Source Code
Release: April 15, 2011
Director: Duncan Jones
Writer: Ben Ripley
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright
Senin, 31 Januari 2011
Source Code Movie Poster
Source Code
Release: April 15, 2011
Director: Duncan Jones
Writer: Ben Ripley
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright
Minggu, 30 Januari 2011
Room in Rome
Room in Rome
Release: April 10, 2010
Director: Julio Medem
Writer: Julio Medem
Cast: Elena Anaya, Natasha Yarovenko, Enrico Lo Verso, Najwa Nimri
The Girl Who Played With Fire
The Girl Who Played With Fire
Release: September 18, 2009
Director: Daniel Alfredson
Writer: Jonas Frykberg, Stieg Larsson
Cast: Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist, Lena Endre, Sofia Ledarp, Georgi Staykov
Sabtu, 29 Januari 2011
Latest Targ's Up!
And the hits just keep on coming! That ever-lasting testament to the fact that I should get out more, U62: The Targ, is coming at you with 20 watts of power!
For your listening pleasure this week, I serve up Episode 4.16: The Brass Ring, where I present my Oscar picks, rant about losing faith in my hero, and discuss movies to get you in the mood!
For the stuff I do in every show, this week on Fishing in the Discount Bin I share the tale of the American Godzilla, and I share the Hollywood headlines of interest in the Weekly Movie News.
Give it a listen!
Click here to go download it!
Head here to subscribe in iTunes!
U62: The Targ on Facebook
Selasa, 25 Januari 2011
Scarecrow's Oscar Picks!
Alright! It's that time of year again! The Academy Awards, aka the Oscars, are coming up on February 27, but the nominations were announced today! And, being the movie loving geek that I am, it's time for me to announce my Oscar picks!
But, in a proud tradition that goes all the way back to my early days in college radio, I don't give you my picks in the big categories like Best Director and Best Actor and all that. No! I only give you the picks in the categories that I've always had a near-perfect track record in predicting! So, let's get to it! The first category with my near-perfect track record is:
Wow! First the first time in at least 20 years, there were enough submissions that we can have five nominees in this category! While Alice in Wonderland did a great job of creating another world, it was always the effects in Inception that had people talking.
Mark's Prediction: Inception
You know, my near-perfect track record in this category began in the mid-1990s, when Disney's animated musicals dominated this category. So, with that nagging at my mind, I want to pick the song from Tangled. But again, Toy Story 3 is such a critical darling. You know what, I'm going to go with my heart.
Mark's Prediction: "I See the Light" from Tangled
This one's a tough call...I haven't seen How to Train Your Dragon, but many raved about how it's DreamWorks best. The Illusionist has won a lot of critics awards, and the Academy might feel guilty about not giving the award to The Triplets of Belleville a few years back (The Illusionist is from the same folks.) But, let's be honest, it's the incinerator scene in Toy Story 3 that had EVERYONE crying and everyone talking about for the rest of the summer.
Mark's Prediction: Toy Story 3
And, let's do the biggest of the big ones for the sake of legitimacy.
Still not a fan of this "10 nominations" concept that they introduced last year...it makes the list too long and cluttered. It's like making football playoffs a best of 7 affair. Anyway, when it comes to the Golden Globes and all the various association awards and critics awards, the two films that have been cleaing up are The King's Speech and The Social Network. But, thing is, when you have two strong contenders like that, that's when you split the vote, allowing another to sneak up the middle. The two strong "sneak up the middle" candidates seem to be True Grit and Black Swan. I still think it's going to be either The King's Speech or The Social Network, and given that The King's Speech is more recent, I'm going to say....
Mark's Prediction: The King's Speech
The Oscars are on February 27 this year.
Click here to go the Oscars website and see all the nominations.
Statistics show that 50% of bloggers have more than one blog. Click here to go to my work blog, where I originally posted this.
But, in a proud tradition that goes all the way back to my early days in college radio, I don't give you my picks in the big categories like Best Director and Best Actor and all that. No! I only give you the picks in the categories that I've always had a near-perfect track record in predicting! So, let's get to it! The first category with my near-perfect track record is:
Best Visual Effects
The Nominees are:
The Nominees are:
- Alice in Wonderland
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I
- Hereafter
- Inception
- Iron Man 2
Wow! First the first time in at least 20 years, there were enough submissions that we can have five nominees in this category! While Alice in Wonderland did a great job of creating another world, it was always the effects in Inception that had people talking.
