Movies: August 2009 Archives

Hats off to the Class of 2009 college graduates. And special congratulations to the hard-workers of the class, like Ryden Malby (Alexis Bledel) in "Post Grad." Malby nailed scholarships, limited amounts of beer pong playing to keep the said scholarship and made it to her commencement ceremony on time (unlike her wacky family).

The problem Malby faces in the flick is one that recent grads can certainly relate to. Even non-grads can relate to. Even grads going to grad school can relate to: Finding a job.

Bledel plays this overly talkative 20-something (it's like Rory on "Gilmore Girls" never went to an Ivy League school and adopted a new quirky family). The laugh-out-loud moments (and there are quite a few) come from job interviews gone wrong or Malby's family playing up their craziness (Michael Keaton portrays an always-trying-to-give-the-best-to-his-daughter dad; Jane Lynch an it'll-all-be-OK mom; and Carol Burnett an I'm-too-worried-about-myself-namely-my-death grandma). Continue reading on the jump.

What the heck is with the number nine this year? (Oh, I get it. It's 2009.) But that's no excuse to give two movies the same name. (Producers hope audiences will be able to tell the difference between aliens and Italian movie stars.)
This trailer wars seems like a no-brainer (A cheesy CGI flick up against a musical starring Daniel Day Lewis.) But is it? Maybe I shouldn't judge a movie by its poster. "9" is a futuristic full-length expansion of the Academy Award-nominated 2004 short film of the same name and is produced by Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov ("Wanted"). After the world's machines turn on mankind, a group of small gizmos armed with the spark of life attempts to save humanity. (Elijah Wood, Christopher Plummer, Crispin Glover, John C. Reilly and Jennifer Connelly do the voice-overs.) It hits theaters (more nines) on Sept. 9.

"Nine" is a musical that follows director Guido Contini (Daniel Day Lewis) as he heads for a breakdown. The women in his life (Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Sophia Loren and Stacy Ferguson, aka Fergie) are poised to steal his thunder in the sparkly spectacular. (Pause to wrap your head around the fabulosity.) The film, due in November, is directed by Rob Marshall ("Chicago") and its music's from the original 1982 Broadway show, which a Tony Award for Best Musical. Bellissima!

We admit it. This is cheesy. But it's also kind of brilliant. With all the pre-show dramz, we can't wait for the VMAs. (BTW: "West Side Story" spoofs are so hot right now.)

The Manhattan Short Film Festival announced the 10 finalists. York film-lovers will be able to join more than 100,000 people in 173 cities to select the festival winner. The Manhattan Short Film Festival selections will be shown at 7:30 Sept. 26 and 3 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Capitol Theatre, 50 N. George St. in York. Admission is $8.

Audience members will receive a voting card at the beginning of the event so they can cast their ballot for best film. After the film screenings, votes are sent to festival headquarters where the winner will be announced Sept. 29. Click the jump for the list of selected films. (Photo: Manhattan Film Fest; 'Mozambique' by Alcides Soares)

Check out the extended trailer for "The Beatles: Rock Band." It drops 9/9/09 and follows the group through each era of it's career. We're excited. Are you? Have you pre-ordered the game? Are you planning to camp out? Share your excitement on The Exchange.

In other Beatles news: Disney's thinking about remaking "Yellow Submarine," the 1968 cartoon based on The Beatles song.

1. Headed to Harrisburg to hear Tim Warfield Thursday (and all that jazz).

2. Attended a farewell fete in Baltimore. (Fake moustaches and cigars were optional.)

3. Saw "500 Days of Summer." (Click here to read a full review.)

4. Mourned the loss of two music greats. (R.I.P. Les Paul and Jim Dickinson.)

5. Watched the season three premiere of "Man Men." (My life has meaning again.)

Sometimes I get bored writing about what I did. What were the highlights of your weekend? Please share!(Photo: AP)

"500 Days of Summer" finally came to the area last weekend, and I finally got to see it. And this visual gem of a movie was all about seeing: Airy lofts, whimsical wardrobe, Los Angeles architecture (who knew?) and a gorgeous wedding. (Don't get excited. As the deep-voiced narrator warned at the beginning: "This is not a love story.")

But it was hard not to fall for the soundtrack (The Smiths, Regina Spektor, Doves, etc.), time-shifting story and cast. (Joseph Gordon-Levitt at his "10 Things I Hate About You" best made an irresistible suitor for the charmingly cruel Zooey Deschanel.) A fellow moviegoer was initially afraid that this would turn into "Garden State II." It was a real concern. The amazing-but-that-would-never-happen-in-real-life moments were piling up. (Including an almost gag-worthy waltz through Ikea. Don't real hipsters hate the mod furniture mecca?) Read the rest of the review on the jump.

Jay-Z and Lady Gaga perform at the 2009 MTV VMAs Sept. 13. I'm going nuts. (Get a preview to the left.) The lineup also includes Taylor Swift and Green Day.

Jay-Z drops his highly anticipated "The Blueprint 3" album days before. And Gaga, well, her outfits and music are out of control. Russell Brand (looove him) hosts. Is it too soon to predict a ratings bump for MTV? Check out the nominees here.

A 14-second teaser of the "New Moon" trailer is out. The entire preview can be seen before the film "Bandslam," which opens this weekend.

For the movie, you must wait until Nov. 20.

The annual ritual where 13-year-olds all across America vote for stars twice their age that play their peers on the small and big screens, aka the 2009 Teen Choice Awards, went down Sunday. (The show airs 8 p.m. Monday on Fox.)

Miley Cyrus, J. Bros, Twilight bros and a whole bunch of other stars that you may or may not have heard of graced the red carpet. (Check out last year's shameless celebs to the right. Do these people want a useless surfboard that badly?)

Twilight won about a dozen awards. Don't act like you're surprised or that you're not sick of all the headline puns. (See above.) Read about the winners and watch more videos. Check out the fashions. The best parts were definitely Kathy Griffin's date (more shamelessness) and the Bop It! sponsorship. (I friggin' love that game!)

John Hughes, who brought us the fun-loving Ferris Bueller, the snarky crew of "The Breakfast Club" and the hopelessly unhip Griswold family, died of a heart attack at 59 on Thursday.
While I'm not an out-and-out Hughes fanatic, as a kid my family loved to watch and re-watch "American Lampoons Vacation" on a Friday night.
Read more about Hughes here