Archive for the ‘Film Festival’ Category
Okay film buffs out there… we want your opinion.
We’ve been watching the films throughout 2011 and now it’s time to make some wagers…
We’re going to put our (metaphorical) money down on the potential Oscar winners and we want you to join in with your picks. We will end up on Oscar night with an online score card for you to fill out. Let’s see who comes out on top… you or us!
Today we are going start our evaluation of the film categories with the nominees for screenplays.
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
- The Descendants Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
- Hugo Screenplay by John Logan
- The Ides of March Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
- Moneyball Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin Story by Stan Chervin
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan
No real surprises here. Still, other serious contenders, Steve Zaillian for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and Tate Taylor for The Help, didn’t make the cut. Our bet is on The Descendants who seem to have the strongest chance with its endearing and smart screenplay. Plus, it would be pretty cool for Jim Rash (the Dean from Community) to get an Oscar.
Writing (Original Screenplay)
- The Artist Written by Michel Hazanavicius
- Bridesmaids Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
- Margin Call Written by J.C. Chandor
- Midnight in Paris Written by Woody Allen
- A Separation Written by Asghar Farhadi
This category certainly has some shocking choices. Bridesmaids was definitely was expected to make the final list but it’s still pretty surprising that the Academy would nominate the R-rated comedy whatever its merits.
While Margin Call was well-received it also flew under the radar for the most part. We liked that it is J.C Chandor’s first feature film, which he also directed.
A Separation, which is nominated for Best Foreign Film, was an unexpected finalist. Foreign films rarely get noticed in other categories but this film was highly praised.
Will Reiser’s semi-autobiographical 50/50 was surprisingly snubbed. We would have enjoyed seeing Diablo Cody’s wicked dramedy Young Adult in the list of finalists.
We predict that Woody Allen will take home his third Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Midnight in Paris which was both a critical darling and a box office success. We think he deserves it for capturing that key word in the category title: original. His concept was unique and, after winning the Golden Globe, it seems to be the favorite.
Okay… now it’s your turn. Which screenplays are in your top 5 list? Or did you fav’s get shafted?
Stay tuned for more of our nominated breakdown leading up to the Oscars on February 26.
For all the film buffs out there, Tuesday was a big day.
It was the day the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced their nominations for the 2011 film year.
After surveying the list of nominees it appears most categories went as expected with a few surprises and snubs along the way (see our list below).
This year, the Big award- Best Picture- had 9 nominees. This group of nine was selected in a new and slightly confusing manner.
It started back in 2010, when the category for Best Picture was expanded from 5 to 10.
This lasted only 2 years, with the Academy announcing last summer they have adjusted the rules to fluctuate between 5-10 nominees. The first 5 films with the highest number of votes get a nod, followed by the next highest vote-getters who get a minimum of 5% of the Academy’s votes. In its first year in application 9 films received Best Picture nominations.
In the coming weeks we will be giving you a break down the major categories, culminating with the awards ceremony on Sunday, February 26.
