watch brick....and here's my Emmy picks...

Expect a Brick review sometime in the next fortnight, the same thing with Little Miss Sunshine.









Outstanding Comedy Series

Arrested Development
Curb Your Enthusiasm
The Office
Scrubs
Two And A Half Men

Will Win: The Office
Should Win: The Office

I think that the buzz for The Office has risen. I just hope I'm right. Although the Emmy voters might give this to Arrested Development, for a terrific last season. Too bad no one was fucking watching.

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Kevin James, The King Of Queens
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Steve Carell, The Office
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men

Will Win: Steve Carell
Should Win: Steve Carell

Carell's star is on the rise, with high-profile roles in The 40 Year-Old Virgin and this summer's Little Miss Sunshine plus his lead role in next summer's Bruce Almighty sequel, Evan Almighty. This will cement his meteoric rise.

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback
Jane Kaczmarek, Malcolm In The Middle
Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Stockard Channing, Out of Practice
Debra Messing, Will & Grace

WILL WIN: Debra Messing
SHOULD WIN: N/A

I have no opinion here except that the overrated Will & Grace will win another undeserved award. Alyson Hannigan should have been nominated for How I Met Your Mother; likewise for the always awesome Jenna Fischer for The Office. That staid mediocrity always gets nominated shows how clueless the Emmy nomination people are.


OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

GREY'S ANATOMY
HOUSE
THE SOPRANOS
24
THE WEST WING

WILL WIN: GREY'S ANATOMY
SHOULD WIN: 24

24 should finally get recognition for its consistently excellent delivery of a taut, suspenseful drama series. Unfortunately, the buzz has built steadily for the show that will win tonight, so ABC's Doctors Screwing will eke out a win here.

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Christopher Meloni, Law and Order: SVU
Denis Leary, Rescue Me
Peter Krause, Six Feet Under
Kiefer Sutherland, 24
Martin Sheen, The West Wing

WILL WIN: Denis Leary
SHOULD WIN: Kiefer Sutherland

Michael Chiklis took home the gold for The Shield in 2003, increasing the visibility of FX as a network willing to program gritty drama. Emmy voters may seize on that tonight. Still, Kiefer's been deserving of this honor for so long and he really should get this one. It's been a long time coming.

I have no opinion about the lead actress in a drama series category, as I never watch any of those shows so I cannot judge adequately.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Will Arnett, Arrested Development
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Bryan Cranston, Malcolm In The Middle
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Sean Hayes, Will & Grace

WILL WIN: Jeremy Piven
SHOULD WIN: Will Arnett

While I love Piven on Entourage, Will Arnett made Gob Bluth a brilliant study in idiotic dysfunction and thus deserves the win here.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

WILL WIN: GREGORY ITZIN, 24
SHOULD WIN: " "

Itzin made the Commander-In-Chief look asinine and silly. Pretty true-to-life and therefore he deserves the win for doing such a brilliant job of a weasel under pressure.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

WILL WIN: Megan Mullally, Will & Grace
SHOULD WIN: Jaime Pressly, My Name Is Earl

Again, staid mediocrity will win, as Will & Grace will take this. A shame, as Jaime Pressly made Joy a believable trailer park queen.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

WILL WIN: Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy
SHOULD WIN: Jean Smart, 24

Grey's Anatomy will pick up another but Smart's vivid portrayal of the First Lady on a razor's edge should get it.

OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE IN A VARIETY OR MUSIC PROGRAM

WILL WIN: Hugh Jackman
SHOULD WIN: Stephen Colbert

Jackman won last year; he'll repeat that win here. Colbert certainly should win the Emmy, as he zeroed in on BS right-wing talking points, creating a spot-on parody of O'Reilly and his ilk.

OUTSTANDING MADE FOR TELEVISION MOVIE

WILL WIN: Flight 93
SHOULD WIN: The Girl In The Cafe

The five year anniversary of 9/11 will allow Flight 93 to win. The Girl In The Cafe was somber, emotional, brilliant, and lovely. Kudos to Kelly Macdonald for her breathtaking performance and she should win her nomination as well.

OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES

WILL WIN: The Daily Show
SHOULD WIN: The Colbert Report

It'd be nice to see Colbert win his freshman year. It won't happen.

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES

WILL WIN: The Office - "Christmas Party"
SHOULD WIN: Arrested Development - "Development Arrested" (aka "Harboring Resentment"

The Office is always good; however, Arrested Development needs to win, for the best series finale I've ever seen.

And I think The Colbert Report should win the "Writing" category it's up for and The Girl In The Cafe should win the category it's nominated in. Sorry for the haphazard manner this is posted in...I'll try not to cram this in next time.

now, where was I?...

As I was saying before Mother Nature reared her disruptive head...

I procured the following from Netflix last Friday...



and...




These should make for an excellent double feature. Rian Johnson's directorial debut Brick was mentioned by me earlier this year when I lamented, once again, of how I had a dire need to see it in the theater but Savannah sucks through a coffee table when it comes to indie film. And, as always, my viewing of the film is relegated to DVD. In any case, I'm excited to watch it.

I'd always known he wrote the 1996 Troma film Tromeo and Juliet. But I was not a fan of James Gunn in 2002. I saw his 1999 film The Specials and thought it simply a lower-budgeted version of Mystery Men but lacking something. He wrote Scooby-Doo and I was lead down a path of distaste via Ain't It Cool News. But you know what? It wasn't all that bad. The sequel is another thing. In 2003 he wrote the remake of Dawn Of The Dead. It was a good horror film (and I'm Mr. Anti-Remake usually), one that I suspect would have gotten more respect had it carried any other title. Earlier this year he gave us his directorial debut Slither. He wrote it as well and supplied a very good horror comedy that came and went like a breeze in theatres. It's a shame as it was a really good throwback to '80s horror comedies like Night Of The Creeps.

