Top 5 Favorite Tree Moments.

For those of you not in the know, my LAMBcast buddy James from Cinema Sights loves him some artsy films. There's a running joke on the LAMBcast that he only likes movies with trees. And not just any movies with trees... but movies where the trees are central focus and made to look quite nice.

So in honor of James, I'm going to do my favorite tree moments in films. Probably not all his favorites, but whatever. And you'd be surprised... how difficult it was to come up with this list. So here we go...

Top 5 Favorite Tree Moments

5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

The Whomping Willow is the primary tree of note in the Harry Potter films. It gets its most important moment in Prisoner of Azkaban (though the movie doesn't make note of why it was put there to begin with). However, I like the mystery and action of the scene near the beginning of Chamber of Secrets better. Ron squealing and breaking his wand. The branches crashing through the poor Ford Anglia. And just general chaos and disarray. Check out the scene below:




4. Clerks 2

OK, I'll give... this one is kind of a cheat. But I didn't want to put the Ents from Lord of the Rings. Instead, I felt like putting one of my many favorite scenes from Clerks 2, which is about the aforementioned trilogy. And to top off this conversation about Lord of the Rings, Randal gives a great line: "Even the fucking trees walk in those movies." Check the scene below:




3. Pan's Labyrinth

This is probably the only movie James might agree with. I'm talking, of course, of the scene where Ofelia climbs inside the dying tree in her new dress to face the giant toad. The whole movie is beautiful in more ways than one. And the three tasks are definitely the most memorable parts. So there's really no question why this one would end up on the list. Unfortunately, I couldn't find video footage of it... sorry.

2. The Evil Dead

A tree rapes a woman. Let me repeat that. A tree. Rapes. A woman. What more can I say? I couldn't find the original footage for the scene, but here's a very poor quality version where somebody added their own music for comic affect:




1. The Happening

No, not the whole movie. Sure, it's about killer trees and/or wind. But there's one particular part of this movie that I love. I loved the scene in theater, and it's the scene that has always stuck with me since. This scene makes me wonder if M. Night was just screwing with all our heads and meant it to be some kind of bizarre dark comedy the whole time. The scene, of course, is Mark Wahlberg talking to the plastic tree:

10 Possible Movie Character Spin-Offs.

With the recent release of the Forgetting Sarah Marshall spin-off, Get Him To The Greek, we seem to have begun the new Hollywood Trend. Remakes might not be out the door immediately, but now we can add the "spin-off" to the list. It was recently announced that Tom Cruise's character from Tropic Thunder, Les Grossman, will be getting his own movie. While both of these characters were funny in their respective films, we wonder if they can hold their own movies (according to those who have seen Greek, at least one of them can, apparently). But this made me raise the following question: Who's next? Or, rather, who could have the potential for a spin-off, what would it be, and would it even be very good? I've put together a list of 10 possible character spin-offs that could be in the foreseeable future... whether we want them or not.



Character: Uncle Rico
Portrayed By: Jon Gries
Original Film: Napoleon Dynamite
Tentative Spin-Off Title: Over the Mountains
Other Possible Cast Members: Some popular football players and/or celebs
Spin-Off Synopsis: After getting back together with his girlfriend at the end of Napoleon Dynamite, Uncle Rico realizes he needs now, more than ever, to make enough money to support the both of them. After moving to the big city, Uncle Rico goes back to his old ways of trying to scam people out of their money. His newest scam, selling what is essentially a steroids equivalent, ends him up in the penthouse of whatever famous football player the movie can afford. The football player, impressed with the product, pimps out Uncle Rico to his team, where he tells all his glory day stories. And instead of taking money, Uncle Rico is given the option of playing for the team in exchange for his product. But how long will it be before his new companions realize his scams and that he cannot, after all, throw a football over the mountains?



Character: Elias
Portrayed By: Trevor Fehrman
Original Film: Clerks II
Tentative Spin-Off Title: Trip to the Bay
Other Possible Cast Members: Mostly major cameo appearances.
Spin-Off Synopsis: Working at the video store wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. With people constantly coming in requesting the likes of Transformers 2 because of how amazing they say it is, Elias is fed up with the people. So when he hears of the upcoming Transformers 3, he wants to do something about it. Fellow businessmen Jay and Silent Bob reiterate a time when they traveled to Hollywood to stop a movie they didn't want made, which sparks Elias' sense of adventure. Elias must find a way to travel all the way to L.A., whether via bus or hitchhiking, to find Michael Bay and stop him from destroying his much-loved franchise. In the process, much antics ensue, such as getting involved with a Live-Action Role Playing (LARP) game and arguing whether or not The Hobbit prequels will be better than the Star Wars prequels. Not to mention once he actually gets to L.A., will he be able to survive morally in a city so full of immoral people?



