When we are making movie adaptations of The Smurfs and Marmaduke, we have run out of comic strips and 80s cartoons to adapt. Now, the big movies to be attached to are based on board games. Seriously. Movie adaptations of Monopoly, Battleship, Clue, Risk, Candy Land, Ouija board, and Monsterpocalypse are all in development with big names attached including Tim Burton, Ridley Scott, and Peter Berg.
So what's next? After we milk the board games for all they're worth, where do we turn? 1 suggestion: movies based on cereal mascots. There are tons of them, have a connection with people from several generations, and have built in product placement.
But who should play these iconic characters (and no, Johnny Depp can't do them all. He's running out of funny voices to use)? Let's see if we can cast these roles. Read the list of cereal mascots below, and let me know who should be cast in these roles in the comments section. We will follow up on this project later.
Cap'n Crunch
Count Chocula (also, Boo Berry)
Lucky
Trix rabbit
Snap, Crackle, Pop
Sonny the Cuckoo bird
Tony the tiger
Honey Nut Cheerios Bee
Wendell (Cinnamon Toast Crunch)
Toucan Sam
I suggest either Seth Green or Giovanni Ribisi for that last one since they both already have experience in the role:
I saw 'Inception' this weekend. I won't spend too much time here reviewing it. Know this: it is very, very good. The film has a creative story that messes with your mind, but makes sure not to leave out the action and cool visuals you want in your summer movies. It's one of those mind-benders that requires that you see it twice to fully grasp everything that you saw. I may have to go see it again soon at the new IMAX theater that opened in Crocker Park.
Anyway, one of the few things I didn't like about 'Inception' is the film's poster. It seems a little TOO similar to one of the teaser posters from 'The Dark Knight.' As one of Warner Brothers' most successful films of the past few years, the studio is of course making sure we know that there are many similarities between the two movies: same studio, same writer-director, similar release date, and even some of the same actors.
If they didn't beat the connection over your head enough already, WB taps into your subconscious with the poster. Looking at the 'Inception' poster should seem familiar even if you don't immediately recognize it:
Am I crazy? Is this intentional? Are we supposed to look at this poster and think "The poster looks like the 'Batman' poster, the movie must be just as good!" It's odd.
Have you seen 'Inception' yet? What did you think?
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Hi buddy, it's me JD. How've you been? We haven't talked in a little while. How's the family? Good I hope. Give them my best.
Things have been pretty crazy here. We had to make some major decisions over the past couple of weeks. We decided to move. That was a big deal. Buying a house can be a big ordeal as we learned first hand. You're lucky you got to build your own dream house. No need to move from that ever, huh? It has everything you want and if you want something else, you can just add it. I'm envious. Don't worry though, we didn't leave Cleveland. Why would we do that?! We moved in to the house a few weeks ago and are getting settled. Once we get the hoop up you can come on over.
See any good movies lately? Have you seen Toy Story 3 yet? Don't see it in public, it might make you cry (seriously, even YOU. you don't want anyone to WITNESS that). Watch it in your home theater. I think you'll like it. What's your favorite character? Mine's Woody. I like what a strong leader he is; willing to stand strong, make the tough decisions, and help inspire all the other toys even when they keep failing. Plus, he has a real strong bond to where he came from and who cares about him. I bet Woody and your Nike puppet would get along great! Anyway, you should check out the movie.
Did you feel that earthquake last week?! That was crazy. I'm glad it wasn't as bad as those quakes in Los Angeles. That can be dangerous. Oh, you'll like this joke I heard: Did you hear about the earthquake in Cleveland? -- What earthquake? I heard it was just Shaq tripping on his sidewalk. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! I immediately thought of you when I heard that.
Aaaaanyway, any big plans for the 4th weekend? We should get together. If you're busy, that's cool. We should schedule something for August. Will you be around then?
As an occasional renter of the Redbox movies, I received this coupon in my email inbox the other day and it made me sad:
Why would Redbox think I'm super excited for this (and I'm not judging you if you actually are). All I could think of while reading this was some lonely spinster receiving this in their inbox and getting excited about a movie night in eating Hot Pockets and Haggen-Dazs and then falling into a food coma half way through "Leap Year." All because of this coupon. Is that what you're trying to sell me, Redbox? Sad, pathetic loneliness, and saving a dollar with a free movie? It leaves nothing but bad associations.
I'm taking a pass on this coupon. Give me a less depressing deal, Redbox, and we will talk. While you're at it, you could start renting out video games any day now. Now that all the local video rental stores are closed down, there is a huge, vacant gap in the video game rental department.
