MOV032: “You’re Messing With My Zen Thing, Man.”

Jeff thinks The Nightmare Before Christmas is bland. Did the boys have to clean up after seeing Tron: Legacy? And did Fuzz have to clean up after seeing the Drive Angry Trailer. All this and the 10 must see Christmas movies.

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News:

The Past: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

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Director: Henry Selick

Starring: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara

Trivia:

  • Patrick Stewart did the original opening for the movie, which can be heard on the soundtrack
  • Originally was going to be released under the “Walt Disney” Brand, it was released under the “Touchstone Pictures” brand because then Walt Disney CEO Michael Eisner felt the movie was “Too Dark for kids”
  • Based on an original poem written by Tim Burton, which was inspired by seeing Halloween merchandise in a store being taken down and replaced with Christmas stuff
  • Burton wanted to direct, but was too busy with “Batman Returns”
  • Vincent Price was to voice Oogie Boogie, but was recast at the last minute due to health reasons.
  • Walt Disney wanted to make a CGI sequel in 2001, but Tim Burton convinced them to drop the idea
  • Tim Burton and Danny Elfman experienced “Creative Differences” about the score.. for this reason Burton chose Howard Shore to score “Ed Wood”

Talking Points:

  • Is the movie Too Dark for kids?
  • On the creative differences of Burton and Elfman..did anyone else think this score is probably the most “Different” sounding of all the Burton/Elfman collaborations?
  • Did you see all the visual references to Beetlejuice? Or is that just a Burton thing?

What We’ve Learned:

  • Muppet Reindeer are creepy..but skeleton Reindeer are AWESOME
  • Ghost dogs have illuminated noses
  • Frogs Breath can cover up the smell of anything
  • Santa Claus (or Sandy Claws) doesn’t have any Real Claws
  • Shrunken heads as Christmas gifts are a bad thing????
  • Stick to your own holiday, you know it best.

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Nice
Ray: Probably my favorite christmas movie (and halloween movie) and probably sparked my interest in modern musicals.
Steve: Enjoyable. I liked the attention to detail…keeps you guessing and watching.

Intermission: 10 must see Christmas movies yearly

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A Christmas Carol (whichever version)
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The Present: Tron Legacy

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Garret Hedlund. Olivia Wilde

Trivia:

  • The film took 64 days to shoot, but the special effects took 68 weeks to complete.
  • Young sams bedroom contained a poster for “The Black Hole” a 1978 disney film…for which a remake of, will be director Joe Kosinski’s next film
  • The references to The Black Hole (1979) within this film are more than coincidental. The director of this film, Joseph Kosinski, is also directing a remake of that movie, The Black Hole (2012).
  • Steve Lisberger, director of the original Tron, and producer on Tron Legacy had a came as the bartender in the End Of Line Club
  • In order to retro-age Jeff Bridges to a 35-year-old, the actor had to wear a special helmet fitted with 4 strategically placed cameras enabling every textural nuance of his facial expressions to be recorded for precision synthesis during digital processing.
  • In addition to the soundtrack, Daft Punk are spinning the tunes in Zeus’s bar.
  • The skintight “electric” suits worn were actually fitted with embedded light strips, thus eliminating the need for any such effects modifications in post production.
  • Jeff Bridges (Kevin Flynn / Clu) and Bruce Boxleitner (Alan Bradley / Tron) are the only actors to appear in both TRON (1982) and TRON: Legacy (2010).

Talking Points:

  • So.. were we surprised by anything
  • 3D… was it effective?
  • Did we like the vehicles?
  • Anyone else expect Zuse to belt out “Sweet Transvestite”?
  • Nerdgasmic?

What We Learned:

  • The only way to win is not to play…. wait wasn’t that from War Games?
  • Thank goodness some people still carry old school pagers.
  • Sam Flynn was a mac user
  • The arcades of the 80s were soooo much better than today’s! 🙂

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: While not the greatest movie in all the world, it was enjoyable, just wish there was more.
Ray: Definitely not Shakespeare, but I enjoyed it. I wouldn’t waste my money on 3D though.
Steve: Enjoyed it. As with the others, I’m not running out to see it again, but glad I did see it.

