Rare footage of The Beatles’ first full U.S. concert, lost for 48 years, will receive a limited screening in the U.S., beginning with a May 6th premiere at Ziegfield Theater in New York. The concert took place at the Washington Coliseum on February 11th, 1964 — just two days after The Beatles’ famed first Ed Sullivan appearance.

The 12-song set runs around 30 minutes and features early Beatles hits like “She Loves You” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand.” This concert footage will be screened as part of a documentary called The Beatles: The Lost Concert. The first part of the 92 minute documentary focuses on Beatlemania in America, so to get to the actual concert footage, audiences will have to sit through a documentary about Beatlemania about twice as long as the actual concert footage.

While this portion of the film includes an interview with rock legend Chuck Berry, there is also commentary from the insufferable human herpes sore known as Steven Tyler, as well as musicians who were born long after The Beatles’ breakup, like Mark Ronson and members of The Strokes.

Screenvision, who are the company behind the new documentary, claim that the original master tapes have been restored and remastered. Presumably though they were less successful at making the actual songs audible over the hoards of screaming teenage girls. Problems aside, the film could serve as an important educational piece for America’s youth, many of whom don’t even know who Paul McCartney is.

One question raised by the recent re-discovery of the footage is how exactly it was lost in the first place. The original concert was broadcast to two million cinema goers in March of 1964. How did such culturally important footage just disappear? Surely someone realized that this historic event might be worth preserving. Though that question will likely go unanswered, Beatles fans across the country will undoubtedly be excited for the new footage. Following the documentary’s debut in New York on May 6th it will be shown in select theaters across America on May 17th and 22nd.

Image: Absolute Elsewhere

Muska: I harbor this deep affection for Will Ferrell that translates into me seeing each film he comes out with or even cameos in. This may continue for the rest of my life, even if I’m convinced he will never make something on par with ANCHORMAN or OLD SCHOOL. (I do this same thing with Chuck Klosterman and Chuck Palahniuk. I buy every hardcover they come out with, even if I fear their best work is behind them.) I don’t think this will be as great as either of those, but it will definitely be different, and I really dig when Ferrell steps out of his comfort zone (EVERYTHING MUST GO), as my high school cross country coach would call it. I can see this is probably going to be a pretty ridiculous movie, which is totally in his comfort zone, but I’m impressed he did the entire thing in Spanish. That’s pretty neat.

Fink: Transcending languages with comedy seems to be no problem for Will Ferrell, and I was laughing at the zoom-ins on his face before he even spoke. I also like seeing Gael Garcia Bernal in this, and would recommend everyone to check out Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN. CASA DE MI PADRE came out of left field for me. I didn’t know much about it, and that made it’s impact so much better. It seems like it will be a ton of fun, with a lot of overdramatized soap-opera-ish intense stares and romancing, action, and…bonus Nick Offerman! I’m liking the style of the flick and really hope it brings home the weird. It also seems like a good one to catch in the theatres, which I plan on doing with some amigos.

PROMETHEUS

Fink: Seeing that Ridley Scott going back to his ALIEN roots is enough for me to be invested in this automatically.  Despite Scott saying that PROMETHEUS isn’t directly related to the ALIEN franchise, I suspect fans will still have plenty to analyze in the upcoming months before it is released (And I would bet money that we see a facehugger or something of the sort too). All geekery aside, this trailer promises a huge blockbuster to kick off the summer.  The cast rules, and I’m especially excited to see Noomi Rapace, Fassbender, and Guy Pearce rocking those glass helmets. The music kills it too.  I’ve been getting tired of that booming horn sound in trailers to build suspense, (see: Inception) but this is one gnarly exception with the addition of that terrifying screaming sound.  I hate to use the word ‘epic’ because of pop culture running it into the ground, but there is really no other way to describe this trailer.
Sidenote: When I was a kid, I used to fear that women giving birth was something like the chest bursting scene from ALIEN

Muska: My paramount fear is hostile extraterrestrial beings. Or, I guess, any extraterrestrial beings. It’s always been this way. They scare the shit out of me. I am, however, very intrigued by aliens and oftentimes subject myself to shows and movies about them, even though I know it will disrupt my sleep pattern and general feeling of well-being for days, weeks or even months. When I was little, I wanted nothing more than to go see INDEPENDENCE DAY. My Grandma took me to see it, and I don’t think I slept right for months afterward. (Josh, our opinions on that booming horn sound that sounds like what I imagine a Skrillex slow jam would sound like are exactly the same.)

So yeah, I’m going to see this for sure. It looks extremely well done, and freaky as hell. I suffer from some kind of non-sexual masochism, I think.

SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD

Muska: I’m not seeing this movie. If I do, it’ll just produce a prolonged sensation of what I was feeling while I watched this trailer, which was disgruntlement at how people seem to be behaving when they know the world is going to end in three weeks. Nobody would come into work, cops wouldn’t pull you over, and Keira Knightley would not all of a sudden take an interest in you. The world would be total, utter chaos, and not anything at all like what this movie is going to portray it as.

I’ll spend the two hours I would’ve thrown away watching this movie ruminating on how I would spend my final three weeks on earth while I build my bunker.

