Though I really enjoyed Spider-Man (2002), that partcular depiction of The Green Goblin left me wanting a bit more.  The acting was fine, I just didn’t care for the visual.

Well, here’s some abandoned makeup designs for The Green Goblin.  I really like the look, and I wished they would have used it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waYxuyM4vi0

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Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy deliver a real crowdpleaser in The Muppets (2011), with their duet of Paul Williams’s memorable song, The Rainbow Connection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N2ngLYEoMo

A full review is coming up at The SSC in a couple of days!

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• 

Looks pretty awesome to me!  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9cuGZJ9DP0

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• 

On the eve of the eve of the State of the Union Address tonight (to be given by Barack Obama, star of The Barack Obama Show) I’m reminded of one of my favorite films, The Love God?, starring one of my favorite funny men, Don Knotts.

Don’t make the connection?  Well, The Love God? was made in 1969 as a Don Knotts vehicle.  Don plays Abner Audubon Peacock, the publisher of a fading bird-watcher’s magazine named Peacock Magazine which a sleazy promoter named Osborn Tremaine (played by Edmond O’Brien) converts into a hip nudie magazine.  This catapults the new Peacock Magazine into a national phenomenon, so they need the publisher (Knotts) to play their Hugh Hefner character in order to give the franchise a personality.

The only problem is that Mr Peacock is in reality an awkward, square character, not suited to the free love scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s.  No problem, really: threw shrewd media manipulation they manage to convince the American public that the awkward, shy, and unglamorous Abner Peacock.  And from there forward, the sky is the limit!

Remind you of anyone we know?

In my favorite scene from the film, Abner (now the free love icon of the era) is honored by fawning, gullible elites, who are too dim to realize that their ‘Mr Peacock’ is a figment of their imaginations.  The showstopper features the beautiful Darlene Love with The Blossoms on backup vocals, the keen musical sound of Orange Colored Sky, a half dozen leggy showgirls, and a dancing Don Kotts.  In other words, there’s no way this musical number can be improved upon!

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYFOajskz2I

PS: Yes, I know all the lyrics to this song, and have known them for over 20 years.  But I suspect you had guessed that.

PPS: Special thanks to my friend Donna Marie Majoros Oswald for creating the idea, which was that spark that inspired me to write this post.  Thank you!

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• 

Excelsior!

Stan Lee Tribute Weekend honors the comics creator’s seven decades of bringing entertainment to the world

One lucky winner will win exclusive VIP Passes for Stan Lee Tribute Weekend May 6-8, 2010

On Thursday, May 6, the N9NE Group with Brenden Theatres and the Palms Casino Resort will present Iron Man 2 Launch Party at the MOON Nightclub. MOON opens to the public at 10:30 p.m. and will feature an “Iron Man” themed night with appearances by Stan Lee and other celebrity guests. General admission applies.

Stan Lee’s Brenden Celebrity Star presentation will take place on Friday, May 7, 2010, the opening day of the new Paramount Pictures “Iron Man 2” film starring Robert Downey, Jr. which Lee served as an executive producer. The ceremony to be hosted by Celebrity Journalist Robin Leach will take place in the Brenden Theaters at the Palms lobby at 7:30 p.m. The Brenden Celebrity Star presentation is co-sponsored by Derrick Taylor’s Comic Oasis.

The weekend wraps with an invited guest tribute reception and dinner May 8, 2010 hosted by the Walt Disney Company and featuring Stan Lee’s Time Jumper. Red carpet arrivals begin at 6:00 p.m. with celebrity appearances. Guests will also preview clips from Stan Lee’s documentary “With Great Power – The Stan Lee Story.” Celebrities from all of Lee’s films and creations have been invited to attend this special event.

To have a chance at winning the VIP passes, visit http://starsamongtheangelsonlineauction.afrogs.org/.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siQgD9qOhRs

With the world now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) faces pressure from the government, the press, and the public to share his technology with the military. Unwilling to let go of his invention, Stark, along with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Don Cheadle) at his side, must forge new alliances — and confront powerful enemies: Whiplash and Justin Hammer!

Opens on May 7, 2010 in the USA!

