I co-wrote a movie. Wanna see?

If you've got nine minutes and want to see a musical, modern-day Western that I had something to do with (featuring geeks vs. bikers), here's your hook-up.

The film was made in 48 hours as part of the Minneapolis 48 Hour Film Project. My sister was the production manager and she invited me to join her on the writing team with her friend Erin. I had a blast doing it.

Little Bad Guy and the Rubik's Cube

Someone nice at Rubik's Cube asked me to consider sharing this. I laughed out loud at least once and appreciate who gets to be the hero, so here it is.

Quotes of the Week: A very twisted way of thinking

I don’t view Eric Powell as a competitor or Mike Mignola or Terry Moore. I don’t have to take from someone else to gain something. That’s a very twisted way of thinking in my book. We’re all fighting the same fight. Sure, we’re all going for a slice of the same pie, but believe me, there’s plenty for everybody, and if we work together we can actually make the pie bigger again, like it used to be.
--Steve Niles

[Books are] very old, cats and kittens, but before we had them we had scrolls and before that we had tablets and before that we had oral traditions. The codex—a book with a cover and pages—hasn't been around forever and it won't be around forever, and the sooner publishers, booksellers, and other industry insiders realize this and not only accommodate but embrace the changes that are revolutionizing the way people read, the better.
--Eric Blank

The multiplex audience...seems to lay down money for the right to sit in front of the movie and do whatever they want. That's different [from the art-house theater crowd], and I don't like it as much. It's colder. I don't think it's that the people are any better or any worse; I think it has to do with how much they love being at the movies. And for me to love being at the movies, I have to be with other people who love being there, too.
--Linda Holmes

Other People's Favorite Movie Characters

Wings and Siskoid left links to their own Favorite Move Characters lists in the comments to mine. They're both great lists.

Wings includes some folks who I could've put on mine. Nick and Nora Charles, for instance. And like I said in my original list, I had a hard time leaving off Indiana Jones and Rick Blaine. Wings also mentions Clark Griswold, who reminds me that it's sort of a crime I didn't include Caddyshack's Ty Webb on mine. I love that man.

Siskoid's list not only reminds me that I need to see Swingers and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but also makes me want to watch Garden State and Magnolia again. And since he followed my rule about only using characters who are original to movies, he also promises to do a separate post of Favorite Adapted Characters (if he hasn't already; I'm behind). So of course I'm going to have to do that too.

"M" is for Mike's Movie Meme

Will Pfeifer has all the cool memes. This one is to make a list of 26 of your favorite movies, one for each letter of the alphabet.

I'm changing it slightly to be a list of 26 movies that I love, because "favorite" implies that I like - for example - Devil in a Blue Dress better than Die Hard and that's not an argument I'm ready to have with myself tonight. Much less have it 25 more times over countless other movies. Most of the time, the movie I listed is just the first one I thought of (with the caveat that I truly love all 26 of these films).

Also, if I thought of a couple of movies at the same time, I sometimes went with the less obvious pick just to keep the list interesting.



Addams Family Values (1993)
Below (2002)
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The (1920)
Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
Evil Dead 2 (1987)



Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Henry V (1989)
Incredibles, The (2004)
Juno (2007)



King Kong (2005)
Last of the Mohicans, The (1992)
Memento (2000)
Night of the Demon (1957)
Ocean's Eleven (2001)



Pacte des Loups, Le (2001)
Quantum of Solace (2008)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Star Wars (1977)
Time to Kill, A (1996)



Unbreakable (2000)
V for Vendetta (2005)
Wolf Man, The (1941)
xXx (2002)
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Zoolander (2001)

Oh my this is good.

A video of clips from pretty much every movie from 2008 set to music by Sigur Ros. Beautiful.

What Looks Good: January Theatrical Releases

I miss this feature on the blog, if only because it gives me something to refer to when I'm trying to remember what's coming out when.

January 16

Defiance



I'm really not in the mood for a depressing movie and I feel like the odds are about 50-50 on this one ending like I'd like it to, but I'm a Craigaholic right now.

Chandni Chowk to China



I've been wanting to check out a Bollywood movie. This looks like a fun one to try.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop



Just enough Die Hard parody to make me want to see it. And Kevin James is funny.

January 23

Inkheart



Please let this be good. Please let this be good. Please let this be good.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans



I can't be the only person enjoying the Underworld movies, right? I mean, they keep making them, so someone else must like them too.

January 30

The Uninvited



Like I said back here, "Violet from Lemony Snicket vs. Hand that Rocks the Cradle and some creepy imagery about black goo. I don't know why that works so well for me, but there you have it."