Fink: What upsets me most about this trailer is the awesome cast that is doing it. Also, with the exception of Wes Anderson movies I usually tend to hate on characters that A: are charmingly depressed and B: say short quirky lines that would make any normal person laugh with a deadpan face (I’m looking at you, Carell!). I do love Carell and the others a ton, but I won’t see this and therefore won’t love them to death (yes, my wordplay is terrible).

Muska – I’m with you on the bunker idea. And I think it’s generally safe to assume it would be used for a zombie apocalypse before a meteor. Duh.

4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH

Fink: Willem Dafoe is a boss, but for undescribable and mostly bizarre reasons (Just take a look at his IMDB credits or see the genital-filled ANTICHRIST). 4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH looks like it delivers that in a brutal look at the dawn of the apocalypse, asking how individuals would spend their final moments. For Willem it looks like a lot of frantic sexing of Shanyn Leigh and painting in a studio apartment mixed with gloomy comments and pessimism. Can’t blame the guy for any of that, right? If this is a valentine for human life seen from the brink of extinction, consider it one without the sweetness of a heart shaped lollipop inside.  The low budget feel and constriction to just one location (the studio apt) will probably bring this film some really unique and intimate moments, but I’m not sure it’s enough to get me into the theatre to see it. I usually like watching this type of film alone, and liking it for it’s ‘moments’ instead of it’s overall quality.

Muska: I also probably won’t go to the theater to see this, but could envision myself sitting in my living room alone and digesting it while I get really existential about life and stuff. The only problem with that is this movie may not be out on DVD until after the world already ends. I don’t like how much this week’s trailers have made me think about the demise of mankind.

THE HUNGER GAMES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-5ANq4sAL0

Fink: I haven’t read the books, and have proactively tried to avoid it’s annoying hype much like I did with the TWILIGHT series. One of my favorite films, BATTLE ROYALE, is about a class of kids selected each year and forced to fight until only one survives…Oh wait… Anyways, one difference that comes to mind is that BATTLE ROYALE was rated R which I will say stands for Realistic. I know I’m probably on the unpopular side for hating on this, but there’s something about hyped up teenage pop-culture that I just can’t stand. The premise is pretty cool, but why sugarcoat something so brutal with themes we’ve seen a thousand times? I expect this film to make tons of money and become pretty popular, but I don’t think I’ll be missing anything fresh by sitting this game out.

Muska: Am I really, really excited to see this? No. Will I see it anyway? Yes. How come? So I have something to talk with girls about. Did I read the book? Two-thirds of it on an audiobook during a long drive. Honestly, I wasn’t very impressed, but I approach any young adult series with a pre-determined disdain because I’m convinced nothing will ever be better than the HARRY POTTER franchise.

________

Josh Finkenbinder is a senior Cinema and Digital Arts major at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA.  Outside of school and work, Josh loves film, reading, writing, music, and a good beverage. His heroes include Bill Murray and Benjamin Franklin, because he always wondered who would win in a fight. Josh aspires to work in the arts, though he would be quite happy to settle down and open up a snow cone stand, providing there’s plenty of sun. If interested, follow him on Twitter: @jfinkenbinder

Scott Muska is at @scottmuska.

Fink: I love the ensemble in this, which looks like a reunion of Bridesmaids stars and another favorite actor of mine, Adam Scott (excellent in Party Down and Parks and Recreation).  This film looks fresh and charming as hell, but I’m worried that it will draw the wrong crowd to it expecting to get Bridesmaids level laughs, instead of reaching a more mature 30-something crowd.  Maybe it’s because I’m only 22, but this type of film always leaves me in a melancholy mood. The thought of growing up, growing apart, and seeing everyone you know do the same is a bit unnerving…And then there’s having kids on top of that.  I hope that this uneasy reality makes a refined comedy out of the film, and I wish it the best, though I’ll probably wait to see this one after the theaters.
Sidenote: Jennifer Westfeldt is directing and starring alongside her real-life partner, Jon Hamm.  So even if her film bombs, no biggie right? Because…Jon Hamm.

Muska: Some thoughts:

—I’m glad the cast of Bridesmaids is doing this instead of a Bridesmaids sequel. And that Adam Scott gets to be in it. I was hoping they wouldn’t go the Hangover ‘sequel-as-a-cash-grab’ route. This approach has worked well for David Wain (Wet Hot American Summer/Role Models/Wanderlust). I’ll definitely see this for that reason, and because I love romantic comedies. Especially if they’re heavy on the comedy.
—I would bet money on a Melissa McCarthy cameo.
—Someday, when I am in bed with a woman, I will ask her if I ‘may approach the bench.’
—Kegeling is a good things for guys to do as well, because it is said to improve longevity and bladder control.

—I’m 24. That feeling you’re having now? It doesn’t go away, Fink.

The Raven

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PGDV1SWRkQ

Muska: I love Edgar Allan Poe and John Cusack. Not sure how much I’m going to love Cusack as Poe, but I’m still really excited to see this one, and will definitely do so in theaters. Probably while I’m too drunk to stand, in homage to my man Edgar.

