If you read Where The Wild Things Are as a kid, you’ll understand why I say it’s a childhood touchstone – the kind that morphs into a generational pass-along. Whether it was the dark yet charming Caldecott winning illustrations, the realization of childhood imagination, the ability to dominate fear and subsequently wield its power, or … Continue reading
Fair or not*, TV’s traditionally been seen as the retirement home for film actors whose stars have a lost a little sparkle over the years (despite the recent trend of some fantastic television). So what’s it called when TV staples make the occasional sojourn to the big screen? The Teri Polo (previously known as the … Continue reading
Like most kids, I used to think dogs were for me. Until I grew up, owned one and subsequently sold it. Now they’re nothing more than a barking, crapping reason to further loathe my neighbor. That and a great way to manipulate audience sympathy after killing off hundreds of men, women and children.Nevertheless, I don’t … Continue reading
The first ten years of the Millennium are quickly turning into the decade of the Young Adult fiction. "The beloved _______, soon to be a major motion picture" novel cover just can’t get enough of itself as book after book takes a swing at making it the C.S. Lewis/Potter way. And thus, my apologies to … Continue reading
January of ’07 was a bummer of a month in a stream of bummers for Aardman Animation: their once-promising relationship with Dreamworks was summarily executed thanks to the wimpy BO performance of Flushed Away (CHUD coverage here). In the months since, however, things have begun to look up, as the house that Gromit built easily … Continue reading
Save for a few die-hard collectors, Indiana Jones merchandising (what little of it there was) never lent itself well to much of anything but collecting dust. At its most fervent popularity in the 80’s, I remember seeing Indiana Jones play sets and action figures sitting quietly in clearance bins at Kay-Bee toys– and, ironically, this … Continue reading
Maybe you’ve forgotten, but Star Trek 11 is still alive and kicking over at Paramount. In what feels like a long time (in internet chronology) since any major announcement or noteworthy rumor-speculation, even updates on the upcoming film get their own story. Consider:IESB is reporting a few bullet points on the upcoming "may or may … Continue reading
–You can stop wringing your hands over the rounding out of casting for the upcoming Universal comedy Baby Mama. In a bold choice, smiley everyman Greg Kinnear has been cast as the male lead opposite female lead Tina Fey, while ER doc and The Claw proponent Maura Tierney has been added as Fey’s sister in … Continue reading
I must be getting old, because I remember a time when Renny Harlin was making movies people went to see, even when that was still a hit and miss affair. Example: The successful Die Hard 2 was followed up by flaming wreck The Adventures of Ford Fairline which was followed up by short-term Stallone resuscitator … Continue reading
Everyone’s favorite New Zealander-turned-Bond director-turned-Bond fan heartbreaker, Martin Campbell, has nabbed his next gig. After finishing out the upcoming thriller Unstoppable, Campbell will be taking the reigns of Paramount’s 36, a remake based on the 2004 French crime film 36 Quai Des Orfevres (the assumed address of the French Police’s Criminal Division).I missed the original … Continue reading