Movie ratings:

1)*/*****:

-ONE DAY YOU’LL UNDERSTAND got 0%/1,0/F.

-SYNECDOCHE,NEW YORK and THE EDGE OF LOVE got 10%/1,0/F.

2)**/*****:

“NICK” & “NORAH”’S INFINITE PLAYLIST and ROLE MODELS got 30%/3,0/D-.

3)***/*****:

-“ADAM” RESURRECTED, LAKEVIEW TERRACE and THE BOY IN THE STRIPPED PIJAMAS got 50%/4,5/C-.

-BROKEN WINDOWS, DEFINATELY,MAYBE, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, THE BROTHERS “BLOOM”, THE WRESTLER and “VICKY” “CRISTINA” BARCELONA got 60%/5,0/C.

4)****/*****:

-AUSTRALIA, DOUBT, EL FRASCO/THE BOTTLE, CHERRY BLOSSOMS, THE DARK KNIGHT and THE HURT LOCKER got 70%/5,5/B.

-“21”, DIE WELLE/THE WAVE, EL REGALO, RACHEL GETTING MARRIED and SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE got 80%/6,0/B+.

Oh my, I have news that will make Razzie voters' mouths water.

"Arnold Schwarzenegger is heading back to the big-screen - he has signed up to appear in fellow muscleman Sylvester Stallone's upcoming film The Expendables.

Schwarzenegger put his acting career on hold when he was elected Governor of California in 2003. But he is set to make a return with a brief appearance playing himself in Stallone's star-studded movie.

The film, about a team of mercenaries heading to South America on a mission to overthrow a dictator, will also star Ben Kingsley, Eric Roberts, and Mickey Rourke. Filming is scheduled to start shooting next month."

Schwarzenegger and Stallone in a movie together?! Not to mention poor Kingsley, the way his career has gone to hell as it were, and Roberts whose career has it's share of ups and down (I saw this clip of him in a movie in which the last spoken line of dialog was "Ever sky dive naked into a volcano?" WTF?!). And Rourke, this is how you follow up an Oscar worthy preformance? My head hurts just thinking about it.

I can't find the nominees on the web.  Haven't you revealed them?

RESPONSE from Head RAZZberry: They auto-posted at 5:30am/PST. Here's the LINK...

How the Saw franchise never gets any Razzie nominations is beyond me. They look so horrible, and the reviews progressively get worse as one gets released after the other. Or does Lionsgate paint their movies with a sheen that prevents them from even being Razzie-worthy (i.e. Tyler Perry's Christianity propogandas/soap operas).

Hey, HeadRAZZ, are we gonna move on to a 2009 forum very soon?

RESPONSE from Head RAZZberry: At least 3 of the 5 SAW titles have been listed on our Nominating Ballots over the years, but our voters never seem to "elevate" them into the final five in any category. Given that they've mostly been competing against the HOSTEL franchise in the same catgegories, maybe our members have somehow decided the HOSTEL films are actually worse... 

On the subject of 2009 Forums, several are already posted (BRIDE WARS, HOTEL FOR DOGS, THE UNBORN and UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS) as well as a running LIST of ELIGIBLE 2009 RELEASES... 

I'm thinking this next week's Worst New Movie on DVD is going to be Saw V or Repo: The Genetic Opera (it could even be both).

Possession has been postponed again, which means that next week's Worst New Movie of the Weak is now very clear.

The prequel of the vicious Underworld series is set to come out next week.  The trailer was set in total darkness, so I couldn't tell what kind of special effects they were using for the creatures.  The film plans to tell how this war began and most of the cast members are the same, which usually means it'll probably turn out better than most prequels.  However if the past is any indication, then the critics will probably kick this one like they did the other two.

Originally posted by dEd Grimley Is it too much to hope for all three?

Seriously. "Dog Hotel" is just kiddie fluff, "Mall Cop" has Adam Sandler's finger prints all over it, and "My Bloody Valentine" is just a gimmick-fest hack-job. One will get the top spot and the other two will be bonuses.

I don't see any forums for this week's new films, which means you probably haven't selected a Worst of the Weak yet.  What's it gonna be, the dogs, the slasher, or the King of Queens?

Based on this weekend's box office numbers, Gran Torino is 2009's equivalent to The Bucket List (a limited release going to No. 1 in wide release).

And you thought this week was bad?  Well next week looks worse.  All four wide release films this week contain some sign of a Razzie prospect.  You have a family film about lodging for canids, a remake of an 80s Canadian slasher film, a biographical film about a Hip-hop legend, and a comedy in which the King of Queens protects a shopping center.  I wouldn't consider seeing any of these films.  I'm sure you wouldn't either, but tell me if you think differently.

The new releases are getting slammed by critics.  If you look on Rotten Tomatoes, you can see two different films getting the same treatment from critics and different reactions from the users.  Bride Wars is getting panned by both groups; critics and community (even that positive review from earlier is getting hit hard).  The Unborn on the other hand is getting beat down by the critics, but the users are defending it (some of the negative reviews weren't taken lightly).  Both films currently stand at <10% with the critics.  Bride Wars is holding at around 30% with the community, but the community rating for The Unborn seems to rise every time I check that page (it currently stands at 45%).

