He Shot Cyrus Featured in The Guardian!

Um...something pretty exciting happened today. I received an e-mail from Adam Lowes from Max Fischer's Film Club telling me that my blog had been featured in The Guardian's weekly entertainment supplement "The Guide."

For those who don't know, The Guardian is one of England's longest running newspapers. It was founded in 1821, became ridiculously successful and eventually spawned Guardian.co.uk which is where my post on how Lethal Weapon spawned an uncountable number of pretty terrible buddy cop movies was featured. The post was a part of Mike Lippert's "27 Greatest Movies That Made Going to the Movies Suck" event.

Here's a link to my post.

And here's a link to where I was mentioned.

Seeing as The Guardian is "one of the highest-traffic English-language news websites," there's a good chance that I might have some European visitors making their way over to my humble site over the next couple days. So I'd like to give a huge thanks to Johnny Dee for giving me the shout-out and give these potential fans a little info about me.

1. My favorite movie is The Warriors. Cult classic, gang warfare, it inspired my blog's name.

2. People yell "Superbad" at me on a weekly basis. They think I look like Jonah Hill.

3. On an ironic note, the movie Superbad is a pretty close depiction of my high school life.

4. I watched over 450 movies last year.

5. I have two tattoos. One of Doug. One of Skeeter.

6. I started wearing suit jackets after watching Superbad. I guess I've been asking for it.

That's about it. Thank you, England! I'm out!

Gary Coleman, Dennis Hopper, Who's Next?

Death comes in three and I'm taking bets.

Who do think will be the Gary Coleman/Dennis Hopper three?

James "Professor X" McAvoy?

According to my secret source (the internet), James McAvoy is slated to play Professor X in in X-Men: First Class.  I want your thoughts on this.  Is this a huge mistake or just what this movie needed?

Miraculous Merch: NES Cartridge JAWS Clock

Just wait until you geeks get a load of this!

BLAM!  Nintendo + Movies + Time!  What more could you ask for?  Etsy seller GeekGear is selling these NES cartridge clocks for $17.99.  This is the only movie-themed clock but there's something about a Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt combo clock that makes my inner-child jump up and down.  

My Best Post Blog-a-Thon: DAY THREE

Thanks for checking out DAY THREE of HE SHOT CYRUS' "MY BEST POST BLOG-A-THON" where film bloggers from around the world have sent in the one post that best represents who they are, what they're trying to say, and what they can bring to the table.

I'm going to leave comments on each of these posts and I'm asking you to do the same, especially if you've sent in a link. Comment until it hurts. Eyes straining. Fingers bleeding. Head exploding (a la Scanners). That's what this event is all about. And please leave a comment here telling me which post is your DAY THREE FAVORITE.

Yojimbo_5 at Let's Not Talk About Movies is a walking film school. He's got classic tastes as can be seen on is list of Anytime Movies. Check out the write-up on Citizen Kane as well as the rest of his choices.

Heather at Movie Mobsters is one third of my favorite movie sites around (the aforementioned "Movie Mobsters".) She's guest-starred on podcasts, she loves Natalie Wood as much as I do, and best of all, she's added Slash guitar solos to your favorite movie scenes. Good God, this post was eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepic!

Christian Kocinski at All Things Kocinski is gutsy. He's got some pretty ballsy things to say about Wes Anderson. He reflects on his love for Rushmore and Tenenbaums and goes in pretty hard on the others. And you know what? He makes some good points.

Univarn at A Life in Equinox might watch as many movies as I do. I know he put my Month of Foreign to shame last month with his endurance-proving Kurosawa marathon. His post on "The Women of Kurosawa" made me ask "Wait, there were women in Kurosawa movies?" This is a very smart article that deserves a read. Also, he received FIVE LAMMY nominations so that's got to be worth something. I know some really great bloggers who only received...three.

Marc at Go, See, Talk refuses to let us live in ignorance. He asks the question whose answers could shake me to my very core. I don't want to give anything away but you need to get in on this. He's already received 96 comments! You know you want to read this post!

Steve at The Film Cynics is one of the co-hosts of The Cynical Podcast and The Cynical Videocast. Aside from being an active film reviewer, he's also a movie detective. A sharp eye and an even sharper brain began to put the pieces together for what would become one of my my favorite film-related mysteries. Movies have always showcased things I'll ever be able to afford but Steve's mystery involves something that my entire family couldn't afford if we all pitched our life savings in together. Intrigued? Click the link.

