The Best (and Worst) Movies of 2009

Every other site is compiling their best of/worst of lists, and everyone's asking me "Brian, what movies left their mark on YOUR brain?" well, I have to admit, I don't have the best memory, but I'll do my best to remember. Please, sit back, pull up a chair, and let's have us a one-sided conversation about the BEST and WORST of 2009.

THE BEST MOVIES OF 2009

10. ZOMBIELAND (2009)


Woody Harrelson and Jessie Eisenberg head an all-dead cast in a joustabout round of fun that was a treat for my funny bone AND horror bone. Definitely see this movie BEFORE someone ruins the fact that Bill Murray has a really funny surprise cameo.

09. THE UGLY TRUTH (2009)


Katherine Heigl plays an uptight shrew who’s unlucky at love. Gerard Butler plays a caveman pretending to be Howard Stern. Ain’t no way these guys are gonna find love! Truth is, I have no idea if they do. I just watched part of this on On Demand last week because my wife was sick and wanted a romantic comedy, so here you go.

08. WHIP IT (2009)

I didn't see this movie but I just got back from an amazing hotel that had a really funny commercial for it on the Pay-Per-View. Actually it wasn't that funny but the dinner I had before it was amazing so I was in a really good mood. Anyway, everyone involved with WHIP IT should be proud, maybe.

07. FANTASTIC MR. FOX (2009)


I saw this one straight through so already it's better than THE UGLY TRUTH. George Clooney plays a puppet or something, I got bored and checked Twitter. GREAT performance by Ashton Kutscher, wait, that was Twitter, but MR. FOX was good.

06. THIS IS IT (2009)

A heartbreaking portrait of okay I didn't see this either. I have a lot going on, okay? But it was probably great because Michael Jackson is a wonderful performer, and CAPTAIN EO was alright so this is probably, at the very least, fair to middling. At least better than the George Clooney/Ashton Kutscher puppet buddy comedy.

05. A SERIOUS MAN (2009)


I saw this one, credits to credits, but I still don't think I saw the whole movie. It doesn't matter, really. The Coen Brothers prove that if you make an amazing movie, you don't NEED to end it. Besides, walking out of a movie feeling like you saw the entire story is SO pre-LORD OF THE RINGS.

04. FAME (2009)

FAME only beats A SERIOUS MAN because it had an ending. Oh, and dancing. It wasn't great, but again, I saw it kinda recently so it's fresh in my mind. Also, it had a trailer for WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE which I thought was beautiful. Damn, I wish I had seen WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, I bet that would have been on my list.

03. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (trailer)

The trailer really made me ask "well, where are they?" which is what a trailer should do. It had a great soundtrack, too. The trailer, not sure about the movie. The movie could have had nothing but cats farting and I wouldn't know. Actually, not true, if they had done that, I definitely would have heard about it.

02. CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS (2009)

I made it through the entire movie. It made me hungry, though, because the food was coming at me in 3-D and if food flies at me in 3-D, I want it to land in my mouth. After I saw the movie, we went to Cheesecake Factory and I told the waitress (jokingly) to throw the food at me. Long story short, she didn't see the movie and it was soup and I am disfigured. The waitress apologized and I told her to make it up to me she could take me and my wife on a tour of the ACTUAL Cheesecake Factory with all the smokestacks and conveyor belts and (hopefully) cheesecake elves. She looked at me like I was an idiot. What were we talking about? Oh yeah, best movies of 2009. Without further adieu, the best movie of 2009.

01. THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON (2009)



I just saw this and I gotta say, this is EASILY the most recent movie of 2009. It had everything I could want in a movie: drama, romance, werewolves and recentness. In all seriousness, it's a modern day classic.

But not everything was as good as THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON. Not even close. Which leads me to my top 5 (bad movies don't deserve 10) worst movies of 2009.

THE WORST MOVIES OF 2009

05. THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON (2009)


It was great and all, but the writing was stupid at times, and it was boring, and the actors were boring and the direction was boring. A shrug meh feh eh whatevs of a film but other than that, LIS ("like I said"), perfect.

04. AVATAR (2009)

I have only seen the trailers but it comes off like someone hired Brian Michael Bendis to reboot THE SMURFS. On second thought, that sounds awesome, is it too late to move AVATAR to the "best of" list? It is? Aw, Smurf. I mean, aw, Avatar.

03. THE INFORMANT! (2009)


This movie title lied to me because I thought it was going to be exciting but it wasn't. Remember the show VOYAGERS! that had had an exclamation point because you knew these sons of bitches were going to fucking VOYAGE! And they did, and there was falling and kicking and Phineas Bogg was like "good job, kid". They should make a VOYAGERS! movie. And then the sequel could be VOYAGERS? because one of the voyagers is beginning to doubt his lot in life. That said, INFORMANT! was pretty good. Great, even One of the best of the year.