The plot seems great, too. Somebody is offing people in a style inspired by Poe’s stories, and the cops bring Poe in to help them investigate. The murderer challenges Poe to find him, and shit seems to get real quicklike. At one point in this trailer, Poe vows to kills this guy/girl. To kill him/her dead. I like the intensity.

I’m a fan of this newish thing where filmmakers/writers go back in time to valuable historic figures and create a fictional account of something they did. Like, if you can mix Abe Lincoln’s factual history into him hunting for vampires, that could be a fun way to learn about him. Same goes for Poe; I’m sure a lot of people who are unfamiliar with his short stories will see this and decide to read some of them, which is excellent because the dude was boss.

Fink: Is someone considered a copycat killer if their murders are copying fictitious killers? Anyway, Edgar Allan Poe is throwing a murder party, and I’m RSVPing right now.  I love that John Cusack is playing Poe, and he looks like he’s going to do the man justice by being a complete badass detective.  The trailer has a nice balance of plot and kickassery, both of which get me excited to see this.  I’m going to join Muska and be totally drunk to see this, and hopefully I won’t end up in a gutter with some other dude’s clothes on (which is how Poe died, that’s how boss he was).

The Raid: Redemption

Fink: “Come on honey, let’s go see The Raid: Redemption tonight.” — No one’s girlfriend.
Alright, so guys might have to get a little clever to sell their ladies on this one, but if you love martial arts action flicks as much as I do I’m sure you can find in your heart that special combination of words and strike a deal.  Ever since I was a kid I have loved well choreographed martial arts that add to a fresh or unique plot, and this looks to deliver all of the above.  The Linkin Park musician credit made me cringe for a second, but hey, if it’s just the background noise of people back flipping and neck breaking I think I can deal.  For some reason I was reminded of both Game of Death and Oldboy while watching this, and I’m not mad about either of those connections. Here’s to hoping that the film isn’t just completely style over substance which is what the trailer suggests, though I suspect it has a few interesting tricks up it’s sleeve. If I can’t catch this one in theaters I will definitely see it at home, where alcohol can amplify my senses to match the big screen hits and explosions.

Muska: I’m usually not much of a fan of action minus plot, but I think I would go see this one, and I would be happy without a complicated plot. From what I’ve seen, these cops (one of whom is going to be angry as Hell because his wife is pregnant back home, and also sort of drained physically because he was working out in his house before going on this raid) get locked in this huge ass building and have a battle royale with a ruthless drug dealer and his henchman. I’m going to have to wait and see this at home, though, because I know there are going to be a bunch of those moments where I really want to shout ‘OOOOHHHHHH’ like Blake Griffin just put his nuts in somebody’s face, and I lack restraint.

Ice Age: Continental Drift

Fink: I don’t have a huge amount of interest in this one, though I do think that the Ice Age franchise should be respected for turning out 3 fun films that have grossed an incredible amount of money.  The reason I am neutral on the Ice Age films is that despite being cute, funny, and harmless, I don’t even remember the three main animals’ names after 3 movies, or the plots for that matter. Other animated franchises like Toy Story bring on the nostalgia at the very mention of the names Woody and Buzz. So with Continental Drift we have Scrat chasing the nut again, losing the nut again, and ruining everything…again. Adventure and hilarity obviously ensue, with our usual cast of voices plus a handful of some interesting looking new characters (Peter Dinklage voices the pirate, Captain Gutt). Parents: take your kids, guys: take your girlfriends. You might score some points and what’s more, you may end up being a lot more into this film than I am.

Muska: I haven’t been one of those people who has kept up with every Pixar movie that comes out, so I’ve only seen the first Ice Age installment, and I remember very little from it. (I was drunk when I watched it and it was just before I accidentally told a girl I loved her, but that is another story for another time.) But I think a lot of the desire people will have to see this movie is because it stirs in them the nostalgia we get from Toy Story, since we were tiny when the first one came out. People a few years younger than us might be feeling the same thing about this Ice Age. I can see this being a movie that, if I had children, I would take them to see like it was a treat for them, but knowing there would be some solid parts I could get some enjoyment out of. Thinking about this trailer has made me feel old.

Also, are these like the next attempt at something like the Land Before Time series, where you make a bunch of sequels to a movie about prehistoric animals?

Men In Black 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyaFEBI_L24

Muska: I was about 11 seconds into this trailer when I started singing this in my head, and I don’t think it’s going to stop for the rest of the day. I wonder if Will Smith is like Mark Wahlberg, where he’s at a place in his career where he thinks he’s too good/serious to make rap music with whacky lyrics. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Smith bust out some sort of rap during this movie or when the credits roll or something, because he’s just a more fun-seeming person than Wahlberg, who prefers to spend his forties not beating off and making asinine remarks about 9/11.

I cannot get over how much Josh Brolin looks like Tommy Lee Jones. To have him play young Jones is probably one of the best casting moves I’ve seen in a while.

