Today in merchandising: moonshine!
Between Lawless and The Master, Annapurna Pictures is starting to build a name for itself as the most moonshiney production company going. And while Lawless sure made moonshinin' purty, The Master makes it compelling. So in all fairness, it should …
Hollywood consternation
My favorite part about the news that The Master set a per-screen box-office record last weekend (a record previously held by the similarly unusual Moonrise Kingdom) is the thought of Monday morning meetings among studio executives. "Quick! Bottle that lightning! …
Free movies of the week - big themes edition.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJVuqYkI2jQ To celebrate the release of the trailer for Spielberg's Lincoln, here's Spielberg's Amistad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxRfe6C3otM&feature=related At the other end of the Civil War, you got Dances with Wolves: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZYs8OGeCAA&feature=related And here's Pearl Harbor; that was a pretty big deal, too: …
Hillary Clinton stands up for offensive art.
It is with great fear and trepidation that I post anything about the whole Innocence of Muslims nightmare, because it's very easy to be misunderstood when speaking about these matters. But Innocence of Muslims is a movie, and this is …
A closer look at the trailer for Mama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Am7i7uM9r0 Hold on, a couple of those frames didn't appear the way they were supposed to... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/14/31490/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/14/31489/ Okay, okay, not entirely fair. But the guy's name does get tossed around an awful lot for how little he's actually made. …
Tough Guys vs. Stand-Up Guys: compare and contrast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CEd1w04gl4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Drm7lTx08ro So, when the next generation of actors gets old and grumpy, who will take up the mantle? Special Big Screen bonus: Tough Guys is, of course, available on YouTube in toto. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4khM7oNna8&NR=1&feature=fvwp
A closer look at the trailer for Smashed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv48b4cpLCA What's that you say? A love story about a couple who bond over a shared love of booze? Color me inebriated! Interested! I mean interested! Really, though, what makes this trailer noteworthy is that it features not one, but …
The Master meets his Mistress.
Favorite exchange from the critical banter prior to this morning's screening of The Master, the highly-anticipated, L. Ron Hubbard-inspired new film from There Will Be Blood director Paul Thomas Anderson and Capote actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, et al: "You mean …
A closer look at the trailer for Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.
My, my, times have changed. Used to be, all you needed to get rid of a witch was a stake and some kindling. Now, you gotta have an arsenal: http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/10/31210/ Let's not waste too much time on the guns, not …
Interview with Samsara producer Mark Magidson and director Ron Fricke
When I first tried to describe Samsara to my wife, I said, "Think of Life magazine in its heyday, the photographs opening up the wider world to the viewer. Except here, the pictures move, and so does the camera. So …
Free movies of the week: Rocky edition.
I'm so very pleased to see Mr. Marks getting on the free-movie bandwagon, but that doesn't mean that I won't keep on doing my part as well. Howzabout a little Rocky Balboa this time 'round? Rocky: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYxz6_-AwBg&feature=related Rocky II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6DzVfjYo9k&feature=relmfu …
Opening this week.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/06/31032/ Branded: Yummy? Scott Marks had few kind words for The Words, no matter how prettily Bradley Cooper batted his eyelashes. I liked Samsara so much that I'm going to have a chat with the director! I'll try to post …
Time is running out for you to see Love Carrot 3 in a theater!
You've got four showings left. All today. Act now. Because even though it appears to be entirely in Russian and completely without subtitles, the classic "Oh no, who did I sleep with last night?" reaction shot needs no translation: http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/06/31025/
Branded: color me cautiously hopeful.
Quick, name ten movies that feature global conspiracies. What's that? You couldn't possibly keep the list to just ten? I hear ya. But you know what the problem is with most global conspiracies? It's hard to see the point of …
The Words: No, Bradley.
Mr. Marks agrees. Click to enlarge. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/06/31001/
First image of Chris Pine as Jack Ryan!
What, I say, WHAT could handsome devil Chris Pine and Woodenhead Jones - sorry, Kevin Costner - be gawking at? http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/05/30969/ AIIIIEEEE! It's a collage of all the previous Jack Ryans, the way they looked when they took the role, …
Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven: a tense day on the set.
Okay, just one more on this whole "Clint Eastwood, politically conservative movie star" thing. I was looking back on Unforgiven, and I remembered that Morgan Freeman was Eastwood's co-star in that film. Now, Morgan Freeman is not a Republican. In …
Clint Eastwood does not want a free one.
As Mr. Marks has noted, Clint Eastwood gave a helluva performance at the Republican National Convention. And lo and behold, the Internet has responded as the Internet does, although I rather prefer Mr. Marks' decision to use Mr. Eastwood's old …
Huge movie poster sale at Landmark La Jolla Village Cinemas in a month or so!
[UPDATE: Yeah, when I said this weekend? I meant the last weekend in September.] Posters! Posters! Posters! Get your movie posters! Saturday, September 29th, 2012 & Sunday, September 30th, 2012 from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM, at Landmark's La Jolla …
Free movies of the week: dead and undead edition.
Continuing our investigation of the wonders of YouTube... To mark the sad occasion of director Tony Scott's death, here's Denzel Washington in Scott's Deja Vu. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6caiQSy8W5c&feature=related Nora Ephron also died recently. Here's what is possibly her best-known screenplay work, When …