02. POOPSHOOT MULLIGAN AND HIS ADVENTURES IN EURASIA

This might have been a movie I made up. For not even being made, it deserves a spot on my "worst of" list. How lazy can you get, people? That said, POOPSHOOT MULLIGAN is not the worst movie of the year. Not by a longshot. That "honor" goes to:

01. TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN (2009)

All jestering aside, TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN felt like 5 straight days of a retarded rich kid showing me his toys while punching me in the eardrums. Occasionally his hot sister walks by and you say, "hey retarded rich kid, move your toys so I can see Audrina or whoever" but the retarded rich kid REALLY wants to make sure you notice his newest toy has robot genitals so he shoves them in your face blocking your view of Audrina, and then he plays the newest speed metal ballad until you say uncle. I feel really dumb for having seen this three times.

Thus ends my list (s). What were YOUR favorite movies of 2009? What were YOUR least favorite movies of 2009? Let me know, and give reasons why, so I can regurgitate what you said at cocktail parties and seem smart.

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My review of TWILIGHT:NEW MOON (posters)

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

Who wants to read a spoiler-laden review of TWILIGHT: NEW MOON? I know, that would be a sweet scoop. I haven't seen TWILIGHT: NEW MOON. But I have seen the posters for it. And so help me, I will spoil the crap out of these posters.

POSTER 1: No Moon, you CAN'T have my girlfriend.

What happens when you're in love with a girl but her ex-boyfriend is LITERALLY the moon? First of all, lots of dates during the day. Secondly, you can never face each other because your face can't compare to the moon. Get all the hairgel and tats you want, you STILL won't control the tides. So backwards hugging is a must. She can pretend you're the moon.

Kristen Stewart is wonderfully half-dead as the girl who must choose between MAN and MOON. Robert...Patterson? Efron? I want to say Pattinson, is that right? Anyway, he's very compelling as the moon. And Taylor Lautner is just happy to be there. The three dudes that play the Gollum Brothers are hilarious (pictured in the background).

SUGGESTED AD-LINE: A star is boring

POSTER 2: Menudo is back and you owe them money.


Yes, I know they're not Puerto Rican. But they're actors, they can stretch. And stretch they DON'T. Taylor Lautner plays front-man let's go with Enrique. He leads his band onstage every night, lip-syncing before fives of tens of screaming female fans, but can he lead his band to safety when their tour bus crashes in the VERY SAME WOODS that are home to crazed psycho inbreds? You bet your sweet ass he can't! Watch them get killed off uno by uno! Also, something something werewolves.

SUGGESTED AD-LINE: Mique Test. One two three GORE.

POSTER 3: The new SAVED BY THE BELL only on the CW.


From the network that brought you the hip edgy 90210 and MELROSE PLACE remakes and the dark and edgy VAMPIRE DIARIES CHRONICLES, comes the hour long SAVED BY THE BELL drama. Robert Pattinson plays Zack Morris (center of the poster). Zack has the power to HALT TIME when the need arises. However PREPARE THYSELF FOR TH RUB using this ability takes it's toll on him physically, making him pale and tired and mopey and oddly, British.

Zack meets Kelly Kapowski (also center), the hot good girl who also is a bit of a stoner and maybe half-dead. Can Zack sway Kelly away from equally pale bad boy AC Slater (left)? Will AC find true love with also very pale Jessie Spano (left, next to Slater)? Will the very black, very pale Lisa Turtle (right) avoid pale stalker creep Screech (right), who may hold the key to Bayside's overwhelming fog problem? Also starring Peter Facinelli as Mr. Belding.

SUGGESTED AD-LINE: You might not ever get up in the morning. Alarms offer no warning. You won't make it. It's not alright.


POSTER 3: National Lampoon's Theater Fraternity.


Dakota Fanning is wonderful as Fannie, shy freshman at Bill Clinton University, the biggest party school on the west coast. As a legacy of the hot slut sorority Pi Pussy Vagina Sorority, Fannie, by LAW, has to pledge...unless she pledges ANOTHER Greek organization.

Enter DOE RAY ME co-ed theater fraternity. But Fannie freezes up whenever she has to speak in public! Don't worry, because creepy co-pledge Slique Longwill, he of the greasy black hair, will help her...just in time for the GREEK OLYMPICS. Winners get control of the Greek Court! Losers get murdered! WHO MADE THAT RULE?

Will Fannie rise up and help Do Ray Me beat Pi Pussy Vagina? Will she learn a life lesson? Will she kiss Slique Longwill? Answers: Yes, yes, and no he's gay.

