Moviedozer Dailies

Rush job?

2011-09-10T12:09:00.003-04:00

Is it me or does this poster for the new Justin Timberlake flick make the characters look CG? I feel like Yogi Bear or the Chipmunks are lurking just out of the shot. Seems like the marketing department should have taken a cue from the plot and bought more time to get the job done.

Peter Falk 1927-2011

2011-06-24T15:14:00.007-04:00

The Princess Bride

The Brinks Job

Murder by Death

A Woman Under the Influence

Husbands

The Great Race

Robin and the 7 Hoods

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

A Pocket Full of Miracles

Murder Inc.

Columbo

Irreplaceable.

photos courtesy of mptvimages.com

Movies we're looking forward to.

2011-06-22T14:22:00.003-04:00

Now may be the time to start getting on the good side of any apes you may know.

Screen Greats that will Never Fade.

2010-09-30T12:40:00.009-04:00

In successive days this week, movie fans lost two icons of American cinema.

Yesterday, at his Las Vegas home, at the age of 85, Tony Curtis died of cardiac arrest. The death was reported by Curtis' daughter Jamie Lee Curtis.

Tony Curtis, who was born in The Bronx borough of New York City, arrived in Hollywood at the age of 23, to begin a career that would span more than 60 years. Mr. Curtis' work includes classics made with Hollywood's biggest stars and directors. Favorites at Moviedozer include 1953's Houdini, with ex-wife Janet Leigh, and 1964's Sex and the Single Girl with recurring co-star Natalie Wood.

Other unforgettable movie performances include The Sweet Smell of Success (with Kirk Douglas, '57), Spartacus (also with Douglas, '60), The Great Impostor ('61), Goodbye Charlie ('64), The Great Race (with Jack Lemmon and Natalie Wood, '65) and The Boston Strangler ('68). Perhaps one of Curtis' most fondly remembered roles is his portrayal of Joe/Josephine opposite Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe in the Billy Wilder 1959 classic comedy, Some Like It Hot.

Curtis also made a memorable mark in television, co starring with Roger Moore in the 1971-'72 series The Persuaders and, between 1978-'81, as casino owner Philip Roth, in 26 episodes opposite Robert Ulrich in Vega$. Mr. Curtis even had some fun lampooning his own celebrity by providing the voice for his animated likeness in The Return of Stony Curtis, a 1965 episode of The Flintstones.

On Tuesday, Hollywood also lost one of its most formidable directors in Arthur Penn.

In addition to one of our favorites, 1985's Target, which starred Gene Hackman and a young Matt Dillon, Penn was the guiding force behind movies like 1962's The Miracle Worker with Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke, and 1970's Little Big Man with Dustin Hoffman.

Penn's standout achievement for most, is the incredible and ground breaking visual style of the hard hitting masterpiece, 1967's Bonnie and Clyde (Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons & Michael J. Pollard).

To the families, friends and fans of both of these extraordinary artists, we offer our most profound sympathies and share in the celebration of their brilliant careers.

Stallone takes one for the team in The Expendables

2010-08-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

Sylvester Stallone's new action movie, The Expendables, hits theaters today and audiences are about to be convinced that even at 63, the guy still knows how to take a beating. No, not the kind he took for making Stop, Or My Mom Will Shoot, we're talking a serious thrown-across-the-set ass kicking. They're also going to have to admit he looks like he can still give one as well.

The fans of star driven action movies will also be hoping for another kind of beating this weekend, beating up the box-office competition.

It won't be hard for Stallone and his assembled cohorts to kick Julia Roberts' tush in her new movie adaptation of Eat, Pray, Love. It may be slightly more challenging to rough up Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg in last week's number one The Other Guys. But the film were hoping gets taken to the ground and trampled is Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

Pilgrim is led by actor/professional wimp Michael Cera and is poised to attract a swarm of Comic Con geeks (the geekiest ones that cheer for those pimply high school angst comic books that dwell on fantasies of the nerd triumphing over cool kids and jocks while winning the girl through cleverness and math skills), who usually come out in opening weekend droves when it's one of their own on the front lines. If Stallone and crew don't come home on Monday having beaten and bloodied Scott Pilgrim, action fans and Spike TV junkies should go hang their heads in shame.

For The Expendables, we're still trying to decide which must have been tougher, doing your own fight scenes at 63 (and ripping and breaking some important body parts in the process), or assembling a cast that includes Jason Statham, Jet Li, Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Eric Roberts, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin (who opens the can of Stallone whoop-ass in the clip below) and, wait for it... the Governor of California. Body slams can be brutal but star egos? There's clearly some serious respect being paid to the guy we'd credit for fathering the genre of modern day, character driven action movies.

What may prove toughest and most important for Stallone's action swan song is coming in with a first place box-office tally by Sunday night. We find ourselves enthusiastically rooting for Stallone. After all, who knows more about triumphing against the odds than the guy who penned Rocky? (You can almost hear the theme music playing in the background.)

We'll get you ready for the weekend with a clip shot on set the day that may have ended Stallone's action hero movie career (at least as far as doing his own stunts). Here's to guy who's never walked away from the fight that is making Hollywood movies. We're glad he decided to take one more for the team.

Patricia Neal 1926-2010

2010-08-09T20:48:00.006-04:00

The second film listed on her online resumé came in 1949. It was The Fountain Head and it left an impression on me that would convince me to tackle reading the Ayn Rand novel and to years later add the download of the film to my permanent collection.

I would discover her again in a film that became one of my first science-fiction favorites, 1951's The Day The Earth Stood Still. When I first spotted a brash, young Andy Griffith in the riveting role of "Lonesome" Rhodes in A Face in the Crowd (1959), she was there as Marcia Jeffries, illuminating every thing in Griffith's character by countering it with her expression, her delivery, and with both vulnerability and determined resolve, in her eyes.

She was there again in movies like Hud, opposite Paul Newman, Blake Edwards' Breakfast at Tiffany's, and as part of the exceptional cast of In Harm's Way. She is a classic. A grand lady of the screen. She will always be one of my favorites and it is very sad to say goodbye.

To her family, her friends and her fans, we at Moviedozer.com join in offering our prayers and our thanks to Patricia Neal for introducing us to her particular brand of movie magic. She is a presence in movies that helped to define the medium, and one of the first actors to help me understand the extraordinary potential movies have for unforgettable storytelling.

It's a three pick weekend!

2010-08-06T17:59:00.010-04:00

Moviedozer's August List of the movies we'd most like to see went up earlier this week and of our 6 picks, 3 will open today.

If you're heading out to the movies and you're not playing catch up with showings of Inception or Salt or that "schmucks at dinner" thing, we think one of these three will make parting with ten bucks fairly painless. And none of them require 3D glasses.

In no particular order we'll be going out to see...

The Other Guys - The big release this weekend torques up the usual Will Ferrell comic staples with what looks to be another very funny turn by Mark Wahlberg. Along with Wahlberg, Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson are along for the ride and as a bonus, Michael Keaton (who killed as a Ken doll in Toy Story 3) gets to add his trademark comic timing to the mix.

Middle Men - Luke Wilson, Gabriel Macht, Giovanni Ribisi and James Caan in the true story comedy of the ordinary guys who figured out that the internet was the perfect place to sell porn. God bless America. (Middle Men will be opening in just a few hundred theaters this weekend and expanding wide in two weeks.)

Flipped - Rob Reiner rediscovers his knack for directing young actors and telling nostalgic tales of growing up (which he did expertly with 1986's Stand By Me) with this new release. Directing a script he co-wrote, the young cast is complimented with veteran actors, including Anthony Edwards, Rebecca De Mornay, Aidan Quinn, Penelope Ann Miller and John Mahoney. Flipped already has some critics buzzing and the advance word is Academy worthy.

The rest of our August List opens later in the month. Rounding out the six picks are...

The Expendables (8.13) - written, directed and starring Sylvester Stallone and an action star lineup that barely fits on the poster.

The Switch (8.20) - a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman. We like the set-up and we're crossing our fingers for a great ending.

Avatar: Special Edition (8.27) - Yes, that Avatar, back in 3D theaters to wrap up this summer's movie season. These guys just aren't going to be happy 'til they break $3 billion. And of course, there's never before seen added footage!

You can check out why we picked these six, along with some upcoming trailers and movie news at Moviedozer.com. Just give us a click! We'll leave you with the trailer for Flipped. Have a great weekend at the movies.

Captain Jack's recruiting for a new adventure!

2010-07-26T17:21:00.008-04:00

Movie news was breaking over the weekend from San Diego's 2010 Comic Con and some of it was made by one of our favorite movie rogues, Captain Jack Sparrow.

Meeting Capt. Jack was a rare pleasure back in 2003 (when he first set his silver screen sails on the Black Pearl), but it was his last voyage At World's End that we felt our pockets pilfered for booty, then kicked off the gang plank.

So be it and let bygones be bygones, but a new invitation's been proffered and though we may join the crew, if there be a hand in our wallets and no laughter in our hearts, we'll be seekin' a serious parley.

Are ya up to another voyage me maties? If so, the Captain would like a word with ya...

You can check out some of the other buzz building for next summer from Comic Con by clicking the link and jumping over to Moviedozer.com. Good sailing!

Is BP oozing into the movie biz?

2010-07-02T10:51:00.011-04:00

We may have picked up a scoop yesterday as we were wandering through the offices of our sister blog Satire is Reason. Seems that in another effort to create better mojo with the masses, BP oil has hit on a scheme to introduce a retooled classic movie monster!

In an apparent partnership with Universal Studios, BP has suggested a reboot of the Creature character from Creature from the Black Lagoon fame. Although a great deal of secrecy reportedly surrounds the project, BP is said to be ''quietly" exploring the idea as a benefit to both the company's bottom line and as a way to re-infuse tourism dollars into the oil clogged beaches of the Gulf region.

BP has floated the new monster flick as Creature from the Black Gulf, using their own technological incompetence and stymied response to its oil rig explosion to "inspire" the main focal point of the script. The film being proposed is set-up as an origin styled action thriller with BP reportedly going as far as to present character costume concepts as part of their pitch.

With Universal as the owner of the Creature monster franchise, BP appears to be making legal moves to lockdown all film and story rights to their real life man-made disaster. Recent talks even suggest a potential theme park ride may be part of any future deal.

BP's Tony Heyward, who some say was relieved of day to day clean-up oversight in order to pursue the Universal partnership, was quoted as telling a Hollywood insider, "If it gets a go, a greenlight, ya know, then I think we'll be ready with a sequel. We know we can bring millions of dollars into the region with both the shooting of the film and as a tourism destination to see the actual sets and oily beaches featured in the movie".

Unidentified sources say a BP email addressed to the heads of Universal and apparently being readied for press release indicates a sequel may be titled Creatures from the Black Atlantic. We'll keep you posted.

We like Tom Cruise better now that he's gone nuts.

2010-06-09T21:32:00.008-04:00

Crazy from the heat?

Tom Cruise's career has certainly gained lots of heat from his spin in the tropics with Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. back in '08. Now, with Knight and Day just weeks away and a feature length revisit of his Les Grossman character under discussion, ya gotta admit, this guy's much funnier than that guy that tried to blow up Hitler.

Here's a taste from a promo for the recent MTV movie awards...

Big guy, itty bitty concept.

2010-06-07T10:00:00.000-04:00

We have no idea when this thing is coming out but we just saw the poster today. Our first thought? It was funnier when Stiller did it in Night at the Museum. And it didn't take a whole movie to get the joke.

But if someone's looking to grab Ben Stiller's material, we would get a kick out watching a monkey slap the hell out of Jack Black for 90 minutes.

Just a thought.

Splice gets the pick of this weekend's releases.

2010-06-04T00:08:00.006-04:00

This has got to be one of our favorite lines so far this summer... "Human Cloning is illegal, this won't be human... not entirely.". Don't you just have to get out and see that movie? We do, and that's why Splice is one of our most looked forward to flicks of June. Splice opens today in U.S. wide release and stars Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley.

We just posted the Trailer Takes review over at Moviedozer.com and here's what we said...

A couple of scientists in a conference room making their case... "if we don't use human DNA now, someone else will." - in the world of summer movies, nothing good can come from this. That is, except a scary night in a dark movie theater.

The truth is that when we saw the first trailer for Splice it just struck us as low budget weird. Until the moment you go, "wait, is that Adrien Brody?" and then you pay closer attention, and then, we have to admit, you get a little sucked in. The second trailer that's been playing up to this week's release has us caught even tighter, feeling a bit like Sarah Polley, who should never have stuck her arm into that thing on the screen when she really wasn't exactly sure what was in there.

Thanks to the trailer you'll be going into the theater knowing exactly what's in there, but if you're like us, you'll be wondering what the hell they're going to do with it once it gets out. In movies like this the set-up need only be barely believable, so throw rational thinking to the wind and grab another handful of popcorn. It's summer after all and this is one of those perfect, late night, irrationally spontaneous "isn't there another showing of Splice somewhere tonight" kind of movies. So go ahead, tweet the friends list, meet at your favor movie theater, snack up on the way in, grab some seats and have a blast.

Here's the internet version of the trailer courtesy of our friends over at Trailer Addict.

You can check out the rest of our June picks and latest Trailer Take reviews anytime at Moviedozer.com. Have a great weekend at the movies.

Moviedozer.com's June List

2010-06-02T21:34:00.021-04:00

Every month at Moviedozer.com we pick the 6 films we're most looking forward to seeing. Like the good synergistic marketers we aspire to be, this month we've decided to begin letting our Dailies readers know when the list is up, fresh and ready for perusing. You're in luck 'cause today's the day!

You'll see that we don't always go with Hollywood stars or hot properties so sorry Ashton, Jonah Hill, Russell Brand, The A-Team and all of you stuck in the "Twilight" zone - you just didn't make the cut. Here's what did...

Opening June 4th -

1. Colin Farrell with Alicja Bachleda as directed by Neil Jordan in Onedine.

2. Adrien Brody dealing with an ill-advised cloning experiment in Splice.

Opening on the 18th -

3. Welcome back Woody, Buzz and Co. in 3D with Toy Story 3.

4. Casey Affleck playing a seriously disturbed sheriff in The Killer Inside Me.

On June 25th -

5. Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz in the most fun action flick of the summer (we think) in Knight and Day.

Finishing up on June 30th -

6. Joe Pesci and Helen Mirren as directed by Taylor Hackford in Love Ranch.

We think the list is a winner and yet another strong argument for seeking out great independent films. Jump over to Moviedozer.com and read why we picked our picks and enjoy the trailer for the powerful new Afghanistan war documentary Restrepo while you're there. (The Restrepo trailer will be showing through June 6th.)

What movies are you most looking forward to this summer? Compare your list with ours each month at Moviedozer.com.

Dennis Hopper 1936-2010

2010-05-29T13:00:00.000-04:00

RIP

The nature of things.

2010-04-27T14:17:00.016-04:00

Earth Day 2010 passed by last week and with it an occasion that deserves as much press as any other ecological initiative from anywhere else on this scarred globe we live on. The occasion was the release of Disney's second Earth Day movie, Oceans.

Disney's awkwardly named new production banner, Disneynature, was announced two years ago and painted its first images on a movie screen on Earth Day, April 22, 2009.

That film, Earth, was a collection of nature footage shot all over the world for various projects and released in various forms, including the acclaimed TV series Planet Earth, which first began airing as early as 2006. But far from being a recycling of used footage, Earth blended many diverse sequences into a seamless experience. The result transported audiences into an extraordinary natural world and delivered the latest in high definition digital cinematography to screens as big as your local IMAX theater. The mission was clearly to inspire its audience with wonder. It worked marvelously.

Earth had found an audience and a venue that it deserved and though, arguably greater viewer numbers could be gleaned from multiple showings on television and through DVD releases, a theatrical release created the platform and showcase that spotlighted the message behind the beautiful images with a grandness television outlets couldn't hope to achieve.

For Disney, none of this was new, not by decades. Walt Disney had realized early on that nature was a perfect setting for telling stories. Debuting the idea in 1948 with Disney's film Seal Island, Walt's company would establish a new standard for nature photography and win an Oscar at the same time. From that first film sprung a series, Real Life Adventures and when Disney drew back the curtain on television's Disneyland, nature themed programing would be a natural and welcome part of its programming mix. Kids tuned in looking forward to stories like Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar or Beaver Valley and parents were captivated by the exotic locations and first time glimpses at a world and creatures that few had ever seen outside of magazines or the local zoo.

Along with Walt Disney, his nephew Roy had an abiding and deep respect for the natural world on film. Cutting his teeth in the company so famously run by his uncle and his dad, Roy began by writing material for the early True Life Adventure series and, many years later, would be responsible for reviving all of the films in a magnificent collection of four special edition DVDs. By that time though, other companies had stepped in and filled a void largely left vacant by Disney.

National Geographic and a host of other small international companies had continued to shoot and commission amazing footage of creatures and spaces from all over the globe, realizing that as ecological disasters loomed and species across our planet faced harrowing if not completely doomed futures, these stories had grown beyond curiosity to become a powerful tool for reminding audiences of the fragile balance of life. Continuing advances in digital cameras and video equipment allowed cinematographers to shoot animals, birds and marine life in places impossible decades earlier and the results once again drew audiences into the natural world that had been absent from movie screens for nearly a generation.

With nature themed attractions planned for its theme parks and a renewed interest in what Disney had coined "edutainment", recommitting itself to funding and showcasing movies about nature became a corporate cause, both to the ecology of the planet and to the bottom-line of its shareholders.

So are Disney's new real life adventures filling up the bottom line? Hardly. Last week's heavily hyped Earth Day opening of Oceans only managed to bring in a little over eight and a half million for the three day weekend, only good enough for an eighth place finish at U.S. box-office and merely a twelve million dollar total worldwide. (If you were a member of a first week audience, you can take some credit for helping the planet's coral reefs through donations Disney made on behalf of all first week ticket buyers.) A year later, Earth has managed sixty-nine million at the box-office and an additional thirteen million from DVD sales.

So what's the fuss? In a publicly traded company that relies on its image for its brand, it would be easy to say that nature is just another billboard for Disney to paint its logo on. But cynical views aside, there's something very special about these films and Disney's ongoing commitment to produce them.

Aside from being immensely (almost surprisingly) entertaining, there's good being done here beyond preserving the art of nature documentaries. When we saw Oceans over the weekend, the Friday night audience was fewer than a hundred but ran the spectrum from sixties to six. Four teenage girls in front of us at the box-office who we were betting on to pop for J-Lo's The Back-Up Plan, bought tickets for Oceans. An elderly couple, parents with young kids (How to Train Your Dragon was right next door), young daters (the perfect demo for any number of other films showing), all were drawn by a film that, surprise, actually had something to say about issues young and old are becoming increasingly concerned about.

We are thrilled that Disney and others, have recognized that there is more to consider in creating successful movies than opening weekend ticket sales and short-term profits. We were also heartened by the diversity of people that found time on a Friday night to consider their world and its beauty, as well as its fragility.

You should see Oceans. You should see it with people you know and care about. If you haven't already, you should rent or buy Earth. You should watch it with your kids, throw it on at a party, screen it in the backyard with your neighbors this summer and donate a copy to your local library, senior center or children's hospital. More than all of this, you should talk about it. And next Earth Day, April 22, 2011, you should take everyone you know, most especially kids, to see Disney's next Earth Day adventure African Cats. You'll be fascinated, immensely entertained and you'll be taking a moment out to remind yourself once again, that there's a world out there that needs you, and all of us, to better understand it.

For more information about Disneynature's Oceans, including information for educators, click here.

Get ready for Oscar... 2011.

2010-03-26T13:03:00.013-04:00

Yes it's official movie fans, just like two year long election campaigns and 24 hour news cycles, you can now wait in breathless anticipation for nearly a year before the next Oscar show which will officially happen on Feb. 27th of 2011.

Can't handle staring at movie trailers for that long? We didn't think so, so long overdue, here are some of our impressions, in appropriately random order, of the 2010 ceremony before it fades too far in your memories...

Not many of the comic bits have stayed with us but we did enjoy hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. If you sat through the show with a stop watch (and there were times when we felt like we should have) you'd realize that for all of the hype the Academy makes of who gets honored with hosting duties, hosts don't really get all that much screen time. There was one comic standout though that lingers, unpleasantly, in the memory. Let's just say that we'd encourage Ben Stiller's friends, loved ones and management to urge Ben to skip the ill-conceived and unfunny bits next year and just present an award. Blue, as it turns out, is very definitely not Ben's color.

A word about fashion - our top three, argue the order all you want - Sandra Bullock, Demi Moore and Cameron Diaz. A second word - the most inane television produced in the 21st century are the fashion segments covering the Oscars.

Were we the only ones to notice that the Oscars' telecast's, usually excellent production values, were marred by all things, with apparently out-of-phase audio (causing a hollow and compressed sound), during of all things, the video sequence for sound editing and mixing? Guess they'll be no tech Emmys awarded to the Oscars.

For all of the work that's been done to reenergize and enliven the telecast, and finally getting some seriously funny talent as hosts (Martin is a keeper for as long as he would accept), the whole affair is still extraordinarily boring, even to the most avid movie fans.

We said it last year (when the idea debuted) and we'll say it again, we love having Best Actor and Best Actress nominees presented by their peers who know them and who have worked with them. It may be akin to having the next door neighbor introduce the town's Best Plumber, but it works and we love it. Add the idea to presenting the Best Directors too.

In general, the video sequences and montages presented throughout the show were the worst in our memory of the Oscars. Poorly edited, badly presented and often straying far from their topic (Who really considers Jaws or Young Frankenstein a 'horror" movie?) or containing blatantly obvious omissions (the exclusion of Farrah Fawcett, with 14 feature films to her credit, during the "In Memoriam" video was inexcusable), segment producers for these videos should be banned from ever working for the Academy again. Awful. The comic video sequences featuring Martin and Baldwin fared only marginally better.

