WTFriday?! - Lost Chaplin Film Found!

Source: THR

The thought to be long-lost short film A Thief Catcher has recently been found.

The 1914 silent film may be only 10 minutes long, but it includes an early cameo of now legendary actor Charlie Chaplin. Film historian; and proud owner of A Thief Catcher, Paul Gierucki after buying the reel at an auction thought it was just another old film reel of no real importance and set it on his shelf for 16 months. Imagine his amazement when upon finally watching it he recognized the iconic bumbling movements of Chaplin!

Now here is the coolest part for you Schmoes in the greater Washington D.C. area, if you want a chance to see the recently rediscovered Charlie Chaplin film A Thief Catcher it is re-premiering (probably the first time since 1914!) at the Rosslyn Spectrum Theater just outside of D.C. during the annual Slapsticon Film Festival THIS Saturday, July 17th at 8pm!

What is your favorite Chaplin film? I know I may get some flack for this seeing as it is one of his later ones, and is a talkie, but I loved 1947's Monsieur Verdoux.

James Bond 007: Blood Stone in December

Source: Deadline Hollywood

While the next actual big screen 007 adventure is currently up in the air (Thanks MGM ...) but Bond isn't dead.

Not by a long shot.

Our favorite British super-spy is not only getting one video game re-release this year with the classic Goldeneye for the Wii but also a whole new original game entitled James Bond 007: Blood Stone.

Check out an early teaser trailer here:

While the trailer itself leaves a little to be desired (There is plenty of time, yo!) all of the flourishes of a good Bond movie are in there. And this game is going to have all of the trappings of an actual 007 film in spades.

They have Bruce Feirstein penning the screenplay, who has worked on four of the Bond films and including 007: Blood Stone four Bond games. It features a Grammy award winning singer/songwriter, Joss Stone, both creating original music for the game and lending her voice talent as a Bond girl. And the icing on the awesome cake, both Daniel Craig and Judi Dench reprise their roles as Bond and M (respectively, of course)!

James Bond 007: Blood Stone promises to pack the cinematic punch of a real Bond movie with an all new, epic single player adventure as well as a variety of multiplayer opportunities. We can all hope that James Bond makes it back to the big screen, and he most definitely will at some point, but 007: Blood Stone may help hold you over in the meantime!

Look for it on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC this December!

A Little Box of Butters in September

Source: TV Shows On DVD

South Park has been on hiatus for a while when it appeared that they had finally crossed the line, but the show must go on!

So until new South Park episodes return on October 6th you will have a second option, besides watching re-runs, to get your fix. That option is a special DVD box set featuring everybody's favorite innocent: Butters Stotch.

The DVD collection endearingly entitled A Little Box of Butters hits stores September 28th. This boxed set will feature 13 widescreen Butteriffic episodes as well as an exclusive It's Butters! A Trivia Game.

Other Butterdacious Extras Include:

• A pimp chain from “Butters’ Bottom B*tch”
• Inspector Butters Badge from ”Butters Very Own Episode”
• All new manuscript of the lost chapter from The Poop That Took A Pee from “The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs”
• A cancelled check from Paris Hilton from “Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset”
• And more!

Frankly, I can't believe it took 14 seasons of South Park before somebody tried to blow them up!

Criterion Collection: 5 Films In October!

Source: Blu-ray.com

"God, I love the Criterion Collection."

I said it and now so will you when you see what they have in store for you come October! Criterion is releasing not one, not two but FIVE Blu-rays. Hold on to your butts, because this is going to get awesome!

First up on October 12th we will see the Blu-ray release of the 1958 Swedish classic, The Magician. Directed by the legendary auteur Ingmar Bergman The Magician pits a incredulous mid-19th century mesmerist and elixir salesman, Dr. Volger, against a traditional physician, Dr. Vergarus, in a entertaining battle of wits that will have you both laughing and cringing.

Extras for The Magician Include:

• New visual essay by Bergman scholar Peter Cowie
• Brief 1967 video interview with director Ingmar Bergman about the film
• Rare English-language audio interview with Bergman, conducted by filmmakers Olivier Assayas and Stig Björkman
• A booklet featuring an essay by critic Geoff Andrew, a reprinted essay by Assayas, and an excerpt from Bergman's autobiography
• Images: My Life in Film

October 12th will also see the release of director Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited. This film stars Owen Wilson, Adrian Brody and Jason Schwartzman as three estranged brothers who set off on a journey to rediscover themselves, and when they are left stranded in the desert with nothing but each other and a bunch of random junk the real journey begins.

No official cover art yet, stay posted!