SUGGESTED AD-LINE: A movie for anyone who's ever pledged a co-ed theater fraternity. So yes, tell that fat guy that works at the Hallmark Gold Crown store who shows you all those pictures of his many cats to check it out.

POSTER 5: Whoa nelly.


Well, obviously TWILIGHT:NEW MOON is a love triangle between a high school girl, a vampire and a werewolf. This poster spells that out and I feel silly for assuming otherwise.

SUGGESTED AD-LINE: It's not them, it's you.

END SPOILERS.

I hope these possibly SPOILER LADEN REVIEWS have helped. And I truly hope this blog has helped get the word out about TWILIGHT. I would check the movie out in November to see if I'm correct, but I'm pretty sure if I go into that theater alone, Chris Hanson will be waiting to talk to me. And then I'll run out, and a cop dressed as a bush will tackle me, and it will be a whole thing.

You've been TWI-LIT!

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LAST ANGEL IN HELL

Available for pre-order is LAST ANGEL IN HELL aka ANGEL annual # 1. Please go to your local comic shoppe and pre-order a copy. It's a comic adaptation of a movie that was never made, it's 40+ pages of awesomeness. You will laugh, you will cry, you will believe Nicholas Cage can play Angel. It also has fake ads for movie tie-in cereal, action figures, etc.

Here's the official solicitation:

ANGEL ANNUAL #1

Written by Brian Lynch, art by Stephen Mooney, covers by Mooney.

When L.A. went to Hell in After the Fall, so did thousands of screenwriters, one of whom wrote a movie based on Angel's experiences there. The first-ever Angel Annual presents an adaptation of Angel's travails, Hollywood-style, in Angel: Last Angel in Hell: The Official Movie Adaptation. Mooney presents two movie poster covers, one featuring the real Angel and company, the other with their Hollywood counterparts.

Advanced ANGEL/SPIKE covers for you.

Have a few covers from some of the comics I've written. Some of these were snuck-peaked at Comic-Con, but I thought anyone who didn't want to step foot in San Diego should get a look at them too.

First up, for ANGEL # 26. First one is by Stephen Mooney (who also does interiors), second is by Nick Runge.




Here is Stephen Mooney's cover for issue 27.



Finally, Franco Urru's teaser image for the SPIKE series.

Thoughts? Any questions, feel free to post'em in the comment section.
Some of these were snuck-peaked at Comic-Con, but I thought anyone who didn't want to step foot in San Diego should get a look at them too.

How to Survive TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

I didn't like the first TRANSFORMERS movie. And at the risk of sounding stupid, I can't quite make out what is going on in the trailers for TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN (I have narrowed it down to "stuff is happening to things"). Yet I will pay my ticket and watch TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN opening weekend.

Why? Because (a) the internet tells me it's the event movie of the summer, (b) director Michael Bay also gave us THE ROCK and the BAD BOYS trilogy (though I must admit to not being a fan of the first one, Sean Penn played things way too seriously. Will Smith taking over the character was the best thing that ever happened to the franchise) and (c) I am a movie geek and it's my duty, nay my privilege, wait, strike that, I was right the first time, my duty to see it.

Don't fool yourself. You're just like me. You're gonna see TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE FALLEN too. But it's okay. Even if TRANSFORMERS: LOOK OUT FOR FALLEN is bad, we're gonna survive it. The following is a list of things you can do to make TRANSFORMERS: BEWARE FALLING OBJECTS go by faster.

1. See if you can remember a good movie word-for-word.


Pick a movie other than TRANSFORMERS and see how much of it you can recall. If it's one you truly love, it might drown out the explosions and tires screeching and robots saying absurdly racist comments. On a related note, how sad is it that Autobot Jazz died before the bitches got back to him about what was or was not cracking?

2. Use the movie to reunite with long lost friends.


Call or email someone that you haven't talked to in a while. Someone you really miss but haven't contacted for fear a reunion after all this time might be awkward. Tell them to meet you a minute or so before TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED FALLEN starts to avoid awkward conversation. Watch the movie. People who persevere through traumatic situations together are often bonded for life, plus you'll have something to talk about afterward. You'll be so busy saying stuff like "but I thought Bumblebee's voicebox was repaired in part 1" to discuss why the two of you haven't spoken.

NOTE: If your friend is the kind of person who says stuff like "I don't know, not every movie has to be Shakespeare" and/or "I just wanted to turn off my brain for a few hours and enjoy a good popcorn movie" this might not be the best friend to try this on, because it may lead to squabbling. If your friend is the kind of person who might say "what do you expect, it's a movie based on toys" then maybe he or she is exactly the slap of reality you (or I) need.

