There was a lot of debate on Twitter the last few weeks on whether or not G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF THE COBRA was going to be good or awful. Paramount went as far as only letting a few online critics see the film prior to its release. Strange as it seems, all of those critics gave it a good review.

As the film opened, the tomatometer dropped from 88% prior to opening to 39% the day of its release, but you know what, the world didn’t care. G.I. JOE brought in $56,200,000 this weekend. As of right now, knowing is half its battle, but the other half is meeting its $175,000,000 budget. My guess is that the film won’t hit that in theaters, but will on DVD.

Also debuting this weekend and coming in second, JULIE & JULIA pulled in $20,100,000, which is half of its budget. It shouldn’t have a problem surpassing that – JULIE & JULIA is a tasty hit among critics and cooking enthusiasts from all around the globe.

The disappointing G-FORCE pulled third place $9,804,000, and HARRY POTTER 6 dropped 50% from last weekend – coming from second place to fourth – with $8,880,000. HARRY’s total domestic gross is now at $273,800,000, but it’s dominated the foreign theaters with $493,000,000. Coming in fifth was FUNNY PEOPLE with an unfunny $7,866,000. This is a 65% drop from its opening numbers. FUNNY PEOPLE’s total domestic gross is now at $40,417,000, making it $35,000,000 shy of its budget.

Last, the huge disappointment A PERFECT GETAWAY debuted this weekend at #7 (read James’ reasons why here), pulling in $5,765,000.

Source Box Office Mojo

GIGANTIC was a huge hit at the AFI Dallas Film Festival this year – taking the Grand Jury Prize for Narrative Feature. This film also had a gigantic impact on James, who introduced the film at AFI D, led the Q&A with director Matt Aselton, and followed up with an exclusive interview with him (which you can see HERE).

On August 11, GIGANTIC will be making a gigantic appearance at your DVD stores and, if James were writing this post, he’d tell you to not make the gigantic mistake of missing out on this DVD. Take the boy’s word, go buy it!

Below is the official synopsis, DVD box cover, specs, and some clips from the film. Enjoy!

Mattress salesman, Brian Weathersby (Paul Dano) gets swept up in a romance with the lovely but misguided Harriet Lolly (Zooey Deschanel) when she comes in to his store one day and falls asleep on one of the beds. To win her over, he must compete with her bear of a father, Al Lolly, (John Goodman) an art-collecting loudmouth with a bad back and deep pockets.

Bonus Features:
Alternate Ending
Deleted Scenes
Commentary by director Matt Aselton

Source The GIGANTIC Movie

John Hughes is best known for coming-of-age comedies with real heart, like THE BREAKFAST CLUB, SIXTEEN CANDLES, and FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF. However, while I do enjoy high school Hughes, my favorite films of his are the ones that feature adult protagonists, and take place more in the everyday world, with my all-time favorite Hughes movie being PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES.

Like Adam with FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF, I first saw my top Hughes movie thanks to my dad (or P. Bear #1, if you want to get technical). I’m not sure of my exact age at the time, but it was somewhere in the 8-10 range, and what I am sure of is, both me and my P. Bear loved every second of the movie. The moment that always stands out in my mind from my initial viewing of PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES is how much my Dad enjoyed the part where an incredibly frustrated Steve Martin drops the F-word a lot in a speech to a car rental clerk, which ends with the ambushed clerk, looking Martin straight in the eye and saying, “you’re fucked.” Dad was right for enjoying this scene so, as it is incredibly hilarious, and undoubtedly features one of the best uses of the F-word ever in a movie.

The reason I love PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES so much is because of how consistently funny it is – the film starts strong and never lets up. The film just gets funnier as things continue to go bad for Martin’s straight man, with John Candy’s annoyingly optimistic and hilariously clueless character always there to make things worse, no matter how good his intentions.

For me, Hughes’ two funniest films are PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES and UNCLE BUCK. Two hilarious films where Hughes wasn’t concerned with teenage issues, and just wanted to make us laugh with overmatched adult characters trying to survive whatever comically difficult situation Hughes created for them. While it was very hard for me to pick my favorite between PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES and UNCLE BUCK, in the end the F-bomb scene barely gave PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES the victory, and after writing this post and reliving the greatness of PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES over and over in my mind, I feel very good about my decision.

Source My Soul

“Bueller? Bueller? Bueller…? I remember when my dad sat me down years ago to watch his favorite movie of all time. I was sort of still young at the time, so it was a big deal for me to see anything rated over PG. The rest of my family was gone for some reason or other, so it was just him, me, and the comedy, FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF. He popped in the VHS with a huge smile; looking back, it might have been because he knew he might catch a little hell from my mom for letting me see the movie at such a young age. The moment the film began, I knew my eyes were beholding something special, something sacred, and I was sharing it with my dad.

