Popcorn 'N Roses

Subject:CINEMA #60 - To Rise And Fall In L.A. II - The 2007 PNR Rising Stars Top 20!

Welcome to our second annual "To Rise And Fall In L.A." show! We are spotlighting twenty more performers whose stars are on the rise this week, and also taking a look back at our track record and how we did last year...and if you don't mind my saying so, we did damn good last year...

THE SHOW (Times will be slightly off due to Podshow inserts):

Segment 1 (1:30) - Rising Stars Part One

Segment 2 (21:18) - Rising Stars Part Two

Segment 3 (39:25) - Rising Stars Part Three

Segment 4 (1:01:01) - THE CALLBACK - Donations, Koyaanisqatsi petition, Podcast Awards, Hanson song contest, Save Net Radio - save Marquee Mix, Go Daddy plug, E-Mail, Anti-Bonehead Of The Week; voice mail from Rob between segments 4 and 5

Segment 5: Last year's Rising Stars top 20 list, and how we did; our review of "Transformers"

THIS WEEK'S NOTES:

The full, in-print list of our Rising Stars top 20 will be up tomorrow, because we are issuing a press release about this weeks' show. But we still hope you'll listen to see WHY we picked each particular actor or actress, and why we think they're gonna be big!

Thanks to everyone for their patience as Kim and I have been dealing with some pesky colds, and we missed the last week of shows planned.

Don't forget that our July Wednesday special is this coming Wednesday - we'll be taking a look at the first four Harry Potter movies, and our expectations for the fifth, which we'll have a review of on next Saturday's show.

Please take the time to vote for Subject:CINEMA at the Podcast Awards. As I said on the show, we know there's probably no chance of winning, but it sure would be nice to be nominated...and get some recognition for our hard work on the show...

Also, if you haven't done so already, please go over to SaveNetRadio.org and send your letter to your congressmen and women today...Internet Radio goes silent this coming Sunday, July 15, at the stroke of Midnight unless you help out...we can't do this alone, and I don't want to lose Marquee Mix, not when we have so many plans to expand it in the future...

And also, sign our Koyaanisqatsi petition if you haven't done so already...a press release about this campaign is also forthcoming!

The Hanson song contest is goofy, but please take the time to go over and click on the button on the right sidebar...I really want to try and win this contest! I can't put a link here, so you'll have to use the button on the sidebar...

Please be sure to help us out where you can by visiting and patronizing our sponsors, our Swag Shop (thanks Darren for that huge T shirt buy!), and by donating. It's your support in this area that is most vital - we want to try and get to Sundance and Slamdance next January, and we're gonna need all the help we can get!

Our stats say we have an average of 300 listeners on the Podshow Plus player every week...and yet we never hear from any of you. Please take the time to click on the "Email us" button on the Contact Pad above and let us know you're listening! We love hearing from new people as well as our regulars, and when you e-mail, you never know..you might end up with your letter on next week's podcast!

Thanks for listening as always!

THIS WEEK:

Wednesday, July 11 - Subject:CINEMA #61 - "I'm Just Wild About Harry! (Potter, That is!)"

Saturday, July 14 - Subject CINEMA #62 - "Son Of Scenes That Sizzle!"

Subject:CINEMA #56 - Born To Be Wild! Celebrating The Biker Movie

This week, Kim and  TC go Hog Wild!  We take a look at the Biker Movie - from "The Wild One" to "Ghost Rider" and everything - bad and good - in between!

THE SHOW (Times may be off slightly due to Podshow insertions):

Segment 1 () - How the biker movie came about and why it took off; The Wild One; The Wild Angels

Segment 2 () - Easy Rider; Ross Hagen movies - The Hellcats, The Sidehackers (Aka Five The Hard Way); downer endings

Segment 3 () - Kim's motorcycle daydreams; Bikers who aren't so bad - Pee Wee's Big Adventure, My Fellow Americans; Ghost Rider and Wild Hogs; Akira; techno music and bikers

Segment 4 () - Callback - about next's week's anniversary show; E-Mail; Bonehead Of The Week; Regal Cinemas new reporting device; Teen Titans movie

Segment 5 () - Movie Review - Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End

THIS WEEK'S NOTES:

There's not too many notes this week - as I said yesterday, it's been a very hectic week. Hopefully it won't be as bad this week.

