It’s no secret that everyone here at ScreenGeeks absolutely adores the Swedish vampire movie Let the Right One In.  We even devoted an episode to this gem of a film.  I was absolutely psyched to see it at WalMart for $15 on DVD.  I haven’t picked it up yet, and it looks like that’s a good thing.

Icons Of Fright just recently posted that the subtitles for the US DVD release of Let the Right One In are significantly different from what was seen in the theatrical cut.  Specifically, the subtitles are dumbed down to the point that humor and depth was lost so people with a low IQ can keep up with the film.  Seeing some of the changes, it’s entirely appropriate that many around the web are calling these “Twilight subtitles”.  The move has been dumbed down just for people who actually thought that Twilight was an insightful movie and a unique take on the vampire genre.  Essentially, the theatrical cut is Robert De Niro in Awakenings when the chemicals work, and the DVD cut is De Niro in his catatonic state.

Yesterday, Bill Hunt over at The Digital Bits did a little more digging and found out more news that is equally satisfying and frustrating.  DVD distributor Magnet had heard the film geek outcry and will be releasing the DVD with the theatrical subtitles intact.  You’ll be able to tell as on the back of the case, the subtitles will be labeled “English (Theatrical)”.

I’m sure that those who bought the crappy version are wondering how to go about exchanging for the version that should have been release in the first place.  Well, this is where the frustrating part comes into play.  To quote Magnet in the Digital Bits column, “There are no exchanges”.  Yeah, thanks for nothing, tools.  Essentially, Magnet has screwed over the people who wanted to support this movie from the beginning to show that there’s an audience for this kind of intelligent film in the US.  They’re saying that you need to buy it again.  Oh, and the subtitle issue is on the BluRay version, too.

Seeing the niche films that Magnet releases, this just doesn’t make sense.  Why in the world would you ever want to enrage your customer base?  At this point, I really think that people who bought the original release should wait until a good rip is made available with the correct subtitles at various BitTorrent sites, and just download it that way.  Those of you who purchased this dvd in good faith that this would be what was released are being milked.  There’s no reason to give these jokers another dime of your money.

Should you have purchased the dvd and want to share your displeasure with this situation, you can e-mail them at dvd@magpictures.com.

It’s with great sadness that I write this, a brief mention that Natasha Richardson, a wonderful actress of film and and stage, the daughter of Vanessa Redgrave and wife of Liam Neeson, died on Wednesday. As a stage actress, her work was astonishing, and she arguably received the most acclaim from her work on the London and New York theater scene. As a film actress, she is probably and sadly best known to American audiences as Ralph Fiennes’ annoying fiance in Main in Manhattan and the love interest in the remake of The Parent Trap. If you really want to see why she was such a remarkable actress, look at her playing the title role in Paul Schrader’s Patty Hearst, in which she embodied a complex and widely unloved public figure. Or, watch her in The Handmaid’s Tale, an equally controversial film that, like Patty Hearst, received mixed reviews from critics but her performances in both films were widely and deservedly praised. Finally, in the thriller The Comfort of Strangers, also by director Schrader, cast opposite Christopher Walken, Helen Mirren and Rupert Everett, Richardson is outstanding once again in one of the creepiest and most underrated cinematic mind games of the ’90’s. She is survived by her husband, Liam and their two children, Micheal and Daniel Neeson. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family.

This one has been brewing in my mind for a couple days now.  WarGames is one of my favorite movies from the 80’s.  I remember my folks taking me to see it and how much my dad loved it and still loves it.  Well, /Film is reporting that Leonardo DiCaprio wants to remake WarGames.  I know this is going to be a shock, but here’s an internet guy about to say that it’s going to suck.  What might be different is my reasoning as to why it’s going to suck and how it can’t possibly work today.  I’ll explain after the jump.  *WARNING:  GEEKY EXPLANATION AHEAD*

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Throughout this Awards season I’ve heard constant negative comments on the internet about Sean Penn. Whenever he seems to win an award for his performance in Milk, many seem to call him a humorless douchebag who only makes movies to win awards and preach his political messages. And I’m frankly tired of this.

First off, whether you like his personality or not, Sean Penn is undeniably one of the most talented actors of his generation. From his performances in Dead Man Walking, Mystic River or even Fast Times at Ridgemont High. You simply cannot look past his talent. And guess what? He’s winning awards for his acting, not his personality. Next off, sure he’s a prick, but so are the majority of actors. Sure, you may be rooting for Mickey Rourke. But he’s done worse things than anybody in Hollywood. And while Penn can seem like a bit of a blowhard, he definitely knows what he’s talking about. He’s not just bashing the right to be anti-establishment. Take for example his recent appearance on Charlie Rose. Watch what he has to say about Proposition 8 and it’s hard not to be moved.

And my final point, you find him humorless? Go see him in the best movie of 2008 and then me that he can’t be a likable, warm presence. Or even just watch his acceptance speech at last night’s SAG Awards. The guy made a freakin’ dick joke. So please, think before you whine.

