Happy Fantasy Ending...

But it could have been better.
In both fantasy football leagues I participated in this year, I took home a trophy in each. However, neither was a gold.
The league I put together with my wife and her family, I was in the Super Bowl against my buddy Jim. He crushed me and I finished in second place.
The other league, which was commissioned by my friend and old colleague Tye, resulted in a third place finish. Brett Favre and Percy Harvin outscored Adrian Peterson and Ryan Longwell in last night's Minnesota loss to give me the win. The worst part about that league is had I beaten my opponent last week by leaving in the Dallas defense (as opposed to replacing them with the Chicago defense leading to a loss), I would have outscored the guy who ended up earning the league's championship.
Yet, finishing in third place with a team that was autodrafted and not influenced in any way by me is pretty good. I'll probably be posting some statistics from the trades I made throughout the season in order to have them on record and hopefully learn something from the moves made.

Come On Fantasy Team

It is my Super Bowl this week against my buddy Jim in fantasy football land. I'm going to need some luck because he is the favored team (and rightly so, because he has a really good team). Ryan Grant is doing well, but he is really my only star right now.
In my other league I'm playing for third or fourth place. Apparently kicker Lawrence Tynes isn't playing for the New York Giants today, which I was not aware of. The silver lining in that loss is that the Giants haven't scored any points yet and are getting shelled by the Carolina Panthers (hahahaha).

Update: I guess Tynes is playing because his field goal gave me five points. Maybe just the fact that he was questionable had fantasy owners worried and more than 7,000 of them dropped the guy.

Merry Christmas!

I don't expect any traffic to this site today (especially since 95% of my hits are my own on any given day), but should you find yourself wandering this way I wanted to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

My Personal Rank Of The James Bond Villains

In my continued listings of the different aspects of 007 films, which include the movies, theme songs, and Bond girls in earlier posts, I will now give my ratings of the main villains from each official Bond film.

22. Brad Whitaker (from The Living Daylights)

21. Ernst Stavro Blofeld (from Diamonds are Forever)

20. Aris Kristatos (from For Your Eyes Only)

19. Gustav Graves (from Die Another Day)

18. Kamal Khan (from Octopussy)

17. Elliot Carver (from Tomorrow Never Dies)

16. Dr. Kananga (from Live and Let Die)

15. Karl Stromberg (from The Spy Who Loved Me)

14. Max Zorin (from A View to a Kill)

13. Rosa Klebb (from From Russia With Love)

12. Francisco Scaramanga (from The Man With the Golden Gun)

11. Franz Sanchez (from License to Kill)

10. Renard (from The World is not Enough)

9. Emilio Largo (from Thunderball)

8. Dominic Greene (from Quantum of Solace)

7. Alec Trevelyn (from Goldeneye)

6. Le Chiffre (from Casino Royale)

5. Hugo Drax (from Moonraker)

4. Ernst Stavro Blofeld (from On Her Majesty's Secret Service)

3. Dr. Julius No (from Dr. No)

2. Auric Goldfinger (from Goldfinger)

1. Ernst Stavro Blofeld (from You Only Live Twice)

New Blog Is Up

Per request from James (and inspired by the Texas Poker Guy), I am giving updates on my poker play as of late. Go here to check it out.

The Music Of John Williams

As I am watching Richard Donner's cut of Superman II, I started to wonder what John Williams' most famous theme song is. Humming the Superman theme, I was almost positive it would be among the top five of Williams' tunes, but once I looked his filmography up on IMDb, I was astounded at how many great scores he has delivered. I always knew he had produced some great music, but I had forgotten how famous some of his work really was.
Well, I have narrowed down his top five theme songs and here they are. The following selections are the most recognizable pieces of music that any person would be able to identify whether they had seen the movie or not.

5. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Those famous five notes might not immediately remind people what sci-fi movie they saw in 1977, but it certainly has become an oft-repeated hummed tune. It was even used in 1979's Moonraker as a passcode for a secret laboratory.

4. Superman
Any time I hear the Man of Steel's theme song I instantly think of those blue letters zooming through space telling the audience you are about to watch a movie that made an entire world believe a man could really fly.

3. Jaws
What boy hasn't thought of this hugely popular theme song while underwater slowly swimming toward a sibling? The monstrous shark's theme helped begin what is now known as the summer blockbuster and it also kept a large number of frightened moviegoers out of the water.

2. Raiders of the Lost Ark
While Indiana Jones' theme song might not be quite as famous as Jaws' "Dun Dun, Dun Dun, Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Doodoodoo," it certainly reminds me of my adolescence and brings to mind my childhood hero whipping his way through temples of doom and fighting off Nazis during the last crusade. The personal touch this theme song has helped it move up one notch on the list.

1. Star Wars
What's there to say about this theme song? Williams did such a good job with the Star Wars series, he created two famous theme songs decades apart (The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme) from Episode V and Duel of the Fates from Episode I), but he also established that any time the 20th Century drumroll is heard it brings to mind George Lucas' hit film series. This is his most recognized work and will most likely be what he is known for by the largest group of people.

Two movie themes that get honorable mention and just missed the cut were Jurassic Park
and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Williams' theme for Jurassic Park immediately takes people back to the moment the scientists (and audience) see the dinosaurs for the first time roaming the plains of the island.
Obviously Williams' theme songs are products of the great movies they go along with, but it is his music that helps shape the films into classics. John Williams is a genius at his craft and deserves the 34 Academy Award nominations, five Oscar wins and countless other musical accolades for his talents and contributions to the film industry.

My Personal Rank Of The James Bond Girls

When it comes to the 007 films, there are certain elements that will always be seen. This includes over-the-top action sequences, exotic locations, and beautiful women paraded throughout. For my third (and fourth) list I have decided to spotlight the girls of James Bond's world.
You can check out my first two Bond lists here and here.
For the following lists, I have broken down the main girl of the picture (excluding supporting females who are mostly eye candy for a scene or two and henchwomen) into two categories. The first list is made up of the actress' beauty alone. The second list factors in their overall contribution to the film, which ranges from how good her acting is to whether or not she enhances the scenes she is in or just stands around looking pretty. The woman's beauty is also factored in for the second list.
So here we go.

Bond Girls - Beauty
22. Melina Havelock (from For Your Eyes Only)
21. Pam Bouvier (from License to Kill)
20. Pussy Galore (from Goldfinger)
19. Domino Derval (from Thunderball)
18. Kissy Suzuki (from You Only Live Twice)
17. Tiffany Case (from Diamonds are Forever)
16. Kara Milovy (from The Living Daylights)
15. Mary Goodnight (from The Man With the Golden Gun)
14. Vesper Lynd (from Casino Royale)
13. Natalya Simonova (from Goldeneye)
12. Dr. Holly Goodhead (from Moonraker)
11. Anya Amasova (from The Spy Who Loved Me)
10. Stacey Sutton (from A View to a Kill)
9. Wai Lin (from Tomorrow Never Dies)
8. Dr. Christmas Jones (from The World is not Enough)
7. Camille (from Quantum of Solace)
6. Octopussy (from Octopussy)
5. Jinx (from Die Another Day)
4. Honey Rider (from Dr. No)
3. Tracy Di Vicenzo (from On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
2. Solitaire (from Live and Let Die)
1. Tatiana Romanova (from From Russia With Love)

Bond Girls - Overall
22. Stacey Sutton (from A View to a Kill)
21. Dr. Christmas Jones (from The World is not Enough)
20. Mary Goodnight (from The Man With the Golden Gun)
19. Melina Havelock (from For Your Eyes Only)
18. Kissy Suzuki (from You Only Live Twice)
17. Tiffany Case (from Diamonds are Forever)
16. Dr. Holly Goodhead (from Moonraker)
15. Kara Milovy (from The Living Daylights)
14. Pam Bouvier (from License to Kill)
13. Domino Derval (from Thunderball)
12. Anya Amasova (from The Spy Who Loved Me)
11. Jinx (from Die Another Day)
10. Natalya Simonova (from Goldeneye)
9. Octopussy (from Octopussy)
8. Camille (from Quantum of Solace)
7. Solitaire (from Live and Let Die)
6. Wai Lin (from Tomorrow Never Dies)
5. Vesper Lynd (from Casino Royale)
4. Tatiana Romanova (from From Russia With Love)
3. Pussy Galore (from Goldfinger)
2. Tracy Di Vicenzo (from On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
1. Honey Rider (from Dr. No)

A Reflection On The Dark Knight

I just finished watching The Dark Knight and am pleased at how great of a movie it is. Sure, it has its flaws here and there, but when compared with every other comic book movie so far made, it pales all others in comparison. The action is top-notch. The cast is superb (minus Maggie Gyllenhaal; I never thought I would actually want Katie Holmes back in the role of Rachel Dawes after watching Batman Begins).
One of the subjects of the film is escalation (how Batman has raised the bar for criminals like the Joker), and it is a fitting theme as Christopher Nolan has transformed a kiddie genre of film into an adult drama/action piece that will be the new blueprint for superhero movies to come for many years.
It is hard to believe that nobody who has any interest in film or comic books hasn't seen The Dark Knight, but if you somehow haven't, I highly recommend it. It's not to be missed.

