Yep, that's right it's a real movie. At first, my art-house sensibilities took hold and said "My goodness, they will make any sort of movie won't they" but there is no question there's a segment of the population that enjoys the "B" movies and if you don't expect much they can sometimes be enjoyable.

This film claims that it is based loosely on Eugene Ionesco's classic absurdist play Rhinoceros and features allusions to a number of philosophers, including Camus and Sartre. Really though it's intended to be a grindhouse sort of guilty pleasure to pass the time.

However, I'm not sure that this film has anything new to offer. To me, it just seems like a remake/ripoff of From Dusk Til Dawn. However, a film that can feature Jenna Jameson (a veteran of the American porn industry) as a stripper that reads and quotes Nietzsche who then succumbs to a viral zombification (which I might add somehow improves her stripping career) is so bizarre that I might have to take this one in.

I can't claim to be only a lover of the high-brow arty films. My lovely wife picked up both of the 2-disc sets in the Quentin Tarantino - Robert Rodriguez collaboration Grindhouse for me and I was thrilled to have them though I have not yet watched them. Their films are an homage to the exploitation film in all its various incarnations.

Anyhow, I'll write more about Grindhouse once I've actually watched the films. I'm not sure if this one will make it to Winnipeg or if we'll have to wait for the DVD but check out the trailer for Zombie Strippers and make up your own mind if its something that piques your interest.

UPDATE: New York City medical examiners say initial autopsy results of actor Heath Ledger are inconclusive and that more tests are needed to determine the cause of his death.

The NY Times had been reporting that the apartment Ledger was found in was inhabited by the actress Mary-Kate Olsen but that has now been retracted as incorrect. The apartment was one that he had been renting himself.

Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday afternoon in an apartment in Manhattan according to the New York City police. The police also indicated that the early signs pointed to a suicide or an accidental overdose. The police said they did not suspect foul play.

After starting out as a teenage heartthrob, Ledger had won acclaim for his acting in roles in films such as "Monster's Ball" and "Brokeback Mountain", the latter earning him a nomination for a Best Actor Oscar in 2006.

Ledger, 28, is survived by a daughter, Matilda Rose, from his marriage to actress Michelle Williams. Ledger's passing is a terrible loss and also throws into disarray two movies he was a part of.

Ledger had just completed filming of the next installment in the Batman series, The Dark Knight, in which he was starring opposite Christian Bale as the macabre joker. An early photo (posted below) from the set suggests that the director and Ledger were taking the character in a new, darker direction.

Ledger was also on tap to star in a new Terry Gilliam film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, about a travelling theatre company.

Organizers of the Academy Awards (The Oscars) are hopeful that they can reach an agreement with the WGA that would allow Feb. 24's awards ceremony to proceed in its customary fashion. The WGA have made no indication that it will treat that broadcast any differently than it did the Golden Globes.

Here is the complete list of Golden Globe Award Winners.

Best Motion Picture - Drama
Atonement

Best Performance by an Actress - Drama
Julie Christie - Away From Her

Best Performance by an Actor - Drama
Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood

Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Performance by an Actress - Comedy or Musical
Marion Cotillard - la vie en rose

Best Performance by an Actor - Comedy or Musical
Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Animated Feature Film
Ratatouille

Best Foreign Language Film
The Diving Bell and The Butterfly - France (co-produced in US)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There

Best Performance by an Actor in a supporting role
Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men

Best Director - Motion Picture
Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and The Butterfly

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
Ethan Coen & Joel Coen - No Country for Old Men

Best Original Score - Motion Picture
Dario Marianelli - Atonement

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
"Guaranteed" - Into The Wild
Music & Lyrics by: Eddie Vedder

Stallone has admitted in recent interviews that he thought this would be a great way to finish the character. He felt that the third Rambo film had too much action and no story and was a "terrible" film.

I don't expect that this new film will be a masterpiece but that's not what you'd expect either. If it can deliver a solid story balanced with action then it should do well at the box office. It will be interesting to see if Stallone can pull off the same sort of credible performance that Bruce Willis was recognized for in Die Hard 4.0

You can find out more news, including some video interviews with some of the supporting players at the official Indiana Jones website.

The award was presented at a gala tribute in Los Angeles on June 7, 2007. Past winners include James Cagney, Orson Welles, Bette Davis, Alfred Hitchcock, Sidney Poitier, Elizabeth Taylor, Jack Nicholson, Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep.

The article discusses how we buy into movie plots about impossible miraculous spider bites and rock-star pirates but many find something as simple as a beautiful woman getting involved with a not-so-beautiful man to be a completely absurd premise. It's an interesting issue and a worthwhile read.

American painter and director Julian Schnabel won a best director prize for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," the French-language adaptation of the best-selling memoir by Jean-Dominique Bauby, the French Elle magazine editor afflicted with "locked-in syndrome" -- mentally aware but unable to physically respond -- after a stroke.

Acting awards went to big performances in small films. South Korea's Jeon Do-yeon, who plays a young widow and mother struggling to maintain her sanity following twin tragedies in Secret Sunshine, was lauded for Best Actress.

Russia's Konstantin Lavronenko, who played a distraught husband in The Banishment, a film about a marriage on the rocks, won for Best Actor. The award for Best Screenplay went to German writer/director Fatih Akin for The Edge of Heaven, a story of loss and forgiveness.

I don't always agree with his methods but he does get people talking, which is a positive thing in itself. I did have to chuckle at a quote from the NY Times that described Moore as "the P. T. Barnum of activist cinema". I've posted the trailer and some clips below (Thanks go to iFilm for hosting them).

Trailer:

Ring Finger or Index Finger:

NHS Hospital:

The film that Brad Pitt made an appearance in Winnipeg to shoot scenes for, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford", has come under criticism from Warner Brothers. Part of the problem is the film's tone and length, at one point its running time was reportedly more than three hours. Further complicating matters are the rumours that there are competing versions, one from writer-director Andrew Dominik and another from producer and star Pitt. It's unclear which version of the film will be released.

Andrew Dominik, a New Zealand filmmaker, wanted to deliver a dark, contemplative examination of fame and infamy. Warner Brothers apparently wanted less contemplation and more action. In a statement last week, Warner Bros. said that the version being released this fall "is true to the source material and in keeping with the creative vision of its filmmakers. We do not comment on the internal creative process of bringing a picture to the screen, but the goal of both the studio and the filmmakers is to deliver the best film possible…. We are all very pleased with the picture we are bringing to theaters this fall."

Obviously without knowing anything about the final product it is hard to judge but I would prefer the contemplative film. Does the world really need another shoot-em-up Western? Probably not. In fact, many of the best Westerns are lower on action and heavier on psychological and emotional elements ala Unforgiven and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Action and violence are a necessary part of the Western genre but within those confines there should be room for crafting a deeper, more engaging character study.

Warner Brothers recently announced a Sept. 21 release date for "Jesse James," about two years after it was filmed. The film follows the last heist committed by James (Pitt), and also shows Ford's (Casey Affleck) devoted and later vengeful relationship with the legendary outlaw.

You can get more info about the film from their official MySpace page. For non-comic book fans, the Silver Surfer character is a bit complicated to understand so this Wikipedia entry might come in handy.