Mark's Prediction: Inception
Best Original Song
The Nominees are:
The Nominees are:
- "Coming Home" from Country Strong
- "I See the Light" from Tangled
- "If I Rise" from 127 Hours
- "We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3
You know, my near-perfect track record in this category began in the mid-1990s, when Disney's animated musicals dominated this category. So, with that nagging at my mind, I want to pick the song from Tangled. But again, Toy Story 3 is such a critical darling. You know what, I'm going to go with my heart.
Mark's Prediction: "I See the Light" from Tangled
Best Animated Film
The Nominees are:
The Nominees are:
- How to Train Your Dragon
- The Illusionist
- Toy Story 3
This one's a tough call...I haven't seen How to Train Your Dragon, but many raved about how it's DreamWorks best. The Illusionist has won a lot of critics awards, and the Academy might feel guilty about not giving the award to The Triplets of Belleville a few years back (The Illusionist is from the same folks.) But, let's be honest, it's the incinerator scene in Toy Story 3 that had EVERYONE crying and everyone talking about for the rest of the summer.
Mark's Prediction: Toy Story 3
And, let's do the biggest of the big ones for the sake of legitimacy.
Best Picture
The Nominees are:
The Nominees are:
- Black Swan
- The Fighter
- Inception
- The Kids are All Right
- The King's Speech
- 127 Hours
- The Social Network
- Toy Story 3
- True Grit
- Winter's Bone
Still not a fan of this "10 nominations" concept that they introduced last year...it makes the list too long and cluttered. It's like making football playoffs a best of 7 affair. Anyway, when it comes to the Golden Globes and all the various association awards and critics awards, the two films that have been cleaing up are The King's Speech and The Social Network. But, thing is, when you have two strong contenders like that, that's when you split the vote, allowing another to sneak up the middle. The two strong "sneak up the middle" candidates seem to be True Grit and Black Swan. I still think it's going to be either The King's Speech or The Social Network, and given that The King's Speech is more recent, I'm going to say....
Mark's Prediction: The King's Speech
The Oscars are on February 27 this year.
Click here to go the Oscars website and see all the nominations.
Statistics show that 50% of bloggers have more than one blog. Click here to go to my work blog, where I originally posted this.
Sucker Punch Character Posters
Abbie Cornish as Sweet Pea Rocket's older sister.
Jamie Chung as Amber the first friend to come on board Baby Doll's plan
Vanessa Hudgens as Blondie the odd inmate friend of Baby Doll's.
Emily Browning as Baby Doll the film's primary protagonist.
Jena Malone as Rocket Sweet Pea's sister.
Sucker Punch Poster
Sucker Punch Synopsis: Sucker Punch is an epic action fantasy that takes us into the vivid imagination of a young girl whose dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality. Unrestrained by the boundaries of time and place, she is free to go where her mind takes her, and her incredible adventures blur the lines between what's real and what is imaginary.
She has been locked away against her will, but Babydoll (Emily Browning) has not lost her will to survive. Determined to fight for her freedom, she urges four other young girls�the outspoken Rocket (Jena Malone), the street-smart Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), the fiercely loyal Amber (Jamie Chung) and the reluctant Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish)�to band together and try to escape their terrible fate at the hands of their captors, Blue (Oscar Isaac), Madam Gorski (Carla Gugino) and the High Roller (Jon Hamm).
Led by Babydoll, the girls engage in fantastical warfare against everything from samurais to serpents, with a virtual arsenal at their disposal. Together, they must decide what they are willing to sacrifice in order to stay alive. But with the help of a Wise Man (Scott Glenn), their unbelievable journey�if they succeed�will set them free.
Minggu, 23 Januari 2011
Green Hornet Review
Hey, I got out and saw The Green Hornet over the weekend. Capsule review: meh. It's good, but not great.
For the whole story, head on over to my main website and read the whole review!
Sabtu, 22 Januari 2011
Latest Targ's Up!
It's that time of the week again! Time to unleash my creative juices and bring you another episode of U62: The Targ!
This week, I bring you Episode 4.15: Sour Cream & Onion, and I rant about the big Batman casting, discuss luxury movie theatres, and football fandom!
In all the regular stuff, we discuss the #1 movie of all time in Fishing in the Discount Bin, and I recount some of the week's biggest headlines (according to me) in the Weekly Movie News.
