July 4th weekend is typically reserved for huge blockbuster releases, particularly those starring Will Smith and/or showcasing America as a force not to be messed with (against aliens or the British). Very, very rarely does an independent release even bother trying to go up against the studios during the big holiday. For example, the only option for an American indie we have this weekend is IFC’s wrong-holidayed I Hate Valentine’s Day, which is uneventfully the second Nia Vardalos movie in a month. And this year we don’t even have the usual sort of event movie debuting on July 4th weekend. There’s just Public Enemies and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Boring.

Isn’t it ironic that independent films can’t open on Independence Day? It would make sense for there to be a number of good U.S.-produced indies opening this week, going up against the big guys with their American spirit (including their disregard for broad, worldwide marketability) and evidence of the American Dream come true. Wondering if there have ever been great independents released at this time of year, we took at look at the last 30 years of cinema and found only a few significant titles.

See what little (American) films bucked the 4th of July weekend release system after the jump:
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Who could possibly want to read/write/talk about movies on a day like this? It’s the day after the Lost Season 5 finale (aka “The Incident”), and that is the topic everyone’s searching, researching and discussing on the web this afternoon. So, we might as well join in the fun by devoting today’s list to that beloved yet frustrating TV show. Of course, we have to keep things at least relevant to the movies, this being a film blog and all, but it’s not really that difficult to do so. For a show that constantly references and pays tribute to movies, it might actually be harder to write about Lost without citing certain film titles.

Many fans of the series are no doubt seeking out and/or devising theories about what will transpire next, in Season 6. We say, try to get inside the movie-loving minds of Lost executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof. Surely whatever they’ve cooked up for the final season is inspired by one or more films. Stop your looking into the Bible, philosophy text books and the work of Flannery O’Connor. Instead, start your search for answers with the following ten theories, all based on movies.
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While it’s nice to learn that so many other people love The Cannonball Run as much as I do, it’s very unfortunate that such a discovery comes only with the death of Dom DeLuise. The actor passed away peacefully last night at the age of 75, and today the Internet is heavy in mourning, as well as in discussion and celebration of underrated DeLuise classics.

For me, after the apparently “classic” Cannonball Run movies and my obvious rememberance of the actor’s appearances in The Muppet Movie and on The Muppet Show, I thought of Don Bluth’s animated features, many of which feature the voice of DeLuise. I recall being so excited upon the release of Bluth’s All Dogs Go to Heaven as a kid, mainly because it reunited DeLuise with his Cannonball costar Burt Reynolds. Plus, as much as it was always a delight seeing DeLuise’s jolly face onscreen, his voice alone always gave me a warm feeling. Even his “Pizza the Hut” from Spaceballs comes off as someone you’d like to hug, as messy as that might be.

Speaking of Spaceballs, many around the web are obviously writing fondly of DeLuise’s work in Mel Brooks‘ movies, and at least one person has acknowledged the late actor’s work in Fatso, directed by Mrs. Brooks, aka Anne Bancroft. That and other remembrances can be found after the jump.

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Eric Kohn talked to the film student responsible for the above mashup. You may think you’re over the 1 +1 = LOL equation, but Miss Piggy as a skeptical caper widow is perfect casting.

The new trailer for Where the Wild Things Are is such a phenomenon today that I’ve even seen celebrities excitedly Tweeting about it (and by celebrities, I mean specifically Rob Corddry). Actually, I think the majority of people I follow on Twitter have squeezed out a gushing statement in 140 words or less. That is, except me (don’t I technically follow myself?). Sure, I’m looking forward to the movie, as a fan of Maurice Sendak and a fan of Spike Jonze and a fan of Dave Eggers, but I don’t think the trailer looks that incredible. And the parts that do look really great remind me of how amazing the trailer for Benjamin Button looked. Remember what happened with that?

Maybe it’s my usual distaste for computer-generated characters; yes, I’d honesty be happier if the Wild Things were made by the Jim Henson Company and all looked like Sweetums from The Muppet Show. I do believe the film includes “suitmation” and animatronics, in addition to CG, but much of what I noticed in the trailer was the computer stuff, and I’m sad to say that, unlike all the commenters at FirstShowing.net, I can’t yet label this as an “instant classic.”

Let’s see if there are any bloggers who agree with me after the jump:

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If you buy the kids only one new video release this week, make it Pinocchio. Obviously. But if you have enough spending money to buy two, pick up Howard the Duck as well. Finally on DVD in America (with a Special Edition no less), the infamous flop is anything but a great film. Yet it is hardly one of the worst films of the 1980s, despite its reputation.

