Category — Movies

I read today on Joblo that Tuesday marks the release of The Incredible Hulk (2008) on DVD.  But I have to admit, I was more excited to see that Season 5 of the old Hulk TV series will be released on the same day, and with more David Banner’s shirt-splitting, green-morphing, 1970’s special effects!

I think I’m going to have to pick up a copy of Hulk Season 5 for my little sister who isn’t so little any more. She was about 3 when the series started, and used to hide behind the recliner in the living room when the Hulk, played by Bill Bixby, started to morph.  Much to her embarrassment, it’s something that still comes up at family get-togethers.

It’s not too late to celebrate the Hulk on DVD with an Incredible Hulk Halloween costume.  This one has the whole ripped shirt/ pants too short effect that I remember from the TV series.  I’d definitely want to add some more convincing makeup, and props like a set of green Hulk hands.  I found the Hulk costume at Hollywood Toys & Costumes.

One more thing- a vintage Incredible Hulk video!

Instructables is having a DIY halloween costume contest.

Here are some of my favorites:

The Iron Man led light reactor

Airplane pilot Gremlin from Gremlins II

And the ‘How to make a Mignola-esque werewolf mask’ article. But if you ask me, it might be easier to just buy a werewolf costume.

And if you’re short on time, but not on cash this Halloween. Here are some neat-o movie themed Halloween costumes you can buy online:

Batman costumes from The Dark Knight. I predict there will be tons of Jokers wreaking havoc this Halloween.

Return of the Jedi Princess Leia slave costumes seem to never go out of style…

Speed Racer may have tanked at the box office, but I’m sure a few diehard fans of the cartoon will dress up as a Trixie, Racer X, or Speed since the movie revived the nostalgia.

The simplest Halloween scary movie formula can sometimes prove to be the best: singular guy(or girl) stalks and kills innocent people for no apparent reason (i.e. he/she’s batshit insane).

The villain dresses up in some sort of costume mask, albeit a hockey mask (Jason) or a simple white mask (Michael Myers). The 1980s horror movie era was chock full of maniac killers, paper thin plots, and even worse dialogue. Some of those movies were the scariest or funniest movies I’d ever seen.

The Funny:


Cutting Class starring a young Brad Pitt playing the jock and Donovan Leitch as the tortured loner. They both attend a high school where students, teachers, and other various people mysteriously go missing. Turns out a psycho killer is behind the disappearances. But who could it be? Watch and find out! The best part is the cameo by Martin Mull as the overbearing father.

Freddy vs. Jason is nonsensical, but chances are it won’t matter because you’ll be laughing your ass off at the ludicrous one-liners. Plus, Kelly Rowland from Destiny’s Child plays one the “high school” kids in peril.

Freddy to no one in particular: “Who wants some dark meat?”

The Scary:

The original Friday the 13th and the sequel, where Jason stalks kids at Camp Crystal Lake.

The Hitcher (1986) with Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and C. Thomas Howell. Don’t even waste one millisecond watching the remake with Sophia Bush and Sean Bean.

I have to hand it to Whitney, she really does uncover pop treasures on her blog! I probably would have never heard this new indie flick, Nights and Weekends. And I definitely would not have known it’s a “mumblecore movie”, which is a movie without much dialogue.

“Last weekend I watched Nights and Weekends, the new indie flick from Joe Swanberg and Greta Gerwig. And even though it didn’t cost much to make, stars relatively unknown actors and doesn’t have a plot that’s easy to describe, I thought it was one of the best, most memorable movies I’ve seen in awhile.”

That’s basically enough to sell me, especially the part about it being inexpensive, since I make a point to check out all low budget indie features that sound remotely entertaining. These films help me come up with filmmaker tips for this blog and give me inspiration to continue to pursue my own video projects. Finding that perfect camcorder for your indie feature is only one piece of the puzzle. The key is to tell a story that people can relate to, which I think this movie succeeds so well. The filmmakers highlight all the sweet and annoying things about love and relationships. All without much dialogue and just zooming in on the interactions between the characters.

Trailer check:

Check your IFC On Demand listings for Nights and Weekends or if you’re in the UK, it’s playing the London Film Festival on Thursday, October 16th.

I hate to be a film purist, but replacing Terence Howard in Iron Man 2 with Don Cheadle is a mistake. Why? Because the original film is still going to be vivid in the audience’s memory, so everytime Cheadle pops up, I’m just gonna be yearning for Howard. Sorry Don, but them’s the brakes. Get some more money for Terence, trust me it’ll be worth it.

Think about it though. Anytime there was a major casting change in a sequel, it only worked when people forgot all about the first actor because a) they wanted to because the first actor sucked (i.e. Batman Begins and Katie Holmes) or b) the replacement actor was forced upon us because the first actor died (i.e. the recent Harry Potter sequels where Michael Gambon subbed for Richard Harris).

Cinematic incarnations of Albus Dumbledore

That’s basically it. Otherwise, the sequel feels cheapened somehow. Find tons of geek chatter on the casting switch at /Film and Pajiba.