November, 2009 Archive
Jason Marcewicz | Staff Notes
A while back our own Brian Sieck blogged about Chick Flicks and—despite its negative connotation—how dudes should at least try to embrace them. All the films Brian mentioned (Dirty Dancing, Love Actually, An Affair to Remember, The Notebook) are well worth checking out no matter your particular gender. Generally, though, they are geared more towards gals than fellas.
But did you know that there are Chick Flicks for guys? They’re called Male-odramas. Essentially they are movies that men enjoy (take note, ladies) yet bring out their softer side. Accompanied with each Male-odrama below is a graphic depicting how teary-eyed guys might get while watching.
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Jerry Frebowitz | New Releases This Week
New DVD Releases for this week include the "new" Star Trek, My Sister's Keeper, Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno, Humpday along with other theatrical newcomers. Also new this week are TV favorites including Farah Fawcett's final TV movie, Hollywood Wives: The New Generation and the return of David O. Selznick's legendary classic, Gone With The Wind in a new restored version.
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Jay Steinberg | This Week in Film History
November 19, 1924: Mystery surrounds the death of director Thomas H. Ince. Rumors suggest he was shot aboard the yacht of William Randolph Hearst.
November 18, 1928: Mickey Mouse whistles his way onto the screen in his first speaking performance, in Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie.
November 21, 1931: Released only months after Dracula, Universal Pictures has another horror hit in Frankenstein, starring Boris Karloff as the scientist's creation.
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George D. Allen | Movie Buzz, Movie Buzz Podcast
Movie Irv Slifkin invites young moviegoers to share their movie reviews on the Movie Buzz podcast! Sarah and Rosie are back for these Kids’ Critiques of Disney’s 3-D animated A Christmas Carol, as well as reviews of the Astro Boy movie and the DVD releases of Aliens in the Attic and Cake Boss.
Jerry Frebowitz | Talkin' the Oldies
Myrna Loy and William Powell 1944
Long before McMillan and Wife and Hart to Hart graced the TV airwaves, William Powell and Myrna Loy ruled the roost at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios with a series of movies based on the Dashiell Hammett detective novel, The Thin Man.
When I was first introduced to the Thin Man movies, I used to think that the series got it's name because William Powell was so skinny. As it turns out, that wasn't true. The first film in the series was about a case involving a "thin man," played by actor Edward Ellis, who was actually the murder victim. Oh, darn - did I give it all away?
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Jason Marcewicz | Create-A-Caption
You know the drill. Below is a classic movie photo with Jason’s caption.
You’re encouraged to leave your own suggestion in the comment section!
They both smelt it. The question was: Who dealt it?
Irv Slifkin | Coming Attractions, TV Tip Sheet
You can have your Douglas Fairbanks, your Alain Delon, and your George Hamilton, too. For my money, Zorro, the masked swashbuckler, will always be Guy Williams.
That’s because he’s also the Zorro I grew up with. Yes, whenever TV showed Tyrone Power “making the sign of the Z” in the 1940 film The Mark of Zorro, I tuned in. Years later, Antonio Banderas’ turn as the legendary do-gooder in the Steven Spielberg-produced The Mask of Zorro and The Legend of Zorro were stylish and entertaining.
But Guy Williams in the Disney TV show was the Zorro that I came to know and love first.
The series ran for only two years, from 1957 to 1959. It was broadcast on ABC in prime time, but syndication and later airings on The Wonderful World of Disney made its run seem a lot longer.
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Jerry Frebowitz | New Releases This Week
New DVD Releases for this week include the Pixar Animation megahit Up, the romantic comedy The Ugly Truth, Ashton Kutcher in Spread and a very funny comedy, The Accidental Husband, along with other theatrical newcomers and yet one more incarnation of Mamma Mia, making it a total of six different home video versions of the giant musical. Also new this week is another Three Stooges compilation from the 1950s; two of the comedies are in 3-D (with glasses).
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Jay Steinberg | This Week in Film History
: After gaining fame in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Italian-born leading man Rudolph Valentino mesmerizes female filmgoers as The Sheik.
November 13, 1921
November 15, 1935: The Marx Brothers' first feature for MGM, A Night at the Opera, opens; it will prove to be their masterpiece and will break box office records across the country.
November 15, 1956: The greatest film career for a rock star gets underway when Love Me Tender, Elvis Presley's first film, opens in New York.
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Irv Slifkin | In the Director's Chair, Movie Buzz
Hollywood is stuck between Iraq and a hard place.
Even though three different big-name directors flirted with making The Messenger, a script authored by
Oren Moverman and Alessandro Cammon, differences over the screenplay and scheduling pushed them away from the project.
Then there was that Iraq problem. Hollywood has attempted to deal with war in the Middle East. Films like In the Valley of Elah, Grace is Gone and the recent The Hurt Locker received critical kudos but little response at the box-office. Other well-meaning efforts like Home of the Brave and Stop/Loss came and went so fast they seemed like direct-to-DVD offerings.
Yet there was still intense interest in The Messenger, a powerful saga of two solders assigned to deliver the awful news to families that their loved ones—boyfriends, spouses, fathers—have been killed in combat in Iraq.
The three big-name directors’ loss, however, turned out to be Oren Moverman’s gain. The screenwriter whose credits include the 1999 druggie odyssey Jesus’ Son, the period adultery drama Married Life and the weirdo Bob Dylan bio I’m Not There eventually got the assignment to make his directing debut with the film.
Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster
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Dr. Strangefilm | From the Files of Dr. Strangefilm...
Folks, the doc's mailbox has just been filled to the brim since his practice began, and I can't thank you enough for all the kind words and comments. It does a heart good to know there are so many people out there who enjoy a little strangeness in their movie viewing. Of course, as Lincoln (Abraham, not Elmo) said, "you can't please all of the people all of the time." The negative notes seem to be of two main varieties. One segment is saying "Hey, Dr. Strangefilm, you sure do like picking on the U.S. Don't they make weird movies in any other countries?," while the other asks, "Geez, Doc, haven't you watched anything made since Nixon resigned?".
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