Fink: If Will Smith does throw down some whacky lyrics to this, let’s just hope that it’s with DJ Jazzy Jeff and cool sunglasses/flattops will be involved. It’s been 10 years since MIB2, which I thought sucked, but this trailer looks like it will be a fun watch.  I like the addition of Brolin to the squad, who I always enjoy seeing.  Another name I see on the cast list is Jemaine Clement, half of Flight of the Conchords and hilarious Kiwi, so that’s a bonus. While I probably won’t see this in theaters, I can say that I won’t hate on all of the promo and marketing this one shoves in our faces just for the nostalgia factor.  Every kid my age loved the original MIB, and if they didn’t see it that was probably just because “man….Parent’s Just Don’t Understand.”

________

Josh Finkenbinder is a senior Cinema and Digital Arts major at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA.  Outside of school and work, Josh loves film, reading, writing, music, and a good beverage. His heroes include Bill Murray and Benjamin Franklin, because he always wondered who would win in a fight. Josh aspires to work in the arts, though he would be quite happy to settle down and open up a snow cone stand, providing there’s plenty of sun. If interested, follow him on Twitter: @jfinkenbinder

Scott Muska is at @scottmuska.

Is your Thursday off to a slow start? You’ve already had your coffee AND your Five Hour Energy AND someone else’s sandwich from the office fridge…what can give you that “kick” you need to get your day going? May I suggest the energizing mixture of terror, hilarity, confusion, terror, and then back to hilarity again induced by this video for a song about Rick Santorum called “Game On”?

\”Game On,\” by First Love

This band of homeschooled hotties are called First Love. They’re two Oklahoman sisters, Camille and Haley Harris, who, according to comments posted on their YouTube account, wrote this song of tribute to Santorum and his understanding of how God wrote the Bill of Rights, in one fevered night of restless creative inspiration (just like Cat Power’s “Moon Pix”!). The video has already been viewed more than 54,000 times on YouTube.

What’s your favorite part of this video?

-Is it the girl in blue, who looks like she has no idea what is going on, and just kind of wandered into the room and decided to see what would happen if she also got in front of the camera?

-Is it the subtle digs at Bushes Jr. and Sr./ subtle crush on Ronald Reagan?

-Is it the way that people joyfully dancing around with Santorum signs just feels wrong, like the laughter of children ringing out through the old abandoned slaughterhouse on the edge of town?

- Is it Bass Dad?

(It’s probably Bass Dad)

If you’re so inclined, you can waste the rest of your day checking out their YouTube channel, which includes covers of Jason Mraz’s “Lucky,” Taylor Swift’s “Back to December,” and Extreme’s “More Than Words,” all with a generous helping of appearances by Bass Dad. You can also check out their tumblr. Are they a kinder, gentler Prussian Blue? I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure that someone forgot to tell them what “More Than Words” is about.

Image courtesy firstloveband.tumblr.com

Our inaugural post stars, who else,  Lindsay Lohan!

Lindsey: My first thought around Lindsay Lohan’s appearance on SNL and all the buzz claiming it would revive her career was how is this any different? How is this going to work any better than Lohan’s many other attempts to regain the spotlight and live up to her Mean Girl’s pedigree? Among her recent (as in the last two years) failed attempts are Inferno, the awkward VMAs appearance, and her Playboy spread. All of these only further demonstrated the low Lilo had reached. So is SNL any different?

In my opinion, yes. It’s a baby step forward, which reflects (hopefully) a greater recognition of her limits, and how best to ease back into the game. Her first debut back isn’t a movie role that requires a lot of commitment and produces a lot of stress, which might encourage her to relapse. At the same time, SNL produces the right kind of pressure, the pressure of a live show, that would force Lindsay to show up. If it’s a taping or a day on set, it’s much easier for her to skip and reschedule (or not reschedule at all.)

It’s also a wise decision because Saturday Night Live is a smart show. Sure, there will be jokes about her past, but they won’t be handled as poorly as the ones at the VMAs. Lohan’s performance this past Saturday night was pretty bad, but she showed up and stood on her mark and that’s more than she’s been able to do for awhile. Of course, in the end, it doesn’t matter what TV shows or movies she does. It all comes down to her.

Gaby: I think this is a bit different from Lohan’s other career revivals, in that those were attempts (failed attempts, but still) to show that she was still the lively actress that we loved in Mean Girls, whereas this was a successful attempt to show that she can walk into a room and stand around in it without setting anything on fire or passing out. So, she’s ready to not wear her cocaine pants for a few hours. But is she ready to work? Is this enough?

I’d say no. I thought the episode itself showcased a lot of great writing and performing, but Lohan’s contribution to that was minimal. Which makes sense–like, when do you think the last time she acted was? (bonus points to you if you did not immediately say “In court!” in your head, like I just did).

But it is going to take a lot more than this to re-establish a career. Which, in fairness to Lohan, I think she knows. I think this week’s episode was enjoyable to watch because it was infused with the warmth and gratitude of someone who thought they might never get another shot getting one last chance. Is this beginning of a genuine comeback? I don’t know. But she seems like she’s actually been humbled and working with a better attitude now, which is at least half the battle.