His wife, Jenna Fischer, can currently be seen on NBC's hit series The Office. She plays Pam, the receptionist. In 2004 she made her writing and directing debut with the above mockumentary Lollilove, about a satirical version of James and herself who give out lollipops with inspirational slogans to homeless people in order to cheer them up. Advance word is very good on this one as well. I'll tackle these and post reviews after.



This was an experience to be certain. Jeff, our assistant manager, let me borrow it and I finally got around to watching it. It concerns a hidden subculture in which men run websites around overweight girls. They are the "feeders", the girls are the "gainers" and bets are taken on when these girls will die. A cop in Australia finds one such guy in America and heads out to stop him. It's a taut, unnerving film that I only recommend if you know that it's certainly unlike anything you've ever seen.

And now the long-awaited jury duty story...gather round children of the world for here goes...

I checked the Chatham County Juror website every night at 5:45, hoping to not get called. But lo and behold, Tuesday night mine was called: 528. So I arrived at the courthouse at 8:30, fifteen minutes early. I'd been through this before and took a seat in the jury assembly room on the second floor. I read the book I'd brought (Off Season by Jack Ketchum) and waited. The jury services lady told us that both cases that were being tried were criminal trials. We had The Travel Channel on a screen behind her for the most part. She gave us a ten-minute break after supplying us with our juror stickers. One group had their numbers written in pink marker, others in brown. I was one of the brown group. The pink marker crowd went up to the fourth floor; I'm unaware of their fate.

We were told that we'd be going into Judge Karpf's courtroom. We were led into the courtroom, where I noticed that I knew one of the bailiffs. He waved at me and smiled and I returned the favor. Twelve of us potential jurors were already in the jury box; the rest of us took seats in the gallery. The judge came in at that time. The defendant, a young black male, sat with his attorney. A blond female, presumably the prosecutor, was seated ahead of them. They all kept glancing back at us, sizing us up as we all know.

Judge Karpf told us about how important us showing up was and thanked us immensely. He was talking about the process of jury selection when a loud knock could be heard at a door attached to an alcove near the judge. A bailiff handed Judge Karpf a note written on paper from a legal pad. The judge said that he suspects he'd have to deal with a juror's issue, as there was another jury deep in their third day of deliberation on another case. If that happened, we'd have to go back to the jury assembly room and wait. He continued telling us about what was going to happen and, in a very cool move, said that even if we're not selected by no means does that mean we cannot stay. He added that our legal system is transparent and all courtrooms are open for the public....and that he'd really appreciate the company! ;) Judge Karpf then said that he doesn't labor under any false illusions that people would want to stay to watch -- just that he'd appreciate it, as it gets awfully boring in the courtroom! He was a really cool guy (maybe not if you're charged with a crime) with a great sense of humor and personality.

He surmised correctly. We were lead back to the jury assembly room, where the jury services lady forgot to turn The Travel Channel back on. The room was cool and it was still 11-something in the morning. Snores were abundant and I almost fell victim to slumber as well. Luckily, I had my book. She came back in and turned the TV back on. We were in there for about 30-35 minutes. The lady returned then, turning off the TV. She said the judge had something to tell us. He then entered, along with a bailiff. Judge Karpf said, "Unfortunately sometimes these things happen when we try to juggle too many things on one plate. We were making an attempt to try two cases at once. I had to pause to deal with one juror's concern on the other case when the case you were going to try was plea bargained." He said that the defense attorney had met with him and a deal was struck. The case involved a young man who approached a woman at a Garden City shopping center. He told her that he had several XBox video games he'd be willing to sell her at a severely discounted rate -- for about $140. They went to his car, she produced the money, and he took off with it. There was a camera in the parking lot and he was caught. He entered a plea and the judge accepted, so he got five years -- two served, three on probation. Judge Karpf thanked us for our service and told us we were free to go.

So no more jury duty for me -- until January 2008 at the earliest.

And now onto more musings from me...

A couple of books I'm eager to pick up...










I've yet to decide what I want to buy with my $10 juror check. I was planning on picking up the 1990 Bill Murray comedy (which he co-directed) Quick Change on DVD. It's his best movie and you need to see it immediately if you haven't. I still might although I would like to pick up a new book.

I spent several evenings in the company of two friends, Zach and Amanda. We just hung out and watched TV. A very cool time was had by all. Neither has seen Quick Change. I have it on VHS but cannot find it anywhere. I tore my room apart looking for it, to no avail, so I think I'll get that at Best Buy tomorrow. I need it for my DVD collection anyway.

Tomorrow the Fox Searchlight film Little Miss Sunshine will begin playing here in Savannah at Carmike Cinemas Wynnsong 11. I've been waiting for this film. It was directed by the husband-and-wife directing team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The duo has directed tons of music videos over the decades and along with Kevin Kerslake, Mark Pellington, David Fincher, Mark Romanek, and Spike Jonze, really helped define MTV during the early '90s. Their debut film has garnered terrific critical acclaim. I look forward to seeing it, especially Steve Carell's performance.

Well I've blathered tons for now. More later. Now, I'm off to view the films from Netflix, watch a little TiVo, and just relax and try to enjoy the last vestiges of my paid vacation. Check back closer to Sunday for my Emmy picks. And don't forget...THE MAN himself...Conan O'Brien is hosting...click the below banner to be taken to NBC's Emmys site.

rain falls against the windowpane...

Wow...where the hell have I been, huh?

Well, I'm off until Monday, as I had to cash in the very last bit of paid vacation time because I'd lose it in September and ALSO because I had jury duty this week. More on that in a bit.

I also spent several evenings in the company of two friends, Zach and Amanda. We saw Snakes On A Plane Friday; I then saw it again with my mother last Saturday (thank you connections). It's mindless fun and worth watching only if you're in the company of a crowd. It's definite audience participation material.

