This week two staple late night comedy programs will be losing vital cast members who have become an integral part of their respective shows.

First off, earlier this week, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart bid a fond farewell to resident fill-in-the-blank correspondent Rob Riggle. As Variety reported back in October, Riggle will be taking his comedic persona over to CBS where he has been given a talent holding deal, which includes development of a half-hour comedy show in which Riggle will create and star. While CBS certainly has comedy success in How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men, but is CBS really the place for Riggle to go for comedy?

Along with Riggle, husband and wife Daily Show correspondents Jason Jones and Samantha Bee are also developing a half-hour laffer, but it remains to see how long those two will stick around before joining the ranks of other departed correspondents like Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, and Ed Helms who left for broadening careers. I'm glad to see Riggle stretching his wings, but I just don't know if CBS is the right home for these edgy comedians. Check out Daily Show's tribute to Riggle embedded below. Jon Stewart and company will be back will be back with new episode of Daily Show after the New Year.

Another great cast member from another great and incresingly improving comedy team is also looking to branch out as Amy Poehler appears on her last episode of Saturday Night Live as a regular cast member. As it has been said on air in recent episodes of Poehler's absence from Weekend Update, she will have her hands quite full with her and husband Will Arnett's newborn son.

Poehler joined SNL back in 2001 (actually her first episode was SNL's return to television after 9/11) and has since become a highlight of the late night sketch show and creating a close knit personal and comedic relationship with then head writer Tina Fey. It became clear in recent years that the only place Poehler had to go was up as she has had bit parts in numerous films and even co-starred with Tina Fey in this past year's comedy Baby Mama (not the best endeavor, but a stepping stone to more for sure).

Poehler's residence at SNL is now only bested by Seth Meyers who also joined the cast in 2001 and Darell Hammond who is 417 years old and was on SNL before Lorne Michaels was born. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what Poehler may do on the big screen or elsewhere on the small screen.

You can catch Poehler's farewell tonight when SNL airs at 11:30 EST on NBC with host Hugh Laurie and musical gues KanYe West (And I still don't understand why his name is spelled like that now).

Labels: Amy Poehler, Daily Show, Rob Riggle, Saturday Night Live, SNL, TV News

Industry insider, Nikki Finke, over at Deadline Hollywood has been developing an exclusive scoop from yesterday concerning an upcoming surprise choice in the host for next year's Oscar telecast.

The previously described new host was referred to as being "way outside the box" and was not a television personality or any sort of stand-up comedian. As a matter of fact, along with this news comes, in my opinion, a bit of disappointing info that the usual opening joke bits that have consistently stood as the opening act for the Academy Awards is being put aside. And with the announcement of the potential new host, it's fairly easy to understand why.

Next year it looks like the Oscars will be hosted by recently dubbed Sexiest Man Alive, Aussie actor Hugh Jackman.

While negotiations are still in progress, and Jackman hasn't fully committed to the show yet, it seems like it's only the details being sorted out. However, Finke's post gives a bit more insight into the choice to remove the opening monologue that has preceded the awards ceremony. She writes comments by an insider, ""I don't want that for him. He is an actor with big movies behind him and one coming this summer. He didn't work the last 20 years to suddenly be a stand-up comedian."

Personally, I find this comment to be a bit insulting to stand-up comedians or anybody that has any respect or love for the art of comedy. Being a stand-up comedian is quite possible one of the hardest things you can do as an entertainer. You write your own script, perform by yourself, and when you bomb, you can literally hear yourself fail (*crickets*). But oh how lowly and insulting it must be to have to make people laugh...TELL ME A JOKE, MONKEY!

Backing up this position to make Jackman less of a funny man and more of a distinguished host is the use of Laurence Mark and Bill Condon as producers. Last year Mark and Condon worked together as producer and director (respectively) on the much praised semi-biographical musical Dreamgirls. So their musical interest seems to imply the desire to bring the Tony-award-winning performance roots from The Boy from Oz out of Jackman and onto the Academy Awards stage.

