Welcome back, kids! Long time, no see. Did you enjoy our 2010 wrap-up show? I know we sure did!* Anyway, a lot has happened since we last spoke. Anne Hathaway was cast as Catwoman**, Tom Hardy was cast as Bane***, and it appears that Regis Philbin will be retiring soon****.
However, what the net is most abuzz about are the 2010 Oscar nominations. There really aren’t many surprises this year. I’m glad to see that Christian Bale finally got nominated. I really hope he’ll win so we can watch him accept the Oscar as Batman or John Connor or whoever the hell he thinks he is that week. Meanwhile, I may be the only person in the world who is happy to see that The Wolfman got nominated for Rick Baker’s makeup.
The full list of nominations can be found here. Now is the time to start preparing for the big night by watching the last few minutes of TheNaked Gun 33 1/3.
*Lie.
**Meow!
***Who and who?
****There is nothing funny about this. The man is a legend.
Episode 1 of TellTale’s Back to the Future game has now come and gone, scoring some pretty positive reviews along the way. Meanwhile, there are a few of us who are pretty pumped about the upcoming Jurrasic Park game that they announced a while back. Nothing official has been posted online yet, but Game Informer magazine (Remember magazines? They’re all made of paper and junk) recently ran an article which featured the first screenshots. Needless to say, it was only a matter of seconds before generic Fanboy #684 scanned them all into his parents computer. Let’s have a quick look at a few, shall we?
Nothing breathtaking, but it looks like Telltale knows the world and has got another fun ride in store for us. See all of the scans at lazygamer.
Once again, a strange lack of interesting entertainment news has flooded the internet. Isn’t it time for for another celebrity to die or something? What about Gene Hackman? He hasn’t done much these past few years.
All kidding aside (seriously Gene, we loved you in 2004’s Welcome to Mooseport), the internet is buzzing with the news that James Bond #23 is finally going into production (yay!). This reminded me of a video some online nerd put together of all the James Bond “Gun Barrel Openings” from Dr. No to Casino Royale. I’d forgotten that Sean Connery wore a hat in every one of his openings. It’s also fun to notice how the theme changed over the years.
Argue if you want, but my personal fav is still 2002’s Die Another Day where Bond actually shoots down the barrel of the gun. Now that’s my James Bond.
These past few years John Carpenter has been restricted to producing horror films and writing/directing the occasional Masters of Horror episode. He hasn’t really made a film since 2001’s John Carpenter’s Ghost of Mars, and quite frankly, that’s fine with me.
Then Wes Craven had to go and ruin it all by making Wes Craven’s My Soul to Take, a film that me, Ryan, and nearly everybody else who was tricked into seeing it agreed was one of the worst films of 2010. However, our pal John Carpenter took one look at it and thought, “Now there’s a bank full of retirement money for old, overrated filmmakers like myself! Kids will pay for anything! It was true when I made John Carpenter’sHalloween H2O and it’s true now!”
Hence: John Carpenter’s The Ward.
So is it just me, or is the twist going to be that she’s the one doing all the killing? Oh well. At least John Carpenter isn’t attempting to take us “closer to terror than we’ve ever been before …in 3D”, much like the trailer of that Wes Craven film promised.
You know how every Pixar film in theaters opens with a nifty little short? I’ve always thought of it as a great throwback to film going days of old, while also enjoying the little extra bit of Pixar I’m getting for my buck. I especially enjoyed Day & Night, the short before Toy Story 3, although the teenagers in front of me seemed to be wondering if they were in the wrong theater.
Pixar tweets are beginning to flow like crazy now that we’re getting closer to (collective moan) Cars 2, and they all seem to hint towards the same thing: The film will open with the first of several Toy Story character epilogue shorts. While this seems like a fun thought at first (and a great way to trick people like me into seeing Cars 2), I hope that this doesn’t cheapen what I thought was a great ending to a very fun trilogy. Then again, this is Pixar, and I’m sure they’ll bring us nothing but the finest. Like Cars 2, for example.
The first short is called Hawaii, and will feature Barbie and Ken. As long as they bring back favs Michael Keaton and Jodi Benson, I’m sure it’ll be awesome.
