Stubgun

"Evil will always triumph over good because good is dumb."

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The latest movie news, features, gossip, rumours, reviews and speculation from across the web.

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1. 

   Defective pixels 8 (Laughing at Funny Games)

   Posted Tuesday 25th Mar 2008 at 22:42 by matt.

   Apparently critics are disgusted with Funny Games, Michael Haneke’s shot-for-shot remake of his 1997 original. Does these ‘disgusted’ critics not watch foreign films? Surely they must have known what they were in for?

   I haven’t seen the remake yet, although the original still terrifies to the core. I can’t stop myself from watching it if it’s on TV though…

   Worst director sell outs

   Over at Spout they have a list of what they consider the worst directorial sell-outs of all time.

   I don’t know if I just have a different understanding of the term sell-out, but to me its some one who sells out their integrity for a shiny nickel. At least two on the list (Jean-Pierre Jeunet for Alien Resurrection and Ang Lee for Hulk) were out of their depth, pummelled by the Hollywood system – both disappearing back to material they felt more suiting them after the experience.

   I think Doug Liman should probably be in there. Swingers, Go, The Bourne Identity… The OC, Mr & Mrs Smith, Jumper.

   Aging brat pack

   Metro has a where are the now for actors who made it big John Hughes movies.

   Seems to be mostly theatre, TV movies or quitting the business altogether. How many child/teen stars have survived the transition? Christian Bale and…

2. Stubgun reloaded

   Posted Monday 24th Mar 2008 at 20:57 by matt.

   

   You probably thought we were dead. Just over a month since our last confession.

   Problems in infrastructure and coding slowed down our return. Now… all fixed, hopefully and we can get back to regularly scheduled programming.

   Now you no longer need an account to leave comments, we received some emails about that and now its a reality. We’ve also upgraded the backend, so things should hopefully be faster now.

   We’ve got a lot of ideas coming down the pipeline: features and competitions, regular news roundups and interesting bits from around the interweb.

   Tomorrow is a new day.

   Photocredit goes to Mr Trona
3. 

   Defective pixels 7 (or when Batman goes Japanese)

   Posted Sunday 17th Feb 2008 at 20:43 by matt.

   According to a short documentary, which can be found on Youtube, DC Comics are following the footsteps of The Animatrix. Batman: Gotham Knight is a feature length animated film made up of six interconnected stories that take place between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Each story is written by an American writer, such Batman Begins scribe David S. Goyer, Brian Azzarello and Greg Rucka, and animated by some the biggest Animé studios in Japan. Christian Bale provides his vocal talents for ol’ Bruce and it’ll be released later this year (presumably before The Dark Knight hits the big screen).

   Take your stinking paws off of me you damn dirty ape!

   IFC.com have a new weekly series charting the last 40 years of Planet of the Apes. Part 1 charts the first two films – in other words the only ones worth watching…

   “My problems are spreading faster than the cancer in Steve McQueen’s lungs”

   Following up her runaway success story Juno Diablo Cody presents her new project, Quotey. Or she probably would have done in a few more months, instead a dumpster diver beat her to it and as is the way with the 21st Century, they uploaded what they found to the intermathingy.

   So… Ron Perlman as Gandalf?

   Although certain sources said he’d already signed, that wasn’t the case. Apparently there’s still a lot of paperwork for Guillermo Del Toro to sign before he’s officially on board The Hobbit, but its moving along. The good news for fans is that he wants Andy Sirkin and Ian McKellen back to reprise their roles. Unfortunately that means none of this:

   

   List insania!

   • 10 Years, 10 Great Screenplays (one of the better lists I’ve seen) from Random Ramblings of a Demented Doorknob
   • Top 10 Romance Movies from _ReelzChannel
   • Top 10 Greatest Movie Anti-Heroes from Listverse
   • Top 10 Rick Moranis flicks from The Film Fiend
   • The 20 Best Movie Characters of the Last 20 Years (Part 1) (Part 2) from Blog Cabins
   • Hollywood’s 10 Most Successful On-Screen Pairings from Forbes
   • Top Five Best Zombie Movies from The Movie-Fanatic
   • Top 5 most under-rated Oscar winners of the 80s from Stuck in the ‘80s
   • Top 20 movie nerds of the 80s also from Stuck in the ‘80s

4. New Indiana Jones trailer!

   Posted Thursday 14th Feb 2008 at 21:58 by matt.

   Finally we get a glimpse at the new Indiana Jones film and hope that it lives up to its name. So far so good.
5. 
6. 

   Defective pixels 6 (or when the strike ends)

   Posted Wednesday 13th Feb 2008 at 21:41 by matt.

   The image you see to the left is from Cinemascope, a comic-strip about movies. Worth keeping an eye on.

   Writer’s strike is over!

   When it began they said it could last until March, and they were only a couple of weeks off as the writer’s strike is now over. The ramifications of the strike are still to be seen, some “analysts” have been predicting that it might be a lose-lose situation, with TV networks realizing they can survive without scripted television. Next season may weigh even more heavily in the ‘reality TV’ arena, possibly leaving many writers struggling to find work.

