Category: Movie Comedies (Page 160 of 195)

Blu Tuesday: Twilight, Bolt and Bond

March 24, 2009 /

Get ready to clean out your bank account, because there are plenty of great high-def titles hitting stores this week. So many, in fact, that I don’t have the space (or time) to talk about every one. James Bond fans will probably see the biggest dent in their savings, however, as five different titles have received the Blu-ray treatment. Let’s go ahead and jump right in with arguably the biggest title of the week.

“Twilight” (Summit Entertainment)

It’s not very often that a film adaptation is better than the source material, but then again, Stephanie Meyer’s novel really isn’t as good as its rabid fanbase would lead you to believe. Female moviegoers may have made “Twilight” a pop culture phenomenon, but that doesn’t mean guys won’t enjoy it too. It’s no “Lost Boys,” but it’s still worth seeing once. For some strange reason, however, the Blu-ray edition is exclusive to Best Buy and Target until May 5th, when Amazon unleashes their ultimate collector’s edition. Diehard fans looking to get their HD fix would be better of just waiting for that version, because despite the fact that it contains the exact same bonus material (audio commentary, deleted/extended scenes, making-of featurette), it also contains a sneak peak at the upcoming sequel, “New Moon.”

“Bolt” (Walt Disney)

Credit Disney for one thing: they understand the needs of their consumers. While many studios have adopted the idea of including digital copies, Disney has taken it one step further by packing every major Blu-ray title with a digital copy and a DVD version of the film. After all, kids tend to watch movies on the go, and since there currently aren’t any portable Blu-ray players on the market, it encourages parents to purchase the hi-def version without having to buy a DVD version for the road. Unfortunately, the extras aren’t quite as revolutionary, though there are a few cool art galleries that make me wish I could buy some of the prints for my home. Plus, kids and parents will both get a kick out of the “Super Rhino” short. It’s a great complement to what is easily Disney’s best CG film to date.

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Action Movies, External Movie DVDs, Horror Movies, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movie DVDs, Movies

Welcome to the Concession Stand

March 17, 2009 /

Welcome to a new feature here on Premium Hollywood…and, believe me, it’s one I’ve been wanting to premiere for quite some time. I’m someone who enjoys trying new foods and new beverages, and I’ve often thought it would be fun to write a column which gave me the opportunity to write about the experience. Unfortunately, I’m forever buried in DVDs that need to be reviewed. Finally, I had an epiphany: why don’t I figure out a way to combine the two?

And, thus, “Concession Stand” was born.

The beverage: Mountain Dew Voltage.

Last year, over a quarter million votes helped Voltage win the so-called “DEWmocracy” election, with the taste, name and color of the product all developed by the customers themselves…well, y’know, with a little help from the folks at PepsiCo. (What, like they’re gonna give the yokels all the power?) As the bottle proudly trumpets, it’s your standard Dew brew, but charged with raspberry citrus flavor and ginseng. The color of the beverage is a slightly disconcerting shade of blue, but the raspberry mixes with the traditional Dew flavor rather well, making the taste not so far removed from a Sweet Tart. If it’s icy cold, it goes down fast and smooth…which is good, since it’s so sweet that drinking it slowly may result in you taking awhile to finish the bottle, but caffeine fiends with a sweet tooth will have no problem chugging it down to score the inevitable rush.

When I was pitched the opportunity to check out Voltage, they sent me three bottles of the stuff, so I scoured my to-be-reviewed pile to see if I had three DVDs featuring the same person in some role or other. Lo and behold, I did…and that person’s name was Lea Thompson.

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Action Movies, Actors, Actresses, Celebrities, External Entertainment, External Movie DVDs, External Movies, External TV, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movie DVDs, Movies, Reviews, TV, TV Comedies, TV DVDs, Video

“Bruno” scenes screened at SXSW

March 16, 2009 /

A few hundred movie fans got a sneak peek at 22 minutes the upcoming Sacha Baron Cohen comedy “Bruno” at the South by Southwest film festival. Baron Cohen’s Bruno character is a “flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion correspondent hoping to make it big in Hollywood,” and he’s just as crazy and provocative as his now-famous Borat character.

