37 Comments


  1. Kurt says:

    I actually find this to be funny in a small sort of way: “Bumper Music by “Basil Poledouris” and “Bob Dylan”” – Poledouris’s best scores being protofascist military anthems, and Bob Dylan being, well, Bob Dylan.

  2. Matt Gamble says:

    BTW Kurt, you’ll be happy to know that Clark Greg has a nice little role in Choke and does a very good job with it.

  3. Kurt Halfyard says:

    Doesn’t Gregg DIRECT Choke? Yes. Does he bring the same cinematic verve to the table that David Fincher was able to with with Fight Club? Not that this is required or anything, but comparisons are inevitable. Are you saying the cast and the story overcome the flat-looking (from the trailer) lensing?

  4. Al says:

    Hey Andrew, The Girl Next Door is based on a novel that is loosely based an actual crime. There is a similar movie with a more accurate account of this true story called An American Crime with Ellen Page and Catherine Keener. I never been so infuriated with a movie as this one. I kept thinking about the poor girl long after its over. It really mess with your head but I don’t think its fair to fault the direction of the story because it actually did happen. Infact, the sick torture in this movie were water-down compare to what really happen because the actual torture is too unbelievably shocking and deeply disturbing. Its truly heartbreaking and it left me wanting to take brutal revenge on the fucking bitch and the kids. (sorry, excuse my language, I just felt the need to vent)…Anyways, for info on the actual crime, you can look it up on wiki.

    Trailer:

    You can catch An American Crime on Showtime this May 10th. I’m surprise it didn’t get a theatrical release when considering the stellar cast in the movie. Eventually, it will come out on DVD.

    http://www.sho.com/site/schedules/product_page.do?seriesid=0&episodeid=131558

  5. Marina Antunes says:

    Al – If I’m remembering right, An American Crime did play a couple of festivals, including Sundance, but was never picked up for theatrical distribution. May have something to do with the subject matter and the fact that it was released before the Juno craze.

  6. Kurt Halfyard says:

    And apparently THE GIRL NEXT DOOR played Fantasia last year when I was there, must have played later during the festival though, I don’t remember seeing it in the catalogue at the time.

  7. Andrew James says:

    Hey Al. I TOTALLY understand your need to vent. Excuse my language too, but I wanted to string that bitch up by her tits with meat hooks and brand her entire body with a red hot crow bar! Whew. Sorry about that, but I know EXACTLY how you feel.

    I guess it’s unfair to blame the direction of the movie – and I don’t really. Still, I felt so hollow and physically ill after watching that movie I just wanted to tear my house down I was so angry. So it’s not the movie’s fault, it’s just the situation that the movie gives me and it made me angry and I don’t like to feel that way. I have to place blame somewhere I guess.

  8. Matt Gamble says:

    The direction isn’t anything special, and in comparison to Fincher’s it is positively flaccid.

    But the style and tone of the film is vastly different as well, and it works very well for the film. Performances are great, story is interesting, and it is surprisingly funny.

  9. Andrew James says:

    Gamble, what are you babbling about?

  10. Marina Antunes says:

    I’m assuming he’s not talking about The Girl Next Door.

    Or maybe he is…that crazy Matt.

  11. Matt Gamble says:

    I directly responding to Kurt’s questions. Sheesh.

    Evidently Andrew and Marina only comment to hear themselves type. :P

  12. Kurt says:

    I remembered the book being quite funny in a ‘I shouldn’t be laughing’ sort of way. I really enjoyed the book, although comparisons to Fight Club (all the self-help group stuff) are inevitable…I really, really dug Lullaby, I wonder if that book could make it to the screen without looking like a J-Horror concept…

  13. Matt Gamble says:

    They limit the self-help stuff quite a bit. It is far less important to the plot then it even is in Fight Club. It has been a while since I read the book and it felt like huge chunks of the book were eliminated from the script, yet it still felt very much like Choke.

  14. Kurt says:

    That sounds like the right way to adapt. I’m looking forward to this one, not the least of which for the really good casting.

  15. Marina Antunes says:

    @Matt – yes. That’s me. Attention whore. ;)

    As for the show (so far) – I didn’t fall head over heels in love with Iron Man, though I had a good time, but some of this commentary is a bit off the wall. The product placement is an example. It’s in EVERY movie and frankly, I didn’t really pay attention to the car simply because it’s just a car and the guy has to drive something. I didn’t pick-up on any extra time given to the car (other than me saying “Hey! It’s that Audi R8 that’s sold out everywhere!” and that only because I’m a car fiend.)

    As for Paltrow and her being attracted to Tony Stark – I bought it hook line and sinker. Why the attraction? It’s clear from her first entrance that they have a long standing working relationship and the way she looks at him all puppy eyed…not to mention that he’s a handsome guy. Many women are attracted to the bad boys…case in point: Tony Stark. I won’t disagree that she’s not stand out but I though she was good given the material she had to work with. Howard and Bridges on the other hand…painful.

