A Little Push 07.18.09: The Countdown Continues

Posted by Rick Tym on 07.18.2009

Come inside as we talk about things that go bump in the Hollywood night, Emmy snubs, the implications of a remake of Let the Right One In and much more!

Let's Start With A Trailer Again…

…just like last week simply because there is nothing – I repeat, NOTHING – very exciting going on out there in the entertainment world right now. I almost went out to see the new Harry Potter movie last night just so I had some fodder for this news report. That's not a slight against HP; the Push has read every book (although it has not seen all of the films) and the positive press associated with The Half-Blood Prince and an empty household guarantees a weekend viewing. Sure there's a rumor here and there and you know I'm going to talk about the Emmy snubs, but other than that? Nada. Zip. Zilch. El numero zero.

One thing that's always on my mind is the movies I'd like to see. Sometimes I bitch and moan about the films I can't because I don't live in a big city advance type of market. Sometimes that's just the way it is, and sometimes a guy like Joseph Lee will remind me that I have Time Warner Cable and can in fact watch Dead Snow. (Thanks, buddy.) Often it's stuff like last week's briefly mentioned Trick ‘r Treat, which never got to see the dark of theater (you know, as opposed to the light of day) but will at least be getting a DVD release sometime in October. Then there's stuff like this…

The Push knows that most people don't like the whole "reality camera" genre. I do. It all started when I was living out in Seattle (great place, but you already knew that) and saw The Blair Witch Project a week before the rest of the country because at the time I did live in a big city advance type of market. But there's a disclaimer to that; you see, I always say I lived in Seattle because that's easier than explaining to people that I actually lived in a small town named Sultan, which was about 45 minutes outside the metro, situated in a valley filled with streams and woods with a view of the Cascade Mountains. (Ah, memories.) So after I saw the movie (which was, at the time, a phenomenon), I went home to…you guessed it, the woods. Maybe that's why the movie holds such a dear place in my heart. Sure, I laughed nervously along with the crowd in the Neptune Theater for the first 70 minutes or so, but once Heather and Mike got to Russell Parr's cabin in the woods, I found myself holding my breath for the remainder of the proceedings. Then I get to go home at dusk, creepy trees and ominous winds surrounding my little split level home. Nerve grating? Yes. Anxiety inducing? Absolutely.

So while I steer clear of most reality television programming, I have an inherent like of people running around with home video cameras in my movies. I enjoyed Cloverfield quite a bit and heck, I even thought that Quarantine was a decent effort. (Note: I finally saw [.REC] and failed to see all the hub-bub I mentioned in a past column; while I appreciate the original, Quarantine is basically a shot-for-shot remake that for some reason did not offend me. Maybe because I saw it first. Was it needed? The old "English-speaking people are too lazy to read subtitles argument" usually applies here, but I'll be damned if I didn't get a little distracted by them while watching [.REC]…I don't know, having to concentrate on all those words floating around the bottom of the screen kinda deadens the impact of a firefighter's body slamming into the stone floor of the apartment building foyer from a few stories up. Pun definitely intended. Okay, ridiculously long parenthetical statement over.) Sure, it's all made to look real while being completely fabricated, but something about being thrust into a first person POV while ghosts and/or monsters are buzzing around outside of or directly in the camera's gaze makes me excited to see this kind of stuff.

The Push has been hearing a lot of chatter about Paranormal Activity off and on over the past year or so. It's been screened at festivals and even picked up by a major studio, but there are remake rumblings surrounding it. Why a remake? This film's been on somebody's shelf since 2007. Why can't we even get a DVD release? I also read that it's being shown at Slamdance and After Dark in October, so maybe some more mainstream coverage will help nudge this piece towards a larger audience. From all accounts Paranormal Activity is a great little film, which ratchets up the tension during the night settings, makes things come back to almost normal during the day scenes, and leaves you dreading sundown. Count me in.


While researching Paranormal Activity online, I came across some of the obligatory "If you liked that, you're gonna love this!" trumpeting that accompanies almost any film. The Ghosts of Crowley Hall, however, is a real documentary which…well…documents a paranormal investigation of England's Crowley Hall Hospital for Children, which has a long history of haunting dating back to the 1950s. It's supposed to be quite a show, and the best part? It's out on DVD! The even bestest part? You can obtain the movie as a digital download and watch it right away, satisfying every consumer's need for immediate satisfaction! To heck with The Half-Blood Prince; the Push is going to download this sucker this weekend instead and see if it lives up to the hype. If you're a fan of this type of fare, head on over to The Ghosts of Crowley Hall website and check it out. Expect a full report next week.

