As an addendum to Casey and my Lost discussion here is an interesting video about the unanswered questions in Lost.

I love cartoonist Joe Dunn. Not in a weird way. I just have several candid shots of him in the shower hanging above my bed. Normal. Anyway, Mr. Dunn has drawn a funny comic about the movie Cop Out. This is fortunate for me as Cop Out is the very movie we will be reviewing on the next podcast. (Joe Loves Crappy Movies)

Attention all Fantasy Geeks! (myself included) HBO will be putting into production Game of Thrones. Maybe, if the show is a hit, we’ll finally be able to see how the fucking series ends. (Variety)

Ah, Chuck your weekly antics make life, in a small way, worth living. If you are a fan of Chuck (and you should be) you’ll probably enjoy a somewhat rambely interview with two stars of the show, Zachary Levi and Joshua Gomez. (Collider)

What the fuck. Harrison Ford is talking about doing another Indiana Jones movie. At what point are we, as a society, allowed to take treasured cultural icons away from their creators in order to save them? We did a podcast about Indy 4 and if you’ve heard you can understand why the news of a possible 5th instalment fills me with trepidation. (movieweb)

Recommended by an Assassin

I have been trying to re-read books that I originally read in middle school. One of these is The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul. I can’t believe how much better I am able to appreciate it now that I am not a complete idiot.

Here is an incredibly moving account of Roger Ebert and how he has dealt with the loss of his lower law. (Esquire)

My girlfriend has a funny story of a guy taking her to see The Transporter on a date. Here’s a list of some other movie date missteps. (Slate)

Apparently there is a movie where Ben Stiller doesn’t act like a complete Jackass. (Salon)

I try and avoid the kind photos taken directly from an episode, but I know Matt likes to get as much information as he can. There are some nice looking shots, especially number four. (AMC-Breaking Bad)

This is the last season of Lost. I know some of you will be sad you see it go, and in a way I will too. It will be nice to finally have the questions answered, though. Maybe I’ll be able to stop taking my anti-anxiety medication. Here is David Lindelof being cryptic. (Collider)

Recommended by an Assassin

I’ve been reading The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson and it is an utterly fascinating book. It tells the history behind the modern financial system. As someone without a finance background some of the terms are a little confusing, but the main ideas are easily understood. Everyone should read this book if only to understand what the hell has been going on this past year.

There are some actors that never seem to break from their most identifiable roles. Some however are able to find that balance of timing and skill in order to free themselves from the established mold. Pajiba has a list up of some of the best examples of this. (Pajiba)

Movies based on games, in general, suck. However as the medium has developed the depth and intricacy of the story have developed as well. Could there be a time when a movie based on a video game isn’t terrible? One person seems to think so. (Hollywood)
Side Note: My vote for video that should be turned into a movie is Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion

Quentin Tarantino is a divisive character. There are those that adore him and those that can’t stand him. Personally I tend to shift back and forth from movie to movie. One of the key questions about him is whether he is contributing something meaningful or simply making well crafted movies. (Salon)

It is an unfortunate truth that romantic comedies have become extremely predictable, “High Concept” (Read Idiotic) formulas. What ever happened to the When Harry Met Sally’s? Anyway, here is a list of the people in romantic comedies who probably should have died alone. (Av Club)

Recommended by an Assassin

There doesn’t appear to be anything worth watching coming out this weekend.  So, in liu of a trip to the cinema why don’t you rent season one of Psych instead. It is all kinds of fun.

This is the weekly (hopefully) round up for November 30th 2009 of some things that I have found to be interesting on the internets. Hope you enjoy it, or at the very least don’t hate it. Also, there is a small code at the bottom. That is for Technorati, please ignore it.

So, it looks like Robert Downey Jr. is helping to write Iron Man 2. Sometimes actors are fine writers and sometimes they are barely literate. I think it may be problematic for an actor to write the script for the character he is portraying as there may be too much of him put into the character. However, I won’t judge until I hear vague unconfirmed rumors to the contrary. /film

The movie Antichrist has got people up in an ire. At least I think it has, I mean it certainly seems like something that would. Personally I haven’t heard a thing about it. However, I did find this list pretty interesting as it shows some of the films over the years that have been banned for content. What I find interesting is the ones that were banned by their creators or subjects. Rotten Tomatoes

As always Pajiba’s Dustin Rowles has an insightful piece on the Twilight craze. Read it and think, I dare you. Pajiba

I didn’t even know that Forbes put out a list of overpaid Hollywood stars, but apparently they do. Anyway, here is a link to the list Forbes and also the AV Club’s take on it.

Everyone should be reading Deus Ex Malcontent. Chez has a biting wit that, at times, comes off as douchey but will always contain poignancy. In this article he takes Salon.com to task for their terrible film and TV critics. Deus Ex Malcontent

This movie may suck. The fact that Brittany Murphy is in almost ensures that. However, this week, I am most excited for the release of Across the Hall. Here is the Trailer for your enjoyment.

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Great, a chance for Seth MacFarlane to make even more money while ruining America. Variety

So it looks like the guy who wrote Mr. Baseball is also writing Venom. He also wrote  Pleasantville if that makes you feel better. Heat Vision

We briefly talked about this movie on our Surrogates podcast, so here’s an interview with the writters of Cowboys Vs. Aliens. Screenrant

Wes Anderson responds to claims that he directed animated foxes from 300 miles away. Slashfilm

and for your viewing pleasure, The Box.

