In case you blinked during the Southland Tales trailer (Apple), that IS Kevin Smith in the wheel chair. Here’s a close-up image of that character.

     I can’t believe that is him! As a side note, as I see this trailer more and more, the more I’m looking forward to it. I think the ridiculous cast will actually work in the film’s favor. Plus I like the comedic, quirky, action-filled vision of the future and what is sure to be a real thinker of a movie (ala Donnie Darko). The kind where you have to watch it 16 times to understand what is going on; and even then have to jump on the message boards to confirm your theory.

 Cinecast Episode 66 [145:10m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

this episode:
After Dark Wrap-Up, Affleck in The Assassination of Jesse James and Affleck in Gone Baby Gone, Scariest Halloween movie moments, DVD and all the usual fare.

Unwrap the complete Show Notes by clicking on this link (WARNING - there seem to be varying degrees of spoilers in the COMMENTS section. Reader beware)…

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     If you saw the Family Guy episode a month or two back in which they recreated the entire movie of Star Wars: Episode IV, you know it was one of the funniest moments on TV in the past few years (at least for me). So I found out today Seth MCfarlane and crew are definitely going to be doing the follow-up: The Empire Strikes Back. Oh Happy (Halloween) Day!

     According to Cinematical, the cast has already done the script read through and McFarlane says it is a go for sure. When IESB talked to McFarlane, they asked which Family Guy character would be playing Boba Fett, McFarlane noted that the “Giant Chicken would fill Fett’s boots.” Fans should know the Giant Chicken from its ridiculously long fight sequences with the character Peter Griffin.

Who knows, maybe they’ll do ROTJedi next? Sounds good to me:

     If you’ve never seen the Family Guy Star Wars episode, check out the full episode broken into YouTube length chunks by clicking and unwrapping the text below (it’s worth it)…

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     Thanks to Kurt and his write-up over at Twitch for the heads up on this one. We seem to be giddy over here lately with the Day Watch (MP review) DVD release yesterday and the discussion on tonight’s Cinecast 66. Well, as fate would have it, the trailer for director Timur Bekmambetov’s newest film, Wanted (IMDb), found its way onto the internet today.

See the streaming trailer at Yahoo! movies as well as some HD streams.

     The signature style of Wanted is all Bekmambetov. It has a lot of the same look and feel of the Watch series; complete with the red sports car and armored truck chase. The slow-mo shots and eerie, yellow, surrealistic landscapes are all present. Unfortunately I’m not all that excited about the film just from the trailer. Yeah it looks kinda cool, but we got Morgan Freeman in his typical, monotone, voice-over narration as well as Angelina Jolie playing Mrs. Smith/Lara Croft all over again. I’m sure it will be better than any of the other crappy SFX/comic book movies next summer, but I have to see more to get really excited.

     I know this won’t be relevant to most of the readers here, but anyone who lives in the southern part of Minnesota need to head over to Minnesota State University campus at Mankato to check out their oldies, but goodies 12 hour film festival. A dontaion of just $20 gets you in… and just check out the lineup up films you get to see on the BIG SCREEN for your twenty bucks!…

NOON - This Is Spinal Tap
One of the funniest and most quotable films of all time. Easily in my top ten comedies and the original mockumentary.

1:40- Dr. Strangelove
In my top 5 films of all time. Kubrick rules all.

3:30 - Gimme Shelter
Haven’t seen this yet, but funny enough this is the topic of discussion for next week’s Movie Club Podcast. So this is a great opportunity to see it the way it was meant to be seen and know what the hell we’re talking about on the show next week!

5:00 - One Hour Break
Grab some food, stretch your legs, or enjoy the trailers and film shorts running.

6:10 - Animal House
Amazingly enough, I have not seen this. Good time and place to finally see it though eh?

8:15 - Shaun Of The Dead
Also in my top 50, one of the most original and funny movies of the last decade. Pegg and Frost are dynamite together. Zombies and comedy. How can you go wrong?

10:00 - Blue Velvet
Not my favorite in the Lynch series, but certainly a must see. Dennis Hopper is ridiculous in this. It’ll be fun late at night too.

     You can visit the KMSU Film Fest Official Page for all the details on where to go and how to get tickets. They also have embedded trailers for all the above films. So it’s worth stopping by just for the Spinal Tap trailer.