Shelby: Charlie Murphy may have put it best — “cocaine is one helluva drug.” LiLos’ had her troubles, but let’s be real — we all love her. So let’s root for her in all of her post-Labor Pains glory (I’m not the only one who watches the repeats on ABC Family, it’s okay to own up to it). Think about life without her — what would People and Star have to write about, really? Sofia Vergara’s bust (we’re over it). Where would I figure out which Chanel sunglasses go best with a white dress? Or how to dress for court in a way that’s stylish, but still drug-addled chic?

This is why I think SNL was so important for the former Cady Stanton. I want her to succeed. I want her to give the finger to everyone who has written her off (figuratively, of course, although I’d actually buy a copy of People for a shot of her doing it literally). Enough with the Herbie Fully Loaded jokes — Lindsay has to start somewhere. So what if Mike Ryan of HuffPo wrote that letting her host was a “mistake”? Lorne Michaels is known for giving second chances, and the fact that Lindsay was able to show up and give this her all was a step in the right direction. It’s hard to follow up Maya Rudolph. Cut the girl a break!

Maybe we can think of the past few years as Lindsay’s real life Freaky Friday experience (it’s all Dina’s fault!), and assume she’s almost ready to make this last rehab stint stick and go back to being the adorable Parent Trap star I idolized as an 11-year-old. In the meantime, I don’t care whether or not she fibbed a few lines on SNL. LiLo is back on screen, and I’m ready for more.

Also that blue dress she wore during her monologue was, like, really cute. Just saying.

Sonia: If Lindsay wanted to be “back,” she’d be back. She makes headlines without trying to. Girl just needs to figure out what she wants.

Honestly, I try to pay as little attention to Lindsay Lohan as possible, but I was very curious to see how her “comeback” in SNL would go. The show’s been on a winning streak for its last few episodes — even Channing Tatum was funny when he hosted!

But I was sorely disappointed. Lindsay not only wasn’t terribly funny or engaging — but she also came off sloppy and unrehearsed. She was clearly reading her lines off of cue cards for the first several sketches. The jokes about her parole were predictable and kind of depressing.

Actors in the past have shown us that SNL is a great platform for starting a new trajectory in their career. Probably the best example recently is Daniel Radcliffe, who managed to convince me that he was an entertainer worth watching, not just a kid with a lightning-bolt scar. I think it could have happened with Lindsay — but it really seems like she doesn’t want it enough. Who stages a comeback and then doesn’t memorize her lines? Which leads me to ask, whose comeback is this, anyway? Some manager or publicist? When LiLo’s back, I’m pretty confident we’ll know. She’s not going to ask our permission.

Alex C.: The question about LiLo is whether or not the entertainment industry wants her as a cautionary tale or a comeback story? As difficult as it is, the audience is the customer for celebrity blow-ups, carcass connoisseurs that we are.

Her appearance and voice definitely have been to hell and back, with a long layover in Scottsdale, AZ (the worst place on earth). At age, what, 25, she’s probably seen more waking hours of life than some people twice her age, and she has embraced the downward spiral with regrettable ease. With her recent stint in SNL where her best jokes were all self-deprecating, we might be seeing an addict’s grasp for attention, or we might be seeing a genuine request for help and redemption.

We honestly don’t have much need for the insane LiLo anymore — we have the Kardashians. They are the gossip industry at this point, so if it’s a toss-up between whether or not the audiences should root for her, I say root for her. I’d rather have a goofball Tina Fey-surrogate resurrection than another dead 27 year-old actress.

The biggest roadblock for her comeback is that she’s kinda too young for a Robert Downey Jr. or Mickey Rourke-caliber revival, but hey, this is America, and we do three things really well: catastrophic failure, barbecue, and comebacks (in that order).

Scott: Gaby’s point that Lohan hasn’t really done much serious acting for a while really made me think of this in a different way than I had been previously, which is to say Lohan is a crazy person with a misguidedly entitled attitude who should never be given another chance for the limelight. I’m not saying I disbelieve these things, but I do think she seemed humbled by the chance to host SNL, and the way she embraced all of the self-effacing sketches about the dumb shit she’s done in the past shows she’s trying to (maybe) get around it and get serious about acting again.

I think her performance was pretty terrible, acting-wise, but I’m not sure she’s a terrible actor. Maybe she’s just rusty. When she and Keenan were doing the skit where they were inmates trying to scare people straight, Lohan barely took her eyes off of the teleprompter or cue cards she was using. I think this was more a lack of confidence than a lack or complete loss of acting ability/ memory. People will make jokes about how she can’t remember lines anymore because she did too many of them, but I don’t think that’s the case. It will just take time for her to find her confidence in those abilities again, and it remains to be seen how much time or how many opportunities she’ll be given/ she’ll earn.

Like anything requiring talent, actors can have slumps or crises of confidence, especially if they haven’t been practicing their livelihood for a while. This happens to people who’ve stopped writing, playing basketball, having sex, painting, etc. and try to pick it up again. I imagine it’s got to be exponentially worse when so many people are watching you, many of whom will rejoice if you fail.

What do you guys think? Is Lindsay Lohan back?

Tim Burton might finally have made something worth getting excited about.

After spending most of the last few years making overblown and unnecessary Disney remakes, Burton is quite literally returning to his roots with a stop-motion animation version of Frankenweenie.

