Saturday Fun Clip

I've noticed that most websites take the weekend off and substitute writing about news by putting up a humorous video or two. Well, since I'm really busy today, that's just what I'm going to do.

I used to watch Late Night with Conan O'Brien a lot but, for some reason or another, I haven't watched it in some time. I was definitely watching it though when he was doing the Walker Texas Ranger clips. Although I can remember seeing a lot of them, I never saw the one above on TV. This sucks because it is one of the best clips I've seen... if not one of the most disturbing. Watch it now if you haven't already seen it.

Help With the Watchmen Midnight Show Effort

As I did with The Dark Knight, I am desperately trying to get a Watchmen midnight show organized at my local movie theater Malco Grandview. I am pretty sure that there will be one at my local Tinseltown but I would prefer to see it at Malco because they are the only theater in my local area to show digital projections. I have found in the past that these digital projections are worth the extra money and the long drive to Malco.

Unfortunately, Malco is really shady when it comes to midnight shows. They don't like holding them (despite the extra cash they get from them) and don't really know how to organize them very well. It took them weeks to finally crack and hold a Dark Knight midnight show. Even when they did, there was a lot of confusion in organization and last minute additions of multiple screens. Still, the show was a lot of fun and ended up being a massive post.

Anyways, over the past week or so, I have been trying to get a midnight show for Watchmen going at Malco as well. I have been calling them and have emailed them twice. So far, my emails have not been answered and the only answer I've gotten on the phone is that they simply "don't know yet." Honestly, that's better than the answer I got when I first started calling about The Dark Knight. I got a straight up "no" when I began calling for that. At least they were somewhat (if not barely) hopeful this time. 

The fact is that I need your help with this. Much like I did with The Dark Knight midnight show, I need you guys (at least the ones who live in the Jackson, Mississippi area, which happens to be most of my readership) to start to call in to Malco and request that they hold a midnight show for Watchmen. Let them know that this thing is a big deal and you want to see it at midnight, on the biggest screen they got and in a digital projection. This may sound crazy but, the last time I did this, a lot of readers did call in and Malco did in fact hold a midnight show for The Dark Knight (and sold out five screens in the process). While I'm not saying that Watchmen is going to have as big a crowd as The Dark Knight (one screen will probably be enough), it is an event movie and requires a midnight show. The interest and fan base is there and I believe that it will be successful.

So please help me out on this. I'm so pumped to see this movie that I don't think I can wait past midnight on March 6th. I just need to see this thing. I don't even care if it's good or not (reviews so far are pretty positive). I just want to see it. So help me to get this thing happening. It could really be a lot of fun.

To contact Malco, call them here: 601-898-7819. You can also email them here: madison@malco.com.

Please help me make this happen. It means a lot to me. Thanks.

Speech of the Week #31: The Why the Oscars are Irrelevant Edition

Hey guys, welcome to a column here on YDKS Movies entitled Speech of the Week! For now on, every Monday I will post a new scene from a movie that features a speech of some sort being given. After all, there are a lot of famous scenes in film where characters give an influential speech of some sort. Then again, there are also a lot of scenes where characters give a speech and it just comes off cheesy and lame. In this section, you will see both kinds. That's right, people, I'm giving you the good and bad of film speeches all wrapped up in one great big package. I hope you all enjoy.

First off, sorry that I did not post this on Monday. I've been incredibly busy. That and no one is helping me run this place these days. It's hard to be a full-time student in college and run a movie website in your free time. Still, I'm trying. So thank you for your patience.

Here's the deal- I didn't watch the Oscars this year. This is the first year that I've haven't watched them in quite some time. I was so angry over the nominations that I couldn't bring myself to actually sit down and endure this crap for three hours. I'm happy with my decision. After seeing the winners, I am now convinced that the Academy Awards hold absolutely no weight once so ever.

But before I get into why I was unhappy with the winners, let me explain further why I did not watch, as most of my friends have been confused on this and I think I've come off as a pretentious d-bag when trying to explain it. My main gripe with the Oscars this year is basically over the nomination of The Reader for Best Picture over The Wrestler and The Dark Knight. The Reader was rated at 60% (barely fresh) on Rotten Tomatoes. The biggest complaint by reviewers? It was an emotionally distant piece of Oscar bait. On the other hand, The Dark Knight received a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and The Wrestler received an astounding 98%. So, one may be asking themselves, how did The Reader, a film that received multiple bad reviews and that was not popular among audiences, get nominated for Best Picture? The answer? It's all political. 

The fact is that producer (and absolutely soulless prick) Harvey Weinstein had the film rushed to be finished in time for awards season against the wishes of the film's director and other producers. In order to do this, Weinstein stooped to harassing producer Sydney Pollack on his deathbed and harassed the widow of recently deceased producer Anthony Minghella as well. And you know what? The film got released just in time for awards season. After more lobbying, guess what happened? It actually got nominated. After all that bullsh*t and degrading behavior, the movie got nominated. See kids, in Hollywood, it pays to be a horrible, greedy person. It doesn't matter if your movie was actually good or not. You just have to be willing to let go of all your morals and do whatever is necessary to get your movie nominated. Well, screw that. The minute I saw that that this actually worked, I let the Oscars go. They mean nothing.