Yup, I just used big words to express just how mad I am about the Oscar nominations.  I figured elocution would be more constuctive than unleashing the stream of obscenities that ran through my mind when watching/reading the nominations (/Film has a good comprehensive list up).  It strikes me just how much the Golden Globes got right when you see just how much the Academy got wrong.  My list of complaints can be read after the jump.

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Well the 81st Academy Award Nominations are out and I can honestly say that they’re pretty damn embarrassing. And trust me, I’m not one of those whiny geeks who bitches every year. But the Academy just destroyed any relevance they had.

The Dark Knight was widely considered to grab the fifth Best Picture nomination. It scored nods from PGA, DGA and WGA, all important Oscar precursors. It was also widely acclaimed by critics and audiences. Many thought that not only would it be a great and worthy film to nominate for Best Picture, but also a way to boost the dismal ratings of the Oscars. But Harvey Weinstein wasn’t going to let that happen.

Okay, let’s compare. The Dark Knight had a score of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Reader, has a score of 60%. The Dark Knight is widely considered a great film. The Reader is widely considered a mediocre film. But to the academy they can’t take a movie based off a comic-book seriously. But Holocaust = Instant Masterpiece.

I of course will still be watching the Oscars this year to cheer on my favorite movie of the year, Milk. But unfortunately for Sid Ganis, I don’t think many others will be.

Yesterday, we lost someone who may not be known to the majority of the US, but geeks know him all too well.  Patrick McGoohan passed away on Tuesday, according to an Associated Press story.  He was 80 years old.

Mr. McGoohan was known as various characters depending on who you talked to.  For some film geeks, he was King Edward Longshanks in Braveheart.  His most known role is recognized by TV buffs as Number Six in the amazing British show, The Prisoner.  If you haven’t checked it out, you really need to do yourself a favor and rent it or stream it over at AMC.

Growing up as the Disney kid I was, I grew to know who Mr. McGoohan was in watching the Disney Channel on my grandparents’ 35-foot satellite dish and finding this really cool show on The Wonderful World of Disney called Dr Syn:  The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh.  I only got to see it once in awhile, but I remember being young and always hoping that it would be on whenever they would air WWoD reruns.  I had no idea that they only made three episodes.  Mr. McGoohan has resurfaced in geek culture thanks to the Walt Disney Treasures release of Dr. Syn, which I was fortunate enough to get a copy of.  I’ll just say that if you think revolutionaries were only in the colonies, you need to watch this show.  It looks like Netflix was unable to get a copy before it went out of print, but it is available to rent from Blockbuster Online.

Mr. McGoohan made a great legacy in geekdom and he will be missed.

One of the great ones died today, and by that, I don’t merely mean one of the great Hollywood movie stars, but one of the great men and someone who made a difference. Paul Newman is so many things to so many people, even a list seems both inevitable and pointless. Yes, he was a huge movie star, with a career that lasted for decades, but this was only in a small part of his life overall. Newman was a film legend who could really act, took numerous chances with lots of tricky, complex roles and was enormously accomplished on stage as well as the big screen. Yes, he won an Academy award for acting in a Martin Scorsese picture, but he also gave dozens of other performances that were as good, if not even better, in films that range from excellent to being widely considered classics of American cinema. Yes, he had his own salad dressing, founded by his Newman’s Own company in 1982, but have you tried everything else that company produces (best chocolate-chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever tasted) and did you know the profits go straight to charity? Yes, Newman was an auto racer, but did you know that he won a race at the age of 70 (!) and that his introducing his friend and co-star, Tom Cruise, to the sport lead to Days of Thunder? Yes, he was the voice of a car in Pixar’s Cars, but did you know he acted for the Coen Brothers, Alfred Hitchcock, George Roy Hill, Sam Mendes, Sidney Lumet, Martin Ritt, Robert Benton, AND Robert Altman (to name just a few)? Here are a few other things that not everyone knows about Paul Newman:

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In a world…where Don LaFontaine is The King of Voiceovers, movie trailers were always so much more exciting. Sadly, LaFontaine just recently passed away and left a legacy that exists in countless film and televison ads. His career, which spans decades and covers numerous projects, is best remembered for the wonderfully serious (and, occasionally, not so serious) voice over narrations he provided to hundreds, heck, THOUSANDS, of movie trailers. Fans of Coming Attractions previews know his voice all too well and, for a few highlights, check out his work after the break.

Terminator 2

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In the next three years, we have a Jason Bourne sequel, a 300 prequel, a National Treasure three-quel and another shot of Star Trek, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, James Bond, The Transformers, John Conner, the Madagascar critters, the Toy Story action figures, the Ice Age dinos, Inspector Clouseau, Wolverine, Harry Potter, the Hobbits, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Robin Hood AND The Wolf Man in store for moviegoers. I’m all for Iron Man II, but do we really need another Night at the Museum? Dwayne Johnson in Race to Witch Mountain could be fun, and maybe Hoodwinked 2 will be better than the original, but do we really need Anchorman 2 or another round of those dull Narnia kids being upstaged by CGI creatures? Why would we sit through Jumper II or Wild Hogs Ride Again when the originals were, to be polite, less than classics? Here are ten sequels that AREN’T being made, but dangit, they should be!

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