Taken



Yes! I just watched Love Actually a couple of days ago and it made me realize how much I want to see a new Liam Neeson movie. Even if it looks sort of similar to Frantic, I liked Frantic and I'm all for Qui-Gon taking his turn as a family-man hunting kidnappers in Paris.

New in Town



Renée Zellweger's cute and funny and all, but it's the Minnesota setting, Harry Connick Jr, and especially JK Simmons that ultimately sell me.

TCM Remembers

One of my favorite - though in a bittersweet way - parts of the Oscars is the memorial they always do for filmmakers who've passed away the previous year. I didn't know Turner Classic Movies did one too, so thanks to Will Pfeifer for pointing it out.

November Theatrical Releases

I don't know if it's me or the movies, but I'm really underwhelmed by the releases this month. Stuff that I'm supposed to be excited about just isn't doing it for me. I've decided that I'm not as in love with gangster films as the rest of the country, so American Gangster looks tedious. Bee Movie and Fred Claus look dumb. I can't get past the creepy motion-capture of Beowulf. And Martian Child, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium and Hitman look respectively like they're trying too hard to be touching, whimsical, and stylish.

But I did find some stuff to be interested in:

Last Week

Darfur Now: (LA/NY only) I can't honestly say that I'm looking forward to seeing this, and I don't even know that I will see it. I don't know that I want or need the images in my head. Hotel Rwanda was bad enough and there I could comfort myself with the knowledge that it was a re-enactment, whereas this...

But it's important. I don't need to see the documentary to know that and I've been doing what I can to help, but I'm glad there's a movie about the situation and hope that people who don't know what's going on will see it.

Today

I'll Believe You: (limited) Funny premise (late-night radio talk show host receives phone call from extraterrestrial and tries to find out who placed the call). Funny cast (Patrick Warburton, Fred Willard, Chris Elliot, Ed Helms from The Office). Funny trailer.

November 21

Enchanted: I've got pretty low expectations for this, but I'm curious enough to give it a watch.

August Rush: I'm so torn. On the one hand, it's Keri Russell and Freddie Highmore. On the other hand, it's Robin Williams trying to play Bono (which, to me, is sort of like Rob Schneider trying to play Gandhi in a serious role). I may wait for DVD on this one so if Williams kills it for me I can just eject the disc instead of having to walk out of the theater.

This Christmas: I'm a sucker for Christmas family dramas. I liked Home for the Holidays and The Family Stone too. What're ya gonna do?

November 28

The Savages: The plot about adult siblings trying to arrange long-term care for their mentally deteriorating father didn't do anything for me. Then I realized that one of the siblings is Philip Seymour Hoffman. And then I saw the trailer. Looks like good stuff.

November 30

Awake: This is what I'm in the mood for. A suspense thriller with Lena Olin, Hayden Christensen (I don't have the problems with his acting that most Star Wars fans claim to), Jessica Alba, and Terrence Howard in a role where he may not have to cry.

May theatrical releases

This is a new feature I want to try. At the first of each month, I'll list and talk about the new movies that are coming out that month. Or the ones that I want to see anyway. If I don't mention one that you think I should've (or you think one of mine is unworthy of mention); well, that's what comments sections are for.

Pirates

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Opens May 25th): I don't think I really need to explain my excitement about this one, do I? Easily my Pick of the Month, if not the Summer; if not the Year.

Fantasy

Shrek the Third (Opens May 18th): Yeah, yeah. I know. I wasn't thrilled about it either until I saw an ad for it that reminded me how much I liked Antonio Banderas as Puss n' Boots. I was lukewarm about the first Shrek movie and that still taints my perception of the franchise, but I really did enjoy Shrek 2 a lot.

Superheroes

Spider-Man 3 (Opens May 4th): I'm not a big fan of Venom. He comes from the days when Marvel was making nastier, grittier versions of all their heroes and he just seems like a lazy concept to me. But Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films have been anything but lazy and I like how he's gone out of his way to choose just the right villains to emphasize just the right lesson that Peter Parker is learning in each film. So, I trust Sam and I fully expect this to be as great an experience as the other two were.

Not So Much with the Adventure, but Still Looks Good

Waitress (Opens May 2nd in New York and LA): I mentioned this one a while back. Interesting to me mainly because it stars Felicity and Captain Mal.

The Ex (Opens May 18th in limited release): Another one I've mentioned before. Zach Braff and Jason Bateman in a movie Braff describes as being for people who like Scrubs and Arrested Development. Well, that's me.

Update: Would it be more useful to see these organized by genre or by release date?