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Dead Birds Falling From The Sky In Arkansas Remind Us Of These Five Movies In Which Birds Wreak Havoc

Posted 1/3/11 12:23 pm EST by in Commentary, News

The BirdsAt almost the same time the Ball was dropping to ring in the New Year in New York's Times Square, something very different was dropping from the sky in Beebe, Arkansas: thousands of dead red-winged blackbirds, to be specific.

According to Time, reports of the plummeting birds were first received at 11:30 p.m. on New Year's Eve, and Beebe residents awoke to find the carcasses of more than 2,000 of the creatures strewn across their lawns, roads and rooftops -- all within a one-mile stretch of town. While the cause of death is pending autopsies that will be conducted today (January 3), reports of trauma to the birds' skulls suggest a weather-related anomaly, such as lightning or high-altitude hail.

In an unrelated incident, a tugboat operator reported finding some 20,000 dead drum fish along the Arkansas River on December 30. Though the cause of their death is likely disease, the bevy of animal casualties in Arkansas over the past few days reminds us of the sort of thing that happens in apocalyptic disaster movies just before, you know, the disaster. Are dead birds dropping from the sky an indication that an Arkansas-centric apocalypse is nigh? Fingers crossed the answer is no. But while we're waiting for the answer, check out our list of five movies in which birds wreak havoc, portend disaster or generally spell doom for a handful of people or, in some cases, all of humanity.

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'Harry Potter' Trumps 'Twilight' As MTV Movies Blog Readers' Favorite Film Of 2010! [POLL RESULTS]

Posted 12/30/10 4:10 pm EST by in Best of 2010, Poll

Harry Potter vs. Twilight

Last week, we here at MTV Movies Blog asked you -- the members our well-informed, movie-loving readership -- to vote for your favorite film of 2010. You responded with vigor, casting 5,000 votes in the course of one week (nicely done!).

There were 34 movies included in the poll, ranging from indie darlings like "The Kids Are All Right" to mega-blockbusters like the year's highest-grossing film "Toy Story 3." In truth, however, the race came down to just two movies, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1" and "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," proving that both series' fan bases have some seriously devoted members.

In the end, "Potter" beat out "Twilight" by a narrow 449 vote margin, with "Deathly Hallows - Part 1" amassing 46.5 percent of the total vote to "Eclipse"'s 37.5 percent -- together accounting for a whopping 84 percent of votes. In a shocker, the 3-D animated comedy "How to Train Your Dragon" beat out all other comers to notch a distant third with 10.74 percent of the vote, while Christopher Nolan's mind-bending thriller "Inception" (2.09 percent) and Disney's critically acclaimed Rapunzel retelling "Tangled" (0.52 percent) took the #4 and #5 slots, respectively.

Rounding out the top 10 -- in races separated by just a handful of votes -- were "Toy Story 3" at #6 (0.32 percent), "Black Swan" at #7 (0.3 percent), "The Social Network" and "Easy A" tied for #8 (0.28 percent) and Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" at #10 (0.24 percent).

Hit the jump to see how the rest of the 34 movies fared. Read More...

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10 Best Movie Quotes Of 2010

Posted 12/30/10 11:13 am EST by in Best of 2010, Commentary

Best Movie Quotes

The most memorable movie lines require three things: They must sound like something a real person (or at least the character uttering them) would, you know, actually say; they must be smarter, funnier and snappier than what a real person would actually say (this sounds like it would contradict the first point, but it doesn't); and they must have a great actor to give them a great delivery. It's a delicate balance, and one that takes both skill -- and a tiny bit of luck -- to achieve.

This year was packed with plenty of ear-pleasing, intensely quotable movie quotes, ranging from the highbrow ("The Social Network" and "True Grit") to the not-so-highbrow ("The Other Guys" and "Machete"). Some movies -- here's looking at you, "Social Network" -- were so full of amazing one-liners and witty exchanges that I could have made a top 10 list just drawing from them. But in the interest of fairness, I'll stick to one awesome line per movie. Below, take a look at my picks for the 10 best movie quotes of 2010, then hit the comments to share your own favorites! Read More...

