A recent survey conducted by FilmJabber.com found that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was expected to be the best of the summer by moviegoers. The Harrison Ford-starring film, the first Indiana Jones movie in nearly two decades, has been buzzing, and 27% of the survey takers said it “will be the best blockbuster of the summer.”
Indiana Jones narrowly beat out The Dark Knight, which came in second with 26%. Third place belonged to the already-released Iron Man, which received 9% of the votes.
However, among men, The Dark Knight was considered to be the best by 34% of the group versus 21% for Indiana Jones. Among women, 31% expect Indiana Jones to be the best movie of the summer. Whereas one might expect Sex and the City to have ranked high in this category, The Dark Knight still came in second with 16%.
All of this bodes well for Thursday’s release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which is a frontrunner to make more money than any other film this summer – and perhaps this year. Reviews have been mixed, but I wouldn’t expect anything less. The hype is so high that people are bound to be disappointed – more than likely, this is a film that will thrill and entertain more on a second viewing.
It’s only May, but I’m pretty sure I’ve already seen the worst movie of 2008. No, as much as I panned Speed Racer (and have yet to see it), I was pretty sure that one would just be laughably bad, not truly, painfully bad. In fact, it’s rare that I see a movie – especially this early on in the year – that I’m confident will be the worst movie of the year. Usually a film has some saving grace, or at least I can foresee other disasters coming down the road.
It doesn’t help that I had expectations for this film. Not high expectations, mind you, but a certain level of, “OK, this can’t be that bad,” when I stuck the DVD into my player. George A. Romero is the father of zombie movies, having created two all-time classics, Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead. His new zombie movie, no matter how stupid it looked, couldn’t be that bad, could it?
It could, it was, it is. George A. Romero’s Diary of the Dead is most likely the worst movie of 2008. It is so bad in every conceivable way that I’m amazed I sat through it all. It’s like a bad car wreck – I just had to keep watching – but in hindsight, I wasted ninety minutes of my time. There’s nothing more I can really say, but you can read my full Diary of the Dead movie review here.
Diary of the Dead arrives on DVD on May 20th, 2008.
A&E is remaking Michael Crichton’s The Andromeda Strain, which premieres on Monday, May 26th at 9pm as a TV mini-series. TV mini-series always worry me, but The Andromeda Strain is a cool enough story that I figured I’d better see it for myself. Thankfully, A&E sent me Part One of the series to review. (more…)
A lot of people, including myself, have been underwhelmed by The Incredible Hulk thus far; I am guessing it is not going to be the massive blockbuster of the summer. Thankfully, this new, shorter movie trailer that apparently premiered in theaters with Speed Racer, is much better than previous efforts by the marketing department. Interestingly, the movie removes Abomination and plays a lot more like a teaser trailer than anything else. The result is that the trailer shows less of the questionable special effects and more of the Hulk, always a good combo.
Nicolas Cage and Diane Kruger return to the adventure franchise National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, a ludicrous, over-the-top but overall rather entertaining action-comedy. As people know, I feel the franchise – I call it a franchise because there is no denying that a third one will find its way to theaters at some point – is way overrated. The first movie, while not terrible, wasn’t nearly as exciting or smart as people think it is. I went into Book of Secrets with really low expectations and was, thankfully, pleasantly surprised, but I’m not kidding myself that it’s some glorious piece of work. You can read my full National Treasure 2 movie review here.
This blog post is about the 2-Disc Collector’s Edition version of National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, which arrives in stores on May 20th, conveniently right before the new Indiana Jones movie arrives in theaters.
The DVD contains a fair amount of interesting and honest special features:
Audio commentary with Jon Turteltaub and Jon Voight. I didn’t listen to this – honestly, who has time to re-watch movies with the audio commentaries? I sure as hell don’t.
Deleted scenes with introductions by Jon Turteltaub. The first bit of bonus material I went for was the deleted scenes, and there are some pretty good ones here. More interesting than the scenes themselves are Turteltaub, who delivers an introduction for each one. Turteltaub seems like a genuinely funny guy, and his discussions of the film seem honest and heartfelt.
Bloopers and outtakes. Your typical blooper reel; there’s some funny stuff here, though nothing amazing.
Secrets of a Sequel. One of the weaker featurettes on the DVD, this one talks about the challenges of making a sequel. Once again, things are pretty honest as they discuss that everyone assumes a sequel is easy work, but there’s still a lot of work and effort to deliver something unique. Still, it contains a fair amount of, “National Treasure 2 is going to be bigger and better,” kind of statements.