My Personal Rank Of The James Bond Themes

Back in October I listed the official 007 movies ranging from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace in order from my least liked to my favorite (link here).
I decided I would continue my listings with the theme songs that accompany each film. So here they are.

22. Moonraker
21. All Time High (from Octopussy)
20. License to Kill
19. For Your Eyes Only
18. The Man With the Golden Gun
17. A View to a Kill
16. Diamonds are Forever
15. Die Another Day
14. Another Way to Die (from Quantum of Solace)
13. The Living Daylights
12. You Only Live Twice
11. You Know My Name (from Casino Royale)
10. From Russia With Love
9. Live and Let Die
8. Tomorrow Never Dies
7. Thunderball
6. The World is not Enough
5. Goldeneye
4. Goldfinger
3. Nobody Does it Better (from The Spy Who Loved Me)
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
1. James Bond Theme (from Dr. No)

How Oscars' Best Pictures Rank

I accomplished something the other day that I am not sure how many people alive can claim to have done: I have completely viewed every Academy Award Best Picture winner. I had seen probably two-thirds of the winning films before deciding to try and watch them all no matter what the subject matter or how little interest I had in the picture (take for example Out of Africa or Terms of Endearment, which happened to be the last two movies I watched to finish the list).
Since 1962, the winner has been honored the Best Picture of the Year by the Academy. Before then the title ranged from Outstanding Picture and Outstanding Production to Outstanding Motion Picture and Best Motion Picture.
After finishing all 81 movies and ranking them on IMDb I was interested in knowing how they all rated among each other and which of the older films had stood the test of time. After conducting a little research I took the ratings of the movies on Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb and Netflix. The first grade alongside each movie is from Rotten Tomatoes, which is a percentage based on the amount of positive reviews from approved Tomatometer Critics.The second number is from IMDb and is based on a a 10-point scale. The third rating in parentheses is my personal rating on IMDb (again on a 10-point scale). The final rating is from Netflix and is based on a five-point scale.
And away we go.

Wings (1927) - 96%, 7.9 (8), 3.4
The Broadway Melody (1929) - 40%, 6.8 (4), 3.5
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) - 97%, 8.1 (9), 3.7
Cimarron (1931) - 54%, 6.2 (6), 3.0
Grand Hotel (1932) - 85%, 7.7 (8), 3.6
Cavalcade (1933) - 62%, 6.6 (4), 2.6
It Happened One Night (1934) - 97%, 8.3 (10), 4.0
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) - 93%, 8.0 (8), 3.8
The Great Ziegfeld (1936) - 60%, 7.0 (5), 3.5
The Life of Emile Zola (1937) - 68%, 7.4 (4), 3.5
You Can't Take it With You (1938) - 96%, 8.1 (6), 3.9
Gone With the Wind (1939) - 97%, 8.2 (10), 4.2
Rebecca (1940) - 100%, 8.4 (10), 4.0
How Green Was My Valley (1941) - 88%, 7.9 (8), 3.8
Mrs. Miniver (1942) - 86%, 7.7 (8), 4.0
Casablanca (1943) - 97%, 8.8 (10), 4.2
Going My Way (1944) - 78%, 7.5 (9), 3.9
The Lost Weekend (1945) - 100%, 8.2 (5), 3.6
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) - 97%, 8.2 (9), 3.9
Gentleman's Agreement (1947) - 83%, 7.4 (5), 3.8
Hamlet (1948) - 92%, 8.0 (7), 3.7
All the King's Men (1949) - 96%, 7.7 (5), 3.6
All About Eve (1950) - 100%, 8.5 (9), 3.9
An American in Paris (1951) - 98%, 7.3 (4), 3.7
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) - 41%, 6.7 (5), 3.6
From Here to Eternity (1953) - 89%, 7.9 (9), 3.7
On the Waterfront (1954) - 100%, 8.4 (10), 3.9
Marty (1955) - 100%, 7.8 (7), 3.7
Around the World in 80 Days (1956) - 73%, 6.8 (4), 3.5
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) - 95%, 8.5 (9), 4.1
Gigi (1958) - 73%, 6.9 (3), 3.8
Ben-Hur (1959) - 91%, 8.2 (9), 4.1
The Apartment (1960) - 90%, 8.4 (8), 3.9
West Side Story (1961) - 92%, 7.8 (7), 3.9
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) - 98%, 8.6 (10), 4.1
Tom Jones (1963) - 81%, 7.1 (2), 3.3
My Fair Lady (1964) - 94%, 7.9 (9), 4.1
The Sound of Music (1965) - 81%, 7.9 (6), 4.1
A Man for All Seasons (1966) - 85%, 8.1 (7), 3.8
In the Heat of the Night (1967) - 96%, 8.1 (9), 4.0
Oliver! (1968) - 84%, 7.6 (5), 3.7
Midnight Cowboy (1969) - 90%, 8.0 (1), 3.7
Patton (1970) - 97%, 8.1 (8), 3.9
The French Connection (1971) - 98%, 7.9 (8), 3.8
The Godfather (1972) - 100%, 9.2 (10), 4.5
The Sting (1973) - 91%, 8.4 (9), 4.2
The Godfather: Part II (1974) - 98%, 9.0 (10), 4.4
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) - 96%, 8.9 (10), 4.3
Rocky (1976) - 93%, 8.0 (9), 3.8
Annie Hall (1977) - 98%, 8.2 (4), 3.4
The Deer Hunter (1978) - 91%, 8.2 (5), 3.9
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) - 88%, 7.7 (4), 3.7
Ordinary People (1980) - 91%, 7.8 (5), 3.7
Chariots of Fire (1981) - 86%, 7.3 (6), 3.7
Gandhi (1982) - 85%, 8.2 (7), 3.9
Terms of Endearment (1983) - 89%, 7.3 (6), 3.8
Amadeus (1984) - 97%, 8.4 (8), 4.0
Out of Africa (1985) - 61%, 7.0 (4), 3.8
Platoon (1986) - 85%, 8.2 (7), 4.0
The Last Emporer (1987) - 91%, 7.9 (8), 4.0
Rain Man (1988) - 87%, 8.0 (8), 4.1
Driving Miss Daisy (1989) - 78%, 7.5 (8), 3.8
Dances With Wolves (1990) - 78%, 7.9 (8), 4.0
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - 96%, 8.7 (9), 4.3
Unforgiven (1992) - 96%, 8.3 (10), 4.0
Schindler's List (1993) - 96%, 8.9 (10), 4.5
Forrest Gump (1994) - 72%, 8.6 (10), 4.3
Braveheart (1995) - 76%, 8.4 (9), 4.3
The English Patient (1996) - 84%, 7.2 (3), 3.5
Titanic (1997) - 82%, 7.3 (8), 3.8
Shakespeare in Love (1998) - 93%, 7.4 (7), 3.9
American Beauty (1999) - 89%, 8.6 (9), 3.9
Gladiator (2000) - 77%, 8.3 (9), 4.3
A Beautiful Mind (2001) - 78%, 7.9 (6), 4.0
Chicago (2002) - 87%, 7.2 (8), 3.6
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) - 94%, 8.8 (9), 4.5
Million Dollar Baby (2004) - 91%, 8.2 (8), 4.0
Crash (2005) - 75%, 8.0 (7), 3.9
The Departed (2006) - 92%, 8.5 (6), 4.1
No Country For Old Men (2007) - 94%, 8.3 (7), 3.7
Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - 93%, 8.4 (9), 4.1

One reason for the low scores on Wings and Cavalcade is that they are the only ones of the Best Picture Oscar winners that have yet to be released on DVD.
From my personal ratings, my top five movies are The Godfather, Casablanca, Lawrence of Arabia, Gone With the Wind and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
My bottom five would be Midnight Cowboy, Tom Jones, Gigi, The English Patient and Annie Hall.

