Viggo Mortensen's Ample, Flapping Genitalia

Director David Cronenberg has never made a sequel in his long career, but he is intrigued with the idea of making one from Eastern Promises, his Russian mafia tale. The twist at the end of the film is star Viggo Mortensen's gangster character was actually working for an intelligence agency. It's something Cronenberg wants to explore further. "I thought we had unfinished business with those characters."

Of course some people have another scene, namely Mortensen's nude fight scene in the bathhouse. ScreenJunkies imagines how a press conference may go...

Meanwhile The Ampersand has speculated what Cronenberg sequels for Crash, Dead Ringers, A History of Violence, Shivers and Videodrome would look like.

Previously on Popped Culture...
It Came From The Far Side Photoshop
A Blockhead Died In New York
Before Robot Chicken

These Are A Few of My Favourite Things

No list, just a few of my pop culture faves from the year that was. Happy New Year everyone, hope it brings you something entertaining...

Chuck
The computer-geek turned secret agent series is the true heir to Alias’ average-joe spy mantle (if not necessarily the action component). The creators must have watched Jennifer Garner’s cancelled series and wondered how it would play as a comedy. Just fine, as it turns out. Zachary Levi plays Chuck Bartowski with a balance of befuddlement, charm and intelligence and appears both genuinely amazed and terrified at his head full of highly classified national intelligence. Favourite new show of the year.

300
Tonight we will film in BLUESCREEN! If this is the future of CGI and digital backlots, then I say viva technology! It was visually stunning, creating a world that couldn’t otherwise exist on screen and the most unique film experience of the year for me. While the historical veracity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/300_film#Historical_accuracy) of the depiction of the Battle of Themopayle has been questioned, that seems an unfair load for a comic book adaptation to bear. It is there for entertainment (and for me to make Spartan Babies!)

Amy Winehouse
One of my favourite performances of the year was by Amy Winehouse. Back in the summer, before she spiraled out of control, she came into Sympatico’s Orange Lounge and just tore off four, stripped down versions of her songs. It was brilliant — with a simple backing her lyrics and voice shone through. Check out You Know I’m No Good. (And c'mon Sympatico, when are you going to allow embeding of videos?)

Last Suppers
One of my favourite posts of the year started on a whim and snowballed from there. In writing about McDonalds I found a parody of The Last Supper with Ronald as Christ. From there I know have 35 versions, covering everything from Star Wars to Sopranos and I have another dozen waiting in the wings for some elusive downtime.

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows
With the completion of the seventh and final Harry Potter novel, J.K. Rowling closed the book on the boy wizard and a pop culture phenomenon. A fine ending to the series, but it turns out it may not be the end of that world. Here’s hoping.

Eastern Promises
Director David Cronenberg Russian mob drama was part Donnie Brasoco, part Sopranos and grittier than both of them. Made me wish it was an ongoing series.

The Writers Strike
Who knew labour disruptions, union negotiations and picket lines could be so entertaining? The scribes who pen the tube’s best and worst shows have be on strike since early November, mostly over residual rights for web broadcasts. The first casualties were the late-night talk shows, which were off the air immediately, but they will all be returning within days, but only David Letterman’s Worldwide Pants production company has signed a deal to use writers. That should be tough on Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel and the like. Hopefully it won’t harm Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert (the only shows I can handle), but even they are allowed to write, as they are part of the Writers Guild. Too bad anyone has come back before the strike was settled, but the Letterman side deal is a brilliant tactic. As for the rest of the shows, most made it through to the Christmas break without difficulty, but January will show the strikes real impact. Except on me. My DVR still has the full seasons of Dirty Sexy Money, Reaper and Pushing Daisies waiting for me. So stay strong, strikers!

My Name Is Earl
Earl shook up their format this year by sending Earl to prison in what turned into a parody of Prison Break. While the grim Burrows brothers of Prison Break spiraled deeper into a moral morass, the Hickey’s are sprucing up the prison and helping gang members find love. Hmm, it’s better than I make it sound.

30-Second Bunnies
Don’t have time to actually see a film? There are always the bunnies. The occasional mini-reenactments always leave me happy and hoppy. The James Bond medley broke the 30-second rule, but was worth the whole minute-plus runtime.

30 Rock
Pure comedic genius that consistently makes me laugh out loud. I’m glad Alec Baldwin didn’t leave the show and that Tina Fey buried Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

As alway, check out the fabulous lists of list at Fimoculous, everything from the Top 10 List of Reputations in Crisis to the Top 10 Sexy Geeks. You'll be there for hours.

Seeing Double

With the release of Poseidon we return to one of Hollywood’s worst habits – remaking films that don’t need to be remade. Poseidon is only 34 years old and stars Gene Hackman. You can still watch Hackman in current films and rent the original, why remake it? Hollywood eats their old, I suppose that’s the case with movies as well.

So in honour of Poseidon I’ve put together the worst and the best movie remakes (to be fair, some are good). I actually did this for work so this allows me to be a lazy blogger and repurpose something I’ve already written. Check out Dose if you want to see the full picture version.

Worst Movie Remakes:
1. Director Gus Van Sant recreated Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece Psycho shot for shot, but with Anne Heche and in colour. What, exactly, was the point?

2. Take a fantastic French film like La Femme Nikita, lighten the tone and put in a U.S. actor and you get Point of No Return, a pale shadow of the original. Can't people read subtitles?

3. Auteur Tim Burton's version of Planet of the Apes proves why indie directors shouldn't be given massive budgets -- there is nothing to reign them in, resulting in a bloated letdown.

4. Remember when you said how funny Nicole Kidman was? Oh right, nobody has ever said that. Too bad the producers of The Stepford Wives didn't realize that.

5. Adam Sandler, not satisfied with making horrible, but original, movies decided to mess with The Longest Yard. Hits to the groin ensue. Ha, ha.

Best Movie Remakes:
1. George Clooney, Brad Pitt and crew took a huge risk making themselves out as a modern day Rat Pack in Ocean's 11 but they manage it with wit and style. Too bad about Ocean's 12.

2. Though everyone should make an effort to see Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, the Western version, The Magnificent Seven, is itself a classic. Plus it has Yul Brynner!

3. "Say hello to my little friend!" Al Pacino's bloody Scarface was so succesful at creating a new movie icon, few even realize it based on a 1932 film. What all remakes should aspire to.

4. Director David Cronenberg takes the campy Vincent Price verion of The Fly and adds terror and gore (and Jeff Glodblum), creating a remake that stands above the original.

5. Taking on King Kong for the third time, director Peter Jackson applied modern special effects and proved there was still life in the giant ape. Technology, it's a good thing.