The Screening Room

If you're home tonight, Bravo is running a marathon of its "100 Scariest Movie Moments" all day. There are five installments, followed by the two-part "Even Scarier Movie Moments." The last full run starts at 5 p.m. CST.

It's like the Cliff's Notes version of the horror classics. But be warned: You will be spoiled mercilessly for anything you haven't seen. Twist endings are given away, complete with scenes from the movies. Oldboy is completely ruined for me. Then again, I'm pretty sure I've now seen more than enough of Last House on the Left. Also, this series does not shy away from the gore. You may find yourself yelling at the screen "You did NOT just show me that!" (This was no way to start my morning.)

Check out the full list here. I use it to make sure I flip the channel before The Ring segment starts.

As a self-proclaimed chicken when it comes to horror and gore, what do you think is one horror flick that cannot be missed?

Russell Crowe made an interesting comment about American Gangster in an interview with co-star Denzel Washington in the Nov. 2 issue of 'Entertainment Weekly':

EW: There's already Oscar buzz around American Gangster and your performances. Is it hard not to get invested in it when you hear that?
WASHINGTON: What are you going to do? There's no Oscar gym you go to to get in Oscar shape. There's not much you can do about it. If you get invited to the show, you go. The work is done. You know what? It beats a sharp stick in the eye that people are talking about it. That's gravy.
CROWE: Let's not discourage people from going to see it, though.
WASHINGTON: By saying it's Oscar-worthy?
CROWE: I think it just gets into a ho-hum thing. ...

We all saw it coming
There are certain signs that fall has arrived: leaves changing colors, weather turning cooler. Add to that list a Saw movie topping the box office. Saw IV rang up $31.8 million in its opening weekend, marking the third straight year a film from the franchise has topped the charts. The original Saw lost out to another horror film, The Grudge, on Halloween weekend 2004.

Screen shot of IMDb.com

IMDb.com really really wants you to know that Twin Peaks is out on DVD tomorrow.

Like, really.

Jerry Seinfeld’s Bee Movie opens November 2, the first major project from the man who brought us one of the seminal comedies of the 90s. So what has he been up to in the nine years since Seinfeld left the air, and what made Bee Movie the project to get him off the couch? He stopped through Dallas earlier this month to explain all of that and more.

Video: Watch Jerry Seinfeld answers questions at the "red carpet" before showing part of his new movie Bee Movie earlier this month at NorthPark Centre.

Life after Gigli? Apparently so. (Courtesy)

Yeah, yeah, I know: IMDb.com. I'm saying off the top of your head. Cheating is only for the SATs.

Let's hear it. I'll get you started with my seven:

Gigli
El Cantante
Out of Sight
The Wedding Planner
Selena
Maid in Manhattan
Anaconda

Gangsta macks: Crowe and Washington hit the scene next week (Universal Pictures)

But let's take a peek into the next couple of weeks. Next Friday delivers American Gangster, Ridley Scott's epic cat-and-mouse look at Harlem crime lord Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) and Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), the Jersey cop who gradually grew hip to Lucas' clout. Not your thing? Then try Bee Movie, the new animated baby of Jerry Seinfeld.

Things stay hot and heavy the following week with the Coen Bros.' No Country for Old Men and Robert Redford's Lions for Lambs. After that there's really not a dull slate the rest of the year.

So have patience, oh moviegoers. The cavalry is on the way.

First feast, now famine. After 12 new films opened this week, only five new flicks hit the screens this week in Dallas. With Halloween less than a week away, one of them must be Saw IV. But you can also choose from Dan in Real Life (B), Bella (C), Music Within (B+) and Park. Comment and let the world know: which flick gets your $10+ this week?

Bella star Eduardo Verástegui and director Alejandro Gomez Monteverde will appear at various screenings of the movie in Dallas on Saturday and Sunday. The movie (which I have not seen) carries a strong pro-life message and has received quite a push from the Dallas Diocese of late, including a letter of recommendation from new Bishop Kevin Farrell. If you are interested in attending any of the screenings with the filmmakers, go to www.prolifedallas.org for showtimes and tickets.

This just in from the Lone Star Film Society:

Fort Worth native T Bone Burnett has agreed to be the chair of the honorary board of the Lone Star Film Society and attend the inaugural Lone Star International Film Festival Nov. 7-11 in Downtown Fort Worth.
Burnett, a Fort Worth native who began producing Texas blues, country and rock and roll records in 1965, still works as a producer and recording artist. One of his most recent projects was serving as composer and music producer for the 2001 Coen Brothers’ film O Brother, Where Art Thou? He scored the film and produced the soundtrack, which sold 9 million copies.
He took home four Grammy Awards in 2002. Since then, Burnett has been involved in the soundtracks for several films, including Cold Mountain and A Mighty Wind.
For more information about upcoming summer events, visit www.lonestarfilmsociety.com.

