by Dave Thomas

Gomorra
Looks like your best movie options this month are to stay in making lousy Oscar predictions and hoping that Dollhouse doesn’t suck.
FEBRUARY 6
HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Love, Not Actually
WILL IT SUCK?
If this were a TV show, I’d have more confidence. Director Ken Kwapis has helmed some solid eps of The Office and Freaks and Geeks. The one thing I didn’t like about his Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, on the other hand, was the direction. Never saw Vibes or Dunstin Checks In, though. And the writers did Never Been Kissed.
Remarkably recognizable casting, though: Jennifers Aniston and Connelly, Scarlett Johansson, Drew Barrymore, Ben Affleck…but I’m most psyched to see Justin Long and Ginnifer Goodwin together again for the first time since Ed.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
A little bit of competition from Dance Flick and Pink Panther 2 this week, but next week is the real bear, Confessions of a Shopaholic. $61mil.
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THE PINK PANTHER 2
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
This is what you get for going to see Pink Panther 1, America.
WILL IT SUCK?
Even during the trailer I was going “Oh, my God, is this thing still going?” They’ve added some top shelf talent (John Cleese, Alfred Molina, Andy Garcia, Aishwarya Rai) but they kind of had that already (Cleese replaces Kevin Kline). Agent Cody Banks and One Night at McCool’s director Harald Zwart takes over for Night at the Museum 2-bound Shawn Levy and the writers are brand new. As with the first, Martin has a screenplay co-credit but I just refuse to believe it.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The only thing with this high of a profile for miles around is Friday the 13th, and that’s a completely different demographic (although a Clouseau/Jason crossover flick would rock). $71mil.
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CORALINE
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Girl finds a parallel universe with an alternative, perfect family for her…or is it?
WILL IT SUCK?

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The Sundance Festival has put 10 of their short films on the iTunes store, as part of 10 Voices from 10 Films Over 10 Days. It started January 16th and wraps up on the 25th. So watch ‘em while they’re free…after the 25th, they zap themselves right back into the internet.
From the site:

This year, 10 short films from the 2009 Sundance Film Festival will be presented as FREE content available for download January 15 through 25, 2009 exclusively on iTunes. In an effort to get to know the 10 for 10 filmmakers a little bit better, here’s a look behind the curtain to see the wizards at play.

My favorite is Instead of Abracadabra, a really funny short about an aspiring magician. The director created it after watching showreel for a local magician. “You could really feel the panic when something went wrong and how he acted to cover things up again,” Eklund said. “I felt I just had to do something that had the same sort of nerve.”
Others of note (actually, they’re all good, so visit 10 Voices from 10 Films Over 10 Days at Sundance for all the links) include:

I Live In The Woods
Really weird, awesome animation about a crazy farmer dude who kills people in the woods. Sundance calls it “insane, gory fun.”
Countertransference
This short film is “textured with both hilarity and depth,” but also known for causing $1,400 worth of damage when their equipment truck hit a parked car. Ah, anecdotes.
This Way Up
Sundance says it “embodies the ideal animated short: perfect length, a ton of laughs and ingenuity seeping from every 3-D angle,” but more importantly, it was produced (?) by Mike Judge of The Animation Show.
Magnetic Movie
Originally “conceived during a six-month venture to the NASA laboratory,” Magnetic Movie is pretty unique, as it really shows you what a magnetic force field looks like, on a head full of perfectly clean LSD. We’re talking no backaches here.

Again, visit Sundance for the rest.

Neko Case has a new record coming out March 3 and Anti has just made the first single available for free download. It’s called “People Got A Lotta Nerve” and we like what we hear. Plus, if you add it to iLike, ANTI will donate a buck to Best Friends Animal Society.

Today, we are especially happy to bring you “People Got A Lotta Nerve,” the first single from Neko Case’s forthcoming album Middle Cyclone (out March 3), because for every blog that reposts the song and/or iLike user who adds it to their profile, Neko Case and ANTI- will make a cash donation to Best Friends Animal Society. The promotion will run from January 13 to February 3, 2009. Five dollars will be donated for every blog post and one dollar for every user of iLike that adds the song to his/her profile. Details and instructions after the break.

DOWNLOAD: Neko Case – People Got a Lot of Nerve (MP3)

by Dave Thomas

Chandni Chowk To China
Hope you like horror. Let me rephrase that. Hope you like crappy horror.
January 9
BRIDE WARS
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway battle to see who’s the most popular actress, I mean, to see who gets a popular wedding venue.
WILL IT SUCK?
Gary Winick has done all right since Tadpole (13 Going on 30, Charlotte’s Web) though one of the writers co-wrote Saving Silverman. The other writers worked on the American version of Creature Comforts, which wasn’t bad. Likely outcome is meh.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
No competition from the week before since Hollywood is giving up on movies that weekend, and no romcoms for miles after. $47mil.
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THE UNBORN
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Unborn twin vs. born twin.
WILL IT SUCK?
Wins the award for most problematic one sheet. Are you trying to titillate me or scare me because when you’re talking about evil unborn ghost fetuses you can’t do both. David S. Goyer writes, which can be a very good thing (The Dark Knight) but he also directs which hasn’t worked out so well (The Invisible, Blade: Trinity). And how did Gary Oldman end up in this mishigas?