What can you say about such a classic comedic film? It is filled with so many layers of beauty, heartbreak, and laughter. Beauty in the brilliance of content (got to love the dancing in the streets!). Heartbreak in the moment the convertible plummets to its death. Sacredness in the themes of Cameron learning to stand up to “the old man” and Ferris coming to grips with the looming future.

I cannot count the amount of times my friends and I mocked Ben Stein’s before-mentioned line, driving our parents insane. I remember dreaming of my dream girl who, suspiciously, often took the form of Ferris’ love interest, Sloane. This movie enriched my life. It gave me pointers on how to skip out of the humdrums of life. It gave me pointers on how to come to grips with aging. It brought me closer to my dad, who I have always admired more than any other man.

John Hughes was a great man. He lived his life doing what he loved. His films have brought happiness to more people than anyone could ever know. His films will continue to impact generations to come. My life is better because of the brilliant John Hughes, and I cannot wait to sit on the couch some day, my son by my side, and Ben Stein’s voice echoing throughout the living room, “Bueller. Bueller. Bueller…?”

I’ve always felt that SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL was generally viewed as second-string John Hughes material. It was, in many ways, the last of its kind – it came after SIXTEEN CANDLES, THE BREAKFAST CLUB, WEIRD SCIENCE, PRETTY IN PINK, and FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF, and just before Hughes’ transition out of the genre (his next was PLANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES, and he never wrote another high school-based flick after it). It didn’t even star Hughes starlet Molly Ringwald (she declined the role of Amanda Jones). But SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL has always, always been my favorite Hughes film.

If anything, SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL was wish fulfillment for fans who were not pleased with the ending of the previous year’s PRETTY IN PINK. Much like PRETTY IN PINK, SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL worked off a love triangle dynamic (diced up with class issues), but with the sexes reversed. Keith is Andie. Amanda Jones is Blane (“that’s a major appliance, that’s not a name!”). Watts is Duckie. (If we’re really going to get into this, Hardy Jenns is a pretty natural progression from James Spader’s Steff.) And as we all know, Andie was supposed to end up with Duckie, except she didn’t, and every single time I have watched PRETTY IN PINK since learning that fact, I’ve been inconsolably sad at the end. But this is not about PRETTY IN PINK (maybe?), it’s about SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL.

(more…)

Rating: 5.5/10

Writers: Stuart Beattie, David Elliot, Paul Lovett
Director: Stephen Summers
Cast: Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, Sienna Miller, Rachel Nichols
Studio: Paramount

Rumors of record low test screening scores for G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA, along with an allegation that its director, Stephen Sommers, was supposedly fired from the project during post-production and locked out of the editing room, made many feel as though the film was destined to be the worst film of the summer. Well, G.I. JOE is here, and the question everybody wants to know is, it really that bad? The answer would be no, but not by much.

After seeing the movie, I could definitely believe that G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA received all-time terrible scores, if the rumors are true. It’s easy to see why many might find this G.I. JOE movie to be atrocious; the film features terrible acting, lame dialogue, and many moments that are so laugh-out-loud cheesy that you think those involved in the film were playing it intentionally for camp. Even now grown-up fans of G.I. JOE (like myself) will find themselves snickering; you want to give the film a break because of how much you loved the G.I. JOE franchise as a kid, but you just can’t overlook how stupid it is at times. A particularly turd-tastic moment that comes to mind immediately is when a helicopter pilot realizes he is about to get shut down, and he robotically utters, “oh, my God,” making his death laughable for the audience.

However, what keeps G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA from being a complete waste is that some of the film’s action sequences are pretty cool. The film features a chase through Paris and a climatic battle that are borderline awesome, and definitely entertaining. Although, not all the film’s action is satisfying, with the first firefight between the good guys and bad guys that takes place in Kyrgyzstan coming off as clunky and uninventive. However, this bland action is more the exception than the rule, as the film usually does get the action right, which is quite important when it comes to summer movies.

If G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA offers decent action, which is what people most want from this kind of movie, why make such a big deal about the film’s flaws? Because everything else about the movie is just so awful that it makes G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA painful to watch when things aren’t going boom.

G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF CORBA is able to avoid being complete garbage thanks to some solid action, but its flaws are just too glaring for it to be considered a success.

