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Podcast

MOV055: “Ska-Doosh”

The boys kick off their Pride Month celebration with a review of “BearCity”, then talk about their favorite gay-themed movies. In the present, they check out “Kung Fu Panda 2” and then head to the future to discuss Hugh Jackman’s upcoming flick, “Real Steel” or as we call it – Rock Em Sock Em Robots: The Movie. All this and news about LOTR, Spider Man, James Bond…and the fate of 3D at the movies? Join us in this 55th reel of COL Movies!

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News:

  • Its Lord of the Rings the return of the… Elf? Everyones favorite elf is back!
  • Peter Jackson confirms on facebook, Orlando Bloom confirmed for “The Hobbit” “Ten years ago, Orlando Bloom created an iconic character with his portrayal of Legolas. I’m excited to announce today that we’ll be revisiting Middle Earth with him once more. I’m thrilled to be working with Orlando again. Funny thing is, I look older—and he doesn’t! I guess that’s why he makes such a wonderful elf.”
  • The Amazing Spider-Man Swings into Comic-Con
  • Columbia Pictures will be presenting the film at San Diego Comic-Con 2011
  • Contest will pick one fan to be the “Face of the fan” and send them on an all expense paid trip to Comic-Con
  • To enter fans need to submit a 60 second video of why they believe they should be the “Face of the Fan’s” Correspondent
  • James Bond finally has a date!
  • Officers of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., today announced that the 23rd James Bond film will commence production in late 2011 for a worldwide release on November 9, 2012. The UK and Ireland will be getting the movie two weeks earlier, on October 26.
  • Is the 3D fad finally dying?
  • The latest “Pirates of the Caribbean” installment disappointed with only 47 percent of tickets from its $90.2 million weekend booty coming from 3-D purchases. So-called “event films” tend to do more than 60 percent of their business in 3-D.
  • 3-D tickets accounted for only 45 percent of Memorial Day weekend release “Kung Fu Panda 2.” Meanwhile, ” The Hangover Part II ,” which avoided the 3-D fad, opened to a staggering $103.4 million last weekend
  • Still, international audiences continue to embrace 3-D films, where they remain a novelty. “3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy” recently opened to $360,000 on its first day in Hong Kong, vaulting it past fellow 3-D picture “Avatar” to claim the record for the biggest single-day gross in film history there.

The Past: BearCity (2010)

Rotten Tomatoes: 57% Fresh; 47% Audience

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Director: Douglas Langway

Starring: Joe Conti, Gerald McCullouch, Brian Keane, Stephen Guarino, Alix Di Dio, Gregory Gunter, James Martinez

Trivia:

  • On June 11, 2010, world premiere at NEWFEST to a sold out, standing room only crowd.
  • BearCity wins the coveted Los Angeles Outfest 2010 Grand Jury awards for Outstanding Screenwriting (Director/Co-Writer Doug Langway, Co-Writer Lawrence Ferber) and Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film (Stephen Guarino).
  • BearCity wins the Audience Award for Best Feature at the 20th Skeive Filmer / Oslo Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.
  • BearCity wins the Jury Prize for Best Feature Film (Fiction) at the 6th Andalucía (Spain) International Festival of Gay & Lesbian Cinema.
  • BearCity wins the Jury Award for Best Men’s Film at the 2010 Long Island Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.
  • BearCity wins the Jury Award for Best Film at the 2Jury Award for Best Feature Film 2011 Stella Artois QFest St. Louis LGBTQ Film Festival.
  • BearCity wins Best Bear Video from The Complete Bear’s Best Of The Bears 2010

Talking Points:

  • How representing of the Bear community?
  • BearCity 2 in production – Expected Spring 2012 according to http://www.bearcitythemovie.com

What We’ve Learned:

  • Vowels just don’t cut it for the gay generation
  • You don’t get any attention with clothes that fit.
  • The director has the ecstasy

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: I really enjoy this movie, it’s sweet, and charming. Great? No, but still an enjoyable movie to me.
Ray: While I found some of it entertaining, most felt forced and gimmicky… like we were a few deleted scenes away from a bear porn.
Steve: It’s OK. A snapshot, but not necessarily truth for everyone. Appreciate that it shows there are good and bad sides to the community…you have to make the most of whatever ‘“family” you choose.

