While we prepare ourselves for the impending Oscar hype-machine, a hype-machine I happen to be down with by the way, I thought it might be nice to look at some 2010 films that will be enthralling movie-goers in the coming months. I think these movies look pretty awesome, therefore, you should also. I’ll spare you a synopsis of the movie under each trailer clip - as trailers are supposed to give you an overview of the film by design. Who am I to undermine the trailer gods? No one, that’s who. Instead I’ll add hilarious quips about why I’m interested in them. You guys are smart, you’ll figure out what they’re about. Seriously, my quips are going to be soooo hilarious.

Green Zone Universal/Working Title - March 12th

Matt Damon punches people in the face! Greg Kinnear plays a bad guy; possibly gets punched in the face. By Matt Damon. I’m in.

The Runaways Apparition/River Road Entertainment - March 19th

Nothing hilarious here really. I was skeptical at first when I heard the cast list, but everyone really looks the part and all of the stills and media from the film look great. A real surprise and I’m excited to see it.. Plus I heard Matt Damon punches Dakota Fanning in the face at the end. Hilarious!

Kick-Ass Lionsgate/Marv - April 16th

Lots of face-punching, however, these happen to be sans Mr. Damon. I’ve often thought of becoming a superhero and fighting crime outside the boundaries of the law, even though I’m devoid of super powers. Some people would call me a vigilante, but I prefer ” Delusional Man”. My super ability would be to blur the line between fantasy and reality enough to make myself think I could foil criminals. It’s what the world’s been waiting for, and I think watching teenagers take that first step towards an untimely death could fill the void until I’m ready.

-John

Peter Gabriel Geffen

Recently I’ve been listening to the song Sledgehammer a lot. It’s made me realize that it is incredibly awesome. In fact, it’s one of the greatest songs of the 1980s and even thought it was extremely popular at the time - I still think it qualifies as being underrated. Peter Gabriel himself is a music legend and deserves better praise than my pedestrian phrasing can muster here in my humble space on the interweb. However, I’m not above throwing some love out to the song itself. Me and the song. Me and Sledgehammer. The brilliance of the song is that it seamlessly moves through 3 distinct genres and executes each one perfectly. The introduction to the song by the brass section is perfect funk and soul, the verse is an expertly crafted pop rhythm and the finale is a surpise blend of R&B and gospel. It’s awesome. The song is phenomenal, Peter Gabriel is the man, and this older track is about to make it happen. Word.

Bonus video of Peter Gabriel making it happen live. Kirkham loves the sledgehammer dance.

-John

Welcome back to another exciting edition of GTM-OE. I’m happy to be back guest-hosting while Rhett continues to circumnavigate the earth. I think that’s what he’s doing. He’s circumnavigating something. Anyway, as always, the picture above is your first clue, leave your guesses in the comments section and I’ll update as necessary. Good luck…

Update: We have a winner! While my favorite guess came courtesy of bp, I must congratulate Paugh as this week’s winner. The answer was Turner & Hooch, featuring a young Tom Hanks in the midst of his early days when he churned out random comedies. Remember when he was a comic actor? Who knew he’d go to be such a respected thespian? And for the record, there’s no finer hooch than Wild Irish Rose. Talk about bang for your buck. Anyway, Paugh, be sure to tell all your friends how great you are, but for this week only - since you got it so quickly I didn’t get to use the rest of my other awesome clues (one was a clip from Scrubs) and I’ll be revoking your greatness soon.

New feature: we’re officially retiring the surprised kitten. He had a good run and we still love the little guy, but from now on the winner each week will get a brand new youtube clip. Dig that. Thanks to everyone for playing and we’ll see you back here next week.

Paugh’s prize:

-John

Here’s an incredibly awesome real time look at the crash of Oceanic flight 815. It’s the perfect reminder of how awesome LOST is. Looking forward to February 2nd and the start of season 6….

-John

Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears Lost Highway Records

Since they’re from Austin, Texas it shouldn’t surprise anyone that they managed to play multiple sets during the SXSW weekend this past year. A scintilating blues group with hints of punk and soul, Black Joe and Co. deliver powerful lyrics with abandon and unhinged showmanship. Tracks like Bitch, I Love You, have proven to be more than just a clever name and have garnered the group much attention. A break out band from 2009 Black Joe is here to learn you all about those big booty women. I think we can all appreciate that.

-John

Welcome back to GTM-OE. I’m happy to be back guest hosting again while my cohost is out there finding himself. Word. The picture above is your first clue, leave your guesses in the comments section and I’ll update as necessary. Good luck.

Update: No correct guesses so far - but Hales was thinking in the right direction. I usually like what is on Hales’ mind. Here’s your next clue:

Update II: We have a winner! The correct answer was Adventures in Babysitting, starring Elizabeth Shue and some other people. In the movie they have to sing the blues before being allowed out of a club by legendary blues musician Albert Collins (pictured above) and the little girl is obssessed with Thor, God of thunder. Congratulations to Joel for submitting the correct answer and getting his second consecutive GTM-OE victory. Be sure to tell everyone you know how cool you are Joel, but only for this week, becasue if you do it next week it will just seem like you’re bragging too much. Thanks for playing and I’ll see you all next time.

Joel’s Prize:

-John

Metric Last Gang Records

Figured we’d check out our neighbors to the north here on The Spotlight and see what kind of fly new tunes they have to offer. Toronto’s Metric fit the bill, so now…here they are. Metric. They’re an indie-pop-rock band fronted by Emily Haines who has been known to do a song or two with Broken Social Scene. Mostly upbeat and synth-heavy their songs move quickly and definitely inspire you to sing along. However, don’t write them off as another sugary pop group with no musical merit. They’ve been nominated for multiple Juno awards (Canadian Grammys), featured on numerous television shows, and even opened for The Rolling Stones back in2005/2006. Good enough for Mick Jagger? Good enough for me…

-John

The first A-Team trailer is now online over at Yahoo. So Awesome. Did Faceman just blow up an airplane using the machine gun on a tank falling from the sky? You know that he did. Excited to see this one…

-John

Welcome back to another exciting installment of GTM - OE. I’m happy to be your guest host again while Rhett continues curing blindness and anointing sores of the downtrodden. The picutre above is your first clue, leave guesses in the comments section and I’ll update as needed. Good luck…

Update: No correct guesses so far. I’m happy to present the next clue in honor of The Simpsons 20th Anniversary. Here you go:

Update II: We have a winner! Congratulations to Joel who made the correct guess The Fugitive. We’re all familiar with that Harrison Ford movie where he desperately searches for the one-armed man - much like Herman, owner of Herman’s Military Antiques, on The Simpsons only has one arm. Joel, don’t forget your winnings and be sure to tell all your friends how great you are, but only for this week. Next week you’ll just be average and boring again. Sorry - that’s how it works. Thanks to everyone for playing and I’ll see you back next week…

Joel’s Prize:

-John