RT Obscura with Kim Newman
Further Reading: Inauguration Special with The Ugly American ( comment)
It's inauguration season in the United States, which always gives rise to editorial about how -- no matter who is in the White House -- the country keeps making the same foreign policy mistakes. Outside a few war films with explosions and martyred movie stars, this has never been a 'sexy' subject for Hollywood, though there has always been a trickle of ambitious, underperforming-at-the-box-office, political essay cinema. Here, we look back a generation to an era of diplomats in cutaway suits and neatly-trimmed moustaches, third-world mobs waving 'Yankee Go Home' placards and the beginnings of a battle for 'hearts and minds' that the West tends to lose because the whole concept of such a campaign sounds hideously patronising to the owners of said hearts and minds.
Further Reading: Seasonal Slaying - The 12 Horrors of Christmas (5 comments)
Thanks to Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol, the Yuletide season has long been associated with ghost stories -- often with hard-won uplift at the end, like Scrooge being reformed by pestering spectres or Jimmy Stewart terrified into affirming that It's a Wonderful Life after all. So, for those who still think Christmas fans should be buried at the crossroads with a sprig of holly through their hearts, here are Kim Newman's recommendations for a full holiday of horrors...
Further Reading: Remember the Song, Remember Town Without Pity? (1 comment)
Town Without Pity, a little-remembered 1961 courtroom drama with Kirk Douglas, inspired a much more familiar song of the same name. But what of the movie asks Kim Newman.
Total Recall
Total Recall: Keith David's Best Movies (65 comments)
You may not know his name, but you almost certainly recognize his face -- and you might even know his voice too: Since the early 1980s, Keith David has been one of the most prolific actors in the business, scoring roles in a dizzying array of films, lending his voice to cartoons and videogames, and even singing when he feels like it. Heck, he even popped up on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood during the 1980s, appearing as Keith the Southwood Carpenter. You've heard of "that guy" status for actors? That's Keith David in a nutshell -- and since you'll be hearing his voice in The Princess and the Frog this weekend, we thought now would be the perfect time to give this ubiquitous thespian the Total Recall treatment!
Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies (83 comments)
Child actors are notorious for fizzling out once their prepubescent charms disappear during adolescence, or once they discover the various vices of the adult world, and it seems to be the rare case when a young starlet can overcome these hurdles and transition successfully into a career of grownup roles. Natalie Portman is one such success story: after making her debut as a 12-year-old in Luc Besson's Leon The Professional, Portman gradually took on more adult roles until she was playing everything from a young, widowed mother (Cold Mountain) to an emotionally manipulative stripper (Closer). This week, she stars alongside Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal in the family drama Brothers, so we felt it was the right time to take a look back at the extensive filmography of this young star to determine Natalie Portman's Best Movies.
Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies (97 comments)
Some actors are lucky enough to make the jump from television to film stardom. Some are lucky enough to get their careers back on track after falling off the A-list. But how many stars have been able to do both -- and walk away virtually unscathed from the flaming wreckage of Battlefield Earth in the bargain? Only John Travolta, ladies and gentlemen. Travolta buddies up with Robin Williams in this weekend's Old Dogs, which inspired us to take a look back at a filmography far more varied than you might remember. Dramas? Comedies? Thrillers? Cartoons? Heck, Travolta's done 'em all -- and he's been doing it for more than 30 years, too. It's high time he got the Total Recall treatment, wouldn't you say?
Weekly Ketchup
Weekly Ketchup: Tron Team to Remake The Black Hole (37 comments)
This week's Ketchup include news of plans to remake The Amityville Horror (again) and Disney's The Black Hole, a new project for acclaimed director Paul Thomas Anderson and new roles for Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gwyneth Paltrow and one of the stars of The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
Weekly Ketchup: Zombieland 2 in 3D? (28 comments)
Hollywood has mostly taken the week off for Thanksgiving, so that they can all enjoy their vegan turduckens down by the pool, no doubt. Nature abhors a vacuum however (even Hollywood follows MOST of the laws of physics), and so even in a light week there's still news to report, such as franchise news for Zombieland, Kull and The Howling, and casting news for The A-Team, UFO and Thor.
Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors (64 comments)
This week's Ketchup includes casting news and rumors for Thor, Spider-Man 4, The Hobbit and Guardians of Ga'hoole, new sequels in the Jackass and Underworld franchises and potential new movies for Brad Pitt and Eddie Murphy.
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