In the news…

• The Avengers has demolished box office records!  Plus a little discussion of other current box office shenanigans…  (1:05:50)
• We discuss TRAILERS aplenty!!
  • Lawless  (1:11:45)
  • The Watch (formerly Neighborhood Watch)  (1:15:00)
  • The Campaign  (1:20:55)
  • Argo  (1:26:00)
  • Gangster Squad  (1:31:25)

• The Pee Wee Herman movie pushes (tugs?) forward!  (1:34:45)
• A preview of next week’s show?  We discuss The Dictator and Battleship!  (1:37:00)

Download Here (by right clicking, then “save as”):  CR: Episode 05/13/12

I also do not have a new picture of Bane as he glares forward with muffled rage.

There are no new character posters here for The Amazing Spider-man, and I certainly wouldn’t think you’d find an Instagram-style pic of Peter Parker…because that would be ridiculous.

You will also find nary an MIB3 featurette, extended Prometheus featurette, or new Snow White and the Huntsman movie clips.  All of that would just be excessive.

No, I think I’m just going to save the last 17% of these films that we haven’t seen for the theaters.  You’re welcome.

Warning: NSFW due to some harsh, yet hilarious language

On day two of our adventures in SXSW 2012, we found ourselves broadcasting live during The Big Knife Party at the East Avenue Lounge!  In case you missed it, Day 1 of SXSW is right here.

Check out the lineup below and click for each artist’s website!  Remember, you can also listen to the individual interviews from The Big Knife Party here.

A huge THANK YOU to each band for providing the awesome music you’re hearing on this show!

• Seashell Radio  (08:30)
  • Following the interview, you’ll hear Ropes and Bury My Robot Bones in the Uncanny Valley (following the break), both off of Seashell Radio’s album Slick Machine!

• Young Mothers  (1:09:13)
  • Prior to the interview, you’ll hear Old Flames and following the interview, you’ll hear Go Mad, both off of Young Mothers’ album I Want To Be A Beautiful Star Warrior!

• Sareena Dominguez  (1:38:37)
  • Following the interview, you’ll hear Fourteen from Sareena’s album Moonbeams!

• Mister Loveless  (2:04:02)
  • Prior to the interview, you’ll hear From Burning Bridges, and following the interview you’ll hear The Old Pain, both by Mister Loveless off their Three Words EP!

• Ancient River  (2:36:00)
  • Prior to the interview, you’ll hear Insides Out from Ancient River’s album O.D.D.S.!

And of course, movie reviews!  As it turns out, half of Jonah Hill is just as funny as all of Jonah Hill!  It’s the Cinema Recon review of 21 Jump Street!  (35:25)

Also, we strap on our boots, ready our rifles, and watch Good Willem Hunting in The Hunter!  (1:18:23)

Listen below:

Download Here (by right clicking, then “save as”):  CR: SXSW Day 2

[5/7/12]  20th Century Fox appears to agree with the rest of the planet and will not alter the content of Prometheus based upon the MPAA rating bestowed upon them.  We are basing this assumption on the surfacing of what appears to be a legitimate, early ticket stub for the highly anticipated film:

That right there, my friends, is a big fat R rating!  The ticket was scanned by IMDB user “dvonnesoneek” and subsequently the internets were alerted by comicbookmovie.com.

If this is truly the real deal, words cannot describe how happy this makes me.  While I understand that excessive violence and language does not a good movie make, I have always felt that the Alien franchise (or universe, or second removed cousins, or however else Ridley Scott wants to tie Prometheus to previous films) is one that deserves a serious, unaltered, adult tone.

We have seen what happens when a studio insists on being too much involved (Alien 3) and we have seen what happens when you take this content into the ticket-selling friendly realm of PG-13 (AvP).  A rated R Prometheus can only mean that Scott is being given the freedom to realize whatever vision he had for this film.

It would have been very easy to slap a PG-13 rating on this and bank on the extra ticket sales (especially considering the rumored hefty budget).  I applaud 20th Century Fox for having the testicular fortitude to make this decision, and will now block out the week surrounding June 8 in order to recover from my head exploding in anticipation.

Cinema Recon will be seeing the behemoth superhero adventure tonight at the AMC Van Ness in San Francisco.  It’s not a question of if you’ll see it, so I’ll ask, when are you going to catch it?  Did anyone go to the early showings?  Tell us what you thought!

Hey, has anyone seen Spidey or Wolv…oh, right

I really kind of rip on the first Expendables because I think it feel so damn short of what everyone was expecting. Lots of quick cuts on the action scenes (but I guess what do you expect when all your stars are pushing 60… and walkers), the whole movie was really dark it was hard to see what the hell was going on, and it just didn’t deliver on making a movie as bad ass as the combined bad-assedness of all its stars. So needless to say, when we first heard about Explosion: THE MOVIE, I was skeptical. Then the big debate over the ratings started and it was reported that Expendables 2 would be PG-13, or else Chuck Norris would throw a temper tantrum, and most likely some uppercuts. I told Paul, the only way Expendables 2 could be any worse than the first Expendables was if they really do make this PG-13! But they have since went back and forth on the rating and word on the internet streets is that they have landed on an R rating however I don’t believe anything is official yet.

So with all that going on, I was far from being excited for the Expendables sequel. Sure, we will go see it (we do it for you! You see what you make us do!?) but I was already thinking it was going to be more of the same. Then I watch the trailer, and what can I say… I’m in! hahah! I don’t know what it is I must just be a sucker for giant explosions, crushing cars with tanks, mercenaries riding zip lines, motorcycles jumping off ramps into flying helicopters, wearing awesome sunglasses, dressing like a monk, and smart cars… (hey, they are good for the environment). But something about it was awesome enough to where I think it will be a good time all over again… even if it is a bad time all over again (which it most likely will be).

But the trailer scores high enough on my explosion meter, the Explometer© (Pronounced – EX, PLOM, E, TER) to make me fall for this whole thing all over again, and just gets me all giddy for a good old mindless action movie. So even if Expendables 2 sucks as bad as the first, I’m definitely lining up at the theater with the same enthusiasm as I had when this all started. Check out the trailer below and try to tell me you won’t be doing the same!? The Expendables 2 is set to open August 17^th, 2012 in the United States of Awesome Explosions. Oh, and in case you are wondering, it scored an 8 on the Explometer©.

Also on the show, Jake tells a grocery bag boy story (04:15) that takes over an hour to get to the punchline (1:15:30)!  Classic spot-on comedic timing you know and love here on Cinema Recon!

In the news… (1:22:00)

• Channing Tatum will skin to win in the first trailer for Magic Mike!
• The Wolverine will film in Australia! … Hey MATE!
• Man Pearce will be a part of Iron Guy 3!
• Jaden “Will Smith’s Son” Smith to star in action film Boy Nobody!
• Batman and Bane will greet you at the door of The Avengers!
• Disney to produce a new film based on Mr Toads Wild Ride!  Multi film franchise of the Teacups to likely follow

Listen Below:

Download Here (by right clicking, then “save as”):  CR: Episode 04/21/12

The first trailer has gone online for John Hillcoats Lawless, you can check it out below followed by the previous article I wrote about the film and its awesome cast. I think I was right on point with what I wrote in the article below, saying that this movie is going to be bad-freaking-ass. Don’t believe me? Just watch for yourself…

There has been a lot of talk lately about “super movies”… and I am not referring to super-hero movies. Although there is a shit load of talk about super-hero movies as well, yeah I’m looking at you AVENGERS. God damn it seems like I cant even take a shit without seeing some new Avengers images imprinted right there on the damn toilet paper. But I am not talking about super-hero movies. I’m talking about movies that are coming out that have spectacular casts. It’s like The Avengers, but real life actors… if that makes any sense. There are a couple flicks coming out that are just jam packed with amazing actors. Its almost too much to even imagine them all in one movie! It’s like the first time you heard about the whole cast for the remake of Oceans 11, let’s put it that way. I would list the movies I am talking about but lets face it: I’m lazy and you’re smarter than I am; you probably know them all.

