Warner Bros. Animation returns to the world of Mortal Kombat with the follow-up to Scorpion’s Revenge with a new animated film slated for home video release later this summer.
In Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms we pick up right after the events of Scorpion’s Revenge where our heroes are attacked by Shao Kahn. Raiden and his group of warriors are now forced into a deal to compete in a final Mortal Kombat that will determine the fate of the realms where they must travel to Outworld to defend Earthrealm. Meanwhile, Scorpion journeys to find the Kamidogu (a mystic relic made by the almighty Elder Gods) before it is used to bring back the mysterious One Being, who would destroy the universe.
Horror movie characters like Freddy, Jason and the rest have managed to span numerous genres, not just the cinematic universes they were originally born into.
Jason Voorhees for example has his own video game currently in the works, plus old Spectrum and NES games from the 1980s, as well as a board game (called Last Friday) inspired by his murderous antics. And he is not alone.
Masters of the Universe holds a soft spot in the hearts of lot of fans, a show that’s forever linked with their childhood. For others, rather than nostalgia, it’s a case of exposure though the newer cartoon, the movie, and the DC comic series which grabbed their attention. It seems that He-Man’s world is an interesting one to visit indeed, so it’s great when we get news of some new Masters of the Universe merchandise.
Never to be outdone by the competition, DC and Marvel both premiered some interesting footage at E3 that showed off some of their new games.What’s interesting is they are both fighting games, though pretty different from each other. Let’s start with Marvel, who premiered The Avengers: Battle for Earth. First stop is the teaser trailer:
Video games have been surging in popularity these last few years, but never has the rise felt more tangible than this year. 2011 saw some of the biggest sales and best-rated titles of all time, leading some to consider this one of the industry’s golden years. With the question of games’ legitimacy as relevant as ever, it’s never been more important than now to look back and credit the best of the business for their achievements.
The 2011 Video Game Awards could have been our opportunity to rally behind our industry leaders, to share our love for interactive storytelling with the talented men and women who create it. Aaaannd as expected, that’s not at all how it went down.
The VGA’s aired this past weekend and just like every year it was insulting, childish, and depressing to watch. I understand that the show is a vehicle for game trailers and commercials. I don’t expect or want the grandeur and extravagance of the Oscars. All I want is for the producers to treat the fans, and more importantly the game creators, with respect and at least pretend to care about our medium. And all they did was project and reinforce the stereotype that all gamers are idiots and imply that our craft is a joke.
Basically, your all n00bs
I didn’t catch the opening number which, admittedly, I hear was pretty well-orchestrated – a montage of the year’s biggest games with the host, Zachary Levi (star of Chuck), caught in the middle of it all. I came in part-way through the opening monologue, which summarized 2011 pretty accurately, and with the right amount of safe humor. I’ve seen Levi on talk shows a couple times and heard him on the Nerdist podcast, and while I know next to nothing about him he always comes across as a likeable, charming guy. The monologue was no different. It’s after the opening that the writing, or Levi, or something crucial fell away and the host gags and jokes became more and more cringe-worthy.
I don’t know if Mr. Levi plays games much, but he certainly came across as completely removed from the whole concept of a video game, and as the minutes rolled by I got the sense from the look in his eye that he and I were thinking the same thing: Just what the hell was he doing there? He shouldn’t have to stoop so low as to appear in a circus like this, and we don’t want to see an actor pretend to share our passion.
The same curse befell nerd-star Felicia Day, who sort of played the role of co-hostess. Day actually holds a place in our gaming world and it’s fitting for her to be on stage, so I wonder if she’d have been better-suited to host the whole thing, but anyway, she was reduced to parading around in a mini-skirt and subjecting herself to bad visual gags (Cutting up fruit is just a reference to Fruit Ninja. It’s not a joke. It also isn’t entertaining, no matter how close the sword comes to flying out of Felicia’s hands and stabbing one of those horrible Workaholics kids). It hurts just so much more to see one of our own being punished like that.
Above: Fruit Ninja. Note the lack of awful comedians.
Next to Levi and Day, the presenters were a parade of low-rate celebrities who came happily and hungrily for their brief minutes of screen-time before running off to whore out their dwindling stardom to some other venue. I have a game for you – I’m going to list some names, and you tell me if they make you think ‘video games’: Kevin Jonas. No? How about Will.I.Am? LL Cool J?
