Fall TV News Clips

24 Shuts Down For 14.

Variety reports that production on the Fox show 24 has halted for two weeks so that the last six episodes can be retooled. 20th Century Fox TV confirmed that production will shut down on September 15. According to EW.com Executive Producer Howard Gordon was unhappy with the direction the season was taking in it's final episodes.

The Fox studio said they were able to do this because they are way ahead of schedule of filmed episodes. Eight of the coming seasons episodes were filmed before the writer's strike, which in turn canceled programming until January 2009.

The only thing I can say about this, is either 24 is going into a downward spiral, or great things are coming. Stay tuned.

Prison Break Freed By Pirates

The Fox network has more bad news as apparently more than a million downloads of episode one of Prison Break were pirated from such services as BitTorrent. Fox aired the first episode on Monday and posted it at one of my favorite places, Hulu.com on Tuesday. Most of the downloads were from overseas.

That led News Corp. to issue a warning to international pirates this week: "Our litigation strategy against BitTorrent in the U.S. has been successful, and we've managed to shut down the major pirate sites." Additionally News Corp. said the following, "We are pursuing similar strategies internationally and anticipate success there as well."

90210 Already Receiving Wrath Of PTC

The L.A. Times is reporting that the Parents Television Council is already calling for a boycott because of an opening scene of 90210, a revamp of the once popular Beverly Hills, 90210. The scene in question shows a boy sitting in a car and then a girl's head rising. If the CW's marketing is any indication, it is a boycott that plays right into their hand, as their new advertisement for Gossip Girl, another CW show, features two teenagers in bed under the headline: "Mind-blowingly inappropriate" -- a quote that came from the Parents Television Council.

Technorati Tags: 24,prison break,90210,cw,pirating,boycott,shutdown,fox tv,news corp,parents television council,ptc,riesen2b

Sean Penn's Got "Milk".

I'm wondering how much of this story will be true and how much will be dramatized.  I still remember this incident happening after all of these years even though it certainly had no correlation in my life and I had no real interest in the story.  Could have just been the last name Milk, I guess.  But, for those who are interested, watch the trailer as it does look like an interesting movie.

Sean Penn Stars in "Milk" Coming To Theaters On December 5, 2008.

Academy Award nominee Gus Van Sant directs Academy Award winner Sean Penn as gay-rights icon Harvey Milk. Mr. Milk (1930-1978) was an activist and politician, and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in America; in 1977, he was voted to the city supervisors' board of San Francisco. The following year, both he and the city's mayor George Moscone were shot to death by another city supervisor, Dan White. Mr. Milk was previously the subject of the Academy Award-winning documentary feature The Times of Harvey Milk, but Milk is the first non-documentary feature to explore the man's life and career.

 

Technorati Tags: harvey milk,sean penn,josh brolin,james franco,focus features,gus van sant,dan white,riesen2b

Get Your Stooge Fix For Free At Hulu.Com

Hulu.Com a joint venture with Fox, NBC, and Universal is really making an effort to add to their librarys of movies and television shows. They update constantly and you can find some really good shows and award winning movies as well as some of the best B-movies you can find. If you have read any of my past posts you know that I use them quite often as in most cases they allow you to embed their shows, which have just a few limited commercial interruptions, mainly I think because they receive add revenue whether it is watched on their site or mine. And since they provide me with material for some really good posts, I don't mind the ads.

Well, recently they've added some of the classic episodes of "The Three Stooges" from 1934-36. These are episodes with the most popular Stooges, Moe, Larry, and Curly. They are a real hoot for anyone that loves the Stooges, and will be great fun for the young who may not be familiar with them. You'll find 24 episodes at Hulu.Com and you can get there by clicking here.

In the meantime, enjoy this episode of the Three Stooges, one of my favorites!

Universal Teams Up With Guillermo del Toro For Remakes

According to International Business Times, Guillermo del Toro will be partnering with Universal studios as director on four new re-makes. This will be separate from his current work on "The Hobbit."

Currently slated for remakes through the year 2017 are "Frankenstein," "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," "Slaughterhouse-Five" and "Drood."  This information came from Variety.

All of the four movies have previous versions. But for "Frankenstein," del Toro expressed his desire to work on it, mainly because he thinks that it is  a story that contains an essential human question.

According to Variety, del Toro said,  "Why did my creator throw me here, unprotected, unguided, unaided and lost? With that one, they will have to pry it from my cold dead hands to prevent me from directing it."

