5 ATTRACTIONS I’D LIKE TO SEE IN THE MAGIC KINGDOM FILM

Having been a Disneyland pass-holder for the better part of 16 years now, I was super excited to hear Disney was developing a script called THE MAGIC KINGDOM. The story has been described as “Night at the Museum inside Disneyland” and is rumored to be about a family who gets stuck in the theme park after it closes which happens to be when the attractions come to life. Say what you will about Night at the Museum, but those films were very fun. Imagine how much funner that premise could be set in surroundings familiar to most of our childhoods.

I was further excited to hear that Jon Favreau would be taking over this project as he films spectacular looking movies that always manage to entertain. The fact that he bailed on Iron Man 3 to make this film also got me very excited thinking that maybe there’s something special here.

So, being that I am very familiar with the park, I thought I’d list a few attractions I would really like to see used in the film. I wouldn’t say these are the Top 5 they should use but more the Top 5 I hope they fail to skip. Here they are (in order):

HONORABLE MENTION: STAR TOURS & THE INDIANA JONES RIDE.

I think that we’d all like to see these rides used in the film but I think licensing and film rights would make it impossible. Still had to mention it though because how cool would that be?

5. DINOSAURS AT THE DISNEY RAILWAY.

A forgotten gem of the park! The Disneyland Train runs along the perimeter of the park and stops in 4 places. The Grand Canyon & Prehistoric Creatures attraction (showed in its entirety in the video above) is located on the last leg between Tomorrowland and the park entrance. I would love to see them use this attraction that many times was the last thing to enjoy on your way out of the park after a long day of fun. Bonus: It all ready looks like a movie set!

TOP 5 MOVIES: CHARLIE SHEEN

I think we all knew this was coming! I typically wouldn’t do a Sheen list but since I just did an Arnie list based on him being in the news, I figured I’d keep with the totally topical Top 5 theme. I must admit that I’m kind of glad I did. Recently on the podcast, I said I wasn’t a big fan of Charlie Sheen films, with a few exceptions, but he’s actually been in a lot of great films that I had completely forgot about. I also think my choices may surprise you a bit. So, I present you with my Top 5 Carlos Irwin Estevez films. Here they are (in order):

SIDENOTE: Ferris Bueller’s Day off is being excluded from this list! While FBDO would easily make my Top 3, Charlie’s part is so small that I hardly think it fair to judge it as one of “his” films.

5. MEN AT WORK.

I’ll be honest, I don’t expect most people to have this on their Top 5. It may also seem a bit out-of-place considering there’s no Platoon on this list. However, it has always been a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. I think I love it for the same reason I love Over the Top. That is, the premise (being that 2 garbage men foil a nuclear waste dumping and murder conspiracy and earn the love of the woman they pervertedly spy on) is so ridiculous that I have to love it.

4. WALL STREET.

Doug Benson has a great joke that goes something like this: If money never sleeps, it should try watching Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps! While the follow-up to this film failed on numerous levels, the original succeeds for trying to do essentially the same thing. That being to shine a light on the exploits of the greedy financial climate of its time. Along the way, it also managed to create one of the greatest cinematic villains of all time and turn in a very entertaining film… a strange feat for Oliver Stone.

TOP 5 MOVIES: ARNOLD SCHWARZENNEGER

While these Top 5 Lists have typically been reserved for actors who aren’t necessarily on the same level of celebrity as Arnie, I had to do this in honor of the fact that the Gubbenator has announced he is returning to acting. He has informed his agents at CAA to officially start listening to film offers and even said he has a passion project about a German officer sent to kill a group of kids in WWII (who ends up saving them).

Arnie is all about the cheese and we love him for it… that and the fact that his accent hasn’t changed at all in the 4 decades he’s lived in the states… so, let’s honor him by discussing his Top 5 Films. Here are mine:

5. THE RUNNING MAN.

The Running Man is what made the 80’s great in that it is a completely lame 80’s action film. However, the thing that made it great was that it pitted Arnie against a bunch of different types of bad guys each with their own unique talent. In a lot of ways, it was like a movie version of playing Street Fighter.

IS IT JUST ME…

… or is The Prestige a fantastic movie? I have to admit, while I don’t talk about it much, it’s one of my favorite films. A film I think suffered by the fact that it was the “little project” Nolan was going to crank out between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. A film that I think was overshadowed by the hype behind the then upcoming Batman Sequel. The Illusionist didn’t help either.

When I ranked Nolan’s films a few months back, I put the film in a tie for 4th with Inception and behind the Batman films and Memento. Yet, after watching it again, I think it might be his best film. It’s perfectly paced, delicately executed and one hell of a tragedy. It’s also, in my opinion, a bit more of a mind bender than Inception.

The film was well received. Don’t get me wrong. However, I think it is severely underrated (even by myself at one point) in the cannon of Nolan’s work. I think, in retrospect, I would put it #1 among his films today, if it wasn’t for a certain little character named Batman. But, my question is…

… is it just me???

GROOVERS & MOBSTERS PRESENT: DETECTIVE NOIR

It’s once again time to take part in that brain child from the folks over at Movie Mobsters and the Fandango Groovers Movie Blog. Wherein we look at films that standout in or have an influence on a particular genre of film. This time out, we’re taking a look at DETECTIVE NOIR FILMS. Here’s my selection:

“I’m looking to find this big game the Pin’s played, not to gum it, but just so when its tail jams in my back I’ll know who to bill for the embalming” – Brendan Frye

It’s no secret that, while I love films, I don’t watch a ton of older films. So the classics for this genre, like The Maltese Falcon or any Bogart film, are pretty much lost on me. So, when I was asked to contribute to this piece, I had to go with a Neo-Noir for my choice. Luckily, I knew of a great one that manages to deliver a classic 50’s Noir in a contemporary setting. Here’s the basic idea behind the film BRICK:

A teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.