Still, despite the fact that I didn't watch, I was still hoping that Mickey Rourke would get the award for Best Actor. After all, it was his award. The thing had his name written all over it. I mean, there's a reason why Rourke has basically won every award for Best Actor in other awards ceremonies. The emotional range that he exhibited in The Wrestler was astounding. He was Randy "The Ram." It wasn't just a performance. Many people have said it was like looking in on a therapy session. I have to agree. 

So when I heard Sean Penn won, I was so pissed. Don't get me wrong, I liked Milk and I think that Penn did a great job. But Rourke did better. It was Rourke's night, damn it. It was the apex of his amazing comeback. Penn and the rest of liberal Hollywood screwed that up. And I hate them for it. The reason Penn won was completely political and, wouldn't you know it, he even turned his speech into a political message. God, what a joyless prude. 

After hearing this news, I was convinced. The Oscars mean nothing to me. If you want to watch a real awards ceremony, watch The Independent Spirit Awards. They give awards to films that truly deserve it and they are much more laid back than the Oscars. The Wrestler well deservedly sweeped the Independent Spirit Awards. As expected, Mickey took home the gold for Best Actor. Also as expected, he delivered an insane, bizarre and hilarious speech as he has done everytime he has won an award this year. Part of me feels like this is why he didn't win at the Oscars. Who knows what he would have said. And who knows just how incredibly brilliant he could have been. I know one thing- he wouldn't have been lame and boring like Sean Penn.

Watch Rourke be amazing below. Be warned- this clip is very NSFW. He curses a lot. And it's kind of awesome.

Funny People Trailer is Pretty Solid

The trailer for Judd Apatow's (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up) latest movie Funny People hit the web today and I think that it looks pretty good. The humor seems pretty spot on and it definitely looks to have a lot of the usual serious moments that Apatow's comedies have. I really liked the line referencing Die Hard villains. Also, the scenes of stand-up look to be really funny (I've also heard that a lot of them are pretty painful to watch as well). Lastly, I really liked the line that they ended the trailer with.

Despite the trailer being pretty good, I feel like some people may want to skip it because it does seem to give a lot of the plot points away. It's also pretty long, wrapping up at around 3 and a half minutes. Still, I enjoyed watching it.

Also, for the record, I'm not a fan of Adam Sandler. I am, however, a fan of Judd Apatow movies. So if Apatow can do what he's done before with Sandler involved, then I'm all for it. But usually the guy makes me wanna tear my eyes out (see The Waterboy).

Watch the trailer below.

Source: Trailer Addict

What is the Happiest Ending?

Today has been a pretty good day. Actually, the past two days have been pretty good. I'm feeling different. I'm feeling surprisingly optimistic (which is a new thing for me). I'm not sure how long it will last but I'm hoping it will stick with me for at least a few more days. 

Anyways, this new feeling of optimism has give me the excuse to do two things. One is to post that creepy picture above of a flock of birds forming a smiley face. Two is to make a post posing a question: what is the happiest ending for a live-action movie?

Honestly, I don't know. It seems like a question that really needs to be pondered for quite awhile. However, when I asked myself this question, the first thing that popped into my head was the ending for The Shawshank Redemption. I know I just posted a Speek of the Week from this movie the other week but, when I was pondering this, it seemed like the most logic thing to go with. You can watch it below.

So what do you all think? I want this to be more of an interactive post. What do you all think is the happiest ending in a live-action film? 

Also, I'm thinking of doing a new series of articles examining certain film openings and endings. So look for that in the future.

Slyvester Stallone's The Expendables Is My 12 Year-Old Fantasy

The following is the confirmed cast for Slyvester Stallone's upcoming action movie The Expendables:

- Arnold Schwarzenegger

- Mickey Rourke

- Slyvester Stallone

- Danny Trejo

- Jason Statham

- Dolph Lundgren

- Jet Li

- Randy Couture

- Forest Whitaker

- Eric Roberts

The plot? Easy:

An "expendable" team, which is hired to do jobs that no one else will or can do, is sent to a South American country to overthrow a ruthless dictator and free the country.

This sounds like every 1980's action movie I grew up watching but times a thousand. Seriously, this is going to be insane. It may not be good but damn it is going to be fun. It definitely has the ultimate fantasy cast for an action movie. I just hope it's filled with ridiculous one-liners. And lots of explosions.

Now, to celebrate this massive heap of manliness. here are some obligatory 1980's action movie clips. Watch these. They'll put hair on your chest until The Expendables comes out.