The Future: Drive Angry (2-25-2011)

Starring: Nicholas Cage, Amber Heard, William Fincher

Trivia:

  • Filmed in Louisiana, in the cities of Minden, Plain Dealing and Shreveport.
  • The two cars in the films are a 1969 Dodge Charger and a 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle.
  • Unveiled at Comic-Con on July 23, 2010.

Talking Points:

  • So, is it Grindhouse, Machete like on purpose?

Summary: A vengeful father escapes hell and chases after the men who killed his daughter

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Nick Cage being Nick Cage. Take it how you will.
Ray: Cars, action.. grindhouse… ill go see it.
Steve: Hmmm…I didn’t like it the first time when they called it Ghostrider. Not interesting me any further by putting them in cars.

Coming Attractions:
The Past

The Present

The Future

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MOV031: Super Duper Looper

The boy take a trip to the North Pole, Venice, and go back in time to the Wild West.

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News:

  • Did y’all have Battle LA in front of The Tourist?

The Past: Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)

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Director: Jeannot Szwarc

Starring: Dudley Moore, John Lithgow, David Huddleston

Trivia:

  • When Cornelia leaves the plate of food outside for Joe the can of Coke is positioned so the word “Coke” is showing. When Joe picks up the plate moments later the can has turned to show the words “Coca-Cola” in cursive on the other side of the can.

Talking Points:

  • Did anyone feel this felt like 2 movies smushed together?

What We’ve Learned:

  • Muppet Reindeer are creepy..not cute
  • A handsome man looks good in anything, but Green is not his color.
  • Santa is weight Conscious
  • If you give extra kisses, you get extra hugs
  • Puce is like Fuscia, but a shade less lavender and a bit more pink
  • Nothing gets your reindeer motivated to go faster like a little emotional manipulation

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Ray: Maybe good for a walk down memory lane, but I couldn’t recommend this to anyone over the age of 9.
Steve: Tolerable, but didn’t keep my attention all that much. Cute story on the origin, but the “current day” stuff was annoying.
Jeff: Favorite Christmas Movie Evar!

The Present: The Tourist

Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Starring: Johnny Depp, Andelina Jolie, Paul Bettany

Trivia:

  • Tom Cruise, and Sam Worthington were going to play Frank originally before it falling in the Lap of Johnny Depp
  • Charlize Theron was originally supposed to play Elise
  • Angelina admitted the only reason she agreed to do this movie was that it was going to be a “quick shoot” in Venice.
  • Remake of 2005 French Film “Anthony Zimmer”

Talking Points:

  • Predictable?
  • Romantic Comedy/Action Movie/Heist Movie? Another schizo movie!
  • Did Depp just seem like a more sober Jack Sparrow to anyone else?

What We Learned:

  • Math Teachers are not English Teachers
  • Interpol Agents are not very discrete
  • Nutcase? Probably an American
  • Swordsman = Player
  • Italians are big on keeping tabs on their wives
  • If you’re going to get in a gunfight, do it in a canal in Venice – no one cares.
  • Buy E-cigarettes because Johnny Depp uses them (Product Placement?)

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Ray: Entertaining, but predictable.. I felt disappointed by the performance of Depp
Steve: Enjoyed it mostly. Felt it was trying to be too many different movies.
Jeff: Enjoyable, that the greatest movie ever but nice

The Future: True Grit

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Hailee Stienfeld

Trivia:

  • Remake of Original (1969) staring John Wayne, Glen Campbell and Kim Darby
  • The original True Grit (1969) featured Robert Duvall. Duvall appeared with Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart (2009). His cousin Wayne Duvall appeared in the Coen Brothers’ earlier film, O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000).
  • The original True Grit (1969) starred John Wayne in the role of Marshall Reuben J. ‘Rooster’ Cogburn which is played by Jeff Bridges in this film. Both actors have very similar nicknames. Wayne is also known as Duke while Bridges is known as The Dude.
  • Michael Biehn auditioned for the role of ‘Lucky’ Ned Pepper but lost out to Barry Pepper.