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by Dave Thomas

The Brothers Bloom
You expect December to be lousy with Oscar hopefuls, but damn.
December 5
PUNISHER: WAR ZONE
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Punisher reboot. After, you know, one film. Kind of like The Incredible Hulk.
WILL IT SUCK?
Apparently, Lionsgate booted director Lexi Alexander (Green Street Hooligans) from the project and started pushing for a PG-13 rating, all this after getting good buzz at Comic-Con. On the other hand, there’s nothing about any of that in this recent interview with Alexander. Doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, since they don’t reference it at all.
I’d say it doesn’t matter either way given the sad history of comic book adaptations that are not from seriously established indie directors (your Nolans, your Singers, your Raimis), however, there were (are) some interesting elements here. One, Alexander’s one of the first (only?) women to direct a comic book film, a male-dominated genre to put it lightly. Two, the script was based on Garth Ennis’ (Preacher) take on Punisher, which pretty much necessitates a hard R, so attempts to soften that will probably fail miserably. Finally, the script comes from half of the Iron Man writing team and a Prison Break scribe, so there’s potential.
On the other hand, looking at the trailer, I’m not convinced this isn’t just Max Payne 2.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Between the second frame of Transporter 3 and the first frame of Extreme Movie, it’s in trouble. $34mil.

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Hey filmmakers! Rooftop Films wants you to know that you’ve got about a month to get your submissions in for the “early bird” fees ($9) to be considered for their 2009 Summer Series. Submit online at RooftopFilms.com.
From them:

Submit your movies! We are currently accepting submissions for the 2009 Summer Series. In May 2009 we will begin celebrating our 13th year of bringing the best underground films in the world outdoors and to the rooftops of New York. Submit your films and videos now and participate in one of the most unforgettable, unique, filmmaker-friendly, independent film events in the world!

Rooftop Films

picture via new york mag
Improv Everywhere, Charlie Todd’s amorphous group of agents that may include some of you, has released their volume 3 DVD featuring all of their previous stunts just in time for the holidays! It’s $20 and shipping is free. I’d put this in the “worth it” category for your hard to shop for boyfriends and jaded fathers.
From ma inbox:

Disc includes:
- Every mission on our site since the last DVD (17 total including Frozen Grand Central, Food
Court Musical, and Human Mirror)
- The never before seen Ted’s Birthday Redux mission video! A DVD exclusive!
- A new featurette on the Rob! mission
- Commentary track for every mission
- An hour of bonus material, including Improv Everywhere’s talk at the New Museum in Manhattan

Below the jump, relive some of my favorite Improv Everywhere stunts from the past couple of years. And mark your calendars! The annual media drool fest that is the No Pants Subway Ride is happening January 10th. Stay tuned to Improv Everywhere for updates, but we’ll probably remind you here just the same.

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by Dave Thomas

James Bond: Quantum of Solace
With the sudden departure of The Soloist, Fanboys and The Road from the roster, November just got a little less interesting, but I’m confident James Bond and Danny Boyle will help me forget.
Just Opened
ROLE MODELS
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Paul Rudd and Sean William Scott do the whole man-child learns values by mentoring actual children thing.
WILL IT SUCK?
David Wain directs and co-writes with some of his State cohorts. Love The State. Haven’t been as impressed with State alums’ film work since (though I have yet to see Wet Hot American Summer…I know, I know). I will say this, however, the red band trailer is much funnier than the, um, green band trailer.
Oh, and Elizabeth Banks is officially in every movie coming out this year.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
2nd frame of the much-higher profile Zack and Miri‘s gonna hurt and this week you’ve got Bernie Mac and Samuel L. Jackson in Soul Men. $18mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No.
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MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
The Madagascar animals go to the plain-y part of Africa instead of the jungle-y part.
WILL IT SUCK?

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Take a trip back a few weeks and relive the 18 days preceding our most recent election, Sunday night at 3rd Ward. This looks pretty cool.

We know the results of the election (and they couldn’t be better), but this month, Moviehouse invites you to take an intimate look at the people and communities that make up our Swing States in Red Blue Roadtrip. Moviehouse founder, Chris Henderson and Graham Meriwether travel through 12 swings states in the 18 days preceding the election, capturing portraits of 18 communities large and small, wealthy and impoverished, rural, and urban.
Then, Daniel Ross and Tom Vigliotta examine the decline of NYCs manufacturing industry in Uncertain Industry. Over the last 50 years manufacturing jobs in NYC have shrunk from 1 million to 100,000. The filmmakers explore what losing losing this vital source of jobs meant for New York City’s economy.
This free screening series, brings the very best in local filmmaking to 3rd Ward every 2nd Sunday. The evening begins with drinks, snacks and beats from VJ Clay Franklin and ends in a lively discussion with the filmmakers.

3rd Ward is at 195 Morgan Ave. Doors are at 7, films at 8, and its FREE! Booya for Sunday night movie nights.

Empire from Empire on Vimeo.