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It isn't often that a zombie movie rules the box office, but that's just what Warm Bodies did earlier this month, easily winning its opening weekend, joining the ranks of zombie movies like 2004's Dawn of the Dead, 2009's Zombieland and the four Resident Evil sequels, which all achieved the same distinction. With The Walking Dead returning to TV with record ratings and World War Z arriving this summer to show what Brad Pitt can do against the zombie apocalypse, it's clear that zombies are as relevant as ever in the pop culture zeitgeist, and are determined to only evolve further.
It might be easy to dismiss zombies as mindless, killing machines (and they are that, too), but over their long history, zombies have also figured out how to move, how to talk, and, in the case of Warm Bodies, how to love again. For a full history of the evolution of zombies in movies, we only ask that you have 8 hours to spare.
find 8 hours and become a zombie scholar with our picks >> Posted 02.27.13 by Ryan -
For the most part, the days of the classic monster movie are over. Modern moviegoing audiences are simply too sophisticated to quake at the sight of a shambling, dusty old mummy or a be-caped vampire with a distinctive widow's peak and a propensity for pronouncing his w's as v's. The werewolves, vampires, ghosts and zombies ("Frankensteins") of yesteryear still have enormous appeal, but more often as the subjects of parodies or comedies than of horror movies.
The latest movie to use classic monsters for laughs is acclaimed animator and director Genndy Tartakovsky's (Samurai Jack, Star Wars: The Clone Wars) upcoming 3-D family comedy, Hotel Transylvania, which revolves around a secret hotel run by Dracula (voiced by Adam Sandler) that caters to monsters who want a little getaway from torch-waving humans. Described by Tartakovsky as a "silly" movie — "Not every movie has to be a Pixar movie. If someone wants to make something like Dumb and Dumber, why can’t we?" — Hotel Transylvania goes straight for laughs, but monster comedies run the entire gamut from child-friendly cheese to really scary-with-a-smidge-of-comic relief. Help us make some sense of these horror-comedy hybrids by rating the Top 10 Monster Movie Comedies.
Rate the Top 10 Monster Movie Comedies >>
Posted 09.29.12 by BrentJS -
In case you haven't heard, the Rapture has been moved up. According to a California evangelical, a massive earthquake will shake the world, sending true believers to the heavens, leaving nonbelievers to watch the world destruction.*
That might sound like bad news (OK, really bad news) but the silver lining in all this is that we get to plan our final hours. So with the pending apocalypse — tonight or on Saturday, as originally scheduled — we ask, What movie would you watch on you last day?
Would it be a lighthearted movie to ease your mind? Or would you pick an apocalyptic movie to prepare you in case you survive Judgment Day?
*Just to put things into context, the same pastor who is predicting the end of the world incorrectly predicted the return of Jesus to Earth in 1994.
ETA: Since The Big Lebowski is currently ranked #1, we wanted to let all the achievers out there know that it's on ReelzChannel this weekend.
Vote for your final movie choice >>
Posted 05.20.11 by reelz -
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost scored success with their first two collaborations, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, but their latest, Paul, was their first without director Edgar Wright, who co-wrote Shaun and Fuzz with Pegg.
Though unrelated by story and characters, the movies comprised the first two chapters of the "Three Flavors Cornetto" trilogy, often referred to as the "Blood and Ice Cream" trilogy. The connecting element was the use of popular British ice cream Cornetto, with each movie utilizing a different flavor. Pegg talked to the BBC about the third movie as early as 2008.
Shaun of the Dead has strawberry, Hot Fuzz has the original Cornetto flavor, and there will be a mint-choc chip in the third film. We don't quite know how or why yet, but it will happen.
In a recent interview with MTV, Pegg admitted the third in the trilogy could arrive as early as next year, now that Wright has finished Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Pegg and Frost will soon be finished doing press for Paul.
third to be released "next year"? >> Posted 03.11.11 by Ryan -
Reshoots are usually considered a bad sign for a movie and seem to cause panic that something is "wrong" and needs to be fixed. When word got out (via a Production Weekly Tweet that no longer exists) that the upcoming comic book adaptation of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was "planning to return to Toronto for 3 additional days of photography," it was hard to know what to think. Shooting has been finished for over a year, what went "wrong?" How did Edgar Wright, the beloved director of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead, stray from the path of perfection?
reshoots aren't always a bad thing >> Posted 05.06.10 by Ryan -
The ReelzChannel 100 began when we asked Leonard Maltin for his favorite Hidden Gems of the decade. His list led the web team into a general discussion about the best movies of the decade and — after no small amount of debate, arguing, and (we're not proud to say) some petty name-calling — we decided we'd better bring it to an end with a company-wide vote. Then it was just a matter of tallying up the votes and hoping for the best. Lucky for us, ReelzChannel is filled with a staff ranging from movie lovers to movie fanatics. What turned out isn't what you'll find on a critic's best of list — instead it's what movie fans really enjoyed.
In our final day of the ReelzChannel 100, we highlight 10 New Classics from the Decade.