Talking Points:

  • Seen The Original? The Duke vs The Dude
  • Girl = annoying?
  • Matt Damon = Southern Accent & teeth?

Summary:

Following the murder of her father by hired hand Tom Chaney, 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. marshal she can find, a man with “true grit,” Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn. Mattie insists on accompanying Cogburn, whose drinking, sloth, and generally reprobate character do not augment her faith in him. Against his wishes, she joins him in his trek into the Indian Nations in search of Chaney. They are joined by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who wants Chaney for his own purposes. The unlikely trio find danger and surprises on the journey, and each has his or her “grit” tested.

Trailer:

Excitement:
Ray: Westerns are not my thing, but I love the Coen Bro’s
Steve: Not a big Western person…and Matt Damon’s teeth bug me in this trailer.
Jeff: Excitedm feels like a true western to me.

Coming Attractions

The Past

The Present

The Future

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MOV030: “Don’t Forget The Rubber Sheets And Gerbils”

Christmas with the family, a song and dance, and surviving more than the wilderness.

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The Past: National Lampoons Christmas Vacation (1989)

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Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik

Starring: Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Juliette Lewis

Trivia:

  • The movie is based on John Hughes’ short story “Christmas ’59”, the second Vacation story to be published in National Lampoon’s Magazine (the first was “Vacation ’58”, which was the basis for the first Vacation movie). The Christmas story was printed in December 1980. The label on the home movie reel that Clark finds in the attic is labeled “Xmas ’59,” a further allusion.
  • Frank Capra III, the grandson of It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) director, Frank Capra, was the Assistant Director of Christmas Vacation (1989).
  • The Griswold’s neighbor’s house is the same house Murtaugh and his family lived in all the Lethal Weapon movies. The houses on this street are on the Warner Brothers Studios back lot
  • The house front from “Bewitched” (1964) and “The New Gidget” (1986) appears in the home movie that Clark is watching in the attic.
  • After Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) unsuccessfully attempts to demonstrate his handiwork with the house Christmas lights to his family, he asks his son, Rusty (Johnny Galecki), to help him check all the light bulbs again. Rusty looks at his bare wrist, pretending to have a watch, and excuses himself. Looking at a bare wrist and pretending to have a watch is one of Chevy Chase’s trademark gags.
  • Final screen appearance of Mae Questel, who’s film career began in 1930 as the voice of Betty Boop.
  • The old Dodge pickup that tailgates Clark and the family in the opening scenes of the movie was previously used as ‘Kurt Russell”s work truck in the movie Overboard (1987).
  • The only Vacation movie to not feature the Lindsey Buckingham song “Holiday Road” throughout the entire film.
  • When Clark shows his coworker Bill the brochure about the swimming pool he wants to put in his backward, he is seen drinking coffee out of a Tasmanian Devil coffee mug. Miriam Flynn (Cousin Catherine) would later go on to play the voice of Taz’s mother in the cartoon “Taz-Mania” (1991).
  • Chevy Chase appears in some scenes wearing a black Chicago Bears ball cap. He wears the same Chicago Bears cap throughout all four Vacation movies.
  • Just before Clark gets locked up in the attic, he pulls out an old present from a hidden slot, and it contains a card that reads “Happy Mother’s Day 1983, Love Clark”. The first movie, Vacation (1983) was released that same year.
  • In the scene when the police storm into the Griswold’s house, the song “Here Comes Santa Claus” sung by Gene Autry is used for the background music. Randy Quaid (cousin Eddie) is the third cousin of Gene Autry.
  • According to Randy Quaid, many of cousin Eddie’s characteristics (most notably the clicking of the tongue) were based off a guy that Quaid knew from when he grew up in Texas years ago who had similar traits.
  • A minor earthquake occurred at the time when they were filming the scene where uncle Louis and aunt Bethany arrive at the Griswold house.
  • All the presents that are on the credenza when Clark goes in to give his to Mr. Shirley are identically shaped and likely the same gift.
  • The brand of beer Eddie is drinking as he empties his septic tank is Meister Brau.
  • When shopping with Clark Eddie asks Clark if it was his company that “killed all those people in India”. He is referencing the Bhopal disaster, also known as the Union Carbide disaster in which leaks from a Union Carbide pesticide plant escaped into the air. Thousands of people died and many more were sickened.
  • When Clark is in bed trying to read the People Magazine with sticky fingers from the tree sap, the person shown on the cover of the magazine is Producer Matty Simmons.
  • The scene where the cat bites on the Christmas lights cord and gets electrocuted was nearly cut from the movie. Prior to the first test screening. the studio execs wanted the scene taken out, fearing that it might offend some viewers, but producer Matty Simmons begged them to leave the scene in, and they eventually gave in to his request. After the first test screening, the test audience had scored the cat electrocution scene as the No. 1 favorite scene throughout the entire movie.