Extras for The Darjeeling Limited Include:

• Anderson's short film Hotel Chevalier (Which ended up as part one of The Darjeeling Limited), starring Natalie Portman, with commentary by Anderson
• Audio commentary featuring Anderson and cowriters Jason Schwartzman and Roman Coppola
• Behind-the-scenes documentary by Barry Braverman
• Anderson and filmmaker James Ivory discussing the film's music
• Anderson's American Express commercial
• On-set footage shot by Coppola and actor Waris Ahluwalia
• Audition footage, deleted and alternate scenes, and stills galleries
• Original theatrical trailer
• A booklet featuring an essay by critic Richard Brody and original illustrations by Eric Anderson

A week later on October 19th some very awesome happens. My favorite film of all time finally gets the Blu-ray transfer it deserves! That's right Akira Kurosawa's 1954 essential classic Seven Samurai is coming to glorious Blu-ray. Retold, homaged and often copied Seven Samurai is easily one of the most influential films to ever come out of Japanese cinema, or just cinema in general!

The story of course revolves around a ragtag band of seven noble samurai who take it upon themselves to help poor farmers defend their lives and livelihoods from an army of marauding bandits.

Extras for Seven Samurai include:

• Two audio commentaries: 1) Film scholars David Desser, Joan Mellen, Stephen Prince, Tony Rayns, and Donald Richie 2) Japanese film expert Michael Jeck
• A 50-minute documentary on the making of Seven Samurai
• Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create
• My Life in Cinema, a two-hour video conversation between Akira Kurosawa and Nagisa Oshima produced by the Directors Guild of Japan
• Seven Samurai: Origins and Influences, a new documentary looking at the samurai traditions and films that impacted Kurosawa's masterpiece
• Theatrical trailers and teaser
• Gallery of rare posters and behind-the scenes and production stills
• A booklet featuring essays by Peter Cowie, Philip Kemp, Peggy Chiao, Alain Silver, Kenneth Turan, Stuart Galbraith, Arthur Penn, and Sidney Lumet and an interview with Toshiro Mifune

As if that were not enough October 26th will see the release of another, albeit very different, Japanase film. This time it is the 1977 comedy horror House, directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi this movie has everything we know and love about Japan: A bevy of schoolgirls, check. Possessed house, check. Gratuitous death scenes, check. Nudity, you bet your ass!

Extras for House include:

• Constructing a House: a new video piece featuring interviews with director Nobuhiko Obayashi, story scenarist and daughter of the director Chigumi Obayashi, and screenwriter
• Chiho Katsura Emotion, a 1966 experimental film by Obayashi
• New video appreciation by director Ti West (House of the Devil)
• Theatrical trailer
• An essay by Chuck Stephens

How about some Kubrick for the fifth and final October Criterion Blu-ray release? You got it as also on October 26th the 1957 Stanley Kubrick war/crime/drama Paths of Glory gets a Blu-ray. Starring Kirk "Spartacus" Douglas one of three men selected by incompetent generals as scapegoats for a failed WWI suicide mission. If they are proven guilty the firing squad awaits them, but to defend them against the generals will take nothing short of divine intervention.

Also no official cover art yet, but we'll keep you posted!

Extras for Paths of Glory Include:

• New audio commentary by critic Gary Giddins
• Television interview from 1979 with star Kirk Douglas
• New video interviews with Kubrick's longtime executive producer Jan Harlan,Paths of Glory producer James B. Harris, and actress Christiane Kubrick
• Excerpt from a French television program about real-life World War I executions similar to the events dramatized in Paths of Glory
• Theatrical trailer
• An essay by Kubrick scholar James Naremore

The Good, The Bad, The Weird in August

Source: DVD Active

The Good, The Bad, The Weird is a Western in the true spirit of Sergio Leone, but instead of being filmed in Italy they went with South Korea. The film, directed by Ji-woon Kim, made the festival rounds last year including both at Cannes and Toronto with an overall positive reception.

The plot revolves around three men, one treasure map and no limits! But no words of mine can do this film justice, so just sit back and enjoy the trailer:

Pick up The Good, The Bad, The Weird August 17th on DVD and Blu-ray!

Extras Include:

• Cannes Highlights
• The making of Good/Bad/Weird
• International trailers

Robot Border Patrol

Source: Popular Science

No it isn't US/Mexico, hell it isn't even the US/Canada border we are talking about here! It is in a little place between South Korea and its neighbor to the North (North Korea, FYI) known as the DMZ.

South Korea has recently unleashed not one, but two killer sentry robots to patrol the area between the two countries Korea. Each robot cost $334,000 but they have some serious hardware, just looking for an excuse to decimate some commies, such as fully automatic weapons and 40-millimeter grenade launchers.

Before you run to the hills and barricade yourself in for the Robocalypse these robots are not fully autonomous, and when a potential threat is encountered a real live operator makes the final kill/let live call.

I would try to do the humane thing and warn the North Koreans about the robo-twins of death, but they are a simple people who don't have fancy things like the internet ... or electricity.