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Sundance 2009 Review: Robert D. Siegel's Big Fan

There's no hiding that I was quite excited to see Big Fan, the directing debut of screenwriter Robert D. Siegel, who most recently wrote the screenplay for The Wrestler. Unfortunately the film was quite a let down, with Siegel himself being the biggest problem, and actors Patton Oswalt and Kevin Corrigan being the only redeeming aspects of the sports comedy. Even for die-hard football fans, I can't see Big Fan being anything that anyone can enjoy much. It was short on laughs, lacking a quality story, and boasting amateur direction at best. It's not the worst film I've seen here at Sundance, but it's definitely not that great either.

⥤ Posted January 20 in Opinions, Sundance 09 | 2 Comments

Humpday Sells to Mark Cuban's Magnolia Pictures

By Alex Billington

It seems the big sales at Sundance have almost all been comedies so far, or at least it looks like that'll be the case for the time being. Humpday, the "bro" comedy we reviewed a few days ago, was sold at Sundance today to Magnolia Pictures. Six various studios were competing for the rights, but Magnolia won over with a reported six-figure deal. In a very interesting change from the norm, they have decided to release it via video-on-demand first (on Mark Cuban's HDNet) before putting it into theaters one month later. This seems like it could be a good model for building up early buzz before getting crowds into theaters later.

⥤ Posted January 19 in Indies, Movie News, Sundance 09 | 5 Comments

Dominic Monaghan Ready to Return for The Hobbit Movies?

By Brandon Lee Tenney

"Canon be damned!" That's what I imagined coming forth from Dominic Monaghan's mouth as he spoke with MTV about the upcoming Hobbit films while doing some publicity for I Sell the Dead premiering at the Slamdance Film Festival. Monaghan spoke unfiltered about some possible, and altogether confusing, cast returns to the land of Tolkien. The creative team behind The Hobbit, mostly alumni from Lord of the Rings, are interested in bringing back our favorite halfling foursome to reprise their original roles. Monaghan, who played the Merry Brandybuck, said that he's eager to return to Middle Earth.

⥤ Posted January 19 in Discussion, Movie News, Opinions | 17 Comments

Check This Out: Another Awesome Watchmen TV Spot

By Alex Billington

Now that the Watchmen legal battle has been resolved, it's time to open the flood gates for all thing Watchmen! Leading up to its March 6th release in just over a month, I'm sure there will be plenty of badass debuts and so much more. We already ran a TV spot previously, which wasn't that great, but this one is awesome. I really hope the score they're using in this is from the movie, because if it is, I'm already getting chills just thinking about when it's going to be used in the film. Not that I need to remind anyone at this point, but Watchmen is going to kick some serious ass. Check this brand new TV spot out!

⥤ Posted January 19 in Hype, To Watch, TV Spots | 22 Comments

Sony Pictures Frantically Picks Up Black Dynamite at Sundance

By Alex Billington

Can you dig it? The second major studio purchase at the Sundance Film Festival (after Brooklyn's Finest) is none other than Black Dynamite. The film is a blaxploitation revival starring Michael Jai White as a jive fool named Black Dynamite who must save his city when the orphanages become overrun with crack. I saw the film at its world premiere last night and it was truly a blast. Following that premiere, Sony execs fought long and hard (all the way until 6AM) to close a deal for an undisclosed amount. The most important bit of this news is that Sony proper bought it, not Sony Pictures Classics, their independent arm.

⥤ Posted January 19 in Indies, Movie News, Sundance 09 | 10 Comments

Christopher Campbell's The Moviegoer - My Bloody, Dying Format

By Christopher Campbell

I should have gotten wasted before seeing My Bloody Valentine 3-D. After all, I typically see movies as they're meant to be seen. And Lionsgate literally advertises the horror film as being better when you're drunk. Well, the real copy is specifically, "It's actually '4D' if you're wasted." Being in 4D doesn't necessarily mean it's better. Unfortunately, I went to MBV3D totally sober. And not simply because I saw an early show, at a time I typically figure too early to begin drinking. The truth is I've gotten drunk before and during horror films in the past. Once, for a press screening of Zombie Strippers, the alcohol was even supplied to us by the publicists prior to the movie. But each time I ended up nauseous.