Some producer should go back into the telecast video and take a look at Keanu Reeves on stage. We have just one thought - cast this guy in a Rod Serling biopic.

Quentin Tarantino needs to be adopted as the national spokesperson for "the Association of American college Fraternities and General Disregard for Etiquette". Yet another reason we like this guy.

Oprah Winfrey bought into a share of Precious (incidentally, is it too much to ask to just call a movie by its name without mentioning its source material each time? "Push by Sapphire" - we get it already) and shows up on the Oscars referring to "our" movie. Writing checks makes you an investor not a filmmaker. It's the Oscars Oprah, not some product giveaway on your TV show, let the people who actually made the movie enjoy THEIR moment.

We loved Jeff Bridges nod to his folks, we loved that a great small movie and its director were honored and not that the Oscar for directing went to a woman - it went to a great director. We love knowing from Sandra Bullock that Meryl Streep is a great kisser, though we've always suspected as much, and we're delighted that a great film, Inglourious Basterds was honored for it's most incredible ingredient, Christoph Waltz as Best Supporting Actor.

And finally we make this observation. This is a big show with a very big stage. That stage, indeed, is the very center of attention from the moment the audience at the Kodak theater stride toward their seats. The audience, we would venture to say, has more than the average amount of time spent in the glare of bright lights and cameras. Then how could it be so impossibly difficult to find that enormous stage and the proper stairs to the podium when your name gets called? Actors! You gotta love 'em.

An Oscar winning Must See

2010-03-16T01:26:00.003-04:00

Perhaps the most deserved Oscar of the 2010 Academy Awards - if you haven't seen The Cove, you need to see it, and to react to it. And you should do it now. The trailer follows. We urge you to rent, buy or download this very important film.

After a golden night, next up is Oscar!

2010-01-18T14:07:00.022-05:00

The 2010 Golden Globe awards were presented last night and like most of you, we had our favorites. For the next week our top five, along with junket interview clips from the winners, will be featured on the Sprocket Holes page of Moviedozer.com.

Here's a quick rundown of what we loved and how we think it'll effect Oscar nominations due in just two weeks in the early morning hours of Tuesday, February 2nd. In no particular order -

Mo'Nique, winner of the Best Supporting Actress award for her performance in Precious is, to anyone even the least bit familiar with the trailer for this film, well deserving of her recognition by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Amidst this film's constant awards buzz, Mo'Nique's performance was rightly singled out and we expect a nomination for an Academy Award, even possibly a win, but this is the only category we see shining through for Precious.

Sherlock Holmes also garnered a single but well deserved Golden Globe in the category of Best Actor, Comedy for Robert Downey Jr. In his acceptance speech, Downey joked about the movie "needing" him, but while chuckling along with his wink-and-a-nod speech, he couldn't be more right. Not only was Downey the only reason Holmes soared at the box-office, he is also the only reason to produce a sequel. Finding himself now with two franchises to draw on, Downey's presence makes the next Sherlock Holmes at least as eagerly anticipated as this year's Iron Man 2.

Jeff Bridges appears to have finally found the film that may win him an Oscar. In one of the slightly more surprising wins of the night, Bridges took Best Actor, Drama honors with his performance as Bad Blake in Crazy Heart over odds on favorite George Clooney (nominated for Up in the Air). It's a certain bet that Bridges will hear his name on February 2nd when Oscar noms are announced but we think this win has greatly increased his chances for hearing his name on March 7th as well.

Sandra Bullock had one hell of a year. We're not sure that's it's over quite yet but even if there isn't an Oscar in her future, last night's Golden Globe for Best Actress, Drama is certainly a nice way to cap off the two most successful movies of her career. We loved The Blind Side (and The Proposal, which she was also nominated for), and we're hoping all of this success will see Bullock evolving into a true powerhouse in filmmaking. Expect a nod for The Blind Side come Oscar's announcements.

There's a casualness about the atmosphere at the Golden Globes that stands out nicely against the restrictive theater seating and imposed glitz of the Oscars, and perhaps that's one reason why it seems the Globes more readily honors films that are actually popular. There have been years when it seemed a big box-office, or even modest ticket sales, disqualified a movie from an Oscar win.

Not so the Globes, which honored tremendously successful films all night. Even then it was a bit of a surprise to hear the Best Picture, Comedy category announce a Golden Globe for The Hangover. A hugely popular success with a worldwide gross of more than $460 million, The Hangover was chosen over critically acclaimed films like 500 Days of Summer and Julie & Julia. In fact, The Hangover, at this writing, has a box-office total of more than $140 million over all of the other films in this category combined. A nice acknowledgement that moviegoers may actually know something about the movies they pay to see. (At least on occasion.)

And speaking of box-office... as the Golden Globes show began its live broadcast last night, the motion picture Avatar was busy passing 1977's Star Wars as the third largest grossing North American movie in history. Now, with less than 50 million to go before taking the number two slot from The Dark Knight, James Cameron has got only himself to beat for further box-office records.

Avatar, already the second most successful movie in global history with worldwide box-office standing in excess of $1.6 billion dollars (in just over 5 weeks of release), took home Best Picture, Drama & Best Director Golden Globes. Director James Cameron has distinguished himself as a creative force that has changed his industry, not with a wobble or nudge but with an explosion of sight and sound, quite literally into a new dimension. Oscar is calling. With $2 billion in tickets likely sold by the time the Academy hands out it's gold statuettes, Cameron deserves to be honored (and should be considered slighted if he is not) in the same categories on March 7th. Oscar, we hope, is taking note.

For the record - we loved host Ricky Gervais, (particularly his introduction of Mel Gibson), speeches by Meryl Streep and Robert Downey Jr. and Sandra Bullock's gown. We cringed at Drew Barrymore's rambling and were annoyed by the ever constant camera shots of George Clooney and Sir Paul McCartney. We've also had more than enough of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, in De Niro's own words, "giving each other awards". Need we remind you that last year saw De Niro fumble again with Everybody's Fine and Scorsese hasn't had a real project since 2006's mundane Departed. Shutter Island, Scorsese's next release starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was delayed from last year and looks like a suitably suspenseful, but ordinary thriller. These guys are both legends of American cinema, but we're of the opinion that the necessary accolades have, by now, all been given.

Lastly, a moment to recognize Nicole Kidman and the gracious and appropriate handling of the earthquake crisis in Haiti. Perfectly delivered, eloquent, and we hope, tremendously effective.

Check out Moviedozer.com as we run up to the Oscars with coverage of the nominations and all of the hype and buzz. See you there.

The match of the decade.

2010-01-05T13:57:00.006-05:00

Like James Cameron and technology, George Lucas and droids or Will Ferrell and bad recycled ideas, here's a match that you'd be hard pressed to make any more perfect. Since it's the beginning of a new year and a new decade of moviemaking, we thought we'd start with one optimistic wish...

Put these two guys in a movie together.

It just doesn't need anymore explanation than that.

The 12 Trailers of Christmas: White Christmas

2009-12-25T00:01:00.003-05:00

My Dad can recite lines from 3 movies and they all star Bing Crosby, Going My Way, The Bells of St. Mary's and White Christmas.

It's not too much of a coincidence that they're all Christmas movies; Christmas movies are the only movies my Dad watches more than once. It may be a bit unlikely that his son should wind up with such a love for movies, but for me, watching my Dad watch Bing in any of those movies reminds me exactly why I love movies both old and new.

The trailer we saved at Moviedozer Dailies for the #1 spot in our countdown of The 12 Trailers of Christmas is White Christmas because of my Dad.

When I see Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye on that makeshift stage, on the front during WWII, watching their technicolor song and dance number is fun but the anticipation is for the General's arrival in his jeep. It's then that the outgoing General Waverly instructs his driver to take the new General out to headquarters by a short cut that doesn't exist. As the jeep drives off and his adjutant points out the error, I can hear my Dad deliver the line a few seconds ahead of the television - "Joe, you know it and I know it, but the General doesn't, at least he won't for about an hour and a half". The Captain responds, "That sergeant will be a private in the morning." The General, "Yes, isn't he lucky?" It never fails to make my Dad laugh.

Dad loves when Bing and Danny help the singing Haines sisters out of a jam at Novello's. He cracks up as Danny constantly grabs an old arm injury to win some sympathy. He wishes, just once the receptionist at the Pine Tree Inn wouldn't eavesdrop on the phone call to New York and he always beats the General to his line when he discovers his suits (just two) are at the cleaners and he'll have to go down to dinner in uniform. "Well you think you would have sent just one at a time in that case." I love White Christmas because I love hearing my Dad laugh. Even when he's not there watching with me, I can hear him laughing next to me. There's no better reason to watch a movie.

I hope you've enjoyed watching these trailers on each day of our countdown, along with us and all of our readers. As the writer and founder of Moviedozer.com, I wish you a deeply peaceful and joyous holiday. I hope the day finds you with family and friends and that you can extend the wishes of the season throughout the coming new year.

Peace and Merry Christmas,

Jeff Rabouin

President, SparxLab Projects

The 12 Trailers of Christmas: Joyeaux Noel

2009-12-24T00:01:00.001-05:00

The story takes place on a battlefield in France. The date is December 24th, 1914, Christmas Eve. We are on the front-line, between troops from France, Scotland and Germany. It is the dramatization of a true story.

For a remarkable moment, the commonality of man touched the hearts and minds of World War I soldiers, on multiple battlefields of the Western European front, and a peculiar kind of history wrote itself into legend.

Joyeaux Noel tells the story of one such battlefield and the officers and soldiers of the armies ordered there, to fight a bloody and savage battle across a no-man's land of scarred and frozen ground between enemy trenches.

As the story goes, with Christmas Eve upon them, officers of the opposing forces met on the battlefield and agreed amongst themselves to a temporary and unauthorized truce. Laying their rifles aside, this tentative meeting of combatants would, through the night and into Christmas Day, reveal shared brotherhood and spontaneous camaraderie.

As we face this Christmas Eve in a world still wracked by war, terrorism and oppression, this story of an evening exactly 95 years ago, can perhaps still inform our actions and beliefs today. It stands as historical record of our deep and undeniable humanity, held in common and innate in our most basic aspirations.

We hope you will enjoy this trailer, #2 in our series of The 12 Trailers of Christmas. Joyeaux Noel is available for download and on DVD and is well worth seeking out as a part of your own holiday movie collection.

We wish all in the world today and tonight, who stand in harm's way, a calm and peaceful Christmas, and that those of you who shoulder the guns of war find your way safely back to home and family.

And to our leaders, and all leaders, who send men and women into battle, may you find the wisdom and courage sought so very long, that one day ends conflict and reveals a lasting peace. Happy Christmas Eve.

The 12 Trailers of Christmas: A Christmas Story

2009-12-23T00:01:00.000-05:00

It would be hard to pick a contemporary Christmas movie that deserves the word "classic" attached more than A Christmas Story.

Released by ABC in 1983 and based on the popular novel In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, that book's author, Jean Shepherd, was also the film's nostalgically voiced narrator. The movie was directed by Bob Clark.

There are so many wonderfully memorable elements to the story, you have to work hard to pick your own favorites. Is it the Parker family, Ralphie (Peter Billingsley), his kid brother Randy (Ian Petrella), Mom (Melinda Dillon) and Dad (Darren McGavin)? Maybe it's Ralphie's school buddies Flick and Schwartz, his teacher, the neighborhood bullies, the department store Santa, or the Bumpuses' dogs?

Maybe it's the leg lamp that still delights each time "the ole' man" reads off "fra-gil-e" and figures it must be Italian? Or is it the Chinese restaurant staff doing their best with a Christmas Day rendition of "Deck The Halls"? For me, it's the great snowy 1940's neighborhood setting all around Ralphie's house.

The list above could take up pages and we hope you won't be able to stop thinking of more of your own favorites all day long. A Christmas Story was a charming surprise hit in movie theaters 26 years ago and it's now one of the most watched and beloved holiday films each year on television. Even as the years pass, every fan of this movie will be able to forever recall the name of the Lone Ranger's nephew's horse and the number one danger in buying a kid a Red Ryder BB gun.

How can you not love this movie? We're very happy to present as #3 in our series, The 12 Trailers of Christmas, the original trailer for A Christmas Story.

The 12 Trailers of Christmas: Four Christmases

2009-12-22T00:01:00.001-05:00

Who would have ever guessed that Vince Vaughn would have made any list of Christmas movies twice?

Four Christmases is the most recent of our featured holiday trailers (having been released in November of last year), and like many of the others, it has an impressive cast list. Joining Vince Vaughn is Reese Witherspoon, Robert Duvall, Mary Steenburgen, Sissy Spacek, Jon Voight, Jon Favreau and country singers/part time actors Dwight Yoakam and Tim McGraw.

Also, for those paying attention, the star of tomorrow's featured trailer, Peter Billingsley (Ralphie in A Christmas Story) has a bit part as a ticket agent. And, just in case you were wondering, Vince Vaughn appeared in our #12 trailer, Fred Claus, when we started our countdown back on December 14th.

A big holiday hit both in the U.S. and abroad, Four Christmases earned over 160 million worldwide. We're happy to present the trailer as #4 in our 12 Trailers of Christmas countdown. We start the dash to Christmas morning tomorrow with the final three countdown trailers, so time to finish up the holiday shopping, tree trimming and decorating and get settled in for a warm celebration with family and friends. Here's the trailer for Four Christmases.

The 12 Trailers of Christmas: Christmas Vacation

2009-12-21T00:01:00.001-05:00

Of all of our favorite holiday movies, the next trailer on our list gets the prize for the most quotable, best closing credits song and the one that reminds us most of people we actually know.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation was the third of four Vacation movies that Chevy Chase (as Clark Griswold) made with the always understanding Beverly D'Angelo (Ellen Griswold) and ever changing actors in the roles of son and daughter (Audrey and Rusty, this time played by Juliette Lewis and Johnny Galecki ). Along for the holiday were the usual great supporting roles - this time with E.G. Marshall, Doris Roberts, John Randolf, Mae Questel, William Hickey, Nicholas Guest and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Some of the most notable quotes though, can be attributed to scenes with Randy Quaid, who returns here after having missed a trip to Europe on Vacation's second outing. As Cousin Eddie, Quaid works together with Chase with the skill of a long time vaudeville partner, mastering a sense of timing and physical humor that helps make the film a classic to own on DVD. And for a bonus, there's also a terrific performance by Brian Doyle-Murray (who played the clerk at Kamp Komfort in the first film) as Clark's boss Frank Shirley.

Definitely a favorite at Moviedozer, we're happy to present the trailer for Christmas Vacation, #5 in our series The 12 Trailers of Christmas.

Brittany Murphy 1977-2009

2009-12-20T15:54:00.007-05:00

A light, having left, will leave darkness only in the path ahead. The path left behind will glow always brightly.

Our respects, prayers and condolences to family, friends and fans.

The 12 Trailers of Christmas: The Bishops Wife

2009-12-20T00:01:00.001-05:00

Though life in the world in 1947 was anything but easy, there's a wonderful innocence that shines through every frame of The Bishop's Wife.

An annual Christmas favorite that boasts a spectacular cast with David Niven, Loretta Young (as the bishop and his wife) and Cary Grant as the quintessential helpful angel Dudley. There are also terrific performances by some of the finest character actors of the period, particularly Monty Woolley as a long time friend and history professor, and James Gleason as the often distracted but charming cab driver Sylvester.

Like many of the era's holiday films, there's a charming performance by a child actor. This time the role is the Bishop's daughter, Debby, played here by Karolyn Grimes, the same young actress who is so very memorable in her performance as Donna Reed and James Stewart's daughter Zuzu in It's A Wonderful Life, made one year earlier. (Any fan of both films will recognize one of the captains in the snowball fight sequence of The Bishops Wife as Bobby Anderson, who also played Young George Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life.)

A film, like so many other holiday classics, that has been remade and re-worked to accommodate the latest celebrity actor cast, no one has ever produced a remake to rival the gentle humor and sweetness of the original. Much like our # 10 trailer in this countdown, Miracle on 34th Street, the trailer for The Bishops Wife is more of a mini film shot backstage at the Samuel Goldwyn Studios to promote the film to movie audiences. We know you'll enjoy watching #6 in our 12 Trailers of Christmas countdown, The Bishops Wife.

As throughout our 12 Trailers of Christmas countdown, you're invited to visit Moviedozer.com to watch a larger version of the trailer on our front page.

The 12 Trailers of Christmas: Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

2009-12-19T00:01:00.000-05:00

Two years after Chris Columbus and John Hughes introduced us to Kevin McCallister, they were back at it again with Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

Both director and writer re-teamed with their child star Macaulay Culkin and launched into another Holiday adventure, this time on the streets of Manhattan. The city made for a great escape for Kevin and some great holiday backgrounds that included central park, the fictitious Duncan's Toy Chest toy store, a brownstone under massive renovation, the Park Plaza hotel and even the ceiling lighting loft of Carnegie Hall. The "wet bandits" take a stab at being the "sticky bandits" and Kevin once again gets to mix his defend-the-fortress hi-jinx with some truly heartwarming sentiment.

Perhaps, as much as these are classically very funny films, they are so tremendously re-watchable for their heart and soul. Kevin isn't just a smart-alecky pint size wrecking crew, he's also a sweet impressionable kid who cares about the people, particularly the older people, he meets. And by the end of each film, his family, including his wise guy siblings, are all included. And it's on Christmas morning in both films, that they also make him smile.

It's that heart that is the signature of director Chris Columbus and writer/producer John Hughes that make these films work so wonderfully time and time again. Here's just a little taste in the trailer for Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, # 7 in our special holiday series The 12 Trailers of Christmas.

Avatar Happens Today.

2009-12-18T06:00:00.001-05:00

Over at Moviedozer.com, we recently posted our trailer review for James Cameron's Avatar. For the first time in some 200 trailer reviews, we were at a loss for what to say, or that is, for what hasn't already been said. So rather than just nod our keyboard in agreement, we decided we should simply declare a statement of fact - Avatar will change cinema today - For All Time.

Here's the copy from our published trailer review:

The trailer to end all trailers, the effects movie to end all effects movies, the beginning of a new era in cinema, the third, fourth, or whatever time it is, for James Cameron to come down to Earth and walk on celluloid. It’s all been said. It’s all been poured over by press and fan geek-dom, ad infinitum. So we shall add our voice, not to reviewing the trailer or the film, but to the discussions that will ensue on Monday, December 21st, 3 days post Avatar - It was. It will.

It’s all true. James Cameron will have surpassed Spielberg and Lucas, Emmerich and Jackson; throw whatever names you have, none of them will stick. Cameron will have changed forever what you will expect to see in the movies as of Monday December 21. The end of this decade heralds a new dawn.

You will see Avatar, if not now, soon. If not soon, inevitably one day. And you will, like it or not, be affected by this film. You will remember the end of the first decade of the millennium as being the moment when live action 3D filming became as essential a tool to telling a story on film as motorized projectors, sound and color prints. Chortling about 3D glasses? Forget 3D glasses, we all will in just a few years. 3D will evolve beyond them.

This is the moment when technology takes a giant leap in the way we see movies. At movie theaters and at home. Embrace it. Mr. Cameron is about to show you the very bright and inescapable light. For this time at least, you’ll be glad you’ve got those glasses. You will never forget what is about to happen. Go see it, you know you want to.

Avatar will indeed impact you as a movie fan. It will change what movies studios make, what theaters you see them in, how much you'll pay for tickets and how and when you'll bring them home. And so very much more. If you think any of this is overstated, I urge you to jot down the date. At the end of the next decade you will remember the movie Avatar and what it meant to the movie industry and to movie fans all over the world. As for what it means this weekend - all that really matters is, if you're going, have a great time. From this day forward, everything that happens at the movies is post Avatar.

The 12 Trailers of Christmas: Home Alone

2009-12-18T00:01:00.004-05:00

In 1990 writer/producer John Hughes introduced us to Kevin McCallister and holiday movies would never be quite the same.

Through the eyes of director Chris Columbus, Home Alone would become both a box-office hit and a holiday tradition. An unforgettable cast introduced child star sensation Macaulay Culkin and surrounded him with great actors playing characters who easily might have stepped from the frames of a Warner Brothers cartoon. That cast, which included John Heard, Catherine O'Hara and John Candy, also featured a talented selection of young actors as the McCallister family (including Macauley's younger brother Kieran) and of course, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern as the infamous "wet bandits".

Earning more than a half billion dollars at worldwide box-offices, Twentieth Century-Fox's biggest challenge would be holding the cast together for a sequel while still being able to capitalize on Culkin's young age. They succeeded two years later with Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. You can look forward to seeing that trailer when you stop back tomorrow.

For now, kick back and enjoy #8 in our 12 Trailers of Christmas countdown, Home Alone.

The 12 Trailers of Christmas: The Santa Clause 2

2009-12-17T00:01:00.002-05:00

The middle of 3 movies featuring Tim Allen as the jolly guy in the big red suit, The Santa Clause 2 was released in 2002, a surprising 8 years after the original film. (It would be another 4 years later for Allen to appear as Scott Calvin, aka Santa Claus one last (?) time in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.)

This second movie of the series segued beautifully off the characters and situations of the first and finds Santa faced with a dilemma at the outset - without the benefit of getting married before Christmas morning the Santa suit is up for grabs again. The film introduced Elizabeth Mitchell as the prospective love interest who would go on to appear with the rest of the mostly intact cast of the original, in the third film.

So dubbed, "the Mrs. Clause", the premise made for another comedy that plays both funny and heart warming, qualities that have made all three films in the series holiday favorites.

As #9 in our countdown of The 12 Trailers of Christmas, Moviedozer is happy to present The Santa Clause 2.

Roy Disney 1930-2009

2009-12-16T14:42:00.009-05:00

It is with tremendous sadness that news came today of Roy Disney's passing at the age of 79, the result of a prolonged battle with stomach cancer.