Best Picture
- “The Artist” Thomas Langmann, Producer
- “The Descendants” Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
- “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” Scott Rudin, Producer
- “The Help” Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
- “Hugo” Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
- “Midnight in Paris” Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
- “Moneyball” Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
- “The Tree of Life” Nominees to be determined
- “War Horse“ Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers
Directing
- “The Artist” Michel Hazanavicius
- “The Descendants” Alexander Payne
- “Hugo” Martin Scorsese
- “Midnight in Paris” Woody Allen
- “The Tree of Life” Terrence Malick
Actor in a Leading Role
- Demián Bichir in “A Better Life”
- George Clooney in “The Descendants”
- Jean Dujardin in “The Artist”
- Gary Oldman in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
- Brad Pitt in “Moneyball”
Actress in a Leading Role
- Glenn Close in “Albert Nobbs”
- Viola Davis in “The Help”
- Rooney Mara in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
- Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady”
- Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn”
Actor in a Supporting Role
- Kenneth Branagh in “My Week with Marilyn”
- Jonah Hill in “Moneyball”
- Nick Nolte in “Warrior”
- Christopher Plummer in “Beginners”
- Max von Sydow in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Actress in a Supporting Role
- Bérénice Bejo in “The Artist”
- Jessica Chastain in “The Help”
- Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids”
- Janet McTeer in “Albert Nobbs”
- Octavia Spencer in “The Help”
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
- “The Descendants” Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
- “Hugo” Screenplay by John Logan
- “The Ides of March” Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
- “Moneyball” Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin Story by Stan Chervin
- “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan
Writing (Original Screenplay)
- “The Artist” Written by Michel Hazanavicius
- “Bridesmaids” Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
- “Margin Call” Written by J.C. Chandor
- “Midnight in Paris” Written by Woody Allen
- “A Separation” Written by Asghar Farhadi
Animated Feature Film
- “A Cat in Paris” Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
- “Chico & Rita” Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
- “Kung Fu Panda 2″ Jennifer Yuh Nelson
- “Puss in Boots” Chris Miller
- “Rango” Gore Verbinski
Art Direction
- “The Artist”
Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould - “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2“
Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan - “Hugo”
Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo - “Midnight in Paris”
Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil - “War Horse”
Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales
Cinematography
- “The Artist” Guillaume Schiffman
- “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Jeff Cronenweth
- “Hugo” Robert Richardson
- “The Tree of Life” Emmanuel Lubezki
- “War Horse” Janusz Kaminski
Costume Design
- “Anonymous” Lisy Christl
- “The Artist” Mark Bridges
- “Hugo” Sandy Powell
- “Jane Eyre” Michael O’Connor
- “W.E.” Arianne Phillips
Documentary (Feature)
- “Hell and Back Again”
Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner - “If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front”
Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman - “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory”
Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs - “Pina”
Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel - “Undefeated”
TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas
Documentary (Short Subject)
- “The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement”
Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin - “God Is the Bigger Elvis”
Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson - “Incident in New Baghdad”
James Spione - “Saving Face”
Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy - “The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”
Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen
Film Editing
- “The Artist” Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
- “The Descendants” Kevin Tent
- “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
- “Hugo” Thelma Schoonmaker
- “Moneyball” Christopher Tellefsen
Foreign Language Film
- “Bullhead” Belgium
- “Footnote” Israel
- “In Darkness” Poland
- “Monsieur Lazhar” Canada
- “A Separation” Iran
Makeup
- “Albert Nobbs”
Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle - “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng - “The Iron Lady”
Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland
Music (Original Score)
- “The Adventures of Tintin” John Williams
- “The Artist” Ludovic Bource
- “Hugo” Howard Shore
- “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Alberto Iglesias
- “War Horse” John Williams
Music (Original Song)
- “Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets” Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
- “Real in Rio” from “Rio” Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett
Short Film (Animated)
- “Dimanche/Sunday” Patrick Doyon
- “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
- “La Luna” Enrico Casarosa
- “A Morning Stroll” Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
- “Wild Life” Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby
Short Film (Live Action)
- “Pentecost” Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane
- “Raju” Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
- “The Shore” Terry George and Oorlagh George
- “Time Freak” Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
- “Tuba Atlantic” Hallvar Witzø
Sound Editing
- “Drive” Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
- “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Ren Klyce
- “Hugo” Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
- “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
- “War Horse” Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom
Sound Mixing
- “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson - “Hugo”
Tom Fleischman and John Midgley - “Moneyball”
Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick - “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin - “War Horse”
Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson
Visual Effects
- “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson - “Hugo”
Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning - “Real Steel”
Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg - “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett - “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier
We at USDemocrazy are long time Monty Python fans. When we noticed this Christmas card created in 1968 by Terry Gilliam, the genius behind Python’s animation, we were curious.
Much to our delight, the video is a classic. It put a smile on our faces and we hope it does the same to you.
Merry Christmas!
Christmas week is usually the biggest for movie releases. Studios try to put out their best work and compete hard with each other for the movie-goer’s cash.
Last week’s entrants Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and Alvin & the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked took the top 2 spots, but were not nearly as successful as their predecessors.
The number 3 spot went to Mission Impossible 4, but it was arguably the most successful. It raked in a solid average of $30,083 per theater (it was only playing in 425 locations).