As of my predictions for this week, the films might just fall short of the Box Office Mojo predicted totals.  Bride Wars and Gran Torino are expected to duke it out next week, but the two films might end up finishing closer than the expected $5.3M difference on Box Office Mojo.  In the end, I don't know who will come out on top.  NFL Playoffs among other things are going to affect these totals greatly.

The Dark Knight has enjoyed a number of Best Picture nominations to date, but I'd say it's still a longshot for an Oscar Best Picture nomination. We'll know soon.

Since you seem to be a Batman fan, here is a book you might enjoy:

Becoming Batman: The Possibility of a Superhero by Paul Zehr.

The book explores a lot of the science and physiology behind the most plausible of the superheros; a rather interesting read for aficionados of the caped crusador. It should be available at most bookstores or on amazon.com in hard cover. The paperback version probably won't appear until late 2009.

The recommendation is offered with a qualification. Some of the book is very interesting, some of it is extremely dry and may be a little heavier on scientific detail than most readers are prepared to handle. Checking it out at your local library might be better than shelling out the price of the hard cover edition.

Originally posted by saturnwatcher I think that you are being a little rough on Hollywood as well, uncomfortable as I am defending them as a group. The vast majority of movies released have no Oscar pretentions. Generally they are just created to make money, entertain targeted audiences and provide jobs for people in the industry.

I'm just pointing out the fact that H-Wood didn't cave in to the WGA strike until the Oscars were a few weeks away; kinda points out what they really care about. "Dark Knight" seems more promising by the day, as it is getting nods from Director, Writer, and Producer Guilds. 

As a general rule, most Oscar Best Picture hopefuls are also released in November or December. Probabilites are, the Oscar Best Picture final list will look very similar. Occasionally, something that is released earlier will break through, but that is pretty rare. I think that you are being a little rough on Hollywood as well, uncomfortable as I am defending them as a group.

The vast majority of movies released have no Oscar pretentions. Generally they are just created to make money, entertain targeted audiences and provide jobs for people in the industry.

If you're getting a sexual thrill off those Oscar statuettes, then please don't say anything about it because it's kinda disturbing.

And the No. 2 Worst New Movie on DVD this week isn't on the nominating ballot either, which leaves Disaster Movie and Righteous Kill to fight for the top spot.

Take note that 4 of the Producers' Guild nominees didn't come out until December. Also note how the WGA strike of last year ended just before the Oscars, proving what H-Wood really cares about most: their beloved Little Gold Naked Man awards.

Say what you want.  It doesn't effect my opinion.

The Hollywood Producers just released their nominees for their 2008 Best Picture Award:

Milk

Frost/Nixon

The Dark Knight

The Curiously Boring and Tedious Case of Benjamin Butthead

Slumdog Millionaire

Wow, was 2008 a dismal year!

Oh, so only the bad stars of MadTV starred in that film. 

About that headline, let me remind you that Nicolas Cage didn't make the nominating ballot (neither did that film, I am a little disappointed).

I can't believe MADtv is where it's at. I thought, at some point, it had some potential to be very strong. I mean, you have some very talented actors/actresses: Aries Spears, Artie Lange, Danielle Gaither, Debra Wilson, Frank Caliendo, Josh Meyers, Mo Collins, Nicole Sullivan, Pat Kilbane, Phil LaMarr, and Stephnie Weir. I was gonna include Michael McDonald, only if he quit at the end of season 10 or 11, because he really had some memorable work around that time (the celebrity impressions, the horny porno director), but boy did he fall hard. Some current ones - Bobby Lee, Crista Flannagan, Ike Barinholtz, Nicole Parker - started out super strong, but then they were either underutilized or just not on their game.

Originally posted by MiguelAntilsu Well the critics are counting on us to give Disaster Movie the punishment it deserves, so why don't we give the critics the results they want? Also, there are some compelling reasons to thrash it.  I was strong enough to survive that sh*tkicker, so I'll give you my reasons: 1. The film contains over 50 references and most of them are either recycled, irrelevent, or unnecessary. 2. Judging by the numerous sh*t jokes, censoring, and other extreme moments, it defies it's MPAA rating.  It's inappropriate enough to be confused for an R-rated movie. 3. If you're going to do a spoof, at least include something original.  This film didn't. 4. The title is misleading.  Seeing that only four of its 50 references are disaster films, they should have called it something like "Unoriginal Nonsense". 5. The cast of the blatent sketch comedy MADtv is involved.  Seeing that MADtv is bad enough to end up on Comedy Central and most of the stuff on Comedy Central is offensive and inappropriate, then people who know MADtv and Comedy Central would know what they were getting (bad comedy). 6. Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer are widely considered to be "a disaster unto themselves", "an insult to entertainment", and "a cinematic menace".  It's time they get what they deserve: Razzies! There you have it, straight from the horse's mouth.

Recalling some of the blanket indictments that you have issued against the critics represented by RT (which is just about every regularly published critic in America) that statement doesn't really wash  (Yes, I can quote you)