Monica's e-mail this week mentioned the Star Wars gangsta rap...well, here it is:

Interesting stuff, if you're into that kind of stuff...thanks for the link, Monica

As always, you can e-mail us with comments and such at subjectcinema@popcornnroses.com.

NEXT WEEK - Subject:CINEMA turns ONE!  Kim and TC present "The Pantheon Top 20!"  Our top 20 movies of all time!  And be sure to send your lists in by Wednesday at Noon this week so we can include them on the show!!!

CANNES FILM FESTIVAL - Romanian abortion drama takes top prize

The 60th anniversary edition of the Cannes Film Festival wrapped up Sunday night with the presentation of the festival's coveted awards.

The top prize, the Palm d'Or, was given to Romanian director Cristian Mungui's abortion film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. The drama, which follows the lives of two students dealing with an unwanted pregnancy in the waning days of the Ceausescu regime, bested 21 other films in competition, including Wong Kar-Wai's Cannes opener My Blueberry Nights, Emir Kustirica's Promise Me This, Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, the Coen brothers No Country for Old Men and Russian auteur Alexander Sokurov's Alexandra.

The runner up, who gets what's know as the Grand Prize (go figure), was Japanese director Naomi Kawase's The Mourning Forest, about the journey of a caregiver and her elderly patient who wind up stranded in the woods after setting out on a drive in the country.

Julian Schnabel earned Best Director honors for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, the harrowing story of a 43-year-old French journalist whose entire body was paralyzed by a massive stroke except his left eye, which he subsequently used to blink out a memoir composed entirely in his head. Although much in demand at the festival, the film is thought to be one that will be hard to market in the U.S.

The Jury Prize, which amounts to third place, was a tie between two movies:  Persepolis, an animated feature by first-time French-Iranian director Marjane Satrapi, an account of growing up under fundamentalist rule in Iran featuring voice work by the legendary Catherine Deneuve; and Silent Night by Mexican director Carlos Reygadas, which explores a father's faith after he falls for another woman.

In the acting department, Russia's Konstantin Lavronenko landed the Best Actor award for his role in The Banishment, while South Korean Jeon Do-yeon was named Best Actress for the comedy romance Secret Sunshine.

Gus Van Sant, who grabbed the Palm d'Or in 2003 for his dark fictional retelling of the Columbine massacre with Elephant, was given a special 60th Anniversary Prize for his latest film, Paranoid Park, about a Portland skateboarder whose life is turned upside down after he accidentally kills a security guard.

Turkish-German filmmaker Fatih Akin, who won the prestigious Golden Bear a few years back at the 2004 Berlin Film Festival with the hard-hitting love story Head On, scored Best Screenplay Award for his latest, The Edge of Heaven.

Walking away with the Camera d'Or, which honors a first-time filmmaker, was the Israeli husband and wife team of Etgar Keret and Shira Geffen for Meduzot. Keret is best known in the film world at the moment for his short story "Kneller's Happy Campers", the basis for the critical 2006/07 film festival darling (and one of my personal favorites) Wristcutters: A Love Story. The short film prize went to Watching It Rain by Elisa Miller of Mexico.

This year's jury was headed by Oscar-nominated British director, Stephen Frears, and the jury included Aussie actress Toni Colette, Hong Kong star Maggie Cheung, French screen star Michel Piccoli and Nobel Prize-winning Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk.

So now it is over and Cannes takes a back seat until next year. And please, now that all the hype and hoopla is over, get George Clooney and Brad Pitt off my tv for a while, will ya?

Heh heh heh...

Subject:CINEMA #54 - She Can Be One Mean Mother - Nature Attacks The Movies!

This week, Kim and TC discuss what happens when human have been trying to fool mother nature...sometimes nature strikes back!

THE SHOW:

Segment 1 - An overview of nature attack movies

Segment 2 - Sea Creatures

Segment 3 - Spiders and Snakes

Segment 4 - Callback - E-Mail, Bonehead, Announcements

Segment 5 - And The Rest...bees, worms, bears, and other assorted creatures...

