Saturday, August 31, 2013

Let's #LAMBWatch Demolition Man on September 7th!

LAMBs and LAMBettes! It's time for another installment of #LAMBWatch, where we (virtually) watch The LAMB Movie of the Month together and tweet along.

Break out the three seashells because this month's movie is Demolition Man, courtesy of Jay from Life vs. Film. #LAMBWatch is happening on Saturday, September 7 at 4:00 pm EST.

Wikipedia

Our second installment of #LAMBWatch will be a little tricky in that the film's not on Netflix Instant (Double Indemnity was). I have Demolition Man on DVD so I'll be watching it that way but it looks like it's available for rent on Amazon Instant for $2.99.

#LAMBWatch is fairly simple - when the clock strikes 4:00 EST on the 7th, just hit play (you might want to do a run-through ahead of time to make sure that when you hit play you get the film and not some trailers or ads or something)! You can use #LAMBWatch to join in on the conversation. Click here to get a feel for last month’s installment.

Hope to see you on Twitter on September 7th. As Sly Stallone would say “Yo hrttei ulliy whooooo yo! ADRIAN!”
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Thursday, August 22, 2013

You're Next Review

If you want to make a scary film, it's hard to go wrong with the "Home Invasion" sub genre. It's pretty much fail-safe - we all have an inherent fear of being attacked where we feel the safest. You’re Next director Adam Wingard, however, elevates his new film above the lowest common denominator. He really understands this type of film and horror in general.

Wikipedia

The film is about a group of siblings, their significant others, and their parents, who have gathered (read:isolated themselves) at their parents’ fixer-upper out in the woods. The family reunion is short-lived, however, as a murderous trio of animal-mask-wearing killers soon targets the group.

You’re Next is a little different from your typical horror flick since the group of victims is a family. I think most of us are used to horny teens getting themselves into these types of situations, not brothers, sisters, and moms and dads. The actors in the film have great family chemistry, however, and made for a compelling group. Sharni Vinson, who plays Erin the main girlfriend, pretty much carries the whole film. Joe Swanberg, who plays obnoxious brother Drake, is another highlight of the cast. I guess it’s sort of an in-joke, but this is the second film I’ve seen where Swanberg’s character creepily tries to undress his annoyed wife.

As I mentioned, Wingard understands horror. The film is desaturated and dreary and Wingard seems to be channeling early Carpenter. We see the killers’ points of view from outside a few times and one of the murderers does the classic “masked-killer-head-tilt” as he examines one of his fresh victims.

Wingard, who’s been making a name for himself by directing segments in anthology films like V/H/S, V/H/S2, and The ABCs of Death, is a crafty director in general. There’s a great dinner scene in the film that not only builds up to a family conflict but the first round of attacks from the killers as well, and Wingard uses the sound of thunder in the background the whole time. It really heightens the scene’s tension. A storm’s a brewin’, that’s for sure.

Most importantly, You’re Next really revels in its violence. It has the most bludgeonings I’ve ever seen in a movie. The violence is very malicious, but Wingard never really makes it unbearable or takes it to the level of torture porn. And we’re pretty desensitized at this point anyway, right?

In short, You’re Next is a fresh, fun horror film directed by talented up-and-comer Wingard (there’s a joke I could make about Wingard being “next” in terms of great horror directors but I’ll spare you). If you don’t mind a little bit of head-bashing violence, you should have a great time with this one.

3 out of 5 Stars

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Friday, August 16, 2013

Favorite Scene Friday! Quigley Down Under: The Duel

Is it possible to make a good western anymore? I know the answer to that question isn’t necessarily “No”, but after this summer’s Depp-bacle (see what I did there?) The Lone Ranger, it really seems like they don’t make ‘em like they used to.

Yes, to get a really good western we have to go back, and not even that far...how about 1990?

Wikipedia

Quigley Down Under might be my favorite western. To be fair, I’m certainly no expert on the genre. Hell, fellow Hatcher Tiff posted a scene from a Western long before I did, and even Pax from Cavalcade of Awesome stopped by to share one a while back. But Quigley is an excellent movie, so I stand by my claim.

The film follows Matthew Quigley (Tom “MUSTACHE” Selleck), a marksman cowboy who’s traveled to Australia for work. You see, Quigley is, to put it lightly, skilled with a Sharps rifle, (see here) and a rancher named Elliot Marston (Alan Rickman) has hired him to kill dingoes. Rifles are rather foreign to the pistol loving Marston and did I mention he doesn’t want Quigley to shoot dingoes but rather Aborigines? Needless to say, Marston and Quigley don’t see eye to eye there.