In explaining his ideals for "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" del Toro explained he is likely to focus on the prose of Robert Louis Stevenson but also, go deeper into the "addictive high" experience of Dr. Jekyll's alter ego.

In addition, del Toro has two more projects with the studio for an adaptation of "At the Mountains of Madness," and the adaptation of the apocalyptic novel "Hater" and "Crimson Peak" where he will work as producer.

 

Technorati Tags: universal studios,guillermo del toro,frankenstein,remakes,slaughterhouse five,drood,dr. jekyll and mister hyde,riesen2b

Warning! Major Chick Flick Alert! Nights In Rodanthe

For all of you guys out there, here is a major Chick Flick Warning! Nights in Rodanthe is one that you should be sneaking out of the house and running to the hills away from. Watch this trailer at your own risk!




In case the thought of watching this is too much too bear (my eyes are still hurting from it and I have a man-sized migraine), here is a description of it courtesy of Trailer Addict.com. Another warning. After reading you may wind up running and putting your head in the toilet.

Two unhappy people's lives become entwined when they have a life
changing romance. Adrienne is a woman who's trying to decide whether to stay in
her unhappy marriage or not. Her life changes when Paul, a doctor who is
traveling to reconcile with his estranged son, checks into an inn in a North
Carolina beach town where she is staying.

Ladies, if you are offended by this post, please know that it is all in jest. We love taking you to the weepie romantic movies.

Soulcalibur IV For XBox 360 Is As Good As It Gets

SoulCalibur IV brings Namco's weapon-based fighter to next-gen systems with gorgeous graphics, online play, and some special guest characters.  I got the game this past week, have been playing it during the long holiday weekend, and have to start out by saying that this game is so amazing it nearly picked me off of my feet and knocked me on the floor.  It is a game that is bold, big, dynamic, and on an HD television, is almost surreal.  And one you won't want to miss.

It's Yoda vs Seung Mena only on the XBox 360

I have had so much fun over the weekend that this is currently my favorite new game.   What is the plot of Soulcalibur IV?

Well basically, it goes like this.  Soul Edge is evil, Soul Calibur is good, and various people want one, the other, or both for various evil and/or good purposes. That pretty much sums it up as it is the fighting and gameplay that really matters.  And in this regard, Soulcalibur should be a basketball game because it is a slam dunk.

One great thing about this game is character creation.  It seems like a heavy focus for this game, and while you are limited to the fighting styles of the main characters, the possibilities of what you can make your character be is almost endless.     Now when you are playing the Tower Of Souls,  each level has a secret objective that will open up new items for character customization.

As you can tell by this picture, Darth Vader makes a guest appearance in Soul Calibur IV, as well as Yoda and Darth Vader's Secret Apprentice who will appear in the next Star Wars Videogame.  Well, not exactly.  It seems you only get Darth on the Playstation 3 game, Yoda on the XBox 360 game, and the Apprentice on both.  A slight disappointment and I'm not quite sure why they did it like that.  I'm sure a lot of other fans were not expecting that either.

The attacks that you use in some cases require a lot of combo button pushing, but with a little practice are generally easy to remember and not too difficult, the exception being something called a critical strike.  Learn that one successfully and your character slays your opponent in one strike to a spectacular conclusion.

The graphics and scenery burst off the screen.  I don't think I would be exaggerating in saying that this is one of the best looking games ever conceived and if you don't have a widescreen HDTV, you are really missing out on all that this game has to offer.

I think that fans who were disappointed with the last couple of Soulcalibur games are going to love this one.

What I Liked About This Game:

• Gorgeous, Astonishing Graphics
• Character customization extensive
• Gameplay is fun whether amateur or expert
• Multiple characters to choose from
• Many, many options for game modes

What I Did Not Like About This Game:

• Actually, my gripe about not having Darth Vader and Yoda on both platforms was my only dislike about SoulCalibur IV.

So, overall, I guess you can tell that I liked this game a lot.  And in that regard, deducting only for the lack of Vader, the riesen2b blog-o-rama-ter gives Soul Calibur IV, 4.9 out of 5.

Technorati Tags: soulcalibur IV,review,darth vader,yoda,riesen2b

Labor Day Movie Marathon

Enjoy these classic movies right here thanks to Hulu.com. All of these films are well worth watching.

The Sand Pebbles - December 20, 1966
Starring Steve McQueen
Multiple Oscar nominations went to this tale of a cynical sailor's experiences on an American gunboat in 1926 China.


