Cinematical

In case you haven't noticed, one of the hottest trends of 2009 so far has found popular actors threatening to retire from the business for good. First we had Joaquin Phoenix do his little absurd actor-turned-rapper-turned-performance-artist thing (which was popular and relevant for all of about three days), and then we had Viggo Mortensen kinda half-retire before taking it all back, and now there's Alec Baldwin -- who, in a new interview with Men's Journal (via The Hollywood Reporter), admits that he's had about enough of acting, considers his entire career a "failure" and claims that he'll retire once his stint on 30 Rock is up.

My first reaction: What's up with Men's Journal, and why do actors feel the need to announce their retirement through them? Mortensen's whole snafu came from an interview with Men's Journal, and now Baldwin. Is Men's Journal now the publication actors will turn to when they want to semi-announce their retirement in spectacular (and somewhat moronic) fashion? I mean, really Alec? You consider your career a failure? Tell that to the middle-aged aspiring actor working six jobs in Los Angeles just so he can call home once a week to tell his family that the second assistant's assistant's assistant on the Viagra commercial really thought he showed promise as a background extra, and that all those years of hard work are finally paying off.

Sure, some would suggest that Jessica Alba really can't return to form since there never was a form to begin with. But there definitely was a time when Alba was an "It" girl -- the type to grace numerous magazine covers and star in big, flashy films like Sin City and The Fantastic Four. But then her star began to fade as she clumsily starred in one cruddy flick after another (Into the Blue, Good Luck Chuck, The Eye, Awake, The Love Guru), and with other, more sensational young actresses attempting to make their mark in Hollywood, Alba sort of fell by the wayside.

But now the gal has positioned herself with a few pretty interesting upcoming projects, including two produced by Robert Rodriguez (Machete, The Insiders), one that's based on a very good novel (An Invisible Sign of My Own) and one that finds the actress taking things farther than she's ever gone before (The Killer Inside Me). While I'm sure the girl will manage to land roles beyond these four projects, they will still serve as proving ground for Alba. Is she a "real" actress? Can she turn out an awards-caliber performance? Can she still sell lots of movie tickets? Is she worthy of our attention?

Before you answer those questions, head after the jump to find out more about her new films.

What if a new movie was coming out and the only information we had was the name of the person directing? This was a discussion my friend and I had over the long holiday weekend, where we pondered a situation where a heavily-marketed film was coming out, and in the TV spots, trailers and billboards, all we were told was the date the film was arriving in theaters alongside the director's name. We then began to wonder which director would not only create the most buzz, but would also make the most money. Whose name is the strongest commercially right now -- is this person also the most talented, and if not, then what does that say about us and why we choose to spend most of our money on a weaker product?

Of course the first three names we spit out were James Cameron, Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg. In our opinion, these three men would make the most money at the box office if all we knew was the simple fact that they were coming out with a new film and nothing else. Seeing as Spielberg can go either small or large, we then narrowed it down to Bay or Cameron -- mainly because both are known for event-type films. My friend ultimately chose Cameron, whereas I went with Bay only because I feel he's a little more relevant at this moment in time and for this specific generation (though Avatar may certainly change that).

A second tier of names included Quentin Tarantino and the Wachowski Bros., though keep in mind the marketing cannot mention the other films these folks have directed -- only their name and the release date. For argument's sake, we're giving it a rating of PG-13 (just to take that off the table).

So, then, have at it. In your opinion, given the circumstances, who would be the most profitable director?

Our good friend and EIC Erik Davis had a very thoughtful idea for the holiday season: Why not scan the early flyers for the Black Friday sales, and report back to you -- the ravenous movie junkie -- to let you know where to find the best treats on the day after Thanksgiving?

The next big brick and mortar retail stores we'll be scouring for Black Friday deals is Toys "R" Us . While there isn't a great selection of DVD/Blu-ray players, those parents looking to save on kid-friendly titles should find more than enough to pick up here. Note that the doorbuster items are marked with a *

Toys "R" Us is open at 12:00am on Black Friday. Their online sale starts at 12:01am EST on Thanksgiving Day.

