“It’s not bad. It’s a lump, but it’s a benign lump.”
Taking potshots at High School Musical is easy, not to mention fun and profitable. The original Disney Channel film was cheap and simple-minded (but harmless), and its sequel was more of the same. Now the geniuses at Disney have figured out that they should be selling these movies, not giving them away on cable TV, so the second sequel, High School Musical 3: Senior Year, is playing in theaters. And you know what? It’s not bad. It’s a lump, but it’s a benign lump.
Download High School Musical 3 (B-) from rapidshareDVD That Might Interest YouGotta go with The Incredible Hulk. I reviewed the DVD for all the fans out there. Casino Royale also dropped on Blu-Ray, but I wasn’t lucky enough to grab that one. Curses.
Oscar Thought of the DayFor some inexplicable reason The Soloist has been pushed back to March - ending all Oscar hopes. This happened around 48 hours after I put it on my “potential Best Picture” radar. So where does that leave us? Behold, a NEW Best Picture list:
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“Who is Hollywood making these films for anyway?”
De Niro, Willis, Penn, Wright-Penn, Tucci, Turturro, Keener, Stewart … I count one, two … at least seven big names. Oh dear, I think critical mass may have been reached.
You know how if you time-travel, and you and yourself ever both end up in the same room, the fabric of the space-time continuum will tear? Similarly, if too many familiar Hollywood faces appear in one movie … well, the consequences usually aren’t good. And when celebrities imitate their own lives, the odds don’t often get much better.
Download What Just Happened? (C+) from rapidshareWant to Win Bond on Blu-Ray?Last week I was asked if Film.com wanted to give away Blu-Ray copies of The James Bond Collection (Amazon link). The titles involved? Dr. No, Die Another Day, Live and Let Die, For Your Eyes Only, From Russia with Love, and Thunderball. What do you have to do to win? Email me who you think did Bond best, and why. I’ll let you know if you’ve won and mail out your Blu-Ray collection.
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“None of it has much story, logic, or heart. We deserve better.”
Max Payne isn’t so much a movie as it is a collection of scenes they’re hoping you won’t pay much attention to. The writing / producing / directing team cribbed from a collection of interesting films over the past decade, threw them into Max Payne stew, and prayed Mark Wahlberg seemed tough enough to convince teenage boys to tell a friend. The problem isn’t that this is a video game film, those can work, heck those have worked — no, the problem is that it’s a poorly done film regardless of the source material.
Download Max Payne (D) from rapidshareMovies This Weekend That Might Interest YouWell, I’m not seeing Max Payne until Friday but I’m told it’s disappointing. Ninety minutes of blah, though evidently you’re supposed to stay through the end credits for another scene if you go. I did catch W., though. A well done film, though not something I’d recommend — unless you’re looking for more depression in your life. I’m not. All stocked up on sadness, thanks!
Podcasts That Aren’t Mine That I Still LoveI enjoy Jim Cramer’s
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“A well done movie? Probably. But not one I’d ever recommend people see.”
The problem with the movie W. is that it’s happening right now. All around us we see the wreckage of electing a guy that you’d want to have a beer with. I think I’m on relatively safe ground saying this: the gentleman in question has the lowest approval rating of my lifetime and poll after poll indicates the American people are unhappy with the direction of the country. But, at least before I saw
Download W. (C+) from rapidshareDVD That Might Interest YouI think I would recommend Mongol before anything else, even though I haven’t seen it. I’ve got to give Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull a pass — though I would urge you to check out the South Park episode on the subject. If you’re Blu-Ray inclined, that Ultimate Matrix Collection is looking pretty delightful.
Oscar Thought of the DayWhy isn’t Defiance getting any Oscar buzz? It seems like it’s in the Academy’s wheelhouse. Regardless, because I’m really good at this, I’ll give you the five Best Picture nominees RIGHT NOW, months ahead of schedule.
Download Big Hitter: Cheadle Replaces Howard on Iron Man… from rapidshareWhat I’m Seeing This WeekThey are screening W. on Tuesday. I’ve seen a few Oliver Stone interviews on the subject and it’s already hard to know what to make of it. Are the trailers a false read? Stone keeps saying it’s even-handed, but can we take that seriously? Heck, is that what people even want?
Wednesday is Max Payne and possibly Synechdoche, New York. Depends how the day goes. Sometimes they don’t let me leave my desk. Thursday is
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