On this holy of holy days I want to remind you all of what it was like as a kid on Halloween. If this doesn't give you a nostalgia headache I don't know what will.
The Walking Dead is premiering this Halloween on AMC (10pm 9 central). The good folks over at AMC have been kind enough to wet our appetites with this 5 minute clip. My review of the clip? I would have to say so far so good, lets hope they can keep this up an entire episode. It seems every time I think I'm through with zombies, they drag me back in. Enjoy.
The Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theater here in Los Angeles has been showing some great long forgotten horror movies all month. Tonight is no different with a showing of Link (1986), a movie about a killer ape, with an appearance by Elisabeth Shue. It would be all kinds of great if all of you people could attend but it's a little last minute, I know. Watching the trailer for Link hereis not an adequate substitute for watching the movie in the theater with Elisabeth Shue, but it is a gem in the crown of cinematic bat-shit-craziness .
Highlights include:
Orangutan pushing a van off a cliff.
Same orangutan smoking a cigar on top of a burning mansion. I'm going to write this again because it needs to be repeated. An orangutan is smoking a cigar on top of a burning mansion.
Today marks the 25th anniversary of Back to the Future. There has been a lot of BTTF goings on lately, cast reunions,Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly and the like, and I am all for it.
But in this hotly contested campaign year it's not politics as usual for the Hill Valley mayoral race. It has gotten downright dirty as you can see in this attack ad against incumbent Goldie Wilson.
I say Re-elect Mayor "Goldie" Wilson: Honesty, Decency, Integrity.
The monologue for you this week is from the late great Chris Farley. Ever since I first saw Tommy Boy this scene has been seared into my brain. It is a classic Farley moment doing what he does best. It's not a bad sales pitch, I would have bought auto parts from him.
then why did you have me go buy more?” asked Toad.
“Nomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnom.” said Frog.
Toad started to worry that Frog had been stuck in the air like that for a while now, but he had also never seen Frog this happy. "I'll get him down in a couple of days." thought Toad.
"And when their backs were turned" Frog giggled "I grabbed the kite and started running."
"Stupid kids." Said Toad.
Frog grumbled "Huh. Well I'll be, he's eating the letter. Guess I owe you $20."
"You will never guess who kills Dumbledore!" said Frog.
Here's a cool new poster design for my favorite childhood nightmare inducing movie, Poltergeist. The poster is done by Ken Taylor and the orange parts glow in the dark!
I will always remember what this movie taught me as a kid:
1) TV sets will kidnap you. 2)Trees will eat you. 3)Clown dolls will strangle you.
Remember these three things and you will live to a ripe old age.
Scream is a classic horror film. It was scary, funny, smart and most of all it was fun. Scream 2 was a sequel, meaning it wasn't as good as the first. Scream 3 was not good, even Parker Posey and Patrick "Puddy" Warburton couldn't help that film. The only good thing about Scream 3 being made is that means there is already a Scream 3 so this upcoming Scream sequel won't be "Scream 3D"! Side note, stop making everything in 3D.
Now here is a trailer for Scream 4, aka Scre4m, and I can't tell if it is any good or not. But am I going to see it? You bet your ass I am. Enjoy!
These new posters for Darren Aronofsky'sBlack Swan are not fooling around. They have just thrown down the gauntlet for all other movie posters. These four "international teasers" have an amazing design that is at the same time beautiful and haunting. You better bring it other movie posters because Black Swan just brought it to yo' face! (source)
Swingers (1996) is a pretty quotable movie and Vince Vaughn being Vince Vaughn delivers most of the memorable one liners. But the often forgotten character Rob, played by Ron Livingston, gives one of my favorite monologues. Ultimately, Ron Livingston's character is pretty much in the movie just to give this speech. He really doesn't do much else in the film. What does this scene teach us? When you are feeling down good friends bring you deli food and give you a much needed pep talk.
