Quick Flicks: Lex Luthor Needs a Bailout

2:51 PM / Posted by Bradford Oman / comments (0)

You know, there's so many crazy schemes by super villains to bring out the end of the world, or take down their arch nemesis that no one ever stops to think of the financial burden of being one of the most evil geniuses in the world. Lex Luthor feels this pain, and apparently so does his wallet. In this Funny or Die exclusive, Jon Hamm (from AMC's Mad Men) steps into the role of Superman's arch nemesis to ask the government for a corporate bailout. It's really great to see Hamm doing stuff like this as well as his still going character arc on 30 Rock. While I can't help but think how funny this would've been with Gene Hackman or even Kevin Spacey, it's really great seeing Hamm get worked up while wearing an offputting bald cap.

Labels: , , , ,

Quick Flicks: 'Bat Fight' Featuring Will Ferrell

12:25 PM / Posted by Bradford Oman / comments (0)

Who will win in an epic 70's musically styled bat fight between Will Ferrell and Craig Robinson? There's only one way to find out as they face off in this short from Funny or Die. Ferrell appears still in the wardrobe of his character from HBO's new series Eastbound and Down and this just makes me want to be on the set of any movie with Will Ferrell, just for the chance of appearing in a short such as this. Enjoy!

Labels: , , ,

Alternate Poster: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

10:49 PM / Posted by Bradford Oman / comments (1)


A while back Peter Sciretta over at /Film posted about a fan-made alternate poster to the sort of conventional and uninspiring characters posters used to promote The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The poster itself was created by a reader using a promotional image for the film's Oscar campaign. Flash forward a month and over at Internet Movie Poster Awards they recently posted a much more polished version of the proposed alternate poster making it potentially more official, and perhaps even used in the international marketing of the film.

Upon first glance the image seems very simple, but the difference of the extremely wrinkled skin, gray hair and liver-spotted head of an infant is supremely striking. I am personally very interested and critical in the art of movie posters, and while most posters attempt to use weak Photoshop skills and their cast's familiar faces to try to sell a film, I love when there's some style to the poster and even more when the poster can live up to a picture's expectations of being wort a thousand words.

The image of an infant Benjamin Button in his surrogate mother's arms evokes exactly the same feelings of the film. An all too familiar story following one man's journey through life is made completely out of the ordinary by this burden of aging backwards. Some have simply said Button is Forrest Gump with a twist. But for me, this twist really changes the story, and much like the image of this geriatric baby being held so lovingly, is simply beautiful.

Moving quickly from some praise to some wit, others are a little more forward in their comparisons of Benjamin Button with Forrest Gump. In the below video you can see a funny side-by-side comparison of more than a couple elements in common between the two films.

Labels: , , , ,