Rama’s SCREEN

I shared with you recently a really cool info, super producer Gale Anne Hurd’s Valhalla Motion Pictures, which we should thank for being so dedicated in producing actual decent movie versions based on comic characters, has bought the film rights to produce the graphic novel GEARHEAD which Hurd will produce.

A few minutes after I posted the info, the artist of the comic book GEARHEAD himself, Kevin Mellon placed a comment on my webpage. And so I tracked him down and asked if I could interview him and writer Dennis Hopeless about this movie project.. and they said yes… from that moment on, everything you thought you knew as awesome has been kicked in the neck by this one, damn straight!

CONTINUE READING…
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It’s weekend, so I figured let’s do something chill for a moment. This past week, Daniel Craig said that the world is ready for a black James Bond.

So I figured let’s put a list of 10 possible candidates for Black James Bond. Since Obama is going to be in the white house soon, it’s time to have a colored agent 007, his Aston Martin will be blasting with hip-hop and R&B. I count out Denzel and Morgan Freeman since they’re old, and Samuel L. Jackson would make Bond too rated R for younger audiences especially with his mothaF*in’ remarks. And I’ve also excluded Cuba Gooding Jr. since I still haven’t recovered fully from the mental injuries I sustained from having watched Daddy Day Camp.

These are 10 black actors, some American and some are Britons, who may not all be on the top of their game but they got some qualifications to exercise the license to kill.

10. Mekhi Phifer

I admit Mekhi may not be the first thing that comes through your mind when you think of James Bond. Mekhi’s career alone hasn’t been the most flattering resume, but hey, he’s a make-believe doctor so he knows how to heal himself if wounded on the field, invincibility is part of James Bond’s trait. And anyone who’s dealt with Eminem and the tough city of Detroit (8 Mile) can certainly take on any tough secret spy mission.

9. Chiwetel Ejiofor

He can do American accent so well, you’d never tell he’s actually an Englishman. The man’s talented when it comes to acting that’s for sure. But his performance as the martial artist in Redbelt is what qualifies him to be an agent. In his mind, when he’s being cornered, there’s always an escape. A helpful solution in a dangerous world of James Bond.

8. P. Diddy

This rapper turned actor is probably the only one so far who has loudly announced his interest in playing James Bond. He does not have the look, we can all agree on that, but just look at it this way, he’ll never have to worry about money. In Quantum of Solace, Daniel Craig’s James Bond had to go to his friend for help after his credit card was canceled by MI6. Hell, P. Diddy is loaded with cash, he’ll have his girls fly him from one place to another.

7. Terrence Howard

Losing that Iron Man gig to Don Cheadle doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Terrence Howard got the Hustle & Flow attitude, ruthless and determined. And he’s proven from the movie Pride, that Daniel Craig isn’t the only one in town who can be in the water with swim short speedos (Casino Royale) and still comes out lookin’ like a straight man.

6. Jamie Foxx

Don’t look at Jamie Foxx in Ali, Ray, or Collateral, just look at his roles in Miami Vice and Dreamgirls and know that he can be ballin’ like a James Bond material. Not to mention that James Bond is known sometimes for his wit and catchy one-liners. Foxx can go blind and still pull it off like a natural.

5. Taye Diggs

Taye may be unlikely, a long shot, if you will. He’s still struggling to find a gig that suits him. But his short-lived TV series Day Break is evidence that this is an actor who can withstand physical challenges that a James Bond movie would demand. He just needs to smile less and be more act more serious.

4. Derek Luke

One of the most impressive, talented young actors around. Doing drama,.. no problem! (Catch a Fire, Antwone Fisher, Lions for Lambs). Can he do Action? I think with the right training and coaching, he’d be able to have that on-screen presence worthy of being in the same level as any Hollywood’s action super star.

3. Adewale kinnuoye-Agbaje

This is a nomination from Rama’s SCREEN reader Ryan who thinks Mr. Eko from TV’s Lost would be a good choice, plus he’s an Englishman. He’s got the physique and the attitude, I’m sure he’ll wear the tux and drive the car and drink the martini just fine. But I very much doubt he’s a ladies man. James Bond is a womanizer. It’s still possible, Adewale just needs to come up a shorter stage name

2. Idris Elba

In recent years, Idris has been a supporting actor in so many gigs. Can he be 007? Obama would say “Yes He Can!” I’m a big fan of Idris’ character Stringer Bell in TV’s The Wire. Someone who can calculate the next steps and isn’t afraid to plan a murder on anyone who gets in the way. Sound’s familiar? The name’s Elba, Idris Elba!

1. Will Smith

One of the most versatile black actors in the world. He has the big screen presence that can attract audiences and box office money, which is a good thing for the producers of Bond movies, he can do just about any scene. He’s badass (Bad Boys), he can survive a car chase scene (I, Robot), he can drink (Hancock), he doesn’t share much about himself (Seven Pounds) he can work with gadgets and make his suit look good (Men in Black), and he knows how to work the women (Hitch) or at least he thinks he does.

Well, Labor Day weekend 2008 is officially over! Time to get back to work tomorrow, to the little cubicles, and uncomfortable offices and stress ourselves out once again. The results are in and the survey says… TROPIC THUNDER wins the Labor Day Weekend box office this year.. ding, ding, ding! It earned $14.3 Million for a total of $86 Million since it opened on August 13th, 2008.

