Movie Scum

If there was ever a movie at odds with itself, The Kingdom is it. Released in 2007, Peter Berg ’s film about an attack on Americans living in Saudi Arabia likes to attempt straddling the line between political thriller and mindless action film. The story written by Matthew Michael Carnahan seems to try delving deeper into the social and political ramifications of Americans killed abroad and the subsequent FBI investigative team sent but is constantly undercut by half-handed dialogue and shoot-’em-up scenes to keep it from becoming “boring.” Most jarring is the third act of the film which changes from a milquetoast Tom Clancy novel into a milquetoast Tom Clancy novel-based film in which the main team, led by the quite charismatic Jamie Foxx , is pulled into a rugged Saudi neighborhood with machine guns and RPGs apparently just laying around. After an hour and a half of diplomacy and some sense of restraint, the film pivots into a full out action, go ‘Murica type of film. Othe

In spite of the fact that international espionage is certainly not any 12-year-old's ideal movie plot, 1994's Clear and Present Danger was and remains one of my favorite action movies and the watermark for Tom Clancy's unsteady Jack Ryan series. But okay, while the political in-fighting, old-school computer hacking (aka guessing passwords), and Mexican drug cartel stuff is in fact interesting, one nearly 10 minute sequence clenched my love for this movie. Unfortunately, only a snippet of it appears on Youtube but the scene where Jack Ryan and his CIA cohorts are besieged in the streets on Bogota, is pure excellence in staging and direction on director Philip Noyce's part. So, it's Friday! Enjoy! Watch some Suburbans get blown up (which between this and Speed made the Suburban my dream car)!

Although there's been a smattering a tours and reunions, most folks have been missing Bob Odenkirk and David Cross since 1998. Well, okay, that's not exactly true between Arrested Development for Cross, and Breaking Bad & Better Call Saul for Odenkirk, but Deadline has news that Bob and David are coming back to their proper home: sketch comedy. Netflix has picked up the show with the two acting as executive producers for four half-hour episodes and a 'making-of documentary.' I don't know what any of those words mean because Bob & David are coming back and I'm insane! Yay Netflix! Boo Communism! Words! No word yet on a return for Pit-Pat, the Pansexual Spokes-thing though.

One of these things is not like the other. Furious 7 We've already discussed this last week but all the early reviews indicate this entry is fasterer and furiouserer than the preceding films, which were already quite fast and furious. It'll make a billion dollars and you'll probably see it just for Jason Statham's apparently awesome villain. Woman in Gold What appears to be a touching, if ultimately kind of boring movie, starring future Fast & Furious villain Helen Mirren in a valiant effort to get a priceless family heirloom back. And she's aided by brilliant attorney ... Ryan Reynolds? Well, okay then movie. I'd wait for Netflix on this one.

Considering the 84-year-old director has helmed nine films in the past decade, that may not be much of a stretch. But Clint Eastwood isn't going for the gold in a 400 meter dash. Yahoo reports Eastwood is heavily considering a film based on the Centennial Olympic Park bombing that took place in 1996's Olympic Games in Atlanta. So far, Jonah Hill has been cast as Richard Jewell, the security guard who discovered the bomb and later became the top suspect, with Leonardo diCaprio in talks to play his defense attorney. Even if you don't particular like Eastwood as a director (I was ambivalent toward J. Edgar and completely uninterested in Jersey Boys ), you have to admire his stamina. Clint Eastwood is the Hugh Hefner of Hollywood.

Warner Brothers is clearly disappointed in revenue relating to Batman properties, especially considering Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy only made about $1.2 billion at the box office. So naturally, in addition to shoehorning Batman into the next Superman movie, the original Batman and Robin, Adam West and Burt Ward are returning to their characters , albeit in animated form. The animated flick is set to open sometime in 2016 to commemorate the original series' 50th anniversary. No word yet on whether onomatopoeias such as 'BLAM' and 'SMACK' will be along for the ride.