Our previous Black Friday Movie Deals:
Best Buy
Target
Walmart
Kmart and Sears

DVD/Blu-ray

20 Select DVD Movies $9.99
30 Select DVD Movies $4.99
Aliens In The Attic DVD $9.99
All $9.99 Sony DVDs - 60 Titles (In-Store Only) $3.99
Aristocats DVD $9.99
A Tale Of Tails DVD $4.99
Babe DVD $4.99
Barbie Thumbelina DVD $4.99
Blues Clues World Travelers DVD $4.99
Bolt Disney DVD $9.99 *
Christmas Star DVD $4.99
Coraline DVD $9.99
Curious George DVD $4.99
Diego Saves Christmas DVD $4.99
Hanna Montana The Movie Blu-Ray $14.99
Hero Rails DVD $9.99
Hotel For Dogs DVD $9.99
Jonas Brothers Disney DVD $9.99 *

More after the jump

It's the day before a major holiday, and all you want to do is surf around looking for things to occupy your time before the boss finally lets you leave a drop early. Am I right? Well here's a little treat that will take up all of about a minute and a half of your time. Pieced together to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Matrix, a group of freaks with 440 extra hours on their hands decided to recreate the famous "Trinity Help" sequence using LEGOs. This is the scene where Neo manages to dodge some agent bullets in super slow-mo before Trinity finally shows up to help her man squeeze out of a tough spot.

And yes, I wasn't joking -- it really did take a whopping 440 hours to put this together. The folks behind it even created a website dedicated solely to this project. In it, they describe the making-of process and include a side-by-side video comparison featuring both the real scene and the LEGO version (we included both after the jump). From their description:

Just in time for its 10th year anniversary, "Trinity Help" is a frame-accurate stop-frame animation of the famous bullet-dodge scene from the 1999 movie The Matrix, all done in Lego. By "frame accurate" we mean that we took all of the video frames from that part of the movie (that's nearly 900 frames for just 44 seconds of footage) and reproduced them all in Lego.

Early in the piece we decided we wanted to do everything "in camera". No wire-removal, no special effects, no crazy Photoshop tricks. We pretty much regret this now, but I guess it gives us bragging rights of some sort. We did do some colour correction and image stabilising, and at one point we edited a very small number of frames in one scene so that some minor background shake was taken out, but that's it.

Watch the video(s) after the jump.

The first reviews for Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones are beginning to pour in, and, naturally (for a popular, fan-friendly director like Jackson), there are the raves (Harry Knowles from AICN) and the pans (Todd McCarthy from Variety). Just posted this evening over at Variety, McCarthy's review is perhaps the hardest one to swallow. Essentially his biggest problem with the movie were the effects, claiming Jackson uses them way too much (and too often) for a film (and story) that doesn't really require them. He calls it "show-offy" and says the film "rates as a significant artistic disappointment." It's an unfortunate review for a film that was a shoe-in (and still may be, especially for Stanley Tucci) for multiple Oscar nods on almost everyone's list.

Some other quotes (no spoilers):

-- "This is an incredibly lovely film. From the visuals to the performances to the story-telling and film work... it all goes to capture a very powerful story in a way that makes you want to hug those close to you." -- Harry Knowles, AICN

-- "It's not that The Lovely Bones is a bad movie, exactly. It is handsomely made and strongly acted, while its woozy, lullaby ambience recalls Jackson's work on the brilliant Heavenly Creatures, before he set forth on his epic voyage through The Lord of the Rings." -- Xan Brooks, Guardian

-- "Peter Jackson's eagerly awaited film version of Alice Sebold's bestselling novel is sometimes exquisitely realised, sometimes frustratingly uneven. ... While The Lovely Bones is as dark as it gets thematically, it will still be an event movie for the adult audience." -- Mike Goodridge, Screen Daily

-- This was never going to be an easy story to film. Using the same characters and many events, Jackson and his team tell a fundamentally different story. It's one that is not without its tension, humor and compelling details. But it's also a simpler, more button-pushing tale that misses the joy and heartbreak of the original." -- Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter

The Lovely Bones hits theaters on December 11th.

An extended trailer for the next Family Guy Star Wars special has arrived online over at Apple and iTunes (watch it after the jump). Titled Something, Something, Something Dark Side, this time the animated sitcom is aiming their lightsabers at Empire Strikes Back. Featuring large camel robots who hurt their knees, annoying high-pitched princesses and a giant chicken dressed as Boba Fett, fans should expect the same sorta hilarious shtick that came out of Family Guy's first Star Wars spoof, Blue Harvest (though some feel the Robot Chicken Star Wars episodes one-upped them considerably, but that's a topic for a different day).

Because of the popularity of the first special, 20th Century Fox is pimping out the follow-up pretty hard. It's due to hit DVD and Blu-ray on December 22nd, and I imagine they'll actually air it on television at some point in 2010. A spoof of Return of the Jedi, titled We Have A Bad Feeling About This, is also being planned.

The official description for Something, Something, Something Dark Side goes something like this: "Holy ship! The Family Guy empire strikes back with another hilarious parody of your favorite sci-fi saga! May the laughs be with you as (Chris) Skywalker joins forces with (Peter) Solo and Princess (Lois) Leia to battle (Stewie) Vader and his Imperial minions. A host of new characters comes along for the wild ride, including Mort Goldman as Lando Calrissian, Chris's boss Carl as Yoda, and the Giant Chicken as the nefarious Boba Fett. It's an outrageous, out-of-this-world experience you'll "saber" for light-years to come!"