Hey It's Your Birthday!

I have yet to call the guy, but today is James Miller's birthday. He has entered the realm of his third decade, but I wouldn't expect much of a change.
Happy birthday James.

My Personal Rank Of The James Bond Films

This is not necessarily a list of the most highly crafted 007 movies available, but it is a rank from my least favorite to number one of the Eon produced films that star superspy James Bond.

22. The Man With the Golden Gun
21. A View to a Kill
20. Diamonds are Forever
19. Moonraker
18. Die Another Day
17. License to Kill
16. For Your Eyes Only
15. Octopussy
14. Tomorrow Never Dies
13. Thunderball
12. Live and Let Die
11. Dr. No
10. You Only Live Twice
9. The World is not Enough
8. Quantum of Solace
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
6. The Living Daylights
5. Goldeneye
4. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
3. Casino Royale
2. Goldfinger
1. From Russia With Love

Newsie Item

Not sure that anyone who doesn't read this semi-regularly isn't already aware, but I got a new job. And boy am I bored at it right now. I've sent four trade proposals out in one of my fantasy football leagues. I've checked out every possible Web site of interest to me for the day.
After watching a few episodes of Cheers lately, I was thinking about listing the top five television credit intros of all time. I guess I could work on that for the next two hours. There may be another update today. We'll see.

Best. TV Title Sequence. Ever.

It is likely that Cheers has the greatest title sequence in television history. Combining a legendary song that is one of the most recognized tunes and antique photos with each cast member's name to identify their role, it quite simply is the most perfect intro into a show.

Mike & Mike Underrating The Raiders

I guess this would be what Twitter is for, but I don't Tweet and therefore this is where I will put this thought.
Is it really saying something that the announcers for the Chargers/Raiders Monday night game think the Raiders are getting really lucky to be tied near the end of the third quarter? All they have talked about is how poorly San Diego is playing. At one point one of the Mikes said the Raiders had dominated the game and it was tied 10-10. What does that say about their impression of what Oakland would be like this year?
Don't get me wrong, it is Oakland. So I don't think anyone except crazy Raiders fans were expecting much. But you still need to give them some credit that it is possible the Chargers aren't playing well because of what the Raiders are doing, not just because of dumb luck.
Mike and Mike must have just assumed the Raiders were horrific to say they are dominating a tie game.

TV's Fall 2009-2010 Premiere Dates

No matter what’s going on in our lives my buddy Mike and I can always fall back on a few specific topics, TV being one of those. While I have certainly cut down on the number of shows that dictate my weeknight viewing, television still runs my life during the fall and early spring.
And to make matters worse, networks have stopped showing reruns through the summer to let viewers catch up on what took place the previous season. Instead, they test out new shows on audiences, giving me no relief at any point during the year.
Some shows have already begun their run for the fall, others will premiere within a week or two and then others like 24 or Lost won’t have new episodes until early next year, but I don't know a specific date for Lost.
Here is a list of dates for when shows will start up again.

Tuesday, September 8
90210 – The CW
Melrose Place (new series) – The CW

Wednesday, September 9
America’s Next Top Model – The CW
So You Think You Can Dance (two hours) – Fox
Glee – Fox

Thursday, September 10
Vampire Diaries (new series) – The CW
Supernatural – The CW

Monday, September 14
One Tree Hill – The CW
Gossip Girl – The CW

Tuesday, September 15
The Biggest Loser – NBC

Wednesday, September 16
America’s Next Top Model – The CW
The Beautiful Life (new series) – The CW

Thursday, September 17
Survivor – Samoa – CBS
Bones – Fox
Fringe – Fox
Parks and Recreation – NBC
The Office – NBC
Community (new series) – NBC

Friday, September 18
Brothers (new series) – Fox
‘Til Death – Fox

Monday, September 21
Dancing With the Stars – ABC
Castle – ABC
How I Met Your Mother – CBS
Accidentally on Purpose – CBS
Two and a Half Men – CBS
The Big Bang Theory – CBS
CSI: Miami – CBS
House (two hours) – Fox
Heroes (two hours) – NBC

Tuesday, September 22
The Forgotten (new series) – ABC
NCIS – CBS
NCIS: Los Angeles (new series) – CBS
The Good Wife (new series) – CBS

Wednesday, September 23
Modern Family (new series) – ABC
Cougar Town (new series) – ABC
Eastwick (new series) – ABC
The New Adventures of Old Christine – CBS
Gary Unmarried – CBS
Criminal Minds – CBS
CSI: NY – CBS
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit – NBC
Mercy (new series) – NBC

Thursday, September 24
FlashForward (new series) – ABC
Grey's Anatomy – ABC
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – CBS
The Mentalist – CBS

Friday, September 25
Ghost Whisperer – CBS
Medium (new network) – CBS
Numb3rs – CBS
Smallville – The CW
Dollhouse – Fox
Law & Order – NBC
Southland – NBC

Sunday, September 27
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (two hours) – ABC
Desperate Housewives – ABC
Brothers & Sisters – ABC
The Amazing Race – CBS
Cold Case – CBS
The Simpsons – Fox
The Cleveland Show (new series) – Fox
Family Guy – Fox
American Dad – Fox

Monday, September 28
Lie to Me – Fox
Trauma (new series) – NBC

Thursday, October 1
Private Practice – ABC

Sunday, October 4
Three Rivers (new series) – CBS

Friday, October 9
Ugly Betty (two hours) – ABC

Thursday, October 15
30 Rock – NBC

Sunday, January 17, 2010
24 (two hours) – Fox

Are You Getting Your Money’s Worth From Name Power? (Part Three)

The following is the final portion of a three-part series/countdown of the top paid actors and their most recent movies. See whether or not name power equates to box office success and critical appeal.

3. Christian Bale
It is safe to say that although Bale has been appearing in movies since he was 13 years old, he wasn’t a household name until given Batman’s cape and cowl. Not counting the Batman series, Bale’s track record of big box office hits is not very good. However, when he hits big, he hits REALLY big. The Dark Knight earned more than a billion dollars worldwide last year, so Warner Bros. is likely OK with paying Bale his salary for future Batman films.

The Dark Knight (2008)
Domestic Gross – $533 million
Worldwide Gross – $1.001 billion
Budget – $185 million
IMdb – 8.9/10 (third highest ranked film on the movie Web site)
Rotten Tomatoes – 94%; 8.4/10
Netflix – 4.3/5
Box Office Mojo – A

I’m Not There (2007)
Domestic Gross – $4 million
Worldwide Gross – $12 million
Budget – $20 million
IMdb – 7.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 77%; 7/10
Netflix – 2.9/5
Box Office Mojo – B

3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Domestic Gross – $54 million
Worldwide Gross – $70 million
Budget – $55 million
IMdb – 7.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 88%; 7.5/10
Netflix – 3.9/5
Box Office Mojo – B+

2. Robert Downey Jr.
After dabbling in drugs a couple of times, Downey Jr. has made more than one comeback in his career, but it is his most recent success with director Jon Favreau (who will always be Mikey from Swingers to me) and the Iron Man series that makes him a hot commodity these days.

Tropic Thunder (2008)
Domestic Gross – $111 million
Worldwide Gross – $188 million
Budget – $92 million
IMdb – 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 82%; 7/10
Netflix – 3.2/5
Box Office Mojo – B

Iron Man (2008)
Domestic Gross – $318 million
Worldwide Gross – $585 million
Budget – $140 million
IMdb – 8/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 93%; 7.6/10
Netflix – 4.3/5
Box Office Mojo – A-

1. Will Smith
Blockbuster Brother is a suiting nickname for the man who producers throw tons of cash at to be in their summer action flicks. From Independence Day to the Bad Boys series, Smith is the modern-day action hero for a new generation.

Seven Pounds (2008)
Domestic Gross – $69 million
Worldwide Gross – $168 million
Budget – $55 million
IMdb – 7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 27%; 4.6/10
Netflix – 3.8/5
Box Office Mojo – B

Hancock (2008)
Domestic Gross – $228 million
Worldwide Gross – $624 million
Budget – $150 million
IMdb – 6.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 40%; 5.4/10
Netflix – 3.6/5
Box Office Mojo – B

New Way To Review Movies

Janie Mo over at Madatoms.com has brought up an interesting idea with movie reviews. After more than 100 years of movie making, the audience has sort of gotten tired of reading long reviews that might spoil something even if it is not written with spoilers. My buddy Danny likes to know as little as possible about a movie afer seeing the trailer once. If it interests him then he will ignore all other promotional ads and critic reviews and just go see it.
Mo has boiled down reviews into simple "If you like blank, then you'll like blank" statements.
Click here and check out some of what she is talking about.