While that sounds cool, it does the film zero justice. What’s brilliant about Brick is while the story is an unravelling murder mystery and the dialogue is completely authentic to the Noirs of old, the film takes place in a modern-day high school. It’s, honestly, a crossing of genres that could have gone horribly wrong but manages to succeed by its utter loyalty to its premise. I will admit, the first time I watched the film, I had to watch it with the sub-titles on because the heavily stylized dialogue (including the slang used) can be hard to follow but it’s well worth the investment.

A few other things worth noting about this film… One thing that amazes me is the fact that it got distributed at all. Which probably only happened because of its modest budget (around 500 thousand). That number is another thing that amazes in that a film of this quality could be produced for pennies by Hollywood standards. This is also the film, in my opinion, that proved Jo-Go (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) had the makings of a star. If you follow his resume, you’ll see Hollywood mirrored my opinion.

Finally, I’d just like to mention the director: Rian Johnson. When I appeared on The (late, great) Film Cynics radio show a few months back, they asked me who I had my eye on out there as far as directors. I told them Rian Johnson who followed up Brick with The Brothers Bloom and is in production with Looper, a time travel Sci-Fi Action film starring Bruce Willis. His career looks very promising right now and this is where it all started… by reinventing a classic film genre.

Here is the film’s red-band trailer:

You can find all the films selected for this edition of Groovers & Mobsters Presents by CLICKING HERE!!!

DESERT ISLAND CD

My man, Castor Troy, came up with a great follow-up to last year’s Desert Island DVD’s post (wherein we picked what 7 DVD’s we’d take with us if we were stranded on a Desert Island). The idea is simple: You can burn one CD to bring with you to a deserted island. There’s only one stipulation. Since we’re movie bloggers, all songs must be featured on a movie soundtrack.

You’ll find mine below. I did not pick my favorite movie soundtrack songs of all time but rather put together an upbeat eclectic mix of songs that would help kill the time and make me forget the depression that comes from living alone on a deserted island. That being said, check it out: 

1. WHERE IS MY MIND? – THE PIXIES (FIGHT CLUB)

2. HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN – THE ANIMALS (CASINO)

MY TOP 5 COOLEST MOVIE MOTORBIKES

Sorry, Dennis, but the times they are a changing!

That’s right! Hopper didn’t make THE LIST because we don’t do those generic lists you can get on any other site. I wanted to put together a list of the Top 5 Movie Motor Bikes that I think kick ass. That, if I had the choice, I would choose to own. So, here are my Top 5 (in order):

5. BATPOD FROM THE DARK KNIGHT.

Not only can it drive half way up a wall and flip around and not only does it have two huge cannons on the front of it but it also ejects from one of the coolest movie cars ever.

MY TOP 5 DIRECTORS TO EMERGE FROM THE 2000’s

While some of these guys got their start before we took to our bunkers for the Y2K apocalypse, they’ve all managed to make a name for themselves in the past decade. While they may not yet be on the same level as the Scorceses and Speilbergs, I feel these guys may be in line to be Hollywood’s next group of directing elites. Here they are (in order):

5. EDGAR WRIGHT.

Best Film: Shaun of the Dead
Next Up: Them & Marvel’s Ant-Man

Not only did he direct probably my favorite comedy of all time but Edgar has made progress to solidify himself as more than just the director buddy of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. With Scott Pilgrim he proved he’s here to turn conventional filmmaking on its head. He’s a young guy but look for him to continue making his way to directing elite.

4. J.J. ABRAMS.

Best Film: Star Trek
Next Up: Super 8

Not only is Abrams a good director but he seems to have a good gauge for the types of movies people want to see. He seems to make everything he touches better, even if it’s a producing capacity. He has cited Speilberg as a major influence and I think you can see the influence in his work. If he keeps it up, he just might be the heir apparent.

MY TOP 5 GREATEST COMIC BOOK MOVIE VILLAINS

Um… NO!

As much as everyone joneses over who’s going to get the title role in comic book movies, the success of these films tends to rely heavily on who plays the bad guy. The antagonists often have the meatier roles. Unfortunately, the people playing them don’t always take advantage. So, I thought we’d shine a spotlight on those who did. Here are my Top 5 Comic Book Villains (in order): 

5. DOCTOR OCTOPUS (Alfred Molina).

Doc Ock must’ve been a fun role to play because, though he is the villain of the film, he’s not necessarily a good guy or a bad guy. He’s become a victim of his own creation and a mindless slave to it. Watching Molina snap back and forth from blood thirsty bad guy to everyday nerd in a lab coat with a heart of gold was fun to watch. Oh, and those tentacles were super cool.

MY TOP 10 ALIEN MOVIES

Save the puppy dog eyes… you’re not making THE LIST!!!

I hope you guys dig this list because it was a doozy to put together. Not only are they all great films but a handful of them would make my Top 50 Films of all time. So, here they are (in order):

10. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS.

I’m going to go with the Donald Sutherland version for this one because it blew me away with how cool it was. Such a shame that the ending was kind of ruined for me by the time I finally saw it. Otherwise, I think it would’ve blown my mind!

9. DISTRICT 9.

The youngest film on this list is probably the grittiest and goriest. Not only is District 9 a fun and original take on the genre, it also embarrassed most other filmmakers in Hollywood by making a 100 million dollar film on a 30 million dollar budget. Now where the hell is District 10?

8. INDEPENDENCE DAY.

Finally, a modern take on War of the Worlds told by a director who was born to blow shit up! Not only was ID4 a fresh take on the genre but it also gave us Will Smith the Movie Star. By the way, ID4 makes no sense! Independence Day 4? Are there 3 prequels?