Read more!
Sunday night has turned into an evening clogged with television programming. There's always been something on for the reality nuts ('Amazing Race,' 'Undercover Boss,' 'Celebrity Apprentice,' Whatever is on VH1), but recently there's also been an influx in other quality programming, including HBO's 'The Pacific' and Discovery's 'Life' miniseries, and the new season of one of my favorite shows AMC's 'Breaking Bad,'
With all those viewing choices to pick from I wouldn't blame anyone for not catching last night's episode of 'The Simpsons.' Honestly, you didn't miss much. Like most modern episodes of the series, this episode was an entertaining way to spend 30 min, with a few laughs, but suffering from weak plots that suffer even more thanks to odd story structure. That being said, last night's episode did feature a visit from First Lady Michelle Obama (which was cool until you find out she was actually voiced by actress Angela Bassett), and a sort of fun montage of famous Hollywood kissing scenes getting the Simpsons treatment as Bart receives CPR from his crush (don't ask).
You can check out the montage below. How many of these scenes do you recognize? Can you tell which ones were slightly altered?
Do you have half a mil lying around and are looking for a new job and/or hobby? If so, you're in luck because for the low low cost of $500K you could be the proud owner/operator of a Western Michigan UHF television station!!!
As the New York Times reports, current station owner Bud Kelley listed WMKG-LP, Channel 38 on eBay and is pricing it to sell (although it now looks like it has been removed). Although still not ready for the digital transition, you can own the broadcasting license, facility, equipment, and the ability to program whatever you want (as long as you keep the Thursday night Bingo show).
Some quality programming could turn this station around into the highest rated station in the region. It can happen. Need proof? Look no further than American treasure "Weird Al" Yankovic and his 1989 cult classic "UHF":
There's plenty of show ideas right there! All you need now is an eccentric, frantic janitor and you're all set. Look out Western Michigan, you're in for a wild ride!
Read more!
The Oscars have come and gone and awards season is (finally) over, right? Not in Cleveland. Here the fun is just getting started!
That is because this Thursday the 34th Cleveland International Film Festival kicks off at Tower City Cinemas downtown. One of the largest film festivals in the world, the 10 day festival features more than 300 films, documentaries, and short films from 80 countries.
Anyway, while at the event I entered an Oscar pool, picked everything correctly, and won several passes to the Film Festival (which is put on by the Cleveland Fim Society NOT the GCFC. The two organizations tend to get confused with one another, but have 2 very different missions. The GCFC focuses on bringing film work & jobs to Northeast Ohio, and the Film Society focuses on film preservation and the festival).
So, what should I see? What are you seeing? I could use some suggestions. Check out the festival program here and let me know what you plan on seeing. I welcome all opinions. I might even give you a ticket voucher. Chances are I won't have time to use all the ones I have. So let me know what you'd use it on.
Better last minute than never, right? When I set out to review all 10 of the Best Picture nominees this week I failed to anticipate how busy I would get. Even though my eyes were bigger than my stomach, I’m not one not to finish what I started, so here is my (very, very, very, very) brief attempt to review the remaining 6 nominees before the Oscar ceremony tonight.
An impressive original sci-fi film. "District 9" can pass itself off as a summer blockbuster and a small, emotional movie examining how we treat cultures different than our own; not the typical alien invasion film. Although it abandons some of its ethical statements and documentary style as the movie progresses into a gigantic battle, it’s a fun ride from start to finish. The less I tell you about this movie the better. It never goes where you expect it to, and that’s a good thing. It won’t win Best Picture, but it will be one of the few nominees that we are all still talking about 5 years from now.
The Hurt Locker This small movie about a three-man US bomb squad in Iraq is considered a front-runner for the big award. Will it beat “Avatar?” Maybe, if the voters felt like awarding a smaller film. Don’t be fooled though, despite a small budget “The Hurt Locker” isn’t a wuss, it’s an intense, suspenseful action film. Although set in Iraq, it does not get political. The plot is simple: survive 38 days. It’s easier than it sounds once you see the insane positions these soldiers have to put themselves in on a routine basis. As the movie points out, it takes a certain kind of person to do this, and “The Hurt Locker” does a great job exploring who that person is and what makes them tick. If anyone is going to beat James Cameron for Best Director, it will be (Cameron’s ex-wife) Kathryn Bigelow for the way she captures both the intensity of bomb diffusion and the quiet times in-between missions.
