This month's picture theme takes its inspiration from the fact that the new Star Wars is being played low-key by taking in some of the supporting characters from the previous films in the series. As always, bragging rights to whoever can name the character and movie for every pic.
Let's get down to business...
Introducing this month's participants:
Movie reviewer and all-round good guy Jeremy Thomas!
Furious On Film's Arnold Furious!
B-movie guru and object of fanboy hatred, Bryan Kristopowitz!
Movie reviewer par excellence, Shawn S. Lealos!
Crossing the Line, Wendell Mitchell!
I had a teacher once with the same name, James McGee!
Master of the Top 5, Trevor Snyder!
...and I'm your host, Owain J. Brimfield!
Jeremy Thomas
Biggest Winner of the Month: Well, this is the biggest no-brainer in a while. Warner Bros., DC Comics, and everyone associated with The Dark Knight, which has skyrocketed - much as expected - to unparalleled success AND critical acclaim. I mean, just look at the fact that it's broken the 10-day opening record… in 8 days. What's more amazing is that all the success and hype was deserved, because it really is that good. The battle of the summer blockbusters is as good as won, even if the dust hasn't settled, and the guy in the bat suit's got it sewn up.
Biggest Loser of the Month: Saw this one coming. Meet Dave bombed horribly at the box office and is being hailed as the newest Pluto Nash of Eddie Murphy's career. While it's not QUITE as disastrous as that one, it's certainly a failure on a rather legendary scale, and hopefully will finally lead Eddie to start choosing better scripts.
Biggest Movie News of the Month: The teaser trailer for Watchmen surfaced, and fanboys the world over (myself included) squealed with delight. It looks to be exceptionally faithful to the source material, and Alan Moore hasn't even had anything bad to say about this one, other than the standard response that he won't be watching it. March 6th, 2009 has been officially booked on the calendars of many a fan…again, myself included.
Your Most Anticipated Movie of the Month: I'm a huge Mummy fan, but Tropic Thunder just looks way too damn good to pass up, if only for Robert Downey Jr's already-looking-like-a-classic performance. It should be a hell of a lot of fun.
Recommended DVD Release of the Month: It's a weak, WEAK month for DVD releases in August. I'm going to go with Redbelt, a movie I wanted to see in theaters but never got a chance. I loves me some Chiwetel Ejiofor. The only other thing that interests me much is Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden, which comes out the same week.
Classic Movie of the Month: With Swing Vote coming out this month and it being a presidential election year, I thought that a fairly underrated film from a couple years ago could use a spotlight. Robin William's Man of the Year may not be the greatest film due to its schizophrenic inability to decide what kind of film it was going to be, but it wasn't nearly as bad as a lot of people said. Williams injected a lot of fun into the role, and Laura Linney and Christopher Walken were their usual quality selves. It's certainly better then the Costner crap this month is likely to be.
Movie Quote of the Month: "I did not sleep with that woman. I wanted to…" - Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams), Man of the Year
Arnold Furious
Biggest Winner of the Month: It's hard to choose just one person associated with The Dark Knight. The cinematic event of the year featured some fantastic performances but the man ultimately responsible for breathing fresh life into a dead franchise is Christopher Nolan. Frankly, the man is a genius. His work so far has been refreshing, innovative and powerful. I didn't think he'd ever manage to better breakthrough movie Memento but The Dark Knight is a masterpiece. It's brilliant. Cinemas were built for movies like The Dark Knight. The only problem Nolan now has is topping this massive film. So far it's earned $314M (domestic) at time of writing. I saw it at a cinema where we turned up 10 minutes before the film started and got the last two seats. I've not seen a film sell out before at the cinema I go to.
Biggest Loser of the Month: Whoever greenlit Space Chimps. Stupid title, lousy reviews and low production values hampered it from the get go. The general public gave it a big "meh" on theatrical release.
Biggest Movie News of the Month: The Watchmen trailer is out. They haven't quite got Ozymandias right but everything else looks about perfect. Especially Silk Spectre II, the Comedian and Dr Manhattan. More Rorschach next time please!
Your Most Anticipated Movie of the Month: I'm going to have to go with the Star Wars animated flick. I'm not a huge fan of the animation style but I do dig the TV series plot-wise and this looks to be more of the same. Not sure it's worth a cinema trip but what else are you going to watch? Dark Knight again? Say, that's not a bad idea.
Recommended DVD Release of the Month: I got nothing.
Classic Movie of the Month: Annie Hall. Seeing as Woody Allen's career has gone in the wrong direction over the last decade it's time to re-live his better films of the 1970s once again. Annie Hall is arguably his best work and well worth seeing as an entry point to Allen's films.
