Korner 25

Welcome to Kevin’s Korner, your first stop for all that is geeky in movies and TV. It’s been a crazy week this week for movies, with Netflix losing their minds, more leaks and some crazy remake news popping out. Also, I’m in the bay area of Florida, so, sports is a tough subject for me this week. On top of that, the countdown is down to four days until I tie the knot, so it’s getting all kinds of serious (and for the record, it will be nothing like the marriage between the Doctor and River). So, with all that said, I’ve got some news, some videos, some box office info and plenty more for your viewing pleasure. Let’s get to it.

Qwikster is dead in the water – Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has lost his mind. It started a few months ago with the monstrous price increase, making the streaming service a paid service, and affecting many of its subscribers by implementing up to a 60% increase. After way more customers dropped Netflix than they thought, Hastings apologized. In his apology, he found a way to further infuriate his customers by announcing that Netflix’s core service, the bright red envelopes would know no longer be Netflix, instead, they would be something completely different, called Qwikster. Qwikster, besides sounding dumb, would mean all your billing info, your movie ratings and DVD Queue would be separate from the streaming service called Netflix. It was a way of separating the mail service, which will surely start to go away as the streaming service becomes more popular. (They should’ve known it was a bad idea after discovering some guy already had Qwikster as a Twitter handle.) Now, Hastings has realized this newest mistake after many have complained, and has killed the name Qwikster. I envision his marketing team as a bunch of people who have now turned to copious amounts of alcohol to get through the day.

While I commend Hastings for realizing this stupid mistake before it was too late, it now makes Netflix, a company once praised for its innovation and forward thinking as being run by an indecisive 6-year old. Of course Netflix’s stock prices have reflected a similar sentiment, dropping like a stone. As one of the people who canceled, it just makes me shake my head in disbelief at how poorly the company has made their decisions. I may eventually sign back up for the streaming service, I’m still kind of mad, and at the moment, I’m not really missing the limited selection of movies they had. On a brighter note, they are now streaming the first season of AMC’s The Walking Dead, so party on there.

Pete Travis: “I am the law,” Producers: “Nope.” – The movie “Dredd,” starring Carl Urban as Judge Dredd was looking promising. It promised to forget about the really cheesy Sylvester Stallone film, and there was no hint of Rob Schneider. Now, however, there seems to be a dark cloud over the movie, and not in a stylistic, gritty, Nolan kinda way. It was made official that director Pete Travis was given the pink slip after he couldn’t agree with the producers of the film, regarding creative issues. It sounds like the producers attached to the film will finish editing the film, and possibly seek a “co-director” credit.

Woman sues over misleading trailer – You know, the promotional material designed to get you to come to the movie theater? Well, it did its job, but apparently, Sarah Deming didn’t like what she saw. She was, according to a lawsuit, led to believe the movie Drive would be a “Fast and Furious type movie, or similar,” and what she got was a movie that had very little driving and “extreme gratuitous defamatory dehumanizing racism directed against members of the Jewish faith, and thereby promoted criminal violence against members of the Jewish faith.” So, she wants her money back, and wants to create a class-action lawsuit to ban misleading trailers.

While I do agree misleading trailers are annoying, suing over them just makes me want to smack that woman upside her head. It isn’t up to the trailer to inform you as to the exact plot, and the exact nature of the film, merely to get you to the seat. You need to use your own brain to figure out whether you will like it or not, or, maybe read a review. Suing over the fact you didn't like the trailer just seems to be one of the biggest problems in society today. Just accept the fact you wasted $10 and get online and bitch about it like everyone else.

Since we’re on the subject, what is one trailer you found really misleading? I think, for me, it was The Village. While I liked the movie, and don’t dislike the Shamhammer, that trailer made it look like a horror film, not a drama with some suspense in the middle. While I felt slightly mislead, I wasn’t going to sue, and I was glad I saw it anyway.

Iron Man himself not happy about the sequel - If you have seen the Iron Man movies, you would know the first is one of the better comic book movies you will find, with the second, well, it left something to be desired. Apparently, Tony Stark himself agreed. Robert Downey Jr. was talking about the sequel and how some pieces of the film were shot before the script was done, leaving certain pieces feeling blah. Downey said "The first one changed everything for me, and the second, there were some aspects that were dissatisfying and disappointing."