Talking Points:

  • Did the Vacation Movies “Jump The Shark” with this one?
  • Continuity errors

What We’ve Learned:

  • You’ll get a whole quarter if you rub my boil
  • Always check your Christmas tree for squirrels
  • Cats and electricity don’t mix
  • If you want a Christmas bonus, kidnap your boss.
  • The Star Spangled Banner is a great Christmas carol
  • Play Ball!

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Ray: Kinda a snoozer for the “Vacation” franchise.. but still has some classic moments.
Steve: I think it’s hilarious! Stupid, but hilarious.
Jeff: Chrismas classic. Not my cup of tea and not that great of a movie, but think it should be on everyone’s Christmas watching list.

The Present: Burlesque

Director: Steve Antin

Starring: Cher, Christina Aguilara, Eric Dane, Cam Gigandet

Trivia:

  • Jessica Biel and Lindsay Lohan were considered for the role of Nikki.
  • Robert Pattinson, Kellan Lutz, Taylor Lautner were considered to play Jack, before the role went to fellow Twilight star Cam Gigandet.
  • Christina Aguilera’s first choice for the role of Nikki was Emma Stone.
  • Patrick Dempsey, Sam Worthington, Casey Affleck and Jamie Foxx were considered to play Marcus.
  • Tess asks Sean what happened to all the good dancers in LA, to which he responds “Dancing with the Stars” (2005/I). Their cast mate on this film, Julianne Hough, is one of the professional dancers on the Emmy-Winning show.
  • Shipped to theaters under the code name “Former Glory”.
  • The photo of seven-year-old Ali with her mother is actually a photo of a much younger Christina Aguilera with her real-life mother, Shelly Kearns.
  • Cher performed “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” completely live.

Talking Points:

  • Does the story break any new ground here?
  • PG-13? Did this keep too much burlesque out of burlesque?
  • Did it keep your attention?

What We Learned:

  • Christina shouldn’t cover Marylin Manson.
  • If you fall off the stage.. Legs Extended, Boobs Up
  • Cher’s Face is scary
  • You Don’t need a microphone to sing
  • Friends don’t chew on each others ear lobes
  • Gotta show a little leg, gotta shimmy your chest.
  • Cher wields a mean crowbar
  • Bus tickets to LA are ALWAYS one way

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Ray: Of course if your a Cher or Christina fan go see it.. otherwise.. its a rental.
Steve: Enjoyable…just let go and let it take ya. Visually looked excellent!
Jeff: A modern day Bob Fosse-esque film, enjoyable, although not that great. My sangria was wonderful with it.

The Future: Wrecked

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Starring: Adrien Brody, Caroline Dhavernas, Ryan Robbins

Trivia:

  • The film had a Global Premiere on 15th October 2010 at the Emirates Palace Hotel as part of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. The film was warmly recevied by the audience, and was followed by a Q&A session with a number of the cast and crew (inc. Director, Writer, Producer and Adrien Brody) where they revealed that the film was shot in just 18 days.