Movie Quote of the Month: "I want to show you a magic trick. I'm going to make this pencil…disappear" – Heath Ledger's Joker gets his kicks in The Dark Knight.
Bryan Kristopowitz
Biggest Winner of the Month: Warner Bros, Christopher Nolan, and pretty much everyone involved with The Dark Knight. I think its initial box office take exceeded expectations, and it's second week was basically just as good. I know I didn't think it would reach over $300 million so quickly.
Biggest Loser of the Month: Probably a toss up between Guillermo Del Toro, and his excellent Hellboy II: The Golden Army tanking its second weekend, and the lackluster return of The X-Files to movie theatres. If The Dark Knight wasn't as big a box office juggernaut, both flicks probably would have done slightly better. Hopefully Hellboy II finds an even bigger audience on DVD and a third flick actually happens.
Biggest Movie News of the Month: Probably our first glimpse of the new Jason in the Nispel-directed Friday the 13th, and the recent revelation that Jason can apparently run this time. For horror nerds like me, that's big news. A Jason that can run? Is that going to be scary?
Your Most Anticipated Movie of the Month: The third Mummy movie looks decent, despite Rob Cohen's participation, the Star Wars cartoon looks good, Tropic Thunder finally hits, and Death Race looks like cheesy fun.
Recommended DVD Release of the Month: Starship Troopers 3: Marauder shows up on August 5th. I can't freaking wait. Casper Van Dien's Johnny Rico is back, and it looks like we're going to get a real war movie this time, instead of a horror flick like the second one. Yeah, it's a low budget flick, but, come on, it's Starship Troopers. And the third volume of the complete Three Stooges is out at the end of the month.
Classic Movie of the Month: The First Power (1990): Lou Diamond Phillips is a tough as nails scumbum cop, hot on the trail of serial killer Patrick Channing, as played by the always creepy Jeff Kober. Phillips eventually captures Channing, Channing is tried and given the gas chamber for his crimes. But Channing, a servant of the Devil, comes back to life and continues his killing spree. Phillips has to figure out a way to stop him once again. This is one of Lou's better starring efforts, and Kober is just awesome as the Satanic serial killer. If you can find it, snatch it up and watch it. It's a great flick.
Movie Quote of the Month: Bob: "What are they trying to do?"
Nick: "They're trying to murder me. They know I can't afford a loss like that."
Bob Wilson (John Ritter) and Nick Pirandello, CIA (Jim Belushi) - Real Men (1987)
Shawn S. Lealos
Biggest Winner of the Month: The Dark Knight. This is a complete no-brainer. Best opening weekend ever. Best Sunday ever. Best Monday ever. Best second weekend ever. $314 million in two weeks in the U.S. and $354 million worldwide. I'm not one to usually toot my own horn - oh hell, I'm gonna toot it. Back in Week 124 of Fact or Fiction, I said The Dark Knight and Hancock would battle for the Superhero Box Office Crown and would each break $500 million worldwide. Hancock is at $450 million and The Dark Knight is at $314 million with no signs of slowing down. However, I also predicted neither would be the year's box office champion because Indiana Jones would hold that record with over $700 million worldwide. Indiana is sitting at $761 million. Hell, I should do this for a living. The only problem is The Dark Knight is not slowing down and might, just might, reach the billion dollar mark. We'll see if my prognostication of Indiana Jones winning the summer will hold true. One last thing: The Dark Knight was the BEST movie of the summer so far, hands down.
Biggest Loser of the Month: Eddie Murphy. The guy has hinted he is about ready to retire from cinema and return to standup. I think it might be the time for that. He almost won an Oscar for Dreamgirls and then turns around and makes more broad comedies. He is not willing to step out of his comfort zone and, unless he is voicing a donkey, no one cares anymore. I'm just afraid he will deliver a watered down comedy routine and prove that, once and for all, Eddie Murphy is dead.
Biggest Movie News of the Month: I'll go with Darron Aronofsky agreeing to remake RoboCop. That is just freaking cool.
Your Most Anticipated Movie of the Month: Hamlet 2. I want to go against the grain this month and mention the one movie that makes me laugh every time I see the trailer. Rock Me Sexy Jesus. ‘Nuff said.
Recommended DVD Release of the Month: Miami Vice on Blu-Ray. God that speed boat race at the beginning is going to look amazing on Blu-Ray. The soundtrack is the best I have heard in a long time and will sound great in high def. People still hate on this movie, but they are wrong. It is great Michael Mann fare.
