Tuesday's Twelve Tags #14

Last week's winner: Nick, with 7 points. He got only one of the 12 flicks, but got the 6-point theme (and with only one minor hint).
The theme: At least one of The Goonies was in each of the films.

Here's the new dozen. The rules are simple: I'm going to give you a dozen taglines, all you have to do is name as many flicks that they belong to as you can. Try to resist the Google. Get the most and you win. There will always be a theme, though it's worth will vary according to how difficult I think it is. This week's theme will likely piss you off. 10 points. On the bright side, many of the tags themselves are pieces of cake.

1. Welcome to Savannah, Georgia. A City Of Hot Nights And Cold Blooded Murder.
2. I am not an animal! I am a human being! I...am...a man!
3. We got to do something...You know what we are gonna do ? Toga party!
4. When good luck is a long shot, you have to hedge your bets.
5. A Masterpiece Of Modern Horror
6. John Landis - the director of Animal House brings you a different kind of animal
7. Heel the love
8. When Ambition Meets Faith
9. . . and when it's all over one of them won't be laughing
10. They figured he was a lazy time wasting slacker. They were right.
11. The Dark Side of Nature.
12. An ordinary high school day. Except that it's not.

As you get them right, I'll mark them as gotten and stuff. Good luck. No hints.

Standings
Justin - 4
J.D. - 2.5
Shane - 2
Sea_of_Green, Jason, Jess, Nick - 1
Dead Pan - .5

Correct answers so far:

1. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (Jess)
2. The Elephant Man (Jess)
3. Animal House (Jess)
4. Sydney (Jess)
5. The Shining (BD79)
6. An American Werewolf in London (dreamrot)
7. Marley and Me (Jason)
8. There Will Be Blood (Jess)
9. The King of Comedy (Jess)
10. The Big Lebowski (Jess)
11. Twister (BD79)
12. Elephant (Jess)
Theme - Each film features a lead actor (star or co-star) that shares their first name with their character name (ex. - Jeff Bridges: Jeffrey Lebowski, Daniel Day-Lewis: Daniel Plainview).

And then...

Fletch's Mini Film Review: Monsters vs. Aliens

I'm gonna try my best not to over-analyze the plot of a kids' movie, especially one in which a man accidentally turns himself into a cockroach, but some things just can't be ignored.

So entranced in her perfect little life is Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon) that, after being hit by a magic metoeorite and transformed into a 50+ foot tall woman, she doesn't stop and smell the (now miniature) roses even once. Doesn't stop to consider the cool elements that would go along with being five stories high. Doesn't have concerns about now needing a tampon the size of a ladder. Barely worries about squeezing her fiancee to death upon picking him up. Damnit, she's just so damned oblivious, worrying so much about getting back to said a-hole weatherman fiancee and their pending honeymoon to, uh, Fresno, that she barely bats an eye when confronted with a blob (Seth Rogen, stealing the show yet again), an ape-fish-man (Will Arnett), Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie) and a grub the size of a mountain that goes by the name of Insectasaurus.

Really, though - all that had nothing to do with my enjoyment (or lack thereof) of Monsters vs. Aliens. They're just some of the many, many things that could vex one if one were so inclined to be vexed. But I didn't even have time to do so while watching the movie. Instead, I was busy counting the not-so-intentional film "homages" - sure, we know all about The Blob and The Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, but what about those films with lesser reputations: My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Fantastic Four, Independence Day?

Truth be told, I nodded off a few times, and most of them were during the climactic action scenes - not a good sign for a film that's being sold as nothing more than a visual and aural spectacular. To be fair, it is a sight to see - recent animated films such as Ratatouille and Wall*E had already left us wondering what boundaries were left to be crossed by computer technology, and the third dimension has given animated filmmakers a new bar to reach for and perfect. Thus far, they're doing a bang-up job. But the writing's just not there, and no amount of Rogen one-liners and digital dazzling can make up for it. (Though the kiddies'll love it.)

Fletch's Film Rating:

"You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you."

And then...

Stained Glass Cinema Sunday (#32)

I'm stumping you all this week. Can't have J.D. in that top spot all by himself. I hear he gets lonesome, and I don't want that.




















Standings:
J.D. - 6
Wendymoon, Fletch - 5
Jason/Daniel - 3
Evan Derrick, Jason Soto - 2
Steel11Kane, TonyD, Luke Harrington, Rachel, Adam Ross, Justin, Anders, Nick - 1

Here are the altered/actual posters from last time:

And then...

Recycling Rocks: A very special episode of Fletch's Favored Five

No Survivor. A sure-to-be late TGITDNMAR. Too much time spent at the hospital leading to a (relatively) neglected Blog Cabins. All this adds up to a little Recycling action. So, once again, here's one of my "greatest hits" from the time before you started reading this blog. Enjoy.

---------------------------------------------

Warning: the post you are about to read is in poor taste at best, and possibly offensive at worst. Proceed with caution - and lighten up!

"Stupid is as stupid does." - Forrest Gump

"I like the way you talk, too." - Karl Childers

"Sometimes they're bald because their head is shiny and they don't have hair on it. So their head is just more of their face." - Sam Dawson

Listed above are some of the most famous quotes that the film world has ever seen (okay, maybe not the third one so much - that's from I Am Sam). Their common thread? The words were all uttered by characters that are, well, let's just say they're "special" in one way or another. A conversation the other day got me thinking - who are my favorite mentally challenged characters? I feel compelled to share with you...

