Posted by Sean on November 20th, 2008 Filed under: Polls
I know last week’s poll topic was kind of a silly one, but I was still surprised by the results. Apparently Candyland is the board game that Film Junk readers would most like to see turned into a movie. Weird! I suppose that with Tim Burton directing and Johnny Depp starring it could be a pretty big success. Geek favourites Magic: The Gathering and Risk came in 2nd and 3rd in the poll, but I’m surprised Zombies!!! wasn’t higher on the list. And am I the only one who played Nightmare when I was younger? Say what you will, but I think that Gatekeeper character definitely deserves his own flick.
If you’ve already joined the Columbia House DVD Club and scored all the best selections, you might consider moving on to the more prestigious Kevin Bacon Movie Club, complete with Kevin Bacon himself. But before you do that, be sure to indulge in the rest of what Weird Web Wednesday has to offer, including an highly scientific investigation into what happens when you set a microwave on fire and hit it with a stick, the new Star Trek trailer with an alternate soundtrack, and of course, a hamster on a piano eating popcorn. There are all kinds of people living in this crazy world… just watch out because some of them might try some sex moves on you.
Posted by Sean on November 19th, 2008 Filed under: Contests, DVD
Hey guys, we’ve got a pretty awesome giveaway to announce right now for Takashi Miike’s film Sukiyaki Western Django, which just came out on DVD last week. Not only do we have 3 copies of the Steelbook Edition of the movie to offer on DVD, but we’ve also got an assortment of collectible items that will be included with each winning package: a deck of Sukiyaki Western Django playing cards, a canvas scroll poster, and a six shooter water gun!
If you’re interested in getting your hands on any of this stuff, all you have to do is send your name and mailing address to filmjunk@gmail.com with “Sukiyaki Western Django Contest” in the subject line. We’ll randomly choose 3 winners from the entries and announce them on Wed. November 26th.
Treknobabble is a continuing series of columns written by uber-Trekkie Reed Farrington in anticipation of the upcoming J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie.
Here in the retirement village of St. Catharines, it’s hard to gauge the excitement surrounding the new Star Trek movie. Even with the Internet, there’s a sense of isolation. I am in the camp of those who believe that Internet chatter isn’t a reliable gauge of reality. But it’s hard to deny the usefulness of the Internet in providing quick communication. So the news that a Star Trek movie trailer would be showing at the beginning of screenings of Quantum of Solace piqued my interest.
I felt obligated to see the Star Trek trailer in order to review it for Treknobabble and I had voted for Casino Royale as the best Bond film ever, so I thought I might as well go to see Quantum of Solace. The trailers for Quantum were excellent and advance word was that Quantum was more of Casino. I knew that the Star Trek trailer would be posted on the Internet soon, but there’s nothing like watching a trailer on the big screen.
Looks like that Young X-Men movie that we heard rumours about last year is actually going to happen, but it’s not exactly what you might expect. Variety reports that 20th Century Fox is developing an X-Men spin-off based on the X-Men: First Class comic book series. Josh Schwartz, creator of The O.C. and Gossip Girl, has been hired to write the script with an option to direct as well.
The idea behind the movie will be to focus on some of the younger characters that have had small roles in the previous films such as Iceman, Rogue, Angel, Colossus, Jubilee and Shadowcat, although there’s also the possibility that some other major characters will make appearances, possibly played by different actors. Despite his great track record in TV, Schwartz has yet to break into the world of movies, but he is currently scheduled to direct another movie called Looking for Alaska, which he also wrote. I have a feeling a lot of fans will scoff at the idea of a Young X-Men movie, but with all the prequels and spin-offs they are doing, I don’t see why there isn’t a place for something like this. I don’t personally have much interest in it, but I’m sure Schwartz will absolutely nail the target demographic. Thoughts?
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen something new on the big screen from legendary horror director John Carpenter. Ghosts of Mars was his last theatrical release, and that was all the way back in 2001. Since then he has taken a long hiatus, for the most part content to simply cash cheques while other people remade his films. He did do a couple episodes for the Masters of Horror series on Showtime though, which may have shaken loose the cobwebs and inspired him to get back behind the camera.
His next movie, currently in pre-production, will be Scared Straight starring Nicolas Cage. Aside from that, though, we’ve heard about all kinds of other possibilities on the horizon including a flick called L.A. Gothic, a graphic novel adaptation written by Steve Niles, and the long-rumoured Escape From Earth. Now we’ve got details about yet another movie in development by J.C. that is essentially “Unforgiven as a gangster movie”.