3. Pretend the youngest member of your family made the movie.


If Michael Bay gave you a really crude finger painting, you'd waste no time telling him how terrible it is. If your three year old nephew gave you the same really crude finger painting, you'd cherish it. TRANSFORMERS: FALL FOR THIS is a big 200 million dollar finger painting. It may be awful, sure. But admit it, if a toddler wrote and directed it, you'd be impressed. Through power of imagination you can turn a horrible movie into a source of overwhelming pride.

4. Guess which extras Michael Bay had backseat relations with.


Michael Bay crams as many beautiful, buxom ladies as he can into movies. The first TRANSFORMERS was no exception. All the female extras looked like space hookers. I think this was to make Megan Fox look like a classy small-town girl by comparison. And it worked, I honestly thought she was Melissa Gilbert upon first viewing.

Michael Bay is no dummy (insert PEARL HARBOR joke here) and he's the most powerful man on the set, so he's gotta land his share of future hooker lady friends. Try and guess which of the girls answered the ad in BACKSTAGE for EXTRA PLUS RELIEF.

To kill some more time, try and imagine what kind of pick-up lines Bay used on the extras. I'm going with "have you ever done it in an exploding car?" or "wanna make a sex video? Don't worry, I will edit it so frantically no one will be able to tell what's going on anyway."

5. Imagine the movie without robots.


I'm not talking about what would happen to the characters if the robots never came to Earth, I'm talking about watching the exact same movie only without any of the special effects added. Suddenly the movie is about a highly reactive army freaking out over nothing and a kid who likes to shout "Bumblebee!" at the air. It's GARFIELD MINUS GARFIELD with explosions and Tyrese!


On that note, imagine how awesome it would be if 2oth Century Fox re-released the two GARFIELD movies without the CGI Garfield. It would be funnier than the finished movie. Plus, Breckin Meyer could win an Academy Award as the deranged loner who gets exasperated by literally nothing.

Admittedly, this has nothing to do with TRANSFORMERS: I'VE FALLEN AND I CAN'T GET UP but just thinking of GARFIELD MINUS GARFIELD has distracted you from two minutes of the movie. Congratulations, you very well may have just missed a robot farting.

7. See if you can guess which scene made Shia LaBeouf hate cars so much he tried to kill a real one.


One night, after filming, TRANSFORMERS star Shia LaBeouf flipped a car in Hollywood. I've seen his season of PROJECT:GREENLIGHT, the kid is too smart to drink and drive. I'm guessing something snapped inside and he felt he had to destroy the robot cars one by one. Try and spot the exact moment he took matters into his own hands.

8. Try and think of something nice to say about the movie on your future date with Megan Fox.


Comb the movie for a nice compliment if Megan Fox ever does answer your twitter request for malteds. Correct answers range from "I really believed you were running away from stuff" to "I really believed that you believed that thing you were driving in could turn into another thing." Or, think of questions you could ask, like "did you have to run in slow-mo or was that done later" or "were you allowed to ad-lib any screams?"

If all else fails, you can always fall back on "what's Josh Duhamel like?" and then, to kill more time, disagree with whatever answer she gives. "Oh he's nice? Not what I hear." "You didn't really work with him that much? Then explain why I am positive that you did."

9. Play a drinking game.


This one's easy. For you twenty-one and overs, sneak alcohol into the theater. Take a swig whenever Shia screams a robot's name or says "no" three or more times in a row. Take two swigs for slow-mo running. Finish your drink for Bay's signature shot: camera positioned low, looking up as a character stands up dramatically.

Fun fact: Michael Bay played this drinking game on set, every day. He is hardcore.

10. Create the plot for the movie that John Turturro thinks he's in.


Turturro is a great actor. If he's shouting and prancing like a loon, he clearly has been told that this is the right thing to do. I myself picture Turturro thinks he's starring in the Adam Sandler produced "MUGGS McGRUFF: COUNTER INTELLIGENCE". Turturro's character is an easily angered FBI agent who has to go undercover, teaching at a special education school. The black kid from ROLE MODELS has a cameo as someone who makes a pithy comment about boobs, and just when things are looking grim, Rob Schneider tells Muggs he can do eet.

Finally, and most importantly...

11. Yell out hilarious things at random intervals:


Everyone likes a good quip during a movie. That's why people go to theaters instead of watching films at home: on the off-chance someone hilarious is going to MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER the shit out of the movie they're watching. I remember when I saw DEPARTED on opening night at Mann's Chinese Theater, every time a character died I yelled out "well, he's departed". Everyone told me to shut up, knowing of course that such heckling just fuels the best insult comedians.

