scottwrites.com | official blog of central new jersey writer scott neumyer author of jimmy stone's ghost town » Movies http://www.scottwrites.com Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:04:22 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Hot Coffee http://www.scottwrites.com/2011/06/30/hot-coffee/ http://www.scottwrites.com/2011/06/30/hot-coffee/#comments Thu, 30 Jun 2011 20:33:46 +0000 Scott Neumyer documentariesfilmhot coffeemoviessusan saladofftrailers http://www.scottwrites.com/?p=281 Have you seen Susan Saladoff’s documentary Hot Coffee? Wow. I finally got around to watching it (I DVR’d it when it was on HBO the other night) and it’s both absolutely amazing and also completely infuriating (I guess as any good documentary should be). By the time the end credits started running, I was spitting mad and getting out paper and envelopes to write my senator, congressman, and anyone else who would listen.

Ok, ok. I calmed down and just wanted to make sure everyone knows how great the film is. If you think you know about all the “frivolous” lawsuits people bring against companies each yeah, you probably don’t know as much as you think. Watch the film. Trust me. If you have an iPhone or iPad (or even a PC or Mac), you can catch it on the HBO Go app (and probably OnDemand).

Check out the trailer below for a taste of the awesomeness:

]]> http://www.scottwrites.com/2011/06/30/hot-coffee/feed/ 0 My Favorite (And Not So Favorite) Movies of 2010 http://www.scottwrites.com/2010/12/31/my-favorite-and-not-so-favorite-movies-of-2010/ http://www.scottwrites.com/2010/12/31/my-favorite-and-not-so-favorite-movies-of-2010/#comments Fri, 31 Dec 2010 21:50:01 +0000 Scott Neumyer http://www.scottwrites.com/?p=258 We were putting together our year-end lists of favorite (and not so favorite) movies of 2010 for the Click Communications blog (my day job as a Publicist), so I decided to add a few more lists and re-post them over here. Hope you enjoy!

“If you ask me tomorrow, these rankings would probably change. There were so many good films this year!”

Overall Top 10 Favorite Films of 2010

  1. How to Train Your Dragon
  2. Black Swan
  3. Let Me In
  4. The Social Network
  5. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
  6. Kick-Ass
  7. The Town
  8. Splice
  9. Easy A
  10. Inception

Top 13 Films I’m Embarrassed to Say I Have Yet to See and Therefore Can’t Be Included in Any Other Lists

  1. True Grit
  2. Piranha 3D
  3. Tangled
  4. The Fighter
  5. Buried
  6. 127 Hours
  7. Blue Valentine
  8. Enter the Void
  9. Never Let Me Go
  10. I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
  11. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
  12. Paranormal Activity 2
  13. The Illusionist

Top 10 Favorite Horror Films of 2010

  1. Black Swan
  2. Let Me In
  3. Splice
  4. Frozen
  5. The Crazies
  6. The Last Exorcism
  7. Shutter Island
  8. Best Worst Movie – It’s about a horror film, so that counts!
  9. [REC] 2
  10. Devil

Top 6 Hour Long TV Series of 2010

  1. LOST – I don’t care what you say… The ending was perfect.
  2. Dexter – The best still-running show on TV.
  3. The Walking Dead – It has a lot to live up to in its second (longer) season.
  4. Glee – Brings a smile to my face every week.
  5. True Blood – Not its best season by far, but certainly better than the previous one.
  6. Huge – Such a shame this was cancelled.

Top 5 Favorite Documentaries of 2010

  1. Best Worst Movie
  2. Exit Through the Gift Shop
  3. Catfish
  4. Babies
  5. Waking Sleeping Beauty

Top 5 Favorite Animated Films of 2010

  1. How to Train Your Dragon – As much as I love the next two films on the list, this one was just absolutely magical and perfect.
  2. Despicable Me
  3. Toy Story 3
  4. Shrek Forever After
  5. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole

Top 5 Catalog Blu-ray Releases of 2010

  1. The Twilight Zone: Seasons 1 & 2
  2. Battle Royale: Limited Edition (Region Free)
  3. Back to the Future Trilogy
  4. The Exorcist
  5. Alien Anthology
  6. House of the Devil – Not a catalog release, but the Blu-ray was released in February while it premiered in ’09, so I’m including it!

