The boys go back in time to check out 1980’s “Flash Gordon”. Is it still an inspiration or just a old flash in the pan? Then they head to the present to check out “Battle: Los Angeles”. Will it get a “oorah” or “wah-wah”? In the future, the boys look at the trailer for “The Tree of Life”. Was anyone able to figure what the hell this film is about? All this, including movie news and much more in this 44th reel of COL Movies!

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News:

• Japan
• Sylvester Stallone will not write or Direct The Expendables Sequel
• Arnold returning for a bigger role?
• Willis returning as well maybe…
• Arnold to announce his return to movies in late March, Early April
• Johnny Knoxvile to play Moe in The Three Stooges
• Trailers Trailers Trailers
• Super 8

• Sucker Punch – 4 new international trailers – pop music vs rock
• The Smurfs – Lord help us
• Conan the Barbarian – Teaser – Underwhelming

The Past: Flash Gordon (1980)
Rotten Tomatoes: 82% Fresh, 63% Audience

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Director: Mike Hodges

Starring: Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow, Topol, Ornella Muti, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed

Trivia:

• There is a rumor that the monitor behind Hans Zarkov (Topol) as he is having his memory dumped shows scenes from Topol’s previous movies.
• Dino De Laurentiis originally hoped that Federico Fellini would direct this film. The director had actually contributed to the original Flash strip cartoon during WWII.
• Kurt Russell auditioned to play Flash Gordon. According to an interview with Russel in Starlog magazine from August 1981, Dino De Laurentiis really wanted Russell for the part, but he ultimately turned it down because Russell thought the character was lacking in personality.
• Sam J. Jones was cast in the role after being spotted by the mother-in-law of Dino De Laurentiis on an episode of “The Dating Game” (1965)
• At one point Ming the Merciless says when he destroys a planet, he calls upon “the great god Daizan”. Daizan is Japanese for “great cruelty”.
• Max von Sydow’s Ming costume weighed over 70 pounds and he could only stand in it for a few minutes at a time.
• The psychedelic color effects throughout the Ming universe were accomplished by swirling multicolored dyes through creatively-lit tanks of water.
• One of the feast items in the Hawkmen’s Kingdom was Twinkies colored with food dye.
• Nicolas Roeg was originally going to direct, but didn’t due to creative difference. One of his proposals was to excise the trademark cliffhangers and melodrama, seeing Flash as more of “a metaphysical messiah.”
• Dennis Hopper was considered for the role of Dr Zarkov.
• Mike Hodges was the eighth director chosen.
• Director Mike Hodges, referring to the numerous production problems that plagued the film, once called it “the only improvised $27-million movie ever made”.
• The insignia on Klytus’s uniform is based on Masonic symbols.
• Princess Aura’s “pet” is named Fellini. Production Designer Danilo Donati worked on a number of Federico Fellini films.
• George Lucas had hoped to remake the original Flash Gordon (1936/I), but when he learned that Dino De Laurentiis had already bought the rights, he wrote Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) instead.
• Mike Hodges considered commissioning Pink Floyd to compose the music.
• First film of Jim Carter.
• The backstory of Flash’s T-shirt was that it was a gift from an anonymous female fan. Flash wore it a lot in the hopes that he would eventually meet the woman.
• In the original script, when Flash is sentenced to death by Ming, Dale bursts out that Ming is “absolutely merciless”. Ming is enthralled with the description, and immediately starts calling himself “Ming the Merciless”.
• According to the original storyline, when Dale is entranced by Ming’s hypnotic ring, she is having a vision of being on an erotic picnic with Ming in a 1920’s setting.
• Klytus and Kala, Ming’s two chief henchmen, were competitors for their ruler’s favor. Ming played them off against each other to keep them from teaming up against him. This was downplayed in the film to keep the storyline fluid.
• In the original script, Flash and Dale first meet at a Canadian resort called Dark Harbor. Although they flirt with each other, they don’t become acquainted until they’re sharing the ill-fated plane ride to New York City. Dale later talks briefly about Dark Harbor during her tear-filled meeting with Flash before his execution.
• Dr. Zarkov’s backstory was that he was a NASA scientist who was fired for his paranoid fantasies that Earth was going to be attacked from outer space. Sixty Minutes derided him as “A Poor Man’s Billy Mitchell”.
• Ming’s attack on Earth was accomplished by bombarding the moon with force beams, knocking it out of orbit. The meteors which disrupt Flash’s airplane flight were burning chunks of lunar debris.
• Sam J. Jones’ dark hair was bleached blonde for this role, and Melody Anderson’s blonde hair was dyed brown. Flash was also supposed to have blue eyes, but Sam could not wear the contact lenses.
• Ming’s symbol (which Klytus also wears on his gauntlets) is borrowed from the Freemason’s square and compass. Ming also makes a Masonic gesture during the course of the movie.
• The wristwatch Flash is wearing in the early scenes of the film is a Seiko automatic chronograph, model 6139-6002. The watch disappears when Flash gets to Mongo.
• All the main actors were signed for multiple films but the sequels were never made since the first movie didn’t do as well as expected.
• Arnold Schwarzenegger was turned down for the lead role because of his impenetrable Austrian accent.
• Most of Sam J. Jones’s dialog was dubbed. This was down to the fact that Jones had had a falling out with producer Dino De Laurentiis over lack of payment and refused to go into the recording studio to loop his lines.

