Film.com Movie Blog

The Verdict: An Asteroids Movie, Remaking Let the Right One In, and a Kinison Classic Goes Online

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:24:00 PDT

The Curious Case of the British Newspaper Report
The U.K.'s Daily Mail says that Jackson's body will be embalmed and transformed into plastic to become part of Gunther von Hagens's London exhibition, which already houses the body of Bubbles, Jackson's pet chimpanzee.
Verdict: This…

Michael Jackson's Musical Movie Moments

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:08:00 PDT

Michael Jackson was first and foremost a singer and dancer, but he was also the type of performer who surpassed genres and inspired artists across all mediums. Here’s a look at some memorable movie moments that made use of Jackson’s music:

6. The Wiz and Captain EO: Jackson appeared as an actor in two films. (Of course, he sang in both.) His movie debut was as The Scarecrow in this urban re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz. But to anyone who visited Disney World’s Epcot Center in the 80s, his…

Searching for the Next '80s Toy Movie Blockbuster

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:34:00 PDT

Transformers. G.I. Joe. He-Man. The Smurfs. These days Hollywood's high-concept ideas are coming from deep in the closet of Gen-X nostalgia. Here are some other long-lost toys that have been overlooked by the studios, at least so far. And yes, we are expecting a producer credit.

The California Raisins
Fine, they started life as an ad for the Raisin Advisory Board and spun off four albums, a Saturday morning cartoon, and everything from lunchboxes to t-shirts. But the biggest seller was the…

Eric's Bad Movies: The Care Bears Movie (1985)

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:24:00 PDT

Imagine a terrifying world in which bears have the power of speech and can shoot lasers out of their chests as a punishment against those deemed "uncaring." Imagine these bears barging into your home and insisting they are your friends, even though you don't know them and have no interest in their companionship. Imagine being harassed by these ursine terrorists until you profess that OK, OK, I care about everyone, just please for the love of all things holy stop torturing me I beg of you. This,…

Oscar-winning actor Karl Malden dies at 97

By BETH HARRIS Associated Press Writer — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:27:00 PDT

Karl Malden, the Academy Award-winning actor whose intelligent characterizations on stage and screen made him a star despite his plain looks, died Wednesday, his family said. He was 97. Malden died of natural causes surrounded by his family at his Brentwood home, they told the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. He served as the academy's president from 1989-92.

"Karl lived a rich, full life," Academy president Sid Ganis said. "He has the greatest and most loving family; a career that has…

Celebrate Canada Day With Our Ten Favorite Canadians

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:00:00 PDT

It tends to get overshadowed by that other big national holiday in the first week of July, but the 1st celebrates the anniversary of the 1867 act that made Canada a country. So in honor of our neighbors to the North, here are our ten favorite Canadian actors. No hockey, no Tim Hortons gags, no "eh"s, I promise.

10. Sandra Oh
The Korean-Canadian Ontario native started out on Canadian staple Degrassi High, and won a Best Actress Genie (Canada's Oscar) before moving on to Hollywood features like Und…

Review: Public Enemies is Built to Last

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:48:00 PDT

"Effectively explores our culture's fascination with outlaws ..."

Public Enemies has a certain grace to it, a pacing that's all at once a bit slow (for the times we live in) and a nice throwback to how the movie magic trick used to transpire. In the hands of Michael Mann the film looks great, feels deliberate, and effectively explores our culture's fascination with outlaws. While I don't think I'd hand it an Oscar or go door-to-door to sell it to folks, I'd say it's a nice…

Review: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs -- The Franchise Begins to Cool

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:10:00 PDT

"The film serves its target audience well enough and offers a series of pleasant smiles if not a lot of gut-busting laughs."

To answer the obvious question, the makers of Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs are well aware that the dinosaurs came and went long before the film takes place. What happened, though, is that some of the dinosaurs survived in a huge, cavernous world underneath the ice, and in this sequel our mammalian heroes stumble across them. So it's not a "dawn of the…

Arrested Development: The Movie -- Things We Want to See

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:59:00 PDT

Break out the frozen bananas (again) -- fans of the unjustly canceled Fox sitcom Arrested Development will rejoice to hear it's back in business, as a full-length feature film slated for release in 2010.

It will be a continuation of the absurdly twisted tale of the struggles of Michael Bluth, the only sane savior in a once-wealthy clan of greedy, morally deranged, mentally incompetent troublemakers, tasked with saving the family biz (and the family) after his father is jailed for fraud.

Arguab…

Movie Concepts That Couldn't Possibly Feature Shia LeBeouf

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:19:00 PDT

Shia LaBeouf seems to be everywhere these days. He's currently the box-office champ with his latest film Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, and rumor has it he's gearing up for another Indiana Jones sequel. Essentially you can't shake a stick without hearing about Shia. But that doesn't mean he's guaranteed to be his generation's best actor.

For instance, here are a few film concepts that just wouldn't work for young Mr. LeBeouf:

1. Any action movie that doesn't involve giant robots,…