According to CHUD, Jeremy Passmore, co-writer/co-director of Special starring Michael Rapaport, has written a script for John Carpenter called The Prince (no relation to John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness). It’s a crime movie about a former gangster in Las Vegas who is trying to lead a straight life, raising his daughter on his own. When she goes missing however, the trail leads back to his past life, and an ending that is “brutal and violent and dark”.
It sounds like this is probably just one of many projects on Carpenter’s plate, and may not even get made, but I do find it interesting that it’s another non-horror film. The mention of Unforgiven as an influence is pretty intriguing as well, since we all know that John Carpenter loves his westerns. Maybe he’s decided to leave the horror genre to the young, up and coming filmmakers, and stake out some new territory instead?
Bloggers and pundits haven’t really gone into full Oscar prediction mode yet this year, mainly because some of the expected Oscar contenders still have yet to hit theatres, but the Best Documentary category always seems to be slightly ahead of the game. This week the Academy unveiled their shortlist of the 15 documentaries that are potential nominees, and while I’ve only seen a few of them, I am definitely surprised by some of the omissions.
Doc heavyweights Errol Morris and Werner Herzog are going head to head with their films Standard Operating Procedure and Encounters at the End of the World (some may remember that Herzog’s Grizzly Man was criminally overlooked back in 2005). Another big favourite on the list is Man on Wire, a movie that I haven’t seen yet, but seems to be getting spectacular reviews everywhere you turn. Personally I’m stoked to see Ellen Kuras’ powerful film The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) on the list, which we were able to see at Hot Docs earlier this year and I think definitely deserves at least a nomination.
However, where is Kurt Kuenne’s Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, the emotional flick that is getting so much good buzz? And what about Alex Gibney’s Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson? I guess since Taxi to the Dark Side won last year, they took him out of the running. I may be jumping to conclusions here, but from looking at a lot of the other titles, it seems like another line-up of documentaries chosen more for their subject matter than their artistic merit. Has anyone out there seen any of the other titles on this list? Which ones do you think will make the final cut?
At the Death House Door
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh
There are two major releases on DVD this week that will probably override all others for most people: Pixar’s Wall-E, and Ben Stiller’s Tropic Thunder (with a new Unrated Director’s Cut). It’s also a good week for documentaries though, with Werner Herzog’s Antarctica film Encounters at the End of the World coming out, along with Alex Gibney’s Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson and the critically-acclaimed Up The Yangtze. Also Heathers is out on Blu-ray, and there are special box sets available for the Monty Python and 300 fans on your Christmas shopping list. What are you picking up this week?
When I first heard that The Rock was starring in the Disney movie Race to Witch Mountain, I didn’t know anything about it other than the fact that it was going to be another PG family-friendly flick. It seems like this is ultimately the direction he wants to take his career in, which is unfortunate, because I don’t have much interest in stuff like The Game Plan even though I know there’s an audience for it.
The trailer for Witch Mountain just arrived online though, and I actually think it looks like fun. There aren’t enough of these adventure movies for kids nowadays, and at the very least, this doesn’t seem like complete garbage. Granted, most of The Rock’s lines in the trailer were barely funny, and this is yet another Hollywood remake (the original Escape to Witch Mountain was released back in 1975). But still, overall, I’d have to say it might be decent for what it is. You can check out the trailer below or watch it in HD over at Yahoo!. Race to Witch Mountain hits theatres on March 13th, 2009.
Hey, guess who’s all grown up and looking to start a screenwriting career? Yep, that’s right, Jaleel White, former star of the popular ’80s sitcom Family Matters, who most people will remember as the nasally nerd Steve Urkel. After starring in another unsuccessful show called Grown Ups, White eventually enrolled in film school at UCLA, and is now looking to make his return to Hollywood. He had a bit role in Dreamgirls, and now he has apparently sold his first script!
According to The Hollywood Reporter, his movie is called Did You Get My Text, a romantic comedy about a young man who meets a girl by text messaging on a friend’s phone, “turning their courtship into a comedy of technological errors”. Adrien Grenier (Entourage) will star, and Joel Zwick (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Fat Albert) will direct. I suppose I could make fun of how lame this movie sounds, but somehow I’m just proud of Urkel. Congratulations on a job well done, sir. In the meantime, you can check out Jaleel White’s basketball blog over at NBA.com!