So jump to the end of the film. Marston and his men have caught Quigley and are forcing him to duel with one of Marston’s beloved pistols. Quigley’s tired. He’s outnumbered. His rifle has been taken from him. He’s down...but is he out? I don’t wanna give anything away but, let’s just say the scene culminates in a fantastic “Oh Shit” moment.

This is such a good scene. I really love the dialogue, particularly Selleck’s “This ain’t Dodge City,” line. I also get a kick out of the little laugh Alan Rickman (who’s just a great, slimy bad guy throughout the whole film) gives after his “...I was born on the wrong continent,” quip.

Enjoy the scene and have a great weekend! And if you’re gonna watch a Western, make it a good one.

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Tuesday, August 13, 2013

A Peek Through the Hatch: Sexy, Sexy Films

*NSFW!*

"In America they're too scared of sex, that's why he wasn't nominated. If you look at the best actor list you're saying, 'Michael Fassbender is not on that list?'"

- Director Steve McQueen on why Michael Fassbender wasn’t nominated for an Oscar for Shame.

If you believe director Steve McQueen, Americans are too frightened of sex, to the point where we deny great actors deserved recognition. But it seems like we've got a lot of sexy films in theaters and more on the way. Could it be that we're trying to conquer our fear? Let’s take a look!

The To Do List - July 26 (In Theaters)

The To Do List follows recent high school graduate Brandy Klark (Aubrey Plaza) as she tries to cross a ton of stuff off of her sexual to do list before going to college. Various “jobs”, teabagging, motorboating...she’s gonna do it all.

This flick is already in theaters so go check it out.



Lovelace (Currently In Limited Release)

This is a biographical flick about Linda Lovelace, the infamous porn star from Deep Throat that went on to be known for her anti-porn stance. Amanda Seyfried plays the girl with the golden throat and it looks like the film will focus on Lovelace’s rise from regular gal to porn queen and beyond. James Franco plays Hugh Hefner so you know it’s gonna get crazy.



Thanks for Sharing (September 20)

Thanks for Sharing is about a group of characters who are ADDICTED TO SEX. Rough stuff. Mark Ruffalo’s character seems to be a functioning sex addict, but when a naughty Gwyneth Paltrow enters his life, things get hectic.

kpopstarz.com

This film seems like it’s trying to tackle sex addiction from a practical point of view, showing us the problems sex addicts face (for instance, what if Gwyneth Paltrow wants to jump your bones or you’re addicted to sex but you look like Josh Gad?).

IMDb



Don Jon (September 27)

Don Jon is Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut. The film follows Jon, an average guy (except he’s JGL), that only worries about a few things, one of them being porn. He ends up seducing Scarlett Johansson into a relationship but his addiction to X-Rated films (the movie used to be titled Don Jon’s Addiction) might ruin everything. This film essentially seems like the feel good version of Shame.



Nymphomaniac (December 25...in Denmark)

Hey, another flick about sex addiction! Except this seems to be THE sex addiction movie. I mean, the title is NYMPHOMANIAC. That’s all you need to know. The film (directed by the wholesome and not at all controversial Lars von Trier) follows nymphomaniac Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) as she navigates life as a person who really, really, really likes sex.


JoBlo via Cinema Blend

The movie was long rumored to feature actors like Gainsbourg and Shia LaBeouf engaging in real sex. It was later confirmed that doubles would fill in (no pun intended) for the actors during the more explicit activities.

To be fair, this is by no means an "American" film (I'm not even sure when it's coming out here), but interest in the movie seems high here in the states.

So what do you think, are you guys gonna check out any of these films? Do you think Americans are too scared of sex???
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Sunday, August 11, 2013

#LAMBWatch: Double Indemnity

Jess from French Toast Sunday and I recently hosted a new feature we're calling (for now anyway) #LAMBWatch. It's a simple enough concept - we (virtually) watch a movie together and tweet throughout, tagging our tweets with, you guessed it, #LAMBWatch.

Wikipedia

The inaugural #LAMBWatch film was Double Indemnity, the current LAMB (Large Association of Movie Blogs for you Outsiders) Movie of the Month. I'd never seen the film before and watching it for the first ever #LAMBWatch was pretty fun. Below are some of the tweets. It was essentially just Jess and me this time around but hopefully more folks will join us next time. Keep in mind, some of these tweets are a little on the spoilery side!















