Ever been curious if it's a good idea when movie studios don't show their films to critics before the film opens?

This graph (from Slashfilm) is a good indicator if how these films end up critically and financially. All this comes on the heels of G.I. Joe coming out without being screened for critics, so we shall see how it turns out for that big loud summer movie.
The entire article (complete with more graphs) is available here, and is a good read.
-Thoughts?

At The Movies makes a change in terms of hosts...

Those who have been upset at how the dueling Ben's have handled what used to be Siskel and Ebert's (and more recently Ebert and Roeper's) show can now rejoice, and as there will no longer be anyone named Ben hosting At The Movies.
-Now we'll have two of Richard Roeper's better guest hosts handling the reviewing duties on the show. They are the New York Times' film critic A.O. Scott along with the film critic for the Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips.
-Read all of Variety's take on the change here. Good luck boys!

Today's Posters: A new character poster for Sherlock Holmes, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, and Pandorum

-Thoughts?

Sorry for the hiatus...

Hello boys and girls,

I know its been two weeks but desperate times call for desperate measures. Actually, I've just been working a lot but the boys have kept up with the Blog for your entertainment.

We should have Reviews, Predictions, ACCA 2005 Nominees, and much more for you in the coming days. Please continue to be patient.

Also, if you want to guess the ACCA nominees still for a chance to win a FREE DVD, then you can respond here until the nominees are announced.

Cheers,

Clay

'The Lovely Bones' gets a full Trailer!

Here you go ladies and gents, though the annoying EW voice-overs are unfortunately still in effect (head over to Apple's trailer page for an ideal version):

-What are you all thinking...is this locked up as a Best Picture nominee? (Honestly, I didn't love the trailer, but more on that at a later date)

A new Poll is coming in a little bit...

It seems you guys and gals aren't the biggest fans of the expansion of Best Picture to 10, going by the results of the most recent poll, which is now closed. The newest one will be up within the hour, this time going back to our "favorite work by a filmmaker" route...look around the site and it won't be hard to guess who!

Today's Trailers: I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, The Open Road, and The Blind Side

First up is the mildly humorous trailer for the indie film adaptation of the guilty pleasure bestseller 'I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell':
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell

Next is the trailer for the aptly titled road trip flick 'The Open Road':

Finally, we have the second book adaptation today (third if you count the earlier look at The Lovely Bones), a sort of biopic of NFL rookie Michael Oher called 'The Blind Side':

-Thoughts?

Today's News: Hugh Jackman to play P.T. Barnum, Paramount decides to hide G.I.Joe, and more...

In the news:

Hugh Jackman has signed on to play P.T. Barnum in a film musical about about the legend.

'G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra' is not being screened for critics...always a sure sign of quality.

Closing out the Toronto Film Festival this year will be Emily Blunt's 'The Young Victoria'.

For his next film, Steve Zahn is going the Disney route.

-Thoughts?

Entertainment Weekly sports a Teaser Trailer of sorts for 'The Lovely Bones'

-Excited for the real trailer?

There are no shortage of new films on DVD this week, but are any of them any good?

Quantity doesn't particularly equal out to quality this week on DVD, but there's enough here to make for some interesting viewing. My choice for my PICK OF THE WEEK is a low profile title, but it's the best of the bunch, so take that as you will. It's:
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
This character study got a very limited release in theaters and while it didn't play too well there, it should fare better on DVD. Sienna Miller, Peter Sarsgaard, Jon Foster, Mena Suvari, and David Morse are among the talented performers in this film about a summer in the life of a recent college grad. It's not a masterpiece by any stretch, but as character studies go, it's an above average one for sure.
-Also out this week on the decent end of the spectrum are Mutant Chronicles and The Soloist. The former works as a decidedly cheesy B level sci-fi movie, and taken as such it works, more or less. The latter is a failed Oscar hopeful that taken as simply a drama, works better, though still is decently flawed. The lead performances make it worth seeing, though don't expect a Prestige film, since it's not.
-On the lesser end of the spectrum we have the kids film Race to Witch Mountain, which is really average, but nothing more, the animated Delgo, which was just a bore, the tired rehash of Fatal Attraction known to us as Obsessed, and the almost direct to DVD crime drama Fragments, which wastes an almost uncannily A-list cast.
-My Vintage pick this week is going to be a part of a trend I'm going to try (upon suggestion from a reader). I'm going to attempt to tie it in to an upcoming release in theaters (for example, something like Punchline would have been a flawed but apt choice for the release of Funny People). This week, the indie flick Cold Souls is coming out, and my pick to tie into that is Being John Malkovich. Both seem to have this interesting sort of surreal quality to them, and plus, the debut feature of Spike Jonze is just a brilliant film. If you haven't seen it, treat yourself and pick it up on DVD.
-What will you be watching on DVD this week?

Today's Posters: An International Poster for Funny People, The Open Road, and Beeswax

-Thoughts?

Today's News: The Academy sets a date for its honorary awards, One of Tom Cruise's potential films is recast, and more...

In the news:

The 14th of November will be the date for the Academy's honorary award show.

Sam Worthington steps in for Tom Cruise in the remake of 'The Tourist'.

One of Will Ferrell's potential projects has fallen apart...Ferrell haters can rest easy, for now.

Zack Snyder's 'Sucker Punch' adds a member of the Watchmen cast to the film.

-Thoughts?

Avatar finally gets a real Poster

Thoughts?

Don't expect to see Spielberg tackle that Lincoln movie anytime soon...

Those hoping for Steven Spielberg to get around to his Lincoln biopic or his sci-fi movie 'Interstellar' will have to wait quite a bit more, as Steve is going the remake route by turning the play and subsequent film adaptation of 'Harvey' into a movie. Read all of the details here, but I think this could be an interesting project for him.
-Thoughts?

Today's Posters: 'The Informant!' and 'My One and Only'

-Thoughts?

Today's News: Rob Marshall to helm Pirates 4, The "Twittersphere" responds to 'Funny People', and more...

In the news:

Captain Jack might be a dancing man as the director of Chicago and Nine might be next in line to make the 4th Pirates of the Caribbean flick.

Will the so called "Twitter Effect" have an impact on the box office for 'Funny People'?

Despite a scare, the original voices for Futurama will be returning.

Up and coming director Nacho Vigalondo has an action comedy he's making with Steve Zaillian.

-Thoughts?

Shameless Plug: My Short Film "Patterson" Gets A Full Trailer

In celebration of having finished filming my latest short, "Patterson", I've put together a new trailer showing off more of the film. Enjoy:

-I'll be posting a link to it on here shortly following the premiere. What do you guys think so far?