Category Archives: Movie News & Opinions

Paranoia: New Trailer for Oldman, Ford, & Hemsworth Thriller

June 8, 2013 DrKronner Leave a comment

Indiana Jones and Commissioner Gordon are pissed at each other, or at least I think that’s what this new Paranoia movie is about. Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman headline a pretty solid cast in this corporate espionage flick, with Liam Hemsworth playing the pawn stuck in the middle. Hemsworth is hired by ~~Dracula~~ Oldman to spy on his old mentor ~~Han Solo~~ Ford and steal company secrets. His motivations for doing this are purely altruistic as he just wants to help his ailing old man, played by Richard “I don’t need this, I was in Jaws“ Dreyfus. I’m sure driving the cool car and banging Amber Heard had no baring on his decision-making. Check out the trailer…

Continue reading Paranoia: New Trailer for Oldman, Ford, & Hemsworth Thriller →

Movie News & Opinions

KickStarter Project ‘Harbinger Down’ Needs Your Help

June 6, 2013 Adam Parker-Edmondston Leave a comment

We here at Grizzly Bomb love a good horror flick and I have just heard news of a great creature feature raising funds on Kick Starter called Harbinger Down. Straight from the Kick Starter page here is the films plot.

A group of grad students have booked passage on the fishing trawler Harbinger to study the effects of global warming on a pod of Orcas in the Bering Sea. When the ship’s crew dredges up a recently thawed piece of old Soviet space wreckage, things get downright deadly. It seems that the Russians experimented with tardigrades, tiny resilient animals able to withstand the extremes of space radiation. The creatures survived, but not without mutation.

Now the crew is exposed to aggressively mutating organisms. And after being locked in ice for 3 decades, the creatures aren’t about to give up the warmth of human companionship.

Or for more information on the plot and tone of the movie you can watch these videos below with Alec Gillis talking about the Kick Starter project.

The really great thing about this project is the talent behind it. Lance Henriksen is on board and even though he has appeared in some utter tripe he is also one of the most versatile actors out there and is always entertaining in whatever he puts his hand to. Tom Woodruff Jr. you may not recognize but he is co-founder of ADI (amalgamated Dynamics INC) the company working on the movie. They have won academy awards and have done work on such classics as Alien vs. Predator, The Thing, Tremors, Pumpkinhead, Spider-Man and The Santa Clause 2…………Yeah so mostly amazing movies! Seriously if you do not know what these guys and gals do then check out there YouTube channel here. But Tom is also one of the most well-known suit performers and you will have seen his work on stuff like Aliens, Pumpkinhead and The Monster Squad. The main force behind this project is Alec Gillis who has worked with top directors like James Cameron, Ridley Scott, Neil Blomkamp and many more as well as contributing the effects he has also done second unit work and TV work. There are so many more professionals working on this movie that I do not have the space to list them but this film will be packed with some of the best workers in the film industry today.

The thing that interested me about the project was the fact that it is only going to be using practical animatronics and make up effects for the monsters. None of this slightly dodgy CGI effects, this is going to be an old school affair. Many comparisons to The Thing are going to be drawn here (mutating organisms that like warmth, a crew stuck in the middle of nowhere, etc) but is that really a bad thing? The remake/prequel to the original thing was a bit of a wash out because of its reliance on obvious CGI and not prosthetics. It is about time we had an old-fashioned creature movie and I for one cannot wait. Look at some of the sketch designs to see some of the awesome stuff they have planned for the project, some of which has a H.P.Lovecraft feel to it.

If you enjoy what you have seen here then there is still time to contribute to the project through the Kick Starter link . It ends on Friday June the 7th at 1.45pm EDT so if you love the movies of the 80s where monsters felt real and not clunky CGI creation and you want to donate then now is the time. If this has not won you over then maybe you should listen to Lance himself tell you about his passion for the project. Fingers crossed this project gets off the ground because it looks incredible.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1117671683/harbinger-down-a-practical-creature-fx-film

Movie News & Opinions

Theater Owners Want Shorter Trailers; More Time for Car Commercials?