Doctor Who goes 'Tick Tock' - Check out this fan video of series 6 of Doctor Who. If you haven't seen the end of the series yet, this video has some SPOILERS. And, if you haven't seen it, you don't know what you are missing. I'm very sorry if this song is stuck in your head.




Man of Steel gets some pics - Check out Henry Cavill as a bearded Clark Kent. The more I see, the more I like Cavill as Supes. I just wish we didn't have to sit through an origin story.

Also, check out Amy Adams as a ginger Lois Lane. I love Adams, and I think she's talented and will do a great job, but I will admit, she would not have been who I expected in the role of the intrepid reporter.

In preparation for Halloween, there are a few things that have to happen. Number one, you have to carve a pumpkin. It doesn’t have to be good, trust me. Second, you have to buy candy, just incase you get trick or treaters. Third, you need to watch some good scary movies. There have been tons of blogs, talking about what movies to watch for the all hallowed eve, so, I figured I would give you mine. This way, you can start preparing now.

1) Paranormal Activity – Few movies made me come home from a midnight showing and turn on the lights in the house. This movie did a great job of amping up the tension throughout the entire film to an amazing, haunting, eerily unsatisfying conclusion. My sister had nightmares for weeks, and she’s in her mid-twenties.

2) The Descent – This film was extremely unsettling. The end played with your mind, and there was blood, lots of blood, and some creepy little guys that came out of the dark, but possibly the scariest thing for me was the feeling of claustrophobia this film gave me. There was a scene or two I had to tell me self to breath because I felt like the room was closing on me.

3) Blair Witch Project – This film made me never want to go into the woods again. Ever. From the continued increase in tension to the unsettling, unseen horror, this film was truly scary to me.

4) Halloween – When I was young, this movie scared the crap out of me. Now, film is getting a bit out-dated, but it is still all kinds of fun to watch, and is considered a true classic of modern horror, and a must-see for Halloween time.

5) Saw – This one I thought really captures cinemas modern view on horror. While the first one wasn’t nearly as gory as the 27 thousand sequels it spawned, I thought the terror and plot more than made it for it.

Also fun: Trick ‘R Treat, I thought was a silly, fun Halloween movie that captures some classic Halloween motifs. Also, The Room. I know what you are thinking, it’s not a horror film, but trust me, once you’ve seen Tommy Wiseau, you will be afraid.

Box Office Breakdown – Real Steel wins
Pretty impressive for a film that started out as a movie based on Rock-‘em Sock-‘em Robots, eh? Yeah, I know the story was based off a Richard Matheson story, but it started because film execs wanted a robot fighting story. They got it, and it looks like it did pretty well, beating out the George Clooney and Ryan Gosling political movie The Ides of March.

1. Real Steel - $23.7 million ($23.7 million total)
2. The Ides of March - $10.4 million ($10.4 million total)
3. Dolphin Tale - $9.2 million ($49.1 million total)
4. Moneyball - $7.5 million ($49.3 million total)
5. 50/50 - $5.5 million ($17.3 million total)
6. Courageous - $4.6 million ($15.9 million total)
7. The Lion King 3D - $4.6 million ($414.5 million total)
8. Dream House - $4.5 million ($14.5 million total)
9. What's Your Number? – $3.1 million ($10.3 million total)
10. Abduction - $2.9 million ($23.4 million total)

DVD's hitting Shelves today

Horrible Bosses
The Tree of Life

Zookeeper

Green Lanter

Bones: Season 6

Chuck: Season 4

The Trip

Workaholics: Season one

Trailer of the Week: The Raven or John Cusack, with a beard.
The movie stars Cusack as Edgar Allen Poe, the famous poet who, in this film looks to be part author, and part Sherlock Holmes. The film has some creepy scenes, based on the trailer. What do you think? Worth watching, come March?

Korner 24

Welcome to Kevin’s Korner! I’m coming off of a surprisingly cool weekend, which in Florida means anything below 90 degrees. There was tons of good football over the weekend, which was awesome, and I have a bachelor party in less than a week. Party on!

I just finished re-watching the Doctor Who season finale. I really enjoyed it. While it was somewhat of a letdown, now knowing how the Doctor cheats death, the episode was really well done, and as usual, I’m impressed with Matt Smith.