The movies that actually opened on Labor Day Weekend this year didn’t stand a chance and failed horribly.
Babylon A.D. only earned $12 Million. That’s bad, considering it cost about $70 Million to make the movie.
Don Cheadle’s Traitor only got $10 Million
And one of the worst movies of all time, Disaster Movie, got a disastrous $6.8 Million.
damn, people actually went to see that thing?!

Let’s take a look at some of the Labor Day Kings of the last 10 years.

2007 — HALLOWEEN

Rob Zombie’s horror remake found its way at the top with $26 Million. I was actually rooting for Kevin Bacon’s revenge movie, Death Sentence, but it only earned a disappointing $4.2 Million. While the un-funny comedy, Balls of Fury got $11.3 Million.
Shows you life isn’t fair.

2006 — INVINCIBLE

The movie starring Mark Wahlberg as a nobody who got to play pro football managed to get the top rank that weekend by earning $12.1 Million. It defeated movies that actually opened on Labor Day Weekend that year. Jason Statham’s action flick about a guy who needed adrenaline shock to survive the day, Crank only got $10.4 Million. Followed by one of the worst horror remake in the history of cinema, starring Nic Cage, The Wicker Man earned $9.6 Million. Serves him right!

2005 — TRANSPORTER 2

Jason Statham’s action movie where he transported a high risk package from one hand to another drove him to the top spot that Labor Day weekend with $16.5 Million. The Constant Gardner, which featured Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz in her Oscar winning performance only earned $8.6 Million while Nic Cannon’s stupid action/comedy, Underclassman only got $2.5 Million. Ha!

2004 — HERO

Just wanna say that this is probably one of the few Jet Li’s movies that I didn’t enjoy. But it opened on Labor Day weekend that year and it took the throne by earning $18 Million. Some of its competitors were Anaconda: The Hunt For The Blue Orchid ($12.8 Million) and Ben Kingsley’s confusing thriller, Suspect Zero ($3.4 Million)

2003 — JEEPERS CREEPERS 2

The sequel to the movie that lead the box office back in 2001 follows its predecessor’s footstep and won the box office lead in 2003 by earning $15.2 Million. By the way, just like the first installment, this one also opened on Labor Day Weekend.

2002 — SIGNS

Another one of M. Night’s work that hit the home run. Joaquin Phoenix swung away to get the movie to earn $13.4 Million that weekend beating the horror slasher, Fear Dot Com, that actually opened on Labor day Weekend that year. It only earned about $5.7 Million. Yikes!

2001 — JEEPERS CREEPERS

This movie actually opened on Labor Day weekend and people flocked to the theaters to be terrified by the monster that wanted to devour Justin Long. It earned $13.1 Million. Meanwhile the movie that’s an updated version of Shakespeare’s Othello starring Josh Hartnett, Mekhi Pfiffer, and Julia Stiles, titled O only got about $5.6 Million that weekend

2000 — BRING IT ON

That year, Kristen Dunst teen flick won the box office by earning $11.4 Million chopping the head of the sequel movie that actually opened on Labor Day weekend that year, Highlander: End Game which earned $5 Million. Amanda Peet’s okay comedy Whipped only got $2.1 Million. Bummer!

1999 — THE SIXTH SENSE

M. Night Shyamalan’s ultimate masterpiece managed to hold the #1 spot for weeks during that summer since it opened on August 6th, 1999, it was a phenomenal, everybody wanted to know what the big idea was with the twist ending.
In the first weekend of September, it earned $21 Million. It defeated movies that actually opened on the Labor Day weekend that year. Antonio Banderas‘ The 13th Warrior only earned $10.2 Million while Omar Epps‘ black gangsta flick In Too Depp only earned $4.2 Million followed by the movie where Johnny Depp got to bang Charlize Theron, The Astronaut’s Wife ($4 Million). and Brendan Fraser’s lame comedy, Dudley Do Right settled for $3 Million

1998 — THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY

A Farelly brothers‘ comedy that feature Ben Stiller and Cameron Diaz with Ben’s..’stuff’.. on her hair,
plus Matt Dillon with that ridiculous mustache, earned $10 Million that weekend beating the movie that actually opened on Labor Day that year which was Knock Off, one of Jean Claude Van Damme’s last big screen performance. It turned out to be a flop and earned a embarrassing $5.5 Million

This proves that most of the winners did not reflect the spirit of Labor Day.. well, except probably for Transporter 2… sorta!
But just like there’s always a Christmas movie during Christmas season. We should have movies that captures the themes of Labor Day during the first weekend of September. Movies like Hoffa, On the Waterfront, Office Space, the Grapes of Wrath, or even Gung Ho.
Ah, good times!

From the Israel agent turned hairstylist to the action star who gets to be a science teacher, from a drunk, washed up, superhero to some of the worst sequels ever made, from sci-fi flick to another sci-fi flick, this is my list for the lamest movies of Summer 2008. I hope mistakes like these will never happen again next year. God help us all…

10. BABYLON A.D.

If genre Sc-Fi Action flick was a person, he’d be covering his face with both hands, head down and shaking in embarrassment because this movies gives him a bad name. The last time he felt this shameful was when John Travolta made that crappy movie Battlefield Earth

Lamest Moments:

* The girl miraculously gets pregnant
* Vin Diesel walking in the field with two little children

9. YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN

Adam, Adam, Adam… you’re better than this.
It breaks my heart to see anybody with such potential and talent and he’s just wasting ‘em all away.