June 5, 2013 Adam Parker-Edmondston Leave a comment

The Hollywood Reporter has put up some interesting news about the trailer presentations before movies at the cinema. The National Association of Theater Owners are trying to get a time cut of 30 seconds, dropping most trailers down to roughly 2 minutes. This proposal is meant to give exhibitors more control over the marketing of movies in their cinemas and to cut down on complaints from patrons who may think trailers are too long. It is also hoped that this move to shorter trailers could make the cinema a more attractive place to visit. Other plans include limiting movie promotion to just four months before the film’s release and all films must include their release date on promotional materials.

To help to see why this would be an issue we need to look at how the system works. How Stuff Works has an excellent article on how movie distribution works but here is the abridged version. Theatres lease films in two ways bidding and percentage. Now bidding is not used much anymore but essentially the theater pays a set fee to get the rights to play the film. This obviously has its pros and cons because if a film makes more at the box office than the cinema bid on it they make a profit. However if it gets little foot fall and does not make the amount they paid to show it then they are out-of-pocket. The second way is percentage. This is slightly more complicated but what happens is the theater and the distributor figure out the house allowance which will cover basic weekly expenses and then the percentage for the net box office and the percentage split for the gross box office is set. The distributor gets most of the money because they get the agreed open net box office or gross box office, whichever is higher. Look at this example from How Stuff Works to see how this works.

Consider this example. Theater A is negotiating with Distributor B over a new movie. The theater has figured that expenses are about $4,500 per week. The net percentage to go to the distributor is set at 95 percent for the first two weeks, 90 percent for week three and 85 percent for the final week. The gross percentage to go to the distributor is set at 70 percent for the first two weeks, 60 percent for week three and 50 percent for the final week.

You can see that during weeks one, two and three, the gross percentage is higher. The net percentage is higher for week four. So the distributor would take gross percentage on one through three then net for week four. The theater breaks even the first week, loses money the second and makes a profit on weeks three and four.

Here is a helpfull diagram from the same website about how the money is distributed.

This scheme has been waiting for studio’s input before going further, and obviously they are none too happy about it. Aside from the fact that their films will not be promoted as well (meaning the net money coming in could be lower, cutting the amount they could make) and less can be put in the trailers, there is also the chance that a trailer over this size would not be allowed to be played at the cinema. Exhibitors could also just put more of the shorter trailers on, getting more money from the studios that pay for this privilege. This is all in the planning stage at the moment and will be voluntary, but it would still cause a major headache for big budget studios if it goes ahead because upcoming films like the Man of Steel (which had a trailer that lasted for 3 minutes) would need a serious restructure. It would give the exhibitors slightly more power however in what they choose to show and they could in theory handpick trailers they want or come to a financial agreement to show longer trailers.

shorter trailers

Ignoring the studios for a minute, we need to think about whether this is actually a good thing for the patrons of the cinemas. Well the cutting down of trailers will mean the film will come on quicker. It can be up to 20 minutes before a feature film comes on due to the amount of trailers on show. Movie trailers have had a tendency to be very spoiler like, giving away far too much of the plot. The studios would have to think outside the box a bit to make sure their films had an impact in the short time they have available which is obviously a good thing, people can work better when put in a corner.

Trailers before movies have been around forever and have become an integral part of the cinematic experience. When VHS became popular they even copied this style, having trailers in front of all of their features. Of course you could always fast forward past these trailers, an option not available at the present time to cinema patrons. Still cinema users know there is going to be 20 minutes of trailers and most utilize it to use the rest room if they need, or return to the concessions stand. Reducing cinema trailers is taking something special away from the cinema experience. But I am a guy who got annoyed because they removed the Pearl and Dean tune from the start of UK movies so who knows if I speak for the public as a whole.

What would help are some original trailers on each cinema release. If you go to the theater a lot you end up seeing the same trailers on each movie. Making sure each film had a different set of trailers would help prevent the boredom from setting in. I find it interesting that there is no mention of adverts here which are the most annoying thing about the cinema experience. The same old car, drink, and holiday adverts are paraded in front of us and we can do nothing to stop them. I do not mind paying for trailers as they are related to the film, but paying for adverts that appear on the TV and which I have no interest in whatsoever is more of an insult than anything. We all understand however that the climbing prices of popcorn and candy are there to offset fees paid back to the studios and are the main source of revenue for the theater. The sad fact is that with out this most theaters would struggle to stay in business.

This may just drift off if the studios cause too much of a fuss but it will be interesting to see what effect this has on cinemas in the future.