Commando: "I Lied"

Predator: "Stick Around"

Total Recall: Subway Shoot Out

Rambo III: Stick Fight

Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago

After watching those, I feel like I could rip a guy's head off. I'm so pumped.

Source: /Film

The People vs. George Lucas Trailer Intrigues Me

I saw this on /Film last week and meant to post on it then. However, I was pretty sick at the time and didn't feel like doing much of anything. So, here I am just now getting to it.

Exhibit A Films is releasing a documentary this year entitled The People vs. George Lucas. It features interviews with many fans as they express their feelings on George Lucas, his creations and what he has done to his legacy. 

This is a pretty interesting topic as the rabid hate for George Lucas is something that is pretty wide spread among the fan community. The man went from being a God send to the anti-Christ over the span of a few years. Sure, he still has his defenders but, for the most part, it feels like everyone has turned against the man. Personally, I constantly struggle with where I stand. I own the Star Wars prequels but believe them to be pretty awful for the most part (though I did enjoy most of Episode III- Revenge of the Sith). I thought Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was pretty much an embarrassment (aliens, people). I felt that his changes to the original Star Wars trilogy via the Special Editions were unnecessary and, at times, kind of insulting.

Basically, it is really hard to like this man. He seems determined to destroy his legacy and the fan base that he established with some of the greatest films ever made. It's sad to watch but, at the time, it is incredibly intriguing. I always like to read peoples varying views on Lucas because it is a subject that tends to bring out the most impassioned feelings from people. Lucas' films really meant a lot to us as children so his sudden change really has made all of us choose a side. This documentary looks like it will explore both sides throughly, along with the most popular criticisms of Lucas' more recent work (Jar Jar Binks, Greedo shooting first, Ewoks, etc.).

Plus, it has a song called "George Lucas Raped Our Childhood" playing in the middle of the trailer. How cool is that?

I'm looking forward to this one. Check out the trailer below.

Source: /Film

My Batman Bust

Click all pictures to enlarge.

Okay, so technically this is not film-related but since Batman has been committed to film in the past (most recently in what could be argued as one of the best movies of 2008), I figured it was close enough. I've had a couple of people asking me to put pictures of this thing up on the Internet whenever I got it back and I am doing just that. 

This is my Batman Bust. I made for my Basic Design II class. It took a really freaking long time. The assignment was to make an organic, three-dimensional object using found art. I formed Batman's frame work out of chicken wire I cut and wound together. I then stapled the wire frame to a wooden base with a staple gun. After taping some newspaper to certain parts of the head for emphasis (some in his nose and in the mask ears), I covered him in Rigid Wrap Plaster, which is basically the same stuff that they make an arm cast out of. I then meticulously cut up and glued twenty-dollars worth of comic books that I bought from Heroes and Dreams to the hardened plaster frame. This took incredibly long because I cut the comic book pieces out really small to give Batman more detail and to make sure you couldn't really tell what made them up. I used darker toned panels for his mask and outfit and lighter, more skin-toned panels for his face. I just used random printer paper for his eyes. The process of cutting and glueing all this comic paper to his head took a total of 13 hours (over a two day period- 8 one day and 5 the other). If you look carefully, there are three occasions where I put a piece of comic paper showing Batman's actual face in the piece (look over the nose for the most obvious one). I tried to be sneaky with this because I didn't want it to be too distracting. After I glued all the paper to the frame, I painted the wooden base black.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with it. I've never constructed anything in my life so it's cool to have made something physical that is three-dimensional. Plus, I made freaking Batman. How cool is that.

Thanks to Thomas Webb for taking all these pictures.

You can see some of the detailed panels I used in this picture.

Close on his face- you can see that I actually put panels under his nose. Also, I like that my Joker mini-bust is out of focus in the background.

Nice side profile shot. Yes, that's a biohazard bag off to the left. That's a story for another day.

The front side of him head on. You can see my Joker mini-bust better here.

I just changed this to my Facebook profile picture. Because this is guaranteed to get me some ladies. Right?

That's it, folks. Hope you enjoyed the pictures. I'm just glad to put this thing behind me. It was a lot of work. Still, I'm happy with the way it turned out.

Speech of the Week #30

Hey guys, welcome to a column here on YDKS Movies entitled Speech of the Week! For now on, every Monday I will post a new scene from a movie that features a speech of some sort being given. After all, there are a lot of famous scenes in film where characters give an influential speech of some sort. Then again, there are also a lot of scenes where characters give a speech and it just comes off cheesy and lame. In this section, you will see both kinds. That's right, people, I'm giving you the good and bad of film speeches all wrapped up in one great big package. I hope you all enjoy.

Leon: The Professional is one of my favorite movies of all time. It's incredibly entertaining, heartbreaking and beautiful all at the same time. In this movie, Jean Reno plays an Italian hitman who ends up training 12 year old Matilda (a young Natalie Portman) how to do hits herself. In the American version of the film (which was simply entitled The Professional), the relationship between Leon and Matilda was strictly platonic. However, in the international version, Matilda falls in love with Leon and attempts to seduce him.

