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October '08
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August '08
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The Buzz: 12/27/2007
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 Hope everyone had a great Christmas and holiday (or whatever else the religion-neutral greeting is).
Movies worth $10
I apologize in advance if anyone thinks these are too chick-flicky for you.
 Snow Angels (release March 7, 2008; click here for preview) – follows the lives of Annie (Kate Beckinsale), her estranged husband Glenn (Sam Rockwell), and a high school kid Annie used to babysit, Arthur (Michael Angarano), among a few others. Annie and Glenn’s daughter goes missing – presumably kidnapped, or worse, and how it effects the small town they all live in. With the backdrop of the kidnapping and an intriguing web of interpersonal relationships beginning and ending, the movie looks like it could be great. But I’m stumbling over myself, check out the preview – I love it – one of my favorite previews in awhile, although it gives away a little bit of one plotline at the end.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (release March 8, 2008; click here for preview) – Miss Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) is a middle-aged governess who finds herself out of work in 1939 London. She stumbles into a new job managing the life of ditzy American singer/actress Delsia Lafosse (Amy Adams). Miss Pettigrew struggles to contain Delsia’s erratic social life (i.e. too many affairs) and help Delsia find the one man she can be happy with. Of course Miss Pettigrew engages in the usual romantic comedy fare, including starting her own romance. Hey, give me a break, it has Amy Adams in it, she’s really funny, and McDormand has an Oscar.
Movies NOT worth $10
 27 Dresses (release January 11, 2008; click here for preview) – I want to talk about this movie for two reasons. First and foremost the preview begins with a Regina Spektor song before foolishly diving into some alt-pop crap. Second the movie stars Katherine Heigl. Who would have thought the phrase, “always a bridesmaid, never a bride” would actually yield a movie? More substantively this looks like every single rom-com cliché was stuffed into it.
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (release January 11, 2008; click here for preview) – I hope everyone else is on board here that this movie has the worst title ever. If the first part before the colon wasn’t corny enough, the second part has got to seal the deal for corniest title ever. The movie also HAS to suck because Uwe Boll made it. To make things worse the movie is 150 minutes long and is PG13, so Uwe Boll’s usual filler, nudity, won’t be able to save him. I’m expecting a discount LOTR with zero plot and atrocious dialogue. Shockingly enough the movie stars Jason Statham, John Rhys-Davies, Ray Liotta, Leelee Sobieski, Burt Reynolds, Ron Perlman, and Kristanna Loken. What were you all thinking?
TV Buzz
 I bet a bunch of you watched It’s a Wonderful Life this holiday. Did you know that It’s a Wonderful Life used to be shown significantly more when TV studios used a copyright error to pay less royalties? Well now they can’t do that and they have cut down on showing the flick. Guess there’s always Netflix.
A touch of nostalgia
Bob wrote a great article about ten years after Titanic that got me thinking about everything else that happened in 1997. In January Arafat returns to Hebron when Israel returns the West Bank; In February OJ is found liable in Civil Court to the tune of $35 million; In March The Notorious B.I.G is murdered in a drive-by-shooting; In April the serial killer Andrew Cunanan begins his killing spree; In May The U.K.’s Labor party and Tony Blair end eighteen years of conservative rule; In June (I turned 10) and Timothy McVeigh is convicted for the Oklahoma City Bombing; In July the U.K. returns Hong Kong to The People’s Republic of China; In August Princess Diana dies from a car crash in the Pont de l’Alma in Paris; In September Mother Theresa dies in Kolkata, India; In October the “circuit breaker” rule is used to slow a worldwide stock market crash; In November WorldCom and MCI Communications announce a $37 billion merger, the largest in U.S. history; In December Hong Kong kills all its chickens to prevent the spread of an early strand of avian influenza.
For more, from Hale-Bopp to Harry Potter to Deep Blue to Che to the Toyota Prius, click here.
What the papers say
Still longing for that Christmas feel? Want to soak in the spirit? Check out these cult and camp Christmas movies. Want to ruin the spirit? Check out some Scrooge favorites. Still shopping? Check out this movie gift guide for geeks.
Wrap up the year with a little bit of retrospective from Yahoo! The biggest movies of 2007, the most popular trailers, the most popular stars (8/10 women) and looking forward, the most anticipated 2008 movies. I thought it was fun, and some of those #1 spots are surprising.