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• 

And book my flight to Japan for opening night!  Who’s with me?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONkh786EbSg

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• 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0ke3C9geBw

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-UACM_8q_Q

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• 

It appears that our friends in the Land of the Rising Sun decided to make a brief musical video of one of my wildest fantasies.  I am forever grateful!  Oh mama!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUbFX6KendY

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• 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8ax0Y5zf64

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• 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVYDA5ko940

Blue Oyster Cult – Godzilla

Lyrics:
With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound
He pulls the spitting high tension wires down

Helpless people on a subway train
Scream bug-eyed as he looks in on them

He picks up a bus and he throws it back down
As he wades through the buildings toward the center of town

Oh no, they say hes got to go
Go go Godzilla, yeah
Oh no, there goes Tokyo
Go go Godzilla, yeah

Rinji news o moshiagemasu!
Rinji news o moshiagemasu!
Godzilla ga ginza hoomen e mukatte imasu!
Daishkyu hinan shite kudasai!
Daishkyu hinan shite kudasai!

Oh no, they say hes got to go
Go go Godzilla, yeah
Oh no, there goes Tokyo
Go go Godzilla, yeah

History shows again and again
How nature points up the folly of men
Godzilla!

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• 

Moe, Larry and Curly are gas station attendants who blow up an automobile with three foreign professors going to Mildew’s Girl College. The Stooges change into the professors’ clothes and impersonate them at the school. In class, the Stooges teach the girls how to “Swing the Alphabet,” and follow up by teaching Mrs. Catsby how to play basketball, Stooge-style!

Swingin’ The Alphabet is from Violent is the Word for Curly, and proves that the Three Stooges can teach beautiful women anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8Pk1UYkB3I

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• 

Today would have been the 107th birthday to one of the alltime great movie funnymen, Larry Fine (Louis Feinberg) of The Three Stooges.

Thanks for all the laughter, Larry! You shall live forever in the hearts of your fans!Similar Posts:

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• 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70HbmE7IKq4

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• 

Sung by the man who turned a personal affliction into a recording career, Don ‘No Soul’ Simmons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPmNxOmMzrk

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• 

David Alan Grier manages to steal the excellent Amazon Women on the Moon from the rest of the cast.  I am a huge fan of Don ‘No Soul’ Simmons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwGmd_A8O_w

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• 

TNA pro wrestler and former Olympian Kurt Angle starts in this upcoming low budget thriller.  File this one in the ‘it’s so bad, it’s good’ category!  Enjoy the trailer for End Game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwb3i738Zh8

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• 

Today would have been the legendary Moe Howard’s 112th birthday.

Moe Howard is best known as the leader of the Three Stooges, the slapstick comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television for four decades.

Moe was born Moses Harry Horwitz in the Brooklyn, New York neighborhood of Brownsville, to Solomon Horwitz and Jennie Gorovitz. He was the fourth of the five Horwitz brothers.  Although his parents were not involved in show business, Moe, his older brother Samuel (Shemp) and younger brother Jerome (Curly), all eventually became world-famous as members of the Three Stooges.

In 1921, Moe joined vaudevillian Lee Nash, who was now firmly established in show business as Ted Healy, in a comedy  routine. In 1923, Moe spotted Shemp watching the show and yelled at him from the stage. Shemp and Moe heckled each other to a large positive response from the audience and Healy hired Shemp as a permanent part of the act. Next, Healy recruited a vaudeville violinist, Larry Fine, in 1925, to join the comedy troupe, which was billed as Ted Healy and His Racketeers (later changed to Ted Healy and His Stooges).

By 1930, Ted Healy and his Stooges were on the verge of “the big time,” and made their first movie, Soup to Nuts — featuring Ted Healy, and his four Stooges (Moe, Shemp, Larry, and one-shot Stooge Fred Sanborn) — for Fox Films (later 20th Century Fox). Shemp had never seen eye-to-eye with the hard-drinking and sometimes belligerent Healy, and left the group shortly after filming in order to pursue a successful solo film career. After a short search for a replacement, Moe suggested his youngest brother, Jerome (“Jerry” to his friends, “Babe” to Moe and Shemp). Healy originally passed on Jerry (whom he disliked), but Jerry was so eager to join the act that he shaved off his luxuriant auburn mustache and hair and ran on stage during Healy’s routine. Healy hired Jerry, who took the stage name of “Curly.”

