Tag Archives: Rachel Weisz

MOV123: “He’s Almost Too Gay To Function”

It’s all about girl power in this in this reel of COL Movies, where the boys start off by going back in time to review the Tina Fey written gem, “Mean Girls”. After getting schooled (get it?), they catch back up with Alice for some more ass-kicking as she tries to take down the Umbrella Corporation for the 5th time in “Resident Evil: Retribution”. From there, we’re off somewhere over the rainbow with James Franco and a triumvirate of extremely talented female actors as the witches in Sam Raimi’s “Oz: The Great and Powerful”. In news, “The Hobbit” trilogy goes real time, Joss Whedon talks about why he isn’t exactly thrilled about “Avengers 2”, and the Looney Tunes are coming back to the big screen. It’s the 123rd reel of COL Movies…”He’s almost too gay to function”

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The Past: Mean Girls (2004)
Rotten Tomatoes 83% Fresh; 66% Audience

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Director: Mark Waters

Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tina Fey

Trivia:

  • Nearly earned an R rating for explicit, risqué gags and jokes which were subsequently cut.
  • In the book upon which the movie is based, the most popular girl in a school is given the title “Queen Bee”. In the movie, the character who fits that description is named Regina – “queen” in Latin.
  • Amy Poehler who plays Mrs. George is only seven years older than her on screen daughter Rachel McAdams (Regina George).
  • Although the movie was not filmed in the rich north suburbs of Chicago known as the ‘North Shore’ (where it is said to take place), several real places in the area are mentioned. These include Old Orchard Mall in Skokie, Illinois (although the scene was filmed at Sherway Gardens in Etobicoke, Ontario), Walker Brothers Pancake House (the gift certificates at the end have the restaurant’s real logo), and Northwestern University. In addition, a deleted scene featured on the DVD mentions Hecky’s, a real barbecue restaurant in Evanston, Illinois. School scenes were filmed at Lincoln Park High School, Chicago. Exterior shots of the school were of Etobicoke Collegiate Institute, Etobicoke, as well as hallway scenes. Some scenes also filmed at a lake front park in Lincoln Park, Chicago.
  • Though set on the North Shore of Chicago, the film was mostly shot in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at Etobicoke Collegiate Institute and Malvern Collegiate Institute. Notable landmarks include the University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall and Sherway Gardens.
  • Kevin Gnapoor’s phone number on his business card uses the North Shore’s real area code, 847.
  • Amanda Seyfried, who plays Karen in the film, was initially supposed to play Cady, but producer Lorne Michaels thought she would be better as the “dumb girl”.
  • Initially, Lindsay Lohan was cast as Regina, but decided to play the “nice girl” so the public wouldn’t base her real personality on Regina’s. Rachel McAdams was chosen to play the “mean girl” because “only nice girls can play mean girls” according to the producer.
  • Tim Meadows broke his hand before shooting and had to wear a cast, so the explanation that his character Mr. Duvall had carpal tunnel was added.
  • Lacey Chabert was the first and only choice for the role of Gretchen.
  • In the scene where Cady was asked if her “muffin was buttered”, the line was originally going to be, “Is your cherry popped?” The same goes for the girl who “made out with a hot dog” this was going to be “masturbated with a hot dog”. These were omitted in order for the film to gain a PG 13+ rating instead of a R
  • This movie is based upon the book “Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence” by Rosalind Wiseman, even though it is a non-fiction parental self-help guide with no narrative at all.
  • In the scene where Christmas candy canes are being distributed in the classroom Damien, dressed in a Santa suit, reads out the name Glenn Cocco, a good friend of Tina Fey.
  • Tina Fey and Amy Poehler coached Rajiv Surendra on how to rap for his on-screen performance in the school’s Winter Talent Show.
  • Cady’s mom gets tenure at Northwestern, which is Ana Gasteyer’s alma mater in real life.
  • Producer Tina Fey confessed that, when casting the film, she liked Jonathan Bennett (Aaron Samuels) because “he looked like Jimmy Fallon”.
  • The skirts for the Christmas talent show are made of plastic; the costume designer says they were made of that fabric to “represent the Plastics”.
  • The character Mrs. Norbury was named after a German teacher at Upper Darby High School, where Tina Fey attended.
  • The scene in which Cady walks in on Jason and Gretchen kissing at her party is much different in the first draft of the script. Originally, she walks in on Gretchen performing oral sex on Jason (no nudity, nothing graphic), but this was subsequently cut from the final print in order to achieve a PG-13 rating
  • Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams play characters who attend the same school and are in the same grade, in spite of the 8 year age difference between the two actresses.
  • In the math class Kevin gives Cady his card. It says, KEVIN GNAPOOR MATH ENTHUSIAST/BAD-ASS M.C. 847-555-2148
  • Ashley Tisdale auditioned for Karen Smith.
  • Lizzy Caplan’s character was named Janis Ian as an homage to musician Janis Ian, the first Saturday Night Live musical guest (alongside Billy Preston). Ian’s song “At Seventeen” which can be heard playing in the background when the girls are fighting at Regina’s house. Other characters bullying Caplan’s character persistently call her a lesbian throughout the movie; the real Janis Ian is an out lesbian.
  • Lizzy Caplan was at first considered too pretty for Janis, to which Fey felt a “Kelly Osbourne-like actress” was necessary, but Caplan was picked for being the “most energetic”.
  • Rachel McAdams wore a blonde wig while filming the movie.
  • Cady gets very excited at the dance when she “actually recognizes” one of the songs being played. That song is “Built This Way,” which was performed and co-written by London-born singer-songwriter and DJ Samantha Ronson. About four years after the release of this movie, and after several years of press speculation, Lindsay Lohan and Ronson acknowledged they were in a romantic relationship.
  • The main character, played by Lindsay Lohan, is named “Cady”, which has a common pronunciation (“Katie”) but an uncommon spelling for an American girl’s first name. In keeping with the film’s theme of female empowerment, it is the same spelling as the birth last name of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, an 18th-century pioneer in the American Women’s Rights movement.
  • When Tina Fey planned to adapt Queen Bees and Wannabes into a film, she didn’t realize it was a guidebook with no fictional narrative. She feared she’d backed herself into a corner after finalizing the deal with Paramount.
  • Tina Fey envisioned backgrounds for all of the characters. If any of the actors had questions about their characters she could fill in the blanks for them.
  • The casting department searched through four cities to find the right actor to play Damien.
  • Unusual among Mark Waters-directed films in that there are no supernatural elements in the plot.
  • In her autobiography, ‘Bossypants’, Tina Fey says that she named the character Damian after “TV Guide” writer Damian Holbrook, who has been her friend since they met as teens in a summer theater workshop in their Pennsylvania hometown.
  • Cady’s friend Janis Ian is likely related to Janis Ian, the singer of “At Seventeen,” a song about realizing at age 17 the beautiful are favored. “I learned the truth at seventeen that love was meant for beauty queens … and those of us with ravaged faces, lacking in the social graces, desperately remained at home, inventing lovers on the phone.” The song is also playing in the scene when Karen tells Cady that she has a “fifth sense … It’s like ESPN or something.”
  • In its opening weekend, the film grossed $24,432,195 in 2,839 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #1 at the box office. It was the best Lohan film debut at number one. By the end of its run, Mean Girls grossed $86,058,055 domestically and $42,984,816 internationally, totaling $129,042,871 worldwide.