Talking Points:

  • Anything new?

Summary:
The movie is about a man, simply called ‘Man’, who wakes up in a car after an accident, covered in blood and with no recollection of who he is or what he’s done before. When he goes through the contents of the car wreck he starts to suspect he has committed an armed robbery gone bad.

Trailer:

Excitement:
Ray: The Trailer gave a lot away…
Steve: Doesn’t look awful…
Jeff: Man vs Nature + Man vs His Past = Didn’t hook me

Coming Attractions

The Past: Santa Claus: The Movie
The Present: The Tourist
The Future: True Grit

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MOV029: “You Can’t Leave. She Won’t Let You.”

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The Past: Event Horizon

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Director: Paul W.S. Anderson

Starring: Sam Niel, Lawrence Fishburne

Trivia:

  • The space suits worn by the actors weighed 65 pounds (30 kilograms) each. Laurence Fishburne nicknamed his “Doris.”
  • The Event Horizon was modeled on Notre Dame cathedral. Its interior is filled with cruciform shapes.
  • The model of the Event Horizon includes a complete “X-Wing” from Star Wars as part of an antenna array. The model is visible on the lower portion of the Event Horizon during the first flyby by the Lewis & Clark.
  • Director Paul W.S. Anderson was forced to cut over 20 minutes of violent scenes so the film could reach the R-rating.
  • When the Lewis and Clark first docks with the Event Horizon, the number of the main airlock is briefly visible: 13.
  • Cameo: [During the opening dream sequence] a book floats past the camera, featuring a picture of the director and his name.
  • The Event Horizon was named after the theoretical boundary surrounding a black hole, within which gravitational attraction is so great that nothing, not even radiation, can escape because the escape velocity is greater than the speed of light
  • This movie was produced entirely within the UK, even the special effects.
  • Paul W.S. Anderson had originally hired British band Orbital to compose the music for the film because he had wanted to work with them since his directorial debut Mortal Kombat (1995) which had featured their music. Paramount executives balked at the idea of hiring unknowns to write music for a big budget film, Anderson then thought of Michael Kamen and the idea of “marrying” their sounds (orchestral and techno) together resulted in the film’s final soundtrack.
  • Philip Eisner wrote the movie after a family tragedy. He had recently entered a multi-picture writing agreement, and in an effort to force himself to get back to work he pitched the idea of “The Shining in space” to the studio, who were very receptive. Unfortunately he had no detailed treatment yet, and the subject matter blended with his emotional state to inspire a prolonged bout of writer’s block. The studio executive who had originally brought him on board, now a personal friend, helped keep Eisner on track, and the eventual first draft which was enthusiastically received.
  • Post-production was cut from 6 weeks to 4 weeks after Paul W.S. Anderson promised to deliver the film in time for release in August 1997.
  • According to the DVD documentary, the first cut of the film had a longer “Visions from Hell” sequence, more blood, and a different, though similar, ending. The test audience didn’t like it, so it was re-cut with an alternate ending involving what director Paul W.S. Anderson called “The Burning Man Sequence.” The second test audience didn’t like that version, and the film was edited again. The final cut is a less-intense hybrid of both test screenings, with significantly less gore.
  • Production designer Joseph Bennett had to find a crew in Britain that could build and finish the sets in 4 weeks, before shooting began.
  • Andrew Kevin Walker wrote an uncredited draft of the script. Some of it ended up on screen, and one sequence was cut from the theatrical cut. A small sample of it appears on the Special Collector’s Edition, when Laurence Fishburne’s crew is introduced for the first time on another rescue mission. In the DVD commentary, director Paul W.S. Anderson said he regretted deleted the scene, but it didn’t help the film’s pace.
  • Director Paul W.S. Anderson and producer Jeremy Bolt planned to put together a director’s cut for some time, but most of the footage was lost or destroyed after post-production. A few of those scenes, which appear on the Special Collector’s Edition DVD, survived only in videotape form, sometimes without dialog or sound effects. The DVD also includes storyboards of a space walk sequence that was abandoned for budget reasons, and the alternate ending, with commentary by Paul W.S. Anderson.
  • According to the DVD commentary, sequences deleted from the “Visions of Hell” include orgies and sadomasochism killing the Event Horizon’s original crew.
  • One of the members of the original Event Horizon crew was British director Gary Sinyor, who directed The Bachelor (1999) starring Chris O’Donnell and Academy Award winner Renée Zellweger.