In the first bit of footage, Bruno has decided to achieve celebrity by adopting a black baby, and wants to feature the child in an avant-garde performance art project. (“Ich bin pushing the limits,” he explains in broken German.) He interviews several mothers and fathers to determine whether their children would be suitable to play guest stars, and his questions grow increasingly absurd: Are they afraid of stuffed animals? Reptiles? Hornets? Would they be OK with being dropped off a four-story building, or willing to have liposuction? Regardless of the request, the parents categorically say “yes.”

Part two, which was shot just north of Dallas, finds Bruno appearing on a Jerry Springer-style talk show in leather pants, looking for Mr. Right. Members of the predominantly black studio audience are appalled by his in-your-face homosexuality, and they get even angrier when he brings out his adopted baby and shows them a self-consciously artsy photograph of the child posing as Jesus on a cross. Although it appears there are a few plants in the crowd to ask the right questions, the majority of them seem genuinely disgusted as they storm out.

Finally, Bruno decides to reinvent himself by going hetero and changing his name to “Straight Dave.” Dressed like Ted Nugent in camouflage, long hair and a scruffy beard, he stages a mixed-martial arts contest, which was shot last summer in Arkansas. When Bruno’s ex-boyfriend crawls into the ring and the two start making out, stripping and rubbing all over each other, spectators in the conservative crowd holler, make anti-gay slurs and throw plastic cups of beer at them. They end up storming out, too.

I think he has another smash hit on his hands.

Actors, Celebrities, External Movies, Movie Comedies, Movies, News

Baghead

March 15, 2009 /

Four struggling L.A. actors retreat to a mountain cabin to write themselves some work via a zero-budget screenplay, but things take a meta-not-quite-horror turn in the Duplass Brothers’ follow-up to their “mumblecore” festival circuit hit, “The Puffy Chair.” Billed as a kind of comedy-horror film, “Baghead” starts out strongly, poking knowledgeable fun at the indie film scene, but takes way too long developing the uninteresting tangle of relationships, real and imagined, between buddies Matt (Ross Partridge) and Chad (Steve Zissis) and their respective not-exactly-dates, Catherine (Elise Muller) and Michelle (the ultra-cute Greta Gurwig of “Hannah Takes the Stairs”). By the time a seriously tipsy Michelle thinks she’s dreamed of a creepy slasher with a bag over his head, and that becomes the subject of the screenplay the foursome imagines they might work on, we’ve lost a great deal of interest. Even when an actual dude with a lunch bag over his head starts appearing, the dramatic juices never really flow. While “Baghead” eventually regains some steam, it’s pretty much the opposite of scary – and I’m rather easily scared – and not even close to funny or compelling enough to rate a recommendation, despite a sweet-natured ending, some laughs early on, lots of good intentions, and some very decent performances. It might, however, make an interesting point of comparison when the possibly-meta super secret Joss Whedon/Drew Goddard collaboration, “The Cabin in the Woods,” comes out next year.

Click to buy “Baghead”

External Movie DVDs, Horror Movies, Movie Comedies, Movie DVD Quicktakes, Movie DVDs, Movies, Reviews

Sneak Peek: “I Love You, Man”

March 11, 2009 /

As a film critic based in Ohio, it’s not very often that I get to see movies earlier than the week of release, but when I do, I’m usually not allowed to say anything about it. Case in point: Paramount Pictures’ “I Love You, Man.” Though I’m pretty sure there’s no review embargo preventing me from talking about the film, I’m going to play it safe and just say that I really liked it. This is one of the best buddy comedies I’ve seen in awhile (think “Swingers,” only a little rauncher), and though my review won’t officially go live until the night before release, Paramount has provided me with an exclusive clip to share with our readers. Check it out below and don’t forget to see “I Love You, Man” when it hits theaters on March 20th.

Movie Comedies, Movies, Video

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