Movies | ShowbizMonkeys.com

Walkey Talk: This Kid’s Personal Karate Journey

Posted by Michael Walkey | Monday, July 5, 2010 @ 7:07pm

The big screen releases of The A Team and The Karate Kid has everyone all giddy for 1980s nostalgia. Critics always get upset over studios' unapologetic insistence of remaking classic films, and with good reason. Nothing screams cash grab more than a remake. Aside from dating myself, remaking the 1984 film The Karate Kid has other personal effects on me. Is the film considered a classic? Perhaps not by highbrow types such as The Library of Congress or The American Film Institute.

But anyone who was the right age when the film initially came out would beg to differ. Why is this so? Because watching films are a personal experience like no other. If music is the soundtrack of our lives, as Dick Clark once said, then films are the blueprint that shapes them.

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Interview: Director Jorma Taccone on his upcoming action-comedy MacGruber

Posted by Paul Little | Friday, April 23, 2010 @ 3:09am

If you're a regular viewer of Saturday Night Live, you're likely well aware of the recurring MacGruber sketches, which feature Will Forte as a ridiculous MacGyver-esque hero who always ends up getting blown up. They're simple but usually hilarious little sketches, and a version was even made for last year's Superbowl featuring Richard Dean Anderson as his classic character, MacGyver. Last summer, however, the seemingly unthinkable happened, and the concept was green-lit for a feature film.

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Interview: Jay Baruchel of How to Train Your Dragon and the upcoming The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Posted by Mark McLeod | Friday, April 9, 2010 @ 3:13am

Jay Baruchel, like many young Canadian actors, got an early taste of showbiz on the 90s Nickelodeon/YTV series Are You Afraid of the Dark?, which partially filmed in his hometown of Montreal. Since those early days, he's appeared in both small and large roles in several Hollywood films (Almost Famous, Million Dollar Baby, Knocked Up, Tropic Thunder) while taking lead roles in smaller, mostly-Canadian films as well (Fetching Cody, I'm Reed Fish, Real Time, and the upcoming The Trotsky). He's even tried his hand at television, starring in a few short-lived series, including the memorable Judd Apatow-created Undeclared.

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Interview: Breaking Upwards' Daryl Wein & Zoe Lister-Jones

Posted by Elizabeth Hughes Belzil | Friday, April 2, 2010 @ 2:16am

It had been ages since I had experienced true agitation: hands slick with perspiration, hollowed-out insides, shortness of breath, compulsive pacing. But this was the state I found myself in last Tuesday afternoon as I waited by the phone, reading and rereading my notes. I felt like I was about to perform a play with an unfinished script. In reality I was waiting for a phone call from Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones with whom I had an interview scheduled. Though you may not have heard of them yet, I have no doubt you will. They are the filmmakers, stars and real-life couple of Breaking Upwards—an independent romantic comedy set in New York City and beginning its theatrical run this Friday. The film stands as one of those rare blends of humor, genuine insight and the right amount of “cool”. It received official selection at SXSW and has received numerous awards at festivals around the world. It was a treat to have the opportunity to chat with them—two people whose work I admire, (thus the nervousness!).

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Academy Awards Coverage: The Hurt Locker takes down the mighty Avatar; our own Douglas Maynard asks the tough questions

Posted by Paul Little | Sunday, March 7, 2010 @ 9:03pm

As the Academy Awards draw to a close, I'm reminded of something said at Friday's press conference in Hollywood with Oscar co-producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic and Academy president Tom Sherak. I can't recall which one of the three said it, but we were told that there would be more excitement during the first hour of this year's Academy Awards telecast than ever before. Things would be fast-paced, you see, and this ceremony would be more appealing to younger viewers than ever before. Looking back on that first hour, and the show as a whole, I'm not quite sure what they were talking about.