Honorable Mentions

Sam Dawson, Sam I Am
Only the man that brought Jeff Spicoli to the national consciousness could have played Sam. Wait a sec, what am I saying? I never saw this, and neither did anyone else. But it sure as hell looks funny.

Steve Barker, The Ringer
Johnny Knoxville, the original Jackass, as a guy scamming his way into the Special Olympics? Brilliant. He and a host of other "non-special" actors (including a recognizable face from Galazy Quest and Supertroopers) do their best to appear as naturally "special" as they can, with varying degrees on success. So wrong, but pretty good at times.

Radio, Radio
Further proof that Cuba Gooding, Jr. - he of eternal promise following Jerry Maguire - will take any job in a feature film that he can possibly get. Snow Dogs? Sure. Norbit? Whatever. Playing Eddie Murphy in the gawdawful-looking sequel to Daddy Day Care (as if anyone cared about the first)? Sure!

And now...the Corky Awards:

5. "Brian," The Score
Okay, so technically, Ed Norton wasn't playing a "special" character for the duration of The Score. His "Brian" was just a role within his character's role needed to infiltrate a storage house as part of a con. But the few blessed minutes that "Brian" is onscreen are enough to make you wish he was there the whole time, especially for his scenes with Brando.






4. Karl Childers (Sling Blade)
If ever you don't think Billy Bob Thornton is a great actor, just watch this, Bad Santa, and Tombstone back-to-back-to-back. Despite never changing his looks all that much, the man is a fantastic chameleon, and this, his star-making performance, is funny, touching and scary all at once.


3. Carla Tate/Daniel McMann, The Other Sister
Truth be told, I've not seen this entire film, but I've seen enough to know that a) it's a terrible, terrible movie, directed by the Human Sap Machine, Mr. Garry Marshall (Beaches, Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries) and b) it's an awesome, amazing film, features some of the funniest performances of all time by Juliette Lewis and Giovanni Ribisi.

Unfortunately, it's not a comedy. Could've fooled me - and someone even went to the trouble to make a drinking game ought of it - brilliant.

2. Forrest Gump, Forrest Gump
He's pretty much the reigning Godfather of these types of roles, with the film having made some $300+ million (back in 1994) and spawning a cottage industry of merchandise, from boxes of chocolate to Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurants (not bad, by the way). Hanks spawned more catchphrases as Gump than he had in the rest of his career combined, I imagine. That said, in my heart, he still can't top...




1. Warren Jensen, There's Something About Mary
Have you seen his baseball? Oh, and a word to the wise...don't touch his ears.

And then...

Tuesday's Twelve Tags #13

Last week's winner: J.D., who practically clinched the win even without getting the theme, IDing 7 of the 12 films. But he went and got 8 more points by guessing the theme, and with no hints!
The theme: Each movie featured full frontal male nudity.

Here's the new dozen. The rules are simple: I'm going to give you a dozen taglines, all you have to do is name as many flicks that they belong to as you can. Try to resist the Google. Get the most and you win. There will always be a theme, though it's worth will vary according to how difficult I think it is. This week's theme is moderate? I'm making it worth 6 points.

1. No parents. No rules.
2. It's 11:59 on New Year's Eve. Do you know where your date is?
3. Brace yourself. This politician is about to tell the truth!
4. It's about falling in love. For the first time
5. For some, it's the last real taste of innocence, and the first real taste of life. But for everyone, it's the time that memories are made of.
6. They did the crime, They paid the time, Now they're...undercover?
7. They're out of school, out on Nantucket, and out of their minds. With this crowd, anything can happen!
8. The man in the hat is back...
9. Once in a lifetime comes a motion picture that makes you feel like falling in love all over again. This is not that movie.
10. good times never seemed so good
11. There are two sides to the American dream.
12. The greatest gambler in the West has finally met his match.

As you get them right, I'll mark them as gotten and stuff. Good luck. No hints.

Standings
Justin - 4
J.D. - 2.5
Shane - 2
Sea_of_Green, Jason, Jess - 1
Dead Pan - .5

Correct answers so far:

1. Where the Day Takes You (Arjun)
2. 200 Cigarettes (Arjun)
3. Bulworth (Shane)
4. Lucas (Jess)
5. Stand By Me (Jess)
6. The Mod Squad (Shane)
7. One Crazy Summer (Shane)
8. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Justin)
9. The War of the Roses (Arjun)
10. Beautiful Girls (Justin)
11. American Gangster (Nick)
12. Maverick (Shane)
Theme - One of the Goonies is featured in each film. 1. Sean Astin, 2. Martha Plimpton, 3. Astin, 4. Kerri Green, 5. Corey Feldman, 6. Josh Brolin, 7. Jon Matuszak, 8. Jonathan Ke Quan, 9. Astin, 10. Plimpton, 11. Brolin, 12. Feldman (Gotten by Nick)

And then...

Fletch's Film Review: I Love You, Man

Do you remember when Superbad hit it big and its director (Greg Mottola) essentially got the shaft at every turn, what with Apatowamania hitting its stride at the time? The same could be said for Forgetting Sarah Marshall director Nicholas Stoller, to some extent.

