Flush as they are with the spirit of disingenuous hypocrisy, there is surely nothing better than Christmas carols to soundtrack the antics of such an abominable do-gooder, and Sweet Lord of Heaven if Alan Silvestri’s score for (natch) A Christmas Carol isn’t laden with them like poor old Santa struggling under his big black sack. Nary a track passes by without Silvestri slipping in a few dreary bars of some traditionally seasonal dirge, and this tendency is indicative of the veteran composer’s imagination-impoverished approach to his umpteenth collaboration with director Robert Zemeckis. Anyone hoping for a theme as evocative and essential as Silvestri’s offering from Back to the Future is going to be left as disappointed as a kid waking up on Christmas morning and finding a lump of coal forlornly waiting for them under the tree. Or a really crappy present - a copy of X-Men Origins: Wolverine for example.

It’s not that A Christmas Carol is an awful soundtrack. Indeed, it might work perfectly satisfactorily when deployed in tandem with the wacky onscreen antics of a gaggle of CGI Jim Carreys. Possibly. But, when judged as a standalone listen, Silvestri’s orchestrations are predictable and pedestrian, with closer God Bless Everyone by tenor Andrea Bocelli summing up the gaping chasm between intended and actual effect. Supposedly a culminating flourish of utopian goodwill, this final track actually more resembles a trawler frantically trying to foghorn away an approaching oil tanker. It’s an overblown honk to blow your trousers off, and certainly not in a good way.

You can’t get it on cd but you can download it as mp3s here

Disney’s A Christmas Carol Soundtrack (OST) - Track Listing
1. A Christmas Carol Main Title – Alan Silvestri
2. Scrooge Counts Money – Alan Silvestri
3. Marley’s Ghost Visits Scrooge – Alan Silvestri
4. The Ghost of Christmas Past – Alan Silvestri
5. Let Us See Another Christmas – Alan Silvestri
6. Flight to Fezziwigs – Alan Silvestri
7. First Waltz – Alan Silvestri
8. Another Idol Has Replaced Me – Alan Silvestri
9. Touch My Robe – Alan Silvestri
10. The Clock Tower – Alan Silvestri
11. Carriage Chase – Alan Silvestri
12. Old Joe and Mrs. Dilber – Alan Silvestri
13. This Dark Chamber – Alan Silvestri
14. None of Us Will Ever Forget – Alan Silvestri
15. Who Was That Lying Dead? – Alan Silvestri
16. I’m Still Here – Alan Silvestri
17. Ride On My Good Man – Alan Silvestri
18. God Bless Us Everyone – Andrea Bocelli

Leave your thoughts on A Christmas Carol and the A Christmas Carol soundtrack in the comments. If you’re looking for a particular song or track leave a description and someone normally replies.

Kevin — who voices Captain “Soap” MacTavish in Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 — says that the hugely successful video game franchise is also eyeing a big screen incarnation.

“They were looking for a rough, Scottish actor in Hollywood they probably couldn’t get Gerard Butler, so they got the No. 2 Gerard Butler, me. I had no idea it would be so huge, and now there are talks of a feature film,” he revealed to PopWrap. Then came the kicker, when asked if he would be bringing Soap to life in the movie, he said, “if the script is good, and Gerard isn’t available [laughs], then absolutely.”

As video games become more like movies and movies become more like video games, who’s to say if there is a difference between the two any more? Well you don’t actually control anything that happens when you watch a film so there is a BIG difference. No but aesthetically the motion capture films which Robert Zemeckis has been making look more like a video game cut scene than a traditional movie and some of the action in District 9 had a sort of First Person Shooter feel to it. But really the biggest similarity is is the money, video games now can make just as much (if not more) on their release as the biggest of Hollywood blockbusters. Approximately 4.7 million copies of Modern Warfare 2 were sold in North America and the United Kingdom on its opening day, adding up to around $310 million, which dwarfs The Dark Knight’s mere $67 million opening day box office takings.

Source: Latino Review

The Lightning Thief is the first in a series of 5 books written by Rick Riordan about Percy Jackson, a troubled 12 year old kid whose life changes forever when he finds out his father is none other than Greek God Poseiden. But he’s not the only one who is born of divine blood, there are others like him, in fact there is a special school called Camp Half Blood where all these demi-gods can go and learn together. Sounds familliar I know. It’s no surprise that Percy Jackson has been touted as the new Harry Potter. The series has got a large following though, which is evident from the fact that the books have remained in the New York times bestseller list for more than two years straight.