I received the following from Netflix last Friday...



and...

post to be continued later today as there's quite the hellacious thunderstorm outside.

some people just don't get it...

Need New Army Recruits? Please Don't Ask At A Video Store....

I posted the above diary at Daily Kos. It's a record of what transpired Monday morning at work. It's a very interesting read.

1995 was a good year...

for music, for it gave us The Rentals. Former Weezer bass player Matt Sharp's band combines unique, somewhat dissonant melodies with Moog synthesizers and hell any other instrument you can think of. Expect a new album from The Rentals in 2007. For now enjoy their hit song "Friends Of P." from their debut album Return Of (The Rentals).

you need some brilliance...

September cannot come quick enough, as that is when Capitol Records will release Sean Lennon's sophomore album Friendly Fire. I'm a big fan of his 1998 debut album Into The Sun and I cannot wait to delve into his latest offering. Above you'll find a promo video for said album, with clips interspersed from music videos shot for every song on Friendly Fire.

today...my horror thirst is slaked...

Much has been written of director Neil Marshall's (Dog Soldiers) latest film, that it's a return to form for the often-maligned medium known as horror films and that The Descent is a taut exercise in claustrophobia. I can't wait to find out at 5 o'clock today. An employee of the theatre I'll be seeing it at came into work tonight (I worked 5-close Saturday) and said that he felt like he needed an oxygen tank afterwards, as the film was intense. Now that's a rave review.

I'm off today.

The Scoop review is forthcoming and I'll try to tackle Eureka ASAP as well.

Over at DailyKos.com Markos and the gang have really done a bang-up job at following the Connecticut Senate race. I hope Ned Lamont receives the Democratic nomination but I'm afraid Joe "I'm a lobbyist whore who should register as a Republican" Lieberman might garner some muster. Even if he loses the bid, the asshole that Lieberman is plans to run as an Independent, effectively hurting the Democrats in the fall midterm elections. Check out Matt Taibbi's latest "Road Rage" article in this newest issue of Rolling Stone; it's a kick-ass piece that details why Lieberman is a totally clueless fuckhead who's only in it for himself and his inside-the-Beltway lobbyist sugar daddies...

Lieberman: Bush's Favorite Democrat


And now it's bedtime, for I'll not sleep the day away yet again.

U.S. Vs. John Lennon Trailer

Fucking amazing.
I cannot wait to see this. Now if only Bush and his ilk could see the forest for the trees. Unfortunately that'll never happen as they're all too delusional.

Last December, I made my thoughts known on Lennon's assassination.

My John Lennon Post

expect a review of this *very* soon...

THIS is my most anticipated fall series. I've procured the 55-minute pilot; they added a few things since it was shot, as the episode that debuts on September 25th is 72 minutes long. This series is about ordinary people who wake up one day with incredible powers.

The official site is heroes.nbc.com

The "Official Unofficial Fan Site" is 9thwonders.com

And there's another fan site at heroes-forum.com

I have to work tonight from 8PM-12AM and then do inventory from midnight until 5AM. Thankfully I'm off Wednesday.

And now, a lovely snack of peanut butter and banana sandwiches and some TiVo time.

just started this novel...

Touchstone Pictures will release the film version of this in limited release October 20. It was co-written and directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, and Michael Caine.

The trailer is here --
The Prestige Trailer

I'm only three chapters in but it's pretty darn good so far and I'm intrigued to see Nolan's take on the material.

And a quick stop at Google will allow you to discover that Heath Ledger has been cast as The Joker in the upcoming Batman Begins sequel, now titled The Dark Knight. Christopher Nolan will again direct, from a script written by his brother Jonathan and a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. Christian Bale will reprise his role as The Caped Crusader. No other casting details are available as of yet. The film will begin shooting early next year. I'm not quite sold on Ledger as The Clown Prince of Crime but I trust Nolan emphatically.



James Berardinelli's review of Neil Marshall's new horror film The Descent really has me geeked out. I was already highly antcipating this movie, as I really loved his previous film Dog Soldiers. The advance word is that this is a claustrophobic nightmare of maddening intensity and I can't wait to see it.

Expect a review of Woody Allen's Scoop fairly soon. I was able to see an advance screening early Friday AM (about 2AM) but got so busy with various other things I haven't had a chance to get that done. It's not as good as Match Point but it's still a pretty fun movie. I watched the amazing Nicole Holofcener's Friends With Money last night. It won't be out on DVD until the 29th but it's seven shades of cool and good and really brilliant cinema, despite an ending that has a small contrivance.

And in severely fucked news, I got a jury summons. I have to call the weekend prior to the week of August 21st to see if I'm called. Hopefully they won't call me but if history has taught me anything it's that I'm always fucking called for this and always get picked. Last time I showed my ass and pissed the judge off. I'll be a good boy this time, no doubt; I just don't want to be picked to be on the damn jury. I'll keep you posted.

Coming soon from Netflix...



Great critical acclaim has been thrown this film's way. I aim to discover it for myself. I also have The Libertine and Tsotsi from Netflix that I need to watch.



I procured this from work today as well. It was filmed in 2001 and although it's a loose remake of Jacques Tourneur's classic 1943 horror film I Walked With A Zombie, several online horror sites have said it's a fine little unpretentious horror flick.

As I'm typing this, VH1 Classic is currently airing the first 24 hours of MTV's existence, as it is now officially the 25th anniversary of MTV, despite what my blog post time stamp might say. (It's currently a few minutes past 12AM Tuesday morning now) Why isn't this airing on MTV, you might ask? Simple. The teens that watch it are too wrapped up in fucking bullshit like Laguna Beach and TRL to know anything about MTV's origin. I say fuck that and they should just air it on MTV anyway. Fuck those little snot-nosed brats. In any case, I'm about to rock out to "Video Killed The Radio Star" by The Buggles.

