It's time for another Good Idea, Bad Idea...summer movie edition.

Good Idea-

"Knocked Up"- Judd Apatow is the luckiest man in HollyHood, and this movie looks genuinely refreshing and funny.

Bad Idea-

Let's try HORRENDOUS IDEA. "Mr. Brooks" has everything going against it. Where to  start? Let's just try and list them-

a.)-Kevin Costner? Are you kidding? The man hasn't done anything worth mentioning since "Field Of Dreams." GIVE. ME. A. BREAK.
b.)-Demi Moore? Maybe it's because i've never thought she was that attractive, but I am not one of Demi Moore's biggest fans. She's a c-lister at best, and only stays afloat in Hollywood circles because she manages to date A-list material men (Bruce Willis, Ashton Kutcher).
c.)-DANE COOK? WHAT? The man isn't funny as a comedian/comedic actor! How are you going to give him any kind of a role as a serious one?
d.)- Script. Apparently this script was written in the mid-80's, but contract disputes with William Hurt (e. on this list) and directors have caused it to bounce from studio to studio with reckless abandon over the past 20 or so years.

Good Idea-

"Day Watch," or "Dnevnoy dozor, " the second installment of Russia's highest grossing series in history, is going to be an epic watch, if you don't mind reading subtitles.
For those who are not as quick with the reading or less inclined to like foreign movies, maybe it would be better to wait for director Timur Bekmambetov's American cinema debut with Wanted.

A pic just scary enough to keep you up at night.

The first official pictures of the Joker-



And i thought Heath Ledger was a questionable selection...tut tut me.

"Watchmen" cast?

According to AICN (http://www.aintitcool.com/node/32743), this is who has been cast thus far-

"A longtime source reared his head today and passed on a few tips about faces we’re likely to see in WATCHMEN when Zack Snyder’s film version of the long-in-development graphic novel adaptation finally makes its way to the screen in 2008, and some of it’s surprising, while some of it isn’t at all.

Right now, there are offers out to three people to join the cast. If the studio’s gotten to the point where they’re officially making an offer, you can expect that these people will most likely make it into the film.

So that means we’ll see The Prom King, Patrick Wilson, suit up as Night Owl. I think he’s a great choice for Dan, and all you need to do is look at the work he did in LITTLE CHILDREN as an example of the sort of quiet sadness he’ll bring to the role.

Dr. Manhattan is a tricky part, and there’s something alien and otherworldly about him. Keanu Reeves always seems to me to be on a different wavelength than anyone else on the planet, so when he steps into the part as the big blue superbeing, it might be a nice fit.

And in the biggest “duh” of the year, Jude Law has been offered the role of Adrien Veidt, aka Ozymandias. Perfect choice, and Law’s been saying for years that he is a huge fan of the material. If anyone out there is more right for the role, I don’t know who it is."

-Well, being a skeptic about most of the stuff that AICN posts, i decided to do some research of my own, and found a report that  says the only actor who is definitely going to be a part of Watchmen is Gerard Butler of recent "300" fame. Though on message boards about IMDB.com 
this is getting more than its fair share of criticism, i think Gerard is going to be the perfect
Comedian...most people are complaining about Gerard's bulk, and how he won't fit any of the roles accurately...

People...he put it on for his role in 300...it isn't going to be that hard to lose.

Another rumor i have found circulating the web is Silk Specter is going to be Shia LeBouf, who suddenly seems to be finding himself in hot demand following his remake of "Rear Window" ("Disturbia," which, by the way, was an entertaining film), and his starring role in surefire summer blockbuster "Transformers."

I have high hopes for this movie, and will continue to post any information i come across this summer.

5 Reasons Andy Barker, P.I. should've never been cancelled.

5. Best Dialogue in Television-

"With all the crazy gags, pitch-perfect dialogue and a fresh hero at the center, it’s hard not to see “Andy Barker” as the spiritual successor to “Police Squad!”."- Kansas City Star

Who didn't love Police Squad??