Chris at 1001: A Film Odyssey has quite an imagination. His alternative ending to The Great Train Robbery includes lines like "What you been smokin'?" and "We is in something called a movin' picture." It's a rootin' tootin' cowboy romp over at 1,001. And if you like it, check out his other alternative movie histories.

The Dive Mistress at Zombots! has written a helpful manual for babysitters in peril. Are you a babysitter who often takes jobs in remote areas in houses with a lot of knives? If this sounds familiar, then you really ought to read this great post. Even if it doesn't sound familiar, you really should still read this.

Gringo at He Shot Cyrus is self-promoting. He wrote this semi-decent post about casting the Office movie. Jim, Pam, Michael, Dwight. The whole group is there. And I don't want to give anything away but one of the actors is a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. Check it out if you fell like it. Again, it's semi-decent at best.

Whitney at Dear Jesus is the sexiest woman in blogging (Perez Hilton included). I love her. I married her. I occasionally read her posts. But I read this one and recommended it to everyone I know. She asked the question "What if my favorite directors has directed the Alice in Wonderland remake?" Gus Van Zant, Sofia Coppola, David Lynch, and even Lars von Trier! It's a quick read and I wholly recommend it.

Matthew at Culture Kills...wait, I mean cutlery gave me an award once. I'm pretty sure it was for a video of Bert and Ernie singing the hardcore M.O.P. anthem, "Ante Up." But that was decades ago, we're here today to talk about The BIg Lebowski and the L.A. riots. If that doesn't make you click the link, maybe the nudity will. (Note: He Shot Cyrus does not guarantee the appearance of nudity that may or may not be in Matthew's great post.)

Novroz at Novroz' Favorite Things tricked me with a web address that ended in "beatles-vs-abba/." I thought, "how can this be movie related?" And then I clicked the link to find a comparative post of two movie musicals. Can you guess which ones? One features the music of The Beatles and the other one features Abba's greatest hits. Click the link to confirm your guesses.

Bob at Eternal Sunshine of the Logical Mind watches better movies than I do, writes about them better than me, can think of a better word for "better" than "better." Basically, I want to be this guy. His review on Grace, Milly, and Lucy...Child Soldiers accomplishes everything it should be. It introduced me to a movie I'd never heard of before and convinced me to track down a copy by any means possible. Can't wait to see it.

Bryce from Things That Don't Suck is a demon to some and an angel to others. I haven't decided which he is to me...but he did slaughter my whole family and turn my house into salt. Now that I think about it, he might be God. But back to the topic at hand. Five Finger Death Punches, long white beards, and death, death, death. Of course, I'm talking about Kill Bill Vol. 2. Bryce's review on my 4th favorite Quentin Tarantino movie almost convinced me to bump it up the list.

Colin at Against the Hype is a proud Chicago Phoenix originally hailing from Singapore. He's written a MUST-READ post! Seriously, at first I thought that "Lust, Caution and Mahjong" might not have anything to offer me but I was horrendously wrong. I can't spoil just how brilliant this post is but it caught me completely off guard!

Smacdonn at 7 Dollar Popcorn mixes one of my favorite things (killing zombies) with one of my least favorite (family holidays, just kidding, parents). 7 Dollar Popcorn is such a fun blog. Vanilla Ice music videos, blog-a-thon participation, and gutsy statements (No Country For Old Men under the "Worst Movies I've Seen This Year" list? That's right, I did my homework, haha.) Smacdonn gets a big Thumbs-Up from me.

Mike at You Talking to Me? is awesome. If you haven't been reading his "Great Movies That Made Going to the Movies Suck" super event (especially my Lethal Weapon post, wink wink) then...well, you should. He writes for Suite101, has a mesmerizing icon, and writes about the types of movies that I love. For example, his Best Post is called "Why Jason Patric Should Be in Every Movie." Jason Patric starred in The Lost Boys (an 80s classic (the type of movies I love)) but sort of fell into obscurity after that. A sidenote, Mike feels the same way about Jason Patric as I do about Timothy Olyphant.

Neil at The Agitation of the Mind chose one of his Personal Faves for his Best Post. There's a good chance he picked one of your favorites too. His review of Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven is well-written, well-thought out, and a great read. Some of his other favorites include Little Dieter Needs to Fly, Dirty Harry, and The Wild Bunch. So, you can see, Neil's got pretty good taste.

Marc at The Projector Has Been Drinking should never join The LAMB because I've already got enough competition for Best Blog Name. Note that the projectionist isn't drunk, I'm sure he's quite sober. The machine itself has taken up the sauce and we all know that can't be good. For Marc's Best Post, he recapped his nobel work with the National Film Preservation Society. These guys are like the X-Men of film preservation. This is one of my favorite posts yet.

