The Library of Congress has made its annual announcement of the 25 films to be added to the Library’s National Film Registry, and as in years past, the films are a combination of modern favorites and older classics ranging from the Charley Chase silent comedy short Mighty Like The Moose (1926) and the all-star cast drama Grand Hotel (1932) to the Steve McQueen crime drama Bullitt (1968) and 1985′s science-fiction comedy Back To The Future.

Also included on this year’s list are the noir’s In A Lonely Place (1950) and The Naked City (1948), the western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), the Walt Disney cartoon The Three Little Pigs (1933), Algonquin Roundtable member Robert Benchley’s comedy short The Sex Life Of The Polyp (1928) and the musical Oklahoma! (1950).

“Even as Americans fill the movie theaters to see the latest releases, few are aware that up to half the films produced in this country before 1950—and as much as 90 percent of those made before 1920—are lost forever,” said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington, in a press release. “The National Film Registry seeks not only to honor these films, but to ensure that they are preserved for future generations to enjoy.”

Under the terms of the National Film Preservation Act of 1992, each year the Librarian of Congress, with advice from the National Film Preservation Board, names 25 films to the National Film Registry to be preserved for all time based on their “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significance.

The films on the Registry range from silent classics Intolerance (1919) and It (1927) to popular blockbusters like Star Wars (1977) and Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981) to historically important film footage such as the Hindenburg Disaster Newsreel Footage (1937) and Abraham Zapruder’s infamous home movie footage of the John F. Kennedy assassination. The complete list of films on the National Film Registry can be found here.

The complete list of films added to the Registry this year is as follows-

• Back To The Future (1985)
• Bullitt (1968)
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
• Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)
• Dances With Wolves (1990)
• Days of Heaven (1978)
• Glimpse of the Garden (1957)
• Grand Hotel (1932)
• The House I Live In (1945)
• In a Lonely Place (1950)
• The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
• Mighty Like a Moose (1926)
• The Naked City (1948)
• Now, Voyager (1942)
• Oklahoma! (1955)
• Our Day (1938)
• Peege (1972)
• The Sex Life of the Polyp (1928)
• The Strong Man (1926)
• Three Little Pigs (1933)
• Tol’able David (1921)
• Tom, Tom the Piper’s Son (1969-71)
• 12 Angry Men (1957)
• The Women (1939)
• Wuthering Heights (1939)

While 2004′s Hulk film from director Ang Lee wasn’t well received by comic book fans or the general moviegoing public, the studio thought that there was still something to the concept of adapting Marvel Comics’ Jekyll and Hyde-inspired superhero to try again, with the upcoming Incredible Hulk.

This time, Ed Norton will be taking over the role of the ill-fated Bruce Banner, the scientist who, after being exposed to an overdose of Gamma radiation finds that his hair doesn’t fall out and he contracts cancer, but instead has the ability to change into a large, green-skinned, brutish man monster. Looking on the ability as a curse rather than a fun way to throw cars and tanks around, Banner searches for a cure while being pursued by the military.

The new film is due this coming summer and Universal has now released the first two pictures from the film, both showing Norton’s Banner on the trail for a cure for his condition.

Is it just me, or does the contraption that Banner is seated in in the first photo look awfully similar to one that Bill Bixby used in the pilot episode for the 1970s television adaptation of the character?

Via MTV Movies Blog.

Will a Lost Boys sequel with only one Corey but only half as good? That’s the big question facing the folks behind the upcoming Lost Boys 2: The Tribe, which will feature Corey Feldman, seen below blasting away with a Holy Water Bazooka, but will go Haim-less.

The sequel will see the return of Feldman’s Edgar Frog character, still battling southern California vampires. In this case, he is called upon to help a young man save his sister from a clan of vampires led by Angus Sitherland.