Nope…
Charlie Sheen came on stage at one point and made the standard “I wasn’t going to be here and then they told me how much they’d pay” gag. And nobody was laughing because it was so plainly the truth. Not one person hired to be on stage made any indication that they respected, were involved in, or cared at all about the industry they were there to honor. I counted three occasions where someone flubbed the title of a game. None of the actors that marched in front of the cameras were talented enough to hide the bewildered look on their face while they read the teleprompter.
Of course the real reason I (and most likely everyone else) tuned in to the awards at all was to watch the announcements and previews, and despite a huge number of reveals and trailers that were dropped throughout the show, the titles that I was most looking forward to seeing were either absent (The Last Guardian) or relatively lackluster (Mass Effect 3, Bioshock Infinite). That’s not to say there weren’t some fantastic ones – Diablo III had an amazing trailer, and surprisingly Transformers: Fall of Cybertron was my favorite one of the night. You can see all the premieres here on GameTrailers.
The trailers as always were the main focus of the show, and thank God they were worth it because it feels like there were deliberate steps taken to keep the actual people who deserved to speak from spending any amount of time on stage. In order to keep the show from going over time, they had a man in an army costume ready to teabag winners if their speech went too long. Then they used that extra time to do dozens of awful skits. Hey Spike, how about cutting out the FarmVille cutaway gag composed entirely of Zach Levi pointing at a cow, or the thing where Kevin Jonas jumped onto a Velcro wall, so we can hear from an actual developer for more than a few seconds?
As Jason Schreier mentions in his open letter to the VGAs, the most frustrating thing about the awards was that there were moments that were truly special and great. Shigeru Miyamoto and Hideo Kojima both had appearances which were painfully awkward and hard to understand, but charming, endearing and wonderful. These are pillars of the industry we’re a part of and it is a treasure to see them and hear them speak, whether they’re inducting their game into the hall of fame (Miyamoto) or just trying to sell us their next product (Kojima). Even the augmented reality moments were pretty cool and surprisingly well-choreographed, bridging the creative realm of a digital space to the live show on-stage, a feat that appears organic and effortless, yet a few years ago would have been impossible.
Shigeru Miyamoto accepts the Video Game Hall of Fame award
At this point you’re probably wondering where the awards are in this recap of the video game awardshow, but if that’s the case, you clearly aren’t familiar with the VGAs. A number of awards were announced during the show, but I only actually remember seeing one of them, and that was Game of the Year, which was announced immediately before the show ended. The awards take such a backseat to the rest of the pandering bullshit that I’m seeing the majority of the nominees, winners and categoriesfor the first time as I list them in this article:
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The winners will be listed in bold. I’ll signify my picks with an arrow (<).
Gametrailers.com Trailer of the Year:
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (E3 trailer) Batman: Arkham City (Huge Strange reveal trailer) Dark Souls (‘Ignite’ debut trailer) Dead Island (GDC cinematic trailer) (<) Deus Ex: Human Revolution (‘Purity First’ infomercial) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (In-game debut trailer) Hitman: Absolution (E3 trailer) Prey 2 (E3 trailer) Tomb Raider (E3 trailer) Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (E3 trailer)
Most Anticipated Game:
Bioshock Infinite
Diablo III
Halo 4 Mass Effect 3 The Last Guardian (<)
Best DLC:
Fallout: New Vegas – Old World Blues
Mass Effect 2 – Arrival
Mortal Kombat – Freddy Krueger Portal 2 – Peer Review (<)
Best Downloadable Game:
Bastion Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
Iron Brigade
Stacking (<)
Best Performance by a Human Female:
Claudia Black as Chloe Frazer – Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Ellen McLain as GLaDOS – Portal 2 (<)
Emily Rose as Elena Fisher – Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Tara Strong as Harley Quinn – Batman: Arkham City
Best Performance by a Human Male:
J.K. Simmons as Cave Johnson – Portal 2
Mark Hamill as The Joker – Batman: Arkham City
Nolan North as Nathan Drake – Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Stephen Merchant as Wheatley – Portal 2 (<)
Bastion Batman: Arkham City (<) Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Portal 2
