If common courtesy isn't enough to keep you from talking in the movie theater here's another reason to keep quiet: It might keep you from getting shot!

From Fox News:

PHILADELPHIA — A family talking during a movie enraged a nearby viewer so badly that he shot the father in the arm, MyFoxPhiladelphia reports.

Philadelphia police say James Joseph Cialella Jr, 29, shot the man after a brief altercation inside the Riverview Movie Theatre.

The victim suffered a gunshot wound to his left arm.

Cialella was still inside the theater when police arrived. He was found with a black Kel-Tec .380 handgun on the front of his waist.

Police arrested and charged him with attempted murder, aggravated assault, violation of uniform firearms act, possession of an instrument of a crime, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.

So stop talking during the movies, if not because it's rude, then to save your own butt!

Labels: movie etiquette

Merry Christmas to everyone from The CineManiac household. I'm sitting in my parents house with the weather heading towards, a far too warm in my book, 64 degrees. (Boo I want snow!) But not all is Merry in Hollywoodland.

As some of you know Fox and Warner Brothers have been in a bitter dispute over who has the rights to the adaptation of Watchmen. It's far to convoluted to go into, but at one point Fox had some rights in the property and claim they still do. (Why Fox waited for Warners to complete the much publicized film before pulling there rights out of their hat is still beyond me.) Recently the release date was pushed back to January 20th, making some wonder if the movie would hit it's March 6th release date.

But today the New York Times is saying that Judge Gary A. Feess has granted 20th Century Fox’s claim that it owns a copyright interest in the “Watchmen." Stating that “Fox owns a copyright interest consisting of, at the very least, the right to distribute the ‘Watchmen’ motion picture.”

Where exactly this leaves the film is still the big question. Some think the two might make a deal to co-distribute the film with a profit split, while the folks over at Cinematical had different thoughts, "expect a major payoff from Warner Bros. (and maybe those rumored Batman television show rights) to Fox in order that we'll still be at that March 6th show.'

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Labels: Watchmen

So the new trailer for Wolverine: Origins has been online for a few days (See it Here)

I finally checked out the trailer, which looks great, and then went through and found a couple of frames which really excited me.

First up we have the first look at Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool (without the famous mask). Personally I love Ryan Reynolds and hope this turns into the much rumored Deadpool movie with him starring. Anyways here you go:


Next up is a scene straight out of the Origins comic where a young James Howlett first pops his claws out (made of bone) as he begins his long journey to become Wolverine:

Labels: Trailers, Wolverine: Origins

I saw Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire" today and will have a review up soon. But know it was one of the, if not the, best movie I've seen this year. Simply phenomenal. Below is the trailer for the film, which I can't recommend enough.

Labels: Slumdog Millionaire, Trailers

It seems like everywhere you look these days there’s Vampires. In the book stores and multiplexes there’s the Twilight Series. The books are doing so well that one independent bookstore that was sold out of the 3rd book told me the Publisher was out of the first three books all together. And at the box office the adaptation of the first book blew everyone away when it made nearly $20 million more than expected opening weekend, and crossed the $100 million mark in 8 days. And TV is even seeing a Vampire resurgence, after a few years off when Buffy and Angel ended there runs. SciFi recently announced it had picked up last seasons canceled before it’s time, Moonlight, and HBO’s Tru Blood, based on yet another series of books, just wrapped it’s first season with a second set to air this summer.

But there is one little gem that may get missed by most in this vampire frenzy, the independent Swedish film, Let the Right One In. The fact that’s it’s both independent and has subtitles will probably deter many people, but those that look past this will find a really great little film. Let the Right One In (LTROI) is essentially the anti-Twilight. Whereas Twilight is the sweet, romantic fairy tale of a girl and her vampire, LTROI is the darkly realistic tale of a boy and his vampire.

We are quickly introduced to Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) a homely 12 year old boy who lives with his mother in a large apartment complex. Oskar spends his days being picked on by his peers, taking their torment without saying a word. But it’s quickly clear that Oskar is not your typical kid, he collects newspaper clippings of murders and other violent crimes and at night he dreams of getting his revenge on his tormentors with the help of his hunting knife. During one of his nightly “fights” Oskar meets Eli (Lina Leandersson), his new neighbor, whose arrival, with an older man, Håkan, coincides with that of a series of ghastly murders. It reveals nothing to tell you that it is Håkan that is committing these murders (although he is horrible at it) in order to feed Eli, who is of course a vampire.

