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Go to Disney.com, it’s on the main page.
I’m too excited for words. This looks really good. This looks amazing. Zac’s biceps are huge. Words can’t explain this…I’m just watching it over and over.
‘Camp Rock’ was great. I just finished watching it and I couldn’t be happier. This movie debuted two nights ago but I was on vacation and I couldn’t catch it until tonight, which turned out to be a blessing, otherwise this feeling I have right now would have been gone a long time ago and I still wouldn’t be enjoying the thrill of another Disney knockout. I guess most of my posts are about Disney but if they keep churning out quality pieces of film like this you can’t be angry.
‘Camp Rock’ is the story of high schooler Mitchie Torres (Demi Lovato) who attends the summer camp ‘Camp Rock’ and lies her way to popularity. Also at the camp is bad boy pop star Shane Gray (Joe Jonas) whose band mates Nate and Jason (Nick Jonas and Kevin Jonas) send him back to the camp to be a counselor to get into good graces with the media. Meaghan Jette Martin plays the popular girl with an attitude Tess who shakes things up at the camp. With all that being said…
So Pete and I went to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull a few hours ago at Mega Movies in East Brunswick. Upon entering the lobby I had the great joy of tapping my friend on the shoulder and being able to point his gaze upwardtowards a beautiful yet gruesome site indeed! We looked up to see a MASSIVE wall-covering banner of Heath Ledger as the Joker from the upcoming film The Dark Knight. It was such a site to be seen that Pete needed to inquire as to what becomes of such things at a movie theater lobby when a film has run its course. The ticket goon told us that when banners or posters of this grand size are used to promote movies, they are collected at some point by the studio that produced it.
Unreal.
You mean to tell me that Warner Bros. sends a representative to East Brunswick Square Mall to collect banners? The same mall where Pete once engaged in a footrace with a 12 year old and put 20 bucks on himself to win, only to crush the child and not allow the lad to pay him the money he owed as a life-lesson? The mall where a younger more foolish Don Hohner had his first date with a certain girl who will be marrying her high school guidance counsellor in about a month?
I find it all too menacing to think that a Warner-stooge is marauding around the vicinity of Ruby Tuesday, stopping off at the place we all rented our prom tuxes from, only to cap off his trip by collecting awesome banners and taking them home to that water tower where Yacko, Wacko, and Dot live, to incinerate them.
Clearly Pete and I would be willing to give these amazing banners and posters a good home. Sure it’s not a smoke free environment but hey, at least it would kill some time trying to figure out how to hang a 12 foot high banner in our bedrooms.
By the way, the 4th Indy was great. Don’t let mediocre reviews taint your dreams of another Indy adventure. If you liked the original trilogy, you’ll like this one too. But don’t go looking for Short Round to make a cameo ’cause he ain’t never gonna be there… I know, I was pretty depressed too.
Read this… Let it sink in. And then think to yourself, “I should send donations to 41 Miles so that the writing staff can go to this event and just have a great time.”
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
IMAX Theatre | 600 E. Grand Avenue
IMAX Theatre | 600 E. Grand Avenue
You are cordially invited to a once-in-a-lifetime Gala evening
honoring filmmaker Christopher Nolan!
Cinema/Chicago, the 44th Chicago International Film Festival and Warner Bros. Pictures proudly present the first Chicago showing of THE DARK KNIGHT, the follow-up to the action hit Batman Begins. THE DARK KNIGHT reunites filmmaker Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in his continuing war on crime. The City of Chicago is prominently showcased in the film, with shots of the old Chicago Post Office, the State of Illinois Center, the IBM Building, Upper and Lower Wacker Drive, and LaSalle Street, among other locations.
The evening will include a tribute to filmmaker Christopher Nolan followed by a screening of THE DARK KNIGHT in IMAX®, which features six sequences shot with IMAX® cameras. “Nolan’s work has captivated both critics and audiences alike. Memento remains one of the great directorial and writing achievements in cinema. He is a modern writer/director who approaches all aspects of his work with a style and sophistication seen only amongst the most elite tier of filmmakers,” remarks Festival Founder and Artistic Director Michael Kutza.
A dinner reception will follow the tribute and screening in the stunning Crystal Gardens at Navy Pier, lit up by a spectacular fireworks display. The Gala will benefit Cinema/Chicago, its year-round educational programs, and the 44th Chicago International Film Festival.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Legendary Pictures, a Syncopy Production, a Christopher Nolan film, THE DARK KNIGHT. Nolan directed the film from a screenplay written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. Charles Roven, Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan are the producers, with Benjamin Melniker, Michael E.Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull serving as executive producers. THE DARK KNIGHT is based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by Bob Kane.
