film are played by the people who experienced 9/11 firsthand, the boldest performance coming from Ben Sliney, who plays himself as the FAA operations manager, whose day slips into turmoil as he’s constantly fed misinformation about hijacked planes, and underserved by a military presence. Sliney also served as a consultant to the film to help Greengrass re-create the order of the day most accurately. And as I watched hundreds and hundreds of shocked and frantic FAA controllers and military personnel scramble to prevent further harm to the country and await chain of command orders from the highest levels of government, I once again hope George W. Bush really enjoyed “My Pet Goat”. Military response orders arrived from the Executive branch well after the fourth and final plane crashed in Pennsylvania. The filmmaking is so good, I almost expected a different outcome, I was so emotionally invested.

After viewing the film, I was visibly shaking. It prompted a 90 minute conversation with my friend Kevin about religion and politics and reawakened in me an immediacy to be involved in the world view. Normally, when I write a review, I just say whether I liked a movie or not, but with “United 93”, I am highly, highly recommending you SEE IT. This is easily the year’s best film and one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. It’s an important reminder of what happened that day, so when you see a “We Will Never Forget” sign, you can further understand. This film is a noble reminder that the greatest, most honest and most successful retaliation against terrorism since 9/11, happened immediately.

FAHRENHEIT 9/11 (****) – I saw this movie twice in the same week. A movie made with this much passion is hard to ignore, couple that with the fact that I agree with its point of view and I was hooked. “Fahrenheit 9/11” is certainly an acquired taste, but I’ve always been a fan of Michael Moore. Is there anybody he targets in his films who doesn’t deserve it? Give ‘em hell, Mike! Nobody is more deserving than our current batch of government yahoos. Just as “Bowling for Columbine” was a mix of the hilarious (a cartoon about our scared, white, founding fathers) and the poignant (the brilliant editing together of 9-11 calls and Columbine security cam footage), “9/11” gives us the hilarious (Ashcroft sings!) and the poignant (the hard-to-watch devastation of Lila Lipscomb). The Lipscomb segment is especially well made because Moore lets Lila read the entire letter from her son with out score or comment and the effect is very emotional. Throughout there are highly emotional moments, not the least of which is the Twin Towers attack shown with haunting music, reaction and aftermath shots and no shots of the plane actually hitting the building – a very dynamic way to represent that event. But there are literally hundreds of memorable images and moments in this movie, and I thought “Super Size Me” pissed me off! The facts Moore brings to light in this film are riveting, and Moore wisely (after much comment concerning his presence in “Columbine”) removes himself visibly from the camera for much of film, taking a voice-over role instead. Again, you cannot deny a movie made with this amount of zeal, rage and enthusiasm. It’s all up there on the screen, and it’s mesmerizing.
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SEPTEMBER 7, 2009
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD, CA

Huge, balls of gaseous flame swirl through the sky, sending smoke and debris in various directions. The heat from the flame is overwhelming as the fire erupts, advancing on nearby people with a voracious appetite, all on Universal’s Backlot at the Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift attraction.

Too soon, Universal…
-PP

SEPTEMBER 4, 2009
HOLLYWOOD & HIGHLAND, HOLLYWOOD, CA

I discovered today that “The G-Force Experience” is still operating at Hollywood & Highland!

…..is this movie still in theaters?
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SEPTEMBER 1, 2009

Speaking of Marvel, Stark Industries is hiring! The viral campaign for next summer’s “Iron Man 2″ is underway. You can apply for a job with Tony HERE.

Also, The Movie Guys Facebook discussion page is up and you can post your opinion on the Disney/Marvel merger.
-PP