We forgot to mention this one.

Thanks to listener Brad from Atlanta for pointing out that we forgot to mention this classic Rock N Roll movie. Stop Making Sense by The Talking Heads directed by Jonathan Demme in 1984.

These go to eleven

One of our most picked Rock N Roll movies for this weeks LRFF.

Episode 11 is now available

Episode 11 of The Movie Hour, "Goes to 11" is now online! There are many ways to get the show and listen to it. If you have an iPod or listen to iTunes on your computer, the easiest way to get and listen to the show is to click on the "Subscribe with iTunes" icon right below this.



If you have any other MP3 player and would like to add our show to your playlist, please Right click the following link and choose "Save". Then drag it to your software of choice to upload to your player.

Download this episode (right click and save)

SHOW NOTES

Anton Corbijn's "Egghunter"

If you have more than a passing familiarity with late 1980s dance/industrial music you know Front 242's classic tune "Headhunter." But did you know that Anton Corbijn, ultra-famous rock photographer (and director of Joy Division biopic Control) directed a video for the song in 1988? And did you know he misunderstood the song as "Egghunter"? The result is sublime. Enjoy.

Episode 10 is now available

Episode 10 of The Movie Hour, "Poor Man's Will Ferrell," is now online, featuring Observe and Report! There are many ways to get the show and listen to it. If you have an iPod or listen to iTunes on your computer, the easiest way to get and listen to the show is to click on the "Subscribe with iTunes" icon right below this.



If you have any other MP3 player and would like to add our show to your playlist, please Right click the following link and choose "Save". Then drag it to your software of choice to upload to your player.

Download this episode (right click and save)

SHOW NOTES
Andy Seims podcast, Apocalypse Hollywood: SIBS (Episode 1), where The Movie Hour gets a mention and glowing review.

Observe and Report Controversy

In Episode 10, out this Friday, we discuss Observe and Report. Without spoiling our discussion, Ethan makes a point to say that it was uncomfortable laughing at some scenes. One scene in particular is causing a minor brouhaha. Minor only because attendance to the film has been pretty weak. Had this been Paul Blart-ish in box office success, the issue would be more prevalent across the media.

One scene in particular had both our hosts wincing:
SPOILER:
In the scene, Seth Rogen's character has post-date, post-heavy-drinking sex with Anna Faris's character who appears to be unconscious.

Many writers and critics are calling the scene flat out date rape. Many, however, are not.

READ THIS ARTICLE at moviecitynews.com for a rundown of both sides of opinion.

Then be sure to listen to our take in Episode 10 out this Friday.

Blockbuster-Free Summer Offerings

This summer, Terminators, Transformers and Captain Kirk will pull in the lion's share of filmgoing audience dough. BUT...for those seeking less, um, robots, there will be definitely be a few films to consider.

THIS ARTICLE is a nice piece about four films (one for each summer month) coming out this summer that are virtually CGI-free, complete with trailers for each:

MAY
The Brothers Bloom - Rian Johnson's follow-up to Brick. A con movie starring Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody

JUNE
Away We Go - Sam Mendes in what seems to be a sweet, finding-America love story. Stars Jim from The Office and Maya Rudolph

JULY
500 Days of Summer - A Charlie Kaufman-esque romantic comedy

AUGUST
Taking Woodstock - Ang Lee's 'based on the true story' comedy about how Woodstock came to be

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Brand new footage and trailer from the Quentin Tarantino movie INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS due out on August 21.

LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 15, 2009 – Last night, on FOX’s mega-hit tv show, “American Idol,” Quentin Tarantino made a special guest mentor appearance and debuted a sneak preview of never-seen-before footage from his upcoming movie, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. Below is the entire clip that was too hot to air on primetime tv during "American Idol."

Summer is Almost Here - A Guide

Here at The Movie Hour, as we frequently mention, we're learning as we go, and it has been interesting--perhaps fortuitous--as your hosts to have started this adventure at the beginning of the year. The first few months of the year are historically 'weak' in film, but in 2009 it's been nonstop comedy. Will it be nonstop comedy next year? Who knows? But The Movie Hour has become, because of timing, almost a study of what a calender in film releases amounts to.

Ethan mentioned he is dying for a good Oscary drama to sink his choppers into, but will that be far off considering the rat-a-tat releases of superheroes and battling robots? Watchmen was 'summery', but the popcorn season officially starts (moviewise) May 1--that's just over two weeks (or three episodes from now). Coming soon: The Movie Hour's first summer.

Click HERE for a great guide to summer from www.moviecitynews.com.

May 1st
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Dir. Gavin Hood) - marketing is very weak and we still have the horrible flavor of X3 in our mouths.
The Limits of Control (Dir. Jim Jarmusch)

May 8th
Star Trek (Dir. J.J. Abrams) - Getting a little more excited for it as the marketing rolls out. I'm sure we'll discuss.

