This is a smile.
Oh my, it has been a while since my last update. Luckily nothing very important has happened in the movie world since then. What? The Oscars? Oh, well, those aren’t really a big deal. And that Avatar film topping the money charts to become the greatest thing since eyeballs learned to see, well, that happens all the time. Wonderland? Whatever, man.
The important news is that my life is complete. As a kid, I was a huge fan of Clash of the Titans. So much so that it may or may not have had anything to do with my majoring in Greek and Roman history in college. So I’m kinda stoked that there’s a remake out there, even if I oppose remakes in general. My case,which I cannot embed for some reason:
All nostalgia aside, I really don’t think this is a contest, so I’ll move on.
Note: You're screwed.
Another remake reboot, and this time I’m dubious at best. I’ve been a fan of horror movies for as long as I can remember, and Nightmare on Elm Street has always been, in my opinion, among the best franchises out there. Oh sure, It is not without its cheese, but something about the idea of a monster who kills through dreams is utterly terrifying. I mean, sleep is when we’re at our most vulnerable and dreams are entirely beyond our control. Those two factors don’t bode well for anyone targeted by a certain Mr. Krueger.
For the series to be something new, they had to do away with Robert Englund. I understand that. But can it be Nightmare without him? We’ll see come April 30, though it’s got his endorsement:
“I really am looking forward to how they exploit the dreamscape with CGI and all of the new technologies that they have at their fingertips. That is something I think that is appropriate and that’s what I’m looking forward to. But I hope they make it their own. I hope they change it.”
http://www.fearnet.com/news/b15904_exclusive_robert_englund_on_jackie.html
… but not that of franchise creator Wes Craven:
“I don’t even know who’s doing it and I’m not interested. It’s actually really painful to think about it.”
http://movies.ign.com/articles/992/992845p1.html
Craven said he used his entire life savings to make the 1984 original and, after shopping it for 3 years with no response, desperately signed away his rights to make the deal he did, never imaging it would lead to an army of sequels (or remakes, for that matter).
That Michael Bay is associated at all makes me cringe, especially after last year’s reboot stupid and entirely unnecessary travesty that was Friday the 13th – which, of course, reportedly has a sequel coming next year.
Ferrum Vir II
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010Now with more iron. And a rail gun.
So, obviously the big news at the box office is Iron Man 2, which brought in a cool $133.6 million over the weekend, more or less kicking off the official summer blockbuster season. Unless you count Clash of the Titans as doing that. Or unless you believe it can’t start until Memorial Day. Either way, there are some big names right around the corner: Gladiator 2 Robin Hood May 14, MacGuyver MacGruber and the new Shrek May 21, Sex and the City (2, ostensibly) May 27, and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time May 28. And that’s just this month.
Both golden rocks, but not the same.
Meanwhile this has been a hot week for local film news as well. Of course, there was the announcement of the lineup for the Fourth Annual Little Rock Film Festival last night at the Clinton School of Public Service. Looks like things kick off with Winter’s Bone, directed by Debra Granik. Along with the slate of narrative features, documentaries and shorts, there’s a new competition this year for a $10,000 cash prize, The Best Southern Film Award given by Little Rock’s very own Southern literary and culture magazine, the Oxford American.
Order before July 13.
Also kicking off this week were a couple of movie series worth checking out. Over at Market Street Cinema, in conjunction with The Dave Elswick Show on KARN News Radio 102.9FM /920AM, they’re presenting a series of classic films (some more so than others). First up was Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. The remaining schedule looks like this:
June 8: North by Northwest
July 13: Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (!)
Aug 10: Shane
Sept 14: Top Gun
Oct 12: Friday the 13th
Nov 9: The Godfather
Dec 14: White Christmas
Not coincidentally, all those dates are the second Tuesday of every month. Showtime is 7 p.m.; tickets are $5 each. Children under 12 are admitted for free.
Like this. Except integrated.
For the retro experience, consider heading over to the Arkansas Flag and Banner building on the second and fourth Saturday of each month now through July to check out the Dreamland Drive-In. Complete with cartoon shorts, news reels and a feature-length movie, the experience is designed to take you back. Or, if you’re like me, to see how people lived way back when, before the cineplex. Schedule looks like this:
May 22- Reefer Madness/Sex Madness
June 12- Night of the Living Dead
June 26- The Outlaw
June 10- The Little Princess (family night)
July 24- The Fast and The Furious
Gates open at 7:30pm and the movies will start at sunset. Concessions of beer, soft drinks, hot dogs, and more will be available for purchase. Admission is $20 a car (pile in to save) or $5 person for walk ups. Proceeds go toward the Dreamland Ballroom renovation project, which is an effort to restore and preserve the historic Ninth Street venue.
The hair is somewhere in the middle.
Lastly, in Netflix news, I gotta say I’ve been slacking. I got Frost/Nixon and Pandorum and have sat on the forever. Besides Avatar and Sherlock Holmes, I hadn’t updated my queue in ages. But for this week I’m thinking Daybreakers and Legion, two flicks I never made it to the theater to see. I know, it’s very angels and demons… and I don’t mean the Dan Brown adaptation where Tom Hanks has that atrocious hair. What I can’t wait for: The Road, which releases May 25.
Tags: Avatar, box office, clash of the titans, Dreamland Ballroom, dvd, film, Little Rock Film Festival, Market Street Cinema, money, movies, releases, religion, returns, Sherlock Holmes, star trek
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