Public Enemies - What Did You Think?
This Week in DVD: Body of Lies, Changeling, Quarantine, Religulous, and More
Posted on Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 by Adam Quigley
This Week in DVD is a column that compiles all the latest info regarding new DVD releases, sales, and exclusive deals from stores including Target, Best Buy, Circuit City, and Fry’s.
Please don’t take the commentary on the movies and TV shows too seriously, as they’re meant not to be reviews but rather previews that include the general thoughts and ramblings of a twice-committed DVD addict. The categories represent solely the author’s intentions towards the DVDs at hand, and are in no way meant to be a reflection on what he thinks other people should rent or buy. So if he ends up putting a movie you like in the “Skip it” section without having seen it, please keep in mind that the time you could spend leaving a spiteful but ultimately futile comment could instead be used for more pleasant things in life. Like buying DVDs.
CHANGELING
While the reviews weren’t necessarily negative, the Clint Eastwood-directed Changeling opened to a surprisingly middling response, apparently falling prey to silliness and convention far too often. It was enough, however, to earn Angelina Jolie a nomination for Best Actress, despite claims by many critics that her performance detracted from the film more than enhanced it. To that I simply say, “…I WANT MY SON BACK!!”
Blu-ray? Yes.
Notable Extras: 2 featurettes (Partners in Crime: Clint Eastwood and Angelina Jolie, The Common Thread: Angelina Jolie Becomes Christine Collins).
| BEST PRICE | ||
|---|---|---|
| Target | Best Buy | Fry’s |
| $16.99 | ||
| Amazon – $16.99 | ||
EXCLUSIVE DEAL:
What? Save $5 when you buy Changeling and Flash of Genius.
Where? Best Buy.
You Could Be a Character in Chuck Palahniuk’s Next Book
Posted on Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Fight Club and Choke author Chuck Palahniuk’s official website is hosting a contest where the winner will have a a character named after them in Chuck’s next book. Pretty cool. Basically the person who gets the most people to go see Choke in theaters this weekend wins. And who knows, if Chuck’s next book gets adapted into a big screen movie (and chances are good since almsot all his books have been optioned at this point), you might even have your name immortalized in a feature film. You can read the full rules at ChuckPalahniuk.net.
Fox Searchlight has released a couple clips from Clark Gregg’s big screen adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel Choke. Sex addict and colonial theme park worker, Victor Mancini, has devised a complicated scam to pay for his mom’s hospital bills while she suffers from an Alzheimer’s disease that hides the truth about his childhood. He pretends to choke on food in a restaurant and the person who “saves” him will feel responsible for Victor for the rest of their lives. The first clip comes from Moviefone, and involves Victor and his best friend Denny raiding the mail for donations.
The second clip comes from ChuckPalahniuk.net. This flashback sequence takes us back to when Victor’s mother would kidnap him from his foster homes as a child.
Fox Searchlight provided us with the exclusive video clip of author Chuck Palahniuk, and filmmaker/actor Clark Gregg talking about the big screen adaptation of Choke during a recent Q&A and the Los Angeles Film Festival. Enjoy!
Choke hits select theaters on September 26th 2008.
I definitely did not touch your woo-woo. Fox Searchlight has released a new trailer for Clark Gregg’s adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s Choke, and it’s Red Band! That’s right, completely uncensored, vulgar, nudity, overall - totally Not Safe For Work. That said, this is a much funnier, more accurate representation of the actual film than the previous trailer. I know some of you might be weary of jumping in head first due to the film’s look which screams loudly “low budget”, but trust me, this is a must see for anyone who loved Fight Club. And yes, that is a quote from /Film’s own Mel Valentin (it also appeared in the previous green band trailer, which even got some run time on the big screen).
Check out the restricted trailer on the film’s official website ChokeOnThis.net.
Official Plot Synopsis: Actor-turned-director Clark Gregg shows he is as adept behind the camera as he is in front of it with CHOKE, a wickedly colorful dark comedy about mothers and sons, sexual compulsion, and the sordid underbelly of Colonial theme parks. Victor Mancini (Rockwell), a sex-addicted med-school dropout, who keeps his increasingly deranged mother, Ida (Huston), in an expensive private medical hospital by working days as a historical reenactor at a Colonial Williamsburg theme park. At night Victor runs a scam by deliberately choking in upscale restaurants to form parasitic relationships with the wealthy patrons who “save” him. When, in a rare lucid movement, Ida reveals that she has withheld the shocking truth of his father’s identity, Victor enlists the aid of his best friend, Denny (Henke) and his mother’s beautiful attending physician, Dr. Paige Marshall (Macdonald), to solve the mystery before the truth of his possibly divine parentage is lost forever.
Choke hits theaters on September 26th 2008.
Fox Searchlight has released a few new photos from Clark Gregg’s big screen adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s Choke. I’ve seen the movie twice now, and I’m pretty sure the photo above comes from a scene which was not included in film festival cut of the movie. Clark Gregg filmed Palahniuk’s original ending to the book, but the scene didn’t play as expected, and it was cut from the final film. Could this mean that the original ending has been reinserted into the film? Or is the photo above from another moment in the film which I might be completely forgetting?