But at least those films were produced by Judd Apatow - he's nowhere to be found in the credits for I Love You, Man, but it still "has his footprint" or is "shaped by his influence" or whatever phrase people are using to indicate that I♥YM wouldn't exist without him. Fact is, it was written and directed by John Hamburg (who, um, did happen to direct a few episodes of Apatow's failed TV series Undeclared some years back; of course, there HAD to be a connection, but it's pretty indirect as it relates to this film). And fact is, perhaps it's not Apatow to whom Hamburg did the majority of his copping from, but Chuck Palahniuk and/or David Fincher. That's right - I Love You, Man could alternately be titled Fight Club: The Romantic Comedy.

It's not as far-fetched as you might think. I♥YM is the story of Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd), a real estate drone who thinks he has all his sh*t together; a nice, modern house, a high-paying, if unsatisfying job, a beautiful girlfriend, all the material goods that your stereotypical yuppie might yearn for. It isn't until after he proposes to the love of his life, Zooey (Rashida Jones) that this mama's boy realizes that he's missing a key element - a best man, or for that matter, any male that he can count as a BFF. Hell, even his own father doesn't count him as a friend; instead, Pops counts his gay younger brother (Andy Samberg, excellently unannoying) as one of his best pals.

After hearing his fiancee and her gal pals trashing him and his friendless nature, Peter sets about to find his soul mate. A number of (enjoyable) montages later, he bumps into Sydney Fife (Jason Segel) - the Tyler Durden to his Jack's lack of friends. On the surface, Sydney's a slacker - he's into "investments," but we never really find out what he does. He lives near the Venice Beach with his lovable Puggle (which leads to a funny gag involving the dog's namesake) in a somewhat run-down house, spending most of his time in his "Man Cave" - playing guitar, watching TV, jacking for beats. He's an unabashed "Man's Man," going so far as to tell every attractive woman he meets that they share the same name as his mother in an attempt at wooing them.

He's quirky, he dresses funny, he says whatever is on his mind and he doesn't care if you like it or not. Hell, he even picks fights with relative strangers - the only thing the guy's missing is a job as a film projectionist and a penchant for chaos.

All jokes aside, I Love You, Man is an enjoyable if unspectacular comedy. It's mostly predictable, features a lot of obvious jokes, and features the impossible-to-hate Rudd in a role that brings to mind Larry David's "character" on Curb Your Enthusiasm - he's not unlikable, but he sure is awkward and hard to watch sometimes. On multiple occasions, I just wanted to slap him, and if the intention was for us to sympathize with him unilaterally, the filmmakers failed. The fact that we don't end up resenting him completely is a credit to Rudd's affability; however, even he can't overcome Segel's Sydney - like James Franco in Pineapple Express, his charm is relentless, his charisma unmatched. If only we all had friends like him, we'd never feel the need to fight in the first place.

Fletch's Film Rating:

"Darn tootin!"

And then...

Quick note

I'm not a big fan of word verification, but I'm turning it on for the short term, as I've noticed a higher-than-usual number of spam comments coming through, not only on my sites but on a number of others' as well. I've seen just about enough of these "comments" to last a lifetime.

And then...

$24.8 million?

The top films at the box office each weekend for 2009:

Jan 2-4: Marley and Me, $24.2 million
Jan 9-11: Gran Torino, $29.5 million
Jan 16-18: Paul Blart: Mall Cop, $31.8 million
Jan 23-25: Paul Blart: Mall Cop, $21.6 million
Jan 30 - Feb 1: Taken, $24.7 million
Feb 6-8: He's Just Not That Into You, $27.8 million
Feb 13-15: Friday the 13th, $40.6 million
Feb 20-22: Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail, $41 million
Feb 27 - Mar 1: Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail, $16.2 million
Mar 6-8: Watchmen, $55.2 million
Mar 13-15: Race to Witch Mountain, $24.4 million
Mar 20-22: Knowing, $24.8 million

Here are the Rotten Tomatoes scores for each of those movies:

Marley and Me: 60%
Gran Torino: 80%
Paul Blart: Mall Cop: 32%
Taken: 57%
He's Just Not That Into You: 43%
Friday the 13th: 26%
Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail: 26%
Watchmen: 64%
Race to Witch Mountain: 39%
Knowing: 25%

"No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public." - H.L. Mencken

Are you proud, America?

And then...

Stained Glass Cinema Sunday (#31)

Easy? Hard? I have no idea anymore. J.D. was gift-wrapped the last one (which I thought was easy) after there was but one guess. So I'm just gonna plop this one up here and see what sticks.




















Standings:
Wendymoon, Fletch, J.D. - 5
Jason/Daniel - 3
Evan Derrick, Jason Soto - 2
Steel11Kane, TonyD, Luke Harrington, Rachel, Adam Ross, Justin, Anders, Nick - 1

Here are the altered/actual posters from last time:

And then...

TGITDNMAR (3/20/09)

It's that time again for TGITDNMAR, which (obviously) stands for Thank God It's The Day New Movies Are Released.

Did you know that today is the first day of spring? Hollywood did, and it's gracing us with two movies that actually look watchable (!), along with one potential mega-stinker that must be watched to appreciate it's Cageness. Oops, did I give away which one it was? My bad.