On Location. This featurette looks at some of the sets around the country and world. Pretty interesting at times.
Street Stunts: Creating the London Chase. This one is pretty entertaining. While the scene in the movie might be a little out of place (would Ed Harris and his crew really destroy a neighborhood in London so boldly?), it’s always fun to see a bus plow through parked cars and crowded street during a car chase. Seeing it from off camera is just as entertaining.
Inside the Library of Congress. I don’t remember this featurette, so either I accidentally skipped over it or it instilled no lasting memory.
Underground Action. This is a pretty interesting featurette that looks at the action that takes place in Mt. Rushmore, specifically the balancing stone tab that the characters find themselves on. There’s some insightful filmmaking stuff here.
Cover Story: Crafting the President’s Book. This one takes a look at getting the conspiracies into a book, and includes some of the actors providing their viewpoint on whether such a book really exists. This one is pretty pointless, but oh well.
Evolution of a Golden City. One of the better featurettes in the set, this one looks at the creation and planning that went into the underground city. Once again, the featurette doesn’t come off as promotional.
Knights of the Golden Circle. Huh, don’t remember this one either. What the heck. I know I watched this one, but have no clue what it’s about…
The National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets 2-Disc Collector’s Edition (wow, that’s a mouthful) is a pretty good disc with some nice bonus features. Turteltaub really makes the featurettes worth it, as he seems to be having fun with both the production and talking to the camera. None of the featurettes seem too promotional and as such provide some great insight into the creation of the film.
May 12th is a glorious day, as TheBadandUgly.com has posted several set pics from the upcoming movie, Jennifer’s Body. But these set pics are of a particular nature… Specifically, every single picture shows Transformers star Megan Fox naked… almost. She’s wearing pasties, but it’s close enough. Anyway, here’s Megan Fox from her new movie, which is about a cheerleader who gets possessed and starts killing people.
Supposedly, this movie is being filmed in Vancouver, and if these set pictures are recent, it cannot be warm filming outside. It’s been cold in the Pacific Northwest, and I can’t imagine Vancouver has been any better.
UPDATE: Fox has kindly asked me to remove these pictures. I’m not really surprised, though they could have been a little nicer about it: “We demand that you remove the images of actress, Megan Fox… Failure to comply may result in significant monetary liability.”
Vindication is wonderful. Speed Racer, the awful-looking action-racing film from the Wachowski brothers, is the first flop of the summer season as it took in only $6.1 million according to Friday box office estimates. According to Box Office Prophets, the movie will take in approximately $20-$21 million over the weekend. No matter how you cut it, a movie that costs between $100-$120 million is expected to open to more than $20 million in its opening weekend, and I would expect a huge 60% drop next weekend. After all, with Chronicles of Narnia and Indiana Jones coming over the next 13 days, Speed Racer will have no place to breath.
This made my weekend.
Beyond Speed Racer, Iron Man will once again win the weekend with just under $40 million, though I’m surprised the hit action film didn’t do better in its second weekend. As good as it is, I was expecting some people to return to theaters this weekend – or for holdouts to be lured in by quality reviews – but $40 million, following a $100 million opening weekend, implies that isn’t the case. Still, no one’s complaining.
What Happens in Vegas earned $7.1 million on Friday, good for a $20 million opening. That’s pretty good for the Ashton Kutcher/Cameron Diaz comedy.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull arrives in theaters on May 22nd, and shockingly, Paramount is releasing a new DVD set of the original Indiana Jones trilogy this Tuesday, May 13th. I mean, I am flabbergasted that Paramount would release a new DVD set so close to the release of their new Indiana Jones movie; it’s as if they want to milk some extra cash out of one of their most prized franchises. I just didn’t see it coming.
A few years ago, I picked up The Adventures of Indiana Jones: The Complete DVD Movie Collection, which came with the three movies digitally remastered as well as a bonus disc (that I’ve never watched) that is, according to the box, “the ultimate anthology of Indiana Jones special features to accompany this classic DVD collection.” That’s interesting that that set was the “complete” and “ultimate” collection, when now we have Indiana Jones: The Adventure Collection DVD set…
Anyway, this new Adventure Collection offers only three disc and doesn’t make any bold statements about being “the biggest and baddest,” but presumably that’s being put off until all four Indiana Jones movies are released in a single DVD set in the fall. Maybe then Steven Spielberg and George Lucas will actually provide commentary for the films.
