Greensboro to ‘Rock n’ Bowl’ with ‘The Big Lebowski’

GREESBORO, NC – Get ready to laugh, bowl and rock n’ roll with “The Big Lebowski.”

On Wednesday, August 26th, the Mixed Tape Film Series and WUAG 103.1 FM will present the Big Lebowski Rock n’ Bowl, a city-spanning event that will be a celebration of bowling, White Russians and one of the most beloved comedies of all time.

The Big Lebowski Rock n’ Bowl kicks off at 7:30 p.m. with a 35mm screening of the Coen Brothers’ cult-classic “The Big Lebowski” at the Carolina Theatre on 310 South Greene Street. Immediately after the film, Lebowski fans can knock some pins and make some friends at the Brunswick Triad Lanes on 21 Oak Branch Road, where there will be unlimited bowling and a dance party featuring records spun by WUAG’s greatest DJ’s.

Released in 1998, “The Big Lebowski” follows the life of Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski, a man of simple pleasures and questionable means who finds himself in a world beyond his comprehension after an unfortunate case of mistaken identity. Jeff Bridges shines in the lead role, reacting to brilliant supporting turns by John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi and a very young Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Film critics and audiences originally shunned the film upon its release, however, due to a series of midnight screenings across the country as well as DVD sales, the film has become the greatest cult success of the last decade. Rolling Stone even went so far as to call the film “the most worshipped comedy of its generation.”

Other events in the Big Lebowski Rock n’ Bowl include a costume contest for people who dress like one of the characters from the film and bowling tournaments.

Brunswick Triad Lanes will serve patrons discounted White Russians until they close at 1 a.m.

Tickets for the movie and all-you-can-bowl event are $14 and are available at any Mixed Tape Film Series event or online at www.wuag.net.

For more information, e-mail movieshowjoe@gmail.com or call (336) 662-5691.


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[PODCAST] "Ladies' Work"

On this week’s episode of the Movie Show, Mike and Joe declare two actors and a whole mess of zombies who are getting a second chance in Hollywood, just like Mike Tyson. Speaking of, they also review Tyson as well as Sugar, before delving into a new and very emasculating film project starring Hugh Jackman.

This week’s Soundtrack Selections:
“Us” by Regina Spektor from (500) Days of Summer;
“Legendary” by Nas from Tyson;
-and-
“Blues From Down Here” by TV on the Radio from Sugar.

Stream it!

Wes Anderson's 'The Fantastic Mr. Fox' -- our first look!

A couple of pics hit the net last night from Wes Anderson's The Fantastic Mr. Fox, the director's first stop-motion animated feature based on the novel by Roald Dahl. I actually read this book to my after school students, and realized that the casting of George Clooney as the voice of the lead was a brilliant move. After all, Mr. Fox is rather wily, and something of a Danny Ocean in animal form

But now we get a chance to see how the film looks:





Fantastic, indeed. I especially like the detail in the first picture. It's obvious Fox is standing in Badger's house with all those books and a painting of badger soldiers. Also, Anderson is working with actual fur, creating characters who very much resemble the original sketches from the book.

While it's sad that we've lost one and a half live-action Wes Anderson films so that he could take the time needed to make this project, I am glad that he and other quality directors like Spike Jonze (Where the Wild Things Are) are looking at children's entertainment as an avenue for quality filmmaking. Just because you're under 12 doesn't mean you deserve to only watch crap like Alvin and the Chipmunks and because the Pixar guys have been alone in this belief for so long, Brad Bird has became the most profitable cinema auteur by a long-shot.

If Anderson or Jonze's films are successful, I see a New Wave of children's filmmaking coming along.

[PODCAST] Harry Potter Week!

It’s Harry Potter this week on The Movie Show as Joe Scott shares his views on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Mike chimes in on the jokes, homophobia, and limited social commentary of Brüno.

And they both dive into seven news stories including casting on WB’s Green Lantern film, Will Smith’s next potential project, and Sony’s new pitch hitter for Brad Pitt’s Moneyball.

Stream it!

REVIEW: 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'

For the last five films, the Harry Potter series has always been a subtle dance with innocence. Whether it’s innocence about the nature of death, which could very well claim boy wizard Harry Potter and his friends in one of their many devil may care adventures, or innocence about love, and dare I say human – or muggle – sexuality as well.

But in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the movie’s sixth and newest installment, Harry and beloved confidants Hermoine Granger and Rod Weasly engage in their usual dance, only this time they walk away before the end of the song leaving innocence standing in the corner.

With only two more years left at Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry’s got a lot on his mind. Girls mostly, plus there’s the sneaking suspicion that Professor Dumbledore, the school’s venerable headmaster who always bailed Harry and his friends out in the past, is starting to look frail and not as powerful as he used to be. But the biggest concern is Draco Malfoy, the Aryan-haired foil from the previous films. Now that Draco’s father has been locked away after the crimes he committed at the end of The Order of the Phoenix, the dark lord Voldemort has requested a difficult task of Draco. As Harry snoops around to investigate, he realizes Draco’s plan involves more than a panty-raid or shooting spitballs during potions class.

Played by Tom Felton, the previous films went out of their way to make Draco look like a despicable fascist, but I must credit director David Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves for making him appear sympathetic during a time when he considers his most vile deed ever. Felton especially deserves kudos for rising to the task, portraying his character as disgraced, conflicted and angry because of evil forces that are beyond his control.