Top 5 Criterion Collection Blu-ray Releases of 2010

  1. House (1977)
  2. Bigger Than Life – This was one of my Holy Grail releases. Finally!
  3. The Night of the Hunter
  4. The Red Shoes
  5. Cronos

Top 5 Films of 2010 That Surprised Me By How Much I Actually Enjoyed Them

  1. Nanny McPhee & The Big Bang (Retitled Nanny McPhee Returns for US release)
  2. She’s Out of My League
  3. Dear John – What can I say? I’m a sucker for Nicholas Sparks.
  4. Youth In Revolt
  5. Shrek Forever After

Top 5 Films of 2010 That Didn’t Live Up To Expectations

  1. Alice in Wonderland
  2. Daybreakers – I know a lot of horror fans loved this one, but I couldn’t get into it.
  3. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
  4. The Wolfman
  5. Cop Out

Top 5 Films of 2010 That Will Never Share Shelf Space With My DVDs & Blu-rays

  1. Legion
  2. Clash of the Titans
  3. Vampires Suck – I couldn’t even bring myself to see this and it makes the list.
  4. Edge of Darkness
  5. Robin Hood (2010)
]]> http://www.scottwrites.com/2010/12/31/my-favorite-and-not-so-favorite-movies-of-2010/feed/ 6 the social network http://www.scottwrites.com/2010/07/09/the-social-network/ http://www.scottwrites.com/2010/07/09/the-social-network/#comments Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:25:35 +0000 Scott Neumyer http://www.scottwrites.com/?p=230 I didn’t have much interest in The Social Network until I heard that David Fincher would be directing it. Even with him on board, I was still kind of lukewarm about it.

Then Sony released the first trailer and I have to admit being completely won over. It’s a hell of an understated, exciting trailer.

This second one is great too:

]]> http://www.scottwrites.com/2010/07/09/the-social-network/feed/ 1 Shutter Island!! http://www.scottwrites.com/2009/06/14/shutter-island/ http://www.scottwrites.com/2009/06/14/shutter-island/#comments Sun, 14 Jun 2009 22:30:26 +0000 Scott Neumyer http://www.scottwrites.com/?p=165
“Who is 67?”

Can’t fricken wait for this movie!

]]> http://www.scottwrites.com/2009/06/14/shutter-island/feed/ 0 The Sunday Seven! http://www.scottwrites.com/2009/04/19/the-sunday-seven/ http://www.scottwrites.com/2009/04/19/the-sunday-seven/#comments Sun, 19 Apr 2009 21:13:32 +0000 Scott Neumyer http://www.scottwrites.com/?p=142 I missed this week’s Friday Five, so I figured I’d do a Sunday Seven!

1) Twitter exploded for me on Thursday and Friday! I had this crazy idea to donate 100 of my DVDs to the troops. Then I got this wacky notion to make it 200 DVDs if I had 2,000 Twitter followers by the end of Friday (I started around 1,600 on Thursday). Suffice to say, it went crazy! People followed. People pledged DVD donations. In the end, we rounded up almost 1,000 pledged DVDs for the troops (with even more still coming in) and even ended up getting written up on Cinematical! What a trip! If you want to follow me on Twitter, you can do so here: www.twitter.com/scottneumyer

2) I nearly forgot, however, that all these new followers won’t matter if I don’t finish my Middle Grade novel by the end of April! Dave White threw down the Gauntlet last week and told me that if I don’t finish writing my MG novel by the end of April, I can’t use Twitter until it’s done! Need to get writing now!

3) Last night’s UFC event was good…not great. Liddell might finally hang it up (though he’s had an amazing career), and Shogun returned to the fighter he was in Pride for so long. The rest of the fights were entertaining, but mostly uneventful. Leites didn’t want to engage with Silva, so that bout was mostly a bust.

4)I finally got around to watching Snow Angel and it’s so damn good. I’m a HUGE David Gordon Green fan already, and the source material by Stewart O’Nan is fantastic, so I expected good things.

5) I’m still reading Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott on my Kindle and it’s fun as hell.

6) Baby Santa has been SO good and cute and smily today. Yay!

7) The Wife starts her new job tomorrow, so everyone wish her luck!!

