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Fund This: Trailer for Nasa’s Future to Play Ahead of ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’
14 hours ago
This week’s Fund This Film is not about a film that needs funding. But it is still about a crowd-funding campaign that is somewhat movie-related. The Aerospace Industries Association (Aia) of America has gone to Indiegogo for an effort to spark interest in the U.S. space program, and they’re seeking money to put a promotional trailer into theaters to play ahead of Star Trek Into Darkness. The 30-second video, narrated by Peter “Optimus Prime” Cullen, is a commercial-size edit of a longer Nasa promo called “We Are the Explorers,” and it aims to remind us all that the end of the Space Shuttle program did not mean the end of American space exploration. This is especially important now that everyone’s watching Room 237 and becoming convinced that Stanley Kubrick faked the moon landing for the agency. It’s apparently against the law for Nasa to buy advertising space to promote themselves (come on »
- Christopher Campbell
Full Frame 2013 Review: ‘Medora’ is So Much More Than Just Another Underdog Sports Documentary
16 hours ago
Small things matter in Medora, Indiana. It’s the kind of town where “enormous” only really applies to people’s pride, especially in the minimal size of their community, schools and achievements. But to them it’s relative. What may seem like small victories are really great ones. And no part of Medora is more illustrative of this than the high school basketball team, which is the absolute worst in a state famous for the sport. When — if — they ever win, it’s almost the equivalent of being named national champions. Medora, a gripping and thoughtful documentary about this place produced by actors Steve Buscemi and Stanley Tucci, focuses on a single season with the Hornets, who in the previous year went 0-22. But it’s really about the endangered small towns having big trouble surviving in modern America, and not just because of the recent economic downtick. Factories have been gone, farms »
- Christopher Campbell
Roger Ebert, ‘Evil Dead,’ Wolverine and ‘Super Mario Bros.’ Star in the Top 10 Movie Stories of the Week
18 hours ago
What started out with a bunch of foolish pranks and fun became a very sad week for the world of movie lovers. It’s terrible to lose any one of us, and surely many cinephiles die by the day, but this guy was among the biggest and most important. As it turns out, this week’s Reject Recap seems more filled with bad stories than good. Of course, it’s a week in which we saw a lot of recycling and — appropriately for the holiday that fell recently — resurrection of properties including Jurassic Park, Evil Dead and Finding Nemo. Looking over the list of the ten big stories, it’s a pretty disappointing time for us in general. Well, it’s not disappointing as a reader, as we hosted a bunch of great writing this week and also found some notable features by friends at other sites. Strewn through, we share some videos of Roger Ebert‘s »
- Christopher Campbell
Movie News After Dark: The Jurassic Park 3D Edition
5 April 2013 7:37 PM, PDT
As you may already know, Jurassic Park returns to theaters today in gloriously revamped 3D. It’s also not news that Jp is one of the significant movies of my lifetime. Ten at the time of its release, my eyes opened wider and my imagination traveled further following a viewing of Steven Spielberg’s dinosaurs on the big screen. One could say that its release was a turning point in my life, one that has led us all here. To you reading Movie News After Dark, a nightly movie news column that tonight dedicates itself to one thing: Welcome to the Jurassic Park Edition. Roger Ebert’s original Jurassic Park review – Rip. Also, he liked it. 20 years later, Jurassic Park is still quintessential Spielberg spectacle – Kris Tapley breaks it down. It really has been 20 years, hasn’t it? 5 things modern blockbusters could learn from Jurassic Park – Included in Vulture’s list: the use of quiet. And »
- Neil Miller
Review: Shia Labeouf Comes of Age With Solid ‘The Company You Keep’
5 April 2013 5:40 PM, PDT
Shia Labeouf has already quite effectively shrugged off his adolescent persona as a Disney kid (admittedly, though, he was always a bit of a weird one, he certainly wasn’t going to ever star in his own version of High School Musical) with a series of big blockbusters and big public bust-ups, but the actor still seems to be searching for an appropriate niche to serve his undeniable (though sometimes overshadowed) talents. Fortunately for everyone involved, Labeouf hits his stride in Robert Redford’s The Company You Keep, a smart and serious slice of hard-boiled drama that’s long been absent from the local multiplex. Labeouf stars as Ben Shepard, a go-getter cub reporter in upstate New York who stumbles upon the biggest story of his young career, one that unexpectedly pops up practically in his own backyard. When Sharon Solarz (Susan Sarandon) is captured by the FBI at a random gas station in New York state »