   Do today’s special effects suck?

   I thought an article over at Associated Content about whether special effects are the worst they’ve ever been was very interesting and thought provoking.

   I’ve felt this way for a while and, judging from the reactions to CGI some of my friends exhibit, I’m not the only one.

   Whereas in the past limitations on possibility made film-makers ever more creative, now they just throw CGI at it. Watching the making-of features on the Alien Quadrilogy or Blade Runner boxsets really shows you what true artistry is. The matte painting backgrounds in Blade Runner look infinitely more pleasing to the eye than the CGI backdrops we often see. How much can it cost to hire a matte painter these days? Sure hope a revival is on the horizon… or at least a rebellion against CGI.

   Star Wars returns to the big screen

   

   Star Wars is returning to theatres this year when Star Wars: The Clone Wars débuts.I sure hope its better than Episodes 1-3. The film will be followed by a Clone Wars TV series on the Cartoon Network.

   Find the right Valentine’s Day movie for you

   Another list of movies. Typically Valentine’s Day themed. Will the horror never end? Because apparently the right movie for me is Punch Drunk Love... wait a minute, I love that movie! Oh sweet Valentine’s Day.

   Today’s lists

   • Seven worst dates on film at Cinematical.
   • Five essential sharkless Roy Scheider roles from Filmbabble.
   • Ten bad-ass women’s movie moments from DC Movie Girl.
   • Ten great horror romances from Kindertrauma.
   • Ten dos and don’ts of romantic comedies at Yahoo.

7. Defective pixels 5

   Posted Tuesday 12th Feb 2008 at 22:17 by matt.

   

   Before we get back to our regular programming I just wanted to say a few words to our early-adopters. Stubgun is still in the early days, codewise the site is technically still in beta thanks to an upgrade to Rails 2.0, and we’re trying to iron out the remaining bugs. We’re scrapping the log-in system this weekend and having the standard name-website-comment forms you see on a lot of other sites. So hopefully it’ll be easier for people to comment come that time.

   The Defective pixels column is intended to be a ‘interesting things from around the web’ type of post. At the moment some news posts are finding their way in, but when we’ve got all the bugs cleaned out we’ll be having a separate daily news round-up post, as well as other articles and features. So hopefully you’ll stay tuned while we get this all sorted out.

   The image above is taken from an article at the LAist. Visit There Will Be Graffiti for more pictures.

   For the 24-hour cock-fight

   I thought Old Spice had been banished to the times of yesterfar. What better way to find a new younger market than by teaming up with Will Ferrell to co-promote his new movie, Semi Pro? The Old Spice website has a series of Jackie Moon videos where he gives his reasons for picking Old Spice: Pro-Strength.

   Juno hate-fest?

   Slate ponders on the current backlash for Juno. Indie fans not liking the fact its getting Oscar attention? Serious drama fans thinking it’s nothing like real life? Who the fuck knows? People will really bitch about anything. In other Juno news Jason Reitman told Pagesix.com that he wouldn’t make a sequel. Good for him – but with big box-office does that mean the studio won’t make a sequel without him?

   Bomb’s worth the fallout

   The List Universe has, surprise surprise, a list of 10 box-office bombs that you really should see. There are few on there that I haven’t seen that I’ll be keeping my eye out for. I question the inclusion of Equilibrium, admittedly with Christian Bale and Taye Diggs its not all bad, but with only one original idea and a dozen stolen its not what I’d call a good film.

   While we’re on lists, one from Yahoo – 10 Most mismatched couples, and one from Matchflick, Ten biggest nerds in film history.
8. 

   Defective pixels 4 (or how the west was won)

   Posted Monday 11th Feb 2008 at 13:35 by matt.

   Even with a poor showing of British films at the BAFTA’s last night, Atonement still went home with best picture. But riddle me this: Atonement won best picture, its British and was up against This Is England in the best British film category, This Is England won that category – so by logic This Is England is the best film of the BAFTAs!

   Breakthrough performances

   The New York Times has an article on the cinematic breakthroughs of various, currently hip, actors. It starts with Ellen Page, and heads through Seth Rogan and Paul Dano.

   Year of the Rat

   Zap2it has an odd list of celebrities that were born in the year of the rat. I’m not sure what you’re supposed to do with the information, I just tells it as I sees it.

   Brangelina ate your baby!

   I’m honestly not too interested in celebrity news, but this sort of thing pisses me off. Forbes “looked at both Web presence and press clippings for more than 50 A-list couples” to decide that Brad and Angelina are the most powerful couple in Hollywood. What does that mean? That means they will CRUSH you under their big dumb Brangelina digits!
9. 

   Defective pixels 3 (Or why Pan's Labyrinth is the shizzle)

   Posted Sunday 10th Feb 2008 at 22:02 by matt.

   So the poster has been released for the new James Bond picture, your pretty generic Bond image. Quantum of Solace may sound like a bad sci-fi movie, but here’s hoping it lives up to Casino Royale’s promise.

