Bad Movies We Love: Father of the Bride Part II
A friend of mine once explained to me her chief problem with movies: "I don't like when movies have conflicts. Can't we just hang out with the characters and make jokes and have fun? It's nicer that way." This week's Bad Movie We Love answers that harebrained prayer with a conflict-free plot, a smiley disposition from beginning to end, and a huge helping of total irrelevance. It's the 1995 sequel Father of the Bride Part II starring The Big Year's lead amigo Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, and a company of stress-free actors. Father of the Bride Part II is the cinematic equivalent of vanilla ice cream with butterscotch syrup: old-fashioned, tasty, and fit for consumption on a Sunday afternoon with your grandparents. Put in your dentures and watch the sedatest version of a "wild and crazy guy" you'll ever see.
Austin Powers' Random Task Suspected in Prison Death
The real-life case of Dr. Evil's Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery henchman Random Task continues to get more and more disturbing in ways that even the most twisted Bond villains couldn't match. Mixed martial artist-turned-actor Joseph Son, currently serving a life sentence for a 1990 gang rape, is now suspected of killing his cellmate in California's Wasco State Prison. An autopsy and investigation is underway. [THR]
6 Iconic James Bond Villains That Javier Bardem Should Channel For Bond 23
After nine months of rumors, Javier Bardem has finally confirmed that he will assume the enviable role of villain in the next James Bond movie, Bond 23. So just which Bond baddie should the Academy Award winner channel when plotting against Daniel Craig's "007?" Movieline suggests a half dozen iconic Bond evil doers below.
5 Essential 'Coming Out' Movies, In Honor of LGBT History Month
October's designation as LGBT History Month and yesterday's National Coming Out Day is more than enough reason to revisit five movies that chronicle coming out, the disorientation that comes with queer self-identification, and the still-underrepresented world of gay romance. Our quintet includes a touch of the mainstream, a dollop of the obscure, and a heady mix of fantasy and reality. Cue up your Mama Cass solo discs!
Kristen Stewart's Snow White and the Huntsman Sounds Increasingly Badass
"Basically, I'm fighting evil -- I'm fighting the most evil motherf--kers -- and it's fine that they're being killed," Kristen Stewart told Box Office Magazine of her currently-filming Snow White and the Huntsman. "It's anguish. It's literally f--king anguish. She takes absolutely no pleasure in ever hurting anything. I'm exhausted right now and I was thinking, 'The fight stuff is coming up, maybe that won't be so bad.' And then I realized that they're probably going to be my most emotional scenes because I'm killing people and I'm Snow White. It's a really f--king cool way to approach a movie where so many people die." Score another badass point in favor of SWATH. Sorry, other Snow White movie. [Box Office Magazine]
The Great Tarantino/McQueen Slave-Movie Duel, and 5 Other Stories You'll Be Talking About Today
Happy Wednesday! Also in today's edition of The Broadsheet: Yet another possible Leonardo DiCaprio project surfaces... Aaron Sorkin declined Steve Jobs's invitation to write a Pixar film... Hilary Duff wants to be the next Stephenie Meyer... Occupy Wall Street's celebrity dynamic gets a closer look... and more.
Johnny Depp Lone Ranger Project Reportedly Back On for Slightly Less Stupid Money
When Disney pulled the plug on its expensive Lone Ranger project, which was to reunite Pirates of the Caribbean cohorts Johnny Depp, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Gore Verbinski, a few industry-watchers held out hope that the studio and the filmmakers would yet still reach an agreement over how many hundreds of millions of dollars the would-be franchise would cost. Almost exactly two months later, it seems they've reached that compromise. More stupid money for someone!
Independent Theaters Join Tower Heist Boycott
Following the example set last week by Cinemark, a number of independent theater chains and movie theaters have pledged not to screen Universal's Tower Heist in protest over the studio's plans to drastically shorten the release window. Lyndon Golin, chief executive of Regency Theaters (which is joined by the Emagine and Galaxy chains) explained: "We certainly support Cinemark... If their position is they won't run it, then we won't run it either. Movies shown in the home on such a short window is a dagger to our business." [LA Times]
Submit a 10-Word Review, Win a Tree of Life Blu-ray Combo Pack!
It's giveaway time again! This time, Movieline is giving away two Tree of Life combo packs (Blu-ray, DVD and digital copy included) in honor of tomorrow's home release of the Terrence Malick drama. And what better way to toast the thought-provoking feature starring Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain and Sean Penn than with a 10-word review contest. So grab your guest critic pens and click through for more details -- except for you, Sean Penn. [UPDATE: The contest is now closed! Thank you to everyone who participated. We will now sort through your submissions and notify you of a winner shortly.]
VIDEO: The Thing as Retold Through Song by a Dog Channeling Frank Sinatra
The Joel Edgerton-Mary Elizabeth Winstead prequel The Thing hits theaters this Friday, so if you need a refresher on the events of the John Carpenter 1982 original -- which takes place three days after the new film -- what better way to relive it than through the Cliff's Notes version, as sung in the style of Frank Sinatra from the point of view of the dog? Just go with it. Watch Jon and Al's John Carpenter's The Thing: The Musical, then stick around for more Buzz Break.
So Much for Oscar; Soderbergh's Liberace Goes to HBO
Earlier this year producer Jerry Weintraub predicted Oscar gold for one of his upcoming pet projects, the Steven Soderbergh-helmed Liberace biopic. "I've got a great script, it's a great story, and they're great characters," he enthused to Movieline. "That's what I make movies about. It's going to win an Academy Award... for Michael Douglas." Well, not so fast.
Help Movieline Caption This Expendables 2 Photo of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis
The Expendables 2 is shaping up to be the biggest, baddest ensemble action film ever with a cast that includes proven superstars Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mickey Rourke, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Chuck Norris. Today, we've received proof that this sprawling adrenaline-fueled blockbuster is indeed in production via a photo of the three bulky leads mugging in Bulgaria. This calls for a round of Caption This!
For Your (Re-)Consideration: Freddy Got Fingered
The Freddy Got Fingered rehabilitation campaign that commenced in earnest last year with actor/writer/director Tom Green extends now to the comedy critic ranks: "Freddy Got Fingered isn't a terrible movie -- it's just baffling and non-formulaic. It takes sight gags that feel like they could come from a silent film and it amps them up to utterly ridiculous proportions. It's downright visionary for Green to find a dead deer on the side of the road and put it on like a cape, or for Green to lick the exposed bone after his friend (Harland Williams) suffers a brutal skateboarding injury, or for Green to manually stimulate a horse while crying out, 'I'm a farmer, Daddy!' Yes, it's funny to jerk off of a horse, but it's also anti-comedy, comparable to Andy Kaufman or '70s Steve Martin. It just came out in a time in which anti-comedy wasn't ringing many people's bells." Discuss? [Splitsider]
Ranking the Celebrity Directors of Lifetime's Five: Is Demi Moore a Budding Kathryn Bigelow?
On Monday, the Lifetime Network aired Five, a quintet of interlocking cancer stories all directed by one of five famous women (Jennifer Aniston, Alicia Keys, Demi Moore, Penelope Spheeris, and Patty Jenkins), to bring attention to Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Here at Movieline, we see the two-hour special for what it really is: an opportunity to rank Jennifer Aniston against Demi Moore and see who comes out on top. Which lady director handled her sensitive material best? Did Aniston topple established veterans Spheeris and Jenkins? Does G.I. Jane prevail? Doesn't she always? Let's rank them No. 5 to No. 1 after the jump.