Although the studio conceived the project as a direct to DVD release, there is reportedly some thought to giving Lost Boys 2 a theatrical release. Are you interested in spending some hard earned cash at the cineplex box office to see this film or does it seem more like the kind of thing you are apt to grab off a video store shelf when it is five minutes to store closing and the clerks are looking at you to hurry it up?

Via SlashFilm.

When the first Alien Versus Predator film failed to excite fans of both franchises, many placed the blame on the film’s softer PG-13 rating.

The creative forces behind this sequel have listened, and Alien Vs Predator: Requiem sports the demanded R rating, promising more scares and gore to be had.

But is just the promise of more flying viscera enough to make this new film a better experience than the last one was?

Read our review to find out.

The staff here at FilmBuffOnLine would like to take a moment to wish everyone out there a happy holiday season and to thank you for stopping by here during your travels around the internet.

This past year has been a busy one, but one that has seen much growth in our reading audience. I can only surmise that means you like what we’re doing here, so rest assured, in 2008 there will be more of the same and then some. We have some more articles and script reviews coming your way in the upcoming weeks and months, so stick around.

On a personal note, I would like to thank the small staff I’ve been assembling this past year for their contributions both in terms of what you folks see and what goes on behind the scenes. Bill, John and Rich have provided me with unimaginable help and advice and I’m looking forward to continuing that into the new year.

Again, happy holidays everyone!

I’ve been a fan of Jackie Chan’s work since I first saw a multiple generation dupe bootleg of his seminal Armor Of God. And while he’s a star the world over, it has always had trouble finding the right Hollywood-produced film to fully showcase his talents. Although the Rush Hour films have come close, they never struck much of a chord with me. I’m in the minority though, as all three films in the series have been box office successes. And for fans, the two-disc DVD release for Rush Hour 3 gives fans of the series much bang for their buck.

The first disc sports a good transfer of the film, accompanied by a commentary track featuring director Brett Ratner and screenwriter Jeff Nathanson. My feelings about Ratner as a director aside, he comes across as fairly amiable and personable and quick to point out where he’s showing the influence of his favorite films or where a technical error may have crept into the film.

The second disc supplies much meat for those who enjoy looking behind-the-scenes at film production in the form of a “Making Rush Hour 3” feature that runs nearly as long as the film’s 90-minute run time. In both the “Making of…” feature and a separate visual effects demo reel there are montages of the Eiffel Tower sequence dissolving back and forth between the finished film and the raw footage showing exactly where reality ended and computer created visuals began. What’s even more amazing than seeing what parts of the Eiffel Tower were recreated in a computer is seeing what stunts Jackie Chan actually did on the location in Paris. (Also, look out for an Easter Egg where technicians at George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic created a variation of one of the effects shots they produced for the film.)

The “Making of…” portion is fairly comprehensive featuring interviews with everyone from screenwriter Nathanson, a majority of the main cast and crew members from editors to effects technicians. To be sure, at times some of the interview subjects get a little self-congratulatory about their work, but that is to be expected. The overall result is a comprehensive look at the film’s production and makes for fascinating viewing, no matter what you may have felt about the film itself.

The movie is also being released on Blu-Ray, for anyone who scores a player this holiday season and is looking for something to play in it.

A big week this week. And I’m feeling a bit Grinchy about it. I hope that you’d forgive me for it.

1. National Treasure: The Book of Secrets (3,832 Theaters, 124 Minutes, Rated PG): Nicolas Cage returns as Treasure hunter Ben Gates in the next installment of Disney’s Da Vinci Code-lite series.

This time, he finds out that his great-great grandfather might have conspired to kill Abraham Lincoln. This sets him on a globe-spanning (based on the poster to London and Paris) to clear his family name.

This got me to thinking, would I go to the same lengths if my great-great grandfather was involved in the Lincoln assassination? First, I’d be shocked because I wouldn’t have believed that my family had arrived in the U.S. by that time. Second, I would think, well, that sucks for great-great grandpa, but doesn’t affect me all that much.