As I read a feature over at The Dissolve about making Blu-rays relevant again , I realize that I am not the type of film-viewer that would ever, willingly, make them irrelevant to begin with. From my early years in the late 80s and early 90s, I loved the act of collecting films on physical media, whether it be a less-than-perfect dub from a video store rental, a recording from HBO, or a hard-to-find 'SP' version of A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 . Eventually, these VHS tapes gave way to laserdiscs (which were prohibitively expensive mostly), DVDs, and then now Blu-rays. The actual rationale (if there is one) behind my desire to own physical media has not diminished, even if the majority of the world disagrees. Blu-rays and DVDs represent something tangible to me. If you were to look at my collection, you might be impressed at the variety of titles or abhorred at the titles themselves. I mean, who really buys Maniac Cop 2 on Blu-ray? But at the very least, these discs rep

Hollywood 's 'It-Woman' who has played everything from royalty to an assassin wants a part in the Fast & Furious series. Helen Mirren told Yahoo : My great ambition is to be in a Fast and Furious movie. I so want to be a mad driver in a Fast and Furious movie. My claim to fame is I always do my own driving — I was on Top Gear, and I did [my lap] in a very good time. I keep putting it out there, and they never ask me. If this series is to continue, this needs to happen. If only so Mirren can proclaim her Vin Diesel love in person.

AMC's much touted first look at The Walking Dead spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead was quietly tucked away into an early commercial break of last night's season finale of the parent show. Presumably the reason for this being that this 'teaser' stretches even the very definition of a teaser with just a few shots of sunny Los Angeles as a voice-over talks about a "strange virus going around." Given AMC's dearth of notable shows with Walking Dead now done for the season and Better Call Saul and Mad Men wrapping up, I expect we'll see a lot more. Fear the Walking Dead , which I will admit is a better title than 'Be Cautiously Aware of Those That Appear to be Walking Dead', will fill the gap between Walking Dead seasons premiering this summer, showing the beginning of the outbreak. At the very least, I will be looking forward to this if only because so many zombie tales skip the initial outbreak and are thrust straight into the apocolypse. I

For a movie to combine the fears of old age, Alzheimer's disease, child abduction, and murder must have been a nightmare to pull off. The Taking of Deborah Logan manages all that and more in spades. In honesty, I was perusing Netflix last night, just aimlessly looking but especially focusing on horror movies that may or may not be crap. I almost watched Event Horizon again. But the image and synopsis for Deborah Logan drew me in. Now, after being able to watch it kid-free, I am quite glad I stumbled upon it. At first, I was dismayed at the "found footage" nature of the film. After all, since The Blair Witch Project came out almost two decades ago, almost every other horror movie has used that effect in one way or another. But surprisingly, it works well here. Sarah Logan, tasked with caring after her mother who is showing symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease, is approached by a group of students studying the disease to help and film the progress. Of course, not

After the wonderfully shot and masterfully directed Skyfall , the news that director Sam Mendes was returning upped my anticipation for the next installment. Now, MGM has released a teaser for James Bond's newest adventures in murdering and womanizing, Spectre (or maybe SPECTRE, can't figure out which yet), showing off Waltz's standard creepy vibe and a new mystery for 007 to be entangled in. Spectre (or SPECTRE!) is due for release in November 2016.

Director Jay Chandrasekhar penned a fascinating piece today on Trove about the need for crowdfunding for Super Troopers 2 and the film industry in general. After a thorough background of the production of the first, now almost universally loved, Super Troopers, Chandrasekhar explains the problems with making a follow up in a studio system reaching for the biggest dollars possible. Two years ago, my friend was the president of a major Hollywood studio. When I sat down with him to talk about what movies we might make together, he said, "We need $100 million comedies starring Johnny Depp, Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, or Vince Vaughn. That's it. That's the list. That's what we want." Of course, analysts for years have pointed out the $100 million blockbusters being churned out have decreased studio's willingness to consider a more modest $20 million picture because it won't be close to make the bottom line look as good. "Unless we were willing to

With the annual box office revenues and physical media sales dropping, some theaters are coming up with ways to entice audience members. Engadget relays the marketing of a theater in the UK where a patron purchasing a ticket for Kidnapping Freddy Heineken is given a voucher for a digital download of the film at a later date. Why is this not thing? The article states some 'SuperTickets' exist in the US but I can't say I've seen or heard of one. But it makes sense to bring viewers into a more expensive theater viewing with the lure of a free one once available. Now, this of course wouldn't work for all movies. Everyone in America has purchased a ticket to The Avengers by this point but many indie or low-budget films that would struggle otherwise not only get more revenue from the theatrical proceeds but more exposure. It sounds like a win-win as opposed to someone randomly catching the film on Netflix a few years later.