Best part is that Felton’s not the only one. As Harry, Radcliffe shines during a moment when he drinks a magical potion that increases his luck. Ruppert Gint who plays Ron continues to prove he is the most hilarious part of the series, pinning over various women at his school despite the dismay of the lovelorn Hermoine. And at his character’s darkest hour, Michael Gambon adds a human touch to Dumbledore, which was sorely needed if what is to happen to him in this film is supposed to have any meaning.

The supporting cast was solid as well, especially newcomer Jim Broadbent, as the star struck professor Horrace Slughorn.

As both a fan of the books and the films, I could be part of a minority who doesn’t care that the filmmakers left out the epic battle from the final act. What they chose to do instead was focus on both Harry and Draco, two characters who will look upon the campus of Hogwarts, their shared childhood home, and realize that nothing will ever be the same again. They also omit the funeral scene of a major character, opting instead to show the students of Howarts raise their wands in the air to banish the dark clouds from the sky – one of the most magical moments of the film series to date.

This Friday is 'Dress like a Zombie Day'

As most of you probably know, we'll be hosting a special midnight screening of Lucio Fulci's seminal horror classic Zombie at the Carousel Luxury Cinemas on 1305 Battleground Ave.

In honor of this, we thought it would be cool to host a special promotion called "DRESS LIKE A ZOMBIE DAY"


(ZOMBIES!)

How does it work? Basically you just dress up like a member of the walking dead and show up at the Carousel on Friday night before the movie. If you know your zombies, this isn't too hard. All you need is a bit of fake blood, torn clothes, white makeup or an avacado mud mask of some sort.


(Zombie couples are welcome)

The first ten Zombies to amble up to the theater will win a prize. We might also have a couple of other contests that night as well.


('Sexy' zombies are welcome, too)

So remember when you're getting ready to see Zombie this Friday, don't just see the movie, live it!

Death Racers, start your engines!

The movie is ready, the retro trailers have been spliced. Now all we need is the wildest movie audience in North Carolina (i.e. you) to make tomorrow night a rocking awesome time at the movie theater.

Friday, July 10 at Midnight, David Carradine will ride across the screen once more in the cult Roger Corman classic "Death Race 2000."

Tickets will be on sale Friday morning when the theater opens at noon. You can also buy them online here.

I would suggest that no one wait on this. I pretty much get into all of my shows for free, but made the decision to purchase tickets for me and my friends to guarantee we got into this show. You cannot say nobody warned you. It's going to be the coolest show in town, and there's a slight chance that only 100 seats will be available unless my fellow year-round GSO peeps can show their numbers.

I'll see you at the movies.

P.S. Winston-Salem film critic Mark Burger gave us a nice write-up in
Yes!Weekly. Apparently, Night of the Comet gave Burger more action than what the rest of the audience saw on the screen.

[PODCAST] "The Worst of the Worst"

Hollywood decided to commemorate the anniversary of our nation’s independence with some of the worst movie ideas of all time, leaving Mike and Joe to decide which idea is “The Worst of the Worst.” Needless remakes, sequels, prequels, and adaptations of ridiculous toys and video games -- the studios clearly left no corner unturned. When the guys aren’t wading through a veritable garbage week of movie news, the mull the future of N.C. native Zack Galifianakis and review Johnny Depp’s Public Enemies and the wonderful documentary Anvil: The Story of Anvil.

This Week’s Soundtrack Selections:
“High Noon” by Tex Ritter from High Noon,
“Ten Million Slaves” by Otis Taylor from Public Enemies,
-and-
“Metal on Metal” by Anvil from Anvil: The Story of Anvil.

Stream it!

[SURVEY] The Worst of the Worst

We're having trouble deciding which movie idea presented in today's news stories was the worst of the worst.
Can you help us to decide?

Let the Right One In remake: Don't break out the pitchforks and torches just yet

News of the remake of one of last year's best films, Let the Right One In, has started trickling out (If you haven't seen it, you're in for a treat. But beware the crappy subtitles on the American DVD).

The L.A. Times checks in with director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) and comes back with some faintly reassuring news: He's not planning to turn it into Twilight.

"There's definitely people who have a real bull's-eye on the film," Reeves said, "and I can understand because of people's' love of the [original] film that there's this cynicism that I'll come in and trash it, when in fact I have nothing but respect for the film. I'm so drawn to it for personal and not mercenary reasons, my feeling about it is if I didn't feel a personal connection and feel it could be its own film, I wouldn't be doing it. I hope people give us a chance."

Well, fair enough.

I actually really liked Cloverfield (working title: The Adventures of the Incredible Indestructible Camcorder), and I'm glad to hear that Reeves seems to have the same reverence for Let the Right One In that its fans do. Having read the novel -- a page-turner, incidentally -- I'll say that the source material gives him some wiggle room. There were entire subplots that were either truncated or cut out of the original film (necessarily, but still), so if he wants to distinguish Let Me In (the American title), John Ajvide Lindqvist's book has plenty of uncharted territory to explore.

The danger, of course, is distracting from the sweet, unsettling central story. Maintaining the emotional weight of Eli and Oskar's relationship while introducing something new to the U.S. version would be quite a balancing act. Maybe Reeves can pull it off, but I'm keeping my optimism in check.