Give it a listen!
Click here to go download it!
Head here to subscribe in iTunes!
U62: The Targ on Facebook
Jumat, 21 Januari 2011
Only Suckers Pay for Entertainment
OK. This news came across my desk, and I've got to rant about it.
I once had this co-worker who constantly derided me for my love of movies. "Movies is the lowest form of entertainment," he'd tell me. "All you do is sit in the dark and stare straight ahead for two hours. Why the heck would you pay $15 for a movie ticket when you can download that stuff for free? Only suckers pay for entertainment in this day and age."
No, according to him, the highest form of entertainment -- the pinnacle of humankind's achievement -- is sports. Specifically, his beloved NFL. He'd go on and on about his plans to visit every NFL stadium and watch a football game in each one.
"Really?" I'd say. "So you're planning on buying plane tickets, hotel rooms, and finally, a $500 football ticket? Why the heck would you spend all that money when you can stay at home and watch that stuff on TV for free?"
"Sports is different," he'd grumble.
"Despite what you think, I have been to a few sporting events in my time," I continued, "and a lot of it seems to be, you know, people staring straight ahead in silence while they focus on the game."
"Sports is just different." He was starting to get flustered now.
"Yeah, it is," I said. "In sports, you stare straight ahead in silence for FOUR hours."
"SPORTS IS DIFFERENT!" and he'd walk away in a huff.
Eventually, the only argument he'd come up with that I couldn't counter is that sports is unpredictable...you never know the outcome. I had to give him that one.
However, his arguments were enough to start me off on a side project. I'm now looking for evidence to show that sports fans are the biggest, whiniest fanboys on the planet. Seriously. When you want to talk about "suckers paying for entertainment," sports fans are the biggest suckers out there.
For example, the news that came across my desk today. For the SuperBowl this year, the NFL is looking to charge fans $200...to stand in the parking lot at the stadium.
Well, not the parking lot. A patch of grass next to the stadium. And you get to watch the game on an HDTV. Oh, and you have to buy a minimum of four tickets to get in.
So, let me get this straight. I'm sure most sports fans have upgraded to HDTV so they can fully enjoy the game. But still, NFL fans are lining up around the block to fly down to Dallas, book an overpriced hotel room, and then spend $800 (remember, you have to buy 4 tickets at $200 each) to stand outside...and watch the game on HDTV.
Yeah, that's right. You keep buying your expensive travel packages for the privilege of standing next to a big event and watching it on TV. I'll keep being a sucker and spending $15 on a movie ticket.
Here's the original article
I once had this co-worker who constantly derided me for my love of movies. "Movies is the lowest form of entertainment," he'd tell me. "All you do is sit in the dark and stare straight ahead for two hours. Why the heck would you pay $15 for a movie ticket when you can download that stuff for free? Only suckers pay for entertainment in this day and age."
No, according to him, the highest form of entertainment -- the pinnacle of humankind's achievement -- is sports. Specifically, his beloved NFL. He'd go on and on about his plans to visit every NFL stadium and watch a football game in each one.
"Really?" I'd say. "So you're planning on buying plane tickets, hotel rooms, and finally, a $500 football ticket? Why the heck would you spend all that money when you can stay at home and watch that stuff on TV for free?"
"Sports is different," he'd grumble.
"Despite what you think, I have been to a few sporting events in my time," I continued, "and a lot of it seems to be, you know, people staring straight ahead in silence while they focus on the game."
"Sports is just different." He was starting to get flustered now.
"Yeah, it is," I said. "In sports, you stare straight ahead in silence for FOUR hours."
"SPORTS IS DIFFERENT!" and he'd walk away in a huff.
Eventually, the only argument he'd come up with that I couldn't counter is that sports is unpredictable...you never know the outcome. I had to give him that one.
However, his arguments were enough to start me off on a side project. I'm now looking for evidence to show that sports fans are the biggest, whiniest fanboys on the planet. Seriously. When you want to talk about "suckers paying for entertainment," sports fans are the biggest suckers out there.
For example, the news that came across my desk today. For the SuperBowl this year, the NFL is looking to charge fans $200...to stand in the parking lot at the stadium.
Well, not the parking lot. A patch of grass next to the stadium. And you get to watch the game on an HDTV. Oh, and you have to buy a minimum of four tickets to get in.
