IP, just out of curiosity, did you see it at the Cherry Hill Loew's last night? Almost went there, had a last minute change of plans and had to go to Cinemark instead.

The real reason I am interested in Iron Man is for Downey. We'll have to agree to disagree about Hellboy


I agree, in fact that was one of the best things about the movie, that they left a lot for you to fill in. It also meant that they didn't have to spend a lot of time with expository dialogue.

Actually, we saw it at Lowe's on Friday night. Maybe we'll see each other at a film someday, or even go to one! Downey is why I'll see Iron Man, but I'm still a little shaky on that. And, yes, we'll have to agree to disagree on Hellboy! I'm a big Del Toro fan, but I just didn't care for that one-perhaps I'll revisit it on DVD and maybe see the sequel. There were some parts of the original I liked, but not enough. I remember falling asleep and snoring at that-my friend had to elbow me awake, and told me I was snoring-definitely embarrassing!

Got the 2-disc Letters from Iwo Jima for Christmas and finally got around to seeing it yesterday afternoon and was definitely not disappointed in it. The movie itself was just as powerful and emotional as I remembered it being in the theatre with certain scenes resonating with me even more the second time around, but really what made yesterday so special was watching the special features on the second disc which helped me to appreciate the movie even more. This was the first time I've ever sat and watched the extra stuff on a dvd because quite frankly most of the time the extra stuff doesn't interest me one bit, but when I first went online and read the description of what Letters would have on the extra disc I knew I just had to have it, and after watching it all I'm glad that's the version I got because there's lots of interesting stuff on there I think. Now I just have to get the 2-disc Flags of Our Fathers once it goes down in price (preferably for less than 20 dollars) and my Clint Eastwood Iwo Jima collection will be complete.

Weird weekend At The Movies.

Meet The Spartans finished in first place! $18.7M
Maybe the economy really is that bad. People needed a movie that requires turning off the brain.

Rambo gets second.

Untraceable (which was pushed hard finished a terrible 5th place).

Juno cracked $100M!!!

Watched the DVD "Shoot Em Up" last night. What a riot! Crazy fun silly story with the always good Clive Owen and Paul Giammatti. Looked and sounded great on my system. Much subwoofer action.

Another movie that was wonderful on the home system was Die Hard 4. I thought it was very well done.
I had an oil repairman in the house that evening and he looked a little shocked when he came out of the basement after hearing what my 2 subwoofers were doing in that movie.

The final scene with a big rig and a F15 really made my SVS sub very happy!

Thanks for the recommendation on Shoot Em Up. The trailer made the movie look like a blast. It was one I just never got around to. On the NF list for sure.

Watched Hollywoodland on HD-DVD last night. Movie looked great and the story was excellent. I was surprised how good this movie is. Great turns by Brody, Affleck and Lane. Rent it if you haven't seen it.

Saw Daddy Day Camp this weekend and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Yes it was a little silly at times, but also very very funny and sweet too. I still think I enjoyed the original Daddy Day Care more but as a sequel Daddy Day Camp was pretty darn good.

Just finished watching Mr. Bean's Holiday and thoroughly enjoyed it. Bean has always been one of my favorite comic characters ever since I was a teenager and first started watching him on his tv show. Then when the first Bean movie came out in 1997 I think it took me a couple years to actually see it but when I finally did on cable I loved every minute of it and this second Bean movie is just as good if not a little better. I was cracking up laughing almost the entire time watching it and would definitely recommend it to any other Bean fans out there. Here's hoping a third Bean movie won't be very far off.

Enjoyed 2 films this evening. Gone Baby Gone and King Of California. Both were great.

Highly recommend both for rental.

This week's pick for "Saturday Night at the Movies" was George Romero's Diary of the Dead. While much better than the awful Land of the Dead, it's still not at the top of Romero's zombie series, not to mention the many other good-to-great zombiesque (is that a word?) movies of the past few years. A no-star cast does a fair job with the material, and the story has no connection to any of Romero's earlier movies. Not terribly scary, but works up a pretty good aura of dread and hopelessness, with a few funny scenes to liven the mood. Let's just hope it's the last in the recent spate of horror flicks filmed in shaky, hand-held camera, pseudodocumentary style.

JohnG shoulda seen this one with us! He's big on zombies.

I am HUGE on Zombie flicks. I was surprised this was coming out - I saw the review this past Friday and that was the only indication I had it was coming out. Most reviews have been pretty good, but they wonk on about the "social commentary" of the youtube age.* I was surprised, however, that it was a limited release, only two theaters in the Chicagoland area...so I will wait to see it.

* I think they get a little carried away with the "social commentary" bent on Romero's work. I feel they need to find some greater meaning, since it is Romero, and NightOLD definately had its underlying message of conformity - but this was done already by Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Yes, he does add an interesting spin - such as the Mass Consumption aspect of DawnOfTheDead - but it is not anything of really deep significance to the movie, other than a very cool set piece, and the fantasy of living in a mall (which would be cool).