  • Everyone’s space suit has their country’s flag. During production, Australia was considering changing its flag. Sam Neill’s character is Australian, and his spacesuit’s flag has the Aboriginal flag in place of the Union Jack.
  • Dr. Weir shares his name with a historical figure, Johann Weyer, also known as Wier or Wierus. He was a Dutch physician, occultist, and demonologist.
  • The hundreds of apparent metal bolts that line the corridors of the Event Horizon are actually power transistors in a TO-3 or similar package. This can be best seen when Miller rests his head against the wall when hearing Corrick’s voice.
  • The rotational shot of the space station over earth took nearly a third of the film’s budget.
  • The FBFX created costumes of John Mollo’s original space suit designs included many practical features such as an integrated filter blower system in the bottom of the portable life support system (backpack) into the helmet to keep the visor clear and the actor cool, thousands of LEDs that pulsated rhythmically to indicate life support functionality (with a secret ‘panic mode’ switch to quicken the pace when the plot required it!) and industrial magnets embedded in the soles of the boots to add to the realism of scenes featuring active magnetic boots.
  • The working title was “The Stars My Destination”.
  • When Doctor Weir opens the blinds in his room during the opening sequence of the film, a whooshing sound effect can be heard. This sound effect is taken from the video game Doom, heard when the player opens a door.
  • In keeping with the naturalistic science fiction tone of the film, the costumes were based on present day flight suits.
  • Paul W.S. Anderson was offered the movie on the strength of the box office success of his previous film, Mortal Kombat (1995). It meant he had to turn down the opportunity to direct X-Men (2000).
  • Paul W.S. Anderson’s initial cut of the film ran to 130 minutes and was quite graphically violent, so much so that both test audiences and the studio baulked at the finished product. Paramount ordered him to cut the film by 30 minutes and tone down some of the violence, a decision he now regrets.
  • Some of the lost footage includes a great deal more of the Bosch-influenced Hell sequences and of the orgiastic video log that was found in the Event Horizon. This was shot by both director Paul W.S. Anderson and Vadim Jean, mainly on weekends.
  • Paramount eschewed the overused special effects houses ILM and DreamWorks in favor of smaller studios to keep costs down. Instead they opted for Mass Illusion Cinesite (Europe) and the Computer Film Company in London.
  • The first person signed to the film was director of photography Adrian Biddle.
  • For his final scenes, Sam Neill could come to the studio at 3am so that he could spend 7-8 hours in make-up, having a full prosthetic suit fitted.
  • Joely Richardson’s character was originally written for a man.
  • Paramount didn’t officially greenlight the film until 10 weeks before production was due to begin. This meant that the production design was unnecessarily rushed and was the reason why many leading production designers turned the film down.
  • From greenlight to completion, the film took 10 months, an unusually short amount of time for such a complex, special effects driven film.
  • Having just done a PG-13 movie, Mortal Kombat (1995), Paul W.S. Anderson was very keen to do something more adult and gruesome. This was why he turned down the chance to direct X-Men (2000).
  • Writer Philip Eisner visited the set while the space suit sequences were being filmed. The suits were so heavy that the actors risked back injuries, prompting Laurence Fishburne to stop between takes, point at Eisner, and shout mock-angrily: “You! You Eisner! You did this to me!”.
  • The script originally described the Gateway machine as a smooth and featureless black orb suspended in midair between large, rotating mechanical arms. It also was said to contain a stable black hole within it at all times (which the ship used as a power source), as opposed to briefly creating a temporary one.
  • Jeremy Irons and Amy Brenneman were originally set to star in the film.
  • The scene where Laurence Fishburne finds Jason Isaacs hanging in the air with his chest cut open originally ran much longer, with Isaacs’ guts hanging out of him, and some of them laying on the table. Paul W.S. Anderson used a mylar mirror on an operating table to simulate the effect, with Issacs actually hanging on wires. This can be seen in the DVD’s Making of Event Horizon documentary.
  • For Jason Isaacs’ death scene, the plan was originally for his entrails to be still attached to him as he hung over them. Isaacs was then supposed to raise his head, showing that he was still alive, prompting Laurence Fishburne’s character to shoot him in the head, to put him out of his misery.
  • All of the characters who die are the ones who are immediately present in the scene where the crew starts to talk about the hallucinations.