Speaking of Remakes

Everybody's seen Let the Right One In, right? No? Stop reading this and go grab a copy. You really should, before the remake. Go ahead; we'll wait.

Now that you've seen it, you can see this: the poster that was released this week for the Americanized redo.


And the great remake-orama debate continues.
See up above where I said that the [.REC} remake, Quarantine, didn't offend me? Well, I still stand by that. (Big surprise since it was only like three minutes ago.) So instead of aiming any vitriol towards this remake, I guess I should take a wait and see attitude.

Nah. I liked LTRIO and for some reason the words at the bottom of the screen weren't nearly as distracting. Maybe that's because there was a lot of exposition to be had amidst some of the chaos, whereas [.REC] is inherently a very chaotic film. That's the best reason I can think of, anyway.

And things get even more complicated when you stop to consider that this remake is going to be helmed by Matt Reeves, director of Cloverfield, which I just copped to liking above as well. Man, you guys and gals know I love continuity, but if this isn't ironic, I don't know what is. I know I could go back, highlight all this, hit DEL and start over, but we're in too deep now.

You see, the chaos versus exposition theory isn't a bad one; in fact, it may be queerly apt. Cloverfield, which (I thought) was good and the direction lent itself to the shaky, hand-cam recorded action that I like and many loathe. I'm no director but I would say that certain people are bent towards certain films – you're never gonna see Michael Bay helm a historical drama. And that's fine; it is what it is. Reeves may have (in my estimation, at least) done a good job with the movie where a monster uses the head of the Statue of Liberty as its personal bowling ball, but the material of Let the Right One In requires a bit more grace than a monster movie. It's kind of like using a chainsaw at a carving station, you know?

As always, I will eat any crow should it be deserved. A lot of people are hoping that Reeves will choose to explore some of the unplumbed aspects of the source material, John Ajvide Lindqvist's 2004 novel. I won't go into any of them in case you want to read it for yourself (and the Push recommends it; it's quite a good yarn) or if you haven't seen the foreign film since some of the book's other themes are hinted at. But I don't think that would be a marked improvement at all, since the Swedish film does just fine without that stuff on its own.

The Emmys

Let's just get this out of the way right now...


What a jip.
The Shield got nominated for NOTHING? Wow, I'll just go ahead and say it again.

What. A. Jip.

You know what? We here at A Little Push do not like the Emmys very much. That's simply because we're fanboys and have no non-biased legs to stand on. Also, there is no "we" here. It's just me.

A Little Push started back in September, and was only two or three columns old when I lamented Michael Emerson not winning Best Supporting Actor (Drama) for his delicious portrayal of evil in human form as Benjamin Linus on Lost. Some people commented that I was wrong about my dissatisfaction about who did win that year (sorry; don't feel like looking it up) and they were likely very, very true. But I'm not laying down money in Vegas on who I think is going to win; I root for who I want to win. Isn't that part of the fun? I'll still admit that most who are nominated deserve to be there – except maybe for Family Guy in the comedic category; I like the show as much as the rest but no one can deny that the reruns on TBS of the first few season's episodes far outweigh any current episodes in terms of quality – but it generally equals good times to discuss who won and lost, who your favorites were and how you feel they may have been shafted.

Well, this year the Push isn't going to be around long enough to do that, so I thought I'd take a look at a few Emmy snubs that became evident as the nominations were announced this week. I'll try to keep my thoughts concise. How about we pick three acts of snubbage?


Where's the love for Vic Mackey? Even more importantly, where is it for Shane Vendrell?
Travesty is the only word to use when it comes to a lack of nods for the last season of The Shield. The seasons before this boiled so many plot threads slowly (albeit explosively at times) and the swan song of one of the greatest police shows ever put on TV was stunning. The show itself should've gotten a nomination in the drama category, and Chiklis certainly was worthy of some recognition as its lead as well. Perhaps the most criminal snub of all was the exclusion of Walter Goggins from the list of dramatic supporting actor nominees. His portrayal of Shane Vindrell was riveting, tragic, and one of the most memorable ever seen on the small screen.


Not even a crumb of recognition.
I know that Battlestar Galactica was nominated once upon a time for Outstanding Writing and Direction in a Drama Series. And it was surely deserved. What was even more deserved was some type of recognition for once of the best science fiction shows to ever hit the airwaves. I know the last season was uneven and the finale pretty much divided (if not completely alienated) fans, but the Push thought it was brilliant. Even if the story's end didn't blow your hair back, there's no denying the cast did an excellent job with their characters and I for one would have liked to see at least somebody from the show have a chance at doing more than some irrelevant preshow red carpet interview.


