If all you remember of Patrick Swayze, who died yesterday of cancer at age 57, is his dance moves, you may be forgetting what an iconic tough guy he was. Sure, he started out specializing in arguably unmanly ventures like ballet and gymnastics, and many of his most memorable scenes show him as a limber romantic with thick, luxurious hair. But he was really best when he portrayed macho, domineering and otherwise badass dudes.

We grew up thinking of him first as a big brother type, thanks to movies like Red Dawn and The Outsiders. And even when he went on to sappier fare like Dirty Dancing and Ghost we accepted him as a man in control of every situation he was in. Later in his career, he would play more desperate and vulnerable characters, such as in Donnie Darko and the underrated 11:14. Still, we never got over believing that Swayze was the boss.

Below we spotlight ten favorite movie quotes that display the power commanded by his characters.
…Read more

Will Grant Heslov’s The Men Who Stare at Goats be the greatest George Clooney movie of all time? If you’re a fan of the actor/director’s work in Three Kings, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Burn After Reading and Syriana, then it’s possible you’ll see this as the military/CIA satire he’s been working towards his whole career. The fact that it seems like it should or could have been directed by the Coen Bros. — costars Jeff Bridges, Stephen Root and J.K. Simmons have all worked with the filmmaking duo in addition to Clooney — provides further evidence that this might well be the epitome of Clooney’s career.

Based on the non-fiction book by Jon Ronson, Goats is about a reporter (Ewan McGregor) working on a story about a U.S. Army unit employing psychic soldiers. Clooney is one of these “Jedi warriors,” as you can see in the trailer when he bursts clouds and knocks over goats with his mind. One particular bit of slapstick stolen from the underseen Special has me a little worried about the humor here. But how can I not want to see a movie that basically seems to insert “The Dude” into a modern day cross between DePalma’s The Fury and Spies Like Us?

Check out other film blog reactions to the trailer after the jump:

…Read more

As if the problems with Fox’s “Avatar Day” promotion weren’t enough, the marketing of James Cameron’s Avatar continued to hit snags today with the faulty debut of the film’s trailer. Despite there being a literal countdown until its premiere, at 10am EST this morning Twitter was abuzz with complaints that the thing not only didn’t work, but that it was a massive failure on the part of Fox, Apple and whoever else was responsible. Not helping matters was the fact that while we waited for the thing to be available on Apple’s site, we looked around the page and noticed the embarrassing copy that reads “FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE ‘TITANIC.’” Meanwhile, others found they could view the trailer on a French MSN site.

Then came the biggest fail of all: the trailer was a disappointment! Derivative visuals aside, the movie looks to be a letdown in terms of its responsibility to be a groundbreaking work of cinema. Of course, there could have been no other reaction coming off so much hype. And it is indeed possible that the backlash will turn back around once people see some of the film as its meant to be seen, in 3D. But that’s just the problem of this marketing blunder. While some are saying the trailer shouldn’t have hit the web before “Avatar Day,” I think this particular trailer shouldn’t have been made, let alone released, at all. As I wrote earlier this year in anticipation of Avatar’s marketing, “You really don’t need to show one second of footage. Because we’ll be there no matter what.” However, now that I’ve seen a disappointing mess of CGI and familiar-looking footage, maybe I won’t be there after all — unless I hear legitimate reason to bother (fortunately, I’m sure I will hear one).

Check out what the rest of the film blogosphere has to say about the trailer’s failure — or success — after the jump:
…Read more

While most of the film blogosphere is wondering why Sony hasn’t yet greenlit a District 9 sequel, our old friends at the Oscar blogs are addressing a potential awards campaign for the sci-fi hit. According to Peter Bart at Variety, an Academy screening of the film over the weekend was very well received (best applause in years? come on), and the news has sparked buzz of a possible Best Picture nod. After all, there are ten available slots this year.

Honestly, I enjoyed the movie very much, but if it’s being considered Oscar-worthy, I’ll be the first to begin the backlash (against the awards push; Armond White already took care of the general backlash). District 9 shouldn’t be nominated for Best Picture any more than Star Trek should. It shouldn’t even be nominated any more than Transformers 2 should. Regardless of how much better it may be.

And I don’t necessarily have anything against a sci-fi movie being up for the award. If Cameron’s Avatar is groundbreaking and brilliant, give it a nomination. I just want to make it clear that District 9 is very good, but it is not that good. And just saying that it deserves an Oscar campaign adds to the continued depreciation of the Academy Awards.

Read what other film bloggers are saying about the District 9 Oscar buzz after the jump:
…Read more

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.
…Read more

I apologize for being such a negative S.O.B. this week, but at least it seems to help with other blogs‘ dry spells as far as comments go, so I’m going to continue my “concern trolling” today in order to announce my low expectation for this Alien prequel, for which Fox reportedly is now bringing Ridley Scott back to the franchise to direct. I have a general distaste for prequels, so I’m obviously biased. I admit this completely. But what could really be the benefit to this? So we can actually witness the back story of the xenomorphs? If this is to be like most villain origins, I anticipate finding out the aliens were all orphans and/or had lost a childhood love to disease.

Okay, fine, I’ll end on a positive, hopeful note: if Scott can make the prequel less an explanation for why the xenomorphs are so evil and instead make an Alien film that’s basically Black Hawk Down in space (or is that what Cameron’s Aliens was?), I will totally be on board for this. I do like both Alien³ and Alien: Resurrection, so I guess I’m pretty much obligated to give this a chance.

