Tag Archives: Jack Poessiger
Jack Goes Confidential: Farrelly Brothers’ ‘HALL PASS’ Pushes (Funny) Envelope!
It’s been a while since we’ve last heard from the Farrelly Brothers—the original pull-out-all-the stops writing, producing and directing team that hit it big with the cult classic THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY.
And how can we forget DUMB AND DUMBER?
Well, they’re back and this time with NO Filters!
In their latest over the top outing, HALL PASS, they team Owen Wilson with Kansas City’s Jason Sudeikis.
The pair play best friends with plenty in common and now pretty well past their days of wedded bliss.
But they’re convinced that IF they were single, they’d be able to pick up any woman they come in contact with.
New Jack City: AMC Unspools Continuous Smorgasboard of Oscar Hopefuls!
Here’s your dilemma: The Oscars are this coming Sunday night. You haven’t seen most of the movies nominated for Best Picture. Seeing them on video obviously wouldn’t be the same.
WHAT WILL YOU DO?
The solution? A 24-hour Movie Marathon of the 10 Best Picture nominees – showing back-to-back at the AMC Mainstreet Theater.
It all kicks off this Saturday morning at 10 a.m., February 26 with Toy Story 3 and wraps on Sunday morning, February 27 with The King’s Speech showing at 7:05 a.m.
For a mere $50, you get a 24-hour marathon pass that covers you for the entire 10 nominated movie experience.
But wait, there’s more!
JACK GOES CONFIDENTIAL: My Three Picks for President’s Weekend
For this extended President’s Day weekend, the studios are serving up six new movies at area theatres, and I’m picking three of them: one wide release and two limited engagements.
First – and citywide – the action-thriller Unknown starring Hollywood’s "new Harrison Ford," Liam Neeson.
Here, he plays American botanist scientist Dr. Martin Harris who, with his wife (played by January Jones), are flying to Berlin to address an international biotech conference at the swank Hotel Adlon.
But when he accidentially leaves his briefcase at Tegel airport, he hails a cab to take him back to the arrival hall to find his lost luggage. Oops,then there’s an accident! The cab ends up in the Spree river leaving Neeson hospitalized in a coma.
When he eventually returns to the hotel his wife doesn’t recognize him. Making matters worse, there’s a new Dr. Martin Harris alongside the Mrs.!
NEW JACK CITY: Radio Stunt Leads to New Comedy Station, 24/7 Laughs
I’m into a good tease as much as the next guy – especially when a happy ending is involved…
If you’re stuck in traffic on I-35 and in desperate need of a laugh, there’s a new radio station in town.
For the past several days, translator station K273BZ-FM, Bonner Springs had been filling its airwaves with hysterical laughter interupted only with teaser liners like "What’s so funny about 102.5," etc.
Finally, on Valentine’s Day at 10:25 a.m. they officially signed on with continuous comedy bits as in "All Comedy-All The Time!
NEW JACK CITY: Travel Outlook Up–Same for Airline Seats and Hotel Rooms!
The travel outlook is definitely up for the rest of the year … and so are the prices for the spring and summer travel seasons.
Just try and get an airline deal for popular (warm) destinations during spring break. Most of those were snapped up way before Christmas.
The airlines have implemented five consecutive fare hikes since December and made them stick. And fuel surcharges are starting to re-enter ticket pricing.
Surprisingly enough, discount leader Southwest Airlines is beginning to fall in line with the price hikes. They even led a recent hike in which and competing carriers immediately followed.
It’s a simple case of supply and demand … more people wanting to fly with less available capacity = fewer discounted seats and higher fares. With Southwest’s pending purchase of competing discounter AirTran, what do you think that’ll do for fares?
Jack Goes Confidential: Fake-Married Adam Sandler Scores with Pretend Ring in ‘Just Go With It’
JUST GO WITH IT is one of those high-concept romantic comedies that can easily be described in one sentence:
The power of the wedding ring….(go ahead, you finish the sentence.)
You don’t have to be an Adam Sandler fan to get a kick out of it—but it helps.
Here’s the concept: It’s 1988 and an often made-fun-of young boy with a Karl Malden-like dick-shaped nose eventually has it surgically altered. Now fast forward some 22 years and the boy is now a successful plastic surgeon spending his weekends bedding hotties.
