Tag Archives: movie stuff

Trailer Thursday: “Kumiko the Treasure Hunter”

Every year around this time you hear some art house hipster complaining that the Independent Spirit Awards have somehow “gone Hollywood.” And while I can see how some people might think that — especially considering how much overlap there is these days between the Spirit Awards and the Oscars — actually, many of the films celebrated at the Spirit Awards are as freaking weird and independent as they come.

This year, there were two movies that got me excited enough to think about actually paying (!) to see them in a theatre. I know, shocking, huh? The first one was writer/director Ana Lily Amirpour’s B&W Iranian vampire spaghetti western A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night which, well, kind of had me at B&W Iranian vampire spaghetti western. So cool!

And the second movie was Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter. Starring Academy Award nominee Rinko Kikuchi (Babel) as a young Japanese woman on a quest to find buried treasure in the frozen American heartland, the movie looks just as cool as the concept sounds.

Scoring two Spirit Award nominations this season, one for Best Director (David Zellner) and a Best Actress nod for Kikuchi, Kumiko opens next month in select theatres and I, for one, cannot wait to see it. So, check out the badass trailer below and let me know what you think!

 

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Trailer Thursday: “Magic in the Moonlight”

Love home or hate him, my man Woody Allen has been having a hell of a run lately. And if this gorgeous trailer for his upcoming Magic in the Moonlight is any indication, Allen seems to be continuing that trend in a big way.

Featuring another glittery, top-notch cast — the positively luminous Emma Stone, Colin Firth, Eileen Atkins, Hamish Linklater, Jacki Weaver and Marcia Gay Harden! — the movie is set in the shiny, sun-dappled south of France and looks almost good enough to eat…so, seriously, what's not to love? Rock on, Woody!

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“Love is an Open Door” clip goes viral

If you thought the pop-culture juggernaut that is Frozen peaked with the film’s two big wins at the Academy Awards or yesterday’s eagerly-awaited home video release, think again.

Proving that Frozen mania is here to stay, a new wave of videos featuring people singing and/or lip-syncing songs from the movie have gone totally viral. And this time, they’re singing something new. So, move over Adele Dazeem (aka Idina Menzel) because “Love is an Open Door” is definitely having a moment.

And while it may have all started with the charming, “good-looking couple” in the first clip shown above, the list of spoofs and imitators on YouTube is growing by the second. There are even imitators of the imitators…it’s crazy! But also, kind of totally awesome.

Long live the Frozen phenomenon!

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Star Trek: “The Wreath of Kahn”

So, just as I was getting ready to go to bed and stop blogging about Christmas trees and crafting one’s own Middle-Earth entirely from LEGOS, I came across this amazing, one-of-a-kind Christmas wreath and just had to share it with you guys.

Annie Shapiro's WREATH OF KAHN

Annie Shapiro's WREATH OF KAHN

I heard about this nerdtastic ode to Christmas and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn from a friend’s status update on Facebook, but, apparently the Wreath of Kahn –has been taking the internet by storm for a few days now. It might not be the first Wreath of Kahn out there, but, it is pretty damn cool. According go her twitter feed, the wreath was designed by NYC-based Annie Shapiro. I don’t know her personally, but, in the spirit of the season, I love her already.

Kudos to you @apianoshrine for sharing your awesomeness with the world, may you and yours “live long and prosper” for many Christmas’ to come!

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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Festival de Cannes Poster (2013)

OK, it’s official. I am so busy these days that this year I actually missed all of the coverage of my favorite film festival on earth, Cannes! Urgh, I actually forgot it was May. Crazy, huh? I guess that’s what happens to old SAHD’s who are trying to raise a toddler and freelance a bit on the side…there is just no more time for extracurricular nerdiness. Hell, I didn’t even see this beautiful poster — featuring a gorgeous shot of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward from the little-seen 1963 film, A New Kind of Love — until tonight. Sacrilege!

But any regrets I had at missing the 66th Annual Festival de Cannes in its entirety this year are more than up for by the sheer raditude of this poster. I mean, wow, if you ask me, love never looked cooler or newer. A more than worthy addition to the library of groovy Cannes posters! Que viva la Cannes!

Cannes Poster (2013)

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Oscar Nominees 2012

As usual, I’m way too tired to write too much about this year’s crop of Oscar nominees at the moment, but, I do want credit for staying up to watch the nominations again, so, here’s my three minute break down of what I think. Major kudos to Gary Oldman for receiving his first ever Oscar nomination this morning for “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”. Yep, that’s right, the dude has been robbed year after year since he started his amazing career, so, even if I haven’t seen the movie, here’s to you, Mr. Oldman! Rock on!

