Category: Movies

Deadline for War

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The deadline for war has almost arrived. Who knows what the next few days [weeks?] will bring us.

The nation has gone to a higher state of alert. Cities are tightening their security. Turn on the tv and all you can find on news channels are reports from the front and speculation about what will happen next.

The NCAA basketball tourney will continue as planned. And that’s a good thing. I have three of the four number one teams in our annual family contest.

The Academy Awards are scheduled to be held on Sunday as planned [although there will be less red carpet and after party coverage]. I’m glad that both of these major events will go on as scheduled. We’re going to need something to divert our attention from the media overkill covering the war. I also think that we can’t let the possibility of terrorist attacks on the homefront cause us to change our lifestyle.

Well… it’s 8:00 straight-up. May God bless our troops and may this war end quickly.

John Carpenter

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I learned about another classic that CARPENTER had created even earlier in his career. That was the cult classic “Assault on Precinct 13.” In the following years CARPENTER went on to direct “Escape From New York,” “The Thing,” “Big Trouble in Little China” and even “Starman.”

After that his movies began to be hit or miss and mostly miss.

Still when I go back and watch one of JOHN CARPENTER‘s early films, like “Assault on Precinct 13,” it’s obvious why he was one of my favorites!

Below Rises to the Top

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Way back on October 5, 2002, I told you about a movie that I couldn’t wait to see. And I wouldn’t have to since “Below” was scheduled to premiere the following week.

Funny thing was, it never got a theatrical release.

“Below” came out on dvd and video this week. I went to Blockbuster to rent it and all copies were gone. I called Best Buy and Circuit City and they were sold out. I went to Wal Mart and they had three copies left. Now they have two.

“Below” is the story of an American submarine crew facing Nazi war ships on the surface and something worse below. It’s not just a war movie though, it’s a haunted house movie as well… and there’s no leaving the house! After watching it, I can tell you it’s GREAT! David Twohy co-wrote and directed it just as it did on another favorite of mine, “Pitch Black.” Keep an out for him – he’s the real deal!

If you like scary movies, you’ll love “Below” and unlike me you won’t have to wait five months to see it!

Thunder Road Now Longer

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If you were anticipating the release of MEL GIBSON‘S return as The Road Warrior in “Mad Max: Fury Road,” the wait is going to be a bit longer.

Believe it or not, the possibility of military action against Iraq has delayed the movie’s start date. Filming was scheduled to begin in Namibia in July, but now will go into production sometime in the fall… which of course means the release date will also be pushed back.

Well… we’ve waited 18 years, I guess we can wait a bit longer.

X-Men 2 Trailer

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I’ve been a fan of the X-Men for a long time… since the glory days of the  Claremont, Byrne and Austin!  If you have to ask who they are, then it means you either not a comic book fan, or the 1980’s were just too long ago to matter.

At any rate, I found the first X-Men movie pretty well done. It wasn’t an all-time favorite and it’s not in my collection, but I did enjoy it on dvd.

Soon the sequel will be hitting the theaters, and the new trailer makes it look even better. So good, in fact, that I may have to catch it in a theater… as any long-time X-Men fan should!

Sammy’s Pleasant Nightmares!

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Everybody loves Sammy Terry. Well, everybody that knows him.

If you’re a longtime reader of this blog, then you probably remember that I wrote about Sammy Terry not a year ago. [Here’s the link if you want to catch up.]

Sammy hosted Nightmare Theater  on Friday nights at 11:00pm. Sammy would rise from a coffin, introduce himself and after a brief monologue about many things [including the movie we were about to see, would invite us to watch – if we dared!

So there we’d be, huddled in the dark, with our popcorn waiting for the monster of the week to appear and scare us! Sammy would return before the movie after commercial breaks with more of his dry humor… and then again, at the end of the movie, Sammy would make his final appearance. Before returning to his coffin, he would always wish us “Pleasant Nightmares!” followed by maniacal laugh.

What’s really cool is that Jerrald Hawkins has created a fan site and movie club dedicated to Sammy Terry. Jerrald has remastered old tapes of Sammy presenting movies. On the last Friday of each month, club members start their tapes at 11PM. Not only are members watching the movies “together” but at the same time they’re also able to take part in a live chat via Jerrald‘s site!

What could make this even better? Well, the tapes are professionally produced. They come in plastic cases with labels giving details of the movie, pictures of SAMMY and his logo… plus Jerrald sends them to members for the cost of the mailing! If this sounds like something you’d like then check out Jerrald’s site!