⥤ Posted January 19 in Discussion, Editorials, Opinions | 22 Comments

J.K. Simmons Back as J. Jonah Jameson in Spider-Man 4

By Alex Billington

Not that it was unexpected by any means, but J.K. Simmons has confirmed that he will be returning yet again to play Daily Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson in Spider-Man 4. His character is one of the few consistently awesome elements of the Spider-Man trilogy so far, as he's delivered some of the funniest lines of the films so far. His return makes it look like Sony really is trying to pick up with this franchise exactly where they left off in 2007. Simmons also confirmed to MTV that they'll be shooting the film in 2010, which means they're right on schedule for the rumored 2011 release. Are you ready to see Spider-Man return?

⥤ Posted January 19 in Casting, Movie News | 35 Comments

Must Watch: Official Trailer for Prachya Pinkaew's Chocolate

By Alex Billington

As a small deviation from all of our Sundance coverage and because today is a holiday, I thought I'd feature the new trailer for Prachya Pinkaew's Chocolate. Pinkaew is a Thai filmmaker who previously brought us Ong Bak with Tony Jaa. This is his latest film, about an autistic girl who turns out to be a badass martial artist. It's been playing at film festivals for a while and we've written about it numerous times, so it's great to finally see an official trailer for it from IGN. It's finally hitting theaters in February so this is the last straw. Check it out and if you think it looks good, be sure to catch it in theaters in a few weeks.

Watch the Trailer ›

⥤ Posted January 19 in Indies, To Watch, Trailers | 27 Comments

Bob $tencil Does Sundance 2009 - Day 3 Video Recap!

By Alex Billington

Pizza, beer, hot babes, free shit, Paul Giamatti. Those are just a few of the things that you'll find in Bob Stencil's latest video update from Sundance. This time Bob doubles it up, with a trip to the Def Jam party to get handfuls of free swag from some hot girls, and then swings back around in time to chat with actor Paul Giamatti about Cold Souls and offer him some beer. Will this once-in-a-lifetime experience ever end? Probably not, as it seems Bob Stencil has made a home for himself in the mountains. And with girls like this, who wouldn't want to live here? Check out this latest video update fresh off the streets.

⥤ Posted January 18 in Bob $tencil, Sundance 09 | 16 Comments

Sundance 2009 Review: Marc Webb's 500 Days of Summer

By Alex Billington

There was a magical feeling in the air when I sat down in Eccles to watch the world premiere of Marc Webb's 500 Days of Summer. As the lights dimmed, a chill went down my spine, as I somehow knew I was about to watch a phenomenal film. There are always outstanding indie gems like this at Sundance every year, but it's even more amazing to set high expectations have them still be surpassed. 500 Days of Summer did just that - it took everything I was hoping this would be and gave me so much more. Unless something else comes along by surprise in the next few days, this will easily be my favorite film of the festival.

⥤ Posted January 18 in Opinions, Sundance 09 | 11 Comments

Sundance Interview: The Killing Room's Jonathan Liebesman

By Alex Billington

One of the more underrated films here at Sundance that has been on my mind ever since I watched it is The Killing Room. The film is directed by Jonathan Liebesman, only known so far as the guy who directed both Darkness Falls and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. With this film, though, he's showing us that he's a much better director than you might have thought. I talked with Liebesman earlier today at Sundance about his films, including the upcoming Battle: Los Angeles, not only because I really wanted to chat about The Killing Room, but to give him a chance to redeem himself, as you'll see.

⥤ Posted January 18 in Interviews, Sundance 09 | 3 Comments

Sundance 2009 Review: Derrick Comedy's Mystery Team

By Alex Billington

Last night's world premiere of Derrick Comedy's Mystery Team was quite an experience. Most people already know who the Derrick Comedy guys are, so seeing them finally take the leap from making YouTube videos to a full-time feature was quite impressive. But nothing can prepare you for this kind of never-before-seen crazy, kooky, and sometimes ridiculous, comedy that Mystery Team boasts. They've pulled it off - they've made a sketch comedy feature film that delivers consistent laughs for an entire 105 minutes. It's a different kind of humor, but it works. It looks like Mystery Team is on its way to becoming a hit.

⥤ Posted January 18 in Opinions, Sundance 09 | 8 Comments

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