VH1 has obtained the exclusive rights to Anvil! The Story of Anvil and will handle the television and DVD release, and will also distribute the film theatrically in association with Abramorama starting April 10, 2009 in New York and Los Angeles followed by a national roll-out.

The documentary is about the 1980s heavy metal band Anvil, who are known to have influenced the likes of Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer, but never attained the same fame and fortune as their peers. While other bands rose, they plummeted into obscurity, but the band never gave up their dreams. Sacha Gervasi, who wrote Steven Spielberg’s The Terminal and is a long-time fan of the Anvil, made his directorial debut with this documentary, which follows the current band members — including founders Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow and Robb Reiner — on a recent effort to finally “make it” in the music business.

VH1 will air the documentary on television and will release the DVD this summer. Anvil! The Story of Anvil premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, where it received critical and audience acclaim; the film has since gone on to receive more praise and awards at other film festivals [...]

Two Lovers
Directed by James Gray
Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw, Isabella Rossellini
Rated R
Release date: February 13th, 2009 (limited)

Two Lovers is a portrait of a sheltered soul on the verge of carrying out another attempt at suicide. The movie opens with him trying to commit suicide by jumping off the boardwalk into the ocean. He’s a man that can’t find enough motivation to uproot himself from a considerate mother and father so he can bestow himself to a world that would love nothing more than to see him happy in it. This man is capable of doing well, but has the tendency of making the wrong decisions. We see his well-being flourish when he works willingly at his parents’ dry cleaning business. We see it when he takes pictures with his camera. We see it when he expresses to others what’s truly inside himself. When two women, both of whom couldn’t be any more opposite of each other, enter his life, a new outlook is created. The man rarely wears a smile, but when he does he can illuminate an entire room.

The man’s name is Leonard. He’s played by Joaquin Phoenix in what is a complicated role consisting of shifting emotions from shy to bashful, to anger, to happiness. That Phoenix pulls this performance off believably is reason to celebrate (given his recent identity crisis this can well be his last film).

His portrayal of Leonard, a man-child living with his parents (Isabella Rossellini and Moni Moshonov) in the Brighton Beach apartment complexes, endlessly inhabits the methods of acting carried out by Brando and De Niro [...]

Escape to Witch Mountain Special Edition (1975)
Directed by John Hough
Starring Ike Eisenmann, Kim Richards, Donald Pleasence, Ray Milland, Eddie Albert
Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Release Date: March 10, 2009

Return from Witch Mountain Special Edition (1978)
Directed by John Hough
Starring Ike Eisenmann, Kim Richards, Christopher Lee, Bette Davis
Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Release Date: March 10, 2009

After the death of their foster parents, picture perfect blond siblings Tony and Tia Malone (Ike Eisenmann and Kim Richards) are sent to a children’s home, where their attempts to fit in become increasingly difficult as their “special powers” become more apparent. Previously, the young siblings had little memory of their lives before they came to live with the Malones, but they always knew they had special powers. But the more they use their powers, the greater the danger to them will be, as the greedy millionaire Aristotle Bolt (Ray Milland) and his opportunistic employee Lucas Deranian (Donald Pleasence) scheme to use the children’s abilities to their own advantage.

Luckily, children in Disney movies are as smart and intuitive as Disney movie villains are obvious, because although Bolt and Deranian try enticing the children with their own playroom and all the toys and ice cream they could ever want, the two men are simply up to no good — and the children realize this soon enough. With Tia’s special star case and as-of-yet deciphered map in hand, the siblings, along with their cooperative black cat Winky, go on the run from the bad guys. Along the way, they stowaway in the back of an RV driven by a cranky loner (Eddie Albert), who at first reluctantly helps the children, who think they know a place that will lead them to discover their true destiny — the mysterious Witch Mountain [...]

I’ve never seen The Assassination of a High School President, and I’ve not even heard much about the movie. But what I have heard has been so undeniably positive on so many different fronts, that it’s very hard to ignore a movement such as this.