THIS WEEKS NOTES:

First off, I want to apologize for any problems you may have experienced getting to the show. I loaded both the show and the blog before we went out this morning, and although when I checked it this morning it appeared all right, when the show was supposed to load at noon, it didn't. In any case, all the bugs have been worked out,and thanks for your patience!

On this week's Bonehead, we discussed the (we feel) ridiculous controversy that has cropped up surrounding a new Marvel collectable figure of Mary Jane Parker finding her hubby's costume in the laundry basket. While we feel that this is all much ado about nothing, there are a few sites that don't agree with us. YOu can find the main one HERE. It includes front and side views of the statue, and someone's humorous take on Peter in the same pose. Funny stuff...

We need your STAR WARS memories! For next week's show, "30 Years Ago Yesterday...In A Galaxy Far Far Away..." The STAR WARS 30th Anniversary Special" , we hope to include your memories as well as ours. Please send them in to us and be a part of our special tribute! All memories must be to us at our usual address by Wednesday, May 23, at 6 PM EDT.

Subject:Cinema #53 - Sit! Stay! ACT! - Animal Stars In The Movies!

This week, Kim and TC tackle the animal world...as in discussing the animal superstars of the film world!

THE SHOW (Times may be off due to Podshow inserts):

Segment 1 (1:30) - Early animal stars of the cinema; the lack of cats on the big screen; Morris the Cat; Penguins are the new black (and white)

Segment 2 (19:33) - The BIG 3 canine stars - Rin Tin Tin, Lassie, and Benji

Segment 3 (40:20) - Greyfriars Bobby; Old Yeller; Animaniacs - "Bumbie's Mom"; Cheetah; Popcorn Deelites, Seabiscuit; Keiko, Free Willy; New England Aquarium info; The Black Stallion; Francis The Talking Mule; Mister Ed

Segment 4 (1:00:25) - The CALLBACK - Announcements about the Trivia Contest and Marquee Mix; E-Mail; Bonehead Of The Week; And a voicemail between segments

Segment 5 (1:22:36) - Reviews of Spider-Man 3 and Hot Fuzz; The PNR MetroBoston Summer Tour stop one - Regal Fenway 13

THIS WEEK'S NOTES

We got a bit long-winded (when don't we?) and so this show is waaaaaay longer than we intended, coming in at just 10 minutes shy of two hours...but we think you'll like it anyway...you usually do...

The voicemail from Johnny Swanson (and big sis Monica) between segments 4 and 5 is a bit scratchy and overmodulated, but it couldn't be helped. We've now discovered that when you send a voicemail, it might be a good idea to either turn down your mike a bit, or stand further away - MyChingo's system might be able to handle it better. As this is the first one we've received, now we know...and thanks Johnny (and Monica) for the voicemail!

As of now, our weekly schedule on PNR Looks like this:

Saturdays - new episode of Subject:CINEMA uploaded
Sundays - Various items possible
Mondays - Various items possible
Tuesdays - Trailer Of the Week
Wednesday - Various items Possible
Thursdays - PNR Online Film Festival entries
Fridays - Various items possible

I am trying to formulate a regular schedule to bring back Popcorn's Pix, Disaster Blaster, and current reviews as well. Keep checking throughout the week for new news, reviews, and observations!

NEXT WEEK: She Can Be One MEAN Mother!  Nature Attacks The Movies!

Subject:CINEMA #52 - You Think We Won't Cover Looney Tunes? Warner Bet? - Part two of two

In part two of our Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies salute, TC and Kim countdown their top 30 choices for the funniest Warner Brothers Cartoon Shorts!

THE SHOW:

Segment 1 - Numbers 30-25

Segment 2 - Numbers 24-19

Segment 3 - Numbers 18-13

Segment 4 - Numbers 12-7

Segment 5 - Numbers 6 -1

THIS WEEKS NOTES:

Wow what a BITCH this was! Trying to pick just 30 of the Warner cartoon shorts was hard work, and no doubt we've left a ton of them out that our listeners will be upset with...but we gave it our best, honest shot!