Pearl Jam - Here's To The State Of Mississippi

Beautiful song reimagined by the always amazing Pearl Jam. This song is powerful, soul-searing, and oh so true.

live what you believe...

In 1994, writer/director Kevin Smith broke onto the cinema scene with a caustic yet brilliantly original take on the trials and tribulations of what it meant to be twenty-something and working-class. Five movies later, Smith returns to his roots with Clerks II. Many sequels are borne of monetary obligation and suffer drastically from idealistic bean-counters whose main concern is not whether the film they're making is substansive, it's whether or not enough tie-in plastic cups are sold at Burger King. And yet as Smith's sequel will no doubt make considerable coin, he's embued his film with pathos and warmth. It's there, in between the raunch and vulgarity.

Twelve years after we left counter jockeys Dante Hicks and Randal Graves, we return to New Jersey. Since their previous place of employment went up in flames, the two are now slaves to the fast food grind at the Disney-themed fast food restaurant Mooby's. Becky (played wonderfully by Rosario Dawson), their manager, may have a thing for Dante yet he's planning to head to Florida with his fiance, Emma (Jennifer Schwalbach, Kevin Smith's wife). Randal's still his smart-ass, sarcastic-to-the-nth-degree self, and Jay and Silent Bob are still dealing, yet they're no longer using thanks to a stint in rehab. Trevor Fuhrman is new to the equation, playing a young Fundamentalist Christian Mooby's employee who Randal loves to torment.




Kevin Smith has become a media entity in and of himself. Yet his presence in the public eye tends to dilute the most overlooked fact about him: the man can *WRITE*. With Clerks II, he deftly blends the characters we know with a statement that rings very true. The main characters in the film are in their mid-thirties. Smith asks the question: do we grab the brass ring and step forward or do we do something that, while not particularly glamorous career-wise, makes us truly happy? In its very essence Clerks II holds the mirror up to its audience and allows them to reflect on what is to come, which is in their hands.

Some may denounce or dismiss the bawdy nature of some of the elements in the film but that's trademark Smith. This film is not Wedding Crashers. It's not Date Movie. It's wholly original and takes steps that other scripted-by-committee comedies wouldn't, mainly advancing the fate of the characters into different areas.

Clerks II is also a treat for those of us who've followed Smith's View Askewniverse, with cameos from many alums from his other films.

All in all, Clerks II is the best film of the summer. While achingly funny, it also manages to have a very big heart that beats with a rhythm and style that brings real emotion and tenderness to the fore, with caustic yet believable dialogue that only Kevin Smith-scripted characters can deliver. No matter what, it's a film that could have been a disaster. Those out there worried that this was a lame cash-in, worry not. Instead Clerks II is a delight and one that delivers on the hype and then some.

tonight....

I'll be seeing this at 7PM tonight, with the husband of one of my co-workers. He's a Kevin Smith fan. She unfortunately cannot attend, as she has to work tonight. I've been excited to see this for over a year now and finally the day is at hand! I'll be using the free ticket I earned thanks to Regal Entertainment Group's Crown Club Card, which accumulates your box-office purchases as points, which are then redeemable for concession items and movie tickets. By the way, head over to http://www.silentbobspeaks.com. It chronicles the recent Kevin Smith/Joel Siegel dust-up. It's pretty funny. I agree - don't fucking make a scene if you walk out of a theater while the movie's still playing.

TiVo has amassed a treasure trove of TV for me. I hope/plan to get through as much of it as humanly possible ASAP.

Apple has posted the trailers for Alfonso Cuaron's Children Of Men and TMNT, respectively. Check those out here - http://www.apple.com/trailers
(And yes, TMNT is indeed an acronym for "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". And yes, my by-then 25-year-old ass will be parked in a theater seat come March 30th, 2007 to see it.)
Someone online stated that the sci-fi drama/romance The Fountain, directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Hugh Jackman and Aronofsky's girlfriend Rachel Weisz (who just gave birth to their son recently) debuts its first full trailer in front of M. Night Shyamalan's Lady In The Water this weekend. I hope it's online soon, as The Fountain and Danny Boyle's upcoming sci-fi flick Sunshine are my two most heavily anticipated sci-fi films. As for Lady In The Water, I'll see it before it leaves theatres. The reviews have not just been bad -- they're downright atrocious. Only time will tell, however. My Super Ex-Girlfriend looks funny and anything starring Rainn Wilson (who's hilarious as Dwight Schrute on NBC's The Office) automatically garners my attention. I just don't know if I'll be able to see it in the theater so it'll probably be a decent DVD rental in the near future.

Alright rambly bits are over. Time to hit the hay, navigating through TiVo before I do so. I know I'm Broken Record Man when it comes to this (reviewing movies in a timely fashion) but expect my Clerks II review sometime this weekend. I also plan to start reviewing more movies on here. ALOT more movie reviews. Hell, that was part of the reason I started this damn blog two years ago! Plus I think TV reviews are in order as well. I've still got SCI FI's new series EUReKA to watch (the pilot) so I'll get that review posted this weekend also.

adjectives lose all meaning...

In the 1980s, films described as "family" or "children's" films were not mainly timewasters meant to keep the little ones engaged while Mom and Dad traipsed off to see something else at the theater or to make dinner. Nope. Instead, talented writers and directors used the medium to present films that articulated intelligent and well-written dialogue that was enjoyable for the entire family, not a mere segment. It mattered not if the film was animated or live-action -- more often than not what you got was quality. Films like Wolfgang Petersen's The Neverending Story, Richard Donner's The Goonies, and Richard Franklin's Cloak & Dagger all gave us characters we could relate to and situations we either would love to be in or would wonder how we'd get out of them ourselves.