Talking Points:

• Production value? (just above Barbarella or Star Trek…with techniques from Wizard of Oz)
• Lots of Wizard of Oz connections – short people, flying, people melting when dying, over the “rainbow”, meeting the wacky characters that help him defeat Ming, “If I only had a brain…but I had it all the time”
• Were early 80s movies all this bad? Not that it was BAD, but meaning looking
• Deliberate rip off of Star Wars elements?
• Dale’s role = women’s lib?

What We’ve Learned:

• Don’t forget your toothbrush as you get on a rocket to counterattack an attack from space.
• Ming’s storm troopers yell like Ewoks when they are shot
• Becoming a man on Arboria involves a lot of grunting, men beating their sticks in a circle and thrusting your extremities into a dark mysterious hole.
• Imperial War-Rockets are great at spotting 5 people 400 mongo miles away, but they will miss that Rocket Jet Ski thats right next to them.
• You know you have a cult movie when Riff Raff from Rocky Horror shows up

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: A classic old style serial film. Love it.
Ray:Classic, I think the production values perfectly match the tone of the movie! This one would be hard to remake!
Steve: Not the best production value in the world, but who doesn’t like a home town boy helping save the world from evil oppressors who are out to destroy it? Cult classic…so don’t expect Shakespeare.

The Present: Battle: Los Angeles (Released 3/11/11)
Rotton Tomatoes: 32% Rotten, 71% Audience

Director: Jonathan Liebesman

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan, Ramon Rodriguez, Cory Hardrict, Gino Anthony Pesi, Ne-Yo, James Hiroyuki Liao, Noel Fisher, Adetokumboh M’Cormack, Bryce Cass, Michael Peña, Neil Brown Jr., Taylor Handley

Trivia:

• The film is inspired by the real life incident known as the Battle of Los Angeles, during World War II. On the night of 24-25 February 1942, unidentified aircraft were allegedly spotted in the airspace above Los Angeles. Suspecting it to be the Japanese, a blackout of the city was ordered and over 1,440 rounds of anti-aircraft ammunition was fired. Upon finding no evidence of the existence of any enemy aircraft, the incident was declared to be a “false alarm”. The event has since been chalked up to as being a result of “war nerves”, likely triggered by a lost weather balloon and exacerbated by stray flares and shell bursts from adjoining anti-aircraft batteries.
• Very little of the film was actually shot in Los Angeles. Tax incentives brought the production to Louisiana where sets of Los Angeles streets were constructed.
• Marines from Camp Pendleton helped train the actors for their roles, educating them in the Marine lifestyle. A number of actual marines also appear as extras in the film. To thank them, a sneak preview of the film was shown at Camp Pendleton on March 3rd, 2011.
• The movie was released on 03/11/11. 0311 is the Marine Corps Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) for Infantry Riflemen.
• Liebesman drew inspiration from YouTube videos of marines fighting in Fallujah for the look of the film. As a result the film was not shot in 3D as the director felt that combined with the handheld camera style of shooting would make the audience “throw up in two minutes.”
• The film was shot for a PG-13 rating, as the director felt making the film overly gory did not suit the more suspenseful tone they were trying to achieve.
• Sony Pictures Entertainment investigated the possibility of legal action against the filmmakers Greg and Colin Strause, who were hired to do visual effects work on Battle: Los Angeles through their special effects company Hydraulx. Sony Pictures suspected the Strause brothers had created their own Los Angeles-based alien invasion film Skyline, which would compete with the Battle: Los Angeles release, by using resources they had gained while working on Battle: Los Angeles without the consent of Sony Pictures. A spokesman for the Strauses responded by saying, “Any claims of impropriety are completely baseless. This is a blatant attempt by Sony to force these independent filmmakers to move a release date that has long been set by Universal and Relativity and is outside the filmmakers’ control.”