Also Opening: Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna team up once again for Alfonso Cuaron’s Rudo y Cursi - Joe's a huge fan of Y tu Mama so this is on his radar; Mos Def and Donald Faison star in the dark comedy about drugs, Next Day Air.

May 15th
Angels and Demons (Dir. Ron Howard) - Da Vinci was a disappointment. Redemption?
The Brothers Bloom (Dir. Rian Johnson) - Was on Joe's upcoming summer list on an earlier episode.

Also Opening: Jennifer Aniston goes The Good Girl route opposite Steve Zahn in Management. Whatever.

May 22nd
Terminator Salvation (Dir. McG) - Like Star Trek, the ongoing marketing gets us more excited. Was on E's summer list.
The Girlfriend Experience (Dir. Steven Soderbergh) - Soderbergh is always one to watch.

Also Opening: Ben Stiller takes a large paycheck in Night at the Museum 2 - Joe's 8 yr. old is excited; Marlon and Shawn Wayans try to top White Chicks with Dance Flick.

May 29th
Up (Dir. Pete Docter) - Joe....not even worth discussing
Drag Me to Hell (Dir. Sam Raimi) - This one snuck in after our upcoming summer show. Joe is definitely interested (Evil Dead revisit?)

Also Opening: The Academy-Award winner for best foreign flick Departures.

June 5th
Land of the Lost (Dir. Brad Silberling) - Was on E's list. Joe's kid will drag him to it.
Away We Go (Dir. Sam Mendes) - Anyone else think this trailer looks terrible?

Also Opening: Old School director Todd Phillips gets Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis to star in a comedy that has tested so well it already has a greenlit sequel with The Hangover; Nia Vardalos returns from the witness protection program to star opposite Richard Dreyfuss in Donald Petrie’s My Life in Ruins.

June 12th
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (Dir. Tony Scott)

June 19th
Whatever Works (Dir. Woody Allen) - On both our lists. Woody + Larry David = Has to be good. No?

Also Opening: Harold Ramis directs an outrageous Jack Black and an awkward Michael Cera in Year One - man this looks bad; Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds star in an instantly forgettable romantic comedy The Proposal - man this looks worse.

June 26th
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Dir. Michael Bay) - Joe has a Transformers story if you can get it out of him.

Also Opening: Michelle Pfeiffer stars in Stephen Frears’ latest flick Cheri; Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin co-star in Nick Cassavetes’ latest film My Sister’s Keeper; Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker with Jeremy Renner screams into theaters.

Coming Next Week: Summer 2009 Preview, Part Two

Borat Gets a NC-17 at First Pass. Is any NC-17 'irrational'?

Bruno, the new film from Borat creator and star Sacha Baron Cohen, received a MPAA NC-17 on its first pass through the rating process. We don't recall, but I'm surely Borat did too. So that's not a surprise, but it does give pause to discuss what seems to be a ridiculous process/denotation altogether.

Adam Breckenridge wrote it out just fine at examiner.com:

I am angry over the ridiculous attitude we take towards the NC-17 rating itself. We never stop to think about just how irrational we are about it. Most major theater chains and stores will not carry an NC-17 film, apparently due to some preposterous sense of morality, though rental chains and retailers will gladly carry “unrated” versions of movies, which are basically movies that would have gotten an NC-17 rating if they had been submitted to the MPAA, meaning that it’s okay for a movie to have the kind of content that would warrant being rated NC-17 just as long as it doesn’t have the actual rating on it.

Read the rest of his interesting opinion, HERE.

Episode 9 is now available!

Episode 9 of The Movie Hour is now online! There are many ways to get the show and listen to it. If you have an iPod or listen to iTunes on your computer, the easiest way to get and listen to the show is to click on the "Subscribe with iTunes" icon right below this.



If you have any other MP3 player and would like to add our show to your playlist, please Right click the following link and choose "Save". Then drag it to your software of choice to upload to your player.

Download this episode (right click and save)




The easiest way to listen to a stream over the net is to use the player to the right. Just click play, and depending on your connection speed, it should start playing right away. Thanks for listening and remember we want your feedback. Please email us at feedback@themoviehour.com.

Quiter Films for Autistic Children

Here's an interesting concept. Autistic children, it seems, don't enjoy movies in theaters due to the volume of the audio. Here's a program with 'Sensory Friendly Films' specifically geared for families with autistic chidren.

Read about it HERE.

Truth And Objectivity in Documentaries

Back in Episode #4, Joe and Ethan discussed the Bill Maher documentary Religulous. A two sentence exchange discusses objectivity in documentary filmmaking. The guys had differing opinions about it, but it wasn't discussed in depth.