I tell ya, this Spider-Man musical, huh? Am I right? The shakily-reviewed, fan-maligned, still unreleased Broadway debut of your friendly neighborhood wall-crawler has been delayed once again. So what’s the deal this time? More horrifying wrist injuries? No, apparently, one of the main issues is that preview audiences have had a tough time following what the hell is going on.
/Film says that producers “have decided that the second act, which is where the show strays from the classic Spider-Man mythology, is unclear and needs to be tinkered with.” So, first, great job fucking up the story of one of the most recognizable characters in popular fiction to such a degree that it’s not only disappointing, but flat out incomprehensible.
Second, if the whole point of a musical is to tell a story through music, I’m going to guess that the droning, generic contributions of Bono and THE EDGETM probably aren’t cutting it. Not a surprise, based on what we’ve already seen. C’mon, that could be a song about literally anything. What does it tell us about Spider-Man?
Luckily, Batman swoops in to the save the day. Not that probably-also-shitty Batman musical they’re cooking up. I’m talking about Christian Bale himself. Check out this interview where he actually starts to sing a song from Newsies. Sure, he stops after only two words, but it still made my day. Plus he transitions in the Powerpuff Girls theme for some reason, which is amazing in its own right. Any father who exposes his daughter to an excellent cartoon that’s been off the air for six years is a great dad in my book.
Wow, 2010. You’re really turning out to be a bad year for celebrity deaths. Leslie Nielsen, Tom Bosley, Kevin McCarthy, Dennis Hopper, Doug Fieger, Peter Graves…and now Blake Edwards.
While he hasn’t been very active since the final Pink Panther film in 1993, I remember being thrilled to see him up to his old tricks again at the Oscars in 2004. The moment is one of the few fond memories I have of the Oscars over the past ten years, and is definitely worth seeing again, despite the scary, bald, and mostly annoying Jim Carrey.
Every Christmas for the past six years I’ve had a chance to eat dinner, play pool, or just hang out with Chevy Chase. And have I done it? No. I mean, I’m a clinically obsessed Chevy fan. Shouldn’t I be first in line to make all sorts of Caddyshack II references during a game of billiards with Ty Webb himself?*
I would if I had $3,250.
That’s the current going rate on this years 7th Annual Chevy Chase Green School Auction. That $3,250 is kind of cheap when you consider that it’s for brunch with the Griswold’s themselves, Chevy and Beverly D’angelo. The description promises even more wacky fun:
You will be a part of all the laughs and personal anecdotes (without the disasters!) from this hilarious pair as you are treated to a delectable brunch in the Griswold style!
I’m not sure what the “Griswold style” is, but COUNT. ME. IN. I assume it means Chevy will spill stuff all over me, trip the waiter by accident, and Ethan Embry may show up only because he needs the work. All of this is worth way more than $3,250.
It’s only one of several things Chevy has talked his pals into doing this year for charity. See the rest of the list here, and start buying for me now! My personal favorite is a chance to hang out with Chevy and the cast of Community on the set. Only $1,000 right now?! That’s cheap!
*I tried to find the billiard scene in question on YouTube, but alas, I guess everybody hates Caddyshack II. Anyway, it’s worth watching just to see Chevy’s excellent shtick.
Back in June, you may recall us posting the first promotional shot from the upcoming Hugh Jackman “film” Real Steel, or as Dreamworks is referring to it, Real Steal.
Yeah, yeah. I know that’s a terrible joke, but check out this trailer. Dreamworks is practically reaching into my pocket and taking money from me. The only believable line in the entire trailer is Jackman yelling “Let’s make some money!”, because, let’s face it, that’s exactly what this film is going to do. I don’t quite think we’re talking about the next Avatar here, but perhaps Transformers for sure. Sigh.
So here’s what we know. First and awesomest, Disney has released an official synopsis for the new Muppet flick:
On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world’s biggest Muppet fan, and his friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets’ former stomping grounds.
To stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways: Fozzie now performs with a Reno casino house band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo is a high-powered plumbing magnate.
With secret, signature, celebrity cameos, The Muppets hits the big screen Nov. 23, 2011.
That’s pretty much what we’ve been hearing with some great new details on what the disbanded Muppets are up to at the film’s beginning. You’ll also note that the release date has been moved form Christmas to Thanksgiving, meaning you’ll get your Muppet fix a full month earlier.