One movie that I am really stoked for and therefore not  too lazy to mention is Lawless (formerly titled The Wettest County in the World), directed by John Hillcoat and based on a novel written by Matt Bondurant. The synopsis from IMDB is as follows – “Set in the Depression-era Franklin County, Virginia, a bootlegging gang is threatened by authorities who want a cut of their profits.” Ah yes, that is right up my alley. I am a big fan of the Depression-era look to movies, as well as the overall American attitude toward life and the law during that time. But to bring it back to my earlier point, what really gets me excited for this movie is the cast and crew…

First we have John Hillcoat directing, who previously directed The Proposition as well as The Road (both of which I think are pretty great films). The overall tone of his previous movies is what’s important and what will translate specifically well to Lawless. Second you have a screenplay by Nick Cave who also wrote the screenplay for Hillcoat’s The Proposition. But the big kicker here, ladies and gentleman and Paul, is the cast. Check this out… the film will star (deep breath) -

• Tom “I’m extremely bad ass” Hardy
• Shia LaBeouf – You can hate him all you want but personally I think he is a great actor.
• Jessica Chastain – Who is nothing short of absolutely amazing.
• Gary Oldman – Who is top on our list ‘ol chap!
• Mia Wasikowska – Alice in Wonderland, Jane Eyre and The Kids Are Alright.
• Guy Pearce – Come on… its Guy Pearce…
• Noah Taylor – The Proposition and the upcoming Hatfields & McCoys
• Dane DeHaan - Ultra believable bad super powers kid from Chronicle.
• Jason Clarke – Public Enemeies and the upcoming The Great Gatsby.

With a cast like that it’s got to be good! OK, well it doesnt have  to be good, but my money is on the fact that it will be bad-freaking-ass. A bunch of bootleggers pushing moonshine and booze, outrunning the cops, and shooting shit up! With a great screenplay, director and phenomenal cast, they could probably make watching paint dry exciting! I am stoked… no, I am super-stoked! Lawless is scheduled to open in the post-prohibition USA August 31st, 2012.

You guys said there were seats back here!

What say you? Will a great cast make this a great movie? Or just another overloaded flop? Let us know in the comments!

P.S. Does anyone else think that John Hillcoat looks exactly like Stevie from East Bound and Down?

One of the other awesome-actor-packed movies that I was thinking of is the upcoming film The Counselor directed by an up-and-coming guy named Ridley Scott. He has a small little indie film called Prometheus coming out that you probably haven’t heard of… But much like Lawless The Counselor is packed to the brim with a great cast and a great director which should make this as I like to call it – a super-movie! (I really need to find a better term for that, it just sounds so 1980′s). The plot centers around well respected lawyer who partners up with a wealthy acquaintance of his and some shady associates, to try his hand in the cocaine business without getting caught up in it. Cormac McCarthy wrote the screenplay who also wrote the novel No Country for Old Men, so I can imagine this being in the same tone which sounds awesome. But again, what gets me excited is having an awesome director paired with a great writer, and then the following all star cast (some signed on, some still in talks) -

• Michael Fassbender – Hi, I’m the best actor around right now!
• Brad Pitt – Hey, I married Angelina Joile!
• Angelina Jolie – Hey, Brad Pitt married me!
• Javier Bardem – “Don’t put it in your pocket. It’s your lucky quarter.” Classic. Oh yeah, and I married Penelope Cruz!
• Penelope Cruz – Hey, I married Javier Bardem!

Which Hitch is which?!?

One of my all time favorite actors playing one of my all time favorite directors?  Yes please!  The biopic will center around Alfred Hitchcock’s production of the 1960 classic Psycho.  While growing up, I became very familiar with and fond of Hitchcock’s work through my mom, a huge fan herself (The Birds is one of our favorite films of all time).  She was the original family horror/thriller aficionado.  While many of my childhood  friends were not allowed to watch such things, my mother was always willing let me watch ANY horror movie I pleased with her (just as long as there was no nudity… because, while monsters, murderers, and mayhem are clearly acceptable, bare breasts apparently send young children into a frenzy of mind melting chaos).  Like her, I was immune to the scares and simply became fascinated with the entire genre, which then led to my current state of horror-loving fanaticism.

Maybe I can convince Condog (Connie, my mom, to people who aren’t down with the lingo) to come along with Cinema Recon when Hitchcock hits theaters in 2013…

But alas, be worried not young fan of old ass action stars! We can definitely see from these images that they are out to kick some ass and blow some shit up! I mean, blow some stuff up… sorry Chuck please don’t karate chop me. I know you and Sly had a big argument regarding the swearing in Expendables 2, and I wouldn’t want to offend you. My humble apologies dear master of the roundhouse.

As you can see from the image below, Bruce Willis is making the “Jersey Shore puckered up lips for a cell phone self portrait” face while he unleashes hell on the bad guys. Sly Stallone is giving the classic “say hello to my little friend!” upside down smiley face while he destroys everything in his path. And Arnold is constipated… but none the less shotgun blasting the shit out of someone. Probably someone who was in front of him in the bathroom line.

EEYYE NEEEEEDAAA TO POOOOOOPPPP!!!!!

While that terrible trio is busy shooting up an unsuspecting office complex (an unsuspecting office complex that is no doubt highly involved in terrorist activity), we get a glimpse at what Mr. Delta Force himself has been up to. In this case, destroying the absolute shit out of a couple of parked cars. Jesus Christ Chuck, a note on their windshield would have been sufficient! Unloading all three of those clips might have been a wee bit much ya think? I can see it now, the owner of the car runs outside upon hearing loud explosions only to see his car blown to shit by none other than Chuck Norris himself. He yells out, “What the FUCK Chuck!? I leave my car for two fucking minutes to go take a shit, and first Arnold cuts in front of me in line, then him, Willis, and Sly start shooting up the whole damn place, and now you’ve ‘sploded my car into a thousand pieces!!! And to top it all off, is that a flat tire I see!?”  To which Chuck Norris slowly takes off his awesome, purple tinted Ray Bans and quietly answers “Yes, and you’re welcome.”

Don't ever let you car look at me like that again.

The Expendables 2 is scheduled to open August 17th, 2012 in the United States of Mo-Fo’in America.

Images via Collider.

Also, we break out the defibrillators and inject ourselves with 250 CCs of raw adrenaline!  It’s the CR review of The Raid: Redemption!  (49:15)

In the news…  (1:29:55)

• Did you see The Three Stooges this weekend?  Shame on you!!
• It only took 7 years, but Dimension Films has announced the sequel Sin City: A Dame to Kill For!
• Brad and Angelina find a babysitter and may star in The Counsel!
• Short Circuit reboot?  Johnny 5 is Alive!  …and will either be very “menacing” or a teen heart throb!
• Jake approves Anchorman 2 plot details.  Carry on, Mr. Ferrell.
• Last minute additional Avengers scene to be shot before the film is released!
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt eats gravel and sounds just like Bruce Willis!

Listen Below:

Download Here (by right clicking, then “save as”):  CR: Episode 04/15/12

A new image has surfaced on the Internets which shows Johnny Depp as Tonto from the upcoming Gore Verbinski film The Lone Ranger starring Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp. You may recall that the previous image of Johnny Depp as Tonto showed us that he probably shouldn’t be the first person at the top of your list if you need a bird sitter. But what both pictures do show rather nicely, is Johnny Depps affinity for face paint… Jesus Christ!!! Is it getting ridiculous to anyone else!? Am I the only person who can’t stand this anymore!? I swear Paul is just putting out these pictures just to mess with me because he thinks it’s hilarious how much I get worked up over stupid Johnny Depp and his face painting antics!

I think at this point, Johnny Depp has instructed his agent to not take any scripts unless it explicitly states on the first page that his character will be in full face paint the entire movie. Actually, I am going to write a script called “You Get to Cover Your Face in Paint” and see if he signs on, ten bucks says he will. And I’ll even bet you he does the sequel “You Get to Cover Your Face in Paint and Helena Bonham Carter Will Be There Too.” Is it possible to file a restraining order on someone elses behalf? I am going to file a three way restraining order for Johnny Depp, Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter. The three of those people and face paint shouldn’t be allowed to be within a 15 mile radius of one another. This madness has to stop people!

