Monthly Archive for December, 2009

Trailer Tuesday: Hot Tub Time Machine

Published by Andy on December 29, 2009 in Trailer Tuesday. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Dan is headed off to the land of San Diego, which, as we all know, translates to “whale’s vagina” in German. So because I couldn’t decide between posting Cop Out or Hot Tub Time Machine, I’m going to post another Trailer Tuesday by proxy for ol’ Dan. I know this is what he would have wanted me to pick.

I just have no words for what I see in this preview. Will it suck? Yes. Will it be absolutely banal and moronic? You bet. Will it be glorious and become a must-see Man Weekend flick of choice? Damn straight.

Hot Tub Time Machine opens on March 19, 2010. Behold its glory below.

Trailer Tuesday: Cop Out

Published by Andy on December 29, 2009 in Trailer Tuesday. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , .

There were times during this preview for Kevin Smith’s new film, Cop Out, that I laughed out loud, but mainly I kind of sighed and shrugged my shoulders and then crossed my fingers hoping this comedy will turn out better than it’s first trailer. Why? Because I like Bruce Willis and I enjoy Sean William Scott. Tracy Morgan, not so much.

Cop Out, formally titled A Couple of Dicks, opens on February 26, 2010. Check out the trailer below and give us your thoughts. My vote? I’m hopeful, but leaning towards pessimism. If it sucks, I won’t be surprised. What say ye?

Happy Holidays from Andy at The Movies.com!

Published by Andy on December 24, 2009 in Just for Fun. 2 Comments Tags: , .

It’s going to be quiet around here for the next few days, and rightfully so – it’s freakin’ Christmas and it’s time to share special moments with the ones we love. We’ll be back with some year-end best/worst lists next week, and check later tonight for a review of Sherlock Holmes. But most of all, have a the hap hap happiest Christmas since Fred Astaire danced with Danny F***ing Kaye!

Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes (Dan’s Take)

Published by Dan on December 24, 2009 in Reviews. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Robert Downey Jr. has become a force of nature. Once just a great actor, the dude has seen his career resuscitated into the open arms of an adoring public who now sees him as their cinematic best friend to giddily bury under spade fulls of lavish praise. If there’s any doubt Downey Jr.’s charm and dynamism will single-handedly open Sherlock Holmes to fat gobs of cash while allowing director Guy Ritchie a leg up and out of his London Gangster limbo, it’s from idiots. Still, while Downey Jr. is an Alpha vortex personified, his onscreen largess only serves to magnify how listless Holmes: 2009 would be without him.

Ditching the detective hat for a ruffled mop of 2000-vogue bedhead, 5 o’clock shadow and fisticuffs, Downey Jr. effortlessly breathes new life into the famed Detective of Baker Street in the resurrection of Sherlock Homes– a standard movie by all counts but one elevated from bore to pleasant distraction by the sheer power of Downey Jr.. Jude Law keeps pace as the bowler hat wearing, mustachio’d sidekick and maybe-more-than-a-friend Watson (now with chop-sockey action), while McAdams–for all her sex appeal and on-screen magneticism displayed in other roles– is utterly lost in Downey Jr.’s wake as muse Irene Adler.
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The Karate Kid Trailer Isn’t The Best Around

Published by Dan on December 23, 2009 in Coming Soon and Trailers. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , .

Remakes can be insufferable (take your pick from any horror remake over the last decade… or The Day The Earth Stood Still). They can also hold their own (3:10 to Yuma, The Ring, Clash of the Titans?). But mostly, they’re insufferable. Apparently, thanks to the debut of its trailer, the remake of the 80’s classic The Karate Kid plans on upholding the tradition.

And that’s not because we hate remakes. AATM has a firm policy: “Regardless of crappy track record, remakes are welcomed and will never illicit disparagement unless executed poorly.” So we may be a little too early to start shoveling rhetorical manure on L’il Will Smith Jr.’s new star vehicle, but all we have is the trailer and it makes me sad. Maybe it’s because I’m tired of the lame anthems played over the course of the trailer to keep it urban. Maybe it’s because Daniel is now a cute l’il tween in China and that just doesn’t resonate. Maybe it’s because Karate is Japanese and Jackie Chan (as Mr. Han– aka, Mr. Mayagi) is a Chinese Kung Fu Master. Or maybe it’s because all the interesting aspects of the original Karate Kid feel like they’ve been excised for poppy expediency. Either way, my vague interest in this project has turned to cold indifference.

Sure it’s dated, but here’s the trailer for the original Karate Kid. Compare the two and come away with a winner in the comment section pronto.

Theater Goobs Monkeyhump Avatar’s 3D

Published by Dan on December 22, 2009 in Random Notes & Thoughts. 5 Comments Tags: , , .

After screening a murky, dark and generally crappy presentation of Sherlock Holmes last night, sympathy is in full effect for Danny, a regular reader/commenter here at AATM who recently pointed out the horrible 3D experience he had with Avatar at a Westates theater:

I’ve never had an issue seeing 3D at the theater. [I] saw Up in 3D and A Christmas Carol 3D and both were fine. I got the depth of field and all was nifty. But this…this was bad… Lines meshing through lines, focus slightly off, going crossed eyed when subtitles would pop up on screen. There was zero 3D effect for me.

Apparently, the Westates theater chain told Danny he was crazy. As it turns out, they may simply be unable to correctly operate their own equipment. Westates aren’t the only ones, either. From “Tech guy Al Magliochetti” as noted over at Hollywood Elsewhere, L.A. theaters are half-assed too:

“A 3D frame is made up of two images, a left and a right. Polarizing filters are used on the projector along with convergence lenses to merge both images into one and then filter it so that each of the two images is sent to the appropriate eye and canceled out by the other.”