Four character posters have been released for Mike Judge’s EXTRACT. For the most part, the posters are amusing, as all but one of them has a fairly clever tagline, with the one exception being the kind of lame Mila Kunis poster. The best poster has to be the one for Kristen Wiig, because not only is the tagline funny, but it also points out one of the saddest truths of humanity. Check out all four posters below:

Source Cinema Blend

There’s been no shortage of tributes the past couple of days for John Hughes, the man who perfectly captured teenage angst in the 1980s. This one is a perfectly edited montage of some of his most famous movies, set to the tune of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley.” The clips and the song are a perfect match because The Who captured that same spirit in their music. Not to mention the fact that I’m sick of my brain playing the opening credits to CSI: NY every time I hear “Baba O’Riley.” I’d much rather have a little BREAKFAST CLUB playing in my head.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOkNIUw0c2s[/youtube]

Source Ain’t It Cool News

So far, almost all my friends have reported back a somewhat positive review of the mindless fun that is G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA. I never thought I’d say this, but I’m actually looking forward to seeing it because this summer needs an awesome action movie (sorry, TRANSFORMERS doesn’t count). Lately, lots of movies based on toys have gone into development and Collider was able to get an update on a lot of those movies from Hasbro CEO, Brian Goldner. Here’s what he had to say about about some upcoming projects.

MONOPOLY
“’Monopoly’ has this wonderful history. If you’ll remember, ‘Monopoly’ was literally invented at The [Great] Depression, so that idea, this fiction that’s really there, this non-fiction fiction that’s really there in the game and in the fact that there’s such great roots to this brand and the history of the brand, we bring this to life with a story about families.”

BATTLESHIP
“Oh, I’m not going to tell you quite yet but I will say that it’s everything you could imagine in a ‘Battleship’ movie. It’s really a phenomenal idea.”

CANDY LAND
“If you really think about it, it’s an adventure that a kid goes on with his parents when they go across that board. It’s an adventure game so think of that as the beginning point and take off from there.”

STRETCH ARMSTRONG
“Stretching as a superpower brings a lot of humor to the idea so imagine a big humorous super-powered, super-human kind of movie.”

While I’m still not sold on CANDY LAND, the rest of these ideas sound kinda good. STRETCH ARMSTRONG could definitely be a cool hero and could hold us over while the PLASTIC MAN movie gets off the ground. BATTLESHIP could easily be a fun, big-budget action movie out at sea. Ridley Scott creating a “big world” for MONOPOLY could work. Of course, only time will tell. You can watch video of the full interview with Brian Goldner over on Collider.

Thanks to the Hollywood Reporter, we now know that the remake of the sci-fi cult classic BARBARELLA has a screenwriter, and it is Joe Gazzam. Unfortunately, while Gazzam has several screenplays that are currently in development (including a prison thriller called RIOT that is set to be directed by John Carpenter), none of his scripts have been made into a completed film at this point. So we really have no idea of what kind of quality to expect from a Joe Gazzam screenplay. I will say the use of an unproven screenwriter like Gazzam doesn’t give me a lot of faith in this BARBARELLA remake.

A new BARBARELLA movie actually sounded cool when director Robert Rodriquez was attached, but ever since Rodriguez left (to later be replaced by Robert Luketic, director of MONSTER-IN-LAW, THE UGLY TRUTH, and few other equally unimpressive films) everything that is learned about this remake just makes it sound even worse.

One thing the SAW series has always been is inventive in their marketing. Their posters, their trailers, and their annual “Give ‘Til It Hurts” blood drive are all a cut above the rest. Since 2004, Lionsgate has teamed up with the American Red Cross in a blood drive where 38,000 pints of blood have been donated “to help save as many as 112,500 lives.” Not to mention that “collection totals have doubled year after year resulting in tens of thousands of lifesaving blood transfusions.” And who says the torture porn subgenre of horror films are damaging to our society?

If you remember, in 2006, Lionsgate took their marketing for SAW III to the next level when they printed a set of limited edition posters with red ink mixed with a vialof Jigsaw himself, Tobin Bell’s, blood. Now they’re back for SAW IV, with another blood filled design. I wouldn’t want to slow dance with that broad, that’s for sure! Check it out below. And check out the blood drive posters from the previous years HERE, HERE and HERE.

Source Shock Till You Drop via Yahoo! Movies

I wasn’t as hateful towards TERMINATOR: SALVATION as others. While it was no TERMINATOR 2, you have to accept the fact that no film will ever be. I thought actually one of the things that shined in the film was McG’s direction, proving that he can handle more than a few ladies in slow motion walking and fast motion scissor kicks.

Well, it looks as if the director may get to stretch his directorial sea legs a little more with his update of the classic underwater adventure 20,00 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA.

