My Best Films

Kevin Smith has hired View Askewniverse regular Jason Lee for a small role in A Couple Of Dicks.

Talking to actor Kevin Pollack (who’s also in the movie) on his ‘net show, Smith mentioned that Lee is showing up for a couple of days of shooting.

And Variety is also reporting that Michelle Trachtenberg – last seen in 17 Again – has also joined the cast, playing Bruce Willis’ daughter. The trade mag has it that Lee will be her stepfather, so expect plenty of comic tension.

The plot, in case anyone has forgotten, finds Willis and 30 Rock’s Tracy Morgan as a pair of detectives who tangle with gangsters, drug money, a kidnapped Mexican beauty and a stolen baseball card.

It’ll arrive early next year and we can’t wait to see what Smith will produce, given that this is the first time (on a feature film, at least) that he’s working from someone else’s script.

[Source: Variety/Kevin Pollack Chat Show]

Excited to see Lee back on the big screen sans Chipmunks? Speak!

The first trailer for the comedy Couples Retreat has arrived and you can watch it below.

Featuring a host of laugh-grabbing talent including Vince Vaughn (who came up with the idea), Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell, Malin Akerman, Faizon Love and Britain’s own Peter Serafinowicz, Couples Retreat looks silly, but fun.

It’s the tale of four couples that go on a lush tropical getaway so one of the pairs can work on their marriage issues. But the others don’t realise that the counselling is not optional…

We’ll see this lush, sunny looking film in October, when it’ll likely be freezing and/or raining.

Meanwhile, check out the trailer below, then let us know what you thought…

The first teaser trailer for Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakuel has arrived.

Let’s face it, you knew it was coming the minute the first movie made ten bazillion dollars at the box office.

Much as many of us might hate the idea of the CG singing ‘toon beasties, the kids love ‘em and they’re here to stay.

So grab an ankle biter and make them watch it a thousand times in punishment for what they did.

Or, if you loved the first movie, be prepared to squeal with glee at the idea that we get to meet the Chipettes – voiced by Amy Poehler, Anna Faris and Christina Applegate.

Take a look for yourself, and then tell us what you thought. Screaming can be expressed through judicious use of the caps lock key.
 

The latest winner of our monthly Sweding Challenge has been chosen.

Her name is Jasmine Sahu and her film recreates the regeneration scene in the Doctor Who movie (as if you couldn’t work that out by watching it).

It’s great – and you can see it below.

And in between stuffing prizes into a fat envelope for Jasmine, we’ve come up with a new Challenge.

This month’s theme is Accessories, so whether you’ve got an old pirate costume, or a snakeskin jacket, you can take part.

Choose your favourite accessories scene, recreate it, upload it to YouTube, send the link to chris.hicks@futurenet.com and we’ll pick our favourite at the end of June.

If you need some suggestions, head for our 10 Classic Movie Accessories Scenes To Swede feature – and good luck!

What scene will you Swede? Tell us below!
 

The latest winner of our monthly Sweding Challenge has been chosen.

Her name is Jasmine Sahu and her film recreates the regeneration scene in the Doctor Who movie (as if you couldn’t work that out by watching it).

It’s great – and you can see it below.

And in between stuffing prizes into a fat envelope for Jasmine, we’ve come up with a new Challenge.

This month’s theme is Accessories, so whether you’ve got an old pirate costume, or a snakeskin jacket, you can take part.

Choose your favourite accessories scene, recreate it, upload it to YouTube, send the link to chris.hicks@futurenet.com and we’ll pick our favourite at the end of June.

If you need some suggestions, head for our 10 Classic Movie Accessories Scenes To Swede feature – and good luck!

What scene will you Swede? Tell us below!
 

So, we’ve chosen last month’s Transformation winner (see it here) and covered Jasmine Sahu in prizes for being so brilliant.

Now it’s time to do it all over again.

This month’s theme is Accessories, so whether you’ve got a cardboard pipe, or a fingerless glove, you can take part.

Just choose your favourite accessory scene (our suggestions below), recreate it, upload it to YouTube and the link to chris.hicks@futurenet.com.

We’ll pick our favourites at the end of July.

Good luck!

Sherlock Holmes’ Pipe

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)

Ease Of Swede: 9/10

We don’t want to see a real pipe here, that’s too easy. Maybe make a massive cardboard cut-out pipe, and sit next to a cardboard open fire. Talk in a posh accent about crime and Watson’s your uncle.