Per the request of our good friends at /Film, we’re joining the masses in trying to bring this movie to your attention and get a studio to step up and give the movie the theatrical run it deserves. After the Yari Film Group — the studio who produced the film — had to file for bankruptcy, the movie was sucked into one of those cinematic vortexes where movies are never seen again. Because of this, the option at hand seems to be to go direct-to-DVD, and that’s not acceptable.

The movie’s home video distribution rights are owned by Sony, but this is the time to show potential independent studios such as Fox Searchlight and Sony Pictures Classics that this is a movie that needs to see the big screen [...]

Boondock Saints
Blu-ray Edition
Directed by Troy Duffy
Starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, Willem Dafoe, Billy Connolly
Fox Home Entertainment
Release date: February 10, 2009

In Boondock Saints the wrath of God isn’t eligible to a society filled with thieves, mobsters, and pimps. To them the afterlife is nonexistent and they live as though they’re not afraid of what awaits them when they die. But hold it right there. Why wait until we are all perished to be judged when we can be judged right here and now? As if any God or idolatry figure didn’t instill fear in us, common man wants to take on that challenge. The two brothers in Boondock Saints colonize before a society a set of rules that should help contain the urges of sin. These ideas placed before all are thrust upon the people in a scary, authoritative manner. To sum it up — these brothers take the responsibility of replicating God on Earth. Introducing this controversial topic and then not really spotlighting it compassionately because of the obsession with the actually killings themselves, Boondock Saints loses some of its power that could have struck a strong and mighty chord.

When we think of ordinary men wanting to rid the world of scum, the first name that enters our minds is Travis Bickel from Taxi Driver. We remember that insane man for stating: “All the animals come out at night — whores, skunk pussies, buggers, queens, fairies, dopers, junkies, sick, venal. Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets.” The ominous tones in that quote when Travis uttered it sent shivers down viewer’s spines. The McManus brothers, Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus), aren’t in any way symbolic with the character that Travis is [...]

Marvel Studios has adjusted its schedule a tad and set up their slate through 2012. This hints that Marvel has most of its game pieces right where they want them, allowing them to solidify certain dates for the next three summers in a row.

The biggest hit will come to fans desperate for Thor or The Avengers. Thor was originally set for July 16, 2010 and was pushed back almost a year to June 17, 2011. The Avengers was originally set for July 15, 2011 and is now set for a May 4, 2012 date. The other change came to The First Avenger: Captain America, which was set for a May 6, 2011 release, and was pushed back only a couple of months to July 22, 2011.

One big scheduling move within all of this madness, is that Marvel/Sony’s Spider-Man 4 was placed in the May 6, 2011 spot previously held by Captain America.

All of this moving around allows for Marvel to get a Thor movie and a Captain America movie out there before all of these movies come together in one surely gigantic event of a movie — The Avengers. [...]

It’s Friday the 13th! And in conjunction with this most ominous day, we here at Geeks of Doom have a copy of Friday the 13th Ultimate Edition DVD Collection to give away to one lucky reader!

Also, the good folks over at FEARnet, who are currently hosting a Friday the 13th sweepstakes of their own (more on that below), have supplied us with a FEARnet notebook, golf tee, folder, and Friday the 13th greeting cards to give to our lucky winner.

One (1) winner will receive:

– (1) Friday the 13th Ultimate Edition DVD Collection
– Friday The 13th greeting cards
– FEARnet notebook, golf tee, & folder

TO ENTER: There’s just two simple steps: (1) Make sure you’re subscribed to the Geeks of Doom email digest. If you’re not then click here and sign up. (If you’re already a subscriber, then go right to the next step.) (2) Fill out the entry form HERE and submit.

