Armchair Commentary

Trailer Park: 'Quantum of Solace,' 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,' 'The Mummy 3,' 'Twilight,' 'Swing Vote'

First impressions of upcoming movies, based on trailer (Click on the title to watch the high-resolution trailer: You may need QuickTime for most). Release dates are subject to change. --Ellen

Quantum of Solace (dir. Marc Forster): Yeeeeeee-haw, and the countdown begins to the next Daniel Craig Bond movie (Pierce who?), which can only mean more abs and more grit. Now that our favorite MI-6 agent has been betrayed by the woman he loved, he's on a trail of vengeance to find out about the man responsible for her deceit. Rumor has it Quantum is the name of the shadowy organization that connects Mr. White (featured at the end of Casino Royale) and Le Chiffre (Casino's villain), which could explain the title; otherwise we're at a loss, surmising that the new Bond women (Gemma Arterton and Olga Kurylenko) are the ones helping to give a "quantum of solace" our heartbroken agent. Whatever that means. But back to the trailer, which... oh never mind, we can't wait. (Nov. 7)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (dir. David Fincher): Brad Pitt stars as a man born as an old geezer (but tiny like a baby, which makes for one odd-looking infant) who ages backwards, further complicated when he falls in love with Cate Blanchett and proceeds to go from the older man to the younger man. With David Fincher directing and Tilda Swinton and Julia Ormond also in the cast, the curiosity factor (excuse the pun) is high. But the last shot of the trailer (an old lady, presumably Blanchett, walking an infant down the street) makes us wonder: Will she seriously change his diapers? And if you look carefully at the shot of Pitt with a baby, that's none other than Ms. Shiloh Jolie-Pitt. (Dec. 19)

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (dir. Rob Cohen): Jet Li really needs to stop playing third banana to funny white guys. Is this really what he crossed over into American films for? For every Hero, there seems to be three Lethal Weapon 4s, Forbidden Kingdoms, and now The Mummy, where his battles with Michelle Yeoh--which sound great in theory--are overshadowed by Brendan Fraser's bulgy-eyed panicked expressions. And in place of Rachel Weisz (who dropped out because she'd just had a baby and didn't want to bring him to China for production) we have Maria Bello, whose British accent is a little jarring to see after her usual tough-Philly brogue. Still, No one predicted the success of the first two Mummys, so there's no reason why this would be any different. (Aug. 1)

Trailer Park: "Star Wars: Clone Wars," trailer 2

Here's another trailer from the upcoming Star Wars: The Clone Wars for you.  --David

Amazon shout-out from the "Futurama" crew

The newest Futurama movie, The Beast with a Billion Backs (check your favorite online reference if you don't know what "the beast with two backs" means), came out this week. Watch their shout-out to Amazon customers followed by a clip from the film below.  --David

Amazon.com Exclusive: "Kiss of the Spider Woman"

It's strange now to think -- in this Miramaxed-out, indie-infused era -- that there was a time when independently produced films had a hard time rocking Oscar's world. But that was essentially the case before Kiss of the Spider Woman came along in 1985. The acclaimed film, starring the magnetic Raul Julia, the captivating Sonia Braga and the daring William Hurt playing against type at the height of his Body Heat/leading-man glory, earned four major Oscar nominations (and a win for Hurt). And today, for the first time, it's available on DVD (and Blu-ray) and for download, starting at $2.99 -- only at Amazon.com. Kiss is not a feel-good picture, what with the prison and all, but it manages to find a sweet liberty of spirit behind those bars. You won't regret watching it, and I bet that you (like the characters) will find yourself appreciating the connections to another time and place. -- Stephanie Reid-Simons

Anyone Remember "Camp Cucamonga"?

The Disney Channel aired Camp Rock over the weekend, a sorta next-High School Musical event starring the Jonas Brothers. Do you remember the days (circa-1985) when all the hit sitcom stars banded together to make some made-for-TV movies (in between stints on Circus of the Stars and Battle of the Network Stars) like Crash Course, a drivers'-ed movie starring Alyssa Milano, Jackee, Harvey Korman and Brian Bloom--speaking of "Whatever happened to," you can currently see him driving an Escalade in one of those Cadillac commercials. But that's another blog.), and Dance 'til Dawn, that awesome prom movie with Milano, Tracey Gold, Bloom (again), Christina Applegate, and Tempestt Bledsoe (with Kelsey Grammer as the disapproving dad!).

But no other cheesy all-star TV movie is closer to my heart than Camp Cucamonga, which aired in 1990 and starred Candace Cameron (Full House) and Chad Allen (My Two Dads) as camp sweethearts, Danica McKellar (Wonder Years) as the rebel who turns into the star, Jaleel White (yes, Urkel) as the hip-hoppy best friend, Josh Saviano (also from the Wonder Years) as--you guessed it-- the geek, John Ratzenberger as the camp director, and Head of the Class-star-turned-director Brian Robbins and a then-unknown Jennifer Aniston (whose sole credit was the short-lived Ferris Bueller sitcom) as camp counselors. (You can see Aniston in the clip below helping a camp student serve a volleyball.)

