Freshly Popped Movie Blog Archives - June 2008

From Lizerne Guiting: Most Batman diehards already know about Batman: Gotham Night—the six animated short films set in-between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. The direct-to-DVD anthology film releases July 8. Now here’s the kicker: Two days before its release, this year’s Anime Expo will have a screening and panel discussion with Batman: Gotham Night’s six directors.The...

It's three weeks until the first midnight showings, but The Dark Knight has already sold out many of its IMAX and 35MM showings, with theaters already adding 3am times to the mix. Care for a doughnut with your superhero? The first major review has also surfaced, with Rolling Stone's Peter Travers raving about the latest installment, and beating the drum early for certain recognition. On...

Action junkies, your movie has arrived. It's been a long time since I've seen a big-budget action movie that made me want to see it again, or more importantly, feel it again, for the action. Iron Man was fantastic, but a lot of what made it great was the character development and Downey Jr.'s star turn. The letdown, if anything, was the lackluster action finale pitting Iron Man vs....

From Stacie Hougland: The word "lovable" isn't exactly the first word that comes to mind with the name Adam Carolla, the cynical, acid-tongued morning radio host and former Jimmy Kimmel cohort on The Man Show, but in his movie The Hammer, that's exactly what he is. In the pic, which he co-wrote and co-produced, Carolla plays 40-year-old burnout Jerry Ferro, a once marginally...

For all the Batman fans who don't want to risk a sell-out opening night, you may want to try a zip code search of the Fandango site even now (for The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight: The IMAX Experience). We've noticed a lot of movie blogs touting advance ticketing starting Friday, June 20th, but we've seen some theater chains send in showtimes already. One month to go...In theaters...

I always get a kick out of these annual top 100 American Film Institute lists. For the most part, they're always solid, and highlight recent and past classics in various cool categories (i.e. 100 thrills, 100 laughs, 100 heroes and villains, etc.) The latest, announced last night on CBS, were the top 10 films in separate genres. Below is their top movie in each category, and here is the link...

Kung Fu Panda fans who didn't get their full fill of martial arts, here's some good news. /Film's reporting that production begins next month on District B14, a sequel to the 2004 parkour/martial arts flick, District B13. Miss that one? Or not too familiar with parkour? Chances are you've seen the art form already, at the beginning of Casino Royale, or in all those ads where...

It's sad to hear that Stan Winston, a true pioneer in the special effects field, died Sunday night. Casual moviegoers might not know the name, but I'll bet a great many of them do, and to the legions of film buffs out there, Winston was pretty much the Spielberg of his particular craft. Among his many creations were the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, the Terminator exoskeleton, the Predator,...

Thinking of taking in a flick with your pops this Father's Day weekend? Both wide release openers could be fun for the dads, with Marvel superhero/'70s icon The Incredible Hulk back on the loose, and Mark Wahlberg watching over wife and tyke in M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening. Fatherly Mark Wahlberg takes charge in The Happening.Here, too, are the Father's Day film picks based...

Here is the official, just released poster for Righteous Kill...and I'm not exactly sure what else to say. "Everbody respects the gun" says the tag line. But apparently, not everyone respects proper lighting. I love Raging Bull and The Godfather as much as the next guy. But the harsh overhead glare and the close-up on our heroes does no one, especially them, any favors. Back in...

From Stacie Hougland: UPDATE: Thanks to all of you who entered, and posted your favorite scenes! It really is too difficult to pick just one, no? Speaking of picking one, we've randomly selected our winner! This contest is over, but there will be more to come, promise.------------------------------- Listen up, Indiana Jones fans! A few weeks ago we ran a contest to win the new Indy trilogy...

We're still more than a few weeks away from the release of the second installment in the re-energized Batman franchise, but now's the perfect time to look back at the creativity that went into the making of Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, and start getting psyched for what's to come in The Dark Knight (opening July 18). This exclusive clip includes interviews with all the key...

From Lizerne Guiting: Ouch! Sarah Jessica Parker wore a hand-me-down to the New York SATC premiere?! Looks like even the star of the savviest of haute couture chick flicks isn’t exempt from a fashion blunder.OK, “hand-me-down” is a little harsh. But the one-of-a-kind platinum gown, which Parker was supposedly the first to wear, was flaunted twice before—first on Lindsay...

From Stacie Hougland: It's Clint Eastwood's turn to make your day, with this week's DVD and Blu-ray release of all five Dirty Harry films in a super-cool box set that contains the films and documentary about Clint Eastwood on disc, plus a 40+ page hardcover book, poster cards, never-before-seen production notes, a wallet with Detective Harry Callahan's ID and metal badge, and a...

From Stacie Hougland: Thanks to everyone who entered our Kung Fu Panda IMAX tix contest, and thanks for all of your great responses for your favorite martial artist and movie! We've randomly picked ten winners, and will be in contact right away....keep on the lookout for more contests in the blog soon!"Ah so. You are the chosen