4. Six Episodes simply aren't enough to let a show develop-

"Andy Barker isn't as complete a comedy as Andy Richter Controls the Universe — the first three episodes feel like a series of very funny bits that have been welded together. But so did 30 Rock when it first started, and that's now the best comedy on TV." -Entertainment Weekly

3. Genuinely Enjoyable, Genuinely Original-

"It's hard to convey all the ways that this tightly directed show goes right: quietly observant character detail, solid sleuthing, play-it-straight absurdity and sneaky "Airplane!"-style parody riffs"-Newsday

2. Quietly genius, not for the average of intelligence-

"The show could be almost too funny to be appreciated on normal television, in the same way "Arrested [Development]" was."- Seattle Post-Intelligencer

AD's cancellation was one of the biggest travesties in FOX history (see previous blog post on why fox sucks)

1. Simply put, it was just enjoyable-

""Andy Barker, P.I." is a joyous, ridiculous, warm, affecting and silly comedy that is tone specific (read: Not everybody is going to get the vibe, and thus the jokes)"- San Fransico Chronicle

"The show is equal parts silliness and satire."-Philadelphia Inquirer

"This peculiar series seals NBC’s new role as the skinflint’s HBO. The shows “30 Rock,” “Friday Night Lights” and now “Andy Barker, P.I.” are all so engrossing and so creatively untrammeled that it’s almost suspicious."-New York Times.

And with this sad and angry send-off, i bid adieu to one of the greatest shows in NBC's history, and with sadness say that it will be gone forever.

Samuel Jackson to play the villian in an upcoming Frank MIller film?

As reported by "Ain't it Cool News-"

"Now this isn't a trade announcement or a rumor that a deal is in its final stages.

Instead it's a bit of fantasy casting, albeit fantasy casting by the director of this particular project.

Frank Miller is finally getting THE SPIRIT going and he was at Cannes, I'd imagine selling to the foreign markets, and he talked about his casting ideas, particularly in regards to the villain.

Miller wants Sam Jackson to play The Octopus, The Spirit's biggest villain, a character whose face you never see in the original comic. He's got a pair of distinctive gloves that serve to let the audience know that he's there.

And no, he's not literally an Octopus. He's a man. An evil bastard of a man, but a man. Just clarification.

Sam Jackson's got a force of personality that is perfectly suited for a role in which you never see his face, especially when he has to be a horrible villain.

Whoever Miller gets, I have a good feeling about this project. The material's great and Miller's obviously got the passion for it."

-Personally i think Miller and Alan Moore are gold in this current film market....and Samuel Jackson's cult popularity has increased exponentially to the amount of people that have seen "Snakes on a Plane."

So, i think this project is in capable hands and look forward to more details.

Transformers Trailer!

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/transformers.html;_ylt=Ant_kxFZrfgnHFILpfouv_JfVXcA

At the above link is the 60-second preview trailer of the new Transformers movie, in lovely and simple quicktime.

At this point i would like to debate the likelihood that Transformers will break Spidey's single weekend record, buuuuuttt i will resist.

Fox network programming continues to suck

This week all the fall TV schedules were announced, with some of my favorites returning (How i Met your Mother, Scrubs, The Office, 30 Rock, etc.) and some not (Andy Barker, P.I., The Class, etc.).
But one really blatantly obvious thing jumps out from the new announced schedule-

How much does Fox BLOW? 

-You cannot entirely fault a station that still shows two of my all-time favorites on sunday nights (Family Guy, Simpsons), but any network that cans Michael Rappaport's well reviewed sitcom "The War at Home," a show that got far better ratings and reviews than fellow sunday night 
lineup mate (and fellow cancellation) "The Winner." Granted, I thought they both sucked, but 
what's worse-

An interesting premise and promising cast hammed to near-family guy levels...only on a live action show without the wit and cast to carry it out, or...

A family-sitcom with a Ferris Bueller-esque sitcom from (obnoxious) comedian Michael Rappaport?

-Frankly, both. Neither "The War at Blow" or "The Whiner" were anywhere near NBC or CBS 
level sitcoms, but at least one of the two showed promise. When you dig deeper, however, ratings 
apparently were not the main issue, however, the fact that rappaport signed on with CBS to do the 
pilot for "Fugly" was.