Talking Points:

• Was this a 2 hour long commercial for joining the Marines? Or a timely/sympathetic reminder to show the world the hardships that our troops face? What do you think?
• Michelle Rodriguez’s performance = is this her niche?
• Elements of District 9, Cloverfield, and V, with better production value than Skyline
• Would it have been better documentary style?
• Shaky Cam! OMG

What We Learned:

• Join the Marines! Hooah!
• Veterinarians can autopsy aliens.
• If you’re from Jersey, you can hotwire a bus.
• If they are chasing and shooting at you.. they are probably not friendly.
• Michelle Rodriguez is a bad ass.
• Make sure that the exit is intact before you get on the freeway!
• Marines don’t quit

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Not bad. Much better than Skyline, but sometimes got confusing on who was who.
Ray:This movie is ok, much better than Skyline which is seems to be compared to..if I had to give it a rating, 2 out of 4 stars.. but it gets an extra star for letting me watch LA burn.
Steve: I liked it. Saving Private Ryan with aliens. I just let go and went with it.

The Future: The Tree of Life (limited May 27, 2011)

Starring: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain

Trivia:

• Heath Ledger was originally slated to play Mr. O’Brien. Brad Pitt took over the role.
• In 2005 Terrence Malick had talked to Colin Farrell about starring in the lead role.
• Mel Gibson was considered for a role in this film.
• The origin of this film goes back to the late 1970s, when after Days of Heaven (1978) director Terrence Malick was working on a project named “Q”, that would explore the origins of life on earth. He abandoned the project, but this film contains elements from it.
• Production designer Jack Fisk drew inspiration from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
• VFX supervisor Mike Fink described the film’s scenes of the birth/death of the universe as “not narratively connected, but thematically complementary pieces.”
• The tree of life that appears in the film is a gargantuan 65000-pound live-oak tree situated at Smithville, Texas.

Talking Points:

• WTF?

Summary:
The story centers around a family with three boys in the 1950s. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence

From the Director :

We trace the evolution of an eleven-year-old boy in the Midwest, Jack, one of three brothers. At first all seems marvelous to the child. He sees as his mother does with the eyes of his soul. She represents the way of love and mercy, where the father tries to teach his son the world’s way of putting oneself first. Each parent contends for his allegiance, and Jack must reconcile their claims. The picture darkens as he has his first glimpses of sickness, suffering and death. The world, once a thing of glory, becomes a labyrinth. From this story is that of adult Jack, a lost soul in a modern world, seeking to discover amid the changing scenes of time that which does not change: the eternal scheme of which we are a part. When he sees all that has gone into our world’s preparation, each thing appears a miracle—precious, incomparable. Jack, with his new understanding, is able to forgive his father and take his first steps on the path of life.

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: The trailer has great imagery and is beautiful but still confused on what the movies is about.
Ray: The first time I saw this trailer, what immediately sucked me in was some of the awesome imagery I saw in the Trailer, and the content is just bizarre enough to make me want to see it.
Steve: I have absolutely no idea what this movie is about from the trailer.

Coming Attractions:

The Past

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The Present

The Future

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