Yes, this new DVD set still doesn’t offer director’s commentary for the films, which is a bit surprising. It does, however, have introductions by Spielberg and Lucas before each film, which, I guess, is meant to make up for the lack of six hours of commentary.
While the bonus disc from the previous edition is missing, there are bonus features offered on each movie disc. The features includes interviews with the Indiana Jones women (Karen Allen, Kate Capshaw and Allison Doody), Spielberg, Lucas, Ford and the screenwriters; an examination of the famous “melting face scene” from Raiders of the Lost Ark; a featurette on the locations; and another featurette that covers the bugs, insects and other creatures found in the movies. The teaser trailer for the new Indiana Jones movie also plays at the beginning of each disc, cementing the fact that this box set is specifically intended to drive ticket sales.
Basically, the bonus features are pretty standard fare.
There are some interesting moments, but for those of you who already own the Indiana Jones movies, it doesn’t make sense to purchase this new set. The bonus features are not amazing, and unless you are so die-hard that you have to have every piece of material ever made on the subject, they aren’t worth shelling out an additional $35.
At the same time, the movies themselves have never looked better. I haven’t watched Temple of Doom yet, but Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade both look amazing. The picture is crystal clear and looks as brand new as movies filmed 20 years can look.
If you don’t have the movies and don’t care about bonus features, this new Indiana Jones box set offers the three movies in their finest form. However, if you don’t think that Paramount doesn’t have a box set due to be released in the fall with all four movies and a slew of special features, however, you’re kidding yourself.
I love Donnie Darko. The movie, directed by Richard Kelly and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, was an amazing piece of work in every way. I do not love news that Donnie Darko 2 is in the works, however.
There are some movies that are great on their own, that are so good that any other related film will pale in comparison, that wrap things up in just the right way that it isn’t necessary to continue the story. Such was the case with Donnie Darko.
Unfortunately, according to Screen Daily News, production for Donnie Darko 2, officially titled S. Darko, begins on May 18, 2008. Kelly and the Gyllenhaals (Maggie was in the first movie, too) are not involved, but thankfully Chris Fisher, acclaimed director of such films as Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders and Nightstalker, is taking the reigns.
Fisher said, “I am a great admirer of Richard Kelly’s film and hope to create a similar world of blurred fantasy and reality.” Simon Crowe, of Velvet Octopus, one of the companies producing the film, added, “I think there is a new generation of cinema-goers who will be very excited to see this film. Donnie’s not in it but there are meteorites and rabbits.”
As for the plot and cast, Daviegh Chase, who played Donnie’s younger sister, is set to return and will follow her and a friend as they travel to Los Angeles. There, they experience visions and other weird things. Ed Westwick, Briana Evigan and Justin Chatwin are also cast members.
What are they thinking? How can this happen? What a horrible, horrible, horrible idea!
While some people have railed on the early days of this season of Survivor as being uninteresting, Fans vs. Favorites is turning out to be one of the most amazing seasons of the show… ever. I’ve enjoyed it from day one, but I’m not as picky as some people, at least not in regards to this show. I’ve liked Survivor ever since I started watching it in Season Two, and while some seasons are better than others, it has always been entertaining.
The first two-thirds of Fans vs. Favorites was pretty standard fare. As Jim Van Nest pointed out in his early recaps of the show over at BoxOfficeProphets, it was questionable as to where CBS actually found these fans. Several of them hardly shaped up to be the brilliant Survivor fans we were expecting; several seemed to know as much about mastering the show as they did about building a space shuttle. Again, as Jim pointed out, he, a die-hard fan who knows every facet of the show, would have been a much better choice.
That being said, these last four Survivor episodes leading up to the Season Finale have been insane. Partially out of stupidity, partially out of hubris and fully out of deceptiveness and backstabbing, four contestants have been taken out by complete and utter blindsides.
First, there was Ozzie. Probably the most dominant player to ever play the game, Ozzie found the Hidden Immunity Idol but became cocky about his place in the game. As one of the best players ever, he should have known better than to trust everyone in his alliance. Sure, he didn’t want to play the idol prematurely, but James even hinted to him that he had a bad feeling about that night. That should have been enough, but hubris sunk its teeth in and he fell victim to Parvati of all people.