Frankenweenie, in its original form as a 1984 live-action short film, was Burton’s first classic, predating Beetlejuice by some four years. The film has become somewhat obscure, as Disney cowardly shelved it for being “too dark.” Disney released a censored version on VHS following Burton’s rise to fame, and it was finally made available in its original uncensored form (and in DVD format) as an extra on The Nightmare Before Christmas DVD. You can watch it on YouTube here.

The film focuses on a boy’s attempt to revive his dead dog and draws on Burton’s experiences growing up as an outsider in sunny Burnank, California. Frankenweenie’s main character is a child filmmaker, making the parallel exceedingly obvious. Stars attached to the project include Winona Ryder, Martin Landau, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short and longtime collaborator Danny Elfman providing the score.

This return to his own early work for inspiration will hopefully afford Burton the kind of creative spark missing from his films in recent years. What’s more, it’s possible a look back at his early creative peak will remind Burton what made this work so great in the first place – long before he lost his creative voice amidst a sea of voices telling him he was a genius and Disney paying him truckloads for creatively impotent projects designed to sell merchandise rather than tell a story. Hopefully this could lead to a creative renaissance for the director providing quality original work in the future.

Frankenweenie is slated for an October 5^th release date.

Image: Film Frame

More Faster Entertainment News:

Trailers Of The Week: ‘John Carter,’ ‘Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter,’ ‘Project X,’ And More

Why The Oscars MUST Suck

________

John Carter

Muska: So if pretty much anybody else was supposed to be carrying this one, I would have no interest in it. But, before I even saw this trailer I knew Tim Riggins was starring and because of this I had decided I would go see it no matter what. (I have to think now he did the movie as a cash grab, but I don’t know.) Friday Night Lights has been a huge part of my life the past few years, and Taylor Kitsch’s Riggins is one of my favorite television characters of all time. (I’m drinking Shiraz right now from a Dillon Panthers coffee mug embossed with the phrase “CLEAR EYES FULL HEARTS CAN’T LOSE! on it.) It seems like he’ll be shirtless for a pretty substantial amount of the movie, too, which is to be expected—shirtless scenes are probably written into his contracts. That will make me feel guilty for purchasing a large popcorn and drink to supplement the gigantic bag of Skittles and miniature bottles of wine I snuck in via the purse of whichever woman I can convince to go see this movie with me. Said woman will be forever nonplussed by me after seeing Riggins shirtless, but I’m willing to accept that. You have to sacrifice for a man crush.

I’m worried about this movie, though. I think it has potential to do what In The Land of Women did to me re: Adam Brody. I was so excited to see the movie, because I always loved Seth Cohen and the trailer looked promising, and when I saw it and it was one of the worst movies ever, two things happened: 1) I came to the crushing realization that Brody would probably never play a part better or even on par with his character from the OC that I had become such a fan of, and 2) those in the film industry realized the same thing. Last time I saw the dude, he was a deputy in Scream 4 who got killed.

One more thing: How nice is that Peter Gabriel cover of “My Body Is A Cage?”

Fink: Director Andrew Stanton has an impressive list of work under his belt, having directed Best Animated Films Finding Nemo and WALL-E, which is surprising after after viewing this routine action/adventure trailer. John Carter, a character adapted from Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom series, finds himself on a mysterious planet with it’s inhabitants facing extinction that will extend to Earth next. Rising to the occasion, Carter becomes a leader needed by the planet, facing immeasurable conflict and a cast of gruesome looking creatures.  Here we see an expected plethora of slow-motion, special effects, music cues, and gruff one-liners, which are short of character building.  The sickeningly cliche question it begs: Can John Carter save the planet, win a girl’s heart, and make it home alive? No surprising speculations here, although I expect to hear the words “destiny” and “honor” too many times if I drag myself to see this one.

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

Fink: The one thing getting me past the fact this is yet another vampire flick amongst a slew of bad ones is that this one features the Man with the Big Hat chopping their shit up with an axe. Historians may disagree, but I’ve always seen Honest Abe as a werewolf guy anyway (judging by his grizzly ass beard). The trailer keeps the plot on hush, and I really hope there’s a decent one here, although admittedly I COULD watch slow motion axe swinging for quite some time . Haven’t read the book, but I’ve heard good things and let’s face it: sometimes men (and ladies) need a little ball-tingling entertainment to enjoy ‘Merican history.  I’ll probably check this one out, though it only seems destined for a discount theater night and snuck-in booze. How inebriated you choose to be at this one is up to you, though to quote Mr. Buffy himself, “Four shots and seven beers ago…” or something like that.

Muska: Johnny Cash speaking to an audience creepily from beyond the grave is enough to get my attention, so that was probably a good move trailer-wise. The whole vampire thing is played out, but I read the novel this movie is based on and I dug it. I’m not really sure how similar the film’s going to be, because the trailer wasn’t very indicative. It was almost entirely in slow motion, but you could still glean it’s got all of the Abe Lincoln mythology infused into it—the top hat, busting a motherfucking tree in half with an axe, etc. I’ll probably see this, but I’m not sure I would have if I hadn’t read the book initially. I’m definitely more excited to see Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln.