    And Kurt – you have to give Hustle & Flow a watch. I wouldn’t put it on the same level as Black Snake Moan but it’s pretty freakin’ close.

    And Winter Passing – I thought it was ok. Loved it mostly for Deschanel and Harris who’s quite good in it. I love Ed Harris.

    On with the show.

  16. Kurt says:

    Ed Harris. Yummy. I always thought he got the short shrift when people talk about the greatness of Glengary Glenn Ross. Watching Harris and Arkin verbally dance is sublime.

  17. Marina Antunes says:

    No argument from me here. I’ve always thought he was greatly overlooked – in everything. I still think his crowning achievement is his double duty in the severely under seen “Pollock”. In one word: brilliant.

  18. Andrew James says:

    No problem with Paltrow being attracted to Stark. My problem was her acting – particularly later in the movie. It was god-awful. And she’s usually pretty decent (Tenenbaums, Proof, Ripley, Great Expec., etc).

  19. Marina Antunes says:

    I must have fallen asleep because I didn’t find it bad.

  20. Henrik says:

    Ed Harris is great in The Hours as well. He is a really good actor, who chooses to slum from time to time which is fair enough I guess. He can really pull it out when he wants to. Alan Arkin is horrible though. If you want proof I point you to “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Rendition” – overacting at its best (worst).

  21. Marina Antunes says:

    I didn’t take note of Arkin until Little Miss Sunshine and now I notice him in little roles in various films I like (notably Gattaca)

  22. Rick says:

    are you guys aware the itunes feed has the shits again? this podcast is coming thru as the iron man trailer!

  23. Andrew James says:

    I was not aware of that. Thanks Rick. I’ll get to work on it right away. WTF!?

  24. Andrew James says:

    FIXED! Thanks Rick.

    You may have to delete the RowThree podcast feed from your iTunes and then re-subscribe.

    1) Right click on the podcast and choose delete (WARNING: this will erase all podcasts for this feed in your subscription list that you’ve previously downloaded).
    2) Under the advanced tab in iTunes, choose “subscribe to podcast.”
    3) In the box that pops up, paste the following and click “OK”:
    http://feeds.feedburner.com/RowThreePodcast

    That should do it. Again, thanks for the heads-up!

  25. Matt Gamble says:

    I’m going to have to put Marina’s theory to the test with my next UGO review.

    Cleaner

    Samuel L Jackson, Ed Harris, and Robert Forester attempt to counteract the awfulness that is Eva Mendes and Renny Harlin.

  26. Kurt says:

    Don’t forget the awesomeness of Luis Guzman. That has to count for something too. Renny Harlan is difficult to overcome, and SLJ has made attempts before, but Harlan ate him with a Gigantic Shark.

    CLEANER played as a Gala selection at last years Toronto Film Festival, and more than one person had that WTF? reaction to it being there. But then again, Revolver also played as a Gala one year.

  27. Goon says:

    so I break and think I’m gonna download the mp3, and theres no mp3 link anymore?

  28. Kurt says:

    the url is yyy.rowthree.com/audio/cinecast85.mp3

    dunno why the link is gone, maybe a WordPress upgrade thingy, John and Andrew are the technical folks around here.

  29. Goon says:

    I think you misunderstand, I mean an actual mp3 i can put on my mp3 player, both at the top of the page and your comment appear only to be able to let me stream it…

  30. Kurt Halfyard says:

    Now, the site code is foiling my efforts to put in a downloadable link. !Damn!
    changed www to yyy above. that location should let you direct download, sorry about the lack of ‘right-click, save as’ linkage

  31. Goon says:

    I can use that, thanks.

  32. Rick says:

    “You may have to delete the RowThree podcast feed from your iTunes and then re-subscribe.

    1) Right click on the podcast and choose delete (WARNING: this will erase all podcasts for this feed in your subscription list that you’ve previously downloaded).
    2) Under the advanced tab in iTunes, choose “subscribe to podcast.”
    3) In the box that pops up, paste the following and click “OK”:
    http://feeds.feedburner.com/RowThreePodcast

    Did all that mate and it’s still the same video. weird.

  33. Andrew James says:

    You’re right. It worked for me at home, but I try it work and it’s still that Iron Man Trailer…

    let me do some work here…

  34. Andrew James says:

    NEW TACTIC. Anyone else having problems with the iTunes feed, you can subscribe to JUST THIS podcast using the following URL:

    http://www.rowthree.com/category/cinecast/feed/

    Try that. It should work for you. No one wants to listen to Marina drone on and on anyway right? ;)

  35. Andrew James says:

    If you want to subscribe to JUST the “After the Credits” show, use this URL:

    http://www.rowthree.com/category/afterthecredits/feed/

  36. Marina Antunes says:

    @Andrew

    So that’s how you really feel. Don’t hold back. :P

  37. Andrew James says:

    2nd Tokyo Gore Police trailer. Courtesy of Twitch:

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