Check out these new video clips from the upcoming thriller Sin Nombre, which comes to select theaters this Friday, March 20, 2009. Watch them now:

Sin Nombre Clip: I’m Going With You

Sin Nombre Clip: Ever Been On One Of Those

A horror “movie” that really does deserve to be remade is in fact being remade, says The Hollywood Reporter. Stephen King’s “It,” which was originally adapted as a television mini-series, is getting an upgrade thanks to Warner Brothers.

While the mini-series feels a bit dated now, I was pretty young when I first saw it… and it gave me nightmares. Clowns are frightening enough, but evil clowns can scare the shit out of anyone. As long as the director, who has yet to be announced, doesn’t turn this movie into a montage of cheap scares, the remake of It could be quite effective. (more…)

Primal Fear is one of the best courtroom dramas in the history of cinema. Not only does it feature great performances by Richard Gere and Laura Linney, but it also marks the debut of a talented young man named Edward Norton – some of you may know him. His startling performance earned him an Oscar nomination as the stuttering murder defendant and put him on the map as one of the best actors on the scene. Even better, Primal Fear features one of the best twist endings to ever grace the silver screen.

Needless to say, I like this movie. I like this movie a lot. And since Paramount Pictures just sent me the all-new Hard Evidence Edition, I now have two versions of the DVD.

This latest release of the 1996 thriller doesn’t offer enough bonus features to warrant repurchasing the picture, but Paramount has packaged a couple of short featurettes to accompany this amazing film:

• The Final Verdict – this 17-minute featurette examines the making of the film, with a focus on the challenges the crew went through to get it made. Though Richard Gere was signed on to star, he almost backed out due to a lack of a convincing script. Once the script was rectified, the director and producer faced the challenge of selling a $30-million film with only one recognizable name to the studio. Furthermore, setting up the story in a way that the twist ending would remain hidden required the right mixture of acting, writing and directing. The featurette is short, but does offer some sincere interviews with everyone involved, save Gere.
• Star Witness – Casting Edward Norton – the other 17-minute featurette on the DVD focuses on how Norton came to be casted in this role. This interesting segment of interviews has Norton talking about his experience of going into the initial audition with no expectation of landing the role through his wide-eyed realization that he’s been offered the part. This featurette offers some insights I wasn’t aware of and also offers more sincere interviews with Norton, the director and the casting director.
• The Psychology of Guilt – this 13-minute featurette explores the legal ramifications of multiple personality disorder and whether it actually exists or not. While short, the featurette is smartly put together and tackles a lot of different aspects of the alleged disorder. It was good enough to compel me to look up the Hillside Strangler(s) and a few other serial killers who all seem to have crossed paths with my alma mater’s town, Bellingham, WA.
• The original theatrical trailer and a commentary with the director, writer, producer and casting director are also included.

In all, there are only 47 minutes worth of raw bonus features – hardly enough to warrant an all-new edition. Yet, those 47 minutes are packed full of insightful interviews with most of the big names involved in the picture. My only real fault with the DVD is the DVD cover… the cheesy crime scene layout makes the picture look like some B-grade action flick rather a quality drama. Still, if you don’t own Primal Fear, this would be a good time to buy. The Hard Evidence Edition comes to stores on March 10, 2009, available in both DVD and Blu-Ray formats.

The latest Star Trek movie trailer is online, and you can watch it right here. This reimagining of the franchise definitely looks more serious and dramatic than past incarnations, but also looks to up the ante on the action as well. This movie trailer didn’t completely blow me away, but Star Trek remains one of my most anticipated movies of 2009.

Watch the Star Trek movie trailer now:

Here’s a disturbing new marketing trend: the motion poster. Started by the smart folks in charge of marketing Terminator Salvation, the motion poster fad has expanded to the upcoming horror film The Haunting in Connecticut. The movie stars Virginia Madsen and looks pretty much like The Amityville Horror, but more like the creepy original than the lame remake.