This will be the movie to watch as it expands to a wider national release today.
Two more movies are entering the game today. One will start playing Friday, and another two will open Christmas day. With 8 movies opening in time for the holiday rush, it will be interesting to see who will be the ultimate winner.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
This is possibly the most anticipated, talked about film of the holiday season. Some are insanely excited ( like we are), and some are just annoyed that Hollywood felt the need to remake a perfectly great foreign film for the sake of no subtitles.
David Fincher (The Social Network, Fight Club) seems like the perfect director to present this story though and he claims that it is not so much a remake as a separate adaptation of the novel.
We’ve heard it might even be closer to the source material than the Swedish film.
Rooney Mara seems to fully commit to her role, and Daniel Craig is always pretty great. We’re excited for another Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross collaborated score (the two won an Oscar for The Social Network last year). And, come on–”the feel bad movie of Christmas” is possibly the coolest tagline ever.
The Adventures of Tintin
This Steven Spielberg-directed, Peter Jackson-produced power house of a film is already an insane hit in the UK, and seems likely to be one of the top animated movies this year.
The writing staff is quite impressive with the amazing Edgar Wright (Shaun of The Dead, etc), Joe Cornish (Attack the Block), and Steven Moffat (Doctor Who) teaming up on the script based on the popular European comic books.
It has already has a $200 million cushion from the foreign box office. We just hope that it is able to surpass the new Alvin & the Chipmunks movie in the US.
What do you plan to see now that final exams are about done and winter break is about started? Let us know what you thought about any films you’ve been watching lately!
Movie addicts like us got a vacation last week as no new movies opened in theaters.
It ended up being a rather weak weekend with Breaking Dawn holding the top spot for the third week in a row but with 60.3% loss from the week prior.
This weekend two new movies open and one other gets an expansion to a wide release.
The Sitter
This is your last chance to see Jonah Hill as we all know him, before his dramatic weight loss which will first be seen in 2012’s 21 Jump Street. His character in this movie seems like an older version of his character Seth in Superbad meets Adventures in Babysitting plus lots of R-rated humor.
It’s another David Gordon Green directed comedy, so if you’ve been a fan of his other movies, like Pineapple Express or Your Highness, you should be into this.
The Descendants
This movie has been running the indie circuit for 3 weeks now, but is getting a full expansion this weekend. With a 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes it seems to be like a real winner if you enjoy a comedic drama or George Clooney. Clooney plays a father going through life altering circumstances. We’ve heard that it can be pleasantly humorous at times but with emotional depth that can spring a few tears.
New Year’s Eve
We never caught the predecessor to this movie, Valentine’s Day, but it can be assumed that this will be more of the same (whatever that was). Sorry, we’re not much help here…Still, if you’re into intersecting love stories, we recommend Love Actually (which is holiday themed) or Paris, Je T’aime.
Planning to see any of these? Let us know what you thought or opinions about any other recent movies!
Thanksgiving weekend is offering up 3 family films to battle it out at the box office against last week’s Breaking Dawn.
Also from last week, Happy Feet 2 had a meager opening for an animated feature, and probably won’t stand a chance against this week’s picks.
So far all three of these movies are getting fabulous reviews so if you are into family fare you can’t go wrong here.
Hugo
Martin Scorsese directs this family film about a young orphan, Hugo (Asa Butterfield), who takes residence in a train station. Talented, young actress Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass, Let Me In) costars as Hugo’s friend, with Ben Kingsley and Sacha Baron Cohen rounding out the main cast. The movie is promising a whimsical adventure but the trailer isn’t very exciting. So far Hugo holds an impressive 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Arthur Christmas
The newest 3D animated feature follows the titular character, who happens to be Santa Claus’s son. As is typical in these films he attempts to save Christmas… or something mundane along those lines. However the film must be a bit more clever than the plot suggests considering the very positive reviews it is receiving, with a current rating of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Our Suggestion: The Muppets
There is definitely a huge nostalgic push to check out this movie sequel written by Jason Segel. With Segal on board how could it really be so bad?