The entire Top 30 list will be posted when our new section "The List" goes online later this month!

Coming up this weekend: SIT! STAY! ACT!  Animal Stars In The Movies!

Subject:CINEMA #51 - You Think We Won't Cover Looney Tunes? Warner Bet?

Sorry this is a little late getting up, I overslept and was actually editing the show until right around noon, then it had to be saved and uploaded...

In the first of two parts, Kim and TC look at the Warner Animation studios, and the classic library of characters therein...

THE SHOW (times may be off slightly due to Podshow insertions):

Segment 1 (1:30) - A brief history of the Warner Animation Studio and it's major players

Segment 2 (25:34) - The Classic Characters, part one

Segment 3 (44:30) - The Classic Characters, part two

Segment 4 (1:03:30) - Hardsell, E-mail

Segment 5 - (1:19:35) - The Classic Characters, part three

THIS WEEKS NOTES:

This show focuses mostly on the CHARACTERS of the Warner studios; in part two, available this coming Wednesday, we'll count down our top 30 Warner shorts of all time!

This show turned out to be so HUGE, and so FUN, that we had to split it into two parts. If we didn't, you'd have been listening for around 4 hours straight. As it was, we cut EVERYTHING out of the hardsell this week except one brief Marquee Mix note and the e-mail. No trivia, no Bonehead this week, they'll return (or at least the Bonehead will) next Saturday!

Watch the site tomorrow for my review of Spiderman 3!

Th-th-th-that's all, folks!

Subject:CINEMA #50 - Super Summer Sneak Peek!

Subject:CINEMA celebrates its 50th show with TC and Kim's look at this summer's box office bonanza!

THE SHOW (Times may be slightly off due to Podshow inserts):

Segment 1 (1:30) - Summer Blockbusters - MAY

Segment 2 (21:02) - Summer Blockbusters - JUNE

Segment 3 (42:12) - Summer Blockbusters - JULY

Segment 4 (1:02:23) - Hardsell items, new features, upcoming shows, E-Mail, Trivia Answer, double Bonehead Of the Week, tributes to Jack Valenti and Bobby "Boris" Pickett

Segment 5 (1:28:36) - Summer Blockbusters - AUGUST, EARLY SEPTEMBER, AND NO DATE YET ANNOUNCED, plus Dancing With The Stars...

THIS WEEK'S NOTES:

Watch for a list of movies coming as the weekend progresses - I want to make sure we list everything we talked about. No doubt there are going to be some huge blockbusters and some unexpected hits, as well as mega flops and those that bomb that no one expects to...

CALL TO ACTION

Please help us out with the following stuff, gang!

1. TOP 5's - we need your Top 5 favorite films of all time AND your top 5 Rising Stars for 2007. We will be featuring both on upcoming shows, and we would very much like to include your lists on these shows. Please try to have them to us by no later than June 1st.
2. MOVIE REVIEWS - We need YOUR movie reviews. We'd like to start featuring a guest movie reviewer every week on the show. To do a movie review, simply record an MP3 or WMA file no more than 3 minutes long and drop it to us in an e-mail. Although we may get deluged and not be able to feature them all on the show, they will ALL be made available eventually on the website. So please help us out, ok?
3. AUDIO COMMENTS - we also need your audio comments! We've played some throughout the year on the show, and we would love to keep doing it! You can submit audio comments the same way we do movie reviews, or you can use the My Chingo voice mail button on the site, or you can use the hotline!
4. WE NEED YOUR VOTES - PLEASE don't forget to vote for us each month on Podcast Alley, to Digg us EVERY WEEK on both Digg.com and Podshow, and leave comments for us on I-Tunes. Plus you can vote for us wherever you may subscribe to the show. Any votes count, no matter where they're left!
5. DONATIONS - This summer, we're embarking on a huge overall improvement plan to make S:C and PNR (and MM too!) bigger and better than ever, and to do it, your help would be greatly appreciated. The more donations we can collect, the more we can do. If you as a listener like the show, then by all means, support us by your purchases from the Swag Shop, and also by donating a few dollars to help our movie fund grow. We'd like to be able to afford to hit a couple of the big film festivals in the next year, but to do so, we're going to need your help!  You can donate a one-time donation, or make a committment to a $2, $5, or $10 per month auto donation through PayPal. So please help us out, and send some spare bux our way in the next few days....just click on the Donate button on the contact pad! And thanks for your help in advance!

