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The 2012 Oscars Movies Recast With Dogs

Natalia Buia — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:44:49 +0000

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Earlier this week we showed you what the Oscar nominated films would look like if they had more honest posters. Today we’re showing you what the films would look like if they were played by canines.

Thanks to NextMovie.com for the adorable movie posters. There’s a few more you can check out at the source.

Movie Review: Drive

Samantha Lui — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 13:00:53 +0000

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If you’re looking for another heartthrob-worthy performance from Ryan Gosling, you won’t be getting much of that in Drive.

But nevertheless, you won’t be able to keep your eyes off him.

In Drive, Gosling is mysterious and riveting and the only name available for his character is Driver.

A Hollywood stunt driver and mechanic by day, Driver serves as a wheelman for night time heists.

In early scenes of the movie, he’s helped by his boss and mentor Shannon (played by Malcolm in the Middle’s Bryan Cranston) who gives him a Chevy Impala to drive his clientele around to do their dirty deeds.

All goes well until he gets involved with his neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her young son Benicio. When her husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) is released from prison, Irene and Benicio’s safety is at risk.

Gosling’s ‘Driver’ tries to save the situation by helping Standard steal money from a pawn shop. But when the heist goes awry, it’s up to ‘Driver’ to take things in his own hands.

Fresh from Nicolas Winding Refn’s Best Director win at the Cannes Film Festival, Drive is an excellent action-drama thriller packed with violence and exciting car chases. Much like the style of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Pulp Fiction, the film is filled with blood and gore. Though the movie lacks dialogue, Refn somehow makes it work through the film’s characters’ actions and expressions.

While Gosling is supported by a talented cast that includes the likes of Christina Hendricks, Albert Brooks, Mulligan and Cranston, he holds his own playing the violent and badass Driver. And while there isn’t much that can be learned about the Driver, you’ll somehow still be swooning over him as he tries to save the day in order to protect the girl he’s fallen for.

Drive may not be for everyone due to its violence and gore, but it’s definitely a film worth watching. With a retro ’80s-inspired score and beautiful shots of the Los Angeles streets and skylines, it will keep the audience jumping in their seats from all the adrenaline and tension that arises from the film.

Contest: Win a Copy of Sanctum on DVD

Michael Levine — Fri, 27 May 2011 20:22:28 +0000

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andPOP and Universal Studios Home Entertainment have teamed up to give you the chance to win 1 of 5 copies of Sanctum on DVD. Available June 7th on both DVD and Blu-ray.

The 3-D action-thriller Sanctum follows a team of underwater cave divers on a treacherous expedition to the largest, most beautiful and least accessible cave system on Earth. When a tropical storm forces them deep into the caverns, they must fight raging water, deadly terrain and creeping panic as they search for an unknown escape route to the sea. Master diver Frank McGuire has explored the South Pacific’s Esa-ala Caves for months. But when his exit is cut off in a flash flood, Frank’s team-including 17-year-old son Josh and financier Carl Hurley are forced to radically alter plans. With dwindling supplies, the crew must navigate an underwater labyrinth to make it out. Soon, they are confronted with the unavoidable question: Can they survive, or will they be trapped forever?

To enter the contest, please complete the form below. We’ll randomly select 5 winners on June 25th. Contest closes June 24th, 2011. Open to residents of Canada, excluding Quebec.

This contest has ended.

AnnaLynne McCord Wants To Quit 90210

Christian Allaire — Wed, 18 May 2011 20:56:29 +0000

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’90210′ star AnnaLynne McCord recently spoke out about finishing her third season and revealed she wants to leave the show.

She explains:

“Honestly, after about three years on a show, you’re like, ‘Thank you very much for giving me a step up. Now can I go do movies?’ We love our job and we love our fans especially, but you’re always ready for that moment when you can break free. Being on a show is awesome. You have guaranteed work, it’s wonderful and the money is great, but at the same time you miss out on projects. There have been several movies I couldn’t do, and I really loved the script and wanted to be a part of them, and it just didn’t happen because I was working on the show. There’s always the ying and yang of it.”

Wow, the girl doesn’t hold back.