The main focus of the movie is the relationship between Oskar & Eli. It is fascinating to see the changes that having a friend, especially a unique on like Eli has on Oskar, and it’s not long before the bullies see the change in him as well. Hedebrant and Leandersson do a wonderful job portraying their relationship and Leandersson especially does a fantastic job portraying Eli as creepy, yet sweet. But be forewarned this movie is not all darkly, sweet romance; there is also quite a bit of blood and gore.

All in all, LTROI, is an excellent film with a weirdly sweet, yet bloody romance at its center. If you’re a fan of the horror genre its essential viewing, and don’t let the subtitles keep you from seeing this film. Although if you absolutely can’t do subtitles, you can always wait until the American version coming soon from Cloverfield director Matt Reeves. (But it probably won’t be near as good as this near perfect gem.)

You can still see this review at The Exception Magazine.

Labels: Let The Right One In, Review

Over at Variety they have a complete list of The Austin Film Critics Association's awards. Most exciting is the fact that they've named "The Dark Knight" best picture of 2008. Here's their Top Ten list (with my comments of course):

1. "The Dark Knight" - One of My Favorites
   
2. "Slumdog Millionaire" - Going to see Thursday
   
3. "Milk"
   
4. "Synecdoche, New York"
   
5. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
   
6. "The Wrestler"
   
7. "Wall*E" - Just saw this Review coming soon - really enjoyed it
   
8. "Frost/Nixon"
   
9. "Let the Right One In" - Best Foreign Language pic of the year
   
10. "Gran Torino" - kind of a surprise.

There's a lot on their list I haven't seen, but all I know is I'm glad they didn't list "Speed Racer" like the folks at Time did. Seriously Speed Racer and no Dark Knight? Seriously Time, Seriously?

The AFCA handed out awards to "The Dark Knight" for Best Director (Christopher Nolan), Adapted Screenplay, Best Score, and of course Best Supporting Actor for Heath Ledger. (If Ledger is nominated for an Academy Award I'll be very upset)

Best Actor went to Sean Penn for "Milk", Best Actress went to Anne Hathaway for "Rachel Getting Married."

The complete Awards List is below:

Picture:
"The Dark Knight"

Director:
Christopher Nolan, "The Dark Knight"

Actor:
Sean Penn, "Milk"

Actress:
Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married

Supporting Actor:
Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight

Supporting Actress:
Taraji P. Henson, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Original Screenplay:
Charlie Kaufman, "Synecdoche, New York

Adapted Screenplay:
"The Dark Knight," Jonthan Nolan & Christopher Nolan

Cinematography:
"The Fall," Colin Watkinson

Original Score:
"The Dark Knight," James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmerman

Foreign Language Film:
"Let the Right One In" ("Låt den rätte komma in") (Sweden)

Documentary Film:
"Man on Wire"

Animated Feature:
"Wall*E"

Breakthrough Artist Award:
Danny McBride, Pineapple Express/The Foot Fist Way/Tropic Thunder

First Film:
Nacho Vigalondo, "Timecrimes" ("Los Cronocrímenes")

Austin Film:
"Crawford"

* The above poster is a fan made campaign poster making the rounds on The 'Net in support of 'The Dark Knight' and Heath Ledger. Thanks to Slashfilm for posting it.

Labels: Austin, awards season

I have to admit I'm a big Jason Statham fan. I realize 3/4ths of the time he plays the same character, the guy with excellent driving skills and a mouth, but I don't care I enjoy his work, and you usually know what you're getting. With me cutting back on the number of times I go to the theater this year I missed his film Death Race, luckily it hits stores Sunday the 21st on DVD & BluRay.

So do car chases, hot girls and major explosions sound like your kind of thing? If so you might want to check it out these sneak peeks at some of the bonus features the fine folks over at Universal Home Entertainment sent over:

Behind the scenes.

Natalie Martinez in a crop top.

Jason Statham is "lean wiry and tough".