“The goobs, however, appear to be projecting the film one half frame out of sync, which would normally invert the 3D and make it backwards (background objects appearing closer). And yet to fix that screwup they also inverted the polarizers, meaning that whenever anything is static or slow moving the 3D looks fine, but the minute any fast action occurs the 3D effect collapses and the whole film flattens out until things slow down again.”

“This isn’t something that could be threaded incorrectly so I’m presuming it’s been incorrect since the opening last week, and thereby giving several thousand viewers several thousand headaches.”

That would explain a lot… has anyone else experienced similar problems?

Trailer Two-Fer Tuesday: Kick-Ass (Hit Girl)

Published by Dan on December 22, 2009 in Coming Soon, Trailer Tuesday and Trailers. 4 Comments Tags: , , .

At this point, Kick Ass is percolating in your conscious. You’ve seen the all ages trailer and Condor Man’s taxi cab facial. You’ve seen Nicholas Cage lovingly put a couple slugs into his little girl’s kevlar chest. And sure, while the little girl (AKA- Hit Girl) can take a .45  caliber punch, she can also deliver a few herself.

Empire recently posted an exclusive red band Kick Ass Hit Girl trailer, one that Trailer Addict was kind enough to rip off? generously distribute. And be warned– this ain’t no sissy red band trailer. It’s arterial, severial and very naughtily uses the two words that would get you sent home from school and leave your Mom wondering where she went wrong. It’s also pretty great… and I feel kind of guilty for saying that.

Trailer Tuesday: Shrek Forever After/The Runaways

Published by Dan on December 22, 2009 in Trailer Tuesday and Trailers. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Shrek Forever After and The Runaways? Nothing in common.

Still, we’re debuting the Shrek Forever After trailer here at AATM, which morally requires an attempt to salvage a shred of my dignity and self respect. So hey! You’re the winner with a two-for-one! Or a half-loser. Your call.

First up, Shrek Please End This Forever After you’ve wrung this sucker dry. I’ll cop to the fact Shrek Uno had sassy originality when it debuted with its “look at me I’m funny and pop-savvy” send up of Disney, but the second quickly became leftover meatloaf and the  third… well, lessons learned.  Face it– farting Ogre/Talking Donkey movies are what went wrong with the cheap pop-culture gag narrative that was all in vogue with this decade’s CG animation. And critically acclaimed/box office success or not (Er, Wild Hogs was a box office success), the Shrek series is the runny nose and sore throat of animation, one which is finally losing contagion thanks to the antibiotic of monotony.

Whew. Since that’s off my chest, here’s the trailer for Shrek’s the “final chapter” which “reboots” in Shrek Bizarro World- a land where the tired jokes can be replayed because all our heroes never met. Shrek fans, clap your hands with glee and mark your calendar for a cinematic lobotomy on May 2010.

The Runaways, on the other hand, finally reveals the secret behind Kristin Stewart’s oft-questioned man-mane. She’s Joan Jett! And angry! And edgy! Premiering at Sundance in just a few short weeks, The Runaways follows the a typical rock’n’ rise and fall, but this time it’s the all-girl punk rockers of the same name. The Runaways is heavily anticipated as Kristen Stewart will “finally” flex some thespian chops and prove she’s better than that dumb, mopey Bella Swan. Dakota Fanning also stars as The Runaways lead singer Cherie Currie, so you can damn well expect some emotin’.

The trailer reveals angry girls rocking, cherry bombing, pioneering hairstyles men would adopt a few years later and, overall, doing the late 70’s proud.

Ryan Bingham Sings The Weary Kind from Crazy Heart

Published by Andy on December 20, 2009 in Coming Soon and Just for Fun. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Crazy Heart is in limited release so I’ve been forbidden to post my review yet, but I will say this – it is definitely one of the year’s best films. It’s like a kinder, gentler, blue-sky version of last year’s The Wrestler. One of the film’s strengths is the soundtrack, especially the song “The Weary Kind.” Jeff Bridges, Robert Duvall and Collin Farrell all sing on the soundtrack, due out on January 19th, 2010.

Ryan Bingham co-wrote the song with T-Bone Burnett and the duo scored a Golden Globe nomination last week for Best Original Song. You probably recognized Burnett’s name, as he produced the soundtrack for Walk the Line and worked with the Coen brothers for 2002’s O Brother, Where Are Thou (he won an Album of the Year Grammy award for that soundtrack). I hadn’t heard of Bingham until Crazy Heart, but that’s because I don’t listen to alternative country music, or any country for that matter. Even still, Bingham’s got a melodic, raspy, whiskey-meets-velvet voice and I think you’ll enjoy the live performance of “The Weary Kind” below.

Utah Film Critics Association Annouces 2009 Award Winners

Published by Andy on December 18, 2009 in News. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , .

up-in-the-airUp in the Air was recognized with two awards at the annual meeting of the Utah Film Critics Association, including Best Picture of 2009. The film’s director, Jason Reitman, also won for Best Achievement in Directing.

In the Male Lead Performance category, Viggo Mortensen was recognized for his work in The Road as a father leading his young son through a post-apocalyptic America. Carey Mulligan took Female Lead Performance honors as a teenager involved with an older man in An Education.

Continue reading ‘Utah Film Critics Association Annouces 2009 Award Winners’