Anyhoo, when things are looking boring in TRANSFORM THIS, TOO: FALL OUT try your own jokes. Here's a few to get you started:

"This movie is transforming my happiness into shiny new boredom."
"Megan Fox is an appropriate name indeed. She looks like a Megan."
"AUTOBOT? Isn't that what killed Carradine?"
"Nerd boner! No, I'm serious, I have a fetish wherein I am turned on by nerds. This is a cry for help."
"This popcorn is going to transform into poop in no time."
"That's the robot that groped me at Skybar."


I hope this has helped. And who knows, the movie may be good. In which case, print this blog out and save for it G.I. JOE: RISE OF COBRA. Just swap out Megan Fox's name for Sienna Miller and you're golden. Until then, bitches, this has been Brian Lynch with the latest in what's cracking.

If you're not following me at Twitter, you really should. My tweets are like travel sized blogs that kiss your brain.

Script Review: Christopher Nolan's PEANUTS

Last week I broke the 30 ROCK IS A RIP-OFF OF THE MUPPET SHOW scandal. Truth be told, I have no idea how I was going to follow that up. But then, someone sent me a screenplay that absolutely NO ONE had read yet. I have a scoop on my hands. And you're about to have a scoop in your eyes.


With BATMAN BEGINS and THE DARK KNIGHT, director Christopher Nolan took a comic book property and spun an introspective, dark and gritty crime drama. Out came the freeze rays and vats of acid, in came grounded, real world scenarios and Batman having some form of throat cancer. Fans are waiting with bated breath for news of Christopher Nolan's next BATMAN movie.

Keep waiting, people. BATMAN is not his next project. Nolan is taking another famous comic franchise and turning it on it's ear. Instead of beating around the cyber bush any longer, allow me to simply tell you what it says on the title page:

PRE-NUTS: CHARLIE BROWN BEGINS


Story by David S. Goyer & Christopher Nolan

Written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan

Based on the Daily Graphic Novella "Peanuts"
by Charles Schulz

Fourth Draft 03-25-09

Yes, I know. A PEANUTS movie re-imagined by Christopher Nolan and we haven't heard of it until now. But I trust my source (he's from a very reliable movie news site...I'd give you the link but I don't want an influx of hits to overwhelm his geocities address). And I hope you trust me. But if not, I offer THIS photographic evidence:



That's me looking at the script. You can see it in the corner a little. See how amazed I am? Do you think I get that amazed at just anything? Now I have proven without a shadow of a doubt that I have this script, let us move on.

My source said Warner Brothers is keeping PRE-NUTS under wraps because they fear fan backlash. I can see what he means, the script is quite a departure from what we expect from PEANUTS, and might be too much for die-hard PEANUT fans (dubbed BROWNIES by the foreign media). It is a reboot in the truest sense of the word, and as you can tell from the title it is most definitely taking place before the PEANUTS we know and love. Think of it as PEANUTS ORIGINS: CHARLIE BROWN.

I know what you're thinking: "But what is the script about?". To which I say "why are you thinking questions to me?". I will still tell you what the script is about because seriously, why should Latinoreview.com get all the good script reviews?

Warning: Spoilers ahead!

Nolan lets you know right up front that this is not your father's PEANUTS. Take this opening line:

A SINGLE YELLOW bird flutters about a night sky. Circling, looping, fighting to stay in flight but the winds are too great. Like a wounded angel he crashes to the ground. Raising a wing-fist to the heavens, he chirps but for a moment. Even though we're listening to birdspeak it's clear he's cursing God.

The action then cuts to the lead. As you can guess, the film revolves around CHARLES "CHARLIE" BROWN. He is aged up a bit, the script describes as "16 years old, suffering from male pattern baldness brought on by stress".

What is Charlie Brown so stressed about? Well, his happy existence of making over dead Christmas trees comes to a screeching halt when an airborne virus strikes every adult, so they can only express themselves in trumpet sounds. And as you can tell from this script excerpt, some children aren't taking it well:

A single realistic tear runs down Sally's eye. Charlie Brown puts his hand on her shoulder.

SALLY
They really did it us this time, didn't they? Goddamn, goddamn blockheads.

CHARLIE BROWN
The President is addressing matters. Maybe it's just our town...

On the TV is THE PRESIDENTIAL SEAL. And then, standing at the presidential podium is THE PRESIDENT (noble, black, realistic). He looks at the monitor, clears his throat, and calmly states...

THE PRESIDENT
Waugh waugh waugh waugh. Waugh waugh.

SLOW-ZOOM in on Charlie Brown's face.

CHARLIE BROWN
Good Grief. This shit just got real.

Adults continue with their lives but are ignored by the children, who form a society that is very LORD OF THE FLIES meets FAMILY CIRCUS. While the youngsters go through the now-hollow motions of attending school, they live unsupervised and completely free to do whatever they want. They converse only with their peers. New traditions and laws are quickly established: rocks are now acceptable gifts. Dinner every night consists of toast, pretzels, popcorn and jelly beans and is eaten on a ping pong table. The school play is run completely by children. One child, specifically. His name? LINUS VAN PELT.