Character: Steve the Pirate
Portrayed By: Alan Tudyk
Original Film: Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
Tentative Spin-Off Title: The Exciting Adventures of Steve the Pirate
Other Possible Cast Members: N/A
Spin-Off Synopsis: After discovering a map in the locker room of his much-loved gym, Steve the Pirate finds himself on a journey to find a secret treasure. But was this really fate, or was it a long-planned revenge from an old foe? (Yeah, this was my least thought-out one.)



Character: Brick Tamland
Portrayed By: Steve Carell
Original Film: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Tentative Spin-Off Title: Anchorman Zero: The Rise of Brick
Other Possible Cast Members: Returning cast from Anchorman, sans Will Ferrell (maybe cameo at end)
Spin-Off Synopsis: The untold story of how Brick came to work at the famed San Diego news station and how he fared before the arrival of 70s celebrity Ron Burgundy. This includes many rivalries not only at his own station, but at other stations around town.



Character: Kuzzik
Portrayed By: Joe Lo Truglio
Original Film: Role Models
Tentative Spin-Off Title: No Place Like Foam
Other Possible Cast Members: Vincent Martella, Matt Walsh, Clark Duke
Spin-Off Synopsis: Kuzzik, who demands to be called Kuzzik at all times, gets fired from his job for constantly being late, being unproductive, and for just overall being weird. Because of this, he gets behind payment on his rent and worries that he'll end up homeless. But after seeing an online advertisement for a major L.A.I.R.E. (LARP) tournament in Canada with a hefty prize, Kuzzik and his fellow LARPers (Vincent Martella and Clark Duke) must take all the money they have left to make the trip, but that's not enough. Kuzzik must ask his enemy, Davith of Glencracken (Matt Walsh), to help. And he agrees... for mysterious reasons. So together they must all travel all the way to Canada with nothing but their fake weapons and the costumes on their backs. But tempers start to rise as the friends start getting tired of each other on top of the insanity of the reactions they get everywhere they go... and does any of it have to do with Davith? Is he really trying to help, or is he along to sabotage the team? Can they make it to Canada without beating each other senseless with foam swords? (Note: Potential tie-in with Clerks II Elias spin-off.)



Character: Fogell/McLovin
Portrayed By: Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Original Film: Superbad
Tentative Spin-Off Title: McLovin!
Other Possible Cast Members: Bill Hader, Seth Rogen, Danny Trejo, Rick Gonzalez
Spin-Off Synopsis: Officers Slater and Michaels have been working heavily to lessen gang violence in their city. But when a Gang Lord (Danny Trejo) sees the officers hanging around Fogell, the gang (including member Rick Gonzalez) targets him as a way to get to the men attempting to bring them down. But Fogell, not being home at the time, lucks out... for now. But the gang finds his old driver's license in his room and uses it to hunt him down, just knowing his picture and his supposed name--McLovin.



Character: Jedediah & Octavius
Portrayed By: Owen Wilson & Steve Coogan (respectively)
Original Film: Night at the Museum (both)
Tentative Spin-Off Title: Jedediah & Octavius' Big Adventure

Other Possible Cast Members: Jonah Hill (perhaps reprising his role from NatM2), Ricky Gervais
Spin-Off Synopsis: After Larry Daley calls in sick, the museum curator (Ricky Gervais) must call in a last-minute replacement guard (Jonah Hill) from the day shift, who also happens to be new, and who doesn't exactly know the craziness of the night shift. After the museum comes to life, everything comes to life, but things go wrong. After a bird snatches up the two figurine buddies and flies them out, they end up in the middle of the big city. Now, Jedediah and Octavius must battle the dangers of the night and make it back to the museum before the sun rises, or else both of them will turn to dust.



Character: Dr. Kuni
Portrayed By: Ken Jeong
Original Film: Knocked Up
Tentative Spin-Off Title: Mixed-Up
Other Possible Cast Members: Whoever can pull off rich families... and J.K. Simmons
Spin-Off Synopsis: Dr. Kuni is under a lot of pressure. He's in charge of two major baby deliveries in one day, both for very rich and powerful families who just so happen to be business rivals. And when it's time for the kids to go home, Dr. Kuni gets the paperwork mixed up and the wrong babies go home with the wrong families. And after Dr. Kuni realizes his mistake, he knows he has to do something about it, but he can't do anything about it straight-up. Why? Because the hospital director (J.K. Simmons) tells him that one more big issue for the hospital could cause the hospital to lose major funding, and the reveal of the baby switch could also cause heavy repercussions between the families. Now Dr. Kuni must find a way to switch the babies without anybody finding out.



