Tag: 50+ BMeTric

Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 Preview

Continuing with our final mapl.de.map cycle, I told you that we had a extra space to include a replacement film for a state we weren’t totally satisfied with. Well New Years come early (we both independently used this phrase before I incorporated Patrick’s part. Best twins ever!), cause the time is now to watch Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, which very much takes place in Las Vegas. Previously we had a little Razzie film called The Marrying Man in for Nevada. Not only was that film not that BMT, but it also split time pretty evenly between Las Vegas and California. We never felt like it belonged, so now we replace it with one of the worst reviewed films of the year. Here’s the map. I’m pretty excited for this one. Let’s go!

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015) – BMeTric: 66.4 (November 19, 2016)

paulblartmallcop2_bmet

paulblartmallcop2_rv

(Regression to the mean (from an incredibly low rating to be honest, that is really low, so it isn’t surprising that people who actually watched the film disagreed with what is probably a significant number of people who are voting based solely on impression) is strong. The what I think will become standard 25-75 split in theatrical-VOD votes within a year of release. I’m going to be frank: I am surprised it doesn’t have more votes on IMDb, a crap comedy people can relax and watch with the family I feel like usually has more than that. The BMeTric thogh. Whoooooooweeeeee, that is impressive. Commentary written on November 19, 2016)

RogerEbert.com – Thumbs Down – Think of the worst movie you’ve ever seen – a movie that didn’t make you laugh, didn’t make you cry, didn’t move you or change you in any way besides giving you the desperate urge to flee the theater. Think of a movie that was a massive waste of your time and money. Hold that title in your mind. “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2” is worse than that.

(I seriously doubt this will be the worst film I have ever seen. If this is worse than Strange Wilderness then it will take another small part of my soul and leave me just a bit less human. But I doubt it. Perhaps I doubt because I’m afraid to believe it might be true. Or perhaps I just know that no one will be fucking a turkey in this one. Either way I think this may be hyperbole.)

Trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_ld3IJ0sUU

(Well that is unfortunate on multiple levels. It does have a plot, though, so it’s got a bit of a leg up on the “worst ever” competition.)

Director(s) – Andy Fickman – (Known For: She’s the Man; Race to Witch Mountain; Reefer Madness. BMT: The Game Plan; You Again; Parental Guidance; Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2. Notes: Surprisingly never nominated for a Razzie. This will certainly be the year.)

Writer(s) – Kevin James – (BMT: Paul Blart: Mall Cop; Here Comes the Boom; Zookeeper; Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2. Notes: Nominated for Worst Supporting Actor and Onscreen Couple for I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry.)

Nick Bakay (written by, characters) – (BMT: Paul Blart: Mall Cop; Zookeeper; Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2. Notes: You would recognize him as the voice of the black cat Salem on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.)

Actors – Kevin James – (Known For: Hitch; Hotel Transylvania; Monster House; 50 First Dates; BMT: Grown Ups 2; Grown Ups; Paul Blart: Mall Cop; Here Comes the Boom; I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry; Zookeeper; The Dilemma; Barnyard; Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2; Pixels. Notes: Starred in the long running sitcom King of Queens for which he was nominated for an Emmy for the final season.)

also stars Raini Rodriguez and BMT super fav Neal McDonough

Budget/Gross: $30 million / $71,038,190 ($104,138,190 Worldwide)

(Big success, but not on the same level as the first one which was a box office smash. The 9th highest grossing “Comedy – Bumbling” ever. The worst ever? Ernest Rides Again. The last Ernest film ever released to theaters.)

#9 for the Comedy – Bumbling genre

bumblingcomedy_9

(Wow, turns out Paul Blart is a rare bumbling comedy these days. Out of fashion I imagine. People making fools of themselves will always in one way be comedy gold. The number one bumbling comedy? Paul Blart! Kevin James did hit something solid here, the company for both films are classics from the 80’s and mostly spoof, so even getting an original comedy and character in there seems really impressive.)

#42 for the Sequel – Live Action genre: The second movie in a live action comedy franchise

comedysequel_42

(Around Scary Movie 2 and Big Momma’s House 2 so in okay company. We are almost definitely looking towards a bust period of comedy sequels. Feels right … can you think of a comedy film that has come out recently that will end up with a sequel within the next few years? I can’t really. For Cheaper by the Dozen 2 I did note Zoolander 2 and Neighbors 2 from this year. Bad Santa 2 soon. The relative failures of all of those might usher in a wave a original concepts. Maybe. Commentary written on November 11, 2016)

#7 for the Travelogue Las Vegas genre: Films primarily set in or around Las Vegas

lasvegas_7

(Not very exciting, although kind of funny that even this seems to run in waves. Big chunk up to 2010ish, then a break, and then a bunch more recently. I wonder if it vaguely tracks with the highs and lows of the economy in Vegas. If they are busy they can’t film. Otherwise they’ll sell filming rights to get a little extra scratch)

Rotten Tomatoes: 5% (3/54), Critics Consensus: Bathed in flop sweat and bereft of purpose, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 strings together fat-shaming humor and Segway sight gags with uniformly unfunny results.

(Will certainly be one of the worst reviewed films of the year. Interesting that they say there is “fat-shaming” humor in this one. I don’t remember there being too much of it in the first one and it’s the same writers. It’s not like Norbit where a big fat lady is a horrible monster.)

Poster – Paul Sklogt: Mall Sklog 2 (B-)

paul_blart_mall_cop_two

(I have to admit I like the coloring. Not sure on the spacing, though. Really odd and open. And why is he riding away from Las Vegas? While posters don’t have to tell stories, they can’t be nonsensical either. I take this stuff pretty seriously.)

Tagline(s) – Vegas has a new high roller (A-)

The stakes have been raised (B)

(Crazy enough the first tagline is pretty much everything I ask for in a tagline. It is short. It tells me that my favorite segway riding hero is back and in Vegas. And it is a bit clever with the connection of high roller with the setting. Not perfect, but close. The second one is slightly worse, because it isn’t as informative and a bit generic. But still good. Good job, advertising team.)

Keyword(s) – sequel; Top Ten by BMeTric: 92.7 Batman & Robin (1997); 84.6 Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997); 83.7 Scary Movie 5 (2013); 82.6 Son of the Mask (2005); 81.7 Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011); 80.5 Home Alone 3 (1997); 80.5 The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009); 78.9 Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997); 78.7 Jaws: The Revenge (1987); 78.5 The Avengers (1998);

(We’ve seen a ton of these natch. A couple notes: The Avengers is not a sequel, that is a mistake, for shame IMDb. A reboot at best, although if there was an original film I would doubt it was theatrical anyways. Home Alone 3 is also obviously barely a movie. We will watch Son of Mask and Jaws 4 though, so maybe someday …)

Notes – Jayma Mays couldn’t reprise her role due to scheduling conflicts with Glee (So they had her divorce Paul Blart 6 days after they got married… strangely this strategy was also employed for the Entourage movie).

This is the first film that got access to film on site at the Wynn Resort (wait, but other commercials for the Wynn were also filmed there. This one is just longer).

Kevin James had personally called up Vic Dibitetto, with a private number listed, to play Gino Chizetti. James had told Dibitetto that he was so entertained by his YouTube videos that he created the character based on his viral work (I like how they specify that it was a private number. Just to emphasize that Kevin James went to Xtremes on this one).

Gary Valentine appeared as a different character in this film then he did in the first film. He played Saul Gundermutt in this film, in the first one he played the singer in the bar. (it’s weird they also don’t mention that Adam Sandler’s wife played two different characters. She was the Victoria Secret cashier in the first one and a woman in a bar in the second one).

Paul Blart: Mall Cop Preview

[Editor’s Note: This template was generated on November 19, 2016 as this film was watched as a bonus film and did not get a preview at the time. For completeness we wanted to generate it as it is a qualifying BMT film. Enjoy!]

Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009) – BMeTric: 57.9

paulblartmallcop_bmet

paulblartmallcop_rv

(Fun. Pretty standard BMeTric and Vote plots. But the rating is interesting. Regression to the mean would be going the other way (up not down) since the mean is around 6.0. I believe this has to do with the reputation of Paul Blart getting a bit bemirched over time. At the time I remember it being hailed a bit as better than the reviews wouuld suggest. I doubt you’d find many people with that opinion these days.)

RogerEbert.com – 3 stars –  Paul Blart emerges as a hero, and something else: Kevin James illustrates how lighting and camera angles can affect our perception of an actor. In the early scenes, he’s a fat schlub, but after he goes into action, the camera lowers subtly, the lighting changes, and suddenly he’s a good-looking action hero, ready for business. He demonstrates what fat men have been secretly believed for a long time.

(Wowzer, a rave review. It really does go like that throughout: wholsome, but not boring. Empowering. Funny. Impressive. But I have a feeling this is a rosy view and the ludicrouus story and awkward non-jokes are going to get in the way of most people enjoying this film in a genuine way.)

Trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib4VZ1uvP6U

(Three major thoughts. One, loving the BMX bike gang and parkour. That just never gets old does it? Two, they are seriosly going to do that … they gave away the “twist” in the trailer! You can see one of the security guards hanging with the bad guys on several occasions. Insane. Three, if you knocked the top off of a tank of compressed gas it would go through walls … so basically it wold jst blow that guy it hit to literal pieces. Paul Blart is a monster.)

Directors – Steve Carr – (Known For: Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life; Dr. Dolittle 2; BMT: Movie 43; Are We Done Yet?; Paul Blart: Mall Cop; Daddy Day Care; Rebound; Next Friday; Notes:  Won the Razzie Award in 2014 for Worst Director for Movie 43 (among many others); Got hired to direct Next Friday after directing a music video for Ice Cube.)

