Christmas Movie Titles

Watch a favorite Holiday movie this week.

Merry Christmas.

Brittany Murphy

Actress Brittany Murphy has died at 32, way too soon. Cause of death hasn't been released, she was dead on arrival at the hospital from a cardiac arrest.
Brittany Murphy's breakthrough role was 1995's "Clueless". In 1999, she played the pampered Daisy in "Girl, Interrupted". Other films include "8 Mile" and "Don't Say A Word".
She also had a recurring role on animated tv series King of the Hill.

Jennifer Jones

Jennifer Jones has passed away at 90.
http://www.ecanadanow.com/entertainment/2009/12/18/actress-jennifer-jones-dead-at-90/

She was a beautiful actress and won an Oscar for "Song of Bernadette". She was married to actor Robert Walker and their son Robert Walker Jr. is an actor (probably most famous for Easy Rider and his Star Trek episode "Charlie X"). Another star of old Hollywood gone.

Roy Disney

Roy Edward Disney, the nephew of Walt Disney, died Wednesday after a yearlong battle with stomach cancer, according to a Walt Disney Co. spokesman.
He was 79 and without him i doubt Disney would be making animated films anymore. During the 70's and 80's he kept the animation department and fighting with studio heads at the time (Ron Miller, Walt Disney's son in law and later Michael Eisner).
Roy's father was Walt's brother and co-founded the company.

Roy E. Disney (1930 - 2009)

Golden Globe Nominations

HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION

2010 GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009

NOMINATIONS PRESS RELEASE

1. BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

a. AVATAR

Lightstorm Entertainment; Twentieth Century Fox

b. THE HURT LOCKER

Voltage Pictures C/O 42West; Summit Entertainment

c. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

The Weinstein Company; The Weinstein Company

d. PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE

A Lee Daniels Entertainment / Smokewood Entertainment Group Production;

Lionsgate

e. UP IN THE AIR

Paramount Pictures; Paramount Pictures

2. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

a. EMILY BLUNT THE YOUNG VICTORIA

b. SANDRA BULLOCK THE BLIND SIDE

c. HELEN MIRREN THE LAST STATION

d. CAREY MULLIGAN AN EDUCATION

e. GABOUREY SIDIBE PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL

PUSH BY SAPPHIRE

3. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

a. JEFF BRIDGES CRAZY HEART

b. GEORGE CLOONEY UP IN THE AIR

c. COLIN FIRTH A SINGLE MAN

d. MORGAN FREEMAN INVICTUS

e. TOBEY MAGUIRE BROTHERS

4. BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

a. (500) DAYS OF SUMMER

Watermark Pictures; Fox Searchlight Pictures

b. THE HANGOVER

Warner Bros. Pictures; Warner Bros. Pictures

c. IT’S COMPLICATED

Relativity Media, Scott Rudin Productions; Universal Pictures

d. JULIE & JULIA

Columbia Pictures; Sony Pictures Releasing

e. NINE

The Weinstein Company; The Weinstein Company

5. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR

MUSICAL

a. SANDRA BULLOCK THE PROPOSAL

b. MARION COTILLARD NINE

c. JULIA ROBERTS DUPLICITY

d. MERYL STREEP IT’S COMPLICATED

e. MERYL STREEP JULIE & JULIA

6. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY

OR MUSICAL

a. MATT DAMON THE INFORMANT!

b. DANIEL DAY-LEWIS NINE

c. ROBERT DOWNEY JR. SHERLOCK HOLMES

d. JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT (500) DAYS OF SUMMER

e. MICHAEL STUHLBARG A SERIOUS MAN

7. BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

a. CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS

Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation; Sony Pictures Releasing

b. CORALINE

Laika, Inc.; Focus Features

c. FANTASTIC MR. FOX

American Empirical Picture; Twentieth Century Fox

d. THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG

Walt Disney Pictures/Walt Disney Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios

Motion Pictures

e. UP

Walt Disney Pictures/PIXAR Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion

Pictures

8. BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

a. BAARIA (ITALY)

Medusa Film; Summit Entertainment

b. BROKEN EMBRACES (SPAIN)

El Deseo SA; Sony Pictures Classics

c. THE MAID (CHILE)

(LA NANA)

Forastero; Elephant Eye Films

d. A PROPHET (FRANCE)
(UN PROPHETE)

Chic Films; Sony Pictures Classics

e. THE WHITE RIBBON (GERMANY)

(DAS WEISSE BAND – EINE DEUTSCHE KINDERGESCHICHTE)

Wega Films; Sony Pictures Classics

9. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A

MOTION PICTURE

a. PENÉLOPE CRUZ NINE

b. VERA FARMIGA UP IN THE AIR

c. ANNA KENDRICK UP IN THE AIR

d. MO’NIQUE PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL

PUSH BY SAPPHIRE

e. JULIANNE MOORE A SINGLE MAN

10. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A

MOTION PICTURE

a. MATT DAMON INVICTUS

b. WOODY HARRELSON THE MESSENGER

c. CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER THE LAST STATION

d. STANLEY TUCCI THE LOVELY BONES

e. CHRISTOPH WALTZ INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

11. BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE

a. KATHRYN BIGELOW THE HURT LOCKER

b. JAMES CAMERON AVATAR

c. CLINT EASTWOOD INVICTUS

d. JASON REITMAN UP IN THE AIR

e. QUENTIN TARANTINO INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

12. BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE

a. NEILL BLOMKAMP, DISTRICT 9

TERRI TATCHELL

b. MARK BOAL THE HURT LOCKER

c. NANCY MEYERS IT'S COMPLICATED

d. JASON REITMAN, UP IN THE AIR

SHELDON TURNER

e. QUENTIN TARANTINO INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

13. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE

a. MICHAEL GIACCHINO UP

b. MARVIN HAMLISCH THE INFORMANT!