Director Gil Kenan and his writers, Dan Harmon, Rob Schrab, and Pamela Pettler, have crafted an unbelievably original yet wholly reminiscent tale of a domicile gone demonic. Monster House, the latest animated offering from Sony (and the first to successfully use motion capture animation), allows us to recall what it meant to be twelve and in those akward years of uncertainty and yet still clinging somewhat to our sense of child-like wonder. In the film, DJ, a young boy, and his best friend, Chowder, are afraid of Mr. Nebbercracker, the cantankerous old man whose house is rotting from the inside it seems. He hates children, especially when they get on his lawn. After Chowder's basketball accidentally rolls onto the old man's lawn, DJ tries to retrieve it. But Mr. Nebbercracker grabs DJ and yells at him, inciting a heart attack which kills the old man instantly. DJ feels responsible for the man's death. But soon thereafter, the boys notice that the house is...ALIVE...and will eat anything that crosses its path. The two buddies decide that they must do something and so, after enlisting the help of Jenny, a girl who goes to the nearby prep school, the trio set about enacting a plan to prevent the house from devouring anything or anyone else in their suburban neighborhood.




Kudos must be given to the animators. The motion-capture animation done in The Polar Express was pedestrian at best. Monster House remedies that with lush, vibrant colors and attention to detail that has to be seen to be believed. These characters are some of the best that have ever been created for this format, bar none. But the animation would be nothing without the actors, of course. Steve Buscemi is excellent as Mr. Nebbercracker, while Maggie Gyllenhaal is dead-on as DJ's wanna-be rocker chick babysitter Zee. Jason Lee shows up for a bit as well, in a funny bit as Zee's loser rocker boyfriend Bones. And Napoleon Dynamite star Jon Heder is inspired as the sage movie and comic book geek the kids look to for advice. However, the movie belongs to Mitchel Musso, Sam Lerner, and Spencer Locke as DJ, Chowder, and Jenny Brewster, respectively. These three actors embue their roles with wit, warmth, and genuine presence that is a refreshing change of pace from the vanilla characterizations alot of animated films have featured over recent years.

Many films this summer will offer overbaked scripts written by committee or explosions and catchphrases instead of smart well-defined characters. With Monster House, one of the best films of the summer, the viewer will remember what childhood was all about and how it made us who we are. The film also provides a savvy yet brilliant treatise on how the world seemed full of adventure and magic and was a sea of endless possibilities, just waiting for us to grasp them and make them our own. Except this time...well, the adventure is real....it's a giant house....and it's mad as hell.




There will be sneak previews of Monster House this Saturday - check your local listings for showtimes; the film opens nationwide July 21st.

currently reading and surfing and watching and musing....

I've been living at DreadCentral.com lately. I've also been making good use of Netflix as of late and have been making an attempt at clearing space on TiVo by watching things in a timely manner. It's a work in progress, really, but it's better than nothing.

I just saw Spaced a little while ago. BBC America's been running it. It's from the minds of Simon Pegg and Jessica Stephenson. Pegg is best known for co-scripting the 2004 rom zom com (that's "romantic zombie comedy" for those uninitiated out there) Shaun Of The Dead and alot of the cast from that film is in Spaced. It's really funny and full of pop culture references. I saw the first three episodes and it airs Fridays at 11PM Eastern on BBC America.

I saw Superman Returns Friday afternoon. A review *is* forthcoming; suffice it to say that I loved this film and thought it was even better than the Donner films.

Blade: The Series debuted on Spike TV last Wednesday at 10PM Eastern. It's pretty good and I'm looking forward to where David S. Goyer and his team take this. Alot of print and online media trashed it but I think they'd already made their minds up that this wasn't the movies so by its very nature it is somehow inferior. No matter -- I loved it and the TiVo Season Pass is set. Blade: The Series also set a Spike TV viewership record, with 2.5 million viewers tuning in. It was also the #1 cable series last week with Men 18-34 and 18-49. I hope the viewer retention is huge from week to week. I want them to renew this sucker (no pun intended)

And since I've been in a vampire mood as of late, I ventured out to Barnes & Noble on Saturday with my mother. We procured the first three books in the Charlaine Harris "Dead/"Southern Vampire"/"Sookie Stackhouse" series...





and



I'm twenty pages removed from finishing the first and then I'll be diving right into the second one (during my lunch break; I have to work 9-5 today). Mrs. Harris's characterizations and flavor make for an excellent read.

More talk of the horror films I've viewed recently (thank you Netflix...they were quite good) and other exciting minutae will follow later today once I've returned from work...

sorry about the delay...

Head on over to DreadCentral.com for really lively discussion of all things horror. You see those astute readers out there may remember my geeky ramblings about The Horror Channel. Click here to revisit them.

Well last weekend, the entire writing staff and tech team from horrorchannel.com bolted, in a sign of no confidence to the CEO, Nicholas Psaltos. They'd been strung along under false pretenses about where the channel was going. The CEO wants the "channel" to be broadband, online only, and freaked out when rumors started swirling. He fired a gentleman who goes by the board name Uncle Creepy and with that firing, the entire web staff resigned in a show of solidarity. So the news, review, and message board section of the site is back in the hands of Dread Central, the site that merged with THC a while back. It's a really nice atmosphere, with really cool people with wicked senses of humor.

I also have a Myspace page now -- http://www.myspace.com/blackmarketwit
Don't worry the eleven nobodies that read this site -- my blog's not going anywhere.

I saw The Hills Have Eyes, Kairo (Pulse), Night Watch, and Transamerica recently. All were very good. Kairo will be released as an American remake by The Weinstein Company this September, starring Kristen Bell of Veronica Mars fame.

Up next on the 'ol Netflix queue: Intruder, a slasher flick from 1988 co-starring Sam Raimi, Ted Raimi and Bruce Campbell, I, Madman, about a girl who loves pulp novels and then her life starts mirroring the latest one she's read, and Alone In The Dark, a Jack Sholder-directed horror film about inmates in an asylum and their doctor. The lights go out and mayhem ensues...it stars Donald Pleasance, Martin Landau, and Jack Palance.