Segel might be a surprising choice at first, but if you saw his writing debut in 2008’s “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”, you will remember his Dracula puppet musical–which he had previously written as a side project and decided to incorporate in the film.
Turns out Segel is a huge Muppets fan and got the chance to write (along with Nicholas Stoller) and star in this latest Muppet feature.
We had a chance to check it out and it does not disappoint in the slightest! It is extremely clever and well-written, with all of the factors that made the Muppets so great in the first place.
Even for someone who’s not a huge fan of the Muppets, there is still plenty to enjoy in this update. The musical numbers are all fantastically funny, there are countless cameos. Amy Adams and Chris Cooper round out the human cast with delightful performances. Of all the films coming out this week, we think this is the one that every family member at every age can enjoy the most. It currently stands at a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes
If you check out a movie this Thanksgiving weekend, let us know what you saw and thought!
What’s up movie watchers? USDemocrazy is back again with the movies coming to theaters this week.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
Oscar-winner Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters, Dreamgirls, Kinsey) takes over as director of the latest installment which features the obvious next step in this love story: marriage resulting in a half-vampire/ half-human baby. If you’re a fan already you’ll probably love this film. If you loathe this series then you should just avoid the movie theater completely this weekend.
Happy Feet 2
We are honestly not sure what this movie is about. A baby penguin doesn’t know how to dance which is a problem because…? And meets a penguin who thinks he can fly which is a problem because…? There must have been some admirable qualities to the original because it won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. But this one features penguins singing “Sexy Back”… hmmmm.
Want to avoid the Twi-hards and kids who are bound to be swarming theaters this weekend? Are you into new releases but are looking for something different to feast your eyes on?
Our Recommendation:
As part of The Charles‘ ongoing revival series, they are showing the 1976 Martin Scorsese classic Taxi Driver. The film features Robert De Niro as the iconic unstable ex-marine Travis Bickle and a 13-year old Jodie Foster as a troubled child prostitute who Bickle becomes consumed with saving. Don’t miss the chance to see this on the big screen, which must surely be the best way to experience the dramatic finale to this highly regarded film. (plays Saturday at noon, Monday at 7pm, and Wednesday at 9pm)
Seen anything good in theaters? Anything bad? Let us know!
Three movies are opening in theaters this weekend–a political drama, a super stylized action, and a sorry excuse for a comedy!
Immortals
This movie is a combination of the look of 300 with 3D depicting a huge mythological battle. The director Tarsem Singh had this to say about the film: “It’s turning into, basically, Caravaggio meets Fight Club. It’s a really hardcore action film done in Renaissance painting style.” Pretty nuts, huh? I guess it’s still up in the air whether this will be a fun, action flick about the gods (Thor) or just another effects-ed up, stylized, 3D wannabe blockbusters (The Three Musketeers).
Jack & Jill
Can we all agree this looks terrible? This movie must be proof that Adam Sandler is taking bets from his friends about whether he can make money off of the worst ideas they can think of after a few beers.
J. Edgar
This biopic follows J. Edgar Hoover, the first Director of the FBI, in both the political and personal world where he was rumored to be a closeted homosexual. The reviews for this seem to be mixed, with performances being mostly praised while the script seeming lackluster. This surprised me, since the screenwriter, Dustin Lance Diamond, also wrote Milk, winning his the Oscar for original screenplay. With a running time that goes way overboard, this may be one to skip.
Opening at The Charles
Like Crazy
We caught a screener of this last week. If you’re into slowburning romance stories with a bit of cutesy and handheld camera work, you’re in luck! Anton Yelchin and a brilliant Felicity Jones star as two college students who fall for each other until Jones overstays her student visa and is stuck in Britain. All of the difficulties that come with a long-distance relationship are explored, but if you’ve ever been in any sort of serious relationship you’ll most likely connect with this story. It doesn’t necessarily conquer any new ground, but it is a romantic dramedy that’s far removed from Katherine Heigl.
See anything at the movies lately? Let us know what you thought about any of these movies or anything else out right now!
This week is not very great in the world of movies. Only two wide releases are coming out, both comedies that could be busts.
So, what’s out this weekend?