Knowing
Good friend and better writer Daniel Getahun (of Getafilm) has already had the, um, good fortune of seeing Knowing. He gave us a quick review in a comment yesterday:

"I have to step in here for the good of humanity and say Knowing is horrendously awful and the worst movie I've seen in the last 8 months. As a brother-in-arms with Fletch against Cage, I can tell him this is our worst nightmare come true or it's a must-see for a reload of anti-Cage ammunition. It's like a bad M. Night Shyamalan movie, but Shyamalan doesn't play the hero and the special effects are better. More details in my "review" if you don't mind spoilers."

I'm glad Daniel put in that note about reloading for anti-Cage ammunition. As you may recall, Mrs. Fletch and I actually went to see National Treasure 2 in the theaters, as when it came out we had seen just about everything we wanted to, but we still wanted to go out to a movie. So we tried to pick something terrible and just have fun with it. Turned out I didn't hate it as much as I could have, but I see the potential for seeing Knowing on a similar plane. Probably won't, as there are a number of other releases out now that I'm interested in seeing, but this one will definitely be seen on TV at some point in the future. I can only hope it lives up to the promise of The Wicker Man.

Also: this doesn't belong anywhere else, but the kid that plays Cage's son is a 10-year old from Texas named Chandler Canterbury. Seriously? That's got to be the most effete, Little Lord Fauntleroy-ish name I've ever heard of. Oh wait - his younger brother is named Shelby and his older brother is Colby. From Texas? How can these children not be getting beaten by their classmates on a daily basis (not that I'm promoting such an act)?
Fletch's Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 8%

Duplicity
Doesn't this movie just smell bad? I mean, walk-in-the-house-and-hit-by-the-smell-of-cat-poop reaks? Like all the worst elements from the Ocean's films and Mr. and Mrs. Smith were combined into one stinker?

But then you see that Tony Gilroy, the writer-director of Michael Clayton (which, by the way, somehow doesn't lose a thing with multiple viewings) is the auteur here as well. And it's not like Clive Owen or Julia Roberts are generally associated with crappy movies (The International, The Mexican and Shoot 'Em Up, notwithstanding).

Long story short - I'm on board. I mean, I'm a sucker for a heist/con movie anyway, and I don't know how much it has to do with the shite that's been released over the first three months of the year, but this comes in second place this week. Though, I must say - even though he's no Travolta or Cage, doesn't it seem like we're bordering on Clive Owen overload? Two films released in '04, two in '05, three in '06, two in '07, none in '08, but two already in the first few months of '09. I need a break, either way. Oh, and shame on all involved - Inside Man 2 has been announced. You've got to be effing kidding me.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 70%

I Love You, Man
You know, strange as this may sound, I've seen practically no commercials for Man. From all accounts I've heard, this is the most heavily promoted film being released this week, but if I hadn't seen that one commercial for it, I'd barely know it was out.

And you know what? I haven't gone in search of the trailer, either, and I'm not going to. With the two leads, along with co-stars such as J.K. Simmons, Jon Favreau and bit players (I'm assuming) like Joe LoTruglio, Thomas Lennon and Matt Walsh (yes, they may be future FF-UNs, though they aren't unfamiliar to me), I'm on board already and I want to go in as cold as possible.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 95%

And then...

Another programming note

There will be no Survivor recap/live blog tonight.

Am I just being a slacker or what? No, not this time. Due to the NCAA Tournament, there will be no Survivor televised tonight. So this all serves as a reminder not to get angry when you turn on your TV hoping to satisfy your jones for Jeff Probst and/or the random contestant of your choosing (unless it's "Coach").

Please send all complaints to CBS at the URL listed below.

Survivor news at Survivor.com
Survivor homepage at CBS.com

And then...

Familiar Face - Unknown Name #12 - Adam Scott

[Note: this site is no longer publishing new content - please come check out my awesome new site, Man, I Love Films! http://manilovefilms.com. Thanks!]

Call them what you want - character actors, "That Guy(s)," scene stealers - I don't care. This is a regular feature where I spotlight one performer, whether they be longtime veterans like J.K. Simmons or Barry Corbin, or a fresher face just making their way up the stardom ranks. For previous FF-UNs, click here.

Today's Familiar Face-Unknown Name:

Adam Scott

Where You've Seen Him (high profile): Adam's first big break was four episodes as a 21-year old on the tween-teen show Boy Meets World. I can only hope he wasn't playing a high schooler. After that came a six-episode stint on the excellent (and underseen) drama Murder One. He continued to bounce around TV and never-seen movies until landing a large role as the villain in the 2004 motorcycle action flick Torque, starring Martin Henderson (which is, not coincidentally, the first thing I really noticed him in, though I'm sure I'd seen him in some of his earlier TV work, such as Murder One and Six Feet Under). Since Torque, he's still been bouncing around TV and film, but it's been mostly film, and not only have the roles been bigger, but the films have been much bigger (The Aviator, Step Brothers, Monster-in-Law, The Matador).

Where You've Seen Him (not-so-high profile): Where to start? Though I haven't seen everything, I'm generally aware of most first-run wide releases (and many limited releases as well). But Off the Lip? Two Days? Seven and a Match? Ronnie (in which he starred, no less)?

Character Specialties: Smarmy jerks, plain and simple. Think roles that Matt Damon might have passed on.

