The Good, the Bad and the Blu-rays

After a ridiculously long absence from the interwebs, here is the return of my weekly guide to the DVDs and Blu-rays you should be spending your money on, as well as the ones you definitely shouldn't.

Pineapple Express 2 Trailer

At long last, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco in the roles that defined their careers, it's the trailer for the sequel you've all been waiting for.



Poking fun at a previous film to promote a new one sounds like a strange move, but it is, of course, a joke, with today's date being the reason behind its release. Still, it's a pretty good joke that not only has me in the mood to re-watch the original Pineapple Express, it also has me further sold on the premise of the film it is really promoting, This Is The End.

Previously seeming a bit wanky (what with Rogen, Franco, Hill, McBride, etc, play themselves watching the end of the world from a celebrity party), this comedy is starting to look like the quintessential Seth Rogen film (high concept seen through a haze of smoke), and the ideal one for him to make his directorial debut with, alongside regular co-writer/producer Evan Goldberg.

Who knows whether this is purely a stand-alone joke made as a piece of viral marketing (quite expertly, I might say), or if this footage will actually feature in the film in some way. Personally, I could stand to see a bit more of Jonah Hill's Woody Harrelson impression.

This Is The End is released this summer. Sadly, Pineapple Express 2 will probably only ever exist in the hearts and minds of those too lethargic to make it.

Woody Allen - Stammer Time

There are few things in life that can be enjoyed more than a Woody Allen film, particularly those featuring the man himself. Sadly, those appearances are few and far between nowadays, so one must rely on his back catalogue to satisfy their need for a short, nervous, never really comfortable performer mumbling his way through the lines he has written himself. Well, some bright sparks at The Huffington Post have decided to revisit all of Allen's acting roles and picked through his distinctive dialogue to highlight that most important aspect of the Woody Allen persona; his befuddled, frantic stuttering.

I'm not sure whether it shows how prolific a filmmaker/actor Allen is, how erudite he can be, or how much he is essentially playing the same character (himself), but as loving tributes go (using footage from his almost 50 year-long career in front of the camera), this 45 minute long compilation of every one of his on screen stutters is useless and hypnotic in equal measure.

A Brief But Thought Provoking Explanation For My Prolonged Absence From The Internet

Hello.

As many of my loyal readers out there keep stopping me on the street to mention to me, it's been a while since I updated Slacker Cinema. To be honest, I'd go further and say that it's been a hell of a while since I posted anything of real merit at all. The life of a film blogger can be a cruel one, and I'm pretty sure we all go through this stage at some point, where the process of maintaining a blog becomes a bit of a chore rather than something that is done out of love for films. Well, I decided to give myself a little break to recharge my batteries. Did I mean for it to go on this long? No, I planned on giving myself a week off and it has turned into nearly two months.

A hiatus, a sabbatical, laziness. Call it what you will, but for while the thought of sitting down in front of the computer and actually writing something filled me with dread. Maybe I was spinning too many plates (metaphorically), burning the candle at both ends (metaphorically) and juggling too many balls (ahem), but I decided to give my keyboard a much deserved rest.

"So what have you been doing" I hear you not ask? For those who don't know, I "technically" work in the film industry, albeit on a rung pretty close to the bottom of the ladder. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty sure I'm doing the job I always wanted to do and I'm quite proud of what I've managed to achieve with a film degree that could be best described as a C- and a CV hampered by a five year stint at a possibly, probably soon-to-be-defunct DVD rental store. I'm just a long way from Hollywood is what I'm saying. Well, that job takes up a hell of a lot of my time, making sure people get to see the films they want to see (whilst I stand nearby and get to see very little myself) and I suppose something had to give, at least for a while. In the last two months I don't think I've been watching less films, per se (at least not on DVD; and I've recently been taking advantage of the obscurity mecca that is Netflix), and I have always been a diligent note taker when I think a film is worth writing about, but I've shied away from sitting down and formulating those notes into what I dare to call "reviews".

Anyway, what's the point in having a film blog if you don't make use of the cathartic pleasure of writing about random oddities, forgotten gems and (yeah, why not) the new big blockbuster stuff that everyone else is also writing about? Looking to the future I'm hoping to update this site with a lot more regular content including one or two blog projects that I'm kind of excited about starting (wait 'til you hear about my Dan Aykroyd fanboy project. You'll be wishing you'd thought of it first), continuing to tell you what to spend your money on with my weekly DVD round-up, hopefully visiting one or two film festivals that are coming up and also sorting out the way the site looks, once and for all.

But hey, whatever, I'm back now and I'm going to do what I do best. Watch and write about some shitty movies so that you don't have to. Unbelievably, I'm heading towards my third anniversary of writing Slacker Cinema in my increasingly sporadic ways, so I suppose I want to say thank you to those who bother to take time to read it, and I promise to put a bit more effort into making sure there's something new up quite regularly. Or maybe not. We'll see.

The clue is in the name, I suppose.

The Good, the Bad and the Blu-rays

A solid week of new releases this week, but without much Hollywood input. Instead, it's a chance to let the smaller guys have their moment.

PITCH PERFECT review

When alt-chick Beca (Anna Kendrick) arrives at college, her lecturer father makes a deal with her that if she joins one of the many clubs on campus, he will fund her move to New York to pursue her musical dreams. After joining the failing a capella group, The Barden Bellas, along with an array of collegiate misfits, Beca tries to bring a new eclectic style to their tired old routines.

The Good, the Bad and the Blu-rays

After a brief hiatus over Christmas when there was nothing released worth writing about, welcome to the first The Good, the Bad and the Blu-rays of 2013. It's not a bad start, with one of 2012's finest films hitting shelves this week. 

JACK REACHER review

Starring Tom Cruise, the Christopher McQuarrie directed Jack Reacher is now in cinemas.

The Good, the Bad and the Blu-rays

You wouldn't think there's only two weeks of Christmas shopping left, as this may be the sparsest week for new releases in recent memory.

The Good, the Bad and the Blu-rays

Gotham's finest makes his final (for now) Blu-ray appearance this week, and although not many other releases dare go up against him, there's a couple of worthy contenders in the ones that do.