Then comes next week. Ozzie’s blindside was stunning, but not too surprising. However, Parvati passed the torch to Natalie, who in turn showed her vicious side by manipulating Jason beyond belief. Jason, a physical threat from day one (he had even beat out Ozzie a few times), had never proven to be all that smart, but he convinced the world that he was a gullible idiot when he fell for Natalie’s promises. Like the week before, Jason had his hands on the Hidden Immunity Idol, but, despite the complete and utter blindness that he had just witnessed by what was clearly an all-women alliance, he didn’t play his idol. Two weeks in a row, two contestants with an Immunity Idol went home, stunned and confused. This blindside, however, was completely Jason’s fault.
Last week, stupidity wasn’t a factor. Amanda Kimmel, my favorite since the first episode of Survivor: China (not only is she hot, but she’s also smart and strategic), was sent to Exile Island where she managed to find the Hidden Immunity Idol, which has never played such a large role in any season before, except perhaps when Yau Man got his hands on it. Thankfully for her, she didn’t find the Immunity Idol right away but a clue for where it was buried back at camp. When she returned to her tribe mates, she put her acting skills to work, pouting very convincingly that she wasn’t able to find the Idol (which, technically, wasn’t a lie). She even dumped her bag in front of everyone to prove she hadn’t found it. As such, everyone but Parvati set out to vote Amanda off, as they, understandably, see her as the biggest threat. Unfortunately for them, with a little help from Parvati, Amanda dug up the Idol. Come Tribal Council time, the alliance of Natalie, Alexis, Erik and a reluctant Cirie think they have Amanda in the bag. Then, in one of the most entertaining Survivor moments ever, Amanda raises her hand to inform Jeff that she has the Idol. The rest of the Tribe looks shocked, Parvati starts grinning her sexy smile and the Jury, highlighted by Eliza, crack up, stunned but elated. Alexis, who only moments ago thought she was headed to the Final Five, suddenly finds herself victim to the most satisfying blindside of the season. At least no one can blame Alexis for her going home.
But then this week rolls around. Thursday, May 8, 2008. The day when one Survivor made the biggest, dumbest move in the history of the game. Erik, the young, bushy haired guy who is great in challenges, fairly smart in some ways, likable but utterly naive and gullible to the whims of sexy woman, wins the Immunity Idol. OK, Natalie is going home. But wait! What? No, it couldn’t be. It can’t be possible. The alliance of three – Amanda, Cirie and Parvati – convince Natalie to talk to Erik about asking him to give her the Immunity Idol. Natalie at first thinks it is a ridiculously stupid idea, because it is, but she asks anyway. At first, Erik simply says, “No.” Smart guy, Erik. Then, he starts considering it. Erik, no! You spell your name the same was I do. Don’t do this to other Eriks in the world! But he’s just considering it, right? He wouldn’t actually give up Immunity this close to the end, would he?
Cirie also begins to play the young guy, and it just goes downhill from there. Why would Erik even consider this as an option? The idea, as the women convince him, is that no one likes him on the Jury. Even if he wins the rest of the Immunity Idols and makes it to the Final Three, he still wouldn’t have a shot at winning. However, he could earn kudos for making a good faith gesture and giving the necklace to Natalie. Thankfully, Erik is smart enough to question why he needs to give up his Idol to vote someone else off, but Cirie tricks him into thinking that she needs such a gesture to ensure her that he will vote for a specific person (Amanda, then Parvati).
God. Come Tribal Council, the Jury is stunned – and I mean stunned – to see Erik give up his Immunity Idol. Every member on the Jury knows exactly what is happening, and they start cracking up. Even the women sitting next to him begin to laugh, and the joke is certainly on Erik. And, with that, in what is officially the dumbest Survivor move ever in the history of its 17 seasons, Erik is voted off. Ultimately, Erik was a smart guy who tended to over-think things and feel bad when others were allegedly angry at him; the women used this to their advantage and manipulated him. He’s a young guy with some very sexy women wandering around in bikinis; it’s understandable that he could be tricked a little bit. But even if they all offered to have a wild orgy with me, I still wouldn’t give up my Immunity Idol on a game that relies on backstabbing and betrayal. The women had proven time and time again that they couldn’t be trusted, yet he foolishly trusted them to the last second.
Now, there are four left, and Amanda has a great shot at a million dollars. Natalie isn’t the strongest of challengers, and if she doesn’t win, it’s likely that she will, in reality, go home. Of course, this season – one of the best ever – has been full of surprises and upsets, so it isn’t unreasonable to think that Cirie and Parvati would turn on Amanda – but I’d be surprised if that actually happened. After Amanda’s work involving the Hidden Immunity Idol a week back, which all but won over the Jury, the others are going to be hard pressed to be beat her if she makes it to the Final Three.