This scene (which was cut from the American version... you know, because we can't take the idea of a 12 year old falling in love with an older man) shows Matilda trying to seduce Leon. Throughout the movie, one can see how Leon is more of a child-like character and Matilda is more of an adult. Therefore, it seems likely that she could actually seduce him. However, Leon says no and gives his reasons why. The speech he gives is really sad and simple. To me, it's one of the more powerful scenes from an already incredible movie and it is a shame it got cut from the original American version due to it's un-PC nature.

Watch it below (if you're not a prude).

A Review of Friday the 13th (2009)

I grew up watching Friday the 13th movies. When I was five or six, my grandfather would take me to Alpha Video and we would rent the Jason movies. Although I found the movies funny back then (and still do), I'm pretty sure these things are the reason I'm so afraid of sex. After all, if you were a kid and you kept seeing these movies where this big guy in a hockey mask kept killing these stupid teens who couldn't keep their pants on, wouldn't you? 

While I definitely should not have been watching these movies at such a young age, I have to admit that they definitely notched a special place in my heart (along with the horror genre as a whole). I recognize that they are not good movies: they are formulaic, unoriginal, and undeniably sleazy pieces of cinema. However, I do not believe that they are "pieces of trash," to quote Robert Ebert (see video below of his infamous review of Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter). 

While I do prefer the Halloween series, I do think that Friday the 13th is important to the horror genre and the slasher film as a whole. These movies provide a strange kind of escape to people from everyday life. While the quality of cinema for these films is definitely low, I do recognize that some films are better than others (Parts 4,6, and 7 are some of my favorites in the series). Jason and these films are a cultural phenomenon and they are a force to be reckoned with. So, when someone comes around and decides to just remake the first movie, it's kind of a big deal. There are certain things that needed to be done right. And I'm here to tell you whether or not these things were accomplished.

It's kind of stupid to call Friday the 13th a remake because it's not. It's not a re-imagining or even really much of a reboot. It's a blatant sequel with the title Friday the 13th to attract more people than the title Friday the 13th: Part 12 would have. With that said, it is a fairly entertaining but incredibly flawed sequel.

As I hoped it would, Friday the 13th was a really fun entry to the never-ending, slasher shlock series. It didn't even try to break the mold- it was filled with gore, stupid teenagers having lots of sex, lots of drug use and alcohol consumption and Jason tearing some people up. I have to admit- it was refreshing to go through these series cliches and see Jason doing his thing on the big screen again. The movie was filled with some effective scare scenes and, luckily, I had a really fun, rowdy audience to experience it with (though someone brought a baby into this... wtf). The audience absolutely exploded on certain occasions (the false start and follow-up opening title credit had the biggest reaction I've ever seen in a theater audience next to the ending of The Departed... that's saying something) and it really just made the whole experience that much better. 

There were a lot of things that I felt director Marcus Nispel and his team did quite well. Most of the stalk scenes and follow-through kills were well-executed. I felt that the false opening sequence and the lake stalk scene definitely had the most impact in terms of tension and pay off. As for the kills themselves, I felt that some were creative but definitely not as creative or... well... fun as I had hoped. Since this is a Friday the 13th entry, this is an aspect that everyone's always wondering about since Jason has really racked up an unique body count over the years. I felt that they lamed out in some cases. There was one character in particular who had a really slow and drawn out death that wasn't creative at all. The audience was completely silent in this scene and I don't think anyone really got anything out of it. I will admit the false start opening did have some pretty crazy kills in it. Unfortunately, most of the ones following it in the rest of the film didn't have the same creativity, insanity or impact (lake scene aside). 

I also felt that a lot of the film's humor worked as well. While Nispel and his crew tried to play it all serious for the most part (and this is something that I think hurt the film in some cases... keep reading on), they definitely knew they were making a Friday the 13th film. There are a lot of lines that are pretty funny and some of the characters, while unabashed stereotypes, are pretty humorous as well. To me, the line that had me dying with laughter was when the douche bag jock character lost his gun in some water while Jason was stalking him. "Where are you, gun?!" he yelled out as he searched for it. The audience was dying on this one. I also thought the scream this guy let out after Jason threw a dead body on his car was hysterical. The reaction from the audience was almost as loud as their eruption from the opening sequence.

A lot of reviews I've read have complained about the characters but I actually enjoyed a lot of them. I will admit that the first group introduced in the false start is actually a little more interesting than the second group we end up getting stuck with. However, I still enjoyed watching them deal with having a crazy guy with a hockey mask stalking them. My favorite characters to watch were the weed-obsessed nerd from the opening, the stoner Asian loser and the pretty boy douche bag. Man, that last guy was a dick. But he was so fun to watch. Everyone in the audience couldn't wait for him to die. You could feel the dissension towards him growing. It made the film more fun.