Are You Getting Your Money’s Worth From Name Power? (Part Two)

The following is the second portion of a three-part series/countdown of the top paid actors and their most recent movies. See whether or not name power equates to box office success and critical appeal.

6. Adam Sandler
King of Unfunny Comedy. That is the title that Adam Sandler has been crowned in recent years. He makes one awful movie after another filled with the same jokes and the same actors as previous movies. The ex-SNL cast member who was in the midst of the shows heyday in the 90s now produces his own movies, so until he runs out of money we are going to be stuck with garbage like Bedtime Stories, You Don’t Mess With the Zohan and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.

Bedtime Stories (2008)
Domestic Gross – $110 million
Worldwide Gross – $212 million
Budget – $80 million
IMdb – 6.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes –24%; 4.4/10
Netflix – 3.8/5
Box Office Mojo – B

You Don’t Mess With the Zohan (2008)
Domestic Gross – $100 million
Worldwide Gross – $200 million
Budget – $90 million
IMdb – 5.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes –36%; 4.6/10
Netflix – 2.9/5
Box Office Mojo – C

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007)
Domestic Gross – $120 million
Worldwide Gross – $186 million
Budget – $85 million
IMdb – 6.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes –13%; 3.6/10
Netflix – 3.5/5
Box Office Mojo – C

Reign Over Me (2007)
Domestic Gross – $20 million
Worldwide Gross – $22 million
Budget – $20 million
IMdb – 7.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes –63%; 6.3/10
Netflix – 3.7/5
Box Office Mojo – B

5. Harrison Ford
This is an interesting case because discounting the fourth Indiana Jones movie released in 2008, Ford hadn’t made a financially relevant movie since 2000’s What Lies Beneath. Although Ford is a big name and garners a lot of respect when it comes to pushing a movie title, the paycheck really was for the Indy name, not Ford’s.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Domestic Gross – $317 million
Worldwide Gross – $787 million
Budget – $185 million
IMdb – 6.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes –76%; 6.9/10
Netflix – 3.4/5
Box Office Mojo – B

4. Shia LaBeouf
I’m a fan of this goofy kid and like most wasn’t aware of his existence prior to Transformers. So no, I didn’t watch much Even Stevens.
Besides repeatedly being cast in big-budget action movies that are generally well liked by audiences, my favorite thing about LaBeouf is his involvement in one of the top-five funniest SNL skits ever. When you’ve got the time, check out Sofa King. It is worth it.
Note: I’m omitting the 2007 animated movie Surf’s Up. LaBeouf only did voice work for the film and was so far down on the list of talent for that movie, so I am not counting it.

Eagle Eye (2008)
Domestic Gross – $101 million
Worldwide Gross – $178 million
Budget – $80 million
IMdb – 6.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes –27%; 4.6/10
Netflix – 3.8/5
Box Office Mojo – B

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Domestic Gross – $317 million
Worldwide Gross – $787 million
Budget – $185 million
IMdb – 6.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes –76%; 6.9/10
Netflix – 3.4/5
Box Office Mojo – B

Transformers (2007)
Domestic Gross – $319 million
Worldwide Gross – $710 million
Budget – $150 million
IMdb – 7.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes –57%; 5.8/10
Netflix – 4/5
Box Office Mojo – B+

Disturbia (2007)
Domestic Gross – $80 million
Worldwide Gross – $118 million
Budget – $20 million
IMdb – 7/10
Rotten Tomatoes –67%; 6.2/10
Netflix – 3.7/5
Box Office Mojo – B

Are You Getting Your Money’s Worth From Name Power? (Part One)

Frequently movie advertisers will tease a film by enticing the audience with an actor or actress’ name. Producers believe the celebrity’s name power will get people in the seats. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.
Running across a list of the top-paid actors and actresses of 2008, I decided to do a check on the latest movies the top 10 were in and whether they were any good or not. So here is the list with some financial stats and numerical ratings from four Web sites.
The percentage that goes along with Rotten Tomatoes measures the positive reviews of approved Tomatometer critics.
It should also be noted, since most people don’t rate a movie unless they like it, the scales are always rated a little high. So therefore, a movie is average at about 6.5 on a 10-point scale and 3.5 on a 5-point scale. Anything above those numbers means audiences generally liked them and below is a negatively received film.

10. Daniel Craig
Since being named James Bond in 2005, Craig’s paychecks (and name) have become increasingly larger. In 2008, Craig was in two films (one of which was a 007 movie) that both received mixed reviews and ratings.
Defeating megalomaniacs and their evil henchmen while bedding the hottest women in the most exotic locations around the globe onscreen doesn’t always mean success in the real world for the actor as can be seen in Craig’s recent filmography.

Defiance (2008)
Domestic Gross – $29 million
Worldwide Gross – $$50 million
Budget – $32 million
IMdb – 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 55%; 5.8/10
Netflix – 3.9/5
Box Office Mojo – B

Quantum of Solace (2008)
Domestic Gross – $168 million
Worldwide Gross – $586 million
Budget – $200 million
IMdb – 6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 64%; 6.1/10
Netflix – 3.6/5
Box Office Mojo – B

The Golden Compass (2007)
Domestic Gross – $70 million
Worldwide Gross – $372 million
Budget – $180 million
IMdb – 6.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes –42%; 5.6/10
Netflix – 3.4/5
Box Office Mojo – C+

The Invasion (2007)
Domestic Gross – $15 million
Worldwide Gross – $40 million
Budget – $80 million
IMdb – 6/10
Rotten Tomatoes –19%; 4.3/10
Netflix – 3.2/5
Box Office Mojo – C+

9. Angelina Jolie
An Academy Award winner, humanitarian and collector of babies, Jolie is synonymous with sex appeal. It seems nearly all of her movies are geared toward her physical assets and when movie trailer voice guy says her name, the men in the audience are automatically supposed to think, “Well, I’m definitely going to see that movie if Angelina Jolie is in it.” However, getting her naked in a movie doesn’t necessarily mean box office success as Robert Zemeckis learned after releasing an animated Jolie lizard monster in 2007’s Beowulf. Since a disappointing 2007, she has rebounded and done a good job of earning her paycheck by getting people in the seats and having them leave liking what they saw.

Wanted (2008)
Domestic Gross – $135 million
Worldwide Gross – $341 million
Budget – $75 million
IMdb – 6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes –72%; 6.6/10
Netflix – 3.6/5
Box Office Mojo – B

Changeling (2008)
Domestic Gross – $38 million
Worldwide Gross – $113 million
Budget – $55 million
IMdb – 8.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes –61%; 6.3/10
Netflix – 3.9/5
Box Office Mojo – B

Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Domestic Gross – $215 million
Worldwide Gross – $632 million
Budget – $130 million
IMdb – 7.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes –89%; 7.2/10
Netflix – 4/5
Box Office Mojo – B+

Beowulf (2007)
Domestic Gross – $82 million
Worldwide Gross – $196 million
Budget – $150 million
IMdb – 6.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes –71%; 6.5/10
Netflix – 3.1/5
Box Office Mojo – B

A Mighty Heart (2007)
Domestic Gross – $9 million
Worldwide Gross – $19 million
Budget – $16 million
IMdb – 6.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes –77%; 6.9/10
Netflix – 3.3/5
Box Office Mojo – B-

8. George Clooney
The man who temporarily killed Batman, Clooney is a likeable guy who has slowly risen to become adored by female fans of his ER doctor role and envied by men for the coolness he portrayed in the Ocean’s series. Although Clooney is the eighth highest paid actor in Hollywood, the movies he stars in aren’t exactly blockbusters, but audiences generally like his movies (excluding Leatherheads).