Roy would become a guardian of the Disney legacy left behind by his celebrated Uncle, who died on December 15th in 1966. It was Roy who many credit having rescued the company from a hostile takeover attempt in the 80's and who later worked tirelessly to reinvigorate Disney's Animation traditions. Having begun his Disney career as a writer on the True Life Adventure films that became a staple of Disney's Wonderful World of Color television show, Roy was also key in developing the Disneynature studio label that was tasked last year with providing nature oriented programming as a documentary film banner. (See Disney's 2nd Nature here.)

It seems a fitting tribute that Disney's return to hand drawn animation, The Princess and the Frog, debuted as the number one box-office film just last weekend. A film Time magazine called the number one movie of the year.

The loss of Roy's influence and guidance at the Disney Company is impossible to measure but we can only hope that his spirit will live on in the Disney brand as bold and brightly as that of his Uncle.

To the family and friends and most especially the cast members of the Walt Disney Company all over the globe, we extend our most heartfelt condolences and prayers. And to all who love and have loved Disney entertainment through the decades, we join with you in all of your fondest Disney memories, now and throughout the Holiday season.

The 12 Trailers of Christmas: Miracle on 34th Street

2009-12-16T00:01:00.001-05:00

Here's a Christmas tradition that dates back to 1947 and the days of the great department stores of New York City.

That was the year when the original Miracle on 34th Street was released by Twentieth Century-Fox, but not quite during the holiday season. Fox actually released the film in May of that year because the studio was anxious to capture summer movie crowds (the fact that this was a Christmas film was never mentioned in the film's original marketing).

Starring Maureen O'Hara and John Payne, the cast also featured actors that would become classic movie fan favorites, including Edmund Gwenn (as Kris Kringle), Gene Lockhart (as Judge Harper), William Frawley and Jack Albertson (as the postal worker who comes up with the answer for proving Mr. Kringle is the real deal). But most memorable perhaps is a very young Natalie Wood as Susan Walker.

A classic whose ending just wouldn't be the same in the age of emails, texting and Twitter accounts, Moviedozer is happy to present trailer #10 in our 12 Trailers of Christmas countdown. (Incidentally, don't let the picture on the trailer clip throw you, this is the original trailer, the picture happens to be clipped from the 1994 remake.)

The 12 Trailers of Christmas: Christmas with the Kranks

2009-12-15T00:01:00.002-05:00

Tim Allen has somehow become Mr. Christmas movie, but if an actor's gotta find a niche, making Holiday movies doesn't seem like a bad gig. Here he's playing Luther Krank, a neighbor with a decidedly un-Christmas like idea for spending the holidays. He's got Jamie Lee Curtis, as his wife, convinced but just as it looks like Christmas in the sunshine... a movie happens.

This one's from 2004 and was directed by Joe Roth for his own Revolution Studios. Christmas with the Kranks was released through Columbia Pictures and is #11 in our 12 Trailers of Christmas countdown. Enjoy.

You can find each days trailer in a larger format right on the front page of Moviedozer.com by clicking the link.

DreamWorks animated dragon building 101

2009-12-14T09:50:00.007-05:00

When Monsters vs Aliens came out this past Spring, we could go along with the not-so-original characters as part of the spoof of 1950's sci-fi classics like The Blob (renamed "Bob") and Attack of the 50ft Woman. We get the joke, not so much the laughs.

But next in the pipeline for DreamWorks' CGI is How to Train Your Dragon, and this time we think there may be evidence of a trend. The dragon in the title role seems awfully familiar. With just a little memory searching, we think we may have stumbled onto DreamWork's formula for creating adorably mean and aggressive (but quick to befriend) CGI creatures. See for yourself, we think the formula looks like this.

But just to keep things in perspective, we were onto this one as well...

What's that they say about imitation?

Keep watching Moviedozer & Moviedozer dailies as we continue our countdown of The 12 Trailers of Christmas each day through Christmas morning.

The 12 Trailers of Christmas: Fred Claus

2009-12-14T00:01:00.003-05:00

Happy Holidays from Moviedozer.com! Today begins our countdown of the Twelve Trailers of Christmas. We hope you'll enjoy a new Holiday trailer every day, right through Christmas morning. Each day, the large versions of the trailer can be seen on the front page of Moviedozer.com while the smaller versions will be here at Moviedozer Dailies.

We hope your holiday season brings laughs, warmth, joy and peace. All the very best from Moviedozer.

Trailer #12 is from 2007. Fred Claus starred Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti and was directed by David Dobkin. From Warner Bros. Pictures, here's the original trailer for Fred Claus...

Randy Newman is the Magic in Disney's return to animated musicals.

2009-12-11T00:01:00.004-05:00

Disney released their last hand drawn animated feature, Home on the Range in April of 2004. With an estimated budget of 110 million, the film's run took in just a touch over 50 million in the U.S. and could only manage a dismal 26.5 million in foreign box-office. On the other end of the scale is Pixar's computer animated Finding Nemo (2003), with a box-office first run worldwide take of 865 million. Easy to see why hand drawn animation found its light extinguished at the Disney Animation Studios.

That is, until Disney acquired Pixar and got off its creatively spent tush.

Today Disney will release its proverbially long awaited and dramatically over-hyped return to hand drawn animation, in the tradition of its best rather than its last. That tradition, started with Snow White and cemented with classics from Cinderella to 101 Dalmatians, was once before reignited with the nearly perfect trio of Beauty and the Beast (in 1991), Aladdin (1992) and The Lion King (1994). It only charmed again briefly but recently in the Oscar nominated short The Matchgirl in 2006. Today the torch is passed to The Princess and the Frog.

As for the hype about return to traditions and the (mostly pointless) hoopla about the introduction of Disney's first "black" princess (who for most of the story is green), forget it. Here's what is most worthy of celebration - a return to the grand tradition of gorgeously animated Disney musicals. The best part? Disney has also returned to a tremendous musical talent to provide songs and score - Randy Newman.

In all of the variations of trailers that have preceded its release, and beautifully evident in a sampling of selections from its soundtrack, Mr. Newman, who spent childhood summers in New Orleans (the movie's setting), elegantly slips here into a custom fit. Having seeped his musical tastes in a good helping of jazz and zydeco, Randy Newman's melodies and arranging talent, used often by Pixar animation, finds a kind of perfect summit in this story set in deep blue, firefly studded bayous, dreamily tinted nostalgic New Orleans streets and fanciful, voodoo spiced swamp shacks. It's all a pleasure to look at and irresistible to the ear.

There's a taste of everything in the score. Jazz, dixieland, blues, zydeco and gospel, all get a spotlight and the songs are as fun and energetic as they are unforgettable. I challenge anyone with a touch of a ten year old in their heart to be able to shake off humming "Dig a Little Deeper" on the way out of the theater. Don't worry about where it comes in the movie, you'll smile to yourself the moment you hear the first refrain. Just let it wash over you and enjoy.

Congratulations to Disney on reasserting a strength that has so long laid forgotten. Congratulations to Mr. Lassiter on recognizing an art form that can be reenergized by simply nurturing great ideas and talents. And most of all, thanks to all of those involved for affording Mr. Newman yet another window for framing his spectacular talent. It is so happily preserved, along with so much before, as another piece of his growing legacy.

And just a note to Bob Iger - leave the talented guys alone and don't exploit this rediscovered treasure by mucking it up with heavy exploitation and mediocrity. We sincerely hope this will be only a once-every-few-years pleasure.

For those of you with a little bit of bandwith, we've included this production video courtesy of Disney Animation. Enjoy.

2013? Count on it.

2009-11-18T15:27:00.006-05:00

Mayan schmyan, I'll ride any bet in Vegas that the planet Earth will most definitely see 2013. And it's a safe bet we'll see the calendar year too.

What is absolutely assured is that with last weekend's blockbuster release, Roland Emmerich's 2012 will live past the Mayan Long Count calendar to see a sequel, though rumors are being thrown around faster than falling buildings in front of escaping limos and airplanes, that the big sequel may come in the form of a television series rather than on the silver screen.

Makes lots of sense when you consider that the hype for 2012 just might be true. This indeed may be the end-all-be-all of disaster flicks and after leaving the theater (on the 27th day of the new world) the most disastrous thing anyone can imagine AFTER the end of the world is Adam Lambert's attempt at a power ballad (A Time for Miracles) over closing credits. So the producers have that one covered too.

Roland Emmerich has succeeded in doing with 2012 what all other catastrophe movies have seemed to miss since the 70s, making far fetched spectacle work with ernest performances and mostly intelligent dialogue. The requisites for success and failure in this genre have only a very thin dividing line but the actors here make you feel like they're showing up on a project they believe in and are proud of - and the result are characters that pull back from caricature and become real people you care about and, more importantly, like. (With perhaps, the one exception of Woody Harrelson's broad comic turn as a nut-job conspiracy spouting independent radio broadcaster. Funny, but very cliché.)

It's a small group of actors that have nailed this balancing act but a proud group to be associated with. John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Oliver Platt and (terrific performances in challenging kid roles) Liam James and Morgan Lily, now join the company of the classic performances the likes of Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden, Faye Dunaway (The Towering Inferno), Gene Hackman, Shelly Winters, Red Buttons (The Poseidon Adventure), and Burt Lancaster, George Kennedy and Jack Lemmon (the Airport franchise). Not bad company.

Because of lousy movies and lousy moviemakers, disaster films have gotten stuck with a "B" movie status. 2012 is class "A" moviemaking from the opening shot. We applaud Roland Emmerich for taking big chances with big budgets and for seeming to have such unabashed fun with it all. 2012 would have been an enormous hit whenever it was released but it's not a bad way to end the decade and 2009's blockbuster, and perhaps record breaking, box-office run at the movies.

Does this mouse look pissed? - He should be.

2009-11-09T12:38:00.009-05:00

Here's a November headline from the New York Times - "After Mickey's Makeover, Less Mr. Nice Guy" (Brooks Barnes, 11.5.09). And you thought the New York Times couldn't shill their articles with the best of them.

Really guys? No more happy mouse?

First, in the interest of disclosure - that picture in the corner is a video game screen grab, and let's face it, video games can make Santa Claus look like a bastard. (Though nothing quite tops the "zombie elves" that populate the North Pole in Robert Zemeckis' The Polar Express - but as that topic always brings on a rant, we'll move on.) Just don't expect to be seeing a scowling Mickey beating up on Goofy in the theme parks or abandoning Pluto at the Toon Town pound.

If you've been paying attention, we've seen Mickey progress through the ages and much of it done under the watchful eyes of Walt and his "9 old men" master animators. Barnes tries to say that Disney may be concerned that their leading animated property is becoming more corporate logo than endearing comical pal. But isn't it true that Mickey's image on an annual report does for corporate Disney exactly what Mickey's face on juice container does for kids? It's not a corporate misstep that Mickey's very presence in everything to do with Disney business helps to remind Disney's investors and business partners that, as Walt is famously quoted to have said, "I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse".

Barnes goes on... "The effort to re-engineer Mickey is still in its early stages but it involves the top creative and marketing minds in the company, all the way up to Robert Iger, Disney's chief executive." And that "the project was given given new impetus this week with the announcement that... the company has received the blessing of the Chinese government to open a theme park in Shanghai...". Is Ms. Barnes suggesting that the look and feel of Mickey will be altered to make him more "marketable" to kids in China? The racist and politically incorrect jokes here could start an avalanche.

The idea that a Shanghai theme park should factor into a "re-engineering" of any cartoon character, let alone Mickey Mouse, is flat out silly. First of all, Disneyland Hong Kong's been around for years. Second, Ms. Barnes and anyone else who seriously thinks an evolving Mickey is anything more than keeping up with technology and the times, is ignoring the fact that Mickey is Mickey, an iconic image that is as much personality as yellow shoes and white gloves.

Barnes even suggests that "Disney executives are treading carefully, and trying to keep a low profile...". It's as if there's subterfuge afoot. Updating Mickey for video gaming, CGI animation and an expanding world audience where he needs to be both understood and unoffensive, seems more like obviously smart thinking and unavoidable growth. Even Mickey's youngest fans have grown more sophisticated, more connected and, somewhat amazingly, more technologically savvy. Staying relevant is good corporate governance.

Perhaps Ms. Barnes should relax and The New York Times should consider pumping up the fiber in their article ingredient list. How about this as a potential headline - "On the verge of a dying newspaper pandemic, the New York Times re-engineers its reporting to mimic 24 hour news TV and tabloids"?

The art of show: Michael Jackson's This Is It

2009-10-31T11:20:00.009-04:00

It would have been a shame not to release the footage. Captured by multiple cameras during live show rehearsals and background production sequences, the many hours of HD video edited down to This Is It's 2 hours and 1 minute runtime is a fitting tribute and a rare keepsake of an extraordinary talent. It is also an exceptional film that will influence live show production standards for decades.

Yes, every superlative you've heard about Michael Jackson's performance and all that fans have come to expect, is brilliantly evident. While his singing is restrained (an often referred to effort to preserve his voice for the pending 50 concert stint at Great Britian's O2 arena) it is beautifully on pitch and confident. His dancing is precise - so clean and exact as to appear second nature to his every movement. Michael Jackson's stage presence looks to be easily twenty years younger than his 50 years. This Is It's public glimpse into the planning for Michael Jackson's "comeback" is in every way worthy of his tremendous talent. It both adds to his formidable legacy and to our appreciation of his dedication and tremendous professionalism.

What This Is It is too, is a somewhat unanticipated surprise. For the many talents that are required to stage a modern concert spectacle, This Is It will become a production documentary, a kind of primer on executing an art form at its very highest levels. For all disciplines, there are a wealth of fascinating glimpses into the creativity of the artist. But it isn't the big set piece or the high tech tools brought to the production that impart insight, it is Michael Jackson's soul as an artist and his sensitivity to his fellow performers, his audience and to his art itself.

Given an unusually personal point of view through the cameras that roamed the Staples Center during the rehearsal process, every moment becomes an all access pass to witness first hand, and often close up, artist and director working out what would be, as Michael describes for his cast, an experience that his audiences had never seen before. Using his tremendous catalog of hit material as a jumping off point, it is his personal vision that is clearly the focus of every effort contributed by supporting cast and crew.

When the camera captures one on one conversations between Michael and his director Kenny Ortega (a man with too many exceptional choreography and movie directing credits to list), the exchanges fascinate. Even in a sequence where Ortega prods Michael to stay safe by not letting go of the rail of a rising stage lift, the scope of production concerns highlight the complex atmosphere that blends creativity, artistry and practicality into one seamless show. Testing of pyro stage effects (effects that carry extra weight when put into the context of Michael's 1984 stage accident), lighting discussions, audio monitoring discussions - all of the technical work that is fundamental and crucial to live performance, offer rare insight to the depth and scope of Michael Jackson's and Kenny Ortega's talents and their mutual trust and respect.

Particularly for young people considering careers in live show production, aspiring dancers, musicians and singers, This Is It is an absolute must-see. For those, it is a true glimpse into the dedication and commitment required of talent to succeed at the very highest levels of their art form. Two hours of rehearsal footage under the direction of Kenny Ortega, while sharing the stage with Michael's performance legend, bring clearly to light what it takes to be a performer relied upon to offer his or her best at every stage of production - from tryouts to opening night.

For the dancers, the singers, musicians and technical crew, there is simply never a moment of letting up, of holding back or of not remaining fully aware. As Michael Jackson himself starts and stops numbers, asks for changes or expresses his personal vision, he is so completely in command of his art as to inspire nothing less than awe AND absolute attention. For aspiring talent schooled on television competitions like "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance", This Is It unveils what it takes to stand with the best. It should become an enduring example of pushing toward personal excellence.

Those very personal moments of seeing Michael Jackson's artistic sensibilities so unashamedly captured are alone worth watching and re-watching This Is It. His decades of performances, deep personal relationship with his material and his passionate love for his art are touchingly complimented by his loving and caring for the artists who surround him. Those who shared his rehearsal stage were indeed witness to greatness. Happily, through the release of the film, we can join them and share at least a tiny piece of that experience.

Iger's kids signal movie biz doom!

2009-10-20T13:28:00.021-04:00

How's the senior exec of one of the 6 major Hollywood movie studios decide the future direction of his industry? Apparently by watching his 11 and 7 year old children play video games.

Don't take it from me, take it from the man himself (who, according to Forbes magazine, earned a cool 30 million in compensation last year). Speaking at an entertainment conference last weekend, Disney CEO Robert Iger forecast "profound" changes in the movie industry.

Emphasizing his point, Iger stated that those running the movie business will have to make changes, "or you will no longer have a business". As reported by ShowBiz.com, Iger, in referring to the decline of DVD sales, consumer resistance to Blu-ray and the advent of hi-def & home theater proliferation, noted that his 11 and 7 year old sons preferred playing video games (as opposed, we assume, to watching movies), he added, "They are the best laboratory I know".

Really? Just for starters, wouldn't you love to see how much money Disney Studios has spent on focus groups over the last couple of years? Who knew all of that cash could have been saved just by locking the Iger kids in a glass room? And as for Bob, this guy has every conceivable resource to access the state of his industry at the tip of each fingertip, yet he finds watching 11 and 7 year old boys his best gauge of what's working in entertainment.

A few points need to be made here. First, these aren't exactly your typical kids. Well, maybe in Beverly Hills, but the movie industry, thankfully, doesn't live and die on what sells in Beverly Hills. They're kids who have exposure to practically any kind of entertainment they bat their eyes at and it's a good bet, with Dad running a movie studio and the world's biggest theme parks, they may just be a little jaded.

As for that video game playing thing, how many movies in the last ten years have been BASED on video games? Pay attention Bob, this is important. How many movies get made INTO video games? (That movie Tron, that you just green lit for a sequel jumps immediately to mind.) Seems like playing video games is a pretty strong qualifier for a potential movie audience. Do you ever catch the kids reading comic books? Ditto.

Next issue. People just aren't adapting to Blu-ray. Let's follow the logic - DVD's replaced VHS and are now being replaced by digital download - Blu-ray is an HD format exclusively for DVD - so, DVD's are declining in sales because of a new medium emergence while that new medium also offers an HD format - except that while Blu-ray can cost upwards of 50% more than standard DVDs, HD downloads cost about the same. Why in the hell should it be surprising to anyone that Blu-ray isn't going to save DVD?

I'd suspect Bob, that you have your very own home theater. Go cozy up in one of your theater lounges and get comfortable. Nice huh? Just for a lark, go out to the mall one night and take in a flick with the common folk. No, the El Capitan doesn't qualify. Go pay for a coke and a pop corn, or at least watch the expression on a guy who's doing that for his whole family. Makes watching movies at home seem like a pretty good idea. Especially if it's in HD. And if the ordinary guy skipped a vacation or two and dropped in a huge flat screen, even better. Ever increasing internet speeds and leaps in cheap data storage, are all ADVANCES in state-of-the-art. Not to be a dick Bob, but that's how we got DVDs after tape. As I recall, that revolutionized home video. And where's all that home video coming from?

From you Bob. And from your movie vaults. Take a look at the balance sheets and you'll remember that home video is where you make a butt load of money re-issuing all of those Disney classics! It's also the only place where you can recover the money your studio blows on theatrically released duds like Surrogates, Race to Witch Mountain and Confessions of a Shopaholic. Don't bite the hand that feeds you Bob - or buys your kids video games.

"Or you will no longer have a business", your words Bob. Just what business is that? Any delivery format needs content. Doesn't matter if it's a VHS tape or a ruby crystal that projects holograms - content is king. You my friend are in the content business.

If the format doesn't sell - any format, try looking at the message, not the messenger. That is, if you made good movies that people want to watch and watch again, maybe they'd be willing to buy them. And if you would embrace and fairly price the best possible formats that technology allows, maybe it wouldn't matter what technology that was. Your a movie studio Bob, so what do you care whether your profit comes from movie theater tickets or from home theater downloads, so long as it comes? But I guess you can't really discern all that by watching your kids jump to another level in Bioshock.

While we're letting the casually opinionated Mr. Iger think that over, we'll mention that he didn't actually offer much in the way of suggestions. Bob's idea was to shorten the span between theatrical and home video release. We don't have an argument with that, in fact we've been supporting Mark Cuban who's fought that battle for years, but we do question the point. Does Disney want to make a business out of direct-to-DVD? Last we checked, their head creative guru, John "Pixar" Lasseter, agreed that cranking out cheap made-for-video sequels is a really bad idea. Telling, that that would be an opinion educated by watching content rather than trying to scope out trends and second guess formats.

We think it's simple. If you want to save movies, simply make movies worth saving. If you want to insure the future of home movie sales, embrace every possible way to make movies look better and sell with value, then let the customer choose if they'd like it stored on a closet shelf or a hard drive, or on some ethereal virtual "cloud".

So Bob, we'd like to suggest you educate yourself with a little experiment. Go grab up all of those exciting, action packed video games you've been watching your kids play and replace them with the worst selling games on the list. Then watch the activity in your living room next weekend.

We're betting on the 11 year old blowing off the game console and heading straight to the computer to download the new release of Star Trek or maybe the 7 year old fires up Iron Man on the flat screen. With the new data in, just one weekend could change the fortunes of the movie business and completely destroy the future of video gaming. Ah, to be an Iger heir and hold the balance of world wide entertainment in your young, easily bored and trend-setting hands.

In the interest of disclosure and fair play, we'll own up to the fact that we think Mr. Iger is actually doing a decent job for Disney. Sorry, Bob, it was just fun to pick on you as you seemed miss the forest for the trees.

Any industry suffers when its products become poorly conceived, cheaply made or overpriced. Look no further than Detroit for confirmation. Rule 2 - don't tell you're customer how it's going to be, that's what the customer's telling you. You should be listening. Problem is, their voices seem to get through best when they put away their wallets.

To the CEOs out there - you should be making your products undeniably great instead of denying you're too often making less than great products. Movie studios need to produce engrossing and entertaining content. Let consumers decide how they want to see it and in what format they'd like to own it. The consumer. No one else.

They are your audience - play to them. They'll thank you for it.