The script refers to Linus as "A bundle of neurosis possessing a knowledge far beyond his age or childish habits." Linus carries a blue blanket with him everywhere, and constantly changes the origin of his dependency each time he discusses it. One minute that blanket is the last thing his Dad ever gave to him, the next minute the blanket is cut from the tunic of the great and powerful Pumpkin Deity that appears once a calender year. Truly dark stuff, but Nolan squared and Goyer aren't afraid to go there.

Certain children flourish in the society's new deal. Chief among them is Linus' sister LUCY VAN PELT.


The script calls for a "16 going on 30, with an inner rage rarely seen in a child, think a young Bea Arthur."

After the trumpet virus spreads, more and more children break down and need help coping. Lucy, ever the snake oil salesman, begins counseling the children for 5 cents a session. Charlie Brown becomes her chief source of income, as the lack of parental guidance has warped his mind to the point of (possible) hallucinations. So lonely and desperate is he, he believes his dog (who is clearly patterned after SNOOPY but never referred to as such, my source indicates the name was deemed too childish) has the soul of a World War I flying ace.



The script takes the time to explain that the dog's attitude and callous nature represents Charlie Brown's Id. I don't know what that means, but I trust Christopher Nolan. After all, he was smart enough to spend 3 minutes of BATMAN BEGINS explaining where Batman's ears come from.

Charlie Brown's hallucinations grow stronger, to the point of the dog developing it's own psychological problems: a split personality. He-who-is-not-Snoopy alternates between the flying ace and a Fonzie-like too-cool-for-school persona, Charlie increases his visits to Lucy. Their sessions recall early Tony Soprano/Dr. Melfi. Charlie and Lucy grow closer throughout, even as part of the therapy involves a weird "trust exercise" which consists of Lucy taking a football away right when Charlie Brown is about to kick it.

Around page 25 I began to wonder who exactly the villain of the movie was going to be. Was it the virus itself? Was it society? Was it...me? But then, a new character jumped off the page and kissed my eyeballs:

INT. ALLEY WAY - NIGHT

A YOUNG BOY scurries out of the darkened corner of the alley. The original color of his skin, hair or clothes has long since been lost to dirt and grime. Lice run about his head (production note: CGI Lice? talk to marketing), sores and bruises cover his body. Hell has vomited him out and won't take him back. He is scared. He is wild. He is feral. This is PIG-PEN.


Pig-Pen isn't the chief antagonist, he's merely a dupe henchman to a cabal of evil. A barrage of horrific villains are introduced. They include a Cannibal Tree that demands Charlie Brown's belongings be ritually sacrificed, a mysterious redhead who has siren like powers over men despite the fact that no one can get a good look at her, and a lesbian couple who appear to have history with Charlie Brown (my source says their back story will be the subject of the PRE-NUTS straight-to-video anime movie that will come out with the release of theatrical PRE-NUTS proper).

Charlie Brown surmises that all these events are tied into each other, and as he and Lucy get closer to the truth, they also get closer to each other. Here is where the movie most deviates from the Daily Graphic Novella. Charlie Brown and Lucy make love. It starts out violently as they hurl a baseball at each other to remove their clothes, and builds to an awkward moment when Lucy suggests they do it "doggy style" so Charlie has sex with her while tossing Easter eggs at kids and typing "It was a Dark and Stormy Night."

Like BATMAN BEGINS and THE DARK KNIGHT before it, PRE-NUTS is jam-packed with set pieces to offset the drama. There is a dogfight involving bi-planes and a flying doghouse that is shockingly gritty and bloody that, if done right, will be as good as anything in PEARL HARBOR. Some of the characters drop acid in the desert and meet a skinnier, hat-wearing, facial hair sporting version of Charlie Brown's dog. There is a rafting race, a fire at a boarding school, a bump-and-grind dance sequence at a rave that, according to the script, will feature the classic PEANUTS theme remixed by The Chemical Brothers with vocals by "someone really urban yet realistic".


Charlie Brown eventually figures out who is behind the mayhem. I don't want to spoil it, but when characters openly admit to worshiping pumpkin deities and lie about their blankets, it's kind of a red flag that they've got some screws loose. Well, not so much red flags as blue blankets. They have blue blankets. Linus is behind it, is my point.

Will Charlie Brown save the day? I can't ruin everything for you, I already subtly hinted who was behind the whole thing, but I can say that yes he does.