Inglorious Basterds This movie was not what I expected. Being a Quentin Tarantino movie I was expecting lots and lots and lots of blood; “Kill Bill” set in World War II. While the movie is bookended by two fairly violent scenes, the majority of the film is blood free. The cat-and-mouse game being played between the Good Guys and the Nazis as they sit across from each other at various tables in houses, restaurants, and bars is at times almost unbearably suspenseful. I enjoyed Tarantino’s revisionist history of WWII not for the gore, but for the way it was constructed: as a series of inter-connected short films that slowly become one. This method kept me engaged in the story even during the typical Tarantino dialogue scenes that run a few minutes too long. Trying to figure out where the story was going was half the fun. This is my pick for an upset for Best Picture and Tarantino’s best chance at winning the big award to-date.
Precious Everyone knows this movie as the one where an unspeakable amount of bad things happen to a poor teenage girl. I won’t list all of those things here; it’s worse than you even think it is. Yes, “Precious” is a good movie with strong acting and a powerful true tale of strength and perseverance, but it’s also tough to watch. This is the type of movie you will get in the mail from Netflix because you know it’s a movie you’re "supposed to watch," but you’re never in the mood to watch something this dark and it sits on the counter for 2 months until you return it unviewed. If that happens, I don’t blame you. A strong film, but I would never call this entertaining.
Up My wife can’t even tell you the plot of this movie without starting to tear up. I’m serious. The movie with talking dogs, blimp battles, and giant birds with a love for chocolate makes her cry. That’s because the guys at Pixar know how to make a good movie. All the crazy talking dogs in the world are meaningless unless there are some strong characters with strong motivations that drive everything. It doesn’t take much to lay that ground work. All you need in “Up” is the first 10 minutes. From there the movie can go in any crazy direction it wants to just as long as it remembers to come back to the simple relationships between old man Karl and his chubby friend. This will win Best Animated Movie and possibly Best Score. “Up” becomes a little too much of a kiddie cartoon in a few scenes towards the end, and that might hurt its chances as Best Picture.
Up in the Air Although it won’t win Best Picture, “Up in the Air” is the movie that best portrays what life in 2009 is like. George Clooney carries the picture well as a traveling businessman whose job it is to fire people. “Up in the Air” address a lot of the insecurities and concerns we all have right now with our jobs, the economy, the way technology has made making personal connections both easier and at times harder and less authentic, and what really matters in life (and one of the best soundtracks of the year). The ending is a little sloppy and some would argue ruins the whole film, but it stays true to the characters, and attempts to address how we live right now in a funny and entertaining way.
That’s all 10. Sorry I was so brief with these final reviews. Time got the best of me.
Where are you going to (or where did you) watch the Oscars (or do you even care)? Me, I’ll be at the Road to the Red Carpet party, a charity event for the Greater Cleveland Film Commission, a great nonprofit that works hard to bring film and production work to Northeast Ohio (i.e. “Spiderman 3”).
As always, if you agree or disagree with me, let me know in the comments.
Continuing my (alphabetical) reviews of the 10 Best Picture nominees in preparation for Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony, today brings two of the highest grossing movies of the past 3 months: "Avatar" and "The Blind Side."
Chances are that if you wanted to see either of these movies, you probably already have. Nevertheless, after the jump, I take a closer look at these 2 films. Agree or disagree with me? Let me know in the comments.
Avatar
Unless you've been living inside a rock that's under another rock that's lying on the bottom of the ocean, you've heard of "Avatar." It's now the largest grossing movie of all time with a worldwide intake of $2.5 billion (although with 80% of the US domestic gross coming from the 3D version of the movie, the extra $3 surcharge for 3D movies is inflating that number quite a bit).
So is it worth all that money? Sure, why not. In "Avatar", writer/director James Cameron was able to construct a perfect storm of everything that makes his past blockbusters, including "Terminator 2" and "Titanic," a success: sci-fi action, romance, and groundbreaking technology. "Avatar" has something for everyone of all ages.
Visually, the story of paralyzed soldier Jake Sully using Avatar technology to pose as a member of the blue alien-like Na'vi tribe that resides on a distant moon (it's not as complicated as it sounds), is unlike anything we've seen on film for a long time. The vivid colors, landscapes, and unique creatures of the Na'vi world fully transport the viewer, and the tense action scenes keep everyone on the edge of their seats.