While I like the Academy's desire to do something different, especially after the abysmal ratings drawn in by last year's telecast, removing one of the more entertaining aspects of the consistently boring and hours long awards ceremony is not one of them.

If we're going to start with an overhaul of the Oscar telecast, the host isn't a bad place to start, but maybe first the Academy should consider getting a bit more in touch with the average audience and stop pandering to depressing, heavy dramas with the exception of the yearly little-Indie-movie-that-could ( Juno, Little Miss Sunshine). Personally I don't understand why a movie like The Bourne Ultimatum wasn't nominated for Best Picture last year over a similar and far less thrilling Michael Clayton, when in the past thrilling sort of action films like The French Connection and The Sting have been nominated and won the award. Hell, even Raiders of the Lost Ark was nominated. And while there's a lot of buzz around the crowd and critic pleasing The Dark Knight, I feel like most of the praise will go towards the late Heath Ledger, and a potential Best Picture nod will just be a publicity stunt to attract more viewers.

If the Academy really wants to get their audience back, they need to go back to the drawing board and really think about what it's like to sit in a movie theater, bewildered, mesmerized and inspired by a motion picture.

UPDATE: It's official. Hugh Jackman will be hosting the Oscars

Labels: Awards, Hugh Jackman, Oscars, TV News

Let's be honest: Grey's Anatomy is dying. Slowly, but is happening.

First there was the TR Knight/Isaiah Washington incident, which shook the world to its very core and proved just what a badass Patrick Dempsy really is followed by the rumors that Katherine Heigl was going to be taken off the show for being annoying both on and off screen. Then, Brooke Smith was unceremoniously fired from the show last November, just when her story line was getting interesting. And now comes the rumor that T.R. Knight has asked to be released from his contract. This isn't much of a surprise to anyone who watches the show and, like me, noticed to severe lack of George O'Malley.

The point is, we're reaching that moment when viewers of a once-popular show forget why they ever watched it in the first place and simply stop. Sure, the diehard fans will stick around, but doing this takes a kind of dedication apparently not found in the average Nielsen family.

Yes, it seems Grey's on its way out. And sure, while it's upsetting that we'll no longer be privy to the trials and tribulations of Seattle Grace's oddly sexual doctors, viewers can take solace in the fact that this might lead to the best last season ever.

And all of this has to do with a little theory I like to call "Good, Bad, Awesome."

Good, Bad, Awesome is a phenomena I've noticed in shows that start out red-hot, but slowly fade out of public conscious. This is currently happening with the downward spiral of Heroes. No one is watching, but they're bringing Bryan Fuller in to straighten things out.

The OC, for example started insane, but soon fizzled and was forgotten and hated by those who once considered themselves fans. What those who stopped watching missed out on was an amazing forth and final season.

LOST is another example of a show that started with amazing buzz, but got too slow and "kooky" for some viewers. What these poor saps missed out on is was the amazing last two seasons. And Sayid braking someone's neck with his feet.

SCRUBS, was quirky and original show that faught for ratings and viewers, only to slowly fade quietly into NBC's Thursday nights lineup. This show was even canceled, only to be saved by ABC, giving it a promising-looking last(?) season.

Now, the "Good, Bad, Awesome" theory doesn't always but if the Grey's team manages to get back to what is was that made the show good in the first place we could be in for an amazing, if final season in a couple of years.

Labels: Editorial, Grey's Anatomy, Lost, MeanRider, Scrubs, The OC, TV News

If there's one thing that hasn't changed much in the film industry, it's the fill-in-the-blank inspirational sports film. One athlete, one team, must overcome the obstacles, face adversity, and rise to the top and be remembered forever.

Well now you can be part of the dream! Over at the lame-dubbed MyPartyShirt.com they have a great collection of novelty t-shirts commemorating some of the best fictional sports athletes and teams. While most of their shirt creations border on being blatant rip-offs of the far superior BustedTees collection of pop culture related paraphernalia, these shirts are truly unique.