As for the movies, I scowered the internet, in search of some good stuff, and I found it. So, without any more B.S., let’s talk movies, shall we?

And this is what we hope to experience in every movie – Do you remember your reaction the first time you saw Empire Strikes Back? I was about 6 or so, and I was blown away. Never saw it coming, and it stays with me as one of the greatest cinema experiences of my childhood, perhaps ever. It’s why Star Wars fans are passionate, and it’s why we get so upset when someone changes the film, because it’s messing with one of our favorite movie memories; the first time we find out the truth. Check out the reaction of this kid. For me, it reminded me very much of my reaction. Was yours the same?



What other film got this reaction for you when you were young? I think, for me, it was maybe Wizard of Oz, not so much in the surprise element as just the cinematic adventure side. A bit later, for me, it was Star Trek, but still, Star Wars remains at the top.

IMAX hits all this week – AMC theaters are bringing back some IMAX classics for ‘big movie week’ all this week. The movies will include Inception, Star Trek and Fast Five. I saw Inception three times in IMAX theaters and Star Trek twice, so I’m pretty excited, but with the fact both are available on Blu-Ray, will anyone actually go and see this films…ya know, besides me?

Speaking of Blu Ray, we finally get some TNG – For all you trekkies out there (I refuse to address you as “trekkers,” live with it), there is some good news, January of 2012 will mark the first sample of Star Trek: The Next Generation on Blu-Ray. It starts off with a small sample, including the shows pilot, Encounter at Farpoint, and will also include Sins of the Father and The Inner Light, with the rest of the episodes seeing release later next year. They are apparently going back to the originals and digitally restoring them, which should make those cheesy special effects all that much better! Count me in.

Sony thinks we should buy our own 3D glasses – Sony has sent a letter to movie theater chains saying that they are tired of paying $5-$10 million for 3D glasses for tentpole films, and that as of next year, they don’t want to pay that anymore. Instead, theaters should pay for the stupid looking glasses themselves, and pass the expense onto the consumer, or make the consumer pay for them themselves as an extra fee. You know, on top of the extra $5 it costs for a 3D film over a 2D film. I’m not sure what that extra $5 is for, maybe for the more expensive projectors Sony pressured the theaters into buying. If Netflix has proven anything, it’s that jacking up the prices on what seems like a non-necessity will only piss people off. Now, for you movie geeks across the pond, it’s already like this, with movie-goers getting charged a pound for glasses, or you can bring your own.

Now, I could see companies bringing out really nice, pretty comfortable, good looking 3D glasses for people to buy. If so, then I could see really hardcore theater-goers possibly going for it, but I don’t see how this will do anything besides drive people to 2D movies. Other than, maybe Avatar and Piranha 3D, and maybe Tron: Legacy, I can’t think of anything I thought needed to be seen in 3D. Tell me your thoughts in the comments.

Mortal Kombat! – After the webseries rebooted the video game characters into a real-world, gritty vision, people took notice of Moral Kombat: Legacy. Now, it’s Warner Bros. who took notice of what director Kevin Tancharoen did, and they have green-lit a full length film. There isn’t any word on whether the actors from the webseries, including Jeri Ryan, would return, but this could go a long way to helping us forget about that god aweful Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. The first Mortal Kombat, despite its ridiculous cheesiness, was one of those guilty pleasures of mine. This could be pretty sweet if the director gets a halfway decent budget.

Dead Island to become a movie – If you remember, not too long ago, a beautifully edited trailer hit the internet for a zombie game called Dead Island. The trailer showed no gameplay, just a great, emotional tale of a family on an island, being overrun by zombies. It was pretty amazing, and as a result of the trailer, video game sales were through the roof. Now, Lionsgate has bought the rights to the film, with the trailer being the basis for the story. I guess that means that there is soon to be another movie, based off a video game, which doesn’t bode well, but this almost seems like it’s based more off of a trailer, than the game, so, maybe that’ll do better? Yeah, I’m not holding my breath, either, but lets look at that trailer one more time, it’s pretty amazing.


