Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Hey, you probably saw a preview for “The Condemned” when you saw “300”, right? Yeah, I know, it looks like predictable fun. But, did you see the cool poster for it? Neat concept. I like it. What’d you think?
I love Entertainment Weekly. Truely. I look forward to it’s arrival each week and it never disappoints. Last week it featured a great cover and story on “300”. This week EW gives the same treatment to “Grindhouse”.
I’ve been an Entertainment Weekly subscriber since issue one and don’t plan to let my subscription lapse anytime soon. That may not sound like much of an endorsement, but it is. I used to subscribe to a ton of magazines, but its the only one I’ve kept. Entertainment Weekly has outlived People, US, Interview, Premiere, Prevue, Rolling Stone, The National Enquirer, Star, Sports Illustrated, Writer’s Digest, The Comic Buyers Guide, Movie Collectors’ World, TV Guide, The Comics Journal, Muscle and Fitness, Sly, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Cinescape and who knows what else.
Entertainment Weekly covers [in each issue] movies, dvds, television, music, books, comics, and features a monthly column by Stephen King [who is always entertaining]. While I don’t always agree with their reviewers’ opionions and sometimes couldn’t care less about their cover feature, I always find something in the magazine of interest. Especially when they cover features like “300” and “Grindhouse”.
Like most kids, I went through a period where I was really into magic. I had a magic set [a real cool one that came in a pretty good-sized suitcase] and put on shows for family and friends [and even strangers]. I read books on magic and magicians. And like most kids into magic, I became fascinated by Harry Houdini.
Houdini was not only famous for his magic. He also gained noteriety for debunking spiritualists. Houdini despised those who claimed that they were in contact with the dead and in turn would bilk grieving families who had lost loved ones. In fact, Houdini would often use his stage act to show just how these con artists would perform their “miracles”. Needless to say, this created a lot of hostility towards Houdini from the Spiritualists and their followers. Death threats were issued and even Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle, said Houdini would “get his just desserts very exactly meted out … I think there is a general payday coming soon.”
Most folks know that Houdini died on Halloween, 1926, from peritonitis. Or did he? Rumors have long circulated [from just days after he died] that Houdini was murdered. Now, 81 years after his death, Houdini’s great-nephew wants to exhume the magician’s body and see if the cause of death can be determined. He’s gathered a team of experts and hopes to definitvely lay to rest the cause of Houdini’s death.
I think that regardless of what they find, Houdini [the showman that he was] would be amused to learn that in the 21st century he was still making headlines.
The other day I mentioned that Gerard [“300”] Butler had signed on to play Snake Plissken in a new movie. My ZONE message board lit up with people [myself included] saying that Kurt Russell should be the one to play Snake.
I don’t think that he’s going to win. He may not even be in the final three, but I doubt that anyone will turn in a better performance than Blake Lewis did when he sang “Time of the Season” last night on American Idol.
According to a Sports Illustrated report, Evander Hollyfield is just one of many professional athletes linked to a nationwide steroids investigation. Several professional wrestlers including Randy Orton, Adam Copeland, a.k.a. “Edge,” and Shane Helms, a.k.a. “The Hurricane,” Kurt Angle, Oscar Gutierrez aka Rey Mysterio join other pro athletes such as Jose Canseco, John Rocker, Jerry Hairston Jr., David Bell, and bodybuilder Victor Martinez on the list. You can read the full story HERE.
This past Saturday my wife and I decided to ride down to the inlet. There was an art show going on and we figured that we could walk around, check out the art and then have some lunch at one of the seafood joints nestled in the inlet.
“300” continues to rake in the dough at the box office. It was number one for the second-straight weekend bringing in $31.2 million. This shoots it past the $100 million mark [$127.5 million] after only a week in theaters.
The March 23, 2007 issue of Entertainment Weekly has a cover story on “300” [more on that later] and features a first look at the poster for “28 Weeks Later” the sequel to the cult hit “28 days later.” Look for the issue to hit news stands this week. It’s always more than worth the price of admission and especially so this week.
Variety announced yesterday that New Line won the bidding war to remake Escape From New York. Gerard Butler [star of the fan favorite and record setting “300”] is set to take on the role of Snake Plissken which Kurt Russell made famous. Ken Nolan [Black Hawk Down] is on board to produce the screenplay which will update the 1981 John Carpenter script.
One of the cool things that you can find at Youtube.com is fan made trailers that have been edited to change the genre of the movie. I’ve seen The Shinning made to look like a romantic comedy, The 10 Commandments to look like a teen comedy [complete with a hip hop soundtrack] and many others.
Perhaps the best of all is Must Love Jaws.
If you know of any other good ones, please post the links!
Tonight the American Idol 12 will become 11.
It’s been announced that “300” made an estimated $70 million during its first three days of release. This not only catapults “300” to the coveted #1 spot in its opening weekend, but sets a new record for a March release. What makes this even more impressive is that the previous record-holder was the family-friendly “Ice Age 2: The Meltdown” that took in $68 million in March 2006. “The Matrix Reloaded” ($91 million) and “The Passion of the Christ” ($83 million) are the only R-rated movies to have bigger openings than “300.”
Last night 43-year old UFC Hall of Famer, Randy Couture shocked the world by not only winning, but by dominating Tim Sylvia for all five rounds to take back the UFC heavyweight championship belt.