I mostly just stick to reviews, but I figured I’d get others talking about some of the stuff I’m interested in. As the title of this post suggests, there’s some interesting new releases coming out soon.

The first film in the “Upcoming Movies” section is a little film entitled Moon. This one looks a little trippy. The synopsis, according to the official site is as follows:

“It is the near future. Astronaut Sam Bell is living on the far side of the moon, completing a three-year contract with Lunar Industries to mine Earth’s primary source of energy, Helium-3. It is a lonely job, made harder by a broken satellite that allows no live communications home. Taped messages are all Sam can send and receive. Thankfully, his time on the moon is nearly over, and Sam will be reunited with his wife, Tess, and their three-year-old daughter, Eve, in only a few short weeks. Finally, he will leave the isolation of “Sarang,” the moon base that has been his home for so long, and he will finally have someone to talk to beyond “Gerty,” the base’s well-intentioned, but rather uncomplicated computer. Suddenly, Sam’s health starts to deteriorate. Painful headaches, hallucinations and a lack of focus lead to an almost fatal accident on a routine drive on the moon in a lunar rover. While recuperating back at the base (with no memory of how he got there), Sam meets a younger, angrier version of himself, who claims to be there to fulfill the same three year contract Sam started all those years ago. Confined with what appears to be a clone of his earlier self, and with a “support crew” on its way to help put the base back into productive order, Sam is fighting the clock to discover what’s going on and where he fits into company plans.”

…And yes that’s Kevin Spacey as the voice of the Gerty the computer.

The next film has been out for a while, so it’s not really “upcoming” but I figured I’d mention it. It’s a new one from Steven Soderbergh called The Girlfriend Experience. The synopsis for this one is:

“Set in the weeks leading up to the 2008 presidential election, “The Girlfriend Experience” is five days in the life of Chelsea (adult film star Sasha Grey in her mainstream film debut), an ultra high-end Manhattan call girl who offers more than sex to her clients, but companionship and conversation – “the girlfriend experience.” Chelsea thinks she has her life totally under control—she feels her future is secure because she runs her own business her own way, makes $2000 an hour, and has a devoted boyfriend (Chris Santos) who accepts her lifestyle. But when you’re in the business of meeting people, you never know who you’re going to meet…”

If it is out of theaters, it will be on DVD soon.

The next film is a new one from Martin Scorsese entitled Shutter Island. It’s been a while since Scorsese has done anything like this but I would definitely qualify this film as being “creepy”. The synopsis is as follows:

“From Oscar®-winning director Martin Scorsese, “Shutter Island” is the story of two U.S. marshals, Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), who are summoned to a remote and barren island off the cost of Massachusetts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from the island’s fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane.”

Finally, the last film is one I’m really looking forward to. It comes out in August and it’s called The Time Traveler’s Wife. I love Rachel McAdams and would watch her in anything. Not only is she gorgeous, but she’s a terrific actress. This actually looks like a good romantic dramedy. The synopsis is:

“‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ is based on the best-selling book about a love that transcends time. Clare (Rachel McAdams) has been in love with Henry (Eric Bana) her entire life. She believes they are destined to be together, even though she never knows when they will be separated: Henry is a time traveler—cursed with a rare genetic anomaly that causes him to live his life on a shifting timeline, skipping back and forth through his lifespan with no control. Despite the fact that Henry’s travels force them apart with no warning, Clare desperately tries to build a life with her one true love.”

In TV News…

I’m really becoming obsessed with AMC. I know, of all channels to be obsessed with, this is the one I choose. I can’t help it. From a writing perspective, their new slogan, “Story Matters Here” seems to be true. They’ve got only two shows on currently, Mad Men and Breaking Bad. Both of which are amazingly well written and the control seems to be in the hands of the creators themselves. Matthew Weiner runs Mad Men and Vince Gilligan, one of my favorite X-Files writers, runs Breaking Bad.

I’m encouraging anyone reading this to check out these shows. I’ve just started watching them and both are brilliant. You can watch the pilots for yourselves HERE and tell me if you agree!

The other reason I think that AMC honors their slogan is because they just green-lit their third show, entitled Rubicon. They take their time with shows because again, story matters. Most channels that offer original programming get many shows all at once. Not AMC. I don’t know why, but I have a lot of confidence in these guys working there.

Check out the full scoop on Rubicon HERE

HBO also has a new show entitled Hung. It stars Thomas Jane as a male prostitute. I really don’t need to give any more detail than that. It speaks for itself!

The other HBO news is about the second Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks WWII epic entitled The Pacific.

AND THE FINAL PIECE OF NEWS IN THIS LONG ASS POST…

Kevin Smith is coming to the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, Saturday September 19th @ 8pm. I bought my tickets, and so should you.

The Michigan Theater

Leave a comment, let’s talk about all this stuff. I’m excited, aren’t you?

After a horrible end to the first season, an uneventful second season, and a terrible third season, Bryan Fuller has finally come back hopefully to save the show. Maybe with any luck, get Tim Kring fired in the process and take over as showrunner.

Read more…