Camp Rock is akin to Camp Cucamonga in that they both featured a song-and-dance number. Cucamonga was not a musical, but it found some reason to film a rap video as part of a campaign to save the camp. It was basically an excuse for these kids to show off their awesome dance moves (you know, when two people get in the middle of a circle and do their running mans in sync). But what the hey, here's a flashback to the finished music video. -- Ellen

George Carlin, 1937-2008

Stand-up comedian George Carlin died of heart failure on Sunday in Santa Monica, California. A Grammy winner and Emmy nominee, Carlin was best-known for edgy stand-up routines like "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" and poking fun at the peculiarities of language.  He also wrote books, was the first host of Saturday Night Live, and created many stand-up comedy specials for HBO. Read the New York Times obit or watch a clip below. --David

Trailer Park: "Stargate: Continuum"

Are you excited about the next Stargate SG-1 movie, entitled Stargate: Continuum? So are we, and part of the reason is that it'll be the first Stargate in Blu-ray! Here's a short trailer to watch.  --David

Entertainment Weekly's 100 New Movie Classics (25-1)

Continuing Entertainment Weekly's 100 films from the past 25 years that will stand with the all-time greats over time. The top 25 are below.

25. SHREK (2001)
24. A ROOM WITH A VIEW (1986)
23. MEMENTO (2001)
22. RUSHMORE (1998)
<------21. SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993) 
20. THE LION KING (1994)
19. CASINO ROYALE (2006)
18. DO THE RIGHT THING (1989)
17. JERRY MAGUIRE (1996)
16. BOOGIE NIGHTS (1997)

15. EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990)

14 CRUMB (1995)
13. GOODFELLAS (1990)
12. THE MATRIX (1999)----->
11. THIS IS SPINAL TAP (1984)
10. MOULIN ROUGE (2001)
9. DIE HARD (1988)
8. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
7. HANNAH AND HER SISTERS (1986)
6. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)
5. TOY STORY (1995)
4. BLUE VELVET (1986)
3. TITANIC (1997)
2. THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY (2001–03)
1. PULP FICTION (1994)
 

So what do you think? Do you agree? —Ellen

Entertainment Weekly's 100 New Movie Classics (50-26)

Continuing Entertainment Weekly's 100 films from the past 25 years that will stand with the all-time greats over time. Numbers 50-26 are below.

50. THE PIANO (1993)
49. CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (2000)
48. SCARFACE (1983)
47. MEN IN BLACK (1997)
<------46. CHILDREN OF MEN (2006)
45. RAIN MAN (1988)
44. THE PLAYER (1992)
43. GLADIATOR (2000)
42. CLUELESS (1995)
41. DAZED AND CONFUSED (1993)
40. SPEED (1994)
39. THE SIXTH SENSE (1999)
38. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2004)
37. PRETTY WOMAN (1990)----->
36. SPIDER-MAN 2 (2004)
35. THE INCREDIBLES (2004)
34. FARGO (1996)
33. THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985)
32. FIGHT CLUB (1999)
31. BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005)
30. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY... (1989)
29. THE BOURNE SUPREMACY (2004)
28. WINGS OF DESIRE (1988)
27. ALIENS (1986)
26. HOOP DREAMS (1994)
 

More to be revealed tomorrow... —Ellen

Entertainment Weekly's 100 New Movie Classics (75-51)

Continuing Entertainment Weekly's 100 films from the past 25 years that will stand with the all-time greats over time. Numbers 75-51 are below.

75. OUT OF AFRICA (1985)
74. DRUGSTORE COWBOY (1989)
73. OFFICE SPACE (1999)
72. THELMA & LOUISE (1991)
<------71. UNFORGIVEN (1992)
70. BROADCAST NEWS (1987)
69. ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER (1999)
68. WITNESS (1985)
67. DONNIE BRASCO (1997)
66. NATURAL BORN KILLERS (1994)
65. DIRTY DANCING (1987)
64. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007)
63. BIG (1988)
62. SEX, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE (1989)----->
61. BEVERLY HILLS COP (1984)
60. SCREAM (1996)
59. L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (1997)
58. GHOSTBUSTERS (1984)
57. THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY (1998)
56. THE LIVES OF OTHERS (2007)
55. RISKY BUSINESS (1983)
54. FATAL ATTRACTION (1987)
53. THE TRUMAN SHOW (1998)
52. THE NAKED GUN (1988)
51. THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007)

More to be revealed tomorrow... —Ellen