My favorite role: Though I was no fan of the film as a whole, he practically stole Step Brothers right from under stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. Playing the successful yuppie (jerk) to their unfulfilled slackers, he was given the chance to shine, even leading his family in an a capella singing routine.

Little Known Facts: Has co-starred with Brian Austin Green in two projects (Bleach, Ronnie).

Is good friends with Paul Rudd, who he more than a little resembles, and has been involved in three projects with him, one of which is Scott's latest gig, Party Down, a Starz channel series that Rudd is a writer and producer of.

And is it just me, or does he also resemble Karl Urban a bit?

Shares his name with an Australian golfer.

On Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Scott_%28actor%29
On IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004395/

And then...

You call this content?

Yes, yes I do. I know it ain't much - just something that I got a chuckle out of. I saw the following ad in my Yahoo mail account this morning:












So...you're saying that I can find anyone's (!) email, so long as I search by their name...or EMAIL?

The effing hell you say!

C'mon, really - how effective are these advertisements even when they're not mentally challenged? Do you really believe that "2 Friends" have dared you to an "IQ Duel?"

Well, you should - one of them was me.

And then...

Programming note

Sorry, no Tuesday's Twelve Tags today. Should return next week. In the meantime...have you filled out and sent your March to Box Office Madness bracket yet?

And then...

Stained Glass Cinema Sunday (#30)

Here I thought I was giving you an easy one...and I stump you all - again! Wonders never cease, I suppose. Fine - you want it easy, I'll give you easy. See below for last week's answer. So disappointed in you all...

And get used to this for the next couple weeks: Have you gone Mad yet? Play March to Box Office Madness! Details here.




















Standings:
Wendymoon, Fletch - 5
J.D. - 4
Jason/Daniel - 3
Evan Derrick, Jason Soto - 2
Steel11Kane, TonyD, Luke Harrington, Rachel, Adam Ross, Justin, Anders, Nick - 1

Here are the altered/actual posters from last time:

And then...

March to Box Office Madness!

If you're a fan of sports at all, or have ever worked in an office, there's a good to great chance that you're aware of the phenomenon that strikes America this time of year. That's right - it's March Madness, the 64 (er, 65) team college basketball tournament that drains efficiency from thousands of companies as workers kill their time filling out their brackets and subsequently trying to sneak in actually watching the games of the first few rounds of the tournament. It's one big semi-gambling semi-orgy - and everyone semi-loves it.

The idea:
Readers and longtime members of the LAMB will recall that, last year, we had a summer box office prediction game entitled the "Summer of LAMB." It was nothing fancy - just a number of people guessing what the top 10 movies would be, in order. However, with the NCAA tournament right around the corner, and with my joint film and sports appreciation, I got the idea to run a box office game the same way that the tournament is run. 32 films, one box office champion, many shining moments.

So, what you'll do is click on the link provided below, download your bracket, fill it by picking the movie for each matchup that you think will have the higher box office total, and send it to me by April 2.

The rules:

1. For each matchup, select which film will have the higher box office. Continue through the bracket until a champion has been crowned.
2. Scoring per round will be 1-2-4-8-12, for a possible total of 76 points (see table in workbook).
3. For the tie-breaker, enter your predicted top 5 films (box office) from the ones listed. One point for will be rewarded for each correct film, and an additional point for proper placement, for a potential 10 points. In the case of a tie, if one person's tie-breaker portion is not filled out, the other will win.
4. Brackets MUST be turned in (sent to blogcabins@yahoo.com) no later than April 2.
5. Box office data will be counted from April 3 - September 27, 2009.
6. One entry per person.

The prizes:

TBD. I just thought of this and put it together in the last couple days, so the exact prizes are not know at this point. But there will be prizes! Some ideas already in the mix are a custom-made t-shirt, DVDs, and possibly cash. Since the brackets aren't officially due until April 2, and the won't officially end until almost six months later, I think we're okay with this. Hopefully, though, everything will be figured out come April 2.

The link to your bracket (if having troubles - right click, Save Target As):

http://www.freewebs.com/blogcabins/March%20to%20Box%20Office%20Madness.xls

Finally, what fun would this be if it's just a few people? I want this to be BIG! I've made the banner that you see in the sidebar, and I'd love it if you'd put it on your site as well (if possible). Let's do this right! With any luck, everyone will be doing it next year.

The banner:










The code:

<a href="http://largeassmovieblogs.blogspot.com/2009/03/march-to-box-office-madness.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Large Association of Movie Blogs" src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/dyjafi/marchboxbanner200.jpg"/></a>


Good luck, and be sure to get me your brackets by April 2! Any questions, comments, suggestions, or prize offerings (sponsorships???), email me at blogcabins@yahoo.com.

And then...

Review of Watchmen coming soon, but in the meantime...

...a little Watchmen math.


(click image to enlarge)

And for you calculus majors, that's
Sin City times 300 to the Southland Tales power.

And then...

Survivor: Tocantins Episode 5 Recap (live blog)

Welcome to CBS Thursday - er, the Survivor live blog. Apropos of nothing, are you aware that "Coach" is just 37 years old? Am I the only one that could have sworn he was at least in his mid-forties? Maybe it's just the strong Steven Seagal vibe he gives off. Weird. Anyway, on to the the show...