The script is not without it's problems. For one thing, it is 210 pages. At one minute per page, that's like...roughly 210 minutes. The black character, FRANKLIN, is given absolutely nothing to do. And I know we live in tough times and everybody's just trying to make a buck, but product placement IN the screenplay? Tacky. An excerpt:

INT. CHARLIE BROWN'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT


Charlie Brown takes a bite of his delicious Dolly Madison snack cake and answers the phone.

CHARLIE BROWN
(into phone)
Hello? You have information? This better not be a trap, I don't want to die. Even though I am covered by Met Life. Like all good people.
(a beat)
Okay, Okay, I'm on my way. Yes, I'll be there. Is that anywhere near Knott's Berry Farm? Good Grief on a stick is that place the best.

That said, and I'm not just trying to be quoted on a poster, PRE-NUTS: CHARLIE BROWN BEGINS is fun for all ages between 18-25, especially the ones that wear a lot of black. It certainly a roller coaster ride of a movie. Not a particularly exciting roller coaster, maybe one of those old kiddie roller coasters you remember from your youth and say "oh man I love that roller coaster" but it gets redone and then it's all serious and even boring. That kind of roller coaster.

Not how I should grade? Some reviewers do thumbs up and down, but I think that's copyrighted. Letter grade? Number? Stars? I better cover all the bases:

FINAL GRADE: B.5 stars up.

And hey, if you dug this, check out my twitter over at www.twitter.com/brianlynch. I'm just as clever over there, only in travel size portions.

Twitter Trending Topics That Indicate Aliens Might Be Invading Earth

If you're like me and you get your news through the Twitter Trending Topics, I would like to do you a cyber solid and suggest that if you see any or all of these Trending Topics on your Twitter, turn off your computer, grab a gun and hide under your bed, because there's a good chance Earth is getting invaded.

#alien
#invasion
#alien invasion
#never able to watch ET again
#uhoh
#obama probably in cahoots
#analprobesWTF
#host gestating egg sac
#indepedence day FTW
#wheres ripley JK
#followfriday dark overlord

(More) Movie (Poster) Reviews!

Listen, I want to review movies for you but I'm on a time crunch. I have a lot of important things to do. So I can only have time to review movie posters. Let's get this party started...right?

G-FORCE


G-FORCE is about a hooker gerbil. It combines Richard Gere's biggest movie with Richard Gere's biggest urban legend.

PULL QUOTE: "If you take your easy to please kid to only ONE MOVIE this year, make it G-FORCE!"

IMAGINE THAT


Fox has got to stop with the origin movies. Wolverine, Aliens, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and now this. IMAGINE THAT is a prequel to THE CRYING GAME (when the screenplay was making the rounds, it was called THE CRYING PRE-GAME and then changed to CRYING GAME ORIGINS: DIL), that sheds some light on Dil's backstory. As you may remember he lived his life as a lady, even though he had a wiener.

So convincing is Dil that he fooled his Dad for the first 8 or so years. The poster represents the moment in the film when he gives Dil a piggyback ride and feels his/her erection. His reaction? "Imagine that!" Also his Dad wears quirky socks and loses his mouth but gets laser beam eyes.

PULL QUOTE: "Think it looks bad, smart guy? Well it's written by the guys that created BILL + TED, so who's laughing now? See, you are! You're laughing! Oh, you're laughing at it? I thought you were laughing with it. Nope, like right at it. I understand."

MY SISTER'S KEEPER



This one's easy. On a cold winter's day, a young girl finds she has a special gift: blowing huge bubbles of detailed pictures. Will she use her gift for good or evil? SPOILERS: it doesn't matter, it's just pictures in a bubble...even if it was used for evil, I mean, it's bubbles...what harm could she do? Grow up.

PULL QUOTE: "This movie blows! Bubbles!"

I SELL THE DEAD



The 2009 Overacting Competition is held in Austin, Texas. Charlie from LOST is a young upstart from a very poor family. He has perfected his overacting mug-face for years, in the reflection of a dirty spoon (reminder: family is very, very poor). He hitchhikes to the compeitition and finds he's in over his crazy, bug-eyed head. Crazy competition to be sure. Some Old Guy, for instance, wows people with his "Scrooge Smells a Fart" face and a Guy with a Tophat blows people away with a look that could only be called the "I know something you don't know". Just when things are looking grim, Charlie from LOST meets Ron Perlman...former champion, who had to bow out after a stroke.

Ron Perlman teaches Charlie from LOST, and after a crazy triumphant montage (set to Madonna's VOGUE), Charlie is ready. Final competition, he gets over his stage fright by picturing everyone in the audience as dirty spoons, and whips out his winning new face: "Is it cold in here or is just AAAAAAAH ZOMBIES!"