Evening Program:
5:30PM Red Carpet Arrivals
6:30PM Tribute and Award Presentation to filmmaker Christopher Nolan
7:00PM Gala screening of The Dark Knight
9:30PM - 11:30PM Dinner Reception at The Crystal Gardens
TICKET PRICE:
Advance ticket price: $150/ticket if purchased by June 1
After June 1: $175/ticket
TICKETS ON SALE AT 9:00AM ON FRIDAY, MAY 16! LIMIT 4 PER PERSON.
PRESALE tickets available to Cinema/Chicago members May 12-15.
To purchase tickets, please call 312-683-0121 x154, or click here.
Must attend Gala in Chicago. Must see The Dark Knight before everyone else!
As one of the resident comic/superhero experts on the blog I was really looking forward to seeing Iron Man. I can’t say I knew much about Iron Man except for the fact that he was a man named Tony Stark who used his knowledge of technology and weapons as well as his vast fortune to create body armor equipped with more weapons and gadgets you could ever dream of. (Remind you of anyone else?) He is part of the Avengers which is the Marvel equivalent of The Justice League. So I was really looking forward to finding out more about this character from the movie.
It came online yesterday at around noonish and even though I had already seen a bootleg version of it on other sites, the official release has blown me away! The Joker is looking more and more like the best on-screen villain ever, and there are even some very subtle surprises to be found here in this new trailer.
Surprise #1: In the trailer right after Alfred makes a joke, Batman smashes into a van from above. When looking very closely, the occupant in the driver’s seat is noneother than The Scarecrow, a villain from Batman Begins. This confirms the reports that the character would make an appearance in the sequel.
Surprise #2: Harvey Dent can be seen holding a gun next to his head in a car. The left side of his face is hidden pretty well but scars can be seen on his face as well as scuffed up clothing on that side of his body. This is our first look at Two Face ladies and gentlemen!
Surprise #3: The Joker clearly throws Rachel Dawes off a building. If she goes splat on the ground or if the Dark Knight himself swoops in to catch her is still a mystery.
All in all, this is a great trailer with awesome images and even better dialogue. This movie will be amazing when it comes out July 18th! No doubt.
I’m about 20 minutes late to work but I figured I’d post the link for the new trailer to ‘The Dark Knight.’
http://www.superherohype.com/news/topnews.php?id=7135
Update: The video has been removed from that site…you had your chance.
So let’s just get this out in the open. My name is Don and I love Batman. I understand that I have been primarily writing posts on this site regarding the new film The Dark Knight as of late. If anyone out there is getting sick of me writing about it, then I’m sorry but it isn’t just a passing phase. If you hate me, then hate me. But if you want info, then here I am to serve as your self-appointed 41 Miles Bat-News man!
Today was a dark day for online Bat-Fans everywhere. Reports kept coming in that the third trailer would be hitting the web today to coincide with a marketing game that spanned several cities from London to Boston. Online players were in place to relay information to ground players who were actually in the cities that were hosting the game. The game itself was much like a scavenger hunt. The clues as to where the ground crew needed to go were passed on to them via the online players. This type of Bat-game has gone on once before in L.A. last summer at Comic Con to reveal the original trailer. The result of today’s scavenger hunt was clearly to uncover the new trailer online… But we were all deceived!
At a certain point, the online players told the ground players the final clue. Once the ground players discovered the next location in which to travel, they were rewarded with a free screening of the new trailer in a full sized movie theater. They were given Joker cards and one person from each screening even won a raffle of the actual film strip with the trailer on it! All of this is well and good however the online players’ portion of the game abruptly halted. The trail had run cold. Finally some nerd somewhere discovered a sister site to the original viral site with the clues that let you shoot ducks or some shit. If you hit the ducks in a certain order you go to another site. THE NEXT SITE WE FOUND TOLD US THAT THE TRAILER WOULDN’T BE ONLINE UNTIL SUNDAY!
Clearly this marketing strategy is not going very easy on the online fans who couldn’t make it to London to search for clues at 5:30 at night. Many Bat-Fans are very upset and even though the marketing for this film thus far has been top notch, I am finding myself slipping away from it. Sometimes I wish I was just your average Joe who didn’t care one way or the other if he saw The Dark Knight. I feel if that were true that the time would pass faster. However I am not one of those poor saps. I am a Bat-Fan now and forever. But oh God, somtimes I just can’t stand all these waiting games…
As always, I promise to post the new trailer as soon as I can.
