Category Archives: Movies

A Success Of Biblical Proportions

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The Bible

If you haven’t seen The Bible on the History Channel, get thee to a television.

According to the latest Nielsens, released [last] Tuesday, Sunday night’s telecast of “The Bible,” produced by husband-and-wife team Mark Burnett and Roma Downey for basic cable’s History channel, managed to attract more viewers than anything on broadcast network NBC … during the entire week.

The second installment of this five-part mini-series airing at 8-10 p.m. Sundays through Easter — the first foray into scripted drama for “Survivor” creator Burnett — drew 10.8 million viewers, good for number one in its time-slot and number 11 overall for the week.

Even bigger was part one the week before, which amassed an audience of 13.1 million viewers, cable’s largest of the year. That series premiere topped the ratings for both of the week’s episodes of “American Idol.”

The bonus in all this? Hollywood is confounded as to why the miniseries has been so popular…

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When You Wish Upon A Death Star

Show me on the doll where Disney touched you.

Disney has acquired the rights to the Star Wars franchise and has already announced three new films. I fully expect my childhood to be raped again.

Disney has just confirmed that it has agreed to acquire George Lucas‘ Lucasfilm Ltd, and that includes rights to the Star Wars franchise that will now continue on. The companies have targeted a 2015 release for Star Wars: Episode 7, with Episode 8 and Episode 9 to follow as the the long-term plan is to release a new feature every two or three years.

The stock and cash transaction is worth an estimated $4.05 billion, and the companies have scheduled a conference call in a half-hour to discuss the deal, which was approved by the Disney board and Lucas, the sole Lucasfilm shareholder.

Almost immediately, the Twitter hashtag “Disney Star Wars” appeared, so I offered my two cents. “In #DisneyStarWars, the emperor will shoot Lightning McQueen from his fingers.”

I can feel the hate in you. Now, release your anger and strike your comments down!

Legs Wide Shut

I would appear that smoking hot Aussie Nicole Kidman had to be, um, “persuaded” into performing sex scenes with her then-husband Tom Cruise.

Wow, color me surprised.

In fairness, I spent my single years begging coaxing women to have sex with me, too, so . . .

In an article for The Hollywood Reporter, Kidman says she had to be ‘coaxed’ into doing the kinky sex scenes with Cruise.

Nicole – now a mother of two with husband Keith Urban – says she struggled with some of the sexual aspects of the movie – and revealed some of the more extreme footage was left on the cutting room floor.

She concedes [Director Stanley Kubrick] effectively failed in getting them to do so – saying while they realized that was his intention, the characters they played were “not really us.”

Of course not, the characters enjoyed some “dirty work at the crossroads.”

The First Iron Man 3 Trailer

As a lifelong comic book nerd, my favorite superhero was Spider-man. (Wolverine was a close second.) When the new superhero films started coming out, I switched my allegiance to Iron Man. Robert Downey, Jr. is brilliant in the films, and they have never disappointed me.

Today, the trailer for Iron Man 3 was released, and I think I’ve re-watched it a dozen times already. The trailer is below the fold.

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Candygram For Mongo!

NFL legend and memorable actor Alex Karras has passed away.

Alex Karras was one of the NFL’s most feared defensive tackles throughout the 1960s, a player who hounded quarterbacks and bulled past opposing linemen. And yet, to many people he will always be the lovable dad from the 1980s sitcom ”Webster.”

The rugged player, who anchored the Detroit Lions’ defense and made a transition to an acting career, with a stint along the way as a commentator on ”Monday Night Football,” died Wednesday. He was 77.

Karras had recently suffered kidney failure and been diagnosed with dementia. The Lions also said he had suffered from heart disease and, for the last two years, stomach cancer. He died at home in Los Angeles surrounded by family members, said Craig Mitnick, Karras’ attorney.

Karras was a monster in his day, but I’ll always remember him for this . . .

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So… I Finally Saw It

I’m referring to The Dark Knight Rises, of course.

I also saw it alone, because I’m a loser. And because with my work schedule, it’s hard to synch events with my friends who work in the real world.

I was apprehensive about seeing the last film of the trilogy, partly because I thought director Christopher Nolan would be killing off Bruce Wayne (and no, there are no spoilers here for those of you who haven’t seen it). I was also concerned that it wouldn’t be as good as The Dark Knight, which I consider a nearly perfect film. That being said, I was very pleased; both with the film and with the fact that some lunatic didn’t shoot up the theater.

My specific thoughts are below the fold:

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Flags Of Our Emperors

These recreations are so simple, yet so brilliant.

David Eger has recreated film posters, album covers and famous moments from history – using Star Wars figures.

“My first Cloned Photo was my recreation of Joe Rosenthal’s Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima. Like many of my recreations; Troopers Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima was created, photographed, edited and posted on the anniversary of the original photograph.” (H/T – Randal Graves)

My favorite is below the fold . . .

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Tony Scott, 1944-2012

We lost one of Hollywood’s true greats yesterday.

The LAPD tells Deadline it received a 911 call at 12:35 PM about a man who jumped off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles County spanning San Pedro and Terminal Island. The body of the man was recovered from the water at approximately 3PM by the Los Angeles Port Police. The Coroner’s Office identified the man as Anthony Davis Scott, 68. The Coroner’s Office told Deadline Scott’s death is being investigated as a suicide with no indication it was anything but a suicide.

A source close to the Scott family confirmed that famed movie director and TV producer Tony Scott “has passed away. We ask that the family’s privacy be respected at this time.” Scott was best known for classic action films like Top Gun, Days Of Thunder, Beverly Hills Cop II, True Romance, and Crimson Tide, and the most recent Unstoppable.

Yes, Top Gun, Crimson Tide, etc. are classics, but Scott was responsible for this – possibly one of the best interchanges in cinematic history. (The link is NSFW.)

I don’t agree with him taking his own life, but I don’t know what demons he was facing. Either way, Scott will be sorely missed.

Also: Comedic legend Phyllis Diller also passed away yesterday. Sad.

I’m Retiring

My geek card, that is. This may seem shocking from a self-professed movie geek, but reputation be damned, I’m writing it anyway:

I’ve decided to not see The Dark Knight Rises. I’m staying home.

No, I am not drunk blogging. No, I have not suffered brain damage. Well, no more than the damage I already had. So why would I skip what is arguably the biggest film of the year?

I’ll explain beneath the fold.

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R.I.P. Ernest Borgnine, 1917-2012

On Sunday, Hollywood lost one of the greats.

Ernest Borgnine, the beefy screen star known for blustery, often villainous roles, but who won the Best Actor Oscar for playing against type as a lovesick butcher in “Marty” in 1955, died Sunday. He was 95.

Ermes Effron Borgnino was born in 1917, the son of Italian immigrants. He lived in Italy for a while as a child, then came back to the United States, where he joined the U.S. Navy, serving throughout World War II. When the war ended, Borgnine tried his hand at a few things, until his mother suggested he try acting.

The role of “Marty,” a sweet-natured Everyman, living with his mother, won Borgnine the Academy Award. Younger viewers might know him more as the voice of Mermaid Man in “Spongebob Squarepants.”

Interestingly, Borgnine was a conservative and had a fantastic sense of humor.

Godspeed, sir! You will be sorely missed.