     I was writing up my DVD pick of the week for Day Watch (Movie Patron Review) when I discovered something that may be annoying depending on how they handle it. You see I have never read the original books so I can’t really comment as to whether they will have to take a huge deviation from the source material but about a month or so ago Twilight Watch was picked up by Fox. You might be thinking that oh good the Russian movie will be distributed by Fox. Nope, right now Twilight Watch is in production in the United States and it will be filmed in English. This really doesn’t bode well for the movie as part of the trilogy. It may end up being a really good movie by itself but I just don’t see how they are going to fit it into the world that they have created. Are they going to just drop all the main characters and focus on totally new ones? Will it have only American actors or will there be a combination of Russian and American? My hope is that they do not drop the main characters and that they go with a combination of nationalities.

     I have to say that Twilight Watch is not a write off for me yet but I am definitely a bit worried about the series as a whole.

     Wow! LOADS of fun at this year’s Toronto After Dark Film Festival. As you could see from other posts here and there, there were a lot of fun people to chat with and get drunk with. Although the film selections this year weren’t quite as strong as they were in 2006, I still had a blast and spent entirely too much money on fun fun fun.

     On to the movies. As I said, not as strong as last year. There were several really good movies, but no really great titles like last year’s Funky Forest or Behind the Mask. That being said, there were a lot of good things to see and my personal awards go as follows:

GOLD: Alone - this was a close call, but the higher budget, great story and sleeker look finally won me over. Especially when this type of film isn’t usually my thing.
SILVER: Blood Car - amazing what a fella can do with such a minimal budget. Funny funny funny. One of the best experiences in the theater at TAD this year.
BRONZE: Mulberry Street - a terrific zombie picture that really picks apart (no pun intended) the lead characters with almost no budget. The stars and director showing up was a big plus.
- honorable mention: Murder Party - not Behind the Mask, but what a way to close the festival! Great acting and a unique story was really fun. Again, kudos to the producer/main star to show up and get drunk with us at the closing party.

     With these fun movies also come some duds. Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead was one such dud. One of the worst movies I’ve ever seen, but with the midnight festival crowd it became more fun than anticipated and worth every penny. I can’t say the same for Crispin Glover in Simon Says. This was hands down the worst movie I have seen all year and I pretty much loathed every poorly acted second of it. But again, some of these duds are actually what make the festival experience fun because it provides for great conversation and debate, plus they make that next movie on the docket that much more enjoyable.

     Meeting new people and/or meeting people that I’ve known for a while, but finally face to face is the real treat at TAD. Seeing Kurt (Cinecast co-host), John Allison filmgrotto (and MP blogger), Serena from themovieblog, Sarah (Pop Journalism), Jay from DVDwolf, Steven from Filmopia, Mack and Todd from Twitch, Leah from Anchor Bay, Bob the Builder zombie dude (can’t remember his name, but a good guy), Jay Cheel from FilmJunk and so many more new faces and friends and I can hardly count them all on ten hands.

     I really encourage all to check out this Festival if you have the means next year. It’s a fun and intimate festival with a great director and terrific programmers. I can’t wait to see the lineup for next year already. You can see synopsis’ and reviews for all the titles over at Movie Patron’s TAD headquarters. If you’re into martial arts, zombies, slashers, original and zany comedies, unique documentaries or fantastical animation, I highly encourage you to stop in. There’s something in this line-up for nearly everyone!

Mack (Twitch), Me and John Allison

Serena (themovieblog) and Sarah Gopaul (PopJournalism.ca)

Rodrigo Gudino (founder of Rue Morgue Magazine)

A great place to buy illegitimate DVDs

     Hayden Christiansen evokes a lot of feelings in people. Most know him as the guy who murdered Anakin Skywalker with some sub-par acting. Some hate him for that and others are just indifferent. Very few people actually like him quite a bit. I am one of those in the minority. With terrific performances in titles like Shattered Glass and Life as a House, he is often overlooked because of his larger (poorer) role in Star Wars. Also, while watching the recently released on DVD film, Factory Girl, about he life of Edie Sedgwick, I was surprised to see him steal the show playing the legendary Bob Dylan.

     Anyway, cutting to the chase, here is the latest trailer for his film, Awake. Alongside the always great Terrence Howard and the beautiful Jessica Alba, this does have potential. Potential to be what I’m not sure, but potential none the less. Take a look at this recently released trailer and tell me what you think. I think it is compelling, but it could go either way in terms of quality.

     Hey all. Just a reminder that the MoviePatron crew, alongside FilmJunk and MadAboutMovies.net have scheduled their recording of the 2nd episode of The Movie Club for November 6th. the show should be posted and available for download sometime by Wednesday or Thursday of that week.

