Cinematical

(Note: We're re-posting the following review of The Wackness from The Tribeca Film Festival to coincide with the film's theatrical release this weekend.)

Finally, a film for kids of the 90's!

This is a hard review to write because it feels as if The Wackness was tailor-made for people like me: a male who grew up in New York City and graduated high school in 1994; the year this film was set. (Actually, I graduated in 1995, but it doesn't matter much: same kids, same lingo, same music, same surroundings). How do you review your childhood? These were all kids I hung out with, this was the music we listened to, these were the mix tapes we made and these were the girls we tried to hook up with ... but didn't. And, to some extent, it actually surprises me that so many people have loved The Wackness -- not because it's a terrible movie, mind you, but because kids who grew up in New York City during the '90s were annoying as all hell, with their "Yo, that was mad good" and their "He's got da skillz, kid!" Trust me, I know -- I was one of them.

Welcome back to another funtastic, Americana edition of Insert Caption -- the game where you don't need fireworks to blow our minds. Last week we asked you to step up to the mic with some dope captions for a photo from The Wackness. Congrats to Kurt P., who can now escape the summer heat and chill out with a new portable DVD player. We're jealous. We might stalk you Kurt. Be ready.

1. "Young couple seeks father figure, must have Hawaiian shirt, facial hair, and soft focus." -- Kurt P.

See full image and all captions









This week we're celebrating our independence with a big, bad red dude named Hellboy. That's right! Guillermo del Toro, Hellboy and all his freak-ish friends are back to get their fight on in Hellboy II: The Golden Army, and the winners behind our three favorite captions based on the photo below will slip away with one Hellboy 2 t-shirt, one Hellboy 2 hat, one Hellboy 2 belt with buckle and one official Hellboy 2 poster. It's hot as hell outside, and come July 11 (when Hellboy 2 hits theaters), it'll get even hotter. Sound off critters!



Read the official rules for this contest

It usually takes about a week after the kids get out of school for summer to kick in, and if there was ever an official starting line, it's Fourth of July weekend. Maybe you're hitting up a barbecue with some friends this weekend, relaxing by the pool or shooting off some fireworks -- and that's cool. Enjoy yourself. Me? I'll be doing a little of the BBQ, but I'll also enjoy a screening of at least one of the following seven films. See, what's summer without a memorable summertime flick ... or several?

This year's best summertime film (according to me), The Wackness, hits theaters in limited release tomorrow before rolling out to other cities. That film caters a bit more toward a specific time period (1994) and a specific location (NYC), but those summer-in-the-city flicks are rare, especially a good one. Instead of following all those kids who left town, went to camp, traveled abroad, what have you, The Wackness remains with the one dude who didn't leave town. The kid who was stuck spending his summer on hot pavement, dealing pot to his therapist while chasing the girl of his dreams.

But perhaps that's how you remember summer growing up. Or maybe you spent most of your summers in camp, or on the baseball field, or with a few of your best pals on another bizarre adventure. Those summer months hold a lot of memories for you, I'm sure, as they do for me. And what's up with summertime movies and awesome soundtracks? Ever notice that? Anyway, here are some of my favorites ... feel free to tell me yours.

Here's a stat that may or may not blow your mind: According to Box Office Mojo, Sex and the City has grossed $312 million worldwide. Yup. $312,533,654 to be exact -- for a movie based on a hit HBO show that went off the air a few years ago. Since we all know what happens when Hollywood gets a look at those kinds of numbers, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to predict what the future holds: plenty more TV-to-movie adaptations. We're practically guaranteed another Sex and the City flick, and earlier today Monika brought us news that the long-rumored Friends movie might be moving forward.

Honestly, why wouldn't it move forward? You're telling me Matt Leblanc, whose last credit on IMDb is Joey, is holding out for a massive paycheck? Same goes for Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston, with the latter being the only one getting decent big-screen work (though, truth be told, she's about two movies away from becoming yesterday's news). The others are all showing up in bit parts, directing films that don't go anywhere and/or trying desperately to make the TV thing work again. Fact is, together they're a pot of gold. Apart and, well, we don't really care, do we?

But could a re-emergence on the big screen revive these careers? Could they somehow find a way to take the cutesy sitcom and turn it into a feature film people would actually want to see? Could Friends: The Movie make more money at the box office than Sex and the City? And should we care?

We usually don't report the goings-on of Hollywood relationships (be them long term or of the booty call variety), however this one is pretty epic. According to -- ugh -- the New York Post, sweethearts Rose McGowan and Robert Rodriguez are no longer together and no longer getting married (they were engaged prior to this). Why is this important news? Why should people care? Well, partly because Rodriguez was in the process of lining up a few interesting movie remakes (Barbarella, Red Sonja) with McGowan in the lead. One imagines McGowan had snagged the roles because, well, she was boinking Robert Rodriguez. But when there's no more action between the sheets, does that mean there's no more McGowan in the starring role?

The Post claims their break-up was partly due to the fact that Rodriguez was having a hard time finding financing for Barbarella with McGowan in the lead because she's not a big enough box-office draw. I know some of you beg to differ because she's got the hot "I'll sleep with your man if you leave him alone for five seconds and he can put me in one of his movies" seductress thing going on, but could you seriously see a flick starring Rose McGowan bringing in at least $70 million (reported budget for Barbarella) to the box office? Personally, I can't. With Jessica Alba or Charlize Theron or Angelina Jolie? Sure. Not Rose McGowan. (Last time I checked, her ass didn't exactly ignite a box office firestorm for Grindhouse.)

