Like You Were There: Ebertfest 2011 (Day Three) (JB's Take)

JB is taking over Like You Were There this week, as he reports daily from Champaign, Illinois, while attending Roger Ebert's annual film festival, Ebertfest.

On the advice of my therapist, I will no longer comment on the line...

Like You Were There: Ebertfest 2011 (Day Two) (JB's Take)

JB is taking over Like You Were There this week, as he reports daily from Champaign, Illinois, while attending Roger Ebert's annual film festival, Ebertfest.
 
Day Two of Ebertfest begins with much nicer weather to stand in line. It is actually sunny, and it is not raining. Here we have a little parable for people who care way way way way too much about where they sit in the theatre. Our little group got in line at about 10 o'clock; doors open at noon. This means we stand in line for about two hours. Lo and behold, they open the doors at noon on the dot, and what follows is a middle-aged buffalo stampede (pretty slow up those steps to the balcony!) in order to get THE SEATS. Avid moviegoers grab their idea of prime real estate and...

Watchin' Trailerz with Doug (Week of April 25)

It's been an exciting week here at F This Movie! Patrick unveiled a new feature titled, "Take Two," in which he reexamines movies to see if his feelings about them have changed over time, JB is providing day-by-day coverage of Ebertfest, Roger Ebert's annual film celebration in Champaign, Ill., and Doug? Well he's just shitting out the same old movie trailer roundup that he's been doing for weeks. Not a forward thinker, that guy.

Like You Were There: Ebertfest 2011 (Day One) (JB's Take)

JB is taking over Like You Were There this week, as he reports daily from Champaign, Illinois, while attending Roger Ebert's annual film festival, Ebertfest.

I had forgotten how much fun it is to stand out in the rain, but I was able to remember this afternoon because 1) Ebertfest is traditionally held on the coldest, wettest weekend of the year in Champaign, Illinois (this year a bonus tornado warning was thrown in at no extra charge!) and 2) Ebert has long ago dismissed the possibility of reserved seats, which would eliminate this pneumonia-baiting tradition.

Take Two: Speed Racer

Welcome to Take Two, a new feature on F This Movie! (because F This Movie! needs more recurring features) in which we revisit movies that we didn't really like (or get, but mostly like) the first time around to see if our feelings about them have changed. The future is now!

I tend to think that almost any movie can improve on a second viewing, mostly because you're finally able to see it for the movie that it actually is and not the one you were thinking it would be. It's no longer being compared to your expectations, and instead can actually be taken on its own terms. Maybe it's some amount of familiarity with the movie that makes us more forgiving the second time around. Maybe it's just dashed hopes -- expecting to dislike a movie the second time can make it easier to suddenly feel like it's not so bad.

For the first entry in Take Two, we're revisiting The Wachowski Broth...er(s)...Siblings' candy-colored, ADD-afflicted 2008 mess Speed Racer.

F This Movie! - Vanilla Sky

Forgive Patrick and Alex. They're blowing your mind.



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Also discussed this episode: Source Code (2011), Your Highness (2011), Hanna (2011), Abre los ojos (1997)

Watchin' Trailerz with Doug (Week of April 18)

"Have mercy! / How rude! / You got it, dude! / You're in big trouble, mister! / My name is Harvey Milk, and I'm here to recruit you!" -Doug, after his weekend in San Francisco in which he went on the Full House tour, probably.

F This Movie! - Scream 4

Patrick and JB saw Scream 4 (or SCRE4M if you're a douche) on opening night so you don't have to. Hear them stab it, slice it open and see what its insides look like. There are no spoilers until the end, and there's a whole bunch of warnings before anything is given away. And a sound effect.


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Also discussed this episode: Super (2011), American: The Bill Hicks Story (2010), The Tourist (2010)

Watchin' Trailerz with Doug (Week of April 11)

I have three REALLY VERY GOOD movies to show you, which I'm SURE you'll LOVE and APPRECIATE. Who knows? They might even make you NOT want to kill yourself! Oh, by the way, today is opposite day!