Apparently the Emmys don't like vamps.
The Push has recently caught up with the first season of HBO's True Blood, and after watching the first few episodes I spoke to my partner in Lost crime Ben Piper about how bleeped up, interesting and inspired the show was. He agreed and told me to stick with it because the two or three installments that I had viewed were only the beginning. He was right. This is a great show that can be whatever you want it to be depending on how deeply you want to read into it. A nomination could've and should've acknowledged the originality of this quirky, entertaining and somewhat disturbing premium cable offering.


Bonus snub! And yes, last season he was deserving of the t-shirt.
I know I said I was only going to discuss three snubs in this week's Push, but I mentioned Lost above and it got me thinking about the work Ben Piper and I did for 411mania on the show recapping and analyzing season five. It was great fun bouncing theories off of one another and listening to what readers thought about the "time travel season," but the one thing everyone agreed on was the acting prowess of Josh Holloway. Sawyer grew immensely as a character and Holloway certainly came into his own as an actor. Whether we're talking about the true joy that preceded dread when seeing his pal Hurley again in the 70s or the heartbreaker of Juliet falling down (or being forced by the Island itself -- think on that for the hiatus, Constant Viewer!) into the throat of the real rabbit hole, Holloway shone quite brightly last season on Lost and the Push knows it's not alone in wishing that the actor had gotten his due.

Kick Ass

The Push has never read the comic, but the premise of someone becoming a superhero without the benefit of superpowers because they simply want to be one due to their love of all things good about comic book heroes sounds like a sure thing to me. I also just read up on some of the plotlines contained within the pages of some of the first issues of Kick Ass and as a former comic book junkie myself, I've gotta say my interest is definitely peaked. Series illustrator John Romita, Jr. created this poster for the upcoming film adaptation specifically for the upcoming San Diego Comic Con.


The film doesn't have a hard street date yet, but that will probably all change come Comic Con. Speculation is that the adaptation written by Jane Goldman and Mark Millar (who also writes the comic), directed by Matthew Vaughn and starring Nicolas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Mark Strong and Aaron Johnson as the story's protagonist Dave Lizewski will drop sometime in 2010.

Outtro

You guys all know I was kidding when I said about there was no news this week, right? Hopefully everybody made it all the way through to the end and realized that it just made a good pseudo-intro. Heck, we didn't even get a chance to talk about the rumors of Robert De Niro, Jonah Hill and Michelle Rodriguez possibly starring in Robert Rodriguez's Machete. De Niro alone would make the ticket price I was already going to fork over worth paying. But the biggest question still looms: Will Cheech Marin reprise his role from the fake-turned-real Grindhouse trailer? He better.


No Cheech, no ticket money. Okay, I'll still go see it. But I'll be disappointed.
Lots of good stuff to do this week. The director's cut of Watchmen will be hitting the shelves, and an article I read at an undisclosed internet location tells me that most of the added footage is valuable. I was going to wait until later to buy the supersized version that is obviously going to come out sooner or later featuring the Black Freighter stuff but I liked the theatrical release enough without it, so I think I'm just going to opt for the version coming our way on Tuesday and call it a day.

The Push will also be checking out that Crowley Hall documentary discussed above. (Quick confession: even though I said I really don't follow reality television, I am a sucker for all those ghost hunting shows. The one with "adventures" in the title is my favorite. The one with "hunters" in its title is a mere shell of its former self.) But best of all, I have just learned that one of those movies that never comes my way that I desperately want to see actually has landed in my neck of the woods.


Ithaca, here I come.
Whatever you choose to do this weekend and the days beyond, be safe and enjoy yourselves. As always, thanks for reading.

Oh, and if anyone knows how a guy could see Paranormal Activity, help a brother out, will ya? Think of it as a "there's only two columns after this one left" present.

Take care.

***Like A Little Push? Love 411mania.com? Then bookmark us—or better yet, make the site your homepage!***

I don't tweet, but I hear it's popular. If you're so inclined, follow 411mania at:

TWITTER

http://www.twitter.com/411mania
http://www.twitter.com/411wrestling
http://www.twitter.com/411moviestv
http://www.twitter.com/411music
http://www.twitter.com/411games
http://www.twitter.com/411mma