So, let me get this straight. I'm sure most sports fans have upgraded to HDTV so they can fully enjoy the game. But still, NFL fans are lining up around the block to fly down to Dallas, book an overpriced hotel room, and then spend $800 (remember, you have to buy 4 tickets at $200 each) to stand outside...and watch the game on HDTV.
Yeah, that's right. You keep buying your expensive travel packages for the privilege of standing next to a big event and watching it on TV. I'll keep being a sucker and spending $15 on a movie ticket.
Here's the original article
Kamis, 20 Januari 2011
Catwoman and X-Men
I often feel like I'm neglecting this blog. It probably has to do a lot with the fact that I've fully embraced Twitter, and I'm a lazy person. It's much easier to just tweet, "d00d! Anne Hathaway is Catwoman!" rather than sit down and write a whole blog entry about how Anne Hathaway is playing Catwoman.
Hey! Did you hear? In the next Batman movie, Anne Hathaway is playing Catwoman.
First let me say, I'm thrilled that they're doing Catwoman for the next Batman film. That was always my dream for the next film, as we can finally erase the memory of that horrible Halle Berry film. That being said though, I question whether Hathaway has enough..."bad ass-itude" to be Catwoman. But hey, we all scoffed when Heath Ledger was announced as the Joker, and look how well that turned out.
But she's not the only villain in the forthcoming Batman film. It was also announced that Tom Hardy will be playing Bane. You may remember Hardy as Eames, the suave, bald, British dude in Leondardo diCaprio's gang in Inception. (My fellow trekkies probably remember him as Shinzon, Picard's evil clone in Star Trek Nemesis.) Of course, this has the geeks scratching their heads as, in the comics, Bane is an 8-foot tall hulking mass of muscle, and Hardy is not.
The next Batman movie is entitled The Dark Knight Rises. Christopher Nolan, who did Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and Inception, is back as director. It's scheduled to hit theatres in June of 2012.
But that's not all! As we skip across the street from DC Comics to Marvel, we have our first picture of the cast of X-Men: First Class. Yup, another X-Men movie. This prequel tale, set in the 1960s, follows the adventures of a young Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto, as the found the School for the Gifted, do battle with the villainous Hellfire Club, and eventually set out on the paths that turn them into arch-enemies.
So here's the pic!
From left to right:
Hey! Did you hear? In the next Batman movie, Anne Hathaway is playing Catwoman.
First let me say, I'm thrilled that they're doing Catwoman for the next Batman film. That was always my dream for the next film, as we can finally erase the memory of that horrible Halle Berry film. That being said though, I question whether Hathaway has enough..."bad ass-itude" to be Catwoman. But hey, we all scoffed when Heath Ledger was announced as the Joker, and look how well that turned out.
But she's not the only villain in the forthcoming Batman film. It was also announced that Tom Hardy will be playing Bane. You may remember Hardy as Eames, the suave, bald, British dude in Leondardo diCaprio's gang in Inception. (My fellow trekkies probably remember him as Shinzon, Picard's evil clone in Star Trek Nemesis.) Of course, this has the geeks scratching their heads as, in the comics, Bane is an 8-foot tall hulking mass of muscle, and Hardy is not.
The next Batman movie is entitled The Dark Knight Rises. Christopher Nolan, who did Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and Inception, is back as director. It's scheduled to hit theatres in June of 2012.
But that's not all! As we skip across the street from DC Comics to Marvel, we have our first picture of the cast of X-Men: First Class. Yup, another X-Men movie. This prequel tale, set in the 1960s, follows the adventures of a young Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto, as the found the School for the Gifted, do battle with the villainous Hellfire Club, and eventually set out on the paths that turn them into arch-enemies.
So here's the pic!
From left to right:
Michael Fassbender as Young Magneto
Rose Byrne as Moira McTaggert
January Jones as Emma Frost
Jason Flemyng as Azazel (Nightcrawler's father)
Nicholas Hoult as Young Beast
Lucas Till as Havoc
Zoe Kravitz as Angel Salvadore
Jennifer Lawrence as Young Mystique
James MacAvoy as Young Charles Xavier
Rose Byrne as Moira McTaggert
January Jones as Emma Frost
Jason Flemyng as Azazel (Nightcrawler's father)
Nicholas Hoult as Young Beast
Lucas Till as Havoc
Zoe Kravitz as Angel Salvadore
Jennifer Lawrence as Young Mystique
James MacAvoy as Young Charles Xavier
I'm actually kind of giddy that this is set in the 1960s. One of the concepts I love is "period superheroes," and it's why The Rocketeer and The Shadow are two of my favourite guilty pleasures. That being said though, I've already heard from lots of folks that the X-Men franchise may have run its course.