Best Song in a Game:
“Build That Wall (Zia’s Theme)” by Darren Korb, Bastion “Exile Vilify” by The National, Portal 2
“I’m not Calling You a Liar” by Florence and the Machine, Dragon Age II “Setting Sail, Coming Home (End Theme)” by Darren Korb, Bastion
“Want You Gone” by Jonathan Coulton, Portal 2 (<)
Best Adapted Game:
Back to the Future: The Game Batman: Arkham City (<) Captain America: Super Soldier
LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
Best Independent Game:
Bastion
The Binding of Isaac Minecraft (<) Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP
Best Motion Game:
Child of Eden
Dance Central 2
The Gunstringer The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (<)
Best Fighting Game:
The King of Fighters XIII
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (<) Mortal Kombat WWE All Stars
Best Driving Game:
DiRT 3
Driver: San Francisco Forza Motorsport 4 (<) Need for Speed: The Run
Best Team Sports Game:
FIFA Soccer 12 (<) MLB 11: The Show NBA: 2K12 NHL 12
Best Individual Sports Game:
Fight Night Champion (<) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters
Top Spin 4
Virtua Tennis 4
Best Multiplayer:
Battlefield 3
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (<) Gears of War 3 Portal 2
Best RPG:
Dark Souls
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Dragon Age II The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (<)
Best Action Adventure Game:
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Batman: Arkham City (<) The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Best Shooter:
Battlefield 3 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Gears of War 3
RAGE (<)
Best Handheld/Mobile Game:
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Infinity Blade (<) Jetpack Joyride Super Mario 3D Land
Best PC Game:
Battlefield 3
Minecraft (<) Portal 2 The Witcher 2
Best Wii Game:
Epic Mickey
Kirby’s Return to Dream Land The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (<) Lost in Shadow
The Joker, Batman: Arkham City Marcus Fenix, Gears of War 3 Wheatley, Portal 2 Nathan Drake, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (<)
Studio of the Year:
Rocksteady Studios, Batman: Arkham City Bethesda Game Studios, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (<)
Naughty Dog, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Valve, Portal 2
Game of the Year:
Batman: Arkham City The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (<) The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Portal 2
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
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Some of these awards are redundant; the ‘Gamer God’ award was given little explanation, and many of them were just flown across the screen in a short montage. Meanwhile they took great care and attention to dedicate an ongoing segment to which football player would appear on the cover of the next NFL Blitz. I’m neither a football fan, nor a player of sports games but I can tell you if I was I wouldn’t care what person, object or abstract idea they put on the box. Certainly not enough to make it a major focus of an award show. A week or two ago I heard a Game Trailers employee on a podcast talk about how excited he was to finally have a music category added to the awards after years of lobbying and working to make it happen – I can’t even tell you for sure if those awards made it onto the air, but I do know that Ray Rice’s picture is going to be on a plastic box next year.
Thank you, VGAs, for providing the perfect imagery for what you’re doing to our industry.
I guess in the end, despite falling into the same traps they do every year, The VGAs couldn’t completely sink what was a momentous year in gaming. 2011 treated fans with some of the best content we’ve ever seen, and all the blatant commercialism, misogyny and mistreatment of the industry’s talent couldn’t overshadow the quality of their work. We still have a long way before the awards can actually honor our best and brightest, but luckily we can probably still spend the 10 years it’ll take for that to happen playing Skyrim.
In September of this year it was reported that New Line Cinema hired Kevin Tancharoen (Mortal Kombat: Legacy) to direct a new feature length movie based on the franchise. No actors have been confirmed as of yet. I just hope they decide to keep Jeri Ryan as Sonya.
At Comic Con 2011 Tancharoen, along with writer Oren Uziel, and the creator of the franchise Ed Boon stated that we can “expect a very big origin story with the sensibility and realism of Rebirth and Legacy as opposed to the traditional Mortal Kombat mythology.” from the new film.
"Ha ha ha...I don't think so."
Shooting is expected to start in March of 2012 with a release date of 2013.