RULES: One entry per person. All entries must be in by Saturday, March 21, 2009 at 9pm EST. This contest is only open to email subscribers. All entries are validated against email subscriber list. Entries by non-email subscribers will be disqualified. Contest is only open to residents of the United States. No international entries will be accepted. Winners will be chosen randomly from valid entries and will be notified by email. Void where prohibited [...]

It’s being reported that the United Nations is going to hold a type of panel specifically for the TV show Battlestar Galactica. The plan being, to look at the way the show has focused on real issues our world faces, and how they were dealt with on the show. For those of you who are fans of the old Battlestar Galactica or just don’t like the current show, which is set to air its series finale in a depressing weeks time — you need only read this story to see just how brilliant, important, and just plain damn good it really is.

Battlestar Galactica is known as a massively entertaining science fiction show about the final thousands of human beings left in the universe struggling to find a new home where they can rebuild humanity, all while fighting the highly-evolved Cylon race, who are attempting to wipe out the “weak” human species. But on top of this solid foundation, Galactica infuses a vast array of human tendencies, political strategies and downfalls, religions, and all-around real world issues that we see every single day in our own lives. [...]

So the Watchmen debut has come and gone and we won’t be seeing quite the same amount of news that we were so used to seeing. Fortunately, this has not stopped the motivated and entrepreneurial Dr. Manhattan from lassoing that moon and moving on to bigger and better things. The immortal blue being stopped by G4′s Attack of the Show to pitch a few ideas for movies that he’s come up with in hopes of storming the Hollywood hills.

Unfortunately, his ideas weren’t quite as good as maybe you would expect from a being of infinite knowledge such as Manhattan. Especially since it’s been 20+ years since the events of Watchmen took place; he’s had plenty of time to brainstorm.

Even while his movie ideas weren’t working out so well, the unstoppable doctor returned with a brand new idea — this time for a TV sitcom!

Click over to the other side to enjoy the video over and over again. [...]

Today’s spotlight MP3 album deal of the day at Amazon is Whitesnake by the band Whitesnake for only $1.99.

Former Deep Purple lead singer David Coverdale formed Whitesnake in 1977 and when the band transitioned from blue-rock to hard rock with 1984′s Slide It In they began to enjoy some moderate success. But it was their self-titled 1987 album that was the major commercial success, earning them a spot in the 1980′s hair metal pantheon alongside the likes of Motley Crue and Poison.

Two dollars is an awesome deal for the nine tunes — most of them hits — from the band’s most popular album. “Still Of The Night,” “Here I Go Again,” and “Crying In The Rain” are worth the discount price alone. Grab it while you can, because it will mostly like go up to nine bucks after today [...]

The Gold Box spotlight deal of the day over at Amazon is The Chronicles of Narnia Blu-ray Bundle for $29.99 (down 58% from $70.98).

This bundle, being sold exclusively through Amazon, contains the Blu-ray editions of Disney’s The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian.

Based on the books by C.S. Lewis, the Narnia movies are fantasy adventures that follow the four Pevensie children to the magical world of Narnia. In 2005′s The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, the inhabitants of Narnia — mythical creatures and animals that can speak — live under the tyrannical rule of the evil White Witch, who keeps the land in a perpetual state of winter. The coming of the children prompts the return of Aslan the Lion, which threatens the Witch’s reign. In Prince Caspian, it’s been a year since the children returned home to England, but it’s 1,300 years later in Narnia, where the corrupt King Miraz has usurped the throne from its rightful heir, Prince Caspian. In this darker sequel, the children return to Narnia to find it vastly different from the place they remember.

The Gold Box deal of the day is only good til the end of today or while supplies last before that. For other Blu-ray deals, check out the current Blu-ray Sale, which ends March 22 and includes discounts of hits like Iron Man, Wall-E, Tropic Thunder and much more. Also, for a limited time, get up to 48% off select Blu-ray titles like 300, A Clockwork Orange, and The Shining in the this Blu-ray Sale [...]