Healy and the Stooges were hired by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as “nut” comics, to liven up feature films and short subjects with their antics. After a number of appearances in MGM films, Healy was being groomed as a solo character comedian. With Healy pursuing his own career, his Stooges (now renamed The Three Stooges) signed with Columbia Pictures where they stayed until December 1959, making 190 short films.Similar Posts:

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• 

Megan Fox told MTV.com that her character in the upcoming supernatural western Jonah Hex isn’t one you’ll recognize from the comics.

“They’ve changed her name a couple of times—it’s Leila now,” Fox told the site. “She is a prostitute. She’s a good ol’ working girl, and she’s a love interest to Jonah [Josh Brolin] … of sorts. I mean, it’s by no means a classic type of relationship.”

The movie, directed by Jimmy Hayward and based on the DC Comic, also stars John Malkovich, Will Arnett and Michael Shannon. It opens Aug. 6, 2010.

“That movie is gonna be amazing,” Fox said. “It’s a post-Civil War, apocalyptic-type western. The director, Jimmy, is a lunatic, and he might be a genius. From some of the things I’ve seen him shoot, it’s a badass movie.”

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• 

Just got the news that acor David Carradine died in Bangkok.  Evidently, he chose to end his own life.  He shall be missed.

RIP David Carradine

1936-2009

From Yahoo News…

Actor David Carradine found dead in Bangkok

Actor David Carradine, star of the 1970s TV series “Kung Fu” who also had a wide-ranging career in the movies, has been found dead in the Thai capital, Bangkok. A news report said he was found hanged in his hotel room and was believed to have committed suicide.

A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy, Michael Turner, confirmed the death of the 72-year-old actor. He said the embassy was informed by Thai authorities that Carradine died either late Wednesday or early Thursday, but he could not provide further details out of consideration for his family.

The Web site of the Thai newspaper The Nation cited unidentified police sources as saying Carradine was found Thursday hanged in his luxury hotel room.

It said Carradine was in Bangkok to shoot a movie and had been staying at the hotel since Tuesday.

The newspaper said Carradine could not be contacted after he failed to appear for a meal with the rest of the film crew on Wednesday, and that his body was found by a hotel maid at 10 a.m. Thursday morning. The name of the movie was not immediately available.

It said a preliminary police investigation found that he had hanged himself with a cord used with the room’s curtains. It cited police as saying he had been dead at least 12 hours and there was no sign that he had been assaulted.

A police officer at Bangkok’s Lumpini precinct station would not confirm the identity of the dead man, but said the luxury Swissotel Nai Lert Park hotel had reported that a male guest killed himself there.

Carradine was a leading member of a venerable Hollywood acting family that included his father, character actor John Carradine, and brother Keith.

In all, he appeared in more than 100 feature films with such directors as Martin Scorsese, Ingmar Bergman and Hal Ashby. One of his prominent early film roles was as singer Woody Guthrie in Ashby’s 1976 biopic “Bound for Glory.”

But he was best known for his role as Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin priest traveling the 1800s American frontier West in the TV series “Kung Fu,” which aired in 1972-75.

He reprised the role in a mid-1980s TV movie and played Caine’s grandson in the 1990s syndicated series “Kung Fu: The Legend Continues.”

He returned to the top in recent years as the title character in Quentin Tarantino’s two-part saga “Kill Bill.”

The character, the worldly father figure of a pack of crack assassins, was a shadowy presence in 2003′s “Kill Bill — Vol. 1.” In that film, one of Bill’s former assassins (Uma Thurman) begins a vengeful rampage against her old associates.

In “Kill Bill — Vol. 2,” released in 2004, Thurman’s character comes face to face again with Bill himself. The role brought Carradine a Golden Globe nomination as best supporting actor.

Bill was a complete contrast to his TV character Kwai Chang Caine, the soft-spoken refugee from a Shaolin monastery, serenely spreading wisdom and battling bad guys in the Old West. He left after three seasons, saying the show had started to repeat itself.