     As a reminder, be sure to catch Sergio Leone’s Duck You Sucker (aka A Fistful of Dynamite) and The Rolling Stone’s documentary, Gimme Shelter. Both films will be discussed in depth and we’d love to have you join us (free from being spoiled as we dig pretty deep) and send us your own opinions on the movies.

See ya there!

     More fun at Toronto After Dark. So much fun in fact that I’ve neglected to get any writing done. It will all be up by the end of the weekend over at the Movie Patron After Dark Headquarters. But the first 6 or 7 reviews are available right now.

Kurt and Todd Brown from Twitchfilm.net.

Bad camera setting shot of Lloyd Kaufman (Troma Films).

Hanging with themovieblog writer, Serena Whitney.

Some of the Zombie crowd for Automaton Transfusion.

Out to lunch with FilmGrotto’s John Allison.

The fabulous Bloor Cinema. All the screenings are here.

     More updates and picture to follow over the next few days. For more info on the festival, check out our full spread of titles, reviews and trailers at our headquarters, or visit the official TAD site

 Cinecast Episode 65 [72:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

this episode:
Part A: “Live” from Toronto! Toronto After Dark Festival Films: In the Name of the King, Mulberry Street, Audience of One. Also playing catch-up with Cate Blanchet and Clive Owen in Elizabeth.
- music interlude provided by “The Long Winters”
Part B: The Darjeeling Limited and DVD picks for this week.

Be patient with some sound issues since we recorded outside.

Unwrap the complete Show Notes by clicking on this link…

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     Here are some pictures from The Toronto After Dark Film Festival. Once I finally got my luggage from the airline, everything has gone fairly smooth and it’s been a real blast. I have tons of pics to post over the next few days, but here are a few from the first couple screenings. Remember I didn’t have my luggage, hence the same clothing in several pics.

By the way, you can see our review for each of the films at our After Dark headquarters if you are so inclined.

With festival director Adam Lopez (awesome host).

Two of the programmers, Todd Brown from Twitch and Peter Kuplowski (short films).

Hanging with legendary film maker Uwe Boll.

Jay Cheel from FilmJunk.com and the documentary blog.

The CN Tower in Toronto.

My wife preparing for the midnight screening.

     More updates and picture to follow over the next few days. For more info on the festival, check out our full spread of titles, reviews and trailers at our headquarters, or visit the official TAD site

This may be a bit late (as the festival started on the 17th of October) but I just thought it would be interesting to do a post about it. There is always a lot of talk about TIFF and TAD but since I am nowhere near where those take place I thought I would mention the film’s showing at a festival a little closer to home for me. Here are some of the films playing that stand out to me:

Widely known films:

4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days - Winner of this year’s Palm D’Or

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - Highly anticipated movie starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck.

The Darjeeling Limited - Wes Anderson’s new film.

I’m Not There - Bob Dylan biopic starring Cate Blanchett and Christian Bale (both and many others playing Bob Dylan (wtf?))

Eastern Promises - New crime thriller by David Cronenberg

Juno - This year’s Little Miss Sunshine

Into The Wild - Sean Penn’s new film that has taken years to get made.

Lust, Caution - Some say “masterpiece” while others say “pointless”. Still peeking my interested though.

Sicko - How can I resist?

Lesser Known:

City of Men - from the makers of City of God but inevitably inferior. Still want to see it though.

Far North - not sure why I am interested in this but I am.

Chop Shop - The name alone makes me want to see it.

There are many, MANY more obviously but I just thought I would point out a few. Check out the website here.

     Well folks, it’s finally here. 7 Nights of “cinematic mayhem” at the Bloor Cinema in Toronto. Opening tonight with the zombie picture, Mulberry Street, I’m really looking forward to meeting many of you readers and contributors. It should be a good time.

     For a full spread on TAD, check out movie patron’s coverage throughout the weekend and all next week over here. We’ll be reviewing each film and full and also some random news and event coverage right here at the blog; so stay tuned for that as well. Also look for new Cinecasts with Kurt and Andrew once or twice throughout the week (actual face to face conversations) and possible film maker and festival staff interviews. SHould be a load of fun over the next 8 days or so.

Special thanks to Kurt and family for their accommodations and free food/beer.

     I spent last night watching two movies. The first, We Own The Night (Movie Patron Review) was pretty much forgettable. The second, Michael Clayton (Movie Patron Review) may just be my favourite movie of the year. Watching both in the same night really highlighted something for me.

     In order for a movie to be memorable it needs to have at least one memorable character. I don’t care how beautiful a movie or how well filmed or how scary it is without at least one character that stands out I will forget about the movie pretty much as soon as I leave the theatre. In We Own the Night I didn’t find any of the characters interesting. Truthfully, I can not even remember their names. In Michael Clayton, Michael, Arthur and Karen are all extremely memorable. I cared about what happened to these characters.