**Note: These are only John Hughes directed films. We'd be here all day with his written works. 8. She's Having a Baby Far too schmaltzy and at times painfully unfunny. 7. Curly Sue Cute but ultimately forgettable 6. Sixteen Candles Eh, it's acceptable. 5. Uncle Buck John Candy is great. Slobbish John Candy dealing with bratty Macaulay Culkin is even better. 4. Weird Science Quite a strange turn for his films but Anthony Michael Hall and Kelly Preston sell it well. 3. Breakfast Club The defining movie of a generation showcasing rebellion and individualism. 2. Ferris Bueller's Day Off Everyone's dream life encapsulated in a film. Also Alan Ruck. 1. Planes, Trains & Automobiles I may catch some shit on ranking this over Breakfast Club but the chemistry between Steve Martin and John Candy, their hilarious hijicks with Dylan Baker, and that infamous F-bomb scene send this to the top of the list. Now watch this and tell me I

In the same vein as Marvel's Cinematic Universe and it's copycats including the now-defunct Spiderman Universe, DC Comics Universe, and Universal Monster Universe comes word that Paramount is trying to universe-itize its money-making godawful Transformers series. Michael Bay and friends have turned to Batman & Robin scribe Akiva Goldsman to develop the action-figure-turned-dregs-of-cinema to expand upon the four existing movies with other spin-offs and sequels. No word yet if one of those spin-offs will include those awful, racist, thug-talking robots from Transformers: Revenge of the Writer's Strike .

If you are a person of my age, you undoubtedly have seen The Sandlot , and likely plenty of times. This short clip only confirms how much of a cultural milestone this movie continues to be and if you disagee, "You're killing me, Smalls!"

Girl of the Rings There was some speculation about Rings , the upcoming film in ' The Ring ' series, that it would be a prequel to the original tale of a haunted VHS tape and a water-logged little girl. Presumably this speculation came about by those who care. However CinemaBlend relays director F. Javier Gutierrez's tweet that it is in fact a sequel. Meh. Still not interested. Better Smurfs, please? In case you never saw it (please, for the love of God, don't) the CGI-animated Smurfs was the cinematic equivalent to a giant turd in the toilet that not only doesn't flush but it in fact clogs the plumbing, overflowing the toilet, and ruining your entire life. /Film says a traditional animated version is coming to theaters 2017. It can't be as bad. It just can't. '50 Shades' Sequel Probably Doesn't Need a Director By all accounts, 50 Shades of Grey was a terrible movie with stilted performances, zero charisma, and an unhealthy lesson

Furious 7 : Opening April 3 Full disclaimer: I have not seen a single Fast and Furious movie since the first upon it's initial release. That hasn't stopped me from wanting, and failing, to see at least the last two. The Good : In spite of every other long running franchise, this series (again, based on general perception and reviews since I haven't endured them myself) seem to have only gotten better over time. I have caught bits and pieces of Fast 5 and Furries 6 or whatever nomenclature they went by and was impressed. One day, I'll get to the rest. Director James Wan comes onboard to the franchise after a few mainstream horror films you may have heard of such as Saw, Insidious, or The Conjuring. At the very least, his unique style of direction should lead to good things. Also of note, in the spirit of the series adding antagonists to later be recruited into whatever Vin Diesel and Paul Walker aim to do, both Kurt Russell and Jason Statham appear to be the

Two potentially good choices this week. Get Hard Will Ferrell is a white-collar embezzler sentenced to a ten-year prison stint. Kevin Hart is a seemingly rough-and-tumble prison-variety fellow Ferrell asks for advice to survive it. Considering both of these actors have a pretty good track record, in spite of the implied racism on Ferrell's part, I'd say it looks decent enough. It Follows Based on the pretty positive reviews I've read, It Follows sounds like another superb entry into the horror genre as a young girl is cursed with a dangerous follower after a one-night stand. As it hunts and stalks the heroine taking whatever form it wishes, it may only be banished by passing it along to another. This will definitely be one I check out at some point.

Well now we know. Maybe. Badass Digest now sheds some light into why The Caped Crusader and That Other Guy get into fisticuffs. Superman is apparently dispatched to Gotham in Batman v Superman by Lex Luthor to stop Batman and his Batman-ing ways of decriminalizing Gotham. Of course, this begs the question: why is Superman working for/with Lex Luthor? Are they after his gadgets? Is he in possession of the Tesseract? Are they jealous that this generation's Batman movies have been better? I guess we'll find out March 26, 2016.