Does anyone even watch ’90210′ anymore? I could understand why she would want to jump off a sinking ship, but I have a feeling her network executives won’t be too happy about the statement. Maybe they’ll make her sign up for three more years out of spite.

Remember when Mischa Barton complained about being on ‘The O.C?’ They killed her off and her career went down the toilet. So I’d watch what you say, McCord.

The Razzies are Out!

Christian Allaire — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 19:40:01 +0000

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On the brink of the Oscars coming, full attention is being put on various award shows to see what kind of foreshadowing will occur. Somehow, though, I don’t think the Razzies will have a great effect on who will win or lose at the Oscars.

The 2011 Golden Raspberry Awards were handed out last night, and here’s a list of the “winners”.

Worst Picture
“The Last Airbender”

Worst Actor
Ashton Kutcher, “Killers” and “Valentine’s Day”

Worst Actress
Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon “Sex and the City 2?

Worst Supporting Actress
Jessica Alba, “The Killer Inside Me,” “Little Fockers,” “Machete” and “Valentine’s Day”

Worst Supporting Actor
Jackson Rathbone, “The Last Airbender,” “Eclipse”

Worst Eye-Gouging Mis-Use of 3-D
“The Last Airbender”

Worst Screen Couple/Screen Ensemble
The entire cast of “Sex and the City 2?

Worst Director
M. Night Shyamalan, “The Last Airbender”

Worst Screenplay
“The Last Airbender,” written by M. Night Shyamalan

Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel
“Sex and the City 2?

I haven’t seen many of the movies on this list, but by the looks of the commercial, “The Last Airbender” probably should win this title. I’m not a fan of M. Night Shyamalan, so I’m glad he won Worst Director as well. Very glad. I mean, have you seen The Happening? So, so, bad.

I’m not surprised the entire cast of Sex and the City 2 won Worst Actress and Sequel. I knew that movie would get ripped to shreds the moment it came out – nobody likes a sequel. But in all honestly, the movie isn’t that bad. Sure, all they do is shop, complain, and have sex, but that’s far better than something like “Mean Girls 2″ or “Leprechaun 2″…. seriously.

I think the Razzies are fun and take the seriousness out of award seasons… I mean really, are movies that important? People treat it like it’s a life or death situation during the oscars. It’s a golden little statue, people!

Phantogram Interview on Side B – Coolest Kids in Skool

Dan Busheikin — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:11:06 +0000

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What else can I say about Phantogram? I love them. The duo’s debut LP, ‘Eyelid Movies’, is a haunting, psychedelic orgy of beats, samples, synths, guitar and a rare kind of charm. Watch this interview, go listen to their music, and then get your friends from high school to start a band with you… It worked for these dudes. Hear more Phantogram at myspace.com/phantogram.

Avatar, Sherlock Holmes break Hollywood record for Christmas weekend

Emma Renda — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 23:39:25 +0000

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Hollywood is ringing in this Christmas with it’s biggest box office weekend in history – grossing $278 million over the last three days. This tally beats the record set in July 2008 at $260.8 million when The Dark Knight was released.

Avatar, the latest James Cameron 3D epic, led the pack over the weekend, bringing in $75 million. So far, Avatar has grossed $212.3 million this weekend.

“What a weekend,” Bert Livingston of 20th Century Fox, which released Avatar, told USA Today. “I don’t ever remember that big a diversity. When the third picture does $50 million, you’ve got a good marketplace. When Christmas Day falls on a Friday, it’s the best day it could possibly be.”

Guy Ritchie grabbed runner up with Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Rachel McAdams, which raked in a total of $65.4 million. Sherlock Holmes broke a Christmas Day box office record, grossing $24.9 million on its Christmas Day opening.

“We’re thrilled,” Dan Fellman, distribution chief for Warner Bros., told USA Today. He said Holmes made almost $10 million more than expected. “We were looking for somewhere in the low to mid-$50 million range and we have been very pleased with that, but when Christmas Day came around we blew away every record in the book.”

Alvin and the Chipmunks (The Squeakuel) came in third with $50 million, followed by It’s Complicated, starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, and Up in the Air with George Clooney.