Writers – Kevin James (written by) – (BMT: Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2; Paul Blart: Mall Cop; Zookeeper; Here Comes the Boom; Notes: Nominated for the Razzie Award in 2016 for Worst Screenplay for Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2; I was kind of shocked to (re)learn he wrote most of his films. Those are probnably his major ones for the last like seven years. Pretty impressive given the track record.)

Nick Bakay (written by) – (BMT: Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2; Paul Blart: Mall Cop; Zookeeper; Notes:  Nominated for the Razzie Award in 2016 for Worst Screenplay for Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2; An extremely accomplished television writer and actor, not surprisingly this includes King of Queen. He was the voice of Salem the cat for all of the over 200 episodes of Sabrina the Teenage Witch.)

Actors – Kevin James – (Known For: Hotel Transylvania 2; Hotel Transylvania; 50 First Dates; Hitch; Monster House; BMT: Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2; Paul Blart: Mall Cop; Zookeeper; Grown Ups 2; The Dilemma; You Don’t Mess with the Zohan; Pinocchio; Pixels; Barnyard; Grown Ups; I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry; Here Comes the Boom; Notes: Nominated for the Razzie Award in 2016 for Worst Actor for Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2; Nominated for the Razzie Award in 2016 for Worst Supporting Actor for Pixels and in 2008 for I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry;  Nominated for the Razzie Award in 2016 for Worst Screen Combo for Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 and in 2008 for I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry; Incredibly famous for his presence in many Adam Sandler films. I would argue he is second banana to Sandler even. Interesting considering he was a late addition to the main Grown Ups crew after Farley passed away. He has a new show (Kevin Can Wait) now, so back to television and general goofy success. More power to him.)

Also stars Keir O’Donnell (Seen in When in Rome) and Jayma Mays (Seen in both The Smurfs and The Smurfs 2)

Budget/Gross – $26 million / Domestic: $146,336,178 (Worldwide: $183,293,131)

(A smash hit. Easily top five family comedies of the year. The more interesting bit is that it is the number one “bumbling” comedy of all time! See below. No surprise it got a sequel. I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets a third if they so desired.)

#1 for the Bumbling Comedy genre

bumblingcomedy_1

(Kevin James hit something special with these films. On the level with Mr. Bean and the Ernest films as far as original comedies with a singular “character”. Kind of interesting that almost all modern examples get just horrid reviews. Changing of the time? And yet the biggest boom was recent? Interesting stuff.)

Rotten Tomatoes – 33% (37/113): Paul Blart: Mall Cop has some laughs, but its plot is flimsy and lacking in any sustained comic momentum.

(Fair! And a lot better than I remembered. 33% is retty good to be honest. Why one would expect this to be anything but flimsy is beyonde me though.)

Poster – Paul Sklogt: Mall Sklog (C)

paul_blart_mall_cop

(I don’t mind the poster, it is just boring. I do like the idea in a way, it follows from the ideals of the film: empowering. The focus is on what one might see as a heavyset schlub normally, but shot in a way to make him seem powerful. Is it ironic? I think that is the question the movie is attempting to tease you with (and eventually subvert). But still boring.)

Tagline(s) – Safety Never Takes A Holiday. (C-)

Don’t Mess With His Mall! (D)

(The first is only slightly better because it gives youu an inkling that this is indeed a “holiday” film, taking place on Black Friday. A rare Thanksgiving film! Might have to bust it out this holiday season. I do not like the second.)

Keyword(s) – mall; Top Ten by BMeTric: 68.1 Look Who’s Talking Now (1993); 60.9 Silent Hill: Revelation 3D (2012); 57.9 Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009); 57.4 The Final Destination (2009); 55.4 Vanishing on 7th Street (2010); 49.3 You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (2008); 46.5 The Hot Chick (2002); 46.1 Jingle All the Way (1996); 39.8 Eight Crazy Nights (2002); 37.7 While She Was Out (2008);

(Very nice list. The mall in Silent Hill was minor. And I don’t even remember is in Zohan. The others are pretty standard. Looking forward to the Hot Chick)

Notes – Two of Kevin James’ real-life family members are seen in this film: the karaoke singer is his older brother Gary Valentine, and the woman with two children who Paul helps is his wife Steffiana De La Cruz. (ooo from this I learned that Kevin James’ real name is Kevin Knipfing. No offense, seriously, but an interesting name and I can see why he took on a stage name)

The first film of 2009 to gross over $100 million at the box office. (yes, very impressive)

The Burlington Mall does not have a video arcade. (wow, bullshit. This movie is bullshit!)

The first movie ever released in the month of January to gross over $100 million during its initial release. (Again, extremely impressive. I wonder why this wasn’t released pre-Thanksgiving. I understand that they might not have anticipated the reception, but it is a rare Thanksgiving movie)

By the time this movie was released in American theaters, there were no longer any Sharper Image retail stores. (truly devastating. What a time to be alive)

Seventh Son Preview

Alright, so this week is our SciFi/Fantasy. Super excited for this one as one of the worst films released this year happened to be a Fantasy film based on a book. That is of course Seventh Son. It’s based on a children’s series out of England, which is good cause that means the books are super short. I believe the movie is either set in a made-up kingdom or England (a bit redundant there… slammed), so not adding to the map. For those interested, this weeks BMT hashtag is #SeventhSonDayFunDay (pretty proud of that one). Let’s go!

Seventh Son (2015) – 50.1 (generated on June 1, 2017)

SeventhSon_BMeT

SeventhSon_RV

(The drop feels like it is quite common for film based on written material with fans who will give the film a good review regardless. Fun that it hasn’t moved at all in the past 3 years, suggests it has sustained its level of terribleness and will have a long BMT shelf life. Generated on June 1, 2017.)

Netflix Synopsis – In the 18th century, apprentice exorcist Tom Ward is the lynchpin in a battle between good and evil when imprisoned witch Mother Malkin escapes. This chilling tale is based on the first installment in Joseph Delaney’s “Wardstone Chronicles” trilogy.

(No Leonard Maltin review so I trotted out an oldie but a goodie with the Netflix synopsis. I particularly like this one because of two things: 1. “chilling tale”? This is based on a book series for 10-year-olds. I doubt it’s all that chilling. 2. the book series is not a trilogy. There are 12 of them (they come cheaper by the dozen, you know. Thank you. Thank you). Classic, Netflix. Getting the facts wrong right off the bat.)

Trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXiNkOjM7oM

(I was going to praise the trailer for not making it look too ridiculous, until the second half went bonkers insane. This honestly looks like garbage. I’m getting a real Dungeons & Dragons/In the Name of the King/Season of the Witch vibe here (god, we watched a lot of those types of movies))

Director(s) – Sergey Bodrov– (Known For: Prisoner of the Mountains; Mongol; East/West. BMT: Seventh Son; Running Free; Nomad. Notes: He actually has a whole mess more movies, but most of them are in Russian. His son was an actor and directed a film before being tragically killed in an avalanche while directing his second film in Russia.)

Writer(s) – Matt Greenberg(screen story) – (Known For: 1408; Reign of Fire; Halloween H2.; BMT: Seventh Son; The Prophecy II. Notes: Almost exclusively a horror writer. Connected to a remake of Pet Semetary and a Beowulf television series.)

Charles Leavitt (screenplay) – (Known For: Blood Diamond; K-PAX; The Express; The Mighty; BMT: Seventh Son; The Sunchaser; Notes: His debut was Sunchaser which has one of the funniest posters I’ve ever seen. Look at that tagline too!)

Steven Knight (screenplay) – (Known For: Eastern Promises; Locke; The Hundred-Foot Journey; Dirty Pretty Things; Amazing Grace; Closed Circuit; Pawn Sacrifice; World War Z; Redemption. BMT: Seventh Son. Notes: Nominated for an Oscar for Dirty Pretty Things. Crazy that he’s even connected with this film.)

Actors – Ben Barnes– (Known For: Dorian Gray; The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian; Stardust.  BMT: Seventh Son; The Words; The Big Wedding (BMT) Notes: Was in the short-lived boy band Hyrise which performed at Eurovision:

Bwahahahaha. I actually kinda liked it.)

Jeff Bridges – (Known For: The Big Lebowski; Iron Man; True Grit; TRON; K-PAX; Arlington Road; Crazy Heart; The Men Who Stare at Goats; Starman; The Fisher King; Seabiscuit; Surf’s Up; King Kong; The Vanishing; White Squall; The Fabulous Baker Boys; Fearless; The Last Picture Show; The Door in the Floor; Tucker: The Man and His Dream; Against All Odds; Thunderbolt and Lightfoot; The Contender; Cutter’s Way; Heaven’s Gate; Tron Legacy. BMT: The Giver; R.I.P.D. (BMT); Seventh Son; Wild Bill; Blown Away; How to Lose Friends & Alienate People; Stick It; Tideland; The Open Road. Notes: And that’s just a portion of his filmography. Nominated for 6 Oscars, winning for Crazy Horse. Son of famous actor Lloyd Bridges.)

Also stars Julianne Moore

Budget/Gross: $95 million / $17,223,265 ($110,623,265 Worldwide)

(Not a case where the worldwide makes up for the domestic run. That is atrocious. 113th worst opening for a 2500+ theater release. Right next to BMT films The Marine, 3000 Miles to Graceland, and Winter’s Tale. Good company.)

#80 for the Live Action (Fantasy) genre

seventhson_liveactionfantasy

(Oooooo, right when 2000 hit everyone was like, hey, we have lots of cheap CGI … so want to make something that looks ridiculous? This comes in right above Krull. You heard that right, Krull. So … yeah not great. The genre is a booming, and this movie marked the start of the most recent gold rush. Go get your money movie producers.)