Check out the reviews of ‘Mortal Kombat: Legacy’ by Supascoot HERE
This is to be the 2nd piece of a new series here at Grizzly Bomb. For each feature we will examine an individual genre and the quality of its films produced within a specific decade, like, for example – the 25 Best Action Movies of the 90s! These lists will be compiled from a point system determined by votes from each member of the staff. It’s very scientific. We use Excel. So here it is…
25. Throw Mama From the Train (1987)
24. The Great Outdoors (1988)
23. Sixteen Candles (1984)
22. A Christmas Story (1983)
21. Family Vacation (1983)
20. Big (1988) 19. Spaceballs (1987)
18. Trading Places (1983)
17. Coming to America (1988)
16. The Goonies (1985)
15. The Breakfast Club (1985)
14. Stripes (1981)
13. Three Amigos! (1986)
12. The Naked Gun (1988)
11. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
10. Caddyshack
I expect that we’ll get at least one email complaining this wasn’t number 1 on the list, but such is the interweb. That being said though, Caddyshack’s inclusion was obviously a no brainer to be on this list. This is a movie that really helped kick off the whole decade, and produced some of the most oft-impersonated quotes in film history. From Chevy Chase to Rodney Dangerfield to Ted Knight, this movie was a classic the minute it came out. It also features what is arguably Bill Murray’s most memorable role ever as he engages in guerrilla warfare with a gopher. Here we are over 30 years later and still, everyone remembers that gopher dancing to Kenny Loggins…
US Release: July 25, 1980
Director: Harold Ramis Notable Cast:Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O’Keefe, Brian Doyle-Murray, and Bill Murray. Oscar Wins/Nominations: 0/0 US Box Office: $39,846,344 Best Quote: “Cinderella story. Outta nowhere. A former greenskeeper, now, about to become the Masters champion. It looks like a mirac… It’s in the hole! It’s in the hole! It’s in the hole! ” Trivia: The noise the Gopher makes are actually vocalized by a dolphin, and the dolphin sound effects used are the same ones that were used for Flipper.
9. Better Off Dead…
This is probably the least watched movie on the list, and one of the big reasons for that was the fact it opened against Teen Wolf, and Michael J. Fox was unstoppable. So the first lead role for the then mostly unknown John Cusack bombed, and was for years relegated to late night showings on Comedy Central. That is where I first discovered it and it didn’t take long for me to get sucked in. The Howard Cosell races are my favorite parts, but Roy Stalin was as good an 80’s High School villain as you could ask for. Plus, find me another movie with this many attempted suicides, that turned out this funny. For the 80’s factor, they had a claymation hamburger come to live and sing Van Halen. Check and mate.
US Release: August 23, 1985 Director: Savage Steve Holland Notable Cast:John Cusack, Curtis Armstrong, Diane Franklin, Kim Darby, Amanda Wyss, Steven Williams, and David Ogden Stiers. Oscar Wins/Nominations: 0/0 US Box Office: $10,297,601 Best Quote: “Truly a sight to behold. A man beaten. The once great champ, now, a study in moppishness. No longer the victory hungry stallion we’ve raced so many times before, but a pathetic, washed up, aged ex-champion.” Trivia: When Beth (Amanda Wyss) shows up at the high school dance, the person standing behind her is wearing Freddy Krueger’s sweater. Wyss played Krueger’s first victim in A Nightmare on Elm Street.
8. Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Opening against strong box office competition in 3 Men and a Baby, this movie still managed to become a hit, pairing 2 of comedies biggest names at the time – Steve Martin and John Candy. This movie is a Holiday staple at my house – Best. Thanksgiving. Movie. Ever. Not only was it hilarious, but actually heart warming at the same time without being to cheesy. Martin is great as the straight man to Candy’s over the top, outwardly friendly shower curtain ring salesman who soaks his underwear in the sink. The pair seemed to gel so well on-screen that one can only assume had Candy not passed, they would’ve done another film together eventually. And no, before you ask, those are not pillows.