Talking Points:

  • Inevitable comparison to Heathers
  • The use of the internal thoughts
  • The bus
  • The Burn Book
  • The backhanded compliments during the intervention

What We Learned:

  • Foot cream smells like peppermint
  • Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it
  • Everyone in Africa knows Swedish
  • Friends who secretly hate you are called “fraitors”
  • Homeschoolers are freaks
  • Jumbo tampons are helpful when you have a heavy flow and wide-set vagina
  • Don’t have sex because you’ll get pregnant and die
  • That is so fetch!

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: I was surprised by how much I didn’t run and hide for this movie. The quotient was so low and the writing so clever, how can you not like it? I loved it, watch it now.
Ray: Can you believe I’ve never seen this before? I really thought it was funny, and of course it’s set in the North Shore of Chicago, so what’s not to like? It’s definitely reminiscent of Heathers, just not as dark.
Steve: A great update of Heathers, with Tina Fey intelligence. Great characters, smart writing, and solid acting from a young cast, as well as some memorable cameos from SNL greats. Definitely worth watching and reminiscing about the good…um…maybe just days of high school.

The Present: Resident Evil: Retribution
Rotten Tomatoes 29% Rotten; 60% Audience

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Michelle Rodriguez, Aryana Engineer, Bingbing Li, Boris Kudjoe

Trivia:

  • Jensen Ackles was considered for the role of Leon S. Kennedy, but the role later went to Johann Urb.
  • The first movie of the series not to feature undead dogs.
  • The role of Becky was not considered to be hearing-impaired, but after an outstanding audition, the role was later given to Aryana Engineer.
  • During the car chase scene from the Las Plagas/Zombie infected Russian army the music playing during this scene is titled ‘Phantom Chase’ by tomandandy. This song particularly references music from the original Resident Evil (1996) video game. The name of the song that is referenced is ‘Second Floor Mansion’.
  • After the release of Resident Evil: Afterlife, director Paul W. S. Anderson was in discussion with Screen Gems of filming a fifth and sixth film back to back. But Anderson later decided to just focus on Retribution. Anderson explains that a sixth film will only be made based on the success of Retribution and will most likely be the finale of the series.
  • An element from Resident Evil 4, a parasite called Las Plagas plays a part in the film and allows the undead to “run around, ride motorbikes, and shoot machine guns.”
  • An action scene inspired by Resident Evil 5 where the characters are driving a Hummer while being chased by zombies is featured, but for the film the Hummer was changed to a Rolls Royce Phantom.
  • The film’s fight sequences were influenced by Asian cinema. “We watched a lot of Thai movies this time around because of the movies (Powell) has done” says Anderson. “He did The Last Samurai as well. He has worked with a lot of Japanese stuntmen and he has worked with a lot of Hong Kong stuntmen. But we felt the area that hadn’t been mined by western cinema much was that whole kind of high impact Thai style of fighting. So we just watched a lot of action sequences from a lot of Thai movies. There were moves and just a general feel that we thought we could infuse the movie with. You know, that kind of bone crunch where you really feel the impact. We tried to bring that into the movie, which is also good for 3D because obviously 3D makes it harder to sell those kind of fake phony punches because you see the distance between the fist and the face. So that kind of Thai style of fighting where you actually make contact is a lot stronger.”
  • Filming locations included Toronto at Cinespace’s Kipling studio facility,[5] Times Square in New York City, Tokyo, and Red Square in Moscow.
  • On October 11, a platform collapsed during the second day of filming and injured 16 people on the set. According to Toronto police, ten people were taken to the hospital for emergency treatment. Injuries included bruises and broken bones. Emergency workers had a difficult time determining which injuries were real since the people were dressed in zombie costumes with fake blood.
  • The streets of Red Square were cleared for a day and background filming was done in the Russian subway after it was cleared for five hours. Most of the streets were built into sets. The car chase scene was filmed in late November in Moscow.
  • The music group Tomandandy, who performed the Afterlife score, returned to score Retribution. Anderson explains that the score for this film will be a progression of Afterlife, stating that he “wants to kind of mesh their more electronic stuff with an orchestra this time. It still has that cool tomandandy feel, but it has a more epic scope to it.”
  • The first teaser trailer of the film, was attached to Underworld Awakening and released in January 2012, featuring product placement promoting Sony products such as the Xperia phone, the PlayStation Vita and the Tablet S before transitioning into a post-apocalyptic Washington, D.C., with Alice standing on the roof of the White House.
  • A viral website umbrellacorporation.net supposedly informed about Umbrella’s on a recruitment tour all over the world searching for “great minds to help them advance”. On several occasions, a video of Alice (Milla Jovovich) shows up, telling you not to trust Umbrella.
  • On August 10, 2012, a group of 27 people dressed as zombies “invaded” the Shibuya shopping district and handed out leaflets to promote the film.
  • Resident Evil: Retribution had its world premiere in Japan (where it’s retitled Biohazard V: Retribution) on September 3 and had its release worldwide on September 14th.

Talking Points:

  • Felt like a clip show right before the end of a reality series

Critic Notes:

  • Positives: While the director explains all at the end, it’s clear the big full blown nutty days are still to come; Anderson knows how to do a great fight sequence
  • Negatives: Same old, same old; got tired of the slo-mo; flimsy plot structure; “apparently zombie hordes have taken over the world, but there is an endless supply of black leather unitards”; At last, we thought Alice might say “we survived”, but alas no.

What We Learned:

  • This is Alice…and it’s her world
  • When trying to escape a zombie menace, go into the dark subway tunnels
  • Rain’s sister is not very nice
  • Clones wear leather unitards

Trailer:

Recommendations :
Jeff: Well this is a first, Usually I’m pretty good with an RE movie. It does something interesting and I enjoy myself. . . . this . . . didn’t. For the first time I’m just tired of Resident Evil Movies and they are going to do another one. Thanks, Paul WS Anderson but you need to stop. Right now. No more cliffhangers at the end of movies. This is enough.
Ray: This just confirms me suspicions that every single one of these movies since the first one has been made for the sole purpose of masturbating Japanese fans. The dialogue was delivered horribly, the acting was..not even passable, but it you take this and watch the dialogue from the very first resident evil games.. it’s almost exactly the same… I’d stay away unless you are a crazy die hard fan.. oh and everyone tells me skip the 3D
Steve: Kind of a best of the best moments from the previous films, so it had a “clip show” feel. While it isn’t Shakespeare, it’s good for what it is and the fight scenes were fricken awesome! Michelle Rodriguez ‘roiding up to right two guys and the fight between Alice and Jill were both pretty damn epic. Honestly, I was really hoping they would end it…but I guess we’ll have to wait and see if there will actually be a 6th installment.

The Future: Oz: The Great and Powerful

Release: March 8, 2013

Director: Sam Raimi

Starring: Mila Kunis, James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz

Summary:

Sam Raimi’s film is set before the events of the 1939 film and the original book. When Oscar Diggs a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot—fame and fortune are his for the taking… that is until he meets the witches Theodora, Evanora, and Glinda who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity, and even a bit of wizardry, Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.

Talking Points:

  • Robert Downey, Jr. was Raimi’s first choice for the part of Oz. When Downey declined, Johnny Depp was linked to the role. By the end of February 2011, James Franco was in final negotiations to star in this film. This is the first time that Franco and Raimi have worked together following the conclusion of the Spider-Man trilogy.
  • Principal photography with 3D cameras for Oz: The Great and Powerful began July 2011 in Pontiac, Michigan.
  • The script was written by Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire with Joe Roth serving as a producer. In an interview, director Sam Raimi stated that Kapner used information about the Wizard from L. Frank Baum’s books, but the film will also “nod lovingly” to the 1939 classic film.