Review: Super

If you're going to see writer/director James Gunn's newest film Super -- and you really, really should see Super -- do yourself a favor and don't read Roger Ebert's review in which he casually spoils part of the movie's climax in the opening paragraph. If you are going to read it at all (and I love Roger Ebert, but I'm not so sure you need to), only do it after you've seen the movie so you can understand just how wrong he gets it. He awarded the movie only two stars and spends most of his review complaining about the mix in tones -- the way that the black comedy mixes with real pain (both physical and, even more so, emotional) and brutal violence. He didn't like the way Super made him feel, and failed to understand that it's exactly what the movie has in mind.

F Directors! #4: Sidney Lumet (In Memoriam) (JB's Take)

F This Movie! regular JB is taking over F Directors! today to discuss the essential films of Sidney Lumet, suggested to us by reader Wade Glenn. Also by Sidney Lumet dying. Read JB's thoughts after the jump.

And, as always, you can nominate directors you'd like to see covered on our Facebook page or in the comments below.

F This Movie! - F Superhero Movies! (Part II)

In the epic second part of their epic two-parter, Patrick, Mike and Adam count down the worst superhero movies ever made, from Galactus clouds to Nick Nolte bubbles.


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F This Movie! - F Superhero Movies! (Part I)

In an epic two-parter, Patrick, Mike and first-time guest Adam Thas prepare for a superhero-heavy summer by discussing some of their favorite superhero movies of all time. Excelsior.


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Also discussed this episode: Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), Sucker Punch (2011), Hobo With a Shotgun (2011), Ong Bak 3 (2010)

Like You Were There: Full Moon Roadshow Comes to Chicago

I'm always jealous of the people living in places like Los Angeles and Austin who are able to take advantage not just of the regular programming at theaters like the New Beverly and the Alamo Drafthouse, but also the special events (QT Fest, or Harry Knowles' Butt-Numb-a-Thon, or The Wright Stuff or Dante's Inferno) that never make their way to Chicago. I'm also frustrated that so few bloggers (of which there is a tremendous shortage) take the time to write about those experiences, so that those of us who are thousands of miles away and only dreaming about attending can live vicariously through their words. With that in mind, we at F This Movie! would like to introduce a semi-recurring (?) feature: "Like You Were There." In the first installment, Charles Band and Full Moon Entertainment hit the Windy City with a triple bill of Stuart Gordon/Jeffrey Combs/Barbara Crampton classics and the world premiere of Evil Bong 3D: The Wrath of Bong. Not all movies are created equal.

Watchin' Trailerz with Doug (Week of April 4)

'Tis spring-hey, 'tis spring-hey. The grass is riz. I wonder where the flowers is? 'Tis spring-hey, 'tis spring-hey. The bird is on the wing-hey. That's absoid! The wing is on the bird!

F This Movie! - Rushmore

Patrick is joined again by St. Erich Asperschlager for a cussing of Wes Anderson and Rushmore. This podcast just made your list of things to do today.


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Also discussed this episode: Stripes (1981), Nightmares in Red, White and Blue (2009), I Saw the Devil (2011), The Man from Nowhere (2010)

25 Good Non-Horror Remakes

The Russell Brand remake of Arthur is in theaters Friday, finally cementing his place in Hollywood as the new Dudley Moore. It doesn't end there, though; there are over 50 remakes currently in development, because if something ain't broke let's try super hard to break it. Here are 25 non-horror remakes (in no order) that are good. Not better than the original (except sometimes). Just good taken on their own.

F This Movie! - Kill Bill

Patrick and Doug are on a roaring rampage of revenge. They'll roar. And they'll rampage. And they'll get F'ing satisfaction.


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Also discussed this episode: RED (2010),  North (1994), Adventureland (2009), Jackass 3D (2010), Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1974)

Watchin' Trailerz with Doug (Week of March 28)

Pretty weak week (see what I did there?) for trailers.