As usual, TiVo is stuffed to the gills....*really stuffed*

I purchased the following items today...

Alright, well make that yesterday, by now.....



(In a move that really makes me applaud and give kudos to them, Warner Independent Pictures has made it known on their official website for the film version of A Scanner Darkly that Savannah WILL be getting the movie on August 4th! Now if only *other* arthouse distributors - Focus Features, Sony Pictures Classics, Paramount Classics/Paramount Vantage, Fox Searchlight, et al, I'm looking at you - would take the same initiative. Al Gore's global warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth is supposed to go wide next Friday; we'd BETTER get it. There's simply no reason why ten and eleven screen theaters need to only be playing FIVE FUCKING MOVIES. I don't care how good Nacho Libre or Cars is; open up one or two screens for other, smaller films. Yes, I know they don't rake in the big $$$ but throw us film cineastes a bone once in a while, for crying out loud!)

But I digress. Back to the list of today's/yesterday's procurements...

and...



and...



I've very much been looking forward to reading the aforementioned item; the albums are icing on the cake. I mulled over either getting A Scanner Darkly or Chuck Klosterman's Sex, Drugs, & Cocoa Puffs: A Low-Culture Manifesto. I was uncertain but after seeing the other pop-culture laden tomes he's written and remembering the witty anecdotes I read from the offering I mentioned just now, I think I'll be picking up everything he's ever written. I still have to finish Joe R. Lansdale's Sunset and Sawdust.


It's a really good read and Lansdale artfully embues the setting with the sad, wistful feelings of early 20th-century Texas living and the rampant racism and sexism that went along with it; sadly alot of that is still prevalent in this century.

Today Netflix will bestow upon me the 1996 Reb Brown film about a Hispanic maid who gets a thrill out of cleaning crime scenes. A serial killer is on the loose in Miami (played by Stephen Baldwin) and she may just get too close for comfort. I'll also get Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic, the film version of the comedy show she did last year.

I saw Kiss Kiss Bang Bang last night. Shane Black deftly blended film noir with impeccable comic timing to provide a very funny yet very dark tale of intrigue, violence, corpses, and a severed finger. It's a really cool film with really smart banter and good dialogue. Give it a spin if you get the chance. Firewall was good, with Paul Bettany making a really slimy villain. I really hope Netflix receives Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in a manner that allows my next title to be The Hills Have Eyes (2006). Everything that I've read touts that it's miles above the remake and that French director Alexander Aja (the amazing High Tension) really made a terrifying horror film.

Last Sunday I got a haircut. A major haircut. Buzz cut. It's quite disconcerting, as as long as I can remember I've never had my hair this short. It's taken some getting used to (and many of our regular customers at work can't believe it).

TiVo beckons. But first, some bedtime reading. Bed will most certainly soon follow. I went to bed about 6:15 Friday morning and didn't wake up until 3:30PM. I really don't feel like sleeping Saturday away.

also, a new channel emerges...and I have rediscovered my love affair with...

I was very excited to receive this channel. I'm mainly viewing it for Knight Rider and they're replaying the cancelled-before-its-time Karen Sisco. I may also sample The Equalizer as well. They've also been running several decent movies but, as the channel is in its infancy, the schedule repeats itself each day. I sincerely hope NBC Universal doesn't start throwing any of the Law & Order franchise onto Sleuth. There's enough of that damn show elsewhere.





SLEUTH, an NBC Universal Cable digital suite of networks launched in first quarter 2006, is the premier entertainment cable channel dedicated to the popular crime/mystery/suspense genre, 24/7. SLEUTH features exclusive crime and mystery programming from NBC Universal's extensive collection of feature films, classic television shows, reality series and documentaries, from Miami Vice and Homicide: Life On The Streets to Scarface and Casino. The unique Sleuth digital suite will include video on demand (VOD) content and a high-definition (HD) simulcast. To uncover more, visit: www.sleuthchannel.com.


Our local NBC affiliate here in Savannah, WSAV has been doing something really cool. In honor of their 50th anniversary, they're airing "Golden Anniversary Theater" in which personalities from the station intro classic series that have run on the station in the past. Since the shows they've featured so far have been in black and white, so are the intros. They'd been airing Abbott and Costello but last night I was very happy to see them air The Addams Family! Since TV Land just stopped airing the series, I've been jonesing for an Addams Family fix. They're also holding a voting contest at WSAV.com for which episode they should play next. Apparently The Addams Family aired Saturdays at 6PM in 1964 on WSAV, as back then Savannah did not have a true ABC affiliate so WSAV took up the slack in that department.

Of all of the series not yet available on DVD, The Addams Family would be my #1 pick to put out on DVD. They should load it with any deleted scenes, screen tests, making-of anecdotes, hell they could even throw in the Halloween movie if the rights allow it. And a John Astin commentary is a must; Lisa Loring & Ken Weatherwax should also be allowed to record a commentary. Sony would make a mint on this thing if it was properly promoted and loaded with special features.

Wow...it appears that the official DVD release will be happening in October; conveniently October 31st falls on a Tuesday this year, the normal street date for all DVDs. Cool!

I was up earlier this morning and realized that Boomerang is airing the 1992 animated series The Addams Family weekday mornings at 7AM. I set a Season Pass for that. It only lasted 21 episodes. It's funny but as a child, we always assume there were 300 episodes of the animated series we loved when the opposite is usually the case.

Nap time is coming around the corner.

After tendering a partial payment of my balance at work, I procured the screener DVD of this...


Reviews were lukewarm at best when it was released to arthouse theatres earlier this year but with that cast involved, I figure it's worth a look. A co-worker of mine said it was excellent.