So the highly anticipated series of football games between storied Notre Dame and the recent up and coming Rutgers football team has been canceled. Although it was never official it being viewed as a definite for awhile. In fact, both schools had each other on their tentative schedules. Now though it isn’t going to happen, and we have one man to thank. Bob Mulcahy. Simply because Notre Dame wanted to play the games in New Jersey at the Meadowlands, Mulcahy big timed the Golden Domers and refused the offer. There a few reasons why this was an insane move by the Rutgers AD.
After all was said and done today (and it was a long long long day of viral marketing games and crap), we Bat-Fans have been treated to the next Poster for the much anticipated film The Dark Knight ! The poster itself is probably one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen. Clearly The Joker has burned a bat-shaped crater in a Gotham Skyscraper and I couldn’t be more pleased! Also, the viral website that premiered the poster also has the words “Four Days” printed on the bottom of the screen. My guess: New trailer on the 28th. This is very good news indeed. Can’t wait to update everyone on this one! See you in 4 days!!!
Last night me and fellow blogger Donald went to see the highly anticipated comedy ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall.’ The movie was hilarious as I expected and the cast seemed perfect. Jason Segel’s penis was pretty impressive, Paul Rudd and Jonah Hill once again gave classic comedic performances, and newcomer Russell Brand was great. Kristen Bell and Mila Kunis also delivered great performances as the leading ladies in the movie. Everything was good. I was thoroughly enjoying myself while watching the movie, but when it was over I asked myself one question…which girl should have went with?
It is official.
The next trailer for The Dark Knight has been shown to fans at the recent New York City Comic Con! No one knew it was coming until just moments before the unveiling at the convention. Apparently just after a small Speed Racer promotion, a representative from Warner Bros. stepped up to a podium in front of a movie screen and told viewers that “New York Comic Con has always been a special home to one of our characters.” Then he mentioned something about a Bat-Signal and the crowd drowned out the rest of his speech with maniacal screaming worthy of The Joker.
Then they played the long anticipated third trailer for the sequel to Batman Begins and most likely the last before the films July 18th release. Bat-Fans probably remember nearly collapsing after seeing the second trailer in December and with any luck we’ll get another jaw dropping preview this time around.
While it is still yet to be confirmed whether or not this third trailer for The Dark Knight will debut in front of the film Speed Racer or Iron Man, one thing is most likely going to happen for sure: the crazed Bat-Fans like me will see it slightly earlier through the Viral campaign that is being used to promote The Dark Knight. It would take a very long series of posts to explain the viral marketing for this movie but just imagine getting Gotham City newspapers delivered to your house with hidden messages that unlock certain websites. Then imagine worldwide manhunts for bowling bags with cellphones in them that are employed by “The Joker” to contact you with instructions. Then all these wild goose chases and the diciphering of codes generally leads to a trailer debut on one of the hidden sites.
So keeping in mind that as of right now, ”Lt. Jim Gordon” of Gotham Major Crimes Unit is blackmailing me into working for him because I got caught in a “sting operation” on one of those viral sites, it is becoming clear that this new chain of viral marketing is leading to the new trailer release.
I know very little about the new trailer for The Dark Knight. That being said, I do know, or I’m choosing to only tell you, two facts from it.
1) We are going to get to see and hear the late great Heath Ledger (as The Joker) deliver dialogue that I have personally been looking forward to ever since I found out The Joker was going to be in this movie. The line is: “It’s Simple, Kill The Batman!”
2) ”You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain” is the dialogue that ends the trailer and I got chills when I found out that Aaron Eckhart speaks this line as his character Harvey Dent. If you know why this means something, then you’re probably as excited as I am about that line. If you have no idea what I’m talking about then see The Dark Knight when it hits theaters July 18th. And when I see the trailer, I will post all there is to say about it right here on 41Miles.
Why So Serious?
You might be asking yourself one of two questions right now.
1)Wait, there’s a third Sandlot? I didn’t know there was a second!
2)What does Luke Perry have to do with anything anymore?
Well this is Don here returning from an all too long absence from 41Miles to answer those questions and more! Yup that’s Luke Perry for sure, and he’s back! You might remember Mr. Perry from such classics as 1999’s The Florentine and 2000’s Attention Shoppers. Well guess what? He’s back on the small screen playing Tommy “Santa” Santorelli in the instant hit The Sandlot 3: Heading Home! The plot outline found on IMDB for this film reads like an epic poem that tugs at the heart strings of America.