7:03: You know that old "Possession is 90% of the law" axiom? Well, you bet your ass it works the same when it comes to Survivor. It seems as though every other season, one person is responsible for the finding of an immunity idol, then they give it to another player for strategic purposes, but as soon as that other person gets their mitts on it, they act as though it's all theirs. This time out, it's Steven - given the idol by Taj - that's already of the mind that the idol is 100% his. You sure you want that big girl turned against you, little man?

7:06: "Friday, it's the Ghost Whisperer episode you've been waiting for." You mean it's the series finale? No? Friggin' liars.

7:09: I tell ya...the "Charmin Cafe" is indeed shameless selling out (along the lines of the Home Depot tie-in some seasons back), but I'll take it over the lame "plings" and other cheesy effects they used two and three seasons ago. Anything's better than they were.

7:13: I think Mrs. Fletch, who's prone to motion sickness (very prone) almost got sick watching the contestants get made dizzy. Just so long as I don't have to avoid any vomit...

7:20: I wish I could be there live when the reward challenge winners get their letters. I want to see just how "edited" the segment is - do they really immediately turn into crying ninnies? Does Barbara Walters or Roy Firestone make a surprise appearance in order to get the waterworks turned on? C'mon, people - you've been out there less than two weeks. Gimme a friggin' break.

7:32: Damnit, I'm trying to do my part and play the "Which celebrity will Fletch compare a contestant to this week?," and I've got one in my head for Brendan, but I can't place who it is. I want to say a game show host from the recent past, but it just ain't coming to me.

7:38: Another physical challenge, another dominating performance by (the now short half-a-tooth) J.T. Time to stop playing so hard, J.T. - the "get rid of the physical threat" sharks will be circling soon.

7:47: Speaking of the Country Wonder, he's either the smartest person out there or one of the dumbest. In a tense group conversation with Spencer, Joe and Steven, J.T. had no problem telling Spencer straight up that either he or Taj should be the one to go. The guy obviously is not a bullshitter. Gutsy, for sure, but whether or not that works out for him long-term remains to be seen.

7:50: It's a shame that (insert tribe name here) lost at the Immunity Challenge. Aside from Sydney, who I have no feelings one way or another on, this is an appealing group and I'll be sad to see either Spencer or Taj go.

7:53: And it's Spencer, seemingly all based off of one lousy challenge performance. If only we could be rid of "Coach" this easily...

(Boy, that flew by.)

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And then...

Fletch's Mini Film Review: The Class

Do you work in an office? Meetings, tasks, chit-chat with co-workers, cubicles, break rooms, seven different managers, TPS reports - basically Office Space without the humor or Jennifer Aniston? Now, let's suppose that I filmed you for 9 months, then compiled that footage into the best fictional film I could come up with - the drama of those layoffs back in December, the humor of watching you call in sick, the zen-like monotony of when you filed those reports or had to do a few hours of data entry, the interpersonal communication and bonding between you and that guy or gal from the 8th floor.

Do you think this hypothetical movie would be critically lauded, even going so far as to win the top prizes at the Cannes Film Festival? Sure, it might be entertaining - after all, hours of dramas and comedies have been squeezed from workplaces for decades - but this movie with no narrative, no lesson, no real character development? And with those cameras following you, it feels like a documentary even though it's not. Even if it seemed well-written or acted at times, would you be going head over heels over this movie?

Well - no shockers here - those are my feelings about The Class in a nutshell. Yes, I was entertained. Yes, it's well acted and features some sharp dialogue and even some endearing, appealing kids. But when a supposed piece of fiction turns out to be more of a documentary than every other documentary made - in that it truly just documents the proceedings - you have to wonder if it wouldn't have been better off being a little less aloof about it's reason for existing.

Or maybe I was just hoping that Morgan Freeman's Principal Joe Clark (from Lean on Me) would just show up at some point.

Fletch's Film Rating:

"You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you."

And then...

Tuesday's Twelve Tags #12

Last week's winner: Justin, with 8 points.
The theme: Each film has a dream sequence.

Here's the new dozen. The rules are simple: I'm going to give you a dozen taglines, all you have to do is name as many flicks that they belong to as you can. Try to resist the Google. Get the most and you win. There will always be a theme, though it's worth will vary according to how difficult I think it is. The difficulty of this week's will hinge greatly on how many of these films you've seen - could be average, could be very hard. I'll say 8 points.

1. He knew Paris was for lovers. He just didn't think they were all hers.
2. It's a Trap
3. Leave your exceptions at the door
4. His father taught him to hate. His friends taught him rage. His enemies gave him hope.
5. A comedy about getting dumped, and taking it like a man.
6. Everyone has one special thing
7. First they send in their drone... then they find their queen.
8. Life made him tough. Love made him strong. Music made him hard.
9. In search of wine. In search of women. In search of themselves.
10. Charming. Magnetic. Murderous.
11. This ain't March of the Penguins
12. To fight the enemy, she must become one of them.

As you get them right, I'll mark them as gotten and stuff. Good luck. No hints.

Standings
Justin - 4
Shane - 2
J.D. - 1.5
Sea_of_Green, Jason, Jess - 1
Dead Pan - .5

Correct answers so far:

1. 2 Days in Paris (Jess)
2. Saw IV (Nick)
3. Velvet Goldmine (J.D.)
4. American History X (Jess)
5. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (J.D.)
6. Boogie Nights (Jess)
7. Bug (J.D.)
8. Walk Hard (J.D.)
9. Sideways (J.D.)
10. The Last King of Scotland (J.D.)
11. Strange Wilderness (Jason)
12. Black Book (J.D.)
Theme - All films feature full frontal male nudity. Go crazy, ladies (and men-liking men).