Anyways, back to the new Lone Ranger picture. So this time we see Depp with mucho face paint but sans the dead bird on his head. I am guessing after a couple days in the hot sun someone at the Health Department finally said, “hey… you know you got a rotten dead bird on your head?” so they 86’d the bird, or at least threw it in the fridge for the time being. This pic is just more of the same if you ask me, or at least it’s exactly what I was expecting from a Depp movie. I for one am not looking forward to this flick very much. I have the feeling Depps Tonto will be very similar to his Captain Jack Sparrow, but with a Native American accent and not a… umm, pirate accent. Lots of antics, distinct accent and odd geastures just underneath more facepaint. He is one step away from saying “wheres the rum?” in my book. But hey, I’ll see it. I guess I am pretty impressed though, that makeup really does make him look like a middle age Native American woman.

I hope this make up covers my pimple...

The Lone Ranger is set to hit theatres May 31^st, 2013.

Image via Badass Digest.

“In the futuristic action thriller Looper, time travel will be invented – but it will be illegal and only available on the black market. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target 30 years into the past, where a “looper” – a hired gun, like Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) – is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good… until the day the mob decides to “close the loop,” sending back Joe’s future self (Bruce Willis) for assassination. The film is written and directed by Rian Johnson and also stars Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, and Jeff Daniels. Ram Bergman and James D. Stern produce.”

The story itself seems pretty awesome. If it has to do with time travel, sign me up! A lot of people get all “logical” with time travel movies and start poking holes in the plot immediately… “Well now wait a minute guys, if Bruce Willis is sent to the past that means that obviously Joseph Gordon-Levitt doesn’t die in the movie because if he dies then Bruce Willis wouldn’t have been around in the future to have been sent back in the first place…” Yada yada yada you’re dumb guy just go with it. As long as their aren’t major holes in the plot, I’m all for suspending belief about the possible paradoxes involved in any time travel movie. I mean come on, why didn’t Skynet just crush the skull of teenage Kyle Reese when they captured in him in Terminator: Salvation? “Hey kid what’s that over there…?” *squash*

One thing I noticed about the trailer was how Joseph Gordon-Levitts voice sounds pretty damn awesome compared to Bruce Willis. I’m not sure if that is JGL just doing some fine voice work, or if they used anything in post production on his voice, but either way I think it sounds pretty awesome. Also, there does appear to be some small facial make-up or prosthetics worn by JGL to make him look a bit more like Willis. I am not too sure how I feel about this, maybe after watching the movie for a bit I will buy into it but I just hope it’s not too distracting.

I was definitely a fan of Johnsons other movie with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brick, so I am excited to see what these two can do again. I am a bit hesitant about the overall look and tone of the movie though, it seems at times very “Kill Bill-ish” but then at other times a very straightforward action movie. I guess we will have to just wait and see how it all pans out, Looper is set to open September 28^th in the US.

What are your thoughts on the trailer? Looks like good ‘ol fashion time traveling mob-hit-man fun? Or too far of a stretch for Levitt to be Willis?

Case in point is the most recent Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy. I recently saw the cover of Entertainment Weekly where Batman (Christian Bale) and Catwoman (who cares, its Catwoman) are featured front and center on the cover in their cosutmes from The Dark Knight Rises. I mean after all, it’s their Summer Movie Preview Issue! But what I cant get over is the over-complication of the Batsuit! I understand that this take on Batman is supposed to be grounded in reality as much as possible. And that the Batsuit is an adaptation of military clothing and armor. And that its supposed to provide functionality while still maintaining protection… but come on!!! Why do they feel the constant need to evolve the Batsuit into something way more than it needs to be!? We all remember seeing George Clooney and thinking… “Ummm, why the fuck does the Batsuit have nipples?” I understand the concept behind its look and development, but I personally feel they went a bit over the top here. I think it gets to a point where they begin to over-complicate things and it starts to distract from the character.

I am sure it wont be that bad or really noticeable at all when we see it on the big screen. I mean after all how often will you see Batman just standing still in broad day light? Usually it’s quick cut action scenes in the cover of darkness so there probably wont be time to analyze all the Kevlar patch locations. But I’ll still know they’re there. Like bedbugs in a cheap hotel – You cant see ‘em but you know they’re there… just waiting to ruin your hotel experience… the bedbugs, not Batman.

Just add water!

The Dark Knight Rises is set to open in the U.S. July 20th, 2012. And you bet we will be front and center Kevlar patches and all.

So I read an article just now on Salon.com, where co-writer/director Adam McKay talks about how Anchorman 2 was bounced around in the studios for a while, how the comedy and satire of Anchorman is more relevant now than ever, and how he stays creative. But the best little nugget of the article is where he talks about the potential plot ideas they are toying with for Anchorman 2. McKay goes on to say, “I don’t want to give away too much, but I’ll just give a couple pieces of ideas that we’ve kicked around. Keep in mind we’re still writing the story, but I’ll say one phrase for you: custody battle. I’ll give you that. I’ll give you one other one: bowling for dollars.”

This is music to my ears. Recently on the 04/01/12 show I told Paul that I hope they keep the story of Anchorman 2 simple because its the characters that make the movie funny not some crazy ass plot. And this sounds like it’s right up their alley for the Channel 4 News Team! I can see it now, Ron Burgundy and Veronica Corningstone, battling for little Ron or little Veronica. Throwing back and forth the same quips that brought us to tears last time such as “You are a smelly pirate hooker,” “Why don’t you go back to your home on Whore Island?” and “You’ve got a dirty whorish mouth.” Classic. That is love my friends, that is love.

I am not sure what the “bowling for dollars” reference is that McKayis talking about, but if it involves some sort of competition for the custody of Burgundy Jr., sign me up! This happens to be too perfect of timing for me also, just having watched the most recent episode of East Bound and Down. The episode finds Kenny Powers facing off once again against Ashley Schaeffer, this time for his son! What ties this all together you might ask? Oh I don’t know, maybe the fact that Ashley Schaeffer is played by Will Ferrell! And the fact that Will Ferrell is an executive producer! Oh, and the fact that Adam McKay is also an Executive producer and Directed a couple episodes in 2009! BOOM! I just hit your ass with some knowledge son! This particular episode was absolutely freaking hilarious. So to imagine throwing a kid in the works with the characters of Ron Burgundy and the Channel 4 News Team, with McKay co-writing and directing just makes me really excited for this sequel. I have faith that they can pull it off. Plus, you know what they say about sequels… 60% of the time, they work every time.

You stay classy, Planet Earth.

Warning: NSFW due to some harsh, yet hilarious language

In a special, massive edition of Cinema Recon, we recorded LIVE from SXSW 2012 in Austin, TX!  You can listen to the epic buffet of interviews, reviews, and banter (remember to take bathroom breaks), or you can also listen to individual interviews by visiting our SXSW section.

Since we are live from the Wild & Only Ones event at the Sahara Lounge, a multitude of awesome bands and musicians stopped by to talk with us!  Check out the lineup below and click for each artist’s website!  A huge thanks to each band for providing the awesome music you’re hearing on this show!

• Young Mothers (03:48)
  • You’ll hear Go Mad by Young Mothers off the album I Want To Be A Beautiful Star Warrior !

• Mister Loveless (54:45)
  • Prior to the interview, you’ll hear The Old Pain by Mister Loveless off their Three Words EP!

• Slowtrain (1:11:20)
  • Following the interview, you’ll hear Bound to Find You Out  by Slowtrain off their album of the same name, Bound To Find You Out!

• Merry Ellen Kirk & Rachel Pearl (1:28:42)
  • You’ll hear Field of Dreams by Merry Ellen Kirk prior to the interview!
  • You’ll hear Like a Video by Rachel Pearl following the interview!