Again look for the unrated movie on DVD and Blu-ray Hi-Def this Sunday, 12/21, starring Jason Statham, with Tyrese Gibson, Joan Allen and Ian McShane. Just in case you missed out on the plot here's a synopsis:

Welcome to the Death Race, where hardened convicts and smoking-hot navigators race tricked-out cars in the most twisted spectator sport on Earth! Sentenced to the world's most dangerous prison for a murder he did not commit, Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) has only one chance to get out alive - win the ultimate race to the death. Also starring Tyrese Gibson, Death Race is a "supercharged, sick and satisfying” (Nathan Lee, The New York Times) ride that will keep you pinned to your seat all the way to its insane, metal-crushing end!

And here's a list of the Bonus Features for both the DVD and BluRay formats:

DVD Bonus Features
Includes both the Theatrical and Unrated version of the film
- Start Your Engines: Making a Death Race - go on set and explore the behind-the-scenes action from pre- and post-production to the casting of Jason Statham.
- Behind the Wheel: Dissecting the Stunts - see how director Paul W.S. Anderson, the stunt crew, the actors and everyone else involved pulled off the many intricate and explosive stunts.
- Feature commentary with Director Paul W.S. Anderson and Producer Jeremy Bolt (unrated version only)


Blu-ray Hi-Def Features
Includes both the Theatrical and Unrated version of the film
- Start Your Engines: Making a Death Race - go on set and explore the behind-the-scenes action from pre- and post-production to the casting of Jason Statham.
- Behind the Wheel: Dissecting the Stunts - see how director Paul W.S. Anderson, the stunt crew, the actors and everyone else involved pulled off the many intricate and explosive stunts.
- Feature commentary with Director Paul W.S. Anderson and Producer Jeremy
- D-Box Motion Enable
- Blu-ray Exclusive U-Control: Go beyond the movie and customize your own hi-def experience. Enjoy interactive features while you are watching the movie.
- Picture in Picture: with just one click, access interactive cast and crew interviews and behind-the-scenes footage using the Picture in Picture feature while you watch the movie (unrated version only).
- Tech Specs: Get all the details on the characters, awesome cars and outrageous races through this interactive dossier (unrated version only).
- BD Live: Connect to the BD-Live Center through the internet and download even more bonus content
- My Movie Commentary: Be the Announcer! Show off your sportscasting skills by recording your own race in a play-by-play video, then share it with your Buddies on BD-Live. You can also create your own movie commentary!
- My Chat: Chat live with your Buddies while you watch the movie through your Internet-connected player
- My Scenes Sharing
- Exclusive Content

Labels: Death Race, DVD releases, Jason Statham

Two weeks ago I saw the magnificent film 'Let The Right One In' My review is now up over at online magazine The Exception Magazine. The fine folks at The Exception Mag are paying me in a link to my site so head on over and check it out! Then head back here and let me know what you think about the review.

In honor of "The Day The Earth Stood Still" opening this weekend I thought I'd post a look back at Keanu Reeves career. If you scroll down you'll also see the trailer for DTESS.

Babes in Toyland (1986)



Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)



Parenthood (1989) (Warning use of A-Hole)



Point Break (1991)



My Own Private Idaho (1991)



Bram Stroker's Dracula (1992)



Speed (1994)


A Walk in the Clouds (1995)



The Matrix (1999)



I think we'll leave it at that, but here's the trailer for The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008)

Earlier today over at Cinematical they had a story about how the Academy was going to be picking a host who was not a comedian, as has been the trend for a while now. Well TV Guide is reporting that Wolverine himself, Hugh Jackman, has been tapped to host the 81st annual Academy Awards ceremony. That is if the awards, which are scheduled to take place Feb. 22 aren't interrupted by the possible SAG strike.

The awards shows producer Laurence Mark and executive producer Bill Condon said in a joint statement that "Hugh Jackman is a consummate entertainer and an internationally renowned movie star. He also has style, elegance and a sense of occasion. Hugh is the ideal choice to host a celebration of the year's movies — and to have fun doing it."

While this will be Jackman's first time to host The Oscar's it's not his first hosting gig as he hosted the Tony's three times from 2003 to 2005. I for one can say that Jackman did awesome hosting the Tony's as he kept me interested the whole time.

Here's hoping Jackman can pull in more viewers than the last few years. And also I"m hoping that Jackman will bring out his vocal skills to help him throughout the night. What are your thoughts on Jackman hosting?