   More than meets the eye

   The Movie Fanatic have listed their top five movie robots. They might be beloved but I’m pretty sure the Terminator would destroy C-3P0 and R2-D2…

   BBC World Cinema Awards 2008

   Pan’s Labyrinth won the BBC FOUR World Cinema Award. Pan’s is brilliant, but I’m also really happy to see horror/fantasy winning awards. Why aren’t Del Toro’s English-language films as good as his Spanish?

   Three Legends

   Matchflick has a breakdown and analysis of the three movies based on Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend. One day someone might actually make a note-perfect adaptation.
11. 

    Defective pixels 2 (Or why Julie Christie thinks she's all that)

    Posted Saturday 9th Feb 2008 at 00:28 by matt.

    I saw Away From Her the other week. A brilliant film that caught me off guard, the subject matter wasn’t something that really appealed to me but it won me over. The Talking A Lot Without Ever Really Saying Anything blog thinks that Julie Christie shouldn’t get an Oscar based on her acceptance of her Screen Actors Guild win. Having read the article and watched the video I can’t say I disagree. My respect for her has plummeted. Cringe-worthy.

    50 Most anticipated book-to-movie adaptations

    The Movie Fanatic have a list of what they consider to be the most anticipated book adaptations. It’s a good list, including films I have been highly anticipating myself (The Lovely Bones, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Thief of Always) as well as a number of books I haven’t heard of, but will be checking out in the near future. Although I would think the final Harry Potter is probably one of the most anticipated book adaptations – but whatever…

    Prepare for V-Day

    To get you armed for Valentine’s Day Scene Stealers presents Top 10 Movies to Trick Your Sweetheart Into Watching on Valentine’s Day. It may be that I’m too much of a film fan, but I own all the films listed – guess I’m armed and ready!

    Worst tech-based horror

    Another day, another list. This time from Maxim, who at least put out lists that are funny. The 8 Crappiest Tech-Based Horror Movies starts with Chopping Mall and only gets worse from there. The films that is, not the article.

    “The Dark Knight” trailer (LEGO version)

    With guidance, save money, so you will

    I’m always looking for ways to save money, and convincing me using sci-fi is always a good way to go about it. Wisebread present 9 Way Star Wars Can Inspire You To Save Money. Although the best way to save coin would probably have been not paying to see Episodes 1-3 at the cinema…
12. 

    Defective pixels 1 (Or how Cuba and Night hit self-destruct...)

    Posted Thursday 7th Feb 2008 at 22:55 by matt.

    As a fan of the comic I was glad to hear that Whiteout was finally making it to the big screen – not with the originally intended Reece Witherspoon but Kate Beckinsale. My biggest worry is that it got greenlit due to 30 Days Of Night – or at least will be seen as a derivative. I had seen this poster before but I thought it was pretty cool – especially as its a take on the graphic novel cover.

    Whatever happened to Cuba Gooding Jr.?

    I think anyone that has seen a poster for Daddy Day Camp in their local cineplex had to ask themselves “Whatever happened to Cuba’s career?”. STV is asking the same exact question. This also ties in nicely with a post over at MSN Movies about the Curse of the Oscar. Although, is Adrien Brody’s career really in the toilet?

    The real Golden Compass

    To celebrate the release of The Golden Compass in Japan a real life Golden Compass has been created by Japanese jeweller Tanaka Kikinzoku. 8.3 centimetres in diameter and weighing 900 grammes, the compass is worth 30 million yen ($280,000/£145,000). Unfortunately the compass is not for sale.

    Sci-fi movie clichés

    The Times Online has a list of The Top 10 modern sci-fi movie clichés. It’s a crap list, I’ll warn you now, but I do like to bitch. Apart from unforgivably describing Doom and Ultraviolet as enjoyable, they explain why Doomsday has ten ideas similar to other movies – go figure.

    Wickerman 2

    Speaking of the Times Online, they also have news of a follow-up to the Wickerman (the original, not the awful and unintentionally funny remake – not sure if that makes things better or worse). Apparently both Britt Ekland and Christopher Lee are back on board and the film is based on the Wickerman-inspired book Cowboys for Christ, written by original Wickerman director Robin Hardy in 2006.

    The Happening teaser trailer

    Teaser trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening looks pretty good. Unfortunately having already read stuff about it I’m expecting it to be another catastrophe. But then I do like to watch a good train wreck.

    [Unfortunately this trailer to has seeningly been removed from every corner of the web. Why would Fox not want people to see publicity material?]

    Top movie soundtracks

    Over at the Telegraph they have the 100 Best Movie soundtracks. It’s a pretty good list. I only have one grievance, and that the list only includes good films. I love the soundtrack to Lady in the Water, Shyamalan’s last train wreck. Can a score be taken seriously when a movie is so bad?

    Top movie kisses list

    Is anyone else getting tired of these lists? They’re everywhere these days. Anyway, Matchflick.com has post on the “Top 10 Kisses in Movie History”. I’d say he’s spent too long in film school. No Dirty Dancing? No Cruel Intentions? No monkey face from Planet of the Apes? Puh-lease.