Fun fact about Benjamin Walker, the guy playing Abe: he starred in a Broadway show as Andrew Jackson. Has any other actor ever professionally played two true-to-life ex-POTUSes? I think that might be unprecedented.

Rampart

Muska: Woody Harrelson’s cop character beats the shit out of some dude for T-boning his cruiser, and gets taped doing so. I don’t understand why he would do this, and it seems to be the impetus for the movie. It’s one thing if your personal car gets T-Boned, because that’s a huge inconvenience for you that involves renting a car while it gets fixed or buying a new one or dealing with insurance agents. You might want to kick some ass. But if you’re a cop, all you have to do is go back to the precinct and get another car that is bought and paid for by tax payers. I understand he probably has some deep-lying anger issues, but you’ve got to use at least some common sense if you’re going to be a gun-carrying police officer.

Anyway, I don’t really have much interest in this one. I love Harrison, and respect that he probably plays the part of Vietnam vet who is also a dirty, alcoholic and potentially racist cop pretty well, but that shit is pretty heavy. And I’ve already seen Training Day. Also, whose idea was it to make Ice Cube the internal affairs detective? That’s going to probably take away from the serious vibe the movie is obviously going for.

Fink: I sure do love Woody Harrelson, and train-wreck character pieces usually rev my engine in all the right ways but something is holding this one back for me.  Maybe we haven’t seen this dirty of a cop on screen before, but then again and more likely, maybe we have, and for that matter who cares?  With all of the beatings, drinking, womanizing, racism, and all around assholery, anything short of at least three crying scenes from the Wood-Man himself is gonna have me yawning.  So how do we get an audience to be interested in Woody’s demise and possible repentance?  Have Ice Cube co-star as his partner? Sorry folks, but it’s hard for me to see him with the badge without thinking of NWA lyrics or Doughboy from Boyz n the Hood. But his career choices are a whole other argument.  This flick looks like a Netflixer to me.

Project X

Fink: No matter how epic the party may get, it can’t substitute for a lack of plot and characters, which I see no indication of here.  The party’s absurdities may reach out to high school kids who don’t get invited to parties just like our protagonist here, but to the rest of us we’ve got a pretty empty trailer here.  And to those kids who may not be so high up on the totem pole in school, check out Superbad, and find out how losers can end up on top with a great film.
As for the found footage style of film I ask, why?  Seriously, I thought (wished) that something would go really wrong at the party, like in Cloverfield aliens are killing everything, or Feds covering up some kind of monster from the public. You know, something that actually deserves to be documented and then found. Instead we’ve got the party getting ‘a little out of control’ and the kids parents inevitably coming home to ground him and revoke X-Box privileges, etc. The trailer relies on Todd Phillips’ name to bring in that Hangover and Old School loving crowd, but I’m thinking this is more of a flick for a one man wolf pack, so to speak.

Muska:I see clips of this on TV often, and all it seemed like is a Todd Phillips-produced filming of a gigantic fake party. Then I saw the beginning of this trailer, where the party host is making a dramatic and sullen video message addressed to his parents. It seems like one of those ‘If you’re watching this, I am already dead’ kind of deals, which is perplexing, because I can’t fathom why this kid thinks he is going to die. I’m not curious enough about it to want to see this movie.

I think I would’ve been more interested in this early on in high school, when parties weren’t a readily available thing. Now that I’m of age and can go to a bar or party any time I want to, it’s kind of hard to justify paying money to see other people I don’t know have a crazy time. Kind of like how if I had a girlfriend or wife who liked to have sex with me a lot, I probably wouldn’t watch (as much) porn as I do.

One more note: That video at the trailer’s beginning makes me sad. I feel bad that the only way this kid thought he could get noticed by girls was to throw a huge party. I had an easy time in high school, but I know kids who definitely suffered through those years. What I’ve learned from them is, though, that you are better served spending less time trying to change the way young/mostly immature people perceive you and more time doing your thing, whatever that is, so that you can be successful and have a great rest of your life. Because that lasts much longer than childhood.

Avengers

Muska:Seeing this for sure, probably the day it comes out. I love superhero movies, and this one is full of them. No matter what, I will never grow tired of Robert Downey Jr.’s attitude and swag when he’s playing Tony Stark (or pretty much any other character he has or will play, ever). Iron Man 2 was kind of lame, but still worth seeing just because it’s RDJ.

Really, though, how many people are going to play The Hulk? And how about that little snippet where ScarJo says she’ll convince him to come join The Avengers, even if he doesn’t feel like it. Do you think she fucks his brains out or beats him up or both?

Fink: It’s the real deal, everyone.  Even if I weren’t the comic book nerd that I am, we can all agree that the superhero franchise of late is simply doing it right, and the buildup to this one has been pretty epic.  I’m pumped to see Joss Whedon directing here, and I hope the ensemble cast all have their chance to shine.  Regarding the Hulkster’s change up, I don’t think anybody will mind handsy-boy Mark Ruffalo stepping up to bat.  RDJ’s Stark and more SAMUEL L. JACKSON (to be read in his voice) as Nick Fury give this all the style points in the world, with Thor, Cap, Hawkeye, and Black Widow to match.  I wish we got to see a little more of Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, but in time I suppose we will.  I don’t know many people not excited for this one, so I’ll just go ahead and say it…AVENGERS ASSEMBLE…at your theater May 4th, that is.