Burn After Reading (2008)
Domestic Gross – $60 million
Worldwide Gross – $161 million
Budget – $37 million
IMdb – 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes –77%; 6.8/10
Netflix – 3.1/5
Box Office Mojo – B

Leatherheads (2008)
Domestic Gross – $31 million
Worldwide Gross – $41 million
Budget – $58 million
IMdb – 6.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes –52%; 5.8/10
Netflix – 3/5
Box Office Mojo – C

Michael Clayton (2007)
Domestic Gross – $49 million
Worldwide Gross – $93 million
Budget – $25 million
IMdb – 7.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes –90%; 7.6/10
Netflix – 3.6/5
Box Office Mojo – B

Ocean’s Thirteen (2007)
Domestic Gross – $117 million
Worldwide Gross – $311 million
Budget – $85 million
IMdb – 7/10
Rotten Tomatoes –69%; 6.3/10
Netflix – 3.6/5
Box Office Mojo – B

7. Reese Witherspoon
Girl-next-door-cute Reese Witherspoon has two honors on this list: being the highest-paid female in Hollywood in 2008 and being the most overpaid person in Hollywood in 2008. The two movies she made last year received awful reviews and ratings. In her defense however, for Rendition she did take a pay cut to help keep the budget low. Had she only taken it a step further with Four Christmases and bowed out completely we might have been saved another horrible holiday movie.

Four Christmases (2008)
Domestic Gross – $120 million
Worldwide Gross – $164 million
Budget – $80 million
IMdb – 5.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes –24%; 4.3/10
Netflix – 3.7/5
Box Office Mojo – B-

Rendition (2008)
Domestic Gross – $10 million
Worldwide Gross – $27 million
Budget – $27.5 million
IMdb – 6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes –47%; 5.5/10
Netflix – 3.5/5
Box Office Mojo – C

Are You Kidding?

Trolling around on the Internet today I came across an article that listed 10 respectable horror movie sequels. The writer, Jeff Giles, gives his take on why he feels the sequels to Blade, Scream, Frankenstein and Alien were deemed acceptable. So be it.
Not only is Aliens one of the few sequels to rival its predecessor, but it also has the greatest sequel name of all time. Do you add a numeral on to the end of one of the greatest sci-fi horror films of all time to name the sequel? No that is too easy. So what makes sense? There is more than one alien this time, so why not add an “S” to show that the threat has been multiplied. Genius.
As for Scream 2, The Bride of Frankenstein and Blade II, I have always thought the second movie in the Scream trilogy was underrated, Frankenstein is on of my favorite movies and I love the sequel and the more I view Blade II the more I like it.
Yet, the rest of the sequels on this list are far from respectable. Giles starts right off the bat with Psycho II. Not able to say it better myself, “critics were generally less than thrilled to be revisiting a story that seemed to be wrapped up pretty neatly in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 original.” Hitchcock didn’t seem to wrap things up. He had wrapped things up. Psycho was wonderfully executed and Norman Bates was a character that had been perfectly formed by both Anthony Perkins and Hitchcock to never need further examining. He should have been left alone to rot in his padded cell at the insane asylum.
The next head scratcher is Gremlins 2: The New Batch. I get that it was supposed to be a farce on the genre of horror movies in general, but when the director who created the character of Gizmo and his wicked counterpart Gremlins returns for the sequel, you expect a sliver of similarity. The difference between Gremlins and its sequel is like the differences between Christopher Nolan and Joel Schumacher’s direction of the Batman series. It was just too much of a divergence for the audience to have a chance at enjoying it. I’m not going to say there aren’t parts to love about the Gremlins sequel, but to say it is respectable is just poppycock.
The problem with 28 Weeks Later is it starts out pretty good but quickly dumbs itself down to just another zombie thriller with good guys shooting their way through legions of the undead.
I’m not going to waste much time describing why Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn is not a respectable sequel. That is because it is a remake of the original. Director Sam Raimi may have intended for it to be a sequel, but having the exact same action and characters go through the same events with better effects doesn’t make it a sequel. That would be like having Peter Parker fight the Green Goblin a couple of years after Spider-man came out simply to cash in on better special effects (which now that I think about it, maybe that is what he was trying to do with Spider-man 3). Plus, the Evil Dead series is just too campy for me.
I haven’t seen The Devil’s Rejects or the original Dawn of the Dead, so I can’t comment on whether these stand a chance to be on Giles list.

Thoughts On Last Night’s Rangers Win

Like many Texas Rangers fans, I am new to cheering for a durable, competitive team that finds ways to win. Usually by this point in baseball season I am scouring the Internet for the latest football news to finalize my fantasy player list. Yet, I am still enthralled by what the Rangers are able to do right now, finding ways to win ballgames and stay in a wildcard (and pennant) race.
Playing the Yankees is a tough thing, especially in New York. When coaches and analysts talk about a home field advantage with the fans being that deciding factor for a game, Yankee and Red Sox fans are exactly what they mean. It is awful going into their cities to play series or even a single game. The same can be said for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.
With that said, a lot of Ranger fans would be happy to win one game in the current series with the Yankees, who are playing lights out right now. I will admit, I teeter on being a realist and believing that winning one game in Yankee Stadium would be a momentous event for this team as it continues its battle to hang with the Angels, Red Sox and Rays, but I’d like to also be the eternal optimist and think that a sweep is possible.
Well, last night’s win was that momentous event fans were hoping for, and boy was it a nail biter. With a Ranger lead of 10-5, many Yankee fans had left the stadium for the night expecting a quiet end to the game. Boy, were they probably kicking themselves when they got home and watched SportsCenter.
It looked like Frank Francisco was going to give the Yankees a nice win they certainly didn’t need since they had about a seven game lead on the Red Sox. There were no outs and the boys in the pinstripes had crawled back into the game being down by one. With runners on first and second, it seemed hopeless.
Adding an additional mountain to climb for the Rangers was that half-gone Yankee fan base. The booming thunder they generated to lift their team up was deafening and could be heard over the play-by-play from Josh Lewin. I sat on my couch repeating, “I can’t believe they are going to lose this.”
But everything came together for the Rangers within a two-minute timespan. Michael Young caught a popped-up bunt and then Elvis Andrus pulled off an unassisted double play to end the game. Amazing.
This Rangers team has shown multiple times that they aren’t going to give up and neither should the fans. As I type this, Andrus made a great play to throw A-Rod out at home with a sliding groundball grab behind second base.

To bring this around to movies since that is the new focus of this blog, does anyone find it frightening that Frog from Smokey and the Bandit is the new face of osteoporosis commercials? I don’t want to think of the charming Sally Field, able to get Smokey to find a reason for taking his hat off, pushing Boniva on senior citizens to help with their bone loss. It just makes me feel old.

Greatest/Abominable Best Picture Oscar Winners According To Me

I've been working to view all the movies that have won the Academy Award for Best Picture and I have only four movies to go. Being that I love lists and I am in the mood, I have ranked my top five favorite and least liked movies that won the highest honor in Hollywood. Although I still have four movies that could creep in to the top five on either side, I will update this if I need to at a later date. However, here they are.

Favorite:
1. The Godfather
2. Casablanca
3. Lawrence of Arabia
4. Gone With the Wind
5. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Honorable Mention: There are plenty of movies from Braveheart and It Happened One Night to My Fair Lady and The Bridge on the River Kwai that deserve to be among the top five favorite Oscar winners, but a movie that nearly cracked my top five was On the Waterfront.


Midnight Cowboy, Tom Jones, Gigi, The English Patient and Annie Hall
Despised:
1. Midnight Cowboy
2. Tom Jones
3. Gigi
4. The English Patient
5. Annie Hall
Honorable Mention: The Deer Hunter has never excited me like it does some. The only reason it beat out Annie Hall to not be on my top five least favorite Best Picture winners was because the Russian roulette scenes are pretty thrilling. That accolade alone makes it more eventful than the bore-fest that is Annie Hall.

Sad Day

This is upsetting news for Scorcese fans. His new movie Shutter Island has been moved back from October to February.
The initial report was that financing couldn't be found to promote the film that quickly and the film's star, Leonardo DiCaprio, wouldn't be available for a promotional tour. Later it was stated the economy was to blame for the move and the movie will help with a thin 2010 slate for the company.
Whatever the reason, I am saddened by this news. I saw the preview when I went to watch District 9 and it showed extreme promise. Hopefully the extra wait will be worth it.

