Hope everyone is enjoying good weather and if not, that they are enjoying good movies...

Movie buzz

WALL-E (release June 27, 2008; click here for preview) – Pretty much ALL of my close friends are REALLY excited for this movie (and they’re all in their twenties) about a robot who finally meets another robot – and falls in love. Gasp! I always give Pixar credit (although less after Ratatouille – I am the only one in the world who didn’t love it) but the more I hear about how little dialogue there is the more skeptical I get. Sure, I’m going to end up seeing the movie but…it could go either way.

Wanted (release June 27, 2008; click here for preview) – I’m pretty sure I’ve already written about this movie in another edition of The Buzz, but I don’t really care. The movie is about James McAvoy who finds out he is the heir to obscene “assassin powers” that help him do things like bend the trajectories of bullets. Its ridiculous but it also has Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman, so it can’t be that bad. Everyone has been bashing this flick but I want to see it just because it looks like a kick as movie in the vein of Mr. and Mrs. Smith (although McAvoy is far from Pitt).

Movie fuzz

Finding Amanda (release June 27, 2008; click here for preview) – Mathew Broderick plays a gambling addict who tries to find his runaway niece (Brittany Snow) in Vegas to save her from a life of prostitution to get back into the good graces of his wife (Maura Tierney). This reminds me of a much darker comedy about a teacher who goes on vacation to Vegas and look for his friend and co-worker’s daughter (or niece, I can’t remember - if you remember the movie, please email me at aaron.saltystix@gmail.com - thanks in advance). Either way that movie didn’t end well – this one probably will – as it looks predictably predictable. Whoever made the trailer couldn’t quite figure out which direction to go in but the movie looks like it will stretch for few laughs. But I might end up seeing it just because it has Brittany Snow, who knows.

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (release June 27, 2008; click here for preview) – I put this in the ‘fuzz’ section because I probably won’t see it – definitely not in theatres. But this movie, the first of probably many “American Girl” movies follows (guess who) as she experiences the Depression, solves some mysteries and gets herself published before her tenth birthday. Who could pull that off but Abigail Breslin who – just based off the preview – looks like she’s already growing as an actress. Looks like last year’s Nancy Drew with a real actress and targeted towards kids instead of teens. Might work might flop.

TV buzz

So in case you didn’t notice I pretty much ONLY write about the shows I watch here which is about five. One I really really miss is Entourage. Its summer, I actually have cable, WHERE ARE YOU!? I want to see what happened! Will they get that new movie off the ground? And more importantly, what is the deal with Anna Farris and will they ever tie that end off?

What do you think about…

Roger Ebert. Straight up. It was his birthday yesterday – he turned 66. So if you’re reading Roger, happy birthday! I grew up in Chicago and my family got the Tribune, so I always read Siskel. When I got older, I frankly, looked down on the Sun-Times. My few  experiences with the show as well as Siskel’s Oscar contest made me think Ebert was the weak end of that partnership. Oh how things have changed. Ever since he put ALL his reviews online at his website, I pretty much ALWAYS read them and sometimes ONLY his reviews. What is so helpful to me is that Ebert usually likes what I like (so it seems) so if he gives it a high rating, we’re usually on the same page (geniuses think alike). I also really respect Ebert’s confidence to admit he liked a movie because it was just a good Hollywood actioner – and give it three stars – something few critics have the guts to do. What do you think about the guy?

On the web

Maxim’s 25 Most Watched movies – Most of my movies that I would say I watch most frequently come at the end of this list, but its still pretty cool. The top five are mildly surprising.

The worst remakes – Last week I had a list of the sequels and remakes that were about to be heaped on us in the years to come. This list of the worst remakes is pretty amusing and its from moviefone so it looks pretty good too.

Overcoming bad buzz – In the nostalgia slot lets look back at some of the movies – like The Incredible Hulk – that had a pretty bad rap early in production but overcame it to get pretty good reviews (and make gobs of money). The list has a few BIG surprises.

Um…really?

Another AFI list? I already ranted about this last night but REALLY? Another list? I know its pretty much ALL you do and all you’re good for, but COME ON.

Who am I?

Princess who conquered the devil
Send your reply to aaron.saltystix@gmail.com
Last Buzz’s answer was Adam Sandler

-- Written by Aaron --

 

Could “Avatar” Win Best Picture?

By Brett Hogan

 

Last week, the trailer for James Cameron’s sci-fi experiment “Avatar” debuted. While initially unimpressed with the teaser, I began to wonder: Could this film win best picture? 

 

Buzz has been generating for this movie for years. Years. The technology to make this movie didn’t exist when Cameron conceived it, so he invented it. When is the last time you heard of a director spearheading the invention of anything? The casting started in 2005. Most movies these days, even epics, are done in half that time. I could go on. 

 

The most important thing to take away from all of this is that people are saying this will be the future of movies. Now, I don’t agree with the idea that CGI will become more prevalent than it already is. But I do believe that this will set the bar miles higher for sci-fi. I mean, that is what Titanic did. And that won some awards if memory serves.

 

I’ll bet you’re asking yourself, how can you even suggest that a film like this will win Best Picture when the initial trailer was nothing better than visual stimulation? Well, there are a couple of reasons. First, the Academy has expanded Best Picture to ten films. This doesn’t guarantee anything other than improved chances for most films on the cusp.

 

Second, after last year’s Oscars debacle, which saw the best film of the year, “The Dark Knight,” not only get shafted in awards but nominations as well, the Academy is pulling out all the stops to appease those with the loudest voices in the film industry, the fanboys. Now, the Academy probably didn’t lose anything because of that other than some viewers of the award show. Perhaps if people are again outraged with the winners or nominees, the heads of the Academy would lose their jobs. So this is all about the Academy protecting itself, which is not so outrageous.  

 

 

Third, there is an economic motive here. I’ve heard this film will cost $190 million, not counting the R&D costs associated with Cameron’s inventions or the cost of getting 3-D cameras into every theater in the country. The Academy will do everything in its power to get people into the seats and make this the next “Titanic” or “The Dark Knight.” But the Academy doesn’t have much power, besides nominating and awarding, so they will slap the “Nominated for Best Picture” moniker onto every commercial and print ad to get the people who didn’t believe the critics to relent and see this movie.

 

Of course, all of this is pure conjecture, and no revolutionary film (Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, etc.) has ever won the Best Picture category because it changed the game. Except maybe Titanic. But still, could this movie actually win? My answer is no but a nomination is certain and who knows what could happen from there. We’ll know more come February 2010.