SUBJECT:CINEMA POLL

This week, we're asking our listeners to take two minutes and take the poll we've set up at Bravenet. It is a quick 10 question multiple choice survey, and your input will help us determine what directions to go in the next year. Click below to take our survey! And a big THANKS for your input!

Cast Your Vote
Free Vote Casters by Bravenet.com

NEXT WEEK - YOU THINK WE WON'T COVER LOONEY TUNES? WARNER BET?

Subject:CINEMA #49 - Art House Confidential

On this month's Wednesday edition, TC and Kim take a look at art films, and whether or not the terms "art film" and "indie film" are interchangable. Also, complete audio reviews of "Air Guitar Nation" and "Wristcutters: A Love Story"!

THE SHOW (times may be off due to Podshow insertions):

Segment 1 (1:52) - What makes an art film; are "art film" and "indie film" interchangable?

Segment 2 (16:20) - Continuing the debate; what directors usually make art films?

Segment 3 (30:55) - Review - Air Guitar Nation

Segment 4 (46:11) - Review - Wristcutters: A Love Story

THIS WEEK'S NOTES:

Kim and I neither one considered ourselves "art house" fans until a couple years ago, and many of the movies that you can consider "art" films never make it to your local cinema. We were extremely lucky to get a chance to see the elusive "Wristcutters" and it's the perfect example of that type of film.

SATURDAY: SUPER SUMMER SNEAK PEEK!

PNR METRO BOSTON SUMMER TOUR 07 - The Tour Launches!

(POST ONE OF THREE)

Well, we kicked off the PNR MBST '07 yesterday, with two films.

We did cheat, however.

Both films were at The Brattle Theater in Cambridge. And it's not a theater we're unfamiliar with, having been there many times before...we LOVE the Brattle, with it's quirky mix of oddball and offbeat movies, and mainstream indies, and cartoons, and everything else.

The Brattle is without a doubt Metro Boston's most satisfying moviegoing experience, even with its often too-hot (first movie) or too-cold (second movie) cinema, its sometimes good, sometimes bad popcorn, its always too small if ultimately comfortable seats (for us anyway), and it's marvelous balcony.

Oh My Lord, the Balcony. MST's Kevin Murphy was correct - they ARE the best seats in the house. No, forget just the house --They are the best seats in METRO BOSTON. Period. End of discussion. We love the Brattle Balcony...there isn't a bad seat in the entire level, you can hear everything...and you can sit and watch all the unfortunates below who don't realize what they're missing by NOT sitting in the Balcony. No multiplex even comes close...and none of the older theaters in the area have a set up quite like this.

We had planned to catch a total of four movies during the day, but ended up getting a late start out of the house due to some problems with the podcast uploading properly, so we opted to go in later than we'd originally planned, do a little shopping at the Pru's Barnes And Noble, then catch the Green Line to Park Street, and the Red Line back to Harvard Square. We had some dinner at the local Uno (an experience made extremely pleasurable by our wonderful server, Amanda), then walked around until seating began for the first of the two shows, AIR GUITAR NATION, at 7:30. Between flicks, we took a bathroom break, went out for a breath of air, grabbed some more snacks, and then settled in, in different seats but still in the balcony, for the 9:30 New England premiere of the 2006/07 festival circuit favorite WRISTCUTTERS: A LOVE STORY. (full reviews for both films follow in posts two and three)

As it was a special screening sponsored by the Boston Jewish Film Festival, WRISTCUTTERS was almost 20 minutes LATE in starting (something which I normally LOATHE), and then there were the obligatory announcements by one of the Brattle's creative directors (not sure which one, I didn't catch his name, perhaps it was Ned Hinkle), who then introduced author Etgar Keret, who penned the short story the movie is based on, Kneller's Happy Campers. After the movie he was to conduct a Q&A from the audience, but since it was so late starting, we were unable to stick around for it for fear of missing our train home.

