Entertainment Today and Beyond

Never Met a Zombi I Didn’t Like…

RON HOWARD call to ACTION video- It’s a MUST See! If you’re a HAPPY DAYS fan like me you will LOVE it!

The Fonz with Ritchie on Happy Days

The Fonz with Ritchie on Happy Days

Howard talks about the current election and is joined by ANDY GRIFFITH and HENRY WINKLER! WAY to GO Ron!  VIEW HERE

October 24, 2008 Posted by | And Beyond - Trailers & News | , , | Leave a Comment

Here’s a LOOK at a short but effective PROMOTIONAL reel ABC has released for LOST: Season 5!

I’m very interested to see what the creators of LOST have in store for this upcoming season as it’s no secret that I feel it’s the very best program on television. To say that the writers of this show are talented would be a tremendous understatement. They have created one of the most original, involving, and totally thought provoking pieces of television since ROD SERLING created THE TWILIGHT ZONE back in the 1960’s. Producer JJ ABRAMS and crew have raised the standard for television creativity pretty high with a show that continues to fascinate with each episode.

The decision to go with the idea of flash forward at the end of season 3 was as brilliant an idea as any in the history of television. It opened up so many inventive angles that fans of the show watch with their mouths open in admiration, myself included. The thought process that goes on in writing for Lost must not only be admired but respected. I can’t say enough about it as it’s not only a must watch, but a program I think will go down as one of the very best accomplishments in TV history! It’s very high praise indeed, but totally justified!

View Trailer  If they remove this link AGAIN – try the Lost site [look under "Recent Posts" in the right-hand column]

October 24, 2008 Posted by | And Beyond - Trailers & News | | Leave a Comment

FRIDAY THE 13TH REMAKE TRAILER!

Here’s a LOOK at the first official trailer to the re-imagined, Michael Bay produced, FRIDAY THE 13th. This is a franchise that has now survived for close to three decades with the original film released May 9, 1980. I remember my friend’s older brother taking me to see it and having the feeling of being quite unnerved. At the time it was a pretty SCARY movie going experience, as it showed the type of violence that audiences weren’t used to seeing. I still remember the KEVIN BACON death scene to be one of the most shocking sequences I had seen in a movie at the time and, even to this day, it’s still quite effective. Actually, it may not pass today’s MPAA standard that would maintain an R-rating instead of an NC-17 even in today’s looser times. Friday the 13th was produced by Sean S. Cunningham (Last House on the Left) and cost just 550,000 to produce. It went on to gross 39,700,000 at the U.S box-office.  It spawned countless sequels, many which were pretty good if you like the genre, and also produced a Freddy VS Jason spin-off movie which I though very entertaining.

The biggest liberty this new film takes is that it will focus on the character of Jason Voorhess who actually didn’t appear, other than in a brief scene as a child, until the first sequel. The villain in the original film was Mrs. Voohress, well played by BETSY PALMER. In an interesting footnote, the character’s famous hockey mask didn’t actually appear until the third film in the series which was shot in 3-D. Marcus Nispel who helmed the 2003 remake of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE directs this re-imagining, so I would expect a pretty competent film. The one thing that can never be recaptured, however, is time and place and this material was more effective in 1980 than it will be in 2009. Judge for yourself when Friday the 13th hits theaters Feb 13, 2009. Of course that’s a Friday! VIEW TRAILER

October 22, 2008 Posted by | Reviews | | Leave a Comment

Will the latest SAW film continue to take a major slice out of the box-office!