- Kate Erbland
Casting Couch: ‘Crimson Peak’ Lands Cumberbatch and Chastain, ‘Tammy’ Grabs Janney and Aykroyd, and More
5 April 2013 3:00 PM, PDT
What is Casting Couch? A big list of casting news. Today we’ve got word on who’s going to play the new Hercules. And no, we’re not talking about Dwayne Johnson. The other new Hercules. The new new one. Big things are happening over on Guillermo del Toro’s haunted house project, Crimson Peak. Plot details are still being kept under wraps, but we do know that Emma Stone and Charlie Hunnam are already on board to co-star, and we do know that del Toro is approaching the film as a throwback to the classic haunted house movies of yesteryear. And now, thanks to Variety, we also know that star-on-the-rise Benedict Cumberbatch has been brought on board in a lead role. As if starring in Sherlock, the new Star Trek, and The Hobbit wasn’t already enough to make him a geek icon, now he has to go and work with del Toro. If »
- Nathan Adams
‘Carrie’ Trailer: If You Didn’t Already Know What Happens, Now You Will
5 April 2013 2:00 PM, PDT
The inherent problem in making a good remake of a classic film lies in presenting something new to the audience, some fresh angle, something they haven’t seen before, even if they have watched the original a million times. Depsite previous claims to adhere more to Stephen King‘s novel than Brian De Palma’s previous feature, director Kimberly Peirce‘s Carrie looks exactly like a copy of the first film – at least if this trailer is to believed. Instead of playing with our Carrie knowledge base, this first look just rips it right off. Yup, Carrie (Chloe Moretz) is a weirdo outcast at school. Yup, her uber-religious mother (Julianne Moore) isn’t helping matters. Yup, something bad is going to go down in the girls’ showers at school (though the apparent injection of smart phones is an interesting new addition). Yup, Carrie is going to stumble into her telekinetic powers. Yup »
- Kate Erbland
SFotD: Sam Raimi’s 1978 ‘Evil Dead’ Prequel ‘Within the Woods’
5 April 2013 12:00 PM, PDT
Why Watch? After all the cultish love and the trivia and the rebooting, isn’t it nice to get back to its roots? Also, The Rebooting is a horror movie I’m writing. Don’t steal the idea. It’s pretty obvious to see the DNA for The Evil Dead in this short where Bruce Campbell plays himself with terrifying make-up (and a mysteriously deep knowledge of ancient rituals). In fact, it was made specifically to raise money for a feature film called The Book of the Dead that Campbell, Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert were planning on making. It…didn’t succeed. It only played publicly one time — before a midnight screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in Detroit — but Raimi and company didn’t have permission to use the music, and the whole thing became a clustercuss that would haunt them all the way through the 2002 special edition release of The Evil Dead. There »
- Scott Beggs
5 Horror Classics That Should Never Be Remade (and 10 That Could Be)
5 April 2013 11:00 AM, PDT
You read the headline correctly. The number of horror classics that could be remade outnumbers the number that shouldn’t be. I’ve bought into it. I’ve seen enough good examples of remakes done well to no longer balk at the announcement of a new one outright (and I’m sure 5 more will be green-lit by the time I’ve finished typ…okay 5 more just got green-lit…); and if early word on the new Evil Dead picture is to be believed then it’s just one more punctured notch into the human-skinned belt of worthwhile horror remakes. No horror picture is safe from being resuscitated and put back through a brand new shiny meat grinder. Sometimes we get unexpectedly tasty ground sirloin; and sometimes we get mildewy grotesqueness reminiscent of “The Stuff” (which could use a remake). Talented filmmakers will make a good picture while talented accountants will make money. Sometimes »
- Adam Charles
A Forbidden Fruit-Related Giveaway! Win ‘The Bible’ on Blu-ray
5 April 2013 10:30 AM, PDT
If you’re sifting through the ultra-thin of the Good Book and thinking, “This really needs to get a hi-def upgrade,” then this contest is for you. We’re giving away two (2) Blu-ray copies of The Bible, the 10-part miniseries from The History Channel. All you have to do is head over to our Facebook page, share our Blu-ray Bible post (by midnight Pacific time tonight), and you’ll be entered to win (Us and Canada only please). We’ll choose two winners at random. Double your chances to win by commenting on the Facebook post with which part of the Greatest Story Ever Told would make a great horror movie. Good luck to all who enter! From the press release: “The four-disc Blu-ray and DVD set dives deeper into the making of the series and features a behind-the-scenes look at how the groundbreaking docudrama came together. Interviews with producers, directors »