Have a great start to the week!

]]> http://www.scottwrites.com/2009/04/19/the-sunday-seven/feed/ 2 Where The Wild Things Are http://www.scottwrites.com/2009/03/25/where-the-wild-things-are/ http://www.scottwrites.com/2009/03/25/where-the-wild-things-are/#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:19:36 +0000 Scott Neumyer http://www.scottwrites.com/?p=136
“I didn’t wanna wake you up, but I really wanna show you something.”

And now… I have goosebumps.

]]> http://www.scottwrites.com/2009/03/25/where-the-wild-things-are/feed/ 1 DVD Screen Capture of the Day! http://www.scottwrites.com/2008/12/05/dvd-screen-capture-of-the-day-5/ http://www.scottwrites.com/2008/12/05/dvd-screen-capture-of-the-day-5/#comments Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:12:36 +0000 Scott Neumyer http://www.scottwrites.com/?p=98 So, based on the below screen capture, what am I watching while I work today?

vlcsnap-4151264.jpg

Be the first person to comment on this blog post with the correct answer and win One (1) The Day The Earth Stood Still: 2-Disc Special Edition DVD, One (1) Seed: Unrated DVD, and One (1) Rob & Big: Complete Uncensored 3rd Season DVD!! Good luck!

]]> http://www.scottwrites.com/2008/12/05/dvd-screen-capture-of-the-day-5/feed/ 33 Retro Repost: Things That Rocked Me in 2007! http://www.scottwrites.com/2008/12/01/retro-repost-things-that-rocked-me-in-2007/ http://www.scottwrites.com/2008/12/01/retro-repost-things-that-rocked-me-in-2007/#comments Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:58:32 +0000 Scott Neumyer http://www.scottwrites.com/?p=91 Since it’s just about time to post my new list of things that rocked me in 2008, I figured I’d repost last year’s list. The original list was posted on my photography blog (www.scottshoots.com), but there’s not a ton of crossover traffic, so I thought I’d repost it here before I rock the new list. Enjoy!

THINGS THAT NEARLY ROCKED SCOTT’S FACE OFF IN 2007

Five Albums That Kept My Toes Tappin:
5. Keith Murray – Rap-Murr-Phobia – wow, it’s been a LONG time since Murray’s been around, but this disc is tight. well worth the wait.
4. The Toasters – One More Bullet – another great release from a legendary band. amazing to see they’re still goin…
3. The New Amsterdams – Killed or Cured (2-Disc) – it was great as a 1 disc free download, but it’s even better with a totally new take on all the seconds on the second disc.
2. Relient K – Five Score and Seven Years Ago – totally took me by surprise… an epic album… includes my vote for best SONG of 07, “Deathbed.”
1. Streetlight Manifesto – Somewhere In The Between – proves that Ska (and ska/punk) is not dead… as long as it’s done well… probably my favorite album overall of the last few years.

Five Social Networking Sites That Didn’t Suck So Bad:
5. Utterz – ingenious idea that I have yet to REALLY put to the test.
4. MySpace – yup… the layout sucks… the spam sucks… but it’s still pretty good for networking.
3. LinkedIn – love the business/professional aspect of it, but needs more interactivity.
2. Facebook – Ah… the social networking ease without all the MySpace bullshit. I even booked photo clients off here!
1. Twitter – GREAT great idea that spawned into something REALLY useful, and a very easy way to stay in touch with friends.