Fox Searchlight has released the movie trailer for Clark Gregg’s big screen adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s Choke. If you were a fan of Fight Club, you’ll love Choke. I’ve seen the movie two times now, and /Film’s Mel Valentin is even quoted in the trailer (right after Entertainment Weekly), how cool is that (you can read Mel’s full review here). I’m hoping that a red band movie trailer will be released which might give you a better look at the tone of the film, but I think the green band does a good job. What do you guys think?
Watch the trailer in High Definition on MTV.com. Choke will hit theaters on September 26th 2008.
Official Plot Synopsis: Actor-turned-director Clark Gregg shows he is as adept behind the camera as he is in front of it with CHOKE, a wickedly colorful dark comedy about mothers and sons, sexual compulsion, and the sordid underbelly of Colonial theme parks. Victor Mancini (Rockwell), a sex-addicted med-school dropout, who keeps his increasingly deranged mother, Ida (Huston), in an expensive private medical hospital by working days as a historical reenactor at a Colonial Williamsburg theme park. At night Victor runs a scam by deliberately choking in upscale restaurants to form parasitic relationships with the wealthy patrons who “save” him. When, in a rare lucid movement, Ida reveals that she has withheld the shocking truth of his father’s identity, Victor enlists the aid of his best friend, Denny (Henke) and his mother’s beautiful attending physician, Dr. Paige Marshall (Macdonald), to solve the mystery before the truth of his possibly divine parentage is lost forever.
Here is a round up of stories that just didn’t make the /Film front page, or what we like to call…. Page 2!
Lobster Johnson created this custom Heath Ledger-version Joker Munny.
Patrick Read Johnson has found financing to complete post production on his autobiographical indie “77,” (formerly titled 5/25/77) which chronicles the director’s journeys in Hollywood with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. [THR]
William Shatner claims JJ Abrams never called him back. [trekmovie]
Warner Bros has scheduled a September 19th release date for Whiteout. [shock]
JustJared has new photos from the set of Crank 2: High Voltage which show star Jason Statham with some nasty fake scars on his back.
WALL-E was given a G-Rating by the MPAA. [animatednews]
Cineleet takes a look at the influences of Star Wars in a column titled Before the Galaxy Far, Far Away.
The Incredible Hulk has invaded New York City. Head over to Marvel for more images.
Eric Lively, Tony Todd and Gil Bellows have been cast in the “24” prequel. [THR]
MTV has the first chapter of Vern’s new book Seagalogy: A Study of the Ass-Kicking Films of Steven Seagal.
Sony Pictures Classics is in final negotiations for James Toback’s boxing documentary “Tyson,” which chronicles the life of former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. [THR]
MovieMistakes has a list of over 70 mistakes from the original Indiana Jones series.
Blockbuster is advertising on Pizza boxes?! [Gizmodo]
Rotten Tomatoes takes a look at the top 20 sequels they’re still waiting for.
The Disney Movie Surfers have taken a behind-the-scenes look at WALL-E, and new footage is featured.
Fanboy has a look at all the Indiana Jones Knock-Offs in a segment they call The Hall of Shame.
Jim Hill blogs about the lost action sequences where Indiana Jones battled samurai and a machine-gun toting warlord, that was cut from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
The Daily Mail has the first photo of a bald Cameron Diaz on the set of My Sister’s Keeper. Scary!
Star Wars: The Clone Wars will be rated PG for "sci-fi action violence throughout, brief language and momentary smoking." [io9]
NBC will air a special Incredible Hulk-themed episode of “American Gladiators” with guest star Lou Ferrigno. [SHH]
Madonna’s newest film, a documentary about the struggles of Malawi, titled I Am Because We Are, will screen at Michael Moore’s Traverse City Film Festival in August. [variety]
One of NECA’s comic con exclusives is an action figure three pack from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles featuring a set of three Mousers. [mechzilla]
FestivalCentral asks people at Cannes how to pronounce the title of Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut Synecdoche, New York. Jeff Wells reports that Kaufman says the pronunciation is “Syn-ECK-duh-kee.”
Blogwarts has yet another new (but way too small) photo from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Twentieth Century Fox paid $550,000 to the Smithsonian Institution for the right to use its name in Night at the Museum 2: Escape From the Smithsonian. [sci-fi]
Build your own cubecraft Indiana Jones and Golden Idol on Cubecraft.com.
Fangoria reports that actor Glenn Morshower is set to return to Transformers 2. Morshower is best known for playing a secret service agent in 24, and appeared in the original movie as a military Sargent at the US Soccent.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine has wrapped principal photography. [iesb]
Check out these two videos from Sundance, director, writer and actor Clark Gregg discusses his new film Choke. [searchlight]
Fox Searchlight has released the teaser poster for the Clark Gregg’s big screen adaption of Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk’s Choke. The poster features a silhouette of Sam Rockwell choking on either Kelly Macdonal or Anjelica Huston. Either way I’m not sure I get the symbology, but it’s certainly a cool looking image.