Character: Chazz Reinhold
Portrayed By: Will Ferrell
Original Film: Wedding Crashers
Tentative Spin-Off Title: Get Rich or Crash Trying
Other Possible Cast Members: Jay Baruchel
Spin-Off Synopsis: After Chazz gets arrested for funeral crashing, his whole life goes into a downward spiral. He realizes that he no longer found enjoyment out of wedding or funeral crashing. But while in jail, he meets a young man (Jay Baruchel) who is in much need of money to help his family. And when both get out, they devise a plan to amp up the game. Chazz can use his crashing experience to con rich families. He and his new protegee get involved with an elderly member of a rich family at the wedding of her grandchildren and try to get put in the Will... as the grandmother is close to death. But what Chazz didn't expect was fighting the moral obligations of his new protegee, as well as the friendships and relationships gained with the family.



Character: Gayle Sweeney
Portrayed By: Jane Lynch
Original Film: Role Models
Tentative Spin-Off Title: Saving Sturdy Wings
Other Possible Cast Members: A.D. Miles
Spin-Off Synopsis: The Sturdy Wings Program is in a lot of trouble. It's losing its funding due to increasingly difficult kids who can't keep their "Bigs." So now she must sink back into her old ways of drugs and sexual favors to find a way to get enough money to keep the program running. And she can't do this alone... she must also bring in the help of Sturdy Wings veteran Martin Gary (A.D. Miles), though can he handle the degradation and rough underworld that Gayle will pull him through?


So what are your thoughts on these potential spin-offs? Do you have any of your own you'd like to share? Let me know in the comments!

Top 10 Random Dance Scenes.

I know I just posted up my review of Charlie Bartlett, but I really want to post this, as well, so you get a twofer tonight.

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Have you ever been watching a movie, a movie that was neither a musical nor related to dancing whatsoever, and suddenly, as if out of nowhere, one or more characters on the screen suddenly burst out into dance and/or song? If done right, those random dance scenes can be funny and entertaining. If done wrong, you have Spider-Man 3. But this article is going to concentrate on 10 of the more memorable random dance and/or song moments from film. The further down the list we get, the more random and enjoyable the scenes are.

10. American Wedding

Scene: Looking for a dressmaker named Leslie, Stiffler accidentally insults one of Leslie’s friends. In order to prove himself worthy, Stiffler decides to have a dance-off against a large gay man in a gay bar (not all of the posted videos are this long, either... I just couldn't find a shorter version).

9. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure

Scene: After accidentally stumbling into a private biker bar, Pee-Wee Herman tries to prove himself (and keep from getting beaten up) by dancing on the bar.

8. Beetlejuice

Scene: Trying to get their house rid of annoying new owners, a ghost couple possesses the new family and friends at dinner, making them lip sync and dance.

7. Billy Madison

Scene: Feeling sorry for himself, Billy gets beaten up by his girlfriend, mulls over his life, and breaks out into song/dance.

6. The Breakfast Club

Scene: The kids are bored; they put in some music and just dance away in the library.

5. Shaolin Soccer

Scene: For no real apparent reason whatsoever, a bunch of people just start going all Thriller.

4. Austin Powers in GoldMember

Scene: The opening credits for the movie. After the fake opening with a bunch of Hollywood stars, Austin talks to Steven Spielberg and then breaks out into a long dance number which involves a back-flipping Spielberg and a head-exploding Britney Spears.

3. Napoleon Dynamite

Scene: When it looks like all hope is lost for best friend Pedro to win over the crowd and become class president, Napoleon walks out on stage and shows everyone his sweet dance skills.

2. The Mask

Scene: There are actually two in this movie, but the one I’m focusing on is Cuban Pete. To try and avoid getting arrested, The Mask turns the entire street into a full song and dance, including a conga line.

1. Clerks 2

Scene: Dante doesn’t know how to dance, so he gets a little help from Rosario Dawson’s boo… I mean, her character…. Yeah. Anyway, everybody in Mooby’s gets in the dancing mood and joins in.

Honorable Mention:

- MirrorMask, when Helena is being transformed by the robot women into Dark Helena and the women are singing and dancing a cover of “Close to You” as they do it. That scene is just too trippy weird not to mention.