Fifteen DVDs That Kicked Wolfman in the Nards:
15. THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM – actually ends up being my favorite of the three films. people will look back in a few years and realize how great of a trilogy this is.
14. STARDUST – not a great DVD, but this movie’s simply too good to leave off the list. fun, romantic, funny, and whimsical. it’s Princess Bride for a new generation.
13. EASTERN PROMISES – cronenberg is a genius, and probably my favorite filmmaker. he and viggo mortensen team up for another great film.
12. TRANSFORMERS: 2-DISC SPECIAL EDITION – man, this one was really hard for me to put on here because this is so not my type of flick, but it was just WAY to fun NOT to include. Mindless…sure…but fun as hell. perfect popcorn flick.
11. BUG – ashley judd’s best performance ever. she’s great in what is essentially a play on film. creepy and terrifying.
10. DAYS OF HEAVEN: CRITERION COLLECTION – terrence malick’s gorgeous film has never looked THIS good. criterion, as always, takes it to a new level.
9. DEATH PROOF – screw the naysayers… Planet Terror was good, but this one’s even better. total grindhouse experience. great film… only wish they’d put them both on one DVD.
8. BLACK SNAKE MOAN – dirty, gritty, and just a nasty little flick. the ending just does it for me.
7. HOSTEL: PART II – i don’t care what anyone says… Eli Roth is a genius and this is a great movie with tons of nods to other great movies. bring on the gore!
6. LITTLE CHILDREN – maybe not a stellar DVD, but a friggen amazingly good movie. haunting and beautiful at the same time. winslet is a goddess in it.
5. WRONG TURN 2: DEAD END – this straight-to-dvd sequel was SURE to be horrendous. wow… what a surprise. it was fun as hell and a great little dvd.
4. ZODIAC: 2-DISC DIRECTOR’S CUT – sure, maybe I’m a little partial, but this is the long-awaited extra special version of a fantastic crime thriller. I only wish more people had seen the film in theaters.
3. KNOCKED UP: 2-DISC COLLECTOR’S EDITION – an excellent DVD for a hilarious movie and probably my favorite comedy of the year. from Freaks & Geeks and Undeclared to 40-Year-Old-Virgin, etc… Apatow just knows how to make his characters come to live.
2. PAN’S LABYRINTH – wow. Guillermo del Toro knocks it outta the park again. simply astonishing film and a great DVD.
1. MONSTER SQUAD: 20th Anniversary Special Edition – I’ve waited for this DVD for SO long, and it lived up to al my expectations.

Six Hour-Long TV Shows That Kept My DVR (Or DVD Player) Full:
6. JERICHO – thank all the peanuts in the world for giving this show at least a few episodes of a second season.
5. DEXTER – creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeptastic. well-written, funny, and really well acted. great show.
4. BONES – just the write mix of humor and procedure. boreanaz and deschanel have great chemistry and show is only getting better with time. I first tuned in because I missed ANGEL. now I watch because it’s just that damn good.
3. CRIMINAL MINDS – we miss you already, Mandy Patinkin. please come back. it’s just not the same without you, sir.
2. VERONICA MARS – I’m still mourning the loss of this great show. Kristen Bell was PERFECT as Veronica and the entire cast just… worked. Noir. Mystery. Fun. so many great things about this show…sad to see it go.
1. LOST – to everyone who bowed out at the end of season 2 (or the beginning of season 3) saying that LOST was done… wow, sorry, guys. you’re wrong. just plain wrong. still the BEST thing on TV and the season 3 finale was mindbogglingly good.

Three Sitcoms That Kept Me Laughing All Year:
3. WEEDS – everything about this show just works. kevin nealon’s performances week-in and week-out really put a shine on it.
2. HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER – it’s all about neil patrick harris. he’s just perfect as barney and makes this show have that special something that just keeps me cracking up. don’t get me wrong… the rest of the cast is great too… but barney is what this show is all about.
1. THE OFFICE – consistently funny and well-written. great ensemble cast that’s only getting better. as long as they stick to 30 min. episodes this show is just about perfect.

Five Things That Changed My Life in 2007:
5. scottshoots.com – my photography blog is where my photo biz REALLY took off. I don’t even send people to my MAIN website anymore… just the blog…
4. Canon 5D – you don’t know how beautiful digital photos can be until you’ve captured them on this camera. i heart it.
3. Dave Ramsey’s “The Total Money Makeover” - this book made me remember why managing your money is so important. made me a happier person. made my relationship with my wife even that much better. excellent book. great program.
2. Getting hired by Mac and Dinah @ Click! (and no… I’m not just kissin ass…) – changed my life in more ways than I can even express.
1. October 28, 2007 – my one year anniversary to my gorgeous and nearly-damn-perfect wife, Denise.

