List-O-Rama: The Ten Best Music Videos From Movie Soundtracks (Part 1 of 2)
June 20, 2008I know it’s been a while since I updated the site, but I have an excuse: YOUR SISTER! OH SNAP! What?
Anyway, life was getting in the way, and I do apologize for the lack of updates. Stupid life and its lifey ways.
As for this list, please bear with me because it takes a bit of explanation. I am listing down the ten best music videos of songs that are made specifically for movie soundtracks. As if theme songs weren’t obscure enough these days, moreso would be the art of coming up with a kick-ass music video to tie in with and promote your movie.
There are a few gems out there, but we all know how lazy studios can get sometimes. They shoot a video and simply sneak some scenes in from their movie. Some don’t even bother shooting a video, they just conjure a mishmash of sequences and call it a day.
But there is one exception:
#10: The RZA, Young DB and Reverend William Burke “Beat You Down” (from The Protector)
Again, it doesn’t really count as a legitimate music video if every frame was ripped entirely from a movie. Unless of course said movie involves Tony Jaa, some elephants, gunshots, fire, explosions, broken bones, flying kicks, helicopters, AND DID I MENTION ELEPHANTS?!
The song being from The RZA doesn’t hurt either.
Child Stars From the 90s: Where Are They Now? And Are They Bangable?
May 20, 2008Aaaaaaand we’ve hit an all-time low. Good thing people don’t go to jail for what they write and post on the internet! Wait.
Anyway. Haven’t you ever wondered what’s become of your childhood silver screen crushes from the 90s? And if they’ve super foxily blossomed into womanhood more than a decade later?
However, this entry will focus more on the ladies who’ve been creeping under the radar. Not the Christina Ricci nor the Kirsten Dunst types, because we all know how those two turned out (i.e. one never grew past the height of 4 feet, the other has tits that could out-sag your grandmama’s; both ARE bangable).
On a side-but-completely-related note, I personally had a crush on Michelle Trachtenberg when I was growing up watching her as Nona F. Mecklenberg on The Adventures of Pete & Pete. I was never a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer so I didn’t really see much of her after her Pete & Pete days, so one can only imagine how watching her strip down to a bikini in Eurotrip brought about an array of mixed emotions for me. It felt so wrong, yet oh-so-right.
But like I said, we’ll highlight the ones who pretty much have fallen into obscurity, and the first person that probably popped into your head when you read the title of this entry was "that girl from My Girl."
Anna Chlumsky
You May Remember Her…
As that girl from My Girl. Weren’t you paying attention?
Where Is She Now?
She’s currently filming a movie with James Gandolfini, and completed two other projects earlier this year.
I was also surprised to see that she played a pivotal role in an episode of 30 Rock last year, and I didn’t recognize her. For those who follow the show, you may remember the time when Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) first met Floyd (Jason Sudeikis). Lemon mistakenly received a Valentine’s gift from Floyd, which was intended for his real girlfriend at the time, Liz Lemler from accounting.
Chlumsky was Liz Lemler from accounting.
Is She Bangable?
Pervy Cinemabuzz Writer Guy gives Ms. Chlumsky a 10/10 face-wise, and a 1/10 for that f’n blouse.
List-O-Rama: The 15 Best and Ass-Kickingest Opening CREDITS Ever (Part 3/3)
May 9, 2008Ye, thus speaketh Cinemabuzz Writer Guy, we have come to the conclusion of thine list of the Best and Ass-Kickingest Opening Credits In History. He who opposes his choices can sucketh an egg. But really, I am expecting at least one death threat for what I selected as the all-time greatest opening credits… of all time.
But before anything else, I would just like to address the ones that I managed to leave out of this here list. Superman: The Movie, Memento and Panic Room easily come to mind. I couldn’t find spots for Planet Terror and Catch Me If You Can either, because of their similarities to sequences which I’ve already included. Dave Chappelle’s Block Party was also a sentimental favorite which I could’ve at least placed at number 15, but couldn’t.
And finally, Weedur brought to my attention the amazing opening titles to Robert Altman’s The Player, which involved an eight-minute tracking shot. Unfortunately, I had already completed the list at the time and could not make the necessary alterations.