Saw V

Saw V

It will be interesting to see if LIONSGATE can continue to have the type of October box-office dominance with SAW V like they have had with the previous four installments. This horror franchise, which many like to call torture porn, has been one of the most profitable franchises in movie history, with the first four films doing 554,000,000 combined worldwide on budgets reserved for the catering expense of most big studio films. The original SAW, a pretty inventive piece of filmmaking, was produced for just 1,200,000 and grossed 103,000,000 worldwide. That’s as good as it gets in the movie business! While the sequels weren’t as original, they still do the trick if you’re into this type of genre. I think it’s safe to say that the character of JIGSAW will go down as part of the fabric of America’s pop culture for this generation, the same way FREDDY KRUEGER did a few decades ago with New Line Cinema’s NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST franchise!  If you’re a big fan of the Saw series, and have the time and endurance, Lionsgate will hold a SAW movie marathon at 48 AMC locations around the country on Thursday Oct 23. They will screen the first four films in the series followed by the newest SAW V at midnight. All this for the price of a mere $15. Vomit bags not included!

October 22, 2008 Posted by | And Beyond - Trailers & News | , | Leave a Comment

ER writers hit a HOME RUN with BOOK OF ABBY episode!

I thought the writers did a terrific job with ER Thursday night as Maura Tierney’s Abby Lockhart character bid farewell to the program. For fans of the show, the episode was a REAL treat, as it was extremely well done and very emotionally moving. I loved it – with the highlight being her dance with Frank (Troy Evans). I would give the episode, titled BOOK OF ABBY a 9 out of 10. In case you missed it, here’s a LINK to see it in its entirety!

October 21, 2008 Posted by | Reviews | | Leave a Comment

WEEKEND BOX-OFFICE and my review of Oliver Stone’s W.

The action film based on a video game, MAX PAYNE, starring MARK WALHBERG, not only opened to bad reviews but also a venomous reaction among internet fan boys that pretty much seals its fate as a one weekend semi-wonder. It grossed 18 mill to place first. BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA continues a solid run for Disney as the film, geared to the kid crowd, pulled in another 11.2 mill giving it a three week total of 69 mill. It placed second. THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES opened to a respectable 11 mill in its first weekend out, to place third. The period drama, based on a best selling novel, stars Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning and Alicia Keys.

Oliver Stone’s W. pulled in a solid if not stupendous 10.5 mill in its first weekend in release, to place fourth.  After just coming back from viewing the film my first impression was that the final product here is not what the marketing campaign had led me to believe. While many of the ads for the film made it seem almost like a parody, that perception was not the reality as W. is a drama, and a pretty good one at that. While not the definitive story on the life of George W. Bush, the movie does a really good job of capturing the man and, I might add, it’s a very fair look at him indeed. If Oliver Stone’s (JFK, Nixon) name wasn’t on the credits you wouldn’t know he had any involvement since the story is more than fair and balanced, it’s respectful.

The movie primarily deals with a few themes that cover W.’s privileged but troubled youth, his decision to invade Iraq, and his demon of always trying to live up to his father’s expectations, which is the centerpiece to the story here. JOSH BROLIN is sensational, literally becoming George W. Bush. This is a real performance that hits not only mannerisms and character quirks, but it embodies the man himself as Brolin literally disappears into the role. I would expect an Oscar nomination. The film also features other high quality turns by James Cromwell as George H.W. Bush, Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney who, in many ways, is the villain of the piece, Jeffrey Wright as Colin Powell and Toby Jones as Karl Rove.

If there is one weak link it’s the performance of Thandie Newton who plays Condolezza Rice and comes across as the film’s only SNL type impersonation. Her performance was so weak it almost took me out of the film. At a running time of 110 minutes, I was totally into it every step of the way, and came away having respect for the man. It’s clear that his heart was in the right place. His biggest flaws are surrounding himself with the wrong people; not being the smartest guy in the room and, most of all, the fact that he was born a Bush, which put immense pressure on him to try and overachieve. Overall I found W. to be a fair look at a man who admittedly has made mistakes, the biggest being the decision to invade Iraq without definitive proof of WMD’s. That’s a fact that will probably haunt him for the rest of his life which is something Stone clearly agrees with. Well worth seeing and I give W. a 4 out of 5.