Lamest Moments:

* Suggestive sex scenes with the elderly
* Singing in loud tenor voices to defeat the bad guy

8. HANCOCK

It’s decent but for a guy like Will Smith who, through his star power alone, can draw lots of box office money for each of his movies, he should’ve been able to do more than just decent.

Lamest Moments:

* Will Smith’s character flying along with an eagle flying by his side
* The moon painted on with a logo.

7. MAMMA MIA!

Thank God the music is catchy! ABBA’s great classic music is the only thing bearable about this movie version. If the songs weren’t around, then we could imagine the worst case scenario

Lamest Moments:

* The dance choreography
* The Greeks keep popping up and they’re not funny

6. STEP BROTHERS

Not a very entertaining follow up to their previous collaboration in Talladega Nights. After Semi-Pro and Step Brothers, you begin to wonder if Will Smith’s hilarity is slowly going downhill. He’s gonna need to come up with ANCHORMAN 2 just to redeem himself

Lamest Moments:

* Balls on the drumset
* The job interviews

5. MEET DAVE

Remember Eddie Murphy back in the days of Beverly Hills Cop and Coming to America movies, when he used to be funny?? Remember those days? Good times!
All I can say is… at times, history doesn’t repeat itself.

Lamest Moments:

* Dancing in the club
* The crew walks out of Dave’s mouth

4. INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL

There were times when I was watching this movie that I just wanted to walk out of the theater and not finish it at all. I was feeling disappointment, upset, anger, all at once, I’m surprised I didn’t turn into a Hulk and tear the screen apart. I couldn’t bear seeing my hero Indiana Jones ruined like this.

Lamest Moments:

* Shia LaBeouf’s character swinging from one tree to another like a monkey
* Alien Spaceship

3. THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR

Even Brendan Fraser would probably go “what the hell was I thinking?”
Wanna put the blame on somebody? Blame it on Director Rob Cohen, writers Alfred Gough & Miles Millar, and Rachel Weisz got recast by Maria Bello… not a smart move!

Lamest Moments:

* 3 Yetis slide down from the mountain to help them out
* Jet Li’s character’s shape-shifting ability

2. STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS

When will this madness end? I doubt that Star Wars fans would classify this as one of their favorites. Why the hell did it even have to hit the big screen?! Damn you, Lucas!

Lamest Moments:

* Obi Wan Kenobi stalling time by having tea with the enemy
* Anakin Skywalker and his apprentice crawling inside a box

1. THE HAPPENING

M. Night Shyamalan used to be one of my favorite directors. Now I’m not so sure anymore. Has he lost his mojo? What was he smoking when he came up with the idea of plants making humans commit suicide?!

Lamest Moments:

* Mark Wahlberg’s character talkin’ to a plant
* The epidemic hits the second time around in the last scene

From weed smoking buddies to a cute robot on an outer space adventure, From curving the bullets to flying faster than jet planes, From an awesome reboot to one of the greatest sequels ever made. Summer 2008 goes down in history as one of the most awesome summer movie blockbuster seasons ever!

10. PINEAPPLE EXPRESS

THUG LIFE! yeah! you wanna get high? You’re gonna wanna after you’ve seen this hilarious ride that will take you to comedy and action and back. It’s a great escape, a sweet release,… the dopest dope!

Awesome Moments:

* Cross joint
* Danny McBride’s character crawling quickly out of a burning building.

9. WANTED

Far-Fetched? Yes! Ridiculous? Yes! What’s your point? In the end, the word ‘cool’ still applies. It reminds me of movies like Matrix and Equilibrium… and there’s something rad about hearing Morgan Freeman say, “MothatF*cka!”

Awesome Moments:

* The beginning Car Chase Scene
* Shooting from afar in the last scene

8. TROPIC THUNDER

Which one is funnier… Tropic Thunder of Pineapple Express? Some people have been asking that since these two movies come out a weekend apart from each other. What they don’t get is Tropic Thunder’s comedy is different, it’s a satire on actors and hollywood execs and the whole movie business.

Awesome Moments:

* Anything that Robert Downey Jr.’s character does
* Anything that Tom Cruise’s character does

7. THE INCREDIBLE HULK

They say, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Well, Ang Lee’s HULK back in 2003 was a disaster, but Marvel has fixed the mistake by bringing us this Smashing reboot. When we see the green giant hero, we wanna see some destruction and incredible fights,… this movie knows exactly what we want.

Awesome moments:

* Hulk kicking the bad guy like he’s a soccer ball
* The 26 Minute fight scene between Hulk and Abomination

6. KUNG FU PANDA

Skadoosh! Our hero Po the Panda knows how to use overweight size to his advantage and give some serious beatdown! For a Dreamworks animated movie, this jokes in this one are actually funny and the fight scenes are pretty cool.. plus, I got to meet Jack Black at the screening of this movie… Awesome! yes, I like to brag.

Awesome Moments:

* Po the Panda uses his belly to bounce the enemy all the way to the sky.
* Climbing the stairs

5. THE STRANGERS

Finally, a scary movie that’s really scary. Ya see… when I watch horror movie, I expect to get terrified, to find myself with my hands covering my eyes but a few fingers open because part of me wants to see what happens next.

Awesome moments:

* Mistaking a friend for a foe
* Liv Tyler’s character just standing there and in the background you see the bad guy standing there too, watching her..in a very stalkish, creepy way

4. DEATH RACE

A movie that’s heavy metal and rock n’ roll all at once. It’s hardcore entertainment not for the faint of heart.

