I think most of us have seen Cloverfield by now, and it was a pretty wild ride. Landmarks getting blasted, ticks the size of suitcases bounding around, plenty of gunplay…everything you could want in a good action movie with a science fiction bent. But what a lot of us didn’t expect was the down side of Cloverfield, with its simulated hand-held camera work.
Should’ve Included Dramamine with the Jujubes
Popularity: 8% [?]
I think I started to feel old when I realized that up-and-coming actresses like Ellen Page were born in 1987.
I was born in 1987.
Arguably, I may not be as successful as Ellen Page at this point in my career. She’s already made millions by playing underage girls, whereas people have been calling me “ma’am” since I was ten. I’m a blogger, and she’s starring in the Sundance hit Smart People.
Popularity: 4% [?]
There’s an old saying that the graveyards are full of indispensable men. It’s a sort of funny paradox, and it’s true. And now that Heath Ledger has passed on, he’s become one of those indispensable men.
In an industry that banks on your image and attitude, your sudden disappearance makes a difference. Along with all the sad, mundane facts of death - the simple things, and the fact that he will never see his daughter again - there is the reality that he can never be in a film.
Popularity: 6% [?]
Remember when the Star Wars prequels were still a rumor? Those were happier times. Before “Annie” Skywalker, before Jar-Jar, before…
Anyway, back then, there was a constant debate about those prequels. Were they real? Really really real? Would George Lucas truly grace us with more Star Wars to feed our greasy nerd habits? Yes, child, yes.
Of course, the end result turned out rather disappointing, but at least we had that time of blissful anticipation.
Popularity: 6% [?]
Every once in a while, a good action film comes along that makes a lot of money, but is almost immediately forgotten. When asked, people will say “I liked that!” but it’s never the topic of discussion at parties. The Mummy was one of these.
There are a lot of closet Mummy fans out there - not because it’s a matter of shame, but because, for some reason, The Mummy series just gets overlooked. Did you know there’s a sequel coming out? Neither did I. Until now.
Popularity: 7% [?]
From its early trailers, The Water Horse just looked like a clever take on the Loch Ness Monster legend. In it, a young boy finds a little sea creature and raises it lovingly, until it becomes too large - then it must be secreted away into a lake. Lake Ness, in particular.
Starring Emily Watson (Red Dragon), Alex Etel (Millions), and David Morrissey (Basic Instict 2), The Water Horse appears to be a charming children’s fantasy tale. But recently, a little campaign of viral marketing has begun.
Popularity: 4% [?]
Everyone knows that the secret to a successful theatrical release is to rebrand a direct-to-video movie featuring a once-great action star in the decline of his career.
No, wait, that’s the secret to a successful theatrical release in Bizarro World.
While it seems nobody can confirm that 88 Minutes, starring Al Pacino and Al Pacino’s hair gel, was ever released on DVD in the U.S., anecdotal reports indicate that it’s been available for rental and purchase before. Those who have seen it mostly report that it’s awful. Luckily, this is the information age and you get to decide for yourself. Tick tock, doc.
Popularity: 6% [?]
New Line Cinema used to be the brainchild of Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne, and it rose from relative obscurity to become the name behind projects like Austin Powers and Lord of the Rings. But oddly enough, one of Shaye and Lynne’s most successful ventures ended up being their downfall.
That’s right - the two former heads of studio recently had their contracts re-evaluated, and, as pretty much everyone suspected, they were sacked. New Line Cinema is now owned by Time Warner, which tolerates failure about as much as your typical Bond villain.
Popularity: 5% [?]
Michael Moore’s undying appetite for documentary features is rivaled only by his appetite for…
No, that’s too easy. I won’t make fun of his weight. Hold me to that, won’t you? I promise I’ll try really hard for the rest of this article.
With the possible exception of Al Gore, Moore is the only documentary filmmaker with a widespread appeal. From his first big hit, Bowling for Columbine, to the infamous Fahrenheit 9/11, to the recent indictment of the health-care crisis in Sicko, he has produced a series of highly successful propaganda pieces.
Popularity: 5% [?]
One of T.V.’s most legendary programs, The X-Files still has a devoted fan base. After years of silence, there’s finally good news: we have a new X-Files movie.
For a long time, all we knew was that David Duchovny and nerd pinup Gillian Anderson would be returning. Hooray! Then she wasn’t coming back. Boo! Then she WAS coming back. Hooray! Now, more news has leaked, including a spoiler photo from the set that apparently means a lot to long-time fan of the show (or “philes”).
As someone whose sum total of X-Files experience is the occasional episode in syndication, I’m not sure what to think. Should I get the entire series from Netflix and try to catch up? Maybe not - it appears that this new film, casually dubbed X-Files 2, has nothing to do with aliens or with the show’s mythology. (Apparently “the show’s mythology” is another thing that means something to philes.) It’s not intended as a sequel to the first X-Files movie, either. Which is good, because I’ve only seen about a minute of The X-Files Movie in the context of the Mystery Science Theater Summer Blockbuster Review.
Popularity: 13% [?]
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