Sailor Ripley’s Jacket

Wild at Heart (1990)

Ease Of Swede: 8/10

Go into your mum’s wardrobe and borrow the snakeskin jacket she wore in the ‘80s, then prance about like you’re Elvis. We’re sure she won’t mind.

Next: Indiana’s whip, Mary Poppins’ umbrella

Indiana Jones’ whip

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Ease Of Swede: 8/10

Get a load of liquorice string, tie it all together, and start flinging it about. Careful not to have anyone’s eye out, though.

Mary Poppins’ Umbrella

Mary Poppins (1964)

Ease Of Swede: 5/10

Get an umbrella, slide down the banister, then loop the footage backwards. You’re Mary Poppins!

Next: Jesus Quintana’s glove, Snake Plissken’s eye patch

Jesus Quintana’s glove

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Ease Of Swede: 6/10

Get down to your local bowling alley with one of your old fingerless mittens. Extra points for reciting the full speech.
  

Snake Plissken’s eye patch

Escape From New York (1981)

Ease Of Swede 6/10

Head for your local joke shop, buy a pirate costume, chuck everything in the bin except the eye patch, scratch off the skull and crossbones, whack it on and start growling dialogue.

Next: Jules Winnfield’s ‘Bad Mother Fucker’ wallet, Agent J(Jay)’s sunglasses

Jules Winnfield’s ‘Bad Mother Fucker’ wallet

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Ease Of Swede: 8/10

Take your wallet out of your pocket, take a marker pen out of your other pocket, write the words on the wallet, then head for your local Burger King.

Agent J(Jay)’s sunglasses

Men in Black (1997)

Ease Of Swede: 10/10

Give your mate a tour of your school sports hall, get the free 3D glasses we gave you with our Terminator Salvation issue. Put them on. You’re done.

Next: Holly Golightly cigarette holder, Dorothy’s ruby slippers

Holly Golightly cigarette holder

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)

Ease Of Swede: 10/10

Go into the garden, fetch a long stick, swagger around like you’re at a party. Simple.

Dorothy’s ruby slippers

Wizard of Oz (1939)

Ease Of Swede 7/10

Get some old moth-eaten slippers, dip ‘em in some red paint, wait for them to dry, then stick ‘em on and whack ‘em together, chanting there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home…

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If you’re sick of banging away on fake instruments and really just want to insert yourself into classic films instead, help is apparently now at hand.

A US company called YooStar has patented a way to let you appear in clips from famous films and even shoot your own, thanks to a kit that includes a webcam, green screen, microphones and computer software.

We’re not convinced it will be quite as much fun as the likes of Rock Band, but they’re also including a couple of moving backgrounds so you can improv your own scenes.

Oh, and they’ll let you upload the finished product – but only to their own website.

So far, you just get clips from The Terminator, Beverly Hills Cop and Sunset Boulevard, but the company plans to have other more available to download for a price.

And talking of price, the whole thing will set you back a whopping $170 – and there’s no word on a UK edition yet. We’re guessing if the company can find enough loaded, bored teenagers to sell it to across the pond, they’ll target our shores soon enough…

[Source: Variety]

Would you buy or use something like this? Or does it sound like a waste of money?

In between plugging sci-fi pic Moon, Duncan Jones has been talking more about the next one – futuristic thriller Mute.

“Moon (below) is about alienation and isolation,” he told Screen Daily. “The next one will have a different vibe. It’s not about one actor on their own, it’s an ensemble piece.”

So what is it about, exactly? Jones wouldn’t spill much, but fortunately, producer Stuart Fenegan was on hand to fill in a little more info. Look away now if you’re spoiler-phobic, though it’s only a rough synopsis….

“Mute is about a woman whose disappearance causes a mystery for her partner, a mute bartender. When she disappears, he has to go up against the city’s gangsters.”

Jones will kick off shooting on the movie early next year in Germany, with locations around Berlin and at the city’s Studio Babelsberg.

And he’ll have more money to play with this time. It’s not Michael Bay-sized cash, but it  “will definitely be bigger than Moon, probably something up to $25 million.”

We’re already looking forward to it.

[Source: Screen Daily]

Excited to see Moon? Let us know…