Awesome Moments:

* The warden’s ultimate armored truck gets destroyed
* The way each criminal dies

3. WALL-E

I remember exiting the theater after seeing the whole thing and all the children were happy and they tried doing the robot’s voice “Wooaaall-Eeee!!” Truly an amazing movie watching experience.. Pixar has outdone itself.

Awesome Moments:

* WALL-E touching the little rocks that make the ring around the planet Saturn
* WALL-E stomps his foot on M-O The Cleaning Robot’s Face.

2. IRON MAN

The movie that makes us wish we could be just like Tony Stark. One of the most well reviewed movies of the year has scenes that will take your breath away… eat my shorts, Top Gun!

Awesome Moments:

* Iron Man goes supersonic and then deploys flares and then deploys flaps
* The hot flight attendants in Tony Stark’s private plane.

1. THE DARK KNIGHT

The throne, the honor, the glory for the most awesome movie of the summer 2008 goes to THE DARK KNIGHT which also has become one of the highest grossing films of all time.
Heath Ledger’s brilliant performance as THE JOKER will forever be remembered as iconic, borderline perfect, the stuff of legends!

Awesome Moments:

* The Joker’s Magic Pencil Trick
* The Joker in a nurse outfit walking out of the hospital and the remote got busted

I remember a line said by Heath Ledger’s character THE JOKER in one of the greatest sequel movies of all time, The Dark Knight. He said “A year ago, these cops and lawyers wouldn’t dare cross any of you, I mean.. what happened?”
That goes the same for these 4 actors who at one point had the potential to be great at what they do, but what happened? What went terribly wrong and could they have a second chance to get back and go out with a bang instead of their heads held low?

Right after 10 Things I Hate About You, it was said that Heath Ledger made a decision to do better in choosing his next projects, the rest was history (The Patriot, Monster’s Ball, Brokeback Mountain)
Sure he made some bumps along the way like Casanova and The Brothers Grimm… but he went out in a blaze of glory with the performance of a lifetime as THE JOKER. Heath Ledger will forever be remembered as a great actor.
But for these following people… I mean… what happened?

MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY

Dude! And I start with that word because it symbolizes what Matthew McConaughey’s all about. The dude was in Amistad for pete’s sake! He worked alongside director Steven Spielberg and great performers like Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman and Djimon Honsou. You would think that McConaughey would become a well respected actor from then on, but what happened?

He could’ve been great but now he’s considered to be one of those actors who are not versatile, some even say he’s not that good an actor.
Because in recent years his choices in movie projects were less than significant, if you will. Sure he’s got some okay stuff from time to time like Two for the Money and We Are Marshall.. but now, anytime people hear the name Matthew McConaughey, all they can remember are his string of weak flicks: How to Lose a guy in 10 Days, Failure to Launch, Sahara.
His recent cameo in Tropic Thunder wasn’t a show stopper, it certainly was not as memorable as Robert Downey Jr. or Tom Cruise. As a matter of fact, the character initially intended for Owen Wilson to play but poor Owen had to go through some tough times last year.

Matthew McConaughey’s next movies will be SURFER DUDE about Longboarding soul-surfer who returns to Malibu for the summer to find his cool hometown vibe corrupted and also THE GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST which is another romantic comedy about a bachelor who is haunted by the ghosts of his past girlfriends at his younger brother’s wedding.
Not quite the Oscar worthy titles but who knows… maybe these two will shape up his reputation a little bit.
Except….I think the SURFER DUDE didn’t require much acting skills, because in my opinion he’s just practically being Matthew McConaughey in that movie (Check out the hilarious video: 3 Matthew McConaugheys and a Baby)

ADAM SANDLER

The people who picketed at the premiere of Tropic Thunder to protest against the ‘retard’ remarks are attacking the wrong movie,… what about most of the retarded characters that Adam Sandler has played in the past, they should speak up about that!

When I went to the MTV screening of the crappy movie YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN. I asked Adam Sandler a serious question. MTV chose not to include that question in the clip and that’s understandable, MTV is all about anything but quality, anyway.

I asked Sandler why he chose to keep making movies like Zohan. I told him that he was excellent in Punch Drunk Love, Spanglish, and Reign Over Me, I even thought he should’ve gotten at least a nomination for his performance as a former Dentist who couldn’t get up from the 9/11 tragedy that took the lives of his family…. I mean, what happened?

Seriously, Adam Sandler’s got talent… that is if he doesn’t waste it on going back to making movies that feature all his friends. I wasn’t too impressed with Click either. The fact that hottie Kate Beckinsale was in that movie was what got me through the whole damn thing.

His next movies will be BEDTIME STORIES which is a family movie about hotel handyman (Sandler) whose life changes when the lavish bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew start to magically come true. And then he’s got FUNNY PEOPLE with Judd Apatow gang.
Let’s just hope these two movies are going to be actually funny this time.

DWAYNE “THE ROCK” JOHNSON

Okay, The Rock is not a talented actor, in fact, I don’t think we’ll ever see him holding a golden statuette anytime soon, but the reason why I include him in this list is because of this…
Years ago, action genre has three prominent names, the three amigos: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis.
well, last two names still think got some ammo left in them but I’m sure we can all agree when I say that their glory days are behind them.

So now we wonder who will carry the torch and take on the responsibility of being the next great action movie star.
Fate seems to be showing the name Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and all was well at first.
Scorpion King, Walking tall, The Rundown. Seems like the world has found its new Arnold.
Doom was a terrible movie but it’s still action. Gridiron Gang was a sports movie so we can make an exception.
But then there were Southland Tales, Be Cool, The Game Plan, and his role in Get Smart was barely visible… what happened?

