We are on a roll with giving away free stuff to you, our loyal readers. This time we have a prize bundle, well actually 5 of them to giveaway!

Taking Woodstock is Ang Lee’s latest film that opens August 28th and looks to be a pretty solid return to the big screen for Lee. Based on the memoirs of Elliot Tiber, the comedy stars Demetri Martin as Elliot, who inadvertently played a role in making 1969’s Woodstock Music and Arts Festival into the famed happening it was. Featuring a standout ensemble cast, and songs from a score of ‘60s musical icons including The Grateful Dead, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, and Country Joe and the Fish – plus a new recording of “Freedom” from Richie Havens – Taking Woodstock is a joyous voyage to a moment in time when everything seemed possible.

In case you missed it you can check out the trailer right here.

How to Enter:

You must have a twitter account and be following @atomicpopcorn to enter. Please log into your twitter account and tweet the following:

Win the soundtrack, a t-shirt and an air freshener from #TakingWoodstock. Thanks to @atomicpopcorn 5 followers will win!

Five (5) Winners from Atomic Popcorn will win a Taking Woodstock Prize Bundle which includes the below items:

• Official Soundtrack
• T-Shirt
• Air Freshener

The Soundtrack CD features songs from a collection of music icons including Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Doors, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, and more. Many of the tracks are by artists who performed at Woodstock and are of the era. The soundtrack also includes a newly recorded version of ‘Freedom’ called ‘Freedom 2009′ by Richie Havens and scores elections by Danny Elfman. All songs and score are from the movie. Taking Woodstock is a joyous voyage to a moment in time when everything seemed possible.

1. Freedom (2009) (Richie Havens)
2. Taking Woodstock Titles
3. Wooden Ships (Crosby, Stills & Nash)
4. China Cat Sunflower (Live)(Grateful Dead)
5. Maggie M’Gill (The Doors)
6. Elliot’s Place
7. Coming Into Los Angeles (Live)(Arlo Guthrie)
8. I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag (Live)(Country Joe McDonald)
9. Going Up The Country (Live)(Canned Heat)
10. Try (Just A Little Bit Harder) (Live)(Janis Joplin)
11. A Happening (Office #2)
12. The Red Telephone (Love)
13. Beautiful People (Live)(Melanie)
14. I Shall Be Released (Live)(The Band)
15. Perspective Extended
16. One More Mile (The Paul Butterfield Blues Band)
17. Volunteers (Jefferson Airplane)

The contest will win run through Labor Day weekend and the 5 winners will be notified via Twitter. This is for Residents of the USA ONLY. Good Luck and stay tuned.

The lovely people from Overture Films are reigniting the flame of Shakespeare once again in cinema in the form of Hamlet. This time around, it’ll be a more modern retelling of the classic tale with the help of Thirteen and Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke. Joining the list is Into The Wild & Speed Racer’s Emile Hirsch, playing the tragic Hamlet himself. The story – focusing on a young man burdened with the decision of whether to take revenge on his father’s killer (his own uncle) – would take place in contemporary America.

Emile & others locked in for some Shakespeare

Along with producing is Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks who both collaborated on Milk & Pushing Daisies just to name a few. “This project was the brainchild of Emile Hirsch, who we had the pleasure of working with on ‘Milk’.  Hamlet was in college when the story takes place, yet there hasn’t been a movie version with an appropriately-aged actor playing the role.  Our goal is to present the story as a suspense thriller.  We want to make it exciting and accessible for an audience today,” Jinks and Cohen said in a joint statement. Start boning up on your Shakespeare reading because from the looks of it, this puppy can flow eloquently out into theaters possibly around 2011.

Milk is the story of Harvey Milk. It’s a film that could have easily been a politicized puff piece dedicated to a so-called Great American Hero. Instead, director Gus Van Sant tells the story of a rather lucky gay guy who, by natural charisma and a borderline unhealthy love of power, begins a wave of support for gay rights that would eventually spread all across the country.

Sean Penn excels as a character actor, and if it wasn’t a true story I’d swear the part was written with Penn in mind. He completely becomes Harvey Milk, at first as a 40 year old businessman from New York City secretly in love with Scott Smith (James Franco, who pleasantly surprised me in this role). He quickly becomes the openly gay Milk who moves to San Francisco with Smith to open a camera shop on Castro Street.

As the self-appointed mayor of Castro, Milk spends a good deal of the story failing. He loses the race for Board of Supervisors three times before luck takes over. In 1977, the districts are redrawn in a way that works to Milk’s advantage, finally getting him elected to the coveted seat. The new Supervisor at one point says to the Mayor, “A homosexual with power, now that’s scary,” in a mildly threatening tone. It’s obvious that he likes his new power, maybe a little too much.