Here’s a link to the weekend’s Top TEN

October 20, 2008 Posted by | Reviews | , | Leave a Comment

FOX gives its TERMINATOR series a full season PICKUP and my thoughts on network thinking in general!

Despite suspect ratings (less than six million weekly viewers) FOX has given a full season pick up to its TERMINATOR: The Sarah Conner Chronicles, ordering 9 more episodes to give it a full 22 episode season. I respect the network’s faith in the program as I think it’s a high quality show that deserves a bigger audience. Having said that, I also believe network’s (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX) have to be much more realistic going forward with their ratings expectations. I really think the days where networks expect all programming to pull in ten to fifteen million viewers or more a week are long over.

Except for a hand full of shows like CSI, GREYS ANATOMY, NCIS and, of course, AMERICAN IDOL, most shows airing on the four major networks are lucky if they can attract nine million viewers. Many are floundering at the six and seven million range and some even lower. The quality competition from HBO, SHOWTIME, FX, TNT, LIFETIME and A&E have put a severe dent in their audience and so has the internet. That will only get worse, not better. The competition is fierce and will only get fiercer.

Although the four majors have started to double air some of there programming, especially on Saturday nights, I’m sort of surprised they haven’t done more of it. Unlike decades ago when people had to get home at 8 PM sharp to watch HAPPY DAYS or WELCOME BACK KOTTER, shows can be now be recorded on DVR and Tivo. Believe it or not, there wasn’t even a VHS recorder or download capability when Happy Days and Welcome Back Kotter aired back in the 70’s. So if you missed it, you were out of luck. It has to be increasingly frustrating for networks to try and spin and rotate their programming every time they don’t get the desired ratings which, in most cases, is unrealistic to begin with. So let’s hope other networks follow Fox’s lead and keep quality programming on the air and keeping ratings expectations in check! It’s about time!

October 19, 2008 Posted by | And Beyond - Trailers & News | | Leave a Comment

Should ZACK and MIRI have used PORNO in the TITLE?

ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO continues to be the source of controversy as a handful of TV stations and newspapers around the country have rejected advertising because of the word “Porno” in the title. While I would never object to the content of any film as long as it’s rated by the MPAA, I have mixed feelings about the Weinstein Company and director KEVIN SMITH going with that title. I think the question to think about is – how liberal do we want our society to get? I certainly say that as someone who is much more liberal in my views than conservative but understand and appreciate the viewpoints of all people. Remember this debate has nothing to do with the content of the film; it has to do with the title, which will be seen on print material advertised on buses and trains and on TV.

We are living in a time where the country hasn’t been this divided in living memory. Getting news coverage from FOX and CNBC is like living in two totally different worlds. Half this country is somewhat liberal while the other half is more conservative. The film’s title has and will offend many people and it has nothing to do with whether I agree with that or not, it’s just a fact. RESPECT is still an important thing, at least in my world! When the Weinstein Company and Smith agreed on that title they knew it would meet with resistance in many circles. So now they have to live with it. I wrote a few months ago that by going with that title it could hurt its box-office, and maybe a lot, and if it were my money I would have used something different because I want to maximize my profit potential. That is just smart business. The question I ask again is- DO you want to live in a society where anything goes? Where teachers use curse words to educate children, where you turn on TV and see hard core porn on major networks? Where internet posters use the F-BOMB every other word! OH, forgot we’re there with that one already!

This story’s far from that or the end of the world, but to walk a mile you have to take one step at a time! If we continue to accept Trash over Class we put everything right into the gutter. Again, I don’t object to the film’s content. I like Kevin Smith and think he’s one of the most knowledgeable and interesting guys in the business but sometimes you can be wrong! While I look forward to seeing the film I feel they might have gone down that proverbial slippery slope with the title! Whether that helps or hurts the box-office is yet to be determined as only time will tell, but the real question is, what do we ultimately want and expect from our society?! Let me know what you THINK.

October 17, 2008 Posted by | And Beyond - Trailers & News | | Leave a Comment

« Previous Entries     Next Entries »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.