Strange Movie Facts, Take 1

JJ Abrams directs Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning in sci-fi flick

(NEWSER) - Super 8 is a fun summer blockbuster about kids, monsters, and filmmaking—but don’t expect a classic.

• Director JJ Abrams is “clever and sincere,” notes AO Scott in the New York Times , “but still, at least on the big screen, more student than master. Like his previous features, Super 8 is an enticing package without much inside.”
• Claudia Puig applauds the film in USA Today . “Super 8 packs the emotional punch of vintage Steven Spielberg with the spectacular effects and sense of mystery at which writer/director J.J. Abrams excels.

For starters, it's hard to blow up a car with one

(NEWSER) - Hollywood just loves its guns, but it doesn't always get the facts straight. Robert Evans of Cracked.com busts 5 common gun myths:

• Bullets blow up cars and stuff (Jaws, Casino Royale, Matrix Reloaded): If it were that easy to make flammable things go boom, every car accident "would look like a Michael Bay movie."

'Jaws' takes top honors, but some surprises make the list

(NEWSER) - Summer is all about the beach and blockbusters, and Time Out New York set out on a big mission: To rank the 30 best. It set a few restrictions—films had to hit theaters between May and August, had to gross more than $100 million globally, and couldn't be surprise hits, a la The Blair Witch Project. Highlights:

1. Jaws, 1975: This wasn't just a nail-biter, it was a trailblazer, the first flick to use a "wide-release" strategy, which no doubt helped make it the first film to rake in more than $100 million.

4. Ghostbusters, 1984: An action-sci-fi hybrid dosed with SNL-style humor, it proved that something-for-everyone mash-ups can make a smash at the box office.

These film plots are so ridiculous, they deserve props

(NEWSER) - Some movie plots are so absurd, you have to award credit for achieving a spectacular level of ridiculousness. Based on the title alone, it’s obvious Hot Tub Time Machine (trailer at left) fits into this category. Here are nine more from Olivia Allin of The Frisky :

• Snakes on a Plane: Again, the title alone is enough to land this Samuel L. Jackson flick on the list.
• I Know Who Killed Me: “This movie is a great reminder that if you’re having really weird memories and feel like you have a split personality, you might just have a stigmatic twin you didn’t know about and could be suffering sympathetic resonance from her plights.” Right.

Which films will be remembered, and which ones deserve it?

(NEWSER) - The shifting sands of entertainment technology make a look at the past decade's movies a tricky proposition simply because standing the test of time means something different almost daily. "The possibility of a digital, on-demand afterlife guarantees at least a theoretically universal long-tail immortality to blockbusters and curiosities alike," New York Times film critic AO Scott writes in summing up the work era succeeded "the rise of the indies in the ’90s." More»