Ronan at Filmplicity always chooses the best pictures. Go look at his More About Meme entry, haha. And you should also go read this Best Post entry which I will name "The Bashing of 2012." He keeps things short, to the point, and pretty damn vicious. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Erich at Acidemic is extremely accomplished. The man lives a lavish life in Manhattan, has written for McSweeney's!!!, and lists Psilocybe Cubensis as one of his interests. I'll let you Google it. His Best Post is an impressive post about movie Giant (and its Hot Younger Sisters). I loved this post and decided to close things out with it.

Thanks to EVERYONE who sent in links for the 2nd MY BEST POST BLOG-A-THON! If you sent in a link and I somehow missed it, please leave a comment with the link and I'll add it in. And again, please read all of these great posts and LEAVE COMMENTS on all of them! My

My Best Post Blog-a-Thon: DAY TWO

Thanks for checking out DAY TWO of HE SHOT CYRUS' "MY BEST POST BLOG-A-THON" where film bloggers from around the world have sent in the one post that best represents who they are, what they're trying to say, and what they can bring to the table.

I'm going to leave comments on each of these posts and I'm asking you to do the same, especially if you've sent in a link. Comment until it hurts. Eyes straining. Fingers bleeding. Head exploding (a la Scanners). That's what this event is all about. And please leave a comment here telling me which post is your DAY TWO FAVORITE.

Ms. Go at D.C. Girl at the Movies is known for discussing the issues that revolve around race, ethnicity, and film. She's always quick to point out something offensive and I secretly wish she'd read my thesis on inner-city high school movies just to experience her intellectual critique. Her Best Post takes on James Cameron's titanic film, Avatar. You see what I did there?

Matt Overstreet at The 8th Circuit speaks my language. His rant on the live-action Marmaduke movie makes me wish for the days before computer graphics. He and I don't exactly see eye-to-eye on Family Circus (just kidding, we totally do) but we completely agree on how bad of an idea this talking dog movie (adapted form a NON-talking dog comic strip) is going to be.

Marshall at Marshall and the Movies is quickly becoming one of my favorite bloggers. I like the movies he chooses to talk about, his site's layout is appealing, and he and I run similar comments contests. His Best Post drops some retrospective knowledge about Avatar. It's a pretty comprehensive post so get ready to think.

Amy Wong's post caught me off guard. When I read "Top East Asian Suggestions" I thought I was going to be reading about movies, not looking at pictures of beautiful women. But look at them I did. For a while. Then I added some movies to my Netflix queue, which is probably the desired result from a post like this. Upset at the lack of Asian actresses on TopEllen's Hot 100 list, Amy took matters into her own hands and made the prettiest post yet.

Daniel at Getafilm is a self-proclaimed selfless hero. Just kidding, but he is a hero. He single-handedly took on Hollywood's fat cats with a sternly-worded letter. This letter sent shockwaves through the industry, causing studio executives to spit out their coffee and take a stand against garbage. The next decade was filled with poignant stories about well-developed characters living real-life experiences. Okay, well, that's what's going to happen. This Best Post made me laugh, cry, and give up any dreams of screenwriting I was still clinging onto.

RTM at FilxChatter has some very, very sound advice for actors and filmmakers who want to make movies with accents. Everyone can name a movie they've seen featuring a terrible accent. K-19: The Widowmaker always pops into my mind first. Go read this post. It's got a lot of common sense.

Meaghan at Wild Celtic gets a little personal with us in her Best Post. Her write-up on movies, memories, and film-going experiences is exactly the type of post I love to read. My favorite posts are the ones that tell me something I didn't already know. For example: You know that the movie Sweet Home Alabama isn't very good. So a review of Sweet Home Alabama wouldn't do you much good. But what you didn't know is that during a screening of Sweet Home Alabama, a strange man sat next to me in the theater and waited until the climactic romantic kiss before he put his hand on my thigh. Needless to say, I stood up, became extremely confrontational, and watched him look around the theater frantically, find his afro-headed girlfriend two rows in front of us, and flee to the woman he thought he was feeling up. Bet you didn't know that! And while Meaghan's post doesn't have focus on mistaken identity and sexual molestation, it's still a great post that I enjoyed a lot.