Classic Movie of the Month: Bride of Frankenstein. With the third Mummy movie coming out this month, go back and watch one of the finer classic Universal horror movies.
Movie Quote of the Month: "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
Wendell Mitchell
Biggest Winner of the Month: Warner Bros., DC Comics, and Batman fans like myself. Dark Knight transcends its genre and simply becomes a good movie. Not a good superhero movie, just borderline great film period. It's broken nearly every summer blockbuster record and it's been out less than a full two weeks. Can't see anything topping this performance – both on screen and at the box office – for a while.
Biggest Loser of the Month: I think we called this last month, but Meet Dave wins this dubious distinction. Though, it does give me faith in my fellow movie goers; make enough crap movies, they eventually get the hint. According to recent numbers, this movie has made less than $11 million and it cost 60 to make. Eddie either needs to hook up with Apatow or get away from comedy for a while.
Biggest Movie News of the Month: Rumor has it that DC will take a very Marvel-like approach to their DC properties and we may be getting to see more movies with the quality of Dark Knight in the coming years.
Your Most Anticipated Movie of the Month: I could stare at Brendan Fraser all day, and even though she's older than my mom now, I still would love to wake up next to Michelle Yeoh - hopefully after an enjoyable evening out together and not because I came across as a creepy stalker and she felt bad for kicking the crap out of me. As intrigued as I am with Tropic Thunder, and Robert Downey Jr. talking jive is scratching me in a place I didn't even know itched, The Mummy gets my vote. I mean, I'll see both, but if I only have the money for one before they hit the second run, I choose The Mummy.
Recommended DVD Release of the Month: Erotic College Co-Eds: Platinum Edition. I don't know. I'm not a big, new release DVD sort of guy, so I rarely know what's about to come out until that Tuesday it comes out. But a quick search tells me that Get Smart season 1 will be out on the 5th and I'm there baby.
Classic Movie of the Month: I'm still high on Dark Knight, so I recommend you take a look at Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. I absolutely love this movie and would rank it somewhere between Batman Begins and Batman Returns as favorite films. I still believe we should have gotten this story as a live action film before Batman and Robin was even greenlit.
Movie Quote of the Month: "Some men just want to watch the world burn." – Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) in The Dark Knight
James McGee
Biggest Winner of the Month: Gee, could it be The Dark Knight? Not only has it broken almost every box-office record imaginable, it was just ridiculously amazing. Christopher Nolan and company have really done something spectacular with Batman, and the bar has been raised for comic book adaptations, as well as just movies in general. This film is going to be a "game changer" as some like to say. Plus, Heath Ledger's performance was everything it was hyped to be, and more. A fitting tribute to an actor and a man who left us too soon.
Biggest Loser of the Month: I'm going with The X-Files. I'm sure Batman cut into their box office a little, but I think the real problem is just that people have moved on. It was a solid movie, but pretty much phoned in by everyone involved. It looks like reruns and DVD sales are the way to keep the nostalgia going for this show.
Biggest Movie News of the Month: Of all the news and announcements to come out of Comic Con, the one that had me the most perplexed, wary and cautiously optimistic was Darren Aronofsky taking the director's chair on the Robocop reboot. Darren is an amazing filmmaker, but with art-house fair like Pi and The Fountain being his specialty, it will be interesting to see his take on blockbuster action. Of course, people were thinking the same thing about Christopher Nolan a few years ago…
Your Most Anticipated Movie of the Month: Kind of a "blah" month for me personally, but I think the new Mummy flick looks like fun. Looks like harmless, popcorn fun.
Recommended DVD Release of the Month: Yikes, kind of a dry month on the DVD front, huh? I guess I'd recommend Smart People out of everything in the bunch. The performances are all pitch-perfect, even if you have a hard time sympathizing with any of the characters.
Classic Movie of the Month: After catching the trailer for Terminator: Salvation and being unexpectedly pumped up about it, I revisited the original trilogy. They all still hold up (even T3 - I honestly don't know what everyone's problem is with that one). I still don't know if a new flick will fly without Arnold, but at least we can always relive his glory days with the originals.
Movie Quote of the Month: "Just die, you bitch!" - Catherine Brewster (Claire Danes), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Trevor Snyder
Biggest Winner of the Month: Hmm, this is a tough one, huh? The Dark Knight exceeded pretty much every expectation, and given the months of hype leading up to its release, that's saying something. The film is well on its way to becoming one of the highest grossing films ever, but even more impressive was the near-unanimous critical praise, with many critics even predicting this could be the first comic-book superhero film to earn a Best Picture nod at the Oscars. On behalf of all nerds everywhere, I'd like to say: great job, Mr. Nolan.