Successful, arrogant baseball superstar Tommy “Santa” Santorelli travels back in time to 1976 and relives his boyhood days on the sandlot baseball team, this time choosing friendship over glory, and ultimately earning both.
If that doesn’t make you cry I don’t know what will! Just imagine, if you will for a moment, the hardships Luke must face in this drama of life lessons and baseball metaphors. We all know how turbulent the year 1976 was and I know of only one man who could successfully pull off an acting job worthy of this plot: Luke Perry.
Grab some popcorn, get your dad into the living room, throw on some P.F. Flyers (guaranteed to make a kid run faster and jump higher), hang on tight to your autographed Dylan doll from 90210, and get ready for the sci-fi time travel thriller The Sandlot 3: Heading Home.
It’s great to be back! -Love always, Don
As I sit here listening to “Best of Both Worlds” by Hannah Montana I am in a Disney state of mind. The news of High School Musical 4 didn’t come with much surprise. I had heard rumors of a this movie and even a High School Musical 5 being made. I wasn’t really that upset though, I was more happy than anything. Sure, it will be a major adjustment (yes it does sound ridiculous but is ridiculously true) to get used to a new cast but it can be done. I know Tom stated in his post about this that he doesn’t really care for the idea but I disagree. When the first one came out nobody really knew the cast except for maybe Ashley Tisdale <3, but they loved it anyway. Tom also stated that “it can’t be good luck to have a film and its sequel in pre-production at the same time,” agreed but they aren’t both being filmed at the same time. The script for High School Musical 3 has already been completed and the announcement about HSM4 was that they are just starting to write the script. I don’t see any conflict issues there. I’m not trying to downplay the current cast, because I love them more than most kids but I think we’d all grow to love the songs and dances of a new cast as well. We would always hold the originals in our hearts but we’d grow to enjoy the new ones as well. I used Grease as an example when trying to convince myself of whether I liked this or not. The original Grease is maybe the best movie musical ever made. Then Grease 2 came along with a completely new cast of characters and I liked it. I thought it was fine. A lot of people disagree but it shows that you can adapt to a new cast. As long as the writing and songs are there I think people will feel the same.
OK, so maybe it was N.Y. Gov. Eliot Spitzer who was caught paying a little extra for salad on the side. But damn if he doesn’t look just like our loveable friend Smeagol!
Looks like he needed “the precious” a little too much, am I right fellas?
Movie idea: TIME SAVER — The story of a man who, once a year, spends an hour exploring a world frozen in time, as he lives every minute of the hour we all miss for “spring forward” at the beginning of Daylight Saving Time. It starts off innocently enough — peeking at people in the shower, driving really fast, making his boss pick his nose. But as he gets older, it becomes the only hour he really cares about. He speeds from time zone to time zone, trying to get a sweet, sweet taste of that forbidden period, where he is the only thing that exists.
It can be just like Click, just a lot less horrible.
So, as I was saying to myself before; what the hell happened to 2 a.m.? It was weird, man, when that clock changed. 1:59… 3:00. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the idea that time is a concept constructed by society, so we can manipulate it as we please. Then again, I got used to the new Aunt Viv on Fresh Prince, so I can probably handle anything.
God I hate her face. I’m sure none of you know who the hell she is. I had no idea of her worthless existence until my MSN homepage had a link for an article entitled ‘Is Miley Cyrus the Next Britney Spears?‘ I just got finished reading this trash and I couldn’t sit by idly. This is my first crack at pulling a FireJoeMorgan like post, a feat that a few of my fellow writers have flourished at. I left some parts of her article out that didn’t seem necessary but you’ll read what’s needed. Anyway this jerk jumps to more conclusions and makes more ridiculous assumptions about a teenage girl than a grown woman should be making. And as a big Miley/Hannah fan, I didn’t appreciate it.
I’ve never personally watched an episode of ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’ but I know Selena Gomez. I know she played a bit part in a couple Hannah Montana episodes as rival pop star Mikayla. I know she may be the next big Disney star. I know all of these things. What I didn’t know was that she was in talks to be in the next High School Musical movie. On the High School Musical: Senior year IMDB page it says that she is in talks to play Tiara, and is listed third in the cast credits. I really hope this doesn’t happen. I think it would be a mistake to add a high profile person like her to the cast of a movie that doesn’t need any new additions. I don’t want them to mess with the cast and formula that has worked so great on the first two movies. I don’t really like the idea of adding a new character who might play a big part in the movie. Especially not someone who is already widely known. It’s just my opinion, I’m curious to hear what the other HSM lovers feel about this news.
from cosmogirl.com (I’m so devoted to proper attribution, I’ll even admit that)
Zac Efron: October 18, 1987
Me: October 19, 1987
I can only imagine that if I had been delivered one day earlier, I would be that dreamy. I can only imagine.