- Scott Beggs
Review: ‘The Brass Teapot’ Occasionally Shines But Needs Another Polish
5 April 2013 10:00 AM, PDT
John (Michael Angarano) and Alice (Juno Temple) are a young couple high on love and low on net worth. He goes to a job he hates every day while she struggles to find even that much, but their lives are upended when she’s compelled to steal an old, brass teapot from a rundown antique shop. The teapot, like something designed by O. Henry’s more sadistic brother, dispenses cash when in the presence of pain. As John states and promptly ignores early on, this is going to end badly. Almost immediately the duo are taking turns hurting themselves and each other for the blood money that fills the pot. They smash, hit, and burn themselves. They get tattoos, Brazilian waxes and root canals. And they agree that they’ll stop as soon as they reach $1 million. But greed has a funny way of helping people rationalize even the most idiotic decisions, and »
- Rob Hunter
11 Reasons to See ‘Jurassic Park 3D’ in Theaters
5 April 2013 9:00 AM, PDT
While it’s easy enough to knock films that get a post-production 3D-conversion (err, sorry, G.I. Joe: Retaliation), this week’s Jurassic Park 3D is a true exception to the rule. The difference? Well, starting out with a solidly entertaining crowd-pleaser from Steven Spielberg sure doesn’t hurt. Turns out, Jurassic Park in 3D is still one hell of a ride, and that extra dimension is exactly what it should be – a nice bonus, but not essential to audience enjoyment. Are you ready to journey back to Isla Nubar, now with bonus raptor-popping? You should be. After the break, we eschew the standard review format to talk about Jurassic Park 3D (because, well, this movie came out twenty years ago) and give you eleven big reasons why you should shell out your hard-earned movie-going dollars to see the movie this weekend. Really, spare no expense on this one. Take the kids. Find »
- Kate Erbland
Film Jockeys #17: Treevil Dead
5 April 2013 8:00 AM, PDT
What happens when a legendary film critic brings is geriatric crankiness to an internet movie show? Film Jockeys follows the adventures of Carl Barker, his far-too-young production staff, the filmmakers and the movie characters that inhabit their world. Written and illustrated by Derek Bacon, it’s the perfect webcomic for passionate movie fans who want to know how Evil Dead will make them feel. For your consideration, Episode #17: »
- Scott Beggs
Remembering Roger Ebert, His Thumb and Film Criticism as a Conversation
5 April 2013 7:00 AM, PDT
When Roger Ebert replaced retired critic Eleanor Keane as head film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times in April 1967, American cinema was in the initial phase of a drastic transition. The Hays Code had recently been abolished after a slow decade of descent into irrelevance. With The Graduate, Hollywood began to rethink youth-oriented films in terms other than beach parties and Elvis movies. Art cinema from Europe and Japan were continuing to challenge the conventions of American cinema and the rigid expectations of American audiences. At the ripe young age of 25, Ebert displayed an open-minded approach to cinematic expression that he would practice for his whole career, as well as remarkable foresight regarding the significance of the cinematic moment during which he began full-time film criticism. Of Bonnie in Clyde, that inciting landmark of New Hollywood, Ebert wrote in September 1967, “Years from now it is quite possible that ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ will be seen as the definitive film »
- Landon Palmer
How to Build Your Own Jurassic Park
5 April 2013 6:00 AM, PDT
You’re going to need some foam core, a few Jeeps and some black-tinted Ky jelly. Such is the glamour of the filmmaking business. With Jurassic Park in theaters again, renowned special effects artist Shannon Shea joins us to talk about what it was like building dinosaurs and being on set for the Steven Spielberg picture. He was also nice enough to share some very rare behind-the-scenes pictures (and a dramatic reading of a scripted scene that never made the film). For more from us on a daily basis, follow the show (@brokenprojector), Geoff (@drgmlatulippe) and Scott (@scottmbeggs) on the Twitter. And, as always, we welcome your feedback. Download Episode #13 Directly Or subscribe Through iTunes On This Week’s Show: Behind-the-Scenes of Jurassic Park with Shannon Shea [0:00 - 38:00] Get In Touch With Us: Ask Us Anything Email Us Twitter Us Call Broken Projector: (512) 212-1301 »
