Pixar/Disney debuts four Monsters University teasers at once.

Officially it's because Billy Crystal gave them enough improv material to cut four teasers, and I suppose there is some charm in walking into Brave on Friday not knowing which teaser you're going to get.  "Billy Crystal's an amazing comedic actor," remarked Dan Scanlon, Director, Disney•Pixar's Monsters University. "He gave us so much fun material, we decided to cut four slightly different versions of the trailer. We are so happy to have him back as Mike!". Allison hasn't been keen on watching Monsters Inc., due to the whole 'monsters = scary' meme.  But perhaps seeing this comedic teaser might change her mind.  The differences below are limited to one single line of dialogue, but I suppose that means the trailer can be released to Yahoo, Disney, Huffington Post, and iTunes all at the same time as 'exclusive'.  Anyway, say what you will about the depressing fact that Pixar is following up the disliked Cars 2 and the critically-mixed Brave with a needless prequel, but the idea of Pixar doing a college comedy has some token merit.  Anyway, Monsters University opens on June 21st, 2013.  As always, we'll see.  The trailers are after the jump.

Scott Mendelson

Review: Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) proves that the third time is not the charm.

Paranormal Activity 3
2011
81 minutes
rated R

by Scott Mendelson

For better or worse, the Paranormal Activity series is the Where's Waldo? of horror films.  You know when the lights go down and a graphic pops up on the screen telling you what day it is that something SPOOKY is going to occur.  But since you don't know what it is, you somewhat nervously scan the screen for any clue at where the creepy sight or randomly loud noise might come from.  It's an effect that makes the film the closest thing to actually walking through a haunted house ("Hey, that door's unlocked... look out!"), which explains much of the franchise's appeal.  Half of the fun of this kind of movie is watching the crowded audience react like puppets at just the right moments.  It's ironic that this series, which arguably looks and sounds no better on a big screen than it would as a bootleg viewed on a smart phone, is one of the few that absolutely demands to be seen in the biggest, most packed theater one can find.  As a party movie, a game of sorts among friends or fellow moviegoers, it has its value.  But as a movie, this third installment is both a bit of a cop-out and, thanks to its status as a prequel, a bit of a narrative cheat.

'Rumors from the crazy guy on the corner': Ridley Scott wants $250 million for an R-rated Alien prequel?

According to Bleeding Cool, 20th Century Fox and director Ridley Scott are at odds over the upcoming Alien prequel that Scott has demeaned himself by taking on. Whether or not the world needs an Alien prequel, there is something a little sad about a past-his-prime director returning to the franchise that made him a name in order to salvage his box office bank-ability. Nevermind that the mediocre Robin Hood is his third-biggest worldwide grosser with $310 million, the insane $200 million budget and reliance on overseas dollars has rendered the film as a, at best, near-miss. But I digress, the issue at hand is Scott's insistence on an 'R' rating (fair enough), and his desire for a $250 million budget. Oh, well that... wait, what?!?!