In bittersweet news, Paul Rudd has squashed the rumor that he’s voicing Segel’s puppet pal Walter. Bitter because we all love Paul Rudd, but sweet because my preference is for Muppeteers to voice Muppets. It’s the natural order of things. Of course it’s still possible they’ll go for a celebrity dub job to pull in a broader audience. It’s also possible that Celebrity Dub Job would make a great title for a gameshow.
Last thing, Muppet Central linked some sneaky set pics posted at On Location Vacations. They’re guaranteed to satisfy all your dour-looking-gentleman-manhandling-Beaker needs.
Picture from the upcoming Robin Hood music video, "Here Comes the Wicky Wicky Wild Wild Jiggy Robin Hood"
Long story short: The Wachowski brothers siblings, Andy and LarryLana Wachowski, are in the early stages of adapting a new Robin Hood film. The “twist”? It’s going to be set in a modern, urban society, which I guess screams “black Robin Hood”. Hence: Will Smith.
So let’s look at what we have: Will Smith in a modern take of the Robin Hood tale? Sounds fine…if it were 1998. Honestly: We really don’t need another Robin Hood film, modern, urban society or not. Ridly Scott already released his “true” version of the story earlier this year, and while it wasn’t a terrible film, it really felt like I had seen it all before. And Will Smith has so many movies in the works that remind us how awesome he was a few years back, it’s ridiculous. Here’s a quick list from IMDB: Bad Boys 3, I, Robot 2, Independence Day 2, Men in Black 3, I Am Legend 2, and I kid you not, Independence Day 3.
As for the Wachowski brothers siblings, Andy and LarryLana Wachowski, I gave up on you guysgentlemen people long before the credits for The Matrix Reloaded started rolling.
Apologies for the headline, but truth be told, so many people are concerned about the whole Mel Gibson side of this trailer that they’re completely missing out on all sorts of wonderful Jodie Foster “beaver” jokes.
Anyway, the trailer itself has me intrigued. Visually, the film looks wonderful, and it’s packing more emotion than I expected from a film about a talking beaver. However, even if it looks good or turns out to be great, will it ever get the respect it fully deserves? Perhaps. History continues to prove that people are ready to forgive Mel, especially since it looks like no charges are going to be filed against him.
Let us know what you think below. Truthfully? I’ll buy a ticket.
Looks like it's back to work for boob master Eli Roth!
And that title is…Piranha 3DD!
Seriously. I may be alone here, but Ithink that’s a brilliant title. I can pretty much already see the 3D boobs on the poster, and as we all know, 3D boobs pack those theater seats. Hollywood even has a formula for this:
It’s been a while since we’ve talked about Community, which is strange since some weeks I feel we’re contractually obligated to do so. Check out this clip from the upcoming animated episode and share your thoughts.
Despite the fact that they all kind of look like meth heads (I understand that this is a common problem with stop-motion animation), I’m really digging this. They even pegged Chevy’s comic reaction exactly right, which can’t be easy.
The Community animated Christmas episode airs December 9th.
If you’re anything like me (sexy, funny, and loved by women the world over), you most likely spent a day, or perhaps even two, at your local cineplex this past holiday weekend. However, while most of you dorkie nerdo’s were there to watch the usual holiday blockbuster and eat large bags of overly buttered popcorn, I was there working. That’s right, even on the holidays, your pals at Critical End! are pulling overtime. Anyway, here’s the lowdown on two new posters I saw. Let me know what you dorkie nerdos think.
First up is a poster for a movie that I’m really looking forward to…Taken 2!
What do you mean this isn’t Taken 2? Liam Neeson has a gun, for chrissake! And look at that car! It’s totally flying through the air all Liam Neeson style! And you’re telling me this isn’tTaken 2? Whatev. Unrelated: What happened to that one side of Liam’s face?
Moving on, here’s a poster for a movie I was excited about…until I saw the poster.
I recall seeing some very awesome looking promo shots for this film. None of them featured a badly CG’d alien. I also recall thinking that this was going to be the one film coming out in 2011 that didn’t feature Seth Rogan in some capacity. I’m slightly disappointed, producers of Hot Fuzz. Unrelated: This apparently isn’t Taken 2 either. I checked.
Hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving weekend. Next stop: X’mas!