Warner Bros approaching 5 directors for Twilight Zone – Warner Bros. has some pretty high standards for directors on a possible Twilight Zone remake. Variety reported the studio has approached Christopher Nolan, Michael Bay, David Yates, Rupert Wyatt and Alfonso Cuaron. Those are some pretty impressive names, with a very high recognition. There are a few names there that could be pretty amazing, but Michael Bay directing a Twilight Zone movie is just sickening. Don’t get me wrong, I do like some of Bay’s movies, but his style should not ever cross paths with that of the Twilight Zone; Rod Serling would freak out in his grave.

A Bond girl has been announced - Bérénice Marlohe will be in the next James Bond film, opposite of Daniel Craig in what is temporarily titled “Carte Blanche.” You will recognize Miss Marlohe from… well, absolutely nothing, unless you are into French films (I'm not judging). She will star alongside Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Javier Bardem, Ben Wishaw and Judi Dench, and is schedule to begin filming by the end of this year. I was really hoping for Olivia Wilde, but yeah, I won’t complain.

The Batman Zone –
Since there is so much going on with the third Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, it gets its own area for now. So, grab your bat-utility belt and let’s go…

Rumor # 1 – In a surprising possible leak, the rumor going around the net is that Cilian Murphy was spotted on set with a robe on, hiding his costume for a possible appearance in the next Batman film. He would be the only villain to appear in all three films, if true. I think this is a great way to bring some closure to the character, but with Bane, Catwoman, Ras Al Guhl, and whatever Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be, Nolan has to be careful this doesn’t turn into Spiderman 3.

Here are some photos – There have been more leaked photos this week, including the batwing (seen below) and Bane’s doomsday machine that looks kinda like a metal ball. There’s also a few pics of Batman and Bane going at it. You can see them HERE.



Jonathan Nolan talks about leaks – IGN had an interview with script writer Jonathan Nolan (Christopher’s brother) about all the leaks. He likened it to how bootleg attempts in IMAX films fail to get all of the film, and like that, these leaks don’t get all of his film, and without the big picture, you can’t really tell what you are looking at. It’s a fair point, but I still wonder how someone so secretive could be so…well, not secretive. I suppose it’s unavoidable, but I still am thinking something smells a bit fishy (yes, I showered, I was speaking metaphorically).

Clooney on Batman & Robin: “That was really *&@%” – While promoting Ides of March, Clooney was asked about Batman and Robin. Now, I know what your thinking: just leave the dead, beaten, stinky horse alone, already, but whatever. Clooney blamed himself for being pretty terrible in the film, but said “Batman is still the biggest break I ever had and it completely changed my career, even if it was weak and I was weak in it. It was a difficult film to be good in. I don't know what I could have done differently.” He also talked about being asked to play it, and said he just couldn’t turn down Batman. While I don’t think Clooney was a good call, it wasn’t so much he did a bad job, as poor casting, and an absolutely horrible script. It makes for a good rifftrax, though.

Box office Breakdown – Dolphin Tale wins
The true story of Winter the Dolphin in Dolphin Tale takes over the first spot in its second week, beating out Brad Pitt’s film, Moneyball, both of which dropped a very small percentage from their first weeks. The Lion King came in third this week, after two weeks at the top.

1. Dolphin Tale - $14.2 million ($37.5 million total)
2. Moneyball - $12.5 million ($38.5 million total)
3. The Lion King 3D - $11.1 million ($408.2 million total)
4. 50/50 - $8.9 million ($8.9 million total)
5. Courageous - $8.8 million ($8.8 million total)
6. Dream House - $8.2 million ($8.2 million total)
7. Abduction - $5.7 million ($19.1 million total)
8. What's Your Number? – $5.6 million ($5.6 million total)
9. Contagion - $5.0 million ($57.1 million total)
10. Killer Elite - $4.9 million ($17.4 million total)

DVD’s hitting shelves today

Fast Five
Lion King (Blu-Ray)
Scream 4
Friday Night Lights: Complete Series
Jackie Brown (Blu-Ray)
Pulp Fiction (Blu-Ray)

Trailer of the week – Paranormal Activity 3
This gimmick gets me every time, from Blair Witch to Cloverfield, to the Paranormal Activity movies, it really gets me into the story. Here is the second trailer for the third Paranormal Activity movie, and it looks properly scary. What do you think?