Sure, the opening musical number featuring Neil Patrick Harris was phenomenal (should he host next year?); the banter between hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin has been mostly really funny (who knew Meryl Streep had such a bit Hitler memorabilia collection?!); the John Hughes tribute was nice to see; Ben Stiller in Avatar make-up (when Avatar wasn't even nominated in that category!) was one of the funniest moments of the night; and there were of course some memorable acceptance speeches. But the most exciting first hour ever? Hardly. And a fast-paced extravaganza? Well, the show ran long once again.

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The Golden Monkey Awards: Our Best in Film for 2009

Posted by Paul Little | Sunday, March 7, 2010 @ 3:20am

Tonight the film world came together to celebrate the best in motion pictures with the 82nd Academy Awards. We love the Oscars here at ShowbizMonkeys.com -- the movie stars, the spectacle, the whole thing -- but we also like picking our own favourites in movies. Since this site began under our old name in 2001, we've been choosing our own top movies of the year. But beginning this year, we're running things more like the major awards shows themselves -- minus the stars and the spectacle, of course!

So, we present to you the Golden Monkey Motion Picture Achievement Awards, honouring what we believe to be the best in film for 2009. There are 10 categories: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Animated Film, Best Documentary, Best Original Song, and of course, Best Picture. Our staff, which stretches across North America, submitted their choices for their favourites in each category, and from those selections, we put together our nominees. Then we put our nominees to a vote, and came up with these winners -- our collective favourites from the last year.

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Top Ten Films of the Decade

Posted by Elizabeth Hughes Belzil | Tuesday, January 12, 2010 @ 5:52am

Deciding on only ten favorite films over the course of ten years is an arduous task. While my selection criteria relied on a variety of factors, in the end, my ultimate guide was personal preference. Undoubtedly, many will feel certain films were unfairly left out, but there truly is no objective way to make a list of this nature. Please feel free to comment and share your opinions regarding the best films of the decade.

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Interview: Actor/comedian Kevin Pollak on his career and his new web talk show

Posted by Paul Little | Monday, November 9, 2009 @ 8:47pm

Kevin Pollak has carved himself a very successful career as a top-notch character actor in comedies and dramas. Nearly every filmgoer on earth has seen one of his dozens of films -- The Usual Suspects, A Few Good Men, The Whole Nine Yards, Hostage, Grumpy Old Men, Casino, L.A. Story, and Willow are just a few of the great (and occassionally not-so-great) films Mr. Pollak has lent his skills to. Personally, I know him more as a stand-up comic who happens to be one of the best impressionists around (his Christopher Walken is the benchmark by which all other Walken impressions are measured).

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VIFF Review: 65_RedRoses

Posted by Mark McLeod | Friday, October 9, 2009 @ 3:56am

Imagine knowing that unless a miracle happens, you will be dead within two years. In 2007, that was the situation facing then 23-year-old Eva Markvoort. Born with Cystic Fibrosis, a disease that affects the lungs, causing them to fill with mucous and making it harder for those inflicted to breathe, Eva was in rough shape. Due to the condition itself, patients are isolated from others. Unable to turn to people in the flesh, Eva turned to the online community for support. She found it in two other women in various stages of the disease in 65_RedRoses, a documentary that is both heartbreaking and heartwarming, playing at this year's Vancouver International Film Festival.

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Folk Fest Interview: Loudon Wainwright III talks about music, his famous offspring, and his role in the blockbuster kids' movie G-Force

Posted by Paul Little | Wednesday, August 12, 2009 @ 7:07am

It's not every day you get to meet and speak with a bona fide legend. Sure, I've met and talked to a lot of amazingly talented comedians, actors, and comedians over the last 2 years I've been doing interviews for ShowbizMonkeys.com. But on the final day of the 2009 Winnipeg Folk Festival, I got the chance to sit down with legendary folk icon Loudon Wainwright III (though he would humbly disagree with being called a legend). Wainwright III has played to audiences large and small worldwide (including several appearances over the years at the Winnipeg Folk Fest), bringing his singing, guitar playing, and occasional comedy to folkies since way back when he was hailed as "the next Bob Dylan" in the late 60s and early 70s.

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