For the record, I feel the reviews of the remake of Dawn would get a bad rap (as to how it missed the satorical apects of the original in this regards). I call bullshit. It had similar scenes (Playing dress up - its not like the original had the Zombies getting into the mall and being distracted by the clothes and items), comments ("Maybe it's what they know"). It may be sacriligeous, but I much prefer the remake. The original scared me as a kid, but I don't feel it holds up well. From the minute you hear Cash's "Man Coming Round" on, it works as entertainment. Anytime I stumble of it on Cable, which is a lot, I at least always watch the beginning...from the time Sarah has to deal with the little girl / her husband until she crashes her car into the tree. Some of the best zombie film moments for me.

For the record, ever since my dad made me watch Night of The Living Dead when I was 11 (in my top 10 movies), I have worshipped Romero and what he created.

Also, I feel Romero could allow the Zombies to have a bit more mobility...somewhere in-between, and based by degree of decomposition. Maybe they shuffle around, no matter what, just casue they are aimless, but once they get the scent, they should reacte in accordance to their existing muscle deteriation...

Yes I have given some thought to this - too much - as I had drafted a screenplay many moons ago...

Last Night the wife and I rented a flick called "Severence" from Magnolia Films. It was British film - horror / survival. It's actually pretty good...a business outing for 'team-builing' that ends up in the wrong bit of woods. There's a pretty good sense of humor throughout, and there are some interesting kills, and a decent amount of tension. However, as much I like Zombie films - 'Monster' movies in general - and stalking films, there are scenes here that more into the 'torture' horror - which I abhor (too much sick reality as it is in the world - give me a zombie ripping out guts, no problem - but strapping someone into a chair - irresposnible and not fun). They do not carry it to the porn level of Hostel and the others, but it is there.

"Diary Of The Dead" has opened real quietly. I don't think its even playing out here on the Island yet. With all the megaplexes out here, you'd think it would play nearby.

When you click on Diary Of The Dead at Yahoo Movies, it takes you to a 1976 movie starring Geraldine Fitzgerald!

Never seen it, but sounds like it would make an interesting double feature with the new one!

"Diary Of The Dead" is playing in 2 theaters in Philly, but I didn't have time to see it. It did pretty well actually, grossing 0.2 million on just 42 screens with no press at all. It's average of over $5,400 or so per screen is near the Top 10. It's never going to play more than few hundred screens sadly, but it seems people went to see it where it played. The Philadelphia Daily News gave it a B- which is rather good for a horror flick especially a zombie flick!

Just got back yesterday afternoon from a trip to Bakersfield, CA to visit family and while I was there saw The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep at a dollar theatre and overall thought it was pretty good for the first two-thirds or so but then all of a sudden it turned extremely dark and even scary in the end so I'm not quite sure what to make of it really. It was extremely cute and funny at times but then veered off dangerously close to PG-13 territory I thought towards the end there and if you ask me it was pretty much unnecessary for the filmmakers to do that. I suppose they wanted to try to satisfy both kids and adults but personally I felt a wee bit overwhelmed in the end and kinda wish they had toned it down a bit. It was still a very good movie and worth it just for the hilarious but sweet interaction between the boy and the creature alone. I just can't help but feel that the movie should have been a bit lighter towards the end there instead of being so intense and terrifying.

Just got through watching one of the strangest, most annoying film I've ever seen in my entire life: last year's remake of Hairspray. Maybe I just didn't understand the premise, but for me the entire thing was way too hokey and over the top, not to mention weird, strange, and annoyingly loud, for me to consider it as nothing more than a complete and utter waste of my time. I guess for me the only movie musical I'll ever truly love is The Phantom of the Opera. That one had everything Hairspray didn't have and then some: a great story, great acting, wonderfully addictive songs, breathtaking visuals, and more. Heck, even Moulin Rouge kicks Hairspray's butt by a mile. I know there were tons of people last year who fell in love with Hairspray, but I honestly can't figure out why. Maybe like I said I just didn't "get" it. All I know is that I absolutely hated the movie Hairspray, and after watching it last night I'm starting to gain a better appreciation for High School Musical, and believe me I never thought that would happen in a million years.

We went to see Be Kind Rewind this weekend. It takes a while to get cranking, the short movie "remakes" they film are OK, not hilarious, and the end is nicely bittersweet. But a little of Jack Black's shtick goes a long way with me, while Mos Def does some nice acting as his friend who's a little "slow" mentally. Wait til it comes out on DVD, no need to shell out 12 bucks at the multiplex.

I watched The Lookout on DVD yesterday. What a performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Shoulda been Oscar worthy.

btw....saw We Own The Night today and can see why it failed at the box office. Terrible movie. Absolutely ridiculous. Wastes a good performance by Joaquin Phoenix.