It was also kind of nice to finally see Jason in a stylized film. Granted, while Freddy vs. Jason definitely was slick-looking, it wasn't a pure Friday the 13th film. To see Jason in a movie with a decent budget is a new thing and I have to say that it is nice but it definitely doesn't have that nostalgic feel that the old films had. I did however really like a few shots that Nispel pulled off. Seeing Jason walking on a dock entirely through the cracks underneath it was pretty cool and really helped build some tension in that scene. However, I would have to agree with the notion that Nispel's style definitely works better in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre world than in the world of Friday the 13th. While a lot of it worked in the movie, it didn't feel as fluent as it did in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake.

Now for the problems. Despite the fact that I really enjoyed watching the movie, there are a lot of problems with it. 

The biggest problem with this movie is its story. The story actually hurts the film. Yes, that's right, I said it. This is one of the few times where I'm going to complain about a horror film wasting its time with a story. Anytime the character of Clay came on screen and started his speech about looking for his missing sister, I got bored. Anytime we saw Clay and that other nice girl looking for his sister, I got bored. This isn't what the movie's about. This is Jason's movie. I don't care about your sister. Apparently, I'm not alone on this notion as this seems to be one of the biggest complaints I've seen in horror site reviews I've been reading. 

The other problem that I had with this movie and the problem that seems to have most fan boys up in a tizzy is that of Jason himself. No longer is Jason an unstoppable force of nature that will stop at nothing to kill. Now, he's a big, aggressive hillbilly that also subs as a pot farmer. I'm not sure if I like this interpretation very much. Plus, he keeps the sister character alive, chained up in his underground tunnel (which he built how?) all because she kind of looks like his mother when she was younger. What? What?! Jason keeps a girl ALIVE? Jason doesn't do that crap. That girl would be dead meat. And using the whole "oh, but it's because she looks like his mother" thing is so cheap. Really, I'm sick of that Jason's a momma's boy crap that people have been pulling lately. It's not character development. It's just a cheap method that only makes the character lamer. I like Jason as just a hulking mass of destruction. Leave him that way! As for Derek Meyer's performance as the big guy, well he did the job. He was definitely aggressive and hulking. He was kind of like Kane Hodder light. But, unlike Hodder, he lacked some of the little personality ticks and movements that made him special. There was one shot where he was walking away that lacked any personality once so ever. Hodder could have done something there. Someone please give him his character back, please.

Although I was entertained throughout the movie, I found myself pretty bored by the finale. Once it became an extended chase scene between Jason, Clay, that one nice girl (her name evades me... probably not important) and the sister (again, name? Who cares), I could care less. I knew what was probably going to happen so I just kind of tuned out. Nispel didn't do anything out of the ordinary to make it any more exciting than I expected so I didn't really care. Curiously, the same thing happened with me at the end of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake as well.

I thought summing up the original Friday the 13th movie in the opening credits sequence was really cheap. They should have thought it through a little more. I also hated the way it was filmed. It was just kind of done in a throw-away manner. If you don't care about the scene you're filming, I'm not going to care about it either. Sorry. 

And, since this is labeled a "remake," they definitely didn't try to do anything with the material that was groundbreaking or new. Rob Zombie got a lot of crap for his flawed but well-made remake of Halloween but at least he tried something new and fresh. I felt that they missed some good opportunities to do something here.

Other things I didn't like:

- The scene where Jason found his mask was cheap and poorly set-up

- I didn't like Steve Jablonsky's score. Not enough "Chi-Chi-Chi-Ha-Ha-Ha" or Harry Manfredini staples. I was hoping for more nostalgia

- Lack of a strong survivor girl

- No scene where the survivor girl finds all her dead friends. This is a big staple of the series and they missed it somehow.

I really did enjoy watching Friday the 13th. It was great to see Jason on the big screen again and with a really lively crowd that got the movie. It's not a good movie but it is a fun one. Unfortunately, it definitely made some big no-nos when it comes to Jason and the Friday the 13th series. These flaws only became more evident to me after re-watching fan favorite Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter last night. With that said, I still really enjoyed watching it. I just hope next time they can do their homework better on Jason and hire Kane Hodder to be the guy in the hockey mask one more time. 

5/10

Happy Valentine's Day from YDKS Movies

For the record, I hate today more than any other day of the year. Really, I do. But, if you're lucky enough to not be single, have fun today I guess. And if you are single but plan on showing your affection for a special lady, please don't do what John Cusack does at the end of Say Anything. It was cool back then but today it would be perceived as stalker material.

Anyways, for today's post I figured I'd give you guys some romance-themed videos (no, not porn) from various movies. Enjoy.

*Note: All these videos contain spoilers for their respective films.*

Say Anything:

John Cusack holds a big boom box over his head and plays a Peter Gabriel song to a girl who's trying to sleep. The definition of love if you ask me.