Five Websites That Kept Me Sane:
5. funnyordie.com – hilarious stuff with some really good people behind it. a more structured and funny youtube
4. rememberthemilk.com – best todo management site I’ve found yet. makes sure I don’t forget what i need to do every single day.
3. opensourcephoto.net/forum/ – great group of people that really know photography. I’ve met so many good friends on here, and even a few REALLY close ones.
2. grandcentral.com – really made the transition to working from home easy by helping manage my phones. great, great service.
1. google.com/reader/ – easily the best and most intuitive RSS reader out there and one that keeps my sanity in check. i didn’t check it for 3 days straight and have almost 4000 unread items. sheesh…

Five Things I Could Have Died Happy Without Seeing:
5. a young Hannibal Lecter in HANNIBAL RISING – as much as I love me some Lecter (and there are things about Hannibal Rising that I do like… this was just… unnecessary.
4. Warner Bros. declare their Blu-ray exclusivity – that may be the last nail in the HD DVD coffin… sigh…
3. birth scene on the KNOCKED UP DVD – …even if it had some very funny moments…
2. a very old, very naked man with a catheter – as Denise and I walked through an emergency room.
1. 30 minutes of NORBIT – my brother-in-law found this movie hilarious so I tried… yeah… I gave him hell.

Five Pieces of Software I Used Just About Every Single Day (Because They Made My Life Easier):
5. MozyBackUp – integrated with the website that keeps all my important files backed up online without me really having to even touch it.
4. Mozilla Thunderbird – makes my job SO much easier by allowing me to color code and sort in ways that are logical.
3. DVD Profiler – makes it simple to manage the evergrowing (…about 1,700 or so now) DVD and HD DVD collections.
2. Pidgin – gone for me are the days of that overbloated Trillian. pidgin is lightweight and just easy to use.
1. Launchy – fantastic, lightweight, application and file launcher. I NEVER use the Start menu anymore…

TEN Photographer’s Blogs That I Checked Every Single Day (Even If They Didn’t Update…Because I’m That Anal…):
***… in no particular order…***
- www.shylasblog.com
- www.bobbiandmike.com/blog/
- www.behindthecamera.info
- www.justingaynor.com
- www.shoot-scoop.com
- www.theblogisfound.com
- kristinbednarz.blogspot.com
- blog.jeffnewsom.com
- erinvey.typepad.com
- www.slobberspace.com

Six People I Didn’t Know THAT Well in 2006, But Became REALLY Great Friends of Mine in 2007 (and helped me in more ways than I could ever express…thanks so much to you guys and gals…):
***…in no particular order…***
- Shlya Dalirifar (www.shylasblog.com)
- Justin Gaynor (www.justingaynor.com)
- Bobbi Sheridan (www.bobbiandmike.com/blog/)
- Kristin Bednarz (kristinbednarz.blogspot.com)
- Laura Bruen (www.shoot-scoop.com)
- Fred Egan (www.behindthecamera.info)

I’m sure I’m forgetting some, but that should do it… Here’s to 2008, ya’ll. Let’s make it a great one. :)

]]> http://www.scottwrites.com/2008/12/01/retro-repost-things-that-rocked-me-in-2007/feed/ 3 DVD Screen Capture of the Day! http://www.scottwrites.com/2008/11/24/dvd-screen-capture-of-the-day-4/ http://www.scottwrites.com/2008/11/24/dvd-screen-capture-of-the-day-4/#comments Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:04:14 +0000 Scott Neumyer http://www.scottwrites.com/?p=87 So, based on the below screen capture, what am I watching while I work today?

vlcsnap-11412290.jpg

Some of the most beautiful cinematography of all time in this film!

]]> http://www.scottwrites.com/2008/11/24/dvd-screen-capture-of-the-day-4/feed/ 1 DVD Screen Capture of the Day! http://www.scottwrites.com/2008/11/21/dvd-screen-capture-of-the-day-3/ http://www.scottwrites.com/2008/11/21/dvd-screen-capture-of-the-day-3/#comments Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:13:04 +0000 Scott Neumyer http://www.scottwrites.com/?p=82 So, based on the below screen capture, what am I watching while I work today?

vlcsnap-8828287.jpg

Be the first person to comment on this blog post with the correct answer and win One (1) Human Giant: Season 1 DVD and One (1) 5-CD Audiobook of Scott Smith’s The Ruins!! Good luck!

]]> http://www.scottwrites.com/2008/11/21/dvd-screen-capture-of-the-day-3/feed/ 11