This is another movie, much like Fred Claus a few weeks back, which is mindless popcorn fare but has a powerhouse cast. It features three Oscar winners (Nicolas Cage, Helen Mirren, and Jon Voight) and two nominees (Ed Harris and Harvey Keitel)

Oh, and that part of the trailer were Cage sticks his hands in the rocks and then screams? Hate it. Hate it a lot.

2. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2, 650 Theaters, 96 Minutes, Rated R): I am conflicted over this one. I have imbibed on the Judd Apatow Kool-Aid and believe everything he touches has the chance at being great. And I am a big fan of movie parody–when done right. However, Walk the Line, the Johnny Cash biopic this movie seems to parody most, is one of my favorite movies. I don’t know if I can stand to see it mocked.

Who am I kidding? How can I resist this movie? It’s worth it just to see Jack White’s whacked out portrayal of Elvis and Paul Rudd and Justin Long portrayal of a bickering John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The movie also pokes fun at the 50+ years of popular music as the poster can attest. Any Doors fan will recognize what picture it is aping.

Of course, the main draw has to be John C. Reilly. Talladega Nights seems to have established him as a top rate comedic actor. Who knew? And his performance in this movie has already garnered him a Golden Globe Nomination. Could an Oscar nod be in his future? Wouldn’t that be funny?

By the way, the only trailer I could find on iFilm is the International Trailer, which means it is a bit raunchier than you’d expect. So, be forewarned–don’t click on it if you’re easily offended or under 18. If you are either and you click, we hold no responsibility for the damage the trailer will do on your psyche.

3. Charlie Wilson’s War (2,574 Theaters, 97 Minutes, Rated R): I love the way they are marketing this as a wacky, feel-good comedy about a colorful Senator who sorta stumbles into helping end the Cold War. But if you pay attention closely, the way he helps to end the Cold War is by funnelling money and arms in to Afghanistan to help them fight the Soviet invasion of their country. The money and arms, some people say, also helped bring the Taliban to power and helped train and arm Al Queda. So, what you really have (if you believe the above) is a wacky, feel-good comedy about a colorful Senator who sorta stumbles into helping bring about Osama Bin Laden. Kinda spoils the vibe a little bit, doesn’t it?

However, no matter how the studio markets it, it is almost mathematically impossible for the movie to be bad. It is directed by the legendary Mike Niichols. It is written by the often witty and usually good Aaron Sorkin, and all the three principals have won Oscars–well deserved Oscars if you ask me. But then again, I am a big fan of Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Phillip Seymour Hoffman

4. P.S. I Love You (2, 454 Theaters, 126 Minutes, Rated PG-13): Yet another movie where the trailer makes it seem like it is a peppy, fun chick bonding flick. But in reality, it is much darker.

See, Gerard Butler, that guy from 300? The guy with his name above the title? He dies. And he leaves messages for his widow, Hilary Swank, teaching her how to adjust to life after his death. This adjustment apparently involves her singing karaoke, ice skating, getting drunk and flirting with the guy who is playing the Comedian in the Watchmen flick.

So, while the trailer seems peppy, I’m sure the movie will have more than its fair share of weepy and wistful moments. So be sure to bring your hankies to the theater.

And, while I’d love to provide you with a trailer for the movie, I can’t find one on iFilm. Aw Shucks. Because anytime you can see Hilary Swank falling off of a stage in a bar after singing karaoke, well, life doesn’t get any better than that.

Okay, okay. If you really want to see it, with ads, you can click here.

5. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1,249 Theaters, 117 Minutes, Rated R): Just so everybody is on the same page here, this movie is a musical. I’m sure some cuts of the movie didn’t makes it seem that way, but it is. Yes, you will get to see Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, two actors not know for their singing voices, belting out Sondheim songs.

Outside of it being a musical, the movie would be right in Tim Burton’s wheelhouse. After all, it about a barber who kills his clients and has the woman downstairs cook them up for meat pies. How macabre is that? Totally Tim Burton-esque.