And then...

Burning Questions: Watchmen (Special "theatrical" version!)

Thar be a mild spoiler in here.

So, um, I take it that the combination of the shrinkage phenomenon and Antarctica become obsolete when we're talking about a guy that can re-arrange matter?

And if that's the case, didn't he have more pressing issues on his mind at the time than worrying about his appearance (in front of friends that have seen him sans clothes way too often, anyhow)?

And then...

Stained Glass Cinema Sunday (#29)

All weekend and no laptop makes Fletch a dull boy. Or something like that. Anyway, that's my (somewhat) legit excuse for not sticking to my self-appointed schedules. A thousand apologies to those that were biting their nails in anticipation of the latest SGC.

In case you missed it, last week, I stumped you all (again). I'm now in 2nd place - watch out, Wendy, I'm gunning for your title.

But not this week. I feel bad about being late and stumping you so much, so I'm giving y'all an easy one. First to comment wins?




















Standings:
Wendymoon - 5
J.D., Fletch - 4
Jason/Daniel - 3
Evan Derrick, Jason Soto - 2
Steel11Kane, TonyD, Luke Harrington, Rachel, Adam Ross, Justin, Anders, Nick - 1

Here are the altered/actual posters from last time:

And then...

TGITDNMAR (3/6/09)

It's that time again for TGITDNMAR, which (obviously) stands for Thank God It's The Day New Movies Are Released.

Let's look at that acronym one more time. "Thank God It's The Day New Movies Are Released?" Really? With these choices?

Watchmen
I'm of two feelings on this. On one hand, I feel like the perfect specimen for the silly consumer that's been spoon-fed a piece of entertainment, getting hyped to see it where there's really no reason for me to be, considering that I'm not a comic book geek and never read the printed version of Watchmen. That's not to say that I've never been manipulated into seeing/watching/buying something by the media and/or marketers, but I don't usually feel so aware of it. What can I say - I've bought into the hype and will be seeing the flick in a matter of hours.

On the other hand, I'm pissed at myself for having not previously read the comic series (and later graphic novel, as I understand it). It sounds terribly interesting, to say the least, and I can see (without having seen it) why it's as popular as it is. Superheroes + Big Themes + Lack of Condescension = Yay. As such:
Fletch's Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 100%

Thankfully (!), the release of Watchmen marks the beginning of the pre-summer movie season (aka the Spring Movie Season). Of course it ludicrous to declare a film that's released on March 6 as the beginning of the summer movie season, but (a la Cloverfield last year) it's the first blockbuster of the year, and a quick look at the slate of movie coming up in the next few weeks tells me that we're done with the doldrums of the early year, and in a big way. Praise Tivo.

I look forward to not feeling like I'm just blasting every movie every week, just like it'll be nice for there to be maybe more than one (if that) appealing film being released each week. We don't ask for too much, do we?

And then...

Survivor: Tocantins Episode 4 Recap (live blog)

Well, this was supposed to be a live blog, but a lack of wi-fi at my current viewing residence has made that a difficulty, so this might not be "live" when you're reading it, but it was when I wrote it.

On to the live blogging:

7:01: I think Coach just choked while he was trying somewhat unsucessfully to swallow his pride and "offer up" the tribal leadership to Brendan. Of course, when it came to the confessional, he couldn't help but insist that it is him, in fact, that is the best out in nature and is the only real leader on the team. With an all-Coach start to this week's episode, could this be his week to leave?

Please?

7:10: I have to wonder how long this Reward Challenge actually took to film, with what looks like a hundred bags of sand placed on various players shoulders, with minutes between each "gift."

7:14: Okay, I know part of my job here is to constantly compare the contestants to celebrities, but I don't know if there's been a bigger resemblance than the one between contestant Joe and Entourage star Kevin Dillon. Look - even their poses are the same!

7:22: A decent challenge notwithstanding, I need to make a note to self: there is just not much of a need to watch this show for the first six weeks or so. There is a definite shortage of drama.

7:24: Of course, right as I was typing that, resident loon Sandy went off and pissed just about everyone on her tribe off. See, this is why I watch the show! She just got done going on a rant about her tribe's anonymous blonde chickie-poo, all up in arms because the boys are paying attention to the eye candy (and not to her?). Good stuff.

7:27: Taj. Sierra. Brendan. Steven. The Secret Exile Alliance! You know what? It sounds great and all, but call me when it works...

7:29: And the winner of this season's Crybaby Award...Erinn! Congratulations, Erinn. See, she just "can't relate" to any of her tribemates and just went on a jag about some bad breakup and blah blah blah.

Then again, she hates "Coach," so she does have that going for her.

7:34: I think I'd pay $50 to see Jeff dressed in a tuxedo for one challenge, just to see the looks and reactions from the contestants. They'd wouldn't know what the hell was up.