Paranormal Marketing Activity

2009-10-12T16:04:00.002-04:00

When does a marketing campaign cost more than its movie? Well let's just put it this way - you can barely buy the poster for Paranormal Activity for what it cost to make the film. That is, a studio marketing department can't. Paramount almost certainly paid BLT & Associates more than the $15,000 or so it reportedly cost to make the film, to come up with the current poster - and the poster is just the room going cold before the paranormal events race in to chill your blood.

A little back story is in order. On July 30th, 1999, everything about making and marketing movies bumped and stumbled into a scary patch of woods and suddenly shaky camera mock-documentaries were popular and profitable, insanely so, because of The Blair Witch Project. Made for $60,000, Blair Witch went on to make a touch under a quarter of a billion worldwide. For those keeping score, the take was 4,008 times its original production budget.

Enter Paranormal Activity and its writer/director Oren Peli, a video game designer with no previous experience in film. In one week in 2006 he shot a movie. In 2008, that movie grabbed screen time at the Slamdance Film Festival in Utah. From there the history starts blurring into urban legend status. Steven Spielberg is reported to have screened the film in his home where he becomes convinced his bathroom is haunted. Dreamworks buys the movie and shelves it with the intent of remaking it studio style with big stars and big budgets. Paramount then gets hold of a true brainstorm and steps in with the decision to release the film as is. They decide to back the release with clever marketing and a lean budget, emphasizing an inexpensive viral internet campaign, then stoke the hype with ultra-limited (read - aren't you lucky to be here) midnight screenings. The master stroke - a "Demand It!" campaign that may become more legendary than the movie itself.

The marketing idea was simplicity itself. The online campaign promised agitated scare freaks that with 1 million registered "demands", the studio would cave in and go wide release! Wow, they would do all that just because we demanded it? Cool!

And Demand It! audiences did. That's at least the hype - and the success of that hype is only starting to crank up the money counters over at Paramount. The advertising is going heavy on audience reaction; apparently there are people who actually believe those crowds screaming in theater lines would still behave that way even if there wasn't a cameraman filming them for a promo. Advertising using the movie's actual footage doesn't conjure up nearly as much excitement without cutting to people jumping and cringing in their theater seats. For all of the ordinariness of what's actually on the screen, it becomes clear that this is a film made in the marketing.

So far, so good, for all involved. Weekend box-office results watched Paranormal Activity jump into the top ten at number 4! Without much competition, it only needed a weekend take of $2.4 million to achieve that result, but on a budget of under twenty grand and a 15 day take of nearly $4 million in very limited release, expect the real paranormal activity to be this film moving up the charts rather than down.

And as for the truly chilled to the bone, frightened beyond belief, scared souls sneaking out of the back of the theater? Those would be movie and marketing executives from every other studio in Hollywood. But be careful you enthusiastic ticket buyers who love to scream on camera for a chance to be in a Paranormal Activity promo clip... you reap what you sow - so while you're helping to stack Paramount's profits, you're also asking for every studio on the planet to make dirt cheap video quality movies and charge you full price to see them.

How long before you see this on a poster? - "From the same team that marketed Paranormal Activity comes...". Now that's damned scary. We warned you here first.

Disney's latest release - not Up but Out!

2009-09-23T12:18:00.010-04:00

Disney has been making lots of news lately but at least one announcement didn't come with the fanfare and hoopla that was present at their first ever "D23" fan convention in Anaheim ten days ago. Rather, just a couple of days after the close of the convention, Disney Chairman Robert Iger summoned Disney Studio chief Dick Cook, a 38 year Disney employee (he started as Monorail operator at Disneyland) into his office and dropped the biggest news of all - you're out!

Showbiz Data reports that the meeting lasted only ten minutes and that Iger held true to corporate traditions, cowering behind empty rhetoric and after-the-fact complaints. (If you've been in Mr. Cook's position the technique is all too familiar - "after lots of consideration"...blah, blah... "decided to go in a different direction..." blah, blah, blah... "oh yeah, and there were complaints..." blah, blah, blah. Complaints, of course, that don't get discussed until they can be sprung as justification for an agenda, but we could easily digress into a rant on the pitiful lack of integrity in corporate America.

More to the point, aside from what sounds like Dick Cook getting royally screwed in the Happiest Place on Earth, here's why these things matter to movie lovers and Disney shareholders alike. All of those very same announcements Disney was showcasing just a few days earlier to the pixie-dusted faithful may now be in jeopardy.

All the oohing and ah-ing at the duck & mouse show of costumed celebrities, elaborate props and high profile name dropping, may just have done a Cinderella's coach and poof-ed back into a pumpkin. While Disney was using their new fan convention to showcase their two strongest skills - marketing and trading on their fabled history, back at the castle the King of the Kingdom seems to have been plotting something nefarious in his chambers. Now, since many of the D23 announcements are built on creative commitments that themselves are built on loyalty and the genuine affection felt for Dick Cook, it's anybody's guess what the King has wrought.

Take a look at the top three news headlines that came out of D23.

1. Johnny Depp, already attached to Disney's big screen debut of The Lone Ranger as "faithful Indian sidekick" Tonto, came out in full Jack Sparrow regalia to let Disney fans know that there would indeed be Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth adventure of the series. A day after Dick Cook's ouster, Depp said he was shocked and saddened by Cook's departure. The Los Angeles Times reported Depp as saying "there's a fissure, a crack in my enthusiasm at the moment", "He's instantly trustworthy. And you don't generally meet people at the studios you trust."

2. Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy & Hellboy II: The Golden Army), had agreed to collaborate with Disney on introducing a brand new film production label called Disney Double Dare You. The idea is to create animated films with lots of fun scares and thrills set for a younger (think Harry Potter-ish) audience. That announcement came from Dick Cook himself at the convention. Working from a concept conceived by the director, the idea seems to perfectly team studio, marketing and creative. You have to believe that this is another project that now goes into the "will it happen" category.

3. Also at D23, Dick Cook seemed to take great pride in announcing a new partnership between Disney, Robert Zemeckis and the Beatles' Apple Corps, to create a motion capture remake of the Beatles only animated feature film, Yellow Submarine. Not only is this a high profile and prestigious project for Disney but it is the second outing for Disney with Zemeckis' ImageMovers Digital, a pioneering and evolving creative animation company that, much like Pixar, could be a pathway to a library of future properties. Robert Zemeckis is another film producer heaping praise on Cook's working style and ethics. Zemeckis is currently at work putting final touches on his 3D animated A Christmas Carol, starring a motion-capture Jim Carey as Scrooge, to be released by Disney this November, a project conceived and completed under Dick Cook's leadership.

Then there's Steven Spielberg... Disney's commitment this past Spring to distribute Spielberg's DreamWorks output in the coming years was, according to Spielberg himself, an agreement largely entered into on the goodwill and friendship shared between he and Cook. Yet another valuable relationship that, at least for the moment, seems up for grabs.

In the last years one would be hard pressed to look past Pixar and see any genius coming from Disney's film studios. The blockbuster hit realized from Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl was quickly scuttled with over saturation in Disney's theme parks and dismally declining quality in scripts on the following two installments. Though Depp re-inhabiting the persona of Jack Sparrow is welcome, it realistically can't be considered an instant hit. High School Musical 3, Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers should be credited over to Disney Channel programming. After that, there are a string of mediocre to bad family films (and even worse Disney classic remakes) that have driven talents like John Travolta and Tim Allen to "family forgettable" status. The studio has been garnering as much attention for its hits as its flops, while limited in-house production has become Robert Iger's M.O. It would seem that the Disney Studios is soon to be merely a clearing house for outside creative talent and production companies.

There is a last thought we find ourselves considering. John Lasseter, the wunderkind of Pixar and the man now entrusted with guiding the creative in everything Disney, may be the man the mantle falls to when the dust clears. But when that dust clears, the view looking up will be the looming shadow of Robert Iger running a gigantic corporate behemoth more and more reliant on the ideas and talents of people that only work for (and tolerate) the company on contract, a situation hard to influence, a business model hard to bend and a profit structure that's hard to live up to. If there's anything ever designed to inhibit and eventually crush the life out of creativity, Robert Iger may be creating it.

What will happen if John Lasseter won't have it? What will Disney look like to fans and movie lovers at next year's D23?

This is the trailer for MJ's THIS IS IT

2009-09-15T23:53:00.007-04:00

Sony Pictures has just released the first trailer for

Michael Jackson's This Is It.

The most anticipated concert film in history will be released on October 28th for what Sony Pictures is saying will be a limited two week only engagement.

Watch the trailer for

Michael Jackson's This Is It

right now at Moviedozer.com.

Larry Gelbart's passing on Friday followed today by the death of actor Patrick Swayze.

2009-09-14T21:10:00.014-04:00

On this past Friday, as Moviedozer Dailies was being updated with a new post, late word came that screenwriter and television show creator Larry Gelbart had passed away at the age of 81. Well known for his landmark work in developing the long running break-through TV comedy M.A.S.H., Mr. Gelbart also had a unique history in creating enduring screen comedies that would be defined by both magnificent casts and legendary directors.

To give just a sense of Mr. Gelbart's contribution to cinematic history, consider the names attached to some of our favorite movies of all time, just a sampling of an extraordinary resumé.

The Thrill it All from 1963 is a classic in the series of movies starring James Garner and Doris Day. The film was directed by Norman Jewison and Mr. Gelbart shares his story credit with none other than Carl Reiner, who also wrote the screenplay.

In 1966, Mr. Gelbart's writing credits include Not with My Wife You Don't which starred Tony Curtis, Carroll O'Connor and George C. Scott with direction by legendary writer/director Norman Panama, and the film adaptation of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, a writing collaboration that included Mr. Gelbart's work on the book from the Broadway show. That film was also directed by a legendary talent, Richard Lester (who's many credits include both Beatles films, A Hard Day's Night and Help) and included the all star comedy cast of Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, Buster Keaton and Jack Gifford along with the singing talents of a very young Michael Crawford.

The tradition of great actors under the direction of legendary directors highlighted an extraordinary amount of Larry Gelbart's subsequent writing projects. Oh God from 1977 cast George Burns and John Denver under the direction of Carl Reiner. 1980's Rough Cut teamed actors Burt Reynolds, Leslie-Anne Down and David Niven with director Don Siegel (who earlier had directed a large part of Clint Eastwood's best work including Dirty Harry and Play Misty for Me). In 1981, there was Neighbors, casting John Belushi and Dan Akroyd with director John G. Alvidsen and in '84, Blame It On Rio with Michael Caine and Joseph Bologna (and a very young Demi Moore), directed by Stanley Donen. Most memorable, from 1982, an unforgettable cast lead by Dustin Hoffman in one of director Sydney Pollack's gems, Tootsie.

Larry Gelbart was a writer's writer in every sense. The caliber of talent who brought his words to life on movie screens and televisions over five decades is a fitting testimony to his accomplishments and to his legacy.

Unfortunately, more sad news broke in the movie business today with the announced passing of actor Patrick Swayze. Mr. Swayze succumbed to a long and well publicized struggle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.

Mr. Swayze has also left an enduring list of memorable screen performances. Among our very favorites are 1984's Red Dawn with Jennifer Grey, Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson and C. Thomas Howell, Point Break, with Keanu Reeves and Gary Busey (1991) and two of his most beloved films and bona fide blockbusters, 1987's Dirty Dancing where he ignited screens with Red Dawn co-star Jennifer Grey, and Ghost, the brilliantly conceived supernatural love story co-starring Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg, released in the summer of 1990 and earning more than a half billion dollars worldwide.

Our warmest wishes to the friends and families of both Mr. Gelbart and Mr. Swayze and to movie fans who, like us, will find some time over the coming weeks to watch and relive a little of the legacy each has left behind.

Photo of Larry Gelbart courtesy of mptvimages.com.

Hey! Wanna go to the Oscars?

2009-09-11T14:25:00.009-04:00

I know, the Oscars? Already? Well, if you're a big movie fan and have always wished for your very own space on the red carpet, you need to be thinking about where you want to be on Oscar night right now.

Yesterday, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the Oscar folks, have announced that they will be conducting a random drawing for seats in the bleacher sections that line the 500-foot-long red carpeted walkway that leads into the Kodak Theater for the Academy Awards® ceremony. There are only 700 seats available and applications for the drawing are open to Oscar fans all over the world.

Here's the deal... the application process will begin next Monday, Sept. 14th at noon ET and continue for one week, closing on Sunday, Sept. 20th at midnight, ET. To register an application, fans must log into the Academy's website by clicking or entering this link into your browser, www.oscars.org/bleachers. There you'll find an application form that must be filled out in its entirety and submitted online. You can register up to four persons on a single form but only one form may be registered per person or per group.

If you're lucky enough to be selected in the drawing, you'll be notified in early October and required to submit additional security information before your attendance can be approved by the Academy. After final approvals, winners will receive confirmation letters in early December with additional event information. Sorry, travel and hotels isn't included. Neither, we assume are cameras, autograph books or any additional message units for all of the texts and tweets you'll be busy sending all of your friends.

Should you get the invitation, you can be grateful that there won't be anyone sitting next to you who got around the online process by simply showing up in the middle of the night. The Academy has warned that anyone waiting overnight will not be granted entry. After watching the movie stars and celebrities make their entrance, everyone seated in the bleachers will be invited to watch the Oscar telecast "from a nearby location", so you won't miss out on any part of the big show.

According to the Academy, in past years, as many as 20,000 fans have applied online for the special seating. So, should you find yourself selected and approved, it would seem bragging rights are certainly attached.

This will be the 82nd Academy Awards presentation. The event will be held on Sunday, March 7th, 2010 at the Kodak Theater at Hollywood & Highland Center®, Hollywood CA. For those not able, willing or interested in grabbing bleacher seats at the theater, the show is being televised by ABC in more than 200 countries worldwide. If you decide to go through the online process and get selected, we'd love to hear from you so we can follow your adventure right through Oscar night. Good luck.

The information above was provided by AMPAS' publicity department and may be subject to change. Moviedozer Dailies and SparxLab Projects assume no responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided. Further information is available at the Academy's site link in the article.

Will you pay to see this movie? A Woody Harrelson double feature!

2009-09-08T22:42:00.011-04:00

There have been absolute standouts - Mickey Knox in Natural Born Killers, Larry Flint in The People vs. Larry Flint (earning Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for Best Actor) and Carson Wells in No Country for Old Men. Some genuine laughs stretching back to Hank Gordon in Doc Hollywood and Roy Munson in Kingpin. Even a bit of fairly hilarious singing as Dusty in A Prairie Home Companion. It's been a long, substantive and varied film career since Woody the Cheers bartender became better known as Woody Harrelson, movie star. From the varied roles to his willingness to play small parts and play in small movies, we get the impression that Woody Harrelson probably prefers "actor" to "star" and in most examples on his resumé, we're in agreement. Likable, humorous, versatile and sometimes volatile, Harrelson has genuine talent.

Nothing in that last paragraph explains our first impression from watching the trailer for Mr. Harrelson's scheduled October release of Zombieland. And nothing up there seems to relate in the slightest to our first, second or third (and we assume ad infinitum) impression from watching the trailer for this month's Toronto Film Festival screening of Defendor. We're at a loss and there's only one way to begin to explain. Click anywhere in this sentence, jump over to Moviedozer.com and watch the trailers for yourself. (Scroll down to the trailers toward the bottom of the page when you get there.) Be patient and let them load on your screen, we think you'll want to watch each of them more than once. When you're done, click on a link next to the trailers and drop back here to leave your comments.

For the record, Zombieland, is set to be released by Columbia Pictures on October 2nd. Television marketing is already underway and of the two films we're talking about here, this one is certainly the more mainstream. Zombie horror flicks have always been a staple and doing the walking dead thing with a dark streak of humor started way back with George A. Romero's 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead and stretches to the sly and clever Shaun of the Dead from 2004. With a bit of a twist, Woody Harrelson's cowboy hatted, redneck slugger of a zombie killer is a new take on a classic character. We can't help feeling though, that there's a hole here that a stronger, funnier and more interesting cast may have filled nicely. Sorry, Abigail Breslin and Jesse Eisenberg (and Bill Murray as a zombie) don't cut it for us. From the looks of the trailer, this is all Woody's show and that means the script better have some drop-dead funny (sorry) set pieces.

And then there's Defendor. The homemade superhero thing isn't new either. In fact, if you're the comic book type, you already know lots of them. (The big one in the movie chute is Kick-Ass scheduled from Lionsgate for 2010 and starring Nicholas Cage and Aaron Johnson.) The trailer for Defendor has been sneaking onto websites just a couple of weeks before a bow at the Toronto Film Festival and, without having an announced release date, is getting its first chance at grabbing some buzz. Woody plays Arthur Poppington, an ordinary guy un-endowed with any super powers, who nonetheless fashions a "D" out of ducktape on the back of a makeshift cape and calls himself Defendor. It's all rather baffling until you catch, perhaps, a small hint in the storyline. Arthur may be just a little bit nuts and equally naive about his ability to right wrongs. And in that, maybe, there's a charming, endearing side to why we might want to watch Woody traipsing about in tights.

So one again readers and moviegoers, we leave it to you. Has Woody lost it completely, gone for an easy paycheck (Zombieland) or done a friend a favor by being in his first directing project (Defendor)? Or will he elevate Zombieland to a fall comedy hit and surprise us with a quirky but moving character piece in Defendor? Trailers are just glimpses of a whole but they're supposed to sell the movie, judging by these - will you pay to see these movies?

Say goodbye to Hollywood's... summer.

2009-09-01T14:56:00.012-04:00

Officially we've got until September 21st to say goodbye to summer, but Hollywood is already well under way with their annual transition from blockbuster season to award season. At Moviedozer, the first of the month also signals a new hotlist of the movie releases we're most looking forward to.

After being disappointed with the schedule of new releases in August (so much so that we changed our hotlist to an "ice-list" last month), we were a little wary about what September would bring. We're happy to say that although the month lacks any obvious standouts, the 30 or so new releases we considered for our list supplied more than enough selections to pick 6 worthy titles. You can click the link here to jump over and read through our choices. We felt compelled though, to mention some of the "also-rans" this month, so in no particular order, here are some good reasons to help Hollywood say goodbye to summer.

Whiteout - a thriller set in what must be the most claustrophobic wide open space on the planet, Antarctica. Starring Kate Beckinsale, the trailer suggests a true edge of your seat adventure set in a desolate and dangerous wilderness. 9/11

The Invention of Lying - way high concept but with a great cast, Ricky Gervais shares writing and directing credits and stars in a comedy about a place where no one has ever lied. Until now. Gervais is the writer who discovers lying, and it's unexpected benefits. With a cast that includes Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, Christopher Guest and Tina Fey, this one just missed our final six. 9/25

Surrogates - On the other hand, this Bruce Willis vehicle easily missed our list, but we still have to admit a fondness for catching Bruce Willis movies, even when they look like worn sci-fi retreads. Watching the trailer for Surrogates is like a game of spotting the other sci-fi movie references. 9/25

All About Steve - Sandra Bullock was lots of fun in The Proposal this summer and she's someone we can watch just about anytime, but All About Steve's trailer has been kicking around for nearly a year and it's never made the movie seem anything but dumb. If you're a fan, have fun but it's likely more fun as a cheaper-than-the-movie-ticket rental. 9/4

Fame - "I'm going to live forever". Ahh to be young. Fame has fresh faces (and familiar ones in the roles of the teachers) shellacked across a refreshed premise in an age where American Idol and Dancing with the Stars rule TV. (In fact, one of the fresh faces belongs to an up and coming star, Kherington Payne who lasted through 12 real episodes of So You Think You Can Dance.) If for nothing else, the role of the arts in education deserves a solid Hollywood boost. 9/25

Amreeka - Set in a small town in Illinois, Amreeka is a small film that has something important to say about stepping into American culture from the outside and lots to say about the moving stories that are available in Independent film. We think this is one to seek out and pay attention to. 9/4

Carriers - After his huge success in this summer's terrific Star Trek, this earlier film starring Chris Pine is finally seeing a release date. The usual story of a viral pandemic that erupts in violent victims only draws our interest for the chance to watch this young, dynamic actor in another role. 9/4

The Burning Plain - Speaking of actors - The Burning Plain boasts two Oscar winners, Kim Basinger and Charlize Theron. The drama is centered on relationship struggles in the wake of a troubled childhood. Though the trailer seems heavy and obvious, the potential of the performances is enough to make us curious. 9/18

Coco Before Chanel - A period piece based on the life of fashion powerhouse Coco Chanel, before the fame and glory. This one's simple for us. Amidst beautiful settings and cinematography is the actor in the leading role, Audrey Tautou. We'd simply watch her in anything. 9/25

Like documentaries? Here are four that nearly made our list.

The Horse Boy - The true story of the Isaacson family. On discovering, by accident, that their young autistic son somehow relates to being near horses, a mother and father make a sojourn to Mongolia to seek a fabled shaman who may be able to bring healing and release to their son and to themselves. 9/25

The September Issue - An inside glimpse at the world of fashion magazines, The September Issue follows Vogue Magazine's editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour through the production of Vogue's nearly five pound fall-fashion issue. Shot with unprecedented access and widely praised by critics. 9/11

Walt & El Grupo - In 1941, the U.S. government asked Walt Disney to take a trip through South America in an effort to convince that nation that Americans weren't such bad neighbors to call allies. The success of that trip is a piece of the legendary stuff of Walt's enormous legacy and is the basis for this documentary that puts together archive film footage with the usual interview clips. 9/11

And if you absolutely have to...

Capitalism, a Love Story - Yes. Michael Moore is back. We think his films are egocentric, manipulated, sensationally fabricated pieces of scrapbook revisionism, but hey, that's just us. He did make the most profitable theatrically released "documentary" of all time so give the man his due. Just don't give him your money unless you are absolutely sucked in to his hype. No, this one never even came close to our list. 9/25

We'll also be recapping the Summer Blockbuster Season on the Sprocket Holes page of Moviedozer.com throughout the month. The trailers for the five most successful summer releases in worldwide box-office are showing now. We'll follow up each week with the top five trailers for the most overlooked, most overrated and our absolute summer favorites.