Watch both trailers for Something, Something, Something Dark Side after the jump.

Cinematical has just received six exclusive new images from Did You Hear About the Morgans?, starring Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker as a New York Couple on the verge of divorce who witness a murder and, in an attempt to salvage their marriage (and save their lives), they join the witness protection program. But that's when things really get interesting, because the program sends our uptight, urban city dwellers all the way to the backwoods of Wyoming -- where the loud, obnoxious sounds of the city are replaced by the soft, calming sounds of nature. Will that be enough to save the marriage, though?

Sam Elliott, Mary Steenburgen and Elisabeth Moss also star in this comedy directed by Marc Lawrence (Forces of Nature, Miss Congeniality), who last worked with Grant on the charming Music and Lyrics. Will Grant's pairing with Sarah Jessica Parker work just as well as his on-screen pairing with Drew Barrymore did? I think maybe ... Head after the jump to check out the film's latest trailer, and click into the gallery below for the rest of the images. Did You Hear About the Morgans? hits theaters on December 18th ... just in time to give you folks who aren't in the mood for James Cameron's big flashy blue alien movie a little piece of comedic hilarity.

In the past couple days some news reports have surfaced that would make it seem as if Robert Zemeckis has begun the casting process for his Yellow Submarine remake, which is apparently going under the name of The Fab Four Project or The Untitled Fab Four Project for reasons we do not know (perhaps to either mask the real production or perhaps they've decided to go in a different direction and are between titles). Jim Hill noted that they're holding open auditions at a Beatles convention in Stamford, Connecticut this weekend, and The Sun already claims actor Stephen Graham has landed the part of Ringo in the mo-capped feature (though I'd take that piece of news with a huge grain of salt).

It also looks like Zemeckis is considering a wide range of folks for the role of John Lennon, including one of our favorite up-and-coming actors, Gabe Sunday. I first saw Sunday in the buzzed-about indie flick My Suicide and instantly knew he was heading in the right direction. The guy isn't just another wannabee actor -- he's a true artist and collaborator who likes to be involved in the entire filmmaking process. Not only is he working on a narrative film about the great Daniel Johnston, but he apparently threw together a John Lennon audition tape for Zemeckis that's pretty spot-on in terms of becoming the young, experimental Lennon who pals around with buddies and enjoys impromptu jam sessions. No doubt Sunday's usual cronies are behind the look and feel of this audition tape since it squarely belongs in their wheelhouse, and I hate to say it but I'd rather see more of this than whatever colorful mo-capped version Zemeckis has planned.

Either way I truly hope he gives Sunday a shot. The guy is ready to explode onto the scene; he just needs more opportunities to do just that. Watch the video after the jump. Good luck Gabe!

Our good friend and EIC Erik Davis (that's me!) had a very thoughtful idea for the holiday season: Why not scan the early flyers for the Black Friday sales, and report back to you -- the ravenous movie junkie -- to let you know where to find the best treats on the day after Thanksgiving? We'll be bringing you deals for a variety of stores and online retailers all week long. Here's what we've posted so far so you can keep track:

Black Friday Movie Deals: Best Buy
Black Friday Movie Deals: Target

Walmart opens at 5am on Friday, November 27th. I've highlighted the most notable (for being awesome) deals in bold.

DVD/Blu-ray

17 Again (DVD) $9.00
Aliens In The Attic (DVD) $9.00
Blazing Saddles (DVD) $2.00
Blood Diamond (DVD) $2.00
Braveheart (Blu-ray) $10.00
Casino Royale (DVD) $2.00
Facing Giants (DVD) $2.00
Fast & Furious (Blu-ray) $10.00
Fireproof (DVD) $9.00
GI Joe (DVD) $9.00
Gladiator (Blu-ray) $10.00
Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets (Blu-ray) $10.00
HellBoy II (DVD) $2.00
Horton Hears A Who (DVD) $5.00
Hotel For Dogs (DVD) $5.00
I Am Legend (DVD) $2.00
Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs (Blu-ray) $10.00
Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs (DVD) $9.00
Iron Man (DVD) $5.00
Kung Fu Panda (DVD) $5.00
Little Black Book (DVD) $2.00
Madagascar 2 (DVD) $5.00
Mall Cop (DVD) $5.00
Marley & Me (DVD) $9.00
Monsters Vs Aliens 2 Pack (DVD) $9.00
Nim's Island (DVD) $5.00

More after the jump