The film's main weaknesses are the dialogue and some of the acting. Like "Star Wars" before it, "Avatar" is going to be mocked for years to come for its cheesy, sometimes poorly written dialogue. Some critics complain that the movie is just a generic sci-fi blend of many existing blockbusters, including "Dances With Wolves" and "Ferngully: The Last Rainforest." I say, what's so wrong about that? Yeah, there are elements of many other hit movies in this, why do you think it's making so much money? In a year when big budget crowd pleasers included the awful"Transformers 2" and "GI Joe," the willingness of Cameron to take risks creating an entirely original world should be commended.
That being said, I'm not sure it should win Best Picture. It's not perfect, and a little too long. Instead, I think "Avatar" should be awarded a Special Achievement Award for the way it advances movie making, similar to the award presented to "Toy Story" in 1996.
Bottom line: One of the best movie going experiences of the year, but the dialogue, acting, and occasional story flaws are too much to award it as Best Picture.
Trailer:
The Blind Side "The Blind Side" is the only movie out of the 10 Best Picture nominees that I can safely say should not be nominated. Give it a Family Circle magazine award for Best Family Film (take that "Squeakquel"!), but don't elevate its status to the Best Picture category. To put it in football terms: "Blind Side" is playing JV while all the other nominees made Varsity.
Am I too cynical to enjoy an uplifting "true story" that tugs on the heart strings? No, not when it's a good movie. Look at fellow nominee "Up." That movie is a cartoon with talking dogs, and it still has more three dimensional characters than "Blind Side."
I think Michael Oher's story of facing adversity and rising up from the ghetto to the NFL, thanks to the help of a loving family that believed in him when no one else would, is an inspirational story worth telling. "The Blind Side" takes a crack at it, but they water it down with stereotyped characters, generic dialogue, and very little actual conflict. It's a Hallmark made for TV movie that is trying to pass itself off as something more. Plus, as anyone who has read Oher's autobiography can attest, the movie takes SEVERAL liberties in an effort to play up the cheese.
There are also basic structure problems. At 128 min. it's a long movie for a family to sit through, especially when the entire third act veers off into courtroom drama territory right when I was ready for it to be over.
Bottom line: A harmless family film with a good story, but not anywhere near the quality of a Best Picture.
Trailer:
What did you think of "Avatar" and "The Blind Side?" Tomorrow I'll tackle "District 9" and "The Hurt Locker."
Well Oscar time is upon us. The big awards show is this Sunday night. Who are you rooting for? Have you even seen any of the nominated movies? In past years your answer to that questions was probably "no," but this year, in an effort to increase TV ratings (& DVD sales), the Academy increased the number of Best Picture nominees from 5 to 10. The thought was that with 10 nominees, some big budget studio movies that people have actually seen would get to join the art house crowd, and the masses would tune in to root for their favorite movie.
Well some big studio films DID in fact get nominated for Best Picture. Time will tell whether that results in a ratings increase.
I'm a movie buff, but could care less about the actual Oscars. I'm fine stopping at the nominees. Give me a list of some of the best movies and performances of the year and I'll choose what I like from them; no need to declare an ultimate winner.
Regardless, I have seen 9 out of 10 of this years Best Picture batch. So I thought I would spend this week briefly reviewing the contenders. After the jump I take a look at "A Serious Man" and "An Education"
A Serious Man
Two years ago the Coen Brothers won the Best Director/Picture combo for "No Country for Old Men." They followed that up with "Burn After Reading" and now what they claim is their most personal film, "A Serious Man."
Set in the suburban Midwest in the 1960s, the movie centers on Larry Gopnik, a middle aged professor with a lot of problems piling up at once: He might not get tenure, a student is blackmailing him, his wife wants a divorce & wants to date Larry's friend, his kids are brats, and his brother is a nutjob with no job prospects sleeping on Larry's couch. All of these problems cause Larry to wonder why God is "punishing" him for simply trying to get by and be a serious man. He visits 3 rabbis to receive guidance and clarity.
Now I like the Coen Brothers generally, and this movie is well done, and does a good job at capturing Larry's frustrations with his life, but the movie just isn't that interesting. Maybe I'd get more out of it if I grew up Jewish, in the Midwest, in the 1960s, but I didn't do any of those things. The acting and the Coens' portrayal of the 60s keeps my interest for a while, but the story is too mundane to keep my interest for the whole movie. I lost interest about 2/3 of the way through. I get that it's sort of the Coens' point that all of these typical problems that Larry faces are a part of life, and how we look at these problems determines whether they destroy us or not, but the conflict is so mundane that it isn't compelling for everyone.
Bottom line: Cool style and acting w/ a story that is not for everyone. Not likely to win.