US Release: November 25, 1987 Director: John Hughes Notable Cast: Steve Martin, John Candy, Michael McKean, Matthew Lawrence, Dylan Baker, Edie McClurg and Kevin Bacon. Oscar Wins/Nominations 0/0 US Box Office: $49,530,280 Best Quote: “You know everything is not an anecdote. You have to discriminate. You choose things that are funny or mildly amusing or interesting. You’re a miracle! Your stories have NONE of that. They’re not even amusing ACCIDENTALLY! ‘Honey, I’d like you to meet Del Griffith, he’s got some amusing anecdotes for you. Oh and here’s a gun so you can blow your brains out. You’ll thank me for it.’ I could tolerate any insurance seminar. For days I could sit there and listen to them go on and on with a big smile on my face. They’d say, ‘How can you stand it?’ I’d say, ‘Cause I’ve been with Del Griffith. I can take ANYTHING.’ You know what they’d say? They’d say, ‘I know what you mean. The shower curtain ring guy. Woah.’ It’s like going on a date with a Chatty Cathy doll. I expect you have a little string on your chest, you know, that I pull out and have to snap back. Except I wouldn’t pull it out and snap it back – you would. Agh! Agh! Agh! Agh! And by the way, you know, when you’re telling these little stories? Here’s a good idea – have a POINT. It makes it SO much more interesting for the listener! ” Triva: At the beginning of the movie when Steve Martin races Kevin Bacon, is a direct reference to the scene in the movie Quicksilver in which the character played by Bacon is racing someone on a bicycle. Later, Neal phones his wife to tell her that he has been delayed (again), in the background, you can hear the fight fromShe’s Having a Baby(also directed by John Hughes) between Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern, when she screams that she doesn’t like his friend’s girlfriend.
7. Christmas Vacation
I can’t think of a more ultimate Christmas movie (Shut Christmas Story fans.) than this Chevy Chase classic. Even aside from that I can still watch this movie any time of the year as a comedy too. The story follows Clark Griswold, a guy struggling to be the ultimate family man but usually failing throughout the movie until the end. This is the same Clark Griswold from the movies Vacation, European Vacation and if you have the stomach to remember it – Vegas Vacation.
Anyways Clark and his wife decide to have their parents over at their home for the holidays which both are dreading yet they feel obligated to do. Things really get interesting when Clark’s red neck, RV driving cousin Eddie and his rambunctious family show up at the Griswold house. Eddie was played to perfection in this film by Randy Quaid by the way. This movie embraces the Christmas spirit in a big way and also shows us why we hate having over extended family for the holidays too.
US Release: December 1, 1989 Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik Notable Cast: Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki, E.G. Marshall, Doris Roberts, Randy Quaid, William Hickey, John Randolph, Diane Ladd, Brian Doyle-Murray, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Oscar Wins/Nominations: 0/0 US Box Office: $71,319,526 Best Quote: “Hey, if any of you are looking for any last-minute gift ideas for me, I have one. I’d like Frank Shirley, my boss, right here, tonight. I want him brought from his happy holiday slumber over there on Melody Lane with all the other rich people, and I want him brought right here, with a big ribbon on his head. And, I want to look him straight in the eye and tell him: what a cheap, lying, no good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, bloodsucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-assed, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey shit he is! Hallelujah! Holy shit! Where’s the Tylenol?”
Triva: The Griswold’s neighbor’s house is the same house Murtaugh and his family lived in all the Lethal Weapon movies. The houses on this street are on the Warner Brothers Studios back lot. Also, this was the final screen appearance of Mae Questel, whose film career began in 1930 as the voice of Betty Boop.
6. The Blues Brothers
With a musical cast that includes Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Cab Calloway, and some of the best musicians to play on those artists’ albums, The Blues Brothers was an homage to all that was Rhythm and Blues through-out the 50s and 60s. Of course, it had an odd way of getting there: two white boys (Jake and Elwood Blues) are getting their band back together in order to raise money for the orphanage in which they grew up. They are on a mission from God. Hard to argue with that.
Along the way, the boys reassemble their band (an all-star cast of great studio musicians and Saturday Night Live Band members), are shot at repeatedly by a “mystery woman” (Carrie Fisher), piss off a country band called “Good Ol’ Boys” – AND Illinois Nazis are the catalysts to a record-breaking car chase into and through downtown Chicago.
What makes this a great comedy is a combination of the delivery of lines, the innuendo, and the simple ridiculousness of the plot. The mixture of audacity, satire, and love of music makes this John Landis film one of the best of the 1980s. If you want to hear more of what Dan Aykroyd had to say about the incarnation of the film to the Chicago Tribune for the 30th anniversary of the film, click here.
Woman: Are you the police? Elwood: No Maam, we’re musicians.
In modern times where so much of our comedies rely on alcohol, drugs, and grotesque imagery to achieve notoriety, it’s refreshing to re-watch Airplane! This is another of our top ten 80s comedies to have a simply brilliant and accomplished cast, but the humor it uses is much more sophist—er—high minded—no, wait—downright silly.