Tower Heist
I think this movie looks sort of awful but it could be one of those mostly non-offensive comedies that are an okay way to waste $10 and a Friday night. It really depends on what you’re into. Ben Stiller has been hit-or-miss the past few years, but this looks more Little Fockers than Tropic Thunder. Let usknow if we are wrong!
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas
I thought the original was great, the sequel was horrific, and this one doesn’t appear too promising. They seem to be going for the “3D is ridiculous so we’re exploiting it”-thing but Piranhas 3D already did that and I’m almost certain they did it way better. It’s also a bit too far from Christmas for that to be a drawing point. I do know people who caught a screener and thought it was pretty funny with some awesome claymation portions and an on-point Neil Patrick Harris. Seems to be a step up from Guantanamo Bay.
OUR RECOMMENDATION: See something at the Charles Theater this weekend. If you’ve never been, you definitely should make the roughly 20-minute trek from campus.
It’s Baltimore art-house theater but they regularly play mainstream movies as well–not to mention they have great popcorn. These are the new titles, but also showing is 50/50, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Margin Call, Take Shelter, & The Hedgehog. And to make the theater even more cool, they have a revival series with a different classic playing each week.
This weekend they’re showing The Grapes of Wrath. (Side note: stop by Sofi’s Crepes, right next to the theater, before or after for some great eats!)
Martha Marcy May Marlene
This film is described as a psychological thriller, but it’s more of a drama. Watching this film I was waiting for the more “thrilling” moments to start but it never exactly happened. However, this is not to say it isn’t good. This was an excellent film, with an amazing performance by Elizabeth Olsen (the twin’s younger sister).
Olsen’s character is recently escaped from a cult-ish commune where she has been living for two years under a Manson-esque leader (John Hawkes). The film portrays her attempt to assimilate back into normal life while having constant flashbacks to her time at the commune, all while her paranoia and fear grow. The cinematography, direction, and performances are all well-done as they tackle a subject that is hard to watch. If you are into indie dramas, definitely give it a watch.
The Skin I Live In
A artsy Spanish horror/thriller about a a surgeon (Antonia Banderas) who’s obsessed with creating more resilient skin and must test his creation on a human subject. The premise seems quite unsettling, although the trailer leaves basically everything to the imagination. The director, Pedro Almodóva is known for taking on intense stories with great results so I’d give this a shot.
Planning on seeing one of these movies this weekend? Something else? Watched anything good recently? Let us know!
Today we launch a new regular feature for USDemocrazy.
We, like so many young Yanks, love cinema. It can be entertaining, engaging, infuriating, disappointing… but never dull.
To help cover the bright lights and back-stages of Hollywood we have added an experienced Movie Maven to our team. Our film columnist will give you a heads up of what’s available in the cinema plus back ground, trivia and tidbits to get you ready for the weekend.
Here’s the previews for this week…
The Rum Diary
Johnny Depp stars in this film based on the Hunter S. Thompson novel. It’s supposed to be sort of a wacky, inebriated adventure that probably won’t be on the level of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas…but we’ve heard is pretty funny. The supporting cast is something to get excited about–Richard Jenkins, Aaron Eckhart, Giovani Ribisi, and Amber Heard who has slowly been making a name for herself. This film might not be terribly exciting but it seems worth the watch on DVD… if not in theaters.
In Time
Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried take on sci-fi in this flick where time=money literally. This seems like a perfect escapist movie if you can completely suspend your disbelief and desire for a well-written screenplay.
Anonymous
This film depicts the theory that William Shakespeare was not the true writer of his attributed literary works. The director Roland Emmerich is known for huge productions that range from the more well-liked such as Independence Day, to the more ridiculed, 2012. If anything this film should be a lot to look at which might make the theater experience worthwhile, although it could either go over-the-top in the good or bad way.
Puss In Boots
The latest animated kids movie that you will probably enjoy if you liked the Shrek franchise otherwise.
OUR RECOMMENDATION: It’s halloweekend so go see Paranormal Activity 3, which came out last week. Any of these 4 movies could be enjoyable depending on the film attendee but wait until next weekend when the offerings seem to be so-so. PA3 is full of delightful scares and if you’re a fan of the first two you should definitely get a kick out of how they expand the story.