Movie News & Opinions

8 Characters Benicio del Toro Could Play in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’

June 4, 2013 Scoot Allan Leave a comment

Marvel Studios upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy keeps on casting some big names that keeps us talking and speculating. Last time we discussed James Gunn’s GotG we learned that Glenn Close would be playing a leading member of the Nova Corps along with a rumor that John C. Reilly was up for a role as well. Today we have another piece of news that set some tongues wagging.

Continue reading 8 Characters Benicio del Toro Could Play in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ →

Movie Trailers

Kristen Wiig is ‘Girl Most Likely’

June 3, 2013 Amanda Broyles Leave a comment

After her great run with last year’s Bridesmaids, it’s no surprise that Kristen Wiig is back this summer. Only this time she’s just merely starring in the movie, Girl Most Likely, instead of writing it as well. Slacker. It is actually written by Michelle Morgan with her second writing credit, go Michelle! The fact it’s directed by the husband and wife team of Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman who directed one of my favorite movies, American Splendor, moves Girl Most Likely up my list of “must see” movies this summer.

http://youtu.be/NqNgrsxcwiY

At first glance, it looks a lot like Silver Linings Playbook with the mental illness/moving in with parents aspect, but trailers often have a tendency to paint a much different picture than the actual movie ends up being. Even if I wasn’t a Wiig fan, Annette Benning is always damn near perfect. Of course the Glee star Darren Criss is going to bring out the teenyboppers in droves so maybe I’ll go to the earliest showing possible like the old lady I am while all the youngin’s are still in bed. Either way, Girl Most Likely looks like what it probably sets out to be, a cute story with moments of humor and likely a happy ending. Sign me up.

Movie News & Opinions

Film Festival Fodder: 12 of the Craziest Posters from Cannes 2013

June 3, 2013 Adam Parker-Edmondston Leave a comment

[divider] The Cannes film festival is a time of celebration for the movie industry as every big Hollywood studio tries to woo fans and press alike with their new releases. But it is not just big budget ventures like Only God Forgives that get a chance to shine in the limelight because Cannes is also a time when the low budget companies get to play. These companies don’t get their fair share of attention in my eyes so here is a list of the top twelve picks from this year’s Cannes. Some are good and some are bad, very very bad but at least they are always interesting to look at.

[tabgroup][tab title=” Abner the Invisible Dog “]

Words escape me on this one. I think I will just slowly walk away from the computer and get some mind bleach to erase the fact I ever set eyes on this awful poster with its over used plot device. What is the fascination with dogs at Cannes this year? This is the second film that has a dog in the lead. Fred Olen Ray, the once master of cheap horror movies, made this and I really think he should have known better.

[/tab][tab title=” Android Cop “]

With a costume straight out of a bargain basement Halo movie and a cover entirely created on computer I am guessing that this is going to be a laugh riot, whether it was intended to be or not. It is hard to see what film the makers are going for here. It seems like Robocop but why bring a Robocop copy out now? This looks bad even for low budget movies.

[/tab] [tab title=” Copposites “]

A washed up cop and a law breaker on the mend do the body swap routine in this supposed comedy. I am guessing there is hilarity to be had with plenty of slightly dubious racial jokes and digs at how bad law enforcement officers are. It is a well known fact that mustaches sell cinema tickets so I am glad that this film has obliged us with one hell of a top lip curler. The body swap genre is not one I ever needed to revisit and I doubt this film is going to change my mind…………Who am I kidding? I will be watching it as soon as it is released on DVD.

[/tab] [tab title=” Dragons 2 “]

Do I know anything about Dragons 1? No, nothing at all but if it looks anything like the sequel then I am happy in my ignorance. I don’t think I have ever seen a cover so cluttered with CGI tat before. It is so crammed in you can barely see what is going on as one colour mixes into another; oh look I think I see a dragon. Why does the Snooki look alike on the front have no neck and such a weird body shape? That is the danger of photoshop overuse and it has really screwed up this poor woman’s proportions. Unless she actually looks like that and if that’s the case I am very sorry. This was not the only dragon film at Cannes either; there are at least two more. I think dragons may be the new low budget zombie for film makers now, a thought that makes me tremble with fear.

[/tab] [tab title=” FDR: American Badass “]

I am a sucker for anything with Barry Bostwick in so I would see this anyway but what is there not to like here? An American president who battles polio but still finds time to get kitted out with a killer wheel chair courtesy of Einstein and the CIA makes me think this is probably not factually accurate. If this image alone is not enough to get you all psyched up then guess who the villains are? Only Nazi Werewolves! Yeah I have seen loads of Nazi zombies but Nazis werewolves only turn up once in a blue moon. There is not one part of this poster I do not like, it is simply stunning.