Rotten Tomatoes: 12% (13/106), Critics Consensus: Seventh Son squanders an excellent cast and some strange storyline ingredients, leaving audiences with one disappointingly dull fantasy adventure.

(Disappointingly dull? I hear that about this email every week (burned, me). Also, not sure when “strange storyline ingredients” became something that you could squander. I feel like that could go both ways. Like is it Jupiter Ascending strange storyline ingredients? Or Being John Malkovich strange storyline ingredients?)

Poster – Seventh Sklog (C-)

seventh_son_ver9

(What a strange poster. I’m not sure what I’m even looking at. A big ol’ red moon looking like Mars with a skull on it. Strange, jarring colors too. I gotta give it some props for being so unique, but still not great and it makes Julianne Moore look like one of the heroes.)

Tagline(s) – When darkness falls, the son will rise (Is there something higher than an A+?)

(Finally, a movie gets it. Puns on puns in tight packages. This tagline is ridiculous, but I love it.)

Keyword(s) – witch; Top Ten by BMeTric: 85.8 Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997); 84.8 Troll 2 (1990); 80.9 Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000); 75.7 Paranormal Activity 4 (2012); 71.6 Bewitched (2005); 67.8 Supergirl (1984); 65.4 10,000 BC (2008); 62.4 The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008); 62.4 Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014); 61.3 Conan the Barbarian (2011);

(Shocked we have seen so few. Not even a little Last Witch Hunter? I guess since we generally avoid hitting up too many terrible horror films we tend to avoid most Witch films.)

Notes – Based on book one of Joseph Delany’ ” The Wardstone chronicles” series, “The Spook’s Apprentice.”

Dianna Agron, Imogen Poots and Felicity Jones tested for the lead role after Jennifer Lawrence dropped out (wait… let’s go back to when Jennifer Lawrence was in this movie).

Initially set to be released in theaters in January of 2014 but due to production delays the film was pushed back to 2015 (the full story is that the company in charge of CGI went bankrupt before completing work on the film. The production company had to float them $5 million just to keep them open long enough to finish the work on the film.)

After Alex Pettyfer bowed out from the project, Shiloh Fernandez, Sam Claflin, Caleb Landry Jones and James Frecheville tested for the lead role. (wait… let’s go back to when my boy Alex Pettyfer was in this movie).

Fifty Shades of Grey Preview

Moving forward, we have made it to the Girls’ Night Out portion of the cycle. But what chick flick could we possibly do based on a book. Jeez Louise, like nothing springs to mind. Literally no bondage-based film released last Valentine’s Day. Oh wait! It was sitting right there the whole time: Fifty Shades of Grey. Obviously. Now, of course, you must realize that by doing this film in this section requires that at least one of us reads this inane, Twlight fan fiction book before watching this week. Are we willing to do so? You bet your ass we are. Let’s get this going!

Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) – BMeTric: 90.3 (Generated on December 12, 2017)

FiftyShadesofGrey_BMeT

FiftyShadesofGrey_RV

(Yeah people didn’t like this immediately. Basically 90 is about as high as you can get as far as the BMeTric is concerned. Why? Well … you need some headroom. Imagine a film with 200 thousand votes but a 2.0 on IMDb. That would be very very close to 100. Like 10 million votes and a flat 1.0 would be 100. It is just a cumulative distribution function. It ain’t rocket science.)

RogerEbert.com – 2 stars – In the annals of sexually-charged event cinema, ”Fifty Shades of Grey” barely lights a candle let alone combusts with unbridled forbidden passion. Nothing comes close to Michael Douglas and Glenn Close humping on the kitchen sink in “Fatal Attraction” or Marlon Brando’s inventive use of butter withMaria Schneider in “The Last Tango in Paris.” Even those ejaculating dolphin fountains in “Showgirls” were steamier than what shows up in this tempered version of E.L. James’ S&M rewrite of “Beauty and the Beast.”

(So I got three movies to add to my Netflix queue. This is essentially what I heard about the film. That it was a stylish adaptation that ramped down the sex… and that got all the fans hot and bothered (in a bad way). Two stars sounds about right in that case.)

Trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfZWFDs0LxA

(This runs like a horror film. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to think he’s super evil or not until the end where she’s all like “enlighten me then… and by enlighten, I mean a little penis in vagina”. Then it’s pretty clear.)

Directors – Sam Taylor-Johnson – (Known For: Nowhere Boy; Future BMT: Destricted; BMT: Fifty Shades of Grey; Razzie Notes: Nominated for Worst Director for Fifty Shades of Grey in 2016; Notes: Very well regarded photographer. We should actually be calling her Dame Sam Taylor-Johnson as she was damed (?… is that right?) by the Queen for her work in the arts.)

Writers – Kelly Marcel (screenplay by) – (Known For: Saving Mr. Banks; BMT: Fifty Shades of Grey; Razzie Notes: Won for Worst Screenplay for Fifty Shades of Grey in 2016; Notes: Daughter of Terry Marcel, a director with a filmography that looks perfect for BMT. Hawk the Slayer, anyone?)

E.L. James (novel) – (BMT: Fifty Shades of Grey; Fifty Shades Darker; Notes: The author. She ultimately got total control of the series in the end. The second and third films are even written by her husband. She must be mega-rich.)

Actors – Dakota Johnson – (Known For: The Social Network; 21 Jump Street; Black Mass; How to Be Single; A Bigger Splash; The Five-Year Engagement; For Ellen; Future BMT: Anarchy: Ride or Die; Date and Switch; Goats; Crazy in Alabama; BMT: Fifty Shades of Grey; Fifty Shades Darker; Beastly; Need for Speed; Razzie Notes: Won for Worst Actress, and Worst Screen Combo for Fifty Shades of Grey in 2016; Notes: Daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson. Both could provide BMT films for us… that would be a fun cycle. A Family Affair, where we use an acting family to get different movies for each member. I’ll have to think about that.)

Jamie Dornan – (Known For: Anthropoid; Marie Antoinette; The Siege of Jadotville; The 9th Life of Louis Drax; BMT: Fifty Shades of Grey; Fifty Shades Darker; Razzie Notes: Won for Worst Actor, and Worst Screen Combo for Fifty Shades of Grey in 2016; Notes: Could literally be me and Patrick’s triplet. He looks that similar to us. Now, let’s see if anyone notices this “note”. Probably not, cause no one reads this.)

Jennifer Ehle – (Known For: Detroit; The King’s Speech; Zero Dark Thirty; Contagion; The Adjustment Bureau; RoboCop; A Quiet Passion; The Fundamentals of Caring; The Ides of March; Spooks: The Greater Good; A Little Chaos; Sunshine; Wilde; Black or White; Little Men; The Greatest; Paradise Road; Advantageous; Possession; Backbeat; Future BMT: The Forger; Pride and Glory; BMT: Fifty Shades of Grey; Notes: Daughter of Rosemary Ehle who played Aunt May. She won a Tony in 2000 for The Real Thing beating out her aforementioned mother!)

Budget/Gross – $40 million / Domestic: $166,167,230 (Worldwide: $571,006,128)

(Obviously a box office smash success. Not sure there was any chance it wouldn’t be. Isn’t it kinda sad though that a company can take a property that fans love, adapt it exactly without any interesting changes, and then watch as people file in and out of the theater shrugging their shoulders and saying “Meh, hope the next one is better. Can’t wait to see it.” Rinse, recycle, repeat.)

#4 for the Romantic Drama genre

fiftyshadesofgrey_romanticdrama

(Generated on December 12, 2017. Came right at another peak of romantic dramas. I wonder why they collapsed so thoroughly in the mid-2000s? Just like a total rejection of the genre. But it’s back baby! Probably due to the realization that women audiences exist.)

Rotten Tomatoes – 26% (66/256): While creatively better endowed than its print counterpart, Fifty Shades of Grey is a less than satisfying experience on the screen.

(“Better endowed” blech. I hate when a RT consensus tries to be more clever than it needs to be. “Less than satisfying” come on. Also, how many of the reviewers actually read the book to make that comparison? I bet not a single one of them actually read the book. Not a single one.)

Poster – Fifty Sklogs of Grey (C+)

fifty_shades_of_grey_ver4

(Grey’s not my favorite tone to use for a poster, but what were they going to do? Better than keeping the colored tones of the people. Don’t like the text and the picture is photogenic, but not interesting or aesthetically pleasing. Could have been a C- if I was in a worse mood.)

Tagline(s) – Lose control (B+)

(Very odd. I wanted to give this a bad grade, but in reality it’s pretty good for fans of the book. Like it kinda represents both Anastasia and Christian’s characters in the book. She loses control, he loses control… just different types of control (internal vs. external). It’s as concise as possible and actually somewhat clever for the above reasons. Could have been a bit more informative for those that aren’t super familiar with the material, but otherwise pretty nice.)

Keyword(s) – female nudity; Top Ten by BMeTric: 95.9 Meet the Spartans (2008); 92.3 Date Movie (2006); 90.3 Fifty Shades of Grey (2015); 88.5 House of the Dead (2003); 88.4 The Room (2003); 87.3 BloodRayne (2005); 84.4 Police Academy: Mission to Moscow (1994); 84.3 Piranha 3DD (2012); 84.2 Movie 43 (2013); 83.3 Rollerball (2002);

(By the way, there are something like 60,000 films with the tag on IMDb. Thanks IMDb. And yet, it doesn’t have all of the films (like Batman & Robin is missing … because it is a film for children with no nudity). There are some loads of crap though right?)

Notes – Angelina Jolie was offered the chance to direct, but she declined.