I recently wrote a post called I Haven’t Forgotten About You Drake Bell. That was then, that was when I thought the world of him. I had no idea what he was doing at the time, but for some reason I felt it was great. Recently, however, I discovered otherwise. With thoughts that he was probably writing a new catchy tune or filming a new movie with Josh Peck, I uncovered some information that disappointed me to the core. I was reading through my latest Entertainment Weekly magazine, the Spring Movie Preview, and I came across a film titled ‘Superhero Movie‘ starring Drake Bell as Ricky Riker/Dragonfly. I immediately thought of those clowns Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, the geniuses behind the films ‘Date Movie’, ‘Epic Movie’, and ‘Meet the Spartans.’ The three worst movies ever. This movie isn’t from those guys, but it is from the guy who brought us ‘RocketMan’ with Harland Williams. So I say to you, Mr. Bell… why? You’re better than this Drake, you owe us more.
hhh
Now I don’t mean to brag, but I consider myself to be above-average appreciator of the female body. So when my main man Tommy (Salami lol) slammed down his latest blog entry about Colbert saying “tits” on television I couldn’t have been more excited (a thousand puns intended). I’m a huge fan of tits, and a fan of huge tits, and all other combinations of the words “fan”, “huge” and “tits” including: “I’m tits for a huge fan!” but I’m almost embarrassed to say there might be something that fascinates me even more than a sweet rack . And you know what the weird part is? I didn’t even know I loved it until I read Tom’s post! Love at first read if you will? You won’t? Well that’s not very fair.
Here’s my review from next week’s inside beat.
Charlie Bartlett
by Tom Wright-Piersanti
6.5/10
Ferris Bueller ruled his high school for reasons never explained in the 1986 comedy. Twelve Twenty-two years later, Charlie Bartlett might have finally found the answer – dealing dope.
If you want to read out blogging fun, click the title or the words below. I promise, if you watched the Oscars, it will be worth your time to read. Is it long? Yeah. But it’s basically written by a child, so there won’t be much wear and tear on your brain once you’re done.
Watching TV tonight, I saw that The Spiderwick Chronicles was being advertised as “The #1 Family Movie in America!” It got me wondering — what is it, exactly, that designates a movie as “family?”
Last year I did a big write up and picked every single category, this year I’m just going to pick the major ones with a few comments on who I think will win. I’ll give it to you straight though, I haven’t seen a few of the movies so some of these picks are shots in the dark. I haven’t seen Michael Clayton or Atonement so give me a break, I’m giving you the truth.
I’m not a gambling man, at least not a large scale. I’ll get together with the guys once in a while and play a good game of poker in a smoke-filled room, hopefully wearing a pork pie hat (I thought “porkpie” was one word in the case of hats, but spell check just flagged it - it flagged “spellcheck,” too; maybe they should be hyphenated). However, I’ve never gotten into the big bucks, the world of sports betting. A lot of my friends do it, and they tend to stick to the common targets, the “big four” sports (though I don’t know one that bets on hockey). But here are some things I didn’t know anybody bet on, and maybe some that you shouldn’t be able to bet on. (Note - all odds and lines taken from Bodog)
Let me get right to it, this was one of the worst piece shit movies I have ever seen in my life. My 9 year old sister could have played the parts of both cops and the acting still would have been better. The story, if there even was one, was stupid. I don’t live in Milltown but I consider it somewhat of a second home and they did nothing but shame the great town. I was disgusted with this movie. My only regret is that I didn’t know when and where these losers were filming this movie so I could go and put a stop to it. Great cameos from the wonderful folks at the Milltown Police Department, I don’t like them. But what I like less is this terrible movie. Please don’t watch.
Get it? It’s a joke! Because the movie you see below is called “Still-Life.” And it’s not very good.
Int., Police Office - Masterson sits, fiddling with his coffee mug. Mr. Isele enters.
Isele:
Masterson, it’s been three months. I need you back out there…
And in that moment, everything I loved from my childhood had been ripped away from me.