Labels: Academy Awards, Hugh Jackman, Oscars

Just wanted to let you all know that tonight is the season finally of USA's The Starter Wife. On tonight's episode Molly makes a decision about her future with Zach, while at Lou's wedding. It airs at 10/9c on USA.

Here's a clip from the episode:



Hope you all enjoy.

Labels: Starter Wife

Today I was out and I got to reminiscing, almost 9 years ago (it was the first week of January 2000) I purchased my first DVD. I'd accumulated a pretty decent VHS collection for a teenager and did not as of yet own a DVD player. But about half of my friends on my dorm hall had DVD players and I knew I'd get one eventually. So while shopping at Target I picked up "Detroit Rock City" a movie I'd been wanting to see and made the decision to purchase it. (One of my friends had worked at Target and still had his discount card so I wasn't paying full price)

Now lets be honest no one wants to admit their first DVD purchase was "Detroit Rock City" you want it to be something awesome like "The Matrix" but alas it wasn't to be. It was one of the few times I've ever bought a movie without seeing it and it helped instill the notion that I probably shouldn't purchase a movie unless I'd seen it.

But that DVD started a habit I've yet to break and which leaves me with well over 200 movies and countless TV series on DVD. (OK I could count them, but I'm not going to) But why am I telling you all this?

Well to answer that we must go back to May of this year. At that time I purchased a HDTV as a graduation present to myself (Thanks President Bush!!). Since then I've been thinking about switching over to Blu-Ray. Several of my friends have it, and it looks amazing. Besides more and more I'm getting e-mails letting me know of movies coming out on Blu-Ray that I might be able to review if I had a Blu-Ray player.

A few months back I decided not to buy DVDs anymore. First off I'm unemployed and couldn't afford it, but occasionally I'd be tempted to pick something up even though I shouldn't. But I stopped myself because I didn't want to buy a movie on DVD if I was going to switch over to Blu-Ray in the near future. Last month my wife and I decided since I would be working soon but not until after Christmas, we would wait to get each other Christmas and Birthday gifts. But we decided that my wife would go to Las Vegas with her friends and I would get a Blu-Ray player.

All this to tell you I bought my first Blu-Ray disc today. And if you know what movies came out this week, you probably know what it was. The Dark Knight. I know some of you are saying how can you buy a Blu-Ray disc if A) you don't have any income and B) you don't have a Blu-Ray player?


A) I was given a free DVD as a gift and I returned it and traded it in for The Dark Knight on Blu-Ray for a total of $5.41; and
B)It comes with a free digital copy, which means I can still watch it by hooking the lappy up to the HDTV. I can wait to see the special features, and I'd rather wait to see it in a better quality. Also I couldn't resist that the Blu-Ray switches Aspect Ratios between the 1.78:1 IMAX Sequences and the 2.4:1 of the rest of the movie.

So as a new era begins in The CineManiac household, what do you think of Blu-Ray and The Dark Knight. Does the Aspect Ration matter to you, would you wait to see it so much better or just keep buying DVD until you got a new player? Apparently some are saying The Dark Knight might be the savior of the Blu-Ray format, it could be as it sold over 700k units on Tuesday alone.

Labels: Blu-Ray, The Dark Knight

Here's an example of how to make a good trailer and how to make a horrible trailer (of course the bad trailer may just be that it's a horrible movie).

First off we have the trailer for Terminator: Salvation (No it's real this time, no RickRoll's in site) which shows just enough to make us want to see it, while not giving it away. And it makes it look good:



Next up we have a movie I was holding out hope for simple because it stars Buffy's James Marsters, but which has been looking worse and worse over time. This trailer for Dragonball Z just makes it painfully obvious that this is going to be an awfully bad movie:


What do you think?

Labels: dragonball z, Terminator Salvation, Trailers

I'm happy to say that all my favorite (And they should be yours as well) USA shows are returning next month, and I couldn't be more excited. And while we sit around and wait for the holidays to pass us by so these brilliant shows can return Santa has brought us an early present: Promo videos for each of the shows! So scroll on down and check them out.

Also in case you haven't heard this is Monk's next to last season. USA confirmed that it has picked up Monk for a final season which will kick off this summer, presumably to wrap up after another January run in 2010.

Monk Returns January 9th at 9.8c.



Psych Returns January 9th at 10/9c.



