Evening openings continue...

Taking a cue from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Michael Bay's dreadful-looking live-action Transformers flick will be opening nationwide at 8:00 P.M. on July 2 while still retaining the "official" release date of July 3.

Okay, this doesn't anger me or anything. It just kind of bugs me. It's not that I don't condone early showings--I loves me some midnight screenings, after all--but what's the fucking point? Why not have the balls to just open up a day earlier if you're going to go through with it like this? This is quite possibly the most pointless trend the American movie industry has picked up on in recent years...which is saying something.

I'm not entirely sure why this annoys me as much as it does. I think it's just the fact that, much like the actual Transformers movie itself, it's wholly unnecessary and a waste of time. Please tell me there's someone out there who agrees.

A much belated news flash: Paul Newman says goodbye to the movies.

Somehow, and I don't know exactly the "how," I completely forgot to blog about the fact that, just about two weeks ago, Paul Newman announced that he was retiring from his acting career. Usually I wouldn't go ahead and write about something I completely missed the boat on, but this is an exception. Why, you ask? Simply because I love the guy.

Seriously, consider the number of masterpieces the man has been in: The Hustler, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, Cool Hand Luke, Cars. He's the rare actor that can manage to bring both charisma and gravitas to the table in equal measure, without the two ever clashing; it's harder than you'd think. George Clooney is charming, but does he carry any real heft onscreen? Sly Stone can kick your (and the camera's) ass, but do you ever care (we are, of course, talking about post-'76 Stallone)? The ones that can pull of the combination are great: Humphrey Bogart, Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando. (I'd add Nathan Fillion if it didn't seem like too much of a fanwank on my behalf to list him alongside those guys.)

So goodbye, Paul Newman! We'll miss you, but we hope you enjoy the time off!

...I still won't try your salad dressing, though. Sorry.

WB to VOD DVDs. (I love acronyms.)

Warner Bros. has been debuting, in select areas, new DVD releases on Comcast's Video on Demand program both on the same day since last year when it did so with Duma and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. But lately, they've found it's been paying off. Apparently, this tactic shows significant increases in both DVD sales and VOD purchases; the only apparent downside is that it cuts into DVD rentals. One of the more notable titles it's going to continue this test with is The Astronaut Farmer, which hits disc and Comcast both on July 10.

I'm sort of on the fence about this kind of thing; while on the one hand it's just going to make Americans lazier and even more socially aloof, on the other it's pretty damned convenient.

Still, I won't be using it--for one, I don't have Comcast--and I think it'll be a long time before it's common practice for others to. And I'm not certain at all that it's going to become a definitive marketplace staple, like I anticipate Blu-Ray or HD DVD to become at some point in the future.

What do you think?

New DVD Day: 6/5/07

Two newcomers this week...



Kill me. Kill me now. Please, Eddie, just...just stop. And by saying that, no, I am not advocating another shitty Dreamgirls-style bid for maturity. Anyone wanna bet five bucks this is probably even worse than The Adventures of Pluto Nash?



Another silly Grudge-inspired PG-13 horror film. Sadly enough, I count The Grudge (the American version starring Buff...er, Sarah Michelle Gellar) as a not-quite-guilty pleasure. Thankfully, that and The Skeleton Key seem to be my only clear lack of good sense when it comes to PG-13 horror.

Quentin Tarantino angers the Italian film industry; Sophia Loren has an idiotic reply.

Quentin Tarantino--who has made no secret of his love for classic Italian movies--has raised the ire of the Italian filmmaking community after saying, "New Italian cinema is just depressing. Recent films I've seen are all the same. They talk about boys growing up, or girls growing up, or couples having a crisis, or vacations of the mentally impaired." I'm in no position to judge this statement, not being up on current Italian cinema (sadly, I think the most recent I've seen is Life Is Beautiful, which came out ten years ago), but it seems a pretty tame comment. It's not like he's screaming, "ITALIAN CINEMA IS THE WORST! I HATE ITALIANS! FUCK YOU, ITALY!" He's just expressing his disappointment in the country's film industry; I certainly bitch enough about my own country's.

But Italian folks are now all up in arms over this, even going so far as to say that Tarantino himself is "mentally impaired," which just does further disservice to their stature and makes them seem like some snot-nosed brat kicking up dust on the playground.

But the worst of it? The absolute most idiotic thing said so far? That honor goes to none other but classic Italian actress Sophia Loren:

"How dare he talk about Italian cinema when he doesn't know anything about American cinema?"

Er...um...what? I would totally back her defending Italian cinema, but to say that Tarantino knows nothing of it, let alone American cinema? Apparently Ms. Loren has not seen any movies in the past 15 years. Tarantino has basically helped create the shape of modern American filmmaking; trust me, without Reservoir Dogs or especially Pulp Fiction, the face of the cinematic world and American culture in general would be extremely, if not entirely, different.

Tarantino ushered in a new wave of filmmaking, and actually made things interesting again. Yeah, Grindhouse may have flopped at the box office, but critics were in love with it. Tarantino's segment of the film, Death Proof, was regarded as the worst part, yes, but to the observant moviegoer, it was without a doubt the best. I've only read negativity about the expanded cut shown at Cannes, but then again, I've only read one article. Even if Tarantino does perhaps stumble--for the first time in his career, Four Rooms notwithstanding--it will not diminish his stature nor his importance nor his relevance.

Mr. Tarantino, bring on Death Proof and Inglorious Bastards. Ms. Loren, go watch some movies.

Judd Apatow's at it again!

The man cannot stop attracting quality comedy folk, and it's been revealed that his new project, Year One (unfortunately nothing to do with the great Frank Miller Batman comics), will be directed and co-produced by Harold Ramis (who appears in Knocked Up as Seth Rogen's father) and will star Jack Black and Michael Cera. Ramis also co-wrote the film with Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, both of whom work on The Office. Owen Wilson's exec-producing.

So here we have a mash-up of the folks from Ghostbusters, Arrested Development, The Office, Knocked Up, The 40 Year Old Virgin, School of Rock, and The Royal Tenenbaums. If the film lives up to its talent, it's the next Hollywood comedy to watch.

Here's to hoping it doesn't go the way of another non-Apatow-directed Apatow project, 2005's Fun with Dick and Jane remake.

Color me cautiously optimistic!

Uwe Boll's Far Cry for help.

I have to admit, I've never seen a film with the dubious honor of having been made by shlockmeister Uwe Boll. So the "shlockmeister" thing was a bit unfair; I'm just painting the general consensus here (not saying that, from what I have seen, I disagree).

In any case, the guy is auctioning off a role in his current film Far Cry--yet another video game adaptation--on eBay.

And no one's bidding.

I almost pity the man. Almost.