• Heypenny (1:49:00)
  • Prior to the interview, you’ll hear Give Me the Ball and following the interview, you’ll hear Angles and Arches, both off of Heypenny’s album A Jillion Kicks!

• Black Forest Fire (2:12:25)
  • Prior to the interview, you’ll hear My Dreams and following the interview, you’ll hear Do It For Sara, both off of Black Forest Fire’s album Transit Of Venus!

And of course, movie reviews!  We witness millions upon millions of dollars evaporate in a matter of 132 minutes!  It’s the Cinema Recon review of John Carter!  (22:40)

Also, we are anything but quiet during our review of the indie horror flick Silent House! (2:26:15)

Listen below:

Download Here (by right clicking, then “save as”):  CR: SXSW Day 1

Paul, I signed your diploma

If there is one person on this Earth that deserves their own Truman-esque reality show, its Arnold Schwarzenegger.  The man can’t finish a sentence without making me laugh, whether its calling my state “Caleeforniah” or telling me to “Get My Ass To Mars!”

Just read this quote from Comingsoon.net, where Arnold confirms and comments on the planned Twins sequel, Triplets:

“I would love to do another ‘Twins,’” Schwarzenegger said when asked if there were any past characters he’d like to revist. “As a matter of fact, we’ve been talking about doing one and it’s called ‘Triplets.’ I’d find somebody like Eddie Murphy or someone that people would say, ‘How does that happen, medically speaking?’ and, ‘Physically, there’s no way!’ Then, somehow, we would explain it. That would be hilarious with what we know about someone like him.”

“I can see a poster,” the actor continued. “A billboard with us three. ‘They found another one!’ ‘Triplets!’ ‘Only their mother can tell them apart!’ I would do that in two seconds, because that’s real entertainment. You come out with that movie for Christmas, like December 5th or something like that, and you’re home free.”

Gold.  I could listen to him read the instructions on the back of a Monopoly box, and I guarantee it would be better than any episode of Two and a Half Men.  Better yet, give him a cooking show!  OH!  Baseball play-by-play announcer!  ”Striiiike threeeeeeAhhh!”  Just get this guy on TV somehow where he has to talk NON STOP, and as no other character but himself.  Shit, make this a 24 hour Arnold only channel.

Arnold has just got this certain charm about him…a certain “say what I see” humor that can’t really be pulled off by any human being.  Its as if you’ve been cornered by your little cousin and now you must listen to him describe each of his GI Joe action figures down to the most minute, insignificant detail…oh, but your little cousin was also the Terminator.

As has been mentioned from time to time on the show, if you’ve never had the joy of listening to a DVD commentary by Quaid himself, 1) Get an Arnold DVD, 2) Find some friends, and 3) Stop laughing so much, you’re laughing far too loudly, and it is annoying the elderly neighbors.  Just listen to the following “Greatest Hits!” from his Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines ramblings.  Some of my favorite lines include:

The Marble wall was two inch thick Marble…that I punched through with ease

If this world deals with big breasts, then so be it, I’m just gonna have bigger breasts

Oh my god, did you see Schwarzenegger naked?  They showed his butt!  I even saw something in front!

Tangent: This is nothing new to me. In my younger years I made it a ritual to see movies in huge doses. The holidays made this easy due to the sheer number of films released and the idle time Christmas break affords you as a teenager. However, the older I get, the less fun it has become until this year when it became a downright war of attrition. I was so exhausted and my ass was so sore that I completely scrapped the story I had planned to write detailing the experience and contemplated never going to see another movie again. Hyperbolic and in the end untrue, yes, but when you’re fighting to stay awake during a 10pm showing of War Horse, these are the things you think about.

Anyways, back to We Bought a Zoo. It is not a good film. Sure, Matt Damon and his luscious head of hair are very winning as per usual, but the the combination of a very, very, very tired “Dirty Dozen” Aesthetic and Scarlett Johannson’s single note delivery/lack of depth, the film left me feeling manipulated and a little cold.  The film’s title says all you need to know about the film, but I digress. A recently widowed father drags his two precocious children (Imagine that!) to a decrepit zoo, where they meet a band of (wait for it…) rough-around-the-edges, yet, extremely lovable animal lovers and embark on a voyage of self discovery in which everyone in the film learns something and transforms into their very best selves (Pure saccharine.) Of course this kind (the worst kind) of filmmaking is completely justified simply because it’s based on a true story. Hey, everyone loves to needs a good cry.

Tangent #2: On Scarlett Johannson: Man, what happened? All the promise and vulnerability displayed in Ghost World and Lost in Translation has been laid to waste in horrible film after horrible film. Check out her imdb page; with the exception of the work she did with Woody Allen, it reads like the Razzie nominations.)

Unfortunately,We Bought a Zoo is just another example of the ever growing problem as it pertains to Cameron Crowe’s career as a writer/director. In a canon that peaked with Almost Famous, each film that has followed has felt increasingly shallow and derivative. Vanilla Sky, in which Crowe tried to install his pop sensibilities into philosophical science fiction was a movie I loved this film upon first seeing it, but watching it now, a stiff breeze could blow it over. I mean really, are we really expected to care about a rich playboy without scruples, who screws over the wrong girl? Follwing “Sky” was Elizabethtown, which I have constantly referred to as either the film I liked a lot more when it was called Garden State or the film in which we realized that Orlando Bloom will never be a movie star.

Tangent #3: I don’t want to get all meta on you, but Elizabethtown feels derivative of a film that itself owed a lot to earlier Crowe films. Garden State even nailed the use of popular music to push the story forward. An aspect of filmmaking Crowe has mastered. Go figure. 

While even the most ardent lover of Crowe’s films would attest, none of his movies are perfect (Though, Almost Famous comes pretty damn close.) By in large Crowe’s films are made up of one indelible moment after another that imprints itself on your subconscious. I can’t tell you how many times, I have thrown in Say Anything… just to watch the exchange between Cusack and Mahoney during the dinner sequence or Cusack’s steely defiance in the scene with the jukebox. I always get a chuckle at the truth he mines in the scene in Jerry Maguire in which a euphoric Tom Cruise scans the radio dial to find the right soundtrack to what he’s feeling and lands on Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” and I cannot tell you how many times I have sung along to “Tiny Dancer” with the cast of Almost Famous. Never has a filmmaker had such a knack for creating scenes so funny, so painfully truthful that they keep you coming back for more. Not that Vanilla Sky or Elizabethtown are without moments like these. I defy anyone to find finer approximations of what burgeoning romance feels like than in the courtship between Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz in “Sky” (Man, “Solsbury Hill” is a great fucking song!) or the telephone conversation between Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst in “Elizabethtown” (Yet, another great use of music and my introduction to Ryan Adams.) Moments like these are fleeting and they simply do not carry the film.

In We Bought a Zoo, he seems to be searching for these moments, never quite finding them, instead relying on Matt Damon’s toothy smile and a well timed music cue.  Due to my love of his earlier films, I’m still rooting for Cameron Crowe, so here’s to hoping he gets his groove back.

We Bought a Zoo is out on DVD and Blu-ray today. Rent it from Redbox, get it delivered by Netflix, but under no circumstances buy it. I don’t care what Wal-Mart is selling it for.

CR also wants to hear your best Liam Neeson impression! (listen to the show, we promise it will make sense)  Send us your best “Release the Kraken!!” impression (is there any other Liam Neeson one liner??) and we will send one lucky fan a Cinema Recon T-Shirt!