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Honestly, I don’t have much to say about this. It’s a Prequel to The Wiz but for some reason they decided not to get another Richard Prior, I really don’t see why? In any case, looks fun, but it’s looking so different than The Wiz.
Ray: I’m super excited to see this… I’ve always thought that even though it would be sacrilege to do it, one movie I’ve always thought would be worthy of a modern remake was Wizard of Oz, glad they went the prequel route so they don’t really have to commit to messing with that until this proves to be a success… I’m excited to see it. Franco is riding high in my head since Planet of the Apes.
Steve: Comes off way more “fantastical” than the original movie. It will be interesting to see how they interplay the original mythology in the prequel. The female cast of witches seems like a solid group of actors, so I hope that Franco holds his own and doesn’t just act like he’s high the whole time.

The Past: Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo

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The Present: Dredd

The Future: Gayby

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MOV118: “I Aim To Misbehave”

In this reel of COL Movies, Ray and Jeff lament again for the missing Steven. When, WHEN will he come back. In the meantime they discuss the ever Shiny Firefly movie, Serenity. After a bit of reminiscing on show that never should have ended, they bring themselves to the present for The Bourne Legacy. In the future, they take a peak at Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. This and . . . and . . . well nothing else. It’s the 118th reel of COL Movies “I Aim To Misbehave”

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The Past: Serenity
Rotten Tomatoes 82% Fresh 89% Audience

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Director: Joss Whedon

Staring: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Adam Baldwin, Morena Baccarin, Sean Maher, Ron Glass, Summer Glau, Jewel Staite

Trivia:

  • When the Operative reviews Mal’s file, it shows his birth date as 9/20/2468. Firefly premiered 9/20/2002. Writer/producer Ben Edlund’ was born 9/20/1968.
  • According to Adam Baldwin, Jayne’s mini-gun is nicknamed “Lux”, after LuxLucre, devoted fan Kerry Pearson’s message board handle. Pearson, who died of complications of diabetes, was best known for creating fan art featuring characters from Firefly in a South Park cartoon style.
  • In the cargo bay, just after a Reaver is shot, some of the crates behind River have the message “Reusable Container: Do Not Destroy” printed on them. It’s an inside joke. The ship set had to be rebuilt from scratch for the movie because the original, from the show, was destroyed.
  • Universal Studios took the unusual step of allowing early previews of the unfinished film. The first preview was in November 2004 in California’s San Fernando Valley, when the release date was still early 2005. Further previews happened on May 5, 2005 (10 cities), May 26, 2005 (20 cities), and June 23, 2005 (35 cities). On July 22, 2005, a preview was held on Queensland, Australia’s Gold Coast.
  • The first Universal film released on HD-DVD (High Definition DVD).
  • The coffee maker in Serenity’s dining room/kitchen is an F.A. Porsche Design, made by Siemens.
  • EASTER EGG: From the main menu screen, keep clicking “left” until you light up a triangle with a dot in the center on the right side of the screen. The icon will take you to the full Fruity Oaty Bar commercial. In the DVD commentary, Joss Whedon admitted that he wanted the commercial to be as odd as possible. He said it was heavily inspired by the “Mr. Sparkle” advertisement from The Simpsons: In Marge We Trust The uncredited actor in the commercial and the Easter Egg segment is Robert Michael Lee.
  • Malcolm’s Social Control number is 099,836,5,4112.
  • The keyboard Mal uses to transmit the signal from Mr. Universe’s basement is a Micro Innovations Web Office Pro Keyboard.
  • This is the first film for which a digital cinema distribution master was made using the new DCI standards using JPEG2000 compression and a 12 bit 4:4:4 XYZ color space.
  • The cannon the crew mounts to Serenity is a WW2 German 20mm Flak 38.
  • Among the buildings shown in the opening sequence (where voice-over narration describes the “terraforming” process) are the Emirates Towers, key features of the skyline of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. A skyscraper in the foreground of the same shot is based on designs by Sir Norman Foster (Lord Foster), including the Commerzbank headquarters in Frankfurt and the HSBC building in Hong Kong.
  • Morena Baccarin provides the voice for the security terminal in the records room.
  • To put River to sleep, Dr. Simon Tam says, “Eta Kooram Nah Smech!,” Russian for “This is very ridiculous” (literally “This is for hens to laugh!”).
  • Concept art for the film reveals that many of the weapons are based on paintball markers, with a propellant-tank mount point at the bottom of the rear grip, and an “expansion chamber”-style fore grip.
  • The DVD of Serenity was flown up to the International Space Station by astronaut Steven Swanson on board the shuttle Atlantis during its June 2007 STS-117 mission.
  • Mal’s drink of choice, Ng Ka Py, is a Chinese brandy. it appears in his quarters, and he ordered it in the first scene of Firefly: The Train Job.
  • The cast had a running gag where they would yell Summer Glau’s name whenever any of them flubbed a line or forgot to do something. It originated on Firefly when she forgot her line at the end of a very long and difficult scene. (Nathan Fillion, Morena Baccarin and Sean Maher can be seen doing this on the DVD blooper reel.)
  • Joss Whedon’s feature film directorial debut.
  • In his DVD commentary, Joss Whedon said Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau and Sean Maher performed many of their own stunts. Glau, a trained dancer, used her dancing skills in River’s two fights. For the second fight, the cameraman, who was also a dancer, moved through a gap around the combatants to achieve the movie’s dynamic camera angles.
  • According to the director commentary, Mal’s line “Faster would be better” was ad-libbed by Nathan Fillion when Joss Whedon told him to “say something Mal would say.”
  • Though the Trade Agent (the elderly man in the Trade Station who unlocks the safe) is played by Weston Nathanson, his voice was dubbed by Joss Whedon. According to Whedon, several of the stand-in voices from the early post-production stage remain in the final film, among them this and Morena Baccarin’s voice as the computer at the beginning of the film.
  • The events of the film take place six months after Firefly: Objects in Space, the final episode of the TV series. “Those Left Behind,” a three-issue comic book series written by Joss Whedon and Brett Matthews, published by Dark Horse comics, and released during summer 2005, bridges that six-month gap.
  • The first nine minutes of Serenity were made available online as a promotion in advance of its theatrical release. Between the online release and the theatrical release, the brief cut to Alliance security personnel was changed from blue to red.
  • Ranked #5 in Rotten Tomatoes “50 Best TV Adaptations of All Time”
  • Though she did say all the lines, the actress that plays young River was dubbed over by Summer Glau to make the connection easier.
  • In addition to Book’s Christianity, which was established during the series, characters also practice Buddhism (Inara lights “incense” in front of a Buddha shrine in her room) and Judaism (Mr. Universe steps on a glass at the end of his wedding). In Firefly: The Message, the Postal Agent was wearing a yarmulke (kippah), which is worn by Orthodox Jews.
  • According to visual effects supervisor Loni Peristere, the Reaver ships are conceived along the lines of “muscle cars that look like Leatherface,” each representing a mask the Reavers wear. [Paste Magazine interview, October 4, 2005]
  • According to commentary, the crew made a mistake when building the mule hovercraft seen during the first chase sequence with the Reavers at the opening of the film. Zoe, Mal, Jayne, and River were all riding in the mule during the chase. In dialogue, when Zoe asks Mal why he didn’t save the man who begged them to take him with them during their escape, Mal responded that “The mule won’t run with five”. The production crew had accidentally built the mule with five seats, an initial oversight.
  • Summer Glau trained intensely with the fight choreographers for three months before principal photography began.
  • Originally, Joss Whedon wanted Greg Edmonson, who had scored the TV series, to score the movie. Edmonson couldn’t, so Whedon brought in composer Carter Burwell. After discussing the movie and submitting some demos, Burwell left the project due to differing opinions. Music executives at Universal insisted that Whedon hire a more familiar composer. Eventually David Newman was brought on to score the movie.
  • During Mal’s conversation with Inara over the wave, four of Mal’s scars are visible. All are from wounds he received during Firefly. The one on his chest was inflicted by Crow in Firefly: The Train Job. The one near his diaphragm is from a gunshot wound inflicted during Firefly: Out of Gas. The one on his side is from his duel with Atherton Wing in Firefly: Shindig. The one on his left shoulder is from the bullet graze in the pilot.
  • The opening credits appear 10 minutes into the film. They are shown in a 4 minute, unbroken take through different decks of Serenity.
  • According to the Official Serenity Companion, Whedon said that there was a “strong possibility” that Wash and Book would return if there was a Serenity sequel, although he acknowledged that it would have to be done in a way the audience would buy.
  • Mal mentions a poem that he has read about an Albatross. This is a reference to “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
  • Spoilers
  • According to a Q&A with Joss Whedon and the cast after the premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, there were at least 20 separate takes of Simon and Kaylee’s final make-out scene in the engine room. Take #20 was used in the final cut.
  • The futuristic-looking handcuffs used on River are Clejuso Number 13s, the second heaviest handcuffs in use at the time.
  • During the funeral scene, Kaylee wears a medallion with the doubled Chinese character for joy/happiness/cheer, a symbol often used in weddings.
  • Summer Glau has said that she pitched the idea of River becoming a pilot during the Firefly television series. In this film, River finally becomes a co-pilot of Serenity.
  • Body count: 74
  • After they find the first body in the white city, a strange kind of stairway with a ramp appears. It’s an exact copy of the stairs in Robson Square in Vancouver, BC, Canada, designed by Arthur Erickson.
  • Several of the Reaver ships in the final battle are Alliance ships with different paint schemes.
  • On Miranda, the crew discovers dead citizens in a sealed room. The body of an old man in a lab coat wearing golden shoes appears just before River starts talking in Chinese. The shoes are Nike Flightposite III basketball shoes designed for Kevin Garnett, introduced around 2001.
  • According to Joss Whedon’s DVD commentary, the most difficult scene for sound was Simon and River’s final scene, after Simon is shot. Sean Maher and Summer Glau developed a strong bond during production of Firefly. Sean’s acting was so good that Summer kept bursting into tears whenever they attempted to shoot the scene.
  • According to his DVD commentary, Joss Whedon said the planet Miranda would’ve been discovered at the end of the second season if the show had been a success.
  • The funeral scene includes several real funeral customs. Zoë wears a white dress, the traditional Chinese color of mourning. Small rocks are placed on the grave markers of Mr. Universe, Book, and Wash, from the Jewish tradition of mourners placing a small stone on the grave at every visit.
  • Shepherd Book’s tombstone reveals his first name, Derrial. Wash’s tombstone shows that his full name is Hoban Washburne.
  • After Mr. Universe betrays the crew to the Alliance, he turns to the Operative and demands his “thirty coin,” a reference to Judas betraying Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.
  • Joss Whedon revealed that the reason Wash and Book were killed off in the movie was because Alan Tudyk and Ron Glass could not commit to sequels. Universal Pictures wanted all the main actors who would appear in the sequels to be contractually available, meaning Whedon had to find a way of getting Tudyk and Glass out of the story. (In his original script, before he knew they couldn’t commit, all members of the crew survived, with Zoe and Wash promising to have children together.) Despite this Whedon has also revealed that there was a “strong possibility” that Wash and Book would return if a sequel ever was made — indicating that he had plans to find a way to bring them back.

