Wednesday, July 24, 2013

'Gravity' - Sandra Bullock Gets Detached

Alfonso Cuaron & Sandra Bullock were both at Comic-Con this week to discuss the ambitious upcoming film 'Gravity'. Now we have another clip of the film that is similar to the first trailer, but expands upon the actual destruction of the shuttle and offers longer glimpses at the outstanding work that was done in regards to the visuals. Earth has never looked so crisp and clean on film before.
The clip ends with Bullock's character, Ryan Stone, floating off into space away from George Clooney's character, Matt Kowalsky. There is clearly going to be many moments of terror in this movie beyond the actual destruction of the shuttle. Its going to put the viewer into the character's perspective, and the idea of floating around in the vast blackness and expanse of outer space with no connection to life is enough to terrorize any of us. Its a different kind of "horror movie" that we're used to seeing. I put that in quotes because this movie seems hard to classify. It has elements of suspense, horror, sci-fi, and drama.

Bonus for Harry Potter fans: besides being directed/written/edited by Cuaron, who directed 'Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban', it's also being produced by David Heyman, who produced all eight 'Harry Potter' movies. 'Gravity' is out on October 4, 2013, and will of course be in 3D and IMAX. It should be one of the better films released in 3D/IMAX recently.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Kate Middleton Has The Royal Baby

So the Royal Baby was born to Kate Middleton and Prince William, and it's a boy. He wasn't born with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead, so my interest level waned very quickly from "mildly curious" to "who cares I just want some fish and chips."

The real star of the day however was the Royal Town Crier, whose name is Tony Appleton. He announced the birth in a fierce outfit. His shouting of the announcement made me worried that he would pop a blood vessel. Easy does it next time, no need to strain yourself, we all have twitter now.

Now please don't follow the Kanye West/Kim Kardashian model for naming a baby.

Friday, July 19, 2013

'The Walking Dead' Season 4 Trailer!

Season 4
Well this is a nice way to start the weekend, with everyone's favorite neighborhood Zombies! The official trailer for Season 4 of AMC's 'The Walking Dead' premiered at Comic-Con, and is now online. Watch it below.

Good news: the survivos have finally found a giant retail store a la Wal-Mart. Rick (Andrew Lincoln) seems to have stopped seeing visions of Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) in a flowing white dress. Michonne (Danai Gurira) has a horse. Bad news: The prison becomes overrun with walkers at some point.

'The Walking Dead' returns on Sunday, October 13th at 9pm. Besides this insanely long never ending heat wave, we now have yet another reason to want Fall to arrive ASAP!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Incredible Honey Boo Boo Parody: 'Precious Plum'

Mama June on her Wedding Day
'Here Comes Honey Boo Boo' is back on TLC (with Watch 'n' Sniff cards), and Mama June is making the promotional rounds in New York City this week, all during a sweltering heat wave. In honor of the return of everyone's favorite rednecks, I've decided to share the best spoof of Honey Boo Boo...Precious Plum.

Courtesy of College Humor, Precious Plum is a spot on and hilarious parody of Honey Boo Boo, taking everything from that show a huge and ridiculous step further. There are three short episodes so far, and hopefully with many more to come. Watch the first three episodes below, as Plum heads to a "Little Miss Tiny Tits" pageant in the parking lot of a waffle house in Chunky, Mississippi. She then adventures to the "Miss Tallahassee Tiny Hussy" competition in the basement of a shut-down Staples. Finally, Plum makes her way out to become "Best Drifter Midriff" under a bridge by that big mural of a dick.



Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Hysterical 'General Hospital' Scene

I don't watch daytime soap operas, but this is why we need them to keep churning out daily episodes. Yes, the jobs they create are important as well, but funny clips are the main reason. On the July 5th episode of General Hospital on ABC, a little girl named Emma hands her precious doll Baby Ariel to this woman named Britt. What happens next is pure genius, and if you don't laugh at it then you don't have a sense of humor. Or you have a very poor one.



Yes...the doll "pees" on Britt, she tosses it in the air, it lands on the grill, which suddenly ignites. Then the little girl Emma screams in horror as "my baby is on fire!!!" Someone else yells "I'll call 911!" I actually wouldn't be surprised if someone called 911 for a doll though, considering all the morons who call 911 at fast food restaurants when their order is wrong.

This type of campy humor is undoubtedly fun to watch and can bring anyone out of a funk. Now if only the doll had come alive once it hit the grill like Woody in Toy Story, that would've really been something.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

"The Cuckoo's Calling" by JK Rowling

Back in April, a crime novel called The Cuckoo's Calling was released by a mysterious man named Robert Galbraith as his debut book. The book was critically acclaimed even though there was little information on who this "man" was and not much promotion. It turns out the author is actually JK Rowling, who transfigured herself under the pseudonym of Galbraith. Harry Potter would be proud.

Rowling stated, "I had hoped to keep this secret a little longer because being Robert Galbraith has been such a liberating experience. It has been wonderful to publish without hype or expectation, and pure pleasure to get feedback under a different name." She had sent the novel to a publisher anonymously, and they declined it before being accepted by another (Sphere Books/Little, Brown & Company). This is her second non-Harry Potter book after The Casual Vacancy.