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Emily Blunt Says She'd Get A Face Lift To Play Katniss Everdeen In 'Hunger Games'

Posted 12/29/10 3:04 pm EST by in Interviews, News, Video

Can you see "The Devil Wears Prada" star Emily Blunt as kick-ass heroine Katniss Everdeen in director Gary Ross' upcoming "Hunger Games" adaptation? At 27, Blunt's a bit older than Katniss' 16 years to be sure... but if the almost-30-year-old "kids" from "Glee" can do it, why not Emily?

We're only asking because the topic of "Hunger Games" came up when MTV's Josh Horowitz chatted with Blunt at the press day for "Gulliver's Travels." The actress revealed that she was deep into reading the first novel in author Suzanne Collins' gritty young-adult trilogy -- about a brutal post-apocalyptic world in which the government forces children to fight to the death in a yearly televised event -- and was absolutely loving it. "I'm two thirds of the way through, and kind of riveted by it and terrified by it at the same time," she said. "I can't stop reading it." Of course, Josh had to ask: Does Blunt want to star in the movie adaptation?

"Yeah, I think I'm too old," she replied. When Josh agreed that Blunt was "obviously" too old for the role of Katniss, but could perhaps tackle a more age-appropriate part, the actress jokingly shot back, "Obviously, you're ancient." Read More...

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'Uncharted' Movie's Family Story Line Debunked? Mark Wahlberg Not Set To Star?

Posted 12/29/10 11:19 am EST by in Interviews, News, Video

Mark WahlbergThe adaptation of the hit video game "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune" seems primed, pumped and ready to knock our socks off on the big screen. "The Fighter" director David O. Russell is writing and directing the thing, and Mark Wahlberg confirmed to MTV in November that he would be stepping into the role of Indiana Jones-esque globetrotting adventurer Nathan Drake. What's more, in that same interview, Wahlberg revealed that goodfellas Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci were in early talks to play his father and uncle, respectively.

Russell seemingly confirmed all of that in a subsequent interview with the Los Angeles Times, in which he was quoted as saying that "Uncharted" would be about a whole family of fortune-seekers instead of just one man. "This idea really turns me on that there's a family that's a force to be reckoned with in the world of international art and antiquities... [a family] that deals with heads of state and heads of museums and metes out justice," Russell said. "We'll have the family dynamic, which we've done in a couple of movies now," he said. "And then you take that and put it on the bigger, more muscular stage of an international action picture, but also put all the character stuff in it. That's a really cool idea to me."

Sounds great, right? There's only one problem. The gaming site Joystiq has posted an interview with "Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception" video game director Justin Richmond in which Richmond casts doubt over pretty much all of the above. Read More...

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'Empire Strikes Back,' 'Saturday Night Fever,' 'Airplane!' And 22 More Added to National Film Registry

Posted 12/28/10 2:30 pm EST by in News

The Empire Strikes BackThe Force is strong with "The Empire Strikes Back"... and the 24 other motion pictures that were named to the Library of Congress' National Film Registry on Tuesday, bringing the list's grand total to 550 movies.

Also making the Registry were Alan J. Pakula's 1976 Woodward-and-Bernstein Watergate thriller "All the President's Men," the wacky 1980 comedy "Airplane!," the 1973 horror blockbuster "The Exorcist," Spike Lee's 1992 biopic "Malcolm X," Blake Edwards' 1964 comedy "The Pink Panther," Robert Altman's 1971 Western "McCabe and Mrs. Miller," John Huston's 1946 war doc "Let There Be Light" and Elia Kazan's 1945 feature debut "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and John Badham's 1977 John Travolta-starring disco flick "Saturday Night Fever," "The Front Page" (1931), "It's a Gift" (1934), "Make Way for Tomorrow" (1937), "Cry of Jazz" (1959) and "I Am Joaquin" (1969). Read More...

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Kevin Smith's 'Red State' Trailer Certainly Won't Be Mistaken For 'Clerks 3'

Posted 12/27/10 3:34 pm EST by in Trailers, Video

Holy anti-"Clerks," Bluntman! The trailer for Kevin Smith's upcoming horror flick "Red State" has arrived online, and it's safe to say that Jay and Silent Bob won't be making an appearance in this puppy.