Matthew Vaughn, director of Stardust and Kick-Ass, is the director of this one. Bryan Singer, director of the first two X-Men films, is on board as a producer. It hits theatres this June.
And hey! Help encourage my laziness. Click here to follow me on Twitter.
Statistics show that 50% of bloggers have two or more blogs. I originally posted this on my work blog, which you can click here to read.
Sabtu, 15 Januari 2011
Latest Targ's Up!
It's that time of the week again! Time to unleash my creative juices and bring you another episode of U62: The Targ!
Episode 4.14: 100 Tacos for $100 gives you some rants about kitchen appliances, the pitfalls of pre-ordering, and why o why can't we get a live-action adaptation of Wonder Woman?
For the regular stuff, we whine about pick-up trucks in What's Wrong with Society, we do that Marilyn Monroe in Jasper movie River of No Return in Fishing in the Discount Bin, and we recount some of the top headlines in the Weekly Movie News.
Give it a listen!
Click here to go download it!
Head here to subscribe in iTunes!
U62: The Targ on Facebook
Jumat, 14 Januari 2011
Drive Angry Movie Poster
Drive Angry
Release: February 25, 2011
Director: Patrick Lussier
Writer: Todd Farmer, Patrick Lussier
Cast: Nicolas Cage, William Fichtner, Amber Heard, Billy Burke, Simona Williams, Katy Mixon
Sabtu, 08 Januari 2011
Latest Targ's Up!
I took far too much time off for my Christmas break, but Christmas and New Years are done, so it's time to get back to U62: The Targ!
Episode 4.13: Normalcy is a return to normalcy, in which we rant about nerd culture, the World Juniors, and the announcement of Star Wars on Blu-Ray! Plus, I unveil a brand-new regular feature.
Give it a listen!
Click here to go download it!
Head here to subscribe in iTunes!
U62: The Targ on Facebook
No Strings Attached
No Strings Attached
Release: January 21, 2011
Director: Ivan Reitman
Writer: Elizabeth Meriwether
Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Natalie Portman, Greta Gerwig, Kevin Kline, Ludacris, Ophelia Lovibond, Ben Lawson, Olivia Thirlby, Jake M. Johnson, Lake Bell, Guy Brannum, Cary Elwes
Selasa, 04 Januari 2011
Sabtu, 01 Januari 2011
Battle: Los Angeles Movie Poster
Battle: Los Angeles
Release: March 11, 2011
Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Writer: Chris Bertolini, Scott Silver
Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Michael Pena, Bridget Moynahan, Adetokumboh M'Cormack, Ne-Yo, Ramon Rodriguez, Taylor Handley, Cory Hardrict, Jadin Gould, Bryce Cass, Joey King
Unknown 2011 Movie
Unknown 2011 Movie
Release: January 7, 2011
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Writer: Oliver Butcher, Stephen Cornwell, Karl Gajdusek
Cast: Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones, Aidan Quinn, Bruno Ganz, Frank Langella
Limitless
Limitless
Release: March 18, 2011
Director: Neil Burger
Writer: Leslie Dixon
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Abbie Cornish, Anna Friel, Tomas Arana
The Lincoln Lawyer
The Lincoln Lawyer
Release: March 18, 2011
Director: Brad Furman
Writer: Michael Connelly (novel), John Romano
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, William H. Macy, John Leguizamo, Michael Pena, Trace Adkins, Katherine Moennig, Erin Carufel
Last Night
Last Night
Release: March 19, 2010
Director: Massy Tadjedin
Writer: Massy Tadjedin
Cast: Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, Eva Mendes, Guillaume Canet, Griffin Dunne
Barney's Version
Barney's Version
Release: January 14, 2011
Director: Richard J. Lewis
Writer: Michael Konyves
Cast: Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman, Rosamund Pike, Minnie Driver, Rachelle Lefevre, Scott Speedman, Bruce Greenwood
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides poster
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Movie Poster
Your Highness
Your Highness
Release: April 8, 2011
Director: David Gordon Green
Writer: Danny McBride, Ben Best
Cast: Danny McBride, James Franco, Natalie Portman, Zooey Deschanel, Justin Theroux, Toby Jones, Damian Lewis
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