Each cast member learned their lines in 5 days. (guffaw)

The first draft of the script by writer Kelly Marcel included way more sex and was much more sexually explicit than the final version. In fact, she wanted it to be NC-17, along with one of the film’s producers Dana Brunetti. However, Universal executives shot down any such plans and the script was considerably toned down both in the number of sex scenes and the explicitness of the sex by two subsequent re-writes. The studio would only approve an R rated film as they had bought the rights for $5 million dollars and with a budget of $40 million dollars, they did not want to turn away a large portion of their audience which would be the case if they released an NC-17 film. (classic)

Considered to be the second major motion picture based on fan-fiction. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013) was the first. (whaaaaaaaa?)

The pool scene, in Dr. Grey’s mansion, the boat house is the same as the one used in Elektra (for some reason I really enjoy that)

In the Fifty Shades trilogy books, the phrase “my inner goddess” is mentioned 115 times by Anastasia’s inner monologue. This is how she often refers to herself – e.g. “my inner goddess is jumping up and down, clapping her hands like a five-year old”. The movie does not mention or utilize Anastasia’s “inner goddess” at all. (thank God)

Awards – Nominated for the Oscar for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song (The Weeknd, Belly, DaHeala, Stephan Moccio)

Won the Razzie Award for Worst Picture

Won the Razzie Award for Worst Actor (Jamie Dornan)

Won the Razzie Award for Worst Actress (Dakota Johnson)

Won the Razzie Award for Worst Screen Combo (Jamie Dornan, Dakota Johnson)

Won the Razzie Award for Worst Screenplay (Kelly Marcel)

Nominated for the Razzie Award for Worst Director (Sam Taylor-Johnson)

Queen of the Damned Preview

NOTE: This preview was generated on August 11, 2018. Much of the content was generated in May of 2014, but it has been edited and updated where appropriate.

The reason this preview was generate so long after the initial watch was because it came at special request from someone planning on watching this film for a Halloween double feature. The post introducing the double feature can be seen here. Cheers!

Queen of the Damned was followed by a direct-to-DVD sequel Vampires in Delaware where a family of vampires have a surprisingly fun and educational vacation in the great state of Delaware. They have loads of fun learning about DuPont Co’s origins as a manufacturer of gunpowder and the fact that they are vampires plays no role in the plot of the film. At least … I wish that was what happened. Let’s go!

Queen of the Damned (2002) – BMeTric: 55.0

QueenoftheDamned_BMeT

QueenoftheDamned_RV

(I find the rating shockingly low to be honest, and the dip between 2004 and 2007 is very strange indeed. Possibly because the people who would have been fans at the time took a while to get online? It is truly perplexing, a very odd rating/vote plot.)

Leonard Maltin –  2.5 stars – Vampire Lestat awakens after a long deep sleep and goes public in the world of rock music, where he seem to blend in perfectly! But his posturing angers the man who “made” him, intrigues a young woman who’s drawn to his world, and lines him up as the perfect mate for the queen of the undead (played by pop-music star Aaliyah, who died before the film’s release). Dopey but amusing. Based on one of Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles novels.

(Wow, I’m not sure how something that’s dopey but amusing gets 2.5 stars when it’s supposed to be a supernatural horror-type film. Would seem to be an insult. That’s all I really have to say about this… so I’ll just make a quick remark about Leonard’s choice to use two descriptors for Lestat’s sleep. It was both long and deep? Glad I knew that before watching the film.)

Trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Gu9HtN05sc

(Well this is interesting for sure. I love Aaliyah’s “accent” and the effects look like trash. Both of these are exciting prospects from a BMT point of view. Still not totally sure what the plot is. Evil vampire rocker? Is that basically it? Sounds absurd.)

Directors – Michael Rymer – (Known For: Face to Face; Angel Baby; Future BMT: Perfume; In Too Deep; BMT: Queen of the Damned; Notes: After completing film school at USC he attended a two-year acting school where he claims he learned more about filmmaking than in all his years studying at film schools.)

Writers – Anne Rice (novels) – (Known For: Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles; The Young Messiah; Future BMT: Exit to Eden; BMT: Queen of the Damned; Notes: Rice distanced herself from the film, and has stated that she feels the filmmakers “mutilated” her work in adapting the novel.)

Scott Abbott (screenplay) – (BMT: Queen of the Damned; Notes: Seemingly was a big-time TV Movie writer. Got his break to write this and then hasn’t really had any film credits since. He did, however, release a novel two years ago and wrote the Rosemary’s Baby TV miniseries adaption that airs tonight… seriously, it airs Sunday, May 11th, 2014.)

Michael Petroni (screenplay) – (Known For: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Book Thief; The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys; Future BMT: The Rite; Backtrack; BMT: Queen of the Damned; Notes: Started out as a comedian in Australia appearing on the show DAAS Kapital before moving to the United States to study screenwriting.)

Actors – Aaliyah – (BMT: Queen of the Damned; Romeo Must Die; Notes: This movie was released posthumously. She had also been cast and started filming for a major role in the two Matrix sequels. She was subsequently replaced by Nona Gaye and all her scenes that she had completed were reshot.)

Stuart Townsend – (Known For: Shade; Shooting Fish; Under the Skin; About Adam; Wonderland; Simon Magus; Future BMT: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen; Trapped; Chaos Theory; Head in the Clouds; BMT: Queen of the Damned; Æon Flux; Notes: Was originally cast as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but was replaced after a few days of shooting after realizing that he looked too young for the role.)

Marguerite Moreau – (Known For: Mighty Joe; Runaway Jury; Beverly Hills Chihuahua; Wag the Dog; Easy; Caroline and Jackie; Easier with Practice; Douchebag; Future BMT: Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home; D3: The Mighty Ducks; L!fe Happens; D2: The Mighty Ducks; The Mighty Ducks; Wet Hot American Summer; BMT: Queen of the Damned; Notes: Transitioned into television mostly after being a younger actor in The Mighty Ducks franchise. Now has been on both Wet Hot American Summer series for Netflix.)

Budget/Gross – $35 million / Domestic: $30,336,800 (Worldwide: $45,479,110)

(Not the worst that is could have been, but by no means a winner. Especially when compared to Interview with a Vampire, which made over $200 million. I guess everyone’s hope that Stuart Townsend would be the next Tom Cruise would have to be tempered after this showing.)

#144 for the Horror – R-Rated genre

queenofthedamned_rratedhorror

(Right near Ghost Ship with the Most Ship! The lowest BMT (as of August 2018) is Alone in the Dark, and the highest is (sadly) I Know What You Did Last Summer. I find the dip a few years ago supremely weird. Everyone hates PG-13 horror, so I don’t really get it. The people who love horror films are 14-year-olds and they obvs want that R-rating that they can finally get into. Give it to them!)

#28 for the Vampire genre

queenofthedamned_vampire

(The only Vampire movie we’ve ever seen for BMT (and this was written in August of 2018, although mere weeks before we will have watched Vampire Academy, which is #44, thoroughly trounced by even this). Twilight is obviously the highlight here. These things really did just boom with Twilight and then *poof* … disappeared like a vampire in the daytime (in some interpretations of vampires).)

Rotten Tomatoes – 17% (22/130): A muddled and campy MTV-styled vampire movie with lots of eye candy and bad accents.

(MTV-styled vampires? Doesn’t it tell you how times have changed that just 6 short years later Twilight came out and no one even thought to call them MTV-styled. Also, I can only assume the “bad accent” refers to Aaliyah’s accent of mysterious origin. It will be fantastic.)

Poster – Queen of the Sklogs (C+)

queen_of_the_damned

(Things I liked about this poster: The color scheme, and Aaliyah in general. Things I didn’t like in this poster: Stuart Townsend looks like crap and is creeping all up on my girl Aaliyah, and the font used on the poster is garbage (although perhaps it is just the smokey smudging). My initial impression was that it was much better than I expected, but I ended up downgrading it a couple of times as I stared at it. But above average I think.)

Tagline(s) – The Mother Of All Vampires (B+)

(I kind of like the play on words, but I kind of hate how pop-y it sounds. As they say, a little MTV-vampire for me in the end. But clever enough that I think it deserves a top grade)

Keyword(s) – vampire; Top Ten by BMeTric: 88.9 Vampires Suck (2010); 87.5 BloodRayne (2005); 81.7 Ultraviolet (2006); 78.0 The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009); 72.1 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (2011); 69.1 Stan Helsing (2009); 69.0 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010); 68.1 Vampire in Brooklyn (1995); 63.7 Dracula 2001 (2000); 63.6 Dudley Do-Right (1999);

(The Twilight Saga is definitely interesting, since I’ve actually seen all of them, just outside of BMT. I’m actually not sure why I would do that … they are obviously BMT material. At least one of them will qualify and drag the series into things.)

Notes – The singing voice of Lestat was supplied by Jonathan Davis of Korn. However due to contractual difficulties, Davis could not sing on the soundtrack album release. The five songs written by he and Richard Gibbs for the movie were then performed on the album by Marilyn Manson, Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, David Draiman of Disturbed, Wayne Static of Static-X and Jay Gordon of Orgy. Davis was still allowed to play several instruments on the album. (Whaaaa, contractual difficulties … what could that mean? To not be able to get Korn to sing on a soundtrack release.)

Aaliyah died in a plane crash shortly after principal photography was completed but had not yet actually performed any ADR redubbing for her character. Michael Rymer called in Aaliyah’s brother, Rashad Haughton, to help with overdubbing her voice following her death due to their similar voices, special vocal technology was also used to make his voice sound more feminine. (That is kind of sad, but also interesting they were able to use the brother’s voice. I wouldn’t have thought that would work very well).

Aaliyah was the first actor to be cast for the film. She was enthusiastic about taking the role due to her fascination with Egyptian mythology and also being a huge fan of vampire horror fiction.