For the past 23 years, I’ve stood by my childhood love for Howard the Duck, constantly acknowledging that I even owned Ellis Weiner’s novelization of the film. Technically, the best reason to defend the movie’s existence is that it directly led to the creation of Pixar. But this reason doesn’t influence anyone to watch the thing. So, in order to defend the movie’s onscreen worth, I’ve come up with ten points for why you should pick up the new Howard the Duck disc and not feel at all guilty about doing so.
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Should special effects only be used to service a film’s story, or is it perfectly fine for movies to feature extraneous spectacle? That’s a debate that comes up often among cineastes, but ultimately there’s room for both functions. Sometimes, in cases like Jurassic Park and The Matrix, both categories of effects may even faultlessly coexist in the same film. Yet there is one kind of effects employment that’s intolerable to all film-loving parties: the gratuitous exploitation for the sole purpose of brazen gimmickry. It’s this kind of effects work that goes beyond spectacle. It’s not so much a show as a show off.

For one example of this cinematic sin check out Karina’s review of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, in which she references a scene featuring an inessential and irrelevant rocket launch in the background of an otherwise intimate moment between two lovers on a sailboat. Actually, that’s apparently only a minor citation in a “a film about the feat of its own whiz-bang, Frankensteinian digital imagery, drunk on its own accomplishment to an extent that feels quasi-ethical.” Hardly the first movie to commit such a crime, sure, but Benjamin Button seems to be the most thoroughly guilty exploiter since Forrest Gump (both films, incidentally, were scripted by Eric Roth).

So, in (dis)honor of Roth’s repeat offense, let’s take a short look at the worst exploitations of special effects in the last 15 years:
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Thanks to Barack Obama, you’ve possibly had enough inspirational speeches for one year. But if not, go see Milk, and also watch this video, which splices together bits from 40 films including obvious choices like Independence Day, Patton, Braveheart, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Animal House, as well as surprise additions like Newsies, Swingers and Galaxy Quest. The montage had me at the 7 second mark due to an appearance from Fozzie and friends (from The Great Muppet Caper), but it goes on longer than 2 minutes.

This is not just some compilation of cinema’s greatest inspirational speeches, though; it’s a well-edited stitching of words that come together as one long speech, the most perfect inspirational speech ever. Even Obama could learn a thing from this video from YouTube genius Matthew Belinkie (he also gave us “The Dark Bailout”), especially if the president-elect finds himself at the center of an alien invasion, a war with England or in a roomful of Muppets at the Happiness Hotel.

Check out “40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes” after the jump.

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It’s probably a good thing I’m not head of Summit Entertainment, because I’d replace departed Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke with “SpookyDan,” a YouTube user who shot a three-minute remake of the first movie using puppets. Fans of Twilight probably wouldn’t appreciate having Robert Pattinson replace with a silent, plush version of Edward Cullen, although their ability to project their fantasy of the vampire heartthrob onto anyone or anything (Pattinson himself admits he needed to be a blank canvas) is probably powerful enough to get over the switcheroo.

Having not seen or read Twilight, I can’t say if this video is a faithful or sufficient representation of the story, but I’m going to admit that it’s good enough for me. But then, I’ll watch anything in which puppets replace human characters. Yes, even The Muppet Christmas Carol (actually, especially The Muppet Christmas Carol). As far as parody goes, I’d have loved to see Count von Count from Sesame Street make an appearance (I know I’ve seen Count puppets in toy stores). Judging by the dedication in the credits, though, I don’t think this is meant to be as much of a joke as it is intended to pay tribute.

Check out the sparkling puppet Edward after the jump.

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I didn’t want to say it on Monday, but the new trailer for Star Trek had me thinking of Muppet Babies. Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one. A friend over at the ReadJunk.com forum had the same idea. And a few other internerds have made similar connections by recutting the trailer to better convey how J.J. Abrams’ reboot is basically just Star Trek Babies. Or Star Trek Jr. Or Little Star Trek. It should be titled The New Star Trek — not because it’s a new start, but because it’s kind of like The New Archies.

The first recut I saw was over at Cinematical, where a video was posted fitting the Star Trek trailer to the theme song and opening credits style of the original Beverly Hills 90210. It was fine, though it stalled a little too much on the Zoe Saldana bra shot and featured too much footage from other films like Shaun of the Dead and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. A few days later I saw the clip above, which carries out the same idea with the theme and opening style from Smallville. Due to the concept behind that show, this video seems more appropriate, though it still has its flaws. A few more characters/actors could have been given credits.