Burn Notice Returns January 22nd at 10/9c. (I believe)

Labels: Burn Notice, Monk, Psych

In celebration of the DVD release of Wanted universal has set up a fun game to play, in which you can mark friends to be terminated. You target friends and make them "Wanted" by the Fraternity of Assassins! All you need to do is upload a photo and info to make a friend an official target! They will be featured in the cross-hairs on an exclusive news report that you can send to them.
Check it out here.

Wanted hit DVD Tuesday in various formats including the Limited Edition Collector's set, seen above, that includes a Book of Assassins, Collectible Postcards and Motion Film Cell.

Labels: DVD releases, Wanted

This is a great story and it's true. A New York Newspaper stole the Empire State Building in 90 minutes. Read it Here.

I've got a big project coming in the new year that I can't speak about yet. But I'm calling on you for help. My project will likely cost some money and so I'm asking you dear readers to click on the link to the right and donate a bit of your hard earned cash to help me get this project underway.

Any help will be appreciated from 5 cents to $50, whatever you might want to give will go to helping me do a few things. First off it will help to buy some server space so that we can finally move over to www.thecinemaniac.com instead of using this blogspot page. Second it will help to pay someone to help spruce this place up a bit. And third any donations will go to help me complete my super secret project coming in January of 2009. It's a project that will be ongoing for some time so any time you can donate will help out.

Thanks,

Travis

Well it looks like we're going to be waiting awhile for that Veronica Mars movie. Entertainment Weekly's Micheal Ausiello recently spoke to creator Rob Thomas who told him that ""I haven't gotten far on my VM movie outline, I thought I had the idea broken, but I've hit a wall in the final act that I haven't quite figured out. And with Cupid and Party Down occupying 80 hours a week, and a new baby boy occupying the remaining hours, I haven't nailed it down. I'm hopeful that I can find the time to figure it out over the Christmas holidays."

As excited as I am about Cupid, I've never heard of Party Down and would much rather see him concentrate on the VM movie. And last I heard the movie was going to follow the series and still be set in college, instead of following the potential 4th season into her FBI career. And so I have to ask how long do we have before Kristen Bell stops being able to pass as a college student? At 28 I think the movie would have to film soon before it would have to change settings. What do you think?

Labels: Kristen Bell, Veronica Mars

Not really surprising the much talked about The Wrestler is all over these nominations. Sadly the only movie on this list I've seen is the deeply disturbing Towelhead. There are several other on here I want to see I just haven't had the chance. Which ones have you seen or do you want to see.

Best Feature
Ballast
Frozen River
Rachel Getting Married
Wendy and Lucy
The Wrestler

Best First Feature
Afterschool
Medicine for Melancholy
Sangre De Mi Sangre
Sleep Dealer
Synecdoche, New York

Best Director
Ramin Bahrani - Chop Shop
Jonathan Demme - Rachel Getting Married
Lance Hammer - Ballast
Courtney Hunt - Frozen River
Tom McCarthy - The Visitor

Best Male Lead
Javier Bardem - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Sean Penn - Milk
Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

Best Female Lead
Summer Bishil - Towelhead
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Tarra Riggs - Ballast
Michelle Williams - Wendy and Lucy

Best Supporting Male
James Franco - Milk
Anthony Mackie - The Hurt Locker
Charlie McDermott - Frozen River
JimMyron Ross - Ballast
Haaz Sleiman - The Visitor

Best Supporting Female
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Rosemarie DeWitt - Rachel Getting Married
Rosie Perez - The Take
Misty Upham - Frozen River
Debra Winger - Rachel Getting Married

Best Screenplay
Woody Allen - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck - Sugar
Charlie Kaufman - Synecdoche, New York
Howard A. Rodman - Savage Grace
Christopher Zalla - Sangre De Mi Sangre

Best Cinematography
Maryse Alberti - The Wrestler
Lol Crawley - Ballast
James Laxton - Medicine for Melancholy
Harris Savides - Milk
Michael Simmonds - Chop Shop

Best Documentary
The Betrayal
Encounters at the End of the World
Man on Wire
The Order of Myths
Up the Yangtze

Best Foreign Film
The Class (France)
Gomorra (Italy)
Hunger (U.K./Ireland)
Secret of the Grain (France)
Silent Light (Mexico/France/Netherlands/Germany)

Labels: awards season, nominations

It's Coming......

More info soon.

Labels: 2009