Critical End!

I’m sure my friends are glad that the Emmys have come and gone, as now they no longer have to hear me talk about what a shame it is that none of the Community cast got nominated.  So, what was the cast of the best new show of last season doing instead of sitting in the Emmy audience waiting to hear their name called?  Doing car commercials.

But wait!  It was no where near as bad as it sounds.  I actually rather liked it…or perhaps I was just really in need of a Community fix until the new season starts.  See for yourself:

And as not to load this post down with with videos, here’s the links to part two and three on YouTube.  New season starts September 23rd!

Adam Green’s Hatchet was no work of art, but it completely delivered the “Old School American Horror” that the posters promised.  I left the theater thinking Green could be the next Eli Roth, and started wishing for a whole slew of quickly made Hatchet sequels, a la the Friday the 13th films in the ’80’s.

Three years and a few decent films later, Green is finally granting my wish.  And while the teaser trailer for Hatchet II spends most of it’s time reviewing the first film, I have to admit that I’m still very excited.  Let’s hope that this gets a wide enough release so I can catch it in theaters.

Remember Norm Macdonald?  He’s that guy who got fired from SNL for being funny, made two very awesome but unsuccessful films, then somehow ended up starring in his own sitcom on ABC.  Only in America, kids.

Although I haven’t seen it since it originally aired, The Norm Show (later renamed Norm), was must-see-TV for high school Logan.  The reason it worked was, quite simply, because it didn’t work.  Norm Macdonald was always the first person to point out that he couldn’t act.  He was also one of the most uncreative comedians around, often labeling things exactly how they looked (hence “Wiener Dog” as the name of his wiener dog).  Norm Macdonald had no business being on primetime, network television…but this is what made the show so awesome.

Shout! Factory, which I seriously cannot stop saying amazing things about, recently announced plans to release the complete Norm Show on DVD, which I find both exciting and scary.  Exciting because I remember loving this show and scary because I’m secretly afraid it’s not going to hold up.  But then again, there’s this clip, which alone is worth at least half of the $45 Amazon pre-order price.

Anybody else remember this show?  Thoughts?

Are you aware that we live in a world where a film like Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, arguably one of the funniest and most creative films of the year, bombs at the box office, while Vampires Suck opens as a certified hit?  What’s wrong with people?

I also find this surprising as I was under the impression that the Twilight series was already funny enough.  I mean, why bother with a spoof when the material being spoofed is funnier?  Case in point: Breaking Dawn.  Sure, it’s not even out yet, but if it ends up anything at all like the book, we’re looking at what might possibly be THE BEST WORST FILM EVER.  Ryan and I discussed it back in this podcast, but here’s the quick version in case you missed it:

A few days back, Netflix signed a five year deal worth nearly 1 billion buckaroos to assure that the majority of their users will never leave home again.

Yes, starting September 1st, Netflix will begin streaming films from Paramount, Lionsgate, and MGM.  What does this mean to you?  Well, first off, you’ll finally get around to seeing Saw V.  Second, you’ll now be able to blow an entire weekend watching every James Bond film.  But most importantly, you’re going to be reminded why you have Netflix in the first place: Because that guy down at the video store makes fun of you for the movies you rent.  Not to your face…but you hear the laughing.  Oh, do I ever. You think you’re so funny, don’t you, Steve?  Well, laugh while you can, because soon it will be I who is laughing at you.

Anyway, we’re still going to have to wait 90 days on all new releases to hit the ol’ “Watch Instantly” queue, but with the amazing back-catalog of films that these studios have, there should be plenty to pass the time.  And I’m sure Netflix will make it’s $1 billion back in no time with all of the new users they get from this.  We’re talking mucho dinero, and probably some American money too.

via Yahoo!

Little known fact: Before they hit the big time with CriticalEnd.com, Logan Lee and Ryan DiGiorgi served as presidents of the Boy Meets World fan club at their high school.  Sure, the hours were long, the pay meager, and the nights dateless, but they had a dream: To spread their love of the TGIF show to the masses by acting out a full episode every Friday during lunch hour.  Many love it, but most just thought they were gay.