His schtick: Pretending to be unhappily married and about to get a divorce.
New jack City: Controversial Director Kevin Smith Headed to the Midland!
He’s at it again!
Controversial filmmaker Kevin Smith (Clerks, Dogma, Jay & Silent Bob) showed off his latest film called RED STATE at the recent Sundance Film Festival but surprised attending studio film buyers when he auctioned the release rights off to himself for a reported $20.
The Smith directed RED STATE, a $4 million production co-starring Michael Angarano, John Goodman, Michael Parks, Kevin Pollak and Stephen Root, has been described as going from Psycho to Westboro to Waco. The film will be self-distributed by Smith and his production company.
A national release date is set for October 19. But prior to that, Smith is taking the film on the road for something he’s calling the RED STATE U.S.A. TOUR.
New Jack City: $uper Sunday, How the Ratings & Local Ads Played Out Here in KC
Say what you will, but Sunday’s SUPER BOWL was one for the record books with a 47.9 national overnight rating!
That’s the biggest audience for the game since the 1987 bowl and up some 3% over last year’s gridiron grindathon.
What’s more, here in Kansas City the telecast of the game on WDAF-TV produced an incredible 53.6 rating with a mind blowing 74.6 Share!
The game itself: GREAT! The national commercials? Maybe not so much this year.
I didn’t think they lived up to previous Super Bowl advertising efforts.
Jack Goes Confidential: ‘THE COMPANY MEN’ Scares With Corporate Reality!
Let’s see now. With the SINGLE WHITE FEMALE-like psychological thriller THE ROOMMATE not screened for critics and the action thriller SANCTUM’s screening snowed out this past Tuesday, my critical options were limited this week.
THE COMPANY MEN is a star-studded low profile drama taking on today’s new realities of American life.
In THE COMPANY MEN, Ben Affleck is living the proverbial American dream. Great corporate job at the mighty GTX conglomerate. Beautiful family. Country club membership. And a Porsche in the garage.
But all that is about to go down the drain. It’s called downsizing and leaves Ben along with co-workers Chris Cooper and Tommy Lee Jones jobless. Three men at the top of their game now forced to re-define their lives as men, husbands and fathers.
New Jack City: AARP Metamucil Spiked Movie Award Winners!
Is the awards’ season getting a bit long in the tooth or is it me?
Sure seems like it, as the AARP has now joined in with its 10th annual MOVIES FOR GROWNUP AWARDS.
The group claims to have watched more than 100 films and after countless hours (and however many consultations with their adult children) has announced the following winners:
* BEST MOVIE FOR GROWNUPS: The King’s Speech
.
Jack Goes Confidential: Statham vs. Hopkins–The Choices Are Only So-So!
Two opposites attract—at the boxoffice, that is!
It’s Hollywood’s current major action star Jason Statham in this weekend’s face-off with actor’s actor Anthony Hopkins who’s practicing exorcism on this go-around. With both practicing what they do best; desperately trying to overcome basic B-movie material.
First off it’s kick-ass Jason Statham as Arthur Bishop—a.k.a. THE MECHANIC—a top of the line assassin described by his mentor Donald Sutherland as "a goddamned machine." A totally detached hit-man who’ll do any job if the price is right.
Statham’s latest target—his mentor (Sutherland). Will he actually go through with it?
Damn right he will!!
New Jack City: Provocative ‘BLUE VALENTINE’ Brings NC-17 Test to K.C.
The WEINSTEIN COMPANY was facing a dilemma…
A particularily steamy scene in their new relationship drama BLUE VALENTINE was about to trigger the dreaded NC-17 designation by the Motion Picture Association of America’s ratings board for the film.
Essentially the company had three choices.
A—Accept it and bring out the movie as is with an NC-17 rating, resulting in a much more restricted release pattern.
B—Release it completely unrated.
C—Make a few strategic cuts and get it re-rated to an R, and thus having no problems getting it exhibited.
Weinstein opted for none of the above.
Instead the company turned to one of the industry’s favorite national test cities—Kansas City—-to have us help make the proper rating’s decision.
