Book Giveaway: The Godfather: The Official Motion Picture Archives - Enter by 05/30/13

Here's an offer you can’t refuse… We’re happy to offer the opportunity for one of our readers to win a copy of the recent book The Godfather: The Official Motion Picture Archives, courtesy of Insight Editions (a $45 value). This hardcover book, written by Peter Cowie, is a treasure chest for fans of Francis Ford Coppola’s legendary Godfather trilogy, loaded with information, photos, and—coolest of all—removable facsimile documents straight from the Archive of Paramount Pictures!

Entry is simple: answer a question in the Rafflecopter entry form below. That’ll unlock several ways to earn additional entries. Deadline for entry is midnight (Pacific), May 30, 2013. Must be at least 18 years of age and a continental U.S. resident (no P.O. Boxes) to enter. One lucky winner will be drawn at random and notified via email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to our notification with their complete name and mailing address. Failure to respond within 48 hours will result in forfeiture and another winner will be selected. For complete giveaway rules, click here.

The Godfather: The Official Motion Picture Archives tells the story of how the film was made, how the legendary cast was assembled, how the locations were selected for authenticity, and much more. Illustrated with rare behind-the-scenes photographs, this book examines all aspects of the timeless classic, with coverage of The Godfather Part II and Part III too.

Among the removable reprinted documents (stored in several red envelopes featuring the image of Don Corleone): sound-cue sheets, a brochure detailing the creation of Marlon Brando’s prosthetic dental appliance, pages of a dialogue script, posters for each film, and more!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Movie Review: Star Trek Into Darkness

By Chaz Lipp

What a mess. Intermittently entertaining, yes, but a mess nonetheless. Star Trek Into Darkness is nearly impossible to discuss at any length without spoiling it. Most of what I write here will be preceded by one big spoiler warning, intended only for those who have already seen the film, but suffice it to say that Into Darkness hinges on one very bad idea. After clearing the slate by establishing a totally new timeline in 2009’s Star Trek, director J.J. Abrams and company were free and clear to send the crew of the Enterprise in any direction they saw fit. So what did they decide to do? They took one of the franchise’s most iconic characters and squeezed him into a retread of an old story. Only with more fights and chases.

Okay, on with the spoilers…come back later if you haven’t seen the movie already.

Blu-ray Quick Take: Hellraiser: Deader

By Chaz Lipp

I jumped at the chance to review the newly released Blu-ray debut of Hellraiser: Deader, the seventh film in the series, even though I’ve never seen any of the others. Not even the 1987 original, written and director by the franchise’s creator Clive Barker. The reasons for my enthusiasm are not complicated. I thought Doug Bradley was the best thing about the most recent Wrong Turn movie (Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines, see our review here). I knew Bradley was known best for his frequent portrayal of Pinhead (in all but the ninth film, Revelations). Also I happen to like Kari Wuhrer, the female lead in Deader. So I took a chance.

Blu-ray Quick Take: Cheech and Chong’s Animated Movie

By Chaz Lipp

With a legion of fans, both old and new, comedy duo Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong have a built-in audience for their new animated feature, Cheech and Chong’s Animated Movie. After all, the film offers a trip down memory lane for those who enjoy their stoned antics. Essentially plotless, old routines from Cheech and Chong comedy album have been animated and strung together for a total of 83 minutes. The link between each vignette is Buster the Body Crab, a pubic louse who we meet during the opening segment (living in a woman’s crotch). He follows the guys around, jonesing for a contact high at the very least.

Blu-ray Review: Mama

by Sherry Lipp

What might humans be like if they grew up in the wild, without guardians or any type of societal norms? Without anyone to guide our developing intellect would we be reduced to animalistic behaviors? These are interesting questions that would fit very well into the horror genre. Mama the 2013 horror film, directed by Andrés Muschietti, introduces these intriguing topics, but unfortunately spends very little time exploring them. The film about two young girls who are found after several years of living alone in the woods, has some thrills, but fails to rise above a muddled storyline.

The film opens with a suitably creepy setup. A very young girl hear a gunshot from the bedroom she shares with her baby sister. Her frantic father bursts in, scoops up the girls and speeds away over an icy mountain pass. Eventually the trio winds up in a secluded cabin. As the father, Jeffrey (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau – who is best known as Jaime Lannister on Game of Thrones), comptemplates what to do next the girl eerily tells him she see’s woman outside, whose feet don’t touch the ground. He pays no attention. We don’t get to see right away what she is talking about. Is it incoherent ramblings of a scared three-year-old, who has just broken her glasses, or is it something we can’t quite imagine?

The beginning very effectively sets up a creepy and uncomfortable situation. Since we know the girls are abandoned it’s no secret to say that Jeffrey should have paid more attention to what his daughter was saying. Fast-forward five years, and we find that Jeffrey’s identical twin brother Lucas (Coster-Waldau in a dual-role) has never given up on finding his nieces. He has spent his life savings on a private search team. An d one day, in the most creepy scene of the entire film, the find them. The girls, eight-year-old Victoria (Megan Charpentier) and six-year-old Lilly (Isabelle Nélisse), are completely wild. Lilly especially remembers nothing of civilized life. She knows only a few words and hates to be touched. Victoria, on the other hand, shows some signs that she remembers the life she once had.

The Walking Dead Season 4 Sneak Peek

AMC has released the first photo from episode one of season four!

We're still a ways off from the premiere (date to be announced) - but I know from Norman Reedus' Twitter and Instagram postings that he is back in Atlanta for filming.

Though we weren't entirely satisfied with the second half of season three, we're looking forward to seeing where the show is headed this season.

I have heard they are going to leap forward in time a bit, which I think is a good thing. I'm assuming the Governor (David Morrissey), will still be on the loose and looking for revenge. I hope the season doesn't focus entirely on that, but it might be a good storyline to add tension.

For now we will have to suffice with this tiny little tease for season four.

(photo: Gene Page/AMC)

Blu-ray Review: The Oranges

By Chaz Lipp

House and/or Arrested Development fans take note: the main reason to watch The Oranges is for the strong performances of Hugh Laurie and Alia Shawkat as a father and daughter with a unique problem. Laurie stars in this off-kilter comedy as David Walling, husband of Paige (Catherine Keener). Theirs is a troubled marriage. Shawkat plays their daughter and the film’s narrator, Vanessa. She’s 24, lives at home, is single, and can’t seem to get her life off the ground. Her brother Toby (Adam Brody) has been spending time abroad, but makes a visit home for the holidays.