You can read my fanboy review from Sundance or Mel Valentin’s review from SXSW. Fox Searchlight told us that Mel might actually be quoted in some of the pre-release advertising (”vulgar, crude, profane, blasphemous, obscene, and, best of all, hilarious” – Mel Valentin, SLASHFILM.COM).
Official Plot Synopsis: Victor Mancini (Rockwell), a sex-addicted med-school dropout, who keeps his increasingly deranged mother, Ida (Huston), in an expensive private medical hospital by working days as a historical reenactor at a Colonial Williamsburg theme park. At night Victor runs a scam by deliberately choking in upscale restaurants to form parasitic relationships with the wealthy patrons who “save” him. When, in a rare lucid movement, Ida reveals that she has withheld the shocking truth of his father’s identity, Victor enlists the aid of his best friend, Denny (Henke) and his mother’s beautiful attending physician, Dr. Paige Marshall (Macdonald), to solve the mystery before the truth of his possibly divine parentage is lost forever. The film is adapted from the best-selling, critically acclaimed novel by Chuck Palahniuk.
Choke will open in theaters on September 26th 2008.
source: Fox Searchlight via IMPAwards
Fox Searchlight has just informed us that the big screen adaptation of Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk’s Choke has been pushed back to September 26th 2008. When the company snapped up the film for a hefty $5 million at Sundance, they immediately announced an August 1st release date.
The last Friday of July/first Friday of August is Fox Searchlight’s magic date. They opened films like Little Miss Sunshine and Garden State in that calendar spot to much success. The plan usually is to open the film in a couple markets, slowly expand throughout August, and open wide in September. But for some reason, Searchlight has decided to move the release back to late September. And this might not be a bad move. This will give Choke breathing room from the other high-buzz late Summer indie releases like American Teen, Towelhead and The Wackness. Palahnuik also has a huge young adult following, so opening the film up right after College is back in session might help the film’s marketing strategy.
Official Plot Synopsis: Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell), a sex-addicted med-school dropout, keeps his increasingly deranged mother, Ida (Anjelica Huston), in an expensive private mental hospital by working days as a historical reenactor. At night he runs a scam where he deliberately chokes in upscale restaurants to form parasitic relationships with the wealthy patrons who “save” him. When, in a rare lucid moment, Ida reveals that she has withheld the shocking truth of his father’s identity, Victor must enlist the aid of his best friend, Denny (Brad William Henke), a recovering chronic masturbator, and his mother’s beautiful attending physician, Dr. Paige Marshall (Kelly Macdonald), to solve this mystery before the truth of his possibly divine parentage is lost forever.
After watching Choke, an adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s (Survivor, Fight Club) novel directed by Clark Gregg, the words vulgar, crude, profane, blasphemous, obscene, and, best of all, hilarious, all come to mind. A sharp critique aimed at our self-centered, self-absorbed culture, with a few digs at group therapy, psychiatry, and dysfunctional parenting, Choke is the kind of film that can be only made outside the Hollywood system, then gets picked up by a Hollywood-based distributor after it becomes a hit with festival audiences and critics, as Choke did at the Sundance Film Festival two months ago. Choke was picked up by Fox Searchlight, with a released planned for late August, a lucky month for them (Napoleon Dynamite, Little Miss Sunshine were both released in August).
Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell) has a problem, actually many, many problems. Victor numbs himself with meaningless sex with a random assortment of women, young, middle-aged, beautiful, and not-beautiful, then shows up for his weekly group therapy for sex addicts. When he’s not pursuing women with his fellow sex addict and best friend, Denny (Brad William Henke), he’s working as a “historical interpreter” (i.e., tour guide) at a Colonial-era amusement park. Frequent run-ins with his boss, Lord High Charlie (Clark Gregg), who takes the Colonial experience far too seriously, don’t help much. Worse, Victor’s mother, Ida (Anjelica Huston), a former grifter who made Victor’s life extremely difficult, has been hospitalized with Dementia and the prognosis is far from good.
Chuck Palahniuk fans rejoice!
Fox Searchlight, who just picked up the rights to Clark Gregg’s big screen adaptation of Choke for $5 Million, has announced that the film will hit theaters on:
August 1st 2008
Yeah, I know, seven months is a long time to wait. But hey, look on the bright side, it’s getting a release by Fox Searchlight. That almost guarantees that the film will platform into your neck of the woods sooner or later.
Directed by: Clark Gregg
Written by: Clark Gregg, adapted from the novel by Chuck Palahniuk
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly Macdonald, Brad Henke, Clark Gregg
Plot Synopsis: Victor Mancini, a sex-addicted med-school dropout, keeps his increasingly deranged mother, Ida, in an expensive private mental hospital by working days as a historical reenactor. At night he runs a scam where he deliberately chokes in upscale restaurants to form parasitic relationships with the wealthy patrons who “save” him. When, in a rare lucid moment, Ida reveals that she has withheld the shocking truth of his father’s identity, Victor must enlist the aid of his best friend, Denny, a recovering chronic masturbator, and his mother’s beautiful attending physician, Dr. Paige Marshall, to solve this mystery before the truth of his possibly divine parentage is lost forever.