Luke at Journalistic Skepticism's Best Post is a "Best Of" post where he works through his thoughts on each Best Leading Actress nominee's performance. The post covers ten years of Oscar history and has some easy-to-read grades for each lady. The "B" he gave Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side made me wince but the "A" he gave Gabourey Sidibe makes up for it.

DJ from Matte Havoc has met Freddy Kruger. Don't believe me? Go to his site and see the picture. But meeting infamous movie killers isn't what he chose to write about in his Best Post. Instead, DJ studies the early innovations of silent film director F.W. Murnau. From camera movements to the use of color prints, Murnau's finalized projects were not only innovative but inspiring to generations of filmmakers to come. Great write-up here. Go learn yourself something.

Robert from His Eyes Were Watching Movies lists his Top 15 Animated Films of the Decade. Spoiler Alert: Planet 51, Over the Hedge, and Home on the Range did not make the cut. This is the type of post that can bring a hearty carnivore like me and a healthy vegetarian like Robert together in film blogger unity.

Frederick from My Monster Memories needs to win some LAMMYs for his great posts and extensive coverage of the horror and science fiction movements of yesteryear. The imagery he chooses is ssssoooooo rad. I don't know where he gets his hands on that stuff. The Best Post he chose tells the disturbing tale of a childhood dream. Read it, you'll love it. I did, and I did.

M. Carter at the Movies is high-quality. Her blog layout is high-quality. Her analytical skills are high-quality. The same goes for her writing style, participation in the blogging community, and her site overall. Choosing a Best Post must have been hard but she did it: a review of Jindabyne (2006) that reminded me that I still haven't seen this like I thought I had. Whoops.

Andrew from Encore's World of Filmmaking and TV does a lot with his Best Post. He give a quick Jane Campion shout-out while snoring through Meryl Streep's Julia and Julia performance and weighing the strengths and weaknesses between Avatar and The Hurt Locker. Oscar season 2010 is in full effect over at Encore's World of Filmmaking and TV.

Matt from Chuck Norris Ate My Baby is a "lifelong horror fan" that holds awesome contests and writed in-depth reviews of pretty looking Asian moves. Kim Ki-duk's 3-Iron is the subject of Matt's Best Post. And while I'm pretty sure he's my main compitition for the "Best Blog Name" LAMMY, I still have to recommend that you check out his site.

Mark from Black Hole Reviews introduced me to a movie named Michael Gough and a movie called Black Zoo. Unfortunately, this awesome sounding movie isn't on DVD but I WILL track a copy of it down. Listen to this tagline: Fang and Claw Killers Stalk the City Streets! Black Hole Reviews is a new site in my blog-o-world but Mark lured me in with his talk of dangerous apes and tigers so I'll definitely be back for more.

This Guy Over Here asked me a question that I sadly had to answer with "No, no, and no." The shame is overwhelming. Go read his post and see if you're a stronger cinephile than I. He watched over 1,000 movies between 2000 and 2009 and his great looking site gives its lucky readers a look at the best of them.

The Mad Hatter from The Dark of the Matinee has been blogging since 2007. He's a giant celeb in the movie blogging community and I feel proud to have him participate in the event. This is an important article about the relationship between writing, movie-watching, and the toll that blogging can take on movie fans.

Stacia from She Blogged By Night is who I voted for for the "Best Blog Layout" LAMMY. She understands the importance of aesthetics along with the importance of high-quality writing. Escape my ugly blog by visiting hers. Her write-up on The House of Mirth was not only informative (did you know that Scully made non-X-Files movies?) but interesting to read.

My Best Post Blog-a-Thon: DAY ONE

Thanks for checking out DAY ONE of HE SHOT CYRUS' "MY BEST POST BLOG-A-THON" where film bloggers from around the world have sent in the one post that best represents who they are, what they're trying to say, and what they can bring to the table.

I've left comments on each of these posts and I'm asking you to do the same, especially if you've sent in a link. Comment until it hurts. Eyes straining. Fingers bleeding. Head exploding (a la Scanners). That's what this event is all about. And please leave a comment here telling me which post is your DAY ONE FAVORITE.

Derek from Son of Double Feature is well-known for his eleven word movie reviews but today his brings us a special conversation with his 5-year-old self. Young Derek goes down his Top 5 Movies of All-Time list. His number #1 pick was the first movie I saw in theaters!

Simon from Four of Them is a frequent commenter on He Shot Cyrus along with quite a few other sites. She's a force to be reckoned with and if you don't believe me, ask Teddy Roosevelt. In her Best Post, she breaks down the ending of Donnie Darko with a level of expertise that even Richard Kelly doesn't have. She answered a lot of my questions.