While I have to ask the question whether the world needs yet another marketing tool beyond images, static posters and movie trailers, I have to admit: this motion poster is pretty cool. Just make sure you don’t have your volume turned on too high.

Loyal readers should know that I’m an atheist. And as an atheist, I’m a big fan of Bill Maher’s documentary Religulous. It’s not that I think the movie is an incredible documentary that will convert believers – after all, believers wouldn’t come within ten feet of this movie – but it makes some pretty valid points…  Most importantly, it makes the point that religion doesn’t make any sense. It never did, and it never will.

Religulous (read my Religulous movie review here) arrives on DVD next Tuesday, February 17, and with it a few bonus features including an audio commentary and a slew of deleted scenes. I haven’t listened to the audio commentary, but plan to: after all, Bill Maher should make for a good commentary. The deleted scenes are actually several deleted segments, each of which focus on a different set of people that were entirely removed from the movie. There are some funny moments found in these segments, though it’s understandable why they were removed from the final picture; some of them aren’t that entertaining, and the others are redundant when placed against existing scenes.

Unfortunately, the polygamist wives segment is surprisingly short; I would have liked to see more of them.

Complementing the deleted scenes are several “Bill Maher rants,” which feature the comedian speaking to the camera about why certain religious facets don’t make sense. Some variations are included in the movie itself, but there are several new segments that raise some good points.

All in all, I was a little disappointed to not find more deleted scenes on the disc; I would have imagined that a lot of good material was cut from existing segments (most notably at Jesus Land or whatever that place was called). Nevertheless, the Religulous DVD offers a decent set of features given the type of movie it is – I wouldn’t have expected much more.

For moderates or the downright non-believers, Religulous is a must-see. As entertaining as it is, it’s not worth purchasing – unless you plan to show it to a bunch of children to spread the truth.

One of my most anticipated movies of 2008, Blindness is directed by Fernando Meirelles, the man behind such visually stimulating films as The Constant Gardener and City of God. Given his stunning resume, Blindness looked like a sure lock for one of the best movies of the year. Starring Mark Ruffalo and Julianne Moore, the movie is about a horrifying virus that spreads throughout the country, causing everyone – except for Moore’s character – to go blind. That’s pretty bad ass.

Unfortunately, Blindness isn’t nearly as good as I was expecting. Decent, yes, but the film never fully clicks. Some of the character reactions and plot points don’t make sense. Most shockingly, the film is visually dull. Maybe all of those protesters outside the theater stating, “Blindness is not bad,” or something could have saved their breath. While I’d still recommend the movie to people who want something different, it’s not nearly as good as it could have been. (more…)

It’s funny: of all the successful comedies of the year, one of the funniest, which combined the likes of Seth Rogen with the director who made his kind of comedy possible in the first place – Kevin Smith – flopped. One shouldn’t have been surprised, given that Kevin Smith has hardly been a box office phenom and that The Weinstein Company wasn’t even allowed to market its film title in many venues, but given that Seth Rogen has been in one hit after another – the sudden failure of Zack and Miri Make a Porno struck me by surprise.

And, given that it is one of the most hilarious movies of 2008, I was disappointed. Nevertheless, the movie should make plenty of money this week as it spins its way onto DVD. Those who haven’t seen this movie should, and those who have already seen it should definitely consider buying the 2-Disc Edition, as it is packed with bonus features.

Most notably, Zack and Miri Make a Porno includes over an hour and a half of deleted scenes. Some of them are alternates, but these deleted scenes give you a sense of just how much improv was conducted by the cast. There are plenty of hilarious lines (”what do scrotums taste like?”) and exchanges, especially between Rogen and Justin Long. An entire movie could be made just around Justin Long’s character – if you liked his brief involvement in Zack and Miri, you’ll definitely get a kick out of the deleted scenes.

Beyond those, there’s a pretty strong making-of featurette, which goes through every stage of filming, from casting to filming to getting the film past the MPAA. The making-of documentary is impressively in-depth and honest, and well worth watching.