The Rock Action 3-Pack
Blu-ray Edition
The Scorpion King, Rundown, Doom
Directed by Chuck Russell, Andrzej Bartkowiak, Peter Berg
Starring The Rock
Release Date: February 10, 2009

Before Dwayne Johnson had a game plan or was racing to some mountain, he was the wrestler The Rock, the most electrifying man in sports entertainment. When he was given a cameo appearance in the Mummy Returns as The Scorpion King, he took the ball and ran with it and gave a pretty impressive debut performance. Producers obviously saw something special in him and before you know it, Dwayne Johnson was on his way to Hollywood, starring in his own movies and eventually becoming a star under the Disney umbrella.

Getting in on having Johnson’s name out there now for his new Disney movie Race to Witch Mountain, Universal Pictures has released The Rock Action 3-Pack, collecting three of his movies — The Scorpion King, The Rundown, and Doom — for a discounted price. Three movies for the price of one seems like a great deal but are these movies any good? I took it upon it upon myself to find out [...]

At their annual meeting, The Disney Company showed a little teaser montage of things to come in order to wow the shareholders. While none of us regular folk are allowed to see the footage, word spread quickly of what was shown.

First, in what’s being described as a “blink-and-you-miss-it” moment — an image of Johnny Depp as the much-talked about Mad Hatter in Tim Burton‘s highly-anticipated live-action/CGI re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland. While only seen for just a moment, word is that the “oohs and ahhs” filled the room. The image being described as “Victorian top hat, crimped hair that sticks straight out, and swirl of brightly colored make-up on his eyes, cheeks and lips that resembled the blur of a pinwheel blowing in the breeze.” This description has the Internet buzzing that the leaked image (seen above; click for large) of Depp as the Mad Hatter was actually legit and not some hoax.

Personally, I still think something is still off about all of that. That image may be a trial run or a test of looks, but I still am banking on the final look being a lot more… not terrible. [...]

It all started with rumors of Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell both being in Iron Man 2. While Rockwell’s role was confirmed, Rourke was quoted saying that he wasn’t doing the movie. The problem there was, there was some money questions, the Oscars were coming, and his beloved dog had just died. Because of this, you could just feel the lack of finality to it all and it was very much expected that there was more on this to come.

Now word comes from Deadline Hollywood that a deal had indeed been reached for Rourke to play the role of a “Russian villain” in the movie. Word is that Rourke’s agent, David Unger, worked out a “significant” deal after the initial $250,000 offer.

Rourke is in Russia promoting The Wrestler, so he’s planning on immediately beginning to research for his role of this Russian villain, though we’re still not 100% clear on who exactly it will be from the Iron Man mythology. Will it be Crimson Dynamo, Whiplash? Will it be someone else? [...]

The first trailer for Spider-Man director Sam Raimi‘s horror flick Drag Me to Hell has hit today. The movie stars Alison Lohman and Justin Long and follows a young woman who is cursed and needs to escape the promise of a trip to the fires of hell.

Drag Me to Hell is a bit of a return to form for Raimi, who previously directed Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and Army of Darkness before going on to the Spider-Man trilogy. It is expected that Raimi will return to direct Spider-Man 4, but as it is with most directors helming a massive franchise, they like to sneak in a little passion project from time-to-time.

The trailer sets the table for the movie pretty nicely. It gives you a brief look at the characters, how the story starts, and where things go very wrong for Alison Lohman’s character. It looks pretty intense, but am I the only one who thinks it looks like a bigger budget sequel to Thinner? The ratings debate comes into play here, as well. We all know how that works with horror movies. [...]