The basic premise of Airplane! is that a commercial jet’s crew becomes ill mid-flight. Typically, this would end in disaster, and would then be included on Grizzly Bomb’s “Holy-Jeez-that-was-a-Depressing Movie of the 80s list”. Thank goodness that a hero-in-waiting is aboard: former military pilot Ted Striker (Robert Hays)! While he has a drinking problem, and an emotionally unstable relationship with stewardess Elaine Dickinson (Julie Haggerty), he might have what it takes to land the doomed plane safely. That is, if he can deal with control tower supervisor Steve McCroskey (Lloyd Bridges), Dr. Rumack (Leslie Nielsen), and Striker’s former commander, Rex Kramer (Robert Stack). Oh, and by the way, the plane is filled with eccentrics and goofs. Good luck Striker!
What makes this flick deserving of the venerable five-spot on this list is its ability to satirize many of the conventions of proper social behavior. One way this shows itself is through simple puns (“Surely you can’t be serious.” “I am serious…and don’t call me Shirley). Another is by breaking down social barriers:
Young Boy with Coffee: Excuse me, I happened to be passing, and I thought you might like some coffee. Little Girl: Oh, that’s very nice of you, thank you. [takes coffee] Little Girl: Oh, won’t you sit down? Young Boy with Coffee: Cream? Little Girl: No, thank you, I take it black, like my men.
And finally, you can’t beat a good old ridiculous moment:
Controller: Bad news. The fog’s getting thicker. Johnny: [jumps to an overweight controller] And Leon is getting laaaaarrrrrger!
Take some time to acquaint (or re-acquaint) yourself with this classic 80s comedy.
Perhaps one of the most under-rated movies of all time, this is truly Tom Hanks at his peak. Ignore the Academy, all those Oscars he later won were simply makeup calls for blowing it here. The ‘burbs, for those not in the know is a heroing story about 3 neighbors who ban together in an attempt to battle the evil that’s invaded their neighborhood, like Batman protects Gotham City, and Daredevil watches over Hell’s Kitchen – Ray, Art, and Rumsfield – they own their block. Well either it’s about that or it’s just a bunch of paranoid suburbanites who harass the new family on the block. The movie also features Corey Feldman at his best – in a Batman T-Shirt and Princess Leia maybe a few years past her prime…
US Release: February 17, 1989 Director: Joe Dante Notable Cast:Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Rick Ducommun, Corey Feldman, Henry Gibson, Courtney Gains, Dick Miller, Robert Picardo, and Nicky Katt. Oscar Wins/Nominations: 0/0 US/Total Box Office: $36,601,993/$49,101,993 Best Quote: “I’ve never seen that. I’ve never seen anybody drive their garbage down to the street and bang the hell out of it with a stick. I-I’ve never seen that.” Triva: The Klopeks named the dog “Landru”, probably after Henri Landru, a notorious French serial killer. Also, At the very beginning of the movie, when the camera starts to pan down the street, a street sign appears, “Mayfield Place.” Mayfield was the town where the Cleavers lived inLeave It to Beaver. The movie was filmed on the same lot.
3. Uncle Buck
When Bob’s family has a medical emergency he and his wife desperately call around for someone to watch their kids while they are away. When all options fail the duty is passed from them (reluctantly) to Bob’s brother…Buck.
Buck is a real stand up guy. He’s a bachelor (sorta) with a lovely apartment, loves to smoke fine cigars and place wagers on various horse races. Buck is unable to say no to his brother and soon finds himself as a caretaker to three children, one of whom is ever moody teenager who relishes in making his life hell. From making stove sized pancakes, threatening an elementary school principal and knocking out a drunken birthday clown this movie has it all. Thank you John Candy for bringing us Uncle Buck.
US Release: August 18, 1989 Director: John Hughes Notable Cast: John Candy, Macaulay Culkin, Amy Madigan, Gaby Hoffmann, Laurie Metcalf, Patricia Arquette, and Anna Chlumsky. Oscar Wins/Nominations: 0/0 US/Total Box Office: $66,758,538/$79,258,538 Best Quote: “Take this quarter, go downtown, and have a rat gnaw that thing off your face! Good day to you, madam.” Triva: Danny DeVito was considered for the role of Uncle Buck.
