Trailer Trash: The July 29th Quickie

After a whirlwind weekend to Charleston for a family reunion followed by an awesome Huey Lewis & the News concert, you could say I'm more than a bit excited to have a weekend in town where I can just stretch out in the comfort of my local theater. I'll be catching up on last week's Captain America, but IMDb tells me I also have three new major releases to chose from as well. Let's have a look-see shall we?


Cowboys and Aliens I love Westerns and the new Bond, and a good alien flick isn't to be missed, but I'm not 100% sold on combining the three. I will, however, put my faith in Jon Favreau to deliver a good story with great action and a Harrison Ford that doesn't mumble-grumble most of his lines. I know I'm asking for a lot with that last request, but maybe Sam Rockwell's shuck and jive will cover up Ford's sleepacting.


Verdict: Moist With Antici...Pation!


Crazy, Stupid, Love With the exception of Dan in Real Life, you can't go wrong with Steve Carell as a romantic comedy lead. In fact, I couldn't ask for a more awesome cast. Regulars know of my undying affection for Julianne Moore and Emma Stone, but this even has some of my obscure faves like Liza Lapira, Julianna Guill and John Carroll Lynch. And did you see Ryan Gosling's abs? Humina, humina, humina!



Verdict: Moist With Antici...Pation!


The Smurfs Are you smurfing smurfing me?! I can't smurfing believe there's a smurfing movie about the Smurfs! I say to smurf with the Smurfs in all their 3-smurfing-D smurfness! You desmurf so much better, Hank Azaria. And Sofia Vergara, I love ogling your smurfs, but why dismurf them in a Smurfs movie?! There's no smurfing way I'll be smurfed to smurf this smurfing bull-smurf...ever! 



Verdict:  Exercise the Right to Cinematic Celibacy.

As usual, in much cooler towns the movies The Devil's Double and Attack the Block will be opening. I guess I should be happy they're not here yet. It gives me plenty of time to catch up on my mainstream movies. Now I'm off to get my movie watching on!

The Hump: No. 33

MMM: Cool is a Rule

I can't believe it's the last week of July! Just this month, we've celebrated the Fourth, gone to a dual-faith wedding in Hartford, visited friends in NYC, spent a weekend in Charleston at our family reunion and squeezed in a bunch of movies and a couple of concerts. The most recent concert was last night at Koka Booth with one of my all-time favorite bands. It's been eight years since I've seen them last and two years since they were featured as a Monday Mood Music. 

While Huey Lewis & the News do look a little grayer around the edges, they are still a must-see. Full of energy despite the humid, 100 degree weather we had. Sweat was rolling off Huey and the gang as fast as the notes flew from their instruments. Huey even had a little fun at their own expense by feigning to end the concert around an hour. After sitting in his "old man" rocker for a few moments, Huey bounced up and took requests from the audience. He also played one of his personal favorites, which is also a favorite of mine that I can now say I saw performed live. It's the third track from their third album, Sports. It was never as popular as Heart and Soul or I Want a New Drug, but it's rockin' tune nonetheless. Enjoy!

Huey Lewis & the News - Bad is Bad

Trailer Trash: The July 22nd Quickie

Hey stargazers. Gotta make this one extremely quick and dirty because my ass is running hella late! IMDb says we have two major releases this week and here they is:


Captain America: The First Avenger This is my most anticipated superhero film of the summer! I expect this to be Batman Begins and/or Spider-Man level of huge. I'm worried being a period film may hurt the box office, but I'm telling you all this is the movie not to miss!






Verdict: Moist With Antici...Pation!


Friends with Benefits I could make all kinds of No Strings Attached jokes here, but they've all been done. I've got mad love for Mila, but not even her smiling face can overshadow a big-screen Timberlake mug. Besdies, if I wait on the DVD, I can truly enjoy Mila in the privacy of my own home.





Verdict:  It's Friday, I Don't Want to be Alone.


That's all she wrote, folks! Have a great weekend and try to stay cool!

The Hump: No. 68

MMM: Stop, Hatin' is Bad

Weekend before last I was in Hartford, Connecticut for a friend's wedding. After the eight-hour event ended, we swung by the couple's after party in their suite and were surprised to find a handful of folks still going strong despite the massive quantities of food and drink consumed during the cocktail/reception half of the event.

This after party had three self-appointed DJs who continually swapped their personal iPhone playlists into the speaker system trying to one up each other. One DJ in particular will be forever ingrained in our memories. Still rocking a gray suit complete with fully cinched purple tie (remember, he'd been wearing this since at least 2pm and it was now midnight!), he never even sat down his beer as he tossed DJ #1's phone aside, plugged in his own and cued up the following tune. He then proceeded to drunkenly shuffle over to join the ladies' Flip Cup team. Oh, what a night.

The next day I told myself I wouldn't make that song a Monday Mood Music selection, but I just can't get it out of my friggin' head! I now pass along my "you had to be there" moment, complete with musical accompaniment.

Party Rock Anthem 

LMFAO w/ Lauren Bennett & Goon Rock

I'm really digging the 28 Days Later spoof of the video. Fits really well with this catchy groove.
.

Trailer Trash: The July 15th Quickie

It feels good to be back in town for the weekend. My trip to Hartford and New York City was a blast, but I'm looking forward to doing far less walking and much more watching this weekend. Hollywood is helping me out in that regard by releasing what will surely be the biggest film of the summer. But for the few of us not interested in Harry Potter, IMDb lists another book-based major release with a slightly smaller following. 