I did not realize that there was a revenge motive involved it the film until I saw the latest trailer. This kind of ruins it for me. I mean, Sweeney Todd being a murdering psycho appeals more to me than him having justification for the killings.

What? Stop staring at me like that?

6. The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2,772 Theaters, 117 Minutes, Rated PG, Opening 12/25): Or, in other words, The True Scotland Story: Nessie: Under the Loch.

Yes, the Water Horse in question is supposed by the Loch Ness Monster. Or, a close cousin of it. What’s next? Bigfoot starring in “The Forest Ape: Legend of the Forest”?

I love that they are advertising that Walden Media, one of the production companies on this movie, was also the ones “who bought you The Chronicles of Narnia.” I see what they’re getting at. Narnia was a fantasy movie where children interacted with fantasy creatures, this movie is a fantasy movie where children interact with fantasy creatures. But just because the “brought” us both movies doesn’t mean they will both be good. They also “brought” us the Jackie Chan version of Around the World in 80 Days. You don’t see them mentioning that, do you? They also brought us The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising. Where is that on the posters and trailers?

7. Alien Vs. Predator-Requiem (2,563 Theaters, 86 Minutes, Rated R, Opening 12/25): Ah! Nothing says Christmas like to hideously ugly alien monsters causing rampant destruction and loss of human life as they try to beat the snot out of one another. Ranks right up there with eggnog, mistletoe, and Rankin-Bass specials!

Yeah, all you Sci-Fi fans should shoot a letter off to Dark Horse Comics thanking, or, in some cases, I’m sure, blaming them for this hybrid franchise. These two Fox franchises met up in the comic book world first and their success there surely is part of the reason why we now have two movies with them fighting.

I have heard a lot of fuss and excitement about how this movie is rated R. Like having more gore will make the movie any better.

And it is one bad day for trailers (and me trying to post this as well, but that’s another story). The only trailer on iFilm is the Red Band trailer. This is the trailer that usually airs before R rated movies. So, page up to the Walk Hard entry, read what it says above that trailer, and apply it here as well.

8. The Great Debaters (1,164 Theaters, 123 Minutes, Rated PG-13, Opening 12/25): I think it’s safe to say that Denzel Washington is one of the best actors of this generation. His name might not immediately pop to mind when you think of the best actors, but his is a man who makes bad movies good, good movies great and great movies exceptional.

And, like some actors do when they react a certain plateau, he has branched out into directing. And he’s done a pretty good job at that too.

This is the second film he’s directed, following after 2002′s Antwone Fisher, and follows in the same “Based on the inspirational true story. This film tells the tale of the true life story of the debate team from Wiley College, a small, all-African-American school in Texas, from its inception to its going on to challenge Harvard in the National Debate Championship in 1935.

The movie has already been nominated for a Golden Globe (Curses on the Foreign Press guys, getting to see all these movies early!) and is generating serious Oscar buzz.

Now on to the predictions. This is what I called for last week:

1. I Am Legend
2. The Golden Compass
3. Enchanted
4. The Perfect Holiday
5. This Christmas

And this is how it actually was:

1. I Am Legend
2. Alvin and The Chipmunks
3. The Golden Compass
4. Enchanted
5. No Country for Old Men

Witness the awesome power of the CGI Chipmunk. And I didn’t think it would make the Top 5 at all! So, I am 1 for 5 this week, bringing my 18 week total up to 38 for 90 and my average correct to 42%

Since there are no movies released next friday, I’ll double up my weekend predictions thia week. This will be the excellent time to catch up. Or, more likely, fall further behind.

So, this is how I think it will look for this weekend:

1. National Treasure: Book of Secrets
2. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
3. I Am Legend
4. Charlie Wilson’s War
5. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

And next week:

1. National Treasure: Book of Secrets
2. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
3. Alien Vs. Predator-Requiem
4. I Am Legend
5. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

And to all of you out there, have a happy and safe holiday!