Posted 01.01.10 by reelz -
The ReelzChannel 100 began when we asked Leonard Maltin for his favorite Hidden Gems of the decade. His list led the web team into a general discussion about the best movies of the decade and — after no small amount of debate, arguing, and (we're not proud to say) some petty name-calling — we decided we'd better bring it to an end with a company-wide vote. Then it was just a matter of tallying up the votes and hoping for the best. Lucky for us, ReelzChannel is filled with a staff ranging from movie lovers to movie fanatics. What turned out isn't what you'll find on a critic's best of list — instead it's what movie fans really enjoyed.
In day four of the ReelzChannel 100, we highlight the Top 10 Horror Movies of the Decade.
Posted 12.28.09 by reelz -
There hasn't been much word regarding Simon Pegg's newest film, Paul, about two British slackers who decide to go to Area 51 in search of aliens after a trip to Comic-Con only to discover an actual alien. There's been one still released, which doesn't really show very much, and actor Jason Bateman talked about getting a gift from his Paul co-stars, but that's about it.
Apparently, even Pegg is aware of the lack of news, because he recently offered an update to his fans in the forum of his web-site.
Hi all
Thought you might like to hear how things are going on the Paul front. It's been a while since we wrapped now and with the absence of Lance B's video blogs, I guess things must seem to have gone very quiet. Rest assured the good (space)ship Paul is progressing apace. Our venerable and brilliant director Greg Mottola [Superbad], is currently ensconced in an edit suite in NYC with Oscar winning editor, Chris Dickens (Slumdog Millionaire ... and Spaced, Shaun and Fuzz), putting together the first pre f/x cut. The next phase of the process will see Greg and Chris continue to hone and cut the movie and will of course entail the complex process of bringing Paul himself to life, combining the efforts of ace f/x wizards, Double Negative and further work with The Green Hornet himself, Mr. Seth Rogen. Rest assured all is going well and we're all very excited. More news of a kind as we encounter it.
Simon
Paul also stars Sigourney Weaver, Bill Hader, Blythe Danner, Jane Lynch and Rogen as the voice of Paul.
Posted 11.07.09 by BrentJS -
Marvel President of Production Kevin Feige has been very busy lately speaking about the upcoming slate of movies Marvel has in production, from The Avengers to Thor and even Ant-Man, giving plenty of updates about each one.
While he could not confirm another Incredible Hulk movie, Feige did confirm that Hulk will appear in The Avengers:
Now at least we can talk about Hulk being onscreen and Hulk being in a movie. It will have been four years since he was in a movie by that point. By 2012, I'd like to see him in it. We're just starting the story. I was on the phone with [Avengers screenwriter] Zak Penn this morning. He's coming in next week and he's going to work on the outline this summer. It's so intertwined with what we're doing before it. I almost wanted to get done with production on Iron Man 2, and the scripts to Thor and The First Avenger: Captain America well underway, before we even started The Avengers.
With many of the movies being intertwined, this means that several characters will make appearances in different movies, in particular Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. Feige explained that he hopes to provide fans with a comic book experience, where characters from other books show up unexpectedly.
Feige gave an update on Thor confirming that Donald Blake, Thor's human alter ego, will not appear in Thor, which will take place on both Earth and Asgard. Meanwhile, The First Avenger: Captain America will "primarily" be a period piece taking place during World War II, with an appearance by Cap's sidekick Bucky "a safe bet."
As for casting Captain America, Feige clearly hasn't made a decision:
There are only a handful of stars that mean anything here, much lessoverseas. I do think that will be a factor in it. As long as we have the freedom to cast the best actor for the part. Whether it's an actorwho's been a great actor, but hasn't starred in marquee action movies before like Robert Downey, or somebody that came out of Australia that we've never heard.
As for the Ant-Man adaptation that Shaun of the Dead's Edgar Wright is working on, Feige said:
I want to make Ant-Man one of these days. I think that'll be surprising and funny. I love Edgar Wright. What he likes about it is that when he says he's doing Ant-Man, people go, 'Ant-Man? What thehell is that?' I think that's funny.
Ant-Man isn't the only movie Feige hopes to make post-Avengers, he's also excited about Doctor Strange:
I think Doctor Strange would kick ass. I think we've done very well atthis street-level superhero aspect of the Marvel Universe. I think with Thor, you'll see us cracking into the cosmic side of the MarvelUniverse in a very good way that's never been done before in our movies. I'd love to get into that supernatural element.
Marvel and Feige clearly have a lot on the horizon. However, ultimately, it's The Avengers that Feige is most excited about:
I think The Avengers is going to have it's own vibe. It'll have a different tone than the other Marvel movies. It is about saving the world, because there's no other reason for characters that powerful to band together. I think the scope and the scale will feel like a much bigger thing.
Iron Man 2 opens May 7, 2010, while Thor and The First Avenger: Captain America are due May 20 and July 22 of 2011, respectively. The Avengers should open May 4, 2012.
Posted 06.09.09 by Ryan -
For many movie fans, the phrase "British comedy" invokes terrifying images of sappy romantic comedies starring an endlessly stammering Hugh Grant. This week, the Shaun of the Dead gang returns to blast that stereotype to pieces with Hot Fuzz, the first great comedy not involving Will Ferrell since The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
Inspired by Lethal Weapon, Point Break and other action flicks from the 80s and 90s, Hot Fuzz is a hilarious breath of fresh air for those of us who feared that the success of Wild Hogs signaled the death of humor.
Posted 04.20.07 by reelz