A decade after it left the air, Boy Meets World is still one of the few shows not to see a full release on DVD.  A few years back, Disney, who then owned the rights under ABC, released seasons 1 to 3 to mostly lackluster sales.  Season 4 (the first season where the show really became aware of itself, thus funnier) was given a street date and even box art, but then dropped shortly after.  Disney finally realized that they could make more money by selling the show to another company.

And so Lionsgate ended up owning the complete Boy Meets World catalog.  Yes, we’re talking about the same Lionsgate that built it’s empire around the Saw films.  For a while nothing happened, but then a few months ago Lionsgate announced a re-release of seasons 1 to 3 (long out of print), and just a few days ago posted on Twitter a possible release date for the long awaited season 4.  Let’s hope they get around to the rest soon.

So what does all of this mean to you?  Nothing unless you’re a big fan of the show, or one of those people who won’t be happy until everything is on DVD or Blu-Ray.  Or you’re gay.  I’m just a fan, that’s all.  Swear. 

*shifty eyes*

There is a distinct possibility that I may have this framed above my bed.

             

Remember when Ryan told us all about the new Wile E. Coyote shorts that Warner Bros. plans to start placing in front of kids films?  Well, if you’re anything like me (and I assume you are, minus the raw sexiness), then you’d love to see a bit of it without having to pay to see Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore. 

Well, being that this is the internet and all, it was only a matter of time before somebody broke a bunch of copyright laws and posted a bit of it online.

I have to say: I’m loving it so far.

As we mentioned here, Community is arriving on DVD next month.  Here’s a peak at what you can look forward to:

MovieWeb is reporting that we’re going to get outtakes, longer, uncut episodes, AND cast and crew commentary on every episode.  That alone should be worth the 35 buck pre-order price on Amazon.

…there’s always the upcoming Saw 3D…

…which you plan to avoid completely unless your name is Logan or Ryan.

Seriously, kids, THIS is the only reason that the money-grabbing Hollywood gimmick that is 3D should stick around a bit longer:

Did you see that?!  The piranha hissed at that girl…underwater!  And Eli Roth and Christopher Lloyd were both there!  IN 3D!  I smell Oscars!

Did somebody say "Predators 2"? BOO-YAH!

It seems that your pals here at Critical End! reviewed the so-so Predators only a few weeks ago, and the film is still playing in most theaters, but that didn’t stop Robert Rodriguez from talking up Predators 2 at this year’s Comic-Con!

“They really wanted [Predators] to be pretty contained, pretty scaled-back.  They didn’t want to put too many of the ideas into it that we could save for a second one.  So we could see what the appetite was, because the bigger movie would actually be what comes following that.  That kind of sets up a new storyline, new location and world, and then you can really go crazy from there.”

Wait, so now they tell me that Predators was just a set up for more sequels?!  If only I had known, as Predators 2: Predator 4, is bound to be a much better film!  Damn.

Anyway, Rodriguez says that he may direct it, but not until he finishes Sin City 2, which means that we can look forward to a release date in the Summer of when Hell freezes over. 

via IGN

Murray in every movie he's made in the last ten years.

I’ve been saying it for years now: Bill Murray doesn’t deserve your respect and high praise.  While other great comedians from the late ’70’s have slowly disappeared in shame over the past decade, Murray has only gained ground for doing nothing more than being a depressed jerk.  Granted, some of my favorites (ahem, Chevy Chase) made some real stinkers during their careers, but did they beat up their wife, claim scripts that they haven’t even read suck, start fights with more successful actors, or make not one, but two Garfield movies? 

Okay, Murray claims he can explain the Garfield movies.  Well, the first one at least.  You see, it turns out that he’s a complete fucking retard.  Don’t believe me?  Here he is describing his decision to do Garfield in his own words from a recent GQ interview.  I couldn’t make this up if I wanted to. 