     I can not think of a single where the characters were completely forgettable yet the movie was still good. Maybe I’m wrong but I do not think so.

     I haven’t been following this too closely (because I can’t go); but AFI constantly sends me emails about their big festival coming up. I have to admit, the lineup is is a lot cooler than the After Dark lineup, but that should be obvious. Anyway, if you’re in the Los Angeles area between November 1st and 11th, you may want to check out the full line-up and schedule and purchase (fairly inexpensive) tickets right online.

For full lineup and schedule, CLICK HERE. Some of the many films (many of them world and/or US premiers) showing throughout the festival include:

Biggies:
LIONS FOR LAMBS
JUNO
THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS
WITH YOUR PERMISSION
THE SAVAGES
4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS (2007 Cannes winner)
DEFICIT (my boy, Gael Garcia Bernal’s directorial debut)

see more titles by unwrapping here…
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     What do you get when you cross Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Phillip Seymour Hoffman? A lot of people in a theater; that’s what. Today I got my first glimpse of the trailer for Charlie Wilson’s War. What sounds like a political thriller/social commentary film looks to actually be a fun, biting comedy.

     Besides the great Hoffman, we also have another underrated actress by the name of Amy Adams. Although I can’t spot her in the trailer, IMDb claims she’s there. If you’re wondering who she is, let’s just say Rachel Wiesz has a gold trophy on her shelf at home that should be on Ms. Adams’ shelf.

     So anyway, here’s the trailer; unfortunately with some ET commentary, but you get the gist. To see the trailer without the reporter talking in a couple of places, you can head over to Yahoo! movies. And yeah, that’s Julia Roberts looking more than OK in a bikini.

thanks to filmjunk for the heads up.

     Recently a member in my extended family narrowly escaped the clutches of succumbing to breast cancer. It took us all by surprise and really raised our awareness of things we can do to help fight it.

     So lo and behold in my inbox today is an email from “DVDs for the Cure” administrators asking if I wanted to help out. All I have to do is post some info on the MoviePatron blog about this great program. Becasue of recent family events and the fact that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, of course I said yes.

Here’s how it works:

FOX and MGM have joined up with
Susan G. Komen for the Cure on a multi-title DVDs For The Cure promotion. Fox and MGM Home Entertainment will donate 50 cents from each DVD sold to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, with a guaranteed minimum contribution of $250,000. Susan G. Komen for the Cure is one of the leading research organizations in the fight against breast cancer.

As part of the promotion the following titles will be reissued in a special pink packaging, and proceeds from the sale of each DVD will go toward this worthy cause.

An Affair to Remember
A Walk in the Clouds
Entrapment
Ever After
In Her Shoes
Legally Blonde
Mermaids
Moulin Rouge
Never Been Kissed
Say Anything
Thelma & Louise
There’s Something About Mary

     This is sort of old news, but the specially packaged DVDs should be more visible and accessible throughout October. It doesn’t take much to help support a good cause. You’re gonna buy a DVD this month anyway, might as well be one of theese. I can’t say I’m too thrilled with the color pink, but I guess it’s a color lacking from my DVD shelf. And anyway, I should’ve bought a couple of these titles long ago anyway.

     Last night I was dinking around in the iTunes store looking for various audio and video podcasts to put on my iPod for the trip up to Toronto for the After Dark Fest. I came across one completely free video podcast called Cult of UHF. Each month a new full length B-movie of yesteryear is added for a fee download.

     Many of the titles I hadn’t heard of, but many I had like Plan Nine from Outer Space and the original Night of the Living Dead. Many other too; including Little Shop of Horrors, House on Haunted Hill and Reefer Madness. There’s a bunch of Kung-fu movies there as well if that’s your thing. Some whacky titles I hadn’t heard of like Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter and Destroy all Planets. There’re a ton more and I recommend you check it out. Especially if you have a video iPod, as these are formatted and all ready to go to your mp3 player.

     As a side note, Kurt sent me a link to another public domain movie site with all sorts of crazy shit you can download for FREE, like the original White Zombie or The Grass is Greener starring Cary Grant, Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons.

Enjoy!

 Cinecast Episode 64 [110:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

this episode:
No reviews - just conversation. New Podcast experiment, recent viewings, Top 5 Lead Female roles/characters, DVDs this week and boat load of rambling off topic…

Unwrap the complete Show Notes by clicking on this link…

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