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Friday, August 9, 2013

Favorite Scene Friday! The 'Burbs: "Take me to a hospital!"

Way back in 1989 director Joe Dante and Tom Hanks brought us a glimpse of suburban life with The ‘Burbs. The flick tells the story of Ray Peterson (Hanks), your average suburbanite except for one thing - he’s dealing with The Klopeks, his potentially murderous neighbors. At the very least, they’re very eccentric.

Wikipedia

I enjoy The ‘Burbs, but, I might be biased. I like anything featuring Hanks and I’m a sucker for horror comedies. But, yeah, Hanks. For some reason his shit storm freak out session in today’s scene really makes me laugh. This bit takes place at the end of the film, after Ray has broken into the Klopeks’ home to investigate it. In the process, Ray (spoiler alert) blows up the house...with him in it.

Most of Ray's rage is directed at his neighbor Art (Rick Ducommun) and a highlight of the scene is Ray’s reaction after Art finally responds to him (Hanks' comic timing is excellent). And when Ray hurls the stretcher into the ambulance after the paramedics don’t load him into it is priceless (as is how he adjusts himself when he’s lying inside the ambulance). And, hey, Carrie Fisher!

Enjoy the scene, lunatics! And watch out for your neighbors...

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Thursday, August 8, 2013

Batch o’ Hatch: Sam Rockwell in the Poltergeist Reboot, The Conjuring Sequel, Breaking Bad Premiere at Sun-Ray Cinema, and New Thor 2 Trailer!

Sam Rockwell in the Poltergeist Reboot

First up in this slightly horror skewed Batch is word from Total Film via The Wrap that Sam Rockwell may want to star in the Poltergeist remake because he’d like to work with Sam Raimi and he’s Sam Rockwell and he can date your whole family if he wanted to. That sounds fantastic! Sorry, Rosemarie Dewitt. It’s cool that you’re in the film and all but, you only had my curiosity. Sam Rockwell has my attention.


Are you up for the Poltergeist remake? How do you feel about Rockwell's interest?

 The Conjuring Sequel

So now let’s talk about The Conjuring sequel. According to JoBlo via Ain’t It Cool it seems as if a potential plot has leaked out. And it’s not the Amityville case??? Why would you even tease it then? It’s like if The Dark Knight had been about anything else other than The Joker. Why would you tease something at the end of one film and not deal with it in the sequel? Oh well. Maybe they’ll continue to tease the Amityville case throughout this sequel and the threequel will address it finally?

What do you think? Are you happy the sequel will be avoiding Amityville territory?

Breaking Bad Premiere at Sun-Ray Cinema

In movie event/escapism news, Sun-Ray Cinema is showing the Breaking Bad premiere this Sunday at 9:00 p.m. for free, complete with “blue meth” candy! If they served up some fried chicken Los Pollos Hermanos style I’d be in. It looks like they’ll be playing the rest of the season on a weekly basis as well.

Are you tuning into Breaking Bad on Sunday?

 New Thor 2 Trailer

And finally, via JoBlo, feast your eyes on the new Thor: The Dark World trailer!



How the hell is Natalie Portman’s character able to slap Loki with so much force? Is she secretly a superhero herself???

What do you think of the new trailer? Personally I was a little underwhelmed.

Now this is how you do Thor (via Geek Tyrant and Machinima. Also...sarcasm):



Tweets

I'm not positive what Ruth meant by that but it sounded cool.



I'm sorry I missed Lindsay from French Toast Sunday explaining the Pixar Theory. Next time, Vine that shit!


I agree. Never forget.


I don't blame CT.


There's still time to shame Mike for neglecting What About Bob?
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Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Autumn: Bringing More Than Falling Leaves.



If cooler temperatures, turning leaves, warm cider and Halloween weren’t enough to get you excited about autumn 2013, then the number of highly anticipated albums being released during this fall season should. Fall has always been my favorite time of the year and this year even more it cannot arrive quickly enough. I know the fall equinox is technically not until September 22, but to me fall starts once I tear the month of August off of the calendar.