Talking Points:

  • Coolest Ship Interior EVER!
  • Should it have been in 3-D?

What We’ve Learned:

  • Bottled Water doesn’t freeze in deep space.
  • Just because your experiencing 30G’s of acceleration… doesn’t mean your dishes and other items need to be stowed.. they will stay right where they are.
  • Its all math

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Ray: In all reality this movie sucks.. but i still love it. Great Concept, Horrible Execution
Steve: Don’t expect Shakespeare…but the sets are amazing and it has a great cast.
Jeff: I second, Ray

The Present: The Next Three Days

Director: Paul Haggis

Starring: Russel Crowe, Elizabeth Banks

Trivia:

  • The Next Three Days is a remake of the 2007 French film Pour Elle (Anything for Her) by Fred Cavayé
  • Cavayé explained the plot and motivation for making the film, “We wanted to make a real human story about an ordinary man doing an extraordinary thing because he’s faced with a miscarriage of justice. The film also talks about courage – saying how you show courage depending on the situation. In France, for example, there were good people who did not go into the Resistance against the Germans.”
  • In October 2009, Haggis and his staff were filming in the principal photography stage of production in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • The Next Three Days has received generally mixed reviews. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 44% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 59 reviews, with an average score of 5.7/10. The critical consensus is: “Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks give it their all, but their solid performances aren’t quite enough to compensate for The Next Three Days’ uneven pace and implausible plot.”

Talking Points:

  • Did anyone root for them to get caught?
  • when is breaking the law for a good cause ok?
  • Brian Dennehy’s almost wordless performance.
  • Pace – was it slow to you or fast?
  • How well do you think you know your spouse?

What We Learned:

  • Regardless what Mythbusters say.. its completely possible to steal a car with a tennis ball.
  • All you need to know about becoming a criminal you can learn from the Internet.
  • If you’re going to flee the country, just get on the plane and you’re scott free.

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Bloody Brilliant. While some people might not like the pacing, the emotional journey is incredible.
Ray:To me slow moving and methodical.. but if you can stick with it, I think its worth the ride.
Steve: Boring with a capital B! I think I’m awake now.

The Future: Heartless 5-21-2011

Starring: Jim Sturgess, Noel Clarke

Trivia:

  • Was released in the UK in 2009
  • Shown at Leeds International Film Festival (UK) on Saturday 7th November, 2009 as part of its “Day of the Dead” horror film marathon.
  • When Jamie is walking past a bar to take out the garbage, a rock version of the song Jim Sturgess sings, “Heartless”, is playing.

Talking Points:

  • Jacobs Ladder anyone?

Summary:

Jamie Morgans life has always been blighted by the large, heart-shaped birthmark on his face. He lives in an urban world dominated by a terrifying gang culture, whose random violence has convinced Jamie that the world is meaningless and ugly. But then Jamie meets someone who tells him the truth. The violence is not random. Its far from chaotic. There is a reason for everything. Once Jamie accepts this the world reveals itself as a thing of great beauty And that’s when his real nightmare starts.

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Meh.
Ray: Trailer reminds me of Jacobs Ladder.. Looks interesting.
Steve: Looks interesting, but doesn’t come across like a big screen movie…looks like a straight to DVD release.

Coming Attractions

The Past: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
The Present: Burlesque
The Future: Wrecked

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