After “Kung Fu,” Carradine starred in the 1975 cult flick “Death Race 2000.” He starred with Liv Ullmann in Bergman’s “The Serpent’s Egg” in 1977 and with his brothers in the 1980 Western “The Long Riders.”

But after the early 1980s, he spent two decades doing mostly low-budget films. Tarantino’s films changed that.

“All I’ve ever needed since I more or less retired from studio films a couple of decades ago … is just to be in one,” Carradine told The Associated Press in 2004.

“There isn’t anything that Anthony Hopkins or Clint Eastwood or Sean Connery or any of those old guys are doing that I couldn’t do,” he said. “All that was ever required was somebody with Quentin’s courage to take and put me in the spotlight.”

One thing remained a constant after “Kung Fu”: Carradine’s interest in Oriental herbs, exercise and philosophy. He wrote a personal memoir called “Spirit of Shaolin” and continued to make instructional videos on tai chi and other martial arts.

In the 2004 interview, Carradine talked candidly about his past boozing and narcotics use, but said he had put all that behind him and stuck to coffee and cigarettes.

“I didn’t like the way I looked, for one thing. You’re kind of out of control emotionally when you drink that much. I was quicker to anger.”

“You’re probably witnessing the last time I will ever answer those questions,” Carradine said. “Because this is a regeneration. It is a renaissance. It is the start of a new career for me.

“It’s time to do nothing but look forward.”

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swn4H4sqm1A

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httpvp://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=6A3C5D3CC67B38D6

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• 

httpvp://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=F57F087E5CB0C1F5

The Man Called Flintstone (1966)

1. The Man Called Flintstone
2. Spy Type Guy
3. Team Mates
4. The Happy Sounds of Pareé
5. Pensate Amore (by Louis Prima)
6. Tickle Toddle
7. Someday
8. The Man Called Flintstone Ending Theme

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• 

Laverne, Maxene & Patty Andrews tear it up with an assist by Ted Lewis and His Orchestra.  From the Abbott & Costello classic, Hold That Ghost, one of my three favorite A&C movies (though I confess, I love them all).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KoppS8TIjc

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• 

1933-2009

Thanks for all the laughter!  You will be missed!

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• 

Those that know me personally can see the many similarities!  Dolemite has been a lifelong role model of mine!  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkjExJqf34o

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• 

Well, one of the most anticipated comic-to-film projects finally reached the silver screen.  Initial industry projections hoped the film would have a boffo $ 70+ million opening weekend, exceeding the opening success of 300.  As the weekend drew near, the industry types got cold feet and revised the projection downward a hefty 14% to $60 million.

The film even failed to reach that goal, as Watchmen‘s opening weekend take clocked in at a solid (but underwhelming)  $ 55.6 million.   And that includes the $4.5 million late-night Thursday haul of $ 4.5 million.

They swung for the fences and hit a double.  Oh well, I honestly didn’t think that the film would translate well on 2009 movie screens.  While I like the original comic, it’s very much a creature of its time, the mid-1980s.  It’s dark and sometimes nihilistic world view is just a downer.

I expect Watchmen‘s box office  to diminish 60% or more next weekend, and quickly vanish from the public eye.

Comic fanboys will just have to wait for the next big thing.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX94Rr9anpI

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• 

My personal favorite Shaw Brothers movie!

This movie has it all!  Three insane holy monks, twin brother good guys, an awesome main villain, outrageous lieutenant bad guys, and amazingly choreographed fight scenes.  A must see!  *****

An interesting note is that while the movie was titled Death Mask of the Ninja for its USA release, no death masks or ninjas actually appear in the film!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w19f-3VRXB0

Shaolin Prince (1983)

Two princes are separated at birth. One is raised by the Prime Minister. The other is raised by three mad Shaolin Monks. They both learn the martial arts and when they are 23, they meet and combine forces to defeat the evil 9th Prince

Also Known As (AKA)

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• 

Deadline Hollywood Daily‘s wonderful Nikki Finke reports on the Christmas weekend box office, noting that The Spirit was slow out of the gate, opening at #9.