Without further ado, here be the cream of the crop, the Five Best and Ass-Kickingest Opening Credits Ever:
#5: Dawn of the Dead (2004)
After see-sawing with films such as the genre-twisting 28 Days Later and the less-than-impressive House of the Dead, big screen zombie fare received a huge rejuvenation in 2004 courtesy of the remake to George A. Romero’s 1978 classic. This was Zack Snyder’s (Watchmen, 300) directorial debut, and was written by Jenna Fischer’s ex-husband, James Gunn (Slither, Troma’s Tromeo & Juliet).
Dawn of the Dead was a fast-paced feast for the eyes, and what kicked it into gear was its opening credits, a montage of photos and news coverage of the events surrounding the dead becoming undead. And the song that plays over it? The ominous opus by Johnny Cash, "The Man Comes Around," which was Snyder’s first choice as background music.
List-O-Rama: The 15 Best and Ass-Kickingest Opening CREDITS Ever (Part 2/3)
May 7, 2008I’m back for Part Two of the The 15 Best and Ass-Kickingest Opening CREDITS Ever. And in case you missed it, here be Part One.
If there’s one thing you’ll notice with this list, it’s that all of the entries are unique, like how I couldn’t put that Rose McGowan go-go dance from Grindhouse here, since I already have the more memorable Barbarella strippage intro at Number Eleven. And Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre both have great opening credits, but them being similar, only the former made it to the list. I know this isn’t a good example to offer but I didn’t want to give away the rest just yet. So let’s move along.
#10: Superbad (2007)
Great opening with a great song from a great soundtrack of a great movie. Anyone who didn’t start bobbing their heads or tapping their feet when the music hit LOVES TERRORISTS.
List-O-Rama: The 15 Best and Ass-Kickingest Opening CREDITS Ever (Part 1/3)
May 5, 2008I was actually thinking of working on the Best and Ass-Kickingest Opening SCENES In Movie History, but I decided to go with the more interesting and gravely under-appreciated art form that is the Opening Credits first.
There are multiple ways in which a filmmaker can present his main titles. Some choose to go barebones and show the credits with a little music, while others subtly flash them during the film’s opening scene.
Some deliver an intricate, high-tech, stand-alone sequence which incorporate an array of text and graphics, while others just go for the jugular and present everything in one go: an elaborate intro which shows the credits with some music and visual effects, all while the opening scene takes place. As expected, the movie that tops this list would technically fall under that last category, but you’ll have to stick around until Part Three to find out what that is.
#15: Halloween (1978)
Okay so it’s a pumpkin. Two minutes of nothing but pumpkin. I’m sure that it’s not so hot with you watching it in the comforts of your room right now, probably in daylight.
But imagine yourself hearing that haunting score by John Carpenter for the first time, in a dark theater filled with strangers in the late 70s, with no cellphone or laptop to access Twitter and tell your friends that you are "SCURRED NAO" and that you want to go "HOME NAO" and prove to the world that you are a giant "IDIOT NAO."
Just imagine that kind of horror, kids.
Iron Man Opens TODAY; Clips from the Set
April 30, 2008
First of all, the third and final part of Cinemabuzz, Face Rockery, and Comicology’s list of The Fifteen Best Comic Book Movies of All Time is now online! And you can read it by clicking here.
And in case you missed it, here are Part One and Part Two of our List.
Now, onto Iron Man. It opens in Philippine theaters today, and Comicology and myself were invited to tonight’s block screening at Glorietta by Solar Entertainment and ETC. So we’ll have those spoiler-free reviews up by tomorrow.
I’m kind of in a hurry because I need to get a wax (it’s my pre-movie-watchnig habit okay), so I’ll simply be treating you to a couple of clips from the making of Iron Man.
Jon Favreau, the director, tours the set on his Segway in these two videos, so that’s bound to be awesome.
Even More New Dark Knight Posters, Trailer to Debut On Sunday, I Weep.