Get in your last goodbyes to Hollywood's summer, then join us again at Moviedozer.com where we'll be looking forward to dropping the flag in October for the race to Oscar gold.

Avatar markets high expectations.

2009-08-19T13:34:00.012-04:00

Ever notice how many different versions of movie posters show up at your multiplex before a big event movie release? Have you noticed that teaser trailers, that first minute or so of film hyping a new movie with sometimes as little as an animated title over some booming dramatic music, can show up in theaters more than a year before the movie's actually scheduled to get there? Do you really have that long of an attention span?

Let's try to put things in perspective. The movie industry, right or wrong, lives and dies on opening weekend box-office numbers. Now let's say you have well upwards of $100 million wrapped up in production costs. You've also got a marketing budget that can support a small town for a year, committed to hyping this thing to blockbuster status by the time your calendar weekend arrives. Why not dribble out a little cash, early in the game to start planting seeds and build the most important four letter word in Hollywood - BUZZ? Suddenly 20 different character posters, the FaceBook fan page and the constant stream of Twitter updates not only make sense, they feel downright essential. If it were our money, we'd move the marketing department within visual range (and screaming distance) to be sure we were maximizing every shred of promotion possible.

And so today we welcome you to the beginning of the "big push" in the hottest hype campaign on the burners - Avatar. With an estimated production budget of $190,000,000.00, a director resurfacing after last having directed the number one box-office film of all time, Titanic (1.85 billion worldwide), and a film that boasts special technologies invented just so the film could get made, James Cameron's Avatar needs to succeed. A little extra flair, a little P.T. Barnum razzle-dazzle, a little flat out tease is certainly to be expected. The touch of originality and creativity that seems attached to the effort is much appreciated.

This Friday, a day of the week (particularly a summer week) usually dedicated to releasing a new round of movies, has this week been commandeered for the release of a new movie trailer! Avatar's first movie trailer will debut on Friday, August 21st, a day James Cameron and Twentieth Century Film Corporation are hoping will, from here forward, be known as "Avatar Day".

Along with the worldwide release of Avatar's first trailer, fans of the already heavily Comic Con hyped sci-fi epic were invited to register on the movie's official website for a chance to win free tickets to an "extended" preview screening that included 2D, 3D, Imax and (for the hardcore) Imax 3D screens around the world. The rush crashed the website (more convenient press release hype), recovered, and is about to reward the faithful with emails to let them know if they are among the specially chosen who will receive the privilege of being test marketed. Be assured, those who score tickets are thrilled at the chance to be crash test dummies. "Avatar Day" will also see the orchestrated unveiling of special "3D" lenticular one-sheet posters, Ubisoft's® Avatar video game trailer and Mattel's movie character action figures.

Avatar promises to be the last big event movie of 2009 and very well could become the talk of the movie industry for years to come. Cameron, who already has distinguished himself as a pioneer of both popular film innovation and technical moviemaking achievement, is set to write a new chapter in his contribution to the industry, both technically and creatively. His shadow may very well eclipse the achievements of even the likes of Spielberg and Lucas. A little extra hype seems not only like sound business but under Cameron's direction, damned entertaining.

You can get a little more information right now at Avatar's official website as well as lots of familiar places you visit on the net, but by Friday, expect the flood gates to open. On Saturday the countdown to the movie's December 18th release date will begin with launch minus "Avatar Day" plus 118. For many after Friday, it will be a more important than counting the shopping days to Christmas.

Avatar Day is sure to be the talk of the movie industry this weekend and for the first time, get ready for Hollywood to report trailer attendance the way they report ticket sales. Which brings us to the fact that there are actual full length feature films being released this weekend too. If you didn't score a preview Avatar ticket and you're consoling yourself by just catching the trailer on the net, you do have Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds to look forward to. Even with a mere 15 versions of posters in its marketing campaign, great advance reviews are likely to insure a number one spot at the box-office over the weekend. And of course, that's the whole point. Catch a weekend flick, catch the buzz for Avatar and have a great movie weekend.

Time travelers, space aliens and car salesmen - this weekend they're all scary.

2009-08-14T14:13:00.009-04:00

It's the 14th of August and we're moving unhappily closer to the end of BlockBuster Summer '09. Aside from surprise hits like The Hangover, released at the beginning of June and approaching 400 million in worldwide box-office, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen becoming the highest grossing film of the summer (as of last weekend - 395 million U.S. and another 425 million international), our feeling is that the summer slate was a disappointment.

After the promise of great action delivered with J.J. Abrams reboot of Star Trek, another Pixar gem with Up, and some expected results from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, there wasn't a lot to excite or surprise. There was however, much to dismiss. In our eyes the worst offenders of lackluster mediocrity included a flat out boring and story-less Terminator Salvation, the remake dud The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 and the ultimate in wasted talent, Michael Mann's mess of a gangster pic, Public Enemies which managed to make Christian Bale utterly forgettable and Johnny Depp, shooting off a tommy gun while charming his way through a bank robbery, a complete yawn. (Not to mention the movie's series of bank robberies that looked like carbon copies of each other, right down to sets and extras.)

But hey, a little good news, it's not over yet. Summer movies seem to be racing for final release spots. In just the last 8 days no less than twelve new films have or will be hitting theater screens. The math alone means that some of these won't find a local screen for many weeks , maybe never, but if you keep looking you may be rewarded with something a bit special, say the screening of an independent like (500) Days of Summer, that surprised with strong performances, a clever, witty script and a breath of fresh air to blow out the smell of a summer's worth of stale buttered popcorn.

Here's our quick take on the new films hitting the cineplex marquees for this weekend...

You might want to see...

District 9 - We're shocked, but this piece of low resolution sci-fi is getting some really great reviews. From "smart" and "inventive" to comparisons to War of the Worlds, the advance word has been buzzing loud enough that we've become intrigued. We included District 9 on our list of ice-cold movies this month, mostly due to the goofy bug aliens, but the heat being generated by critics may be enough to grab big audiences. It's only the second time this summer that a big action flick has grabbed pre-release raves, the first time being May's release of Star Trek. Not a bad omen.

The Goods, Live Hard, Sell Hard - Love Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold in HBO's Entourage? Like raucous and rank comedy? Can't stand seeing the summer end without another glimpse of Will Ferrell? Go. Most everyone hates it but the NYT's says brainless and funny. Yeah, it's a rip on Zemeckis' Used Cars from 1980, but who the hell remembers 1980?

The Time Traveler's Wife - from the best selling novel, if you've read it you've likely already got your mind made up. Not to mention there have been precious few movies for the literate and the romantic this season. We hate the casting but we like the book. The reviews are mixed but the competition doesn't give a hoot about this target demographic. And with such low expectations, there won't be lines.

Ponyo - Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki's new film hits the U.S. today through the courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It's not a coincidence that it's Disney who brings Miyazaki's work to U.S. audiences, it's a deep rooted appreciation for the art of animation and these films are truly moving artwork. Ponyo is a take on the Hans Christian Anderson tale of The Little Mermaid (familiar Disney ground), but the uniqueness of Miyazaki's art and storytelling can often be riveting, though decidedly unusual and sometimes strange. If you've never experienced Miyazaki's work, are a fan of hand drawn animation or just a fan of storytelling through artistic expression, the experience can be singular and enlightening. It's also great entertainment.

That's as good as it gets. Here's what you should be skipping...

Bandslam - Vanessa Hudgens and company doing the 'tween idol thing, again. If you have kids who just have to go, this may be a good time to test out how they'll do managing for themselves for a few hours. Even if you're stuck waiting in the theater lobby you're probably way ahead of the game.

Post Grad - Alexis Bledel and Michael Keaton in a movie that should be on your list of Family Channel viewing options sometime next year. If you absolutely have to, rent it. If you really go see this, at least you'll be able to stretch out across the empty seats.

Spread - Ashton Kutcher in a non-movie. We can't even come up with reasons to see or skip this film. Kutcher's co-star is Anne Heche. Is anybody excited? No one in the film, other than Kutcher, has done anything else of note. If you want to see this in a theater, here's the only reason we can come up with. Go now because it will have disappeared inside of 10 days.

Taking Woodstock - The people who fondly recall Woodstock days have the festival's DVDs at home. The movie audience demographics that go see summer comedies think Country Joe and the Fish are a fiddle act in Nashville. Wait, the clincher - the "stars" of the movie are Demetri Martin and Emile Hirsch. Anne Heche must have already been filming Spread.

G.I. Joe is starting to look like a solid hold-over. Have a great weekend at the movies.

With the death of John Hughes, more talent slips away.

2009-08-08T13:34:00.019-04:00

As a writer and a director John Hughes made his presence known in Hollywood by combining a knack for knowing the audience he was writing for with an uncanny ability for conveying that understanding in a film frame. His staple became teen comedies but on closer look, his strengths swept far broader, creating and delivering character performances within his stories that rang with insightful humor and deep emotional connectivity to his audience. An audience fortunately left with a prolific legacy of movies which already haven taken their well deserved place in the history of modern film.

While Thursday left us once again reeling from a seemingly constant barrage of talent being taken from us far too soon, we had already been reminded that we have lost others who have lived full and influential lives. Just a day earlier had come news that novelist and Oscar-winning screenwriter Budd Schulberg had died at the age of 95. Mr. Schulberg wrote the novel The Harder They Fall which would become a Humphrey Bogart film classic in 1956 as well as one of our favorite screenplays, a film that delivered an unforgettable dramatic performance from Andy Griffith, 1957's A Face in the Crowd. He is most noted for his screenplay of On The Waterfront (1954), a film that garnered 8 Academy Awards including his own Oscar for Best Screenplay.

Looking over the list of John Hughes films and writing accomplishments is very much like browsing a shelf of our favorite comedy DVDs. No less than 18 titles in our collection carry John Hughes' name as writer or writer/director. What really strikes us is that these are the DVDs that have been watched over and over again. The kind that fill rainy days in summer and cold, grey, snowy nights in winter. Christmases here don't pass without Home Alone and Christmas Vacation and summers never get by without Uncle Buck and The Great Outdoors. Thanksgiving isn't complete without watching Steve Martin learning to love John Candy in Planes Trains and Automobiles.

To the family and friends of both of these movie legends, we extend our warmest wishes and a grateful thanks for the indelible memories they created.

John Hughes has provided so many perfect movie moments, we thought we'd leave it to you to decide your favorites, so here are just some of the posters from his films to help provide a spark.

Blake Snyder, a screenwriter's teacher.

2009-08-06T12:01:00.016-04:00

In our office at Moviedozer.com writing is a daily endeavor and both the quality of what we write and the mechanics of what we write are under constant scrutiny. As the creator of our internet content, I look on our output as our identity, and constantly seek to stay fresh, relevant and well practiced in our craft. With every word we write, indeed with each day we live, we are telling stories. To those ends, I'm personally ever on the lookout to increase my awareness of new techniques, philosophies and approaches toward creating more effective and entertaining ways to put those stories in print.

While our posts and our website comment on the movie industry, its personalities, stars and products, my personal writing also includes writing for film and television production. This past June I attended a writer's pitch festival in Los Angeles and had the very good fortune to meet Blake Snyder.

Blake is a successful screenwriter and author and is noted as one of the most successful "spec" screenwriters in Hollywood. He is also a celebrated and sought after contemporary screenwriting teacher and author of the book Save The Cat! which has become a new reference standard for both novice and experienced writers of film. While in LA, I was able to attend one of Blake's Master Classes and was looking forward to extending that experience by attending a seminar with Blake in New York City later this month.

Unfortunately, our office received word yesterday that Blake died from cardiac arrest on Tuesday morning. He was just 50. Remarkably, he had already contributed enormous insight to the art of character development and story structure in regard to writing for film.

Building on foundations set years earlier by teaching masters like Syd Field and Robert McKee, Blake approached the craft of screenwriting with a sense of movie business practicality. His philosophies embraced solid foundations and clean, clear structure. Blake's innovation of the "beat sheet" is a milestone in understanding screenwriting structure and joins tools like Syd Field's story paradigm as essential elements for screenwriters to gaining greater understanding of their craft. His emphasis was also on the thrill and enjoyment of creating a satisfying journey within the writing experience and his charismatic, jubilant and infective enthusiasm was central in his presentation, and in his writing style.

Any writer contemplating writing for the screen, novice or expert, can thankfully continue to benefit from Blake's work by reading his books or reliving his projects on DVD. We recommend Save The Cat! with great enthusiasm, while his second book, Save The Cat! goes to the Movies, follows up by pointing out the principals in his techniques as they appear in Hollywood films that are readily available to re-watch and review on DVD and download. While in LA, Blake hinted at releasing a third book and was actively engaged in further screenwriting projects. You can get more information about Blake and his work by visiting his blogsite on the web at BlakeSnyder.com.

To Blake's friends and family, to his students and to his admirers... we join with all of you in celebrating a man who loved his work and shared that enthusiasm and joy with all of us. To Blake, as it will be for so many others, each beat resonates clearer and stronger for your inspiration. Thanks.

Jeff

writer/editor for Moviedozer.com

As August goes ice cold we head for the hills.

2009-07-23T23:42:00.017-04:00

It's about this time that we start putting our monthly "Hot List" together for the movies we're most looking forward to next month. You can check out the regular column at the top of our Pulling Focus page at Moviedozer.com.

As we approached our August list there were some immediate choices that we've been waiting for... The Time Traveler's Wife, adapted from the hit novel by Audrey Niffenegger starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams (not thrilled with the cast but the book was special), an adaptation of a cookbook and a blog serve as the story source for Meryl Streep and Amy Adams in the Nora Ephron directed Julie & Julia, and the always inventive and tremendously entertaining work of Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki is on display again in Ponyo.

These are films that will have us curiously waiting in a box-office line. But that's three and we highlight six films each month. We'll let's see...

And then it hit us. As we're bearing down on the last month of summer... we're all out of movies. Whaaaaat? How's that? OK, OK, there's one more big popcorn movie in the wings but we're warning you now, it's a scene by scene mash-up of popcorn action flicks from duds like 1998's The Avengers and 2004's Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow to this summer's megahit Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. (Just the fact that that's the first 2009 movie to break 300 million is reason enough to know we need a vacation.) The silver screens in August go positively blank and we're seriously bummed.

The fact is we were already heading out for a week at a lake but the prospect for a bleak August has seemed to add some urgency. So much so that we gave up on trying to keep our hopes high and instead, for the first time, decided to replace our monthly "Hotlist" with an August "Ice-list". Movies that leave us cold for wanting to buy a ticket and hoping those responsible get iced on their bottom lines.

When we get back from canoe drifting days and stargazing nights, we'll officially publish the Ice-list but we couldn't help giving our readers a sneak preview on Moviedozer's front page. We can't help but give you a little taste right here of why August may be Netflix's best month for DVD rentals all year. Take a look and you may want to follow our example and go get some fresh air yourself.

Here's what some studios think a summer movie looks like in August...

Robin Williams. Another comic who thinks off-the-shelf kid flicks can be a career capper. Someone should Twitter Eddie Murphy for a little insight...

You can watch the trailer for this one on our new Moviedozer.com feature "Independent Feature Film Clips & Trailers". We swear we're not making this up. Jim Carey and Ewan McGregor playing gay and speaking French (not that there's anything wrong with that...), but then, this ain't exactly Seinfeld. Did we mention they meet in prison? (Now we bet you'll go watch the trailer.)

How about some really blatant high concept marketing built around a really high concept high school kinda musical sorta band kinda rock n' roll... screw coming up with an idea when there's so much stinkin' money yet to be made from ridin' somebody else's wave. No, this is not from Disney. The real head scratcher... David Bowie is in this somewhere.

And finally, we'll just say this. Brad Pitt with a smirk and a machine gun standing on a pile of bodies. What a lovely way to end a summer.

We'll be back at the top of the month. You can read the Ice-List at Moviedozer.com on August 4th.

It's good to be Harry.

2009-07-17T13:38:00.008-04:00

If you've been wondering if Harry Potter can produce anymore magic with that wand of his, Warner Bros. can show you some very conclusive evidence that the answer is ye$ - with a capitol $!

Harry's latest book turned film is Hogwarts Year 6 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which opened on Wednesday around the world and screened in midnight showings all over the U.S. on Wednesday morning. The results were magical.

During midnight screenings alone, Harry already began setting records with grosses that topped even The Dark Knight's midnight screenings a year ago. By the end of the day on Wednesday Harry had conjured $58.18 million domestic and an additional $45.85 million overseas becoming the most successful first day in the Potter series and the fourth highest single day gross in North American box-office history.

The potential for the completion of the series will be realized with the 2-film adaptation of the final book (Year 7) over the next two years (at least according to Warner Bros.'s advance release plans), and is leaving no doubt that the Harry Potter movies will become the most successful film franchise in cinema history. In marking that milestone, Harry Potter will expectedly pass the James Bond franchise well before the run of Half-Blood Prince trickles out and will then likely overtake George Lucas' Star Wars empire next year with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One. Of course, you haven't seen the last of 007 or R2-D2 and C-3PO but you do have to take in account that while Star Wars blasted onto screens for the first time in 1977 and James Bond made his debut in 1962 (Sean Connery in Dr. No), Harry only hit Hogwarts and discovered he was a wizard in 2001.

"And so Dorothy, what have we learned?" Though that's a question worthy of another wizard, the answers this time are obvious.

We learned that J.K. Rowling's extraordinary books have legions of loyal fans.

We learned that Warner Bros. is the most savvy studio in a decade to have seized on the potential of Rowling's characters for movies faster than any of the studios who should have known better. (How differently would Michael Eisner's Disney legacy be viewed if Harry's movies were on the vault shelf next to Snow White?)

We learned the merits of treating a film franchise with respect, from maintaining a relationship with its creator, to nurturing it's young cast, to filling that cast with seasoned pros and tons of off screen talent.

We learned that reading books (go figure) is still an activity treasured and beloved by millions, of all ages, who gladly let their hearts and imaginations be captured by endearing and enduring characters and settings.

We learned that quality in all things matters and we learned that the best movies are made by filmmakers who not only know their source material, but love it.

The three day weekend is just starting and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is projected to bring in 100 million more in the next 72 or so hours, and that's just on this continent. With worldwide audiences returning as much as 60% of a film's revenue, the numbers may stagger. The principals and logic of Harry's box-office wizardry though, should simply confirm. Good business and talented people reap solid results. Though that's not exactly Hollywood by the numbers, these are numbers even Hollywood can't and won't ignore. Congratulations Harry, you're a wizard.

Brüno, a new name on a stale idea.

2009-07-10T12:27:00.009-04:00

The tagline for Sacha Baron Cohen's latest movie is "Borat was so 2006". The more appropriate tag would be "Brüno is the new Borat". And Brüno's vacant, moron-in-the-headlights smirk is the new face of movie star laziness.

Another apt tagline? How about "Brüno is soooo not Zoolander"? Ben Stiller nailed a character that nailed the fashion world with a clever spoof and great casting. For those keeping track, that was 8 years ago this September. Stiller, now why's that a name that has succeeded with each new release? Maybe talent and intelligence has something to do with making funny ideas - actually funny. But we digress.

We get that this is broad satire and that Mr. Cohen thinks, ala Borat, that there's some kind of social statement to be made from lampooning the surprised and outraged reactions from the poor unsuspecting dolts who "unknowingly" wind up on camera. (How the hell does someone dressed like this get himself and a film crew into Republican Congressman's office anyway?) But the joke is so shallow as to make the humor collapse with the very least bit of inspection.

Not for a moment do we believe that the presence of a camera crew isn't tipping off the "unsuspecting" that, duh, someone's making a movie. We're also not buying that there's a "message" to making fun of people by exposing their prejudices and ignorance, when those failings are what's driving the laughter in an audience filled with the very same biases. Cohen doesn't have, and shouldn't be granted, license to play out a joke that depends on his being the only guy in the room who's above the stupidity, and then acting a fool to prove his point.

When someone gets put upon by Mr. Cohen, replete in outrageous costume, exaggerated accent and embarrassingly stereotyped behavior, a polite intelligent person might try to be polite and intelligent and take him seriously. That's called tolerance. For Cohen, in character, to then stretch the encounter to absurdity to illicit an embarrassing reaction is on some levels despicable and pathetically unfunny.

We can prove our case in point by reminding moviegoers of the lawsuits and anger triggered by Cohen's "ambush movie-making" tactics in '06's Borat, when the poor saps on camera realized they'd been pressed into showing their worst traits so that the moviemakers could turn a cheap and easy buck. The anger is once again rising over being "duped" by Brüno, with press reports of potential lawsuits starting months ago. Then again, since we can't believe anyone doesn't recognize the fact that they're on a movie set, those reports may just be more of the same tactics the movie uses, applied to marketing. We would also direct you to the movie's trailer which is to laughter what the Sahara is to rainfall. Thankfully you can see it for free and perhaps save some anger yourself by not getting duped into wasting 10 bucks.

The result of all of this? Brüno is all just so much lazy, unoriginal, insulting crap.

And that's the end line here. Don't support lazy filmmakers. We're thinking Will Ferrell and Jack Black should both be hoping for some justice. They got lazy, picked garbage scripts and skated through summer movies on egos that said, "hey, I'm a star, they'll come". They didn't. If Brüno gets the audience it deserves - none, Will and Jack should go out and get hammered this weekend and someone at Universal should make a note that the next Sacha Baron Cohen project is going to have to have a script. A funny script. Oh yeah, and Cohen should actually have to earn his paycheck.

Will you pay to see this movie? Roland Emmerich's 2012.