“Still-Life” is a short film by Dave O’Halloran starring his cousin, Brian O’Halloran, and Stephen Gallo. It’s a cop drama, I think. Or something like that. And apparently, it was put up onto YouTube a year ago. Thankfully, I went all of ‘07 without watching it. I’d like to think that contributed to making 2007 one of the best years of my life.
I remember when the movie was being made, local media gave Dave some coverage. I guess no one had ever filmed a short in the suburbian shangri-la of Milltown, N.J. before. And now, “Still-Life” makes a pretty strong argument against anyone ever filming here again.
I am deeply saddened to report that Roy Scheider passed away today at the age of 75. Best known for his role as Police Chief Martin Brody in the classic film JAWS, Scheider died due to complications from multiple Myeloma which is a cancer of the blood cells.
I know that many people out there barely know of Roy’s existance because honestly he didn’t have that many classic roles under his belt. But all I have to say to that is “hey, he was the police chief in JAWS.” In my opinion, JAWS is one of the best films ever made. The strongest element of the film is the acting. Roy played the everyman and to his credit, he put us right there in the water with that shark every step of the way. He made it real.
On the set, the main characters of the film (Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss) were always known as the “Big 3.” Today that number drops to 1 with the loss of Robert Shaw in 1978 and of Roy today. I’m already warming up my DVD player to watch JAWS today because it just feels right.
In closing, I first want to leave everyone with a bit of trivia. Roy Scheider actually improvised on the set of JAWS the famous movie line “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” It is not only still a pop culture reference that many use in one way or the other, but it is also a line that makes the film so much better.
And this one’s for you Roy: Show me the way to go home. I’m tired and I want to go to bed. I had a little drink about an hour ago, and it’s gone right to my head. Wherever I may roam, on land, or sea or foam, you will always hear me singing this song, show me the way to go home…
I hope you find your way home Chief.
To movie fans and New Jersey natives alike, Zach Braff’s Garden State was a mixed bag. On one hand, it had some solid moments and some wonderful shots of our home state. On the other, it was a little too heralded by faux-hipsters and it really could have been filmed anywhere in America, outside of a mention of Rutgers and a few town names here and there.
But now, NJ filmgoers have something to be proud of in Rocket Science, the sophomore effort by director Jeffery Blitz (Spellbound). The film tells the story of Hal Hefner, played by Reece Thompson (who believably played a 14 year old in 2007, but whose IMDb page now makes him look like a male model). Hefner is a young high school student in Plainsboro, NJ, who suffers from a severe stutter. He is recruited for the debate team by Ginny Ryerson (Anna Kendrick), one of the state’s top student debaters.
The film goes on to be a fascinating exploration into speech disorder, and a study of young teens struggling to comprehend the nature of love and sex. Beyond that, Rocket Science is a wonderful window into New Jersey life that stretches beyond the artifice of Garden State and doesn’t pander to detractors hoping to hear the negative NJ-slams that are all too common today.
I know Pete already gave you his review of “Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana: Best of Both Worlds Concert,” but since I wrote one for the newspaper, I figured I’d post it here too. NOTE, this is not the same version that was up last night. This is the final version that will run, as sent to me by my editor.
Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert
Directed by: Bruce Hendricks
by: Tom Wright-Piersanti
When Hannah Montana sold out every stadium in America in a matter of minutes, parents across the country fell to their knees and let out a collective scream. Disney heard that scream, and its response was swift and – more importantly – profitable.
Those of us unlucky enough to have missed out on the hottest concert ticket in a decade can still catch the teen queen in her silver screen debut Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert. For $15 (that’s the price for kids, too), you can spend roughly 75 minutes having glitter thrown in your face.
Hopeful filmgoers should act quickly though, as Disney released it to a very limited number of theaters, and it’s only running for one week.
I just got home from watching ‘Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour’ the move. Or HMMCBBWCT as I affectionately shorten it to. I brought my little sister and I went with my friend Tom who brought a little girl he babysits and his friend from school Suzy. There was a huge line of people waiting to be let into the theater before the movie started. One man approached me and asked what movie was causing all of the commotion. I looked at him right in the eyes and told him…’Meet the Spartans.’ He believed me. Anyway, I had been looking forward to the concert film but wasn’t overly excited about it. I started getting up for it when I was handed my RealD glasses. I was ready for the ride.