The treinta y tres Chilean Miners that were rescued are now international stars. And international stars deserve movie posters damnit! Well at least one person thought so and he did something about it. It turned out better than most "real" movie posters (via)
See? It's exactly what I said in the title of the post. Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly in the famous photograph from Back To The Future. Great Scott! How weiiiird is this photo? How cool is that Micky Mouse shirt? The fading photograph with Marty McFly's disappearing siblings scared the shit out of me as a kid. (Videogum)
I think my Grandpa told me about the child-eating polar bears that were around during the depression. Thanks to global warming they are mounting a huge comeback. (via)
I totally stole this one from Roger Ebert's blog. But come on, you guys don't read it so you need me to filter things out for you. Like this little gem.
Notable journalist and writer William Nack, also known as the guy who wrote the book on Secretariat, recites the last page of The Great American Novel, aka The Great Gatsby, from memory. Of course he hits it out of the park.
If you didn't grow up watching Time Bandits then you are probably a well adjusted individual. For the rest of us with neglectful parents who let us watch it, the movie is burnt into our brains. The big bad guy in the film is literally Evil, that's his name Evil. And in this clip Evil argues why God is incompetent and doesn't understand technology, hence it's one of my favorite monologues. You can stop watching around 2:50.
I need to get "I would have started with lasers, eight o'clock day one." on a t-shirt.
Cake has announced a new albumShowroom Of Compassion, their sixth. I guess they couldn't afford their rock n' roll lifestyle (Zing!). The album will be released (or dropped, if you like) January 11.
Hey, here is a track list!
1. Federal Funding 2. Long Time 3. Got To Move 4. What’s Now Is Now 5. Mustache Man (Wasted) 6. Teenage Pregnancy 7. Sick Of You 8. Easy to Crash 9. Bound Away 10. The Winter 11. Italian Guy
I'm ready for some more Sac-town talk-singing! I really want to know what "Mustache Man (Wasted)" sounds like. Intriguing...
Here is their first single "Sick Of You" (I think it could use more trumpet).
Showroom Of Compassion is such a Cake album title.
Today one of my favorite monologues comes from the 90's teen comedy sensation Clueless. It is Cher's (Alicia Silverstone) debate class speech about Haitian immigration. Her argument is not only funny but also deftly explains my own views on immigration, which is kinda off-putting. Amber's response is a great kicker to the scene as well. Enjoy.
There was a truckload of new TV shows dumped on us this Fall and not everybody has the time or brain cells to spare watching all those hours on the boob-tube. It's hard to tell which new shows are good enough for you to give up your precious hours. Here's a short list for you:
There is the critically acclaimed standout: Boardwalk Empire. The hour long melodrama: Lone Star (Oops) The new guilty pleasure: Nikita. Those are the shows to watch people.
I feel guilty just looking at this picture
Now if you were the betting kind you might say my pick for best new sitcom is Outsourced. I do love me some NBC Thursday night comedies. But Outsourced is not my pick, for a couple of reasons. 1) I love Parks and Recreation and they moved it to a mid-season replacement this year. I'm not happy about that....and 2) I thought Outsourced was going to be racist, but it's not so much racist as it's not funny. Really not funny. It's unfunny.
The show I do believe is the best new sitcom this fall is Raising Hope(Tuesdays, 9pmon Fox). It's brought to you by the creator of My Name Is Earl. But Raising Hope has the potential to be a better show than Earl.
Raising Hope centers on the twenty-something Jimmy who, in a really dark turn for a sitcom, becomes a single dad. The show has relatable characters, a fantastic cast including Martha Plimpton as Jimmy's mom and Cloris Leachman as Maw Maw (I like to think of Cloris as next seasons Betty White). And most importantly it's funny. Like honest-to-god funny, which you don't always get with sitcoms. I just hope they don't mess this up like they did Earl.
You know what? Why don't you just watch the pilot right here. Enjoy!
Here is a simple yet engaging video from the Radiolab "Words" podcast. Listen to the original show here. What do you think? I want to know because I think everybody will get something different from watching. Enjoy!
Sad Favreau
"Let's show this prehistoric bitch how we do things downtown" Photo Source
Phfff, "real" movies, Whatever... 
I feel guilty just looking at this picture