In search of bite
The vampire tale 30 Days of Night may have come out on top with $16 million, but it also had the honor of leading another lackluster weekend that saw box office receipts trail last year for the fifth straight week. The fact that the reissued The Nightmare Before Christmas scored the highest per-screen average of any film in the top 20 should tip you off that this is an underwhelming time at the box office.

Have you ever gotten sucked into a movie you catch on cable?

I got caught up in American Me, starring Edward James Olmos. It's a good movie the same way Sleepers is a good movie. It gives you a look at life so far removed from what many might consider normal but that you happens every day. Somewhere. It's chilling and fascinating.

See it if you haven't (Criterion)

Aside from the glorious restored HD transfer, Criterion's new two-disc set offers a bevy of goodies, including a pair of provocative video essays: Jonathan Rosenbaum's Breathless as Criticism, a knowing look at the film's many cultural references and threads of commentary; and Mark Rappaport's Jean Seberg, a snapshot of the tragic star who became an American-in-Paris icon selling the New York Herald Tribune in Breathless. No one can match Criterion's ability to present a portable master class on a vital piece of film history.

Hard out here for a vamp: 30 Days of Night (Columbia Pictures)

Meanwhile, I did my part to deprive the cinemaconomy by watching movies at home. The highlights: L'Atalante , Jean Vigo's magical story of conflicting newlyweds on a honeymoon barge; and Who Gets to Call it Art?, the 2006 doc on legendary Met curator Henry Geldzahler. It's a must-see that exposes the fallacy of the "modern art is a sham" argument, and a nice warm-up for the upcoming My Kid Could Paint That, opening here Nov. 2.

Yeah, fine, go spend a day drowning in the torture porn that is the Saw franchise.
We've talked a lot around here about scary movies. And its the Halloween season, so that's understandable. But we're forgetting a very important genre: horror humor. Okay, fine maybe it's not a *real* genre, but there are some great "scary" movies out there that deserve a little love.

So talk to me: What "horror" movie gets your funny bone? I'll start:

Young Frankenstein (1974):
   Inga: Werewolf!
   Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: Werewolf?
   Igor: There.
   Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: What?
   Igor: There, wolf. There, castle.
   Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: Why are you talking that way.
   Igor: I thought you wanted to.
   Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: No, I don't want to.
   Igor: Suit yourself. I'm easy.

Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975):
   Frank: Do you think I made a mistake splitting his brain between the two of them?

Shaun of the Dead (2004):
   Ed: Who died and made you king of the zombies?

Joey Bishop, the stone-faced comedian who found success in nightclubs, television and movies but became most famous as a member of Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack, has died at 89.

He was the group's last surviving member. Peter Lawford died in 1984, Sammy Davis Jr. in 1990, Dean Martin in 1995, and Sinatra in 1998.

Continue reading the story.

You can also read a terrific 1998 interview that's chock-full of Joeyisms.

Here's a classic Joey Bishop line from the Los Angeles Times' obituary:

While opening for Sinatra at the Copacabana in New York in 1954, Bishop was in the middle of his act when Marilyn Monroe walked in wearing a floor-length, white ermine coat. Bishop waited for her to be seated before saying, “Marilyn, I told you to wait in the truck.”

So I finally saw Michael Clayton -- which I really enjoyed. And I was struck by the icy baddie played by Tilda Swinton whom I had last seen as the White Witch in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Which made me think a coupla things -- that if the White Witch were transposed into our world, yes, I could see her as the heartless head of an amoral company AND if Tilda doesn't get something warmer to play soon, audiences are just going to assume she bleeds icicles.

LONDON — British actress Deborah Kerr, who shared one of cinema's most
famous kisses with Burt Lancaster in From Here to Eternity, has died, her agent said Thursday. She was 86.

Read the report.

Tell us: What is your favorite Deborah Kerr film? (I'm partial to The King and I.)

Tyler takes the lead
Who needs Madea? Certainly not Tyler Perry, as the playwright/director put his most famous character in storage for Why Did I Get Married? but still managed to grab $21 million at the box office. Mr. Perry also didn’t need critics, as Married didn’t screen in advance and didn’t seem to suffer for it, either.