Disney’s A Christmas Carol (Dan’s Take): B-

Director Robert Zemeckis has a lot to live up to. His motion capture adaptation of the perennial holiday ghost story A Christmas Carol has 150 years of being realized, re-born and re-interpreted again and again. If you’ve been alive at any point since 1843, you probably have your favorite iteration, ranging from the original publication to the stage plays to the 1951 film classic (winner!). It’s clear Robert Zemeckis realized this when he approached his wowie tech version of A

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CRANKY MONDAY: Blair Witch Dudes See “Paranormal Activity”, Stupidly Think World Wants More Blair Witch

1999 was the year the world almost came to an end thanks to the number 19 and the year 2k, but the world ushered in the Willenium anyway. It was also the year The Blair Witch Project became the movie phenomenon of last decade. Naturally, the guys behind Blair Witch see the this decade’s movie phenomenon Paranormal Activity and are a little pouty, despite the fact they didn’t want to be attached to endless sequels and therefore walked away from

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See More Avatar Through the Miracle of Advertising

Avatar, the massive James Cameron project too recently unknown to the general public, is beginning to find its legs thanks to a new, story-based trailer attached to the uber-trending Paranormal Activity. The better trailer still feels super late, but at least people know it’s coming in less than two months. Studio reassurances of massive marketing are abounding and apparently, now is the time to expect the Avatar marketing flood (that flood promised way back at Comic Con?)– there’s a lot

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Star Trek Gets a Plot Hole Filled

It was decades ago– in Hollywood release schedule years– when Star Trek lens flared its way to theaters back in May. There’s no question the resuscitation attempt worked– the movie delivered fun to audiences and a whole lot of loot for Paramount. But despite the good times had with a bombastic score and the return of busty green alien chicks that would later shoot exploding arrows, one question remained: what the hell was the villain Nero doing for the 20

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Black Dynamite May Be The Best Film of the Year

And I haven’t even seen it. Rolling out of this year’s Sundance (where it received an official selection), and from the absolutely fantastic trailer alone, Black Dynamite looks to have nailed every cheap and unintentionally hilarious note of hilarity born from 70’s era Blaxploitation films. Aimed squarely at urban youth, these films took big screen action scenarios usually reserved for white actors and plopped them in the crime-ridden ghetto while throwing in a heady mix of bravado, soul, and stick-it-to-the-maninism.

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Ghosts, Shmosts– Collapse Offers Up (maybe) Real Halloween Scares

So apparently Halloween’s on the very near horizon. Days away, even– which means “scariest” lists are where it’s at. Top scary movies, scariest villains and scariest John Travolta performances. And while the offerings dig up solid recommendations for fun “haunted house scares”, how about a real one? One that skips the imaginary monsters, slamming doors or unexplained midnight hickies. The kind of plausible, real world stuff that leads to gulping bottles of Tums and sleeping in the corner on a

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It’s the A-Team… Offically

You may not remember The A-Team, but director/writer Joe Carnahan does and, as we mentioned a couple weeks ago, they’re escaping from the Los Angeles underground to make some coin as soldiers of fortune in a theater near you. If you have a problem, if no one else can help and if you can find them, maybe you can call… The A-Team. Until then, you can take a glance at this first official Photoshop of A-Team 2101, which, incidentally, looks

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Trailer Tuesday (Dan’s Pick): Edge of Darkness

Remember pre-crazy-man Mel Gibson? Mel the action hero? Mel the actor? I do–vaguely– and I’ve missed him so. Sure, there’s no doubt Mel Gibson makes for a very competent and interesting director, but I kinda like seeing him get all fierce while he punches sharp objects and bullets into bad guy bodies with the power of his will alone. Enter: Edge of Darkness. Taking a directorial break and getting himself in front of the camera with a little less clout

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On Transformer Tuesday, Reviews Still Matter

While picking up my “you know better, but it’s the explosions!” copy of Transformers: Revenge of Bombacity The Fallen (T:ROTF)at the local Best Buy today, the checkout guy was shocked, SHOCKED, when I told him how dumb I thought Michael Bay’s latest foray into robots and asplosions was. Hypocrisy? Sure, but there’s an underlying point here: if everyone loves the movie, does reviewing it even matter? After our review of T:ROTF on the 6/26 radio show, we received a lot

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Trailer Tuesday (Dan’s Pick): Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

You know how you can tell summer has officially bought the farm? Trailer Tuesday. Bombastic musical beats and explosions are gone. Angst-filled yelling and tears and dramatics are the new hotness in pursuit of accolades and the palm logos adorned with “Winner of”. Take Andy’s Precious pick for example: harsh and bleak with a touch of hope. Or Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans*. Harsh and bleak… with a touch of CRAZY. A sequel/remake (but don’t call

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