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s awesome and good that an actor tries to tackle different genre in order to be considered versatile.
But… once again, The Rock is not that talented. He could put on different characters or play the remake of Rain Man or something… and he will still be The Rock. Sorry to break it to you, Dwayne, but that’s how it is.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was supposed to be the awesome action movie star but his next projects will put that dream on halt once again. He’s got Disney’s RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN which is about a UFO expert who enlists the help of a cabbie to protect two siblings with paranormal powers from the clutches of an organization that wants to use the kids for their nefarious plans
And then there’s the CG Animated movie PLANET 51 which is about the inhabitants of Planet 51 who live in fear of alien invasion. Their paranoia is realized when an astronaut arrives from Earth. Befriended by a young resident, he has to avoid capture in order to recover his spaceship and try to return home

Luckily we have Jason Statham as our action guy… so for now, The Rock could just continue doing the not-so-cool stuff he’s been doing. he’s on a roll anyway.

WINONA RYDER

If I told you that Winona Ryder was nominated for 2 Oscars years ago, would you believe me?
She really did. It was for The Age of Innocence (1993) and Little Women (1994)
Her name used to be plastered big on the posters of her movies because the studio marketing believed that it could actually draw audiences everywhere… just for the fact that she’s in the movie.

She got to work a few times with Daniel Day Lewis (The Crucibles) and she was in the cool group with Alec Baldwin, Kevin Spacey and director Al Pacino (Looking for Richards)
That’s not the case with her anymore these days…What happened?

And then she started to choose roles that didn’t allow her to be the headline anymore, like Alien: Resurrection… that’s Sigourney Weaver’s movie! And Winona was also outplayed and overshadowed by Angelina Jolie in Girl, Interrupted.
Now the world will remember her as Winona Ryder the Shoplifter or the actress who star in movies people don’t generally care about (S1M0Ne, The Darwin Awards, Sex and Death 101)

Winona Ryder’s next movie might be worth something if she can make it memorable. She will play Amanda Grayson, the Human mother of Spock and wife of Vulcan Ambassador Sarek in the upcoming big budget Paramount prequel movie STAR TREK, directed by J.J. Abrams.

There might be hope for Winona Ryder, after all.

The movie HAMLET 2 opens in theaters this weekend. Although it didn’t create any controversy like the ‘retarded’ protests and ruckus surrounding the movie Tropic Thunder, some conservative uptight folks did send e-mails asking people to boycott the movie because of the content which features Steve Coogan playing Jesus in the musical song “Rock Me Sexy Jesus“. Bill Maher, one of the funniest politically incorrect comedians out there who’s very blunt about his stand on religion is going to have a documentary released this coming October titled RELIGULOUS where he goes around many places and interviews people about religion. When you watch the trailer, it’s plain to see that Bill Maher aims to poke fun of religious extremism and fanaticism

Has our society become too uptight? OR have filmmakers today gone too far?
Here are some of my pick of Sacrilegious movies that at one point got controversy jamming pitchforks up their butt..
These are the kinds of movies that would make the red state people uncomfortable.

DOGMA

When I watched this movie years ago, I couldn’t stop laughing, the concept itself was so out there, it was hilarious. I couldn’t even really understand what was going on and yet there I was on the floor, cracking up, trying to breathe.
Okay, where are the parts that are irreverent to everything holy and sacred?!… well, there’s an abortion clinic worker who teams up with a bunch of prophets which happens to include our favorite Jay and Silent Bob. Two evil angels, Ben and Matt, trying to get back to heaven, and then somewhere in the story there’s Alan Rickman as angel without a penis and God is revealed… in the form of Alanis Morisette.
One more thing… I believe Jesus was mentioned a few times and one in which Chris Rock responds by saying “that brother owes me 12 bucks”.
Kevin Smith,.. ha! You gotta give him props for this twisted sense of humor.

THE LAST TEMPTATION OF THE CHRIST

Ah yes! I don’t know which one is considered offensive? Jesus making out with Mary Magdalene or Jesus played by Willem Defoe. This is one trippy movie with a touchy subject. But hey, it’s made by director Martin Scorsese, guys! Come on! He’s the genius who brought us Raging Bull, Mean Street, Goodfellas… He wouldn’t make a movie that wouldn’t have any purpose and meaning, would he?!
Every true filmmaker deals with the question ‘what if?’ That’s when creativity sparks.
The novel that this movie’s based on plays with the imagination of what if Jesus hadn’t sacrificed himself and instead made a family of his own just like you and me. Martin Scorsese asked ‘what if’ he turned it into a movie.

THE DA VINCI CODE

The should’ve called this “Last Temptation of Christ 2“.. it could practically be considered a sequel, a continuation, since the story is about the possibility of the descendants of Jesus, anyway. Oops, did I spoil that for you who haven’t seen it yet?!
Don’t worry, the movie’s lame, it’s not that good of a thriller, but the book on the other hand, the book by author Dan Brown is great, intricate, story with cliffhangers that would make you wanna lose your sleep because you can’t wait to read what happens next.
When Tom Hanks was first approached about this project, he actually thought the movie was going to be about the painter Leonardo Da Vinci.
As the production took place in France, there was a report people picketing right outside of Tom Hanks’ hotel but they were only a few compared to the hundreds of fans also waiting outside, looking get a glimpse of the movie star. I guess French people are a lot cooler than we think.
The current production of the sequel ANGELS & DEMONS (also an awesome book) however, hasn’t been going as smoothly because the Vaticans weren’t that cooperative. The story does kinda make the Vatican folks look bad.
We can expect the movie to be released in 2009

SAVED!