7:35: At this point in the game, there's not a single more appealing player than J.T. Smart, down-home, fast, strong as an ox (apparently - he tied a "weightlifting" record set by Survivor favorite and part-time pirate Rupert earlier in the show), and though he doesn't look like him all that much, he reminds me of Ryan Gosling, who I'm a fan of. Yep, I'm definitely rooting for J.T.

7:37: Whaddaya know - Sandy cost her team valuable time. If they lose, she has to be the one to go bye-bye, right?

7:40: With a Timbira win at Tribal Immunity, your pal and mine - Coach - will live to alienate another day. Which means...my Sandy prediction could indeed come true.

7:42: My parents keep switching back to American Idol during the commercial breaks. Yet another reason commercials are the work of the devil. Two minutes of that show is two too many for me to endure. Besides, Randy is a little pitchy.

Dog.

Like I could resist.

7:44: What what what?!?! So, not only is Taj the wife of recently retired NFL player Eddie George, but she's also a "Former Pop Star" as the caption just stated? How did I miss this? In case you are now or ever were into R & B, she was a member of the girl group SWV (the acronym for the very boring official name Sisters With Voices). Oh, and she looked better when she was, um, less thick (that's her on the left). Not that she doesn't look good now, Eddie. Please don't hurt me.

7:45: Oh, and Mrs. Fletch just complimented Sandy's boobs. I don't know how I feel about this.

7:48: Boy, there's nothing I like more at Tribal Council than a discussion of Sydney's looks. Ug. This is awkward. And all because Sandy is somehow threatened and insecure. Give it up, Grams. Naturally, Taj stood her ground and, not surprisingly, Sydney came off as not too bright while defending her intellect. She also said that she had a "flirtatious personality." Tee-hee!

7:52: Booyah - bye-bye, bus driver! Though, who wrote down Joe's name? That was out of left field...

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And then...

Just for fun: My Top 10 Bands Right This Second

I'm not one of those people that has a favorite band that stays their favorite band forever. If you watched your favorite movies every other day for 10 years, you'd probably get sick of them and name some new favorites. I might have loved Pearl Jam and STP in '94, but I rarely listen to them these days, save for a select track here or there that pops up on my iPod when it's on shuffle. It's not that I dislike their sound anymore, I just need a (long) break to appreciate them.

Some bands/acts are more immune to this than others (a lack of radio play certainly helps), others I make a conscious effort to not 'over-listen' to, and for some reason, I can listen to standard-fare 'classic rock' on the radio for years and years and somehow never tire of hearing the same 12 Led Zepellin songs. But, by and large, this phenomenon strikes everyone that was "my favorite band of the moment" at one time or another. I wish it wouldn't, and I'd hardly say that I hop onto fads or trends in music, but it does. Never fear though, Cherry Poppin' Daddies - I shall listen to your music again in time.

Anyway, here are my favorite bands right now, which pretty much means that each of them has held "favorite" status at some point over the last 3-5 years:

1. DeVotchka
2. Kings of Leon
3. Franz Ferdinand
4. Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers
5. Sigur Ros
6. Arcade Fire
7. Interpol
8. The Go Team!
9. Brazilian Girls
10. The Pixies

Ok, your turn.

And then...

Tuesday's Twelve Tags #11

Last winner: Shane, with 8 points.
The theme: Each movie featured someone getting kicked in the crotch at some point. Classy, no?

Here's the new dozen. The rules are simple: I'm going to give you a dozen taglines, all you have to do is name as many flicks that they belong to as you can. Try to resist the Google. Get the most and you win. There will always be a theme, though it's worth will vary according to how difficult I think it is. This week's is a bit of a nightmare, but not too bad - 7 points.

1. Meet the only guy who changes his identity more often than his underwear.
2. He didn't come looking for trouble, but trouble came looking for him.
3. The Ultimate Weapon Has Arrived...and Nothing Can Stop It!
4. Paradise has its price
5. Coming Soon To Theaters Everywhere... Okay?
6. Something went wrong in the lab today. Very wrong.
7. Opposites attract.
8. An out-of-this-world, down-to-earth comedy adventure.
9. Nothing is inconceivable
10. It's only a state of mind
11. A Comedy of Invention.
12. What if your deepest, darkest desire came to life?

As you get them right, I'll mark them as gotten and stuff. Good luck. No hints.

Standings
Justin - 3
Shane - 2
J.D. - 1.5
Sea_of_Green, Jason, Jess - 1
Dead Pan - .5

Correct answers so far:

1. Fletch (Alex)
2. El Mariachi (Justin)
3. Rapid Fire (Justin)
4. The Beach (Justin)
5. Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion (Justin)
6. The Fly (Farmacy)
7. Out of Sight (Justin)
8. Earth Girls Are Easy (Jason)
9. Junior (Justin)
10. Brazil (Alex)
11. The Huduscker Proxy (Justin)
12. Doppleganger (Justin)
Theme -?

And then...

Stained Glass Cinema Sunday (#28)

Well, I took it easy on you all, but was not disappointed. It took all of two guesses or so for someone (J.D.) to get our last poster. Hopefully, this one won't be such a piece of cake.




















Standings:
Wendymoon - 5
J.D. - 4
Jason/Daniel, Fletch - 3
Evan Derrick, Jason Soto - 2
Steel11Kane, TonyD, Luke Harrington, Rachel, Adam Ross, Justin, Anders, Nick - 1

Here are the altered/actual posters from last time:

And then...