9. The Spirit (Lionsgate)
$6.5M 3-day weekend… $10.3M 4-day holiday
Not every comic book can become a hit movie. Movie analysts didn’t expect much life from this adaptation of Will Eisner’s graphic novels despite a flashy marketing campaign. Lionsgate shouldn’t have tried to brave the Christmas competition.

I had my doubts about The Spirit – it looked like style over substance, and it appears it’s opening failed to spark a buzz among moviegoers.

It had a lot going against it.  The Spirit is a classic comic strop character but doesn’t have much of a following these days.  The film was made and distributed by Lionsgate, the home of lousy, modern era exploitation and fad movies.  The cast was populated by some good looking women, but without much regard to what they would bring to their roles.  The ubiquitous Samuel Jackson is in the cast, too, and he has descended well into self parody these days.  And of course, we had writer/director Frank Miller, who has been consistently stinking up the big screen since he ‘wrote’ Robocop 2.

So maybe it just wasn’t in the cards.  Still, I think if the Spirit’s sidekick, Ebony, was prominent in the film, it may have worked!

Better luck next time…

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• 

Here’s the neat new full-length trailer that’s been running in theaters with the new James Bond movie.  I can’t sign on to this yet, and I have my doubts, but if that’s a young & fit Uhura stripping down to her Starfleet undies, I’ll be there on opening day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n8qHdG1GLI

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krJhmTxG11w

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Get a load of this picture of sexy starlets Kathleen Turner, Jane Fonda, and Jessica Lange!

We’ll do a caption contest for this great pic!  Please post your caption suggestions in the comments box, below!

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• 

That voiceover legend Don LaFontaine has passed away.  He shall be missed.

Don LaFontaine

RIP 1940-2008

CNN reports the bad news…

‘In a world’ voiceover master dies at 68

Don LaFontaine, the voiceover king whose “In a world …” phrase on movie trailers was much copied — and much parodied — has died, according to media reports. He was 68.

LaFontaine died Monday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, according to ETOnline, “Entertainment Tonight’s” Web site. He died from complications from pneumothorax, a collapsed lung that causes air to build in the pleural cavity, his agent, Vanessa Gilbert, told “ET.”

LaFontaine, who was born in Duluth, Minnesota, began as a voice actor in the mid-1960s while working as a recording engineer, according to his Web site. His strong, slightly gravelly voice was featured on trailers for thousands of films, including “The Godfather,” “Fatal Attraction” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” For a time in the late ’70s, LaFontaine was the official voice of Paramount Pictures.

His favorite work was one he did for the 1980 film “The Elephant Man,” he said in interviews, but whether the film was Oscar-caliber or a bomb waiting to blow, he handled every assignment equally.

“My philosophy is that you have to really believe what you’re reading, even if you think the film’s a piece of junk,” he told Swindle magazine. “Even the worst picture is someone’s favorite film, and that someone is the fan I am always talking to.”

He also provided the voice for hundreds of commercials for companies such as General Motors, Ford, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and many others, according to his Web site.

The good-humored LaFontaine was willing to poke fun at himself, particularly in a recent ad for Geico insurance, in which he gave dramatic flair to a woman’s story about her car accident. He also voiced the trailer for “The Simpsons Movie,” in which his descriptions were mimicked by commentary from the film’s characters.

But LaFontaine was most famous for his phrase “In a world …,” used by seemingly dozens of movies determined to create an otherworldly atmosphere.

LaFontaine told CNN that the scripts gave him the cues for his delivery.

“They dictate how they want to be read,” he told “Showbiz Tonight” in 2005. “It’s pretty much straightforward stuff because you know the context of the film generally going in. If it’s something like ‘King Kong,’ you have a pretty good idea of how you`re going to say it. It’s going to be a big adventure thing. And I let the [script] more or less guide what I’m going to say.”

He added that there was no secret to his movie trailer work: “I really think this is one of the few industries where everything is right up there,” he told CNN. “What you see is what you get.”

Still, he noted, it’s not like he could use his movie-trailer voice everywhere.

“If I tried to use that voice in public,” he said, “they’d be calling security.”

LaFontaine is survived by his wife, actress and singer Nita Whitaker, and three children, Christine, Skye and Elyse

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Welt Online reports that this week’s media golden boy, Christian Bale, is accused of assault by his own mother and sister.