Chasing Amy (previously posted as a Speech of the Week):

Holden tells Alyssa he loves her. Say what you will about Kevin Smith but his writing is great here. Memorizing this speech might help you out, guys.

When Harry Met Sally:

One of the few chick flicks I can stomach. The fact that it made me believe that Billy Crystal could nab Meg Ryan in her heyday shows how well made it is. And don't you like it when everything works out in the end?

Some Kind of Wonderful:

This is the John Hughes movie you never saw (well, he actually didn't direct it but he did write it). It's basically Pretty in Pink but with the roles of Ducky and Andy reversed. And, unlike that movie, the nerdy, misunderstood character actually gets a hook up at the end. Now that's what I like to see.  Even though Watts has a boy name and a boy hair cut, I still think she's cute. Forget Keith, Watts. He's too busy chasing around that hussy Lea Thompson. I'll take you home.

This one is painfully underrated, despite all its glaring 80's cliches. Check out the ending below. 

Sixteen Candles (en Espanol!):

Yeah, I couldn't find an English version of this anywhere. Oh well. This is the ending where Sam ends up with that punk Jake Ryan (well, actually he seemed like a nice guy but I always wanted her to end up with Geek... come on, Anthony Michael Hall was the man). The thing that always bothered me about this scene was my confusion on why they are sitting on the table with the cake at the end. Who does that? And what if the table broke right after the kiss? I could see it happening.

Lost in Translation:

Bob and Charlotte have one last embrace while my heart breaks. The whisper still kills me. This is also in another language (I guess YouTube is cracking down on English film clips) but since the only word you hear them say is "bye" it's not that big of a deal. Still, great ending.

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back:

Hah, bet you didn't see this coming. For all you nerds out there, here's proof that there is love even in a galaxy far, far away. The love between Han and Leia always felt real and geniune. Why? Because Han is a bad a, that's why. And who doesn't love a bad a? Too bad the romance presented in the prequels was just laughable. 

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind:

This scene kills me. It really does. This is the last memory to be erased from Joel's head of his relationship with Clementine. It is the first day that they met. Realizing it is all almost gone, they just decide to enjoy it. This is the greatest romantic comedy ever made. Ever.

The Last of the Mohicans:

This is that scene where Nathaniel and Cora make out from The Last of the Mohicans that everyone likes. It works particularly well due to the musical score. We watched this movie in my 10th grade English class. In fact, I think everyone did. It was pretty awesome.

Hope you all enjoyed all that. Just so you know, I watched all of those scenes before putting them on here. It left me feeling sappy, sad and lonely. So thanks. I just wanted you all to know the suffering I undergo for your entertainment. Now have a good Valentine's Day.

Inglourious Basterds Trailer Makes Me Wanna Kill Nazis

First off, excuse the lack of posting from the past two days. I have been pretty sick.

Yesterday, the teaser trailer for Quentin Tarantino's long rumored war epic Inglourious Basterds (yes, that's purposely misspelled) was released. It's weird to see that this thing is actually a movie now. It's been hyped and talked about for so many years now it's kinda hard to imagine it being a real movie. 

With that said, I think it looks pretty awesome. I've heard some people complain about Brad Pitt's accent but I don't mind it. It's kind of over-the-top but I think that's the whole point of the movie. The whole thing just looks insane in every way. It basically looks like a spaghetti- western mixed with an exploitation film. It's weird to see Eli Roth in a major role but, from the looks of it, the part isn't that much of a stretch for him so I guess it will work out okay. 

So yeah, I approve of this. It looks like a lot of fun. And it makes me want some scalps.

Speech of the Week #29

Hey guys, welcome to a column here on YDKS Movies entitled Speech of the Week! For now on, every Monday I will post a new scene from a movie that features a speech of some sort being given. After all, there are a lot of famous scenes in film where characters give an influential speech of some sort. Then again, there are also a lot of scenes where characters give a speech and it just comes off cheesy and lame. In this section, you will see both kinds. That's right, people, I'm giving you the good and bad of film speeches all wrapped up in one great big package. I hope you all enjoy.

For those of you who weren't aware, actor James Whitmore passed away a few days ago. While Whitmore held many roles over his career, I'll always know him as Brooks from The Shawshank Redemption. So this week's Speech of the Week is for James.

For me, the most heart-breaking part of The Shawshank Redemption was the section where Brooks is released from prison. After spending the better part of his life behind bars, Brooks finds himself unable to function and fit into society. In a sense, he has become "institutionalized." Eventually, he decides to end it all and kill himself. This is all played out in a very touching montage of images as Brooks narrates via a letter he wrote to his old prison friends before his suicide. The shot of Whitmore on the bus leaving prison still kills me. He just looks so terrified and little. Thomas Newman's score makes the whole sequence that much more painful and poignant. 