Now looking forward, check out what Hollywood dragged out of the recycle bin (sequels and remakes) to bring to screens near us in 2008. Some of these require a strong stomach and perhaps, lots of medication to avoid serious injury. Another article focuses on upcoming Superhero movies of 2008, becxause we clearly have not got enough of those lately. And have no fear, my 2008 major studio rundown will be forthcoming.
Um…really???
 I caught Sweeney Todd this week and I have to say, what the HELL HBC! You are way way way too hot for Tim Burton!!! PLEASE move on. He looks SKETCHY as hell.
Who am I?
I starred in my first movie and every movie since.
Send your reply to saltystixtrivia@gmail.com.
Last week’s answer was Chow Yun-Fat
 -- Written by Aaron --
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Bob’s October Movie Preview
By Bob 10/2/2008
 Now that we have gotten through the sludge of September movies, it’s time for some Oscar contenders, and movies that think they’re good but not. Halloween is also this month so there is bound to be a lot of random horror movies going on and of course a Saw film to soak in. Whatever happens though, I’m gonna guess that at least one of the following gets some nods come Oscar time. With that, my October Movie Preview:
Cops, Robbers, and Blah
10) Pride and Glory: October 24th
From the director of Miracle comes one of the most clichéd trailers of ALL TIME. Edward Norton as A COP. Colin Farrell as HIMSELF. What more could we want from a movie? I don’t know, and I will likely never find out because this is not one flick I will be seeing.
9) Max Payne: October 17th 
As I feverishly go through my mind trying to think of a video game adaptation that has actually been a good movie, I’m also reminded of all of the bad movies Marky Mark has made over the past ever (excluding The Departed and Boogie Nights of course). I would be shocked if there is anybody who is actually excited for this, as anybody who actually played the game has probably outgrown the genre.
8) Body of Lies: October 10th
Leonardo Dicaprio. Russell Crowe. Ridley Scott. Something about spies. The trailers really tell us nothing about this film except, “How am I supposed to run an operation when you’re running a side operation.” I don’t really know what that means, but Leo says it in the trailer. This film looks like another lame attempt by Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe to win Oscars. I’m not buying it.
7) Flash of Genius: October 3rd
Greg Kinnear stars as an man who invents the intermittent windshield wiper, and then has it stolen from him buy the major auto manufacturers. This just looks like a boring film that will get a lukewarm response. For some reason, however, it has been getting a huge level of marketing with television and even radio advertisements. I doubt people will buy it.
6) RocknRolla: October 10th
Guy Ritchie is back in the genre he knows best, and this appears to be an English gangster film much in the mold of Lock Stock and Snatch. We’ll see if he still has his stuff, but for now, I’ll just pop in my DVDs of the older films that I can trust, and look to be almost identical in plot to this one.
Movies that Intrigue Me
5) Changeling: October 24th 
Angelina Jolie stars in this Clint Eastwood film about a woman whose son goes missing and is returned with something different. Any film that Eastwood directs (that’s not Flags of our Fathers of course) is worth checking out, and this looks to be no different. It got solid reviews with it premiered at Cannes, and Angelina Jolie is ready for a solid role.
4) W.: October 17th
 A film that is certain to be the years most controversial, Oliver Stone directs this biopic about our current president. While I am sure Stone will exaggerate many of the details, there is no denying that he has put together an awesome cast including Josh Broling (as Bush), Elizibeth Banks (as First Lady Laura), James Cromwell (as his father H. W.), Richard Dreyfuss (as Cheney), Thadie Newton (as Condoleezza Rice) and others as the rest of his cabinet. Whatever happens in this film, it will certainly be interesting.
3) Synecdoche, New York: October 24th
A film that I have been awaiting since last year, this is Charlie Kauffman’s directorial debut. I have loved the films he has written (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and Adaptation. ) and this should prove to be equally compelling. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a playwright who attempts to put on a production in a warehouse that includes a scale model of New York. It will probably boggle our minds, but that is Kauffman, isn’t it?
2) Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist: October 3rd
Michael Cera and Kat Dennings star as the eponymous Nick and Norah who meet each other one night in New York and have adventures. Something about the trailer really brought this movie to my attention, probably the indie style that I love. Cera is always great, and Dennings was really cool in Charlie Bartlett, so I might make my way to a cinema this week to check it out.
1) Zach and Miri Make a Porno: October 31st 
Seth Rogen and Elizibeth Banks star as two best friends who decide to make a porno together. This is Kevin Smith’s first film since Clerks 2, and I can only hope that it matches that film in hilarity. The only thing I don’t understand, is why are they releasing this film on Halloween? I guess there is probably a Saw film being released anyways.
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