In the news…

• The legacy of Steve Jobs is to be portrayed by the man responsible for Punk’d!  (52:05)
• Liam Neeson will do his best Liam Neeson impression in The Dark Knight Rises!  (56:45)
• Chuck Norris proclaims “Earmuffs!” as Expendables 2 keeps its R rating?!  (1:00:40)
• Como Estan Bitches!  Anchorman 2 is happening!  (1:08:08)
• Ridley Scott talks Prometheus rating! (Hint: it is not G)  (1:18:02)
• Johnny Depp adds another face with Dark Shadows!  Jake is not happy (1:24:27)
• Get your ass to…Earth?  The Total Recall remake has a trailer!  (1:27:50)
• Indie darling The Avengers will show at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival!  (1:32:04)

Listen Below:

Download Here (by right clicking, then “save as”):  CR: Episode 04/01/12

Mark Wahlberg stars as our favorite Boston-accented dudes dude in the Seth MacFarlanes feature film debut, Ted. The story centers around John (Mark Wahlberg) and his girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis) who have been dating for quite some time. Lori wants to get a bit more serious and wants John to ask his beer swigging, swearing, dirty, pot smoking pervert of a roommate Ted to move out. The only catch is that Ted… is a Teddy Bear. That’s right, he is a Teddy Bear who has come to life as a result of a childhood wish. Actually, it doesn’t even matter why there is a live walking talking Teddy Bear. All that matters is that it is hilarious as all shit to see Mark Wahlberg and a Teddy Bear sit there and swear like sailors, talk about sex with women, smoke pot and make it look like its second nature. This movie is definitely going to be over the top, and I cant wait. I think Family Guy is an extremely funny show, and this seems like it is going to be everything Family Guy just can’t be on TV (for obvious reasons). And I think if anyone can pull this off, its Wahlberg. Just check out the red-band trailer below – the scene at the end with Wahlberg rattling off about 50 different female names is just about as hilarious as it gets.

Ted is set to open in the US on July 13th, 2012. I’m definitely looking forward to this one, and all the commotion that is sure to be following. I just hope that ToysRus will carry the talking pull chord version of Ted, because my 4 year old niece would love it.

I am not going to sit here and rant about how Orson Welles was brilliant and the best thing since sliced bread, how Citizen Cane was the best movie ever made, or how The War of The Worlds was the bees knees (which it was by the way). Because in all honesty, I am not very familiar with all the works of Welles and his career. But that doesn’t mean I do not know who he is and how to appreciate a good thing when I see it, and to respect it. No big long rant here, I cant say anything that would be more cool than how this man carries himself. Listen to the interview and enjoy the whit and wisdom.

But the name of the movie is the least of my concerns…

If you remember, Twins centers around Arnold’s character Julius who goes in search of his brother Vincent played by the always funny Danny DeVito. They are twins (get it?) as a result of an experiment; Julius is the perfect physical specimen and Vincent is a short small time crook. Arnold lifts up a car, sings funny songs, drives a car on two wheels, etc., etc., lots of hilarity ensues. I actually really like this movie, and I was totally excited when I saw an interview with Danny DeVito on Collider promoting Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, and DeVito said he would be open to the idea of a Twins sequel! I thought hell yeah, be more sleazy Danny DeVito! Lift up more cars and be a charming womanizer old ass Arnold!

I was all sorts of excited. Then I read this news today from THR, where they provided an update on the details of the sequel. The movie will be called Triplets, because Arnold and DeVito discover they have a third sibling! ZING! WOWZA! How original… but OK I can live with that, I’m sure the movie will still be funny. But who will play this third sibling you ask? Well it has to be someone who can keep up with the physical presence and dry humor of Arnold and the quirkiness of Devito… someone who is on top of their game right now, someone really hot in Hollywood… I know… how about Eddie Murphy!!! (Go ahead and bring back the womp womp womp sound).

Larry, Curly, and Mr. Movie Killer

I don’t even know what to say about this… seriously I don’t. Eddie Murphy, the actor who was supposed to make a serious acting come back, who had about 15 minutes of screen time in Tower Heist, whose current movie A Thousand Words has a big fat ZERO rating on Rotten Tomatoes, who backed out of doing the Oscars… he will be the third sibling!? I couldn’t think of a better way to ruin this movie and for it to lose my interest immediately. Let me guess – Arnold is now a successful businessman, DeVito has turned away from the life of crime, and Eddie Murphy makes jokes because he’s black and they are white. The three of them have to go on an adventure to find their parents/scientists, get out of a jam, enter generic plot here, and it is funny because they are all different… GET IT!!!??? Oh boy, this should be one for the books. We will be sure to keep you posted with more plot details as they come up, but try not to be too upset with this news, that is my job. You concentrate on other things, and if you see someone begging for a dollar on the corner, tell Eddie you cant wait to see him in Triplets.

The film revolves around a woman named Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron.) She is a writer of cookie cutter YA fiction and to say that she is a malcontent is an understatement. She drinks too much, has nary a good thing to say to or about anyone and uses what’s left of her good looks to get what she wants. Upon receiving an email announcing the wife of her ex-boyfriend, Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson,) had just given birth to their first child, she is prompted to go back to her home town and win Buddy back. What follows is one uncomfortable situation after another in which a deluded, almost always drunk Mavis tries to rekindle her their long forgotten romance, completely oblivious to the trail of destruction she leaves in her wake.

My wife and I left the theater feeling sucker punched. My wife, who takes everything at face value and thinks totally in terms of entertainment value, hated the film. She thought it was a depressing mess with a rash of hopeless characters occupying the screen without moral compass or any redeemable characteristics. I gave the film a lot more rope, but could not disagree with her. While her opinion was shared, my criticism went a little deeper than that. My initial reaction to the film was that I had never seen a film more self-conscious of itself. The screenplay seemed to be a desperate attempt at a complete 180 for Diablo Cody. The idealistic and witty banter that filled the scripts for Juno and her work on the TV show United States of Tara and was supplanted by incessant negativity and the dreariest of world views. Reitman, who has proven himself an apt craftsman, carving a nice place for himself outside of his father’s shadow, had apparently decided to throw out anything he felt would be conventional opting instead for the path of most resistance. The film seems to go out of its way to buck any sort of trend you see in most films, there is no growth amongst the main characters and there is nothing even remotely close to a resolution.

Had I written this review back in January, it probably would have ended there. But, a few weeks ago I happened upon a discussion of the film on the podcast, WTF with Marc Maron. Maron loved the film and his argument was compelling enough to entice me to give the film another go. The second viewing was a completely different experience. While the film is by no means a masterpiece, I did develop an appreciation for it. I discovered that one of major reasons I disliked the film initially was the very aspect of the human condition it was trying to shine a light on. One of the major themes of the film is cynicism and the effect it has on our growth as people. It’s much easier to reject something as deficient rather than to spend the amount of time necessary to understand what it is it’s trying to say. I’m certainly not immune to doing this. I’m constantly at war with myself in an attempt to slow the fuck down and simplify. Life is overwhelming and can be quite painful and the last thing we want is to have that notion fed to us via what we choose as entertainment. Young Adult is not a comfortable viewing experience. It doesn’t exist to give you answers to the questions it asks of the audience. It leaves you, squirming in your seat, with a choice: Take the easy way out and discard the film, which is what I did after my first viewing. Or sit in the shit of it, as I did the second time around and appreciate it for not taking shortcuts or tacking on a happy ending.

I’m paraphrasing Marc Maron when I sum up what I think Young Adult is about and what I grew to enjoy about it: Life isn’t always about the funny, or the entertaining for that matter. Sometimes life is about the sad. And that ain’t so bad.

SIDEBAR: Holy shit! All that word vomit without pointing out two crucial elements of the film. Charlize Theron is an actress of amazing range and skill. I have a ton of respect for her performance in Monster, but, I think that the film was far too reliant on the physical transformation and the makeup used to make Theron look like the source material. In Young Adult, Theron is allowed to look like herself and give a performance that makes her every bit as ugly as she looked in Monster. Monster may have earned her an Oscar, but in Young Adult she may have painted her masterpiece. Furthermore, Patton Oswalt is the secret weapon of this film. Not unlike his performance in the little seen Big Fan, he is an absolute revelation as someone who has endured more pain, both physically and emotionally, that any man should bear. I may be overstating a bit because this performance is wildly different than his comic performance, but it’s fantastic nonetheless.

For so long it seemed a no-brainer that a sequel would be made to the 2004 hit Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.  After much stalling however, it had turned into a buried and dead project.  Will Ferrell, a long time champion of the character and film, seems to finally have talked Paramount Studios into … for just one more movie … being co-people.