Even if you’ve never heard of SAMMY TERRY, you’re gonna love him because…… Everybody loves Sammy Terry! [“Until next time… Pleasant Nightmares!]

Snake is Everywhere

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Snake Plissken. Cool name. Cool character.

If you don’t know who he is [or you thought he was dead… sorry but I couldn’t resist], then check out “Escape from New York,” starring KURT RUSSELL and written/directed by JOHN CARPENTER.

Don’t buy the dvd — even though you’ll find it for less than ten bucks! Why, you ask? Because “Escape” will soon come out in a new edition with a lot of extras. See Snake Plissken is going to be showing up in a bunch of different places. New comics, video games and anime are gearing up all featuring Snake.

And how cool is that?

Phone Call for Colin Farrell

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Some things are worth waiting for.

I hope that Phone Booth  is one of them.

COLIN FARRELL and FORREST WHITACKER are the stars of the film which was delayed due to the Washington sniper killings. The trailer is now on-line and looks great.

If you’re like me, you won’t wait any longer to see it.

Chow Yun-Fat Walks Like a Dragon

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CHOW YUN-FAT [“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”] is set to star in “Walk Like a Dragon.” CHOW will play an Asian official who finds himself going against drug lords who have followed him to the US.

CHOW YUN-FAT was already a worldwide star before coming to the US in 1998 to make “The Replacement Killers.” He next appears in “Bulletproof Monk,” due out April 16th.

“Walk Like a Dragon” was originally developed to star DEWAYNE “The Rock” JOHNSON, who instead committed to the “Walking Tall” remake. [A “Walking Tall” remake?? I’d “Walk Like a Dragon” away from that project!]

Kurt Russell is Dark Blue

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I hadn’t heard a lot about Dark Blue  until recently. Sure, I knew that KURT RUSSELL was in it. And yeah, I knew it was a cop movie.

Then I learned that VING RHAMES would co-star [another plus]. Next I saw the trailer… and discovered that this wouldn’t be the normal “good cop” movie.  Then I learned that JAMES ELROY was one of the screenwriters [another plus]. After that  I was sold.

Finally… well “finally” won’t happen until the movie opens… and I’ll finally get to see it.

Nolan Excited About Batman

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CHRISTOPHER NOLAN [“Momento” “Insomnia”] has signed on to helm the next Batman movie. NOLAN was quoted as saying, “I grew up with Batman, I’ve been fascinated by him and I’m excited to contribute to the lore surrounding the character. He is the most credible and realistic of the superheroes and has the most complex human psychology. His superhero qualities come from within. He’s not a magical character.”

FRANK MILLER [writer/artist for the two classic Batman series: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns] is said to be working on a script. NOLAN directing from a script by MILLER would be a fan’s dream… at least this fan’s.

The Hunted

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Sometimes after seeing a trailer you think, “I’ve seen this movie before.” It’s not that you really have, it’s just that you’ve seen so many like it that you know EXACTLY what’s going to happen.
The question then becomes, is it going to be worth my time? Most often the answer is “no.”

In the case of The Hunted  the answer, for me, is definitely, “yes.”

Sure, it looks like “First Blood.”

And yeah, we’ve seen this kind of film many times before, but NOT with TOMMY LEE JONES and BENICIO DEL TORRO! They alone are worth the price of admission.

I’m sure that The Hunted  will take a lot of hits from critics for being derivative. I’m also sure that I’ll be in the audience loving every minute of it!

Richard Crenna – RIP

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RICHARD CRENNA, the Emmy award-winning actor has died. He was 76.

Mr. CRENNA, whose credits included all three “Rambo” films, “Body Heat,” the classic suspense film “Wait Until Dark,” as well as many other roles, died of pancreatic cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

RICHARD CRENNA is survived by wife and three adult children. A public service is to be held Jan. 25.

Travolta and Jackson in “Basic”

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The movie is “Basic.” Ok, then.

JOHN TRAVOLTA. SAMUEL JACKSON. GIOVANNI RIBISI. ANDY GARCIA. CHRISTIAN de la FUENTE. HARRY CONNICK JR.
Directed by JOHN McTIERNAN of “Die Hard” and “Predator” fame. The trailer makes it look like it’ll meet our best expectations.
We’ll find out when it opens on April 18th.

Crowe’s Roll

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RUSSELL CROWE’S on a roll, and the trailer looks good.
So it might be worth it to check out Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.  [The title could use some help though…] Based on novels by PATRICK O’BRIAN, CROWE plays “Lucky” Jack Aubrey, Captain of the H.M.S. Surprise…

If the trailer is any indication, CROWE‘s roll will continue.