Haha. Just kidding. That was terrible. Couldn’t get a decent copy of the real trailer, so instead here is my favorite part…
2. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Who didn’t want to be Ferris Bueller in the 80s? Little did we know he’d grow up to marry that horse from Footloose, but in his youth, he was as cool as they come. I mean come on, hot girlfriend, his best friend has Gordie Howe jersey, and he can hack into the school’s computer from a mid 80s home pc. That’s impressive for a guy who doesn’t even have a car. Ferris inspired those around him. Women wanted him, men wanted to be him. And around every turn he is able to outwit his nemesis Principal Pederast. Plus, he could talk to the camera years before Zack Morris found the ability. He was a trailblazer, Abe Froman would be so proud.
So if you haven’t seen this great piece of Americana, be ashamed of yourself. There are no excuses.
Basic plot: Three doctors of psychology and parapsychology start their own business capturing ghosts around the New York City area. There has been a spike in paranormal activity, and the Ghost Busters are there to investigate. When they find that Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) has found herself in the center of all the activity, hell breaks loose…almost literally.
With a screenplay written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, two Second City alumni, you know that this film had no chance BUT to be funny. Add to that director Ivan Reitman (who had done Meatballs and Stripes just before), a stellar cast (with the incourageable Bill Murray), and special effects that can still hold up today: the result is the top of the proverbial 1980s comedy mountain.
This has to be one of the most quoted movies of all time, and its re-watch value is through the roof. Here’s your challenge: Try walking up to someone and saying, “He slimed me.” Ask them what it’s from. If they don’t know, educate them by giving them a copy of the movie. If they do know, you just made a friend. Go watch the movie together.
US Release: June 8, 1984 Director: Ivan Reitman Notable Cast: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, William Atherton, and Reginald VelJohnson. Oscar Wins/Nominations: 0/2 (Visual Effects, Original Song) US/Total Box Office: $238,632,124/$291,632,124 Best Quote: “Yes it is. This man has no dick.” Triva: The role of Winston was originally written for Eddie Murphy., the role of Peter Venkman was originally written for John Belushi, and the role of Louis Tully was originally written for John Candy.
So that is our list, I hope you enjoyed it.
Here are a few fun facts about the results…
MOST APPEARANCES IN THE TOP 25
1. John Candy (7 Movies)
2. Chevy Chase/Dan Aykroyd/Brian Doyle-Murray (4 Movies Each)
3. Bill Murray/Eddie Murphy/Michael Anthony Hall/Harold Ramis (3 Movies Each)
MOST FREQUENT DIRECTOR
1. John Hughes (Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Uncle Buck)
2. John Landis (Coming to America, ¡Three Amigos!, Trading Places, The Blues Brothers)
3. Harold Ramis/Ivan Reitman/David Zucker (2 Each)
MOST POPULAR YEAR
1. 1988 (4 Movies)
2. 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989 (3 Movies Each)
3. 1986 (2 Movies)
4. 1981 (1 Movie)
5. 1982 (0 Movies)
Now, just take a minute and vote in the poll below. Thanks dude!
I think we’ve really own scratched the surface of Original Web Series that are floating around on the web. We’ve talked about a couple, such as the new Mortal Kombat: Legacy series, and the funny yet frightening Psycho Ex-Girlfriend. So now I think it’s time to bring you another series that I have become a huge fan of. It’s called Avengers Assemble. It takes a look into the more humorous, and often more human side of the Avengers.
The series starts off with an average Avengers meeting. But as the season progresses you get to see a cast full of hilarious versions of our favorite characters in a sometimes raunchy, often times hilarious, and most times refreshing parody of the Avengers; tasked by Human Resources and dealing with budget cut. I could keep rambling but I think I’ll just show you the first episode:
The moment most MK fans have been waiting for has arrived. Throughout this series I have mostly been enjoying the revised look at some of my favorite MK characters. But I’ve been waiting patiently for two of my faves to meet in an epic battle.
So here it is, in 2 parts so you get double the pleasure. Finally we get to see Scorpion & Sub-Zero, ninja’s of the highest order who have been kicking ass in every single MK game ever made, the only other character to accomplish this feat being Raiden.
True to form, as soon as I post the last episode a new episode is released. And if you were having doubts about the series from the last 2-parter, prepare to have your faith renewed. While this episode is a little light on the action, it’s a great look into this new gritty world of Mortal Kombat brought to us by Kevin Tancharoen. Don’t take my word for it.
Grizzly Bomb 