The Duchess
DVD
Directed by Saul Dibb
Starring Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling, Dominic Cooper, Hayley Atwell
Paramount Home Entertainment
Release Date: December 27, 2008

Based on a true story, The Duchess is about desire, responsibility, and ultimately redemption. Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire (Keira Knightley of Pirates of the Caribbean), marries the Duke of Devonshire, a much older man, and all of her visions of love and marriage are quickly dispelled. The Duke (Ralph Fiennes of Harry Potter, and yes, he played Voldemort) approached his marriage as one of necessity, he needed to produce an heir and Georgiana would help him reach that goal. His desire turned into need and no thought was given to his future bride. His necessity determined her fate and little more was to be done or said about that. An interesting tenet is when Georgiana first learned of her upcoming nuptials. She was surprised and happy with the decision — surprised that the Duke had any interest in her and happy because she was told that love is found on first glances and impressions.

Responsibility plagues each of the characters differently and completely. Bess Foster (Hayley Atwell) is forced into an affair to save her children; Georgiana embraces her love-less marriage and turns away from her true love to save her children; and the Duke, well let’s just say that his responsibility is only unto himself as he finally sires an heir to his title. He answers to no one and dictates the lives of all around him. This is a testament to gender dynamics at the time [...]

The Net has been buzzing with rumors today, and those rumors are in regards to casting for one of the next big superhero movies from director Kenneth Branagh — Thor.

The first big rumor came from Latino Review, who received an e-mail from someone claiming to have spotted Branagh having lunch with with three men, one being identified as Alexander Skarsgård, the giant blonde vampire from HBO’s True Blood. This naturally fits the profile of Thor very well, so naturally speculations began.

Another less fitting name being tossed around as a possible Thor is Channing Tatum, but that one sounds… unlikely.

Next up, IESB has heard word that Branagh also met with Josh Hartnett in regards to possibly being the villain, Thor’s brother Loki. Apparently they like the fact that Hartnett has never really played a villain.

I’m personally not familiar with Thor and who may fit the characters. Skarsgård certainly looks the part… almost perfectly. the question is, how well can he act? [...]

We don’t really know anything about the Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard horror movie, The Cabin in the Woods. What we do know, is that when a horror movie involving a cabin out in the woods casts five young actors for the movie, they’re most likely going to be gruesomely dismantled in some form or the other. Of course, we must keep in mind that this particular horror is supposedly going to be unlike anything we’ve ever seen, so who knows. One or two may escape the cabin, if they’re lucky.

Kristen Connolly (Revolutionary Road), Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek), Anna Hutchison (Underbelly), Fran Kranz (Dollhouse) and Jesse Williams (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2) have all been cast in the movie, joining Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) and Bradley Whitford (The West Wing, Billy Madison).

The movie is being written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, while Goddard — who has written multiple episodes of Lost as well as Cloverfield — will also make his directorial debut. [...]

Here it is GoD readers, the first of several Jack Bauerstein exclusive video interviews from the floor of this year’s New York Comic Con.

First up is Khoi Pham of Mighty Avengers fame. Khoi was nice enough to be our debut interview and did a kick ass job delivering a solid interview if i do say so myself. Khoi talks about working with writer Dan Slott, being a lawyer, and above all else, what’s in his fridge. He even rocked a bag of chips while doing it. Truly a man of many talents [...]

Over a year ago, I wrote about Anvil! The Story of Anvil, the documentary which got great reviews out of the Sundance Film Festival and has since won a bunch of awards at various film festivals.

Now, a theatrical trailer is online (watch it here below) for the film, which is getting a release in NY and LA on April 10, 2009 with a national rollout through April, which includes a live performance from Anvil after each screening (see list of dates/venues here below).

Directed by Sacha Gervasi, Anvil! follows two 50-something years old musicians Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner of the 1980s Canadian heavy metal band Anvil as they try to recapture the magic of their glory days.

As I’ve mentioned here before, I was a fan of Anvil and saw the live in the 1980s, so for someone like this, this documentary is a must-see (and I was lucky enough to get a screener of it already and an invite to a cocktail party for the release, which I had to miss because I was at WonderCon!). But reports all around have been that you don’t have to like metal to fall in love with this movie, because in the end it’s not about the music itself but about hope and about following your dreams [...]