We finally arrived home at about 12:50 AM (it's a LONG train trip from Harvard back to Beachmont in Revere via Park Street and Government Center, then a cab back to our apartment) and happily collapsed into our chairs for a few moments before heading to bed.

All in all it was an enjoyable day, and a nice evening in our favorite Metro Boston theater, and a fantastic start to our summer tour!

We are hoping to continue our summer tour next weekend, but our finances are a bit tight right now, so we might not get to the flicks we're hoping to see at the Independent Film Festival of Boston, being held jointly by the Somerville Theater (where we've never been as yet), Coolidge Corner theater, and (where else) the Brattle. But we're gonna try...

A lot more theaters to visit and flicks to see this summer....we hope you'll be along for our tour....

Subject:CINEMA #48 - Wrestling With Acting Skills - Pro Wrestling In The Movies!

This week we're covering the world of professional wrestling and how it has had an impact on the big screen. The show ran a little longer than we anticipated - even editing it down, it still comes in at a whopping 1:45! But if you're a wrestling fan, like us, you will love it, and we hope even those S:C Fans who aren't into wrestling will appreciate our look at wrestling in popular culture!

THE SHOW (times may be off slightly due to Podshow insertions):

Segment 1 (1:44)- Pro wrestling in general; how we got into wrestling; why wrestlers sometimes have an easier transition into acting than stars of other sports

Segment 2 (19:38) - Wrestlers who have been actors on film or TV - Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant, Kevin Nash, Roddy Piper, Jesse Ventura; brief mention of Rollerjam

Segment 3 (35:35) - Wrestling and Kids TV; Shannon "SnowPea" Moore; More acting wrestlers - The Rock, Sean Waltman, Jerry Lynn, Christopher Daniels, Terry Funk, Shawn Michaels, Joanie "Chyna" Laurer; Movies about wrestling - No Holds Barred, Over The Top (well, not really), Ready To Rumble, Beyond The Mat; The career of El Santo; more recent efforts from John Cena and Kane; George "The Animal" Steele

Segment 4 (55:40) - Marquee Mix revamp; Swag Shop; Podlinez; Bloglet; Yahoo Groups; Dancing With The Stars; Sanjaya; E-Mail; Trivia Challenge; Bonehead Of The Week (listen up, TNA!)

Segment 5 (1:18:16) - THE LIST - those wrestlers in today's shows that we think could have a shot at film stardom in the not-too-distant future, if they play their cards right...

THIS WEEKS NOTES:

Obviously there are a LOT of wrestlers who have acted that we didn't get a chance to mention on the show, and we certainly mean them no slight....

Also, thanks to all the wrestling fans who might have dropped by this week because of the subject matter; we hope you stick around a long time!

The length of the show this week was incredible, and shows how much we like wrestling as a form of entertainment, and that it often provokes debate between the two of us. It may be a while to commit to, but listen in segments and you'll get through the whole thing!

NEXT WEEK:

Wednesday - Art House Confidential

Saturday - Summer Blockbuster Preview

Subject:CINEMA #47 - "HAIII-YAAAA! Celebrating the Martial Arts Movie!"

We ran a little long, but our passion runs high....

This week, chopsocky...no, MARTIAL ARTS FILMS!

THE SHOW: (TIMES MAY BE OFF DUE TO PODSHOW INSERTIONS)

Segment 1 (1:44) - defining "Chopsocky" and "Martial Arts" movies; Bad dubbing;  Bruce Lee; 70s Kung Fu takeover; the resurgence of Kung Fu and Wuxia movies

Segment 2 (18:34) - The STARS of Hong Kong Cinema - Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Gordon Liu, Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi; Cheng Pei Pei, Tony Jaa, Chow Yun Fat, and many many more...

Segment 3 (40:11) Our favorite martial arts movies

Segment 4 (56:15) - Marquee Mix; Phone Numbers; Problems with Odeo, and introducing MyChingo as our new voice mail provider; Podlinez; The new swag shop; Upcoming shows; Summer Tour '07; EMail (a TON of it); Trivia Challenge; Bonehead of the Week; Dancing With The Stars and Sanjaya

Segment 5 (1:27:30) - TC and Kim's Martial Arts Movies Holy Grail selections - the five movies impossible to find in the US that we're DYING to see!