Here is the trailer…

So apparently demi-gods can hold their breath for 7 minutes, what does that make David Blaine? I like how they use “From The Director of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” as a good thing and check out the new addition to the product placement hall of fame right at the end. Also notice how Pierce Brosnan has gone from being Bond to being Q, the one handing out the gadgety pens.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is released 12th February 2010.

Source: Collider

You may have heard Rinsch’s name when he was talked about as a potential director for the Ridley Scott produced Alien prequel, until the veteran director decided to helm it himself. It would have been Rinsch’s first feature film, having only directed commercials so far.

To quote a Far Eastern proverb - It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. Rinsch is currently dating Scott’s daughter. Hey I’m not saying there is a connection but I’m sure it didn’t hurt his career. I don’t want to be entirely cynical though, this is one of the commercials he directed and it’s pretty damn good -

The directorial path from commercials to movies is one that some of the greats have followed, including Scott himself who began his illustrious career with an ad now heralded as one of Britain’s most loved -

Source: ScreenRant

Ninja Assassin is released on November 25th.

We had previously reported on MGM’s financial woes a few months ago on this very site. The situation was that the investors who were owed money would be needing to hold off on calling those debts until at least February. Well, sadly, that hasn’t helped.

The statement reads:

[MGM is] beginning a process to explore various strategic alternatives including operating as a standalone entity, forming strategic partnerships and evaluating a potential sale of the company. The lenders took this action in support of the company’s ongoing efforts to develop and evaluate long-term strategic alternatives to maximize value for its stakeholders. MGM appreciates the continued support of its lender group for the process it is undertaking.

Looking at MGM’s track record for this year, their chances of survival were always slim - the only film they’ve managed to put out this year is the abysmal Fame remake. Next year’s schedule is even more bleak - March’s Hot Tub Time Machine (?), October’s The Zookeeper and the Red Dawn remake in November. Add to that the gargantuan budget for The Hobbit looming and the next Bond flick getting pushed back until 2011, the right thing to do here is try and recoup what they can and bow out gracefully.

So what will this mean for those aforementioned blockbusters? Well, MGM only own half of the rights to The Hobbit - a guaranteed cash cow if there ever was one - and the Bond franchise can generate money by putting on a tuxedo and winking at women across the room. Both of these franchises are completely safe and will be fought over viciously by the other major studios - namely Lionsgate, Time Warner and the Evil Empire itself, News Corp. What is not so clear is what’s going to happen to the famous lion logo, the United Artists operation and the 4,000+ film library built up over the years. We’ll keep you posted.

Until then, goodbye lion. It’s been fun.

Source: Variety

Shankweiler’s Drive-In, Orefield, Pennsylvania, USA

Remember that bit in Twister when one of those naughty tornados pulverises a drive-in movie theater, just as the assembled punters are enjoying a bit of Jack Nicholson freak-out in Kubrick’s The Shining? Well that scene had a true-to-life precursor from forty years previous, when Shankweiler’s Drive-In felt the full force of Hurricane Diane back in August 1955. However a meteorological pummelling is nowhere near enough to keep a good Pennsylvania outdoor picture palace down, and Shankweiler’s not only subsequently reopened, but remains open to this day (technically it’s closed at the moment for the winter break, but you know what I mean). Founded by Wilson Shankweiler in 1934 as only the second drive-in in the United States, the first screen at the theater was simply a white sheet hung between two telephone poles, while past features also included a landing strip for small aircraft. Shankweiler’s is the oldest drive-in still to be doing business, and film fans regularly make the pilgrimage out there during the April-thru-September season for some double-feature action.

Sunset Drive-In Cinema, Ahmedabad, India

Considering that Asia constitutes almost a third of the total land surface of the entire world, any drive-in cinema which can boast the largest outdoor screen on that entire mammoth continent must surely find itself as the biggest game in a decidedly massive town. That is precisely the status enjoyed by the Sunset Drive-In in Ahmedabad in northwest India, which has the space to play to 6000 audience members at a single time. Primarily screening home grown fare from the febrile Bollywood industry, the Sunset is also one of the more democratic drive-ins around, seeing as you do not actually need a car to check out the films. Pedestrians can stand under a special covered area, but with temperatures climbing as high as 30 degrees Celsius even in the depths of winter, an automobile with a fully-functioning air-con probably offers the most comfortable spot to watch the movie from.