Hal from Forget the Popcorn met Wes Anderson once. But don't think that that swayed his choices for Top 10 of 2009. Fantastic Mr. Fox is nowhere to be found. Neither was my number one pick (Precious). Great list with interesting write-ups.

Caleb from Who is the March King? has the guts to say it. War films are boring. Take that, Patton! Take that, Tora! Tora! Tora! Glove slapping doesn't quite have the impact it once did. And honestly, after Star Wars, why would you even bother to make a battle scene without Blasters?

Marty from Johnny LaRue's Crane Shot runs one of the best B-movie, horror, sci-fi blogs out there. From filmmaker interviews to detailed Star Trek episode analyses, you're always in for something entertaining here. His Best Post dives into the episode "Spock's Brain" where a hot space babe literally takes Spock's brain. I learned a lot here, both about the history of Star Trek and about how to protect my brain from hot space babes.

Kai B. Parker from The List wants to live through the zombie apocalypse. I have no idea why. When that day inevitably comes, I want to be the first die. But only because I can't handle the stress. Click the link to read Kai's guide to making it through the world's most horrific catastrophe since Battlefield Earth.

Mrsemmapeel from House of Mirth and Movies has done us all a service. Read this post! Enough time has past without a Female Film Canon. From A Room with a View to Window Water Baby Moving (which is one of the most amazing experimental movies I've ever seen), the list is comprehensive, thorough, and (according to Mrsemmapeel) still in progress. Go check it out, leave some suggestions, and become a better cinephile.

Ed Howard from Only the Cinema is on a whole other level. He's the most intelligent film blogger writing today. And his 2,700 word review for Paul Verhoeven's Black Book belongs in a book. I can't say enough about my respect for Mr. Howard. Thankfully, the 202 comments he's received so far convinced me that his work is appreciated by people other than me. But you should still write comment number 203.

Tommy Salami's Pluck You, Too! combines my two life loves: movies and food. For those who don't know, May is Hamburger Month! Tommy's Best Post has less to do with meat and more to do with beef (food pun!) between Michael Mann and William Friedkin in the 80s. Any fans of To Live and Die in L.A. need to read this post.

Sasha from Final Girl Project has one of the coolest looking layouts on the internet. I'm even more jealous of her layout than Hal's Wes Anderson experience. Escaping the One-Viewpoint-Only trap that a lot of bloggers run into, Sasha has introduced a Roundtable feature where she and a friend discuss a film together. This Roundtable discussion of Donnie Darko is smart, entertaining, and definitely worth reading.

Stephen from Checking on My Sausages has some thought-provoking things to say about Inglorious Basterds. Aside from having an amazing blog name, he's has some important points to make about the film's characters, violence, and conflicting moralities.

C. Jerry Kutner from Bright Lights Film is a teacher. Maybe he's not paid for it (maybe he is, I don't know the guy) but he taught me a history lesson on Touch of Evil. Throughout film school, I had heard rumors of Universal taking Orson Welles' masterpiece and f--king it up. But even though they f--ked it up, it still turned out to be a masterpiece. But what I didn't know was just how badly they f--ked it up. This is one of my favorite reads so far.

J.D. from Radiator Heaven has written an exhilarating article on Robert Harmon's 1986 thriller The Hitcher. It's convinced me wholly to track down a copy and soak it in. Rutger Hauer terrorizes C. Thomas Howell during this violent on-the-road experience. It was originally going to be a part of Whitney and I'd Month of Horror, but I accidently got the Sean Bean remake.

Aiden from Cut the Crap Movie Reviews likes Pi like I like pie. A lot. The LAMMY-nominated reviewer covers Darren Aronofsky's directorial debut about a math savant who figures out how to predict rises and drops in the stock market. I didn't care for the film but after reading his review, I'm ready to give it another chance.

Castor from Anomalous Material is most likely going to win the "Best Blog Post" LAMMY award this year. And probably for this post (he was nominated twice). If you're a blogger, you can't miss this post. There's too much great advice in there on how to get more readers and keep them interested. A+ post.

1MinuteFilmReview's Best Post is aimed at anime lovers. 20th Century Boys is a popular manga (Japanese comic series) that was turned into three animated films beginning in 2008. 1MFR's review recommends that you read the manga and I recommend that you read his review.

24HoursToMidnight has constructed one of the funniest Best Posts. It's made up of one picture, one funny caption, one haiku, and one hilarious video with a great attention to detail. I'm ending Day One with this post because you've made it through the rest and you deserve something fun.