Now, sleep and then perhaps I'll finally screen Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.

IT'S OFFICIAL! YEAH!!! :)

I can safely say that I'll be setting a Season Pass on the good old TiVo for this!!! I am so excited! :)



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Press Release:

Pee-wee's Playhouse Makes TV Return on Adult Swim July 10
By Matthew Williams
06-05-2006, 10:34 AM
Pee-wee's Playhouse Makes TV Return on Adult Swim July 10
Emmy-Winning Series Returns to Air Monday-Thursday at 11 p.m. (ET, PT) 20 Years after its Debut

Pee-wee's Playhouse, the winner of an astounding 22 Emmy Awards and a pop culture touchstone nearly 20 years after its debut, returns to TV, joining the [adult swim] lineup beginning Monday, July 10. The acclaimed series, which has been largely absent from the airwaves for nearly 15 years, stars Paul Reubens as his alter-ego Pee-wee Herman, and features a rich cast of characters who drop by "the place where anything can happen."

[adult swim], Cartoon Network's late night sister network featuring animation and other programming aimed at adults 18-34, will air the groundbreaking series Monday-Thursday at 11 p.m. (ET, PT), airing all 45 original half-hour episodes of the series and the rarely-seen Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special. Many of the episodes have not been seen on TV since the original Saturday-morning run of Pee-wee's Playhouse.

In the series, Pee-wee, dressed in his too-small gray suit and red bowtie, welcomes a cavalcade of characters to his playhouse, including the King of Cartoons, Cowboy Curtis, Miss Yvonne, Pteri the Pterodactyl, Randy (the resident trouble-starter), Captain Carl, Jambi the genie, nosey neighbor Mrs. Rene, and Reba the mail lady. Other inhabitants of Pee-wee's Playhouse include Pee-wee's talking chair, Chairry, Globey the Globe, Magic Screen, Conky the Robot, hipster-beatniks Chickie Baby, Cool Cat and Dirty Dog, Cowntess the cow and the family of miniature dinosaurs that live in a mouse hole inside a wall. Each fast-paced episode blends live-action, puppets and all different types of animation including vintage cartoons, stop-motion Penny segments and Spanish superhero El Hombre. Plus there's always a lesson or two.

Pee-wee's Playhouse originally aired Saturday mornings on CBS, beginning on Sept. 13, 1986. The cast includes Phil Hartman, Laurence Fishburne, S. Epatha Merkerson and Natasha Lyonne. The series won a remarkable 22 Emmy Awards during its original run. Since then, Pee-wee's Playhouse has attained iconic status. In 2004, TV Guide named the show one of the top-ten cult classics of all time. A hugely successful 2004 DVD release brought all 45 original Saturday morning episodes, including eight "lost" episodes, plus the classic Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special, to new generations of fans. Gary Panter, famed painter, punk rock illustrator and comic book artist won three Emmys for his work as the show's production designer. Musicians who scored episodes of Pee-wee's Playhouse include Mark Mothersbaugh, Dweezil Zappa, George Clinton, Stanley Clark and Danny Elfman.

"I'd say this was a dream come true," said Paul Reubens in Hollywood, California, "but I never dared to dream The Playhouse would join [adult swim]'s amazing line-up of cool shows! Well, maybe I did dream of it a couple of times. OK, it's a dream come true!"

"We're all huge fans of Pee-wee's Playhouse and we're really happy that it will be a part of [adult swim]," said Mike Lazzo, Cartoon Network senior vice president of programming and production, responsible for [adult swim].

Paul Reubens created the Pee-wee Herman character in 1978 while a member of the famed L.A.-based improv group The Groundlings. It rapidly grew into a cultural phenomenon. In 1981, he sold out five consecutive months of performances of "The Pee-we Herman Show" at the Roxy Theatre in L.A. HBO taped the show for its On Location series and Pee-wee was introduced to a national audience. His sold-out 22-city national tour in 1984 included Carnegie Hall. The 1985 movie Pee-wee's Big Adventure, co-written by Reubens and directed by Tim Burton, was a commercial and critical success, which led to the series Pee-wee's Playhouse and the 1988 movie Big Top Pee-wee.

Since that time, Reubens has acted in film and television, earning an Emmy nomination for his recurring role on TV's Murphy Brown and garnering critical acclaim in Ted Demme's Blow, where he joined a cast including Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz and Franka Potente. He stars with Lukas Haas, James King and Thomas Jane in David Arquette's directorial-debut slasher film, The Tripper, and next can be seen in the upcoming feature Reno 911! Miami. His voice can be heard in many films, including Dr. Dolittle, Teacher's Pet- The Movie, Rugrats and The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Pee-wee's Playhouse joins the [adult swim] lineup that already includes top-rated original comedies such as Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Boondocks, Robot Chicken and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law; acquired series Family Guy, Futurama and American Dad; and action/animé series like InuYasha, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Samurai Champloo. [adult swim] remains the #1 ad-supported basic cable network among young adult viewers, ranking in April 2006 as the top cable network in delivery of its target demos, adults 18-34, adults 18-24, men 18-34 and men 18-24, according to data from Nielsen Media Research.

[adult swim] (AdultSwim.com), launched in 2001, is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.'s network offering original and acquired animated comedy and action series for young adults. Airing overnights six days a week for a total of 45 hours weekly, [adult swim] shares channel space with Cartoon Network, home to the best in original, classic and acquired programming for children and families, and is seen in 89 million U.S. homes.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable industry.

it's monday...

And so begins my week-long PAID vacation. I meant to sleep...however I owe an exorbitant amount of moolah at work so I'll be dropping off a payment at work today (boss lady said I had to pay *her*). I was afraid I'd sleep too late, as her time leaving work varies sometimes.