Ashley, if you are reading this right now (which I can only assume you are), just know that this poor kid is madly in love with you, and would do anything to be by your side. Ever since I first laid eyes on you in High School Musical I got butterflies. This isn’t your normal celebrity crush, I have feelings for you. Some may call it sick, I call it beautiful.
A few days after hearing the tragic news and talking with my friend Don about the death, I am more excited than ever to see ‘The Dark Knight.’ I just know that Heath Ledger’s performance will be remembered forever.
The Oscar nominees were announced and after viewing the list I had a few quick thoughts on some of the people and movies that got nominated.
Read the rest of this entry »
Very sad news broke earlier today that actor Heath Ledger died in his home. Here’s what information Wikipedia had about the tragedy.
“At 3:31 p.m., a masseuse arrived at Apartment 5A of 421 Broome Street in SoHo for an appointment with Ledger, the police said. The masseuse was let in to the home by a housekeeper, who then knocked on the door of Ledger’s bedroom. When no one answered, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom and found Ledger unresponsive. They shook him, but he did not respond. They immediately called the authorities. The police said they did not suspect foul play and said they found pills near his body.”
Last night I watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and throughout the whole movie I kept noticing something: Fred and George Weasley (James and Oliver Phelps) look exactly like a young David Bowie. I decided to make them a family portrait in Photoshop, so they can always remember that time their mom got backstage at Live Aid in ‘85 and “met” Ziggy Stardust himself.
The picture doesn’t do it justice, really; watch the movie and you’ll see it too.
After months and months of anticipation fans like myself were treated to the official trailer of ‘The Dark Knight.’ The heavily anticipated Batman movie starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger. Here is the official trailer but that wasn’t even the biggest news.
In a huge marketing campaign involving websites and newspapers it was revealed that in IMAX theaters only, the first 6 minutes of the movie would be shown before I Am Legend. A huge tease yes, but also it was finally something for all of us geek Batman fans who have been waiting since the moment we finished watching Batman Begins. Well I have seen the first six minutes of the movie and it is a great opening. All we see are bunch of guys in clown masks robbing the mobs money from a bank. One of the men keeps shooting his others though, throughout the six minutes we basically just see the robbery. Then the bank manager, played by William Fichtner, opens fire on the robbers. He is then shot and one of the men in the masks walks over to him and reveals his face, it is white with red around the lips, we know him as the Joker. He says to Fichtner ‘What doesn’t kill you, makes you stranger” and hops in a school bus and leaves. End clip.
Above is the official teaser trailer for “The Dark Knight”, the next Batman movie which will be released on July 18, 2008. Over the last year I have become a real Batman geek and have been looking forward to this movie for some time now. The trailer last night was like Christmas morning to me and I showed my appreciation by giving it a standing ovation in the theater. Enjoy.
EDIT From Tom: Also in TDK news, another viral marketing site has been launched by the Warner Brothers folks, this time at WhySoSerious.com. As it turns out, The Joker held open casting calls yesterday in San Diego at 10 am, and many geeks attended dressed in their finest facepaint. The site now has photos and a “police report” of the event, as well as HD versions of the trailer above. Some clever fans also found this hidden in the website:
(Click for full version)
The latest picture of Heath Ledger as The Joker, this time in action with his knife to Maggie Gyllenhaal’s face. Of course since Maggie’s brother Jake Gyllenhaal starred alongside Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain, you can expect a humongous rehashing of those amazing Brokeback jokes none of us got sick of.
Tonight a whole group of us went to see The Simpsons Movie, the culmination of my entire life’s obsession. It did not disappoint. The jokes were fast paced (though they did slow in the second half) and ranged from bitingly clever to laugh-out-loud crude, and the main story line progressed beautifully. The animation felt perfect, it was as beautiful as I’ve seen in a long time. Die-hard fans, casual viewers, and first timers will all find something to love in this gem of a film. We finally see why it took so long for them to come out with it; it’s one hell of a movie. Full review from me and Pete coming tomorrow.
The night started out well when they showed the teaser trailer for “The Dark Knight” which is of course the next Batman movie. It will be released July 18, 2008 but the countdown has already begun. Anyway the movie was an absolute delight. It was well paced, the jokes were well placed and not too random, and the animation and cinematography were top of the line. I have a few knocks on it, we’ve seen the storyline where Bart becomes like a member of the Flanders family and he originally hated the idea but in the movie it’s what he wanted at times. Also I kind of felt that maybe there wasn’t enough involvement of secondary characters. Moe had a few one liners, Lenny and Carl made brief appearances, and Krusty only had a couple seconds on screen. Overall though it was a great movie. The full collaborative review of the film will be posted by me and Tom tomorrow afternoon.
