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Under discussion:

Independence Day  (1996)

Armageddon  (1998)

• Annalee Newitz looks at the five most prevalent themes in Clinton-era sci-fi. I would have thrown in a shout-out to strippers, who appear prominently in both Armageddon and Independence Day. But then, I’m usually on the lookout for chances to throw shout-outs to strippers.
• LIBERTAS accuses “millionaire filmmaker” Morgan Spurlock of ?????? SPOILER ALERT!! ?????? being too chicken shit to actually hunt down Osama Bin Laden and put a stake through his heart.
• Bob Rehak contemplates the impact the HD format wars will have/are already having on the porn industry. “How will viewers respond to the pathos and suffering at the industry???s core ??? of capitalism???s antihumanism writ large across the bodies offered up for consumers??? pleasure-at-a-distance ??? when those excesses are rendered in resolutions of 1920??1080?”
• NBC has decided that Access Hollywood will be the “news” division to cover the Golden Globes. Defamer mocks the ensuing outrage: “If the network had any interests but its own at heart, it would have made some attempt at incorporating the solemn ritual that usually begins each Globes ceremony–the consumption of Orson Welles’ transubstantiated body and blood in the form of filet mignon and stiff vodka-tonics–as a show of good faith.”

Under discussion:

The Rocketeer  (1991)

The Shadow  (1994)

The Shadow  (2009)

I’m pretty sure I am not related to actor Bill Campbell, but I am sure that we think alike, at least when it comes to desires for a Rocketeer sequel. Campbell, who starred as the title character in Disney’s 1991 superhero adventure, tells MTV Movies Blog that he’s still interested in the idea of a Rocketeer 2:

???I was talking to [writer] Dave Stevens just the night before last. We always talked about having a sequel,??? Campbell confessed. ???[Unfortunately] the movie didn???t make as much money as Disney had hoped and that coupled with the acrimonious relationship that the director [Joe Johnston] and the studio had contributed to them not even considering it.???

Yes, like Timothy Dalton in that awesome clip above, The Rocketeer unfortunately crashed and burned. And considering its been almost 17 years since the first film and there’s been nothing to indicate the public is more interested in pulpy period superheroes than they were back then, Rocketeer 2 is never going to happen. Even if now Oscar-winning actors Jennifer Connelly and Alan Arkin and now Emmy-winning actor Terry O’Quinn (John Locke on Lost) wanted to return, I doubt Disney would even discuss the chance. But that’s a shame, because if I remember correctly (and I must admit I haven’t seen the thing since it came out — when I was a just a teen), the original was a blast. Anyway, I’d like the idea to at least be thought about. Hollywood is making another attempt at a Shadow movie after failing back in the ’90s, so why not this ’30s-era tale, too?

Under discussion:

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues  (1994)

I Know What You Did Last Summer  (1997)

George Washington  (2000)

Finding Forrester  (2000)

Bully  (2001)

Mean Creek  (2003)

Paranoid Park  (2007)

What if this movie were not directed by acclaimed filmmaker Gus Van Sant? What if it had not been honored with a special prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival? What if it had not been an official selection of the Toronto and New York Film Festivals? What if it wasn’t nominated for three (Independent) Spirit Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Producer? What if Manohla Dargis didn’t consider it, “one of the most moving and delicately felt films of Gus Van Sant’s career”? Would Paranoid Park still seem that appealing?

Not to me, but then I’ve seen enough films involving teens covering up an intentional or accidental murder. And that’s despite having enjoyed most of them, including Mean Creek, Bully, George Washington and even (though much, much less so) I Know What You Did Last Summer. Honestly, if this new domestic trailer for Paranoid Park didn’t mention all its prestigious claims, I probably wouldn’t be that compelled to see it. In fact, even if it simply mentioned that it was directed by Van Sant and featured one or more positive review blurbs, that wouldn’t be enough to sell me. Van Sant did direct such lame films as Finding Forrester and Even the Cowgirls Get the Blues, so he’s not a name that is completely synonymous with greatness. And this specific film has received enough negative reviews that critical acclaim is also not constant enough to attract my attention.

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