Before writing this, I tried to think of a bigger powerhouse collection of new albums being released around the same time in recent years but I drew a blank. If you can think of another time in modern music history (the last 5 years) that this happened, let me know. Now I’m probably a tad biased when I say that these releases are as anticipated as I think they are, but if you consider yourself a fan of alternative rock & indie music, then you have to agree with me a little bit. I'll concede that besides maybe Kings of Leon,  Lady GaGa and Justin Timberlake (both have fall releases) will probably outsell all the artists on my list and if I enjoyed that type of music then they would definitely make the list, but I don’t, so here is mine.



September 10
Arctic Monkeys                                                                    AM
The first song from the album 'R U Mine?' was actually released as a single during the winter of 2012. It’s bad ass and because of it my expectations for this album are through the roof. The second single, 'Do I Wanna Know?' was released earlier this summer, accompanied by a very creative but simple video. It's a slow sludgy jam that doesn't disappoint. They released a third single, a B-side called '2013'. It's not going to be on the album, but the diehard Arctic Monkeys fan will want it.  I’ve preordered the deluxe edition vinyl for this bad boy so there will be a reason to rush home on the 10th.

J. Roddy Walston & The Business                                    Essential Tremors 
I missed my opportunity to see this band at the Shaky Knees Festival, but I won't miss the chance to preview and hopefully buy a track or two or maybe the entire album. The first single, 'Heavy Bells' is a rocker indeed. Some of you might not like the hard stuff so this one might not be for you, but I for one really dig it and already purchased it. I'm new to J. Roddy & The Business but I look forward to hearing the rest of the album.



Kings of Leon                                                                        Mechanical Bull
The lead single 'Supersoaker' was released July 18. It’s a safe song for the Followill clan, who are working their way back after all of the turmoil surrounding the band. I read band members quoted as saying that the album was going to be a "combination of Youth & Young Manhood and Because of the Times", but in my opinion 'Supersoaker' sounds like a continuation of Come Around Sundown. I gave that album a lot of shit, but I've since come around myself. It's still not the Kings of Leon I want to hear and I will still despise 'Beachside' until I die, but the second Mechanical Bull single 'Wait For Me' has me excited once more for a KoL album.


October  1
Dr. Dog                                                                                  B Room
First single, 'The Truth' was released on July 22nd. It’s a soulful piece that could be mistaken for something released back in the summer of 1966. Like AM, I’ve preordered this one too. And while I'm talking about one of the most underrated bands playing music today, let me say something about this The Lumineers shit. I'll preface this with I understand the music industry. It's pure economics. The more mainstream and popular a band is the more it makes for the record company, but it's a fucking shame that Dr. Dog is opening for a commercial sell out like The Lumineers, who are nothing more than a Mumford & Sons knock off with a girl. Hey more power to them, they went the same route as The Black Keys and it's worked out for them. If you'd like to hear a band that just makes great music and doesn't have more songs in commercials than they do albums, then take a listen to B Room on 10/1. For fun and comparisons, I've included a link to a rough draft version of 'The Truth' as performed by Scott McMicken at a solo gig.

October  15
Pearl Jam                                                                            Lightning Bolt
After 20 plus years, the grunge gods are still pumping out music. Their first single 'Mind Your Manners' has a slight punk sound to it and if you listen closely, it even sounds a little like 'Overkill' from Motorhead. I didn't think they had this fast paced sound still in them. I know I'll never get 'Once', 'Alive' or 'Even Flow' again, but 'Mind Your Manners' definitely encourages me to pay attention to the rest of the album.

October 29
Arcade Fire                                                                          Reflektor    (Not Official)
Besides Mechanical Bull, this album will probably be the most commercially anticipated in the bunch. I'm not saying it will challenge for the #1 spot this week, because it all depends on what other releases come out, but I am saying that it will be an album to get your hands on. The Canadian indie band hasn't released an album since August 2010 and fans are clamoring. They teased us with a single from the Hunger Games soundtrack, but besides that they've been very quiet. Parenthood might have something to do with that. Lead singer Win Butler and his wife/band mate Regine Chassagne had a son in April. The band is supposed to release a new single from the album on September 10 so keep your ears open.

There's quite a bit of new music to look forward to, but until then take a listen to some of these bands The Weeks, Phosphorescent, Cave Singers & Cayucas. Here's a video from The Weeks called 'The House We Grew Up In' from the album Gutter Gaunt Gangster. If they look and sound a little like the Kings, it's no coincidence, they're on their label, Serpents and Snakes Records. 























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