Should be interesting to see what develops from here. What would you like to see happen?

A brand new trailer for The Wackness has touched down over at Rotten Tomatoes, and it basically covers a lot of what we've already seen from the film. I tell you, a lot of marketing is going into a flick that's opening up on six screens this Friday (all in NY and LA), so here's hoping you remember this puppy when it eventually expands to your city. It's a fun summertime flick, and with the kids now out of school and Fourth of July weekend upon us, this is the kind of movie you want to chill out with in a darkened, air-conditioned theater. Trust me. You'll dig it.

Additionally, I know we've talked tons about the music featured in the film, so here's what the soundtrack looks like. Kids of the '90s should eat this sucker up -- I know I will.

01. "The What" - Notorious B.I.G. feat. Method Man
02. "You Used to Love Me" - Faith Evans
03. "Flava in Your Ear" -Craig Mack
04. "Summertime" - Fresh Prince
05. "Can't Ya See" - Total
06. "I Can't Wake Up" - KRS-One
07. "The World is Yours" - Nas
08. "Can I Kick It?" -A Tribe Called Quest
09. "Heaven or Hell" - Raekwon
10. "Bump and Grind" - R. Kelly
11. "Just a Friend" - Biz Markie
12. "Tearz" - Wu Tang Clan
13. "Long Shot Kick the Bucket" - The Pioneers

Bonus Tracks (only on iTunes)
14. "All the Young Dudes" - Mott the Hoople
15. "Season of the Witch" - Donovan

Feel free to tell me I'm wrong here, but I don't ever remember a DVD that carried a director's commentary set entirely to music. Maybe I'm nuts and totally missing a title or five, but I can't imagine this is all that popular. Joss Whedon gave TV Guide an exclusive look at his new musical, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (which is just the most awesomest title in the history of EVER!), and in an interview with the director, he says the DVD (which he hopes will make a little money so that the people who worked on this thing for nada can get something back) will include "A musical commentary that is a completely original musical, that is all commentary songs, and we're writing that now." He adds, "We're just piling it on. We're like, we're going to make more fun of the idea of extras than anything else."

The musical itself will debut on the internet for free in three chapters (Whedon calls it an "Internet miniseries event"), with Part 1 arriving on July 15, Part 2 on July 17 and Part 3 on July 18. You can view them all over at the film's official site, which is currently hosting a teaser. Check out TV Guide for a mildly spoilerish review, then let us know what you think about this bold, adventurous project. Additionally, check out this 8-page online comic about Dr. Horrible's nemesis, Captain Hammer, written by Zach Whedon.

A musical commentary? Really? What other films deserve a musical commentary?

[Thanks AJ]

Cinematical has just received this exclusive clip from The Stone Angel, starring the legendary Ellen Burstyn as a woman looking to resolve the memories of her past as she nears the end of her life. Joining her on this emotional (yet somewhat comedic, as you see above) journey are a cast that includes Dylan Baker, Ellen Page, Christine Horne and Cole Hauser. The film is based on the novel by Margaret Laurence, and is directed (and adapted) by Kari Skogland. In the clip above, Burstyn, who plays a woman named Hagar, is found passed out in a shack on the beach. When her son Marvin (Baker) arrives to remove her from this situation, their exchange is classic. Check it out above, and go see The Stone Angel when it hits theaters on July 11.

Cinematical is stoked to bring you this exclusive new poster for In Search of a Midnight Kiss (click image to enlarge), which I've heard is just absolutely awesome. Seriously, my best friend caught this flick back when it first premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2007 and he hasn't stopped talking about it since. I swear, he's a nut -- completely and utterly in love with this film. And I think it's totally rad. Written and directed by the very cool and extremely talented Alex Holdridge, Midnight Kiss tells of Wilson, who, considering he'll be broke and alone on New Year's Eve, is convinced by his best friend to post a personal ad. Through that he meets Sara, who's hell bent on finding the right guy to be with at midnight.

We talk up a lot here on Cinematical, but I have such good vibes about this one. Watch it. Support it. Then watch it again. Oh, and here's the trailer. In Search of a Midnight Kiss hits theaters in limited release on August 1.

Everybody has a list. And when you do what I do, you have to have more than one list. Nine out of ten times, when someone first meets me and finds out what I do for a living, they ask, "So then, what's your favorite movie?" And sometimes I chuck out a few titles, and other times I launch into this longer-than-it-should-be explanation on why one cannot have a favorite movie, or even five favorite movies. But what about 100 favorite movies? Could you name your 100 favorite movies?

Well, this dude did. In the video above, someone created a montage featuring clips from their 100 favorite movies, counting down from 100 all the way to numero uno. It's a bit schizophrenic to watch, but I've gone through it a couple times now, and there are some really fun moments in there, editing-wise. Of course you're not going to agree with all their choices (whichever ones you manage to decipher during the brief second they flash on screen), but it's a cool little tribute and, well, I'm sort of jealous. Because now when someone asks this person what their favorite movie is, they can send over this link and let the video speak for itself.

Question: What's a good amount of movies to have on a favorites list? Should everyone have a top 10, a top 20, a top 50? What number is too little and what number is too much?