Talking Points:

  • Did you watch the show?
  • Does this movie appeal to non fans?
  • Favorite Character?

What We Learned:

  • People don’t like to be Meddled with.
  • A hero is someone who gets other people killed
  • Half of writing history, is hiding the truth.
  • If you can’t do something smart, do something right.
  • Can’t stop the signal

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: This was an excellent end to the Series that should not have ended so soon. A little upset about the deaths in the story but otherwise Whedon just can’t do wrong with this universe. Watch the Series, then watch the movie.
Ray: It’s a fun movie, and a nice send off to a very entertaining TV show. If you’ve never seen it then do yourself a favor and take the time to watch the series first.

The Present: The Bourne Legacy
Rotten Tomatoes 54% Rotten, 60% Audience

Director: Tony Gilroy

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton

Trivia:

  • Before this movie was seriously considered, director Paul Greengrass jokingly suggested to make a fourth Bourne movie called “The Bourne Redundancy”.
  • Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, Garrett Hedlund, Michael Fassbender, Alex Pettyfer, Joel Edgerton, Taylor Kitsch, Kellan Lutz, Josh Hartnett, Paul Dano, Luke Evans, Michael Pitt, Oscar Isaac, Benjamin Walker and Erryn Arkin were considered to play the lead role.
  • When asked about his most difficult scene, Jeremy Renner revealed that it was the motorcycle ride with Rachel Weisz behind him in Manila, because he was responsible for the two of them. At the press conference of the film, Weisz was asked about this particular stunt, “How was it to ride on a motorcycle through Manila with Jeremy Renner?” and she said that “It was really terrifying! Jeremy never told me when we were in Manila, but that was the scariest stunt for him because he was responsible for my life. He didn’t tell me that in Manila, thank god, because I would have been like, ‘Oh, my god!’ I just had to surrender and hold on. I didn’t have to act. It just was terrifying”.

Trailer:

Recommendations :
Jeff: I think this was a very . . . nice movie. I got bored at points and felt like the movie was dragging a little but it also didn’t feel like a 2 hour movie. Liked the action, story was okay, it was fun. It was alright.
Ray: Very much like good Chinese food, tastes great while your eating it, but your hungry again an hour later. I think Renner did a great Job and can totally hold an action movie on his own, it’s unfortunate that it was this movie.

The Future: Django Unchained
Release: December 25, 2012

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio

Summary:

Django is a slave living in the Deep South after having been separated from his wife Broomhilda. When Django is held for a slave auction, Dr. King Schultz, a bounty hunter, frees Django from his vicious masters, the Speck brothers and gives him the option of hunting down and killing the Brittle Brothers, a ruthless gang of killers whom only Django has seen. In return, Schultz will free Django from slavery completely and help rescue Broomhilda from the plantation of the charming but ruthless Francophile owner, Calvin Candie.

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Quentin Tarantino, revenge movie, alot of killing, sold.
Ray: It’s going to be a very interesting Christmas!