Overall, it's an amazing scene, has some great narration (hence Speech of the Week) from Whitmore and just shows why The Shawkshank Redemption really is that good.

R.I.P. James Whitmore.

I Love You, Mickey Rourke

Mickey Rourke won the BAFTA for Best Actor tonight and, as per usual, he gave an amazing acceptance speech in which he continuously dropped the F-bomb, admitted he was a screw-up and talked about how nice it was to see Marisa Tomei naked. I feel like he should win the Oscar just so he can give another amazing acceptance speech. Yeah, his performance in The Wrestler was incredible but just listen to the guy. I wish he could have the microphone for the whole evening.

Watch his acceptance speech below.

Observe and Report Looks Pretty Good

The red-band trailer for the Jody Hill (The Fist Foot Way) directed and Seth Rogen starring Observe and Report was released tonight and I think that it looks pretty good. It basically just looks like a really foul version of Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Also, it actually kind of looks funny.

Observe and Report is a dark comedy that follows Rogen, who plays the head of a mall's security. When his mall is struck by a flasher one day, he becomes obsessed with protecting the mall at ridiculous costs and falls in love with one of the flasher's victims: a very ditsy make-up counter girl (Anna Faris) who is out of his league. 

The trailer is very NSFW as it contains some nudity and a lot of strong language. So be warned. I think it's a pretty well-put together trailer. It definitely gives a sense of the film's dark humor and occasional insanity. I also liked that they used the Animals' "House of the Rising Sun."

Watch the trailer below. Just remember: it's not NSFW.

Watchmen Comes Out in a Month

In case you guys haven't done the math yet, Watchmen comes out a month from today. That's right- in just one month's time we will have actually seen this movie on the big screen. We will be seen Watchmen, after all these years of it being in developmental hell and stuck in ridiculous lawsuits. It's kind of a crazy thought. 

In case you haven't noticed, I'm pretty excited, ending change or not. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go and camp out for the midnight show.

2081 Trailer

It's been quite awhile since I've done anything, I'm sorry about that, but I've been busy as hell. This and last week were all test weeks basically, that mixed with homework, and me being sick. Not only that but I was elected the Event Coordinator of the Anime Club here, so I've been busy dealing with reservations, food, drinks, getting anime together, getting paid members lists, and all this stuff for our big semester welcome party tonight. Basically the old EC resigned without getting anything ready for the party so it was all dumped on me last week. Luckily I somehow got out of classes early today so I thought I'd get this quick post in while I'm waiting for the person with the key to the room our party is going to be in to come so I can start setting up everything.

Some of you may have heard of a story called "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut. If you haven't then go look it up online, it is a short story so you can read it in a few minutes. Basically it is about everyone being forced to be equal. And it is one of the best stories I have ever read. A world where everyone is handicapped to the lowest endowment to keep everyone truly equal. It is such a brilliant concept for a story and that's why I love it so much.

Well, yesterday I was chatting with a friend and found out that they are making a movie of this short story (there was actually a movie made years ago, but it was supposedly horrible). I quickly looked it up and he was right: the movie is named 2081. The move is only about 25 minutes long, but that is fine since the original story was also short (and them trying to make it into a 2 hour movie might not work out too great). It comes out this year, there is no specific date yet, and I doubt it'll be in any theaters (at least not near us). Luckily there is a trailer out, so you guys watch and enjoy its greatness as it basically follows directly the original story.

New Friday the 13th DVDs and Blu-ray Discs

In case you forgot, the Platinum Dunes remake / re-imagining / whatever of Friday the 13th is coming out next Friday... the 13th. Yes, clever, right? Unlike most horror remakes, I'm actually kind of looking forward to it because it actually looks like a lot of fun. Plus, I've just never taken the Friday the 13th series that seriously. I mean, Jason did go to space. From what I've seen, the remake will have Jason, Mrs. Voorhees, lots of blood, nudity, sex and violence. That sounds like a Friday the 13th movie to me. So, yeah, kind of sounds like they made the right kind of flick.

Anyways, I reported a rumor a few months ago that Paramount would be re-releasing all the old movies again to coincide with the remake coming out. I was hoping for a dream box set with uncut versions of the movies and new special features. Well, as it turns out, that is not happening. In fact, there is no box set being released (yet). However, there is some cool stuff coming out.

First off is a 2 Disc DVD documentary called His Name was Jason. This 90-minute documentary is hosted by special effects legend Tom Savini (who, unfortunately, I hear can be a real dick in person... just so you know) and covers the 30 year history of Friday the 13th and its machete-welding star, Jason. I'm looking forward to getting this (I hear Walmart has it for 9 bucks for anyone that is wondering). Not only does it have a lot of special features but it has a crap load of interviews. One of the people interviewed is James Rolfe, a.k.a. The Angry Video Game Nerd. I thought it was pretty cool that he got on there. It's probably due to his brilliant Friday the 13th Nintendo game review. 

You can watch the trailer for this documentary below.