Check out the rest of the film blog reactions after the jump:
…Read more

I would title this Bloggery “Comic-Con 2009 Day 2,” but I’m going to reach back a little to the second half of Day 1 since yesterday’s post went up before the Avatar panel, plus people are still talking about that New Moon presentation more than 24 hours later. Unfortunately, there’s so much news and hype coming out of the Con today (Gary Oldman spills Batman 3 beans! Saw VII is greenlit!) that I may ignore some the stuff I care less about, like all the “awesome!!” responses to movies that will more than likely be commercial failures (like the ten listed here). Unless they’re really hilarious or profound.

Without further ado (I have little to say in this intro because I’m not at the Con), check out my favorite coverage from San Diego from the last 24 hours after the jump:
…Read more

Can the San Diego Comic-Con really make or break a movie? That’s a yearly question asked in the days leading up to the annual geekfest, and few experts ever provide a definite answer. Most people point to weak Con receptions of footage from ultimately failed films like The Spirit and Catwoman as proof of the event’s influence. Meanwhile, there’s the corresponding recognition that positive buzz at the Con for certain niche titles like Twilight and 300 led those films to boffo box office.

But despite the few times Con attendees have been on the same wavelength with the rest of the moviegoing public, it’s important to remember the many movies that had geeks excited in San Diego but which couldn’t garner much interest from mainstream audiences in theatrical release. After the jump, we take a look at ten such movies that buzzed well at Comic-Con only to fizzle at the box office.
…Read more

When it was just the Adoption Community protesting the marketing of Orphan, a hackneyed horror flick about yet another evil adoptee, it was merely another minor controversy incited by a select interest group. But now members of the U.S. House and Senate have gotten involved with a letter campaign to Warner Bros. condemning the studio’s seemingly anti-adoption advertisements for and message in the film.

Is this really necessary after so many years and so many stories containing fucked-up orphans? Sure, Hollywood has given us too few Annie types in cinema over the past few decades, but certainly ‘80s television made up for this history with the likes of Diff’rent Strokes, Webster, Small Wonder, My Two Dads, Punky Brewster, et al. And adoptions were on the rise for most of that time, only dropping slightly in recent years, possibly due to the dwindling economy.

That isn’t to say we agree with cinema’s consistent misrepresentation of orphans or adoptees, so to expose the unfair reputation of parentless kids, we take a look at ten types of screwed-up orphans, which potentially keep more people from adopting them. Check out our list of characters and films after the jump:
…Read more

We’re so amazed by the stellar reviews of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (if not for Manohla Dargis, Rex Reed and Wesley Morris the top critic score on Rotten Tomatoes would be 100%), that we wondered if it’s the best-received sixth installment of a series ever. And from what we can tell, until some late-come party crashers show up to ruin things, it appears to be nearly true.

Of course, it’s not like there was much competition from past franchises. By the sixth movie most film series are cheap, tired and nearly void of remaining followers. However, there have been a few worthwhile Part 6s, enough to show us that it’s sometimes acceptable for Hollywood to keep going with a film property (even without the excuse and benefit of a popular long-running book series).
…Read more

The latest movie-related Trending Topic on Twitter is #nicerfilmtitles. That’s “nicer film titles” (not “nice firm titties”), and it’s basically a meme for coming up with alternative names for movies so that they seem a little friendlier and wholesome in their content. But since 140 characters aren’t enough for users to include synopses for their contributions, we’ve selected 10 favorites (so far) and elaborated on the story details.
…Read more

For only $2.3 million, you can own a house featured in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. It’s not the title character’s residence, though; it’s the home of “Cameron Frye.” You’ll recall this as the setting of the film’s ending, where Cameron’s dad’s Ferrari is accidentally hurled through the garage window and into a forest ravine.

While any memorable location from a favorite movie would be a treat to own, Cameron’s house from Ferris Bueller is desirable for the opportunity to relive that famous scene — perhaps with a less-valuable vehicle. In fact, we think the person who buys this home should turn it into a museum, a la the house from A Christmas Story, and offer visitors the chance to crash a disposable car into the ravine for whatever it would cost to maintain such an attraction.

The listing for this Highland Park, Illinois, property has inspired us to come up with ten more movie homes we wish we could own, whether as a dwelling or a plaything. What favorite film location would you want to live in?
…Read more

Now that Star Trek has opened, broken some records and delighted an apparent majority of critics and moviegoers, it’s time for the backlash to begin. The complaints are not tremendous, but they have popped up here and there on the web today, and it’s worth taking a look at some of them, especially for those of us who haven’t yet gotten around to watching the thing. I’ve already learned, courtesy of actor/comedian Aziz Ansari that I should be careful in choosing where I see J.J. Abrams’ reboot if I want to see it in IMAX. What else might I be wary of before I go into the movie, in general? Let’s see what negativity is coming out of the blogosphere after the jump:

…Read more

I am all for holidays, especially those having to do with movies. But they should have some sort of meaning, whether they honor an anniversary or birthday (real or fictional person’s), inception date (remember when people celebrated HAL’s birthday on January 12, 1997?) or similarly significant event. They shouldn’t just exist to exist. Star Wars Day, which is apparently today (interestingly, mere days before Star Trek hits theaters), is nothing more than a joke turned into a pseudo-holiday, for which the only purpose is to be able to say that it’s Star Wars Day. You don’t get a free comic book out of it, you don’t get off from work to hold a Jedi-based mass and you certainly don’t get to wear your Star Wars costumes around town without getting beat up. Especially not if your only reasoning for being in droid-garb is the silly pun “May the 4th be with you.”

Don’t get me wrong, I love puns, I love Star Wars (some of the movies, at least) and I do appreciate the joke from which the thing originates. But actually trying to turn the date into an officially recognized holiday — for members of the Jedi church, of course — is just plain silly. Geeks, feel free to watch a marathon of Star Wars movies today if you wish, but please stop with the “Happy Star Wars Day” greetings already. Bah humbug!

Check out some of the bloggers who annoyed me with this nonsense today, after the jump:

…Read more