The Past:

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The Present:

The Future:

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MOV113: “Je doutais qu’il vienne”

This week we start off with a little known feature called Heavenly Creatures, a movie by lord of the epic movie quadrillogies, Peter Jackson and staring a then unknown Kate Winslet. Does this true crime biopic surprise us or is it just too bizarre? Next up we swing on over to the present to look at the long awaited reboot of your friendly neighborhood wall-crawler The Amazing Spiderman. Find out if we feel it’s truly amazing, or truly unnecessary. Finally we look to the future to talk about The Bourne Legacy. Does this not quite reboot look to live up to the Bourne Legacy? Or will we be Bourned out of our minds? All this plus news about Skyfall casting, An unexpected split of Mockingjay, and The Great Gary Mitchell controversy on this 113th reel of COL Movies: Je doutais qu’il vienne

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News:

The Past: Heavenly Creatures (1994)

Rotten Tomatoes: 94% Fresh; 81% Audience

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Director: Peter Jackson

Staring: Melanie Lynskey, Kate Winslet, Sarah Peirse

Trivia:

  • Based on a true life murder by the movie’s main characters – Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme.
  • Short video version also available on Investigation Discovery’s show “Deadly Women”, Season 3, Episode 8 – “Fatal Obsession”
  • Almost all locations used for filming were the genuine locations where the events occurred. The tea shop where Honora Parker ate her last meal was knocked down a few days after the shoot ended. According to director Peter Jackson, when they got to the location of the murder on the dirt path, it was eerily quiet; the birds stopped singing, and it didn’t seem right. So they moved along a couple of hundred yards.
  • Juliet Hulme was revealed to be mystery writer Anne Perry who came forward and revealed her real identity in 1994 during the making of the film, but all attempts to find Pauline Parker failed. In 1997, Pauline Parker was finally traced to a rundown cottage on a farm near Strood, Kent, England, where she currently runs a children’s riding school. Since assuming the name of Hilary Nathan, she has become a devout Catholic and devoted her life to handicapped children..
  • Orson Welles’ photograph in the stream is a reference to a similar shot in The Third Man.
  • All of the journal voice-overs are direct from real diary entries made by Pauline Parker. The characters in the stories (if not the stories themselves) and make-believe world are also authentic.
  • Kate Winslet was one of 175 girls who auditioned for the role of Juliet Hulme.
  • Melanie Lynskey was cast as Pauline Parker two weeks before filming began. Co-writer Fran Walsh discovered her at the last minute while scouring local high schools for Parker lookalikes.
  • A picture on the wall in Pauline’s bedroom is a photograph of the real Juliet Hulme.
  • The feature film debut for stars Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet.
  • Producer Jim Booth passed away shortly after the production was complete. The film is dedicated to his memory.
  • Co-writer Fran Walsh suggested the idea of making the Parker-Hulme murder into a film to director Peter Jackson. Walsh said she had a fascination with the murder since childhood.
  • Since the Parker-Hulme murder had been an infamous crime that was strongly sensationalized in New Zealand history Jackson decided rather than do a film that would be a historical look back at the crime to instead create a drama about Parker and Hulme’s intense friendship. In addition to reading Pauline Parker’s diary Jackson and company undertook a nation wide search for anyone who had known the girls and interviewed them to get a closer look at their life.
  • Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet were so strongly into their roles that they would interact with each other as their characters off screen.
  • Time listed this film as one of their 10 best films of 1994.
  • Most of the cast was selected because of their physical resemblances to their real-life characters.
  • Both Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet went on to find fame and popularity in roles with the character name of Rose: Lynskey in Two and a Half Men and Winslet in Titanic.
  • Peter Jackson makes a cameo as the homeless man kissed by Juliet outside the theater.
  • The special effects in the film were handled by the then newly-created Weta Digital.
  • The film has garnered critical praise, and was an Academy Award nominee in 1994 for Best Original Screenplay. It featured in a number of international film festivals, and received very favourable reviews worldwide, including making top ten of the year lists in Time, The Guardian, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The New Zealand Herald.

Talking Points:

  • Too bizarre?

Critic Notes

  • Positives: Jackson does an amazing job creating the world worth killing for; Outstanding performances from the leads; Powerful and evocative
  • Negatives: Very few negative comments, but – Jackson can’t decide what kind of movie he’s making, the switching from melodrama to “fantasy land” is abrupt and jarring; tension is high for most of the movie, but it fizzles out by the end

What We Learned:

  • A brick in a pair of nylons can be a murder weapon.
  • Affairs are much more exciting than marriages.
  • All the best people have bad chests and bone diseases.
  • Only the best people fight against all obstacles in pursuit of happiness.
  • Orson Wells is the most hideous man alive (well, was at time the movie was set).
  • Everyone should live by the motto: Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you may be dead.
  • The Fourth World… it’s sort of like heaven. Only better, because there aren’t any Christians!
  • Peter Jackson excels at making people look creepy
  • Homosexuality can strike at any time and is great for weight loss
  • “Je doutais qu’il vienne” is in fact the spoken subjunctive

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Wow, was this a boring film. I just couldn’t get into it an just wanted to switch to something that was actually interesting. Definitely not a film for me.
Ray:It was really nice to see some of Peter Jackson’s earlier serious work. Having seen what he did with The Lovely Bones helps make this film make a little more sense.. It can be a little bizarre in that Black Swan sort of way..so if your not tolerant or don’t enjoy a bizarre look into the mind of someone who is disturbed… stay away.
Steve: I didn’t think I was going to like it as much as I did. Although I didn’t know it was a true crime, I picked up some hints that it reminded me about something I’d seen in the past and “bam”, I found the info. Once I knew that, I liked it a lot more. Winslet was awesome for this being her first film!

The Present: The Amazing Spider-Man

Rotten Tomatoes: 74% Fresh; 84% Audience

Director: Marc Webb

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Sally Field, Martin Sheen, Denis Leary

Trivia:

  • In early January 2010, Sony announced that they cancelled their idea of making “Spider-Man 4” with director Sam Raimi and actor Tobey Maguire, who started their work together on Spider-Man, and instead decided to re-boot the Spider-Man franchise with a new story and crew.
  • On selecting Andrew Garfield to play Peter Parker/Spider-Man, director Marc Webb said, “Though his name may be new to many, those who know this young actor’s work understand his extraordinary talents. He has a rare combination of intelligence, wit, and humanity. Mark my words, you will love Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker.”
  • This film marks the first time Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans) becomes The Lizard on film. Although Curt Connors appeared in the original Sam Raimi films, played by Dylan Baker, the character never became the Lizard despite some strong hints.
  • This is the first “Spider-Man” film to not feature Spider-Man’s perennial love interest Mary-Jane Watson (in the original three films played by Kirsten Dunst). Instead, Peter Parker’s original girlfriend Gwen Stacy appears (who had been played by Bryce Dallas Howard in the third film).
  • All four Spider-Man films have filmed on the Universal Studios Hollywood back lot. Ironically symbolic of the series itself, portions of the back lot burned down on June 1, 2008, meaning that first three used the old back lot while this reboot uses the new back lot.
  • Originally the Daily Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson had a place in the script and J.K. Simmons was going to reprise the role from the Raimi films; later John Slattery, Sam Elliott and R. Lee Ermey were considered for the role. However, with the shift of the focus to high school, the newspaper angle was removed from the script.
  • Rhys Ifans rejected his stunt doubles, and insisted on performing all his own stunts as the Lizard.
  • For his role as the Lizard, Rhys Ifans wore a special motion-capture suit: “I had a green suit on, and then this cardboard head, and these big claws. It was the most fucking insane thing I’d ever done…”
  • When first wearing the Spider-Man costume Andrew Garfield admitted to shedding tears.
  • In this film Captain George Stacy is strongly opposed to Spider-Man’s activities, and Gwen Stacy is both aware and supportive of Peter Parker’s role as Spider-Man. This is in stark contrast to the comics, where George Stacy was a strong supporter of Spider-Man, and confessed on his death bed that he was aware of Peter’s identity, while Gwen Stacy blamed Spiderman for her father’s death, and as such Peter never informed her of his identity.
  • To prepare for his role as Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield studied the movements of spiders and tried to incorporate them as much as he could: “Parker is a boy/spider in terms of how he moves, and not just in the suit.”
  • In this film Spider-Man uses artificial devices to shoot webs, inspired from the original comics where he possessed similar devices for his webbing (only later would he gain his more famous superhuman ability to shoot webs). Marc Webb explained the web-shooters were a creative decision to showcase Peter’s intellect: “We wanted to emphasize that these are things that Peter Parker made and that he is special himself even if he feels like he’s an outsider.”
  • According to costume designer Kym Barrett, the Spider-Man costume was specially designed to resemble an acrobat costume: “We wanted a design that would make the body longer and more lithe, someone incredibly agile; the legs of the spider-symbol on the chest were used to emphasize that.”
  • Denis Leary’s friend Jeff Garlin, a Spider-Man fan, said to him, “The first time I met you, I thought you were George Stacy!” This inspired Leary to audition for the role of Captain Stacy.
  • It was a creative decision by the filmmakers to have most of the stunts performed practically on rigs by actors/stuntmen, rather than extensively use CGI animation. Marc Webb explained they wanted to make the film more physical and thus more realistic. While filming in New York the crew built a whole rig hundreds of feet long over Riverside Drive in Harlem, and Andy Armstrong built a car rig with a series of wires to help with VFX which required an incredible wealth of acrobatics.
  • Released during the 50th Anniversary of Spider-Man.
  • During one scene in Peter’s bedroom, a photo of actor/comedian Donald Glover, is visible. In 2010, when the movie was first announced and initial casting for the role of Spider-Man was underway, Glover used twitter to somewhat jokingly campaign for an audition.
  • The famous line by Ben Parker “With great power comes great responsibility” is not once uttered in the movie, although it is alluded to when Peter and Uncle Ben argue about Peter forgetting to pick up Aunt May.
  • When Spiderman swings through New York at one point he yells, “Hey, I’m swinging here!”. This is in reference to the famous ad-lib by Dustin Hoffman in New York based “Midnight Cowboy”, “Hey, I’m walking here!”.
  • Kirsten Dunst, a Blonde, played the red headed Mary Jane Watson. Emma Stone, commonly a Redhead (though naturally blonde), played a blonde Gwen Stacy.
  • Just inside Peter Parker’s bedroom, next to his door is a wall decoration of a double helix DNA strand splitting at the bottom. Likely a nod to the earlier ‘Spider-Man (2002)’ trilogy where parts of DNA strands are replaced by spider DNA.
  • Wilhelm Scream: when Peter pushes Flash up against the lockers.
  • The Daily Bugle newspaper office (and all associated characters) do not appear in this film, a first for the Spider-Man feature film franchise. However, the newscast featuring the Lizard’s rampage late in the film has a Daily Bugle logo in the bottom corner of the screen.
  • The first live-action Spider-Man motion picture where the villain goes to jail for his crimes.
  • Marc Webb describes the theme of the movie as “the missing piece within all of us: Peter has no parents, and he fills that void with Spider-Man. Curt is not as strong as Spider-Man on the inside, but he wants to get back his arm and fill that void, and essentially he becomes a big bully.”
  • EASTER EGG: When Peter first enters Gwen’s room, there is a stack of books sitting right inside the window through which Peter enters. The book at the top of the stack is the novel “Seabiscuit.” ‘Tobey McGuire’, who portrayed Peter in the original trilogy, also played the lead character in the film adaptation of Seabiscuit. It is quite possible that this detail was included as a tribute to the original trilogy.
  • The link of the main viral marketing site was first revealed in the second trailer in February 2012. The official Twitter account of the same name of the website revealed a scavenger hunt by posting “Property of Peter Parker… Lost” with the longitude and latitude coordinates of direct markets in major cities in the United States. Discovered in these places was a JanSport backpack modeled as Parker’s backpack which contained many items. One of the clues, hidden in the backpack, was a link to a page on the viral site which unlocked countdown timers for the cities of Los Angeles, New York City, Atlanta, Denver, Seattle and Phoenix, Arizona. Once the countdown was up, each of the city-specific Twitter accounts for the marketing campaign would send out five different pick-up locations in each city. The given locations had a particular person stationed there to give the first person who had the password a package and the tag-name “operative”. To show their support of Spider-Man, these operatives painted the Spider-Man logo as a graffiti. They also had a chance to unlock the first scene of the film where Peter goes face to face with an intimidating doorman. The main viral website revealed hints to other websites such as a photo blog that was expressed from Peter Parker’s point of view. In the photo blog website, an unlocked puzzle revealed the words “evolve”, “through” and “engineering” which then put together led to another website with design sketches on how to build a web-shooter.

Talking Points:

  • There were so many “possibilities” for this film – changing from college to high school, not including Daily Bugle, not including Black Cat as originally reported, why do you think they made all these changes? To set up for more films?
  • What’s the deal with the post credits short? Thinking Kingpin? Green Goblin?
  • Did Peter reveal he’s Spiderman to May?
  • Fighting style
  • Does all Peter want to do when he’s around Gwen is kiss her?

Critic Notes

  • Positives: Grittier and more touching than previous visions of the hero; New and refreshing reboot; In the vein of dark reboots like Nolan’s Batman; Visually good, but the story is actually complementary if not better; Garfield’s Peter Parker and Spider-Man are very good – if not better than Toby Maguire’s.
  • Negatives: Nothing new or inventive is brought to the table – same old Spider-Man; Not charming as previous versions; too “slap-sticky”; In a summer of superhero movies, this one is forgettable

What We Learned:

  • If you’re going to steal cars, don’t dress like a car thief.
  • We all have secrets: the ones we keep… and the ones that are kept from us.
  • Cops don’t usually wear skintight red and blue suits.
  • It’s fattening and impractical to live in a chocolate house
  • You can get a great cell signal in the NYC sewers.
  • Doormen can be intimidating.

Trailer:

Recommendations :
Jeff: Oh. wow, this was great version of Spiderman, and the casting was great. Definitely would say this is a must see. Still think it would be better if this was done by Marvel directly.
Ray: Action sequences great.. everything else was pretty much a bore for me.. Cant stand the new “geek chic” emo hipster Peter Parker which you have to suffer through for almost an hour before any superheroing starts. For me this was a wait for Home Video title.. my couch is much more comfortable to fall asleep on. The sequel will probably be much more “Amazing” with all of this crappy Origin story out of the way.
Steve: I can’t say I was a huge fan of the recent Spiderman movies. However, there was something about this one that I really did like. I think it was the humor, although it threw me at times. I liked Andrew Garfield a lot, but not Emma Stone. The effects were cool and I liked the 3D, especially for the long swings and stuff (kind of like 3D rollercoasters). I’d give it a B+ overall.

The Future: The Bourne Legacy

Release: August 10, 2012

Director: Tony Gilroy

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton

Summary:

Faced with the public and political fallout from the events of The Bourne Ultimatum, the CIA decides to shut down “Operation Outcome,” the successor to “Operation Treadstone.” Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner), an agent of Operation Outcome, and Stephanie Snyder (Rachel Weisz), a doctor who helped create the Outcome agents, must find a way to escape before CIA agent Byer (Edward Norton) can have them assassinated.