Do you know what movies all of these hail from?

Tidwell #85 - Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding, Jr., Jerry Maguire)
Boucher #9 - Bobby Boucher (Adam Sandler, The Waterboy)
Finkle #5 - Ray Finkle (creepy serial killer character from Ace Ventura: Pet Detective)
Bombay #66 - Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez, The Mighty Ducks)
Rowengartner #1 - Henry Rowengartner (Thomas Ian Nicholas, Rookie of the Year)
Falco #16 - Shane Falco (Keanu Reeves, The Replacements)

This is just a sample of the sports jersey t-shirts offered. Others include the following teams and names: West Canaan Coyotes (Varsity Blues), Cleveland Indians (Major League) and from The Mighty Ducks names like Conway, Averman, Banks and Reed (also included are Portman and Gaffney, but since they never wore the Ducks jersey in its form that exists on the t-shirt I'm calling movie nerd shennanigans and telling you to steer clear of them.)

For an added flashback bonus this site also has available for purchase the team shirts from Nickelodeon's physical challenge series Legends of the Hidden Temple.

Labels: FanToys

There's no denying it's holiday movie and television special time. And while holiday movies aren't necessarily the best source for great filmmaking or high quality entertainment, there's just something about even the most cheesy of Christmas movies that really bring smiles to people.

But recently I got pissed at Christmas movies. Now obviously you can't throw a huge amount of criticism at Christmas movies. They have all the wonder and the magic and the Christmas spirit stuff for family fare. But there's a huge almost universal theme in Christmas films in the way that they represent Santa's workshop, and I constantly find myself distracted by it, taking me out of the otherwise enchanting experience that comes from Christmas movies.

I don't mind that Santa's workshop looks like an old-fashioned sort of workshop, or anything coming from production design that truly separates the North Pole from any other place on the planet. My beef stems from the fact that the toys that we generally see the elves making and packing up to send of to boys and girls around the world are from the 1920's. Mechanical drumming monkeys, porcelain figures, handwoven dolls, etc. These aren't necessarily awful in every sense, because at some point in time these were real toys for children. But for today I think that Santa's workshop products should be a little more representative of the times.

This is where I give one film a huge amount of praise not only for quickly becoming a modern Christmas classic, but for it's realistic portrayal of the toy culture of today's children. Jon Favreau's Elf has all the signature traits of the North Pole and Santa's workshop and then some ("Thanks, Mr. Narwhal"). But one key element is subtle but strikes me as brilliance. Nearly all of the toys within Santa's workshop are real and at least somewhat popular toys sold in stores today. Monopoly, Etch-a-Sketch, even a Bob the Builder doll are all part of the elves product line, and I think, especially for kids, this makes the magic of Santa Claus and the Christmas movie all the more magical. Whereas in The Santa Clause (Tim Allen) this workshop does nothing but manufacture antique toys to fit along with their old-fashioned, carefully crafted classic world, but they still have the means and know-how to add all these technological upgrades to Santa's suit and sleigh, but not know that a kid wants an iPod for Christmas.

My Dad made the commercial observation to me that the reason that happened, is because those are the companies that paid enough to get their product in the movie. And as cynical as that is, it's definitely correct. But product placement is something that happens anyway, and happens in mostly every film, so why not place it in a movie that's perfect for product placement, and have it truly fit in as part of a movie and not a "Well, I know James Bond loves Coca-Cola! Especially after having sex with a lady!"

All I know is that, despite Christmas movies not necessarily being a great source for realistic representations of the world, I think that it adds to the whimsical nature of the Christmas movie for kids and adults alike.