I remember the weeks prior to the opening of this movie and there were some concerns among the conservative uptight community about how this movie would portray Christianity. Some of those who raised eyebrows, went and saw the movie and converted, while others still chose to hold on to their assumption without ever even watching the movie and they’re missing the big picture.
The movie is not anti-Christian, it’s anti-fundamentalist, those who act like the Pharisees and think they’re all self-righteous. It makes you reconsider what it means to love one another.
SAVED! is just like any high school teen movie with all the dilemmas, especially the bullying and the mockery but this time those mean people use religion as their weapon, which is F*d up, if you ask me!
Mandy Moore did excellent as the ring leader… this is probably her only great movie and then sadly it went down hill for her from then on.

BRUCE ALMIGHTY

Jim Carrey walkin’ on water, parting the red soup, and havin’ an extraordinarily divine sex with Jennifer Aniston, although the scene was suggestive, it was still pretty awesome.
Ya know how you can make a sacrilegious movie and get away with it? By making it entertaining and by inserting an actual decent moral message in the storyline, so that it would all have a point in the end. If you’re doing it just for the heck of it, then you’re not just upsetting the Uptight Ones (that’s what I call the conservatives), you’re also upsetting movie buffs like me who pay hefty amount of dollar for ticket to watch a movie worth watching.
I think casting Morgan Freeman as God was brilliant. Because if there ever was one actor worthy enough to portray the creator of the universe, it’d be him. Just listen to his voice when he narrates March of the Penguins. Sounds like it reflects the wisdom of the ages.

SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER, UNCUT

O boy! Here we go! This is the ultimate right here… not even sacrilegious, it’s downright blasphemous.. and hilarious.. in a wrong way. The movie makes Satan looks likable and tame. When Kenny flies to heaven, all the angels are naked girls with big boobies. The new tough hardcore kid who helps Kyle, Stanley and Carman stop Terrance and Philips from getting executed, curses God and calls him a C*(bleep) A-(bleep). You catch the drift.
This movie has made Matt Stone and Trey Parker officially became the most hated figures in the eyes of America’s parents everywhere.
Does it make me a bad guy when I say that the movie is actually making fun of censorship?! if you watch the series, you’ll see that South Park pulls a satire on just about anything that happens in the pop culture world and the media today.
I gotta admit, the methods are done mad crazy and in a wildly absurd manner.

This weekend, a great little movie called SIXTY SIX might open in theaters near you. Feel free to read my review on the movie anytime.

A few days ago, thanks to special ops media, I got the opportunity to interview the director whose real life childhood story was the basis for this movie. His name is Paul Weiland.

Some of you might be familiar with the romantic comedy titled Made of Honor starring Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monahan. Well, Paul Weiland directed that one. But the interview was about Sixty Six which centers around a Jewish kid whose Bat Mitzvah party happened to fall on the same date as The World Cup Finals of 1966.

Understanding British accent has always been a challenge to me. That’s why I have to use subtitled whenever I watch Harry Potter movies on DVD. Director Paul Weiland has thick British accent but I’m willing to try to understand every word he said.

Our conversation was done over the phone. He was in London and I was in sunny Southern California. How cool is that!
He was nice enough to give 15 minutes of his time.

The movie is said to be based on your real life childhood experience, how much of it is accurate and how much of it was added into the storyline?

“Everything was accurate, absolute story… the people were based on those I grew up with, some things and some of the names were changed for theatrical purposes and to protect the family.
It’s an accurate sorta period movie. The whole room, the paintings. We even used the same original props and the same place I got picked on when I was a kid, and the same synagogue I got my Bat Mitzvah in”

What motivated you to take your childhood story and turn it into a movie?

“It happened at my 50th Birthday Party, I made a speech and in the speech, I included the story of how when I was a child, my Bat Mitzvah happened during the World Cup finals. Afterwards one of them came up to me and said that I should make a movie out of it….
I didn’t want a Jewish writer to pen the script because I didn’t want it to be too cartoony.”

Let’s talk about the cast here, Gregg Sulkin.. the kid who plays the character Bernie who is supposedly a representation of you when you were a kid. How did he get the role?

“I grew up in a working class environment. The neighborhood now is filled with different cultures and ethnics but there were many working class Jewish people back then… we were looking among hundreds of possible child actors,… I knew Greg’s father and the boy came in… he was kinda handsome so we had to ‘geek’ him up a bit.”

How did Helena Bonham Carter and Eddie Marsan get involved in this? I’m asking this because Helena is used to starring in Tim Burton’s big budget movies. How did you convince her to play the role of the mother?

“Helena and I are good friends, she was the birthday party, the one I told you about…. when she heard that we were planning to make a movie about it, she said she wanted to play my mum…. and so now anytime we meet, she’ll say to me ‘hello, son!’ and I’ll say to her, ‘hello, mum!’
“Eddie Marsan is a wonderful, talented actor who was great in the movie Vera Drake. We wanted him to play the father but there was some scheduling problem because he was set to star in some HBO pilot but something happened and the series didn’t happen… we were lucky to have him play my father”

This movie was released in the UK back in 2006 and then it went from one film festival to another and now it will hit select theaters in the U.S. this weekend. Why did it take such a long time to finally be seen by audiences here?