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2  If you haven't followed the series so far, why would you start now? If you're like me and have seen every film, why in the hell would you stop now?! It's the end of an era and, while there were several missteps along the way (*cough* Half-Blood Prince *cough*) Harry and pals are here to chew bubblegum and kick ass.... and they're all out of bubblegum!


Verdict: Moist With Antici...Pation!


Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, too! And Piglet, and Rabbit and Eeyore, and so many more have returned to the big screen. I'm not exactly sure what the premise of the film is, but as per usual, it includes Pooh trying to get his honey fix, before the DTs set in. Kids, and those of us who are kids-at-heart, should find comfort in this classically animated tale.




Verdict:  It's Friday, I Don't Want to be Alone.


My weekend plan is to catch Horrible Bosses followed by Harry Potter. That should give my ass all the lazing about it'll need for the weekend.

MMM: Too Much of Something is Bad Enough

Last week, the creators of Man, I Love Films, Kai and Dylan, issued their first Double Dare Challenge to one another. For the full details, you should check out their video, but the gist of it is that each one picks a really bad movie for the other to experience. It was Kai's challenge to Dylan that inspired my mood music selection. That challenge; to watch the 1998 'classic' Spice World.

I'm not ashamed to say I was a fan of the Spice Girls. I owned their albums. Heck, back when I owned VHS tapes, I owned this movie. Why not? Five hot chicks and Roger Moore. I've seen far worse movies with far less interesting casting. I think Dylan's got this in the bag and, to help get him in the mood, I have chosen a song from the soundtrack.

Spice Girls - Too Much

Dylan, you can do it! Ooh, that gives me a great idea. I think Kai deserves to suffer through Rob Schneider's The Animal for his next challenge!

Trailer Trash: The July 8th Quickie

Last weekend turned out to be quite a boon for me. I got to see both Larry Crowne and Transformers 3. Surprisingly, neither was intolerable. I'm curious if this trend will continue throughout July, but given the two releases listed at IMDb for this week, I kind of doubt it.


Zookeeper  I'm completely torn on this one. Usually I avoid anything with Kevin James starring like it were carrying the plague. Even by Kevin James standards, The Zookeeper looks excruciatingly painful. Without even seeing the trailer, the poster to the left is screaming at me to run the other way.  Having seen what the gorilla does in the trailer, I should have already headed to the closet to find my gun and end my suffering.


Then there's the other poster;


Ah, Rosario Dawson. The power this woman has over me is undeniable. Just to give you a clue, I actually paid to see The Adventures of Pluto Nash in theaters because she was in it. Of course, this means I will go against every anti-James fiber in my being to support her. At least my money will go to help this defeat those little blue CGI abominations in Fletch's March to the Box Office Madness.



Verdict:  It's Friday, I Don't Want to be Alone.


Horrible Bosses Hangover Part II and Bridesmaids have been this year's massive comedic disappointments, but I'm willing to wager this Strangers on a Train a.k.a. Throw Momma From the Train rehash will restore my faith in the gut-busting comedy. Bateman could use a solid hit and it's about time audiences embraced the funny Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis are dishin' out.



Verdict: Moist With Antici...Pation!


If anyone would like to convince me not to go suffer through The Zoopkeeper, by all means, stop me from the madness!

MMM: You Gon Make Me Clutch My Pearls

Happy Fourth of July! I hope everyone is having a great holiday. I took this weekend as an opportunity to start watching a television series everyone has been chastising me for not watching sooner; True Blood. I've seen the first four episodes so far and I'm interested, but not yet a hardcore fan. One friend tells me it's the greatest series ever, but TB has a long way to go to topple Justified from that spot.

In honor of my latest TV addiction, this week's selection is the show's theme song. Nothing sets the mood for fangbanging and vampire mayhem quite like this tune.

Jace Everett - Bad Things

Trailer Trash: The July 1st Quickie

According to IMDb, one film already has a jumpstart on the Fourth of July weekend and it's two competitors. I use the word 'competitor' lightly considering this weekend's releases appeal to vastly different moviegoers. Take a look and see which is my, and your, cup of tea.


Transformers: Dark of the Moon  After that God-awful piece of trash Bay, LaBeouf and Fox shat out of their collective asses in 2009, you'd think I'd give this latest travesty a wide berth. Especially since this third installment has been bloated beyond the two-and-a-half hour mark (it's called editing, try it sometime). Still, it's giant robots wrecking shit and I for one desperately hope Optimus Prime will squash Sam and his latest ho-cake underfoot.  


Verdict:  It's Friday, I Don't Want to be Alone.


Larry Crowne His turn as Robert Langdon notwithstanding, Tom Hanks is about as reliable a movie star as you can watch. I expect his turn in Larry Crowne to not only shine brightly at the summer box office, but also lift Julia Roberts out of her 2010 slump. Word on the streets isn't all that positive, but my guess is his Average Joe appeal will win over the masses despite what any critics say.



Verdict: Moist With Antici...Pation!


Monte Carlo  




 Meh.







Verdict:  Exercise the Right to Cinematic Celibacy.


Whether you venture to the theater or not, here's to a Happy Fourth of July weekend!