The MacGuffin

If screenings of clips from Star Trek Into Darkness and Fast & Furious 6 weren’t cool enough, we still had two days worth of studio presentations (Disney, Sony, 20th Century Fox, and Lionsgate) at CinemaCon 2013. Generally the presentations went two ways: either the presenters would briefly mention a bunch of projects but not show anything from them and then show more extensive clips from a few select projects, OR they would show brief clips (or trailers) for many different projects.

Spencer and Greg give their DVD rundown for March 19th, 2013. In this episode they discuss The Hobbit, Bachelorette, Zero Dark Thirty and Badlands.

Spencer and Greg give their DVD rundown for March 12th, 2013. In this episode they discuss Life of Pi, Rise of the Guardians, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Sound City.

In honor of the release of Rise of the Guardians, Spencer and Greg discuss Alec Baldwin.

It’s been a good year in animated film. The trend continues with Rise of the Guardians. DreamWorks has really stepped up their game in the last few years, following the successes of How to Train Your Dragon (2010) and the Kung Fu Panda series. Once again, they have given us a solid outing, with an adaptation of the children’s book by William Joyce. Written for the screen by David Lindsay-Abaire and directed by Peter Ramsey, this is a fantastical adventure that encompasses many magical realms and provides fresh perspectives to age-old legends and myths. As a movie geared for the entire family, this fires on all cylinders, from the exquisitely detailed animation to the thought-out character development. This one will entertain people of all ages; if given the chance, it will come as a pleasant surprise.

In honor of the release of Bachelorette, Spencer and Greg discuss Isla Fisher.

The new raunchy comedy from writer/director Leslye Headlund, Bachelorette, can be a frustratingly manic-depressive experience for the viewer. On the one hand, this is a comedy with some strong on-screen talent, such as Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan, Isla Fisher, Rebel Wilson, Adam Scott, James Marsden, and Kyle Bornheimer. It also features some genuine heart and funny moments. On the other hand, you can definitely picture the pitch meeting where this film got green-lit: “Look, Bridesmaids was a big hit. The market is ready for more outrageous comedies where we prove the gals can be just as dirty as the guys are. We’ve got this fun script that’s been stuck in development hell for years, so let’s go out and get some of that sweet, sweet The Hangover Part 2 money and get this thing made!” Quite simply, so much of this movie is almost note-for-note derivative of other recent comedy hits that it drives you nuts.

Every Saturday night The Tomb of Terror opens, unleashing reviews of the obscure and the classic in horror cinema.

At one time, John Landis was on one of the best rolls of any comedy director. Following the cult success of Kentucky Fried Movie in 1977, he made the comedy classics National Lampoon’s Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Trading Places, and my vote for best horror film of all time, An American Werewolf in London. Then Twilight Zone: The Movie happened. We’ve all heard the story. Vic Morrow and two illegally-hired child actors were killed when a special effect went bad and caused a helicopter to fall from the sky. Even though Landis was acquitted of all charges related to the incident, it has haunted him his entire career since. He still managed a couple of hits after this incident, including the iconic music video for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and the Eddie Murphy vehicle Coming to America. Unfortunately, his 90s output mainly consisted of failure (Beverly Hills Cop III) after failure (The Stupids) after failure (Blues Brothers 2000). Burke and Hare, which is playing as part of the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival, is his first narrative feature in twelve years and is also his best in nearly twenty.