Christian Bale accused of assault by sister, mother

Batman actor Christian Bale has been accused of assault by his mother and sister, and will face police questioning.

‘The Dark Knight’ actor allegedly lashed out while staying at London’s Dorchester hotel on Sunday, where he has a suite. His mother Jenny (61) and sister Sharon (40) lodged a formal complaint against the star at a police station in Hampshire, Southern England. Bale (34) was permitted by police to attend the European premiere of ‘The Dark Knight’ – in which he plays superhero Batman – last night but will face questioning over the claims.

Police in London are expected to speak to the Welsh actor later today.

A police source told Britain’s The Sun newspaper: “It was a very difficult situation but it would have been wrong to have wrecked the premiere over a complaint which we don’t yet know is founded in truth. But Mr. Bale will be contacted at the earliest opportunity and be asked to provide an account of anything that happened.”

A spokesperson for London’s Metropolitan Police said: “We can confirm we have received an allegation from another force in relation to an alleged incident in central London.”

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Well, the big crowds scared me away from the theaters this past weekend, so I missed all the Dark Knight action. It’s ok, I’ll go see it this week sometime when the crowds subside a bit. So with superheroics on my mind, I took the opportunity to pop in a DVD I had bought a while ago: the big screen adaptation of Underdog from 2007. While I don’t think the film is highly regarded, it made a modest $ 44 million at the box office and was quickly forgotten. Being a big oldschool Underdog fan, I had picked up the DVD with every intention of watching it but never did.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised that this movie wasn’t nearly as bad as I feared and nowhere near as bad as its reputation. Actually, i think it was pretty good in a lot of ways. It’s actually very faithful to most of the Underdog legend, and the filmmakers actually put effort into explaining a lot of the details from the animated series and have it all make sense.

Covered in the movie include references to, and explorations & explanations of:

1. Underdog’s secret identity as “humble and lovable Shoeshine Boy”
2. Why he chose the name “Underdog” as his superhero identity
3. Underdog’s love interest “Sweet Polly Purebread” & “Where oh where can my Underdog be?”
4. Why Underdog speaks in rhyme, but Shoeshine has no such limitations on his speech
5. The origin and development of Underdog’s catch phrase, “There’s no need to fear, Underdog is here!”
6. Underdog causes significant property damage during his exploits
7. The secret of Underdog’s Energy Pill
8. Shoeshine changes into Underdog in an exploding phone booth
9. Underdog stops to explain to a crowd that he is “not plane, nor bird, nor even frog, just little old me: Underdog”
10. Consistent with the original animated series, the main villains are the mad scientist Simon Bar-Sinister and his henchman, Cad.
11. How the mad scientist Simon Bar-Sinister is deformed and why hates Underdog
12. Underdog inhabits a world where humans and talking animals interact
13. A couple of appearances by Underdog’s enemy, Riff Raff

There are more references and homages to the original series, which was great to see. It was all worked into the narrative very well. Indeed, I think Underdog was a lot more faithful to the source material than a movie like Superman Returns.

The thing to keep in mind when watching Underdog is that it is primarily a children’s movie. That’s not to take anything away from the film, but it helps to put it in context when you watch it. It’s a mean trick to appeal to both kids and the kid inside every adult, and Underdog certainly tries to meet that standard.

Speed of lightning, roar of thunder!

A bomb sniffing dog (voice of Jason Lee) for the poiice department of Capitol City is a complete washout in his chosen career field. After being embarrassed for the last time, he takes off in shame, only to be captured as a stray dog. Turns out he isn’t going to the pound, but to the laboratory of the Dr Simon Bar-Sinister (Peter Dinklage), who is bent on unholy research into animal DNA and gene splicing. Before the dog is subjected to his experiments, he attempts an escape, only to be accidentally bathed in a strange mixture of Bar-Sinister’s chemicals. The dog manages to flee, but a fire destroys the lab. Bar-Sinister and his henchman Cad (Patrick Wharburton) escape.