This article over at Movie City News asks the same question:

Are documentaries journalism or storytelling, feature-length beat reporting, op-ed or color commentary -- or some combination of those, or even none of the above? Is it necessary for a filmmaker to capture both sides of a given story to be fully objective? And if a documentary filmmaker unabashedly focuses his lens only on the moments or interview bytes that tell the story he wants to tell -- or that his subjects want to tell -- has he made what can be objectively called a documentary, or has he made propaganda promoting a particular cause or idea?

Interesting article. Give it a read. HERE

Insert 'Short Joke' Here: Al Pacino to Play Napoleon

Ethan and Joe are Godfather fans. Who isn't? An integral piece of The Godfather puzzle, of course, is Al Pacino's performance. In the 70s and early 80s he was one of the gods of Hollywood, up there with De Niro. But then came...not sure...a large mortgage payment? Some reason to accept rolls and phone them in with cliched yelling and hamming.

Well you follow a god's career no matter what, so here's the latest: Pacino set up to play Napoleon.

Read about it HERE.

Michael Bay: 3D Sucks; IMAX rules

Ethan and Joe review the latest 3D visual feast, Monsters Vs. Aliens in Episode 8. you can hear that by clicking play on the player to the right or subscribing to The Movie Hour on iTunes.

But more importantly, what does Michael Bay think about 3D? A worthwhile technology? Just a fad?

Find out here.

The Wrestler...Iron Man...You kinda just have to read it

Ethan and Joe both loved The Wrestler and Iron Man.

What do the two have in common? What does that have to do with 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper?

Click Here to read all.

JACKIE EARLE HALEY MAY BECOME A MOVIE STAR AFTER ALL

Joe and Ethan were mixed on Watchmen, but agreed on one thing: Jackie Earle Haley as Rorshach was pretty incredible.

Joe mentioned in the Watchmen Episode that Jackie Earle Haley couldn't become a movie star though bc he was diminuitive and 'weird looking', citing that hadn't stopped Billy Bob Thornton.

HOWEVER, no one saw this coming: Jackie Earle Haley has signed on to be the new Freddy (Krueger, that is).

Read about it HERE.

Hear our Watchmen Review in Episode 6 which you can listen to on the Flash player to your right or on iTunes.

Now in 3D!!

Ethan provided The Movie Hour crew with his left-over 3D glasses from Monsters Vs Aliens. In order to make the review THAT much more spectacular!

Episode 8 is now available.

Episode 8 of The Movie Hour is now online, featuring Monsters vs. Aliens, Happy-Go-Lucky, and Synecdoche, NY! There are many ways to get the show and listen to it. If you have an iPod or listen to iTunes on your computer, the easiest way to get and listen to the show is to click on the "Subscribe with iTunes" icon right below this.



If you have any other MP3 player and would like to add our show to your playlist, please Right click the following link and choose "Save". Then drag it to your software of choice to upload to your player.

Download this episode (right click and save)



The easiest way to listen to a stream over the net is to use the player to the right. Just click play, and depending on your connection speed, it should start playing right away. Thanks for listening and remember we want your feedback. Please email us at feedback@themoviehour.com.

Oscar Diaries

In the Episode 8 discussion of Happy-Go-Lucky, Ethan mentioned writer-director Mike Leigh's Oscar diary that was printed in the Guardian newspaper. Definitely worth a look. The Guardian has a history of doing these. While you're at it, read Annie Proulx's (justified) sour grapes account of when Brokeback Mountain lost to Crash a few years back.

The Great Comedy Year Debate: the Spreadsheet

Joe and Ethan had a war of worlds in episode 7 about whether or not 2008 was the best year for comedies in recent memory. A listener in LA, John-Michael Powell, did some investigating and number crunching for us, using Rotten Tomatoes ratings to figure out what the "funniest" year was, after all. He assures us he's not "not this big a nerd in real life" but we think you'll want to check out his blog at http://johnmichaelpowell.tumblr.com/ and have a look at his chart before judging for yourself.

Ethan claims victory. Joe might, too.

Here's how he explains his methods:

"I checked out only comedy films in the last five years that got "fresh" ratings...that's 60% or above. Now, this is where it got interesting because obviously the number of films that were considered "fresh" per year varied. In order to make the findings as equal as possible I narrowed it down to two categories. The average rating of the top 5 films of each year and the top 10 of each year. I did this to see where each year stacked up at the top end of ratings and how that percentage changed over the top ten films, in other words to see how deep those years went in percentages as that could be argued as to what constitutes a better year for comedy over another. Something to note. No year in the last 5 years had more than 12 comedy films rated fresh. So here's what I found..."