Halls Of Montezuma - January 1, 1951
Starring Richard Widmark
A personal favorite. A Marine platoon leader is determined to keep alive the seven men who have survived under his command, even though they have only twenty-four hours to take out a Japanese rocket command that threatens to devastate the Allied Forces.


Guadalcanal Diary - October 27, 1943
Starring William Bendix
A very popular movie based on the book of the same name. A reporter narrates several stories of characters built around events leading up the campaign on Guadalcanal during WWII.


...and as summer nears the end, let's end our marathon with one of the all time summer beach movies. It's...

Beach Blanket Bingo - April 14, 1965
starring Annette Funicello & Frankie Avalon
Subplots in this classic beach movie of the 1960s includes a group of beach teens become involved in a kidnapping of a singing idol.

Two Weeks: A Film As Good As Terms Of Endearment

I saw an ad today on TCM for the Academy Award Winning Film "Terms Of Endearment". It will be shown on Tuesday, September 2, 2008 in case you want to see it. It made me think of a movie I saw last year that didn't receive any attention at all as far as I know, and I'm sure most people have probably never heard of it. Yet, as far as a movie dealing with families and death are concerned, I think this one is just as good as "Terms of Endearment", and while a dramedy, the relationships within the family between brothers and sisters ring totally true.

Mom, played with masterful restraint by Sally Field, has had a full, if somewhat abbreviated, life. She has told her children just about everything that needs to be said; she has dutifully divvied up her belongings. There are no last-minute confessions, no head-spinning plot twists. All that's left is for her to breathe her last, and for her four grown children to be there…just be there…in her final two weeks.

As for the kids, they're an unremarkable lot: not a profoundly maladjusted misfit, domineering alpha child, nor smothering big sister in the bunch. And it is this sense of ordinariness, this atmosphere of unremarkable grief (last time I checked, everyone's mother dies, and most of them are loved) that makes Two Weeks singularly affecting. Absent any mind-bending plot devices, Two Weeks becomes a film of scattered moments, slices of life (and the end of life) that ring with disarming authenticity.

As the dying Anita, Field is courageous in her relentless portrayal of physical deterioration, drifting toward the inevitable end, marshaling moments of adrenaline-driven strength in the presence of her grandchildren and old friends. Her character's face drawn and weakened by cancer, Fields enlists her remarkable eyes to flash moments of joy, regret, anger, and momentary terror. Dying from the first frame, Anita is infused by Field with defiant life—not the kind that rails against the darkness, but one that looks around and finds easy evidence of a life well lived.

Two Weeks offers several peripheral characters—daughters-in-law, distant relatives, even a second husband—but they are sketchily defined, and their comings and goings are fuzzy at best. Their cursory appearances are of little consequence. This is a movie about mothers and children and the gratifying, gut-wrenching process of saying goodbye.

The riesen2b blog-o rama-ter gives this 4 out of 5 stars.

You can pick up the DVD at Amazon.Com for about 11 bucks right now by clicking here.

Anne Hathaway's Supernatural Thriller - Passengers Trailer

Something a little out of the ordinary for Anne Hathaway. The trailer doesn't seem all that thrilling but it's nice to see her expanding her field in cinema. So, after watching the trailer and still wondering what the movie is about, here is a description posted on TrailerAddict:

After a plane crash, a young therapist, Claire (Anne Hathaway), is assigned by her mentor (Andre Braugher) to counsel the flight's five survivors. When they share their recollections of the incident – which some say include an explosion that the airline claims never happened – Claire is intrigued by Eric (Patrick Wilson), the most secretive of the passengers. Just as Claire's professional relationship with Eric – despite her better judgment – blossoms into a romance, the survivors begin to disappear mysteriously, one by one. Claire suspects that Eric may hold all the answers and becomes determined to uncover the truth, no matter the consequences.

Passengers is rated PG-13 and is scheduled for release on October 24, 2008.

From Sports Anchorwoman To Vice Presidential Nominee

The year was 1988. Here is a video of Vice Presidential Nominee Sarah Palin (nee Heath) bringing all of the latest sports news from a local channel in Alaska. Only in this country can someone achieve so much in so little time.



And here is one more video that I just had to add. It is a guest video on Craig Ferguson's show where as the Governor of Alaska, she makes Craig an honorary citizen. He describes her as looking like a naughty librarian.

Great Classic Presidential Movies

CBS.com posted this video of People magazine editor Jess Cagle giving his picks for best Presidential movies. Does his choices match your own?

Watch CBS Videos Online