A security guard (Jim Belushi) at the lab picks up the dog thinking he is a stray, and takes him home as a present for his son Jack (Alex Neuberger), naming the pup ‘Shoeshine.’ Jack quickly finds out that not only is the dog now capable of human speech, but blessed with super powers! In no time, the dog adopts the superhero identity “Underdog.”

The movie pits Underdog against Bar-Sinister and Cad. Both Dinklage and Wharburton really shine here, really having fun with their characters. The cgi is excellent, really among the best I have ever seen. Underdog is a fun and funny movie for kids of all ages – anyone expecting great cinema is looking in the wrong place, but if you are an Underdog fan (like me), just kick back and have some fun with it. I give Underdog 3 stars out of 5.

Somehow the film got a PG rating, which just goes to show you how dumb the movie rating system is. No foul language to speak of and some cartoon violence add up to a “G” in my book, but what do I know?

To right this wrong with blinding speed!

I have included a video of the theatrical trailer to Underdog (2007) to give you a feel for the movie, as well as a music video of Kyle Massey’s “Underdog Raps,” which is featured in the film. “Underdog Raps” is an updated version of Underdog’s classic theme song. This is all part of the marketing of the film to young kids glued to The Disney Channel on their tvs, but it does demonstrate that even a rap update can’t ruin Underdog’s classic theme song!

For good measure, I included the opening of the Underdog (1964) tv series, featuring the classic theme and several of the characters who made it into the film adaptation. Enjoy!Similar Posts:

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‘DARK KNIGHT’ BREAKS EIGHT RECORDS; $155.3M Weekend

I’ve just been told by unofficial sources that Warner Bros’ The Dark Knight is playing to packed Sunday performances for over $40M and maybe as high as $43M.

That would mean a 9th record for the latest Batman installment since Spider-Man 3‘s Sunday take in 2007 was a record-setting $39.9M. It’s also now abundantly clear that the Warner Bros caped crusader will crush the old 3-day weekend non-holiday record set by Spidey 3 last year.

So rival studios were wrong to question whether Warner Bros’ Sunday numbers were too aggressive! Also, Dark Knight should break its 9th record by beating the all-time weekly tally. Meanwhile, in its first six days, DK will have grossed more than the entire run of Batman Begins.

Media By Numbers’ OFFICIAL DARK KNIGHT RECORDS SO FAR (in order of occurrence):

1 - LARGEST NUMBER OF OPENING THEATRES WITH 4,366 (MORE THAN THE 4,362 DEBUT THEATRES OF PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END IN 2007).

2 - BIGGEST MIDNIGHT PREVIEW GROSS WITH $18.489 MILLION IN 3,040 THEATRES (BEATS STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH AND ITS $16.9 MILLION IN 2,915 THEATRES IN 2005).

3 - BIGGEST IMAX MIDNIGHT PREVIEWS SET AN NEW RECORD WITH $640,000 (INCLUDED IN THE $18.489 MILLION PREVIEW NUMBER).

4 - BIGGEST SINGLE-DAY GROSS IN BOX-OFFICE HISTORY WITH $67.850 MILLION (BESTS THE $59,841,919 SET BY SPIDER-MAN 3 IN 2007).

5 - BIGGEST OPENING WEEKEND GROSS IN BOX OFFICE HISTORY WITH $155.340 MILLION (BESTS THE $151,116 MILLION SET BY SPIDER-MAN 3 IN 2007).

6 - BIGGEST OPENING WEEKEND GROSS FOR AN IMAX RELEASE IN BOX OFFICE HISTORY WITH $6,214,061 MILLION IN 94 THEATRES WITH $66,107 PER THEATRE. (BESTS THE $4.7 MILLION SET BY SPIDER-MAN 3 IN 2007.) IMAX SHOWING AT FULL CAPACITY $1.9 MILLION ON SATURDAY ALONE.

7 - BIGGEST OPENING WEEKEND OF 2008 WITH $151.340 (BEATS INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL‘S $101.137 MILLION FROM MAY 23-25, 2008)

8 – BIGGEST JULY OPENING EVER (BEATS PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST‘S $135,634,554 ON JULY 7, 2006).

9. BIGGEST OPENING SUNDAY BOX OFFICE: $40-43 MILLION

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Words escape me…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_bNDv0-ZrU