Now all we need is someone to actually do a mashup of the new Star Trek and Muppet Babies. And after that, we could also use one pegged to the newly announced X-Men: First Class.

• Not that adults can’t already appreciate Muppet movies enough as they are, but The Jim Henson Co. has a new film in the works that will primarily be for grown-ups. Described as being a little Avenue Q mixed with a little L.A. Confidential and Pulp Fiction, the movie will be set in a world where humans and puppets co-exist (umm, like any other Muppet movie, uh huh), in which the latter are considered second-class citizens (still kind of like any other Muppet movie) and become victim to a series of murders (ok, there’s the adult part). Titled The Happyland Murders, this seemingly Muppets version of Who Framed Roger Rabbit will be directed by Brian Henson (The Muppet Christmas Carol).
• This should be the year to debut hot political films, not announce them, but Fox Searchlight has reportedly acquired the rights to Allen Raymond’s memoir How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative, which has been adapted and will be directed by Billy Ray (Shattered Glass).
• The boys of Peter Billingsley’s Couples Retreat have now been assigned wives: Jason Bateman gets Kristen Bell; Vince Vaughn gets Malin Ackerman; and Jon Favreau somehow gets Kristin Davis. The plot has all these pairings headed to a tropical island in order to save their marriages. There should really be an official genre called Romantic Fantasy Comedy for this one to be classified as.
• In more typical romantic comedy genre news, Amy Adams will star in Leap Year as an uptight woman who wants to follow Irish tradition and propose to her boyfriend on February 29. The script, from the writers of Made of Honor, is described as being like It Happened One Night. I’m sure.

The reasons I find this sketch funny are probably the reverse of why it’s supposed to be funny. After it was over, I couldn’t help but want to go on Craigslist and seek out my own Muppet roommate. Too bad they don’t really exist. I would love hearing old stories about ’70s celebs like Phyllis Diller and Sandy Duncan. And I’ll always find that ringing gag hilarious, even if I lived with it. That literally was one of my very favorite bits on Sesame Street (watch the original here) when I was a kid. As for the “eating” stuff? I’d probably just eat the cookie crumbs that fall out of my Muppet roommate’s mouth. It’s just felt and fur in there. No germs, right? Speaking of felt and fur, I’d probably give my Muppet roommate lots of hugs.

Sure, the showing up out of nowhere could get annoying. And It’d be pretty creepy if he was ever skinned of his Muppet suit to become just a loose hand (unless he was really helpful, like Thing in The Addams Family). Otherwise, I’m sure most people can agree, there are far worse roommates to be had out there. If anything, I think the Muppet has the bad roommate. That guy seems like a spoiled hipster who probably lives on a trust fund, attempts to sell his paintings or photography on the streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is in a couple awful bands and sometimes temp bartends at a place where he also busses tables and occasionally DJs in exchange for free drinks.

I wish the little Muppet dude luck in his audition for Jason Segel and Nick Stoller’s new Muppet movie. Then he can get away from his lame roommate for awhile.

The last clip I posted, before taking a week off, was Muppet-related. And now, rather than digging through all the viral marketing and other cine-centric videos I’ve missed during my vacation, here is yet another clip that is Muppet-related. The video presents a year-old performance of “Count’s First Day of School” by The Dead Hensons, a Muppet cover band from the Bay Area. Unfortunately the group doesn’t appear to play too often (according to their website, after this May 2007 set, they only played twice again, in August 2007 and May 2008).

So why share this clip? Well, besides the obvious, that it’s important to note that a Muppet cover band is no less necessary or serious than any other cover band (IMHO, Paul Williams is one of the greatest songwriters alive), this is also a chance for me to recommend that Jason Segal and Nicholas Stoller consider giving The Dead Hensons at least a cameo in their upcoming Muppet movie. If you’ve seen Segal and Stoller’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall, you might agree with me that this song is like a bridge between that film and the new Muppet movie, because Dead Hensons frontman Ryan Beebe is very Segal-esque (at least he appears so in this poor-quality clip) and this performance is kind of like the Dracula musical song from Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

For more enjoyable Muppets covers, check out the Dead Hensons’ MySpace page.

Here’s a bit of candy to keep you entertained while I settle into the post-Cannes, post-holiday bloggy business as usual. Continuing the Muppets revisionist cinematic history trend (first came Sesame Streets by Martin Scorsese, then Elmo auditioned for a remake of Casino (he lost the role to Ernie, apparently), here comes The Muppets Take Manhattan. We always suspected that Kermit was the Woody Allen of Sesame Street, and now we have the visual proof.

Via Gawker.