Trailer:
An Education This is the one Best Picture nominee that I haven't seen, so I can't really provide any insight into the movie. This just isn't my type of movie. I know it's based on a book, but it looks so generic. I can pretty much tell what it's about just by looking at the poster. Young girl in the 1960s, probably in Europe, falls in love with a much older man. He might be tutoring her or she might be tutoring him, I'm not sure. Either way, through their relationship she receives "an education" on life and love, and her eyes are opened as she matures from a girl to a woman.
I haven't seen the trailer yet or read much about the movie, but I'm pretty confidant I'm in the ballpark. I have yet to have someone prove me wrong. Have you seen it? If so I'd love your insight. I'd be willing to post a guest review if you write a good one up.
I'm sure it's a good movie if you like these types of films. I am a fan of the novels by Nick Hornby, who adopted the script (& received an Oscar nomination for it) but did not write the book it is based on. Hornby's books have been turned into pretty good movies ("High Fidelity" & "About A Boy") so I bet he's good at writing a film script too.
Bottom Line: No idea, but it would be quite an upset if it wins Best Picture.
Trailer (After watching it for the first time, my guess review does not change):
Have you seen "A Serious Man" or "An Education?" Do you agree or disagree with my reviews? If so, let me know. Tomorrow: "Avatar" & "The Blind Side." Read more!
The Grammys have come and gone. Just two more weeks and the airwaves will be award show free for a little while. The Oscars will be held on Feb. 22. Are you prepared? Do you have your brackets filled out? Can you argue for your favorite film among the 5 Best Picture nominees? Well, it's kind of hard to do that if you haven't seen them all, you better get your act together and run out to the theatre.
OR as we all do with most things, you can conduct a last minute cram session. AMC theatres can help you through your procrastination. On Feb. 21, the Saturday before the Oscars, AMC theatres around the country will hold their annual Best Picture Showcase: $30 gets you all 5 Best Pictures and unlimited popcorn & soda.
From 10:30 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. you can relax in a theatre and watch Milk, The Reader, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Slumdog Millionaire, and Frost/Nixon (in that order). You also receive a special pass that lets you come and go as you please in case you would rather run errands than watch the boring parts of Benny Button again (a.k.a ALL OF IT!).
If you like movies, it really is a fun time. My wife and I did this 2 years ago, had a blast, and hung out with some fun people.
Only 1 theatre in the Cleveland area is participating: AMC Ridge Park Square 8 in Brooklyn (Ridge Rd at I-480). For other locations or more information check out the AMC website.
Now get to work ! What movie do you think is the true BEST picture?
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It's inevitable, I cannot have a blog that focuses on marketing, advertising, and television without mentioning the Super Bowl ads. There's not much to say about them though. From a creative standpoint it seems like Doritos' ad was the winner. This is according to USA Today's popular Ad Meter as well as an online poll taken by Hulu (whose own Super Bowl ad returned decent poll numbers):
This proves one thing: Americans LOVE watching people getting hit in the crotch. Next Super Bowl I better see 30 seconds of random crotch hits followed by the State Farm Insurance logo. Tagline: State Farm is there through the good times ... and the bad. INSTANT HIT!
An annual tournament-style competition by Cleveland advertising agency Liggett-Stashower returned different results (video courtesy of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com):
Super Bowl ads go head to head
I tend to agree with these results more. Those E-trade babies have not gotten old yet, and Miller High Life had a clever (and cheap) idea.
But will any of these ads cause you to take action? Did anyone run out to the store and buy some Doritos, or at least THINK about buying Doritos? Did anyone stand in line at Denny's this morning to earn your free breakfast?
There is always a lot of talk and hype about Super Bowl ads, but in the end it is usually the well established brands that earn the most buzz: Frito-Lay, Pepsi, Budweiser, etc. But what about the smaller up-and-coming brands? They have the most to gain (or lose) from a Super Bowl ad. Were there any ads for a company or product that you had never heard of, that you may now consider using?
I think Hulu will see a huge spike in traffic after their ad with Alec Baldwin. Online buzz for the Jack Black/Michael Cera movie "Year One" will probably increase after their funny trailer. That is a movie that has largely been kept under wraps until now (Unlike "Transformers", "GI Joe", etc.).
Who do you think are the winners and losers of this year's batch?
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JD Drake is a advertising/marketing professional residing in Cleveland, OH. He has never had a cavity, but lies awake at night in fear that the streak will soon end.
It's official, we have run out of original movie ideas. "Inception" might have been the last original idea ever (or was it, there is some debate).
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