Films of the 2000's

Saw this at /Film and had to share it. Put together by Paul Proulx, (who runs an excellent website, Bennett Media) this roughly seven minute montage looks back on the films of the past decade. The funny thing is, watching this, it occured to me that it was a better decade then I remembered for cinema. Proulx does an excellent job of selecting clips, and, like all of his projects, he really uses music quite well. Defintiely worth checking out.

What is Jay Leno Thinking?

Here's perhaps the strangest of yesterdays Super Bowl ads. I find this ad incredibly puzzling; but perhaps it speaks volumes about the incredible amount of damage Jay Leno has done to his reputation in the recent weeks regarding the ousting of Conan O'Brien as the host of 'The Tonight Show.' Leno - who will once again go head to head with David Letterman for late night supremacy - appears in a commercial for 'The Late Show with David Letterman?' Why would he do this? Letterman has spewed nothing but venom regarding Leno on his show recently, even saying "What you are seeing right now is classic Jay Leno" and went on to say how pleased he was that the public was getting to see what Jay is "really like." After these remarks, Leno then does a commercial for his rival; and a man who clearly doesn't respect him? On top of that, he appears with Oprah, which instantly brings to mind his PR-nightmare interview with Oprah where he came across as arrogant, dim-witted and an unsympathetic to Conan O'Brien and the whole ordeal. I have no clue what he's thinking to do this, other then perhaps he's been advised that it would make him look like a good sport. I think he looks like a moron.

You Can't Beat Marty

This is an interesting clip from this past weekend at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. Several directors took to the stage for a Q & A and Quentin Tarantino shared a great story about Brian DePalma and Martin Scorsese (check out the clip above.)

The 1970's, for American cinema, was an absolute heyday. Coming up within a few years of each other were Francis Ford Coppola, Brian De Palma, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Martin Scorsese. The era is chronicled in the excellent book 'Easy Riders, Raging Bulls,' and I can only imagine the competitiveness that must have grown between these directors. Coppola brings out the Godfather films, then Spielberg drops Jaws, then Scorsese releases Taxi Driver, Lucas delivers Star Wars, and so on and so on.

For a few other clips of Tarantino at the Fest (it must have been an interesting panel, I see Quentin is seated next to The Hangover director Todd Phillips!) follow the link.

"Aliens" The Rap

This is why I love the internet. Here's a rap song the details that plot of the 1986 James Cameron flick Aliens. And when I say details, I do mean details. This is a ten minute rap that really, thoroughly recaps the movie. While I applaud the nerdy attention to detail that made this thing ten minutes long, I should also point out that at ten minutes, it's really too long for me to actually watch the whole thing. The smile goes away at around the three minute mark and I felt confident that I got the gist of it. That being said, I love seeing shit like this and thinking of that moment of inception. "Hey, what if I wrote a rap about Aliens? That would be awesome!" I think it's probably a very small handful of people that would have that thought, and a much, much smaller group within that group that would actually do it. God bless whoever the crazy bastard is that created this. It's bizarre shit like this that makes the internet great. Well, this and free pornography.

A tip of the cap to Johnny Hockin for bringing this nonsense to my attention.

'Avatar' Ends Its Run

We all knew Avatar couldn't dominate the box-office forever, but I would never have guessed the movie that would finally put an end to its dominant run would be the weepy chick flick Dear John. Avatar has been the box-office champ every week since its Christmas release until this weekend, when Dear John dethroned it. The sappy love story, starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried will now be the answer to a super nerdy trivia question. But here's the cool part: now you know the answer, which will pretty much impress no one. You're welcome.

Fave Five Chick Flicks... For Dudes

So this week on 'Movie Night', MTV's new movie show, we counted down the top five chick flicks that dudes could enjoy; in honor of the release of Dear John, a definite chick flick starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried, brought to us by the guy who wrote The Notebook, just in case you were doubting it's chick flick-ness. Check it out above, but also worth checking out, cause its really quite funny, is the interview that Jessi Cruickshank, from 'The Aftershow,' did wtih the cast of Dear John. Check that out, below.

Hope for Kevin Smith's 'Cop Out'

I had high hopes for Kevin Smith's Cop Out (previously titled A Couple of Dicks) because I was intrigued by Smith directing someone else's script (for the first time in his career) and the cast of Tracy Morgan - who I am huge fan of - and Bruce Willis. And then... the trailer came out. And the trailer wasn't funny. And, perhaps most interestingly, the trailer made no mention whatsoever of Kevin Smith being the director of the film. During his Mirmax days, Smith being the director was the bulk of the marketing for the movie. His "View Askew" production shingle (which he's apparently shelved) brought it's own built-in audience, and that audience knew exactly what they were getting - Smith's trademark brand of raunchy humor with heart. (A formula that Judd Apatow has been doing better - and more successfully - for the last few years.) To see a Kevin Smith movie being marketed without any mention of Smith was quite telling. But to see a Kevin Smith movie trailer without laughing was much, much worse.

Smith has always been such an accessible filmmaker; he's seemed to be acutely aware of how cool it is to be a Hollywood filmmaker and he's let his let his fans into his world very graciously from the beginning. Smith does his popular speaking tours; which have spawned the Evening with Kevin Smith DVD series; where he shares every tidbit of his life and his work. (There's some absolute gold in these too. His story about working with producer Jon Peters on a screenplay for what was then to be Superman Reborn is hilarious and his lengthy description of his time in Prince's employ is an instant classic.) He also has popular podcasts (which he's re-branded as smodcasts) which are very funny - and very personal - and he's written books that share every detail; down to his bowel movements and jerk sessions; of his his life. It's hard not be a fan of a guy as humble, honest and gracious as Smith.

All of that being said, it's been a while since he made a good film. Jersey Girl was sappy and trite, and his most recent effort, Zack and Miri Make a Porno just wasn't funny despite the excellent cast that included Seth Rogen, Craig Robinson and Elizabeth Banks. His earlier stuff, had a raw, gritty charm, but as the years passed, more and more his screenplays seemed to be derivative. Every character started to sound the same and it seemed he was more interested in having characters talk about filthy things then actually telling stories. Perhaps most troubling was the fact that his characters always seemed to be angry. There was always a bubbling resentment at play, and they just weren't fun people to spend two hours with anymore.

So when word came out that he was going to step behind the camera and shoot a film from someone else's script, I thought it was a wise move for Smith. There's no question he knows funny. If you watch Clerks, Chasing Amy or Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, it's quite clear he has comedic chops. If he could sign on to direct a funny script and sprinkle in his own funny and punch up the dialogue where need be, it could be a great combination and it could jump-start his directing career. But the first trailer for Cop Out arrived with a thud.

But fear not! The red band trailer has arrived, and this is always where Smith shines. Nobody wants to see a PG-13 Kevin Smith flick, so the "Restricted" trailer would show more of the traditional Smith stuff... but would it be better? The answer, I'm pleased to report, is that it is dramatically better. There's hope yet for a Kevin Smith comeback of sorts.

Check out the original, unfunny trailer, below: