Thursday, August 6th, 2009

I mentioned yesterday that I may not post due to a new life being brought into the world by a couple of friends of mine, yet I changed my mind after I was completely crushed tonight to read that one of the great film directors, John Hughes, has left the world today, via a heart attack at the age of 59. The former writer for National Lampoon Magazine ruled the 1980's, as the quintessential director and writer of the decade. His genius may be disputed by some, as he never garnered an Academy Award, nor did he keep a fan base comparable to the likes of George Lucas or Peter Jackson. But if your age 20-40, and can honestly say that nothing that came from the creative mind of John Hughes has not affected you, or weaseled its way into your everyday dialogue, then you're a liar or completely out of touch with the technology of film or television.

Hughes directed eight films, among them Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Uncle Buck. The man also penned the aforementioned films, along with a few other films coming from the imagination and pen of Hughes, despite not being in the director's chair, such as the National Lampoon's Vacation films, Pretty in Pink, The Great Outdoors and Home Alone. The thought that somebody could take a road trip without uttering the pure comical genius that came from Hughes' script of the Griswald's many travel misfortunes is heartbreaking. To fathom the thought of future generations not getting their first sexual thrill with the first appearance Kelly LeBrock after mixing a bit of Albert Einstein and David Lee Roth is folly. The thought of a world, in which a child being sent to his first detention didn't try to channel the spirit of Judd Nelson in unbelievable. And to be in a dating world knowing that the girl of your dreams hasn't at one time pictured herself as Molly Ringwald is just plain sad. The world, the future of comedy and cinema, will never be what it once was, and there never will be another John Hughes. Rest in peace.

In other news, Machete confirmed some of the casting rumors, sans Jonah Hill. The rumored Cheech Marin, Michelle Rodriguez, Don Johnson, Steven Seagal, Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Alba and Robert De Niro have all been locked in according to Cinematical. The awkwardness and extreme polar differences between the cast is picture perfect for an exploitation film. Sure, we can gripe and complain, but in the end, this isn't supposed to be an Oscar contender, and with those names, along with the basic premise of Danny Trejo and his deadly machetes, how can we not be entertained?

Also, IWatchStuff has the new trailer for Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, a high fantasy vampire novel adaptation starring John C. Reilly. That brief description is enough to get me in the seats.

Finally, I'm going to end with a video I found on YouTube set to The Who, featuring the films of Hughes. I'm sure there will be better tributes in the coming days, but try not to get emotional watching this. Such a sad day.

Monday, July 27th, 2009

Well, thus begins the week of movie blogging after the San Diego Comic Con. With the endless news flowing out with feverish fluidity that made every blogger out there, be it the big timers at Cinematical or AICN, or the nobodies like myself whom, with giggly ecstasy write about our passion of cinema to a handful of readers if that, it makes the week after seem completely dead and void of any real news. But before we put the conventions of all conventions behind us, MaximumPC has a huge 600+ picture gallery of the excellent cosplay that went down. The one pictured, admittedly has more to do with the fact that somebody actually cosplayed as PedoBear than anything in the movie blogsphere, although to make it relevant, I found him sexually badgering some of the Disney movie princesses, in which the cosplayers could be of questionable age.

On to some news... the biggest of the day is the shock that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince didn't take the box office for the second straight weekend. I don't think anyone expected the live action/CGI combination of hamster secret agents in G-Force could outdo the absolutely massive and fanatic fanbase of the highly anticipated sixth Potter film. Completely mind-boggling. On a lighter shock for myself, The Ugly Truth beat out Orphan for the third spot. I just didn't see a lackluster romantic comedy that has been panned making more money than a horror film that good or bad, had a bit of a draw. So, what do you think for next week? Will Funny People take the top spot? Will Half-Blood Prince not take a huge drop from this week, and capture it again? Or will G-Force get two weeks as number one over these other blockbuster events? Let's hope against that last one at least.

MTV's movie blog has a bit of a surprising casting rumor. MTV had an interview with Robert Rodriguez about his upcoming film Machete, in which the director wouldn't confirm or debunk the rumors earlier this month about the possible casting of Robert De Niro and Jonah Hill, but added another name to the already motley crew of possibilities with Lindsay Lohan. The controversial tabloid grabbing actress was said to have a role waiting if she wanted to partake. How could Lohan not take it? She would be perfect for an exploitation film, as her acting wouldn't be on a spotlight, and is one of the few ways she could rejuvenate the minuscule film career she has left. But then again, do we want this? Couldn't Rodriguez, even if he thought he needed a publicity stunt, go elsewhere for someone that has already been in films that are more suited to the exploitation fan's tastes? Who knows.

Finally, The Hollywood Reporter confirms that Mila Kunis has been cast in Darren Aronofsky's upcoming supernatural story of dueling ballerinas, Black Swan, with Kunis taking the villainous role, that has been hinted might actually just be part of the main character's sub conscience. That main character has already been confirmed to be Natalie Portman. Excited about Aronofsky's latest head trip yet? I'll have to admit that I wasn't as hot about The Fountain as everyone else, although I absolutely love Requiem for a Dream, Pi and The Wrestler. I don't think there is any denying however, that even if I don't deem the movie a classic, it will certainly be worth a view.

P.S. I may or may not post tomorrow. I am going to King's Island just outside of Cincinnati. Since the park isn't owned by Paramount any longer, I don't think I'll find anything pertaining to my blog, but I will look diligently for nougat of something to post on here.

Saturday, July 18th, 2009

After Righteous Kill, is it still okay to get excited when Robert De Niro gets casted into something? Well, the film in which he starred opposite Al Pacino was a rare miss for the actor, but when the film is a violent exploitation throwback from the hands of Robert Rodriguez, stemming from Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's brilliant Grindhouse, it is more than okay to get excited. Bloody-Disgusting is reporting a rumor that the Taxi Driver star will take a role in the film Machete, alongside the already announced Danny Trejo, reprising the role from the faux trailer the film comes from, as well as rumoring the casting of Michelle Rodriguez (whom despite starring in Fast and Furious, she is set to be in James Cameron's Avatar, which if the film lives up to my expectations, will redeem the aforementioned atrocity, and make this a good thing.), and an as shocking addition as De Niro, Judd Apatow regular Jonah Hill. What a motley crew. Will it work? I have hope on this one.

Empire interviews Peter Jackson in the new issue and verifies that there will be no casting news for The Hobbit at the San Diego Comic Con. The article goes on to mention that Jackson may keep the possibility open to direct the adaptation of Temeraire, a 2006 fantasy novel by Naomi Novik as his next project following The Lovely Bones. So, the article gives us a bit of news, although not the piece we were wanting.

Check this out, via Geekologie, I found this replica of Batman's leather motorcycle get-up from The Dark Knight. Quite impressive.

MovieWeb posted the Italian dubbed trailer to Walt Disney's upcoming motion capture, Robert Zemeckis directed, A Christmas Carol. I, myself, can wait for the English trailer, but it is Saturday, and not really much to blog about, so have it.