DRV-IN, New York, USA

Manhattan’s only drive-in movie theater, and the smallest the world has ever known. Six people can enjoy a classic film from a 1965 Ford Falcon convertible accompanied by an artificial starry sky and a “live” oak tree.

Menlyn Park, Pretoria, South Africa

The perfect booking for the drive-in theater at Menlyn Park would surely have to be Dawn of the Dead. For not only is George A. Romero’s second ‘Living Dead’ flick a splendid example of the kind of low-budget horror that is such a classic staple of the drive-in movie, but the shopping mall setting provides a particularly apt fit for the outdoor picture facility at Menlyn Park - their drive-in theater being the first in the world to be constructed on the roof of a retail complex. Located in the city of Pretoria in north-eastern South Africa, Menlyn Park offers screenings seven days a week and also gives its customers the opportunity to book one of six restored ‘veteran’ automobiles from which to enjoy their drive-in experience. And if that isn’t novel enough then Tuesdays are pay-once cram-in night, where one entry fee will gain admittance for you and however many you can squeeze into your vehicle.

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, UK

Famed around the world as a film production site - in particular for its historical links to the James Bond series – this autumn also sees Britain’s Pinewood Studios offering a drive-in programme of screenings, with the movies on show all having shot at either Pinewood itself or sister facility Shepperton. More normally used for outdoor water filming, Pinewood’s Paddock Lot is set to play host to the world’s largest cinema screen, on which Richard Donner’s The Omen will be the first feature available for view. Amongst the movies due to be screened between now and early December are 2001: A Space Odyssey, Batman Begins, and Dr. Strangelove, but most unusual of all has to be a promised double-bill of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Full Metal Jacket. And what the latter’s Gunner Sergeant Hartman would make of the former’s Augustus Gloop is probably a damn sight scarier than anything The Omen can deliver.

To close, here’s a nice report from CBS on the current state of the drive-in movie industry:

Is there a great drive-in movie theater you’d recommend? When was the last time you went to one? What was your experience? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Even though it’s shocking that the trailer doesn’t even pretend that the movie’s going to surprise you (how can they blatantly show the ending like that?) I can’t say that the trailer gave too much away, because it really doesn’t. No more than you’d assume from hearing the concept behind the movie, which is Amy Adams wants to get married to her boyfriend of four years and decides to propose to him on a leap year, only her journey is harder than she expected and she has to get ferried to her boyfriend by a charming, handsome Irishman. Most people were sold on this when they heard ‘Amy Adams’. Irish people were sold on this when they heard ‘Ireland’. Other people were sold on this because they have ovaries. For the remainder of you who won’t be buying a ticket, Movie-Moron has taken the liberty of summarising the movie for you:

Leap Year comes out on January 8th, 2010.

Source: FSR

Now, whilst you may have detected an element of sarcasm in what you’ve just read, be aware that the praise for Meet the Parents is in no way insincere, it made the Top 10 Romantic Comedies list for a reason. Several in fact. But the prospect of another unnecessary sequel after the abominable follow up does not inspire anticipation. Keitel is set to play a contractor hired by Ben Stiller’s Gaylord Focker. A contractor is a pretty…unspecific role. Here’s hoping it’s a contract killer of some kind, it’s the last thing the audience would expect. Whatever the ‘contractor’ role involves, it’ll presumably make Ben Stiller’s Gaylord Focker irate. It’ll be nice to see Keitel bring the funny, if nothing else. And they couldn’t go wrong with an homage to this scene:

Jessica Alba and Jurassic Park’s Laura Dern (she’ll always be Jurassic Park’s Laura Dern to me) are also set to star in the movie. The beautiful Miss Alba of course has extensive comedy experience, most notably her roles in Good Luck Chuck, The Love Guru, and both Fantastic Four movies, which were a joke. Jurassic Park’s Laura Dern survived getting eaten by dinosaurs, so she can probbaly survive what is likely to be a train wreck.

Little Fockers is released July 30th 2010.

Source: JoBlo

2012 is released today.