Summer Blockbuster Guessing Game

My wife and I have had an ongoing bet for several years now that includes the summer blockbuster movie season. We guess which film is going to bring in the most money in a nine-week time period. We combine domestic gross with foreign markets, which factors in the decision making process because some movies (such as the Harry Potter franchise) are huge overseas.
This summer was the fourth time we’ve made the bet and sadly I have yet to get a win. I’m the movie guy in the family and yet I can’t even pick the top grosser of the summer. I wouldn’t equate Joanna’s wins each year to a woman sitting down with her boyfriend while he is watching a baseball game and her rooting for the guys in the red shirts because they look nicer, but I certainly should have an edge in this competition. It would be like me making a five-course meal that would have the judges of the Next Food Network Star salivating over, despite Joanna being the master of the kitchen.
The previous summers I have received every kind of defeat possible. I’ve come within millions of winning but also I have seen a blowout of epic proportions, thanks to Nolan’s success with The Dark Knight. The following are our earlier bets and how I came out.

2006:
Joanna – X-Men: The Last Stand – $459 million
Matt – Superman Returns – $391 million
Biggest Moneymaker – The Da Vinci Code – $758 million

2007:
Joanna – Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End – $960 million
Matt – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – $938 million
Biggest Moneymaker – Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End – $960 million

2008:
Joanna – The Dark Knight – $948.5 million
Matt – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – $748 million
Biggest Moneymaker – The Dark Knight – $948.5 million

Our 2009 bet includes Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Although it is not yet complete, it is looking like I will get my first victory in our annual guessing game. Yea, go me!

Has A Remake Ever Been Better Than Its Predecessor?

One of the biggest complaints from moviegoers recently is the lack of fresh ideas coming out of Hollywood. It seems that for every new film that gets made, an additional four are done that are either remakes, reboots or revisions of a previous movie or television show.
I wanted to take a look at some of the more recent remakes and see how they measured up to their original predecessor. Now, when I went to research this topic, my trusty friend Wikipedia found hundreds of titles that are considered remakes. If I tried to cover every movie that’s been redone and shown to a modern audience I would either kill myself halfway into the project, or you would kill yourself halfway through reading about it. So we will just stick to a few guidelines. I only picked movies that are enough well known that a major star was attached to the picture or most people could figure out one of the movies made when given the plot. I’m also not considering conversions from foreign markets (excluding the UK) like Japan’s The Seven Samurai to America’s The Magnificent Seven or Hong Kong’s Infernal Affairs to our The Departed.
Here is a list of all the movies recently remade that were either complete failures or forgotten 20 minutes after being released. I have made notes beside some of the movies mentioned.

3:10 to Yuma (1957) made as 3:10 to Yuma (2007) – The only great thing about the remake is the poster of a train seen underneath the legs of a cowboy. It’s a very cool shot. And what is with the Luke Wilson cameo out of nowhere?
Alfie (1966) made as Alfie (2004)
All the King’s Men (1949) made as All the King’s Men (2006) – The first version won an Oscar for Best Picture but both are equally boring.
The Amityville Horror (1979) made as The Amityville Horror (2005)
The Bad News Bears (1976) made as Bad News Bears (2005)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) made as The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
Get Carter (1971) made as Get Carter (2001) – The original is considered one of the best British gangster films of all time, so why mess with greatness.
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) made as Guess Who (2005)
Hairspray (1988) made as Hairspray (2007) – Four words will settle this: John Travolta in drag. Enough said.
Halloween (1978) made as Halloween (2007) – I don’t need to know why Michael Meyers is a killer and I don’t need obligatory gore to be scared. Just give me suspense.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers made as The Invasion
King Kong (1933) made as King Kong (2005) – While Peter Jackson’s remake is good, it doesn’t compete with the original.
The Manchurian Candidate (1962) made as The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
The Omen (1976) made as The Omen (2006)
Planet of the Apes (1968) made as Planet of the Apes (2001) – Tim Burton’s remake is almost always mentioned in conversations of bad remakes. It just doesn’t make any sense.
The Poseidon Adventure (1972) made as Poseidon (2006)
Psycho (1960) made as Psycho (1998) – Making a movie shot-for-shot of the previous one doesn’t impress me.
Rear Window (1954) made as Disturbia (2007)
Shaft (1971) made as Shaft (2001)
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) made as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
The War of the Worlds (1953) made as War of the Worlds (2005)
The Wicker Man (1973) made as The Wicker Man (2006) – Could anything be worse than the remake. I nearly walked out of this one and that would have been a first.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) made as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) – Another Tim Burton remake that didn’t come close to its original.

I’d be surprised if you made it through that long list, but if you did then congratulations. It makes you wonder if any remake has ever been better than its original. Well, here are a few that do (and might) make that list:
Ben-Hur (1925) made as Ben-Hur (1959) – A little unfair considering the second was made after talkies were introduced, but nonetheless.
Cape Fear (1962) made as Cape Fear (1991) – I prefer the first, but some believe Robert De Niro’s performance alone makes the remake superior.
The Italian Job (1969) made as The Italian Job (2003)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) made as The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) – This one is interesting in that it was directed by the same master of suspense: Alfred Hitchcock.
The Mummy (1932) made as The Mummy (1999) – This one depends on if you prefer action to suspense.
Ocean’s Eleven (1960) made as Ocean’s Eleven (2001)