“I looked at the script, and it said, ‘So-and-so and Joel Coen.’  And I thought…well, I love those Coens!  They’re funny!  So I sorta read a few pages of it and thought, Yeah, I’d like to do that.” 

Wait wait wait.  You mean to tell me that Bill Murray, being the stunning hipster god that he his, thought that a script for a movie based off of a daily newspaper comic strip starring a fat, lasagna-loving orange cat was written by the Coen brothers?!  Those of us who can read English know that Garfield was written by Joel Cohen, of Cheaper by the Dozen fame.  But wait!  It gets better!   

See, you would think that Murray, once again being the beyond intelligent voice of hipster comedy that he is, would notice that it wasn’t a Coen brothers film once he started recording the dialogue.  Well, you would think wrong.  In fact, it wasn’t until Murray was watching the film that he noticed something was not quite right.  Here’s Murray with more: 

“So I sat down and watched the whole thing, and I kept saying, ‘Who the hell cut this thing? Who did this? What the fuck was Coen thinking?’  And then they explained it to me: It wasn’t written by that Joel Coen.” 

Seriously, folks.  I kid you not.  Meanwhile, all of this Bill Murray being a complete and utter moron stuff is great, but how does it even begin to explain why he did Garfield 2: A Tail of Two Kitties?  Did he make the same mistake twice?  I’m willing to believe that Bill lied to GQ in this interview just to clear his name, but if that’s true, we can’t ignore the fact that the man still made two Garfield movies…and Larger Than Life.  I don’t see him explaining that one with some nonsensical story about how he thought it was written by Frank Capra. 

Listen, I’ve loved some of Murray’s work just as much as most of you, but let’s not ignore the fact that he’s made just as much crap (if not more) as other comedians of his era.  Sure, you can spend your time calling Chevy and other great comic actors of that time pretentious assholes, but don’t forget the reality here: Bill Murray is an asshole too.  

Or maybe you just started ignoring that at some point. 

via GQ

A few hours after posting yesterday’s news about Betty White appearing on the Community season 2 premiere, NBC announced their Fall 2010 schedule.  While there’s a few new shows to catch, and the usual must-see-TV crap, the real news here is that you need to go ahead and free up Thursday, September 23rd, as that’s the date Community returns to us.

And while you’re at it, why not keep September 21st free as well?  That’s the date Community season 1 hits DVD. 

Oh, and since you’re looking at your calender anyway, why not keep October 22nd free too?  That’s my birthday.

via HitFix

I think that America is in need of a new grandmother, because I’m kind of getting tired of Betty White.

Now hold on a minute before you hit submit on that “Logan Sux!” comment.  I love Betty White just as much as everybody else does…but just like your real grandmother, it doesn’t matter how much you may love her, you still don’t want her around all the time. 

Yet, within the last year it’s become near impossible to do anything without seeing Betty White.  She’s in commercials, on TV shows, in more movies a month than Samuel L. Jackson, and yesterday I opened the local paper only to discover that she’s coming to my town.  I kid you not. 

And this morning I came across even more Betty news: The Hollywood Reporter is, um, Hollywood Reporting that Betty is all set to play a wacky anthropology professor in the season two premiere of Community.  Now there’s some Betty White news I can get behind…assuming that her and Chevy get into some sort of old people fight.

Oh yeah, and a recent CHUD article (brilliantly titled “Enough with Betty White Already”) is claiming that White may be the front-runner for the George Burns role in the remake of Oh God!  Okay, I admit that I’d see that as well.

But as for the forty million other films/shows/commercials/video games/hip hop albums that Betty White has planned for this year?  Pass.  Betty, I love you, but we kind of get the point: You do things that most old women wouldn’t for a laugh.  We’re past that now.  Let’s move on.

Oh, and my vote for America’s next wacky grandmother?

On the set of his new film: Unemployment.

Have you heard the news?  It seems that several news sites are reporting that Mel Gibson is crazy.  Rest assured that your pals here at Critical End! will let you know all about it once we figure out what the actual news part of this story is.