Look out for this segment to be expanded next week! What do you want to see this weekend or if you do what did you think?
There are thousands of film trailers out there… but very few good ones. Same is true about faux film trailers.
We think this one is better than most. Just in time for Halloween, here’s a good scary spoof.
We’ve all seen bad movie trailers during our trips to the cinema.
There’s the ones that reveal the whole movie plot in 60 seconds (completely eliminating any need to see the actual film).
And there’s those that employ the same deep voice-over guy which start with the same phrase “In a world where… (add your sentence here)”
Now there’s a movie trailer that is so bad, someone is suing the distributor of the film and the cinema where it was shown.
Sara Deming of Michigan was so annoyed with the trailer of the new Ryan Gosling Thriller “Drive”, she decided to act.
She says the trailer suggests “Drive” is a Fast and Furious style action piece. Deming thought the actual film was rather different.
“(the trailer)bore very little similarity to a chase, or race action film … having very little driving in the motion picture”.
Ms Deming’s suit also takes the filmmakers to task over what she suggests are anti-semitic messages in the movie which:
“substantially contained extreme, gratuitous, dehumanising racism directed at members of the Jewish faith, and thereby promoted criminal violence against members of the Jewish faith”
Deming is hoping her class action suit against the distributors will stop the scourge of misleading movie trailers.
Have you ever seen a movie trailer that made you want to sue someone?
What do frappuchinos and birth control have common?
Apparently something.
After discussing binge drinking and pot use statistics, the Fox News naysayer Bill O’Reilly brought up the government’s affordable birth control plan (one that removes co-pays and deductibles).
Take a look at this clip and let us know if you think any of the comments were out of line.
In another segment, a Fox News commentator suggested that, “If you can afford a $5 Frappucino at Starbucks, you can pay your $5 co-pay.” We’re not sure if this really reaches the demographic (not to mention not all co-pays are as inexpensive as $5).
The affordable birth control provisions are set to go into effect on August 1, 2012. It is still unclear how all of the costs will be handled, something left up to insurance companies. Regardless, many see this as a huge win for family planning, especially when considering that half of pregnancies are unplanned. This new provision could lead to decreased unwanted pregnancy rates, and subsequently, less terminations of pregnancy.
And as for the title above, you can let us know.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
“We don’t cast spells on people” says NY TSA former employee who also happens to be a wiccan.
This might be it! The much anticipated Superman: Man of Steel to be released in 2012 may just compete with the Batman craze of 08. Recipes for success: Amy Adams as Lois Lane and Henry Cavill as Clark Kent.
Small, intimate, and breathtaking. Slovenia is the new travel destination that’s off the radar.
FOB: Fresh Off The Boat … literally! Italian fishermen block off boats full of Tunisian Immigrants in protest.
Today’s post is brought to you by the letter H … and H stands for HAIR!
Thanks to the good folks at Sesame Street a generation of children around the world have learned their numbers and alphabet from singing puppets. Now the educational program has tackled a more hairy issue. They have released a video depicting a brown, Sesame Street puppet singing a song about loving her hair. Throughout the video, she sports an afro, cornrows, twists.
The video has gone viral and many, as mirrored in Grady’s Treehugger article, are happy to finally see depictions of black girls accepting and embracing their hair in the mainstream media. She notes the harmful effects of the harsh chemicals typically used in black hair care as reason enough to move towards an embrace of “natural hair”.
The documentary by comedian Chris Rock Good Hair addresses problems for blacks who embrace the natural hair look. In the current cultural climate natural hair still isn’t seen as professional, causing a barrier in job interviews and the like.
Many are happy to see an infectious song promoting this positive message. However, some questions have been raised.
Some viewers seemed upset that this message had to be delivered by a puppet rather than other popular mainstream black idols.
Clearly it will take time for acceptance of “natural hair” both in the black community and the wider American culture. Though some may have some criticism of the video, we think if the film gets kids and adults discussing the issue… it can’t be a bad thing.
What do you think?