Talking Points:

  • How do you make a film without the knowledge of the guy who made the series famous?

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Fighty fighty, Jeremy Renner. I’m aboard.
Ray: I’m a big fan of the Bourne series and I think this looks like a really interesting continuation of that universe. Really curious to see how Jeremy Renner does when he’s the sole action star focus.
Steve: Looks pretty cool! I like this type of film and even though I might not run out to see it at the theater, I would definitely see it. I like the subversive world of clandestine operations and secret agent stuff. Legacy definitely looks like it’s going to deliver it.

The Past:

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The Present:

The Future:

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MOV071: “What we have here..is a Dead Shark”

Join Jeff Steve and Myself as we take a trip back to 1977 to watch “Annie Hall” the movie that put Woody Allen on the map as a film maker in the late 70’s early 80’s. Has the 4 time Oscar winning glow faded from this movie or does it still hold up to today’s society? Next up we jump to the present to see the knock down drag out dramatically charged brawler “Warrior” Did Steve enjoy it for more than just Tom Hardy? Or did this one suffer a one punch knockout in the first round? Finally we slide into the not so distant future and look at “Dream House” the upcoming thriller starring Daniel Craig. Is this one a must see? Join us for all that plus some quick thoughts on Siamese butt twins! Netflix and Qwikster on this reel of COL Movies! “What we have here is a dead shark”!

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News:

The Past: Annie Hall 1977

Rotten Tomatoes: 98% Fresh 92% Audience
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Director: Woody Allen

Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton

Trivia:

  • Alvy’s (Woody Allen’s) sneezing into the cocaine was an unscripted accident. When previewed, the audience laughed so loud that director Allen decided to leave it in, and had to add footage to compensate for people missing the next few jokes from laughing too much.
  • Woody Allen originally envisioned this movie as a murder mystery, with a subplot about a romance. During script revisions, Allen decided to drop the murder plot, which he and Marshall Brickman later revitalized in Manhattan Murder Mystery.
  • During the lobster-cooking scene Annie runs and retrieves a camera to take pictures of Alvy dealing with the crustaceans. Later, when Alvy runs over to Annie’s house to smash a spider, the series of photos Annie took is on the wall in the background.
  • Diane Keaton’s real name is Diane Hall and her nickname is Annie.
  • Sigourney Weaver’s screen debut, in a non-speaking part as Alvy’s date near the end of the movie.
  • The jokes that Woody Allen tells in front of the audience at the University of Wisconsin and on The Dick Cavett Show are from his stand-up comic days.
  • Annie’s outfits, which caused a brief fashion rage, were Diane Keaton’s own clothes.
  • In the scene where Alvy questions people on the street about what makes a relationship, a large crowd can be seen in the background watching the filming.
  • Ben Stiller comments how he likes the scene when Alvy has to meet Annie’s family in AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movies: America’s Greatest Movies and how it relates to him personally because he always was very apprehensive meeting his girlfriends’ parents. Stiller starred in Meet the Parents, which revolved around that very idea.
  • The film’s working title was “Anhedonia” – the inability to feel pleasure. United Artists fought against it (among other things, they were unable to come up with an ad campaign that explained the meaning of the word) and Woody Allen compromised on naming the film after the central character three weeks before the film’s premiere. Other titles suggested were “It Had to Be Jew”, “A Rollercoaster Named Desire”, and “Me and My Goy”.
  • “That was the most fun I’ve ever had without laughing” is a reference to the quote by H.L. Mencken in 1942 (and later Humphrey Bogart).
  • The first rough cut ran 2 hours and 20 minutes. Among the scenes later eliminated were: segments showing Alvy’s former classmates in the present day; Alvy as a teenager; a scene in a junk-food restaurant (featuring Danny Aiello); extensive additional scenes featuring Carol Kane, Janet Margolin, Colleen Dewhurst and Shelley Duvall; and a fantasy segment at Madison Square Garden featuring the New York Knicks competing against a team of five great philosophers. Christopher Walken’s driving scene was also cut, but was restored a week before the film was completed. New material for the ending was filmed on three occasions, but most was discarded. The final montage was a late addition.
  • One scene cut from the film is a fantasy sequence of Annie and Alvy visiting hell. This scene was rewritten 20 years later for Allen’s Deconstructing Harry.
  • Marshall McLuhan was not Allen’s first choice. Federico Fellini and Luis Buñuel were asked first.
  • Alvy never says “I love you” to Annie. The closest he comes is when Alvy says love isn’t a strong enough word for how he feels.
  • During the classroom flashbacks, one of the teachers writes, “Tuesday, December 1” on the chalkboard. December 1 is Woody Allen’s birthday, and Tuesday December 1, 1942 was his seventh birthday, tying in with the school setting.
  • On Late Night with Conan O’Brien (28 February 1995), Harvey Fierstein revealed that both he and Danny Aiello had bit parts in this classic, but their scenes ended up on the cutting room floor.
  • Woody Allen originally filmed a scene in which a traffic advisory sign “urges” Alvy to go to Annie in California. Editor Ralph Rosenblum wrote that Allen was so disgusted by the scene’s cuteness that he took the footage and threw it into the East River. The traffic-sign motif was later used in Steve Martin’s L.A. Story.
  • The passerby Alvy refers to as “the winner of the Truman Capote look-alike contest” is in fact Truman Capote, who appears uncredited.
  • June 2008 Ranked #2 on the American Film Institute’s list of the 10 greatest films in the genre “Romantic Comedy”.
  • The movie’s line “Hey, don’t knock masturbation – it’s sex with someone I love!” was voted as the #78 of “The 100 Greatest Movie Lines” by Premiere in 2007.
  • Premiere voted this movie as one of “The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time” in 2006.
  • An early appearance by Jeff Goldblum playing the party guest who “forgot his mantra”.
  • At 93 minutes, it is the second shortest film to win the Best Picture Oscar. The shortest film to win the Best Picture Oscar is Marty at 91 minutes.
  • The house under the rollercoaster where Alvy grew up is actually the Kensington Hotel in Coney Island, Brooklyn which was located underneath the Thunderbolt rollercoaster. Allen discovered it while searching locations during filming. The hotel and rollercoaster were demolished in 2000.
  • Average shot length: 14.5 seconds
  • Kay Lenz was offered the title role but her boyfriend David Cassidy made the offer turned down.
  • Shelley Hack’s film debut.
  • Shelley Duvall filmed her scenes in two days.
  • Alvy makes a joke about the political magazines Dissent and Commentary merging to form “Dysentery.” Dissent is a famous liberal magazine and Commentary is a famous conservative magazine.
  • The phrase “La Dee Dah” used often by Annie Hall (Diane Keaton), who grew up in the 1950s, was the title of a 1958 R n R standard – #9 US Pop, by Billy and Lillie and popular on “the oldie’s circuit” at the time of this film’s release.
  • The scene where Alvey and Annie are making up stories about people in the park is reminiscent of the Paul Simon song “America”. “Laughing on the bus/Playing games with the faces/She said the man in the gabardine suite was a spy/I said his bow tie is really a camera”. Paul Simon plays Tony Lacey in the film.
  • In the lobster scene in the kitchen, the door to the oven in the corner cannot possibly be opened.
  • The movie theater line-up scene is done on a long take. The shot starts when the man behind Alvy starts speaking.
  • Though based primarily on Woody Allen’s real-life relationship with Diane Keaton, the fact that Annie Hall comes from Chippewa Falls, Wisc. likely was inspired by Allen’s past relationship with folk singer Judy Henske, who was born in Chippea Falls, while Keaton was born in Los Angeles.