2009-07-02T14:29:00.010-04:00

A filmmaker dreams of a fighter pilot flying an alien spacecraft to a mother ship in near Earth orbit to upload a computer virus from a laptop and makes a movie called Independence Day. As a writer, producer and director, he attempts to terrify audiences (but mostly succeeds in drawing laughs) with a swarm of baby Godzillas hatching in Madison Square Garden by remaking (some would say recycling), Godzilla. He concocts a doomsday scenario with victims struggling inside a frozen New York City Public Library in The Day After Tomorrow.

The same man inexplicably thought there was actual commercial potential in watching half clad caveman warriors chase a CGI sabertooth tiger in 10,000 BC. (There was, more than a quarter of a billion dollars worth.)

A man, who apparently can't be stopped.

That man is Roland Emmerich and he's already started doing everything in his power to try to scare the bejesus out of you by trotting out ancient Mayan writings and a thing called the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar end-date. For those of you not yet filling your heads with historical movie hype, some interpret all of that to suggest the Mayans were pointing to December 21, 2012 as the last day of time. Yeah, all time. Bummer for anyone planning movies for 2013 but not bad if you're trying to book a room on NYE in times square.

So what do all of those film titles up there have in common? Mr. Emmerich, perhaps suffering from repressed feelings toward not having enough live fireworks to play with as a kid, has taken to absolutely adoring the destruction of all things "landmark" around the world, imagining their utter destruction inside a computer. In particular, a therapist could probably blow through a year of sessions just digging into his fascination with destroying Air Force One and the White House. But kids, we have to ask, is this really an excuse for making a movie?

The answer to that one is simpler than keeping an RV on the road as it's getting its ass blown off by meteorites (another Emmerich staple havoc wreaker), which, going by the trailer, is entirely doable.

The reason for all of this movie mayhem is money. Lots and lots of money. In just adding up the films mentioned above, Mr. Emmerich has been responsible for two billion dollars in worldwide grosses. Ahhh, now there's a reason to make another movie. Bring on the doomsday prophecies, baby needs a new Maserati.

There's a catch though. No ticket sales, no money. Squandered production and marketing budgets can send just as strong a signal as money flowing like an uncontrollable sluice all over the Sony Columbia lot. So dear readers and fellow moviegoers - it is, as always, up to you.

This year, you've already sent strong signals to Will Ferrell for his idea-dipping into saturday morning television by making Land of the Lost the most aptly titled film of the summer. You barely forked over dollar one to Jack Black's Neanderthal Year One. You gave a giant "I'll have another" to The Hangover, which will now surely hangover for a sequel. And you raced out to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen so quickly, the backdraft may actually have sucked audiences away faster than any number one opener this summer.

So now we invite you to go watch the trailer for 2012 on Moviedozer.com by clicking anywhere in this sentence. When you have your fill, click the link back and leave us your comments. You won't actually have to make up your mind until November, but will you pay to see this movie? We're already anxious to see who's looking forward to the end of the world... at least inside your local cineplex.

Transformers - way more than meets the eye.

2009-06-30T14:00:00.012-04:00

Finally getting back to the business of the movies. And that business hasn't by any measure been sitting still.

Here are some things we'll no longer be making fun of... Hasbro, Michael Bay films, Shia LaBoeuf, and movies based on old toys. And at the top of the list - Decepticions, Autobots, Optimus Prime, Bumble Bee and that new Chevy Camero. No idea what I'm talking about? You may be part of the smallest segment of moviegoers since "fans who rallied for Chevy Chase to make a sequel to Cops and Robbersons".

This is sooo about the numbers, because to our eye, there's just not much else there. But the numbers are staggering.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen opened last Wednesday, June 24th. On its opening day it grossed $62,016,476.00. For most of the year's cinematic output that's pretty much, "thanks for the 24 hours, we'll be taking the rest of our calls in Tahiti". For Transformers, it was just the warm up. Before Friday kicked off weekend grosses, $91,110,948.00 was in the till, Shia LaBeouf was feeling cockier than Tony Manero wearing a disco white three-piece in 1977 and Michael Bay could have been picking the leather options in a fleet of Lamborghinis. In the most reserved of assessments for the weekend box-office, things were looking promising.

And then there was Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In that traditional box-office reporting window, Transformers earned another $108,966,307.00. For a little perspective, the number 2 movie at the box-office those three days was Sandra Bullock in The Proposal with just under $18.6 million. The only other new movie on the slate that opened in wide release was Cameron Diaz with My Sister's Keeper. That film earned under $12.5 million and placed 5th in box-office receipts.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen simply blew away even the most ambitious expectations for a summer opening. Expanding our perspective worldwide, its first five days of release grabbed $362 million. That puts it squarely in the company of last year's mega-hit The Dark Knight, that by the end of its first run had pulled in more than a billion dollars. And this is where we're going to jump away from the stratospheric numbers and make a bold prediction - Transformers will not hit The Dark Knight's mark. We'll go on record as saying that the new Transformers will never have the "legs" of the last landmark Batman film. Simply because there is absolutely nothing about Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen that suggests the substance or repeat viewing that Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker and Chris Nolan's biting script and direction commanded.

Transformers is as empty a popcorn flick as we have seen. Blurs of CGI made nearly indiscernible by the overly complicated character design of a dizzying array of Autobots and Decepticons, that were immediately lost in countless explosions of fuller's earth and gasoline bags. Though most of the "blowing up s*%t" was real, CGI barrages of robot fighting defied any sense of keeping track, keeping score, or likely, keeping your hearing.

In a word, this Transformers is spectacle. (Even more so than the first edition a couple of year's back.) Megan Fox as a gratuitous sex prop and an inexplicably foul-mouthed mother for Shia LeBoeuf's character won't pull out repeat business. It'll sell DVDs and video games and that product planning is surely already in high gear. But it takes repeat ticket sales to crack the billion dollar mark and we just don't see it coming.

Then again, we're still blinking at only 5 days of numbers and there are only two more big franchise flicks on the horizon. Young audiences jonesing for an action adrenalin rush in July or August may not be able to resist a second or even third dose.

Paramount and the folks behind G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra have to be pissing their pants with anticipation for their August 7th release. A film based on a toy from... wait for it, Hasbro. Who knew Hasbro would be 2009's Marvel? That gives the entire month of July to Transformers. That is, unless a certain boy wizard can conjure the biggest magic act of his movie career on July 15th (just 3 days short of the 1 year anniversary of The Dark Knight's release). I can almost hear the market research guys trying to convince J.K. Rowling to make Voldermort a morphing robot and let Harry drive the new 'Vette.

The tagline on the very first Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince poster may indeed say it all... "Once again I must ask too much of you, Harry". We'll see.

Glorious artistry.

2009-06-26T14:52:00.013-04:00

The soul urges us to sing and dance. The heart compels us to give and to love. We create because it allows a doorway to release the emotions within us that refuse to be restrained.

We admire artistry because these traits inside of us are universal among us, regardless of our own talents or our own insufficiencies. In feeling a need to create, we are one. We find kinship to those who achieve so high a pinnacle of creative expression as a glorious release of our own need to feel creative.

It has been a day of reflection. A day that will lead to many more days. Days that will stretch out over the remaining years of our lives, now sad, but sure to resound as joyous with time.

The list of these people who have so incredibly graced a world, regretfully given too often to the mundane and the grotesque, is far reaching through near and long past history. It is a list though, when considered against time, that is startlingly brief. There seem so few who attain a meeting of soul and consciousness, who discover the means and will to find a path to public expression. How many more die with that spark still struggling within them?

We are a better people for each who pour out their gift. We can only try to thank them and to recognize them before they pass from our presence. We may have failed in that effort to some degree with Michael Jackson, but in the best times, when each new song, each new dance step and each revelation of artistry passed between instinct to performance, we were gifted too, to witness the glorious release of pure artistry.

I hope for all of you, that gift is indelible and you're personal connection to it, never ending.

In Memoriam.

2009-06-25T18:33:00.007-04:00

The pioneer of short form film in music video, Michael Jackson set the music world on fire and redirected the industry with numerous videos for songs like Beat It, Remember the Time, Smooth Criminal, Ghosts and of course, Thriller. He appeared in film as the Scarecrow in 1978's The Wiz with Diana Ross. His performance in Captain EO, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, was a Disney theme park attraction and ushered in new technologies for 3D camera work. His legacy is worldwide, undeniable and unforgettable.

Over the space of just 48 hours, the entertainment world has been forced to contend with the death of three icons of pop culture and three unique and irreplaceable talents. We join all in mourning this extraordinary period of loss.

In Memoriam.

2009-06-25T16:06:00.012-04:00

Farah Fawcett began starring on the silver screen the same year she was about to become a television screen icon, 1976.

Her first starring role came in the science fiction classic Logan's Run. A couple of years later, a chance to showcase her humor and television fame landed her opposite Charles Grodin in Sunburn. In 1986 she would be honored with a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in the emotionally chilling Extremities.

Over her career, she brought a vitality and a perhaps unanticipated depth to her film roles that only added to the iconic stature she achieved in television.

With respect and condolences to her family and friends, we join all of her fans in saying goodbye.

In Memoriam.

2009-06-23T11:22:00.010-04:00

Though Ed McMahon will be remembered as the ever present voice and laughter that added the warmth of camaraderie to Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show, he also appeared in nearly a dozen films. I most remember watching him play George Segal's boss, Charlie Blanchard, in the 1977's Fun with Dick and Jane. A film in many ways far funnier than its remake that followed by some 28 years.

Years ago while working for the Disney Company, I had the good fortune to meet Mr. McMahon while filming his pioneering Star Search talent show at the Disney studio complex in Orlando, FL. In particular, I was privileged to spend time with him at a season ending wrap party, where he seemed most delighted to introduce to me to his very special guest of honor, his mom. Ed McMahon was a warm and engaging man who's graciousness I've spoken of often.

On behalf of Moviedozer.com, we wish his family comfort in their loss and we share with his friends and fans our appreciation of a life that was for so many years unreservedly shared with so many millions.

Completely missed it.

2009-06-20T12:59:00.007-04:00

Wow, was it really two weeks ago? On its opening weekend, The Hangover surprised Hollywood and depressed the folks at Disney by knocking Up one notch down and staking out the number one box-office spot for two straight weeks. (The only film to do that so far this year.) We never saw it coming. Yeah, it was an obvious mid-level hit, but The Hangover, with a $35 million production budget and a bit more than that added for marketing has already turned a profit by tallying up $135 million, and the weekend has just started.

Where were we? Actually we were in Hollywood. Well, damn near, just over the hill in Burbank, on a bit of a movie mission ourselves. On its first weekend of release we did call the utter failure of Land of the Lost and we're feeling just a bit smug about Will Ferrell's challenge to Mike Myer's stupidity supremacy of last year's The Love Guru. All that's left to say on that score is that we hope both actors will work a little harder on the concept phase of releasing their next movies. Unfortunately our gut tells us that it will just mean a trip back to the sequel trunk to rehash old characters. We count just a summer or two until Austin Powers and Ricky Bobby are rebooted. Here's an idea - save us from half of the endless marketing and join forces for one film - maybe Austin Powers investigating NASCAR?

In the meantime, The Hangover tackled the likes of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and lots of held over Star Trek popularity, then a week later absolutely blew Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 off it's hanger straps, a film we really thought would open at number one and instead turned in a very disappointing $23 mil. opening weekend. It's worth noting that last weekend was also the opening of Eddie Murphy's latest family film offering, Imagine That, that no one imagined was going to land in the top three but didn't really expect to not make the top five. With only a $5.5 mil take, Imagine That made less than 2 grand for each theater it opened in. What's it going to take for Eddie Murphy to get back into a great movie?

And that brings us to yesterday's start of a three way showdown. Will The Hangover... hangover or will one of the newcomers, Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in The Proposal or Jack Black and Michael Cera in Year One, make a dent. Right now the good news is at Disney (whose Pixar release UP has now crossed the $200 million mark) who have the floor with The Proposal which placed first in it's first day of release. That bumped The Hangover down to number two for it's first time in 10 days and Year One, appropriately we think, bringing up third. Our bet is that's the way it's going to stay through Sunday. But hey, we can't say we were out screwing around on the West Coast if we're wrong this time.

The weekend's still young - get out and buy a ticket and help us out here.

Land of the Lost Interest

2009-06-05T11:21:00.011-04:00

No. I'm not going. Not if I were tied to a time machine piloted by Ferrell himself. Welcome to week six of Blockbuster Summer '09. It's taken this long to get to the stupid stuff.

Yeah, we get that these films usually make money, but since our bets have done pretty well so far this summer, we'll put another one out there. Land of The Lost is not going to be a hit. There, that actually felt good.

Ferrell was hit and miss last year - Semi-Pro released in at the end of February did less than 35 mil stateside while Step Brothers, released in July just broke the 100 million mark. We're figuring it's likely that Land of the Lost may have already lost a first place opening to Pixar Up's second weekend in 3D. That would mean a sub 30 million opening at best and if that's all it does, it will have gotten what it deserves. Pardon us for dragging out the soapbox but we really are partly exhausted / partly disgusted by filmmakers and big stars who are content with churning out lowest common denominator product and getting rich off it.

While we're wandering from statistical analysis and projections based on facts over to the

"we're just really wishing it would happen this way" counter, we hope that by the time Monday roles around, every sentient being associated with the creation, manufacturing and distribution of The Hangover, also opening today, will feel like they tied one on beyond belief. If the movie gods are doling out fair desserts, the headaches and regrets should last weeks. Are we the only ones who remember Christian Slater, Jeremy Piven, Cameron Diaz and Jon Favreau in a film from 1998 called Very Bad Things? Let me refresh your memory - Las Vegas, bachelor party, things go very very wrong - dead hooker and the like - you get the idea. Well so did the "creative" team of The Hangover. What's worse is where the earlier film was genuinely funny in a dark and twisted story, Hangover goes for obvious laughs and punch lines that can be seen from other continents. When the funniest thing in a trailer is seeing Mike Tyson play air drums to Phil Collins, it's a fair bet that seeing the movie is about as much fun as getting your ear... ok, that's pretty obvious too.

So we'll leave you with a May recap instead. Unfortunately, in this first week of June, you're best bet for enjoying a summer movie is seeing one released last month. There were 6 big releases - here's how they stack up.

• X-Men Wolverine Origins yadayada - We sooo skipped it. Man, who hasn't had the fill of looking at these same films again and again? The trailer for this film made us want to put the DVDs for the first three in a yard sale. Seriously, what was new here? About as entertaining as Jackman doing the Oscars again.

• Star Trek - You can't go wrong unless you absolutely despise sci-fi. And even then, you're missing out on a great story with a superb cast. Then there's the fact that it was a really well made movie. Anymore from us about how much we really liked this new version of the classic and we're going to start expecting a piece of the take. The best popcorn flick this summer.

• Angels and Demons - If Tom Hanks would have shut up more often, at least when he was running all over the place, we would have liked it even more. As it stands, if you're into Dan Brown novels or the kind of subject matter he writes, this film was the film The Da Vinci Code should have been. Far more entertaining, faster paced and without any prolonged exposition delivered by actors just sitting around a dimly lit set. Smart, action packed and a nicely trimmed version of the story from the novel. Solid.

• Terminator Salvation - is not the salvation of the franchise. In fact, it's just a lot of nonsensical, future-tinged, post apocalyptic battle sequences. This movie has all of the disjointed continuity of a poorly written video game. Christian Bale as John Connor was a waste of payroll in a role that should have stuck to its original intent and played to support newcomer Sam Worthington's Marcus Wright. Just an example - in the beginning of the movie, much time is spent as a new way of disabling "teminators" is developed and tested to great success. It then disappears from the story as terminators run rampant for the rest of the film. Skip it. God knows the earlier movies are on cable often enough.

• Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian - Fun. We laughed and enjoyed, that is until we remembered how much more fun the first film was. Then we were not so impressed. First film -Larry's son gets to be in on the big crazy finale. Cool. Second film - some lame thing with the son guiding Larry into the Smithsonian from a computer, then nothing. First film - bad guys are old geezer night guards that are an absolute hoot (Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney and Bill Cobbs). Second film - some lame excuse to make the plot line work in the Smithsonian. First film - a genuine love interest played by Carla Gugino. Second film - a really bizarre and impossible love interest in the form of a mannequin of Amelia Earhart come to temporary life, though played wonderfully by Amy Adams. If there's a third, we're far less interested than we used to be.

• Up - Go. Go in 3D if you can, but it's great regardless. A movie studio, leave it to Pixar, has finally come to understand that 3D is a cinematic tool, like VistaVision or Dolby audio that enhances the experience for the audience. Gimmicks be damned. The movie is stunningly gorgeous, leave it to Pixar again, and benefits in every way from outstanding voice performances (special nod to Mr. Ed Asner), creative story telling and a terrific three dimensional script. The best movie to use your kids as an excuse for seeing - but kids won't see everything you will. And you'll throughly enjoy it all.

Hope that makes for you having a better shot at having a great time at a movie theater this weekend. Glad to be of service.

Look Up to animated adventure or get dragged straight to Hell.

2009-05-29T11:27:00.001-04:00

If you thought deciding between Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and Terminator Salvation last weekend was tough, you can relax. Choosing what new movie to see this weekend is going to be an easy call. Rarely has there been such a diametrically opposite offering on a summer movie weekend.

A predominance of audiences, particularly family audiences and Pixar animation fans, will be looking Up, the new Disney/Pixar animation project that earlier this month opened the Cannes Film Festival in France and has already been garnering lavish reviews. In the theater just down the hall, dating teens, horror junkies and Sam Raimi fans will feel a firm grasp on their ankles as Universal tries to yank them through the theater floor kicking and screaming "Drag Me to Hell".

With a release schedule both Disney and Universal must be thrilled over, there'll be no cross competition between theaters to catch the big new movie. And in many cases (more than 1500, the largest number since the new technology has surfaced) those moviegoers choosing Disney Pixar's UP will be easy to spot, bespectacled in chic 3D wrap-arounds. With some 400 more theaters than March's Monsters vs. Aliens could muster, Up will become the largest wide release new film produced in 3D to be actually showing in 3D theaters opening weekend. The stage is set to easily surpass the record for 3D box-office which is likely to account for 50% of Up's ticket sales even though Disney 3D equipped theaters account for less than 40% of Up's scheduled screens.

We've already mentioned that UP is getting great advance notices. The truth (though we grudgingly admit it) is that Sam Raimi is also getting slaps on the back for his return to horror after helming Spiderman 1, 2 & 3, the most successful Superhero movies made until last July's spectacular The Dark Knight. Raimi's no virgin when it comes to splashing screams onto the big screen, with writing and directing roots deep into The Evil Dead franchise. (Light-hearted horror fans will also bow down to the writer/director of the Bruce Campbell classic Army of Darkness.) Word is that the humorous touch is present throughout the blood, mud and snot seeking house flies of Drag Me to Hell. Taking the screams with a sprinkle of silliness seems appropriate for a movie whose villain looks like she stepped straight out of evil crone make-up class 101. But perhaps then, that's the point. And in the realm of counter programming to Pixar animation, Drag Me to Hell is laser point perfect.

It's the last release weekend in May, Week 5 of Blockbuster Summer and we'll reflect back a bit in our next post. In the meantime, if a house suspended from 3D balloons doesn't give you a lift and you've got no sympathy for a cursed to hell bank loan officer, no matter how sexy she looks in a mud drenched tee shirt, the best big movie of the summer is still playing everywhere you go to the movies. If you haven't already, Star Trek turns out to be the May movie that should be on your summer must-see list.

Betting on a Blockbuster Summer weekend.

2009-05-22T12:22:00.004-04:00

Let's see, sci-fi apocalypse or space rockets blasting off inside the Smithsonian? The first face-off of the summer comes today with two big pictures squaring off for bragging rights. We know how you love when we commit, so we'll make this bet - Angels and Demons will get bumped out of the top three. Come back on Monday and leave a smart-ass comment if we're wrong but here's our run-down. (We'll say it up front. The numbers this time are going to be surprisingly close.)

At number 1 - Ben Stiller and Amy Adams with Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. We think critics are underestimating audience interest and for families, this is the big ticket until next week's release of Pixar's Up.

Number 2 - Terminator Salvation. Come Monday everyone's going to be talking about the realistic effects (because many are real, as opposed to green screens and miniatures) and the performance of Sam Worthington, not Christian Bale.

Number 3 - Star Trek. Holding on with very respectable numbers and establishing itself as THE big movie of the summer.

We'll bet on Angels and Demons holding at fourth. We're also covering bets that newcomers Dance Flick and The Skeptic don't make a noticeable ripple. That's it, get your chips down and don't touch your wager 'til the ticket wheels stop spinning on Monday morning. (Though the Holiday will follow suit and add up to one of the best Memorial Day weekends on record for the movie business. Yes, you can hold us to that bet too.)

What, no protests?

2009-05-15T15:44:00.011-04:00

Angels and Demons opens today nationwide in wide release. The Vatican has been accused by director Ron Howard as having used back channels in Rome to hamper filming on location and filming at the actual Vatican was deemed by the Holy See as forbidden. The Vatican had their own representative attend an advance screening of the film, the powers of Hollywood and the powers of divine enlightenment were squared off for conflict, controversy and condemnation. The Vatican representative met with the press and decreed the official position of the Holy Pontiff. "We think the movie is harmless entertainment."

WHAT? Are you kidding me? There were priests getting brutally murdered! How about that high falutin' stuff about science being God and God being science? Were you out getting popcorn when they got to the part about blowing up Vatican City??? C'mon! How about a little name calling here, at the least?

OK, so wait, the Vatican guy met with the press after seeing the movie. Oh, boy Opie, now you're gonna get it... "I enjoyed the film and am very impressed at the detail and accuracy of the Vatican sets that the filmmakers created for the movie."... And that Tom Hanks fellow, seems like a good Joe.