THIS WEEK'S NOTES:

I incorrectly id'ed Tony Leung as "Tony Liu" in segment one, which was a slip of the tongue, and I apologize for that goof..I corrected it in segment two or three...

Also, we've had to push our Wednesday show back a week. I forgot that we have schedule conflicts - I am working late and my mother is having cataract surgery - on Tuesday, leaving no editing time for this week. So look for "Art School Confidential" next Tuesday, April 25.

NEXT WEEK:

Saturday - WRESTLING WITH ACTING SKILLS

The Great MetroBoston Movie Theater Summer Trip Extravaganza 2007!

Kim and I have both admitted that one of the reasons we decided to launch PNR was, in addition to our general love for movies, our love for MST3K's Kevin Murphy and his wondeful and hilarious book, A Year At The Movies.

Kim and I have been talking for a couple of years about what we could do in a similar vein, but in our own way of course. 

And so after much thought, we've now hit on the PERFECT idea for us.

We don't have a car anymore, so we tend to think in a rut when it comes to going to the show. We usually go to the same two movie theaters - Revere's Showcase Cinema, which is a ten minute walk (or 2 minute bus ride) from our house, and Boston's Boston Common theater, which is central to everything in downtown Boston and right on the T (the Boston Public Transportation System, for those who aren't in the area).

Sure, we take the occasional trip to other favorite spots for special fare,including the Coolidge Corner Theater, the Brattle Theater, and if we're in the mood for a bit of a walk, the Kendall Square Theater (great movies, but about 10 blocks from the nearest T Stop).

All of this started me to thinking...just how many movie theaters in the Metro Boston area are directly accessable from Boston's T system? If we include the bus routes and commuter rail lines in the total, the answer is "quite a lot"!

Between now and Labor Day, we're going to see if we can get to EVERY theater on the Basic T system. Subway first, then the buses, and finally, if we can manage it, the commuter rail.

There will be the ones we know about and are easy to get to on the four main subway lines (Red, Green, Blue, or Orange Lines) but that we haven't had a real reason to go to because closer theaters were showing the same movie. These would include Regal's Fenway 19 in Boston, AMC Harvard Square Theater in Cambridge, and so on.

Then there are the ones that are a bit more remote that are (or should be, I haven't finished my mapping yet, heh heh heh) accessable by Bus - Fresh Pond Cinemas in Allston, West Newton Cinema in West Newton, Liberty Tree AMC 20 at the Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers, Cinema:Salem in Salem, etc.

Finally, if we get REALLY ambitious and can justify the trip and expenses (and the time), we may try hitting the commuter rail to get to some of the really distant theaters, such as those in Worcester, Lowell, Leominster, Fitchburg, and Providence. Yes, that's RHODE ISLAND. But the commuter rail goes there, and so it might make a fun day trip.

Why are we going to do this? Well, first of all there's the excitement of setting a goal and trying to reach it. And what we don't reach this year...well, there's always NEXT YEAR! Second, it's the fun of going places we've never been before. We love finding new favorite spots, and quite frequently surrounding good theaters you will discover fantastic restaurants, good shops, or good places to hang out in general.

Occasionally, we might try to drag some of our friends in on this as well (that means YOU, Stacy and Jenn...heh heh heh), to theaters you can only get to by car.

And in the end, we'll blog each trip, review the film AND the experience, post our review of the theater on our site AND with our friends at SimpleMovieReview.com, and feature a short rundown about each excursion as a new segment on our weekly podcast, Subject:CINEMA.

If any of you would like to join up with the idea in your own hometown area, by all means, please DO! And be sure e-mail or voice mail us with your own experiences and travels.

The summer adventure is beginning Saturday April 21 - we've planned an ENTIRE DAY of movies in Boston and Cambridge, ending with a special New England premiere of 2006 Festival favorite "WRISTCUTTERS: A LOVE STORY" at the Brattle, complete with the screenwriter in attendance. Some last minute changes could happen, but even when they do, you'll hear about those too.