The other Friday the 13th DVDs being released happen to not only be on DVD. That's right- Friday the 13th has finally moved to Blu-ray. Is it really necessary to have a Friday the 13th movie on Blu-ray? Probably not. Still, I might get the first on there just to do it. Depends on how much I can get it for.

Friday the 13th Parts 1-3 are getting re-released on DVD and Blu-ray. Friday the 13th is being released in an Uncut Edition, which, as far as I know, is a first for an American release. Each DVD / Blu-ray Disc is a special edition and has its own special features. My favorite thing about this release is that Friday the 13th Part 3 is finally getting released with a 3-D version attached to it. It comes with two pairs of 3-D glasses- one for you and a friend (or a girl if you're a bad a). I think that this one will be a lot of fun to watch. Other than the theatrical release, a 3-D version of this movie hasn't been released on video. It will finally be nice to see that guy's eyeball fly at my face when Jason crushes his head.

So, overall, the new DVD / Blu-ray releases look somewhat solid. It's definitely not what I was hoping for. I just don't think Paramount will ever give us the definitive box set of these movies in their uncut form ever. They just don't care about the fans. The rest of the movies are getting special editions as well and will be released throughout the year (why not release them all at the same time in a box set?). Something in my gut tells me that when they are all finally re-released a cheap box set will be put together of them. Man, I hate Paramount and who ever is in charge of putting their DVDs together. Stop ripping me and other fans off.

So, until the inevitable rip-off, enjoy all these new Jason goodies. 

Speech of the Week #28: The Christian Bale is Angry Edition

Hey guys, welcome to a column here on YDKS Movies entitled Speech of the Week! For now on, every Monday I will post a new scene from a movie that features a speech of some sort being given. After all, there are a lot of famous scenes in film where characters give an influential speech of some sort. Then again, there are also a lot of scenes where characters give a speech and it just comes off cheesy and lame. In this section, you will see both kinds. That's right, people, I'm giving you the good and bad of film speeches all wrapped up in one great big package. I hope you all enjoy.

So here's the deal: I can't think of a good movie speech off the topof my head and there's a new audio clip of Christian Bale that's making a big buzz on the Internet today so why not kill two birds with one stone.

For those who haven't heard, TMZ some how got an audio clip from the set of Terminator Salvation in which Christian Bale completely snaps and dog-cusses director of photography Shane Hurlbut for walking around in his eye-line while a scene was being filmed to "check a light." It is evident from the things said by Bale that this is not the first time this had happened. Everyone in the filmmaking business knows that you do not walk around while a scene is being filmed. There is a reason that they say "Quiet on the set." No one is supposed to talk or move. So this guy was definitely making a novice mistake. 

However, Bale snaps and delivers about 37 f-bombs in the span of 4 minutes. It's pretty intense. There's no video and I wasn't even there but I felt like Bale was going to hurt me. I've always felt that Bale was probably a pretty intense guy in person (especially with all the stories of his method-acting) and this pretty much confirms it. You do not want to mess up his scene. I definitely feel like he went overboard but we don't really know the situation around the melt down so it's kind of hard to tell what all lead up to this.

One thing that is really evident from this whole thing is this: what is director McG doing here? It is the director's job to control his or her actors and McG completely fails here. You only hear him talk softly twice and he totally backs down to Bale. Granted, I'm sure Bale was terrifying to be around here but, come on, man, do your job. 

So yeah, I blame everyone for this one. Everyone in Hollywood sucks. The sad thing is I'm pretty sure this happens all the time. In fact, I'm pretty positive it does. Just watch those David O. Russell videos from the I Heart Huckabees set. Now that's insane.

Warning: This speech is NSFW. Bale curses a lot. And is kind of a douche. Enjoy.

You Won't Fool Me, Transformers 2 Teaser

Everyone on the net and I guess around the world is going ape over the new Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen 30-second SuperBowl spot. For the life of me, I just can't figure out why. The general consensus seems to be: "Oh my God!!! They got bigger robots in this one!!! Did you see how big that one robot was compared to Optimus Prime!!! OMG1G1!1111!!" LOLZ!!!"

So the robots are bigger. So what. What does that even mean? So the freaking robots are bigger. Did you people see the first movie? It wasn't just bad. It was f*cking terrible. It was one of the worst excuses I've seen for film entertainment. And just because this movie has bigger robots doesn't mean it's going to be a better movie. Granted, it does appear (from the 30 seconds displayed, may I remind you) that I can actually tell what's going on from the action scenes in this one. Still, it doesn't mean this movie is going to be good. The first one was awful and, since this is a sequel to that film, I doubt it will be much better.

Plus, it's Michael Bay, people. What are you expecting?

The collective geek-out that has resulted over this teaser makes me want to vomit. I'm looking at you, /Film. Come on. 

If you like these movies, please just stop reading my site.

Here's the spot if you want to see it for some reason.