Ugghh! What fun is going to see a movie that thumbs its nose at organized religion, Catholicism and the Pope himself, and no one even calls for a boycott? Next thing you know, Ben Stiller is going to release that Simple Jack movie from Tropic Thunder and everyone is going to slap him on the back for being able to laugh in the face of life's greatest challenges. Maybe all this Obama goodwill crap is getting too deep? Suddenly the only big budget controversy looming is Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds (spelling per Mr. Tarantino) way out in August. Jews and Nazi's, you'd think somebody oughta get offended about something. We can only hope.

So now that the Catholic conservative's new found common sense has taken all the fun out of week 3 of Blockbuster Summer '09, all we've got left to report on is a quiet but meaningful piece of movie history that took place earlier this week. Disney/Pixar's 10th release, Up, became the first animated film ever to open the Cannes Film Festival. (No, no booing or demonstrations there either.)

Rather the world press gathered in France for the event, donned their 3D glasses and laughed, shed a tear or two, then rose to warm and enthusiastic applause at the end credits. Later that night, the special guests, filmmakers and celebrities attending did the same. Disney/Pixar's Creative Guru in Chief, John Lassiter called the event the most special in his career and the industry in general bowed to allowing that Pixar's animation accomplishments have earned the animated medium an equal standing in film history.

We have always noted Pixar's genius for storytelling through animation, much done with the same passion and excellence of Walt Disney's early work in introducing audiences to feature length hand drawn animated movies. Once again, we're happy to tip our hat to Mr. Lassiter and company, in recognition of their work and their vision. And though we feel confident that there will be another opening night in Cannes for an animated feature, we do wonder if 3D glasses will ever again be considered the thing to wear at the opening night screening.

One more note to our readers. This is Moviedozer Dailies 100th post and our very appreciative thanks go out to all of you who return to our pages. We hope you'll continue to enjoy the time you spend here. Have another great weekend at the movies.

Star Trek flies high on talent.

2009-05-12T11:48:00.013-04:00

Star Trek, that is the new Star Trek, revamped and overhauled by director J.J. Abrams with a new cast and new creative team, works. That's it. It just flat out works. On every level, in every role, in each frame of film.

Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the script team responsible for hits Mission Impossible III, 2007's Transformers and (with Ehren Kruger) this summer's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, have given J.J. Abrams a perfect combination of smart, funny and non-stop action story that resets the Star Trek saga by restarting... at the very beginning. But most critical here, and most successful, was the decision to stay true to form to existing and familiar characters. That writing decision becomes the catalyst for spot on performances from every cast member under the pitch perfect tone of J.J. Abrams direction. You could take this movie to film school for a solid example of reinvigorating old characters with a new cast. The work is nearly flawless.

To take on characters that have lived in television and on film for so long, and absolutely nail their quirks, catchlines and gestures... all while pushing them to new dynamics, greater relevance and an extraordinary sense of freshness is an achievement you should see. And not in just one role, but in them all.

There are standouts of course. Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, highlights scene after scene with delivery and phrasing that perfectly recalls, with tremendous fondness, the characterization by DeForest Kelly in the original role. Simon Pegg, with equal dexterity, gets all of the essentials of his role as Scotty to bring back the best of James Doohan's characterization, and yet brings his own sense of humor and comic timing to advance the character to relevance for new audiences. Solid acting flows through every part - Zoe Saldana brings out the nurturing and warmth of Uhura, Anton Yelchin personifies the wet-behind-the-ears nervousness but quick-witted Chekov and John Cho plays perfectly into the fast learning curve, can-do personality of Sulu.

But by far, the blessing bestowed upon Abrams, and Paramount, is the casting of the movie 's leads. Zacahary Quinto, as Spock seems to have been cloned from Leonard Nimoy. The idea to cast Nimoy in this film and to write his character as a key part of the story line, was wonderfully inspired. His presence offers so much more than could be written in the script. As a juxtaposition to old and new, and a way to reclaim the dignity and integrity of the original while handshaking the retooled, works beyond any Star Trek fans highest expectations. Nimoy makes it special, Quinto, quite gracefully, makes it work.

Not that every critic who has written about Star Trek isn't already saying it, but Chris Pine, in the role of Captain James T. Kirk is indeed, the "star" in Star Trek. Leonard Nimoy is said to have shed some tears at the film's premiere. William Shatner should feel the same emotion. Pine's performance in the role that Shatner will never be forgotten for, gives such a subtle yet resounding nod to Shatner's portrayal that you almost expect Shatner to bound onto the set and retake his captain's chair. The swagger, controlled cockiness, slap on the back, mischievous, fast thinking, brave, loyal... you know, all that Kirk stuff that made this character Gene Roddenberry's ultimate creation, is all there. But it's the subtleties that nail it. A nod of the head, a raised eyebrow, the delivery of a classic catch-phrase. In all of the performances, those moments ring true, and resoundingly so. But none more so than Chris Pine's recapturing of the spirit, decency and the flaws of the Star Trek's franchise one true Captain, Kirk.

Last May was saved from the squandered promise of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull by Robert Downey Jr's boisterous take on Tony Stark, aka Iron Man. This May, Star Trek is the better picture. Somewhere between Iron Man and the now classic The Dark Knight is this year's best "origin" movie, it's that good. Somewhere out there on planet Earth, even as this column is being written, Downey is sitting on a production set partly encased in metal and waiting for a shot to be lit. We're anxiously awaiting the results with the release of Iron Man 2 next year. We'll be even more excited now, knowing that with it's release will be the expectation that Star Trek's next voyage will be just one more year down the road. Set your warp drive to 2011. This Star Trek will be with us for awhile.

Star Trek B.O. is Stellar - but not cosmically so.

2009-05-11T12:19:00.010-04:00

*Editors' Note: Since publishing this post, the box-office earnings for the opening weekend of Star Trek have been revised upward to $79.2 million, an increase of 2.7 million. The new numbers account for an opening only 5.9 million dollars behind the opening weekend for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. (revised 5.12.09)

We're heading out this afternoon to catch Star Trek and reveling in that whole summer movie thing. No, we didn't try to pad the opening weekend numbers with our personal ticket purchases. But over the weekend, you may have noticed our box-office predictions for the new J.J. Abrams release overshot reality. Not to worry, we'll start back tracking a bit right now. (Told you we would.)

Star Trek burst into theaters at just a hint less than warp speed for the weekend but stellar none the less. Let's put things in perspective. According to our favorite box-office reporting site, The Numbers, of the ten, yes ten, previous Star Trek movies, the highest box-office opening weekend was a mere 30.7 million posted by Star Trek: First Contact in November of 1996. Prior to that, the highest opening was just over 23 million (Star Trek: Generations) and the worst release was the very first, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which had an opening weekend of only 11.9 million. Through it all, the most money a Star Trek movie has ever made at the box-office in worldwide gross was 150 million (earned by Star Trek: First Contact). The original Star Trek: The Motion Picture went on from a weak opening to come in second with 139 million. But this is a movie franchise that is being seriously overhauled.

The new Star Trek, as released last Thursday night, is boldly going where no Star Trek movie has gone before, to blockbuster status, making the 76.5 million dollar take (though 8.6 million short of X-Men Origins: Wolverine's opening a week earlier), an outstanding number. While we really did think Star Trek would open over the 100 million mark, that would have meant a huge box-office weekend. Taking in all of the other current releases, those numbers were probably a bit optimistic in retrospect.

As it stands, we'll stick by our other predictions. Star Trek is the first summer movie that will have serious legs, easily breaking the 100 million mark by next Saturday and surpassing Wolverine's totals by the first of June. In the meantime, Wolverine (already down 68% in it's second weekend) will begin to fade further next weekend. Star Trek will give Angels and Demons a run for it's money for the number one spot next weekend and ultimately become the summer action blockbuster that Terminator Salvation will have to struggle to catch up to. Great word of mouth and excellent critical reviews (just the opposite of the buzz on Wolverine) will bolster this Star Trek to become the movie to remember when Blockbuster Summer '09 is a wrap and it will guarantee that Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto will be the Captain Kirk and Spock for a new generation and a new generation of sequels.

Blockbuster Summer: week 2.

2009-05-07T13:59:00.011-04:00

Not that there's anything at stake here, it's just that we rarely go on record predicting box-office receipts. But since this may be the most competitive weekend of the entire summer, we'll throw caution to the wind and say it out loud - in print... when the numbers are in and the tallies are being written into the ledgers on Monday morning, Star Trek will have beamed into first place at the box-office, phaser-stunning last week's number one opener, X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Since we're feeling cocky, we'll even make a numbers prediction - the new and reengineered Star Trek (courtesy of director J.J. Abrams) will be the first movie of the year to pull in over 100 million in its weekend bow. By necessity, that has to mean Wolverine will sink to a less than 50 million dollar weekend, we'll say somewhere in the low forties sounds about right. Still, adding it all up, this will be another fantastic weekend for Hollywood.

And we're still holding on our last column. In spite of an 87 million opening, Wolverine is still set to fade into the darkest corners of the projection booth by the time Memorial Day weekend 2009 is history. The excitement of six major films all being released this month makes remembering who came first a real chore for attention deficit movie fans and the target demographic for Wolverine is exactly that segment of the audience. So here's how we see the standings for May movies. Remember, you have to let the summer run it's course to see what the total box-office takes will be. Not that we'd take these odds to Vegas, but when the air takes back it's chill, we think May's movie slate looks like this...

#1 Star Trek - with damn near or just over 300 million.

#2 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian - the biggest grossing comedy of 2009.

#3 Up - Disney and Pixar are no longer a given for record breakers, and we think Up may very well be the first Pixar release to miss number 1 on it's first weekend, but ultimately 3D will save the day and turn in a Wall*e -like 200 million plus.

#4 Terminator Salvation - just eclipsing Wolverine with great word of mouth helping it's overall take.

#5 X-Men Origins: Wolverine - yes, number 5, we think the most dangerous handshake on film since Edward Scissorhands lands around the 200 million mark. If its box-office legs go longer than we expect, Terminator will show some damage.

#6 Angels and Demons - we don't expect miracles, get it?, but we do expect a healthy plus 100 million. Adults will hit theaters for the first time this summer on May 15th. It's interesting to us that the Vatican is already officially laying off the indignant and offended line, calling the film a "harmless" entertainment. Meanwhile, director Ron Howard insists that the Vatican used back channels to hamper and impede filming.

And there you have it. A column you can print out and hold up to our nose this September. And there's now something else to look forward to each month, watching us backtrack, finesse and just plain make up excuses if we look like we're way off come Monday.

Have a great weekend.

The Summer heat begins to build today.

2009-05-01T12:28:00.026-04:00

Just before last year's May box-office took off with Iron Man and Indiana Jones, there was the colossal flop of the Wachowski brother's Speed Racer. Though we're not expecting anything quite so resounding as that clunk, we think you can count on X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the first big summer release of 2009, releasing today, to be forgotten by the time Memorial Day weekend rolls around.

Last year it took one guy, Robert Downey, Jr., flying around in a metal suit. This May it will be a young cast in a starship. Oddly, it will also be an "origins" movie of sorts, restarting the Star Trek franchise that will dominate the first big weekends of summer. It's our bet that the reengineered and recast Star Trek will also be the first big release to reach out toward the magic 300 million mark at the box-office.

For the record, both Iron Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls reached over 300 million last year, two of only three to hit that high mark, the third being the mega hit The Dark Knight that wasn't released until July. Speed Racer stalled out at 43 million in the US and never reached the 100 million mark, even counting world wide receipts. OK for mere mortal films, but Racer's production budget, not to mention marketing and distribution costs, was 120 million on it's own. Tough to put a movie on your resume that would have left people richer had they never touched the project. And in the case of Speed Racer, unfortunately, that would include the audience.

By the end of the month (Memorial Day weekend), Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and Terminator Salvation (with Christian Bale starring as a battle worn John Connor) will be released, and the sumer will have its second and third 300 million mark contenders. If you don't think that that's enough to declaw Wolverine, Angels and Demons (from Ron Howard, Tom Hanks and the author of The Da Vinci Code) arrives only one week after Star Trek and Pixar's tenth animated release, Up (showing in Disney Digital 3D, by the way), will be in theaters for the last Friday release of the month. All that should make for Wolverine becoming a distant memory and the X-Men franchise falling back on a flat performance and a questionable future.

And that's just May. The very first weekend of June will present some comedic competition for Ben Stiller's Smithsonian outing with Will Ferrel venturing into the Land of the Lost. A week later Travolta and Denzel will refresh the crime action 70's flick The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, set in the New York subway system and claiming one of the most exciting trailers of the season. Take a breath and try to make up ground fast if you've missed anything because Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will morph onto screens just two weeks later and promises a popcorn ride more sophisticated and more fun than its original from 2 years ago.

The hits keep coming.

There's Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince, finally opening in July after a deliberate delay from last November. This is the sixth outing for Harry and only one story (but 2 movies) away from the end of the saga. Public Enemies, with both Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, as depression era gangster and G-man respectively, team for a re-telling of the John Dillinger story. Brüno, is the return of Sacha Baron Cohen to his personal take on broad satire, this time set in the world of fashion design (tagline: "Borat is so 2006"). Ice Age: The Age of the Dinosaurs opens in July. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra storms screens in August. Even Tarantino is back, directing Brad Pitt in Inglorious Bastards, opening August 21st.

Of course, there are smaller films too, and many of those may offer even more promise of great stories and special performances. Some titles to watch for include...

• My Sister's Keeper - with Cameron Diaz deep in drama. (June 26)

• Moon - Sci-Fi with a nearly solo performance by Sam Rockwell. (June 12)

• 500 Days of Summer - a quirky light romance with Zooey Deschanel. (July 17)

• Funny People - with Adam Sandler as a successful comedian, layering comedy with serious drama. (July )

• Julie and Julia - with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, Streep in a brilliant turn as the happily eccentric television chef Julia Child. (August 7)

• Taking Woodstock - a Woodstock music festival back story of sorts and a possible breakthrough for the marginally talented Demetri Martin. (August 14)

• The Time Traveler's Wife - from the magical Audrey Niffenegger's novel with stars Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams. (August 14)

You just have to love summers at the movies. Whenever you're not holed up in a dark air conditioned theater, we hope you'll be checking back with us to follow the box-office and the new releases and let us know about what you're seeing. We'll be keeping up each month with what's new and what's worth seeing, both here and on Moviedozer.com. Enjoy the box-office heat and have a blast all summer long.

Shaking bad cinematography.

2009-04-24T14:33:00.012-04:00

Remember the first time you ever held a camera as a kid? Some adult was probably hovering over you giving you instructions... "look through the viewfinder, make sure you see everyone, don't put your finger in front of the lens... HOLD THE CAMERA STILL".

Just when was it exactly that film school forgot about that last part? Yes, they're moving pictures - that's because the things in the movie MOVE. That doesn't have to include the furniture, the wall hangings and the floor. It doesn't mean the camera should make actors shake, jitter, jump and generally go spastic - though that seems to be the job of the cameraman nowadays. On at least some sets, the most inaptly named piece of movie equipment today is the Steadicam. "Steady" doesn't even enter into it. All the work that was done to develop a stabilized handheld camera rig and all anyone seems to do with the damn thing is deliberately shoot nauseatingly wobbly pictures. Welcome to Water World where the movie screen floats and bobbles like a toy boat.

I get the hand held video camera, handi-cam schtick. I hate it, but I get it. If you want to make clever movies that ape technique from the likes of The Blair Witch Project, you can be just like Brian DePalma who made a whole 65 grand from his camcordered Redacted. (Which I'm sure anyone involved would love to have redacted from their resumes.) In the meantime, most of us would like to sit down in a movie theater and expect that for our ten bucks, we'll get to see a movie made with equipment we can't wander over and try out in our local Best Buy. What's worse is when the gear is first rate and the shaky lenses are obviously just a cost cutter for lazy filmmaking (0r abominable direction), and it becomes a signature of the picture.

Case in point - This past week's new release State of Play. From the earliest moments of following reporter Cal McAffrey (played in nearly emotion free one note by Russell Crowe), to a crime scene in downtown DC, we get jittering motion and near car sickness. Following a vehicle through city streets, gritty street scenes, news-like camera footage, I'm tolerating the cliches waiting for things to settle in. Except they don't. Even when the gear goes all dollies, cranes and Chapman/Leonard on me, director Kevin McDonald can't seem to resist having his cinematographer (Rodrigo Prieto) keep inching the camera one way or another as if it's trying to play hide and seek with the on screen cast. Annoying doesn't begin to describe constantly being reminded that I'm watching through a lens. The effect becomes so troublesome that a half hour in, I move eight rows back and to the side wall, just to gain a little distance from the quake zone.

None of this should be surprising as Rodrigo Prieto was also the cinematographer for Babel, 21 Grams, 8 Mile, 25th Hour, Original Sin, and Alexander, all of which, to some degree, suffer from the shakes. That's one helluva list of credits (with 25th Hour a personal favorite). Some excellent films that share the glaring flaw of being shot by filmmakers who can seem obsessed with ripping an audience away from a story by calling attention to the fact that they're using lots of movable hardware to make a movie. State of Play, not a great film but a fair one, jumps onto the list as being on the high side of annoying.

Lots of years ago, sitting in a darkened theater completely dazzled by the first run showing of Apocalypse Now, I was immersed, completely inside the movie, witnessing, spellbound, the finest helicopter attack sequence ever put to film. Francis Ford Coppola had somehow, on retrospect seemingly impossibly, orchestrated an extended aerial attack on a Vietnamese village to Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries. At once, as an audience, Coppola put you inside the helicopters, on the ground, running desperately over bridges and even into a bombed chopper, all while feeling like you were dodging bullets and mortar fire in your theater seat.

Then, inexplicably, as a landing boat hits a beach and soldiers pour out, racing into action, the shot is full on of a film director shouting at the soldiers not to look into his camera. Except, the director is being "acted" by the very recognizable Coppola and we're no longer there. We're seated in a dark movie theater, watching an talented director's creative brain fart, playing himself as if no one will get the "inside" joke, shouting at extras in wardrobe who now look nothing like soldiers. We are completely and utterly removed. We've been slammed back into our seats and electro-shocked back into the reality that we're watching flickering light on a movie screen. It is a godsend for both Coppola and his audiences, that Robert DuVall's iconic portrayal of Lt. Colonel Bill Kilgore almost immediately rivets us back into the story with the simple flips of death cards on corpses and his character's fascination with surfing a "hot" beachhead under fire. Within minutes, Duvall nails his immortal line and the smell of napalm as a description for the horror of war is cemented into cinematic history.

When I'm at the movies, the very most I can hope for is to be transported into a great story. Nothing can piss me off faster than having the director decide to keep reminding me that I'm watching a movie. Hold the damn camera still. Make camera movement subservient to story. When there are characters I'm trying to follow, let's not block them out of the shot with walls, furniture or the back of some other character's head. If you want to be creative with camera movement, have Skip Foose design your dolly cart. Please, let's stop all the extraneous shaking and slow motion dollies & pans and just shoot the story. It seems to me, as obvious as reminding a child to keep his finger off the lens.

Will you pay to see this movie? The Hurt Locker.

2009-04-16T11:52:00.006-04:00

Here's a little box-office reality - in 2008, war movies didn't sell. For that matter, they didn't sell in 2007, or 2006. You get the idea. Regardless of big stars, popular directors and talented writers, war movies didn't make life easy for any studio's marketing department. Here's just a sample of the audience rejection for movies with stories based on the current Iraq and Afghanistan wars and the policies and politics that surround them.

Lions for Lambs (Nov. 2007) - directed by Robert Redford with a "serious" cast that included both Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise. More of a talking heads discussion of the war and American politics, the film portrayed Cruise as a politician, Streep as a journalist and Redford as a college professor. Though the dialogue was for the most part smart, the message was perceived as heavy handed and boring. (You can check what we said after seeing it by clicking here.) Lions for Lambs ran it's course making only 14.9 million at the US box-office, but interestingly, made another 48 million worldwide.

Rendition (Oct. 2007) - Boasting stars Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal (and Meryl Streep), "Rendition", the practice of apprehension and "extrajudicial" transfer of an individual to another country/state as a suspected terrorist, formed the basis of a dramatic and emotional story of an American, pregnant housewife desperate to uncover what has happened to her Egyptian-born husband. In spite of the controversial topic and the star power, Rendition managed only 9.7 million in the US and added just 20 million more worldwide.

In the Valley of Elah (Sept. 2007) - Starring Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron, Paul Haggis directed this film from a story written by Mark Boal (the screenwriter for The Hurt Locker). Set entirely in the US, this film is essentially a murder mystery that hovers on a critical indictment of the lack of attention paid to the psychological damages soldiers suffer in war. The first rate cast included Josh Brolin, Susan Sarandon, James Franco, Barry Corbin and Jason Patric but made only 6.7 million in the US and added only 17.7 more worldwide.

Redacted (Nov. 2007) - Shot mostly with annoying hand-held cameras (part of the films "soldiers-eye-view" gimmick), director Brian De Palma tried desperately to raise anti-war controversy to sell his movie, while also bringing the word "redacted" into the American lexicon (but briefly). His efforts could only muster the worst showing of any war based film since toppling Mr. Hussein (or perhaps, ever) by registering a mere $65,000.00 at the US box-office. There were no foreign sales to add to that total. The film ranked number 466 for 2007's top films.

Stop-Loss (March 2008) - Another film that introduced a military practice that most non-military types knew nothing of. This time, Ryan Phillippe was the soldier returning from Iraq, in one piece and at the end of his scheduled tour, only to discover that he was being stop-lossed, or in layman's terms, forcibly re-upped for another tour of duty. Though those of us without military service in our backgrounds were agreeing with the "how the f--- can they do that" part of the story, no one showed much interest at the box-office. Stop-Loss could only muster 10.9 million here in the states and barely touched overseas audiences for just over a 1/4 of a million more.

It's 2009, and in June The Hurt Locker will try again. The story puts us on the ground in Iraq amidst the number one killer facing our troops, IEDs - improvised explosive devices. We see the story through the eyes of Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner of ABC's new cop show The Unusuals), a bomb disposal expert and, from the looks of things in the trailer, a bit of a lone maverick.