So here's to our great summer adventure!  And we hope you'll be along for the ride!

Grindhouse - What Happened?

Sooooo.....

You remember last week at this time, don't you? All the buzz was about a hot, avant-garde horror film with segments directed by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. "Grindhouse" paid homage to the old grade-z horror flicks of the 60s and 70s, complete with film fuzz, missing reels, bogus trailers, and more. Critics couldn't stop praising the bloody show when it came out on Friday, and all the prognosticators online were pinpointing the movie to be a huge blockbuster. It would be #1 for the weekend, and gross (depending on which oddsmakers you were listening to) between $22-26 million on it's opening weekend. It was THE movie to beat this past weekend.

Guess what happened?

It WASN'T the movie to beat. In fact, THREE films beat it at the box office, and it pulled in less than half of the bucks it was predicted to gross. Despite universal praise, the movie was simply NOT the be-all, end-all that the industry thought it was going to be.

Now, the question is "Why"?

Well, there are several reasons that are possible...

1 - The three-hour plus running time. "Grindhouse" is actually two movies - one by Tarantino, one by Rodriguez -  run back to back, with about 12 minutes of bogus trailers between the two films, making the running time clock in at the same level as a "Lord Of The Rings" installment. Could it be that audiences don't really want to spend that much time bathing in on-screen blood?

2 - It's spring, and there's no audience for gore now - well there IS, but most teenagers and college students don't like to waste their time. So this goes right back to reason #1.

3 - It's EASTER WEEKEND. Come on, folks!  Easter weekend is about family for a lot of people, and family films dominated the box office this weekend. Who in Hollywood thought it would be a good idea to open a film THIS gory, THIS bloody, THIS....well, horror-filled on the most religious holiday weekend of the year?

Had they waited just one week, I think they would have made their money as predicted, and possibly even more, spurred on by the incredibly favorable reviews...and they still MIGHT too...

Subject:CINEMA #46 - Here's The Easter Rabbit, Hooray!

This one's all over the road, folks...We're talking Easter this week, with a look at the religious aspect as well as bunnies and all things in the order of Easter cuteness...

THE SHOW (times may be slightly off due to Podshow insertions):

Segment 1 (1:30) - Peeps; Easter as a holiday; The Passion Of The Christ; various Easter specials; It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown; Easter Parade; Here Comes Peter Cottontail; The Easter Bunny Is Coming To Town
Segment 2 (19:36) - the classic Bugs Bunny cartoon (and inspiration for this show's title) Easter Yeggs
Segment 3 (28:43) - DVD Easter Eggs - a whole list of what to find on what discs - not as extensive as we could be, but there'll be plenty of links below (special thanks to Rob Collier for his input and lists of Easter Eggs)
Segment 4 (48:09) - The usual hardsell, plus our goodbyes to Bob Clark and John Inman; E-Mail; Trivia Answer; Bonehead of the Week; Cuteoverload.com; Starz Bunnies Club
Segment 5 (1:05:28) - Our own personal memories of Easters past and future, plus exciting Michael Angarano news...

THIS WEEK'S NOTES:

First off, no matter which holiday you may be celebrating - Easter or Passover - we wish you all the best!

Second, we hope you like the new revamped site format, where we have now merged Subject:CINEMA into the main PNR site. You can select "podcasts" in the catagory cloud for just the S:C listings. And we're planning more great updates in the future...

We would also like to announce our new affiliation with the Blubrry Network. Blubrry will hopefully lead to some exciting new opportunities for our show.

And now, the goods...

DVD EASTER EGG SITES:

Popular Science Top 5 Eggs
MovieWeb Eggs
Clerks II Eggs
DVD Easter Eggs.com (hasn't been updated recently)
EasterEgg sites on Google

KIM'S SITE OF THE WEEK:

CuteOverload.Com
(be forewarned, even the hardest curmudgon will be won over...)

THE LATEST FROM THE BUNNIES:

>Starz! presents 30-Second Bunnies Theater

NEXT WEEK'S SHOW: Haiii-YAAAAA! Celebrating The Chop-Socky Movie!

PNR's #1 Rising Star of 2006 named Best Actor at Method Film Fest