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Josh is a senior Cinema and Digital Arts major at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pa. Josh loves film, reading, writing, music, and a good beverage. His heroes include Bill Murray and Benjamin Franklin, because he always wondered who would win in a fight. Josh aspires to work in the arts, though he would be quite happy to settle down and open up a snow cone stand, providing there’s plenty of sun. If interested, follow him on Twitter: @jfinkenbinder

Scott is at srm5082@gmail.com and @scottmuska.

Sippin’ Earl Grey when the day is done.

Downton Abbey, the deliciously addictive soap opera (will Matthew and Mary ever find happiness!?) disguised as a prim and proper British historical drama, has spurred a lot of fan response. There’s the “Sh!t The Dowager Countess Says” video, the “Downton Abbeyonce” tumblr, and now “Downton”, a rap tribute to the series created by genre-blending master Adam WarRock.

WarRock knows what it’s like to become obsessed with Downton: “And then you’re calling your friend and saying things like “I’m at the part where Matthew Crawley is investigating the entail for Lord Grantham, and the Dowager Countess finds out about it,” and you realize you’re whispering because honestly, what the HELL are you even saying?”

I don’t think the Dowager Countess would appreciate your tone, Adam. But I’m sure she would dig your sweet beats.

The film was up against some tough competition, as legendry directors Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and Woody Allen all had movies in the running.  While some might have liked to see one of these giants take home the gold statue, the mere uniqueness of The Artist is enough to separate it from the other nominees.  Like Scorcese’s Hugo, Hazanavicius’ movie attempts to restore in jaded audiences their lost wonderment at the power and magic of cinema.  Unlike Scorsese though, who uses modem technology to give life to the story, Hazanavicius turns to the past, limiting his use of sound and special effects to the few moments that their presence would have the most impact.  Undeniably charming and surprisingly engrossing, The Artist is a work of art, and its triumph is well-deserved.

I had an idea. It’s a good thing that the Oscars suck. They MUST suck.

It’s not about who wins.

Just as it’s not important who actually wins American Idol, accessible avenues into the creative process are where the real entertainment lies. There are so few winners when it comes to comparing creative products like movies, and there are even fewer deserving winners. Did the Transfomers movies deserve to make all that money? They’re exciting, and yet felt designed to be broadly-appealing. Did The King’s Speech deserve to win the Best Picture Oscar last year? Even if it was good, it felt as if it was designed to a win that award.

The fact that these questions roll around in peoples’ heads, actively debated and highly-visible, allows us to engage in the meta-game that the entertainment industry is robed in. We know that there are real stories happening outside of the scripts. As kids, movies help us learn to imagine, teaching us how ideas are given shape. We discover our tastes and start to understand how our ideas might one day be visible to everybody, that an idea might be put to a page, and people could read it, and then it could be turned into a movie, and even more people would watch it, and then it might win an award, and people would insist that all of this was, in fact, a very good thing. This comes to pass for so few, but if we’ve ever wondered, we can identify with these highly-visible creatives. So we side with the ones we like and we root for them to step out of a dream and overcome, and if the stories have taught us anything, the world is full of exploitative cheaters that steal and pervert ideas. They are in power and they are the enemy.

These kinds of people make the Oscars suck. What we need to understand is that the Oscars must suck – we demand that they suck, it’s for our own good. There’s a crown that rightfully belongs to somebody deserving, to a movie that we love, or an idea that’s purer than an industry we know to be run by heartless scoundrels.

It’s vital that the Oscars suck. When some undeserving schlock like The English Patient wins Best Picture, we shake our heads. This isn’t our first rodeo. We know better. It’s validating to our individuality that we know better. Some producer somewhere might have a victory, but honestly, how many times have you seen The English Patient? By comparison, how sure are you that Fargo is a better movie, nominated in the same year?

Sometimes, the underdog beats the evil empire at its own game. Scorcese won. Lord of the Rings won. The Hurt Locker won. And were these victories for the deserving just a bold manipulation by the snide Academy, throwing them some scraps just to keep the desperate satisfied? It doesn’t matter. Some asshole movie will win and the formless, faceless Academy will announce that they’ve re-established the pecking order, and that people will have recognized that they control the truth when it comes to good movies – that’s what we’re here to identify, right?

The Oscars suck and they will always suck, even when the right movie wins, because we need a villain. So let’s enjoy it as the sideshow that it is, a spectacle involving royalty, both wicked and good princes and princesses shall be present at the Running Of The Bullshit. For us, up here in the Greek Chorus, we know that this charade, the academy insisting that they’re always important, is a prison of their own creation. It’s their prison, not ours – not the movie-goer’s.

There are more intangible victories to be understood, and they are more valuable. The Oscars suck so we don’t have to.

Did you know Hitchcock never won an Oscar?

Image, edited by me.