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I've always joked about certain movies being the worst I'd ever seen. Depending on your company, it's funny to say that The Notebook is the worst movie you've ever seen. For a long time I said that Spice World was the worst movie I'd ever seen, simply because I really couldn't think of a better answer. But I know these movies are nowhere near the worst movie I have ever seen. They each have their merits. Even Spice World had me laughing a few times thanks to a well-placed Meatloaf cameo.

Then I found this little gem on Netflix. You never know what you're going to find on Netflix. Like Wikipedia, one thing leads you to another, leads to another, until you're falling down the rabbit hole and you can't even remember where you started. Moreover, there are times when you seriously cannot comprehend what you're watching, or what Netflix would choose to add to their roster.

During one such recent decent into the Netflix abyss, I made a discovery that rocked my cinephile brain, possibly forever: I may have finally found the Worst Movie I Have Ever Seen. 

WARNING: THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD!


 
The Trailer Park is a collection of recent trailers and previews for upcoming flicks. Will they be worth your time and money? Take a look and decide for yourself!
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This week in The Trailer Park we've got Robert Redford stranded at sea, another transformation from Christian BaleSophia Vergara with machine-gun boobs and Johnny Knoxville doing his version of Borat with his classic Grandpa character.

All that plus previews for new movies from Robert RodriguezBen Stiller and the first feature film directed by Billy Bob Thornton in over a decade!

Hit the jump to see all the latest trailers!


 
The Hold-Up is a series where I go back and revisit a movie, compare it to my original notes and see how it has aged. Does it hold up? Let's find out. 
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By Jeff LeBlanc

I'll never forget the first time I saw the teaser trailer for Cloverfield. We're thrown first-person into a party set in a trendy New York apartment. All we know is that some guy is leaving for a new job. At first it almost feels like a drinking and driving PSA. I half-expected the newly promoted guy to be killed after having one too many and getting behind the wheel or something. Suddenly, the apartment shakes and the characters run up to the roof just in time to see an explosion on the horizon and the Statue of Liberty's head go flying!

Audiences were hooked from the get-go. Not me. I was wholly convinced that this would be an impressive feat of the hype machine and nothing more. I was very impressed to find that Cloverfield was not only captivating, but genuinely thrilling. 

But does it still come across that way after five years? Find out after the jump.


 
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By Jeff LeBlanc

I've been a movie geek my entire life. I love all genres and though there's nothing like getting wrapped up in a wonderful character drama, the little kid in me will always go back to genre movies, particularly science fiction. I love all the fantastical things that sci-fi offers and I can get behind most of it. One genre that I've never been able to get attached to, no matter how hard I try, is Fantasy. This has been a never-ending issue between my friends and I, as they feel by not liking fantasy, I'm missing out on some amazing stories. Maybe they're right.

As a movie geek, you develop a strong sense of suspension of disbelief. I can wholeheartedly believe that a T-Rex can attack a jeep in Jurassic Park or that a futuristic cyborg can be sent back in time to assassinate a woman in The Terminator, I can even believe a black hole opening in the ocean and unleashing giant monsters that destroy cities, as this summer's Pacific Rim put on full display. However, there's one storyteling element that I cannot buy into no matter how hard I try: magic.

I hate fucking magic.


 
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By Jeff LeBlanc

I know people hate remakes, but unfortunately they're here to stay and that's something many people just have to get over. Hollywood is always going to go after the quick buck with the fast and easy franchise. People especially hate movies remade from old goddamn TV shows. Is there anything worse? They're so obviously a cynical cash grab that there isn't an ounce of joy left in the idea by the time it gets to the screen. Just ask David Cross.

Thankfully, there are some great remakes to tip the scales. For every The Chipmunks, there's a Mission: Impossible. Instead of watching Lost In Space you can check out J.J. Abrams' Star Trek. And thank fucking God that we have the South Park movie and Wayne's World to beat back the likes of Land of The Lost and Bewitched.

The truth is there's always been a few TV shows from my day that I believed could make solid movies, especially in 2013 and in the post-Nolan era where ridiculous ideas can be taken seriously. Here are eight movies from my childhood that should, nay MUST, be turned into high-budget Hollywood flicks in my lifetime.

*The A-Team and 21 Jump Street would have been on this list but thankfully, they've already been made into movies. One good, one not-so-good.


 
The Hold-Up is a series where I go back and revisit a movie, compare it to my original notes and see how it has held up over time.
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By Jeff LeBlanc

Welcome to The Hold-Up. This is where I'll go back and check out a movie I haven't seen in a while, or possibly one I've only seen once, or maybe it'll be something I haven't seen since the theatre. I have a bevy of old reviews stored up, so I'll post my original review (if available) or jot down my how I initially felt about the movie, and then see how it looks through fresh eyes. 

The first entry in the Hold-Up series will be a film that is not only near-and-dear to my heart, but one that's damn near critic-proof: Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. Hit the jump to read my initial thoughts on TDK when it first debuted, and my second thoughts after revisiting the flick.


 

rating: 2.5 out of 4

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By Jeff LeBlanc

Full Disclosure: I haven't read Max Brooks' 'World War Z' novel, nor do I care. It seems like a lot of people have been bashing this movie for not being enough like the book. That's the wrong way to look at it. The movie should be critiqued on its own merits. Does the movie succeed in what it sets out to do? In that respect, it does...mostly. 


 
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By Jeff LeBlanc

Man of Steel has its issues but it's primarily a very solid flick. In the the vein of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, it changes just enough of the canon to update it for the new generation while still managing to stay true to the overall essence of the character. It gets a bit heavy on the disaster porn in the final act, but I'm a sucker for some good 'splosions so I didn't complain - and with the latest effects, they were finally able to capture what two Gods fighting on earth would really look like. Overall, I was not disappointed. That being said, I can understand how some die hard Superman fans could have been taken aback, almost offended by some of the things they saw in Zack Snyder's latest take on the character. Sure, the major beats of the canon are accounted for, but the steps they take in getting there can be off-putting. Jonathan Kent's storyline in particular has been enough to shut down some fans' opinion of the flick.

HOWEVER. There are some complaints about the movie that I take issue with.

Here are my responses to some of the common complaints regarding Man of Steel (MAJOR SPOILER ALERT AFTER THE JUMP):


 
Getting Around To It is a new feature where I go back and review a movie I've been meaning to see for a while, and see whether or not it lived up to my expectations. SPOILER ALERT!
Easy A was originally released September 17, 2010.

Rating: 1 out of 4

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By Jeff LeBlanc

Easy A wants to be all things at all times. It wants (so painfully, desperately) to be a quirky indie comedy, and yet it needs to have mass appeal. It wants to be modern and edgy and have a relaxed attitude about sex, and yet it completely sells out in the final moments. It wants to be the cool kid, but comes off feeling like a poser. 



 

Rating: 3.5 out of 4

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By Jeff LeBlanc

If you could go back in time, take the brain out of my twelve-year old self and slap it onto a big screen, Pacific Rim is probably what you'd get. In the same way the latest Daft Punk album was a middle-finger to everything on the radio, Guillermo Del Toro's latest corrects every mistake that summer movies have been making for the last few years, and shows them all how to have fun again.