April 29, 2008Before anything else, Part Two of Cinemabuzz, Face Rockery, and Comicology’s list of The Fifteen Best Comic Book Movies of All Time is now online! And you can read it by clicking here.
And in case you missed it, here’s Part One of our List.
Anyway, here’s the latest update from the slew of online games by The Joker (kayfabe, of course) on his website Why So Serious?
Much to the chagrin of nerdier people who actually took the time to participate in intricate viral campaigns than a guy who simply chooses to write about it, the new trailer for The Dark Knight apparently wouldn’t be debuting until Sunday. Volunteers were asked to do meet up in several cities to (I suppose) perform certain tasks which (I hope) involved killing hobos with a hammer.
After all the hullabaloo, they were led to this portion of the website, which teases the debut of a new trailer this coming Sunday.
In other Dark Knight news, Filmschoolrejects, Omelete, and The Bad and The Ugly have scored a barrage of new posters for the movie, though I seriously doubt the legitimacy of these.
They go from "That’s kind of cool but isn’t that a bit too obvious considering the poster that was released a couple of days ago?"
The Fifteen Best Comic Book Movies of All Time! (Nos. 15-11)
April 28, 2008Cinemabuzz Writer Guy (CWG): It’s Iron Man Week, you sonsofbitches! And to kick the Week off, we have collaborated with the guys over at Comicology and Face Rockery to give you a list of what we think are the Fifteen Best Comic Book Movies of All Time. And if you want to find out how we came up with this list, take a couple minutes to read this first before proceeding with this entry. Done? Gravy.
Face Rockery Writer Guy (FWG): Let’s get this party started!
Comicology Writer Guy (CWG): I’m so stoked!
CWG: Holy crap, Comicology Writer Guy! We have the same initials!
CWG: That is AWESOME!
CWG: Haha, Face Rockery Writer Guy has different initials! What a loser!
CWG: (Points as Facerockery Writer Guy) HAHAHA! LOOOOOSEEEEERRR!
FWG: Cockheads.
Cinemabuzz: Okay then! Let’s get this show on the road with Numero Fifteen-O!
#15: The Punisher (6.53/10)
Cinemabuzz: With a bullet, almost literally, Thomas Jane punishes his way into the gates of The Comic Book Movie Castle with 2004’s The Punisher. Also, count the number of cheesy puns and figures of speech in that last sentence and win a prize! A prize of NOTHING!
Anyway, I thought it wasn’t as bad as many people say it was. I mean come on. Women, children, and the elderly were being gunned down within the first fifteen minutes of the film.
Face Rockery: I like guns as much as the next social retard, but I expected more out of a Punisher movie. Maybe something more gritty. It felt like the usual “They killed his family, and now he’s going to kill THEM!” action movie. The fight with the Russian was awesome, though.
Comicology: The premise of the comic book isn’t exactly as fantastic or as colorful as other characters from the industry, so making a movie out of something that would seem like a cookie-cutter action flick while successfully integrating comic book-y bits of it. Though Thomas Jane did a better job voicing the video game than the movie itself, I’d say Punisher did what it set out to do.
Iron Man Week To Kick Off With A Collaboration with Comicology and Facerockery!
April 27, 2008We officially kick Iron Man Week off tomorrow with a collaborative article featuring the guys over at Comicology and Face Rockery, where we will be listing down the Fifteen Best Comic Book Movies of All Time!
Tomorrow (Monday), we’ll get the proverbial ball rolling with numbers 15 to 11 on this here site. On Tuesday, head on over to Face Rockery for Part Two of Our List (numbers 10-6). And finally, Comicology will be revealing our Top Five Picks on Wednesday. Cool beans!
And in case you’re wondering as to how we came up with this List, well, we thought that a mathematical and systematic approach couldn’t have been more appropriate.
So what we did was we wrote down all of the comic book movies that we’ve seen and gave them each a score out of ten.
As the next step, we shouted each of the films’ titles as we tossed baby goats across a field.
And if you’re expecting to see American Splendor or Ghost World or A History of Violence on the list, well, sadly, they’re not here. Also, SURPRISE! YOU’RE A DOUCHEBAG! Get off your high horse.
