The Center Seat

Apparently it's a phenomenon. More here.

Top 5 reasons to skip this one...

5. That title. Ugh. I can't even type it without a little bile coming up.

4. Have you seen Nic Cage's hair in this one? It's like Billy Mitchell's Jesus hair got together with Tom Hanks' Da Vinci Code mop and made sweet, sweet hair love. In a big puddle of jerry curl.

3. Apparently the Thai movie on which it's based wasn't that good either.

2. They won't screen it for critics. Always a bad sign.

1. This trailer.

...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

Watch the trailer, then let me know what you think by answering the poll on the right.



Update: Upon poll closing, 70% of you answered "Ohmygod, I can't wait!", and 30% of you said you "needed to know more". Nobody said "No freaking way". So the buzz seems to be "for"... we'll have to see what happens. I'll probably check it out.

Generally, when a trailer is overplayed on TV, it makes my teeth hurt. And the spot for Pineapple Express, Judd Apatow's new stoner flick, has certainly been running ad nauseum. So why is it that every time I see it, I start vibrating in anticipation?

Check it out. It's set to open August 8.

Two posts on the same feature, in the same day. Not my usual M.O., but this festering turd couldn't be ignored. A big thank you to Fletch for tipping me off on this stunner, coming to a not-so-discriminating theater near you this August. The premise: three flies become stowaways on the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. *Yawn* Oh, sorry.

Among the myriad reasons you should skip this one:

1. As many have noted, the three flies seem to be Alvin and the Chipmunks reincarnated, complete with Simon's round glasses. People, the actual Alvin and the Chipmunks movie sucked donkey balls. What makes you think a ripoff of our favorite trio of singing rodents will do any better?
2. The dialogue is atrocious. It seems aimed at your average six-year-old. Simple sentences. Formulaic "hooray!" reactions. Nothing stimulating whatsoever. (I've got nothing against six-year-olds, but the best animated films appeal to all members of the audience.)
3. The quality of the animation...well, is it just me, or did I see this stuff on a straight-to-video release that came free with a Pizza Hut Pepperoni Lovers', circa 1999?
4. It's showing only in 3D. That's going to set you back about $15, folks. Don't do it.

Here's the trailer:

...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

I actually mulled this one over for a while. The premise had promise, in an absurdist kind of way. I guess I thought there was the chance that it could end up being campy and cool.

So today I watched the trailer and... yeah. It's vapid slapstick. Doesn't seem to be worth the film stock it's shot on.

Decide for yourself (trailer after the jump), but I vote "no".

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I honestly don't think Eddie Murphy actually reads the scripts anymore. Makes me sad, really.

This one looks god-awful. If you're not convinced, watch the trailer after the jump. But don't say I didn't warn you.

...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

This is brilliant.



I love the irony that "Pork and Beans" (Weezer's unique way of thumbing their collective nose at their label) is a bonafide hit.

This is my favorite song right now. I just can't get sick of it.



P.S. Atmosphere (like so many amazing things) is from Minnesota.

It's not because I don't enjoy a good dumb summer comedy. I do. Matter of fact, the manhole incident on the trailer is pretty damn funny.

It's not because I have a problem with Playboy. I don't. Like many intelligent women my age, I actually enjoy "The Girls Next Door". Go fig.

This is why: It seems to be a makeover movie, and I think I like the "before" better than the "after". House Bunny's basic plot is this: a Playboy Bunny is kicked out of the mansion and decides to become the house mother to a sorority of "losers". Of course, she decides to make the "losers" over in her own image.

But... if the trailer is any indication... the losers are cool. I'd hang out with them. They seem like earthy, intelligent girls with a sense of what makes them unique; unlike the cookie-cutter "after" versions of themselves which the movie cranks out.

Do we have to get rid of our freakishness to be accepted? Honestly, I'm not interested in looking, acting, or thinking like anyone else. I choose to, as Marilyn Ferdinand once suggested, let my freak flag fly. And I want friends (and movie characters) that will do the same.

Check the trailer out, and tell me what you think:

...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

I just saw The Ten Commandments this Easter with Dad & Stepmommy. I saw Ben Hur last month. I can't really think of old Hollywood epics without thinking of big, strong, brave Charlton Heston.

In my lifetime he was much older, but he still seemed so strong. He was gentle, with such a sweet smile, but that voice gave him some serious authority. Even with the whole gun control issue, it was so disarming; anything he said in that gravelly, slow voice just had to be true. I didn't agree with everything he said, of course... but it was like when your Grandpa tells you something: even if it's total crap, you nod your head and say, "Of course."

It was really hard for me when he announced his diagnosis of Alzheimer's. It's such a devastating disease anyway, but to think of hard, tough Charlton Heston being reduced in that way was just heartbreaking. I'm actually glad he didn't make too many public appearances after that... that's not how I want to remember him.

When I think of Charlton Heston, I prefer to think of his cameo as The Good Actor in Wayne's World 2, giving the best driving directions EVER:



*Some sources say 1924. ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

Awwww, yeah. I loves me some Coen.

I'm watching The Hudsucker Proxy tonight.

It must be spring in Minnesota. In only 15 days (if the guy on the answering machine is telling the truth), the Vali-Hi Drive In will open for the season. This place is easily the best place to catch a movie in the Twin Cities area, for the following reasons:

• Triple feature
• $7.50 per person (at least that's what it was last year)
• Little kids running around in pajamas
• Sound through your car's stereo
• Bring the dog
• Steaks/salmon/hot dogs/hamburgers on your portable grill
• Awesome snack bar
• Cold beer/wine/soda/whatevs in your cooler

You just gotta get there early. And I mean EARLY. Check this out.

...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

I am totally geeked out for this. I'll be at the midnight show.