Biggest Loser of the Month: Sure, both Space Chimps and Meet Dave bombed, but it's not like they were high profile pictures anyway. The X-Files: I Want to Believe, on the other hand, was one of the summer's most hyped films, so its crushing defeat is particularly embarrassing. Weak box-office and brutal reviews probably spell the end of the X-Files franchise, so I guess fans will never get that final movie regarding the teased 2012 alien invasion. Maybe they just should have made that movie this time around, after all. At least then the story would feel like it has an actual ending.
Biggest Movie News of the Month: Even with the release of the excellent Watchmen trailer, I'm gonna have to go with Darren Aronofsky signing on to direct the new Robocop remake/sequel. I was a little hesitant when I first heard about this project, given that the original is not even that old and does not exactly need improving on. Plus, it's a little disappointing for a Michigander like me to find out that the new film will be moving the action from Detroit to L.A. Still, though, Aronofsky coming onboard makes this project a hell of a lot more interesting, as you can bet that he won't be interested in making just another brainless action film. Perhaps this new Robocop actually has a chance of being just as smart and satiric as the original.
Your Most Anticipated Movie of the Month: I expect the new Mummy movie to be a lot of fun, but this month is really about the comedies. With that in mind, I'm giving Pineapple Express the slight edge over Tropic Thunder. I believe Robert Downey Jr.'s performance in Thunder to be one of the funniest things we've seen in a long time, but I also thing Express will be the funnier film, overall – especially if it can recapture some of that Superbad magic.
Recommended DVD Release of the Month: I'm looking forward to owning the second season of Dexter (which started off slow, but really picked up steam and built towards a great conclusion), but I'm gonna go out on a limb and give this honor to <>Starship Troopers 3: Marauder. I'm a huge fan of the first film, and while I don't expect this new one to even come close to matching the wit and satire of that film, it at least looks like it will come a lot closer than the misguided Starships Troopers 2 (which wasn't a bad movie, but its claustrophobic horror tone was a poor fit for the franchise). Plus, Casper Van Dien is back! In the only role in which his wooden acting is actually beneficial! Here's hoping this does well enough to justify a fourth entry, for which perhaps they'll as Neil Patrick Harris back.
Classic Movie of the Month: The awesomeness of The Dark Knight caused a desire in me to go back and re-watch Memento for the first time in years, and I'm happy to report it totally holds up. It's a testament to the talents of both Christopher Nolan and Guy Pearce that the film remains entertaining even after you're already aware of its tricks and twists.
Movie Quote of the Month: "Okay, what am I doing? I'm chasing this guy… Nope. He's chasing me." – Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) in Memento
Owain J. Brimfield
Biggest Winner of the Month: I think everyone else has this one adequately covered.
Biggest Loser of the Month: I'm actually going to go with Chris Carter here. After reading numerous interviews in which he, Duchovny and Anderson talked big about the new X-Files and their passion for the project, it's tanked big-time at the box office. I think even series die-hards knew that the X-Files isn't anywhere near as important as they'd like to believe, but I don't think anyone expected the movie to flop quite so dreadfully.
Biggest Movie News of the Month: Can anyone else remember the last time a movie debuted to commercial success as hand-in-hand with its critical acclaim as the new Batman? Frankly, that's the major news story for me, as it revitalizes my faith in cinema, and has actually inspired me to get out and see a few other films this summer that I would have ordinarily waited for on DVD (incidentally, remind me never to go and see a Pixar film on a weekday matinee during the school holidays ever again).
Your Most Anticipated Movie of the Month: Babylon A.D. for me, as I can't resist big-budget sci-fi, even though I have my reservations about the project. The trailers for Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express also amused me, much to my surprise and consternation given my complete ambivalence towards Ben Stiller and the Apatow entourage.
Recommended DVD Release of the Month: Heroes season two has just hit stores here in the UK, so that'll be my next boxset purchase after working through my current Pink Panther collection. Although obviously truncated by the bloody WGA strike, it's still by no means as poor as reviews have made out and worth a watch.
Classic Movie of the Month: In the spirit of Jason Statham's latest starring vehicle [chortle], the original Death Race 2000 can be obtained quite cheaply on DVD. One of Roger Corman's finest efforts, it's a wonderful bit of satire mish-mashed with a low-budget action flick, and features a star-making performance from everyone's favorite beefcake Sly Stallone as Machine Gun Joe.
Movie Quote of the Month: "This aggravates me!" - Joe Viterbo (Stallone) expresses his displeasure in Death Race 2000.