I'm sort of mega pissed. I was all excited to see Underworld: Evolution and Firewall via Netflix. Yet they decided to let me know Saturday they'd be shipping Bad Dreams and the Maria Bello horror film The Dark (from Ginger Snaps director John Fawcett). I mean, I wanted to see these films, no doubt about it. Yet it irked me. Plus, I was checking out scheduling on TiVo when lo and behold...guess what's on one of the HBO channels in about a week or so? Bad Dreams! Oh well. I still have the film Yes and I'll probably drop that at the post office later today.

And in potentially incredible news, [adult swim] dropped what may be a big bombshell late last night...

Last night during [adult swim] several bumps showed a black screen, then a blurry phrase that slowly came into focus as...

REMEMBER THIS?

Then hula-sounding music and sounds of nature could be heard., followed by the words...

COMING JULY 10TH


To the discerning ear, one could immediately recognize the beginning of Pee-Wee's Playhouse.

Could the gang at Williams Street be joking? Or does this signal the return of one of the best shows ever created to television? It's been so long since I've seen the show so it'd be cool to revisit it again.

And hell, if Family Guy and Futurama can return, I'd love to see Paul Reubens have a career resurgence once the show starts airing again.

Then again only time will tell. I know I'll be waiting with baited breath.

___________________________________________________________

I plan to do the aforementioned things then come home and sleep, sleep, sleep. Then I'll get up, clean my room, eat, and watch Mr. Smith Goes To Washington which I TiVoed off of Turner Classic Movies yesterday.

More awesomely excellent news follows...

From HalloweenMovies.com

DIMENSION FILMS TO MAKE NEW HALLOWEEN FILM;
AUTEUR FILMMAKER ROB ZOMBIE TO WRITE AND DIRECT

Trancas International Films to Produce
Along With Rob Zombie and Andy Gould

NEW YORK, NEW YORK (June 4, 2006) Dimension Films is proud to announce that they will make a new Halloween movie with Rob Zombie (The Devil's Rejects, House of 1000 Corpses) writing, directing and serving as a producer. Malek Akkad of Trancas International Films (Halloween H20: 20 Years Later) will produce the feature along with Andy Gould of Vision Entertainment Group (The Devil's Rejects, House of 1000 Corpses). Zombie will also serve as music supervisor on the film. Miramax Films will co-finance the development with Dimension Films. The announcement was made today by The Weinstein Company co-chairman, Bob Weinstein.

Zombie's vision of this film is an entirely new take on the legend and will satisfy fans of the classic Halloween legacy while beginning a new chapter in the Michael Myers saga. This new movie will not only appeal to horror fans, but to a wider movie-going audience as well. It will not be a copycat of any prior films in the Halloween franchise. The film is set for an October 2007 theatrical release.

Bob Weinstein stated, "Rob Zombie is a gifted musician and performer as well as a talented filmmaker. His vision for this new Halloween is spectacular and I am thrilled to be collaborating with him and to work closely with Malek Akkad to continue the legacy built by his father, the late Moustapha Akkad."

Zombie said, "I have been a huge, huge fan of John Carpenter's original film since its release. So when Bob Weinstein approached me about this, I jumped at the chance to join forces with Dimension Films on this amazing project."

The Halloween story began with the 1978 release of John Carpenter's Halloween executive produced by the late Moustapha Akkad, founder of Trancas International Films and became the highest grossing independent film of the time. Moustapha Akkad's son, Malek, is now taking some of the reigns on this new Halloween project to continue the outstanding work begun by his father. Malek Akkad stated, "Trancas is very excited to be working with Rob Zombie and producing another Halloween with Bob Weinstein and Dimension, the home of the franchise for the last three installments. It will be a fitting and worthy tribute to my late father."

"I am thrilled to be working again with Rob and with Dimension Films on such an iconic project that will reinvigorate Halloween and Michael Myers in a truly terrifying new way," stated Andy Gould, Rob Zombie's long time manager and producer of Zombie's two previous films.

Richard Saperstein, president of production, Matthew Stein, senior vice president of production and Alex Franklin, director of development and production will oversee the project on behalf of Dimension. Bret McCartney of Trancas International will oversee production on behalf of Trancas.

Andrew Kramer, executive vice president of business and legal affairs, and Lumumba Mosquera, senior vice president of business and legal affairs, negotiated on behalf of Dimension Films. Attorneys David Fox and Jeffrey Light of Myman Abell Fineman Greenspan & Light negotiated on behalf of Rob Zombie. Attorney Wayne Kazan of Weissmann Wolff Bergman Coleman & Silverman negotiated on behalf of Akkad. Rob Zombie is represented by Paradigm.

ABOUT ROB ZOMBIE

An auteur filmmaker and music artist with shrewd insight and creative vision, Rob Zombie challenges audiences as he stretches the boundaries of film, music and publishing.

Zombie is the longest active artist on Geffen Records and has sold in excess of fifteen million records. He is currently on a sold-out nationwide tour for his latest gold-selling album, "Educated Horses." which debuted at number five on the Billboard Top 200.

In 2000, Zombie jumped from music to film with his directorial debut and cult smash hit, House of 1000 Corpses. Due to the film success Zombie returned in 2004 to helm its follow up the critically acclaimed, The Devil's Rejects. Zombie was hailed by critics and fans alike as a visionary filmmaker due to the film's uncompromising and wildly inventive exploitive throw-back style.

Prior to House of 1000 Corpses, Zombie directed dozens of high profile music videos. In 1995 Zombie won an MTV Music Video Award for "More Human Than Human," becoming the first self-directed artist to win such an award.

Let me just say that I'm really excited about this. Zombie's first film wasn't great but he knocked it out of the park with The Devil's Rejects. Now if he can return The Shape to his quiet, brooding evil stalking self and return the Halloween franchise to a respectable place that marries suspense and terror to create a truly great horror film, it'll be really cool.

More later...