"After serving the world for over 30 years, the space shuttle has earned its place in history, and it's come to a final stop." Those were the words of Capt. Christopher J. Ferguson, commander of the shuttle Atlantis, upon landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida early Thursday morning. After 135 launches, NASA has officially retired the manned shuttle program, which means it's time to look back on its storied history the only way that seems appropriate: by remembering favorite space movies? Sure, let's go with it!
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If you lived in New York or Los Angeles on July 20, 2001, and were the type of person who loved to make underhanded remarks about friends, strangers and even family members behind their back -- and even to their face -- then the chances are good you were first in line to see Terry Zwigoff's caustic comedy of misanthropy, Ghost World. Based on the comic by Daniel Clowes, the film took too-cool-for-school ethos to another level, offered Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson their best-ever screen roles (true), and even turned Steve Buscemi into a romantic lead. Well, sorta. Let's celebrate this little oddity by remembering some great one-liners -- and a related-but-not music video by Aimee Mann -- ahead.
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This morning, while interviewing the cast of Entourage about their final season on HBO (premiering Sunday), Matt Lauer begged to know whether they would consider adapting their series into a film. "We're going to try really hard to make that happen," Kevin Connolly promised the Today host and fans. But are you even interested in an Entourage film?
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Twitter users, those punny minxes, are taking a jab at Rupert Murdoch with a new hashtag meme entitled #MurdochFilms. You take a film title, make a Murdochian joke of it, and send it through Twitter like a cat in the dark. Then we at Movieline pick the best uses of the hashtag, add a few of our own, and you comment with your best additions. Sound good? Let's play.
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Just as not every news story this morning can breathlessly follow the Murdoch/Brooks hearings presently overtaking Parliament, not every movie anniversary of note this year can carry the same weight as Aliens or Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Hence the slow-news-day milestone you've been waiting for (or... not): Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey turns 20 today. Feel old yet?
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All Willy Wonka news is good news (unless we're talking about another aerial death brought on by Fizzy Lifting drinks), but the news of a 40th anniversary Willy Wonka box set is astounding news. Look at these damn goodies! The technicolor treacle! That winsome Wonka visage! The candy-scented glory of pencils! Let's gawk at the Blu-ray special (due out in October) and pick the original movie's most underrated moment.
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A hot July day exactly 25 years ago yielded one of the best films of the 1980s: Aliens, James Cameron's sequel to the Ridley Scott's classic Alien seven years before it. It holds up all this time later, and arguably may stand up as the most solid work Cameron and his ensemble ever did. Let's pay it the anniversary respect it deserves.
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Let's just cut to the chase: you saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. In fact, judging from the record-breaking box office results from this weekend, you might have even seen it twice. The well-reviewed final installment of the beloved wizarding franchise ended with a bang both creatively and financially, meaning there is plenty to discuss. So, let's discuss!
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Peter Berg's beloved TV series Friday Night Lights ends this week, capping its rollercoaster five-season run with an Emmy nomination and a fantastic oral history of the show by its creators and stars over at Grantland. But this might not be the end for FNL, if, as reports say, Berg and Co. are trying to get another Friday Night Lights movie off the ground, to pick up where the small-screen storyline left off.
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Time for yet another Twitter hashtag war: This time we're following the example of Patton Oswalt (who says he stole the gag from tweeter John Ross Bowie), and invoking the hashtag #ArtHousePorn. Let's hear your libidinous riffs on arty cinema! We'll list the best five examples we found on Twitter, add a few of our own, and then you can show us all up with your funny funniness.
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For those of you who follow the television news beat, Glee creator Ryan Murphy telling The Hollywood Reporter that Lea Michele, Chris Colfer and Cory Monteith would not return to the Emmy-nominated Fox comedy ("comedy") following the upcoming third season shouldn't have been that surprising. After all, Murphy has been saying for months that the McKinley High School seniors would graduate at the close of season three. What that means for the future of Glee is certainly up for debate -- one that Movieline sister site TVLine will keep you abreast on; what that means for the three biggest Glee stars, however, is firmly in Movieline territory. Where do they go from here? Let's discuss!
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On this day in 1957, a boy named Cameron Crowe was born in Palm Springs, California.
After becoming the youngest-ever contributor at Rolling Stone (an experience he encapsulated beautifully in his Academy Award-winning film Almost Famous) and posing as an undercover student at a San Diego high school (a year which inspired his first screenwriting effort, Fast Times at Ridgemont High), Cameron Crowe has given the world some of its most heartwarming films like Say Anything, Singles, Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous. Join as we celebrate the writer/director's 54th by pinpointing his best moment on film.
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For the fourth time this summer an R-rated comedy opened big at the box office. Despite what some might say, the message is clear: you love laughing! Especially when the laughing involves Jennifer Aniston discussing her proclivity to masturbate while watching Gossip Girl. With $28 million in ticket sales, Horrible Bosses is comedy hit -- and that means there's plenty to discuss.
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It hasn't been the best of Julys for Tom Hanks -- after all, Larry Crowne fizzled with both critics and audiences -- but that should change today, if only because it's his birthday! Hanx -- as he's known to his over 2 million Twitter followers -- was born in Concord, Calif on July 9, 1956, and here at Movieline we encourage you to celebrate the joyous occasion the only way that seems appropriate: by remembering his best onscreen moment.
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On this day in 1958, a baby boy named Kevin Norwood Bacon was born in Philadelphia. Seventeen years later, he would leave home to pursue a career in theater, only to find his way onto the big screen via a role in Animal House. Over thirty years after making that film debut, Bacon has established himself as one of America's most beloved actors (and the subject of one of our favorite parlor games). Now let's celebrate Bacon's birthday the only way we know how -- by pinpointing his finest onscreen moment.
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