For the scenes of Lestat’s concert in Death Valley, over 3000 goths were recruited from Melbourne nightclubs and on the internet, then driven on a fleet of buses to a quarry in Werribee to act as extras. (Imagine how much you would regret ruining your rave night out during hour two of sitting in a Quarry with nothing to do)

Stuart Townsend shares his name with a character from another Anne Rice novel, “The Witching Hour”. Upon meeting Townsend, Rice handed him a copy of the book and instructed him to turn to a certain page number, whereupon was written “The Life of Stuart Townsend”. Townsend was flattered that she had written him into her new book, until she told him that she had written it eleven years prior. (Haaaaa)

Author of the novel Anne Rice considers this to be a terrible disappointment for her and for many of the readers as she believed it mutilated her own work. (Well, that’s what you get about 50% of the time when you option your work, so …)

Warner Bros. was already into its last year of owning motion picture rights to the first three Vampire Chronicles books which would then have transferred back to author ‘Anne Rice’, who could then sell the rights to another company of her choosing. Knowing what little time they had left, despite the fact they’ve had the rights and opportunity to make the latter two movies for over seven years, Warner Bros. hastily hired writers to condense the books “The Vampire Lestat” and “Queen of the Damned” into one movie with the latter being the movie title. (Yeah basically, pretty dumb idea honestly, but when you got to Wheel-of-Time-the-television-show something, you got to do it I guess)

On the casting of Stuart Townsend as Lestat, Anne Rice stated “Everything I hear about the movie is good. Warner Bros. is extremely enthusiastic. They are working very hard to make it perfect. I have no real news. Let me repeat what I mentioned in a recent message. I met Stuart Townsend, the young man who is playing Lestat and he was absolutely charming. He had Lestat’s excellent speaking voice and his feline grace. I cannot wait to see him in the film”.

Stuart Townsend took the role of Lestat after originally being cast as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) but was recast with Viggo Mortensen after four days of shooting because the filmmakers realized he was too young for the role. (uh …. Yeah, which is why I kind of don’t believe the story. Makes no sense)

The architecture of Aunt Maharet’s house is based upon Angkor Wat, the stone temple located in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

The film was a subject of controversy due to inspiring a real life murder shortly after the film’s theatrical release. In December 2002, Allan Menzies from West Lothian in Scotland murdered one of his friends. He claimed in court that it was Aaliyah’s character “Queen Akasha” from the film that told him to do it. (Say whaaaaaa)

Josh Hartnett, Heath Ledger, and Wes Bently were all considered to replace Tom Cruise as Lestat after he declined to reprise his role. (Harnett would have been cool)

The fact that the night club “The Admiral’s Arms” was a vampire bar “in the meat packing district” of London is an homage to the night club “Mother” which was a vampyre bar located in the meat packing district of New York City. (Is it though? … IMDb users can sometimes read a bit too much into things)

Wes Bentley was originally cast as Lestat, but he dropped out.

Singer Aimee Nash of “The Black Ryder” duo had a cameo as a vampire singer in the “Admiral’s Arms” vampire nightclub although the majority of her footage was deleted (she is still visible in the background of the nightclub scene).

Queen Akasha never actually attacks anyone by biting their neck. She either sets them on fire, rips their heart out, or bites another area of their body. (Fun facts!)

All About Steve Preview

Generated on: 2019-12-04

All About Steve (2009) – BMeTric: 68.4; Notability: 44

AllAboutSteveIMDb_BMeT

AllAboutSteveIMDb_RV

RogerEbert.com – 1.5 stars – The screenplay by Kim Barker requires Bullock to behave in an essentially disturbing way that began to wear on me. It begins as merely peculiar, moves on to miscalculation and becomes seriously annoying. One of its most unfortunate elements is seeing Bullock so stranded and helpless in would-be comic frenzy. An actress should never, ever, be asked to run beside a van in red disco boots for more than about half a block, and then only if her child is being kidnapped.

Trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGpne6wPBPY/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGpne6wPBPY/

Directors – Phil Traill – (Known For: Chalet Girl; BMT: All About Steve; Razzie Notes: Nominee for Worst Director for All About Steve in 2010;)

Writers – Kim Barker (written by) – (BMT: All About Steve; License to Wed; Razzie Notes: Nominee for Worst Screenplay for All About Steve in 2010;)

Actors – Sandra Bullock – (Known For: Ocean’s Eight; Bird Box; A Time to Kill; Gravity; Crash; While You Were Sleeping; Speed; The Proposal; The Prince of Egypt; Miss Congeniality; Minions; The Heat; Two Weeks Notice; Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close; Forces of Nature; The Thing Called Love; Infamous; The Vanishing; Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood; Future BMT: Premonition; The Net; Stolen Hearts; Love Potion No. 9; 28 Days; Hope Floats; Gun Shy; Murder by Numbers; Our Brand Is Crisis; Loverboy; Practical Magic; BMT: Speed 2: Cruise Control; All About Steve; Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous; In Love and War; Demolition Man; The Lake House; Razzie Notes: Winner for Worst Actress, Worst Actress, and Worst Screen Couple for All About Steve in 2010; Nominee for Worst Actress, and Worst Screen Couple for Speed 2: Cruise Control in 1998; and Nominee for Worst Supporting Actress for Demolition Man in 1994;)

Bradley Cooper – (Known For: Avengers: Endgame; Guardians of the Galaxy; Avengers: Infinity War; The Mule; A Star Is Born; Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2; Wedding Crashers; American Hustle; The Hangover; American Sniper; Silver Linings Playbook; Hit and Run; Limitless; He’s Just Not That Into You; The Place Beyond the Pines; The A-Team; War Dogs; 10 Cloverfield Lane; Yes Man; Joy; Future BMT: The Comebacks; Aloha; Serena; The Hangover Part III; Case 39; New York, I Love You; The Hangover Part II; Burnt; Wet Hot American Summer; BMT: All About Steve; Failure to Launch; Valentine’s Day; Razzie Notes: Winner for Worst Screen Couple for All About Steve in 2010;)

Thomas Haden Church – (Known For: The Peanut Butter Falcon; Tombstone; John Carter; Spider-Man 3; Easy A; Idiocracy; George of the Jungle; Over the Hedge; Killer Joe; Sideways; We Bought a Zoo; Spanglish; Charlotte’s Web; Heaven Is for Real; Imagine That; Crash Pad; Smart People; The Specials; Lucky Them; Another Happy Day; Future BMT: Aliens in the Attic; Free Money; Daddy’s Home; One Night Stand; Don McKay; The Badge; Max; Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight; BMT: All About Steve; Monkeybone; Hellboy; 3000 Miles to Graceland;)

Budget/Gross – $15 million / Domestic: $33,862,903 (Worldwide: $40,105,542)

Rotten Tomatoes – 6% (9/139): All About Steve is an oddly creepy, sour film, featuring a heroine so desperate and peculiar that audiences may be more likely to pity than root for her.

Poster – Sklog About Steve

all_about_steve

Keyword – cross country;

AllAboutSteve_cross country

Top 10: The Book of Eli (2010), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Up in the Air (2009), Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006), Need for Speed (2014), Road Trip (2000), The Devil’s Rejects (2005), The Wizard (1989), Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993), Turbo (2013);

Future BMT: 53.3 Johnson Family Vacation (2004), 43.9 Identity Thief (2013), 36.8 The Guilt Trip (2012), 36.7 Cannonball Fever (1989), 31.3 Father Hood (1993), 23.2 The Wizard (1989), 11.3 Josh and S.A.M. (1993), 10.6 Bicentennial Man (1999), 8.1 Radio Flyer (1992);

BMT: Need for Speed (2014), Crossroads (2002), All About Steve (2009)

Welcome to Earf (HoE Number 14) – The shortest path through The Movie Database cast lists using only BMT films is: Sandra Bullock is No. 1 billed in All About Steve and No. 3 billed in Demolition Man, which also stars Sylvester Stallone (No. 1 billed) who is in Expendables 3 (No. 1 billed), which also stars Jason Statham (No. 2 billed) who is in In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Seige Tale (No. 1 billed), which also stars Leelee Sobieski (No. 4 billed) who is in Here on Earth (No. 1 billed) => 1 + 3 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 4 + 1 = 14. If we were to watch Hardball, and The Glass House we can get the HoE Number down to 11.

Notes – Sandra Bullock won the Golden Raspberry (“Razzie”) Award for Worst Actress for this film, and appeared at the event to claim her prize, becoming only the second actress to accept the award in person, after Halle Berry in 2005. Bullock brought a wagon full of DVDs of the film for the three hundred attendees, and stated she believed most voters had not actually watched the film and voted for her just to see if she would appear at the ceremony. She asked them to watch or re-watch the film, and if the audience changed their minds and decided she was not the “Worst Actress”, Bullock promised to come to the ceremony next year, return her award, and buy drinks for everybody.

When Mary is soaking in the tub, the song in the background is sung by Helga Bullock, Sandra’s mother.

Sandra Bullock was in 3 movies released in 2009: “The Proposal” (she was a Golden Globe nominee for Best Actress), “The Blind Side” (she was nominated and won the Academy Award for Best Actress), and “All About Steve” (she was nominated and won the Razzie for Worst Actress and along with Bradley Cooper nominated for and won Worst Couple). As a result with the Razzie one night and Academy Awards the following night, she became the first performer to win an Academy Award and a Razzie Award in the same year.

The screenplay for this film was featured in the 2006 Blacklist; a list of the “most liked” unmade scripts of the year.

Shot in 2007.

In the movie poster, the umbrella is red and white but in the movie the umbrella is blue and white.