McG recently sat down with IESB to talk LEAGUES and here’s what he had to say about what we can expect:

“It’s a bit of a departure from the Richard Fleischer movie, and much more in keeping with the spirit of the novel, as far as what Aronnax is up to and the becoming of Captain Nemo, and how the man became at war with war itself. So, there’s a little bit more meat on the bone, in regard to the genesis of the Nemo character, than you’re given in the ‘50′s movie that Disney made. Also, it’s a little more contemporary.”

He also gave up the tidbit that another TERMINATOR film is already in the early works.

“I’m prepping 20,000 LEAGUES, every day, but I’m concurrently prepping TERMINATOR 5, another TERMINATOR picture. So, we’re cooking that up. And then, I’m very active in SPRING AWAKENING, the musical, also. So, we’ll see. But, my focus, right now, is really pushing forward with 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA.”

And here he is with an odd comment on how LEAGUES could use a little non-stereotypical updating:

“I love that movie, but there were two female characters, and they were both prostitutes. And, there were a couple of black people in the film, and they were all electrocuted. So, nowadays, I think we need to progress a little bit beyond that.”

So, there you have it! 20,000 LEAGUES is moving forward as planned, as well as a fifth TERMINATOR film. Are you guys excited about either? I can say that I am definitely looking forward to LEAGUES getting an update. It’s about time we get a good action-adventure film within classic stylings. And underwater, no less! With a giant octopus, no less! Now, who should play Captain Nemo? My vote is for Chris Pine. They should just get that guy to play the captain of every famous ship from now on.

It’s here! It’s here! I feel like a kid at Christmastime. The first official trailer for Terry Gilliam’s THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS has arrived. It’s been over a year and a half since we lost Heath Ledger and expectations have been building up and bubbling over for this movie ever since. You would think nothing would be able to live up to them. Well, the trailer definitely does!

Terry Gilliam has always been a director with great imagination, but it looks like he has really outdone himself with this one, perhaps inspired by doing justice to Ledger’s final performance. Of course, he isn’t the only actor in the film. Because of his death, his character of Tony is also played by Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell when he travels through the Dr. Parnassus’ mirror. Three amazing actors, and they certainly do Ledger justice. Add to that Tom Waits playing Satan himself, and you’ve got one hell of a movie!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-XhSRcXdW4[/youtube]

Source Slash Film

I’m not aware of the origin of the Internet sensation “rickrolling,” in which unsuspecting YouTube surfers are duped into thinking they are viewing the next edition of “look how funny my cat/baby/reaction to ‘two girls, one cup’ is” only to find that they will in fact be viewing the popular track from the late 80s Brit-pop sensation Rick Astley.

Now it would seem that someone has taken “rickrolling” to the next level, melding it together Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” with Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” As one blog puts it, Kurt Cobain is likely rickrolling in his grave right about now! I feel the need to add that this is a must watch, just for the sheer entertainment and eeriness of how well the two songs fit together.

For your viewing pleasure, I present to you your “Found Film Friday” for August 7th, 2009. “Smells Like I’m Never Gonna Give You Up” from Nirvana ft. Rick Astley.

Got a “Found Film Friday” suggestion? E-mail the link to [email protected] with FFF as the subject!

“Found Film Friday” is a weekly series inspired by the neat videos I sometimes come across in my frequent perusing of the Internets. Whether they be short films, fan-made movies, experimental films, music videos, comedic spoofs, cats playing Rush covers on a mini drum set, or anything else that does not fit into those categories, I enjoy the accessibility of interesting content the web provides in way of the moving image. And so, because I want to share these gems of video with you good people, I post a video of the week also known as “Found Film Friday.”

One would think that Jeremy Piven’s personality would be similar to the many fast-talking, sarcastic characters he is so well loved for. The Ari Golds, the Michael Berkows, the Paul Sperickis…even the Marks or the Drozs. But, much to my surprise, he was somewhat intense and soft-spoken, with a hint of his “Pivester” alter ego we all know and love. Not to my surprise, he was incredibly nice, genuine, and fun to talk with.

Piven seems to really believe in his new film, saying that it is up there as one of his favorite roles he’s ever played. And, while I have yet to see it, all the reports from our readers that saw it say it is in fact one of the funniest things Piven has ever been in. It would appear that Piven also seems to think so, saying that every character he has ever played has led up to his role as the used car cowboy Don Ready.

Check out our recent interview with Mr. Piven on the red carpet for the Dallas premiere of his new film THE GOODS: LIVE HARD. SELL HARD. And, please, let us know what you think!

And a special thanks goes out to filmer/editor extraordinaire Adam Henderson for taking time out of his busy schedule of editing feature length zombie movies about the return of an undead Christ to film and cut this together for us.