PULL QUOTE: ":)"

CROSSING OVER


INDIANA JONES AND KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL made so much money bringing back one of Harrison Ford's most beloved characters. The Weinstein Company LOVES money, so they decide to bring back Jack Ryan. Problem is, they don't have the rights to the character and they don't have much money (which they love) so they make the straight-to-video CROSSING OVER, starring Rack Jyan, who has just survived a melee on the Red Rocktober submarine and now faces a new threat: Ray Liotta. In a weird fuck-up of casting, Liotta, who is IN the movie, does not play himself. Ashley Judd does a pretty good Liotta though. The actual Liotta plays Rack Jyan's wife. Also named Ray Liotta. It's not the best written movie in the world.

If this does well, we can expect NEAR AND PRESENT ANGER and NOT-PATRIOT GAMES. Also if this does well, we can also expect hell to freeze over because look at this terrible poster.

PULL QUOTE: "Please, hell, freeze over!"

And that concludes my movie (poster) reviews for now. I hope this has you choose the movie that is right for you.

Hey, it's the 8th anniversary of my site, ANGRY NAKED PAT. Go on over and check out some stuff there, it's pretty awesome.

If you want me to review a specific movie poster, please, feel free to provide a link in the comments section.

I love you.

Movie (Poster) Reviews!

I have lots of opinions on movies. I know what's good, and what's bad. But I don't have a lot of time, I'm very busy twittering so I can't see every movie willy-nilly. But I know you guys depend on me for my movie reviews (right? right?) and I won't let you down.

I know what you're think-typing. "You just said you don't have time to see the movies, Brian. What are you going to do, review movie trailers?" No, smart ass, that is also too time consuming. Trailers take far too long to load. I'm going to review the posters.

Let's get it started. In here.


See, at first glance, looking at this thing from top to bottom, I would say that Will Ferrell plays a giant T-Rex who hates white walls. But then I look further down and it appears that Will Ferrell plays a guy who loves white walls and there is a T-Rex who is constantly ruining them. Will is mad, too, look at how he's stomping as the T-Rex bursts through that new white wall that Will Ferrell put up. I'm guessing it's a thriller in the vein of LAKEVIEW TERRACE.

PULL QUOTE: "An edge of your seat white-knuckle thrill ride. Will Ferrell is Will, Feral!"



THE ANSWER MAN starring Jeff I think it's Daniels. Hmm. In keeping with Hollywood's current thrend of making movies about walls, this is a post apocalyptic event movie a la WATERWORLD that begs the question, what if we woke up one day and all our walls were missing? Jeff Daniels or Bridges has the Answer, Man: we would make our walls out of whatever the fuck we had lying around the house! In his case, books. Lauren Graham plays a widow who lost her husband when all the walls disappeared (known throughout the world as W-Day) and he was squished by the roof.

I bet there's a moment where someone makes walls out of pancakes. If not, there should be.

NOTE: If I hear THE ANSWER MAN goes back for reshoots next week and does that pancake thing, they're gonna be able to make a wall out of all the money I make from my lawsuit.

PULL QUOTE: "Summertime blues? Jeff Goldblume or whoever has the Answer, Man!"



STRIPPED DOWN is about a down-on-his-luck hitman who, after having a mid-life crisis and botching a hit, gets blackballed by the hitman industry. But the movie doesn't end there, no sir, this guy has to take a job as a seamstress to help pay the bills. He hates it, on account of he's a macho hitman and clothes designing is for the ladies, but to his horror finds out that he's REALLY good at it! It's kinda like GROSSE POINT HAPPY GILMORE.

Eventually he embraces his new job and has no need for his massive gun collection. So then, he decides to incorporate them into his designs. Right when he's at his happiest, he finds his old enemies are using his gun-shoe-designs to SNEAK GUNS ON A PLANE and the hitman dude has got to stop him...but the plane thing is scheduled at the exact same time as his RUNWAY SHOW! Can he do both? We'll have to see. I mean, you will, I'm busy.

PULL QUOTE: "Premiering Soon at a Netflix Watch Instantly Near You!"



THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 starring Washington Travolta as a doughy man with weird hair who believes everything is made of chocolate, including walkie-talkies.

PULL QUOTE: "123 Pelhams can't be wrong!"



CITY ISLAND is about a very sad family who tries to get a fresh start by moving into JUNO'S opening credits. Things take a turn for the weird when the wife/mom gets trapped in a picture frame like General Zodd. Andy Garcia asks his son Jeremy Sisto to help him, and the son gets offended because he's not Jeremy Sisto. But then Andy shows him a picture of Jeremy Sisto and they laugh because, hey, honest mistake.

PULL QUOTE: "Is it generic in CITY ISLAND or is it just me?"

I feel better now. Five movie (posters) reviewed. Hopefully this will make your movie going experience easier.