So I wanted to use this as an opportunity to get a better feel for what everyone else thinks, you, the pulse of America! What say you about the blockbuster that is The Hunger Games??? I am very surprised to see the critics raving about the movie (currently 85% on RT), while everyone I know who has read the books hated it, and those who haven’t read the books have mixed feelings. But I wanted to get some opinions from you, the listener, the viewer, the Cinema Recon-ite, about what you thought about the movie!

So this is a call to all of you reading, an open invitation to comment below and tell us your thoughts, rants & raves, opinions, all of it, about what you really thought of The Hunger Games. I really want to know what John Q. Movie-goer thinks about this movie. We will respond to all questions and comments – and let you know what we think! Happy commenting and may the comments always be in your favor… sorry I just had to do it!

Hungry Hungry Hunger Games.

Not that trailers for trailers are anything terribly new, but it always makes me laugh.  How plugged in to the hype-machine are we nowadays?  It certainly makes me long for when the first way I would hear about a film would be by wandering through the local movie theater halls and seeing it in poster form…

Look for the full length trailer on Sunday, April 1 (Game of Thrones Season 2 also begins Sunday, btw!) during the NBA Celtics/Heat match up.  Shortly after the debut trailer, an extended trailer (so does that make the above a pre-pre-tease??) will then be released to the masses via www.apple.com/trailers, copies upon copies on Youtube, and carrier pigeon.

Total Recall will be released in theaters nationwide on August 3, 2012, sans Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In the news…

• The Hunger Games is apparently feasting on everyone’s wallets at the box office!  (1:27:20)
• “Winter is coming”…so bundle up for Season 2 of Game of Thrones!  (1:33:05)
• Michael Bay says get ready for the Teenage Alien Ninja Turtles!  (1:44:00)
• Eddie Murphy scores a perfect “0″ on the Tomometer(c)! (2:00:00)
• To absolutely no one’s surprise, Tom Cruise will sprint in yet another Mission Impossible!  (2:05:10)
• Paul and Jake repeatedly endure head explosions during the newest Prometheus trailer!  (2:09:50)

Listen Below:

Download Here (by right clicking, then “save as”):  CR: Episode 03/25/12

In the meantime, business is back to normal for us in terms of show scheduling.  You may have heard of a little film called The Hunger Games, yes?  Well, the film earned a paltry $155 million this weekend, which was enough to crown it the 3rd biggest weekend opening of all time.  You can count Jake, Cassie, and myself as contributors to that giant pile of money, and we have the newest episode of Cinema Recon to prove it!

In the latest and greatest episode, you will hear:

• Our review of The Hunger Games, with Cassie returning as guest!
• How Lionsgate is celebrating the huge success of its latest release
• Why we can’t wait for Season 2 of Game of Thrones
• Our thoughts on the TMNT-aliens-Michael Bay controversy
• Why we can’t stop watching the newest Prometheus trailer
• The questionable sounds of Paul’s new clipboard

Check back soon to stream or download the 3/25/12 show!!

This would be easier if 'American Woman' wasn't stuck in my head ... thanks Lenny

First, allow me to give you a brief rundown of the five films that Jessica Chastain was featured in throughout the course of 2011:

The Help: In which she plays a hopelessly inept housewife (suffering) who takes the credit for the food and work of her housekeeper played by Octavia Spencer (In her Oscar-winning role.) I written about this film before: not my favorite.

Tree of Life: In which she plays a 1960′s housewife (suffering). A loving wife and mother whose philosophy on life are the crux of the film’s major themes and lie in stark contrast to the beliefs of her husband (played by Brad Pitt.)

Tangent #1: Once in a blue moon there comes a film that perplexes me so fully that I literally have to watch the film over and over again as a sort of punishment or half-assed attempt to understand it. Mulholland Drive was the last film in which this happened. Tree of Life definitely falls under this category. Needless to say, the brief synopsis is pure conjecture and I feel a little stupid even writing it.

Coriolanus: In which she plays the wife (suffering) of the title character (Ralph Fiennes) and most deal with the fact that her husband’s relationship with his mother is a wee bit (to put it lightly) inappropriate.

Tangent #2: I love Shakespeare. One summer, I obsessively read and in some cases reread every single one of his plays. While, I don’t think this is news to anyone, but it bears repeating: Coriolanus, along with Titus Andronicus, may be the toughest to get through.

Take Shelter: In which she plays the wife (suffering) of a man whose laden schizophrenia is slowly bubbling to the surface.

Tangent #3: Man, Michael Sheen is a fucking great actor. If Michael Fassbender not getting an Oscar nomination for “Shame” was the biggest snub of the year, Sheen’s performance in Take Shelter may be the second biggest.

The Debt: In which she plays the younger version of Helen Mirren, who plays a former Israeli Intelligence Agent who has been keeping a very big secret. Oh yeah, and she’s the long-suffering wife of a fellow Intelligence officer.

Tangent #4: I had higher hopes for this movie, given the cast and the pedigree of the filmmakers behind it (Bill Madden directing, a screenplay by Matthew Vaughn.) It’s a perfectly watchable thriller, however, at about the halfway mark of the film, I found myself manicuring my Amazon wish list (It’s compulsive… I hope I’m not alone.)

Wait for it…read it again…see the pattern.

This may seem like I’m the first guy to knock what has been an extraordinary year for the lady, but I’m not. In fact, it’s just opposite. Looking at the broad strokes, the similarities are certainly there, but what Chastain has done with every performance is simply remarkable. She is able with great subtlety and economy to mine the different shades of the human condition as it pertains to women. While she has essentially played the same role in all five films, she has ranged from electric exuberance to unflinching resolve to extreme pain. If watched in succession, it’s not entirely impossible to think of Chastain’s five performances as one large all-encompassing performance.

With so much heat around her, the possibilities are endless as are the paychecks. At this point, the fork in the road is upon her. Turn one direction and you go by way of Kate Hudson and make one dispensable romantic comedy after another until you whither away into obscurity and are only known for which rock star you are currently fucking. Turn the other direction and co tine to make interesting choices, win a couple of Oscars and transform into the second coming of Meryl Streep. Selfishly, I hope she chooses the latter. I realize that’s a high bar to set, but after a year like the one Ms. Chastain had, it’s hard not to see it coming. In 2011, Ms. Chastain may very well have painted her masterpiece, what will she do for an encore?

My hat is hungry, Armie

I’m really starting to believe Johnny Depp will only do a movie if any of the following criteria are met:

1. Tim Burton is involved
2. Helena Bonham Carter appears
3. Depp gets to wear an elaborate costume of some kind
4. Depp gets to utter “Where’s the RUM!” at some point
5. Free McDonald’s is provided

Truly we are a podcast divided when it comes to Johnny Depp:  I am a fan, Jake not so much.  I can absolutely understand why one would be turned away by him.  His loud, over the top, larger than life characters (especially lately) are spectacles that demand an audience’s attention.  If you are of the camp that believes less is more, you are certainly going to be annoyed while sitting through Pirates of the Caribbean.

But this is exactly why I enjoy Johnny Depp movies.  His is a craft that is not easily defined…something different every time he appears onscreen.  He has been at the point of A-list status for so long, he can choose any role he wants.  In doing so, he chooses some very bizarre characters.  To me, this truly embodies thespianism at its best.  Yes, I love and appreciate a strong, dramatic performance in a more grounded environment, but sometimes I’d rather get lost in a story that leaves realism at the door.  I welcome the fantastical set pieces, the whimsical plot lines, and the scene-chewing of characters like the one’s Depp has the luxury of portraying.

So I am of the opinion that this pic of Tonto is awesome.  Its ridiculous, overdone, and he has a goddamn bird on his head.  Fine with me.  Johnny Depp will take this wackiness and run with it, just as he does in every movie he’s in.  And at the end of the day, even if the movie is a flop, having Depp in the role will ensure a Tonto that is memorable and fun to watch.  Depp is quite good at his craft…whatever the hell that may be.