Intermission: Best GLBT Movies

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Jeff’s Gay Pride Month Movie Challenge

The Present: Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
Rotten Tomatoes: 80% Rotten; 87% Audience

Director: Jennifer Yuh

Starring: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Oldman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, James Hong, Michelle Yoeh

Trivia:

  • Kung Fu Panda 2 was screened at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival in early May before its commercial release.
  • In Kung Fu Panda 2, the production crew’s shown increased familiarity with Chinese culture. In 2008, after the release of Kung Fu Panda, Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and other Dreamworks members visited the city of Chengdu, which is considered as the “panda hometown.”
  • In addition to seeing real pandas, crew members learned about the local culture. Katzenberg has stated that Kung Fu Panda 2 incorporates many elements of Chengdu in the film.
  • The film’s landscape and architecture also found inspiration from those found at Mount Qingcheng, a renowned Taoist mountain.
  • Some critics noted the influences of executive producer Guillermo del Toro’s works in the film’s darker themes, and Jim Tudor of TwitchFilm.net describes that with del Toro on board, the film “effectively probes deeper into Po’s emerging hero’s journey and personal issues, evoking a truly fulfilling Campbellian archetype, but also remains fully viable as mainstream entertainment suitable for all ages.”

Talking Points:

  • Quality inconsistency, Great to Amazing and back.
  • Jack Black – another Will Ferrell?
  • Adoption theme?
  • 3D
  • Favorite scene?
  • Video Game?

What We Learned:

  • If you mess with the wolf, you get the fangs

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: I Loved it, minor point of goofiness timing I didn’t like but did not take away from my enjoyment of the movie.
Ray: Think I liked this one more than the first.. loved the use of experimental animation
Steve: I like it better than the first movie. I thought the 3D was great! Liked the adoption theme.

The Future: Real Steel

Director: Shawn Levy

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly, Kevin Durand

Trivia:

  • Based on the 1956 short story “Steel” by Richard Matheson.
  • In the short story, Matheson illustrates a cold-feeling dystopia, but Levy chose to set the film in state fairs and other “old-fashioned” Americana settings that would exude nostalgia and create a warmer tone for the film’s father-son story.
  • Filmmakers built 19 animatronic robots to feature in scenes with human actors. For scenes when the robots brawl, motion capture technology was used. Boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard was an adviser for these scenes.
  • Filming began in June 2010, taking place primarily in Michigan. Locations include those around Detroit and across the state.
  • While the film features boxing robots, Levy said he wanted to show in the trailer “the father-son drama, the emotion, the kind of rousing sports movie, the Americana of it”. He said, “We are very much the robo-boxing movie, but that’s one piece of a broader spectrum.”
  • Real Steel was initially scheduled to be released on November 18, 2011, but it was moved earlier to October 7, 2011 to avoid competition with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn.
  • An episode of The Twilight Zone called “Steel” is also based on Richard Matheson’s short story.

Talking Points:

  • Rock’em Sock’em Robots: The Movie

Summary:

A future-set story where robot boxing is a popular sport and centered on a struggling promoter (Jackman) who thinks he’s found a champion in a discarded robot. During his hopeful rise to the top, he also discovers he has an 11-year-old son who wants to know his father

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Rock’em Sock’em Robots: The Movie and I LOVE IT! Not expecting a great movie though.
Ray: When i saw the first trailer.. i was not impressed, but this one actually has me interested.
Steve: Yawn…bite off of Rudy and Transformers. Oh Hugh, what are you doing?

Coming Attractions

The Past
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The Present

The Future

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MOV045: “It’s All In The Reflexes”

The boys hit up the classic John Carpenter flick “Big Trouble In Little China”. Can Kurt Russell hang in a kung fu flick these days? They head to the theater to check out “Red Riding Hood”. Should the village just have let the wolf eat her? Lastly, they look into the future at “Scream 4”. Is the franchise still relevant or should Syndey just die already? All this, movie news, and more Flickchart!

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News:

  • Elizabeth Taylor Dies at 79
  • National Velvet (12 Years Old)
  • Cleopatra
  • First Oscar In 1960 2nd in 1967
  • The Brothers Strause have a new movie
  • War of Ages
  • …an ancient artifact is uncovered, time is shattered and the seven greatest war leaders in history have to battle each other out. It’s sort of like The Lord of the Rings meets Gladiator. You have Napoleon vs. Julius Caesar vs. Attila the Hun vs. Genghis Khan vs. Alexander vs. Hannibal. So, there you go. It’s going to be in 3D and it’s a big sword-and-sandal epic.”
  • World War Z on the Ropes
  • Paramount can’t seem to find someone to share in the making of the $125 million dollar production
  • with an R rating that this production REQUIRES.- Paramount making it PG-13
  • produced by Brad Pitt who also stars in the film

Feedback: N/A

The Past: Big Trouble In Little China (1986)
Rotten Tomatoes: 82% Fresh, 78% Audience