“I think it was mostly the studio’s decision…. back in 2006 when the movie was released, we went up against a big blockbuster movie called Borat. The whole situation was just like my Bat Mitzvah going against the World Cup finals.
The movie did all right. Jewish people embraced it and adopted the movie very well…. and now we believe that it will find audience in the U.S. as well.”

What do you hope for people to get out of watching this movie? What lesson would you want families and kids who are growing up to learn from this heartwarming, surprisingly inspiring story?

“We can choose our friends but we can’t choose our family. The movie actually has an alternate ending but the point remains.
Things don’t have to stay bad, you can make things better if you’d just believe in yourself.”

In the past, you were associated with the popular comedy series Mr. BEAN, but you did not direct any of the BEAN movies. Would you direct the third movie?

“No…
I mean, I’d love to work with Rowan Atkinson again, we did the movie Backadder Back and Forth, I’d love to work with him again.. but Not on the character ‘Bean’”

What is your next project and can you say something about it?
“My next project will be a sequel called 69… I’m joking” (laugh)

Arsenal FC or Manchester United FC?
“I would have to say… Manchester United, they have so many trophies.”

COMIC-CON 2008 finished yesterday. Just until next year and then it’s time to party again. This past weekend was a blast and I got to meet tons of Comic-Con hotties in all kinds of kinky costumes. It’s like Halloween in July. Check these out!

Click on these images to enlarge

Lifestyles of the rich, famous, and superhero.
Iron Man a.k.a TONY STARK and Batman a.k.a BRUCE WAYNE have many things in common.
They’re all human and they’re both Billionaire playboys.
They love to party, they have expensive toys and they find it easy to sleep with any girl they want.

Here are some scenes from both movies for comparison purposes:

CAR

* Tony Stark races his butler by driving Audi R8, License plate STARK4
* Bruce Wayne likes to drive Lamborghini.. just to appear subtle.

GADGETS

* Tony Stark who is a mechanical/computer nerd designs his own suit and every component that comes with it.
* Bruce Wayne who is a businessman hires Lucius Fox to come up with the coolest stuff for his extracurricular program.

HOUSE

* Tony Stark got that amazing Malibu property complete with its own computer generated butler
* Bruce Wayne has Wayne Manor and the Penthouse and he has his own human butler, Alfred

GIRLS

* Tony Stark can turn an attractive reporter who hates his gut into a one night stand experience
* Bruce Wayne often shows up to a party with two or three amazing super models by his side.

MORE TOYS

* Tony Stark has a private Jetplane that requires the stewardess to perform strip dance.
* Bruce Wayne has a nice big boat that can contain the whole cast of a ballet show.

Don’t you sometimes wish you could be just like them?! Even for just one day.
So…Which one is the coolest Billionaire Playboy?
Which one is your favorite?

All the early reviews on THE DARK KNIGHT have been in since three weeks ago. I’m probably one of the few who haven’t seen it but you’ve heard about it nowadays. Especially of how left and right, people have been cheering for Heath Ledger’s extraordinary groundbreaking take on The Joker. Chants of Posthumous Oscar nomination is heard throughout the cinema world.

Well, the internet cinema world that is…

Not too long ago, I posted an open forum discussion about whether or not people who’ve passed away should be nominated for Oscar.

Apparently some critics say that only fans and internet bloggers who want to see the late Heath Ledger get Oscar nomination for his role as Batman’s villain.

Yahoo reported what the experts said in response to all this Heath’s Oscar buzz…

“Dark Knight” is the type of comic book, action adventure that Oscar voters generally do not favor and there are many movies to see later this year, the experts said

They kinda have a point there… the closest nomination category a comic book based movie can get is probably either for Costume, Cinematography, or Visual Effects.

Even the great film critic Leonard Maltin is skeptic about Heath getting an Oscar nod…

“All this Oscar talk is a phenomenon of the Internet age that I like to call ‘a wish-fulfillment rumor.’ If people say it often enough, they think it will happen,” said Leonard Maltin, film critic for TV program “Entertainment Tonight.”

“That’s not to say it might not happen,” he said, citing a “great performance” by Ledger. “But I assure you that the people who are spreading all this are neither Oscar voters nor (Hollywood) movers and shakers.”

Tom O’Neil, a columnist for award-watching Web site The Envelope.com had this to say about the matter at hand…

“These awards are all about hugs and there’s something creepy about embracing the dead.”

After I see the movie, then I’ll share with you my thoughts and whether I think Heath should get another shot at the golden statuette (He was nominated for Brokeback Mountain in 2006)
But one thing for sure, the Cast of THE DARK KNIGHT are supporting the idea.
One example, I saw The Tonight Show with Jay Leno the other night and Michael Caine who plays Alfred the butler in the movie was the guest star.
And he firmly believes that Heath deserves a posthumous Oscar nomination.

Do you agree with the Critics… or Michael Caine?

Enjoying your 4th of July? You’re gonna party til you’re crazy? Speaking of which, don’t forget that one of my favorite movies of the year hits theaters this Independence Day weekend, THE WACKNESS, which features Sir Ben Kingsley as a shrink/psychiatrist named Dr. Squires whose marriage is in peril and his idea of self-healing is done by smoking pot, drinking alcohol and taking lots and lots of drugs. In a way, cinema likes to make those who society deems as helpers become those that need help as well. Either that or they think by helping others, somehow it would bring them salvation from their own mess.

