The Movie Blog

The Legacy of George W. Bush [Netroots Nation Film Series Review]

lopezdash — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:52:41 GMT

I had a chance to watch a special screening of Crawford at the 2008 Netroots Nation conference in Austin, TX--which is the same place the film screened at South by Southwest earlier in the year.

Overall, the documentary was a funny, often charming, and extremely interesting look at the way the addition of a single resident (granted, it was Gov. George W. Bush) to small-town Crawford, TX, changed not just the trajectory of the community, but the lives of its residents.

High School Musical 3 Trailer (Senior Year)

lopezdash — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:22:48 GMT

I will admit, I stayed up until 10:55pm on Sunday, July 13th to watch the "Disney Channel: First Look" at High School Musical 3: Senior Year.

... and for those of you who aren't as cool, here's the trailer.

Christian Bale discusses 'The Dark Knight' on 'The Today Show'

lopezdash — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:07:21 GMT

Christian Bale sits down with The Today Show’s Matt Lauer to talk about the upcoming summer blockbuster, The Dark Knight, opening this Friday. Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

So much was made of Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker. It was such a dark role. In some way, perhaps, do you think in real life, it caused him to slip across some line of reality and may have had some role in his accidental death? Personally, I find it to be a complete lack of understanding of acting. I also find it very rude to try to create some kind of sound bite for such a tragedy. The man was a complex man, a good man, but you know what? I saw him having the best time playing The Joker. He was someone who completely immersed himself in his role. As do I. But in the end of the day, he was having a wonderful time doing it, he couldn’t have been happier doing it.

Watch the interview here:

'Henry Poole' Movie Poster Borrows from the Obama Campaign

lopezdash — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:03:02 GMT

In another sign of just how far the "Obama brand" has seeped into pop culture, the new teaser poster for the movie Henry Poole is Here asks, "Will Henry believe?"

Look familiar?

It should...

Originally posted on:Cerebral Politics

Tropic Thunder Mockumentary Trailer

lopezdash — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:06:02 GMT

A trailer for a mocumentary about the filming of the Vietnam War movie which is the subject of the upcoming Tropic Thunder film (confusing ain't it?)

Watch. Laugh.

(h/t Facebook)

Chicago Smoking Ban Could Affect Movies

lopezdash — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:00:48 GMT

Smoking has been banned in the Chicago production of Jersey Boys in order to comply with the city's strict new anti-smoking law, raising the possibility that scenes showing smoking in movies and television shows shot in Chicago will also be barred.

Writing in today's Chicago Tribune, theater critic Chris Jones writes that Michael Mann's Public Enemies, which was filmed in Chicago, is bound to show smoking. He then remarks facetiously, "Seize the print! Consider this an official complaint."

Finally, Jones urges the city's aldermen to write "an exception for artistic purposes. A waiver. An understanding. Whatever. Heck, it doesn't even have to be for tobacco. It just has to allow Chicago's great artists to tell the truth."

source

Poster: Michael Cera’s ‘Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist’

lopezdash — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:51:15 GMT

The poster for the buzzed-about “Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” the music-centric, romance-tinged comedy (based on the bestselling book) that finds Michael Cera and Kat Dennings as high school seniors who join forces to hunt down an elusive secret concert in New York City.

Some are calling this the new Juno. The film hits theaters on October 3, 2008.

Bruno's Prank: Arkansas Cage Fights Turn Gay, Crowd Goes Crazy

lopezdash — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:26:41 GMT

Our good friends at the Associated Press are reporting that an Arkansas cage fighting event recently got the Sacha Baron Cohen treatment.

Crowds in Arkansas came for the lure of cage fighting and $1 beer, but police say what they got instead was men ripping each others' clothes off and kissing .

"We had a contract for cage fighting. We were deceived," said Dwight Duncan, president and CEO of Four States Fair Grounds in Texarkana, where the first of two Arkansas fights raised suspicions last month.

Matt Labov, a Los Angeles-based publicist for Baron Cohen, said he had no comment Monday about the faked fights. One of Baron Cohen's movies is due out next year.

The day after the June 5 Texarkana bout, Fort Smith's convention center hosted "Blue Collar Brawlin.'" Fort Smith police Sgt. Adam Holland said organizers told him a character named "Straight Dave" would goad a planted audience member into the ring for a fight.

The two men would then wrestle, rip away some of their clothes and share a brief kiss reminiscent of one between Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell in the film "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby."

Producers said "there would be a romantic embrace," Holland said. "They said it was kind of to essentially make fun, poke fun at wrestling _ two guys rolling around on the floor, all sweaty."

An elaborate array of mounted and handheld video cameras caught the crowd of 1,600's reaction as the two men "went right up to the line" of the city's morality laws, Holland said. The two men stripped down to their underwear, kissed and rubbed on each other, the sergeant said.

The audience, as well as local fighters drawn to take part in the show, became enraged. "It set the crowd off lobbing beers," Holland said. "They had beers in plastic cups. Those things can get some distance on them actually."

Holland said it took officers about 45 minutes to clear the convention center, as the two actors sprinted away through a specially set-aside tunnel.

Those in attendance were told by several signs on display that they'd be filmed, Holland said, and signed waivers before the event. Convention center sales director Karin Hobbs declined to name the event's sponsor Monday.

Baron Cohen became a national celebrity after his 2006 hit movie "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," in which he played a bumbling reporter from the Central Asia nation.

News of the faked cage fights comes as Baron Cohen is in production of a movie titled "Bruno," named after the gay Austrian fashion reporter he developed for "Da Ali G Show." Baron Cohen, in the guise of Bruno, often interviewed hapless subjects in the South.

If the cage match visits came from Baron Cohen, it wouldn't be the first time Arkansas fell for a practical joke. In 2000, then-Gov. Mike Huckabee fell for a prank and congratulated Canada for preserving its icebound Parliament, calling it a "national igloo."

Corbin Bleu: Shooting Final HSM Scene Was a “Pretty Somber Moment"

lopezdash — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:08:29 GMT

Corbin Bleu just finished shooting his final scene for the much-anticipated High School Musical 3.

He and Zac Efron sing a duet to the tune "The Boys Are Back."

"It's in this junkyard where our characters spent so much of our childhood pretending to be pirates and ninjas," Bleu, 19, tells USA Today. "It's a whole fantasy of us being kids again."

He says the flashback scene was fitting, considering that the two launched their careers on the hit Disney show.

"This has been such a huge part of my life," Bleu says. "For this to be the last installment for us is pretty surreal."

The show, he adds, "made me who I am today, made me grow up."

Source: US Weekly

The Best and Worst of Reality TV - 2008 Edition

lopezdash — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:01:28 GMT

TV Week has released its critic's list of the best and worst reality shows since January 2008.

BEST
10. The Amazing Race (Season 13)
10. Carrier (Season 1)
8. Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List (Season 4)
7. So You Think You Can Dance? (Season 4)
6. Deadliest Catch (Season 4)
5. Dancing With the Stars (Season 6)
4. Top Chef (Season 4)
3. Project Runway (Season 4)
2. Survivor (Season 16: Micronesia)
1. American Idol (Season 7)

WORST
10. ANTM (Cycle 10)
8. Living Lohan (Season 1)
8. Denise Richards: It's Complicated
6. American Gladiators (Season 1, Season 2)
6. Crowned: The Mother of All Beauty Pageants (Season 1)
4. A Shot at Love (Season 2)
4. Secret Talents of the Stars
2. Farmer Wants a Wife
1. The Moment of Truth