Upcoming Movies Worth Considering

Summer is nearly over and along with students and teachers moaning about having to go back to school, it is also upsetting for me because most of the really great summer blockbusters have come and gone.
Up, Star Trek and Harry Potter were all really great movies. Terminator Salvation, while getting a lukewarm reception from fans and critics alike, at least took the series in a different direction than robot is sent back in time, tries to kill human, human/robot is sent back to protect human, Judgment Day sucks for all mankind. The really awful movies that still made a boatload of cash were X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. From everything that trailers and advertisements are showing, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is likely going to join that last group of garbage.
But we’re not here for an outlook of the depressing future of films. We want something to look forward to as we roll into the final months of the year. Here is a preview of some of the more exciting prospects Hollywood has to offer.
August 14 – District 9: The producer and director of this movie were brilliant to go with a documentary style of filmmaking, especially when the trailer is presented as a hard-hitting feature that focuses on a South African government harboring a group of outsiders on the country’s dime. Interviews with locals talk about how they don’t like them and they don’t want them around. Things get really interesting though when it is revealed that the outsiders aren’t illegal aliens in the sense of Mexicans crossing the Rio Grande, but rather illegal aliens crossing the Milky Way to land on Earth. With each new commercial that is aired I get more eager to see this movie. It doesn’t hurt the chances of this movie being great in that Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson is one of the producers.
August 21 – Inglorious Basterds: I will say that I don’t trust Quentin Tarantino any more. Sure, he wrote and directed Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. They are both great movies from the 90s, but that’s just it. They were made in the 1990s. He hasn’t been associated with anything relevant or interesting for 15 years. And if you say Kill Bill was any good then you’re an idiot. It was mindless violence that wouldn’t stand up to a B-rated samurai flick from 1950s Japan. With all that said, I will say Tarantino’s latest movie, a World War II picture starring Brad Pitt, Eli Roth and Diane Kruger, looks to not only be entertaining but also in the vein of great war/action flicks from the 60s like The Dirty Dozen and The Guns of Navarone. For me, Tarantino is on a short leash and this is either going to make or break his entire career. If it’s a hit then I’ll concede that he’s still got it, but if it fails then it will further prove he was a flash-in-the-pan guy who rose too high, too fast.
September 9 – 9: Despite the cheesy promotion they are going with by releasing this movie on 9/9/09, everything about this movie looks good to me. You might have seen a preview with little burlap bag characters using sporks and other utensils to fight giant mechanical creatures (no, I’m not talking about Transformers). The action takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where mankind has disappeared, likely being killed off by the industrial monsters it created. The movie is likely a prequel to a short film by the same name and done by the same director, Shane Acker. Voice talent includes Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Martin Landau, Christopher Plummer and Crispin Glover.
September 25 – The Invention of Lying: What if everyone in the world always told the truth. Besides a lot of hurt feelings from some of the honest things said, I imagine it would be a pretty boring place. So to spice things up, have one guy create the first-ever lie and see what ensues. And to make things even more interesting, have that one guy be the person who created The Office (the original one from the UK) and the little-known HBO show Extras. I guarantee you this will be some laugh-out-loud comedy throughout that will be like the opposite of Jim Carrey’s Liar, Liar: the jokes will actually be funny, stupid faces will be kept to a minimum and the morality won’t be completely shoved down our throats for the final 30 minutes of the picture.
October 2 – Shutter Island: Never heard of this movie before? Well, all you need to know is Martin Scorsese is directing and Leonardo DiCaprio is starring in this crime drama. DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo play U.S. Marshals who chase after a psychotic killer that escapes from a mental institution. Scorsese finally won his first directing Oscar after 2006’s The Departed, starring DiCaprio, and the two also had success in 2004 with The Aviator. All things considered, this should be a hit for the duo.
October 16 – Where the Wild Things Are: When thinking of children’s books made into live-action movies, your memories most likely go to flops like Jim Carrey’s Cat in the Hat or the Jason Lee starring Alvin and the Chipmunks. So hearing that a movie would be made out of Where the Wild Things Are didn’t have me giving much more than a disinterested shrug, however, when I saw the preview a couple of weeks ago I was stunned to actually find myself emotionally invested in the trailer. Director Spike Jonze, while worshiped by many, has never been that appealing to me, but I will certainly give him a chance if this turns out to be anything close to what the trailer shows it could be.
October 16 – The Road: I dig post-apocalyptic flicks like The Road Warrior and 28 Days Later, so this Viggo Mortenson starring vehicle is intriguing to me. The story follows a father and son as they travel alone through a ravaged America. It is cold and dark and the duo is searching for a warmer climate to the south, but they don’t know what awaits them. All they carry is a pistol, the clothes on their backs and a shopping cart of scavenged food. The film also stars Guy Pearce and Charlize Theron, who both have shown flashes of talent over the years.
November 6 – A Christmas Carol: The only thing that interests me about A Christmas Carol is seeing how far the technology used in 2004’s Polar Express has come. When Robert Zemeckis first started using the computer motion-capture equipment, what was seen of Tom Hanks was much creepier than that old stop-motion Christmas movie with Rudolph from 1964. It got a bit better in 2007’s Beowulf, but still was too odd looking to give the viewer a sense of security while watching. The entire time I am thinking about the animation and not the story. Hopefully things have progressed to where the story can be told without the technology being a hindrance, but I guess if you’re going to pick a movie that the viewer might not pay attention to plot then it’s a good thing the filmmakers decided on a story that has been filmed about a thousand times.
November 13 – 2012: Roland Emmerich has pretty much covered every possible disaster from the world freezing over and a giant lizard monster attacking New York to aliens invading our skies. So to spice things up he is combining every possible ecological catastrophe available into one movie. Nothing new to see here, but it will still make $200 million.
November 13 – The Fantastic Mr. Fox: It’s sort of odd that some of the best and most original movies are animated. Pixar is showing us that great movies can be made with animation. With the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Michael Gambon, Angelica Huston, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman under the direction of Wes Anderson, who helmed The Royal Tenenbaums, Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, this should be quite enjoyable.
November 20 – The Twilight Saga: New Moon: I haven’t read these books. I don’t comprehend the fad. From all the things I’ve heard about this series it is utter garbage, but the women who follow it don’t care. Personally, I need my vampires to be a little more villainous and less sparkly.
December 11 – The Princess and the Frog: I am hoping for the old-style magic of Disney to come back in this 2D film set in the French Quarter of New Orleans during the Jazz Age. Disney hasn’t made a classic, let alone good, animated movie since 1994’s The Lion King. Disney’s latest attempt at another animated classic is the story of the frog prince with a twist that when the princess kisses the frog to change him back into a prince she instead transforms into a frog as well. The film includes a voodoo villain and the first-ever black princess in Disney’s collection.
December 18 – Avatar: I know nothing about this movie except that it is James Cameron returning to sci-fi and he waited to make this until the technology caught up to his imagination. I don’t want to know anything else. I saw some artwork from the movie, and while it didn’t knock my socks off, I am combining that information with the little bit of news that occasionally is reported about how amazing it is going to be. I believe in James Cameron and am confident he can deliver another huge success on the level that is Aliens, The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
December 25 – Sherlock Holmes: Hollywood constantly tries to shape movies into shallow, generic things that will offend the least number of people in their homes of appealing to the widest audience possible. It just makes sense from a business point of view. So why shouldn’t they dumb things down when it comes to Sherlock Holmes. Instead of the brainy sleuth who battles the criminal element with his wit and cunning, Robert Downy Jr. and Guy Ritchie have decided to turn the most famous detective into a lover, a fighter and an adventurer who leaps out of windows and gets handcuffed to beds naked. Instead of building to a climactic “the butler did it” moment at the end of the movie, Ritchie will use the star power of Downey Jr., the beauty of Rachel McAdams and the charm of Jude Law to beat us into submission with a Lock, Stock, and Snatch style of movie throughout. It will be great, it just won’t be the Holmes I know from the pages of Arthur Conan Doyle.

Favorite Films By Decade

I have listed the top movie from each decade starting in 1910 that I most enjoy. Keep in mind that while almost all of these movies are critical and box-office hits, they are not necessarily the best the decade has to offer. They are simply my personal favorites.
To give credit where credit is due, I got this idea from the Sports Guy, Bill Simmons.
Along with each favorite movie, I have included some close runners-up that I felt needed some deserved praise.
Now on with the list:
1910-1919: Birth of a Nation (1915) – While other countries were making films that were multiple reels long, America’s Hollywood was sticking to short, one-reel wonders. D.W. Griffith’s Civil War epic showed local moviegoers that stories could be woven among numerous movie reels and still hold our attention for more than 12 minutes. This is the film that changed movie making in Hollywood like Citizen Kane did three decades later. Honorable Mention: Intolerance (1916)
1920-1929: Metropolis (1927) – You will see when you get to the other titles given honorable mention in this decade that the best directors of this decade were not in America. Metropolis is a story that tackles a serious issue of the working poor vs. the prosperous capitalist owners and put it to a science fiction theme. It has great visuals and is a classic in silent film cinema. Honorable Mention: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligeri (1920), Nosferatu (1922).
1930-1939: King Kong (1933) – The 1930s and 1940s are considered the Golden Age of filmmaking, and from the list of movies to choose from for my favorite from these two decades it is easy to see why. A 9-year-old child watching the 1933 classic King Kong today would probably think he could do a better job of special effects and stop motion photography, but at the time it was akin to today’s animation in a Pixar film and the Star Wars prequel CGI. I could watch Kong and original scream queen Fay Wray hours upon end because it illustrates the creativity Hollywood had to use before computers. Honorable Mention: Frankenstein (1931), Gone With the Wind (1939)
1940-1949: Casablanca (1942) – This film has everything: drama, comedy, romance, songs and it’s all set during World War II, adding another genre. The chemistry among all the actors from Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Raines on down to Paul Henreid, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Conrad Veidt and Dooley Wilson. The dialogue and cinematography is some of the best you will find in film, with iconic quotes and shots having become a part of pop culture. I can safely say this film is about as perfect as it gets. Honorable Mention: The Great Dictator (1940), The Maltese Falcon (1942), The Third Man (1949)
1950-1959: The Asphalt Jungle (1950) – This is likely the most obscure film on this list. A dark, methodical crime drama that shows the inner-workings of planning and executing a heist, The Asphalt Jungle is outstanding in its storytelling and acting. If you are into movies like Heat and The Italian Job, then check this out and the payoff will be worth it. Honorable Mention: On the Waterfront (1954), North by Northwest (1959)
1960-1969: From Russia With Love (1963) – Of course I am going to have a Bond movie somewhere on this list. Its utilization of fewer gadgets lets Bond use his wits rather than an Omega watch with built-in laser. There are twists and turns throughout the film, which begins during the first Bond pre-title sequence where our hero is hunted down by a homicidal assassin, fabulously played by Robert Shaw. I enjoy this film more than the formulaic Bond movie because it is more authentic than any other film in the series. Honorable Mention: Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
1970-1979: The Godfather (1972) – This is the quintessential mafia movie. It is the litmus test of other gangster flicks. From the first glimpse of the title being held up by a puppeteer to the final scene of Diane Keaton having the door closed on her to hide a meeting between the other family, you are shown the greatest thing ever put to celluloid. Every time I watch The Godfather I want to start it over and watch it again. Honorable Mention: The Godfather: Part II (1974); Jaws (1975); One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
1980-1989: Back to the Future (1985) – From a pure entertainment point of view, this and From Russia With Love are my two favorite movies to watch. The amount of quotable lines from this movie is endless. I sometimes even find myself walking around just saying them out loud, with no context whatsoever. I’m sure when I am mumbling, “Save the clock tower! Save the clock tower!” it gets me a few quizzical looks from passersby. My brother and I wore this movie’s videocassette out at our house when we were younger. Another great aspect of this movie is that it doesn’t lose value from its sequels. Despite the third movie not being near what number one and two are, all three mesh together very well for a quality trilogy. Honorable Mention: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
1990-1999: Saving Private Ryan (1998) – This movie was robbed at the Academy Awards of a Best Picture Oscar. There is no way if voting was held again on all the movies from that year that Shakespeare in Love would beat out this superior work. Although the scenes tacked on to the beginning and end seem a little cheesy, they are perfect bookends to what is – in my humble opinion – the greatest war movie ever made. The 20-minute storming of Normandy rocked moviegoers and proved that war really was hell in those days. Beautiful cinematography, well-paced storytelling, and exceptional performances from every actor makes this movie a must see for any fan of film. Honorable Mention: Forrest Gump (1994); Swingers (1996)
2000-2009: The Incredibles (2004) – I discovered in my mid- to late-20s that I was a comic book geek. I had a small stash of comic books when I was a kid, but I wasn’t really into the whole scene of waiting outside the store for the latest edition of Spider-man or Superman. However, once the genre blew up in movie theaters in the late 1990s I was scouring Wikipedia wanting to know all about these characters I was watching. Then Pixar came along with their superhero family. The greatness of Pixar has been well documented and it would be a waste of time to go into great detail about what makes their movies superior to everyone else’s. Let’s just say Pixar makes movies for themselves and their fans. They don’t do it for advertising dollars. The Incredibles is my favorite of the Pixar movies, not because it is the best, but because it leaves me laughing and entertained every time I watch it. Edna Mode alone is worth coming back for more. Honorable Mention: Finding Nemo (2003); The Dark Knight (2008)