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Director: John Carpenter

Starring: Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, James Hong, Victor Wong, Kate Burton, Donald Li

Trivia:

  • According to John Carpenter and Kurt Russell in the DVD Commentary, the story was originally written as a western but Carpenter decided to set it during modern times. They even mention that instead of Jack Burton’s truck being stolen, it was originally his horse.
  • The Brides of Lo Pan must have green eyes. Yet both Kim Cattrall and Suzee Pai had brown eyes in real life. Both wore green contacts for the movie. This is very obvious in the hi-def version of the movie.
  • According to John Carpenter on the audio commentary that the opening of the film with Egg Shen (Victor Wong) in the lawyer’s office was added in as a request from 20th Century Fox because to make Kurt Russell’s character Jack Burton to be more heroic
  • Both John Carpenter and Kurt Russell explain on the audio commentary that the test screening was so overwhelming positive that both of them expected it to be a big hit. However, 20th Century Fox put little into promoting the movie and it ended up being a box office bomb. However, it went on to be a huge cult hit through home video. Carpenter and Russell explained that the reason the studio did little to promote the film was because they didn’t know how to

Talking Points:

  • Kurt Russell channeling John Wayne?
  • Who knew this was a John Carpenter movie?
  • Did you have a favorite storm?

What We’ve Learned:

  • Chinese girls don’t come with green eyes
  • Green Eyes are like leather bucket seats
  • Pretending to be a repairman will get you past security every time
  • It’s all in the reflexes
  • John Carpenter shouldn’t be allowed to write songs

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Really enjoyed it, classic 80’s action movie.
Ray: Love it, when I watch this I turn into the 12 year old boy I was when it came out.
Steve: Have always loved this movie…can watch it constantly.

Intermission: Flickchart

The Present: Red Riding Hood (Released 3/11/11)
Rotten Tomatoes: 12% Rotten, 55% Audience

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman, Billy Burke, Shiloh Fernandez, Max Irons, Virginia Madsen, Lukas Haas, Julie Christie

Trivia:

  • Under Appian Way Productions, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Ireland, Jennifer Davisson Killoran, Alex Mace and Julie Yorn produced the film.
  • Director Catherine Hardwicke had to persuade her Red Riding Hood star Amanda Seyfried to work with newcomer Shiloh Fernandez, “Amanda had met Shiloh before and did not like him, so when I told Amanda I was going to bring him in to audition, she made a face. But she tried it, and they hit it off.”
  • The film was filmed in Vancouver.
  • Early into production, the film was originally titled The Girl with the Red Riding Hood.
  • A novelisation of the film, written by Sarah Blakely-Cartwright, was released on 24 February 2011, prior to the film’s release. It debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List.. However, the ending has received criticism for not including the story’s final chapter, which instead was only made available for download online following the release of the film.
  • The teaser trailer and the poster were released in November 2010, featuring “The Wolf”, a new song written exclusively for the film by Swedish act Fever Ray.

Talking Points:

  • Slow…slow…slow
  • The “Look” of the movie,,, made it feel like a syfi channel movie to me (ray)
  • (Steve) My major pet peeve – pick an accent people!
  • Did you figure it out?

What We Learned:

  • Werewolves can’t step on holy ground
  • Better the wolf takes the pig than you
  • All sorrows are less with bread

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: It was alright, melodramatic, but alright. That’s about it though.
Ray: Snoozer – unless you have a hardon for the fairy tale, avoid like the plague
Steve: Melodramatic is a great word for it. But I didn’t hate it.

The Future: Scream 4 (04/15/11)

Starring: David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Anthony Anderson, Alison Brie

Trivia:

  • With four installments, this landmarks the Scream franchise as being one of the only horror franchises to have its main characters return for all its sequels.
  • Due for release almost 15 years after the original Scream (1996/I).
  • Wes Craven stated he was not going to return as director unless the script was as good as the first Scream (1996/I).

Talking Points:

  • Is this just milking a dead cow?
  • Who is the target audience for this?

Summary:
Sidney Prescott, now the author of a self-help book, returns home to Woodsboro on the last stop of her book tour. There she reconnects with Sheriff Dewey and Gale, who are now married, as well as her cousin Jill and her Aunt Kate. Unfortunately, Sidney’s appearance also brings about the return of Ghostface, putting Sidney, Gale, and Dewey, along with Jill, her friends, and the whole town of Woodsboro in danger.

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Really? I mean, really?
Ray: I loved the first scream.. the sequels have never done anything for me though.
Steve: Love that they’re coming up with new rules. And Sookie has a cameo! Rental.

Coming Attractions:

The Past
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The Present

The Future

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