The Motion Picture Association of America have rejected the poster for Taxi To The Dark Side, a documentary that traces the use of torture in the United States’ recent military campaigns from from Afghanistan’s Bagram prison to Abu Ghraib to Guantanamo Bay.

The poster depicts two soldiers walking away from the camera, escorting a hooded detainee. In a statement to Variety, an unnamed MPAA spokesperson-

We treat all films the same. Ads will be seen by all audiences, including children. If the advertising is not suitable for all audiences it will not be approved by the advertising administration.

It appears that the offending image, at least to the MPAA’s eyes, is the hood on the detainee. Last year, the MPAA rejected a poster for the documentary The Road To Guantanamo which featured a hooded prison hanging by his handcuffed wrists. At the time, Howard Cohen, co-president of Roadside Attractions, who released Road To Guantaamo, stated that the reason he was given for the refusal was that the burlap bag over the prisoner’s head depicted torture, which was not appropriate for children to see.

Taxi’s producer/writer/director Alex Gibney finds that reasoning spurious and unacceptable, considering that the poster’s image is based on a photograph taken by photojournalist Shaun Schwarz.

Not permitting us to use an image of a hooded man that comes from a documentary photograph is censorship, pure and simple. Intentional or not, the MPAA’s disapproval of the poster is a political act, undermining legitimate criticism of the Bush administration. I agree that the image is offensive; it’s also real.

Taxi To The Dark Side has already played to acclaim on the festival circuit and is currently on the short list for nomination for a Best Documentary Feature Academy Award. The film is scheduled to open on January 11, 2008.

In addition to running the rating system, the MPAA also has approval over all advertising materials, including posters, used. If ThinkFilm were to go ahead and use the poster anyway, it would run the risk of the MPAA revoking the film’s R rating. While ThinkFilm could still release the film unrated, it would face an uphill battle with distribution as many theater chains will not screen and many newspapers will not carry advertising for unrated films.

I’m no fan of the MPAA. I find the rational given for many of their decisions to be hopelessly simplistic and condescending. I find it hard to believe that the MPAA is expressing concern for children over this image. Where was this concern when they approved the phallic visual puns in the posters for Deuce Bigelow: European Gigolo and Balls Of Fury?

Congratulations MPAA! Yet another stupid decision in your organization’s long line of stupid decisions.

Via Cinematical

Over at CHUD, Devin Faraci has posted a story piecing together various bits of information he has been able to piece together about the upcoming fourth Terminator film, Terminator: Salvation Run.

Due to some possible heavy spoilers, and the fact that I’m not very confident this film (the first in a planned trilogy) will be any good, I’ve decided not to post any of the specifics here. The story does talk about how the filmmakers seem to have a broad plan for the trilogy, what a major plot point or two might be and exactly how actor Christian Bale’s character fits in to things. I invite you to click on the link above for all the gorey details.

Here are two pictures of the titular Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus from director Terry Gilliam.

We first told you about Gilliam’s latest film back in October, when we noted that the director’s description of the film’s lead character Dr. Parnassus – “A person with eternal life who’s basically a storyteller, but the world has moved on and his brand of storytelling is of no interest” – seems to have just the faintest whiff of autobiography about it. It’s an assertation that Gilliam confirmed last week in a Variety article noting the film’s start of principal photography.

It’s autobiographical. I’m trying to bring a bit of fantasticality to London, an antidote to modern lives. I loved this idea of an ancient travelling show offering the kind of storytelling and wonder that we used to get, to people who are just into shoot-em-up action films. Parnassus is trying to bring amazement to people, and not doing a very good job of it, because they aren’t paying attention to him. But if they will enter his mirror, and allow their imagination to mix with his, they enter these extraordinary worlds, and they come back transcendent — or they strangely disappear.

Production on the film has already commenced in London (Just Jared has a couple of spoilerish pictures featuring star Heath Ledger) and we can expect The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus in theaters in early 2009.

Via (a semi-retired) Film Ick.