A series of webisodes are included, some of which are better than others. One with Kevin Smith and Seth Rogen exchanging barbs is pretty good (”What’s Jersey Girl?” “Let’s not talk about it.”).

Some footage from Comic-Con 2008 puts the cast altogether in an audience-driven interview setting. There are no major takeaways here, but it’s not worthless, either.

The outtakes and bloopers are surprisingly disappointing.

Lastly, Seth Rogen and Justin Long face off in an improvisation battle. Most of this can be found in the deleted scenes, but it’s still pretty disappointing.

Between the hours of deleted scenes and the making-of featurette, Zack and Miri Make a Porno 2-Disc Edition is well worth buying. The movie itself is hilarious and surprisingly sweet, so the combination of the film and bonus features make for one of the first great packages of 2009.

Back in 2006, when A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints was first released, the movie was a surprisingly decent flick with a recognizable but not-staggering cast. Flash forward three years and the movie has changed significantly: it’s a surprisingly decent flick with an A-list cast.

Back in 2006, the movie starred Robert Downey, Jr., who was still was looking for his comeback role, and Shia LaBeouf, whose biggest film to date was a role in Bobby. Channing Tatum was a force to be reckoned with, but the only place you would have seen him was a dance movie called Step Up. Iron Man, Tropic Thunder, Transformers, Indiana Jones, Disturbia and Eagle Eye later, however, and you suddenly have two A-list actors who have strung together a series of massive hits. Tatum still hasn’t broken out, but most people know who he is.

In other words, given the quality of A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, this movie may actually have received some promotional backing had it been released more recently. It’s amazing what a few years make.

The movie is a flashback/flashforward story of three friends who grew up in a tough neighborhood in Queens. All troublemakers as teenagers, they diverged at adulthood – one was able to escape the neighborhood, while the others fell victim to it. Chazz Palminteri, Dianne Wiest and Rosario Dawson also star.

You can read my original A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints movie review here (in which I say, it “offer[s] some fine performances from some up-and-coming stars”).

This Tuesday, February 3, 2009, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is re-released in an all-new Limited Edition DVD set. By set, I mean one disc, but it sounds better that way. Usually I criticize studios for re-releasing films for the umpteenth time just to make a buck, but given the suddenly changed star power of many of its stars, it makes sense to try to get this picture in front of a larger audience – after all, most people haven’t heard of this film, let alone seen it.

The Limited Edition includes these bonus features:

• Commentary with director Dito Montiel and editor Jake Pushinsky
• The Making-Of Documentary
  The making-of featurette primarily revolves around writer/director Dito Montiel (who is played by LaBeouf and Downey, Jr.) and how he came to make this movie. It also involves several interviews with the casting director, and their determination to cast on acting ability rather than star power. There are some interesting moments, and the featurette feels authentic (not promotional), but there’s nothing spellbinding her. The featurette just moves along without providing us an “a-ha” moment or even any stimulating interviews.
• Alternate Endings and Openings
  There are about ten alternate endings and openings provided here, all of them of considerable quality. This is an impressive collection.
• Deleted Scenes
  There are also several very good deleted scenes; I haven’t seen this many well-done deleted scenes packaged together in a long time. They were apparently cut for pacing and storytelling reasons, and not due to lack of quality.
• Rooftop Scene
  Dito Montiel directs and acts in this alternate scene with actress Helen Dallas; it’s a riveting little piece of stagework, and well worth watching.
• Full Monty Interview
  Well worth your time. Just kidding. 30 seconds with an old guy. Stimulating.
• Young Laurie Audition played by Diana Carcamo
  A pretty good screen test further exemplifies the raw talent that can be found in this film.
• Trailers and Previews

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is a pretty good movie with intense performances and a worthwhile, gritty story. Certainly recommended.

The long-delayed Fanboys finally comes to theaters next Friday, and here are a few video clips recently provided by the studio. The first one features Kristin Bell taking her shirt off… sort of.

Take Your Shirt Off