A horror flick in which three teenagers answer an online advert for a gang bang and wind up being terrorized by religious fundamentalists, "Red State" marks a seriously significant change of pace for a man who's built his filmmaking career on dick and fart jokes (and, yes, the occasional poignant romantic comedy about a lesbian who falls in love with a dude). Read More...

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Matt Damon Says Cameron Crowe's 'We Bought A Zoo' Script Came With A Soundtrack

Posted 12/27/10 12:21 pm EST by in Interviews, News, Video

When we talked to Matt Damon at the press day for the Coen Bros.' awesome Western "True Grit," he told us that he "really, really, really" wants to star in Neil Blomkamp's sci-fi thriller "Elysium." But while Damon has yet to seal the deal for that flick, he is 100 percent on board for "Jerry Maguire" writer-director Cameron Crowe's next project, the dramedy "We Bought a Zoo."

"I'm really excited," Damon told MTV News of "Zoo," which is based on a memoir by Benjamin Mee and tells the true story of how the author and his family used their life savings to buy and fix up a dilapidated zoo on the verge of destruction in the English countryside. "We're starting next month. Cameron's terrific, and he's just such a terrific writer. He's been sending me drafts of the script, and I feel like I'm in really capable hands." Read More...

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What's Your Favorite Movie Of 2010? [POLL]

Posted 12/23/10 2:22 pm EST by in Best of 2010, Poll

Favorite Movie of 2010 Poll

I've already revealed my picks for the top 10 movies of 2010. And I'm happy with all of my choices, though there were a few flicks I loved that barely missed making the final cut -- sorry, "Kick-Ass," "How to Train Your Dragon" and "127 Hours"! But that list represents the opinion of just one man (yours truly) -- and since everyone has an opinion, I want to hear from you, the loyal MTV Movies Blog readers, about your favorite films of the year.

To this end, I've created a poll that includes 34 of the year's biggest blockbusters and critical darlings. Some of the films have been raking in the awards ("The Social Network," "The King's Speech," "Black Swan," etc.), while others aren't exactly Best Picture-worthy but may have carved out a special place in your movie-loving heart regardless (I'm looking at you "Harry Potter" and "Twilight").

That's why this poll is specifically asking you to vote for your favorite film of the past 365 days (give or take). Pinpointing the best movies or the best anything can be a dicey proposition because putting that kind of label on something makes it sound very objective... when it is, in fact, our opinions are the definition of subjective. Critics and awards prognosticators can argue about the best until the cows come home, but no one can tell you that something isn't your favorite if you say it is.

So hit the jump to vote for your favorite film of 2010. And, if for some reason it isn't included in the poll, hit the comments to tell me why it should have been. Be sure to get your vote in by 2 p.m. on Dec. 30, and come back later that day to see the final results. Thanks, and happy holidays! Read More...

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Topher Grace Says Depiction Of Drug Use Was Culprit In 'Take Me Home Tonight' Release Delay

Posted 12/23/10 12:48 pm EST by in Interviews, News, Trailers

Topher Grace in Take Me Home TonightAn '80s-set comedy starring Topher Grace, Anna Faris, Dan Fogler, Teresa Palmer, Chris Pratt and Michelle Trachtenberg sounds like a cinematic slam dunk. Sure, it's not going to put up "Avatar" numbers at the box office, but there's definitely an audience willing to dole out good money to see that young, hip cast party like it's 1988. And yet "Take Me Home Tonight" (formerly titled "Kids in America") has languished on a shelf since completing principal photography in early 2007.

Well, Grace and co. can finally breathe a sigh of relief, because the film will finally see the light of day (or, rather, the dark of theater) on March 4, 2011. MTV News recently caught up with Grace, who's also a producer on "Take Me Home Tonight," and asked him to talk about the film's long odyssey to the big screen.

"[The film came from] this idea that every generation had a film that looked about 20 years back," Grace said, adding that most '80s flicks blatantly make fun of the decade. "We wanted to do something that felt like it was literally made in the '80s. So, we brought this to a different studio, and they were very supportive when they made the film, so we're very grateful for that." Read More...

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