After it was revealed Rowling was the author, sales of the book went up 16,683,500% on Amazon. Yes, that is a real number. It's also the top selling book on Amazon now, after being previously ranked as the 166,836th ranked book. Currently if you'd like to buy the book, it is going to take extra days to ship because of the massive sales increase.

I love what Rowling did. All this time there was this fantastic novel sitting on the shelves and few people knew about it. Maybe that will finally get more people to start reading books? Or better yet, maybe publishing companies will promote books by lesser known writers? Probably not, but one can hope. The Cuckoo's Calling may become a series, as Rowling is reportedly writing another book featuring the main character, Cormoran Strike.

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Top 10 Films: Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock has been one of the most likeable and bankable actresses for over 20 years now. 2013 is yet another big year for her. The Heat has already been a big hit, making back its budget in a week while The Heat 2 sequel is already in the works. As I expected months ago, its on pace to be the highest grossing comedy film of 2013. That spot is currently held by Identity Thief, another film starring Bullock's Heat co-star Melissa McCarthy. Bullock & McCarthy clearly own 2013. Her next movieGravity, hits theaters on October 4, 2013. Its generating some early Oscar buzz, and will open the Venice Film Festival in August, the first 3D film to do so. Here are Bullock's top 10 films. Well, until Gravity premieres, which should enter any Top 10 list for her.

1. Speed (1994) - The film that launched her career into overdrive. Keanu Reeves became America's stoner action hero, while Bullock became "America's sweetheart", and a badass one at that. Speed blends everything we love about summer action movies. The movie never stops packing thrills and twists, and manages to get you to care about the characters at the same time, where some action/thriller movies can fail. For my money, Speed is one of the best "edge-of-your-seat" thrillers of all time. Bullock charms throughout the film, and her character delivers some laughs in an otherwise dire situation.

2. The Blind Side (2009) - A heartwarming sports movie is something we've seen often. What sets this one apart from the pack is Bullock, who expertly brings Leigh Anne Tuohy to life in a sassy and commanding way. She brings the laughs and draws you into the movie like no one else can as she struts around with quick wit and awesome comebacks. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in this role, and rightfully so.

3. While You Were Sleeping (1995) - This is one of three Bullock films that might be considered "chick flicks" under normal circumstances, yet everyone can enjoy them (the other two being Miss Congeniality & The Proposal). All guys should be thankful for these three movies which are not only tolerable, but interesting and funny. They make for a date night movie that keeps all parties happy. While You Were Sleeping is the best of the three, as Bullock takes that charm from Speed and turns it up a notch. Its because of this charm that the film doesn't suffer from being too sappy like many romantic comedies can.

4. The Heat (2013) - The Heat is a typical buddy cop film, yet Bullock & McCarthy have excellent chemistry that comes across well on screen, which sets the film apart. You can tell that they had a blast while filming it, and the supporting cast is excellent as well. We also get to see Bullock in an R-rated comedy for the first time, which is a nice bonus.

5. Crash (2005) - Sometimes movies with a large ensemble cast can be a mess (ahem, New Year's Eve). Crash manages to do a fine job with many different characters though. Bullock shows that she doesn't need to be funny or charming all the time. Her character is fairly cold and angry in the beginning of the movie, doing a fine job in one of her more dramatic roles to date.

6. Miss Congeniality (2000) - Before The Heat, Bullock starred as an FBI agent in this action-comedy that became one of the biggest hits of 2000/2001. A movie about a beauty pageant would normally draw yawns, but Miss Congeniality makes it work by both poking fun at the idea of a beauty pageant as well as humanizing the contestants. It packs a punch too. Just remember to SING.

7. Infamous (2007) - One of two films to be released around the same time about Truman Capote during his research and writing of the novel In Cold Blood. Even though Capote, starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, got most of the attention, Infamous is the slightly better film. That is mainly thanks to a deeper look into Capote's life. Infamous goes into his Manhattan society friendships which give it a little something extra. Bullock plays Harper Lee, and manages to shine well next to Toby Jones (who does a wonderful job as Truman Capote). Daniel Craig, Lee Pace, Sigourney Weaver, Jeff Daniels & Gwyneth Paltrow all appear as well.

8. The Proposal (2009) - Another romantic comedy that can be enjoyed by all, since much like While You Were Sleeping, it is not at all sappy. They lean more towards comedy than romance, and of course Bullock knows how to make a romantic comedy interesting. Betty White steals the show of course, as this movie launched yet another chapter in her long career. Much like The Heat, its a movie where the chemistry between the cast oozes off the screen. Just watch White & Bullock do their Native American dance to the tune of "Get Low" by Lil Jon and try not to laugh.

9. The Net (1995) - The Net was one of the first cyber thrillers to deal with cyber terror, identity theft and the Internet. Without Bullock the movie may have seemed more ridiculous, but she manages to make you care about the character. While high-tech at the time, its all pretty dated now, with its use of floppy discs and dial-up Internet. Yet it still manages to be an interesting look at the early days of the web.

10. A Time To Kill (1996) - Ten movies have been released that are based on John Grisham novels, and A Time To Kill is the best of the bunch. It can sometimes drag in parts, but ultimately is entertaining and a solid adaptation. Some of the scenes that never drag are the ones with Bullock.