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October '08
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August '08
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The Buzz: 2/28/2008
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 SaltyStix still has The Buzz on Thursdays? I know, I know, it’s been a LONG time. But I have been REALLY busy. So this week I have a supper version of the Buzz, complete with LOTS of links.
Movie buzz
Semi-Pro (release February 29, 2008; click here for preview) – I’m almost sick of this movie already because it  basically bought my favorite blog (joblo.com) and started raining previews down on me. But this movie looks like it could be one of the few I’m-not-Ron-Burgundy-but-really-I-am movies that could be funny again. Ferrell plays a basketball star trying to lead his ABA team to victory to make ensure the Flint Tropics get into the NBA.
Chicago 10 (release February 29, 2008; click here for preview) – Talk about something COMPLETELY different, this movie follows the events after protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Interesting parallels to the present? Maybe. The film has an eclectic (but good) cast that most people will probably not see considering the film’s painfully limited release – but if you can, it looks sweet.
Doomsday (release March 14, 2008; click here for preview) – I know people are starting  to get sick of the “28” franchise, and everyone seems to be totally over the Resident Evil franchise, but this movie, that looks like a combination of those two franchises looks sweet. A virus consumes Great Britain, leading the government to quarantine the country. Twenty-five years later the virus resurfaces and the government sends a team into the quarantine zone to find any possible survivors for a cure. Basically this is Britain’s answer to Resident Evil. Rhona Mitra is in it. She’s pretty hot. So even if the movie sucks, you still have that.
Paranoid Park (release March 7, 2008; click here for preview) – Normally these movies about lives spinning out of control TOTALLY don’t appeal to me, but Gus Van Sant directed this one, so my interest is immediately piqued. The film follows a young skaterboy who ‘accidentally’ kills a security guard. Lots of tension. Some family stuff, some psychological stuff, some teen stuff, could be pretty good. Hottie Taylor Momsen from Gossip Girl is in the movie and she looks pretty good (as an aside, she made Underdog, really?)
TV buzz
One of my big excuses for slacking on by Buzz columns is that there hasn’t been that much to report. Pretty much a bunch of shit movies came out – and really shitty in the sense that they aren’t really even good comic bait. Like Witless Protection? Do I need to make a joke beyond the title? Meanwhile all of my shows (House, Friday Night Lights, Nip/Tuck) quietly ended their seasons while the new shows I was watching (Pushing Daisies, Journeyman) ended abruptly after 10 episodes. Pretty much NONE of the shows left me at anything close to satisfied in ANY of the storylines. So that was pretty hard on me.
 Luckily, one of the new shows I started watching, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, is still on and getting more and more interesting. The show stopped being just the Lena Heady and Summer Glau show and became, well, the Summer Glau show. Don’t get me wrong, I love Heady, and she’s great in the show, but it’s really all about Summer. I’m not alone in this either as Summer Glau interviews have been cropping up like mad.
And in case you didn’t know the Oscars were this past weekend. We at SaltyStix broke our backs trying to cram in as much Oscar coverage as we can in the days before the event. While I didn’t see the whole show, what I did see was pretty entertaining. I found this Oscars quiz online that you can take to see how closely you paid attention. It is, mildly amusing.
What do you think about…
With all of Juno’s buzz and popular support (as well as criticism), along with it’s box office smashing (over 100 million dollars), I had to ask, what is an indie these days? Throw in the fact that all of the films nominated this year for best picture were limited releases (Michael Clayton was the one exception, and coincidentally, perhaps the best movie). But what films qualify as independent? Is that label really relevant? There’s a good article HERE that goes in a different direction than I would, but it’s still pretty interesting.
On the web
 10 best movie weapons – I’ve had this one for awhile and it made me smile. I mean, fanboys have got to love this stuff. Do you pick the lightsaber or the bull whip? Decisions decisions. Now of course it’s situational…
10 worst movie couples – picked this one up over Valentine’s Day but as usual couldn’t find the time to write about it. Which heroine or hero annoyed you the most? Personally I thought that weird Frenchie who forgets Bruce Willis’ watch in Pulp Fiction HAD TO GO. But I think I’m alone on that one.
 10 movies to watch before the election – this is a little more relevant now, but here are some good primaries-primers or even (gasp) pre-viewing before the big show in November. Decent list, short on commentary but you’ll just have to watch the movies to see why they’re on the list.
Disney Dream series – I know I already rambled on about fanboys, but this really is a fanboys wet dream. All I have to say is three words: Jessia, Biel, Pocahantas.
 Movie swag – this was pretty humorous – random promotional junk from different movies. Ranging from the comical to the weird to the perverse. Definitely jelps if you’re looking for stuff to buy on eBay.
Football Movies – post Super Bowl I found this article about football movies that once again, because my slow posting, is increasing in relevance (with the release of Leatherheads approaching). I disagree with a lot of this list, but hey, it is a list.
 Second choice casting – this type of trivia is FASCINATING to me – all of the castings that could have been – most were for the better. The cliché Tom Selleck for Harrison Ford one is of course, front and center, but it gets more interesting as you go on.
Career changing roles – this is pretty similar but it’s from Forbes (ooooh) and it has a slightly different focus although it of course features the same Selleck for Ford one. My favorite is the one about Molly Ringwald…
Um…really???
It’s never too late. So about a month ago I read a bunch of articles about this weird phenomenon that was called simply “Juno Backlash.” About a bunch of people whining about how the movie was unrealistic or too clever or yadda yadda yadda. Really? I mean, sure I rant and rave about how I thought Blood was overrated, but making obscene statements about what you would do if Juno won. That’s just crazy.
Who am I?
I had A Good Year with Oscar
Send your reply to saltystixtrivia@gmail.com.
Last Buzz’s answer was Heath Ledger.
 -- 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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