Awards – Winner for the Razzie Award for Worst Actress (Sandra Bullock, 2010)

Winner for the Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple (Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, 2010)

Nominee for the Razzie Award for Worst Director (Phil Traill, 2010)

Nominee for the Razzie Award for Worst Picture (2010)

Nominee for the Razzie Award for Worst Screenplay (Kim Barker, 2010)

Kangaroo Jack Preview

Generated on: 2019-11-24

Kangaroo Jack (2003) – BMeTric: 74.2; Notability: 41

KangarooJackIMDb_BMeT

KangarooJackIMDb_RV

Leonard Maltin – 2 stars –  Lifelong odd-couple pals are ordered (by O’Connell’s mob-boss stepfather) to deliver an envelope of money to Australia – but a kangaroo makes off with the cash. Juvenile comedy has a terrible script, but kids may still respond to the amiable leads and the Australian setting. Don’t blink or you’ll miss Dyan Cannon in the opening flashback as O’Connell’s mother. Followed by an animated direct-to-video sequel.

Trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuyLeUjuT_k/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuyLeUjuT_k/

Directors – David McNally – (Future BMT: Coyote Ugly; BMT: Kangaroo Jack;)

Writers – Steve Bing (story & screenplay) – (Future BMT: Missing in Action; BMT: Kangaroo Jack;)

Barry O’Brien (story) – (Known For: Hannah Montana: The Movie; BMT: Kangaroo Jack;)

Scott Rosenberg (screenplay) – (Known For: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle; Con Air; High Fidelity; Beautiful Girls; Future BMT: Disturbing Behavior; Impostor; Venom; Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead; BMT: Kangaroo Jack; Gone in Sixty Seconds;)

Actors – Anthony Anderson – (Known For: The Departed; Transformers; Scream 4; Ferdinand; The Star; Life; Harold & Kumar Get the Munchies; Me, Myself & Irene; Hustle & Flow; Barbershop; Beats; Barbershop: A Fresh Cut; Hoodwinked; The Big Year; Small Town Crime; The Town That Dreaded Sundown; Two Can Play That Game; Liberty Heights; A Turtle’s Tale: Sammy’s Adventures; Bound; Future BMT: Urban Legends: Final Cut; Scary Movie 4; Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London; The Back-up Plan; Malibu’s Most Wanted; Scary Movie 3; King’s Ransom; My Baby’s Daddy; See Spot Run; 3 Strikes; Arthur et les Minimoys; Goats; Kingdom Come; Trippin’; BMT: Kangaroo Jack; Big Momma’s House; Exit Wounds; Cradle 2 the Grave; Romeo Must Die; Grudge Match; Razzie Notes: Nominee for Worst Supporting Actor for Kangaroo Jack in 2004;)

Jerry O’Connell – (Known For: Stand by Me; Jerry Maguire; Scream 2; Piranha 3D; Veronica Mars; Satanic Panic; Space Station 76; The Alibi; Future BMT: Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach; Obsessed; Wish Upon; Yours, Mine & Ours; Tomcats; Room 6; Mission to Mars; Joe’s Apartment; Body Shots; Baby on Board; The New Guy; Man About Town; Calendar Girl; The Lookalike; Can’t Hardly Wait; BMT: Scary Movie 5; Kangaroo Jack;)

Estella Warren – (Known For: Planet of the Apes; The Cooler; Future BMT: Perfume; BMT: Kangaroo Jack; Driven; Razzie Notes: Winner for Worst Supporting Actress in 2002 for Driven, and Planet of the Apes;)

Budget/Gross – $60,000,000 / Domestic: $66,934,963 (Worldwide: $88,929,111)

Rotten Tomatoes – 8% (9/115): The humor is gratingly dumb, and Kangaroo Jack contains too much violence and sexual innuendo for a family movie.

Poster – Kangaroo Sklog

kangaroo_jack

Tagline(s) – He stole the money… and he’s not giving it back.

Keyword – animal character name in title;

KangarooJack_animal character name in title

Top 10: Kong: Skull Island (2017), Finding Nemo (2003), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Finding Dory (2016), Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), Free Willy (1993), Turner & Hooch (1989), Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002), Horton Hears a Who! (2008), The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005);

Future BMT: 63.6 Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), 54.5 Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), 37.2 See Spot Run (2001), 9.9 Benji: Off the Leash! (2004);

BMT: Kangaroo Jack (2003), Garfield 2 (2006), Garfield (2004);

Welcome to Earf (HoE Number 19) – The shortest path through The Movie Database cast lists using only BMT films is: Anthony Anderson is No. 2 billed in Kangaroo Jack and No. 4 billed in Exit Wounds, which also stars Isaiah Washington (No. 3 billed) who is in Hollywood Homicide (No. 5 billed), which also stars Josh Hartnett (No. 2 billed) who is in Here on Earth (No. 3 billed) => 2 + 4 + 3 + 5 + 2 + 3 = 19. If we were to watch Kingdom Come we can get the HoE Number down to 13.

Notes – Inspired by an urban legend about a pair of Boston college students on break in Australia. While driving through the Outback, they accidentally hit a kangaroo with their Land Rover. Thinking they had killed it, they got out and placed the driver’s Boston Red Sox jacket on the kangaroo to take a picture before moving on. However, the kangaroo was merely unconscious, and awoke in the midst of the photo-taking. It broke free and took off across the Outback, still wearing the Sox jacket…along with the keys to the Land Rover in the pocket.

Trailers for the movie emphasized the tacked-on “talking kangaroo” scene, which gave audiences a false impression that this was a family film involving a talking kangaroo. Posters also emphasized the kangaroo. The misleading publicity is often credited with the film’s achieving the #1 box office spot on opening weekend; industry observers said later that if the film had been more honestly portrayed as what it was, as a gangster comedy with fairly adult humor, it probably would have failed. The film had dismal reviews from critics and considerable backlash from audiences who felt they had been tricked. There was a direct-to-DVD sequel that was more in line with what was promised by trailers, as it was an animated family comedy.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer added a scene where the title kangaroo talks after seeing the success of the Disney release Snow Dogs (2002), which used a similar plot device.

Jerry O’Connell had to wear extensions for re-shoot scenes since he cut his hair short once initial filming was over. You can clearly see (if you look closely) an awkwardness to his hair in particular scenes.

The original working title for Kangaroo Jack was “Down and Under”.

According to the DVD special feature: “Behind the gas”. The hardest scene to create sound for were the farting camels. So the sound designers have tried many failed attempts to create farting sounds they tried Whoopie cushions, blowing in jello cups, armpit farts, all the way down to using their mouths. In sheer desperation the sound designers ate bean burritos, tacos, beans and drank milk, so the sound would come naturally.

When the boys first arrive in the bar, they are discussing their plans beside the telephone, and Louis says to Charlie, “Damn Skippy”, which is a tongue-in-cheek reference to a world famous Australian television series, Skippy (1967), which is about a kangaroo that is raised by a family, who manage the local national park. Skippy is also a world famous brand of Peanut Butter, with a Kangaroo logo

Bill Hunter (Blue), previously starred alongside Terrance Stamp in “Priscilla: Queen Of The Desert” (1994), Terrance Stamp, had originally portrayed General Zod, in “Superman 2” (1980), and MIchael Shannon (Frankie), revived the character of General Zod, in “Man Of Steel” (2013), alongside Russell Crowe, who’s acting career debuted, alongside Bill Hunter in “Spyforce” (1972)

Awards – Nominee for the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor (Christopher Walken, 2004)

Nominee for the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor (Anthony Anderson, 2004)

Ghost Rider Preview

Generated on: 2019-11-18

Ghost Rider (2007) – BMeTric: 62.5; Notability: 57

GhostRiderIMDb_BMeT

GhostRiderIMDb_RV

Leonard Maltin – 2 stars –Daredevil motorcyclist makes a deal with the Devil (Fonda) in order to save his father’s life, then tries to adjust to living a cursed existence. In time he finds his true identity as a cycle vigilante who rides engulfed in flames, his head a burning skull! Adaptation of the Marvel comic book set out West might have been better if it didn’t take so long to spell out the premise and get up a head of steam.

Trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1hZNHPVVAQ/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1hZNHPVVAQ/

Directors – Mark Steven Johnson – (Known For: Daredevil; Finding Steve McQueen; Simon Birch; Future BMT: Killing Season; BMT: Ghost Rider; When in Rome;)

Writers – Mark Steven Johnson (screenplay & screen story) – (Known For: Christopher Robin; Daredevil; Grumpy Old Men; Simon Birch; Future BMT: Jack Frost; Big Bully; Grumpier Old Men; BMT: Elektra; Ghost Rider;)

Actors – Nicolas Cage – (Known For: Color Out of Space; Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse; The Rock; Fast Times at Ridgemont High; Mandy; Kick-Ass; The Frozen Ground; Face/Off; Snowden; National Treasure; Leaving Las Vegas; Con Air; The Family Man; Wild at Heart; Lord of War; The Croods; Adaptation.; Raising Arizona; The Sorcerer’s Apprentice; Future BMT: G-Force; Outcast; Dying of the Light; Tokarev; 211; Pay the Ghost; Stolen; Southern Fury; Between Worlds; USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage; Looking Glass; Wings of the Apache; The Runner; The Humanity Bureau; Inconceivable; Army of One; Zandalee; Deadfall; Amos & Andrew; Windtalkers; A Score to Settle; Knowing; Next; Trapped in Paradise; Sonny; Running with the Devil; National Treasure: Book of Secrets; 8MM; Primal; Christmas Carol: The Movie; BMT: The Wicker Man; Left Behind; Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance; Ghost Rider; Trespass; Drive Angry; Season of the Witch; Bangkok Dangerous; Captain Corelli’s Mandolin; Justice; Gone in Sixty Seconds; Razzie Notes: Nominee for Worst Actor in 2007 for The Wicker Man; in 2008 for Ghost Rider, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, and Next; in 2012 for Drive Angry, Season of the Witch, and Trespass; in 2013 for Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, and Seeking Justice; and in 2015 for Left Behind; Nominee for Worst Supporting Actor for Snowden in 2017; and Nominee for Worst Screen Couple in 2007 for The Wicker Man; and in 2012 for Drive Angry, Season of the Witch, and Trespass;)