c. JAMES HORNER AVATAR

d. ABEL KORZENIOWSKI A SINGLE MAN

e. KAREN O,

CARTER BURWELL WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

14. BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE

a. “CINEMA ITALIANO” — NINE

Music & Lyrics by: Maury Yeston

b. “I WANT TO COME HOME” — EVERYBODY'S FINE

Music & Lyrics by: Paul McCartney

c. “I WILL SEE YOU” — AVATAR

Music by: James Horner, Simon Franglen

Lyrics by: James Horner, Simon Franglen, Kuk Harrell

d. “THE WEARY KIND (THEME FROM CRAZY HEART)” — CRAZY

HEART

Music & Lyrics by: Ryan Bingham, T Bone Burnett

e. “WINTER” — BROTHERS

Music by: U2

Lyrics by: Bono

Samurai Movie Posters

Western Posters

Planet Of The Apes

What was your first Planet of the Apes movie, i guess mine was Escape From the Planet of the Apes that i saw at the old Plaza Cine in downtown St. Augustine in 1971. I don't think the first 2 films had been shown on tv by then. I became a fan of the films reading Famous Monsters of Filmland, so i had to see it.
Life long fan of the Apes movies and wouldn't mind seeing the series revived (but please don't let Tim Burton direct again and don't hire Rob Zombie!).

Escape From The Planet Of The Apes (1971)
Directed by Don Taylor
Starring:
Roddy McDowall
Kim Hunter
Bradford Dillman
Eric Braeden
Sal Mineo
William Windom
Albert Salmi
Ricardo Montalban
Natalie Trundy

Rest In Peace

Movies and TV have lost another legendary star, at 90 Gene Barry has passed away. Screen cap above is Gene in "Burke's Law", that and the series "Bat Masterson" are probably what he best remembered for. But he was also in the original and much better version of "War of the Worlds".

He was born Eugene Klass in New York City in 1919, and he met his wife, Betty Claire Kalb, when both were performing in the city. They were married 58 years, until her death in 2003.

His first tv series was the last season of "Our Miss Brooks" and then he got "Bat Masterson" which ran from 1958 to 1961 on NBC. Then it was "Burke's Law" for 3 seasons on ABC ( the last season his LAPD Detective became a spy, it was the mid 60's and spy films and shows abounded), the series was revived in the mid 90's for CBS. His next series was "The Name of the Game" (1968-1972) and in the 70's in England he did the syndicated series "The Adventurer".

His movies :
(Selected Filmography)
Atomic City (1952)
War of the Worlds (1953)
Soldier of Fortune (1955)
Purple Mask (1955)
China Gate (1957)
Forty Guns (1957)
Thunder Road (1958)
Maroc 7 (1967)
Guyana - Crime of the Century (1979)
and his last film War of the Worlds (2005)

Movie Comics

They seem to be a lost art now but at one time you could find a comic book adaption of your favorite movie at the newstand or comic shop. This King Kong adaption i found on the comics and magazine rack at Hay's Pharmacy (where i used to find my Famous Monsters magazines and many a paperback). Gold Key made this in the 60's and it's a pretty good adaption of the film but none of the characters really look like their movie counterparts. One of my favorite films and i still have the comic, stored away in a box somewhere.
Dell and Gold Key at one time were the companies to go to for movie and tv comic books. Marvel did the Star Wars adaptions and some Bond films in the 70's and 80's.
DC had a movie comic that adapted films in the 30's and 40's.
There should be a Blog for movie comics, maybe there is.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Kirk Douglas!
93 today.
One of my favorite actors of all time.
Here is in the "War Wagon" (1967)

Movie Glamour

Catherine Zeta-Jones

Rock And Roll Films

You really don't see rock & roll movies anymore, the 1960's seemed to have a new one every week. Beach party films,films starring a group from the England, to comedies with a popular band on the soundtrack. So from time to time i'll post a poster from a rock & roll film.
Today it's "Hold On!" starring Herman's Hermits.
Hold On! (1966)
Directed by Arthur Lubin
Producer - Sam Katzman
85 min. Color
Co-starring with Peter Noone and the Hermits :
Shelley Fabares
Sue Ane Langdon
Herbert Anderson
Bernard Fox

Far as i know, the film isn't on DVD.

Movie List

Movie list of films i can re-watch over and over.
Here's 10 of a long list.

Rock & Roll High School (1979)
Ride Lonesome (1959)
They Live (1988)
Thin Man (1933)
Goldfinger (1964)
Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter (1974)
Star Wars (1977)
Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
Kind Hearts And Coronets (1949)
Adventures Of Robin Hood (1938)

Tall T

Some caps from one of the best Randolph Scott westerns, it co-stars Richard Boone, Maureen O'Sullivan, Henry Silva and Arthur Hunnicutt.

Welcome

Welcome to the Vortex, the Cinema Vortex. A blog to celebrate films of all genres and countries. I'll post many a screen cap from my DVD vault of movies, some classic and some not.

I hope you enjoy!