Talking Points:

  • Won Best Picture, Best Actress,Best Director, Best Writing at the 1978 Oscars.
  • Did you feel the movie still speaks true about some relationships? i.e. does it hold up to today?
  • Techniques used in filming/storytelling…breaking the fourth wall…omniscient extras..animation use of extremely long shots

What We’ve Learned:

  • The universe is expanding, One day it will break apart and that will be the end of everything
  • It’s ok to be a bigot..as long as your on the left
  • Politicians are a notch below child molester
  • Life is divided into the two categories the horrible and the miserable.
  • Don’t take any college course that makes you read Beowulf
  • A relationship is like a shark.. it has to constantly move forward or it dies.

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: I think this movie was too clever for me. I didn’t really laugh at all, maybe a heh, here or there but just didn’t get me. Brilliantly put together and acted and everything, it just came off as meh to me. I probably won’t ever watch this movie again.
Ray: I think this is a still relevant, witty look at relationships and how they can evolve or devolve. Mostly holds up to the test of time. If your a Woody fan… and haven’t seen this one you should be ashamed.
Steve: I’m not totally a fan of Woody Allen’s comedy…sometimes he says his punchlines too quickly for me, so I lose focus. However, it is a cute movie…I like the “dreams” he has – they added a lot. And my favorite quote from the movie was “I’m into leather” by the little girl. HEE HEE!

The Present: Warrior
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% Fresh, 93% Audience

Director: Gavin O’Connor

Starring: Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, Joel Edgerton

Trivia:

  • When the announcer is quoting Koba’s credentials, he states that he is an Olympic Gold medalist in wrestling. Kurt Angle, the actor playing Koba, won two gold medals in the 1996 Olympics in wrestling.
  • Co-writers Anthony Tambakis and Gavin O’Connor were introduced by comedian Bryan Callen, who plays himself in the movie alongside writer Sam Sheridan. Callen dated director Patty Jenkins for 9 years. She is now married to Sheridan.
  • The role of the promoter, played by director Gavin O’Connor, was originally written for TapouT founder Charles “Mask” Lewis. Lewis was killed by a drunk driver just before shooting began. O’Connor spoke at Lewis’ memorial service on April 14, 2009, six days before principal photography began. The film is dedicated to him.
  • The role of Paddy was written for Nick Nolte by Anthony Tambakis and Gavin O’Connor, who is neighbors with the actor in Malibu. The studio was resistant to casting Nolte, but the writers held firm and Nolte’s portrayal has won him universal critical praise.
  • Anthony Tambakis and Gavin O’Connor selected The National song “About Today” to close the movie before writing the final scene. The scene was written with the song playing on a continual loop at O’Connor’s house while the writers worked.
  • Joel Edgerton tore his MCL in the cage during production, halting fight scenes for six weeks. Tom Hardy suffered a broken toe, broken ribs, and a broken finger.
  • Frank Grillo based his character on famed MMA trainer Greg Jackson. Grillo and Joel Edgerton trained and lived with Jackson at his New Mexico gym during pre-production. All of Grillo’s fight scene dialogue while “cornering” Edgerton was suggested by Jackson.
  • The original script location for the Conlon family was Long Beach, CA. It was moved to Pittsburgh due to Pennsylvania tax breaks. The scenes set at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City were originally written for the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Gavin O’Connor moved the action to New Jersey to fit with the gritty east coast aesthetic of the film.
  • Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle played the Russian fighter “Koba,” whose nickname was taken from the moniker given to ‘Josef Stalin’. In the original script, “Koba” was named “King Kong,” but it was changed for legal reasons. The brother of Gavin O’Connor’s assistant, Samantha Ellison, suggested the name “Koba.”
  • The location for the scenes in Iraq was actually an abandoned parking lot on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, dressed to look like the desert by Production Designer Dan Leigh.
  • Instead of going to his hotel after his flight from England, Tom Hardy appeared at director Gavin O’Connor’s door at midnight the evening before his audition. The pair ended up living together for five days.
  • While filming in Pittsburgh, Gavin O’Connor, Anthony Tambakis, Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, and Frank Grillo all lived together at the Cork Factory Lofts.
  • On the first day of shooting, the crew gave Nick Nolte a standing ovation after the first take of a scene shot at a local diner. The scene was later cut but appears as a DVD extra.
  • Writer Anthony Tambakis portrays a fight official in the film, and Gavin O’Connor plays the fight promoter. O’Connor agreed to play J.J. Riley only after his friend and co-writer Tambakis agreed to make a cameo himself.
  • An alternate opening shot at Moundsville State Prison in West Virginia and featuring Tom Hardy’s character cage-fighting in jail, was cut from the film.
  • One of the commentator’s references Kurt Angle’s character, Koba, as being a World Sambo Champion. Sambo is a martial art known for leg locks – Angle employed an ankle lock as a signature move during his wrestling career.

Talking Points:

  • Some people say this movie was a total cliche? agree?
  • Why is it not doing better in the box office?
  • Was this what you expected it to be? Comparison to “The Fighter”
  • MMA / Newscasts feel too commercial like?
  • Performances.
  • Who were you rooting for?

What We Learned:

  • It’s hard to find a girl who can take a punch these days
  • The Dude has 3 Laws
  • If you don’t move..you die.
  • The Tank don’t hit back

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: “Hello? Oh, Hi Tom. What? Your performance? Okay, yeah, thanks. I appreciate it. Wish you could be here.” Wait for the DVD.
Ray: I really liked this movie, a lot! I thought the story was engaging.. and the performances were top notch! Go see this one!
Steve: I liked it a lot more than I thought I would…and not just for Tom Hardy’s traps! Although he seemed to be channeling Sylvester Stallone, I felt the other performances were solid. Is it the best movie ever, no…but I was pulled in an just enjoyed it. Even found myself really getting into the fights because they were filmed so realistically, just like watching UFC. Still confused about Kurt Angle being the big bad Russian though.

The Future: Dream House

Director: Jim Sheridan

Starring: Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts

Summary:

Daniel Craig is set to play a successful publishing executive who quits his job in New York City to relocate his family and two daughters to a beautiful house in a small New England town. They soon learn their home was once the murder scene of a mother and her children, believed to be at the hands of the husband who survived.

Trivia:

  • Christian Bale and Brad Pitt were considered for the role of Will.
  • Erik Van Looy was originally set to direct.
  • Jim Sheridan (the director) supposedly lost control over the movie by the studio and was not pleased with the final result. Stars Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz were not pleased either, threatening to not make press rounds for it.

Talking Points:

  • Above Trivia Item..
  • Did they give too much away in the trailer?

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Meh, it’s just another one of those Paranormal Activity/Insidious Movies with it’s own little twist but I’ve seen this before. Love you Daniel Craig, but I think I’d like to pass.
Ray: Somewhat Intrigued.. but feel the trailer is showing me everything in the movie.
Steve: Seems like just another haunted house/Grudge/People Under The Stairs/Sixth Sense kinda movie with high production value. I feel like we’re going to find out they’re already dead and Naomi Watts is a psychic telling them to move on. I would like to think it will be something unique. I’d go see.

Coming Attractions:

The Past
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The Present

The Future

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