New Jack City: Oscar Nominations in Line with Predictions
No big surprises in this morning’s announcements of the 83rd Academy Awards nominations…
Leading the pack with 12 nominations is THE KING’S SPEECH followed by 10 for TRUE GRIT and 8 each for THE SOCIAL NETWORK and INCEPTION.
For my money there only 3 tight races this year!
New Jack City: RAZZIES’ Poised to Reward Worst on Film!
Following a banner year of unspectacular movies in 2009, THE GOLDEN RASPBERRY AWARD FOUNDATION has scaped the bottom of 2010’s barrel and announced the nominees for its annual RAZZIE AWARDS!
Its proclamation comes only hours ahead of the OSCAR nominations which are being announced Tuesday, January 25th!
Without further ado, here are the highlights of the past year’s worst movies, for which you laughed, cried and kissed 8 bucks goodbye:
WORST PICTURE Nominees:
Jack Goes Confidential: NO STRINGS ATTACHED Takes Light View of Getting Laid
Just one major new release this weekend...
It’s a romantic comedy exploring the eternal question: What do women REALLY want?
In NO STRING ATTACHED they apparently want to be like men—having their sexual needs fulfilled without those nagging constraints of a relationship.
Natalie Portman plays a busy young doctor who’s on-and-off friends with TV writer Ashton Kutcher. And guess what? She ends up in bed with him.
A mistake?
New Jack City: BORAT Turns DICTATOR!
Sacha Baron Cohen fans REJOICE!
Paramount Pictures has reunited Baron Cohen with his BORAT and BRUNO director Larry Charles for THE DICTATOR.
According to a studio release, "the film tells the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed."
The release further advises that the story is "inspired by the best selling novel ‘Zabibah and the King’ by Saddam Hussein."
Cohen reportedly will play the dual roles of both the dictator and a goat herder.
New Jack City: Movie Pricing—You Better Shop Around!
.jpg)
Local marketing maven Tracy Thomas recently told me one of her friends paid $12 for a Friday afternoon showing of TRUE GRIT at AMC Town Center.
The performance apparently started shortly after the theatre’s magic 4:00 p.m. matinee cut-off hour.
Frankly I questioned it. Had to have been a mistake.
But after digging around K.C.’s latest ticket pricing, I believe she was correct.
Jack Goes Confidential: Green Hornet is BroMatic Action Comedy & Less!
.jpg)
Getting THE GREEN HORNET to the big screen has been a long and winding road.
Creative differences, budget and screenplay disagreements kept this property in ‘turnaround hell’ for decades.
It finally arrives in theatres this weekend and could very well become the year’s first post-holiday hit despite the mountains of negative notices from critics.
THE GREEN HORNET of course based on the old comics and short lived TV series which first introduced martial arts legend Bruce Lee as ‘Kato’ to American audiences.
Does anyone even remember who played the actual Hornet in the series?
New Jack City: ALICE & JACK–New FM Bedfellows?
It’s one thing to send your competitor a Christmas card. Quite another a New Year’s gift.
That’s going the extra mile.
But that’s exactly what happened on the local radio scene. It’s been a week since Wilks Broadcasting’s KCKC-FM dropped its (somewhat) popular STAR 102 adult contemporary format in favor of ALICE 102.
The industry calls the new sound an Active Adult Hit format which has done well in other markets.
Yet probably nobody in K.C. is happier about the switch then the folks at Wilks’ rival Entercom—specifically the gang at KUDL-FM.
Why?
Jack Goes Confidential: COUNTRY STRONG Serves Up Pickin’ ‘n’ Grinnin’
It’s a soft opening weekend since the first batch of major new studio releases for 2011 doesn’t roll into theatres ’til next week.
In the meantime we’ve got COUNTRY STRONG which will make some of ya’ll wonder whether you haven’t seen it all before.
As a matter of fact, you sort of did in last year’s CRAZY HEART which also picked up midway through a country music performer’s fallen career. However, that was a much better film.
This time around, it’s Gwyneth Paltrow as self-destructive Nashville star ‘Kelly Canter’ who’s just coming off a stint in rehab following an on-stage meltdown in Dallas.
But her husband/manager Tim McGraw can’t get her back on stage fast enough, foregoing the warning signs from her caretakers.
After all he’s got to get those lucrative t-shirts selling again.