Well, much to Rappaport's chagrin, not only is "War at Home" gone, but CBS decided to can 
Fugly before serializing it...so Rappaport is completely out of work...

suuckkksss for him. 

Replacing fox's 9 cancelled shows are 3 new sitcoms and SIX new reality shows...making Fox, 
which used to be the network for edgy dramas and comedies (firefly, etc.) the burial ground for 
promising ideas and a safe haven for crappy reality tv.

So, the only hopes Fox has left are Family Guy, The Simpsons, and King of the Hill. oh yeah, and 
fox also renewed borderline comedy "American Dad." The only new premiere this fall on Fox i hold 
any remote hopes for is "Back to You," a broadcast news sitcom starring Kelsey Grammar.

UNFAIR CANCELLATIONS-

On CBS- 
The Class- I thought this was a fresh show with decent writing and a cast with great chemistry.
Though it didnt seem like a long winded series idea, I thought it would provide monday night 
CBS entertainment for a couple of years. 

Babylon Fields- HOW DID THIS NOT GO TO SERIES? It's about a couple in a modern small town 
dealing with zombies! HOW GENIUS. 

Fugly- A new series about an ugly kid that gets an extreme makeover and chases his fortune in hollywood...
It's from the creator of two of my favorite shows ("Yes, Dear, and My Name is Earl) and also showed
great promise. 

On CW-
Does anyone seriously watch anything other than Scrubs/That 70's Show reruns on CW? Seriously, who cares?

On Fox-
Well, we've covered this.

On ABC-
"The Thick of It"- Another unfairly cancelled sitcom from Arrested Development's creator

"Life on Mars"-An Americanized version of a British sitcom...it looked promising, nonetheless.

-But, in conclusion, Scrubs/The Office/My Name is Earl/30 Rock/2 1/2 men/How i Met your Mother/Frisky Dingo/and Robot Chicken are all returning...so i shall be moderately appeased. 

Thomas Jane pulls out of Punisher 2-

Well, if this already bad franchise wasn't dead as it was, it certainly should be now. This letter was sent to a senior staff writer at "Aint it cool news"-

Quint,

I’m writing to tell you that I regretfully and painfully had to pull out of P2. I can’t tell you how completely broken up I am about it. After busting my ass at the gym four days a week for almost two years, watching every character driven action pic that any fan would ask me to watch while I was standing in line buying egg whites and Tuna fish (Leon the Professional, Oldboy, The Seven-Ups (GREAT flick), Point Blank, Escape from NY, The Driver, Magnum Force, The Mechanic, The Great Silence, Sexy Beast, Nighthawks, Cry Vengeance (check it out), Road Warrior, Man on Fire, Outlaw Josey Wales, Rocky (think about it), Serpico, etc etc etc.) after countless Saturday nights making notes and drinking soda water and munching on seaweed sticks while my daughter slept on my lap to the sound of automatic gunfire, (now she can’t sleep without it. I had to make a tape of automatic gunfire to play in her room at night) after hauling myself to any ‘Guns! Knifes! Ammo!’ show in any small town that I found myself in shooting Killshot or The Mist or Mutant Chronicles, after torn ligaments, screwed up rotator cuffs, thousands of $$$ on ridiculously huge vitamins, overly long conversations with frighteningly tall men about The Fastest Way To Kill Someone With Your Bare Hands, and after a dude refused to sell me a Fatburger at 2am on Santa Monica Blvd, I am, sadly – no, make that heartbrokenly – fuck it - just rip out the heart and stomp it into the pavement a couple of times – pulling out. Punisher fans are already fighting an uphill battle as it is. And I’ve always felt a responsibility to fight that fight for them and with them so that Frank Castle gets the treatment he deserves.

I'm sharing this with you because I know you're a fan, like me, and you've got your ear to the ground, and because we seem to share the same sort of taste and passion when it comes to movies and stories that get us off. What I won't do is spend months of my life sweating over a movie that I just don't believe in. I’ve always loved the Marvel guys, and wish them well. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to search for a film that one day might stand with all those films that the fans have asked me to watch.

Sincerely,
Thomas Jane