It’s partially that lust for power that drives some of the ironic elements of the story. Milk’s obsession with running for the Supervisor seat, a run he dedicates to the surrounding gay community, results in the loss of his committed partner of many years. His political alignments, when he is convinced to go back on his word to fellow supervisor Dan White (Josh Brolin), drive White to depression, despair, alcoholism, and his eventual resignation from the board.

Dan White is portrayed as a socially awkward outcast looking for acceptance from constituents and fellow supervisors alike. When he finds neither, his descent into desperation is a picture of what happens to those who are cast out for being strange or different. He surprisingly resembles much of the supporting cast, the young homosexual men who made their way to Castro Street in search of acceptance. Wonderful performances by Emile Hirsch, Allison Pill, Joseph Cross, and others contributed light scenes and likeable characters to the depth of the story, complementing Penn’s strong performance by being both subtle and memorable.

Milk’s obsessions weren’t all bad. When Anita Bryant, a fervent religious activist for anti-gay legislation (portrayed by real archive footage of herself), campaigned against rights for homosexuals, it was Milk’s persistence that stirred up a revolution of young men (and a few women). His election to the Board of Supervisors allegedly saved a few lives of some who had given up hope. And his stubborn will to speak out to anyone who would listen was the driving force behind the fight against Proposition 6, a measure on the California ballot that proposed to legalize the firing of school teachers simply for being gay.

The juxtaposition of enormous success alongside ironic failure created a uniquely realistic story about the beginnings of the gay rights movement that continues today. Harvey Milk’s tragic murder happened at the peak of his influence, shot by a social outcast looking for a friend. That would’ve been the appropriately sad end to this beautiful story, too, if it weren’t for the archive footage of his candlelight procession, stretching for miles into the night.

Harvey Milk, who began his soapbox speeches by telling crowds, “I want to recruit you,” had recruited thousands of young men and women to carry on his flawed, obsessive hope.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ 

Here he comes…here comes Speed Racer. He’s a demon on wheels.

I am a big Speed Racer fan. I used to rush home after school to catch Speed Racer before doing my homework. I even wanted to paint my bike white and put a red 5 on the side to make it my Mach 5. So I was stoked when I started seeing advertisements for this movie months ago. I couldn’t wait to see how one of my boyhood shows would be turned into a motion picture.

This movie is a cornucopia of colors, sights, and sounds. For everything that was wrong with the last two Matrix movies, the Wachowski brothers managed to do everything right with this one. They not only captured the essence of the American “Speed Racer” but they also were able to tap into the Japanese original “Mach Go Go Go” for further inspiration.

The movie starts with Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) driving like a demon on wheels at Thunderhead race track. He’s not only trying to win the race but he’s also trying to chase after his dream of being like his older brother, Rex Racer (Scott Porter).

Pops (John Goodman) is the matriarch of the family and the designer of the famous Mach 5. He is supported by his loving wife Mom Racer (Susan Sarandon). Also with the family is younger son Spritle (Paulie Litt) and his pet Chim-Chim the monkey. Pops can’t do everything alone so he has long time family friend Sparky (Kick Gurry) as the mechanic of the group but also Speed’s race day spotter. Rounding out the family is Speed’s girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci) who has been there for speed since grade school.

There is more to this movie then the racing. There is a story of big business corruption and how it is taking over the World Racing League by fixing races. One such business is Royalton Industries headed by A.Royalton (Roger Allam). He’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants and if that means paying off drivers to stop Speed from winning then that’s what he’ll do.

Trying to stop him is the CIB, an international law organization that has a few tricks of their own. The lead investigator, Inspector Detector (Benno Fürmann), has a driver that will stop the corruption of the WRL by brining justices back…Racer X (Matthew Fox) is that driver. But he can’t do it alone so he enlists the aid of Speed Racer to help crack the case and bring Royalton’s company down.

The Wachowskis were able to do something new and fresh with the races and make the cars seem alive. Each race left you breathless and waiting for more as you watched the stunning driving of Speed Racer and the other drivers. From the beginning race at Thunderhead to the final Grand Prix you will be amazed at the acrobatic movements of the automobiles.

The casting was perfect. Each actor selected was able to channel their animated counterpart. This movie has plenty of action, adventure, and humor for all to enjoy.

Speed Racer is distributed by Warner Brothers, written and directed by the Wachowski brothers. It is rated PG for sequences of action, some violence and language.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