MeanRider is a regular installment of The Screen Rider and is basically an editorial piece on various loves and hates of different aspects of film and television. They are meant to critique, and provoke thought amongst the pop culture community

Labels: MeanRider

The Golden Globe nominations were announced earlier this morning, and there are definitely some surprises and disappointments. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has always been known to throw in some curve balls now and then, but of course there's always going to be some controversy over nominations when motion pictures and television shows are divided into drama or comedy/musical classifications. Also, despite much of the Academy Awards speculation coming from who was honored at the Golden Globes, it's important to note that the HFPA has about 90 members who disseminate information about movies and television to the world through their various publications throughout the world. These are the members who vote on the Golden Globes and because of this The New York Times comments that the HFPA, "functions like an exclusive club, admitting a maximum of five new members a year, though more often...accepting only one. Any single member may object to a new member, making it extremely difficult to join."

Unfortunately I can't weigh on much of the bigger nominees for now since many of the awards contenders haven't made their way to our neck of the woods here in Indiana, but as time goes on we will certainly have reviews and commentary on awards season and a growing amount of firsthand knowledge on these praised films, and as the awards themselves draw closer, predictions will most certainly be made. There may be an incoming write-up from myself and our resident TV guru, Harry Nelson venting/praising about the nominations that we can competently comment on, but that's in the future.

For now, we'll just let you soak them in. The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards will take place on Sunday, January 11th, 2009 and will air live on NBC at 8 PM EST.

Motion Picture Nominations

Best Motion Picture (Drama)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Burn After Reading
In Bruges
Happy-Go-Lucky
Mamma Mia
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Supporting Actor
Tom Cruise - Tropic Thunder
Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Ralph Fiennes - The Duchess
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight

Best Director
Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
Steven Daldry - The Reader
David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
Sam Mendes - Revolutionary Road

Best Actor (Drama)
Leonardo DiCaprio - Revolutionary Road
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

Best Actress (Drama)
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kristin Scott Thomas - I've Loved You So Long
Kate Winslet - Revolutionary Road

Best Original Song
"Down to Earth" -- WALL-E
"Gran Torino" - Gran Torino
"I Thought I Lost You" -- Bolt
"Once in a Lifetime" -- Cadillac Records
"The Wrestler" -- The Wrestler

Best Original Score
Defiance
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Slumdog Millionaire
Frost/Nixon
Changeling

Best Animated Film
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E

Best Foreign Language Film
The Baader Meinhof Complex
Everlasting Moments
Gomorrah
I've Loved You So Long
Waltz with Bashir

Best Actor - Musical or Comedy
Javier Bardem -- Vicki Cristina Barcelona
Colin Farrell - In Bruges
James Franco -- Pineapple Express
Brendan Gleeson - In Bruges
Dustin Hoffman - Last Chance Harvey

Best Actress - Musical or Comedy
Rebecca Hall - Vicki Cristina Barcelona
Sally Hawkins - Happy-Go-Lucky
Frances McDormand - Burn After Reading
Meryl Streep - Mamma Mia
Emma Thompson - Last Chance Harvey

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams - Doubt
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler
Kate Winslet - The Reader

Best Screenplay
Simon Beaufoy - Slumdog Millionaire
David Hare - The Reader
Peter Morgan - Frost/Nixon
Eric Roth - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley - Doubt

Television Nominations

Best Television Drama
Dexter
House
In Treatment
Mad Men
True Blood

Best Actor - Television Drama
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, The Tudors

Best Actress - Television Drama
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Mariska Hargitay, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit
January Jones, Mad Men
Anna Paquin, True Blood
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Best Television Musical/Comedy
30 Rock
Californication
Entourage
The Office
Weeds

Best Actor - Television Musical/Comedy
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Kevin Connolly, Entourage
David Duchovny, Californication
Tony Shalhoub, Monk

Best Actress - Television Musical/Comedy
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Debra Messing, The Starter Wife
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

Best Mini-Series - Television
A Raisin in the Sun
Bernard and Doris
Cranford
John Adams
Recount

Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture - Television
Ralph Fiennes, Bernard and Doris
Paul Giamatti, John Adams
Kevin Spacey, Recount
Kiefer Sutherland, 24: Redemption
Tom Wilkinson, Recount

Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture - Television
Judi Dench, Cranford
Catherine Keener, An American Crime
Laura Linney, John Adams
Shirley MacLaine, Coco Chanel
Susan Sarandon, Bernard and Doris