- Scott Beggs
Movie News After Dark: An Outpouring of Love for Roger Ebert
4 April 2013 7:52 PM, PDT
Several people, none of whom have any ties to the film industry, reached out to me today to see how I was holding up in the wake of the news that Roger Ebert had passed away at age 70. These people don’t know that Ebert was a personal hero, or how special it was the lone time I met him, or how much his passion for movies and success in expressing it has paved the way for many of us who earn a living in a similar manner. They just know that I’m a movie person. To movie people, Roger Ebert was special. We’re not likely to see another like him again. So as fans and fellow movie lovers take to social media, blogs and traditional media outlets, all of which bear the mark of Ebert’s indelible voice, we take a moment here on Movie News After Dark to point out some of the »
- Neil Miller
Review: Stunning ‘Upstream Color’ Puts Swine Before Pearls and Finds Universal Truths Along the Way
4 April 2013 5:30 PM, PDT
Editor’s note: Rob’s review originally ran during Sundance earlier this year, but we’re re-running it now as the film releases on VOD tomorrow. And, not for nothing, but it’s still the best movie of the year so far. Shane Carruth has twice broken an unspoken contract between filmmakers and audiences that says watching movies should never require you to think, work or do any of the heavy lifting. A high percentage of film-goers and way too many filmmakers signed on to this arrangement, but small numbers of each stand strong in their defense of difficult and unconventional films. Those movies aren’t better by default, many of them are flat-out unwatchable in fact, but when they work, when everything falls into place… audiences are rewarded with something truly special. Carruth chose not to dumb down his debut, Primer, and while the dense dialogue left many viewers in its wake, those »
- Rob Hunter
Casting Couch: Brad Pitt May Learn to Drive a Tank, Nicole Kidman May Learn to Wield a Trident, and More
4 April 2013 5:00 PM, PDT
What is Casting Couch? It’s casting news. A bunch of it. All in one place. Today we’ve got the short list of young ladies who may be playing Cinderella in Kenneth Branagh’s upcoming Disney film, among other things. People seemed to love watching Brad Pitt don military garb and do a World War II movie for Quentin Tarantino, so it stands to reason they should be willing to line up to watch him go period again for David Ayer. According to Heat Vision, the director is looking to sign the star for his upcoming WWII-set project, Fury. If he becomes official, he’ll be taking the lead role of the film, which is an ensemble piece that will follow the 5-man crew of an American tank. More specifically, it follows the 5-man crew of an American tank in the waning days of the war, as they come across a battered and desperate division of »
- Nathan Adams
Review: ‘Evil Dead’ Isn’t Scary or Smart, But It Delivers the Gory Goods With Style and Excess
4 April 2013 4:30 PM, PDT
Editor’s note: Rob’s review originally ran during SXSW last month, but we’re re-running it as Evil Dead officially hits theaters starting tonight. When a remake of Sam Raimi‘s seminal horror film was first announced it was met with a fair share of understandable skepticism. The hostility was tempered somewhat by the inclusion of Raimi, Robert Tapert and original star Bruce Campbell in the producers’ chairs, but still people wondered if that bloody magic could be recaptured. The answer is a tentative and extremely gory “yes.” Kind of. Somewhat. Unless you’re someone who prefers their horror films to be smart and scary in addition to being creatively bloody. Five friends head to a cabin in the woods (surprise!) looking for both a fun vacation and a place to help one of their own kick a bad drug habit. But withdrawal is the least of their problems when a bloody basement and a skin-bound »
- Rob Hunter
New ‘Great Gatsby’ Trailer: Boogie to Beyoncé
4 April 2013 4:00 PM, PDT
The Great Gatsby may tell a story that was set in the Roaring Twenties, but it’s also a Baz Luhrmann film, so there should never have been any doubt that it was going to be packed to the brim with music from some of today’s most famous artists. Want to get a taste of what it has in store, sonically? Well, you’re in luck, because this new trailer for the film shows some of the music off. It features a track that teams up Beyoncé and Andre 3000, new stuff from Lana Del Rey, and a contribution from Florence and the Machine, all packed into a little over two and a half minutes. The music that Luhrmann hired producer Jay Z to put together for the film isn’t the only thing this new trailer shows off either. The ads we’ve seen up to this point have hinted at what F. Scott Fitzgerald’s »
- Nathan Adams
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