Eva Mendes – (Known For: Training Day; The Place Beyond the Pines; The Other Guys; Fast & Furious 5; Hitch; Once Upon a Time in Mexico; We Own the Night; Bad Lieutenant; Last Night; Holy Motors; Out of Time; Stuck on You; Live!; The Wendell Baker Story; Future BMT: The Spirit; Urban Legends: Final Cut; Lost River; Trust the Man; Girl in Progress; All About the Benjamins; Cleaner; A Night at the Roxbury; BMT: Ghost Rider; The Women; Exit Wounds; 2 Fast 2 Furious; Razzie Notes: Nominee for Worst Actress for The Women in 2009;)

Sam Elliott – (Known For: Lady and the Tramp; The Golden Compass; A Star Is Born; The Big Lebowski; Tombstone; Up in the Air; The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot; We Were Soldiers; Hulk; Mask; The Good Dinosaur; I’ll See You in My Dreams; Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; Thank You for Smoking; Gettysburg; Draft Day; Prancer; The Hero; The Company You Keep; Rush; Future BMT: Frogs; Barnyard; The Big Bang; Fatal Beauty; Sibling Rivalry; BMT: Marmaduke; Did You Hear About the Morgans?; Ghost Rider; Road House;)

Budget/Gross – $110,000,000 / Domestic: $115,802,596 (Worldwide: $228,738,393)

Rotten Tomatoes – 26% (37/140): Ghost Rider is a sour mix of morose, glum histrionics amidst jokey puns and hammy dialogue.

Poster – Sklog Rider

ghost_rider_ver4

Tagline(s) – Long ago he made a deal to save someone he loved. ()

Keyword – daredevil;

GhostRider_daredevil

Top 10: Point Break (2015), Hot Rod (2007), xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017), Ghost Rider (2007), xXx (2002), Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004), An American Werewolf in Paris (1997), Into the Storm (2014), Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken (1991), Navy Seals (1990);

Future BMT: 55.5 Point Break (2015), 55.4 An American Werewolf in Paris (1997), 41.3 Terminal Velocity (1994), 40.5 Navy Seals (1990), 8.7 Nitro Circus: The Movie (2012);

BMT: Ghost Rider (2007), Into the Storm (2014), Rollerball (2002)

Welcome to Earf (HoE Number 8) – The shortest path through The Movie Database cast lists using only BMT films is: Nicolas Cage is No. 1 billed in Ghost Rider and No. 1 billed in The Wicker Man, which also stars Leelee Sobieski (No. 5 billed) who is in Here on Earth (No. 1 billed) => 1 + 1 + 5 + 1 = 8. There is no shorter path at the moment.

Notes – Nicolas Cage had to have his Ghost Rider tattoo covered with make-up to play Johnny Blaze.

Nicolas Cage’s computer generated skull was made from a three dimensional x-ray taken of his actual skull.

Nicolas Cage is an avid fan of the Marvel comic, and lobbied furiously to play the part of Ghost Rider.

One of the few Marvel Comic-based movies in which Stan Lee did not appear. He had absolutely no involvement in the creation of the original Ghost Rider.

According to an interview he gave to the New York Times in 2010, this movie was made during the middle of Wes Bentley’s decade-long, extremely serious addiction to cocaine and heroin. He said in that interview that he only accepted any movie roles during that time so that he would have money to buy enough drugs.

Nicolas Cage’s hairpiece required three hours to apply every day.

Rumors persist that Nicolas Cage’s abs in the movie were CGI, but writer and director Mark Steven Johnson refutes this on his DVD audio commentary.

The head-on shot showing Johnny Blaze crashing his motorcycle on landing after jumping a long line of trucks is identical to the famous shot of Evel Knievel’s crash after a spectacular jump at Caesar’s Palace on December 31, 1967.

The Caretaker/Carter Slade Ghost Rider character is a tribute to the original Marvel Comics Ghost Rider, now called The Phantom Rider to avoid confusion. However, the character in the comics is a regular human who wears a white costume and rides a white painted horse, both covered with phosphorous for a glowing effect.

Writer and director Mark Steven Johnson put forward his own money to make an action sequence in which Ghost Rider battles a helicopter.

Awards – Nominee for the Razzie Award for Worst Actor (Nicolas Cage, 2008)

The Love Guru Preview

Generated on: 2019-11-17

The Love Guru (2008) – BMeTric: 87.3

TheLoveGuruIMDb_BMeT

TheLoveGuruIMDb_RV

RogerEbert.com – 1.0 stars – What is it with Mike Myers and penis jokes? Having created a classic, funny scene with his not-quite-visible penis sketch in the first “Austin Powers” movie, he now assembles, in “The Love Guru,” as many more penis jokes as he can think of, none of them funny, except for one based on an off-screen “thump.” He supplements this subject with countless other awful moments involving defecation and the deafening passing of gas. Oh, and elephant sex.

There’s a moment of invention near the beginning of the film (his flying cushion has a back-up beeper), and then it’s all into the dump. Even his fellow actors seem to realize no one is laughing. That’s impossible, because they can’t hear the audience, but it looks uncannily like they can, and don’t.

Trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVdD0ZxPq_g/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVdD0ZxPq_g/

Directors – Marco Schnabel – (BMT: The Love Guru; Razzie Notes: Nominee for Worst Director for The Love Guru in 2009;)

Writers – Mike Myers (written by) – (Known For: Wayne’s World; Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery; Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me; Austin Powers in Goldmember; Wayne’s World 2; BMT: The Love Guru; Razzie Notes: Winner for Worst Screenplay, and Worst Actor for The Love Guru in 2009; Nominee for Worst Actor, and Worst Screen Couple for The Cat in the Hat in 2004; and Nominee for Worst Actor of the Decade in 2010 for The Cat in the Hat, and The Love Guru;)

Graham Gordy (written by) – (BMT: The Love Guru; Razzie Notes: Winner for Worst Screenplay for The Love Guru in 2009;)

Actors – Mike Myers – (Known For: Bohemian Rhapsody; Inglourious Basterds; Shrek; Wayne’s World; Shrek 2; Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery; Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me; Shrek Forever After; Austin Powers in Goldmember; Shrek the Third; Wayne’s World 2; So I Married an Axe Murderer; Future BMT: View from the Top; Terminal; 54; Mystery, Alaska; BMT: The Love Guru; The Cat in the Hat; Razzie Notes: Winner for Worst Screenplay, and Worst Actor for The Love Guru in 2009; Nominee for Worst Actor, and Worst Screen Couple for The Cat in the Hat in 2004; and Nominee for Worst Actor of the Decade in 2010 for The Cat in the Hat, and The Love Guru;)

Jessica Alba – (Known For: Sin City; Sin City: A Dame to Kill For; Machete; Never been Kissed; El Camino Christmas; Stretch; The Killer Inside Me; A.C.O.D.; Future BMT: Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World; The Ten; Honey; The Eye; Little Fockers; Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer; Machete Kills; Barely Lethal; Fantastic Four; Into the Blue; Lessons in Love; An Invisible Sign; Idle Hands; Camp Nowhere; Bill; Killers Anonymous; Awake; Entourage; BMT: The Love Guru; Good Luck Chuck; Valentine’s Day; Mechanic: Resurrection; Escape from Planet Earth; Razzie Notes: Winner for Worst Supporting Actress in 2011 for Little Fockers, Machete, The Killer Inside Me, and Valentine’s Day; Nominee for Worst Actress in 2006 for Fantastic Four, and Into the Blue; in 2008 for 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Awake, and Good Luck Chuck; and in 2009 for The Eye, and The Love Guru; and Nominee for Worst Screen Couple in 2008 for 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Awake, and Good Luck Chuck;)

Romany Malco – (Known For: The 40 Year-Old Virgin; Blades of Glory; The Duff; Last Vegas; Think Like a Man; Baby Mama; Almost Christmas; Top Five; Churchill: The Hollywood Years; The Prime Gig; Future BMT: Gulliver’s Travels; Night School; The Ex; When the Bough Breaks; Think Like a Man Too; A Little Bit of Heaven; Saint John of Las Vegas; BMT: The Love Guru; The Tuxedo;)

Budget/Gross – $62,000,000 / Domestic: $32,235,793 (Worldwide: $40,854,735)

Rotten Tomatoes – 14% (24/174): The Love Guru features far too many gross-out gags, and too few earned laughs, ranking as one of Mike Myers’ poorest outings.

Poster – The Sklog Guru

love_guru_ver2

Tagline(s) – His Karma is Huge

Get ready for the summer of love

Keyword – ice hockey;

TheLoveGuru_ice hockey

Top 10: Inside Out (2015), The Mighty Ducks (1992), Manchester by the Sea (2016), The Snowman (2017), Happy Gilmore (1996), Bruce Almighty (2003), Night at the Museum (2006), The Running Man (1987), Just Friends (2005), D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994);

Future BMT: 65.9 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993), 62.8 Tooth Fairy (2010), 52.2 Jack Frost (1998), 46.9 D3: The Mighty Ducks (1996), 40.2 California Man (1992), 39.0 The Forgotten (2004), 30.7 Raising Helen (2004), 30.6 D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994), 22.6 Youngblood (1986), 18.2 The Mighty Ducks (1992);

BMT: The Snowman (2017), The Love Guru (2008), Untraceable (2008)

Welcome to Earf (HoE Number 11) – The shortest path through The Movie Database cast lists using only BMT films is: Jessica Alba is No. 2 billed in The Love Guru and No. 2 billed in Mechanic: Resurrection, which also stars Jason Statham (No. 1 billed) who is in In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Seige Tale (No. 1 billed), which also stars Leelee Sobieski (No. 4 billed) who is in Here on Earth (No. 1 billed) => 2 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 4 + 1 = 11. There is no shorter path at the moment.