“Though it seems counter-intuitive that people would want to spend money in this economy on such a ‘luxury’ item as a movie ticket, they perceive it as a bargain compared to other entertainment options and that has paid off big time for Hollywood,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box-office division of Hollywood.com, told the Wall Street Journal’s Speakeasy blog via email.

Dergarabedian suggested 2009 could be the industry’s highest-grossing year ever, with a potential gross of $10.5 billion.

Gamer’s Mind Blog: Infinite Ammo

Brett Caron — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:14:39 +0000

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Hey, doesn't that cloud look like... a person being impaled?

A Movie You Can Control: Cinema’s Effect on Video Games

Ever been watching a movie and wished you could tell the actors that what they’re doing is stupid? That you have a much better plan that would totally work, and if they would only do that instead, maybe the zombies wouldn’t eat them, or the comrade that was clearly going to inevitably betray them wouldn’t get the chance? Well I have. But with the advent of video games in recent years that seemingly make a conscious effort to mimic the pacing and immersive experience of a film, it’s almost like we have the ability to watch a movie that we’re also able to play through and control. For a classic narcissist such as myself, this is clearly the greatest thing to happen to video games since the B-button.

Obviously, cinema precedes video gaming. However, they are both rooted in the quintessential artistic question, “what if?” What if humans on a deep-space transport mission encounter a hostile alien life form that kills everyone but a woman who suspiciously resembles Sigourney Weaver? What if a plumber was somehow transported to a fantasy kingdom in order to save a princess who’s prone to being kidnapped? What if aliens had invaded Earth during World War II? Of course I have to stop sometime, but those are all killer ideas that would make great movies/games. Someone should probably write those down. You never know what could sell.

Whenever you rent a Star Destroyer, make sure you go for the full insurance coverage.

One thing that video games can offer that a movie can’t is an almost unlimited amount of time in which to tell the story. Audiences generally won’t sit through an 8, 12, or 32-hour movie, but put a controller in someone’s hands and let them interact with the story they’re experiencing, and you’d be surprised at how long their attention span will last. Of course, this is not to say that a game necessarily has non-stop action and interaction, but combining great action and cinematic sequences (cutscenes) often results in a very in-depth and engaging game.

When you watch a movie, there’s only as much story as the film can relate in it’s time limit. What’s that? I’m repeating myself? Not hardly, ladies and gentlemen. What I’m getting at is the director, the writer, and the actors are delivering information to a theatregoer, whereas in a video game, the gamer discovers additional information on their own. In Resistance and Resistance 2, we could pick up Intel documents, revealing even more of the rich story the actors and narrative help develop. So the gamer basically gets as much out of a game as he puts in, which puts video games at an advantage over the medium of cinema in how much of a story, or an interesting experience that they can deliver.

Something interesting that I’ve been noticing in games recently is that the shooting of cutscenes, or even gameplay, is developing and evolving similar to cinema. Think about Metal Gear Solid (here we go). To say nothing of the cutscenes, the gameplay itself was a revelation in how camera angles can set tension. Another great example of this is Resident Evil. Both of these games relied on not being able to see around the next corner until it’s too late, or tactically peeking around said corner. In addition to this, both of these franchises rely heavily on the element of surprise, much like a thriller or a suspense movie. Oftentimes it’s what you can’t see that defines tension in a game, or a movie. Try that theory with Sonic the Hedgehog. Even more recent games have featured the handycam style of filming, adding to the realism of the game experience. Going from the older style of side-scrolling to the 3rd person or 1st person views, and coming to the free-floating camera that can often be controlled by the player themselves, we have an experience that immerses the viewer/gamer in a way we haven’t seen before.

Ah, the peaceful serenity of Tai Chi.

Eventually, I really wouldn’t be surprised if video games overpowered the medium of cinema in popular culture. The sheer depth and breadth of a game can often be way more emotional and powerful than a film. On second thought, never mind that. People are just too lazy for that to ever happen. Send them to the cineplex, fill up their popcorn and extra large Big Gulp, and I’ll be trying to stop the Nazi zombiepocalypse.

Hey, Nazi Zombiepocalypse. That’d make a good movie.

Cheers.