Holy smokes! Robin Williams’ latest laff-fest will leave you praying for more! Remember that name — For those of us lucky enough to have experienced his unconventional, off-the-wall take on l’arte comédienne, it is truly a spectacle (don’t worry if you haven’t, he is on the up-and-up!). In his latest (and surely largest) Hollywood picture, Williams dons the alb and cassock as he portrays a minister of some sort who has taken up that ever so sweet dilemma of prenuptial cold feet! Although he has never experienced the love of a woman in the duration of his priesthood, it doesn’t mean that he and his little buddy Sousty, played aptly by his real-life son Billy Williams, can’t have a little fun. And fun they have!
I apologize for the delay in this review. I did see the movie the day it came out but was busy and didn’t get time to write the review. Last week I was on vacation with no computer so I have just been getting back into the routine. Anyway here we go.
In Judd Apatow’s latest movie he follow the lives of Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) and Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) until they meet up at a nightclub and have what was supposed to just a one-night-stand. Alison turns out to be pregnant and alerts Ben of what has happened, the movie then follows their troubles and successes during their attempts to try and make things work between them while also getting ready for the birth of their child.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the new film “SiCKO” by Michael Moore is taking this country by storm. Receiving universal praise (even a rave from Fox News!), it is being hailed as a movie that spans all party borders and appeals to every American, even those who have hated everything else he has done. It addresses our nation’s incredibly flawed health care system, and it really is a film that every American should see (except those with large amounts of money resting on the wellbeing of our Health Insurance/Pharmaceutical industries, you might not like it). But if that isn’t enough to get you into theaters, here is an added bonus for Rutgers fans — Moore wears a Rutgers hat throughout a decent portion of the movie! He wears it during many of the scenes that take place in England and France.
Michael Moore is a well-known fan of college football, and Michigan sports teams in general. He is usually associated with his green Michigan State hat (don’t worry, Spartans, he sports that one in this film too). But for some reason–perhaps a bet he made before we upset MSU back in 2004–he dons the scarlet and white in this new movie, and overseas nonetheless! EDIT: I am no longer afraid to admit that I was one of the tens of thousands of people who recently got the film through a filesharing site, because Michael Moore has publicly supported the illegal pirating and sharing of his films. Please, go see SiCKO… if not for the amazing change it might spark in the way our health care system, then at least for the fantastic apparel.
And in case you are wondering; yes, I DO own that hat.
There it is. The photo that all of us Batman die hards have been waiting on for a long time. The first look at how Heath Ledger will look as the Joker in next year’s newest installment in the new Batman series called “The Dark Knight.” And I have to say…it looks absolutely amazing. Apparently over the weekend there was a marketing campaign in which Aaron Eckhart, who will be playing Harvery Dent, appears on a poster with the words “I Believe in Harvey Dent.” There was also another poster with Eckhart with his face all messed up. As if the poster had been marked up by someone else. If you dragged the pieces off of Eckhart’s face it revealed the new Joker’s face. That poster has since been removed but if you go ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com it will be a black background with red letters saying “Page Not Found.” If you highlight the page it will reveal that the entire page is covered in HaHaHas. If you copy and paste the entire page into word and delete the hahaha’s it will read “See you in December.” For us huge Batman fans this is exactly the kind of thing we’ve been waiting for.
I never thought I’d have to ask you this question Steve Carell. What happened man? Sure, The Office is the best comedy on television today and Little Miss Sunshine won an Oscar, but come on man…Evan Almighty? It’s not even like Bruce Almighty was that good and now you are going to try and make a sequel to it. Let’s hope you can work your comedic charm and your charisma on this one, because people won’t be going to this movie to see Morgan Freeman. I understand that you probably signed on to do this movie before you hit all of your stardom, but you are better than this. You have become one of the funniest men in entertainment and now you are going to tarnish yourself with this ridiculous movie. I would love to be proved wrong in this situation but I just don’t see it. Your better than this Steve, you owe us more.
There was a time when low budget, badly edited, and extremely poorly produced exploitation films were commonplace. The 1970’s were full of movies referred to as ‘Grindhouse’ pictures that fell under all of the above stated categories. In an homage to the movies of that era Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino may not have only done those pictures justice, but may have surpassed everything those movies were. In “Grindhouse” we are taken back to that era for one night at the movies in a three hour movie extravaganza including intermission with fake trailers for movies of the same exploitation genre.