[/tab] [tab title=” My Dog the Champion “]

When I hear the word spoiled teenager in a sentence I can assume that by the film’s end she will have ditched her selfish ways and become someone that loves all her family and friends. Now add in an elderly grandpa and a dog that needs training for a show and you have this film in a nutshell. If this done to death plot is not enough to put you off, then look at the complete lack of effort that has gone into producing this poster. I can see 7 different photos here, all of which have been thrown together to create this mess. Was it so hard for the actors all to get together to have their photo taken? The dogs must have been free at least. Oh why Lance why did you agree to do this piece of rubbish. You are so much better than this and you know it!

[/tab] [tab title=” Robot “]

No, sorry. This is a guy in silver makeup, not a robot. You are not fooling me with that nonsense. Unless the guy thinks he is a robot and the kid is his mentor. That would be okay but if that is not the case then this is just a really poorly devised robot. That kid really freaks me out to. Why is he so scary looking? The finger pointing to the potential victim (or me, as he is looking right at me) is quite disconcerting. Still it has a rocket launcher in it so it cannot be all that bad.

[/tab] [tab title=” Santa Claws “]

At first I thought this movie was actually one of the many horror Santa flicks that litter the shelves in DVD rental stores near Christmas. But it is actually a kid’s film where Santa does not deliver cats at Christmas because of his allergies. Santa should not be delivering animals anyway in my view, just think of the mess it would make in the sled. Anyway, one child called Little Tommy has been extra good so Santa breaks his own rules and brings him a kitten. It sucks to be Santa though because not just one cat gets in his sack but the whole litter leading to hilarity when the kittens have to deliver the presents themselves while Santa suffers a massive allergic reaction. No news on whether Santa actually survives this attack or even if the kittens can drive a sled. I bet the kittens can talk too; they always talk in these kinds of movies.

[/tab] [tab title=” Sharknado “]

There are a few films on this list that are just plain awful and there are even fewer which actually look like they might be amazing movies. This is one of those elite few. “Enough Said” is the tag line and it has won me over already. It is by Asylum, the bastions of all things ripped off and CGI enhanced, so I cannot wait for this one to come my way. A tornado of sharks is enough to make any cinema goer jump out of their seat in delight.

[/tab] [tab title=” Ultimate Adventure “]

Adventure is spelled wrong in the title but I will let them off as it is a foreign release and maybe that’s how they spell it over there. The reason I liked this particular poster was I had no idea what was going on. A cat ( or it could be a rabbit I guess) that looks a lot like David Tennant as Doctor Who carries a cheering cat (or rabbit) partner while they chase a horrified / excited rabbit across a landscape that has pigs in suits and a crocodile as the villain? Well it has certainly piqued my interest.

[/tab] [tab title=” Voyage “]

Director Scud brings us this Hong Kong treat about a depressed psychiatrist who visits former clients to get some closure. They all apparently live on nudist beaches as this is the only reason I can think for him being in the nip. The director says there is a funny hara-kiri scene in this so that’s something to look forward to. I have no idea what to think of this film. It looks like the male equivalent of the late night erotic thrillers Shannon Tweed used to make or at the very least a more disturbing take on Cast Away. Well they do say sex sells but in this case it really has not worked for me.

[/tab] [tab title=” Zombie Night “]

Why this company even bothered to make this film is beyond me. It covers so many over used horror film clichés it will be pointless watching. It has something sinister happening on Halloween, a zombie hand popping out the ground that we have seen a hundred times before and it is yet another zombie movie. The only way this movie could be saved is if the zombie goes trick or treating for brains. Now that is a film I would like to see.

[/tab][/tabgroup]

[divider]

So that’s it for the round up of Cannes 2013 weird and wonderful movies. Thanks to Total Film and The Guardian for the poster selections. These two sites have a few more gems that I did not have the heart to write about so if you liked this selection then it may be worth checking them out to. I doubt we will hear from most of these straight to DVD movies ever again but if Sharknado and FDR American Badass do not get a release somewhere then the cinematic world will be a lonelier place because of it.

Conveyors of Common Sense…