Notes – There is an extra scene with Kanye West being interviewed at a hockey game to which Mike Myers has brought him. Each time the interviewer gives the microphone to Kanye, Mike Myers leans in and keeps repeating, “Don’t say it, don’t say it!” Mike Myers was on-stage with Kanye West when Kanye made his infamous “George W. Bush does not like black people”, statement.

Used throughout the movie as a fake Indian greeting, “Mariska Hargitay” is actually the name of an actress. When Guru Pitka greets his followers after his presentation at the Pitka Ashram, Hargitay appeared in a brief cameo scene which makes light of her role as Detective Olivia Benson in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999).

During the scene where Guru Pitka and Rajneesh are singing More Than Words, the man waving a lighter on Guru Pitka’s “hybrid pillow”, is a real member of crew. He also appears at the beginning of the movie, after Guru Pitka sings “9 to 5” when he takes his pillow off camera.

There was a real Jacques Lecoq. He was an actor, called the “father of modern mime”.

In 1998, it was reported that Mike Myers would be playing four characters in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), the fourth being Austin’s love guru. This character finally surfaced in a starring role in 2008.

As revealed on an episode of Through the Keyhole (2013), Verne Troyer kept much of the small-sized furniture in Coach Cherkov’s office, that was designed for this movie, and used them in his own house.

Daniel Tosh’s only movie credit.

The song playing on the radio station Pitka changes to in the car after the bathroom scene is Bohemian Rhapsody, a reference to Myers’ movie Wayne’s World (1992).

Verne Troyer’s character name is an homage to the legendary Toronto Maple Leafs coach, Punch Imlach.

The opening scene is set in a location named Harenmahkeester, as declared by a large sign. This prop reappeared in the reality show Junk Raiders (2009), episode four, “Episode #1.4”, where it’s salvaged to act as a headboard.

Awards – Nominee for the Razzie Award for Worst Actor of the Decade (Mike Myers, 2010)

Winner for the Razzie Award for Worst Picture (2009)

Winner for the Razzie Award for Worst Actor (Mike Myers, 2009)

Winner for the Razzie Award for Worst Screenplay (Mike Myers, Graham Gordy, 2009)

Nominee for the Razzie Award for Worst Actress (Jessica Alba, 2009)

Nominee for the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor (Ben Kingsley, 2009)

Nominee for the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor (Verne Troyer, 2009)

Nominee for the Razzie Award for Worst Director (Marco Schnabel, 2009)

The Last Airbender Preview

Generated on: 2019-11-17

The Last Airbender (2010) – BMeTric: 89.1

TheLastAirbenderIMDb_BMeT

TheLastAirbenderIMDb_RV

RogerEbert.com – 0.5 stars – “The Last Airbender” is an agonizing experience in every category I can think of and others still waiting to be invented. The laws of chance suggest that something should have gone right. Not here. It puts a nail in the coffin of low-rent 3D, but it will need a lot more coffins than that.

I close with the hope that the title proves prophetic.

Trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-egQ79OrYCs/

Directors – M. Night Shyamalan – (Known For: Split; The Sixth Sense; Unbreakable; Signs; The Village; The Visit; Wide Awake; Future BMT: Glass; BMT: The Last Airbender; After Earth; The Happening; Lady in the Water; Razzie Notes: Winner for Worst Director, and Worst Screenplay for The Last Airbender in 2011; Winner for Worst Director, and Worst Supporting Actor for Lady in the Water in 2007; Nominee for Worst Director, and Worst Screenplay for After Earth in 2014; Nominee for Worst Director, and Worst Screenplay for The Happening in 2009; and Nominee for Worst Screenplay for Lady in the Water in 2007;)

Writers – M. Night Shyamalan (written by) – (Known For: Split; The Sixth Sense; Unbreakable; Signs; The Village; The Visit; Stuart Little; Devil; Wide Awake; Future BMT: Glass; BMT: The Last Airbender; After Earth; The Happening; Lady in the Water; Razzie Notes: Winner for Worst Director, and Worst Screenplay for The Last Airbender in 2011; Winner for Worst Director, and Worst Supporting Actor for Lady in the Water in 2007; Nominee for Worst Director, and Worst Screenplay for After Earth in 2014; Nominee for Worst Director, and Worst Screenplay for The Happening in 2009; and Nominee for Worst Screenplay for Lady in the Water in 2007;)

Actors – Noah Ringer – (Known For: Cowboys & Aliens; BMT: The Last Airbender;)

Nicola Peltz – (Known For: Back Roads; Our House; Youth in Oregon; The Obituary of Tunde Johnson; Future BMT: Deck the Halls; Harold; Affluenza; BMT: The Last Airbender; Transformers: Age of Extinction; Razzie Notes: Nominee for Worst Supporting Actress in 2011 for The Last Airbender; and in 2015 for Transformers: Age of Extinction;)

Jackson Rathbone – (Known For: Twilight; The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2; The Twilight Saga: Eclipse; Girlfriend; Pali Road; Future BMT: The Twilight Saga: New Moon; The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1; S. Darko; Samson; Big Stan; BMT: The Last Airbender; Razzie Notes: Winner for Worst Supporting Actor in 2011 for The Last Airbender, and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse;)

Budget/Gross – $150,000,000 / Domestic: $131,772,187 (Worldwide: $319,713,881)

Rotten Tomatoes – 5% (10/189): The Last Airbender squanders its popular source material with incomprehensible plotting, horrible acting, and detached joyless direction.

Poster – The Last Sklogbender

last_airbender_ver4

Tagline(s) – Four nations, one destiny

Keyword – based on cartoon;

TheLastAirbender_based on cartoon

Top 10: Aladdin (2019), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Bumblebee (2018), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), The Last Airbender (2010), The Flintstones (1994), Transformers (2007), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), Masters of the Universe (1987);

Future BMT: 82.8 Inspector Gadget (1999), 78.4 The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000), 70.8 Mr. Magoo (1997), 69.2 The Flintstones (1994), 66.0 Yogi Bear (2010), 65.9 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993), 64.4 Max Steel (2016), 63.6 Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), 62.4 Fat Albert (2004), 61.2 Underdog (2007);

BMT: The Last Airbender (2010), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), Æon Flux (2005), Dudley Do-Right (1999)

Welcome to Earf (HoE Number 26) – The shortest path through The Movie Database cast lists using only BMT films is: Nicola Peltz is No. 2 billed in The Last Airbender and No. 4 billed in Transformers: Age of Extinction, which also stars Mark Wahlberg (No. 1 billed) who is in Max Payne (No. 1 billed), which also stars Donal Logue (No. 6 billed) who is in Ghost Rider (No. 4 billed), which also stars Nicolas Cage (No. 1 billed) who is in The Wicker Man (No. 1 billed), which also stars Leelee Sobieski (No. 5 billed) who is in Here on Earth (No. 1 billed) => 2 + 4 + 1 + 1 + 6 + 4 + 1 + 1 + 5 + 1 = 26. If we were to watch Samson, Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight, and Kingdom Come we can get the HoE Number down to 18.

Notes – Dev Patel expressed dissatisfaction with the final film.

The film was intended to be the first part of a trilogy, however due to its poor reception, Nickelodeon scrapped the other two. It wasn’t until 2015 that Nickelodeon decided to revive the trilogy.

The creators of the show, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, both hated the film, and officially said they pretend it doesn’t exist.

In Britain, “bender” is a slang term for a male homosexual, so lines in this movie such as “Look out, he’s a bender!” resulted in plenty of giggling in UK movie theaters, making it difficult for audiences to take the film seriously.

The film was originally titled “Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005),” after the TV show on which the film is based. However, James Cameron and 20th Century Fox had already registered the film title Avatar (2009), so the word was dropped from the title to avoid confusion.

In spring of 2010 (before the film’s release), director M. Night Shyamalan was quoted by Entertainment Weekly as saying The Last Airbender was his “best movie”.

Dante Basco, the actor who voiced Zuko in the original series, wanted to play Zuko in the film. Many of the producers also wanted Basco to play the role, but M.Night Shymalan had already chosen Dev Patel for the role. Supposedly some people also believed that Basco, who was in his thirties at the time, may have been too old to be portraying a teenager in a live action movie despite this, apparently few people had any objections to Jackson Rathbone being at least ten years older than his character (Sokka) during the time in which filming was taking place.

The picture Zuko carries of his family is identical to the one from series, seen multiple times throughout the series and hung at the beach house.

Noah Ringer submitted an audition tape of himself doing martial arts with a completely shaved head with Aang’s signature arrow tattoo painted onto his forehead to Paramount Pictures. This video is what won him the role.

Nickelodeon did not give the film any nominations at the 2011 Kids Choice Awards, despite the fact that ‘Airbender’ was a Nickeloden Movies motion picture.

Awards – Winner for the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor (Jackson Rathbone, 2011)

Winner for the Razzie Award for Worst Director (M. Night Shyamalan, 2011)

Winner for the Razzie Award for Worst Eye-Gouging Mis-Use of 3-D (2011)

Winner for the Razzie Award for Worst Screenplay (M. Night Shyamalan, Bryan Konietzko, 2011)

Winner for the Razzie Award for Worst Picture (2011)

Nominee for the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor (Dev Patel, 2011)

Nominee for the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress (Nicola Peltz, 2011)

Nominee for the Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple/Worst Screen Ensemble (2011)

Nominee for the Razzie Award for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel (2011)