Dr. Squires played by Ben Kingsley in THE WACKNESS has an interesting practice method and a rather funny way of seeing life and curing his favorite patient, Luke Saphiro played by Josh Peck.
In his opinion, Sometimes it’s right to do the wrong things.
I don’t have money to go to psychiatrists and I never think I need one. So I’m not an expert in either psychology or the world of letting your emotions out to a total stranger.
But in celebration of Dr. Squires, here are some other movies unlikely Shrinks in recent years who I think are quite eccentric.

CHARLIE BARTLETT played by Anton Yelchin (Charlie Bartlett, 2007)

One of the coolest Teen movies not seen by many. Anton Yelchin is a promising young stars.
A high school teenager who becomes a psychiatrist to the student body. He’s a rich kid who discovers his own talent, the gift of listening and giving advice. He’d use the restroom as his session room. It would be like a confession booth. He would sit in one stall, and a student would enter the stall next to his and start ranting.
I’m just surprised none of them got sick from inhaling the poo and the piss, I mean it’s a restroom, for pit’s sake!

Dr. PEARL played by Alan Arkin (Eros, 2004)

An executive comes to talk to a psychiatrist. Turns out the shrink has not a care in the world for whatever the hell his patient is talking about. He’s the kind of shrink who would pretend to write something on his notepad when in fact he’s just scribbling some mumbo jumbo drawings. He’d sometimes engage in what his patients are babbling about just so that he could keep spying on somebody else outside the building instead. Overall, this short titled Equilibrium by director Steven Soderbergh has a weird storyline that some may not enjoy. But Alan Arkin’s funny performance is worth watching.

Dr. BEN SOBEL played by Billy Crystal (Analyze This, 1999)

This character is probably my personal favorite mainly because Billy Crystal is a comic genius and Robert De Niro is a great actor with a great sense of humor. Their collaboration is the perfect chemistry. Like the Odd Couple but with guns. Funny things usually happen when a character is confronted with many obstacles and dilemmas and he tackles every one of them in the most unlikely ways and still comes out the likable one because he accomplishes what he’s determined to do from the beginning stages of the problems. With the FBI, his fiance, the mafia rivals, Ben Sobel will try to dodge bullets while still fulfill his professional duty by helping a mobster gain some confidence back.
The result is one big hilarious comedy movie

Check out that awesome picture above, man! I’m flying. David Cooperfield’s got nothing on this Indo. Ever since I saw the movie The Bucket List, I told myself that skydiving would be one of the top things I’d have to do before I kick the bucket. And today, it really happened.
My friend and I went all the way to San Diego because over there… the place is friendly, the cost is affordable and the weather is fair all year round. The kind that I would jump out of a plane for.

The registration part was a bit time consuming. We had to sign a long waiver.
We had to wait for the first group to do their jump and it took them quite a while but we didn’t mind because we were curious to see what we were about to get ourselves into.
Watching them dancing gracefully in mid-air like soaring eagles with no care in the world, as their parachutes opened and slowly brought them down, it made me realize that I may not be the world’s leading movie blogger, I may not be Tony Stark, but the opportunities I’ve taken in my lifetime with running marathons, doing road trip across America, and now skydiving.. I say I’m one of the luckiest punks alive

And so the plane landed, and it was time for my friend and I to get trained, we were instructed what to do and what not to do. We put on the straps and the gear and I gotta tell ya, at first it was a bit baffling… I thought skydiving requires its jumpers to wear one of those suits like the ones Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman wore in The Bucket List. But apparently, that wasn’t the case. We kept the clothes we had on and that was it.

It was our first skydiving experience for the both of us, that means jumping solo was not allowed. Someday I’ll be able to do that. Someday I’ll be a pro.
We boarded the plane and it took about 11 minutes or so for the steel bird to take us up to about 13 to 15,000 feet or so.
Each of us attached ourselves to our respective experts who would do most of the work. I got to jump first, my lucky stars!… And then one, two, three… Wohooo! YEAH!!!

* Click on the images to enlarge

Each of us got an extra cameraman who took pictures and video tape every moment of every second. (The Video will arrive at my place in about two weeks from now, I’ll show it to you as soon as I upload it, I promise)
So there were we… screaming in excitement. I tried smiling but the air pressure is messing with my groove, man!
But it was FUN, FUN, FUN! I felt like Superman and Iron Man all at the same time.
The parachute opened and the dude swung me around counterclockwise and the other way around… it was cool and all but thank God, I didn’t eat much that morning, otherwise I’d throw up right there and then.

And then we landed.. safely, I might add. But once I put my feet on the ground, I wanted to go back up there again. Unfortunately I only brought enough money to do it once so I’m planning to return in the near future.
They gave us some neat certificates.
We thank everybody there who did excellent job of making sure our first Skydiving experience would go down as one of the greatest achievements in the history of mankind…
Believe it!

Now, to return the favor, allow me to sorta promote the place/facility that has helped us made it all possible.
SkyDive San Diego is the name, for direction and more, Just go to their official website at www.skydivesandiego.com and get complete information.
The people are professional, friendly and some of the coolest folks you’ll ever meet.
So if you happen to visit So-Cal, go there and give it a shot. You only live once, so why not make it worth your while!

You think Bruce Banner is the only one with Anger problem? Well, think again..
In the spirit of the awesome THE INCREDIBLE HULK Movie. Let’s take a look at some of movies’ most memorable characters in the past that are known for their rage
Don’t make them angry, you wouldn’t like it when they’re angry.