Best Supporting Actor - Television
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Denis Leary, Recount
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Blair Underwood, In Treatment
Tom Wilkinson, John Adams

Best Supporting Actress - Television
Eileen Atkins, Cranford
Laura Dern, Recount
Melissa George, In Treatment
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers and Sisters
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment

Labels: Awards, Golden Globes, Movie News, TV News

The Black List was released today. No not the list of suspected members of the Communist party who had their careers ruined by the invasive and presumptive actions of the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HOLLYWOOD HISTORY HUZZAH!!). This list is a bit more fun and uplifting.

This Black List is actually a compiled list of the most praised screenplays as voted on by 250 film executives and high level assistants. However, the catch is that the list is of only unproduced screenplays written in or somehow associated with the current year (However some of these are heading into production). This practice became a phenomenon two years ago when a young executive at Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company Appian Way asked 90+ of his peers to send him their 10 favorite new unproduced screenplays to read over the holidays. The list got e-mailed around and became an industry staple at the end of the year. But it's important to note that everyone who talks about the Black List emphasizes that this is not a Best-Of list but rather a most-liked.

What follows is the top ten briefly summarized by Entertainment Weekly. For the full list check out Nikki Finke's posting at Deadline Hollywood.

1. The Beaver by Kyle Killen
It’s About: Walter Black, a depressed toy manufacturer, loses his family and his business. But then Walter tries on a hand puppet—a chatty British rodent called "The Beaver"—and his personality is transformed. It’s all good at first, but things turn ugly when the puppet won’t let go. It’s Like: Liar Liar fused with the horror movie Magic. Status: Steve Carell is attached to play Walter.

2. The Oranges by Jay Reiss and Ian Helfer
It’s About: Two New Jersey families are thrown into comic turmoil when the prodigal daughter returns for Christmas and falls in love with her parents’ best friend. It’s Like: The Graduate engaged to Meet the Parents. Status: Anthony Bregman (Thumbsucker) and MRC will produce. Julian Farino (Entourage) is negotiating to direct.

3. Butter by Jason Micallef
It’s About: Destiny, a black foster child, faces off against Iowa’s reigning dairy diva, the beautiful but venal Laura Pickler, in an epic butter-carving competition for the ages. It’s Like: Election swirled with Best in Show. Status: Jennifer Garner is in talks to play Laura, while DreamWorks is in early negotiations for the project.

4. Big Hole by Michael Gilio
It’s About: Lee, an old, grumpy ex-cowboy, loses $30,000 to a fraudulent sweepstakes company and sets out to punish those responsible. Lee’s son, the local sheriff, is charged with stopping him. It’s Like: Falling Down splattered with No Country for Old Men. Status: Project is set up with Aversano Films (Failure to Launch).

5. The Low Dweller by Brad Ingelsby
It’s About: Charlie "Slim" Hendrick, a don’t-eff-with-me ex-con, returns home to find that his sweetie has moved on and his bitter brother has gambling debts. When a disfigured, dog-loving thug beats his sibling to death, Slim seeks vengeance. It’s Like: Unforgiven, only less geriatric. And much less forgiving. Status: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way and Tony and Ridley Scott will co-produce.

6. F***buddies by Liz Meriwether
It’s About: Emma and Adam have the best relationship ever! They’re twentysomething pals who, you know, do it. A lot. But then Adam goes and falls in love with Emma and ruins everything. Can their perfect non-union survive? It’s Like: When Harry Met Sally… for the Juno generation. Status: Ivan Reitman’s company is developing it.

7. Winter’s Discontent by Paul Fruchbom
It’s About: After the death of his wife of more than 50 years, irrepressible horndog Herb Winter sets out, at age 75, to find sexual fulfillment with another woman. Or, if possible, several. It’s Like: Superbad set in a retirement community. Status: The film is set up at Sony. No director or star is attached.