Does anyone even know what Johnny Depp actually looks like in person??

Listen Below:

Download Here (by right clicking, then “save as”):  CR: 2012 Oscars Part3

Listen Below:

Download Here (by right clicking, then “save as”):  CR: 2012 Oscars Part2

The video was hosted by Ustream.com, and there, on the Cinema Recon channel, you can find video of the show, or you can also watch by visiting CinemaRecon.com and taking a look at our post “Replay of Cinema Recon LIVE“

Easily one of our favorite shows yet, we had an absolute blast broadcasting live, interacting with fans through Twitter, Facebook, and Ustream, and just causing the normal Cinema Recon debauchery you’ve come to expect.

This epic event has been split into 3 parts for you to listen as a podcast.  Even if you missed the Oscars, the show is still entertaining and pretty damn hilarious.

So kick back, relax, and enjoy the very special Cinema Recon LIVE with the 2012 Academy Awards!

Listen Below:

Download Here (by right clicking, then “save as”):  CR: 2012 Oscars Part1

And yet, we do it all the time.  In airports, in Disneyland, and yes, in the cinema.  But finally, someone has the gall to stand up for the rest of us sheep!  The Detroit Free Press reports that one man is suing AMC Movie Theaters because their concessions are too high!  Nary a one of us shall again have to kneel over the guillotine and buy Twizzlers for $9.00!!  Or a medium Soda for $6.75!! (for just a quarter more you can make it a large and really, why the hell wouldn’t you?)

Okay, so maybe the insane popcorn prices aren’t going anywhere just yet, but I found this lawsuit particularly interesting, being that I spend quite a bit of my free time in a theater.  Certainly this case will be dismissed long before it gets any real traction.  If Law School has taught me anything, it’s that 99% of all suits will never see a day in court, whether they are dismissed or settled early on.  Basically, people sue over some of the wackiest shit.

So what then does this guy hope to accomplish?  It is pretty well-known that theaters make all their money from concession sales.  If they were mandated by law to sell their Goobers at minimum prices, what do you think is going to happen?  The ticket prices will go up!  Attacking the theaters, as crazy as those Milk Dud prices may be, is aiming a little too far down the root of the problem.  It’s the prices imposed by the film distributors in an already concentrated industry that are really driving the M&M costs through the roof (often distributors will charge 50-70% of a theater’s ticket revenues for the license of one film).

You could do what I do: get yourself a Jake of your very own and have him carry all those Sour Patch Kids in his cargo shorts.  He’s like a big, bearded purse that complains a whole lot.

Thanks to Cinema Blend for pointing this story out to the masses!

The film will premiere at SXSW on March 9th (how convenient for us! …Now if we can just get passes…), but there is a little more than meets the eye with this one.  You see, Cabin in the Woods was shot in 2009!  This is always a scary caveat for a film.  Usually when a film sits on a shelf this long, a studio has no confidence in it.  They will generally wait to release such a stinker when the rest of their film schedule permits, and with zero marketing behind it.

And yet, I am hopeful.  Sure, I’m a sucker for all things horror, but this in particular could be a fun time.  It has a rather unique premise, was co-written by Joss Whedon (director of the upcoming Avengers), directed by Drew Goddard (Cloverfield), and stars a pre-Thor Chris Hemsworth.  How can it be bad?!

Hopefully Cinema Recon manages to sneak into the SXSW premiere.  If we do, you can bet we will be reviewing it on an upcoming show, along with the other film premieres we have already confirmed (21 Jump Street and The Hunter).  I don’t like to make predictions, but I’ll go out on a limb here and say this will be the best horror movie of 2012 to feature Thor battling invisible force fields.

South by Southwest is one of the biggest Music and Film festivals on the planet, and Cinema Recon has a front row seat for the action!

That’s right, we are packing up the show and taking it to Austin, TX!  While there, Cinema Recon will be sponsoring three HUGE Music Showcases hosted by our dear friends at Deadbird Records!  The Cinema Recon booth will be firmly entrenched, with Paul and Jake recording new podcasts, interviewing the headlining bands, chatting it up with CR Fans, unveiling brand new CR schwag, and much much more!

Cinema Recon also has the esteemed privilege of viewing several SXSW World Premiere films!  Confirmed so far for review on the show: 21 Jump Street and The Hunter

If you are in the Austin area for SXSW, come join us!  Check out the following for a summary of where you can find Cinema Recon at SXSW 2012:

• March 14th – The Wild & Only Ones
  • Where: The Sahara Lounge

• March 15th – The Big Knife Party
  • Where: East Avenue Lounge

• March 17th – Tomb Tradition
  • Where: Scottish Rite Theater
  • Tickets: Get your tickets here!

    

BUT, one thing I specifically remember really liking was the soundtrack. It was an absolutely awesome, retro 80’s electronic-rock throwback sound which played along with the movie perfectly (although I didn’t care for the movie much). But the soundtrack I specifically remember being really bad ass. And now, good news. I just read on Collider that the soundtrack and Cliff Martinez‘ score will be released as a double vinyl album in June of 2012. And while that’s not awesome enough that it’s on vinyl, it will be released by Mondo with artist Tyler Stout designing the album cover and packaging. Yeah, who’s staring at who now!?

This is awesome on many levels. First, vinyl is far superior to the audio quality on your fancy-pants iPhone which uses MP3/4. Second, all you hipster kids with your skinny jeans love vinyl because it’s really cool and abstract and nobody else uses it or knows about it. Third, Mondo is awesome and makes really really ridiculously cool shit. Fourth, Tyler Stout makes some really really ridiculously cool art. And fifth, there is also going to be a limited edition screen-printed poster!!! Boom so there you have it, the bad ass soundtrack for Drive coming out as a double vinyl in June… now if only I didn’t trade in my record player for that set of bell bottoms…

Hey look, Jake was right. I’m just staring all the time.

Paul and I recently discussed the news that Gran Torino scribe Nick Schenk was brought on board to write the script, and I think that is a great move for the film. Gran Torino had straightforward, visceral, non-apologetic, tell it like it is dialogue which caused some controversy and offended a lot of people (not me, I loved it!). With sharp writing, and director José Padilha bringing in some of that Elite Squad action I definitely think the building blocks are there to stay true to the feel and tone of the Robocop series, I just hope a somewhat younger actor can keep up and not drag down the film.

But what we are all forgetting is the fact that Joel Kinnaman played the giant douche-bag role of Skyler in the CGI nightmare and all around horrible movie The Darkest Hour!!! You can check out our review of that piece of crap here. But maybe if he can make me hate a character that much, he can turn it around and make me love a character too. We will definitely be keeping an eye on this movie and on you Joel… don’t screw up my movie!

OMG seriously!? The dude behind us is going to be Robocop!?

Check out the teaser trailer for Neighborhood Watch below:

Not mentioned anywhere in this trailer, mind you, is the true plot of the film:

Suburban dads form a neighborhood watch group to get time away from their families, only to discover a plot to destroy Earth. -IMDb

That’s right: Earth.  As in alien invaders.  Probably not Nazi-Alien invaders, but aliens all the while.  Hmmmmm…As excited I am to see this comedic trio in one movie, this has the potential to get awfully zany awfully quick.

That doesn’t ring a bell? Oh…well that’s what I think of when I watch this new trailer for The Avengers. It’s a mishmash of superheroes/celebrities that really have no business sharing the same screen with one another, yet there they are! It really is a display unlike anything we have ever seen since emptying our old toy boxes.

Now I know the hype machine is on overdrive for this movie (seriously, just try to go through your normal day without hearing/seeing one morsel of Avengers). But still yet, one cannot deny the awesomeness of this trailer and the sheer amount of shit that is getting ‘splodeded (sic).

The Avengers opens in every crevice of America on May 4, 2012.

BUT, if you watch TWO trailers this year, make sure the other is this one:

After four months of preparation, Jimmy Kimmel released his epic Movie: The Movie upon the masses last night following the Academy Awards.  This star-studded behemoth really is something to behold.  I found myself “el oh elling” more than a few times.  You can also check out the website for the “film” here.