The trailer makes it clear that though the camera work and lighting seem to be going for a documentary like feel, the story is full-on action and suspense. That may suggest treading a fine line between telling an exciting and compelling story and using the realities of war for exploitation. In Sergeant James, there may be a truly interesting character to reveal, or an unrealistic depiction of a cliched lose cannon with a hardened self destructive bent. In the right hands, a great action flick set in a war zone. In lesser hands, another lost effort in finding a fitting vehicle for telling a contemporary war story.

So will you want to go see The Hurt Locker? Have you had enough of today's war movies parading desert camo'd grunts rocking out to blaring anthems while commanding the latest in US weaponery? Are you saturated with violence, politics and policies? Or is there a great war movie waiting to be made? Is personalizing the cost of war through a soldier tasked with confronting, close-up, one of it's deadliest weapons, a great plot device to tell a broader story?

Take a look at the trailer first, by clicking any where in this sentence and jumping to Pulling Focus at Moviedozer.com. After you've watched as may times as you like, click the link next to the trailer and jump back to leave a comment. Will you pay to see The Hurt Locker? Let us know what you think.

Knowing... the ending.

2009-03-26T12:42:00.014-04:00

Knowing, the new Nicolas Cage movie that grabbed the number one spot at the box-office last weekend, knows little about plot twists, less about being clever and absolutely nothing about basic human behavior. WARNING: if you're planning on seeing this exercise in obvious sci-fi illogic, stop reading now. At least you'll have the first five or ten minutes of film to still wonder how it ends. If you haven't figured it out by the time the blond guys in the trench coats show up, you're probably as easily mystified and as utterly plagued by a lack of logical reaction, as all of the characters in the film.

You've been warned - here's the ending... oh my god - they're aliens from another planet on a Noah's Ark rescue mission! Wow, revelation. Not.

Knowing anything in Knowing doesn't seem to make a bit of difference. Not to anyone. (And unfortunately that includes the audience.) Having advance knowledge of a possible planet ending crisis doesn't even suggest to anyone that they might, oh, say something about it to someone other than a family member.

Nicolas Cage's character, an astrophysicist, looks at a chart (written 50 years earlier by a child) with a colleague and points out a chronologically correct prediction of the date and number of dead in world wide tragedies over the last fifty years, and his colleague's response is "Systems that find meaning in numbers are a dime a dozen. Why? Because people see what they want to see." Well that would be a pretty neat trick. You could build a career on that in a Vegas showroom.

While Cage's brilliance supposedly illuminates this chart of catastrophe his kid has stumbled on, neither he or his brilliant colleague notice that the elusive numbers that are not part of the date and number of dead, are map coordinates. That is until his ever present GPS unit (which has been staring him in the face every day in his car) flashes his own location to him, just as a jet plane crashes next to the highway he's traffic jammed on. Being the hero type (at least as an actor), Cage jumps from his car and runs into the jet fueled flames while burn-gag stuntmen stagger all around him. (Since when do people walk away from utter destruction, their only piece of bad luck, after surviving a horrific jet crash with no apparent broken appendages, being that they are unfortunately engulfed in fire?) That is fire, by the way, that causes sporadic explosions and assorted mayhem, but not enough heat to prevent the actors from standing only yards away.

By the way, Cage's useless heroics come at the expense of his young son, one still suffering from the tragic loss of his mother, being left and forgotten in the rain on the steps of his school. It's OK, the kid gets ignored lots more even though the script is fond of pointing out that Dad and son "will be with each other forever". Well, except Dad will die a split-second fiery death along with planet Earth and son & new girl pal will reignite the human race on a distant, alien utopian planet.

Throughout the film, people behave as directed and written, with no attention paid whatsoever to how actual people do behave. Even director Alex Proyas' supernatural and sci-fi classics The Crow (1994) and the brilliant Dark City (1998) made more sense than this. Characters search a school building for a missing child with flashlights rather than simply turning on the building's lights. Black, shiny pebbles seem to portend some alien message but are completely ignored as anything more than a curiosity (that one's never explained). Cage's character, racing to rescue his son from an apparent kidnapping, stops to hold hands with a dead woman in the back of an ambulance to utter some profound thoughts, seemingly once again forgetting that his son may be in peril. The list is long and increasingly unforgivable.

Perhaps some forgiveness for illogical character behavior could be summoned if the story were even the least bit riveting, nail biting, suspense filled. Sorry. The words hack, cliched and recycled are far better descriptors. Close your eyes and picture an alien - yep, a humanistic swirl of pulsing blue light with some amber and red around the heart and brain. What's an alien spaceship look like? Now-a-days its some fractal geometry written into a computer rendering program, all sliding and intersecting, constantly moving angles backlit with bright, white light. And where does it land? Does a bear shit in the woods? Apparently so do aliens.

Knowing's tagline is "Knowing is everything". It made lots of cash last weekend and as I'm writing, it's still been number one each day this week. If Knowing remains on top next weekend and climbs to financial success, there will be proof that Knowing does indeed know at least one thing for certain. There are lots of dumb people without a wit of logic in their own brains who still have enough money to go to the movies.

Following Genius?

2009-03-04T14:00:00.016-05:00

This Friday, the film adaptation of the 12 part comic book series Watchmen will become the first superhero movie to follow Chris Nolan's total eclipse of that genre, last summer's billion dollar world wide blockbuster, The Dark Knight. And it's not as if audiences have had time to forget what an amazing movie that was. With nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in DVD sales and 8 Oscar nominations, The Dark Knight will likely still be being talked about a year from it's July 18, 2008 release. And then there's Heath Ledger's Oscar winning performance as the Joker, arguably the finest film portrayal of any comic book character in the history of cinema and one of the most complex takes on any movie villain, ever. That's an act no one in their right mind would want to follow, no matter how much time passes.

Take a look at the trailers to Watchmen and you get the sense that no one in their right mind has ever been any part of where this story came from, or is going. But the history of the tale, from it's release as a comic book series to it's genre defining release as a hard cover "graphic novel", to it's unpredictable and unlikely inclusion on Time Magazine's All Time Best 100 Novels list, Watchmen isn't by even the craziest definition, standard stuff. But is it going to make great cinema?

What has caught our interest during the prerelease hype, are the interviews with the cast and the reverentially praised director Zack Snyder. Snyder, who was approached by Warner Bros., Watchmen script in hand, was still filming the movie version of the graphic novel 300, and hadn't yet proved his eye for cinematic visuals that would ultimately elevate ancient battle tactics and extreme bloodletting into digitally enhanced art.

In seemingly every interview, there's a declaration, a rationalization if you will, of how Watchmen is somehow moving beyond the comic book conventions of The Dark Knight. That somehow, because the Watchmen comic was "conceived" as being "adult", that it's inclusion of rampant flowing blood, corruption, craziness and direct sexual entanglements was blatantly deliberate, that the film would carry an "R" rating, that this was above and beyond what The Dark Knight could have had an ambition to be. The Watchmen was authentically original and "targeted" to be serious, complex and DARK. That makes it different, somehow more. That places it's story in a new strata than any that have come before it. The very story itself, sets it beyond anything that a simple comic has been able to achieve as a film. And there's where we differ.

No one's comparing Watchmen to Iron Man, last year's third largest grossing world wide release. We're talking about The Dark Knight. The second largest grossing film in the history of all cinema. All cinema. The Dark Knight successfully and beautifully transcends superhero movies. It transcends comic books, originals, sequels, action, thrillers and any other singular genre. The Dark Knight succeeds as a film on the scale of the very best movies ever made. To compare yourself to only it's comic book attributes is to compare yourself as a film, to only other films who used a particular cinematographer, a specific type of camera or films shot only in a single location. That would defy logic as it would honesty.

To rate the potential of Watchmen against the filmmaking achievement of The Dark Knight is as ridiculous an exercise as listing it's comparisons to The Wizard of Oz. The discussion is broadly misplaced if it centers on a mismatched and narrow category of film rather than the merits of it's success in telling a cinematic story. Watchmen is a different kind of superhero movie. But so was last year's boring and unbalanced Hancock. If Watchmen is to break new ground at the movies, much as Zack Snyder's extraordinary visual achievement in 300 did, it will have to do so by forging its own destiny. If it indeed does that, the cast and the director, we're sure, will be first to claim that their movie defies any comparison, to any movie, superhero or not.

After seeing 300, we walked from the theater with the overwhelming feeling that we'd seen something new on a movie screen. Something a bit awe inspiring. We're hoping Watchmen delivers that same sensation. It certainly has that potential. But then, we laughed out loud when we saw the first trailer for Hancock. The groans at having spent ten bucks to see that one, still haven't stopped. Zack Snyder and cast... amaze us. You said you would. But we think it's one hell of a tall order.

It's still the Oscars.

2009-02-23T13:05:00.008-05:00

The new look Oscars debuted last night amidst tons of marketing hoopla (the one thing Hollywood never seems to tire of) and the one thing we can say confidently the morning after - they're still the Oscars. Love 'em or hate 'em, it's still the most hyped event on our annual calendar with the smallest payoff and the most asinine sense of self importance.

First things first, it's all that pre-Oscar television coverage that's become unbearable. We keep wondering how close we are until the scales tip from movie awards celebration to fashion design showcase. This year's addition of Tim Gunn doing red carpet interviews lapsed into deadly stupid questions and television directing incompetence. There are some pretty shallow personalities out there handling the microphone. Mr. Gunn had to stake out entirely new low ground to eclipse the usual idiocy. He succeeded far above and beyond.

OK, there was a show after that and if you made it past Hugh Jackman's surprisingly flat and limited vocal range, some acceptably humorous fluff and a couple of instances of non-existent comic timing, the Australian accent didn't entirely annoy. That said, the musical number in the Oscars is most definitely NOT back. If that was one of the goals of the redress, mark it pending.

The reworking of formula and staging did have it's successes last night and the one we liked best could have even been expanded just a touch. We throughly enjoyed the introduction of five peers introduced in each of the acting categories to come out and personalize the introduction of each of the award nominees. It automatically had the effect of slowing the proceedings and allowing the awards to focus and linger on artistic achievement. The personal words, delivered by some of acting's finest to those that might join that elite rank were engagingly appropriate, seemingly genuine and often movingly emotional. The idea should become a tradition and be extended to the category of directors next year.

We also like that the orchestra never welled up under the drawn out sentiments of an acceptance speech. We'll put up with a bit of boredom rather than be embarrassed for someone, who during one of their finest moments, gets told to shut up by a string section. It was also noted that rather than step on a speech that angled into personal causes or politics, those moments were allowed to run out, restoring an immediacy and a spontaneity that the Oscars have sorely lacked for far too many politically correct broadcasts.

The sets were attractive (for the most part), the pacing seemed even (for a three hour + broadcast) and the new ideas were at least interesting. Here's a couple of highlights...

Sean Penn's Best Actor acceptance speech was delivered with that self-deprecating casualness and honesty that makes the guy so... Sean Penn. Nicely done.

Heath Ledger goes out with the ultimate salute to one of the best performances given in any actor's career and in the finest superhero (villain) characterization ever put to film. Christopher Nolan and Warner Brothers were the most cheated of recognition by the Academy this year.

Philippe Petit becomes the first recipient of an Oscar to balance the famous statuette on his chin. Perfect. And how cool is it to cross between the World Trade Center towers of NYC by tight rope in 1974 and show up on the stage of the Academy Awards in 2009 to be honored for his documentary Man on Wire?

Slumdog Millionaire goes gold statue 8 times. What a year for Danny Boyle. What a grand recognition of the fact that Hollywood doesn't have a strangle hold on great movies. And what a wonderful way to admit that the international box-office does matter, does have substance and will indeed be influencing moviemaking, as it should, from now on. The world is getting smaller and more like a neighborhood in spite of itself. Somebody find the thermostat and turn down the heat. Audiences - open yourselves up to foreign films and sub-titles. Trust us, you'll find yourself rewarded.

Lastly, we loved that the Oscars at least tried last night to tell a story. To hang an awards show on a narrative framework was inspired, though not entirely effective. The process of moviemaking, from script to screening the end credits, was a natural for organizing the award presentations and the departure from parading presenters with badly written banter and awkward podium skills, was more than welcome. Movies are a vehicle for storytelling so why not an awards show? Though much of what was new felt tentative, the impulse to change and freshen things up is spot on. The idea showed initiative and promise, and aren't we hoping for both in just about everything these days?

Would you pay to see this movie? Tarantino's: Inglorious Bastards

2009-02-19T13:20:00.012-05:00

Reservoir Dogs. Kill Bill. Pulp Fiction. Quentin Tarantino has indelibly stamped violence across his resume in brilliant, bloody scarlet.

From Mr. White, Mr. Pink, Mr. Orange and Mr. Blonde first punctuating each line of dialogue with the wave of a 45 automatic in Reservoir Dogs to the masterpiece of Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino changed cinema. A child of bloody sensationalism in movies, Tarantino fed from classics like Cagney's White Heat and amped up the violence past reality into fetishism. Nothing in his resume so far, has surpassed the brilliance and balance of his writing and directing skills or has shown so well, that his fascination with violent outbursts can find legitimacy as art, as in those earlier films. Death Proof, released as one half of 2007's box-office disaster Grindhouse, fell into a pit of lazy, self-inflated ego driven, crud. That film had as much right to call itself a movie as the "grindhouse" theaters Tarantino was trying to pay homage to (though the whole stunt reeked of gimmick marketing) had the right to be referred to as cinemas. "Awful" in reviews was the starting point.

This year Tarantino is back. Where Death Proof's Kurt Russell was the square-jawed machismo catalyst for pending havoc, this time it's Brad Pitt. Where 70's muscle cars were the testosterone spewing props, this time we go bayonets and machine guns (just for starters). Where kick-ass bar babes were the eye candy, this time it's a jewish victim of WWII Nazis. Most importantly, where in each of Tarantino's previous forays into violent laced depravity, there was a story conceived in fiction, the appetite for unrestrained bloodshed in Inglorious Bastards is told against true history, true geography and true tragedy.

Our question is this - by placing his story against the true and horrific events of the Jewish slaughter by Hitler's Germany in WWII, does Tarantino (with the backing of The Weinstein Company) take his brand of cinema over the line, from art to blatant and offensive exploitation?

The truth is that the trailer, now showing in our "Would you pay to see this movie?" feature for Inglorious Bastards, caused us to cringe. As the monologue continues from Brad Pitt, playing a US Army lieutenant prepping his Dirty Dozen like squad, the language becomes more extreme, the titles overlaid, like "exterminate", become more offensive and the premise of the film, more repulsive by the second. Fans of so called "torture porn" will likely recognize Hostel writer/director Eli Roth as one of the soldiers in Pitt's lineup and there's an extra cringe waiting at the end of the trailer with it's cavalier tagline "A bastards work is never done".

Set against true historical context and viewed in a world where torture and extremist terror kill thousands, as our own violent history is recorded, does Inglorious Bastards have a place as entertainment? Indeed, is Tarantino's penchant for explicit violence, in itself and anachronism to our present day circumstances, belonging more to a less troubled time and painted on a far more fictional canvas?

You be the judge. As with all of our "Would you pay to see this movie" features, you can click on the link in this sentence and watch the trailer embedded on Moviedozer's Pulling Focus page (just scroll down the page, the trailer's right below our Poster Gallery). Watch as many times as you like, then click on the links next to the trailer and you'll be returned to this column where you can add your comments.

Would you pay to see Inglorious Bastards? Let us know. We'll comment again in the light of a Summer Blockbuster season that will be just wrapping up as Inglorious Bastards reaches it's planned August 21st release.

Finding Nemo... in Venice

2009-02-07T13:27:00.007-05:00

This September the organizers of the Venice Film Festival will honor John Lasseter and the directors of the Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. The film festival referred to Lasseter, the chief creative officer of Disney/Pixar and two-time Oscar winner, as "one of the great innovators and experimenters of Hollywood". The festival's career award, usually reserved for live-action directors, marks a level of recognition for an animation director that is a marked departure for Venice, but perhaps a sign of the times for the artistic merits of Pixar, top of the class since the animation pioneer's earliest efforts.

When a movie studio releases nine motion pictures, what are the chances of opening at number one nine times? If your logo says Pixar on it, pretty damn good. In fact, last year's Wall•e made it nine for nine, an honor now shared by Disney, since Robert Iger smoothed over relationships with Mr. Lasseter and ingeniously, not only bought Pixar, but elevated Lasseter to Disney's Guru of Creativity.

All this leaves us wondering about the same point we've been wondering about since realizing that we've been watching something tremendously special during a showing of Ratatouille. Why hasn't any other studio, live action or animated, hand drawn or CGI, been able to come close to what Pixar seems to so adeptly achieve? Talent, certainly. Creative ideas on hyperdrive, undeniably. Secret recipes? Maybe. Or is this simply all the result of the most effective company mission statement ever written?

The real question seems not to be why other companies have been unable to match Lasseter's results but why Lasseter and Pixar attain them in the first place. That "why" seems to be imbedded in what corporations love to call their "culture". But before becoming a cultural characteristic, the principals and practices of that culture reside in someone's DNA. Drawing on them and then believing in them, believing absolutely, is essential. Knowing what then becomes possible is vision.

Lasseter leads his company with vision, what is in his DNA made things possible, absolute belief then became their culture. That belief must be etched in one hell of an effective mission statement, but it is a mission statement that has been written, not on paper, but in turn on the very DNA of Pixar employees.

Academy Award nominated Wall•e is only one of nine examples of the result. The vision to see a small, clunky mechanical robot (a nod here to Wall•e writer and director Andrew Stanton) as a Chaplin-esque character is near genius and representative of all nine of Mr. Lasseter's productions. (Some of which he also wrote and directed). The artistry, charm and inventiveness only match the playfulness and innovation. The Venice Film Festival has chosen a recipient of their honor that embodies creative courage.

During the festival run from September 2nd to the 12th this year, Nemo will be splashing around the canals of Venice, enjoying both the scenery and the accolades. For generations to come, audiences will be enjoying the work of John Lasseter. As it should be, his audiences get the bigger prize.

Congratulations Mr. Lasseter and all of the creative teams at Disney/Pixar.

3 Days to looking silly in front of your TV.

2009-01-29T13:47:00.001-05:00

Three days to go and we still can't find the glasses. Good luck... here's the promo. If we come up empty will be ripping these guys a new one come Monday.

Up your ticket prices!

2009-01-26T17:55:00.008-05:00

Been to a movie in 2009 yet? Better bring the debit card or a little extra cash. As our economy continues a slow grind to lethargy, theater owners and the corporate executive offices that control them are raising ticket prices. Time to do some shopping and maybe a bit of rethinking if you're enough of a movie fan to be concerned.

On a recent trip to the movies here in frost bound NJ, a trip to see Doubt in a badly maintained and not-so-state of the art movie theater (a 12-plex) cost each ticket buyer $10.75. Aside from being up by about a buck over a few months ago, that price turns out to be one of the highest in the area. A quick scan at Fandango revealed an average evening ticket varying from 10 bucks to the $10.75 I forked over on Saturday night. For those keeping score, the lowest of three major theater chains I checked was Lowes, averaging $10., Regal came in 2nd at $10.25 and Reading was the culprit - with the $10.75 price, the not so great sound & picture, and the dirty, sticky floors thrown in as a bonus. Forget the snack bar, of the four of us, no one paid a visit.

A year ago, reports were being published that the price of corn (of all things) was pushing up the price of a movie ticket. Not so incomprehensible when you begin tracing out the chain of profit for theater owners. The snack bar, both a traditional source of profit for the theater and piracy for the customer, was credited with keeping those ticket prices down. Whoops... Willie Nelson fills up his pickup with bio-fuel, farmers begin selling off acres of crops for ethanol and theater owners are paying more for popcorn. Guess what? They'll make it up on the ticket. (You'd think those $4 cokes would do the trick.)

Now, with the economy tanking, studios want a bigger cut to cover expenses, theater owners have to cough up more money for more weeks with each new release and... guess what? They'll make it up on the ticket.

Without getting into the dream that 3D will descend from the entertainment heavens and somehow so dazzle audiences that they won't see the extra two or three bucks added on an already rising price, let's just stick to the cold two-dimensional reality for now. A consumer/seller rule of thumb... when you don't feel like you're getting what you paid for, you stop buying. The important part of that last line? - the . As in period, end of story.

Here's a fact colder than hard cash... I can buy a DVD new release, practically anywhere without benefit of sales or promotions, for $19.99, less than the price of two movie tickets. Kick in new release Tuesday sales and that price drops to $14.99 to $17.99. Go online for a digital download and you're at $14.99 to as low as $9.99. Chuck owning for renting and you're at $3.99. Get extravagant and rent in HD for $4.99. Take a date to the movies, let alone take you're family, and this math gets brutally simple. And the brutal side starts to fall squarely on theater owners, who right about now are looking as ignorant as they look greedy.

This stuff's been discussed before. If you want to compete with home video, 50 inch flat screens and living room surround sound, not to mention all of the great ways to make gourmet popcorn right out of the microwave, you've got to deliver value for your ticket price. No matter what that price needs to be. It's amazing how quickly the above argument disintegrates when the theater is completely state of the art, crystal clean, stocked with smiling staff, fresh gourmet coffees, reasonably priced candy and plush roomy seating. Yeah, 3D will be fun but let's not forget the basics. Get your act together. We love going to the movies but we'll be the one of the first to jump on the soapbox to tell you to shutter your doors if you think for a minute your audiences are anywhere near as dumb as your next Adam Sandler movie. In the meantime, you should be thinking about lowering, not raising prices.

Think the last movie you saw at a theater was worth the price? Is going to a movie anywhere near the value of buying or renting DVDs? Will digital rentals close theaters? Will 3D save the day? This and more as Moviedozer Dailies continues into 2009. As always, let us know what you think.