8. Broken City by Brian Tucker
It’s About: The New York mayor asks private eye Billy Taggart to find out if the mayor’s wife is cheating on him. She is, with the campaign director of the mayor’s political rival, no less, who soon turns up dead. Did Billy’s investigation lead to murder? It’s Like: A modern L.A. Confidential peppered with Glengarry Glen Ross patois. Status: Being developed by the producing team behind Juno.

9. I’m With Cancer by Will Reiser
It’s About: Adam, a 25-year-old single Jewish dude, is diagnosed with spinal cancer. Hilarity ensues. Seriously. It’s Like: The 40 Year-Old Virgin with chemo. Status: Seth Rogen will produce and has signed on to play Adam’s best bud.

10. Our Brand Is Crisis by Peter Straughan
It’s About: A team of American political operatives moves to Bolivia to take on a flailing presidential campaign. Loosely based on the 2006 documentary of the same name. It’s Like: Primary Colors picked The Motorcycle Diaries as a running mate. Status: George Clooney’s company will produce it.

Labels: Movie News

After months of delaying, and years of speculation and buzz, we may be finally (FINALLY!) be getting the Ghostbusters video game that everyone seems to want so badly. And if it wasn't exciting enough that Bill Murray (Peter Venkman), Dan Aykroyd (Ray Stanz), Harold Ramis (Egon Spengler) and Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddmore) were all back reprising their roles, this trailer for Ghostbusters: The Video Game oughta do it for you. Hell, even William Atherton is back as slimy Environmental Protection Agent, Walter Peck ("This man has no penis.") and Annie Potts as the Ghostbusters' secretary Janine.

The trailer (see below) gives us a bunch of cutscenes, but no gameplay footage yet. However, it really feels like they captured the tone of Ghostbusters, and hopefully the game will be nearly as fun as having real proton packs (Hurry up, FUTURE!) We'll find out soon enough as long as the game sticks to the not-so-specific release window of June 2009.

Labels: Movie News, Video Games

The newest trailer for Terminator Salvation is available now for exclusive high resolution enjoyment over at Apple's Official Terminator Salvation trailer page

Despite every bone in my body hating the epic fail force that is McG, I can't help but get excited for this one. Christian Bale hasn't made a bad choice in a project yet, and this feels like a real follow-up to Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Labels: Movie News, Trailers

Subscribers of both Netflix and TiVo got a little treat this morning when TiVo released a software update for three of its DVR models allowing them to stream Netflix Instant Viewing titles directly to their DVR and thus right to their television.

The models included in this recent update are the TiVo Series3, TiVo HD, and TiVo HD XL. Those who currently subscribe to both Netflix and TiVo will not be charged extra for this service.

Netflix has really been going the extra mile. For me, the exclusive deal with Microsoft to allow for streaming through the XBOX 360 was a great step, and also sealed the deal in my loyalty to the Red Envelope company.

Deals like this make me wonder how much long we'll be dealing with physical movie libraries before we go completely digital. With so much OnDemand video being streamed online and now to televisions, how long can a new format like Blu-Ray last before digital downloads become the media leader. Services like Boxee, Hulu and iTunes (in conunction with the iTV) are really changing the face of media sales, and I for one am really interested to see where this will end up. The only real problem I can forsee is having so many different OnDemand services from various studios and such, that things are going to get sloppy.

For more information about how to set up Netflix Instant Viewing on your TiVo DVR just go to the TiVo site for detailed instructions.

Labels: Netflix

Do It, Queue It or Screw It is a regular column focusing on the weekly DVD and Blu-Ray releases with a brief summary of the special features and a quick decision on whether you should Do it (buy to own) Queue It (rent it via Netflix or Blockbuster) or Screw It (you know what this means...no not that, dirty mind).

DO IT...

