We’re starting to hear some positive buzz about G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Apparently it doesn’t rape or ruin your childhood; rather, it may make you feel like a kid again. This is what a toy/cartoon adaptation should do, we guess, but we still wish they’d made a Reagan-era-style war movie instead of a CG-heavy action blockbuster with too much comic relief. Because even when we were little we knew the property was a young person’s version of the conservative, Cold War-informed military pictures of the 1980s. And if Rambo could get his own Saturday morning animated series, why couldn’t we get a hard-R-rated G.I. Joe after all these years?
We know the answer to that question, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re disappointed. See, while others might feel GIJTROC has ruined their childhood by being too unfaithful to the action figures and show, we feel it’s ruined our childhood because it isn’t the movie we dreamed of. So that’s how the following list of films was selected. Instead of going for all the obvious remakes and video game adaptations (we’ve never cared about games), we’re focusing on movies that really turned our beloved films, comics and cartoons of our youth into something we’re now almost embarrassed to ever admit we enjoyed.
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Black Friday is a scary time for shoppers in any given year. The crowds, the lines, the difficulty finding parking — all these and more are common annoyances on the day after Thanksgiving, as millions upon millions of Americans begin the Christmas season by making a run for the shopping malls and department stores in hopes of finding the best bargains. This year, of course, the economic downturn will make the day even worse than usual. The stores may be desperately holding the biggest sales we’ll ever witness, but lowest prices aren’t quite low enough for those who are broke or bankrupt.
So, you may stay home this Friday. Perhaps you’ll at least make some minor online purchases, because you’re a patriotic, consuming American and it’s kind of like an unofficial holiday in our capitalist democracy. But don’t not go out to the mall simply because of the craziness potentially happening on its many floors of fashion and furnishings. You mustn’t be frightened of the crowds. Just recall any or all of the following ten movie scenes and by comparison you’ll think your Black Friday errands are like a stroll in the park.
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Yes, it’s about time we heard news about a sequel to Enchanted. But not because I am actually looking forward to Enchanted 2. In case you weren’t aware or have forgotten, I’ve been writing contemptuously about the original since my very first day posting on SpoutBlog. Rather, it’s about time only because I was beginning to think Disney had lost its marbles, business-wise. Clint at Moviehole has the unofficial scoop:
A foxy little birdie cheeped in my ear – the good one, the other one’s clogged with wax - this morning that Disney is developing a sequel to its staggeringly-successful “Enchanted” – and the production has inched forward significantly in the past month or two, as a direct result of those smashing DVD sales.
How does she knoooooooow?….
This one probably doesn’t need its source fingerprinted or lie-detected, let’s leave it at that.
But really, did anyone expect the House of Mouse not to forge ahead with a follow-up to one of its biggest hits of 2007?
Nah, me either – if a cow is there to be milked, it need look into some teat cream, it’s bound to be tugged a few more times.
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Not that I should be worried about any speculation found in Entertainment Weekly, but I was annoyed this past weekend when I saw the magazine’s “Oscar Buzz-O-Meter”, which is only the latest place to find Amy Adams listed as a highly potential Oscar nominee for Enchanted. The piece notes that, “glowing reviews for her regal turn in Enchanted — and the $70 million it grossed in its first 12 days — could earn Adams her second Oscar nomination.”
Variety also now has Adams listed as a potential dark horse contender in the race. Other places she’s recognized include the Associated Press, Hollywood Elsewhere and The Envelope, which claims she’s a lock for the fifth spot, going up against Marion Cotillard, Keira Knightley, Julie Christie and Ellen Page.
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