Best Picture
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
“Hugo”
“Midnight in Paris”
“The Help”
“Moneyball”
“War Horse”
“The Tree of Life”

Best Actor
Demian Bichir, “A Better Life”
George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”
Gary Oldman, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
Brad Pitt, “Moneyball”

Best Actress
Glenn Close, “Albert Nobbs”
Viola Davis, “The Help”
Rooney Mara, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”
Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn”

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, “My Week With Marilyn”
Jonah Hill, “Moneyball”
Nick Nolte, “Warrior”
Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”
Max Von Sydow, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo, “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain, “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”
Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer, “The Help”

Best Director
Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”
Alexander Payne, “The Descendants”
Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”

Best Original Screenplay
Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
JC Chandor, “Margin Call”
Asghar Farhadi, “A Separation”
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, “Bridesmaids”

Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxton, Jim Rash, “The Descendants”
John Logan, “Hugo”
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, “The Ides of March”
Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian, “Moneyball”
Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughn, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”

Best Animated Feature
“A Cat In Paris”
“Chico & Rita”
“Kung Fu Panda 2″
“Puss in Boots”
“Rango”

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Bullhead (Belgium)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran)

Original Score
“The Adventures of Tintin,” John Williams
“The Artist,” Ludovic Bource
“Hugo,” Howard Shore
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” Alberto Iglesias
“War Horse,” John Williams

Best Original Song
“Man or Muppet,” The Muppets; Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio,” Rio; Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Achievement in Art Direction
“The Artist”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
“Hugo”
“Midnight in Paris”
“War Horse”

Best Achievement in Cinematography
“The Artist”
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
“Hugo”
“The Tree of Life”
“War Horse”

Best Achievement in Costume Design
“Anonymous”
“The Artist”
“Hugo”
“Jane Eyre”
“W.E.”

Best Documentary Feature
“Hell and Back Again”
“If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front”
“Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory”
“Pina”
“Undefeated”

Best Documentary Short Subject
“The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement?”
“God Is the Bigger Elvis”
“Incident in New Baghdad”
“Saving Face”
“The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”

Best Achievement in Film Editing
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
“Hugo”
“Moneyball”

Best Achievement in Makeup
“Albert Nobbs”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
“The Iron Lady”

Best Animated Short Film
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Best Live Action Short Film
“Pentecost”
“Raju”
“The Shore”
“Time Freak”
“Tuba Atlantic”

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
“Drive”
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
“Hugo”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
“War Horse”

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
“Hugo”
“Moneyball”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
“War Horse”

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
“Hugo”
“Real Steel”
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”

Thank you so much to everyone who tuned in and participated in our first big live event! We had such a great time putting on the live show, we’d love to do another as soon as possible. It will course always comes down to what the listeners (now viewers!) want, so if you liked this show, please drop us a line and tell us what you thought!

Didn’t catch the show? Wanna listen again? You can view the epic Cinema Recon 2012 Oscar commentary below!

The movie Act of Valor was filmed using active-duty Navy SEALs as its main actors. The story centers around a group of Navy SEALs who must protect the interests of America from a terrorist attack. The script is noting new or unique, it was written by Kurt Johnstad who wrote 300, but the action is what makes this movie. The film actually began as a training/recruit video which evolved into something much more once they realized what they actually had on their hands. First-time feature film directors and former stuntmen Mike (Mouse) McCoy and Scott Waugh were able to capture amazing action sequences and tactics because the majority of the action scenes in this movie were filmed as part of actual training exercises. What does that mean? It means that this movie contained REAL machine gun battles, REAL submarines, REAL high speed boats with mini-guns, REAL aircraft carriers, and REAL helicopters, all while using LIVE FUCKING AMMUNITION… oh and it was done on a budget of about $12 million dollars… eat your heart out Hollywood big budget films, maybe you should start taking some lessons from doing things with military like precision and efficiency.

The action in this movie was decent at its worst, and cheer-inspiring at its best (what do you expect when you capture training exercises with live ammunition), and it really puts the viewer in the “first person shooter” position. This is almost the Call Of Duty movie some people have been waiting for. Since the main actors are not actors at all, the acting is stale (with the exception of the character “Senior.” His acting throughout the entire film is beyond awesome for a non-actor. He is likable, convincing, and entertaining… not to mention that he is the real shit. His interrogation scene… so very awesome its unspeakable), as so is the story. But this movie accomplishes what it was set out to do; to portray real life acts of valor and show what our military is made of. And you know what… what is wrong with that?

A couple days ago I came across a Twitter comment, a Tweet if you will, and I really wish I remembered who it was from, but recently I started to notice a lot of other comments along the same lines. I can’t recall it verbatim but it read something like this, “CAUTION! Act of Valor is nothing more than a recruiting tool for the U.S. Navy!!! Dont Be Fooled!!!” And I thought at first.. well, duh. The movie has “Ooh-rah!” written all over it. And then as I was sitting in the movie, it all came full circle. So what if it is? What the hell is so wrong with that?

Why can’t the U.S. Navy whose men and women serve to protect us, have a film which shows how fucking bad ass they are? What is so wrong with that? Why should we be ashamed of this, why should it be shunned, why is this something we should keep hidden like a dirty little secret!? I say show it! I could see a hundred more films like this before I see some other bullshit Hollywood movie trying to mask its left leaning message inside of some romantic comedy. I’m not talking politics here, I’m talking facts. With how far left Hollywood leans, the way they feign tolerance and acceptance, with the well known fact that actors who publicly lean right are shunned if not blacklisted completely, its amazing this movie even got made – it is absolutely amazing.

What is the difference between Act of Valor, and a movie whose motives and messages are hidden!? I say the latter of the two is the more evil! Why should we be ashamed of what we are!? Of what we have! This movie makes our military look bad ass, and you know what… IT FUCKING IS! I’m sorry if I am letting the cat out of the bag for anyone who didn’t know it, but like it or not America is the most powerful nation on this planet and our Military is all sorts of awesome! Is everyone so naive as to think that other countries don’t have something similar to this out there!? Maybe it isn’t as polished and as mainstream as Act of Valor but you better believe they have something like this which serves as their recruiting tool. And why is that a bad thing? Everyone deserves the right to brag every now and then. Every country and every man begs for the opportunity to pound their chest, to beat their own drum, to show what they are truely made of. We all need something to believe in. I’m not going to sit here and apologize for this film. It did was it was supposed to do. It showed the strength, intelligence, bravery, and the power of our fighting forces and I will not be ashamed of this. Was this a great movie? By no means. Was it entertaining as hell? You better believe it. Everyone deserves the right to show their sense of pride. And every country and every man, every now and then, wants to see the size of their dog in the fight.

Pssst... Hey, over here... it's America.

Don't touch my Powerbar

Variety tells us today that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (no matter how many times I hear that full name, I laugh) is in discussions with MGM to be the titular (I laugh when I hear that too…don’t judge me) half man, half god.

I know what you’re thinking, and it’s true: this would be a first in the portrayal of Hercules in cinema.  What a bold move for the studio!  I hope you’ll join me in commending them for hiring an actor who, for the first time ever in the role of  Hercules,  was also the Tooth Fairy.

Hey, my kids gotta eat too!

Bravo, MGM.  You’ve given inspiration for millions of other freakishly strong guys out there who have sold out for boatloads of cash.

In all honesty, I like The Rock (just not enough to see Journey 2).  Remember his cameo in the Reno: 911 film?  Hilarious.  And I would be excited to see a new Hercules film.  Is it wrong, though, if I really, really want it to look something like this?…

Ah, but looks can be deceiving!  Remember the initial trailer for Clash of the Titans?  That looked bad ass too!  The crazy special effects, the pulsating power cords…Liam Neesan belching “Release the Kraken!!”  And, well, we all know how THAT turned out (Translation = it was not bad ass).

Man…but that giant fire-monster-guy sure looks cool!  Arrrgh, what am I saying??  Fool me once, Titans…