Also very excited to see Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt, not to mention the writers and producers all make the cut for “Moneyball”, which, as you may remember, I freaking loved! Also loved “The Descendants”, so, congrats to Alexander Payne for his writing, directing and producing nominations. I’m praying he takes home at least one of the three Oscars he’s nominated for this year. Also thrilled to see George Clooney nominated for Best Actor, even if it was totally expected. Less thrilled to see him nominated again for his so-so script for “The Ides of March”, which was kind of a major snooze.

And speaking of Best Screenplay, WTF, man? “Margin Call”? I had to look that shit up, seriously, I was like, what the hell movie is that? Then I remembered: “Oh, that’s that TV movie looking crap with Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto and Simon Baker.” Now, in the movie’s defense, I have not seen it it, so, it might be a freaking masterpiece, but, all I see it as right now is the movie that stole nominations from “The Tree of Life” and “Young Adult” among others, so, as usual, the Academy fudges up the screenplay nominations.

Ah well, at least “The Help” scored a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination…oh wait…IT DIDN’T! So, you know what that means? That means that Tate Taylor, the writer/director of the movie that scored three acting nominations and a Best Picture nod didn’t get nominated for shit. I’m sorry, but, that’s gotta sting. And if you ask me, his nomination was stolen by the senseless star-fucker of a nomination for “The Ides of March”. But the Academy does this every freaking year…if an actor writes a script, they get nominated. And sometimes, they even win. Grrr…it’s like blonde actresses at the Golden Globes all over again!

Was also very excited to see Woody Allen get some love for “Midnight in Paris”, still not my favorite of his films, but, I’ll never complain when the Woodman scores a nomination. And I think his screenplay nod for “Paris” makes him the most-nominated screenwriter in Academy history, which is very cool. He was head-to-head with my other man, Billy Wilder for a few years, but, I think he’s finally surpassed him. So, good on you, Woody!

And finally, I am really over the moon happy for my man Terrence Malick for scoring a directing and Best Picture nomination for “The Tree of Life”. Those two nods almost make up for the fact that the movie was totally robbed in the technical categories like sound and visual effects. Thankfully, it made the cut in the cinematography category, and hopefully, that is where it will bring home some serious gold for the long-overlooked Emmanuel Lubezki!

Oh, and one more thing before I fade off to sleep…“War Horse” and “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” for Best Picture? Are you fucking kidding me? Urgh…if there was ever a case for keeping the nods down to five again, those two klunkers should be Exhibit A. Yikes…I mean, if you really wanna show some balls, nominate “Bridesmaids” or something else exciting at least. Jeez…the only good thing about their inclusion in the Best Picture race is that I’ve seen them both and for the first time since they bumped up the nominations to ten, I’ve seen all of the Best Picture nominees this year. So, there’s that.

Oh, and one more one more thing…how cool is it that Melissa McCarthy scored a Best Supporting Actress nod for a comedy?! That is so rad. Kudos also to the “Bridesmaids” writers for their Best Screenplay nod as well. Comedy is always overlooked at the Oscars, so, any time it can sneak in is cool with me. OK, I’m done. Love to hear what y’all think of the nominees, so, comment away…

Oh, and, if you ask me, “Hugo” is seriously overrated. I am totally stunned that it scored the most nominations. Seriously…wow. To see the full list of this year’s nominees, click here.

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“Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue”

Yes, I am actually taking the time to review a Disney DVD sequel…and you wanna know why? Because this is the first shitty Disney sequel we’ve seen that is actually, you know, not shitty. Seriously, the “Toy Story” movies aside, most of them are downright unwatchable — yeah, I’m talking to you “Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch has a Glitch”! — so, we picked up “Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue” at the library with much hesitation. In fact, if I had been able to pry the DVD from Greta’s sweaty little hands when we left, I might have just ditched it outright. But, wow, am I glad she held on tightly, because this movie kinda rocked.

Beautiful animation (Mrs. Stay-at-home-Yeti wanted to live in that gorgeous little fairy house!), stellar voice work (Michael Sheen? Kristen Chenoweth? Lucy Lui? Who knew?!) and a very sweet little story that made me tear up all four times that we watched it in three days. Yep, it’s that good!

Surprisingly, the extras on this one are pretty first-rate too, especially the deleted scenes. I don’t wanna give anything away by telling you what my favorite was, but, make sure and watch the scene with the Dad as a young boy…totally magical! Really, it is terribly sweet and gives the story whole other layers of meaning…

Also, in watching the extras realized I know the director, Bradley Raymond. Small world, huh? Great job, Brad! Greta and I loved your movie, even it did make me cry like a little girl…

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