Top Movie Studios Of 2008

One of the biggest film industry surprises in 2008 was The Dark Knight (a widely revered film by both critics and fans) breaking the billion-dollar mark after about 30 weeks in theaters. Since Warner Bros. made a killing off the superhero in 2008, I was interested to know how that company, along with several others, made out for the year. The following are some numbers to make your head spin that calculate how much money the top 10 production companies grossed last year.
The entire film industry grossed $9.63 billion in 2008, with nearly half of that going to Warner Bros., Paramount and Sony/Columbia.
Thanks mostly in part to The Dark Knight, Warner Bros. grossed $1.767 billion, or 18.4 percent of the market share. Paramount was close behind with $1.577 billion (16.4 percent) and Sony/Columbia rounded out the top three grossing $1.267 billion (13.2 percent).
Universal — which is owned by NBC — grossed 11 percent of the market share, receiving 1.054 billion. The last two companies to receive more than a billion each were 20th Century Fox ($1.014 billion) and Buena Vista ($1.011 billion). Both grossed approximately 10.5 percent of the market share.
Rounding out the top 10 were Lionsgate ($436 million, 4.5 percent), Summit Entertainment ($226 million, 2.4 percent), Fox Searchlight (214 million, 2.2 percent) and MGM/UA (160 million, 1.7 percent).
All of this is great, but what does it really mean? Well, if you look at each production company’s slate of movies released, studios like Lionsgate, 20th Century Fox and MGM/UA don’t really come off as well as they might originally have looked. Keep in mind that the rule of thumb for movie making is a film has to gross approximately twice its budget to break even, but that is combining both domestic and international box office money. So although production companies might make more than a billion dollars in one year, their profits don’t necessarily show that they had a great year.
Take Lionsgate for example. It came in as the seventh highest grossing company earning $436 million, but it also released 19 films in 2008. Paramount tracked 17 movies in 2008 — three of which were released in 2007 and the gross from those films were taken from a certain amount of weeks after its initial release — and made nearly four times as much money. Per film, Lionsgate made $22.95 million for 2008. Paramount grossed approximately $92.76 million in the same amount of time.
Lionsgate wasn’t the lowest performing movie studio in 2008, however, MGM/UA earned somewhere between $9-13 million per picture.
As daunting as these figures are, I’m not even taking into account what the budgets for each film were, so really Lionsgate and MGM/UA might have made movies on shoestring budgets while Paramount lost money on every single one of its movies because of blockbuster budgets that didn’t ever pay off, but that is unlikely.
Maybe one of these days I’ll do the extra work and figure out exactly who was the big winner for 2008, but since I’m exhausted after all of this I’m just going to pretend that since The Dark Knight kicked butt both monetarily and literally this past year, Warner Bros. is the big winner. Warner Bros. wins. Now let’s go down to the Dresden and be all happy that some girl is wearing a backpack.

Why I’m A Fan Of James Bond

For those who love movies, there are certain milestone moments in life that cinema gives us. It might be the first flick a person was watching when they made it to second base. Maybe for you it is when a special effect or CGI innovation makes your eyes bug out and you can’t hold back a “wow” in the theater.
For me I have a few highlights in cinema. Take for example the animated/live action classic Who Framed Roger Rabbit? That is the movie I saw the most times in theaters (13 if you were wondering). Like many other 1993 summer moviegoers, Steven Spielberg made me believe dinosaurs could be resurrected from millions of years of extinction with fossilized mosquitoes and frog DNA because of the realism his effects portrayed in Jurassic Park.
When I was 17 I had another one of these moments that involved my cinematic hero, James Bond.
While working at a video store in high school, my coworker and I had a pretty slow summer afternoon shift and we discussed watching a movie (which was a no-no with corporate management). After bouncing around some ideas of movies to watch, we settled on starting with Dr. No and watching all the films in the series every time we had a shift together. A couple of hours later I was leaving work and with me were From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball and You Only Live Twice.
I have never been so hooked on something so fast before. I had a new shiny toy and I wanted to play with it until its batteries died or Daddy took it away because I wouldn’t come to the dinner table.
Within a matter of days I had watched every James Bond movie available and was already on my way to purchasing the entire series on video (yes, this was way back in the day of the VCR).
Although at times (and certainly with the reboot of 2007’s Casino Royale) the series’ creators throw a curve ball at the audience to keep things fresh, the James Bond movies pretty much follow a formula that has been laid out since From Russia With Love and Goldfinger. You know exactly what you are going to get from a 007 picture, but that is sort of what makes me love the series even more.
The elements are always there: action, a dashing leading man, beautiful women, megalomaniac villains, gadgets, fast cars, exotic locales, henchmen with a distinctive characteristic and sidekicks who play the sacrificial lamb. Also, you can almost always rely on a scene or two with your favorite MI6 allies in the forms of M, Moneypenny and Q.
This repetition bothers some people who think the series is played out and should be put down for lack of originality, but every entry in the series brings something new to cinemagoers, whether it is a fresh take on how to hold the world ransom or simply a new stunt that excites the audience like never before. James Bond is going to win in the end and the credits usually scroll as our favorite British spy has his arms locked around some international beauty. I don’t go to the theater or buy the DVDs to be surprised by Bond. No, I go because I want to live vicariously through this man and his over-the-top, out-of-this-world, no fear lifestyle.
Just think that if James Bond were a real man, he would have contracted a venereal disease with one of his many partners, smoke and drunk himself a tumor or died by the third or fourth adventure because bad guys in the real world don’t invite their rivals to dinner.
So why would we want James Bond to be a realistic character? Real spies don’t drive fancy cars or wear tuxedos. They sneak around offices and organizations obtaining information from e-mails and late-night rendezvous. Occasionally gunplay is involved I’m sure (I don’t really know because the CIA won’t get back to me about my application), but in general it is a pretty low-profile occupation that involves high risk and very low reward.
Have I covered anything that hasn’t already been said before? Not really. We all know who James Bond is. We know the routine going into the theater. That doesn’t mean though that the ride isn’t still going to be fun.

Pixar's Up Raises Standards In Animated Storytelling

Go see Up! Right now! I'm not joking. It is awesome. I won't even go into detail about what was great about it. The only minor complaint from me would be the weak villain. He was menacing. He was cruel. But he also seemed to be played out before in other animated (and live-action) films prior to this masterpiece. Initially I gave Pixar's 10th movie a 10 out of 10, but I am reconsidering it a nine with the weak antagonist.
Overall though, it is incredible. Great storytelling. Visually stunning. Funny, sweet and genuine all in one. My updated rankings of all the Pixar films (who have made one great movie after another) are as follows:

1. The Incredibles
2. Toy Story
3. Finding Nemo
4. Up
5. WALL•E
6. Ratatouille
7. Monsters, Inc.
8. Toy Story 2
9. A Bug's Life
10. Cars