The Dark Knight

This is the week of Batman as The Dark Knight hits store shelves, guaranteed to break DVD and Blu-Ray sales records following suit of the box office breaking records from earlier this summer. This will be the one to grab on Blu-Ray and also pick up some random goodies along the way (/Film has a breakdown of the different versions and different exclusives at different retailers) Special features to look forward to include the documentary "Gotham Uncovered" and the BD Live feature allowing owners of the Blu-Ray edition to record and upload their own commentary of the movie itself. Others include the already aired TV specials from the History Channel, like Batman Unmasked.

QUEUE IT...

Horton Hears a Who!

For some reason it's taken this movie forever to make its way to DVD and Blu-Ray (it was released in theaters back in March) and while computer animated movies always look extra special on HDTV's, this is one that you can take a look at, but don't need to have your kids watching everyday for a month straight. While Jim Carrey and Steve Carell make good with their voice work, like many other Seuss film adaptations, this one leaves something to be desired. Of course I'm always a sucker for special features on animated movies if only for seeing the actors record their lines. Anyway throw it in your Netflix queue (on Blu-Ray if possible) and give it a shot.

Man on Wire

I haven't had the chance to see this yet, but I'm throwing it in my Netflix queue because I've heard praise for it from everywhere (confirmed with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes). This documentary follows trained high wire walker Phillipe Petit in the 1970's as he attempts to perform a high wire stroll between the Twin Towers. Tomatoes' synopsis goes on to note filmmaker James Marsh, "crafts Man on Wire like a heist film, presenting rare and fascinating footage of the actual event alongside flawless reenactments and modern-day interviews with the participants."


SCREW IT...

Dumb and Dumber (Blu-Ray)

All right, I have a Blu-Ray player, and sure there's movies that I will buy on Blu-Ray even if I already have them on standard definition DVD, but Dumb and Dumber certainly is not one of them. I simply don't understand the need to watch this movie on Blu-Ray unless maybe you don't have it yet, and just want it on the best format. But this has the exact same special features as the anniversary double dip that came out not too long ago, and just doesn't seem worth it. Don't even worry about this HD re-release...that would be dumb...and dumber...*sigh* I need a job.

Labels: DVD and Blu-Ray

FanToys is a regular column dedicated to bringing you the best of the best collectibles, clothing, toys, and all around goodies that have anything and everything to do with the big and small screen. There's plenty of junk out there, but our job is to tell you about the junk that you really NEED!

With the inaugural FanToys, I'm pleased to bring you something that really is truly fantastic and amazing.

From FAO Schwarz (that's right the toy store with the big piano from Big) comes the Muppet Whatnot Gift Kit. This spectacular package allows you to design your own official Muppet and have it custom made.


As it works now, apparently upon ordering, you receive what is called a Muppet Whatnot Designer folder where you choose your Muppet's facial features, hairstyle, clothes and accessories. Once you have it designed just the way you want it, you send it off to FAO Schwarz for it to be made. While orders are currently only taken care of by mail if purchases online, starting in February 2009, people will be able to order and design their Muppet online and have their Muppet fantasy (that just sounds wrong) fulfilled in about 3-4 weeks.

Details on the Muppets from FAO Schwarz say "Our Muppet Whatnots are hand and rod puppets, just like the real Muppets. They're 16" tall and come in their own clear, drawstring backpack so your Whatnot can go with you wherever you go."

However, this fantastic item is a bit pricey at $130. But for your own Muppet that you can even make look like yourself, I'd say that's a decent price to pay, especially considering all the fun that can be had by making some sort of local Muppet Christmas Carol revivial with all your friends, assuming of course they are all as taken aback with being able to clone themselves in Muppet form. And if they're not, don't worry...you're special...and so is your Muppet.

Labels: FanToys

With Dreamworks pushing back of The Soloist, which would have brought two very strong Oscar contending performances to the table from Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr, it looks like the studio is now pushing for Downey in the Best Supporting Actor category, albeit with a little bit of viral marketing for Downey's character, Kirk Lazarus, from Tropic Thunder. Clever for sure, and while his performance was surely one of the highlights, is it Oscar worthy?

A larger version of this advertisement, and two television spots promoting the award campaign can be found over at /Film

Labels: Awards, Movie News, Oscars